3rd round pick in 2009 for Cunny... http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/t..._id=178616&vkey=news_t280&fext=.jsp&team=t280 Not sure how to feel about this... if he's happy here and on his game, he's probably a good upgrade over Oduro and can be a good partner for Cooper. If not, he could lead to a Denilson-like derailment of our playoff push.
Cf Zippy's photo montage for this: TWO! Two traffic cones! Ah ah ah! (Thunder) That'll slow down the other teams, anyway. Serpentine, Shel! If they're paying him in Flooz(tm), I'm for it. If he's getting a dime over Cooper's salary, "HOOPS Yes" will be replaced with "Exodus" as the kick-off anthem.
I'm sure that people will hammer him for his strike rate the way they hammered Ruiz last year, given that his strike rate in 2008 is almost identical to Ruiz's 2007 strike rate. Which is my way of saying that if TFC isn't picking up a huge portion of Cunningham's salary, we're overpaying for him.
BTW, we could have gotten Barrett, and anyone is better than Barrett...although, I would have rather had Dichio.
I have no idea how to quote old comments in other threads but... I wonder if the front office reads my posts. And I like Cunningham, especially if his contract ends at the end of this yr. He is better than any other option next to Cooper. He may be a malcontent, but that seems to be in his second year at places. Keep him for the season then let him go.
Thumbs up from me. Maybe he can be that super-sub for Oduro that we need from time-to-time? I think Dom could learn a lot from JC in terms of style of play as they both have (or had for JC) some of the same skillsets. If he can get his head right and pump in a few goals, all the better. A proven goal-scorer is extremely hard to find and almost impossible to afford - like the athletic big man in basketball, the consistent starting LHP in baseball, and the Super Bowl QB in football. I just don't think there were many options at this point...it's worth a shot I say.
My thoughts are these: There is no doubt li'l Jeffie Cunningham knows how to score in this league. Or at least he used to know how to score in this league. My question is, are he and Ruiz the same player, i.e. has MLS passed them by? Or is it all in li'l Jeffie Cunningham's head? We all saw what a difference a year and an unhappy Toja made. So now, can he give it like he used to? Is he even match fit? He lollygagged around pretty good in the TFC game. In fact, it was like he wasn't even there. Right? Is that just me? So, we can bitch, but it's done now. Time is the only thing that will tell if this is genius or madness. My next question is: Are we done? What about the Croatian dude? Are we still looking to add a left back? I'd have taken li'l Jimmy Brennan. What about the possible CAP guy? Who is the CAP guy? Why is my head spinning? Why do my thoughts resemble someone else's laundrey spinning around in my dryer? Was it good for you? Do you normally do that on the first date or do you really like me? Li'l Jeffie Cunningham. Yay.
Carlos Ruiz, 2007: 7 goals in 1722 minutes = 0.366 G/90 min. Jeff Cunningham, 2008: 3 goals in 747 minutes = 0.361 G/90 min. You are what you are, and I predict that within a month, people will be ripping Cunningham rather loudly here.
Dead on with your last two thoughts, but way off on the first. No way they traded for a backup. Read Schellas' comments on the blog for apparent confirmation of this. Dom goes back to full-time backup sooner rather than later. Depending on the contract terms, I would be inclined to agree with you. Most importantly would be the ability for FCD to get out of it after this season if it doesn't work out, although this would almost certainly be out of their control if they're trading for an existing contract. Anyone who's looked up Cunningham's contract terms, please step forward, as I admit I haven't done so. Reminded me of Manny Ramirez' last days with the Red Sox. Not condoning it in the least - believe me - but whatever the reasons, each player had apparently already checked out of their previous situation. Ramirez situation especially frustrating to me as a Sox fan, given what he's been doing to the ball since he got his way. OTOH, FCD stands to really benefit if things work out the same way w/Cunningham, in which case I will be very definitely pleased. And, yes, I am very much aware of the apparent conflict in my beliefs as to how the player(s) should have continued to perform as a professional vs my ability to look past it if it benefits my team. I'm not happy about it, but that's apparently the way things work these days...
The two ways that I could be sold on this move are: 1. Ellinger knows how to work with the guy. 2. It's a rent-a-player situation and we're not counting on anything after this season. Edit: Oh yeah, the third way I could be sold is if we find out that TFC is picking up most of his salary.
If there's one thing Ellinger has proven, it's an ability to work with people, even if they're not that good. The problem is they all seem to be migrating to Dallas now. Which is good for Jamie Watson and Jeff Cunningham. Next week, Nik Besagno!
This is really kinda funny. Looks like all the "Denilson lovers" from last summer (and there were a lot of you) are all against JC coming to town. Well it's my time to make a prediction and I say this is a great deal. Let's see 11 games left. I predict JC w/5 goals and 2 assists the rest of the regular season, helping KCJ lead FCD into the playoffs bigtime. And if Rocha doesn't become our playoff nutcase this year (Arturo and Gbandi last 2 years) then we will actually go to round 2. Wait till Oct to dog me if it doesn't happen but you might cut me some slack since I was one of about 3 out of hundreds that predicted Denilson would blow. In fact, I said from day 1 he would produce all of one goal w/no assists (which is EXACTLY what he produced, oh along w/like 4 jersey sales and 5 season tickets). Don't believe me. Got to page 50 of the threads, find the "One Stop Denilson" one, go to page 36 and entry #356. Now, my off season/winter prediction is due to this the FO offers JC $3 million a year to be our DP and KCJ goes straight to England Then they run out of players w/Dallas ties to add so they start searching for anyone who has ever "been" in Dallas and played in a World Cup prior to 1994
Looks like you're right about JC becoming the starter. Maybe good, maybe bad. I'm a little sad, because against LAG it seemed like KCJ and Oduro were starting to gel about as well as any FCD two strikers have in recent history. But then again, poor Dom could barely run 5 yards without falling on the TFC turf...
Did anyone else hear the theme music from the Benny Hill Show playing in their heads while reading the FD Blog post about this trade? So, if this guy is so great, why is a team struggling to score goals willing to trade him away for a 3rd round pick? Sorry, but I have to share another mental image. Scene: The TFC war room at the end of a phone call with the FCD FO. Everyone's face is red, hands over mouths so that those on the other line don't hear the smirks. As soon as the Phone call is ended, the group explodes in uncontrollable laughter. High fives all around.
I guess it doesn't hurt to try, he's got more ball control (I hope) than Oduro and anyone's better than Abe. That being said, I still hate him from his days at both Rocky Mountain clubs. What a tool, he better bring the goals.