Conway out -- broken ankle {R}

You can't "call up" an A-League player any longer, as MLS' contract with USL expired at the end of last season and was not renewed. I think our best bet is to try and sign an A-League keeper for a brief loan spell (three months maybe?) And then go from there. This is indeed, bad news; I actually feel pretty bad for Jon...

 

Well, somebody has to say it .... but is Jonny Walker available still?
Also, I hear that Joe Cannon isn't doing anything.

 

Walker was a cocky jerk! I'm glad he wasn't signed. Regardless of the reason he acted the way he did, he was still a jerk while he was here. A person's actions are their own. And there's no room for that on this team.

Right now I'm just processing this. I'm so sad for J-Co!! I just can't believe this.

Someone get me a beer STAT!!

 

a huge blow. what left can go wrong for the Quakes this offseason?

someone remind me: is Saunders a draft pick? what round? just curious.

if he is a late round pick, i'd say look for an a-leaguer who's desperate for some MLS action, and work out a deal. saunders may or may not be up to the task, but the Quakes definitely need some strong comp. at the position.

feel REALLY bad for Conway. he was so excited about the upcoming year, as that article at mlsnet just the other day showed.

 

Poor Jon! This is so sad. I wish him a speedy recovery and i am going to be sending happy thoughts his way.

 

I hear that Oliver Kahn is having a tough time in Germany with all the press attention over his affair being revealed at the same time his wife had a baby.
perhaps he'd like to escape the harsh media spotlight by spending some time in lovely San Jose. I think we should at least ask him.

 

As was mentioned in another thread, because of the overall tight-fisted position of MLS, we were shackled by the departure of Joe Cannon and saddled with John Conway. If there was even a wiff of fair play in this league they would step up and fill the void that is looming over us at this time, but don't hold your breath because it isn't going to happen. Now if this situation happened to the galaxatives the league would bend over backwards to get them Kahn or Keller or anyone they asked for. A small ray of light that Conway is gone but that's it.

 

yes you can, you just have to work the deal out with an a-league squad

 

not sure if you caught my next post, after talking about mls' money approach... but there is a way around it, although it's not a gift

the fire have dealt with injuries like no one else in this league, and so i know that one way to deal with such things is to trade future draft picks to other teams for salary cap space

this is how we got walsh and vaudreil last year... they were fillers because of injuries

i believe that space comes from unused discovery money (each team allotted $100k each year to use, and you can use 3 years at once... 2 years of that in the future)

 

If there is one position where Id have hope that a mid to late round selection in the MLS superdraft can turn into a regular contributer, its GK. So, unless something unexpected happens in our favor, I think we get to cross our fingers and hope that Saunders is good enough to get us through.

 

jamar beasley can move back into goal

 

How about getting Steve Cronin from Santa Clara, the U20 team's starting GK.

Yeah, he'd have to go through the "lottery" but this is MLS and we all know how above board those lotteries are.

Obviously he'd have to agree to a P40 deal but with the U20s having the World Youth Championship in the UAE postponed indefiitely, he might be looking to get some pro experience now to further his youth national team cause.

By all accounts, Cronin is a very highly regarded prospect with a great pedigree. Yes, he's raw so there will be a learning curve, but he should develop into a good GK pretty quick.

Other options -

*Former Columbus and Miami GK Matt Napolean, a U20 and U23 national teamer, is with Portland in the A-League. Don't know what his contract situation is but the Quakes might want to look into his availability.

*Juergen Sommer is without a job and would probably be willing to work cheap. He is definitely past his prime but he is a former Premier League GK and was on 2 World Cup teams so it's not like he's totally unworthy.

*Northern California's own Espen Baardsen is riding pine in the Premier League for Everton. Maybe something could be worked out to get him here, if just for the summer.

BTW, I can't help but think that somewhere in France Joe Cannon isn't chuckling. Sure, he doesn't want to see his friend Jon Conway hurt and sure he doesn't want to see the Quakes lose and sure, he'd rather be starting in France. But, the Quakes/MLS lowballed him after he'd earned the right to be one of the league's better paid 'keepers and they screwed him and now there myopic and tightwadded ways have come back and bitten them in the ass.

