i don't think we can blame metros for any damaged goods here. its purely todd's, or sunil's, or whomever's responsibility over there to make sure they get a player in working condition. if it was "widely believed", then the revs front office was asleep. and if the trade was supposed to be serna for diallo straight up (from revs perspective?) and metros kept pushing for more and the revs kept obliging, for no other real reason than to get rid of diallo....that front office deserves every amount of critism its overtly getting from us, and more than likely...quietly, from their peers around the league. furthermore, not that it makes a HUGE difference in mls' current divisional setup.....but you don't make a multi-player deal (which can maximize success or failure to a larger degree for one of the teams than a single player deal) to our divisional rivals and more importantly our supposed archenemies. really. and they talk about the new owners of the sox being carpetbaggers who may prove to be out of touch with the bunkered down boston fanbase mentality.
Lots of trades and signings in other sports fall through because the players who seem to be healthy and play every game fail physicals. Sometimes the players themselves are surprised that they don't pass the physicals. If it's true that Serna MAY have been damaged goods without the Revs knowledge, then either the other teams check on the health of the players and the Revs don't (in which case they are literally too incompetent to run a franchise), the league expects the teams to be truthful and upfront (in which case the Metros should get serious sanctions and the Revs fair compensation unless the league's trying to rig the season results) or the teams really do trade for players without any assurance that the player is healthy (in which case the league's kind of a joke). I hope that someone who has some inside info (other than Scooper) pursues this and either finds out A) that Serna did have a physical) or B) why we should take these guys seriously.
I think we're pretty much dealing with a lack of information here. Any information about what the trade was originally supposed to be versus what it grew into has never risen above the level of rumor, innuendo, or hearsay. I've heard two or three different versions of this - none confirmed. I agree that if Serna was FUBAR'ed when he got here, the Revs front office deserves a good hiding - but the MLS front office needs a good looking at also (considering that this is probably at least the second time this has happened this year - the first involving Marcello Balboa's move to the Metros). When teams cannot bargain in good faith - especially in a league as small, incestuous, and centralized as the MLS - all player transactions pretty much become a joke. But as much as I applaud Gus's brazen honesty - I think we need a little more than "it was widely believed that he was damaged goods before he got here" (when?, by whom?) to make a judgement. If the problem lies in the fact that the management is basically stonewalling its correspondents in the press, and that reporters are forced to report what is generally regarded as fact without "official" verification or denial (or to publish "fluff" pieces like FDA) - then maybe the management is getting a bit of what they deserve after all... How about this one...Why can't Gus get an interview with Todd Smith in order to deal with some of these issues directly, as well as to inform Revolution supporters about the goals and direction of the team?
Whether Serna was injured or not when the trade happened, and whether that injury led to his current situation is something we'll never know. The only really important question is whether or not the Revs gave him a physical when they agreed to trade for him. If the answer's no (for whatever reason) then I'd be curious to hear what kind of a message they think this sends to the Rev supporters.
I think (based on what John Lewis has said) we can assume the answer is "no". I think we can also assume that this is the league norm. If both of these assumptions are correct - something's got to change. Leaguewide. But I don't think it's irrelevent to consider whether or not Serna was actually dinged-up when he got here - it is possible that this can be reliably confirmed or denied. For one thing, what would be the advantage to him of "hiding" such an injury? Just so he could have the privilege of moving to New England before essentially ending his season? Seems a bit far-fetched to me...
When Serna had his surgery the announcement said that they "repaired" torn cartilege and a ligament tear. He could very easily have had a known cartilege tear and played with it (and deal with the pain and fluid - as I do). Then go in for a cleanup in the offseason. Whether this was a factor in his not being in top shape, or being reluctant to practice or practice hard is possible. It does seem clear that the ligament tear is what put his season to an end.
True, but I don't know that this actually does much to answer whether or not it was a "pre-existing condition". (I'm really holding onto hope here that the Revs were not duped as badly as it seems they might have been...)
Unless the Revs gave Serna a physical, either before they completed the deal or before the injury, they have no way of knowing whether he was healthy or not before they traded for him. At this point, I'd feel better about this if they said that they knew he was injured and decided to pull the trigger anyways than if they made such a major trade without knowing what they were doing. As for Serna, he had no reason to hide an injury from the Revs, but it's more likely, if he were injured, that the Metros decided not to enlighten us to this before fleecing us.
According to players ex-Fusion players, everyone down there knew Serna had a 100% tear to his ACL from the time he first arrived in MLS. Serna's legs are so strong that he'd been playing on a bad wheel the whole time. As anyone who's ever done their ACL and not had repaired right away knows, however, this gives one a "trick" knee and when it goes, a lot of cartilidge, etc. can get crunched up at the same time. "Damaged goods" is a relative term here....
The Perfesser made a factual reference to Smith's health problems. Smith , erroneously , interpreted this as a personal attack. I've known the poster since pre-MLS and he doesn't do personal attacks. People have serious questions here and it's clear you are not interested in a dialogue.
There's not too much doubt that Gus plays his favorites among the players, at least sometimes. If Semedo was another favorite the controversy surrounding his release could have prompted Gus to throw in the bit about Serna being injured, even if it was completely unsubstantiated. Honestly how can you write that article without a comment from the team you are accusing of negligence/stupidity? Journalism 101...