Photo: Paul Rudderow
On Monday, Austin Berry talked to PSP’s Eli Pearlman-Storch from Philadelphia, where he has been since leaving Philadelphia Union’s preseason camp in Clearwater for a brief trial with New York Cosmos, about his situation with the club. Below is a transcript of that interview, which has been edited for conciseness.
When asked for comment about Berry’s status with the team, a Union spokesperson told PSP, “Austin is still a member of our team, and we’re always looking to find the best situation for our players.”
Philly Soccer Page: We’re about two weeks away from the start of the MLS season. Has someone officially told you that you’re not in Philadelphia’s plans for 2015?
Austin Berry: Yes. It’s been that way since a point in the middle of last season. This has been going on for about 6-7 months now, that it’s been moving that way. I’ve been trying to be a good professional about it and not make a big fuss or too big of a distraction, but it has taken way too long.
PSP: When did you learn you were on the outside looking in?
AB: When I was still coming back from the rib injury and Jim [Curtin] had just taken over. We had a conversation when we came back from the World Cup break, and at that point he said, “I just want you to know you’ll get another shot out there. Take the time to get into the best shape you can right now, and you’ll get your shot.” It came around that week when I got the all clear for the ribs, and that’s when I came down with some kind of weird stomach flu and I couldn’t make it to training and couldn’t make it on the field for a couple of days.
It was the week we played in Chicago for the second time [Union drew 1-1 in Chicago on Saturday, July 19 2014]. I showed up to the stadium [Friday, July 18 2014], ready to go, and my name wasn’t on the 18 to travel. I walked out to my car, and that’s when I received a call from my agent saying that they [the Union] were going to move me. It was at the time when [Carlos] Valdes was coming back in, so I was under the impression that it would move along quickly. And now here we are.
PSP: Describe the experience of finding out that you were being moved. What was your expectation of what would happen, at the time?
AB: I remember having my bags packed, ready to go on the trip, but name wasn’t on the board. So when I walked out to my car I had a conversation with my agent and I was expected to be moved that weekend. That’s how it appeared to me, how quickly things were going to move. This wasn’t a conversation with the coaches or [Chris] Albright or any of the front office. This was strictly between me and my representation, so I spent that week pretty much staring at my phone, waiting for the call. It was a month or so after that, that I had my first sit down and conversation with Jim about all of it, asking what was going on and why am I still here and what are we looking at going forward.
PSP: Have you had any conversations with the Union front office about why it has taken so long to put together a move?
AB: This is all hearsay, but from my understanding, there were offers and at my end of the year meeting, talking with Jim, a couple of the offers were from several Eastern Conference teams. At the time of the offers, the Union still had remaining games against, so out of respect for the other guys on the team and for the way the club was trying to make the playoffs, they didn’t want to trade me to those teams, to give them any kind of advantage. It’s understandable — doesn’t mean I have to be happy about it, but it’s understandable to have that kind of stand. It’s a crappy situation to be in, but it’s partly my fault being in that situation by not being healthy during the year. That was kinda the reason that nothing went through last year. So I thought, after that, things would go quicker and more smoothly in the offseason. But nothing has happened. It’s the same thing, week in and week out.
PSP: When you say, “same thing, week in and week out,” are you having ongoing talks with anybody in the organization?
AB: All of my conversations are with my agent. The only thing I hear from the coaches or the front office staff over the last few weeks is, “Oh yeah Austin, don’t worry, we’re working on it” and “Just stay patient.” So there’s really nothing I can get out of them. It was at a point this year when we were down in Florida, that I thought I was having a decent preseason. I thought maybe things had changed and that maybe they were thinking about keeping me, or at least I was in their plans to work me back into the starting XI, which I don’t mind, if there is interest in having me stay. But if not, we need to move things along. So when I asked them that, they still gave me the same, “we’re still working on finding you a situation.” That put us into the situation where I am now, kind of just in limbo.
PSP: Are you aware of current interest in you? Either from MLS or from teams in other leagues?
AB: There has been plenty of interest. The thing about this league, in any other league at this point, you would see players get their contract bought out or you reach a mutual agreement. This league, and what they’re [the Union] are trying to do, is get value for me. It’s the only reason they picked up my option in the first place. So you try to go through with getting as much value out of a player as you can, but if it’s not going through, you’ve gotta go ahead and make a deal. I guess they’re not pressed with their backs against the wall to make a deal for me and they’re content on sitting on me, just waiting it out.
