I hope DC reconsiders trading Eddie, especially as part of the deal that was mentioned today in the Post. When healthy, he is the best defender in the league. And I think that at his best he is world class -- in a group with Rio Ferdinand, Lucio, Sol Campbell, Nesta, Stam and Maldini. Pope is fast, skillful and composed. He rarely makes crucial mistakes. Also, he has been with the team from the beginning, and it's hard for a DC fan not to have grown attached to him. He has played well for the team and been a good spokesman and good citizen. He has a home in the area, right? And he seems committed to MLS and DC. He stayed with the team when he had opportunities to go to Europe. It's also good to a have high-profile African American on the team. We need to attract more African Americans to our sport, and there are many African Americans in the DC area. Obviously, Pope has been injured some. And he has the kind of body (long and lanky) that probably makes a soccer player more susceptible to injury. But he's got all winter to rest, and Eddie Pope over, say, 21 regular-season games (plus, hopefully, playoffs) is still an excellent asset. As with any trade, this issue is what you get in return. Petke, an allocation and picks isn't enough. Allocations and high draft choices seem to fail to meet expectations relatively often. For instance, Mark Lisi is a good, young MLS midfielder. But he's not a stand-out. In contrast, Pope is certain to be a good player in the league for at least a few more years. Moreover, Petke -- as many good qualities as he brings -- is not at Pope's level, especially when you factor in composure and dependability. I mean maybe if the deal were for Chris Gbandi and Eddie Johnson. I wish the salary cap were higher, say, $ 500,000 dollars higher per team higher. But it's not. So we should keep quality and dependability and be loyal.
Agreed. Moving Eddie is a big mistake. I don't know why management wants to fiddle with our solid back line, with all these talks of Jolley or Petke coming here (God forbid). They should be concentrating on our problems at AM, DM, and giving tino a quality strike partner.
I agree with a bunch of what you say but here is my argument against keeping Eddie Pope 17,19,21,19,20 That is the number of games he has played in for us the last 5 years. With the salary structure of this league, you cannot keep a defender who plays in about 60% of your games and earns a league max salary.
Agreed. Plus, I think you can get a defender that can do a somewhat comparable job for a fraction of the money. With the economics of MLS, the money should be spent up front, or in midfield.
I like Eddie as well as anyone who has ever worn a DC kit. That said, under the current salary cap structure, I don't see how you can justify paying a central defender the maximum salary when you can fill that position almost as well with a lowered salaried player. The salary cap really limits the amount of talent you can keep together, and its much harder to find quality people who can score goals or set up goals than it is to find central defenders.
Well think about it this way, we're getting rid of a defender and getting Petke. ************ man it makes my head hurt.
If DC wants to use the salary cap as an excuse, I don't buy it. The caused their own problems by re-signing Etch this off season. They should have put themselves in a position to keep Eddie.
Right now, DCU needs to find a finisher (to go up front with Quaranta/Eskandarian as withdrawn forwards) and a D-mid/holding mid (to allow Convey and Etcheverry to do what they do best). If we dump Etcheverry, we'd still need a D-mid and a finisher, but we'd also need an A-mid. I know, I know, there are folks who are convinced that Convey can step in and be our A-mid right now. Except in his performances this past year solely in the role, he didn't impress. It was when he and marco shared that role that he rely shined. I think a year of playing in the middle of the park with Marco will set him up to assume complete control in 2004. But not now. And I know some folks insist that Ryan Nelsen is our D-mid. I'm not convinced. The NZ national team moved him to central defense--and that is where he plays. He showed his best ball in central defense last year. He was, I think, our best defender last year (and I don't mean that as a slight to Pope). I like Pope very much. But, he doesnt' give us enough games (see stats earlier in the post). He is paid too much (I don't begrudge him the money--just that you can get defenders who can play as well as he does in MLS--see Ryan Nelsen as only one example) for half or even 2/3rds as less.
oh my god our team is going down the pits.. we better have a huge plan on the horizon.. such as a few sudoamericans/europeans on the verge of signing
Last I checked, our team was already at the bottom of the pits... If our defense is weaker next year and allows more goals, then we better be scoring a hell of a lot more to make up for it. The way I see it, we can afford to give up a few goals as long as we score ten times as many... besides, I have complete faith that Nick will do everything for us that he did last year. Defense does not win games. Goals do.
