No link, but a friend of mine was listening to Radio Unica last night, and apparently the MLS' Spanish PR guy was on the air. He reportedly said Earnie Stewart has signed with MLS and wanted to play for LA but there "isn't any room for him there" so he'll play for one of DC, Dalllas or New England. Just FYI. I'd take it with a grain of salt. The Magpie
Not that I know where the Revs are with respect to the cap, but if there is a grain of truth to the idea that the Revs would get JMM if he came to MLS, I think we would have to off-load Serna for the necessary allocation and cap room. Again, since I can't gauge their medical health and attitudes currently, I'm guessing it's a wash. Serna is younger, bigger, faster and is as talented, but JMM is more of a team player and will connect much better with Nichol. I imagine that given the choice, Nichol would rather have JMM, being lower maintainance. Serna would probably then go to DCU, having the most cap space and an allocation. Hudson and the DCU fans want a "point of the spear." Serna would fill the bill.
Interesting seeing as though there are rumors circulating of a deal with DC...involving Rooney, and maybe Llamosa. Could it be Rooney and Serna, clearing room for JMM to come here? The thick plotens...
From all accounts Stweart will be going to DCU and we can expect an announcement. today. Steve Goff in todays washington Post quotes Hudson as saying "JMM is going back to New England--they are just waiting to sign the papers". This jibes with a lot of what I've been hearing from other than press sources. I agree with Jon, the most likely guy to be moved is Serna--but not to DCU. I'm betting it's to LA for some young left sided talent. I don't know enough about their roster to say who or what would be available or atractive to the Revs.
I'm pretty sure the quote was something like, "He's got a pretty firm offer on the table in ENGLAND and is probably going back over there."
Doc, How can LA afford Serna if they can't even take a shot (i.e., afford) at Stewart, no matter the fact they don't have an allocations? The Magpie
I would say that of all the conflicting accounts of MLS's negotiations w/ JMM (or lack thereof) Gus's sounds the most plausible. Funny we go from, 'MLS refuses to talk to his agent,' to 'he's about to sign with new england,' in the space of a few days.
No Moore no more These rumors keep popping up. I thought a) a pending deal for JMM with a Brit Div 1 side was to be announced shortly, and b) even if JMM were to return to MLS, the Revs have no allocation available--we would have to trade for one, and would that be worth it? I would rather have a healthy and hungry Serna than Joe-Max, as I've posted numerous times. Right now we need to unload a midfielder and worry about a back-up 'keeper, which we should fill at first opportunity in the draft--unless a GK is waived by someone else in the league who we could look at.
You might want to re-read the quote below - he left off the "New" part when he mentioned "England" [FWIW, how good is this Eskandarian kid, and how good is this Johnathan Spector - 16-years-old - that's going to be inked by ManU? If this is any indication of the future, it certainly looks bright]. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24368-2003Jan7.html [Registration required] by Steven Goff/The Washington Post 'Despite some trade offers, United Coach Ray Hudson said it's almost certain D.C. will retain the top overall draft pick and select University of Virginia forward Alecko Eskandarian. "He's too good, he's too gifted to pass up. He's special," Hudson said. Meantime, Hudson said he has spoken with U.S. national team players Earnie Stewart and Joe-Max Moore about joining United. He wouldn't go into detail about the conversation with Stewart, who plans to sign with MLS after 14 seasons in the Dutch league, but did say that Moore has a "pretty firm offer back in England and it's ready to be signed." United is considering Stewart and several other players to fill an attacking role. (United officials also are optimistic about signing Bulgarian defender Galin Ivanov soon.) "There are a lot of pretty birds in the tree and I can only take one [forward]," Hudson said. "It's a very difficult decision and we can't make a mistake." Hudson, who plans to go to Spain on Friday to scout an unidentified Argentine forward, said he expects a decision to be made by the middle of next week. . . . '
Soren: Good point [See The Washington Post article above for further clarification, though]. It's my understanding that Paul Stratford, who, by most accounts, is pretty reputable [He represents Peter Schmeichel, and is also the agent for Moore's brother-in-law, Jose 'Gato' Fernandez, etc] went tire kicking at Moore's urging, hoping that MLS would bite. MLS, reportedly, sniffed at it [and this is where it all gets fuzzy] - and that has been basically the extent of their foreplay. Does that constitute lets-lock-the-doors-sit-and-hammer-out-a-deal negotiations? Maybe in the Cape Verde Islands where I was born it would. Others, however, would say otherwise. Then again, what the hell do I know?