I can’t say with concrete evidence that their have been offers for me, because they can always say that there hasn’t really been that much interest. Everything right now is just hearsay, but I am pretty positive that there have been offers out there. But teams have moved on at this point, this late in the preseason.
PSP: At this point, what are your options on how to move forward?
AB: To be honest, I have no response for that. I’ve been patient, I’ve been waiting. We’ve had conversations. Each time when I think something is going to happen, nothing goes through, and it’s pretty frustrating because we’re less than a month from the season starting and we’re less than a month from my apartment lease being up, so I’d like some things to happen. I’ve told them, I need things to happen, so I can move on.
For both side’s sake, things need to come to an end so we can move on. It’s obvious that I’m not a part of the side, so I’d like to have a fresh start. But I really couldn’t tell you what the options are for me at this point.
PSP: Recently, you were training with the New York Cosmos. Was their realistic interest there? Or was that just a training stint?
AB: When I sat down with them at the beginning, there was a need for them at center back. However, they returned both of their starters, they have a third, and they were in the very advanced stages of signing a new center back. It was a trial in some sense, but it was more an instance of, instead of being miserable down in Florida or sitting back in my apartment in Philly waiting for something to happen, they let me come in there and train. To be honest, I am greatly appreciative for what Alecko Eskandarian and the Cosmos staff did for me, just to kind of get me out of a bad situation and let me keep training, stay in shape, and be a part of that. Some decisions on their part had to be made, so now I’m back in the same boat as I was before.
PSP: Are there any interpersonal issues you can point to with anyone in the coaching staff or front office that led you to this point?
AB: No. I always thought we had a decent relationship. When it first started. I understood their position: Valdes was coming back, they could play Mo [Edu] at center back, Amobi [Okugo] was still here, Ethan [White] came in and played well, Sheanon [Williams] can cover that spot. So they had plenty of guys. They still had the opportunity to get value out of me and they saw it was both advantageous for them to move me on, and for me to have another new, fresh start. That relationship and trust has pretty much deteriorated over these last 4-5 months, hearing the same exact comments — “Oh we’re working on it, don’t worry,” that kind of stuff. So there really isn’t too much of a relationship anymore. But I don’t think, and Jim never had anything to say, about our relationship falling apart.
PSP: This is your second team in MLS and after three full season, you’ve seen how this league works. While you are engaged in this situation what are your feelings towards the Union and MLS as a deal continues to not get done?
AB: It’s tough to say. It’s a strange spot where Jim is coming in. He’s the new coach. It’s his first situation where he’s had to deal with something like this. Albright probably wasn’t supposed to have this position for a couple more seasons. I do understand that, from some perspective, it is guys in new positions, not knowing how the league works and not really knowing what’s going on. So, it’s hard to get overly upset about it. But at the same time I think simple solutions could have been made a long time ago, if not more recently.
PSP: Have you asked for a release? Have you gone to the team and asked to be cut?
AB: I have asked to leave. I hadn’t asked to leave until I had already found out and was already waiting to be traded for over a month. When I found out, I stayed patient and kept my head down and didn’t make too big of a commotion. And I waited, but I was just getting impatient last year and I said, “Hey guys, I don’t want to be here anymore either, let’s make something happen.”
It got to that point down in Florida where they didn’t seem like they were pressed to make a decision, so that’s when I kinda decided that I am done with this. It’s not fair for me, for my career, for the young guys to have to see my mood.
It’s hard to go out and give 100 percent and hustle and go into hard tackles and get tackled by guys at a training for a team that clearly doesn’t want you there and is in the stages of moving you. It wasn’t good for the younger players to see my attitude sometimes, which I know has been poor, but it’s been a frustrating time.
PSP: You mention your teammates with the Union. How have they reacted to this whole situation and what you are going through?
AB: I would just say that if it weren’t for the great group of guys in that locker room, things would have been a lot worse. I have gained a lot of good friends on the team. I really do want them to succeed and have done my best to not be a distraction for them while dealing with my situation. Recently that has been hard, which brought about the Cosmos stint.
All of them are good pros and understand the situation from both sides. You do learn that this league is a business and sometimes situations are out of your hands.
I think this has been a constant problem for the Union for at least the last couple of years. On one hand they seem to do everything in their power to undermine the value of their players but on the other they seem to try and get maximum value for players they have to move letting them languish forever.
