Since this was originally part of the 3 team deal, does this squash the Ruiz to LA deal now? Especially since it appears DC does not need Cannon Bazooka now.

Wow! Big news

Good luck in Houston, Bobby!

Bummer.

Zach Wells is not a grade A goalkeeper. I wouldn't even say grade B. I hope this is a temporary move to get another goalkeeper.

BRING ON ZACH THORNTON. He may not be good either, but at least he's scary.

Man, that sucks. Good luck to Boswell in his new team. BTW, since we just dealt Boswell, where does that leave the team since we don't have a starting defender in that spot. Will DCU attempt to resign Vanney or is the team looking for a defender while on their trip to South America?

I don't think I'll be happy if we start the season with Wells between the pipes. But, there's a lot of time between now and then for the front office to make further moves. Time to reserve judgment until we see the whole picture.

Wow -- either Houston had a solid third-string goalie, or they figure soon-to-be-40 Pat Onstad can keep going for at least another three years.

Wells is a solid pickup, but I'm bummed we lose Bobby (and Troy).

I'm also curious how United will address its complete lack of depth in defense. Who's the top backup now? Jeff Carroll?

What happens to BobbyBoswell.com?

CRAP!

Plus side: Wells has a very light cap hit of roughly $50,000

People may be unhappy about Wells, but I'm enthused.

Anyone but Nolly (AOBN).

Nolly is better than Wells

Does Boswell's contract status enter into the equation?

Wow, as someone with no rooting interest in DCU or Dynamo, I'm a little surprised by the negative reaction to Wells. He saw some time last year in the Champions Cup and I thought he was pretty good.

Nolly is better than Wells

Posted by: | December 12, 2007 01:42 PM

Good sir, dare I say, "Put your money where your mouth is."

That is the statement of someone who knows nothing about the MLS.

Has anyone in this blogosphere seen Wells play?

The only quality young 'keepers I have seen in MLS are Guzan and Seitz. Although the rookie kid at Dallas showed faily well in his debut.

I think part of the reason Troy's form dropped was that the backup keeper situation was truly dire. Keepers need that daily competition with a quality understudy who is always nipping at their heels, ready to steal their job.

At when Rimando was here Troy and Nicky could fight for the #1 shirt (yeah, yeah, I know Nicky wore #18...).

Are they looking at Wells as a potential #1? With our often-shambolic defending, that might be asking for trouble, especially in international matches against ruthless striking from Mexican sides.

On the other hand, might they be looking at Wells as a high-quality second GK? If so, who are they shopping after as their #1?

I can't speak for others, but I felt Perkins had established a certain (good) level of quality in net for us. I wouldn't mind an unproven commodity like Wells so much in general, but with our defense likely to be shaky again next year, it seems inordinately risky to stick Zach Wells in there and hope he turns out all right.

But again, I'm not convinced that is the long-term plan.

I'm also curious how United will address its complete lack of depth in defense. Who's the top backup now? Jeff Carroll?

Posted by: argo0 | December 12, 2007 01:38 PM

------------------------------------

I seriously doubt United would have made this trade if they didn't have something in the works to address the defense. I'd expect to either see them make another trade shortly or sign a new player from outside the league.

I'm fine with this, as long as they bring in someone else for the back line. How is Wells insofar as vocalizing and organizing concerned? This was Perkins' main weakness (soft goals aside) IMO.

I'm happy about Wells. He played lights out in the beginning of Houston's season. He came on a sub and stopped a PK for a clean sheet against Puntarenes(sp?) in the CCC.

And he fits the "young and promising" requirement of many of the SI loyalists and BS posters. That's got to be a plus.:)

I thought Wells was a very good keeper for Houston when he got his chances.

yesterday when thios broke i was interested.

today, i don't see this as an improvement.
heck we even took a 20k slary cap hit

very disappointed

Wells is alright. I remember he absolutely stood on his head to hold United to a 0-0 draw in 2005 when he was with Metro.