Over the last couple seasons, Pope has played a number of high-pressure games, including the World Cup. That kind of intense schedule won’t continue over the next couple of seasons. And with Pope’s recent surgeries maybe his injuries will be behind him for awhile. He does seem to take good care of himself. Moreover, although there is a chance that Pope would play, say, only 20 regular-season games next season, DC still should not make the trade that was mentioned today in the Post. 20 regular-season games is two-thirds of the regular-season, and Pope always has been healthy for the playoffs. Will there be a conflict with the Confederation’s Cup? Would Bruce Arena consider not calling up Pope for the Confederation's Cup in order to let him stay with DC? What about US Cup? Also, what would DC get in return? Arguably unloading Moreno's salary is a good thing. And unloading Richie's salary probably is a good idea. (Boy, the salary cap should be raised.) In the scenario Stephen Goff mentions in the Post, DC would get an allocation, a draft pick and either Petke or Jolley. Perhaps the player that Hudson has in mind for the allocation is very likely to be a difference-maker in MLS. But Pope already is that. And a number of MLS's allocations haven't worked out. Also, I believe Petke makes $150,000 per year, more than average in MLS. My question: Is there any way of freeing up cap space without trading Pope? He's such a stand-up guy and has been such an important part of United's tradition. When sports teams make personnel decisions, "winning now" should be a less important a criterion than it often seems to be. Loyalty to fans and players, strong community-presence and attractive play should matter a lot. Relative to those criteria, Pope definitely should stay. He's been a center-piece of DC United; he displays good character and leadership; and he is a graceful defender who scores important goals. But even if "winning now" is the key, DC still should do everything with reason not to lose Pope. His "A" game is better than that of any other central defender in MLS. And his contribution over the course of the entire season is likely to be more than that of any other central defender -- with perhaps the exception of CJ Brown and Carlos Bocanegra. And if Pope is healthy, he is the best. And maybe he will be healthy. Finally, if DC were to make said trade, then their defense most likely would be less solid than it would be if they chose not to make said trade. Pope is at least as athletic as Petke and Jolley, better on the ball, more discipline and steadier.
I hate the salary cap. I really, really do. Instead of talking about building a team, every off season we talk about dismantling the roster. So we're headed for yet another year of significant overhaul. Old players out, new players in. No chemistry. No continuity. The salary cap is the single most significant deterent to building an identity with teams because when players get good, and get rewarded, they become too expensive and are traded. Pope is a great player and a great asset in the community. He has worked hard for the community and his departure will be a set back. Trading Moreno and Pope, if they play up to their ability and are not injured, will make the Metrostars a much stronger team. This could really haunt DC United. And we get an allocation (i.e., pig in the poke), a draft choice (i.e., an unproven young player, and they infrequently step into any starting role), and Petke (a guy most DC fans loathe). Maybe it will work out. But it could go down as one of the worst moves DC has ever made. Did I say I hate the salary cap?
Ed, I hear what you are saying but why would Arena not pick Pope to go to the Confed Cup?? You think he wants to play Brazil and France with Danny Califf in the back?? And what playoffs has Pope been healthy for. I have not been able to make a United playoff game for the past 3 years because of my busy schedule. And my numbers were for 5 years back. Eddie missed games all through the period and he will continue to do the same.
Petke makes about $100K. Nelsen makes about $50K or something like that. Follow this reasoning: 1. Hudson wants to move to a 3-5-2 formation, which means 3 in the back. 2. Prideaux and Reyes are set at the left and right back positions, respectively. 3. The central defender in a 3 man back line has to organize the defense, which is not something Pope does well. Nelsen, on the other hand, is growing into that role nicely. 4. Nelsen, in terms of talent and production, is about 80% of Pope. At 20% of the salary. 5. Trading Pope means clearning $270K off the books, which then becomes $170 after paying for Petke. Let's say we sign another journeyman defender for about $50K. That means we'd get two players and $120K in cap space for the price of one Eddie Pope. The more I think about this deal, the more I like it. I believe we are the only team in the league to have two players from the 1996 roster still playing key roles. Possibly Columbus. Sachin
[/quote/] posted by Meridian Well think about it this way, we're getting rid of a defender and getting Petke.[/quote/] I prefer to think that we are getting an allocation for Eddie, a draft pick for Jamie, and Petke for Richie