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I think this is why we had trouble moving Macmath.
agreed Sieve, players don’t want to be jerked around….bottom line. It actually seems that this organization really doesn’t like the business end of the sport. Tell the players what they need to hear…not what they want to….to make them feel better! The movie “Moneyball” comes to mind when Bean tells the kid to fire him………and Bean tells the kid to stop with the BSing…..”would you rather have 1 bullet to the head…….or 5 to the stomach…and bleed to death?” It seems the same type of situation with Berry. What concerns me is that the Union are going to, if not already, developed a reputation for treating players on the outs….poorly. That could end up biting them in the years to come.
good article. Don’t want to see a guy stuck. Good Luck where ever you land.
seems to be a major weakness of the club – when you have no use for a player or he has no use for you, you get rid of him, quickly, via loan or sale, just make it happen already, sorry Austin I wish it had worked out
Where oh where is that new G.M. Sounds like we really need that new G.M for the good of the team and the players.
“So I thought, after that, things would go quicker and more smoothly in the offseason. But nothing has happened. It’s the same thing, week in and week out.” – summary of the Union’s offseason.
This is damning.
“… (coaches) in new positions, not knowing how the league works and not really knowing what’s going on…. I think simple solutions could have been made a long time ago.”
Austin sounds just like the rest of us. Lose MacMath, bring in a GK who hasn’t found any other club team he could stick with. Protect the “Rocket Into The Sun” and lose Ribeiro AND Okugo.
I’m Union till I die, but this is torture. Bad enough to pinch pennies, but squandering the pennies you have because you don’t know any better? That’s misfeasance bordering on malfeasance.
I hope Austin gets a better shake somewhere soon. Because like the rest of us, he’s not getting it from the Union. And I hope this team gels and Curtin turns out to be some kind of in-season genius. Because those are the straws we are grasping at this point in time.
In the meantime: Illegitimi non carborundum
They have to move him to create financial space for the unknown striker.
This is the kind of thing that happens when you have a bare-bones technical staff with little experience: this situation with Berry; missing out on nearly every transfer target due to “bad timing” or “bad luck”; inexplicably protecting Fabinho in the expansion draft instead of Ribeiro…
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As Berry candidly said, Albright was supposed to have this job in 2-3 years, not now. He and Curtin need some help and they’re not getting it from ownership. Instead of hiring a sporting director or GM like a normal club, we get a consultant to help SEARCH for a GM…which, how is that going by the way? Albright and Curtin are not being put in a position to succeed, and it looks like Berry’s career is taking collateral damage from that situation.
I agree with the bare bones comment. The same guys who are trying to make a move happen are also busy running training, gameplanning, scouting players, etc.
Not sure Berry is being very professional by speaking out to PSP like this. This is obviously a calculated move to force the Union into moving him. That’s not the type of player I’d want on my team anyway. That said, I can understand his frustration. No reason for the Union to bring back a player into pre-season camp when they had no intention of him playing on the team. They should have traded him during the off-season. Now Berry’s value has probably floored since most teams have CB plans in place already and every team in MLS knows Berry has to be moved.
everything you say after your second sentence justifies Berry speaking out now. He is a good team player – 6 to 7 months waiting to get moved and now teams are locking down their rosters is pretty crappy treatment. but you make it sound like he should just stay quiet and take it. I am not sure I would want someone like that on my team – one who accepts abuse.
I’m just very turned off by his comments in which he essentially admits to sulking his way through pre-season and being a negative influence on the younger players. This situation isn’t unique to the Union. Not playing and not being part of a team’s long-term plans happens all the time in sports. Berry has handled the situation just about as poorly as possible. Be a professional and do your job. Don’t mope in the corner when things don’t go your way.
Erik, would love for you to be in a position where you cannot just quit and move on to another job. Where you are being sat somewhere in the corner with no intention from superiors on the next move. They lie, make up excuses to pass time…7 months down the road–same situation. This is NOT normal, and can ask many other professional athletes and they would agree. It seems to me like he has tried every angle possible and showed up, giving his best despite coaches ignoring him on the field during practices. This was clearly a last resort opportunity for him to be able to try and get things moving after 7 long months. This is the last year of his contract with the MLS i believe and a very important year. Looks like he kept quite for a very long time and has his career and family to worry about. He played every second of every game for the Chicago Fire and made the playoffs both seasons (one without Arne) something the Union cannot say in their Club existence. I think this article is an eye opener for the front office, as well as the MLS. Something big will be happening soon with the Players Union, I wouldn’t doubt it for a second.