How will United address the loss of BobbyBoswell.com? That's the real question.

Boswell needed a change of scenery because he wore his welcome out here. The unfortunate part for United, though, is this is probably just the wake-up call he needs to regain his old form. Moreover, Houston has hard-nosed defensive leaders like Robinson and Waibel, who will get right in Bobby's face if he screws up with them...but they will also have his back if stands tall.

That leadership element was missing from United in 2007 and is the biggest reason the team failed.

As for Wells...it's hard to argue with the numbers he put up in limited time. But how much of that was because of a stellar back four in front of him? Will he do as well with our team's seemingly suspect back line? Clearly upgrading our defense remains a major priority, because if we don't this trade looks like a flyer that Wells will break out and become the type of leader/organizer/goalkeeper that Cannon is.

"Nolly is better than Wells
Posted by: | December 12, 2007 01:42 PM "

Hi Jay, welcome to the Insider. Unfortunately, while I am not necessarily impressed with Wells, you are mistaken.
Jay. Nolly. Is. A. Sieve.

Weird trade, imo - What are the salaries? We need more cheap defenders, not less.

vasaco,

Actually, if Perkins (90k) goes, Boswell is already gone (32k), and Wells comes (50k), we GAIN ~70k of cap space to mess around with.

Boswell should be happy - DC United treated him like garbage this year especially Kevin Payne.

Denilson now!

If Boswell got treated like garbage it's his fault for doggin' it and being more interested in being the man about town.

Hey! I'll work for $70K!!

But Jay... we have people on our actual roster who make less $70k who both play better and show more promise than you.

Lower that down by $40k and then we'll talk.

Boswell will be missed, but this is probabl the best thing that could happen to his career. Agree that Waibel & Co. will be great motivators and mentors to BB. However, it's a real loss to the DC community -- not sure how many knew this, but there is not a single player that has come through DCU's ranks who has shown so much interest in VOLUNTEERING to play with kids in this city. BB was known to hop in at clinics and practices even when he wasn't getting OT pay from the team to do so. Houston is getting a great player and a great guy for the kids to look up to. Good luck dude.

Remember yesterday when Cannon was suppose to be traded to DCU and everyone saw that as the end of Gomez. How could they afford both....well this could be it. A little raise for Emilio, a little raise for Gomito and maybe Claudio Lopez. The thing with MLS is that all the defences suck, so you might as well stock pile your offence (but don't use the the Galaxy over the top formula). Look for all DCU draft picks to be defenders and some wingers on loan from your SA partnerships. (Purely speculation of course).

What is interesting is if Houston even keeps Boswell. They have Waibel, Robinson, Barrett and a very good young CB in Patrick Ianni (he allowed them to leave Cochrane unprotected). Don't be surprised if Boswell is sent elsewhere without ever stepping foot in Houston...

I'd say Perkins and Wells are about the same talent-wise. But with time I think we'll be happier with Wells. Then there's the extra cap money to work on our defense.

I thought Zach Wells looked great in the last CONCACAF Champions Cup while Onstad had a knock.

In fact, I remember thinking to myself that they might have a legitimate goalkeeper controversy on their hands.

Just my two cents..... And personally, I really like the trade --> good for Bobby and good for DC's salary cap.

Didn't Bobby learn from Alecko? Befriend (or have) a blog, get traded.

Maybe he can catch a flight with Miguel Tejada.

Thank God Houston also has MySpace.

I'm delighted! Wells stinks. Thanks for taking a Metro reject!

MTP couldn't have said it better. Boswell was a great guy for the community as well as a great player. DC United are the losers in the trade for the second time in a row, first with Facu. Vanney was brought to win the MLS Cup, and how did that go? What was so difficult to deal Boswell for Cannon?

