Did Szetela get some bad advice?

Discussion in 'MLS: News & Analysis' started by drace768, Jul 27, 2004.

  1. drace768

    drace768 New Member

    Jan 29, 2004
    Dallas, TX
    IMO Danny Szetela got some very bad advice to enter MLS now if he really wanted to play for the Metrostars. He would have had much better chances to play with the Metrostars if he had signed now, but joined the league via the normal draft at the beginning of '05. By joining at the beginning of '05 the Metros, along with all the other teams, would be making roster moves, adjusting cap room and have all the deal possibilities of both the expansion draft and the regular draft. This would make a trade for Szetela much easier to manufacture.

    Entering now has made this situation nearly impossible. The Metros are in first and probably don't want to tinker too much at this time of the season, plus all the teams have rosters set that will need to be juggled in regards to cap and roster spots to make any trade work.

    I am guessing Szetela got some bad advice from the league and Adidas, who both wanted the media bump from having him join the league this way. If he had joined in '05 his story would have been playing out with expansion and all the other draftees. Szetela would have been a big story but not as big.

    IMO Szetela should have trained with the Metros and U-20's for the remainder of the year. This would have given the Metros a better chance to look at him and plan long term for their offseason roster moves.
     
  2. The Cadaver

    The Cadaver It's very quiet here.

    Oct 24, 2000
    La Cañada, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You may be right about maximizing his chances of playing with Metros. But, if the kid's family circumstances dictated that he start earning money NOW not 6 months from now, than he did what he had to do. It looks like he is the breadwinner for mother and siblings, and maybe he didn't have the luxury of waiting on the sidelines for 6 months. If so, he decided it was more important to turn pro than to play for Metros. Not much advice needed on that one.
     
  3. dawgpound2

    dawgpound2 Member

    Mar 3, 2001
    Los Angeles, CA
    Your opinions don't pay the Szetela family's bills.
     
  4. dark knight

    dark knight Super Moderator
    Staff Member

    Dec 15, 1999
    Club:
    Leicester City FC
    What I thought was bizarre was his agent said in the NYTimes today that if they had known he was going to Columbus, they would have signed with Everton.
     
  5. drace768

    drace768 New Member

    Jan 29, 2004
    Dallas, TX
    Only he could sign with the league now, which includes the Addidas contact that starts paying him now. Nike started paying Freddy before he was drafted. Another possibility, is every agent now is willing to extend credit to athletes against their future salary. While I totally disagree with this for some teenager to go by some bling bling and a fancy ride, Szetela could have used this to keep things together for his family for 8 months.

    I am not sure of his families financial situation, but if playing with the Metros was really important, there was better way to play this.
     
  6. NEKSoccer

    NEKSoccer Member

    Jul 21, 2000
    Long Island, NY
    I read today where Szetela's agent was quoted as saying "if we'd known [Szetela] was going to land in Columbus, we would have signed with Everton". DUH!!!! That's the chance you take with a weighted lottery! I have serious concerns about how this will affect Danny's development.
     
  7. The Cadaver

    The Cadaver It's very quiet here.

    Oct 24, 2000
    La Cañada, CA
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    First, I can't see the league signing and paying him for 8 months to not play but to train with Metros. Only a Metros fan would see that as likely. And nothing stops Addidas from giving Danny money, but apparently they weren't willing to do so if he was not playing. Their gear does not get much advertizing value out Danny wearing it at a closed-door practice.

    Second, maybe he could get an advance from an agent. But, lets put things in perspective here. Danny is not getting a multi-million dollar LeBron James signing bonus here - the agent would need to really speculate about long term return. And, have you noticed, that the Leigh Steinbergs of the world are not breaking down the doors to represent MLS players? 10% of a small pot is very small beer.
     
  8. Stevedm

    Stevedm Red Card

    Jan 19, 2000
    Chicago

    That makes no sense!! Everton is a hell of alot farther han Columbus. I feel for the kid but that statement by his agent is moronic if proximity was the key issue. If he can move the family to Everton than I am sure he can move them to Columbus if he ends up staying there.
     
  9. monster

    monster Member

    Oct 19, 1999
    Hanover, PA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    It's not about location. It's about control. They tried to play MLS against Europe, lost and are now pissed they lost control of where he plays.

