News: Toronto FC player movement/rumours thread

Apparently he's cancelled his contract with NOB on the basis of unpaid wages. If he can prove that they didn't pay him, there's really nothing his club can do to stop him from moving on a free

 

I just read two tweets. Can verify the sources but one says Urruti is in Toronto today having a medical and the other says that TFC are going ahead with the signing and just ignoring Old Boys disputing TFC's right to sign the player.

All I know is that if he signs he better be good....I can't remember a player signing for a team after such a long, and public, saga.......to have this much time/effort/credibility invested in a player....he better be good!

 

My thoughts exactly. TFC has been after this guy for a while now, and you figure when the deal fell through the first time, that would be the end of it. It would be pretty sad if he was brought in and then released at the end of the season.

 

Payne all but confirmed that we're still after Urruti and he might be out of contract because of a complicated situation

 

That seems to be where the dispute is. NOB say he is not owed wages, the player says he is.

Aside from his playing ability TFC best be sure about this contractual situation....not a good thing (I would imagine) to gain the reputation of signing other team's guys.

Whatever the current status is, if he is now free...whatever caused this must have happened recently....in his in-game interview last night, Payne acknowledged that TFC offered NOB money earlier in the year......this offer (as any lawyer will tell you) was a tacit acknowledgement by TFC that, at that time, NOB did own the player's rights and there was a valid contract between the player and NOB....so for the player, and TFC, to now say he is free to leave they had better be sure there was an event (either a contract maturity or an uncured breach of that contract) that voided the contract that they had previously acknowledged.

 

http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2013/08/manny-aparicio-joins-first-team
Aparcio is the latest player to make the jump. We had better have a feeder team in place to loan him to next season or his development will end now since he loses his NCAA eligibility. I don't like the NCAA rout, but it's still better than playing a reserve game once a month or so. However, If they plan on actually using him, then I like it. But the chances of that are close to nothing for the next couple of seasons I think

 

Thursday is going fast. As the old ad said, Where`s the beef.``

 

LA has done well managing Villareal and McBean's ascent to the first team.

There's talk of Agudelo moving to Europe again after bouncing around the league a bit.

DCU sold Najar in the offseason.

Even at TFC, Morgan and Henry have made the transition and have hardly been blocked from first team opportunities.

If a player is good enough and worth investing in I'm pretty confident they'll make it. It's only because TFC was so eager to hype the academy model (and desperately needed to fill out a roster in 2011) that players like Cordon and Makubuya, who would have been better served going to college or a lower level, were promoted to the first team. Stinson was a bubble guy to me: I thought he got a pretty fair shot (and was undone by injuries and management shuffles).

But I agree, I certainly wouldn't expect him to be a difference maker.

 

I don't think that HG signings have no chance of being successful, but with the current setup it's a lot harder than it needs to be for talented players to make the jump from the academy to the first team. Most young players need playing time to develop properly. Sure there are some that can make it in a tough environment, but I think there are probably a decent number of players who could have done better if they got PT at the right level.

I don't know if Aparcio is one of those players who can make it by taking the chances he gets and learning from them, but I don't think it's fair to say that if he can't make it through that kind of environment, he's not good enough.

I'm also not super filled with confidence in the management's commitment to the development of younger players. The young guys that have gotten minutes got them because they were better than anyone else in that position. Meanwhile our two first round picks that were supposedly the only players we wanted from the draft struggle to even get on the bench. Not that I think they should be handed starts, but they haven't really been given any PT (especially Welshman, Bekker has gotten some and didn't look too inspired).


Mostly my feeling is that they either signed him to so they could play him in the Roma game (which was then thwarted by the U18 call-up) - less likely IMO - or they signed him to try to excite the fans since they completely failed to bring in any of the players that they were constantly rambling on about bringing in. My worry is that this is an image oriented signing rather than that they signed him because they think that this is the best thing for his development. If that's the case, than they had better find a good place to loan him to since he's no longer NCAA eligible.

 

I, obviously, can't speak to whether they are committed to this or not....but they had better be. If they are indeed going to be one of the clubs that continually have their 3 DP spots filled an utilized, they have to have a cheap flow of quality and talent on the other side of the barbell or, again, the roster will just topple over.

I guess I do have some faith in the club's commitment to youth development...otherwise, what is the point of the KIA training centre?

 

I just want to remind everyone that A) Luis Silva has scored 3 goals in 3 games for DC United. B) Kevin Payne is still looking for a creative attacking midfielder.

 

For those not on Twitter (are there people like that).

John Molinaro has a fair number of tweets today from TFC training.....essentially....Neslen is back from "overseas" but did not have a player in his suitcase (perhaps he, like a lot of people, just did not fancy going to the Roma match ).......Payne says this....they were close on two players that were subject to the transfer window but they did not happen......get this one - "There were guys we could have signed, and guys we could have signed that would’ve made us better."...but they didn't sign those players that would have made us better out of fear they would look back a year from now and ask why they signed them?....but fans should be comforted to know that:

1. there are two DP quality players coming in that are not subject to the window
2. one of them will be in by next week
3. the other in two weeks
4. with regards to Urruti "We’re monitoring the situation, I’ll put it that way. Anything is possible."
5. "Both of the players that I am talking about that we are still pursing are big signings and will have a dramatic impact on our club."
6. "The fans should not be worried. ... Our fans should be comforted by the fact that we are going to get some signings done and we’re going to spend quite a bit of money on those signings."