I'd agree that Wells and Troy are roughly equal keepers. So now we have 100K in cap space (btw BB and Perkins) to bring in a new defender. Plus the fairly significant amount of money we get for selling Perkins can be used to purchase that player or buy down some salary cap numbers.

Wow. Another loss in an already thin back line.

Yeah, I'm sad to see a good guy like Boswell go, but I'me very happy about Wells. I've seen him play a couple times, and I always came away impressed. He's got a very bright future.

I am pretty happy with the trade. I was never a big Bobby Boswell fan except for his goal against Chelsea. He lived off his hype more then anything else. I really do not know enough about Wells to have an opionion, but I am glad that the front office is starting to address the weak link in our team, which of course is our defense. Its almost a 100% given, that United has targeted a central defender. It could end up being that Polish player that they were looking at last year or someone from S. America. I feel like next season is going to be huge for the Black and Red. Vamos United!!!!!!!!!!!

Once we know who they use that cap space on then we can make a judgement about this trade. Until then its a work in progress.

dwbpnm, those details usually get overlooked, but are quite important. Honestly, I know nothing about Wells, so it'll be interesting to see how everything else (signing defensive players, including Veron) works out.

Perkins hasn't left yet.

Do they even have the Internets in Houston?? I need to blog.

Wells is a crazy sick goalkeeper. He's a vocal leader in the back and can be a rock for 10+ years to come. Good pickup in my opinion.

"I'm delighted! Wells stinks. Thanks for taking a Metro reject!

Posted by: Mastodon Juan | December 12, 2007 02:15 PM"

Thanks. BTW - how's your GK situation right now?

This sucks. I understand that Perkins' imminent departure made it necessary, so I can't blame the DCU front office, but the situation as a whole simply sucks. Circumstance just forced us to trade the 2006 Defender of the Year for someone else's backup goalkeeper. We now have exactly 4 MLS-caliber players in a 4-player back line. We lost $20,000 of cap space in this trade. I like what I've seen from Zach Wells, so he should be a decent replacement, but we basically just paid $20,000 to downgrade at two positions. That sucks.

Good luck in Houston, Bobby. Welcome, Zach - here's hoping you play well enough to make this trade a good one.

"Perkins hasn't left yet.

Posted by: DirtyHarry | December 12, 2007 02:23 PM"

EXACTLY.

I'm as good as gone jerks.

I'm sorry to see Boswell & Perkins go. Somehow, I don't see how United comes out ahead in all this. Oh, and nothing but the best of luck to Bozilla & Perkins except for when you play against United -- thanks for the memories, guys!

In my previous comment, my negativity caused me to forget that Perkins' salary will now be off the books, and we will receive a transfer fee from the Norwegian club, so DCU's financial/salary cap situation isn't quite as gloomy as I suggested. But my incisive "this sucks" analysis still stands.

I thought Boswell was going to the EPL. Houston isn't EPL last time I checked. . . .

If anyone wants to see the aforementioned PK save, it can be found here 2 minutes in:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsDRXdPSa4g

Jerks? We didn't let the ball go thru our hands in Mexico.

Unless EPL is El Paso League...

Jerks? We didn't let the ball go thru our hands in Mexico.

Posted by: GetReal | December 12, 2007 02:38 PM
------------------------------------
At least I get to travel all around the world and pursue my dream while you sit at your borning desk job wishing for something better.

http://www.zachwells.com/ is available...if any of you are greedy :)

Does DCU have the ability to block Perkins' transfer or is it all up to the league?

If we can block it, we should. Perkins is under contract and there's no way the defending SS winner should allow itself to trade a valuable commodity for a backup keeper to start next year with.

Boooooo!

Good Luck bobby!

Jeff M -- how do you figure we lost $20k of cap space, given that Perkins is also leaving and we had to replace him with *someone*? Wells is significantly cheaper than Perkins -- on the whole, we *gained* cap space.

If Perkins is leaving, we have to replace him with someone. We weren't going to get a halfway decent keeper from anyone without giving something significant up. That's just reality. Deal with it.

