Score some goals Emilio - or VW may not drive you to your next team.

Philosophically, is it good to reward a player that is not performing well?

Either you're professional and prepare and perform or you don't.

Emilio is in a no-win situation. If he improves, he will be considered as not trying hard at the beginning. If he doesn't, DCU will be considered foolish to invest more money on player not performing.

hmmmm....

Good move on the part of DCU. They have basically said to Emilio here's your money for last year; give us production this year or else we will sell you to Mexico or wherever.

I like this, because it allows us to see if that really has been the problem with Emilio so far this season. If it isnt, it allows DC to have an out to sell him/trade him and sign a second DP, sometime this year, that will provide that scoring we need. It's a well done political play on the part of United.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/gregory_sica/05/07/argentina.libertadores/index.html?eref=T1

Read that and I think we can all appreciate some of the cyclicality that comes to sports.

SCORE EMILIO - Goals = $$$$

when is the summer transfer window again?

Personally, I don't think he is holding out on the goals. We are dry up front because of the midfield. The front line are not getting any service. Christian deserved a DP and so does Fred. Hope Luciano does well with it, he deserved one too for last year. Looking forward to going to watch Christian's brother in MD.

I can not believe this!!! With the way he has been playing this year he can not be a designated player specially he performs like that. Front office better have some good reasons and contract clause in the joint. Wow.... This is too much for early in the morning and for the game day!!!

Once again, the front office makes a mind-blowing decision. I didn't think they could be more bumbling.

How much sense does it make to spend more on a guy that you may not even be able to sell come summer?

The offers from overseas surely dried up. The ONLY way this works is if he scores 15 goals between now and the August transfer deadline so that DCU can dump his contract.

I need to go find my season tickets and warm up my paper shredder.

Finally, so why did they travel to Argentina? To sign another wasted international roster spot? Look back, only one Argentine has made a lasting consistent impact of the team (Gomez).

I wish I owned stock, so I could call for a vote and get these jokers off of the Board.

Bubbles,

The reason why Emilio is not scoring goals is because he has been given the ball too far away from goal and cannot beat anyone off the dribble because he does not have the speed and quickness to do so. Defenses have figured him out. Saying that he has not been given service is inaccurate, it is where he is getting the ball is the problem. So, Emilio needs to makes runs into the box to receive the ball or find spots near the goal that better suit his scoring style. I don't blame the middies or Gallardo as he has been playing some killer balls to the forwards, ala Etch., it's just that we don't have forwards with the vision, speed and skill like we did when Etch had Rocket Roy, Arce and Moreno. We need to get a striker that fits into our system, not pay someone more money for a lack of goal scoring production.

This is unbelievable. I could've justified making the move this past offseason, rewarding him for what he'd done. I would've supported it 100%. But now, after he's played poorly this season, I don't get the rewarding. Why reward him now for what he did last year when he's not contributed much this year?

I love this move. If you look at Emilio's career path, he follows the money. I bet he's motivated/happy and scores two on Chicago tonight.

This may not be the worst move.

If we lose Ben Olsen for the year - we eat his whole salary. The spot on the roster opens up - but how much Cap room is left for that?

If we hate Emilio by the summer - I'm not sure DP's cap hit are player specific - meaning (and someone please tell me if I'm wrong) we could ship him to the J-League and sign anyone we wanted - knowing that they'll only count $325/$375 against the cap and the actual contract can be different.

I do recall that anyone that comes in later their salary is pro-rated versus the cap - so an exiting DP replaced in August would only really be a $187.5/162.5 hit against the cap.

You can call it dumb all you want - but if it builds in some cap flexibility for when the transfer window opens - then it was never a bad move given how this guy is the lightning rod for criticism in this team right now.

