I can understand that Freddy, his mom and his agent had an interest in him being close to home. However, IMHO, the manner in which a club helps you develop, both as a player and as a person, has to be the first priority. This has to be balanced with his interest in being close to his home in Maryland. Over the years, we have seen how Bob Bradley has been able to develop young talent. DMB has become a star, and Eddie Gaven and Ricardo Clark seem to be headed in the same direction. Bob know how to instill in young players the confidence, attitude and skill to be successful in a decent professional league. IMHO, the environment and instruction that Bob provides his young players far outweighs the concern of being far away from home (New York is not that far from DC). I do realize that a deal with the Metros would have perhaps been more difficult to come by. IMHO, MLS would have bent over backwards to have Adu in the league, meaning that if he really insisted on New York, Don Garber would have seen it through. We have already seen how DC has been a disaster in terms of youth development, I am concerned that Adu may not reach the full potential that he is capable of
Think about it though, if Freddy struggles, who's the scapegoat? Hudson. He knows what's on the line taking in a player like this. Freddy had to go to DC not just because he lives there. Think about it this way. There were only three teams in MLS this year not to dip below 10K in attendence. Columbus, LA, and DC. Columbus and LA have SSS and DC has a cave in RFK. Unlike Colorado who brings in one crowd of 60K which brings their average up to 15K, DC has probably the best fan base in MLS. The 15K DC averaged every game was the most stable of the teams without SSS's in MLS. Let him go somewhere where the fans will show up in huge numbers. I was in Dallas for the Dallas Cup and I can tell you that the stadium we were in when Freddy played was packed. Easily more than a Dallas Burn game. People will come to see this kid. Why not do it with MLS's best fan base. The US will take care of this kid in his development. Hudson's contract runs out in a month so there's no garuntee he'll be back.
Wildcat-Ram Stadium, where the Dallas Cup Super Group matches are held, has a capacity of less than 10,000. In fact, it holds 9,000 people. Now, given that the Dallas Burn, with the notable exception of 2003, has averaged 12 or 13 thousand a game over the past few years, you'll understand why I regard what you wrote as so much bovine excrement. Well, above and beyond the whole "DC fans are the best in MLS" bovine excrement, that is.