I'm sorry Bobby's going -- I will really, really miss him. He's the central figure in my all-time favorite picture of the Barra.

http://img293.imageshack.us/img293/4290/web68sab5mx.jpg

But we had to get a keeper, and we could do a lot worse than Wells. And we were going to have to give up something significant, and a defender who has struggled of late and wants to follow Troy to Norway in a year is a reasonable choice. I hate the cold reality of it, but there it is.

The Cannon trade would have been perfect and a total steal for DC. Too good to be true, I guess. With that trade gone, I guess this is the best possible alternative. If we are going to lose Perkins, getting a promising, up and coming dude seems like a good decision. It's not like there are a lot of quality GKs in this league that are on the trading block.

It seems like the front office has a lot of work left to do. Bringing in a big-time defender just got bumped to the top of the priorities list.

Anyway, best of luck to Boswell. In my mind, he was a good player and it's too bad that he seemed to fall out of favor in DC.

Does DCU have the ability to block Perkins' transfer or is it all up to the league?
Posted by: kjm | December 12, 2007 02:43 PM
-----------------

Why would DC block the Perkins transfer if they just traded for Wells?

I'm not too broken up about Boswell leaving. The defensive lineup that took us to the Supporters Shield didn't include him. The lineup that choked it up to Chicago in the final game did. I'm still waiting for Soehn to explain that one.

How will United address the loss of BobbyBoswell.com? That's the real question.

Posted by: dcu fan | December 12, 2007 01:50 PM
--------------------------------

BB.com is owned by Bobby so goes with him in the trade. Do not be surprised if it has an orange background soon.

The point is could DC have prevented the need to trade for Wells by making Perkins stay in DC?

If so, they should have, and either kept BB or traded him for a position of need -- rather than downgrade their team.

My guess is it's all up to the league, but I don't know.

Bootsy - see my follow-up comment; I spotted the same error in my logic that you did. The missing $20K comes from the Boswell for Wells exchange, but, yes, we should also factor in Perkins' roughly $90,000 - money that we will now probalby have to spend on a defender. I'm curious to see how the salary and talent of our new defender/goalkeepr combo compare with the salary and talent of our old defender/goalkeeper combo.

We heard rumors that we were going to lose Bobby to the Puerto Rico Islanders after next season so the move made sense.

Does this series of events give any more traction to the "Mastroeni to DC as a Central Defender" rumor?

Wow...DCU gives up on Boswell and Erpen and has replaced them with Vanney. GOOD MOVE? Down grades at keeper and no news of a real replacement for BB. I'm not to happy about the moves. I hope there is a good package of players coming in the form of a xmas present.

Looks like a good trade for both teams.

houston wins
Perkins wins
BB wins
DCU TBD

Isn't it funny how MLS trades players for one another. I guess they follow the American sport system of trading. Not sure which method makes more sense. I feel like the player trades are more thrifty.

http://www.futbolink.wordpress.com

Esky - Gone
Gros - Gone
Bobby - Gone
Lesbo - Gone
Nicky - Gone

Sigh...It is painful to get too attached to the players in the shirt these days, but we still do.

So, the team that, two years ago, had the Player of the Year, the Defender of the Year, and the Goalkeeper of the Year has now lost two of the three, with the third a possible no-show. Good job, Soehn. You're successfully running off/trading all of Nowak's team.

I welcome Zack Wells. He did really well in CONCACAF last year being subbed on in a VERY hostile stadium at Puntarenas. He knows how to handle pressure.

Bobby, it was nice knowing you. Will miss Bobby Boswell.com
Oh well there is always http://www.lucianoemilio.com

:)

So, the team that, two years ago, had the Player of the Year, the Defender of the Year, and the Goalkeeper of the Year has now lost two of the three, with the third a possible no-show. Good job, Soehn. You're successfully running off/trading all of Nowak's team.

