So here we go. 14 year old Freddy is gift wrapped for Ray Hudson. Maybe MLS wants him there so Dema and Hristo won't break his legs. I have several questions, to wit: 1) The Washington Post sayd today that Financial terms of the contract were not immediately available -- it is believed to be worth several hundred thousand dollars a season SEVERAL HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS ??? So this is the end of the salary cap then? Now that we're paying a child more than the league max, more than McBride or Bocanegra or Donovan, are all bets off? Or are they raising the cap so we too can pay for some players? 2) How exactly does DC get this player? They don't have the first pick in the draft. In fact, they don't have a first round draft pick AT ALL. What will DC be giving up? Which players and considerations? 3) How will the league protect this kid? Will the referees let the various hacks around the league (I'm not even going to name them) beat crap out of their little bonus baby like they do to, say, Jeff Cunningham???
Bill- Have some freakin' vision...this kid is a unique, once in a generation deal....he will be UNDERPAID relative to the publicity he will generate for MLS, and after all, MLS is competing against foriegn clubs for his services, hence the yearly salary. Really, you MLS-rule-nerds HAVE to get over the anal-ness of current rules ("why does DC get him?")....you can not have a baseball fan's purist mentality with a league that loses/has lost beaucoup dollars, and by the grace of Uncle Phil lives....he has a right to recoup his money asap, and if Freddy to DC does it, I'm all for it. In fact, clearly, it is the only way the deal gets done (in all likelihood- Freddy to DC....so you would turn down this deal just to force Freddy in Dallas (or something like)... My goodness...soccer has a chance to make a mega-leap in a lot of ways here, and you want to quibble over salary cap stuff? Forest for the trees, man....
What a load of crap...not once did Freddy say he wanted to play in any specific city! Send him to Dallas, didn't they have the worst record? Once again, MLS proves the rules are only a reccomendation.
Dude, (unless you are joking) you are a moron....he is 14 YEARS OLD....think about that for a minute.....his mom lives 30 minutes from DC. (he could live near/at home)...and you think he DIDN'T insist on DC, and Dallas would be OK? He is by far the best player this country has ever produced (at his age), is slated for "sure-fire" (not my words, but those of some great players) success, and has the VERY TOP CLUBS IN THE WORLD OFFERING HIM MILLIONS (unheard of for ANY player in ANY sport at this age), and you don't think he has a little leverage here (in negotiating with MLS?) Don't look up naive in the dictionary dude....you don't need to READ IT to know it happened...how assinine is it for ANYONE to insist that Freddy go to Dallas (or some low-ranked team) because of some freakin' rule implemented by a league that has never made a profit and is only 7 years old....
Settle down. There have always been players paid more than the league max. Etcheverry's salary was usually much higher. I think Campos made a million one season. Max salary is nothing more than the maximum amount a player can count against the cap. By the way, we don't know the terms, so we don't know whether the contract is backloaded. He may have a big salary in the last few season, but only $100,000 now.
stop bitching, its always at least been rumored his family wants him in dc and he is there now, so must likely that was the truth. would you rather him go to man u?
Considering how well the Chris Albright to DC and Ben Olsen to DC and Earnie Stewart to DC things worked out, I'm not too concerned.
I have no problem with this. Remember, we all get a cut of the transfer fee (that is assuming of course, that the black hole that is the Metro's doesn't swallow it up first)
This is how I feel, and I'm sure I'm not alone: I have no problem with Adu playing for DC. He's a young kid and playing on a hometown team makes sense, especially if it's a major factor in bringing him to MLS. Having said that, though, I think DC should have to give up something to get him, especially if MLS is striving to maintain any consistency in player acqusition. If there are teams ahead of DC in the allocation line, and we know of two teams in line for a "you suck" allocation, I think it's only fair for DC to have to negotiate with those teams fair compensation to get an allocation if DC has no allocations available.
Another thing: Let's be honest with ourselves. Had Mama Adu settled in Cbus instead of DC, we'd be saying the same thing that DC fans are saying right now. Same could be said for every fan of every team in the league.
I'm pissed he is giong to DC. However, I'm elated that we don't have to deal with him! And JRI, MLS is a professional league. A single player should not be able to dictate terms of employment for the league. This is how prima donnas are born and bred. Bill's pissed, and rightly so, in that some teams do not have to play by the rules in order to obtain players --- while others have to...