Finally, I have to admit a curiosity about seeing Josh Saunders play. He was an All-American at Cal and had a very strong senior season. He's got good size and he is supposedly a solid shot-stopper. I would be very pleased if, as a rook, he stepped in and played well.

 

Regardless of whether Saunders is ready to step in or not, the Quakes definitely need to try and find a competent second keeper, if only for backup, if not for actual competition.

I like the idea of picking up Napoleon from Portland, if he's available - I remember watching him when he was at Columbus and while he isn't a world beater, he's a great choice for a backup keeper in MLS.

The one possible silver lining to all of this is that goal keeper is possibly the deepest position in this country - we should be able to find a half-decent player, the question is whether how many trades are going to have to be made to clear up the cap space, and what we'll lose in those trades.

 

I thought I heard somewhere that Napoleon "retired"

hell...talk him out of it.

 

In terms of keepers already on MLS rosters, there are 3 MLS teams with 3 GKs on their roster, so we might be able to sneak somebody from one of them:

DC:

Rimando
Warren
Behonick

NE:

Brown
Reis
Singer

KC:

Meola
Oshoyini
Goode

Obviously, we're not going to get the starters from any of these teams - and I'm not so sure that picking up another rookie would be a really good idea.

Which would leave Reis and Oshoyini. I'd rather have Reis, but I have a feeling that we'd actually have to move something or somebody of serious value in order to pry Reis away from the Revs. Oshoyini could probably be had for less, although we'd have to see about that - KC might be very protective of losing their backup keeper.

Personally, I'd say see what we'd need to give up to get either Reis or Oshoyini while combing the A-League to see who we could nab for a low price. (What about Mike Amman? He was pretty well done when he left MLS, but he's better than nothing and would add some needed experience.)

Edited to add: According to scuttlebutt on the DC Board, Behonick is being dropped by DC - he's a developmental player, so that would mean a very low contract figure.

Plus, Napoleon did retire, opting to move back to Columbus to take up a consulting job and do youth-league soccer coaching. It would be nice to entirce him back if we could, but I wouldn't bet on it. Looking at the other A-League teams, no names jump out at me. I think we'd be best advised to try and get Bo, just because I feel like we'd give up the least for the most. I can't believe I'm saying this.

 

Forget Napoleon, he's out of soccer.

If you're looking for journyman, there's Chris Snitko or Jeff Cassar (heck, even David Kramer is available *shudder*).

If you want a good young prospect, how about TJ Hannig? He won a college championship and has looked great in the A-League....

 

Sorry, I'd take a guy off the street over Kramer. When Agoos scored that goal against Kramer 2 years ago, I had a series of painful flashbacks, even though he was on the other team...I don't ever want to have to watch him in goal again.

Snitko is an excellent suggestion, and definitely something to consider. Who does he play for right now? Hanning sounds interesting - I haven't seen him play, but I'll take your word on it.

Unfortunately, Cassar was just signed by Dallas as insurance after Jordan went overseas. Looking at rosters right now, Colorado is also in a weird situation, with only Garlick on their roster. I think they may have been banking on Jordan not going overseas - which means that the Quakes and the Rapids could be bidding against each other to pick up some second-tier goalies.

 

Not sure, but I think Snitko is retired. He last played for Dallas Burn.

Here is TJ Hannig's bio: http://www.riverhounds.com/hounds/players/hannig.htm

He was drafted by DC United, but they picked up Rimando and had Ammann at the time, so Hannig was the odd man out.

He's had some injuries throughout his career, but when healthy, he's very good. He was a standout athlete in basketball and track (hmmm....sounds a bit like Joe Cannon, doesn't it?)

Irony fact.....Doug Warren transfered to Clemson from Indiana because he was not going to get playing time behind Hannig. Now Warren's at DC United while Hannig is in the A-League....

 

what's the typical layoff time for a broken ankle; is it 4-6 weeks or more in the line where it's easier to count months?

 

They're talking surgury. Probably pins inserted. That's going to take months to heal.......

Keepers can't perform on "weak" ankles. I wouldn't count on him this year, to be honest.

 

mother fricker fracker nicker nacker

FCUK!!

Bring back Joe!!!

 

Colorado picked up Scott Vallow in the Supemental Draft. So they have two solid goalies.