I am not as patient as DCU front office. I would have made Emilio pack his bags early this season. He is visibly not in shape and acting as a prima donna. He has a contract he doesnt like. Well, you should not have signed it, Luciano! I hope we can sell him quickly and get a real quality DP striker, someone of Palermo's caliber. Thanks Goff for ruining my day. Good reporting, nevertheless.

how much say does Soehn have in these matters, and other personnel moves (like new overseas acquisitions)? I just wonder the impact MLS coaches have in general on creating the team they want.

To all you "the FO are idiots" dorks, this is a great move because if we want to sign a DP over the summer, the *only* way we can do so is if we sell Emilio and clear his salary off the books anyway.

Pay for performance, or job security? Since when are players entitled to both. If this becomes precedent, the team is in trouble. Perhaps character should move up in priority on the scouting checklist?

Does anyone know how this DP slot system works? Do teams that have traded for extra slots, such as DC and the Red Bulls, keep them in perpetuity while those who traded theirs away, such as Chivas and Colorado, don't get one unless they trade for one?

Suppose next year both Emilio and Gallardo are transferred to European teams. Do we still have two DP slots that we can then use to acquire two more DPs?

(I know it's pretty foolish to ask about MLS personnel rules and such. The real answer, I suppose, is whatever policy favors the Galaxy is the policy of MLS).

If strago has it right -- "They have basically said to Emilio here's your money for last year; give us production this year or else we will sell you to Mexico or wherever."
--then fine, but reading Goff it sounds more like an $87,000 raise for gaining 5 or 10 pounds and repeatedly getting caught with his back to the goal and no ideas.

I like better the guys like Perkins, Burch, old Boswell who play/ed hard and have/had a good attitude despite low pay, in the hopes of getting more.

WHAT! April fools was 6 weeks ago.

Emilio is not scoring goals because the league figured out how to play him. he isn't fast and he has terrible first touch. Just get between him and the goal.

Hey DC: I've scored just as many goals as emilio in the last three weeks. I'll guarantee you the same output over the next three, but I will gladly do it for league minimum. Email me and I'll tell you where you can send the check.

they weren't using the slot anyway, due to cap restrictions. This is more of a message, to Emilio that it's time to step up, and to the rest of the team (Fred?) that the club will reward excellent play the next year. Good gamble, I think.

the heat is on!

If you read exactly what Goff said, it reads as follows:

"United must sign him to a new deal, trade him or sell him abroad."

One of those 3 things HAS to happen this year. United was never going to sign another DP with Emilio on the books, they dont have the cap room for it, even with Olsen retiring. By upgrading Emilio's contract they are taking a 12k a year cap room hit (325k for 2nd DP). On top of that, they put this nice get out of jail free clause in the contract. That's all it is. It's basically a half-season trial run as a DP. If he doesnt increase his goal scoring/play, hes gone.

Now it's easy for fans to spread that DP "hate" and "disappointment" around.

I'm sure Gallardo is happy he can share the DP label (and EXPECTATIONS) with some other player on United.

All Emilio has to do is have a better season than Claudio Lopez, and I'm guessing most people will be happy.

Emilio: "I been thinkin-about your A-game ... when ya gonna bring it? When ya gonna bring it??"

The reason why Emilio is not scoring goals is because he has been given the ball too far away from goal
------------------------------------------

Well...sort of... I can think of three or four times this year he's gotten service right in front of goal and headed it straight at the keeper. I think there were a couple other close ones too -- he converts half of those (as he did last year), and we're not having this discussion.

Now we know why Emilio was smiling in those VW uniform pictures...

Emilio a DP, Geez, what a joke.

The guy scored 20 goals last year. He could still easily knock in 15-18 this year.

It's too early to know how this move (roster designation) will work out for United, and if it will be a sad, cruel joke on its fans.

I don't think it will be.

At times like this, i wish we had roy lassiter again.

unbelievable... I wonder if this has anything to do with ownership wanting to get into the mix more due to the slow start.

I predict a beat down tonight. The question is who will come out on top.

Yeah, this front office sux....what have they ever done? Just think of what this franchise could have accomplished with a real front office. We could have had 10-12 trophys by now....

