Possibility List........

It would e funny to see the fan's reaction to Curcic.

 

First of all , let me say that I’m impressed with a) your dedication to the cause & b) how bored you are at work. Let’s pare the list down, using the following criteria:

1)Do we need help at this position ( MF or defenders are at the top of my wish but if Andy Williams gets his greemn card & we dump Diallo, strikers could be added to my wish list)

2)Is the player a “draw” (yeah, yeah, I know, but YOU know that MLS worries about this stuff

3)Does the player have anything left in his tank. Can he help the team?

4)Is he injury prone

5)Is he a jerk a la Lothar?

6)Will he come cheaply?

Now let's look:

1)H. Carbonari Def.....avail. cheap from Derby Cnty.

2)A. Numan Def...I'm sure we are all well aware of him

3)M. Torricelli Def..Fiorentina let him go on a free

4)M. Rossi Mid... in the same situation as Torricelli

5)F. Ravenelli F.. Derby looking to offload him to any1

6)D. Ginola M..DC Utd looking at him, so why can't we

7)S. Barrett F..very young free skilled striker from Eire

8) D. Burton F... Jamaican wants out of Derby Cnty.

9)E. Ekoku F....Nigerian sniper with no club

10)G. Festa D. Ital. veteran lookin to leave Middlesboro

11)G. Grimandi M/D... Frenchman already talking to MLS

12) G. Weah F... just because

13) R. Baggio F... same as above, he is available though

14)F. Asprilla F. under contract till5/03 in Colombia

15)T. Sherwood M...English veteran wants out of Spurs

16)E. Stewart m/f....US vet. wants to come to States


If I were king of the Forrest & Andy Williams had his green card, I would use my two open SIs on Numan to play in the back of a 4-4-2 with Petke, Jolley & Akwari, as well as on Baggio just so we can finally end the Baggio to Metro Rumors. That failing (and it always does), I'd bring Ginola here so that our MF might have some creativity. Failing THAT, I'd bring over Sherwood, thus making him the first Metro MF EVER whjo could cross the ball.

Finally, the "you s-ck" allocation would be used on eiter Earnie Stewart or Gregg Berhalter (whose not actually on your list).


How about around of applause for rednapp for his efforts, boys & girls?

 

It be great if he could still play, he was great here in '99, not appreciated at all for the incredible skill he displayed. It's his mind and where it's at that's the problem. Is he even playing anymore?

 

That's the best line of this thread. Put Berhalter in the middle of the defense and play Petke/Jolley to his side and the back line looks a lot better. Then they could go back to a 3-5-2 with Davis on left wing and a new player on the right side...

 

Can Roy Myers, Costa Rican National player be far behind??

 

I was hoping Williams would get his green card during the season just so Meyers could make his yearly return. His arrival every year is a sure sign that summer has begun.

 

Berhalter will not be coming to MLS anytime soon. He is playing well and starting at Energie Cottbus in the Bundesliga and being paid way more than MLS could ever offer. Why would he leave to join MLS?

Also MLS has done away with all allocations.

 

So, instead of allocations, how do teams go about getting SIs now?

 

No. It hasn't. You're wrong. Los Angeles got an allocation for Greg Vanney. Allocations evidently still exist. The only question is whether the "you suck" allocation will return-- it was eliminated before the 2002 season, but the "you suck" teams got an assist from the dispersal draft, which presumably won't return for 2003.

Cottbus is the top relegation candidate in the Bundesliga now, and Berhalter's salary this year is being paid by a corporate sponsor-- it's outside the team's salary budget. If Cottbus drops, they'll surely be looking for a way to pare salaries, and Berhalter and Rink are the prime candidates to go.

Berhalter, by the way, is evidently making around $400k, not all that much over league maximum, and certainly not "way more than MLS could ever offer."

 

Roberto Baggio

I don't think Baggio will come. After the World Cup, he signed a 2 year contract with Berscia.

He still playing well, but depending on a 38 year old striker to lead this team, isn't really a good idea.

 

I like your list, but here's the problem with most of them....they're EUROPEAN. That's a big no-no with Nick & Co.

 

I would call $150K a lot of the leage max. It's 50% more than the current league max. Talking strictly salary, $400K is way more than MLS can offer since $256K is the highest salary they can offer. MLS might be able to sweeten it with some sponsorship money, but Berhalter isn't a marquee player or the poster boy of US soccer, he's a 28 year old defender with some good international experience. If Cottbus drops what makes you think another German team won't pick him up, or another English team. Also if Cottbus are still intheir relegation battle come the start of the MLS season, do you think they're going to let Berhalter go? I doubt it.

