Changing of the Guard???

Yeah, great piece there. I was wondering about Jaime's place as well. Something, somewhere has got to give with these three in the offseason.


Marco's contract runs out at season's end. Presuming he doesn't retire, I'd guess that MLS/United offers him a reduced contract again- 150K? If this happens (and my gut says it's likely) I'd hope that the haggling doesn't drag on too long as if he doesn't return then, we'd need time to find his replacement.

Eddie- I don't see any changes to Pope's contract for next year. He hasn't lost his skills and in a wierd way I'd say moving him out of the middle (allowing Nelsen to take command there) might make him less injury prone. Also our defense is not that deep so if we lost Pope it would open a major void. Of course he might try Europe, but I'd give that chance at only 20% tops.

Jaime- His contract doesn't run out this offseason and so we can't renegotiate it. That leaves a trade if Hudson thinks he can no longer lead the forward line. So I'd say the rest of the season is very important to Jaime's future for United. He's got to produce now.

But if he goes on the trading block, what would we get in return? Could we get value? What is value for Jaime anyway? On the plus side he's not that old and he has been the gold standard for MLS forwards for years. On the minus side, he's an SI, has a huge contract, isn't in great shape and his status as the forward gold standard is in the past. His SI status will eliminate some teams right off the bat (those who like their SI's) and his contract will also eliminate some teams (those who are bumping against the cap now and don't have a max contract guy they don't want to trade.)

One could look at last off-season's Cerritos for Graziani trade as a possible template. Cerritos was obviously in decline in SJ while Graziani was irritating the hell out of his Burn teamates. So if Moreno is Cerritos, than who is Graziani? Razov? Serna? Cunningham? Do we have to set our sights lower? If so then we probably don't want yet another journeyman forward, or we could get a forward who can help in the midfield too.

Finally the decision to keep Jaime might hinge on if Marco doesn't stay. Say marco tells MLS, "Screw you and your 150K!" than might Hudson want to keep Jaime as the a-mid?

Lots of questions and speculation and most of mine are probably waaaaay off the mark. Still what happens with these three this offseason will have lots of bearing on how we look next year. Thanks Mike Martin for writing that piece.

 

Moreno trade scenarios

If New England fails to make the playoffs this year, they might be willing to swap Serna for Moreno. Or Chacon for Moreno.

Moreno might re-emerge if partnered with another talented forward like Twellman. It might be what Jaime needs - a change of scenery and a fresh start where we is not expected to be the offensive savior.

But would this really help United? Is Serna the sort of "spearhead" Ray talks about? Chacon isn't.

But Hudson managed to get them both to produce realy well in Miami last year.

Might one of these two really work well if teamed with Quaranta? Perhaps Serna. (Though everyon hates him for being a punk and a diver - he did score a ton of goals!!!)

By the way, have Chacon and Serna's struggles this year also been injury-related??

Finally - if we do end up trading Jaime, it would suck to see him end up prospering for a Division rival like the Revs - any options to send him out west??

 

Re: Moreno trade scenarios

Been living most of my time in Florida for the past two years and was lucky enough to catch some Fusion games and a lot of the team news. If there is one thing in life that is a guarantee, it's that Ray will never willingly take on Serna. Chacon I could see, as they both had a great working relationship, but Serna will never happen.

Also I believe Serna's contract is up at the end of this year , even if it's not, Serna's agent has been quoted on numerous occasions as stating that Diego will be playing abroad next year.

Serna is a lockeroom cancer and is the absolute last thing you guys need. If you going to go out and land a striker, I'd go with trying to lure in Bierhoff or even Kirovski.

 

Two players who woudl be perfect for United woudl definately be Tyson Nunez and Rambo Leon. I think those two would solve all problems that United is facing.

 

Moreno may be on the way out, but I highly doubt it. When healthy and fit he's a championship-maker caliber player. Even when unfit he commands special attention from the defense. If he can get healthy, he stays. Also, IMHO, Santino plays off of Moreno very very well, and seems to have been taken under Moreno's wing so that would be a big blow to Santino's development.

As for value, let's not put Moreno in the same category as a Serna or Chacon. All three are fine players, but only one is platinum-plated, Moreno. Chacon plays off of others, but doesn't command the attention that Moreno does from the defense. Serna can, but his attitude and histrionics make him a flake, and only Hudson seems to be able to get his potential out of him, so other teams don't really value him very highly.

Because all three are SI's and very high salaried players, you would require similar production. Aside from Serna and Chacon playing under Hudson, they haven't shown anything more than an occasional glimpse of having Moreno's ability. United may be able to acquire either or both for very little in the offseason. For trading Moreno, United would require major-value, and could very likely get it. Remember, Moreno is always good, just not always great. He's a fantastic citizen, unlike Diallo, Serna, etc. Coaches covet players like Moreno. He's the real jewel of United's crown right now ... even more so than Olsen.

Etch, is underrated on these boards, of this I'm convinced. When he's not in the lineup, we rarely win. But, he's not the player he used to be, so I would expect a reduced salary offer next season.

I doubt Pope moves anywhere. He's probably overpaid for a defender, and he'll never play a full season, but when the playoffs come around there simply is no one better. When United makes the playoffs, he plays lights-out, and that's what you need from your max salary players.

I expect all three back next season, but we will likely add an SI forward and 3 draft picks. The middle and bottom of the roster may change quite a bit, but the top should remain the same IMHO. Gazza is the only real outlier there.

-Tron