Seattle Sounders 2017 season thread

[Sgt. Largent]

Montero may have made a ridiculous about of money in China though...so maybe money isn't his motivation?.

I read he's making 10M in China? Is that true? Ridiculous if true, and really a sign that China might singlehandedly ruin the sport of soccer if they keep giving players these insane contracts.

No way in hell the Sounders give him that kind of salary if he comes back.

As much as I love Fredy, I'm fine with leaving that 3rd DP spot open until the summer transfer window if we can't get one of the major transfer rumored players we've been targeting. Especially if Dempsey is good to go, which it sounds like he is now that he's training.

 

[Uncle Si]

The China thing is interesting...

I don't see many players taking the bait and heading to China. Some will, some have. The interesting factor here will be what their league looks like in 3 years. Do the likes of Jackson Martinez, Gyan, Guerin, Alex Texiera and Oscar come back to the big clubs with more money in their hands than they can spend? Does China become the landing spot for aging stars that the MLS currently is? Does it take budding stars from mid table teams and the MLS with contracts that aren't reflective of honest value?

The other, less conceivable but more terrifying option is that China just recruits everyone and their league becomes THE league. But I don't see that happening. Russia has been trying to tempt players with those types of contracts for decades (see Hulk, for example) with marginal success

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The China thing is interesting...

I don't see many players taking the bait and heading to China. Some will, some have. The interesting factor here will be what their league looks like in 3 years. Do the likes of Jackson Martinez, Gyan, Guerin, Alex Texiera and Oscar come back to the big clubs with more money in their hands than they can spend? Does China become the landing spot for aging stars that the MLS currently is? Does it take budding stars from mid table teams and the MLS with contracts that aren't reflective of honest value?

I think Drogba is the poster child for how these stars will handle playing in big money leagues like China, Russia and now Saudi Arabia is getting into the overpaying game.

If they do go, it'll only be for a year or two..............grab the cash, then come back and finish out their careers in the more reputable leagues.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

The China thing is interesting...

I don't see many players taking the bait and heading to China. Some will, some have. The interesting factor here will be what their league looks like in 3 years. Do the likes of Jackson Martinez, Gyan, Guerin, Alex Texiera and Oscar come back to the big clubs with more money in their hands than they can spend? Does China become the landing spot for aging stars that the MLS currently is? Does it take budding stars from mid table teams and the MLS with contracts that aren't reflective of honest value?

The other, less conceivable but more terrifying option is that China just recruits everyone and their league becomes THE league. But I don't see that happening. Russia has been trying to tempt players with those types of contracts for decades (see Hulk, for example) with marginal success

It worked for the EPL with sky tv money and sugar daddies. In the 90's Serie A was 'the' league with the glamour and money. Top quality players would never have dreamed of going to teams like Chelsea and Man City who were mid table/relegation types during the 90's. Now you have international players playing for nothing clubs like Watford.

I think with the foreigner rule though that China is going to go down the route of trying to develop its own players. 20 year plan type thing. I still scratch my head seeing Du Wei, a guy who was absolutely atrocious and out of his depth for Celtic in his one game against second division Clyde, is the captain of Hebei China Fortune and plays with Gervinho and is managed by Pellegrini. They may have a long way to go.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

Montero may have made a ridiculous about of money in China though...so maybe money isn't his motivation?.

I read he's making 10M in China? Is that true? Ridiculous if true, and really a sign that China might singlehandedly ruin the sport of soccer if they keep giving players these insane contracts.

No way in hell the Sounders give him that kind of salary if he comes back.

As much as I love Fredy, I'm fine with leaving that 3rd DP spot open until the summer transfer window if we can't get one of the major transfer rumored players we've been targeting. Especially if Dempsey is good to go, which it sounds like he is now that he's training.

If he made 10M maybe he'll feel he's made enough money and wants to stay in Bellevue long term and be a semi hero here? Sounders have quick a lot of TAM built up with Mears leaving. Is there even a small chance he could come here as that and not a DP then become a DP in a season or 2 when Dempsey calls it a day?

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Montero may have made a ridiculous about of money in China though...so maybe money isn't his motivation?.

I read he's making 10M in China? Is that true? Ridiculous if true, and really a sign that China might singlehandedly ruin the sport of soccer if they keep giving players these insane contracts.