+1, we are talking about the dude earning a living here and his lease is up at the end of the month…………he bit his tongue for over a year……he had to put his foot down now, the guy doesn’t know where he is going to live starting March 1st! I don’t blame him one bit for being pissed. At the same time, you can’t wallow through training even if your on the outs……..suck it up, chin up…..and be stoic about it. Your a professional……you can’t do that. Again, its easy for me to say here……not that easy to do if your Berry. The club should have handled this much better…..and Austin probably too.
It appears that Berry has been keeping quiet for many months about the way he has been treated by the Union leadership. That being the case, I have no problem with his speaking out now.
+1
+1 more
Absolutely, I don’t know what more he could have done.
If the Union knew they didn’t need Berry and declined offers for him in the last half of the season, I don’t get that. That’s when you can get good value for a player — when teams are more desperate. Unless they felt they needed Berry for depth — which doesn’t make a lot of sense given the roster they had last season– I don’t get it.
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Now they have a disgruntled player who has much less value now than he did last August.
Wow totally unprofessional by Berry. If I was the Union, I’d sit on him all year now and send him to Harrisburg to play. You just don’t do this in professional sports, they don’t have to trade you, you signed a contract and are getting paid to sit around and not try too hard.
C’mon, the guy wants to work! Then if he keeps his mouth shut and collects a paycheck, everyone calls him a bum and complains about how he’s a waste of cap space.
Sure I understand that and you are right that if the Union can get value for him they should trade him. But if they are not being offered anything of value, and it is better to keep him for now, they should keep him. My point is he is contracted to the Union and the Union need to do what’s best for the team first, not give him away for next to nothing if that is not best for the team.
…And Berry wants to do whats best for Berry hence the interview.
SO you would prefer him to say nothing Jeff?
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He qualifies his statement in the very first question about wanting to do things the right way and not rock the boat and has been quiet the whole time- nearly 3/4 of a year. If you want company line then end the interview after the first question. He honored the request from the writer to speak. Otherwise I guess from your POV he should have just declined the interview. This is the stuff that is so annoying about ‘us’ fans, we want candid and honesty but when we get it we say bad team guy.
Joel – in my view, yes he should have declined the interview. I doubt these comments will help him in his MLS career. Does his next team want to deal with a guy that goes off in the media when he is not playing/happy. I understand and sympathize with Berry’s view, I just don’t think he helped himself with this interview. I think his agent made a mistake by OKing this.
fair enough.
I really don’t understand this point of view in Berry’s situation. Union tells Berry “we don’t want you”. Berry wants to play, not sit around. Berry is a good guy though and says “ok let me know what you can do to get me out of here (since Union does not want Berry)”. Berry shows patience and sits around but Union fails to act. Berry still wants to play because he is a professional player, not sitter. Other teams are finalizing their rosters in preseason. Berry’s just supposed to keep taking this inaction quietly and not help himself (since the Union will help neither itself nor Berry)? if Berry does keep quiet, at this point it sounds like the response of someone without ambition or drive. so in your view someone without ambition or drive is a good team player and someone with ambition and drive deserves to be punished. the Union should hire you!
It comes down to what they were offered. We don’t want to give him away for nothing. I doubt Berry even knows what the offers were. Berry’s comments about not trying hard in pre-season are horrible and should be a big turn off to other MLS teams.
you make it sound like he had a chance to make the team and play when it clearly was not the case. no matter how hard he tried, they were not going to give him a shot. his comments are credible.
I just don’t think the kid is that good. Watched him play 50-60 times with Chicago Fire. Arne Friedrich carried him his rookie year.
Not really sure why PSP is giving our 4th string center back a platform to bitch about his playing time. If he had the value that he thinks he has, he would have moved already. Not taking preseason seriously because you don’t think you’ll be a starter is a guaranteed way not to become a starter.
Actually I think kudos to PSP for getting the interview. It is interesting and newsworthy. I just think it is a terrible decision by Berry.
i’m glad psp gave him the platform but i agree with everything else you said. i think the union should have given more of an effort to moving him but i also think that if he would have shown up to preseason playing better than ethan white that curtin would have considered him as a starter. curtin doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy that makes up his mind about a player without leaving the door open to show that he is still capable of winning a starting spot or a spot in the 18
Regarding whether or not Berry had a chance this preseason to secure a meaningful role with the Union in 2015, note the following from one of his comments above:
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“I thought maybe things had changed and that maybe they were thinking about keeping me, or at least I was in their plans to work me back into the starting XI, which I don’t mind, if there is interest in having me stay. But if not, we need to move things along. So when I asked them that, they still gave me the same, ‘we’re still working on finding you a situation.’ That put us into the situation where I am now, kind of just in limbo.”
fair enough i guess but i question the wisdom of his reacting to that by giving up on trying to prove them wrong or force them to question their decision.