Posted by: | December 12, 2007 03:15 PM

---------------------------

Uh, yeah.

This is all part of Soehn's secret plan.

I see it now.

Note to Bobby: If you had to be traded, you could have done a lot worse. Houston is a happening town, and the team has been consistently successful. Reports are that Kinnear is a great coach to play for, and it should be good for both you and Eddie Robinson to team up together. And you will still get to play in all of the international tournaments. So, we'll miss you, but congratulations and good luck.

DC United are the losers in the trade for the second time in a row, first with Facu. Vanney was brought to win the MLS Cup, and how did that go?
*******************************************

Seriously? He helped shore up the defense and take DC to the supporter's shield. What did Facu do for the Rapids? I like Boswell, but it's clear he was only going to be in DC one more season at the most.

Like any prudent team, if DC can make money by selling Perkins, it makes total sense to do it, especially if the oncoming keeper is more or less equal in quality or show greater upside.

DC is losing millions every year due to the stadium situation (zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz) so it they can pocket 900-odd grand from a $1 million transfer fee, the should do it.

All things being equal we went from a team with the MLS GK of the Year and Defender of the Year, ADDED talent (Emilio, Fred and Burch) had an MVP and Golden Boot and still go the same cruddy result. Boswell hit the wall this year. Troy probably lost us as many games as he won for us. You could make the argument that some of the goals allowed by the out of position defenders were attributed at least in part to his lack of command in the back and faulty organization.

With that said, I have to think they are shopping for a defender.

Namoff was a wreck this year. His lack of pace was embarassing, especially against teams like Chivas (MX) with quick forwards. Burch held his own. Our outside backs need the pace to catch up when they inevitably get turned by an attacker.

I think Simms could make a fine right back, he has pace and can provide a spark in the counterattack (something I though Facundo did pretty well and DC missed this season). But with Carroll gone, there is no one besides Simms to take the CDM role. Plus, Gros is out of the picture, so we lose a pacy player able to fill in at outside back.

DC needs, at minimum:
- 2 centerbacks (1 excellent + 1 quality backup, ideally able to play in the middle or on the flank)
- 1 right back

Uh, yeah.

This is all part of Soehn's secret plan.

I see it now.

Posted by: MattMathai | December 12, 2007 03:19 PM
-------------------------------------------

Well, maybe not part of the plan, but certainly is the result.

Defense is very important. Houston has won two MLS Cups in a row with great defense, a quality playmaker, and little up front when Brian Ching is hurt. Houston did a great job replacing Ryan Cochrane with Bobby Boswell. They are going to be really good next year.

I'm saddest to see Troy Perkins go. I always thought he brought a great attitude to the team. Check out DC United's 2006 MLS award winners:

MLS Defender of the Year - Gone
MLS Goalkeeper of the year - Gone
MLS MVP - Probably Gone

I hate to say it but with Moreno probably having one more season left DC United is definitely in the 'rebuilding' process. The 2006 Nowak team is almost completely gone. At least we still have Olsen and Namoff.

Lesbo?

I've seen Wells play a few times, both with Houston and for the metros. I thought he looked good every time, especially for Houston in the Champions Cup games back in March. Anyone who says that he's worse than Nolly can be dismissed out of hand.

The problem with this deal isn't Zach Wells. The problem is that we are now down to 2 center backs. We went from having less depth than is reasonable to having literally no depth at the position. While I believe the team understands this and has something in the works, I also believed last offseason that we weren't foolish enough to go into the season with only Boswell, Erpen, and McTavish, and look what happened.

It sucks that Boswell is leaving on a personal level. He really seemed proud to be here, was always doing things in the community, and even handled his being benched without complaining. On the field, though, I figure our CB-to-be-named (note: I know there haven't even been rumors other than Mastroeni, but seriously, not getting two more CBs would be Lalas-level mismanagement) would have pushed him to fourth on the depth chart.

