Adu's playing time likely to increase :: Wright, W. Times

It really shouldnt be that hard...

 

Thanks as always to Ken Wright your articles are always appreciated by BudWiser.

 

Agreed. Hey-I heard Cerritos, a target forward, is available

(Here we go looking for a target forward AGAIN).....

 

and again... and again

yeah probably cheap too...

--Adu needs to stay on the bench.

--We also better have had these new forwards in our sites for some time. 3 years shouldnt = quick fix.

 

The best part of the article, in my opinion, is that Wright was able to obtain the coveted "How Much Money Under The Cap" figure:

"By waiving Cerritos, United cleared more than $200,000 under its $1.7 million salary cap to sign another player."

Therefore, we likely had somewhere close to $40K free before waiving Cerritos. Now we have $200K.

Question is, do we go after one forward or also pursue defensive cover?

I bet that we use all $200K for the new acquisition and then attempt to trade Rimando for a defender.

Cheers,
Tim

 

A couple things from this article:

* Adu makes it clear that he wants to play with Eskandarian up top. I can't say this is a surprise, given what I've seen when Moreno and Adu are paired together, but it's interesting to hear Adu say it so directly.

* "Sometimes I come into a game and it's pretty much over, so I come in and coast around for a little bit," Adu said. "I would love to start like I was doing. I felt like I was playing well when I was actually starting like against Chicago [on June 5]. Even though we lost [3-0], I felt that I was playing pretty well. All of a sudden, Coach decides to go with a different two up top, and it worked out great last game."

I just think this quote is interesting. I don't rightly know if I have an opinion formed on it just yet.

 

While not knowing the questions asked, I have a bit of concern about Adu's statements. From their tone and tenor, they sound a bit petulant. I hope he doesn't really mean that he believes he should get a start because otherwise he "half-asses it" (i.e. coasts). I don't want to read too much into this but it does make me worried... :concern:

 

Freddy's youth is often reflected in the candor of his answers. He speaks freely and confidently and doesn't recognize how his comments might be interpreted both without context and without hearing the inflextion and tone in his voice.

It's good to read as he is so candid and avoids cliches and pat answers but, as we've seen, his quotes often raise a few eyebrows. Obviously, he needs the Crash Craddock lesson of dealing with the media.

I think Benny and Nellie need to sit him down and tell him to "just take it one game at a time" and "just want to do what I can to help the team win" and so on....

 

Couldn't we use around $150K for the forward, then use $50K for a passable backup defender? I don't think we need a super defender back there, just one who can fillin if need be so that we don't have Stokes in a 3 man backline again.

 

In other words, you want him to become a boring robot of a person. I understand your point Sandon, but the guy is not talking about eating someones children or about making someone his b1tch. I like a guy who speaks candidly, as long as he's not being offensive or a total arse about it. With soccer not really on the map here, we actually do need a couple of guys with a personality, especially if its the guys that the public are going to have the most access to.

 

Stellar angle there, Ken.

Sooooo with one less forward available, Freddy might see more time.

Interesting.

 

At least this time, we can't say he was wrong!

 

That's funny.

Hey, did you catch the line about the three invitees in Wright's story? It was unattributed vs. the Payne quotes over in Goff's piece.

Made me wonder if he's been reading Goff's stuff when it gets posted and updating/filing.

 

Since half the season will be over by the time we get a forward, can they play the books a bit with this? e.g $120+ for somebody who would comand a 200+ season long salary? I certainly see Stewart either retiring or otherwise opening up a max league salary for next year.

 

What's more likely to happen first?

The sun rising in the East or geordination taking shots at Ken Wright/Washington Times..

Anyone want action on this?

 

Landon is the same as Freddy, cursed with honesty.

I am grateful enough that Freddy is not spouting cliches that I won't jump on his "coast along" comment. Although the notion of a lack of motivation for a player a dozen games into his pro career is very peculiar, to say the least.

He did play pretty well against Chicago -- it's always easier to see the off-the-ball movement when at a game live, as I was -- so he is correct in that respect. Unfortunately, he couldn't pass to himself, he had to pass to Cerritos instead.

 

I think that this might be the mistake that got this team into deep, deep salary trouble back in 1999/2000. What happens if the team goes all the way and then must dish out performance bonuses like happened in early years? Although they can be spread out somewhat and don't count on the immediate season's total salary figure, you still start digging yourself a hole.

I'm beginning to think the way to interpret the figure that Wright published is that we will have $200K available this year total that is not already obligated or guaranteed for other players still on the roster. Hence, I think that we may certainly be able to afford a guy that makes more than $200K annually because of prorating. However, if Wright's figure is already annualized then we are looking at simply an annual salary of $200K. Either way, it's a lot more money under the cap than we thought was available by clearing Cerritos.

This leads me to a random thought...we've been hearing for a long time that United were flushed and had no cap room available. The soccer america source shows that Cerritos was making at most $160K. We waive him after paying him $70K this season and now, all of the sudden, there is $200K available (regardless of whether it is a prorated value or a full season salary)? No matter how you do the math (total dollars vs. annualizing), either the reports that DC United were fully capped out were wrong or Cerritos was making more than reported in Soccer America. OR the deal for Cerritos had us giving Dallas some cap money? I don't know.

Cheers,
Tim

 

I don't think that 'coasting' as he puts it has anything to do with a lack of motivation. Few effective forwards go balls to the wall from the opening whistle. They hang out, watching the flow of the game, making the occasional decent run or pass and pick their spots. (I think last match was an exception.)

When Freddy comes in late, he still has to go through the process of integrating himslef into the game. Hence the coasting.

 

I hope that you are right.

Alan Shearer doesn't? Alan Smith doesn't? Ruud van Nistelrooy doesn't?

I think that the days of the strolling forward are numbered, although yes some of them still do exist.

Yes, that could be what he meant. As opposed to being not fully motivated.

 

As long as he's the same Ken Wright, I'll take the under.

 

I want odds before I even touch this one...........................

 

Actually even they take a little while to get into the game. At their level, it's a much shorter period.

BTW, Shearer is the epitome of a hard-working forward, and the one I use in all my examples of the type of forward Freddy is not.

 

Now, this is interesting. I had assumed it meant that a 200K salary slot was possible, as of course, we would only be paying 100K of that if said player was signed midseason. However, your math makes me think that might not be true.

Totally.....locked up......can't wrap........... brain .....around MLS salary......cap....... possibilities!! Oh, the lies and untruths! The misleading statements from all sides. The total lack of all sensible reckoning. Must.....shut down.