I guess Gazza's not comming anytime soon. (washington post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A18592-2002Jul29.html Hopefully things will work out in the future (like before the grand-kids come).
Surprising turn of events to say the least! I guess Andy convinced the Crew GM not to trade the discovery player slot.
this really should be a no-brainer. gazza is good enough to play in the league. he's definately good enough to play for us (seeing as how this season is shaping up). i want to know what these "remaining question marks" are.
Garber and the league's image, I'll bet..........remember that MLS front office have been the one's most against this deal.
Maybe someone had second thoughts after he was seen downing shots the other night. I know I did and I'm not the one who would have to sign his paycheck.
Or maybe the Crew braintrust realizes how stupid it is to deliberately upgrade a rival team in your own division, in exchange for someone who wasn't playing for you anyways. Addition by subtraction?
Factors; He's fit He's a legend He seems committed He's added international media attention Most fans want him to come now He still enjoys a drink with his friends Positives clearly outweigh the negatives of this deal. I would be disappointed if we did not sign him at this point.
These comments don't surprise me. Just two weeks ago, the papers were saying a deal was definitely off. Word out of MLS headquarters seemed to suggest communication between the two parties had ended. Then lo and behold, Gazza is actually in DC training with United. Given that this weekend is a wash because of the All-Star game, I still believe we'll see Gazza in a United kit come Aug. 10.
the remaining question marks are his off-field personality/alcoholism. I am for him coming to DCU but only if he can get his drinking under control. According to the other threads which report him drinking (and yes, I realize that I'm going on 2nd-3rd hand information - but that's all we have right now), he's not in control. i am all for him having a second chance in the U.S. but the MLS/DCU can't really afford to take care of Gazza. We aren't the NBA and are still struggling to fit in the American sport arena. We can't handle an Alan Iverson. That said, I hope he gets his problems under control and helps DCU win!
I too have to wonder how much of an impact Gazza doing shots had. He's an alcoholic...and he was drinking (shots or beer, whatever...doesn't matter too much). It's just not the behavior you want to see if you're looking for signs that he's going to walk the straight, narrow, and sober path.
Eeerily reminiscent of the posturing (mostly by Bob Bradley) that went on immediately before Hristo Stoitchkov entered the league. The deal was pretty much signed, sealed, and delivered, but no MLS team (sensing that they could make a meal of the situation) was willing to pony up the farcical "allocation" needed officially to make the deal happen. Suddenly Bobby B. started claiming that he had other fish to fry, that he wasn't going to gut the team for an acquisition, and that the deal just might not go through. If history is any kind of teacher (and if Gazza is in any kind of shape), I'd think that Gazza will play for DC this year.
The snag is how much his signing bonus will be (with the other issues mitigating opinions about how much it should be). He's going to take the minimum salary, but the bonus will be the makeup.
We had 18 shots last game, not including about 4-6 others that were blocked. We took the shots, they were unlucky not to have any go in. I think about 11 or 12 of our shots were on goal, a great ratio. Brown made some sweet saves and we had a Villegas goal called back. We shoot as often as we need to but we could use a few more.
I'm not sure who to believe on this one, but the Chicago Sun Times reported that Gazza's contract is set and the league is just waiting on his work permit and for United to drop a player from thier roster. (Buried at the bottom of the page) http://www.suntimes.com/output/soccer/cst-spt-soccin30.html
I'm against his signing at this point. Not strongly, but against it Is this the kind of guy you'd want on your team?: -Drinking shots with the coach standing next to him -Negotiating over a signing bonus -Not making a road trip w/the team as requested by the coach, instead attending to "personal issues" (whatever that is) by going back to England -Lack of respect behavior in the past like squeezing a guy's nuts, pulling a teammate's shorts down in practice, pissing on a teammate while he's sleeping... Like I said before, nobody cares about him here. Nobody's going to massage his ego. He's not going to have slutty women throwing themselves at him, he's not going to be able to go to the best parties in town, all that stuff that some celebrities crave and feel a need for For some the privacy and ability to be humble is a blessing. Like when Klinsmann said "I went to Disneyworld nobody recognized me!" and loved it If he shows some character, I'll change my mind about him
I am still on the fence, as I was at the start of this. However each of the items on your list are unconfirmed, at this point. So it maybe nothing or it may mean something, his going back to England.
He's over 21 isn't he? If the coach had a problem with it than why didn't he ask him not to do it? He's had a storied career. He's earned a signing bonus. Especially considering all the publicity he's brought DCU and MLS already. This is a bargaining tactic. No different than an NFL holdout. The Nut squeeze incident was actually another player squeezing his nuts...
My understanding Barb is that it does not. Apparently the league have some concern about paying this. The Sun-Times says the deal has been agreed, but Goff today said Gazza plans to "speak with his agent about his prospects with United." What would be to discuss if the deal was agreed? Still wondering about the following from Goff: "...said Hudson, who said the decision had become far more difficult than he anticipated but that he hoped to give Gascoigne the final word by next Monday." wondering what changed (and have a hard time believing it is the player taking drinks next to him.