Spurs apparently wanted to sign him, but they too couldn't agree on a price: Link: http://soccer-pages.com/2008/12/tottenham-linked-with-glen-johnson-stephen-appiah/
Seriously, why doesnt a MLS team jump on him?? Hes still wanted internationally, not old, and probably will play deep into his 30s!!!!!!!
Why do you hate? Why? Why? Just found the super secret stash of quality rum at my in-laws' house... you know... this shit that I give them. Payback's a bitch, y'all! ** (payback being from hiding the rum from me)
Not to mention other stadiums (like the MCG) and racecourses (like Flemington, for example), too. Although in your case, Churchill Downs ain't too bad, either... Back on topic, I would have to agree with the poster who said that the time that Appiah has had off will likely have him playing well into his 30's. Any team that signs him will likely get value for money, as he's available on a free transfer -- so why not an MLS club? So seriously, which clubs have the cap room, and what's the pecking order for DP slots? Who has what open?
The Revs have cap space and a DP spot open. Our offense was pathetic for the last couple of months last season. Nah, makes too much sense.
Horse racing. Now we are talking! I perfer Keeneland in Lexington over Churchill any day! Much classier and a more intimate setting! As to what you are saying I have no idea the pecking order for DP slots or who has the appropriate cap room but I'm sure after this has leaked out someone in the league would be willing to make room for Appiah. I may or may not agree because of his wage demands seeing as he hasn't played in ages but I still think he could come here.
Then when you get over here, you'll love Moonee Valley over either Flemington or Caulfield, although all of those places are very good venues for big events. And I work at all of them. As I said before, if Appiah's agents and representation had approcahed FC Dallas and D.C. United before, they must have done some research on other MLS clubs as well. Between that, and any supposed leaks, I still believe very strongly that clubs in our league have just as much of a chance as getting Appiah as anyone else does, at least on paper.
Pass on Appiah, pissing off Cooper, and getting Borghetti...FCD is just hellbent on giving us our cannon back aren't they? Making it too easy...
Yet if even Tottenham thinks his asking price is too much and Fenerbahce was willing to show him the door, why would any MLS club want to sign him? Apparently, according to all of these clubs, he just wasn't worth the price he was asking for. If Appiah can be a bit more realistic with his asking price (like say, a $3m deal for 3 years, equaling a million a year) I think MLS teams would be more willing to bite...
a million a year?? Hes worth more than that, just based on his background and where he has come from, what he has done, etc.
And you have to figure that if he asked that little, some of those Euro clubs who passed would re-enter the picture.
And quite possibly, the fact that he's available on a free may have to do with his overall value on the open market coming down. $1 million per year, for someone with his CV and accomplishments? Sounds like a bargain to me.
All good points fellas, yet it's a catch-22 for Appiah here, really. All that matters is what these clubs think, and they DON'T think he's worth it. Fenerbahce, DC United, FC Dallas, and Tottenham Hotspur have made that clear enough, so regardless of what WE think, the clubs believe it's too much... That was the point I was trying to make. I would have taken the deal myself, but until Easton FC graduates from Trophy Manager's 6th Division to MLS and I get that chance, I really can't say whether the deal would have been worth it or not...
I think with DC as i stated here earlier, was getting Gallardo out of his Contract, River Plate were interested in him, but they later decided last week that they werent interested in getting him back anymore. That IMO killed off Appiah coming to DC.
Guys, if healthy, he's a great midfielder. A lot of you are going completely overboard though. 2 million is a lot for a player coming off a very long injury layoff. It's a lot for a player that is simply not going to draw a lot of fan interest like a Blanco or Beckham. There's a reason he's been linked to West Ham, Portsmouth, Arsenal, AC Milan, etc. There's also a reason he's not playing anywhere. He wants a lot of money, and it's a high risk situation given his recent injury history. If he's willing to talk about structuring a deal that has a lot of performance and games player incentives then it's workable, but 2 million a year? That's a stiff price tag.
$2 million a year is an average-smallish contract for top teams around the world. Now whether he's asking for $2million from Milan, Arsenal etc... who knows.
I remember seeing Stephen Appiah play in Italy. He was a great player. I'm surprised he would to leave Europe at only 27 yeas of age.
Between Cooper and Appiah, we are probably seeing belt-tightening by the league. Unless a DP can pay for himself with jersey sales and increased season tickets (not just walk ups), the league may be turning down these contracts. Don't forget that MLS is still "paying" the first $400,000 of the salary. BigSoccer posters gloat when AFL suspends operations and the NBA has to cover up poor attendance in today's economy. Ultimately, this is no different.
You would think so. That's really the problem, Appiah is available to MLS precisely because of the uncertainty that surrounds his injury. Remove the concern many have expressed, and he'd be playing back in Italy or the EPL right now. It's a pattern I would expect to be repeated in the years to come. MLS is now on agents' radar, but really good players who can get the money in Europe are going to stay there, leaving only those with questions of injury or character available to MLS. Guess right, and MLS will have a great player who is worth some money in the transfer market. Guess wrong and it's a multi-million dollar mistake. On a positive note, it's a sign of the league's maturation that it's even in the game now to struggle with such matters. That's a start.
NYRB a) needs a player with his skill set b) has an open DP slot c) plays in a glamourous city and d) has deep pocketed owners. I'm kind of shocked that NYRB didn't pursue him. It seems like a perfect fit; it might even help persuade JPA to stick around. A 4 man attack of Richards, Van den Bergh, Appiah, and JPA would [Ty]create havoc.[/Ty] EDIT: OK, this was covered in detail a few posts after onionsack's. Anyway, Appiah->NYRB is just an obvious, obvious move. DOUBLE EDIT: I see how my next post looks contradictory. It's not. In this post, I was talking about which team in MLS he fits best.
What the hell???? Weird move, I'll grant you, but some of y'all are losing your minds. Here's the thing. The Gals didn't tell Steven, let's see how Landon and Beckham do. They said thanks but no thanks. DC said the same thing. FCD said the same thing. NYRB apparently didn't make an approach (I guess it's possible they didn't know Appiah had any interest in MLS.) TFC didn't approach him. EVERYbody is stupid? EVERYone? And we're all superdupergeniuses? From time to time other posters have suggested I might be a wee bit arrogant. But at this point, I step back and say, I'll bet there's a pretty good reason why Appiah isn't coming to MLS. It might not be one I agree with, but it's one I'd understand.
On the face of it, it's just so obvious a move. Yet we've heard zero out of NYFO. They have either made a full decision not to use the open DP and instead rework their payroll or do not have the correct person or persons, working in management, to make a tough decision when the opportunity arises.