United in unprecedented position......

Colorado was in pretty good position last year, but I'd say ours is still much better.

 

Yeah, we're in great position this year. Its all down to Ray doing a good job with the allocation and the draft, and I have a feeling he will do pretty well. I think he's learned from mistakes he's made as a coach, or at least I hope he's learned from them.

 

Yes, Hudson and Kaspar deserve kudos for putting the team into this position. So many possibilities!

 

I'm definitely intruiged to know what will traspire. Four picks in the first round and two allocations. That presents a ton of opportunities - both for picking up new players, or using the draft spots and/or allocations for great trades.

 

I'll save my kudos until we see what they do with the opportunity that has been created. Of course, even if we blow it we can't do any worse, so at least we have that going for us.

If the allocation is good...and if our draft picks prove me wrong...and if we make a couple other moves...and if we do not make the trade with Chicago...we should do well. That's a lot of "ifs" though.

I'll be driving the wait and see bandwagon.

 

The beauty of the SoS trade is that we've taken the one team with significant salary cap space out of the equation--thus eliminating the only bargaining power that teams previously had in dealing with us (i.e., that they could trade the player in question to SoS if we didn't deal on their terms). When you combine this with the fact that we are first in line in the waiver draft, this puts us in great bargaining position with teams like Chicago/SJ/etc..

We no longer need even think about trading first-round picks or an allocation for players like Wolff, Razov or Grazianni. We can basically say: "You can either trade him to us for $.10 on the dollar, or you can just cut him and we'll claim him."

I can't even fathom why we'd consider giving up a player like Mapp to Chicago for Kovalenko now.

I think we should take a tough bargaining posture and if nobody wants to deal on our terms, wait and see who winds up on the waiver list. In the meantime, hold onto our draft picks and allocations. There's no need to be hasty. We now bargain from a position of absolute strength.

 

If there was ever a time to complain about a young, inexperienced team, it's now. Out of that core group, I think we're mostly looking at Olsen, Nelsen, Convey, Quaranta as the leaders, granted they are all healthy. The salary cap issue sucks. My Christmas has just been totally ruined by the news of trading Pope (may his memory live on, R.I.P.). I'm afraid we might get screwed over. While it's pointed out that we could get some quality players, how big of a chance is it that we're going to get total crap, a la, Albright?

Those who do not learn from history are condemned to repeat it. Last time we traded away a solid defender (Agoos), the other team won MLS Cup. What if that happens to the Metros? Just sign my death warrant.

 

questions

I need the answers to some questions so I can properly speculate.

o Do all players who are out of contract at the end of the year become available through a waiver draft or is there another machinism that can be used? Do they in someway become free agents or go into the superdraft?

o What happens if DCU wants to take more than one player in a waiver draft? Do all the other teams have an opportunity to pick before DCU has a second chance?

o DCU still has two discovery slots available for next year, right? Are there any limitations, such as salary, transfer fee, etc.?

o What are the differences and limitations between an allocation and a discovery pick?

o Are there any other exemption types that can be placed on the developmental portion of the roster along with P-40, guys making less than the shelf-stocker at your local Giant store, etc.?

o Has MLS published the personnel rules that will be in effect this year (what a dumb question)?

o Has the salary cap number for next year been announced by MLS?

I agree that DCU should sit tight for the next two weeks and see how much blood is spilled by the teams in cap hell. Unless of course they make a trade(s) for a player(s) who are not at the end of their contract(s).

 

I've got shotgun!

Winoman

 

There haven't been any recent Gazza sightings in DC, have there?

 

Uhm...not really an unprecednted position. San Jose was in nearly identical position two years ago (tons of cap room, one foreign player, several allocations, tons of top draft picks including #1). They went from last to first.
Of course, the league is not ever going to gift United a player like Landon Donovan. DC isn't even allowed to go after the best YA coming into MLS this year. Point is....you can have all of the allocations and draft picks in the world...if you aren't MLS' chosen team that year...it just doesn't matter.