Oh, wait we do....

Thomas Gravesen is available. He was released by Everton. He would be an upgrade over
Simms as a holding/defensive midfielder.

Dont know what to think about this... I hope Goose is right but I dunno.

There's no question about who's coming out on top. If DC even makes it interesting I'll be surprised. Don't get me wrong. I love the black and red. But Chicago has been playing lights out, and DC just can't get it going. No way we win tonight.

Hahahahahahahaha!

OMG!

Hahahahaha!

So does this mean Thierry Henry is out? ;-)

It's a roll of the dice on both fronts. DCU could opt out at the summer transfer window and Emilio could light it up. If he score 15-20 goals this season he can pretty much write his ticket overseas. If he continues to stink it up he could be playing along side Ronald Cerrito's next year.

Whoah.

A Metro/RBNY-worthy decision. I would have expected more from DC.

edgeonyou,

I completely agree about what you stated. I saw most of those moments and thought he was unlucky not to score on a couple of those headers. It's feast or famine when it comes to goal scoring.

I don't lay his scoring drought completely on his shoulders (as others have said, the midfield has a role in that too), but there is no way he is worth a DP slot or more money the way he has been playing this year. The man can't even hold the ball for christ sake.

If he really has been dogging it (I don't think so) due to being unhappy with his current contract, then that's even less of a reason to up it for him.

I guess it is just so rare that our FO makes truly left field decisions (unlike our friends to the north or the wandering Lalas show) that they feel even worse when they do happen.

-dave

Emilio didn't take care of himself in the offseason and now he is slow and not in the game, more money isn't going to change that!

So now that Emilio has a DP contract, who exactly are we going to sell/trade him to if he continues to underperform the rest of the way?

I don't get that aspect of the deal. If he performs well, sure. Any of the three options (sell/trade/re-sign) are in play. But if he doesn't play well, none of them are and we are stuck with a second DP contract.

wow..that kinda stinks. Emilio (so far in this very young season) looks terrible for DP money hmm seems like a waste.

Would rather spend it on Gravesen since Simms really stinks - BC is so much better than Simms - me thinks tommy put the wrong guy on the expansion list.

I miss troy perkins...

This is screwed. He is not holding up scoring skills because of the pay. That would be totally foolish. Every professional player should know that. That sort of metal game will only reduce their values and increase the disinterest from other clubs.

what? i'm a quakes fan and we need a good forward NOW, but damn , this is some funny sh!t. the guy was never that good . some of you have point it out the league figured him out. he's slow , over weight, and blaming the midfield? hahaha. whatever ,good luck tonight.

thomas gravenson hates playing in the central mid holding position, this is why he ripped capello apart when he left real madrid for celtic,and gravenson is average at best...this is till a bad move i thought we should have used it to get benny feilihber (spelled that wrong)

So now that Estudiantes is out, is there any chance of Veron coming over? He does play as a winger... and if he was to come, could that spell the end of Emilio since Veron would definitely take the second DP spot?

Dougg -- there isn't the cap room unless Olsen is completely gone (don't know if even that's enough, actually) or Emilio is. And I wouldn't replace either of them with Veron, actually. Right now we need a forward who knows where the goal is, and better wing play, more than we need a central midfielder.

"Yeah, this front office sux....what have they ever done? Just think of what this franchise could have accomplished with a real front office. We could have had 10-12 trophys by now...."

When were the large majority of those trophies won again? Oh yeah, before we decided that we could overpay for 3rd rate South Americans, get rid of young homegrown talent, and still win. If you live in distant past glory, you will never be anything but a has been. This front office is running the team into the ground.

More money for Emilio = more plates of brigadeiro = fewer goals

I love how people assume that players (especially those who have never played in MLS, be they Greveson or Fielhaber or whomever) would WANT to play in MLS, and that MLS could sign them (relative to all the other clubs/options out there who are able good money for foolball players).

