http://sbisoccer.com/2015/11/report-rapids-in-talks-with-carlos-vela I know Vela has been discussed in the off-season thread but a potential signing on this magnitude deserves the respect and a thread of its own. Bravo previously mentioned the Rapids had a "Discovery" out on Vela thus the first crack at him but shied away from saying talks were on-going. Well......... Claudio Lopez officially confirmed talks:
669122515935997952 is not a valid tweet id $15 transfer fee would be one of (if not the) highest in league history.
I expect to end up being disappointed. Either we don't sign him, or he's a dud that ends up being more of a Marquez type DP than a Blanco type DP. However...I guess I shouldn't be taking the situation for granted since the Rapids have basically never been in any kind of serious transfer talks for any player that could remotely be considered "high profile". It's certainly a big step up for transfer speculation over some guy playing in the second division in Bumfvcknowhereistan that you've never heard off.
Not that it makes any big differenece but €15M = $14.1M. It would still trump Bradley's record fee of $10M TFC paid. That's a hefty, hefty fee to paid for any player let alone Vela. But........... Vela has scored 60+ goals in 160+ games for Real Sociedad. That record alone has a huge price tag. Then throw in Vela is just 26 with 300 games under his belt and you have one helluva scoop for any team in MLS. I could not emphasize how big of a signing Vela would be. I've always appreciated his game and was so thankful he had a spat with the Mexican Fed which prevented him, on more than a few occasions, from lining up against the US. I have not renewed my season tickets but if Vela is signed and signs point to building around him, I will renew -- no question. A major acquisition is a must for renewal.
Same boat with season tickets. I've been waiting for the team to show they're actually going to try to improve. Signing Vela would be that sign.
Of course we will all re-new only to see PM line him up at DM or CB or most likely of all right bench.
Rapids have to be in talks in with Vela so they can establish a bona fide offer was made. That way, once the offer is refused, we can still get our $50k in allocation money from the LA or NY team that actually signs him.
You have that backwards. We gt $50K if we don't make an offer. If we make a bona fide offer we can ask for more than $50K to pass on him.
I wonder if the league would step in and help with any transfer fee. Having him in MLS is good for the league as a whole. If we were NY, LA, or SEA then I am sure they would help. For us, we can hope.
I'm sure they will. They established that for Dempsey and used it for Valeri and Gaby Torres, among others.
I am wondering if the acquisition of Vela would be enough (assuming no other significant personnel moves) to actually get the Rapids to the playoffs? In addition to personnel there is the Pablo factor, would he put Vela in the optimal position to succeed? IF, and it's a big if the Rapids should sign him I think it will take more to actually see significant improvement in terms of wins.
Another way of looking at the Vela situation - should the Rapids acquire him and not make it to the playoffs and advance how will we all feel about the club? What I am concerned about is that Vela given his reputation, transfer fee and salary will have the burden of being a savior on the pitch. All by himself, more or less. This is why I need to see the Rapids make other personnel moves to improve the team or we will have expectations that just can't be met.
Talking with the FO I think their target is lower than this. They're really valuing continuity so I think they're thinking more like 4 to 5 changes.
For that kind of money he needs to make at least 5 other players around him noticeably better, a Schelotto-effect if you will. If we can then find/play 4 other field players and a GK (hard for a star to influence goalkeeping) that are good enough on their own we would then maybe have something even absent professional level coaching. Ibrahimovic, Robben, and Iniesta are the names I can think of that could do that but no one is getting them for $15M ... Vela would sell tickets (and shirts) and move the needle a little on the pitch but not make us Shield or Cup contenders all by himself ... ? On edit, other than the transfer fee he would probably fit the FO's revenue stream > win/loss record model pretty well. Get the league to pick up a bunch of the fee and they might pull the trigger. (If only the league would buy us a good FO & coach.)
If Vela is the first of this influx of new players, I know they wouldn't come at the same value, but maybe a few loanee's for the season, like Dawkins with SJ a few years back! (Not that Arsenal would send the Rapids anything, but you know, can't hurt to look elsewhere) Also, I wonder if the $$$ would come from MLS, KSE and possible Powers sale or MLS only like Dempsey/Bradley/Gio??
Now that the FO has gone on record as negotiating with a quality player like Vela they now have to sign a significant DP this offseason. Going on the record with Vela and failing and then not signing anyone else would be SOP for the Rapids and a complete failure at a point where this team can't take another major failure. IMO Bravo's job should be on the line with this announcement. Get Vela or get another name before the season starts, you've now admitted you're willing to spend the money and that we have first dibs on Vela. There are no more excuses left.
Reading your first sentence gave me flashes of PM going with 9 Defenders/ D-Mids with Vela all alone in attack.
I got slightly higher numbers from the FO before the regular season ended. Interestingly, I was also told at the time they already knew who they wanted to keep and who would be let go. But, I agree the goal was to reduce the turnover year over year to a manageable churn of 4 players or less.
Vela isn't and wouldn't be a silver bullet. There's still the problems of coaching philosophy, our inability to play Powers at CAM regularly (and what happens if he goes overseas?), our utter lack of forward depth after Doyle and Vela, our lack of chance creation outside of Sanchez, and our lack of reliable wing play. I'll also remind you all that Vela has 11 goals total in his last 40 games for his club. He's less than a year removed from a knee injury. He's young, so there's that. But it's almost a reckless amount of cash to be throwing down on a guy who isn't a sure thing. It could be a nice step forward, but I'm nowhere near renewing season tickets.