...

Onstad or Wells?

One is old the other is green.

Unless Perkins has told DCU that he is definitely leaving, this is insane.

Are you just f-ing with us Goff?

It's quite the fluid situation...

Wells came in and played solid in CCC last fall, but I'm not sure I'd prefer him over Perkins. Is Perkins gone no matter what?

So, we finally have reached the ridiculousness threshold of MLS. Who thought that would ever happen?

this is no good

Please do not use the words "fluid situation" again goffer...
This is crazy though. Your phone bill is going to be insane!

Yikes - can't we just keep Perkins? Pretty please.

see? more league favoritism for LA. Once again, Fifth Avenue steps in to help save Lalas from his own stupidity. can you imagine haveing three players basically count as a third of your cap number? $400 for Beck, $400 for Ruiz and $600 (I think) for Donovan. What, not EJ to complete the package?

by the way, unless it was a lot of cash, this would have been a steal for DCU (I assume it was mostly AEG's cash, since Boz for Ruiz ain't good for Dallas either)

Good to see the league step in and say "No" to the Galaxy.

this is indeed surprising, MLS will not allow the Galaxy 3 DPs? What is this league becoming? The Galaxy should always have the rules bent for them...

I feel Perkins is one of the best keepers in MLS and has a shot at becoming a USNT regular if he improves his game a bit. Maybe a move to Europe is just the right thing at this point in his career, I say this now but if what ever keeper comes in to DC next season and there are big, brutal mistakes I'll be lamenting this decision to send Perkins on his way.

If Boswell is gone, that means so is any depth at the CB position. Now there's just 2. Maybe this is a position United will look to fill in the draft.

my head hurts

If Boswell goes, then does that mean Vanney's here to stay?

I think we can stop trying to predict things for the rest of the month...Just enjoy the circus.

Aiyeeee! Replacing Perkins with Cannon is a fine plan if Perkins is set on leaving. Replacing Perkins with whoever Houston found expendable while trading Boswell at the same time... all I can say is, they'd better find a way to get a high-grade center back on the squad.

Of course, we all know the deal will change again, and again, and again... no sense getting worked up until the dust settles.

Mr. Goff, next year, when you think about scheduling a vacation at this time? Don't. Wait until January. It's the only way to be sure.

Hey Steven,

Any chance you could ask the front office about Jay Needham? Is there any thoughts about calling him into camp and seeing if maybe he will sign for '08? If Boswell is gone we could use the depth.

Many things are sure to happen this offseason. If, for instance, Boswell goes, it probably means the club is preparing to add a central defender. It's not going to all happen in one day.

DC is getting the short end of the stick on any deal. They were the best team in the league over the course of the entire season and now are being radically overhauled. Even if it appears that they'll look better on paper (which I'm not sure it does) that is no guarantee of how it will translate come next spring and summer.

From what I've heard, there are no plans at the moment to bring in Needham. His reviews in the USL were not exactly glowing -- well, at least not glowing enough to make an impression in MLS. Just what I've heard. Things could change.

Without Boswell, who becomes DC's designated blogger?

By "one of the houston keepers" you best mean Pat Onstad, not Zach Wells.

Granted, I only saw Needham 4 times last season, but I was pretty impressed with him. I think he'd be fine in MLS.

Probably not from Day 1 of training camp, but he could develop into something solid.

How's that vacation coming?

Maybe you can put on some ambient music akin to "waves on the beach" and close your eyes?

Crap. This is not looking good for DC. Boswell is a big part of DC United, both on and off the field, and without him, we will have no depth at Center back. We've learned we cannot play the 4-4-2 and with Vanney nearing retirement and injuries more and more likely, we will only have Mctavish at centerback for some of the season. We all know it takes foreigners some time to adapt, so we cannot rely on a signing for Argentina or the like.

If DCU is aiming at acquiring Pat Onstad, we are saying "We're looking at winning everything."

I'll be happy with someone that can defend and not blog ;-)

Despite Perkins' perpetual problems with distribution, neither Onstad nor Wells are an upgrade, IMHO. Yes, I know Houston's defensive stats last year; but I don't think either goalkeeper can grab credit for that.

Where's Bouna at?

I'll be happy with someone that can defend and not blog ;-)

Posted by: Kev | December 11, 2007 05:33 PM
============================================

Goff's team says the same thing about him! :)

With the loss of Cochrane to SJ, Houston needed another centerback, and with the sale of Troy to Europe, DC needs a goalkeeper. But realistically, regardless of whether it's Onstad or Wells, Houston got the better end of this deal.

i guess this means that bozilla really wore out his welcome with soehn over the last year because the front office is willing to make even a bad deal to get rid of him. i don't like this one bit.