One reason this is a bad move is may make it harder to sell his contract. The other reason this is a bad move is that DCU had enough sense not to use the DP on him earlier. So why now?

@ Dougg - I can only hope. Maybe the team is trying to encourage Emilio to turn it on in the next month or two, give us a boost, we sell him and Veron comes in during the summer...

I hope he scores a couple tonight to shut all you dingbats up.

Terrible decision. An average MLS striker could have scored the same amount of goals with the same service last year.

I hate to bash the FO, historically they've been at the top in MLS, butu I do think this past year they've made some highly questionable decisions:

1) Not re-signing Gomez. He's been BY FAR our best player since he came to DC in 2004. He took a .500 team and lead them to the MLS CUP in 2004. Back-to-back supporter's shields and an MVP to boot, he's an all-time great for DC and still has something left in the tank.

2) Overpaying for Niell. $124,000? Really? At 5'4, he better be top 5 fastest or most skilled in the league to earn that kind of scratch. He is neither.

3) Wells/Carvallo GK situation. I know we got them on the cheap (relativly), but is the best we can do? Seriously?

4) 1.9 million for Gallardo. Dude obviously has some skill, but is he 5X better than Gomez? After barely playing last year? A gamble, to be sure, but you know what they say baout putting all of your eggs in one basket.

5) Emilio 2nd DP slot. If you were going to do this, do so over the winter and get him motivated for the new season. Not at this point after he has already showed up out of form. If you want to reward someone, do it when they deserve it, not when they don't. This move smacks of desperation.

One reason this is a bad move is may make it harder to sell his contract.

-------

Incorrect. His "salary", per se, stays the same; the increase comes from a bonus. (Don't ask about the details; too complicated.)

When were the large majority of those trophies won again? Oh yeah, before we decided that we could overpay for 3rd rate South Americans, get rid of young homegrown talent, and still win. If you live in distant past glory, you will never be anything but a has been. This front office is running the team into the ground.

Posted by: Duke | May 8, 2008 10:50 AM

This would be wrong. 2 Supporter's Shields and an MLS cup in the past 4 years. Check the Trophy case.

Lighten up, Francis...

Sell him in July. He's done. If he dogged it for more money I want him off the field right now. If the MLS figured him out he's not worth the money and I want him off the field right now.

BAHHHHHHHAHAHAHHA. Man he's done a lot to earn that upgrade this season. what a scrub. and what a WASTE of a DP this is not the caliber player for a DP spot or the intention of the league. If he wanted more money then why just tell him GTFO cuz he hasn't done anything this year in fact it's been pretty funny to watch

I hate this trend in sports where players who have a good season suddenly want to renegotiate their deal. I've never heard a player say "Boy, I really stunk last year. Maybe we should renegotiate my deal downward to reflect my performance." A deal is a deal, and both the player and the team have to honor it. If you're not happy with the deal, don't sign it.

Unlike others, I'm not convinced that Emilio's "form" has dipped. He's consistently sucked with his back to goal since he joined DCU. He's a penalty box player that will bang in his share of goals if he's given service. He hasn't been given the service this season and hasn't scored. Fred prefers to cut inside rather than cross the ball, Q3 has shown heart but put most of his crosses into the cheap seats behind the goal, Burch is the most one-footed player on our roster and telegraphs his crosses, resulting in ~90% being blocked, and Gallardo is playing incisive forward balls from center mid relying on pace / vision / ball control that Emilio has never had.

We need to address the flank play before completely condemning Emilio. All that said, I've never been a fan of his because of his limited (albeit goalscoring) utility and I can't understand the logic of the bonus pay - unless we were in jeopardy of losing the DP slot if it went unused.