    If he got bad advice, it wasn't from the league or from adidas. It couuld have been from Waxman or one of the four or five other people he reportedly has had as agents since he decided to turn pro.

    Not everything will go as "smoothly" as the Freddy deal. We've hit the big time.
     
  10. CUS

    CUS New Member

    Apr 20, 2000
    Where would the Metros get the draft pick from?
     
  11. Qamle

    Qamle Member

    May 2, 2004
    San Diego
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Whaaa waaa freaking waaaa. Cry me a river Szetela. Welcome to the real world.
     
  12. cosmojado

    cosmojado Member

    Oct 18, 2002
    in sin
  13. Fanaddict

    Fanaddict Member+

    Mar 9, 2000
    streamwood IL USA
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Not so much of a stretch. The agent figured the MLS fixed things in the past so why not again.
    I hear all this about him wanting to be close to his mother,can't his mother move to Columbus. I thought he had guarentees in his MLS contract that he would have access to his home in NJ. Well Hunt could always fly him home in a private plane.
     
  14. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    I don't doubt that the kid got bad advice but it all get's back to the mom. The kid went through SIX agents. SIX!!!

    That sounds like they continually dindn't like what they were told and kept trying to get someone to tell them what they wanted to hear. Then they tried to squeeze more jack out of Everton only to have that move backfire when Everton pulled the offer and came back with a lower one.

    When you continue to revolve through representation, it's hard to get consistent and good advice.

    I don't argue that the advice the kid took at the end - to sign with MLS without a guarantee he'd play in Jersey - was suspect but the kid's family so botched the process by continually firing agents and trying to highball European clubs that they ultimately ended up without much leverage and had to take what they could get.

    Personally, I think the kid needs to shut his cake hole, man-up, get a nice apartment near OSU's campus like the thousands of other teenagers in Columbus who are living away from hime and go to his job. This is the life he chose and there are no guarantees in pro sports.

    Whose to say that if he ended up with the Metros that they wouldn't go on a seven-game slide, Bradley gets canned and the new coach fires his ass or doesn't think highly of him and benches him? Sure, those aren't likely to happen but they could.

    Instead, he's going to a team that apparently really wants him and plans to play him. Kudos to the Crew. They won him fair and square and in fairness to the kid, entered into a dialogue to trade him back home. But, they weren't going to be saps in the deal and were only going to move a valuable assett if they got similar value in return. Gee, what a concept. The Metros could have traded for him but chose not to so, now Danny's off to the Midwest.

    And, he has no one to blame for this but him and his mom. They handled the situation poorly and now it's up to him to show some fortitude and make the most of it.
     
  15. Stevedm

    Stevedm Red Card

    Jan 19, 2000
    Chicago
    Man some people on here dont get it. Crappy comment. The guys dad passed away and his mom is ill. Look thats one thing when your 29 like me but when you 15 and you lose your dad and your mom is sick and you turn 17 and you need to support them thats alot of pressure for Szetella! If my parents died tragically or were ill even today it would rock my world for a considerable period! Szetella was thrust into adult hood. Its pretty obvious from his demeanor that he is a young man with a heavy heart and some tough life issues going on.
    Your a simpleton and a ignoramus. You should be ashamed of yourself for your lack of class. I say alot of stupid crap on here, but family should to most people, be everything. It means alot to Szetella and the fact that you cant see that means you dont appreciate your family either. If you did you wouldnt give the kid that much crap.
     
  16. drace768

    drace768 New Member

    Jan 29, 2004
    Dallas, TX
    Corporate sponsors like Addidas pay money all the time on much larger scales to athletes that are not playing yet or have not even hit it big yet, based on the idea that they will be big. IMO it would be a lot easier to negotiate a $40K signing bonus from Addidas to help his family get by for 8 months, than try to get some complicated midseason trade completed.

    Since it is a line of credit, Szetela would have to pay it back, so this is not that outrageous. Plus Szetela would not need some huge $500K line of credit to deck out his crib. You are probably looking at not exceeding $40-$50K for his family to get by until he starts playing.

