Photo: Daniel Studio
Philadelphia Union
Well, how’s that for a transfer window deadline day?
On Wednesday, the Union confirmed the signing of Alejandro Bedoya as a Designated Player. The team had to make a deal with Chicago Fire to get the No. spot in the allocation order: “The Union traded General Allocation Money, Targeted Allocation Money, the club’s natural first round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft Pick, and the Discovery Priority on a player* in exchange for the #1 spot.”
On Wednesday night, the team announced the trade of club legend Sebastien Le Toux to Colorado Rapids. In return, the Union received General Allocation Money.
Then on Thursday morning, the club announced the arrival of Charlie Davies from New England in exchange for “General Allocation Money, Targeted Allocation Money and the Union’s natural first round selection in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. The Union also received New England’s natural third round selection in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.”
Kapow!
Bedoya
Bedoya said in a tweet after his signing with the Union was announced, “It is with great pleasure that I can finally say I willl have a chance to play in the MLS…I couldn’t be happier to be joining an organization like Philadelphia…The club has made strides to become a contender and it is what convinced me that it would be a great fit.”
A Philly.com report from Marc Narducci and Jonathan Tannenwald says of the reported $1 million transfer fee and annual salary for Bedoya, “A Union source said those figures were close to accurate, and confirmed that the deal is for three-and-a-half years.” Of reports that the Union sent $175,000 in General and Targeted Allocation money to Chicago, the Philly.com report says, “a Union source said it is much lower and most of it is targeted allocation money.”
Where will Bedoya play? Curtin wouldn’t spell that out in Wednesday’s press conference other than to note the midfielder’s versatility and to say, “[W]e know exactly what role we’re going to play him in.”
At Philly Voice, Kevin Kinkead writes,
I have zero doubt that Bedoya will play as an 8 this season. He’s a smart player with two-way capabilities and tactical proficiency.
That said, I still think he’s better as a number 10. Maybe he plays Nogueira’s role this season, then moves up to the 10 spot if Tranquillo Barnetta leaves when his contract expires at the end of the year.
At ESPN, Doug McIntyre says the Bedoya deal is “a steal” for the Union. At Fox Soccer, Caitlin Murray grades the Bedoya deal as a B+.
Matthew De George tweeted from Wednesday’s training session, “Maurice Edu says all of his rehab work has been in midfield. Barring a shock, that’s where he’ll play.” Nevertheless, FourFourTwo believes with Bedoya’s arrival, “The reintroduction of Maurice Edu to the lineup would likely see the former USMNT midfielder slide into a center back job.”
TopDrawerSoccer on why the Allocation Order is dumb and doesn’t work.
More reports and reaction to on the Bedoya deal at PSP (signing, Curtin press conference), Philadelphia Union (signing, commentary), Philly.com, Delco Times, CSN Philly, Philadelphia Magazine, Press of Atlantic City, Union Tally, Philly Soccer News (signing, report), Brotherly Game (signing, banter, development), Pattison Ave, Prost Amerika, Vavel, Section 215 (report, commentary), Philadelphia Sports Nation, MLSsoccer.com (signing, report, analysis, video), Chicago Fire, CSN Chicago, Soccer America, Fox Soccer, ASN, Stars and Stripes FC, Sporting News, SBI (report, commentary), Goal.com, Pro Soccer Talk, MLS Multiplex, the AFP, and the AP.
Le Toux
Emotionally, Le Toux’s departure (again) is sad news. Intellectually, if the salary information from the MLS Players Union is correct, $310,228 in guaranteed compensation has been cleared off the books.
Earnie Stewart said, “Sebastien has been a wonderful servant to the Philadelphia Union and we cannot thank him enough for his exemplary time and commitment. We want to wish him the best of luck in Colorado and in his future endeavors.”
Said Paul Bravo, Colorado’s Technical Director and VP of Soccer Operations, “Sebastien’s track record in MLS speaks for itself. He is a proven goalscorer and creator. We look forward to welcoming him to Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.”