I'm delighted! Wells stinks. Thanks for taking a Metro reject!

Posted by: Mastodon Juan | December 12, 2007 02:15 PM

Troll! Welcome back! How's that goalkeeper situation now? You have Water..oops, he retired after collecting money and taking an extended vaca in NYC. Bet you wish you had Wells now, don't you? Got coach?

The deal is now official. United gets Wells and a 2009 conditional draft pick.

Happy to have even more money for Osorio to bring in some big guns! We're close to a million now! If only we could cut Claudio.

Esky - Gone
Gros - Gone
Bobby - Gone
Lesbo - Gone
Nicky - Gone

Sigh...It is painful to get too attached to the players in the shirt these days, but we still do.

Posted by: jgildea | December 12, 2007 03:11 PM

------------------------------------------

And BC gone
And Troy gone
And Erpen gone
And Gomez (who knows)
(I don't know who "Lesbo" is, BTW).

Six (maybe seven) starters from the 2006 season. But we still have Benny, Jaime, and Bryan from that team. And Clyde, who wasn't a full-time starter. Whew! Massive overhaul in two years. Is it over yet?

Wow. Another loss in an already thin back line.

Posted by: Bart | December 12, 2007 02:18 PM

Uh....do we have a game on Saturday?

"DC is losing millions every year due to the stadium situation (zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz) so it they can pocket 900-odd grand from a $1 million transfer fee, the should do it."

ORLY.

ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

Goff?

"I welcome Zack Wells. He did really well in CONCACAF last year being subbed on in a VERY hostile stadium at Puntarenas. He knows how to handle pressure."

Oh yeah? I remember him getting bailed out by Craig Waibel when he dinked the a header right to a Pachuca player. Very Perkins-esque. Unfortunately, DC won't have Waibel to save his hide.

And Little Zach gave up five in the return leg to ensure his team's CONCACAF failure.

I'd be asking the doctor for Valium if I were Soehn.

Happy to have even more money for Osorio to bring in some big guns! We're close to a million now! If only we could cut Claudio.

Posted by: Mastodon Juan | December 12, 2007 03:27 PM

Same old Jersey, always sucking. The Veruca Salt of American sports, "I want, I want, I want." Osorry-o will have the same success Cheating Bob had: none. Always rebuilding, always looking for the "big guns." What happens when Red Bull goes broke?

Not that 2nd round draft picks are generally worth much in MLS, but what's the condition on receiving the 2nd round pick in '09? If not met, does DC get no draft pick or a lower one?

Oh yeah? I remember him getting bailed out by Craig Waibel when he dinked the a header right to a Pachuca player. Very Perkins-esque. Unfortunately, DC won't have Waibel to save his hide.

And Little Zach gave up five in the return leg to ensure his team's CONCACAF failure.

I'd be asking the doctor for Valium if I were Soehn.

Posted by: Mastodon Juan | December 12, 2007 03:36 PM

Big talk from a troll whose team is a giant sucking hole.

Yeah, he was the reason Houston lost at Pachuca. So, on the one hand Waibel bails him out but then leaves him out to dry for five. Hmmmm....sounds like you talk out of your butt.

"If we are going to lose Perkins, getting a promising, up and coming dude seems like a good decision."

Three teams in three years, and he'll be 27 by the start of the season? Sounds like a journeyman, not a "promising up and comer."

Regarding a transfer fee for Perkins, Norway is a super rich country but who knows the financials of this club? With the dollar in the dumps, probably a million $USD transfer is chicken feed. You have to believe that the players on Valerenga are making decent money. Hell a beer in Oslo costs $10!! In any case the dollars will be good for DCU to shore up the D and improve other salaries. Good luck Troy.

mastodon juan = a clown. he says some funny things once in a while.

MJ -- when that team of suckholes wins something, then maybe I'll give a little credence to your thoughts.

"So, on the one hand Waibel bails him out but then leaves him out to dry for five."