No way in hell the Sounders give him that kind of salary if he comes back.

As much as I love Fredy, I'm fine with leaving that 3rd DP spot open until the summer transfer window if we can't get one of the major transfer rumored players we've been targeting. Especially if Dempsey is good to go, which it sounds like he is now that he's training.

If he made 10M maybe he'll feel he's made enough money and wants to stay in Bellevue long term and be a semi hero here? Sounders have quick a lot of TAM built up with Mears leaving. Is there even a small chance he could come here as that and not a DP then become a DP in a season or 2 when Dempsey calls it a day?

Isn't Fredy's wife from here? I think so, and that'd make sense that they now want to come back to Seattle.

China seems cool to visit, but I doubt very many players and their family's want to raise their kids there.

 

[Glasgow Seahawk]

I believe she is. In some ways the move makes sense- he's played in Europe and probably not good enough to get to a higher level than Sporting Lisbon and had is streak goal scoring run there. He's made a fortune in China so that's probably less of a motivation.

Which leaves MLS where he succeeded in the past. He's still be pretty well paid in MLS. The question is do the Sounders need him if they have Dempsey, Morris and Bruin already? Would he be TAM or a DP?

I guess you could stick Morris wide but that may waste his potential. Dempsey may become more of a bench player this year as he ages (if he comes back) or played more as midfielder. I've no idea if Bruin will be an every game starter.

I'm not sure if there is a glaring need for him until Morris and/or Dempsey go though.

I'd like a RB in and possibly another winger at least.

 

[Smurf]

Fredy's wife is from Seattle.

He owns a home in Bellevue.

He is no longer listed as a player of his club in China.

The Chinese League just came down hard on teams on spending. They are now only allowed to field 3 foreign born players, total, in any game. Montero's club currently has 7 internationals on it, not counting Montero. I believe one of the players has to be a Chinese U-23.

This is destroying the market for Korean, and Japanese players in China and over inflating Chinese youth players.


With Atlanta moving forward with Guzan, it means that we would be negotiating with The Loons, which is a much better position than trying to deal with Atlanta.


It's possible.

 

[Uncle Si]

With Atlanta moving forward with Guzan, it means that we would be negotiating with The Loons, which is a much better position than trying to deal with Atlanta.


It's possible.

MN has their two strikers...

Although Ramirez is a bit of an unknown for this level

 

[Sgt. Largent]

Story on Montero being in Seattle right now

http://www.sounderatheart.com/2017/1/25 ... ders-rumor

Right now we sit 20th in allocation order, so hard to see Montero making it all the way to Seattle if he comes back to the MLS.

But we've also been trading players for allocation money, so maybe that's a sign Lagerwey is hording allocation to throw at a team to jump up to get Fredy.

 

[Uncle Si]

I like this idea...

http://www.espnfc.us/story/3046696/...-to-mls-side-atlanta-united-on-six-month-deal

and this...

http://www.espnfc.us/story/3046743/...er-cristian-colman-as-young-designated-player

 

[Sgt. Largent]

I like this idea...

http://www.espnfc.us/story/3046696/...-to-mls-side-atlanta-united-on-six-month-deal

and this...

http://www.espnfc.us/story/3046743/...er-cristian-colman-as-young-designated-player

Yeah I like the U24 DP rule, but it's been very hard for MLS clubs to compete for the top underage talent with the bigger leagues. Some good players have come into MLS....................Torres, Diaz, Castillo, and a couple others I can't remember at the moment.

The problem with the Sounders I think is they're not big on just getting a player on loan, they want their rights via transfer. Like I said very few clubs are willing to part with their young stars outright, the most is like the Walkes signing, 6 month loans.

 

[hawkfan68]

Fredy's wife is from Seattle.

He owns a home in Bellevue.

He is no longer listed as a player of his club in China.

The Chinese League just came down hard on teams on spending. They are now only allowed to field 3 foreign born players, total, in any game. Montero's club currently has 7 internationals on it, not counting Montero. I believe one of the players has to be a Chinese U-23.

This is destroying the market for Korean, and Japanese players in China and over inflating Chinese youth players.


With Atlanta moving forward with Guzan, it means that we would be negotiating with The Loons, which is a much better position than trying to deal with Atlanta.


