http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...-barrett-auditions-norwegian-champs-valerenga Interesting business decision from MLS/LAG to let a player go in-season to train/trial with a possible buyer overseas (and miss two league games in the process -- not that Barrett has been getting many minutes on the field for LAG recently). Don't know if MLS has ever had a similar in-season case (other than the issue of Beckham extending his loan for a half-season "time-share" at AC Milan for the first half of 2009).
potentially a big move for the Galaxy. Barrett makes over $200k....that's a lot for a third forward. Get him off the books, and you potentially have the space to bring in a centerback (even with Gonzalez returning). I'll throw this out there: if Barrett is sold (even for a nominal fee), someone like Stephens or DeLaGarza to New England for the #1 allocation order. Bruce brings in another WC vet (Bocanegra).
Can we hang a big sign off his neck that says "not a typical MLS player", so he doesn't muddy the waters for future overseas moves?
Motivated shopper (or buyer perhaps) -- Good luck to Barrett if he can complete the transfer, and it will be interesting to see what LA might be able to do with that roster and cap space for the second half of the season.
If I'm LA, I'm pushing him out the door. Hell, I'd pay Valerenga to get him off the books and sign a more productive replacement for considerably less.
and that would be a silly move if Valerenga would be willing to pay a fee for the contracted player. And who exactly would be this "more productive replacement" that LAG would/could sign "for considerably less."
I bet they would be just as happy to get Maurice Edu to play behind Beckham. They have backline problems, but teams are just waltzing through the center of midfield. If Cameron doesn't get transferred to Stokes City, maybe LA can trade Houston for Rico Clark's rights.
"We are always looking for players at any position, but we have a striker on loan that is going back July 1," said Vangstein, referring to Marcus Pedersen of Dutch side Vitesse. "We will be one striker short, plus we have just changed our formation from having one striker to two." that's clever... you're going to be short up front and don't know how to fill the hole, and that's when you change to two strikers?
No sh*t. I'm saying that if Valerenga wants to make a bid, great. If they want him on a free, fine. If they'll only take him if LA pays them $50k...do it and rid yourself of his contract. ...pretty much any other striker in the league that's making under $200k, obviously.
Chad Barrett definitely sucks, but I kind of feel bad for him. Does any average MLS player take as much crap from bigsoccer as Chad Barrett does? He's like the involuntary poster child for the archetypal mediocre MLS player and takes more heat than any other mediocre player does because of it. He might live a better life outside of the spotlight playing in Norway.
It's because he does everything right except get the ball in the net. Up to the point of actually scoring, he's an above-average MLS player.
Barrett has scored 7 goals in ~1500 minutes each of the last two years. A .40 goals/90 isn't bad. In 2010, playing with a pretty bad Toronto team, he scored at a better clip than Fabian Espindola or Fredy Montero. Last year, he scored at the same rate than Juan Agudelo did. His salary is the bigger problem. Tough to pay $200k+ for an above average but not great player.
I'm looking forward to tomorrow's announcement that SJ has traded Wondolowski and Bernardez to the Galaxy for a 2014 Supplemental draft pick and a used David Beckham jersey......
This. There's a certain type of player who's almost biologically engineered to take extra shit from fans (and MLS isn't the only place you see this). Barrett sucks. . . at finishing. His strength, speed, quickness, work-rate, first touch, and the quality of his off-ball runs are all above-average for an MLS player. The thing that fans remember really well is all the makeable shots he's whiffed--partially because he's created a lot of makeable shots over the years. He's sort of the anti-Chris Rolfe, Rolfe being a player who (though his touch is pretty good), over the long haul, really doesn't generate enough opportunities to be called a star, but whoa nellie when he scores, it's a beaut, and all is forgiven.