 

If you have an SI spot available you submit the name to MLS HQ which starts the whole process of negotiating to get the player. Between the salary and transfer fee MLS is willing to pay (not much) either a deal is made or it isn't.

 

If Diallo does leave for $800K, all the money goes to MLS right? Or will the Metros recieve something?

 

I've been paying more or less continuous attention to MLS for eight years now. What you said is the first I've heard of the "grandfather allocation" and frankly I think you're wrong.

Either back what you said up, or wait with me to see what happens in the off season.

 

Then who did the Galaxy sign with this allocation?

 

Okay, you've revealed yourself as a bullshi tartist. You have no idea what you're talking about.

LA's Vanney allocation is still outstanding. Ridge Mahoney reported in Soccer America's MLS Confidential newsletter that LA considered trying to use the allocation on Korean defender Hong Myung Bo just six weeks ago, but Hong's Japanese club held out for an unrealistic price.

Your inevitable silence will be used against you to assume you are a moron.

 

I asked a legitimate question because I couldn't find anything that stated whether or not the Galaxy had used it to sign a player. I think you know very little about what you're talking about. Find me anywhere on MLS's site, or in any press release from the league that allocations still exist. The "proof" that LA has one for Vanney means nothing becuse they got rid of them after his transfer and to be fair to the Gals they were allowed to have one for this transfer. Did any team receive one prior to the start of the season other than the Galaxy? As usual you lower yourself to personal attacks on any one who contradicts you. I guess you inevitable comeback will prove that your a pr1ck and an a-hole.

 

My understanding (on the allocation issue) is that the "you suck" allocations don't exist anymore.

How do teams acquire foreign talent? The "discovery" slots.

As for allocations (such as the Vanney deal), my understanding (and I could be wrong) is that what the league promises is this: if you sell a player that the league makes some money on, the league will seek to get you a replacement. That could mean lots of things. It could mean: you're first in line if someone is available on a free transfer and multiple teams want him. It could mean that the league is actually willing to spend some money on a modest transfer fee for talent (and will give some of the money from the original player sale back to handle the transfer).

 

All allocations as of January 11 were converted to picks in the dispersal draft which occurred on that date. In fact, the first round of the dispersal draft was actually called the "Allocation Draft." See for yourself: http://www.mlsnet.com/special/draft/2002/dispersal/ . It was then that talk of the "elimination" of allocations was heard, but evidently that wasn't the case.

Vanney's loan became a transfer in late March of this year, two and a half months after the dispersal draft. If you read the comments about three-fourths of the way down http://www.mlsnet.com/content/02/mls0326telecon.html , you'll see Ivan Gazidis say:

“Bastia had an option to take a permanent transfer of Greg in the loan arrangement. We are past stage one, the next stage is that the first installment of the transfer fee is supposed to be received. We are expecting the fee to come in the next two weeks. I’m sure that there will be a replacement allocation for Los Angeles. He technically is still on the Galaxy roster, because we have not received the fee yet."

If you're saying that sometime well after the beginning of the 2002 MLS season, the league decided suddenly to eliminate allocations, I'd be interested in seeing some proof.

In the meantime, I think people reading this thread can see pretty clearly that allocations still exist in some form. So stop spreading incorrect information.

 

I don't think anything definitively has been said about this either way. The "you suck" allocations were made into dispersal draft picks this time around, because why would the league sign a mess of new players when there were established ones under contract already?

All I've heard is a lot of rumors. The first rumor, which you actually spread, Joe, was that NO allocations existed anymore. But then the Vanney thing happened.

I wouldn't be surprised if a kind of low budget allocation for not making the playoffs still exists. The draft isn't front loaded enough for much in the way of parity. In any case, MLS hasn't said anything about it, and we'll probably have to wait and see.

 

MLS rules are never written in stone and change according to circumstances year by year and team by team so there is no answer here except to wait and see what MLS comes up with to try and improve this sorry franchise before the MLS folds.

No stadium and a poor soccer product in NY area is a death wish on any professional sports league's future. If the MLS does not see this tha will be their downfall.

WE Have to get some relief here in terms of player allotments or sayonara to next season no matter how ell we draft.

 

Do you think there's a chance that MLS, feeling threatened by ChampionsWorld & its ilk and enjoying some post world cup interest will try to heighten its profile & sign some legit SIs? I'm thinking Ginola in NY, baby.

 

I'm not sure how old he is, but David Ginola, if he wants to play with us, could provide much needed skill outside. No more Tab and maybe no more Clint, we need a go to type player in the midfield. I've seen him on the outside left, so Davis would be the odd man out. If he has his head into the game, Ginola is a poorman's Cantona.