 

BTW...since Stewart absolutely has to go to LA and they need an allocation to sign him.....United should demand Elliot in return for one. He is exactly they need in the central midfield.

 

Why do you say Stewart absolutely has to go to LA?
The Galaxy really values Elliot, for one thing.

 

You don't think having two 'Kiwi' National Team (Nelsen/Elliot) players would hold the same as having two US (Pope/Olsen) or Bolivian (Moreno/Etcheverry - from the early days obviously) National Team players?

Don't get me wrong, Elliot is a very good player and would be a nice fit. Nelsen misses a couple of games each year because of the Oceania Cup. Could DCUnited afford having two starters missing for two or three games?

I think this is another "lesson" being learned in MLS by the various "braintrust." National Team players are great. However, each one can be expected to miss 10% of the regular MLS games due to call-ups. Is this another reason not to take Ernie Stewert if he comes over?

The way I read it is that you use your 3 SI's on three seperate countries, if not continents, if possible. As for the US, because MLS and USSF attempt to limit the days missing, you try to have suitable replacements for any players being called up. That has to include the Under- teams as well.

 

I doubt they'd give him up, but dang, I totally agree with you DRN!

Also at this particular moment I agree that DC United looks to be in fantastic position to rebuild the team. But, as JAnderson14 points out, it's not rebuilt yet, and there's still a lot of ammunition available for Hudson to shoot himself in the foot. If we give away Mapp and one of the top 11 picks in the draft for Kovalenko (who displaces Olsen or Convey?) and Stoichkov (as a coach, yes, player-coach, NO!), I'm going to go ballistic, because that'll rival some of the very worst sports trades in history.

If Ray tries to find a good allocation-worthy player and is unsuccessful, I can live with that, but if he grasps at straws and wastes resources on mediocre players like Zambrano (we gave up the #10 pick in this draft for his services for 7 games), Alavanja (we gave up a fairly high Dispersal/Allocation draft pick for his services), Kante (a great first round selection that we pissed away by refusing to pay a full roster spot which we eventually used anyway as Ray sent Namoff to Richmond). Obviously, Hristo & Dema for Mapp & a draft pick would be in this littany of pissed away resources. Frankly, I've had enough of that type of management.

-Tron

 

I'm as excited as a kid er...on Christmas Eve!

 

In that sense, having Petke, an almost-but-not-quite Nats teamer, around all the time, is in many ways better than Pope, a surefire Nats first teamer who both misses games because of his Nats duty and who gets hurt playing for the Nats.

Elliott and Nelsen are the two most important players for the Kiwis who will be trying their hardest over the next three years to beat Australia in the next WCQ's. The All-Whites are organized around that pair. Because of that I don't want Elliott, as good as he is.

 

Stewart has been linked to Dallas as much as he is to LA. And to go with my post above, I'd rather have Jorge Rodriguez as he'll be around more to play for us. Besides, he has those dreamy green eyes!

 

Ah yes, there's THAT issue. So who are the potential d-mids around the league that Hudson could possibly get if he doesn't go the foreign route?

Elliott and Rodriguez- we talked about them above.

Vaengas- also from LA. I'd presume that Sigi would be more likely to part with him as he has difficulty cracking their starting lineup, much like Rodriguez in Dallas. I don't think that he's worth an allocation though; I'd want more from LA. Maybe a high draft pick.

Mulrooney- Ah. This sounds nice and San Jose is in cap heck (not quite hell) right now. I would definitely sound out Yallop on his boy. I'm sure Frank wouldn't want to trade him, but if we give him decent compensation...yum!

Armas- I just don't see it. No chance we get him.

Maisonneuve- I'm not as high on him as some others are here, but he'd still be an good upgrade to what we had. But C-bus' surplus is in their forwards and I don't think that they would part with Brian2.