Did you see the first leg? Wells delicately headed the ball right to a Pachuca player, and only Waibel's desperate lunge and sliding clearance kept the ball out of the goal.

But even Craig Waibel couldn't help Wells in the second leg. He's a great defender, much better than anybody on DC's back line, but even he can't fix everything.

As soon as anyone is linked to DC, they're in the All-World XI to you people! Wells is a totally average keeper. With a strong back line (presently missing from DC), he'll probably do okay, but I guarantee that there will be some big howlers that will have some of you missing even Perkins.

"On behalf of the organization, I would like to thank Bobby for everything he has contributed to us on and off the field. He has grown tremendously as a player during the last three years, and we wish the best of luck in his career."
-KP

Would it kill him to atleast personalize the statement a little? He says the same thing each time.

We all know the real reason Bobby was traded. All thanks to Agent Binkley.

No matter what the Perkins deal is for, DC will NOT get 90% of the fee. Remember, MLS owns the contracts. I'd be pretty happy if United got 25% of the deal, but expect something lower than that.

We are downgrading our keeper and losing the 2006 defender of the year. Not a good day for DCU. Now if Gomez leaves too, that will be 3 of our top XI gone in the offseason. We need the Veron signing to happen quick so I don't stay depressed the whole offseason.

Binks, go stand next to Emilio.

re:MJ -- when that team of suckholes wins something, then maybe I'll give a little credence to your thoughts.

Have you learned nothing? The La Manga Cup is the only cup that is worth anything, in this reality.

HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

"On behalf of the organization, I would like to thank Bobby for everything he has contributed to us on and off the field. He has grown tremendously as a player during the last three years, and we wish the best of luck in his career."
-KP

Would it kill him to atleast personalize the statement a little? He says the same thing each time.

Posted by: Glaucon | December 12, 2007 03:52 PM
----------------------------------------

Agreed. Just traded the team's 3-time Humanitarian of the Year - he could have at least acknowledged that fact.

Just because the kroner can eat the dollar for lunch and have change left over for dinner doesn't mean that Valeranganengner will overpay for Perkins.

Goff, is there any word on the size of the actual transfer fee?

Chest:

actually, under the new rules established last summer, I think the teams get 75 percent of the fee, and the league gets the rest.

But how much of that 3/4ths can go to salaries? IS DC SECRETLY SITTING ON ONE AND HALF MILLION SALARY CAP DOLLARS FROM THE FREDDY ADU DEAL?? I MUST KNOW.

In a non-retarded league, you can google this stuff. But all I can find for the MLS is Goffer's famous salary numbers, the #1 scoop in MLS journalism history.

First Esky and Rimando...now Boz. Where are all the fan favorites going?

MJ:

well, it can all go to salaries, of course. And you get a player allocation from MLS to the tune of the player's salary cap number in compensation. So DCU has a part, who knows how much, of the allocation RSL got for selling Freddy, for instance. the allocation can be used to buy down salary cap numbers. the rest is just cash.

Ummm, Erick, I don't think Namoff was a "wreck" this year. He was named the team's defender of the year by the coaches and his peers.

As for Perkins, I hope he scores a ton of kroner in Norway, but I would like to know how it works over there because the team he is alledgedly going to only averages 13,800 Norwegian fannies per match. That's much worse than United. And they share their stadium.

lesbo = Brian Carroll. Ever look at his haircut?

"As for Perkins, I hope he scores a ton of kroner in Norway, but I would like to know how it works over there because the team he is alledgedly going to only averages 13,800 Norwegian fannies per match. That's much worse than United. And they share their stadium."

TV money. Cheaper lease. Higher prize money. Greater sponsorship. A share of revenues when playing internationally.

Teams who aren't DC (bad stadium deal, no shirt sponsor, insignificant TV contract) have many more revenue streams. MLS has the opportunity over time to tap into that-- unless snobs feel like taking $5 million from the likes of Herbalife, or having an Austrian soft drink manufacturer spend hundreds of millions on your stadium, sullies their famous "brand."