From what I've heard, there are no plans at the moment to bring in Needham. His reviews in the USL were not exactly glowing -- well, at least not glowing enough to make an impression in MLS. Just what I've heard. Things could change.

Posted by: Goff

***

Well, to be fair, Needham *did* win USL-1 Rookie of the Year honors. I mean, maybe that's not "glowing," but it oughta count for something.

Maybe it's just bad timing for the Galaxy and they're moving Donovan. "Just let it go through - we promise to move Landy before the season starts..."

LA has a salary cap?

My feeling on this is that Perkins most probably informed United that he is looking at overseas options and United is doing what they can to cover that eventuality.

I would take Wells over Onstad. I think Onstad is a good goalie but honestly there isn't much tread left on those tires. Wells is a decent keeper. Anyone remember the 15 save game he had with the Mutts in a 0-0 draw in NJ in 05' against us? Quite a few of thoses saves were damn impressive. Additonally, he played very well in the CCC when Onstad was hurt.

As for Stone Cold Boswell, it's pretty obvious the front office was not fond of his innattentiveness last season either on the field or off of it.

This attempted deal just goes to show that Lalas/Bravo have no idea what they are doing.

Thank god MLS is saving the Galaxy from themselves...

To all those who automatically assumed LA could do whatever it wanted:

HA HA

With all of this activity, you have to believe that Perkins has spoken to the front office about his future (and DCU is not in it). I think you may be right about the front office and Boswell.

Goff - Here is a thought. Vanney is an experienced player with a few years left in his tank. McTavish and another young player (like a Jay Needham) could learn from him. This "mentoring" could set the table for a consistent backline over the next few years. Of course, deals have to be made first.

One sidebar on Needham. DCU drafted him as a central defender. Colin Clarke played him at outside back in Puerto Rico. I saw him play this year as well. He was a good outsdie back, but a lot better central defender.

This is why MLS is becoming so relevant. I love all of this offseason trade rumors, although much of it is questionable. From my perspective it looks as though Payne and Co. have targeted a Central Defender from South America, and will use the draft to add depth. I still think DC's priority should add speed in the back, add a winger, push Fred into the middle, add another striker, and overhaul our bench. If Perkins leaves, I won't be too upset. At times he suffers from the same brain farts as does Bobby Boswell. I do think it is imperative to resign Gomez due to his passion and play for United, and add some topflight youth to the team. I remember a time, when United used to be loaded with a bunch of US Men's senior nationals. Whatever happened to that approach?

I hope we don't bring in Onstad. He was a good MLS keeper but last year was starting to show signs of his years getting the better of him. I think he would be at best an equivalent goalie to Perkins next year and itd only be downhill after that. Wells has shown some promise but with all the competitions we'll be in and the standards we have I'm not sure a green goalie is a good fit. But maybe that can be overcome if we bring in the right experienced CB.

A bit OT, but since this this discussion is presumably moving to the new thread that Goff just started...

Some people may be interested in this feature on Nick Hornby:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/12/10/AR2007121001716.html

It seems a Donovan move to SJ would be the perfect solution to all of this...

Ugh. This is a disaster! Despite a few flubs Perkins has been a good keeper. Extremely solid during our undefeated run, and remember the game in K.C. he won almost single-handedly (goal not included)? Wells won't replace him. Onstad won't replace him. Cannon is freaking awesome (for MLS). The Gals would not be where they were without Cannon in the second half. The FO risks team cohesion if everyone is gone. I think Gomez deserves 2 years, especially if Boz and Troy are gone. Now that he was dangled in front of us, I want Cannon. If not him, Troy is second best IMO. Maybe we can get that bad ass MF'er from Pachuca. That would be awesome. Ugh. Keeping my fingers crossed.

DC United Fan that was back when only a handful of players on the national team were playing in top Euro leagues. Nowadays we can almost field an entire starting 11 playing in good leagues. As a result there are far fewer spots for top MLS players on the team. Just look around the league there aren't any teams with more than one or two true national team players.

Ditching the Boz and keeping Vanney? Don't like it one bit.

For teams with an existing DP, do the grandfathered DP's count as reduced salary cap DP's (like Angel) or are their cap figures set at some other amount?

Cannon > Wells/Onstad > Perkins