The gist of this story tells me that the team does have very limited room under the cap, not no room.
Two things: 1) It's an opinion piece (or the worst piece of objective writing I've ever seen) 2) Wright writes about "United's season-long mismanagement of its injury-riddled and depleted roster" and then provides a perfectly valid reason why they're in that kind of shape (salary cap, injuries). Nice columnizing, genius. So what is this column, is it an attack on Nowak for not using his subs well? Or is it a dig at management for not getting him any help? It's a little early in the season for this type of crap. But then again, Wright's been a crappy columnizer for a while, so I guess it shouldn't be that surprising.
Right you are. Let me rephrase: Is this Mostly Opinion or Partly News with a some side-handed opinion thrown in? Tim
assuming his portrayal in the article is correct. This is a painfully true and valid point. I seriously doubt any of them, minus Martins, could make a difference for us this year or are better options at forward than what we have. In the midfield they would clearly be surplus. Too bad they have no trade value.
That's kind of what I was attempting to figure out before reading...gotta know whether to insert the ear plugs before heading in there. Tim
So Wright, who usually a "reporter" (in the broadest sense of the word), is now a "columnist"? I know Goff puts some opinion in his pieces on occaision, but where did the Times find Ken Wright? I know people working at college papers who could do a much better job than this guy.
I know Martins doesn't make much, but wouldn't he be a good candidate to use in an argument for salary cap relief? That's the question I would have like to have heard Nowak answer.
Look, I disagree with the conclusions of the article but it does bring up the fact that DC United hasn't maximized its roster this year. Much of this is a result of the injuries but it does seem that management has made a few poor decisions - keeping Cerritos and dumping Reyes. (While Reyes may not be a world beater or the player he was before the injury - he is better than Mr. Stokes.) I do question what management has been thinking this season. As many of you here have expressed that "this is not Nowak's team, let's give him another season", I don't expect you to agree with me. But consider that several teams have been able to go from Worst to First in ONE season with a new coach. Why can't DC United do this?
I thought that Q2 was considered a possible sub in the last few games? If this is true, there's no way he doesn't get moved to the IR.
Yes, I long for the days gone by when all news was Objective Truth unsullied by opinion. Seriously, all this carping about "opinion vs. truth" strikes me as instance of shooting the messenger of bad news.
My recollection of MLS "rules" (as loosely as that term can be applied), is that if we stick someone on season-ending IR, we are eligible for roster relief but not cap relief. So, tell my why we can't cut Cerritos and his $180k and find a target forward and a defender for $90k each?
I just read through the MLS regulations, as they appear on the website, and you are correct about IR. There is an "inactive" roster spot that gives you cap relief, but no roster or salary relief. However, you have to guarantee that the player will not play again in the year. About waiving a player: you can waive a player at any time according to the regs on mlsnet. I still carry this wild idea in my head that a lot of players carry guaranteed contracts that allow them to be waived but still paid their full salary by the league and that this impacts a team's ability to waive a high-salary player with impunity. If for no other reason, it pisses off the MLS brass, as the overall league eats the remained of the contract. I would guess that Cerritos' $160K is guaranteed. Cheers, Tim
Ding. Ding. Ding. Actually, that's a cheap shot. The thing that sucks about this is that Wright hasn't been heard from in what, 2 or 3 weeks, and then he weighs in with this? When Goff does stuff that's not straight news, the Post at least labels it as an analysis piece and it's always a fact-laden look at things. Who knows what the hell this was supposed to be? How does he go back and objectively do game stories and other pieces now that you know he thinks the team is being horribly mismanaged? What a f*** up.
Again, my fuzzy recollection of MLS "rules" in the past was that there was a date... like July 1, where all contracts became guaranteed for the season. However, it is true that Cerritos may have a guaranteed contract for the year, we don't know. It begs the question though, if we did cut Cerritos and his contract was guaranteed, would his salary still count against the cap? If we had cut him before the season (like Reyes), the answer is no even though his contract was guaranteed (or maybe only guaranteed if he makes a roster, who knows?). There's got to be some artificial date set where we can get rid of a player and still claim his cap space.
And it seems from reading between the lines (http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/about/league.jsp?section=regulations&content=overview)that they have to be a screw up to be on this list. However, they haven't updated that page with the new sub rules (see first item on the page) so who knows about anything. You know, the Times says you can't waive injured players, so I don't know if the rule changed or if the league is just covering their ass so the new union doesn't have a really good reason to grieve. I would too. This kind of contract isn't just MLS as any Orioles fan who knows the Albert Belle and Scott Erickson fiascos knows. It's just different ebcause of who negotiates the deal, etc.
There's a hint on the USSoocerUK site (I don't have any cite or evidence) that DC my actually be trying to get another body in. I hope they're working on a defender. One that can score occationally off of corners.
It's June 25th this season. I'm far more inclined to believe Goff than Wright on the cap issue and conclude we've got zero cash left. I'm also willing to be reminded that it isn't a cap but a "budget," and occasionally - for one reason or another - things do go over budget.
I don't disagree that the story is poorly written and editorializes too much but the basic gist of the story is pretty accurate. To wit: *Rosters are already small, WC qualifying is gonna hurt, injuries make it worse and yet United is the only team in the league to not use all 18 of their roster spots. Can't argue there. *United's forwards aren't productive and are taking up a lot of cap room. That ain't exactly news, as we've been saying it here most of the season (and last) but it's still true. *The bench is so thin that the team had to dress three GKs in Colorado and didn't have an option besides Stokes last week. We've complained about those things, here, too. Personally, what I found most bothersome about the story was Payne's line about how they're "saving" the roster spot. Saving it? For what? Is Payne now such a nice guy that he can't cut someone? There are players out there who can help. A guy like Leo Cullen, who is out of a job but has six years of MLS experience and played for the national team, could be brought in, at the very least, as a stop-gap. (I'm not saying Cullen is the guy the team should go after or that he would put them over the top, just that there are players like that available.) If someone better does come a long, great, sign him and cut whomever you brought in as a stop-gap. But playing shorthanded just makes no sense, especially when you're this depleted by injuries and call-ups. The good news from this story is the implication that the team could afford to sign one, in the cap sense, if the right person comes along. That tells me there is some cap room out there, albeit not a lot.