Oh, I forgot: lower transportation costs, transfer fees, and much higher ticket prices.

"well, it can all go to salaries, of course"

So if Jozy is sold to Real Madrid for $10 million, New York can outspend any other MLS team by a factor of five? I don't buy it. It has to max out somewhere. Probably much lower.

What if RBNY sells John Wolyniec to Red Bull Salzberg for $100 million?

I smell BS.

I smell BS.

Posted by: Mastodon Juan | December 12, 2007 04:39 PM

Then you're smelling yourself...or your home in Jersey. Either way, why don't you just disappear like DC United just beat the Red Bulls with 10 men again.

MJ:

because, of course, you cannot exceed the salary cap (which is why you are stuck with Claudio, see?) and by reading my post carefully (like RedBull should have done with Reyna's contract) you can see that you receive an allocation equivalent to the salary cap hit of the departing player (oh, why do I bother?) which, in the case of Jozy is roughly $100,000. on the other hand, they get cold, hard cash worth 75% of the transfer fee. So if they sold Jozy for $10m in the July transfer window, they would get the allocation to fill his spot and $7.5 in walking around money, which would pay for two years of payroll.

Goff may be afraid to leave you all alone for fear you will eat one another in a feeding frenzy unless he throws new chum in the water once in a while.

How does this help our problems in the back?

I will miss Boswell, but he had become very inconsistent this year. I hope he does well for the Dynamo and recovers his consistency and plays like he is capable. He is definitely going to a strong side and will be in contention for MLS Cups down the road. But the bigger question is whether this new keeper can replace Perkins, or if there are plans to bring in another keeper. Do we know enough about Wells to know if he is a number 1 keeper or a backup?

Personally, I thought Wells did pretty well with the Metros, and he looked better still with the Dynamo, in limited chances. If he's the #1 when the season starts, we won't see much, if any drop-off. He's no all-star, but he's got some skills. If he plays regularly, he should gain confidence to go along with those skills. He'll be all right.

On the other hand, I wonder if this still isn't a precursor to a deal for Cannon. It seems to me that LA would still need a goalie, if they dealt Cannon. Perhaps, United is thinking it can package Wells, perhaps with Kpene or Dyachenko, and get Cannon? They've really whetted my appetite for seeing Cannon manning the nets at RFK. Dare I hope it might still happen?

TO WRC -- the reason we deal players here, instead of selling them, is that we don't want a caste system here. The other football leagues are all dominated by the handful of teams that can afford to buy up the best players. MLS is getting away from the single-entity concept, but the salary cap should still work to create competitive balance.

The primary reason why the NFL remains so much more popular than the other sports leagues is the long tradition of profit-sharing, and more recently the salary cap. It works to make it possible for teams like the Green Bay Packers to compete with the Washington Redskins. Moreover, if teams stay on top for an extended period, because they have collected excellent players, they are forced back towards the pack eventually. Their players seek riches elsewhere as the team gets capped out. It's frustrating for fans of that team, but it creates hope for fans of the other teams. There is also the draft system, which gives the weakest teams the first shot at selecting the best amateur players.

I don't think it's even arguable which system is better. Look at the EPL or Serie A, or La Liga. You know coming into the season with virtual certainty that three of the same 4 teams will finish at the top and qualify for the Champions' League -- more often than not, it will be the same four teams. If you root for one of the other teams, you go into every season knowing they will not be the champion. While Chelsea and Barcelona are thrilled with the system, it's destroying those leagues.

Wells > Perkins

Good stuff.

GOFF do you think that this could be a plan for HOUSTON to go after cannon in the same place as DC United. As in Houston trades Boswell and allocation to Dallas for Ruiz then trades Ruiz to LA for Cannon ?

Just a thought

Wells > Boswell