Sirs- Be weary of Hudson's comments. He's still very interested in JMM. My prediction is this: If Stewart ends up in DC, the chances of JMM in NE are VERY GOOD
NRC - regrettably In an article from Jamaica about MLS callups to the Jamaican National Team for an upcoming friendly, neither Griffiths nor Harris were called. Williams made it as did Tyrone Marshall and someone else I can't remember.
This sounds very logical. Unless there is someone else we don't know about in the transfer pipeline, I would see this as a likely scenario.
Clearblue sez: My prediction is this: If Stewart ends up in DC, the chances of JMM in NE are VERY GOOD Well, it's a question of allocations, and we would need one to do this. Right now, Colorado has used theirs, DC has 2 and the Mutts have one. So if you assume that DC takes Stewart, and they are rumored to want a Bulgarian defender with the other (or in any event, they won't take Stewart and Moore) they would pass. So that leaves our old friends, the Mutts to deal with. If you are them, would you take Diegio Serna back for the allocation that turns out to be Moore, or would you rather have JMM? On the other hand, if they use theirs on someone else, then all the allocations are used up, unless DC hasn't used theirs on another player. If that's the case, we could get Moore without an allocation, I suppose, if no one has one to trade. Otherwise, a deal to get DC's unused allocation involving Serna will have to go through another club, who gives DC something they want... The other scenario is that the Mutts trade their allocation to Dallas for Joselito Vaca, and Dallas get Stewart. Then Moore would probably end up in DC, unless Hudson has other plans. He's reportedly scouting a lot of different players (he's in Spain now), so who knows what he'll do. Either way, I like our chances with either Serna or Moore, but I would hate to see JMM with another team, particularly DC or Metro. Almost makes me hope he signs with Wolves. Tom
What if (and I have no inside info on this): The Revs deal Nowak to the Metrostars for their allocation, drop Serna altogether and use the dollars and the golden ticket to sign Joe-Max. Think of it this way: Nowak loves Bob Bradley. Loves him. Also, he is an allocated player, so when he retires, presumably at the end of this season,the Metros would still have an allocation coming to them. Then NY could waive Andy Williams and trade for Vaca as understudy to Nowak. The Revs could continue with Cullen and Hernandez in the middle and use JMM as a deep lying second striker in a 4-4-1-1. Just a thought.
Clearblue sez: My prediction is this: If Stewart ends up in DC, the chances of JMM in NE are VERY GOOD But we'd have to use an allocation to get him... one we don't have, right? The Magpie
I think i'd rather have Nowak. I think of JMM as a super reliable, super hard working, way above MLS average talent role player. I see Nowak as a player that when he is on, can change the face of a game, push the knife into the opponent, AND then twist it...
Joe-Max without an allocation According to the article on MLSNet from Gazidis: "...preference would be given first to a team prepared to use an allocation, and then in reverse order of finish from 2002 (in the same manner as the draft order is determined)." So, if DC, Metros, and Colorado all refuse to use an allocation and then every other team declines to pick him up, the Revs could get Joe-Max without an allocation. As far fetched as this might sound, I don't see it as impossible. Joe-Max wouldn't be the first player to make it clear that he will only play for this team or that.
Even if it's for one season I don't see us getting rid of Nowak. He may be the missing piece of the puzzle and when he leaves we would have a very valuable item--an allocation. I'd be shocked if he was traded again.
I am one of JMM's biggest fans, but there is NO way I would give up Nowak AND Serna to get him Your damn skippy! Thats way too much for JMM. Who knows,,,,Maybe Stevie can get inside Sernas head and make him the team player we all want. We all seem to agree that the left side is a weakness, anyone know off hand if John Thorrington was ever drafted? I know the Metros were interested,,,,but did they ever draft him? Would it be worth a shot to draft him with a late pick if in fact nobody ever did? Would he be eligable for the draft or would he be a discovery or allocation? He would certainly fill our need and Hudderfield is in finacial trouble and may be willing to let him go. Just a thought
No way! And, leave Nowak to become a player/coach for the MetroStars the following season? Have his player salary as $50,000 and his coaches salary as $300,000. No way!