2014 MLS Thread

[Matty81]

Great news for Canadian MLS fans... the caps get a great player for a year, really impressed with him last year, at minimal acquisition cost. TFC gets him back as a non-dp as his transfer fee is fully allocated after this year if I'm not mistaken, even better that he stays in canada and will be a year away from Canadian citizenship and domestic status when he comes back.

Too bad Argentina already capped him. His age and the fact he will never ge a senior cap would have made him a prime CMNT naturalization target.

[The Big Chill]

Peter Schaad, who is the Whitecaps radio guy, said on his twitter that there is an option to buy at the end of the year. I'm not sure how much info he would have access to, or what clauses would be in the contract, but it seems at least possible that the deal could become permanent.

[shermanator]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

The other interesting thing is that Carl Robinson seems to believe Russell Teibert is best suited as a deeper midfielder, and he's been seeing time there in preseason. It will be interesting to see who will win the starting roles.

I've heard this as well. Personally, I think he's a much better player up front on the right wing but Robinson is the coach...

[The Big Chill]

The Whitecaps are saying they have acquired Laba for future considerations, so it is a trade, not a loan.

[mac_82]

England's lineup vs Denmark. Still getting used to seeing this:

Forwards: Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC), Rickie Lambert (Southampton), Jay Rodriguez (Southampton), Wayne Rooney (Manchester United), Daniel Sturridge (Liverpool), Daniel Welbeck (Manchester United).

[Zach]

My dad just got his Whitecaps season tix. Always great games to go to. 10x better than any BC Lions game at BC Place. Hopefully make it down to Seattle as well when they play the Caps.

[Matty81]

Sounds like Laba has basically been loaned with an option to buy... Dunno what the scoop is on it being a trade but TFC's manager said in an interview that it's a pretty high bar Whitecaps need to make to keep him and if they do TFC will be in a position to reinvest in their squad significantly. If they don't somehow he will revert to toronto, dunno how that can work.

Good old MLS roster movements, you never really know what is going on.

[The Big Chill]

Ya it's pretty strange. Both sides are making the deal sound more favourable to themselves. It seems like it's not technically a loan, because Laba will be able to play against TFC, but it's not yet a permanent transfer either.

It could come down to how well Laba plays, and if the Whitecaps feel he's worth whatever price has been agreed on.

[The Big Chill]

It is being reported the the Whitecaps have signed Chilean Pedro Morales from Malaga to be their new DP. Huge news if true.

[Johnny199r]

Originally Posted by The Big Chill

It is being reported the the Whitecaps have signed Chilean Pedro Morales from Malaga to be their new DP. Huge news if true.

Still don't see who is going to score for them. Mattocks has looked poor in pre-season, Miller can't seem to replace Camilo's production. Other than goal scoring, the Caps look good.

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by Johnny199r

Still don't see who is going to score for them. Mattocks has looked poor in pre-season, Miller can't seem to replace Camilo's production. Other than goal scoring, the Caps look good.

It will likely have to be scoring by committee to replace Camilo's goals. The 2 new Uruguayans have looked good in preseason, plus now with adding Morales, that should boost the attack.

Salgado is finally healthy and looking good in preseason. Manneh can hopefully build on his progress in the second half of last season. Miller is quality if he could ever stay healthy.

Mattocks is a wildcard. He looked so promising at first, but his poor attitude and awful awareness and positioning make him look like nothing more then some speed off the bench. Hopefully he can prove me wrong.

Lots of question marks, but also lots of promise heading into this season. It's very hard to predict how it will play out.

[Jimmy Stang]

Since we're talking about Camilo, I just saw this on Twitter: http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/02...aid-in-mexico/

Summary: The Mexican club is having financial trouble, and Camilo apparently isn't getting paid yet. I wonder if the Whitecaps got their money already?

[The Big Chill]

Originally Posted by Jimmy Stang

Since we're talking about Camilo, I just saw this on Twitter: http://blogs.theprovince.com/2014/02...aid-in-mexico/

Summary: The Mexican club is having financial trouble, and Camilo apparently isn't getting paid yet. I wonder if the Whitecaps got their money already?

I read on a 'Caps forum that they haven't got it yet, but that's not from an official source or anything. What a fiasco.

[Matty81]

One article I read said that they got a substantial payment up front but if the Mexicans miss a payment (the rest was due in installments) which looks likely they keep that money and get his rights back...

Could work out well for them, don't know that he could ever come back and be accepted but they could flip him within the MLS or sell him again and make out like bandits.

[shermanator]

Looks like some photos have come out regarding the potential expansion of BMO for TFC, the Argos and adding a roof. Very interesting!

[Jimmy Stang]

^ That looks like a proper English-style stadium. Very nice. Although many people aren't pleased about sharing with the Argos, I honestly feel that it will benefit both the Argos and TFC. Using Montreal as a prime example, the CFL experience (and any sport, for that matter) is better in an intimate setting where you are close to the field. I know that it isn't the only reason, but the Alouettes' resurgence has a lot to do with getting out of the cavernous Big O and into a more intimate stadium.

What about the playing surface? There was a big deal made about TFC moving back to grass, but Canadian football is a lot harder on real grass, plus the cut is usually a tad longer. Will they be going back to turf or sharing the grass? That's my only real concern.

[Jimmy Stang]

TV coverage really looks to be good this season for the Canadian teams (well, the English ones, at least). All of TFC's matches will be on TSN, TSN2, SN1, or SN360.

And all but three Whitecaps matches will be on TSN/TSN2. The three exceptions are available on CTV in BC only, which is a drag, but still a good number of games on nationally.

Montreal only has about 1/3 of their games on TSN, with the remainder on TVA Sports, which you can't get in Calgary.

[seattleflamer]

Hopefully this lockout is short lived and they can reach an agreement:

http://www.proreferees.com/news-pro-lockout.php

Today, following a rejection by referees of a no strike/no lockout agreement, the Professional Referee Organization (PRO) announced that it will commence a lockout of its match officials, effective at 11:00 am ET on March 7, until a new collective bargaining agreement is reached between PRO and the Professional Soccer Referees Associations (PSRA). PRO will use replacement officials for the Major League Soccer matches that will be played this weekend.

Sounders match tomorrow features ex FIFA ref from Ireland who is apparently "card happy"...may not be a bad thing with Mssr. Collin taking his usual liberties.

[Magnum PEI]

ESPN study:
http://espnfc.com/news/story/_/id/17...s-poll?cc=5901

[cheevers]

Djimi Traoré plays for Seattle?