Before the Le Toux deal was announced, Colorado traded Argentine forward Luis Solignac to Chicago Fire “in exchange for general allocation money.” So the Union give GAM to Chicago to acquire the No. 1 Spot in the Allocation order, and Chicago give Colorado GAM for Solignac, and Colorado gave GAM to the Union for Le Toux. Round and round it goes.
Reports and reaction to the Le Toux trade at PSP, Philadelphia Union, Philly.com, Delco Times, CSN Philly, Philly Soccer News, Brotherly Game, Pattison Ave, Section 215, Philadelphia Sports Nation, MLSsoccer.com, Colorado Rapids, Denver Post, Mile High Sports, Burgundy Wave, SBI, Goal.com, and the AP.
Davies
With Davies, the Union acquire an experienced striker with a budget hit of only $113,316 in guaranteed compensation, according to the most recent figures from the MLS Players Union.
New England general manager Michael Burns said, “When this was brought to us, we talked directly with Charlie. It was important to do what was right for Charlie and his family. If it wasn’t right for them, we wouldn’t have considered it. It’s never easy parting with a player like Charlie, but we are grateful for his contributions to the club and we wish him and his family all the best and consider them a part of the Revolution family.”
Thanking his former team and the fans, Davies said, “I’m excited for the next chapter in my career and look forward to joining the Union.”
More on the Davies deal at PSP, Philadelphia Union, Philly.com, CSN Philly, Philly Soccer News, Brotherly Game, Section 215, MLSsoccer.com, New England Revolution, Boston Globe, Boston.com, New England Soccer Today, New England Soccer News, The Bent Musket, ESPN, SBI, and Goal.com.
More Union bits
At ESPN, Graham Parker remarks on the effect Vincent Nogueira’s departure has had on the Union. The article was published several hours after the Bedoya announcement yet makes no mention of it.
The Union remain at No. 11 in the latest power rankings at SBI. “The Union have now lost four of six, but Sunday’s defeat was perhaps their most excusable yet. While the defense continues to look a bit shaky, you can’t blame the Union on either of RSL’s golazos. Still, the Union are fortunate to still be very much in the hunt thanks to the fact they’re in the East and not the ultra-competitive West.”
Bethlehem Steel
Unauthorized Bethlehem Steel FC Blog takes exception with a quote from Bethlehem head coach Brendan Burke after last weekend’s loss to TFC II in which he ended a tirade about the state of officiating with, “It’s not home, we’re not at home.” I’m pretty sure Burke simply meant his team isn’t getting the benefit of calls at home from officials as one might expect.
PDL
Ocean City Nor’easters forward Chevaughn “He Scores When He Wants To” Walsh has been named to the 2016 PDL All-League Team. More at Ocean City Nor’easters.
MLS
One league game and two CONCACAF Champions League games were played on Wednesday. In league play, Toronto defeated Salt Lake, 1-0. With the win, Toronto (33 points, 9-7-6) moves into second place in the Eastern Conference. In Champions League play, NTRB thumped Antigua GFC, 3-0. Portland defeated CD Dragon, 2-1. Dallas hosts Real Esteli tonight (8 pm, Facebook, UDN).
NYRB have acquired Israeli international forward Omer Damari on loan from Red Bull Leipzig: “Damari will join New York for the rest of the MLS season and occupy a Designated Player spot on the roster.”
NYRB have signed Austrian international midfielder Daniel Royer from Danish Superliga side FC Midtjylland.
Chicago have signed striker David Arshakyan from Lithuanian A Lyga side FK Trakai as a Special Discovery Player: “The Armenian international signed a two-year deal with club options for the third and fourth years.” I can’t help but wonder if this is connected in any way to the Union trading Discovery Priority on a player to be named later that was part of the deal with Chicago to get to top spot in the allocation order.
Orlando has acquired Argentinian attacking midfielder Matías Pérez García and an international slot through the end of the year from San Jose. In return, San Jose received El Salvador national team captain Darwin Ceren “and salary budget space to sign a season-ending injury replacement.”
Orlando also acquired the “College Protected Priority” of Orlando City B midfielder Tony Rocha from Kansas City in exchange for a fourth-round pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft.