What are the chances Emilio gives the money back at the end of the season for a bad performance (if things progress the they are). I gotta say that although I see DCU's side on this that they want to end the squabble and put it all on Emilio's shoulders, I just don't think this is a good idea. If he has been sandbagging, then why would we ever want a guy like that on this team? I think the answer lies somewhere in the middle. He definitely sandbagged in the offseason and that's why he's so bad in the early season. We're paying for him to cry and whine all offseason instead of staying in shape.
I also put a lot of offensive blame on him as well. I don't think the service has been bad. Its been either where it should be or where he is lining up. He has repeatedly squandered his through-ball runs and finished like an amateur. He has also continued to post up at the top of the box (a topic already discussed ad nasuem). With this salary cap revelation, he is every bit as indictable as Gallardo and probably more-so for our success because Gallardo is 1) in shape, 2) staying creative, 3) putting other people on the field in a position to succeed, and 4) and a team player right now (I don't hear him crying and whining).
Now its time for Emilio to put up or shut up. If he isn't scoring goals at a break-neck pace by game 20 or 22, he will be a wasted investment.

Very funny Mastadon!...But you also forgot more plates of coixhinas too!

I think we should really have invested in a top caliber goalkeeper. There are some big names out there- Coupet, Hildebrand, Leahman, Keller, and even (I would dream about) Ollie Khan! Could you image Ollie Kahn in the nets for us? WOW! A top goalkeeper would make up for the systemic problems our defense has!

I think there is something else wrong with Emelio that no one really knows about. Something personal. He looks so distressed out there! Sometimes the look on his face is that his head really is not in the game.

Time for Payne and Kasper to head to Japan in bring back Bare. He would tear the league up and would be a great fit with Gallardo. Not sure how much he makes, but DP money should be plenty. This guy is a horse.

There is no way Veron is not coming this summer. I think the front office just wasted the DP slot on a fluke performer. Besides, who would be our main striker if we did dump Emilio for Veron? Moreno? Yeah, right, he's lighting it up too. If Emilio is underperforming due to the money, he is a piece of crap. You need to work to get paid where I come from. At least we didn't dump millions into Emilio like NJ did with Reyna. If there was ever a player that is worth more than he made at DC it was Perkins. What a joke this is turning out to be.

I say sell Emilio to Mexico or wherever no matter how he's doing come mid season.

The sky is falling, huh?

The FO did pretty well with what they had in the offseason- a central midfielder who's contract was up and expecting a large raise and a long term and a forward coming off an MVP season expecting a raise with a big money offer from a Mexican team.

We tried to resign Gomez and HAD come to a monetary number but Gomez wanted us to commit to a contract with Gomez2010, while the front office was only willing to pay Gomez2008 & Gomez2009 that amount. Once they knew that they weren't going to reach terms we could either get something by trading him to another MLS team or let him go for nothing overseas. Didn't most people think when it was announced that a first round pick and DP spot was a pretty good alternative to the nothing it looked like we were going to get if he accepted the Saudi offers. And we still have no way of knowing if not being willing to commit to Gomez2010 will be good for DCU2010.

So now with 2 DP spots we first sign a player with the potential to be better than Gomez (and we only signed Gallardo2008 & Gallardo2009) with a greater pedigree as a slight gamble. And then we feel comfortable not accepting Morelia's offer for Emilio and are able to give ourselves the flexibility to meet his demands. To keep him happy we added to his agreement a rider that this summer we will either:

A: Make him our 2nd DP
B: Sell him abroad
C: Trade him to another MLS team

He is not our 2nd DP until we reach the summer decision point at which point if we aren't willing to make him the 2nd DP we have to let him move on. Which would clear some cap space and leave us with the ability to use the 2nd DP spot on someone else. The nightmare scenario is that we can't find somewhere to move him on to because of really bad form that we don't want to keep so we have to do option A, but that has not transpired yet.

bluemeanies, your calm logic and reason have no place on the interweb. Get with the program, we're all outraged

:)

This guy scored 20 goals last season, and there were some droughts in there. Six games into the season and the guy's a bum?

Granted, he has not played well. But this is a matter of timing and chemistry with the midfield. Emilio is a poacher with a nose for the goal. The goals will come.

