KC's paper just had an interview with Josh Wolff--still recuperating from his torn ACL. He admits that this tear is worse than the last one he suffered, that he has no time table for his return, he is still in Georgia (as opposed to being able to workout with the Wiz players) and his rehab at this point (besides weights and stretching) is that he is trying to increase the lengths of his walks. I know earlier there was some speculation that maybe we should have tried to trade for Wolff from Chicago. At this point, I not only feel EXTREMELY glad that this was one road not taken, but you've got to be thinking that if Chicago got a conditional pick for Nowak, a 2004 2nd or 3rd round pick for Stoichkov, that they must be shaking their heads at Curt Johnson and Bob Gansler in KC that the'd give up the #3 pick for Wolff (oh, did I mention he's MLS maximum salary?).
Man, that sucks for Wolff. Hopefully he gets better soon. I am certainly glad we didn't trade for him though. Did KC just not check out the extent of the injury/rehab when they traded for him?
Seems like KC is going to have a rough year..no real new additions to their team other than Wolff, and sounds like he will miss most of the season. They finished in 8th last year..and Preki keeps getting older and older. You would have thought they would have had made sure to see the time scale for Josh's return..maybe he had a major setback after the trade?
That sucks for KC and Wolff and I'm glad we didn't pursue this option. However, when he does come back in the summer or whatever, their team will be much better with him playing than whoever they would've gotten at #3 I believe.
Because of the way MLS is set up re: playoffs, late breaking teams usually do pretty well in the playoffs. Maybe they'll do some damage there. If they knock out NJ or LA, then good for them.
Except that if they hadn't traded for Wolff, they would have been a major contender for Joe Max Moore (remember, they were one of the first teams to express interest in him and they had an MLS max salary spot open with their cap). Imagine if they had added: Joe Max Moore and a top P-40 player (Stokes or Magee). That would fit under the cap, give them immediate results and they'd be even deeper. And, FWIW, I think JMM would help them more than Josh Wolff (healthy) would. He'd score more goals and would buzz all around the field in a form of Olsen-lite. Nah--I think KC was the big loser this draft.
Could the fact that Wolff is signed through like 2008 make him more valuable to the conservative Gansler? Also, Joe Max will not stretch defenses likes a healthy Josh Wolff will.
Agreed--when Josh Wolff can run. Both of these strikers have their strengths and weaknesses. JMM ain't going to be playing in MLS 5 years from now. But he's more likely to produce goals than Wolff even if both are healthy. Plus, the other factor is this: Chicago was desperate to move maximum salary players, took a pittance for their team capt (and a more valuable player--Nowak), will likely get little for Stoichkov. And Wolff was offered to every team in the league. The only teams with cap room were the SoS (before the Moreno/Pope deal) and KC. Regardless of what you think of Wolff, KC could have gotten a much better bargain I think.