Let me clarify this for those DC types who have not the brains God gave my Labrador Retriever: You can have the damned kid. I don't care. Take his little brother too. Be my fvcking guest. But if you want to lecture me about how good this will be for the league (which is of course EXACTLY what we heard about L Do) then fine: it's MY opinion that Corey Gibbs would be good for the league too. How come MLS told us to pund sand when he was apparently willing to come here last July? You wanna screw around like this, great. Then you gotta do it for everybody. And nobody has addressed my last point either: will Freddy get the crap knocked out of him like everybody else, or will the fix be in with the officials? Jeff Cunningham takes a brutal beating week after wek while dumbsh!t referees trot back the other way. Bet me the whistle won't be a little quicker for little Freddypoo. And I know, as you say, that I'm too stupidly "hung up" on the rules "like baseball" and all, but tell me: just how DOES DC "acquire" this young boy? You can't tell me they give up nothing. That isn't how it works, in MLS or anywhere else. Look what Donovan cost.
Actually, Adu has said that he wants only to play for DC, as he comes from Maryland and grew up a DC fan. Yes, you can be annoyed (I know if he insisted on playing for NY I would be) but he wants to be close to home and he has power over the league. This could really be a big thing. Adu could be soccer's Tiger Woods (although I doubt he will be as rich or have the effect that Tiger had, but you get the idea)
For all these people who are so elated that Adu signed with MLS channel some of your energy into prayers, sacrifices, or whatever the hell works that neither Ray Hudson or Hristo Stoichkov is at DC next season. They will ruin this kid before he starts.
Uh, are you guys going to stop watching/supporting MLS because MLS bent a rule....uh, I don't think so... Is Freddy getting his way, and playing with DC material to his decision to sign with MLS? Yes. Will Freddy increase attendence, increase exposure, potentially launch MLS/put MLS way ahead of its growth timetable, and even increase the possibility/likelihood of MLS' profitability sooner? Yes. Ya'll get yur head out of yur collective arsh, and realize where MLS/men's outdoor pro soccer is...how hard the struggle has been for legitimacy (and how it STILL DOESN'T HAVE IT)....and if you think that legions of fans that potentially get turned onto soccer due to silly little rules, you guys need institutional help...it is the TALENTS like Freddy that make all the difference, and not rules... SEE THE BIGGER PICTURE! NO ONE WILL CARE ABOUT THIS ALLOCATION ISSUE IN 3 YEARS (or even ONE), but FREDDY'S IMPACT IS SOOOO MUCH GREATER....
MLS is a professional league. A player who has not signed with the league sure as hell can dictate where he's going to play if he has other options. Freddy could have said F U at any time to MLS if he didn't get his way. That would have been a MLS' loss.
I was too quick, apparently, with allocation talk. From the Post article: Good ole future considerations.
My two cents: this isn't the first time some kid has arm wrestled MLS into letting him play for the club of his choosing. think caliguiri (sp?), albright, and donovan. that's fine. i understand, and can agree, with Lil' Fred being a P-40 signee. i can agree, and understand, with him having to be drafted. what i don't like is the fact that dallas will be "forced" to agree to this trade. what if what DC offers is substandard, but the league once again rallies to DC's defense? isn't this the same techniques used in the Godfather movie? but overall, this isn't as horrible a player aquisition mess as the clint mathis saga. on a side note: even if Baby Jesus II didn't demand on DC, was there any doubt that either them or NY would get him? i mean seriously. what if the left footed player we were after was not Gibbs but rather Adu? do you think the league would have put forth this much effort into putting a yellow jersey on his back? fvck no. they would say "yeah, that would be great wouldn't it ned? gee willikers, that's thinking. keep up the good work scouting your own players!!" and no one has still answered bill's "protection" point. my feeling is that the league's new "Preciousssss" will not be allowed to be marked, held, defended, or even breathed on wrong. i don't disagree with this. what if ABMOD (or any of the thousands of bradley goons), franchino, Lalas, brown, etc. or hell even McCardme get out of line with this child. but if Precioussssssss gets that sort of protection, i propose that cunningham, mcbride, and martino get some protection from the multitude of elbows, studs, and scratches that they receive game in and game out. but that'll never happen with the worthless, gutless, vaginitis-infected ass clowns that ref the MLS matches. again, my $0.02
Boy, Dallas has really been screwed. We got Friedel thanks to them, and now DC gets Adu thanks to them. Possibly the two best players in the history of the league. By the way, I'm with Bill on the quick whistle issue. But I'll say this: I don't think Freddy is ready for MLS. There's no way he can play with Chad McCarty or Mark Williams. They'll beat the crap out of him. Buddle will score more goals than Adu next year.
I also am interested to see how exactly Adu will go to DC. MLS is gonna try and rig the draft so DC can draft him. They shouldn't. Just freakin' allocate him there and have the regular draft. As for protection, you know it'll happen.
He's not played one second in MLS yet, he wasn't coming to Crew to begin with, I'm not worried at all, McCarty will poleaxe this kid the first opportunity he gets. Let's focus on what's important, getting an allocation that can widen the field, preferably in the form of a left sided winger, or a strong central defender to shore up our defense.
The Post article discussed DC trading with Dallas to get the first pick. I don't think the draft will be rigged.