I don't want to complain that we got Earnie Stewart. I've got love for him for all he's done for the Nats, and I'm sure he still has a few good years left in him, and I'll love to see him in D.C. But can he be an efficient striker, a go-to guy, the kind of sniper we've been lacking? I don't know what happened with this, but why didn't we give Joe-Max Moore, a more out-and-out striker, more of a look? He seems to be a better fit as a true striker. And we already have midfielders across the board. Maybe with Alecko in the mix, we went for the more versatile player? Someone fill me in. Or sell me on why Earnie is a better fit than Joe-Max.
first, he's expensive second, he's looking at other offers in England third, Stewart was a guarantee against JMM... fourth, I love earnie and that makes him good. fifth, its better than agoos!
probably because Joe-Max hasn't done anything in the last year and a half? Plus Joe-Max hasn't signed with the league yet and why pass up Stewart when no one is sure if Joe Max is even signing with MLS? If we waited for joe Max and we missed our chance at Stewart then Joe-Max decided to stay in England we would be pretty upset on missing our chance with Stewart. Personally I'd rather have Stewart, he led the US in scoring through Qualifying when Joe Max was almost invisible...Earnie has been playing first team football in Holland as a starter for NAC Breda...when Joe Max hasn't even been lighting up the Everton Reserves.
earnie will be a great addition to your squad. he is a constant 120% effort guy, he will be a great leader, he will be like having a coach on the field for bobby & tino & alecko, up until this season he was the best <and leading scorer> player for breda in hollands first division... i dont think you will be disappointed with getting him instead of jmm.
JMM would have been a fine addition. But Hudson said it himself after he talked to Moore--that his first choice was to remain in England (where he makes substantially MORE than the MLS max). We had to make a decision. We could take Stewart. Or we could pass and hope that Moore became available. Frankly, I prefer Stewart anyway. But either would have been a most excellent addition to the team.
Earnie can create and score. Joe-Max seems to be able to only score. We need opportunities and finishing, not only some forward running around lime achicken like his head cut off.
What a minute! I don't think JMM's even signed with the League yet (despite the Revsnet article). He was not an option when we had to decide. GM
Just so that this is perfectly clear, neither RevsNet article says that JMM has signed with the league, because he hasn't signed... yet.
Joe-Max? Is he in MLS again and I missed it (possible!)? Seems to me that one of the requirements to getting a player is that he's available.
I think we've filled our quota on chickens with their heads cut off players through the years. Did someone say Mario Gori?
The current rumors are: That JMM will only play for NE if he comes back, which is looking more and more likely. That NE will be able to get him without needing an allocation! Amazing but true! How could this be, you ask? Here's how: Normally a team taking JMM would need an allocation. However if a player like JMM signs with the league and no team with an allocation wants to use it on him then the player is put in a draft, with the worst team (United) picks first, going down to the best team (LA). So isn't there a team out there with an allocation who wants him? Right now there are only two teams left with allocations: The Rapids are rumored to be after some African striker. No one knows who this striker is, but basically this takes them out of the JMM sweepstakes. The metros have the only other allocation. So the question now is, will the metros use their allocation on JMM or trade it to NE? If neither happens then we have the draft. This could get interesting as I think there are no teams in the league who can just take JMM outright without going over the cap. But since we have the JMM rumor of NE or no deal then I'd imagine that any other team taking JMM would do so to force a trade. Let's see how cutthroat MLS really is. can it compare with the NFL where several teams stopped Oakland from picking up Deion Sanders? Or will NE be able to pick JMM up without any interference? We'll see.
Skip, I love your posts and think you contribute as much or more than any poster on Big Soccer, but you are willfully blind to seven years of history if you still believe that any team has the power to stop a deal that the league office wants to happen.
No problem, GM. I didn't take it that way. I just didn't want people to get the wrong impression about what I had reported. FWIW, Joe-Max has officially signed with the league, and he'll be allocated to New England later this week.
Re: Re: Joe-Max? Congrats, Mike! it will be fun to see JMM again in a Revs uniform. Will the Revs get him without having to trade for the metros allocation?
Nah, I didn't mean to imply that any team could stop the deal. More like will any other team get anything out of the deal. It's just amazing how the league works sometimes.
Well there appears to be a lot going on with NE this week and as of yet not all is clear. JMM looks like a lock to be in, while Serna and Chuck Llamosa appear out. There are strong rumors that Serna at least seems to be going to Columbia though that's still a rumor. Llamosa is even more of a rumor as mouths say he's asking for 200+K from MLS (NE declines) and that he may well be out of the league all together, possibly to Columbia also, but I can't imagine that. NE appears like it will use an allocation that it may be getting for Serna to use on JMM, ands they may get an allocation for Llamosa- or not! All too cloudy at the moment with MLS HQ saying nothing so far.