No trolling here, just wondering if someone could fill me in on the details on why Johnny Walker left without a contract. Was it the money? Was he not good enough? I was under the impression that he was going to be a big signing and stop a bunch of shots for you guys.
      Apparently, JW and MLS couldn't agree on contract terms (most likely he wanted more money than the league was willing to pay him).       GO EARTHQUAKES!!! -G
A candid quote from a coversation with a guy in the Quakes front office was, "The fact that he was one of the leading keepers in the Chilean league says a lot more about the quality of the goalkeeping in Chile than it does of Johnny Walker." Bottom line, he just wasn't that good for what he was asking.
It can't be a quote without identifying the source. It's always about the money and MLS tried the old low ball aproach!
Was it about money in terms of the MLS not offering enough or was it that he could go to Mexico and make at least the MLS max?
Whoever might have said that, Scotto, obviously doesn't know much about South American soccer. Walker was the best keeper in Chile, which many would argue is a better league than the MLS. Plus, he was voted BEST keeper in the first round of the Copa Libertadores 2002... that's with ALL the big teams in South America and Mexico. I think that speaks for itself on his quality. MLS couldn't afford him... bottom line.
Reports initially said Walker was willing to take quite a bit less than the $100k he was making in Chile. Given his success and that price tag, he looked appealing to the Quakes. After training with the team for a while, it seems that (1) he ended up asking for a salary of $100k or more, and (2) he didn't prove to be (much) better than Conway. At that price, the Quakes passed. I think it's fair to say that the deal ultimately fell through because Walker didn't perform well enough. Paying $100k for a starting keeper who's going to be a significant improvement to the team would be a no-brainer. The fact that we didn't take him says that wasn't believed to be the case.
I'd rather not say who it was, but suffice it to say that he was one of three primary decision makers. Go back and read the original quote. There's no doubt that the quality of soccer in Chile is high, but in general the quality of goalkeeping in Chile (and in most leagues south of the border) is atrocious. This is one area that I'd rank the MLS very high.
I agree the MLS and US goalkeeping in general is of very high quality but that there's is "atrocious" is a huge overstatement.