Houston has acquired have acquired Costa Rican defender Keyner Brown on loan from Herediano: “The agreement include a loan through the end of 2016 with an option for a permanent transfer.”
Houston also acquired on loan Honduran midfielder José Escalante from USL affiliate Rio Grande Valley.
Los Angeles Daily News reports, “Los Angeles City Hall is seeking to give a loan of up to $22.5 million to the developers of a new soccer stadium near downtown Los Angeles. A motion submitted this week by City Councilman Curren Price asks for city approval for a U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) loan for the backers of the Los Angeles Football Stadium.”
Midfield Press has a thoughtful look at the issues involved with USL gaining second division status.
US
The USWNT opened group play at the Olympics with a 2-0 win over New Zealand. Opening the scoring in the 9th minute was Carli Lloyd, with Alex Morgan scoring the second goal a minute after the start of the second half. Recaps and reports at US Soccer, ESPN, SI (report, Lloyd), Fox Soccer, ASN, Soccer America (report, player ratings), Goal.com (report, takeaways), Pro Soccer Talk, The Guardian,
US Soccer has announced the USWNT will play Thailand in a friendly on Thursday, Sept. 15 at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, and Netherlands on Sunday, Sept. 18 at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta.
Fox Soccer ponders if it matters that the USMNT did not qualify for the Olympics. (Yes it does.)
Elsewhere
Reuters reports, “The federal judge overseeing the wide-ranging corruption case involving soccer’s global governing body FIFA said at a hearing on Wednesday that a trial could begin in September or October of 2017…So far 42 individuals and entities have been charged in the case that has rocked the soccer world. The trial would involve eight of the defendants, who are former soccer officials and marketing executives, and who were present at the hearing on Wednesday.”
So I’m so perplexed on these deals, but maybe not. Bedoya and Davies are both great MLS players. They upgrade the team. The LeToux deal makes sense as far as salary cap ramifications. To me this is a very much win now approach that I like, no complaints.
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But….. it seems to go against what Earnie wants to do (as I presume it anyway). Both players are at or near 30. Neither can be sold on to recoup costs. First round draft picks for next two years gone and also a bunch of funny money given up. All of which can be used to acquire younger players either in college or foreign players as young DPs. Which Earnie stated that he wanted to build through youth.
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So this tells me one of two things. Either they see their window and are pushing for it hard now, which goes against Earnie’s stated goals at the beginning of the season, OR, they really, really love the academy right now and feel that the team can be filled out through that channel.
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These are pretty interesting times in an already interesting year!
Agreed on both 1st round picks. That seems to go directly against ES stated plan. I will say tho, that picks are often traded at the draft and who not to say the Union couldn’t trade back in if there is someone there. I am guessing this is a win now (this year, next year for sure) mentality… knowing the Academy guys just aren’t ready yet. And like you said, hard to argue the guys the brought in
I think ES sees the Union’s improved on-field performance translating to their draft picks being in the mid-teens for the next few years (rather than single-digit picks as has been the case in the recent past). Based on recent drafts league-wide, the likelihood of getting a decent player that can be a long-term contributor falls off rather steeply after the first 10 picks.
I agree with this assessment, Union42. The word of the day is “shrewd.” Well done, E.S.
I own that one. 🙂
finally caught up to you…. gotcha. too much happening today.
makes sense
I think Earnie Stewart wants to stick his finger into the dying carcass of the MLS Draft as means of building your team.
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Least that’s what he should be doing….
+1
I agree with Union42’s assessment of how Stewart is thinking about upcoming draft’s. I also assume that he now has a pretty solid idea of what resources he has at the Academy level and at Beth. Steel/Reading United. With this pipeline in place, the draft becomes irrelevant especially after the top 5 to 10 picks.
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He also seems to know how to get a top pick in a deal if he feels he needs to. I think the Union just might have gone from the worst sports front office in town to the best.
And in 2 more years… you would have to think there should be a few Academy guys ready to step in.
Plus, they likely learned a very hard lesson in the Rosenberry situation, and they will be much more thorough with their Homegrown claims in the future.
“College Protected Priority”
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Great, another MLS player-acquisition quirk to keep up with!