McKeon- I don't have a real feel of his value anymore- I didn't see enough of him last year. In theory he could fit in quite nicely with what Hudson wants in a d-mid as he has some offensive skills (but are they enough?) as well as a linebacker's defensive mentality. Also has he started to slow down? We know that Gansler benched him this year, and with his reputed salary (120K?) he's too expensive to have riding the pine even if his team (KC) doesn't have acute cap worries. I read the Wizards board and I wonder if McKeon is in the same position as Prideaux was the year before- he's not what Gansler wants in a d-mid and he wants to go away from his traditional twin d-mid alignment (McKeon and Zavagnin) and just use one- Zavagnin. So we could go this route and get Matt and it seems likely that Gansler at least should be contacting Hudson to see if they would trade for the forth time in three years....

Cullen?- we've speculated on him but I doubt that Nicol wants to part with him. Also hudson has already traded him away when he was at Miami: Leo is not what Ray wants in a d-mid- he wants someone more assertive.

I'd say those are the potential d-mids that we could trade for IF Hudson doesn't go foreign.

 

what about jim rooney?

 

1. Players not under contract don't count on the cap. Stoichkov is not under contract for 2003. At one point Harkes was not under contract for Columbus. At some point though (usually by the date for roster announcements) teams either need to sign or renounce a player. Basically, this is very fuzzy ground for MLS. Thus, since we've publicly said we weren't retaining Alavanja (b/c of the injury we couldn't cut him), I don't think we'd be allowed to solicite a trade for him.

2. Right now we have top choice in the waiver draft. If we choose someone (a) we pick last in the next waiver draft (and there will be more than one. Last year from the end of the season to the start of the season I thought there were 5--but my memory may be off). Also, we can choose only 1 player, than everyone else gets a shot (and they can choose to pick no-one).

3. Discovery limitations. First, no transfer is involved (has to be a free transfer). Thus, it's conceivable that a player like Stewart could be a discovery. Except that second, discovery players are traditional less than the max (though I don't think there is an absolute ban on that). Also, discovery players are typically players who either have been waived in the league (ala Watson, Aunger) OR are native born players/green card holders OR no-one else in the league has a claim or interest on them. For instance, Lalas was a discovery player last year. I thought Quintanilla was a discovery player for United. When Andy Williams came into the league, we put a claim on his (as a discovery I believe) and Columbus got him--b/c their record was worse (so where there are multiple interests on a particular player, the team with the worst record usually gets preference). Note, discovery players are distinguished from allocations (transfer fees involved, there is multiple interest). Thus, Tenweye Bonseu and Dwayne DeRosario were "allocations". Countess (b/c he was P-40) was not a discovery but a lottery (b/c he wasn't eligible for a prior draft).

Other limitations--hmm....I thought you couldn't trade a discovery (but you can trade an allocation). Discovery players were traditionally low-budget but with the emergence of developmental player contracts, that has been erased.

Roster limitations: well, you're allowed the developmental slots. Roster is 18 but P-40's and developmental players (4 I believe) don't count on that roster and cap total. Developmental players make BELOW the MLS minimum.

I haven't seen any publication of roster rules and cap size but then (a) these usually aren't officially published and (b) can change anyway. I'd be shocked, absolutely shocked if MLS increased the cap at all. The league is hemmoraging money, the priority should be SSS. As much as I'd hate it, I'd rather than DCU put money aside for a SSS and not re-sign Quaranta to an extension (b/c of the cap) than focus on player salaries and boost the cap by $300K.

BTW, raising the cap is actually a joke. Let's suppose MLS had announced that the cap would be raised by $1million last year but also announced that it was a "hard cap" (ie: no hidden salaries). We'd have had to come up with cuts of $500K b/c Marco, Jaime and Eddie all made above the MLS max. I bet every team in MLS has at least one player (and some may have 4) making above the MLS max.

 

BTW, didn't mean to make it sound like we could only choose 1 player per waiver draft. We could theoretically choose as many as we'd like--but only 1 per round and then everyone else gets a crack.