News: 2022 - DCU Club Discussion and Analysis

Well, that'll make the season! (Although I always liked Chris Durkin)

 

Inspired move.

 

For free?

 

That would be a solid move.

Unfortunately, no.

Dave must have given Lucy his Rolodex.

 

This could be a good move, and if it pans out, put it on Losada and Frutos. I listened to Grant Wahl interview Durkin a while back and also read some interviews with him after he went to Belgium. It was very clear that he didn't think much of Olsen and was eager and happy to leave. Now, bringing in a guy starting periodically for a mid-table Belgian team is the answer to what question? Let's see if there is any substance to the sizzle.

 

Meh

 

Outside of Canouse what to we have at D-mid, meh, so why not.

 

They must have intended to get another starter-level player for that position somewhere, right? I'm going to pretend this was always the plan. Otherwise, I'd have to think multiple people running DCU believed a team with playoff aspirations could jettison Moreno and Felipe and rely on Canouse, Nyeman, Skundrich, and maybe Djeffal to fill two starting sports (and be the only depth for those two spots). That can't be true, right?

 

Yes. There is space between the playoffs and the spoon. We are likely to live in that space unless something changes one way or the other.

 

Keeping Felipe or Moreno would have been much much cheaper and easier. But now that we've let both them go I'm fine with it. He's a good player that would help our midfield depth a lot.

 

Narrator: as the last word echoes into the dark void, he suddenly realizes the true depth of the situation.

[horror sting]

 

It does seem to be a long-time pattern with DCU - we either have a glut of defensive-minded midfielders - or have just traded or fired most of them away when the remaining good one gets injured.
I seem to remember it that way, anyhow. But I can't always promise my memory and reality are the same thing

 

But we will get a 25% discount on him. I wonder what they want for him. Sint Truden paid us $1.1M & 25% sell on clause.

 

Looks like Death and...Taxiarchis Fountas is joining the team sooner than we thought.

He's on his way.

https://www.flightradar24.com/AUA93/2b2aef39

 

Goff says the transfer fee is settled to get Fountas here early. Only thing that will hold him up from playing right away is getting his visa settled.

Adding to this story from Austria, D.C. United and Rapid Vienna have reached a deal for Taxiarchis Fountas to join the MLS club before the summer window. He's on a flight now. Transfer fee: ~$400,000, I'm told. Physical and visa awaits. Visa will take ~3 weeks. #dcu https://t.co/n3ANcSzHUD

— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) March 17, 2022

 

BOOM!

 

The linked article translated:

 

2hrs to stage a welcome to DC reception at Dulles…

Thx,

Jay!

 

Hopefully he doesn't spit on anyone while he Taxis

 

Would be cool if some fans were there to greet him....

 

Too far. The last time I greeted DC United players at an airport was when they came into BWI after winning the US open cup

 

Its funny, I looked at it, someone on Twitter had posted his flight track, but I had meetings straight through the afternoon, but I thought about if for a serious moment.

 

This is interesting.
So Taxi signs a pre-contract with us back in January.
Then he basically gets frozen out at the club, starting just one game since they came back from winter break.
Then, according to the Google Translate of this article, he basically "called in sick" saying he wasn't fit for a match. The club threatened to send him to autograph sessions with fans.
Finally, this week, the club just said get the hell out of here, right as they face a derby game this weekend.

https://www.krone.at/2657269

 

His first weeks with us will depend on how much he's been running and doing drills/etc to be in game shape. Then take a few weeks and 75 minute subs to get integrated with the team.

 

This article (again, I'm reading Google Translate so I'm sure there's something lost in translation) says Taxi refused to travel to an away game and speculated he was afraid of getting hurt before his signing with DCU was complete because if he couldn't pass the physical then the contract would be voided.

Says some other Rapid player was going to transfer to Chicago for $3 million in 2020 and showed up in Chicago and the doctor's found an ACL injury or something and voided the contract and the guy went back to Rapid and was considered fine to play. Never heard of that situation but seems crazy.

It does add an interesting dynamic to these "pre-contract" signings

The article also speculates that going and getting the physical was the compromise between Rapid and Taxi so he could officially complete the signing and then come back to Rapid and finish out the season.

I think we'll see him here playing in the next couple of weeks, but I guess there's still a chance this isn't the case.

https://kurier.at/sport/fussball/pe...ber-noch-kein-transfer-fuer-fountas/401941105