I hate the idea of giving a guy money to motivate him to score...

Unless it works. Then it's brilliant.

Come on Emilio, score some goals!

All these comments about the FO, and the upgrade for Emilio ---how about giving up a 1st round draft pick for Dyachenko for next year. Don't you think Dyachenko can't hold the ball or pass to the correct color shirt? And, don't get me going on Mediate. The team is very short on quality.
No wonder a 1st team is always so tired, not enought quality to substitute with.

he's slow , over weight, and blaming the midfield?
=======================

At least he's not hooking up with transvestites, as far as we know

When I first saw this I almost had a coronary. BUT as I have read through the responses, it seems like all the FO have done is pay a premium to add an out clause to The Turtle's contract. Smart move. They go down to Argentina, seal up a solid deal with someone, then they make this move. These guys are not idiots.

For those who are asking how can DC sell him...well they can take a loss, or you can look at it this way - they would be paying a premium (again) to free up cap room. You have to spend money to make money folks, and sometimes paying a premium (or what many would directly interpret as a loss) is the price for doing business. Let me put it this way, wouldn't you take a little hit in the wallet to save your club's season and guarantee international play next year?

Chicago's away record is 5 GF/1GA - 7 Points
DC's home record is 9GF/4GA - 6 Points

I favor Chicago for this one.

Hopefully all that extra cash in his wallet doesn't slow him down even more now...Realistically though, United doesn't have the cap room to add an extra player under the 2nd DP slot, so why not give it to Emilio? He was slow out of the gate last year, and we're only a few games in. Give him a shot.

Goff's blog can now be nicknamed Big Soccer II

This is so frustrating. There are several guys (Burch, McTavish, Quaranta) who are working their tails off and are barely above poverty level!

I believe in Emilio and our Front Office. I think Luci will begin scoring goals again soon, and I believe the Front Office is playing their cards well. Both have proven themselves before, and I don't think we now need to go second guessing either one of them.

Thomas Gravesen is available. He was released by Everton. He would be an upgrade over
Simms as a holding/defensive midfielder.

Posted by: Faraway_Fred | May 8, 2008 9:50 AM

Yea, but Thomas Gravesen isn't from South America, so our front office would NEVER be interested now would they?

This is ridiculous. Emilio is not the type of player I want on DC United, both on the field and off the field. Horrible work rate, streaky, and all he goes for is money money money. I want a player that will play with heart, with love for the club. Emilio does not love the club, he loves his checkbook.

We better not get Gravesen. He is crap. Has no legs left in him, all he can do is a good penalty kick, and we have Moreno for that. There's a reason why made as many appearances as he did this year for Everton.

So does his cap hit actually GO DOWN by $50,000 now that he's the second DP? (by the rules, 2nd DP only hits the cap to $350k and I'm comparing to $400k Emilio was receiving just below DP threshold)

Sounds like a good deal to me! DC can go out and sign another half of a man, like Franco Niell. =)

Ok, bad joke, but in any case, $50k more cap space!

Could someone identify one behind that this guy puts in the seats? This is NOT a DP caliber player. Has the league approved this proposal? They shouldn't.

Are there really people out there who would keep Emilio over picking up Veron? The guy was still playing for the Argentine National Team last summer.

Using a DP is not just a DCU decision. The league has only so many of these, and wasting one on Emilio makes no sense. If DCU can't use it, they should trade it to a team that can, for the betterment of the league.

Until some goals are scored the front they need to sit his happy butt down and put on players that want to try. What happened to the guy that said "he wants to honor he contract" well part of that is scoring goals, please lets not let soccer players become like other athletes and politicians that get raises and bonuses cause we are to afraid to upset someone by telling them ok you get a bonus to your JOB. I love United but they need to play with some heart all their issues should be fixed by the depth on the roster a few injuries is no excuse for the lack of cohesian, I vote lets bring the kickers on for the toronto game and show them a team that knows how to show up for games lateley.

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