It's possible.

Hmmm...this is interesting. Does the player have any say in which team he wants to play for? Or does he have to go where MLS tells him to go. What are the repercussions if the player doesn't want to go the team with allocation priority. Are they forced to sit out? It seems very restrictive if this is the case.

 

[Smurf]

Fredy's wife is from Seattle.

He owns a home in Bellevue.

He is no longer listed as a player of his club in China.

The Chinese League just came down hard on teams on spending. They are now only allowed to field 3 foreign born players, total, in any game. Montero's club currently has 7 internationals on it, not counting Montero. I believe one of the players has to be a Chinese U-23.

This is destroying the market for Korean, and Japanese players in China and over inflating Chinese youth players.


With Atlanta moving forward with Guzan, it means that we would be negotiating with The Loons, which is a much better position than trying to deal with Atlanta.


It's possible.

Hmmm...this is interesting. Does the player have any say in which team he wants to play for? Or does he have to go where MLS tells him to go. What are the repercussions if the player doesn't want to go the team with allocation priority. Are they forced to sit out? It seems very restrictive if this is the case.

He was sold for more than $1 Million, so he is subject to the League Allocation order. He would sign a contract with the league and be allocated to the club with the top spot in the order (The Loons, now). We would have to move up to that spot to get him.

 

[Josea16]

I usually just watch international soccer because I have no idea who the players are. My question is.... Will the Sounders be in the hunt for a playoff berth like the Mariners or are they the real deal if they fix a couple things like the Seahawks? I understand they won the MLS title last year. So will they still be serious contenders this year? Soccer is even more fluid then baseball or basketball let alone football. So I'm curious.

 

[Smurf]

I usually just watch international soccer because I have no idea who the players are. My question is.... Will the Sounders be in the hunt for a playoff berth like the Mariners or are they the real deal if they fix a couple things like the Seahawks? I understand they won the MLS title last year. So will they still be serious contenders this year? Soccer is even more fluid then baseball or basketball let alone football. So I'm curious.

Since they joined MLS in 2009, they have never missed the playoffs. The pedigree of this club is to contend for the league title every year.


Year in, Year out, we will be in the hunt. Always have.

 

[Uncle Si]

I like this idea...

http://www.espnfc.us/story/3046696/...-to-mls-side-atlanta-united-on-six-month-deal

and this...

http://www.espnfc.us/story/3046743/...er-cristian-colman-as-young-designated-player

Yeah I like the U24 DP rule, but it's been very hard for MLS clubs to compete for the top underage talent with the bigger leagues. Some good players have come into MLS....................Torres, Diaz, Castillo, and a couple others I can't remember at the moment.

The problem with the Sounders I think is they're not big on just getting a player on loan, they want their rights via transfer. Like I said very few clubs are willing to part with their young stars outright, the most is like the Walkes signing, 6 month loans.

Not saying it fits the Sounders model but I like the idea of MLS teams taking chances on young talent, whether in purchase or loan.

The Spurs thing is real interesting. I'm certain they passed up many Championship offers for the player only to send him to America. Would love to hear the reasoning.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The Spurs thing is real interesting. I'm certain they passed up many Championship offers for the player only to send him to America. Would love to hear the reasoning.

Probably because of the season difference. If you have a young player that's not getting minutes on the pitch, send him to an MLS club to get quality match minutes, then call him back before your season starts in the fall.

 

[Uncle Si]

The Spurs thing is real interesting. I'm certain they passed up many Championship offers for the player only to send him to America. Would love to hear the reasoning.

Probably because of the season difference. If you have a young player that's not getting minutes on the pitch, send him to an MLS club to get quality match minutes, then call him back before your season starts in the fall.

again, he could get all that in the Championship and be within miles of the home club...

 

[Sgt. Largent]

The Spurs thing is real interesting. I'm certain they passed up many Championship offers for the player only to send him to America. Would love to hear the reasoning.

Probably because of the season difference. If you have a young player that's not getting minutes on the pitch, send him to an MLS club to get quality match minutes, then call him back before your season starts in the fall.

again, he could get all that in the Championship and be within miles of the home club...

I did read that Atlanta's President used to be the executive director at Tottenham, so maybe that relationship helped.