Twellman signed a contract and I think that is the bottom line here. There all kinds of ways to ensure the possibility of Euro play but he and his agent didn't do that. Buy-out clause, shorter contract, whatever it doesn't matter. Instead he signed an extended contract with an MLS team and should fulfill it. He's pretty good while playing for the Revs but for the life of me I can't understand why he keeps getting called up to play for the MNT. Not trying to start something, just calling 'em like I see 'em.
Jozy Altidore will be. EJ when he's not being lazy. Dempsey but he also plays mid. Donovan but he also plays mid. So as far as true strikers go we're not in good shape when Twellman is our #1, I agree. But I think Jozy will be our man up front in a few years.
He will be hopefully, but until he is it's Twellman. Like you said Dempsey and Donovan arent true strikers and EJ lazies his way through matches. Once someone good comes along you wont see Twellman anymore.
This is the only post you'll see from me where I ever defend the Krafts, so nota bene: Twellman didn't just have writing on the wall he should've seen, he had it tattooed on the inside of his eyeballs from Dempsey's warning and Joseph's experience. It's completely his fault for not having the guts and self-belief that Dempsey had. Twellman took the easy, low-hanging fruit--and did so at a time when it was clear that he was getting the kind of caps that could make him viable overseas (UK). The only one to share in this blame is the agent. Now....the Krafts are cheap charlatans of MLS owners who do the team and the league no good, and are only in this to fill dates in their stadium. They've confirmed this in unused salary cap, roster spots, no youth team, no scouting, no proper pre-season training facilities or opponents (the Bermudan national team is NOT acceptable) and myriad other ways. So, this is a situation where two things can be true at once: Twellman is an idiot and the fact that he's not going to Europe is his fault entirely AND the Krafts are odious, despicably cheap rag-merchant MLS owners that deserve to be booted from the league if the day ever comes when it's strong enough.
I am usually of the opinion that pro sports players should simply honor a contract once they've signed it, but I do feel more incined to agree with MLS players that feel they're treated unfairly. Because MLS clubs can't compete against each other to drive up prices for players, if a player can't get a work visa to go abroad he essentially has no leverage at all. When he was out of contract, I think Taylor should at least have been given the opportunity to approach other MLS clubs and find out his true worth before deciding whether to re-sign and at what price. Oh yeah, and as many have said, his agent is an idiot.
Good points. The salary cap creates other issues. not so much that there is one but that is not very high, forcing down player salary and ensuring any actual talent goes elsewhere so that they can be paid what their skill warrants. The MLS shouldn't be a league that only serves as a training/proving ground for other leagues, they should be more focused on attracting and keeping more talent and that means more $$$.
Twellman was never out of contract because the Revs were proactive and resigned him BEFORE his contract expired. If Twellman's unhappy, he's got no one to blame but himself.
While I agree with about 95% of what you have to say, I have to defend the Krafts. You can't call them cheap when they just turned down a $3 million transfer bid. If they were that cheap, they'd have taken the money. The Revs were very, very smart in locking of Twellman long-term, AFTER the approach from Odd Grenland (...so TNT can spare the crap about how he didn't realize there was European interest). They didn't screw up. It was one of the best moves the Revs made recently. Taylor could have played out the one year left on his deal and he'd be playing in Europe right now. But he didn't. The short term cash and long term security were more important. So now he's paying the price. And he can only blame himself.
Wait--don't they only see $500K of it for salary cap alleviation and the other $1M (for a 50% total) is mandated for "soccer" needs? If the league forces them to spend 2/3 of the projected $1.5M that they get on soccer-related business, then they only clear the $500K that they don't use on acquisitions. The other they have to prove was spent on soccer. Group sales on Twellman's name > $500K. So my verdict? Still cheap as all hell.
So, theoretically, it is going to be easier for Twellman to get a divorce than it is to get out of a sports contract. Maybe in the future, the MLSPU will be able to insert language into its CBA that requires the League to allow a player to talk with foreign clubs if an offer is on the table that meets certain criteria. Perhaps an offer that is 5 times the salary of the player...or whatever. I'm not even sure if it would be legal.
See as 2/3 of the people who voted in this thread think Taylor screwed himself and should shut up and play...who's for being totally silent when taylor is announced at the home opener. Just for that moment, just to let him know he's squandered some of his goodwill?
If he comes to play, we should come to support him, IMO. All the off-field stuff between owners/agents/players is just posturing. They all have short memories about this stuff and I think fans ought to also. Twellman saw a better opportunity and gave it a shot, even though he was in a weak position - that's all it was.
I love this idea but will the teenage girls still scream so it may not be noticed? Would we want to turn our backs or is that too harsh? just a couple of thoughts. I don't want to bang the idea because I like it.
Players ahve "buyout clauses in their contracts all the time (including in MLS)... EJ apparently had one... One thing that is true, however, is that clubs don't put buyout clauses in unless asked, and that usually requires some "give" on the part of the player in order to get it inserted... we are in a very artificial time right now... The CBA is showing its age (I think that there are very few on the boards who remember what the league and the situation for players was like at the time it was negotiated)... the owners don't want to do anything unilaterally, like raise the cap beyond the negotiated increment or raise minimums, etc, because that becomes the floor from which negotiations begin... Until the CBA gets renegotiated, don't expect any kind of increases beyond the minimums required, nor any kind of limited free-agency, etc... the league is "keeping its powder dry" to have something to give during the next CBA (which will be VERY contentious)... I hope that someone from the Union side "leaks" details (like they did the salaries), because that will be the best spectator sport of the 2009 season (as long as it ends with an agreement, because otherwise it will be a tragedy)
I'll echo Mike Marshall's earlier comments regarding Taylor signing his contract and having to live with it. I will open up for discussion that Taylor's reprsentative firm, Trinity One, was started by Lou Imbriano and host of others who worked directly for Kraft Sports Group. That makes Taylor's anger even more misplaced if you ask me.
This seems just silly, and not just for soccer reasons. Employees are well within their rights to ask for what they deem to be "fair compensation", no matter what you think of their assessment. Even if you think this situation was the result of poor negotiating on Twellman's part, what do you expect him to do? Not advocate for a once-in-a-career shot? None of us were in the negotiating room, we don't know what was said, or what bargaining chips were off the table. Knowing what we know about the way that the Krafts have treated their employees in labor negotiations, I'm surprised so many people are turning on the guy. If I were in his position, no matter how I got there, I'd be doing the same thing.
But what if it was the QB of the Saskatchewan Rough Riders who had a shot with an NFL team? That would be a more accurate parallel. And he would likely want to go, even if he really did have a bad case of Regina Envy. Wow! I hadn't heard that before. I suppose athletes, as a species, might not always be the most intelligent of homo sapiens, but to have your representation be someone with very close roots to the organization you are negotiating against is just plain stooo-pit. Unfortunately, we see a lot of cases where people get into bad situations because they trust the wrong people. Those people aren't looking out for your interests, just another opportunity to line their own pockets.
Based on Taylor's performance over the past 6 years here, what makes anyone think that he won't play his heart out for the Revs if he stays ? If the league does not sell him, he may be upset, but he is an extremely professional, competitive and driven person...his on-the-field performance will not suffer. BTW - TT has been getting offers to play overseas intermittently over the past two years since he signed the last contract. What has changed is that he is now just about eligible for a work permit in England and therefore the MAGNITUDE of the offers has changed.