    I just think there was better way to handle this, where everyone ended up with what they wanted. Instead, hopefully Szetela learned something from this.
     
  17. Qamle

    Qamle Member

    May 2, 2004
    San Diego
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Whatever... Szetela isn't the only person in the world to have a loss in the family. He's just lucky enough that he's getting enough money to help his family... unlike a bunch of people in the world. Thats who you should feel bad for.
     
  18. drace768

    drace768 New Member

    Jan 29, 2004
    Dallas, TX
    One thing I forgot about..... What happened to Peter Nowak? He had been the family's confidant and advisor up until about a year ago and then he disappeared from the picture. I know he is now coaching DC United, but he still could be helping the family. He was helping them from Chicago, while he was working in the Fire's front office. It just seems like Szetela's handling has lost direction since Nowak dropped out of the picture. Did anybody hear if there was some issue between Nowak and Szetela's mother?
     
  19. pericles

    pericles Member

    Feb 2, 2004
    St. Louis, MO
    Jeez, maybe the best thing for him would be separation from his family for a while. Let's see 17, a pocket full of money, a town full of college girls...
     
  20. cl_hanley

    cl_hanley New Member

    Sep 3, 2001
    Costa Mesa
    I think herein lies the truth. Mom and Danny were presented with the hard facts by former agents that Premiership clubs like Everton needed more than a series of youth games to justify a large offer and Mom (I'd wager money that she was central in the negotiations) gave the thumbs down in all cases. You'd think after the 3rd or 4th agent you would want to reassess the situation.
     
  21. onefineesq

    onefineesq Member+

    Sep 16, 2003
    Laurel, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Aint that the truth. He gave away his true intentions when his current agent stated he'd have gone to Everton if he had known he wasn't gonna end up with the Metrostars. That blows up the whole theory of I want to be with my family. As i said in another thread, the kid played his small town sweetheart MLS against the supermodel he was chasing Europe, in the hopes of getting a better deal in Europe. Then when Europe called his bluff, he expected to come back to his small town sweetheart and get all the things that she had promised him before. In other words, he played the game and he lost. Now he is trying to pull the final ace from his sleeve, the family situation, to get what he lost by negotiating poorly. He spent 2 years in Bradenton away from his family, and now it is apparent that he would have rather gone to Everton than play for the Metrostars. Doesnt sound like someone who is too concerned at being away from home. Before this whole thing played itself out, I was very sympathetic. As each day passes, he is looking more and more like someone who is trying to manipulate us all.
     
  22. Sachin

    Sachin New Member

    Jan 14, 2000
    La Norte
    Club:
    DC United
    It's a real conflict of interest to have a coach -- who decides personnel matters -- advising a potential team member about where to play, etc.

    Sachin
     
  23. drace768

    drace768 New Member

    Jan 29, 2004
    Dallas, TX
    Like Bob Bradley drafting his son... I know there is some potential conflict, but it seemed like Nowak was a friend of the family and could have given some helpful advice without being totally involved. Maybe he was behind the scenes, but it just seems like things got lost after Nowak moved out of the picture.
     
  24. superdave

    superdave Member+

    Jul 14, 1999
    VB, VA
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I've been defending this kid from the harsher Columbus fans...but damn, son. Tell your agent, who clearly f***** up, to shut his damn mouth.

    I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this.

    One other thing...from the league's perspective, and from common sense, there's a big difference between a kid who is 14 (almost 15) and a kid who is 17. I wonder if the Szetela family fully grasped this. I get the sense they'd get the same treatment as Freddy, but they got the same treatment as Arturo Alvarez.
     
  25. DoctorD

    DoctorD Member+

    Sep 29, 2002
    MidAtlantic
    Club:
    Philadelphia Union
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Absolutely. MLS has made it clear that Freddy is a special case and other young talents should not expect the same treatment unless they too are 14. Let's face it. When he's 19 Freddy will be playing in... Europe. When he's 19, Danny will be playing in... somewhere in the US.

    This may also indicate that MLS is seeing the pipeline filling up with young american talents (not to mention the Hispanic ones Chivas LA will unearth). :) So the preferential treatment that kids got before may be fading away. But as one poster put it, most 17-yr-olds would move anywhere for $140K.
     

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