Isn’t what the Union have done with Berry the same thing Benfica did with Vitoria? He was signed, could not win a spot and effectively sat for a year and a half. He was given a chance to look elsewhere last summer, as Vancouver made him a ‘bona fide offer’. Players fall out of favor all the time in soccer for various reasons.
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Having said that, another example of how the Union FO either overvalue a player and in the end get little or no return for him.
The, “Albright probably wasn’t supposed to have this job for a couple more seasons…” quote, SPEAKS VOLUMES… and pretty much hits the nail on the head when it comes to the Union FO
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That said, if it’s clear you don’t want the guy, just take something for him, and move on. Whatever that something is. In your worst case situation, you wouldn’t use him, so why keep him here.
Just blows my mind how easily this got ugly. But I think this brings more light to a situation all U fans have been painfully experiencing this offseason, the sheer lack of team management. And management not in terms of what formation to use that weekend or picking the week’s starting 11, but managing the big picture, moving the team forward by adding talent, selling players for value when the time is right, calling up youngsters from the academy, etc. As much as I like the guy as a person and player I think this offseason falls squarely on the shoulders of Albrite and his inexperience. Thrown into a major FO position without adequate time to learn and during a period of clear disorganization. He’s clearly in over his head and its impacting everyone from the fans to Austin Berry… I hope a serious FO re-org is coming down the road, in my opinion thats the route of these personnel issues. Cheers to the fellow reader for bringing up the GM piece. Spot on. We need a true one and one with GM experience, not just soccer experience.
Great interview, really shed some light on things. I understand the Union don’t want to take bad offers,but come on. How many times have we given players away for allocation money. I’m not sure what more he could have done. It really comes down to the barebones staff, as many have already pointed out, and Albright’s inexperience. “trust us, we’re going to get something done” sound familiar to anyone?
As a Fire fan I find the FO issues very interesting. The dithering by the Union FO sounds just like what Chicago did under previous management. The impression I always got is that they were nickling and diming the player movements at the expense of locker room cohesion and results on the field.
Since the arrival Brian Bliss and Frank Yallop – who are both experienced in MLS, whether or not you agree with their tactical decisions or approaches – the FO moves have been quick and decisive. Such as sending Berry to Philly, purging the roster in Oct-Nov, and bringing in nearly a dozen new players in the offseason.
After seeing Berry perform in 2013 for the Fire after his ROY performance, I think that Arne Friedrich did a lot more than was apparent to most observers in guiding Berry. I think he’s still got talent but needs to be in the right place to flourish again. Good luck to him and the Union in making that happen.
I appreciate you guys getting the interview.
As one would expect in this forum based on past postings, most here will instantly assume the front office is in the wrong.
You are taking Berry’s word for it that there is real interest out there. This is a guy who got booted out of Chicago rather quickly after a new coach took over, found himself on the outs in Philly despite the team being thin at his given position and then got sent home from the Cosmos in less than a week.
Maybe instead of buying his story word for word. we should be asking, what the hell is wrong with Ausitin Berry?
The cameo we saw for 30 minutes against Jacksonville gave my eyes the impression that he is an effective destroyer of play by the opposition but a count slow of mind seeing the subsequent offensive opportunities. Four years ago that probably mattered less than it does now as the league has improved. Further, Chicago let him go. I do not know their situation when they made that decision, but they may have seen something. Finally, each coach’s instincts are different. Ethan white got not a sniff under Hackworth and had a very poor loan to Harrisburg. But Curtin likes him. On such changes careers in soccer rise and fall.
If there is no interest and your not happy with his future on the team don’t you include him in the cuts with wheeler and crew?
They are hoping to get something, anything for him. But right now, nothing is there. I am sure they were hoping he would stick would the Cosmos.
I would guess a cut at this time, would have cap implications which is why they are looking for some kind of deal.
And unfortunately, after Berry’s comments here, they’ll be lucky to get a bag of balls and a sandwich.
