for awhile now, it was rumored that salyer was going to leave bremen and try his luck stateside. i fully expected to see him in the draft but nothing. not even a mention of him. does anyone have the status on him?
a little speculation here, but i read somewhere that mls was lowballing him like they do to guys who go overseas first and then come running back home, and he was having a hard time swallowing it, so he hasn't signed with the league.
HOW? Since Phil missed the draft, how would he enter the league? Would be he an allocation, a discovery player or something else? Allocations are normally reserved for proven dominating players and I don't think Phil fits that MO. Does anyone know?
It would depend. If the league allows that Phil is a player that can be "discovered" then a team could use a discovery pick on him. Like many of the MLS policies, the criteria for who can be a disocovery player is, at best, murky and inconsistent. If he can't be discovered, then there would be a lottery for him, a la DJ Countess and Nelson Akwari and a few other players. Teams that were interested could chose to enter the lottery. Who in MLS needs depth at wing back? (Salyer can play either side.)
actually, i think both of those players were discoveries discoveries can be used on anyone... for pricier players, discoveries are for when the team does the work to get the player to sign with the league (ala grimandi in colorado)... but for players like salyer, it would most likely be a lottery of teams interested in him... they would have to have the cap room and a discovery slot, but since you can use $100k a year on discoveries, it shouldn't be a big deal (well, for teams no named dc ) discoveries can have any salary (meaning there is no $100k/year max), there can be transfer fees associated with the signing (why there is $100k/year allotted to to teams for discoveries), but if a player is signed on a free... the money can be used to offset the salary in addition, teams can use 3 years of discoveries at once... which is what dc did last year to obtain reyes (this means this year's money plus the next two years) teams are allowed to sign 2 senior roster or p-40 discovery players every year, but as many as they want to developmental contracts (bearing in mind the roster size) -jim
I think the Revs could use someone on the left. DC will need a player next year on the left if Etch leaves, and Convey moves to the middle.
Let's hope Salyer gets on somewhere--he's a guy who could end up being the left back in 2006 if he gets a club and develops.
The following was in Soccer America's MLS Confidential today: Defenders Philip Salyer and Ian Joy, both former members of the U.S. under-20 national team, have been discussing MLS contracts. Those talks are continuing and if they do sign, they'll be placed in a special lottery draft. Salyer, 21, left the University of Maryland early to join German club Werder Bremen last year and will reportedly be given a free transfer Feb. 1. He played 50 games for the U.S. under-20s in 2000 and 2001 and had two very brief appearances as a sub at the World Youth Championships in Argentina.
Fellow NWT alumnus Let's hope Salyer gets on somewhere--he's a guy who could end up being the left back in 2006 if he gets a club and develops. Sayler grew up 5 minutes shy of Dragon's stadium, so the Burn seem to be a natural fit. I remember him getting u-20 call ups regularly 3 or 4 yrs ago, what happened? Having never seen him play once, is he the real deal or someone's pet ODP placement? And if we was genuinely interested in playing here, wouldn't he have declared himself draft eligible? Next to Yi, I cant recall any other frm jr nat that has fallen further from the spotlight.
Re: Fellow NWT alumnus I think he is more of a pet ODP guy, but obviously Werder Bremen didn't -- at least a few years ago.
Re: Fellow NWT alumnus He was the starter for the U20s in qualifying. He got a stomach flu for the U20 WCs. Let's compare his ability to someone like Frankie Hejduk: Speed- Hejduk's faster Skill-- Salyer has skill Hejduk can only dream about Salyer's trying to negotiate with the league so he doesn't have to take that minimum salary contract that Twellman got fecked with. Last but not least, the spotlight is overrated IMHO when it comes to youth players.
Re: Fellow NWT alumnus I wouldn't say Yi has fallen from the the jr. nat spotlight. He has been a regular call-up for Glenn Myernick, being brouht in for all but the just-concluded trip to Portugal and that was only because his club in Belgium wanted him with them. As for said club, Yi has gotten a couple of starts for Royal Antwerp and plays regularly for their reserve team. He's paying his dues and waiting his chance. Between the 23s and the club situation, I'd say Yi is right about where a 20-year old should be.
Kicker today had an article about Werder's reserves resuming the training this week. It was mentioned that Salyer did not return and is not expected to return as he wants to join an US pro team (there was no trouble about it, Werder will be willing to terminate the contract as it seems).
Good or Bad? Is this good or bad news for Phil? Is he so underappreciated that they don't care if he leaves? He obviously knows now what a big mistake German soccer was and is back like so many with his head down asking MLS for a chance. I wish these guys would get better guidance before leaving school on a pipedream. His size alone would tell even a layman that he would never succeed in the German League as a defender. Poor Phil is about 5 inches short and 25 pounds light for serious consideration and you say he's also not German, that's strike three. Welcome home Phil, you're back here in good company with Taylor and Landon.
Re: Good or Bad? i don't know -- i think he's bigger than SC. and in the case of LD and TT, it definately doesn't hurt to try. WC starter at 20 and MLS' highest scorer. their experience in Germany has definitely contributed to their game in MLS, wouldn't you agree.
Re: Good or Bad? I don't know if he's treated fair in D3, but as he is not even starting in the reserves, he cannot be a topic for the pro team. Last thing I read was that the amateur coach was not satisfied with him at his last start some months ago. In general Bremen is a very good step for young players as hardly any team moves that many reserve players to their pro team, and also others made good careers somewhere else - but I think that all of them at least played in the reserves and were not just on the bench. His size is absolutely unimportant for his position - as banbaseball said, Cherundolo is even 2 inches smaller - although admittedly Werder's average size is very high (just one is smaller than Salyer)
I really dont know if its good for Yanks to go abroad at a young age. The success rate seems pretty low, and the homesickness has to be pretty intense crossing the atlantic like that and into an ultra competitve environment. As for why he wasnt playing in Germany, its hard to say. His confidence could have been shot, he might have been a different kind of player than what the Bremen's coach is looking for, he might simply not have been good enough or any of a host of things. Its hard to figure out why some players thrive in one situation or alternately are stifled without actually seeing them in that environment and how others react to them. You cant read too much into it though since sometimes a change of scenery can have a miraculous effect. Hopefully for him a return to the US rights things for him and he can get things back on track.
I think so many players go because the money is so good in comparision with MLS. It's not like German teams don't make mistakes regarding youth prospects. Germany isn't exactly known for producing 'youthful' players as of late. Salyer was 20 when he left IIRC, and I don't think it's too young. Look at what Dortmund did with Casey---they realized his level was way too high for fourth or third division, so they loaned him out to a 2nd division team. That's probably one of the reasons Dortmund is consistently top of the table. Whoever decides those types of things over there is on the ball.