The convo continues but it seems to have moved on to things like Dempsey.

So, to summarize, we are a club that has built traditions very early in its life and in the grand tradition of previous TFC management teams....Mr. Payne assures us that although we do not have any signings to report, we have a couple of lads coming in and they are good and fans will be happy.

 

Molinaro followed up with a tweet:

"I wouldn't get your hopes up about Urruti, #TFC fans. That's all I can say on the matter right now."

Without commenting on Urruti's ability at all, this one kinda pleases me. I just don't like it when any club tries so hard and so publicly to lure a player that his current club says they own and don't want to let go.

No offense to Real Madrid fans but that club does a masterful job of unsettling other teams' players to the point other clubs end up with no choice but to sell. I have nothing against Arsenal (quite like them actually) but I am a bit put off with what they are doing to Liverpool over Suarez.....and if NOB told TFC they did not want to sell Urruti that should have been the end of it.....from the outside (if the articles are close to accurate) it appears TFC have been working with the player and his representatives to find loopholes/clauses that would make him free to go....and I just don't like the "feel" of that.

 

I send you a tweet explaining it.....oops, no, wait.

 

At least one member of TFC's management team thinks that Urruti is under contract to Newell's Old Boys.
http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/tfc-president-insists-new-players-are-coming-in/

 

BTW....this club that is so "cap sensitive" that spends so much time criticizing past management's dealings with the cap...this club is paying Jeremy Brockie $175k per year.

Now, I fully expect others to chime in with "but it is a short term loan".....that is true but you would not have to dig to deep to find articles quoting Payne and/or Nelsen talking about how they had tried, and would continue to try, and convince his home club to let him sign permanently....so they value Brockie at that number and an international spot.....what was domestic spot holder Silva making?


http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/August 1, 2013 Salary Information - By Club.pdf


Answer.....$70k salary and guarantee of $105k.

 

Credit where credit is absolutely due for Payne and Nelsen, some really encouraging numbers here:

http://www.mlsplayers.org/files/August 1, 2013 Salary Information - By Club.pdf

Rey and Elmer on expected deals in line with what you'd see elsewhere in the league (now let's just hope they work out).

But Caldwell's number is remarkable really and I actually have a hard time believing it based on the fact that he had to be re-signed in the summer but that's what the MLSPU published.

 

I, generally, agree with a lot of your writings and enjoy reading your posts.....but not sure how we can say that, either Rey or Elmer's deals are good (sorry if I am misunderstanding what you are saying).....we had a discussion earlier about the Home Grown player rule but if we assume that Morgan is one (and I think he is)....how much of an upgrade to Morgan do we know/expect Elmer to be to be worth an increase in cap usage of between $125k and $130k?

Rey at 3X Lambe? I know that Reggie is a bit of a whipping boy amongst TFC supporters but do we expect that much of an upgrade from Rey to justify that?

(I recognize that both were brought in from Europe and sometimes the more relevant thing in establishing their salary is what they could earn if they staid in Europe...this is why players like Eck, O'Dea and - to a large extent - JDG are/were paid what they are/were paid...but, still, the club knows that coming into the deals so they have to ask if it is worth the cap space)

On the other hand, that Caldwell deal has "misprint" all over it ....if that is really what he is on then good for the club ....well done.

Still shocked (on the negative) that someone thinks Brockie is worth $175k in MLS......I would rate him as our worst regular starter of this season.

 

I imagine the Caldwell number is "allocated" down.

 

I don't think the player's union reports Cap hit numbers but, rather, actual contract numbers. If you look at the DPs, certainly, they are shown at their actual salaries/guarantees rather than their (much reduced) cap hit.

There are others that are likely allocated down that show their real salaries not a "net of allocation" number....for example, is MacDonald of Chicago a DP ($527,125/year)?

 

In regards to Payne saying there are 2 Dp quality players coming in not subject to the transfer window, at this point I wish he would just shut up and surprise us.

Does anyone know any free agents available who are a DP quality player?

 

For the love of God KP, shut up. During the Roma game I believe he said there was only one player (Urruti) who they could be able to sign after the transfer window. Now all of a sudden there's a second player they can sign after the transfer window? And they're both DP level? I'm glad he's not making any panic signings, but every time he talks about signings that haven't happened yet I lose a bit of sanity.
As for the salaries, very good work on Caldwell by the TFC brass if that number is correct, but lots of inflated salaries too. Convey, Braun, Russell I already knew about. No way should they sign Brockie to a permanent deal, there are probably hundreds of better players available for a lot less. Rey's salary is very high too. Earnshaw's and Elmer's are acceptable