Well this is a provocative piece. Although I’m interested in everything he said (nodding my head in frustration at most of it), I do not think this is how a professional athlete should conduct himself. That being said, I also think PSP should not have given him this soapbox. I respect you guys and the work you do, but this isn’t how it’s supposed to be in pro sports. When an athlete signs away their life on the dotted line they shouldn’t be voicing such overt negativity. The Union can and should do with him as they please, certainly taking this article into consideration. MacMath was a pro about it. He kept his mouth shut, smiled for the cameras, was cordial with supporters. That’s how you do it when you’re not happy and still under contract. You don’t whine. Berry isn’t that stellar of a defender (hope he makes me eat my words) but I respect his work ethic and desire to play. I hope he lands on his feet somewhere but I absolutely don’t want his understanding of professionalism on the Union.
you make it sound like he gave up his right to free speech, in addition to his right of freedom of employment, when he signed. His contract means he cannot quit and go find another job – he has to live with that. I don’t think he has to live silently with the club leaving him dangling, offering him no real opportunity to play for the club but no opportunity to go somewhere else. if his comments hurt him, I don’t think he cares at this point – he just wants out. comparing his situation to macmath is not appropriate, otherwise Berry would have been moved last fall (when he still was keeping his mouth shut, smiling and being cordial).
It’s obviously a calculated choice on Berry’s part, and one that you will remember has been effective at moving the Union to action (see Soumare’s public request to be moved).
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I don’t get the criticism of PSP. I for one am grateful for a look behind the curtain.
ruth, MacMath played in 29 games last year so what do you mean when you say he was a pro about it? He played. Kept his mouth shut, when? In the off season? I agree that this should not become a regular thing with professional athletes however this is a unique situation. Did you know that any of this was even happening since July? No. No one did because Berry kept his mouth shut and smiled for the cameras like a Pro. This should be no surprise to any Union fan that the front office hasn’t a clue on what they are doing, this is just the first hard piece of evidence. I wish the best for him, he wanted to give everything he had for the Union but with bad luck–it just didn’t work out. I wouldn’t say that he is a 4th CB on this team…our back line is far from stellar and that was made very evident in the last games of the season, particularly our last vs. Columbus Crew. Goodluck to Austin, wish him the best on his next team and thank him for putting up with the disaster that is the FO.
Truth, MacMath played in 29 games last year so what do you mean when you say he was a pro about it? He played. Kept his mouth shut, when? In the off season? I agree that this should not become a regular thing with professional athletes however this is a unique situation. Did you know that any of this was even happening since July? No. No one did because Berry kept his mouth shut and smiled for the cameras like a Pro. This should be no surprise to any Union fan that the front office hasn’t a clue on what they are doing, this is just the first hard piece of evidence. I wish the best for him, he wanted to give everything he had for the Union but with bad luck–it just didn’t work out. I wouldn’t say that he is a 4th CB on this team…our back line is far from stellar and that was made very evident in the last games of the season, particularly our last vs. Columbus Crew. Goodluck to Austin, wish him the best on his next team and thank him for putting up with the disaster that is the FO.
Jim Curtin doesn’t want Austin Berry. And right now, no one else does. Austin Berry talks to his agent who can’t find him a job. So the agent won’t tell him no one wants him or that he is not a good agent, he tells him that newbies, Curtin and Allbright don’t know what they are doing and that is the issue.
I know that some here get a perverse pleasure in assuming the front office can’t do anything right, but if the Union had any chance to move this guy and not wreck their roster and cap in the process they would have done it a long time ago.
I do declare that you have stumbled on the likeliest scenario. I wish Jim thought more highly of Austin Berry’s play on the field, though, because we still need some depth at CB now, assuming Edu primarily plays CDM now that Okugo is gone. Two months ago, the LAST position of need would’ve been central defense. Sheesh.
There is something about Austin Berry we don’t know about. One thing the Union is very good at, is keeping quiet about negative issues that may effect a player. They never went public with the behind the scenes drama that led to the departures of players like Adu or Jack Mc.
Yallop tossed Berry aside, the Union had a need at the position and tossed him aside and the Cosmos sent him home in a week. The phone isn’t ringing. They know something we dont
Oh, yeah. I forgot to add that both expansion teams passed on him.
All very true.
The Cosmos dumped him in like 2 days, that’s all you need to know. His MLS days are likely over, the league’s speed and skill has passed him by.
Tough situation. He has every right to complain and I applaud PSP’s attempt to get the story. But Berry should have declined as it probably did his career (at least in MLS) more harm than good. He should not be talking only through his agent. Talk to Curtin and Albright (although respect is obviously lacking) and do what you have to do to earn playing time or convince them of the need to get loaned for playing time. We all talk about it being a negative, but the best thing for him at this point may be staying and playing at Harrisburg and being a BEAST at CB in USL. That will get his value back up and get him in the news for the right reasons.