James Riley, Tyson Wahl Leave Sounders On Expansion Draft Day
by Dave Clark on Nov 23, 2011 12:38 PM PST
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UPDATED with press releases on both transactions:
As the Montreal Impact look to build for their 2012 season they made two Seattle Sounders related moves during the expansion draft to help their team. First they selected James Riley only to later ship him to Chivas USA for two players - Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen. After the expansion draft the Impact announced that they also traded for Tyson Wahl. The Sounders received allocation money in exchange.
On the field this puts the Sounders without one and a half starting fullback in their four man backline. The rebuilding and focus on defensive integration both into the attack and defending on the counter will be job one for Adrian Hanauer and staff this off-season. They do free up about 150k in order to make that a reality, not to mention the unknown allocation money. In Wahl they lose their best left footed set-play service. The loss of Riley will hurt the most in right sided overlapping runs. Riley quickly became a fan favorite through hard nosed filled play sprinting up and down the right touchline and was the first Sounder to get their own song purely based on MLS experience.
Off the field Seattle loses a true and genuine gentleman in Riley. James regularly helped out in numerous charitable causes, most notably the Renton Boys & Girls Club. He also aided efforts in breast cancer awareness, America SCORES-Seattle and other organizations. His presence as a person will be missed even more than on the field.
The Sounders lose two more players to expansion, but continue to have their core together. The spine remains whole, for now. Two open senior roster spots, cap room and allocation gains help to take the team to another level. Losing 5500 minutes puts them in a large hole though.
Now with the Riley press release
RENTON, WASH. - Seattle Sounders FC defender James Riley was selected today by the Montreal Impact in the 2011 Major League Soccer Expansion Draft. Following the pick, Riley was traded to Chivas USA for Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen.
Riley, 29, was a regular starter in his three seasons with Sounders FC. He started a career-high 29 matches in 2011, recording two assists, and appeared in 38 games across all competitions. He was voted the club's Humanitarian of the Year in 2010 and 2011 and was also named the club's Defender of the Year in 2010.
"It's not surprising that James Riley was picked by Montreal," said Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid. "He's been our starting right back for three years and a quality player. We knew it would be a risk to not protect him. He's a veteran who can step in and help a defense right away."
Riley spent his first three MLS seasons with New England before being selected by San Jose in the 2008 Expansion Draft. He was then chosen by Seattle in the 2009 Expansion Draft. He totaled one goal and recorded five assists with Sounders FC, playing 84 matches and starting 83.
On Wahl
RENTON, WASH. - Seattle Sounders FC today traded defender Tyson Wahl to the Montreal Impact in exchange for allocation money.
Wahl, 27, started a career-high 22 games in his sixth MLS season. He was selected from Kansas City in the 2008 Expansion Draft and became the club's starting left back for much of his third season with Sounders FC.
"Tyson has been solid contributor, earning more minutes with each season," said Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid. "We'll miss his value to our team, but this trade enables him to be a full-time starter and the allocation money will help us maintain the high quality in our team."
Wahl scored his first career goal on a direct free kick versus New England, a strike which was voted MLS Goal of the Week. He also had two assists this past season. He logged a career-high 1989 minutes and took a career-high 31 corner kicks. Over his three years in Seattle Wahl appeared in 39 matches, starting 33. He also started in the finals of both the 2009 and 2010 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, each won by Sounders FC.
An All-American defender at the University of California, Wahl started every game during his four-year collegiate career. He was involved in the U.S. U-17 and U-20 residency programs and played in the U-17 World Youth Championships in 2001.
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Well
not exactly what i was expecting. But this does force Seattle to upgrade.
There is a quality defender out of Uganda...
They should grab him before a European club does…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godfrey_Walusimbi
by P. Scott Cummins on Nov 23, 2011 1:26 PM PST up reply actions
Some teams are now releasing their waiver lists
Wonder if we will see ours soon.
by Brougham Hooligan on Nov 23, 2011 12:42 PM PST reply actions
oh okay thanks! wasn't sure if they were out or not..
when is the waiver draft? and when do the list become public?
Love this . . .
Our front office is full of stone cold killers. They saw what everyone else say: that we needed to upgrade our defense, and they haven’t hesitated to make it happen.
Can’t wait to see what they have up their sleeve.
They haven't done anything yet....
Two starting fullbacks and a starting keeper must be found. And our next game is a CCL quarterfinal against a good Mexican side. I know the FO has history of success but this is a big, big gamble.
They haven't done anything yet so far as we know.
They may well have done something.
by Aaron Campeau on Nov 23, 2011 12:52 PM PST up reply actions
that's gotta be news to the guy who started...
…both playoff legs at LB.
Wahl started 22 times
So it’s reasonable to call him a starting fullback.
25 all comps starts for wahl
22 for Leo
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
and Leo started 23 times...
Wahl was a very useful role player on the team, who played his strong left footed service into increased playing time due to Sigi’s emphasis of bringing the backs into the offense… but in the end he was a significantly weaker defender. It’s entirely possible, if the team deems Tetteh ready to fill in a offense-first role, that the Sounders aren’t looking to find two starters, but rather one on the backline.
James Riley
I met him on the street a couple of times and he was as nice and down to earth of a guy as one could hope to be. I will be happy to cheer for him at Chivas but I am doubtful of what kind of success he can hope to have down there. That team is a mess.
Oh, and no more expansion. I hate expansion drafts. At least it looks like we will have a year off next year.
by @Thomas513 on Nov 23, 2011 12:46 PM PST reply actions 2 recs
Riley is an awesome person
I’ve had a few non-soccer encounters with him and he’s always treated me well
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
by Dave Clark on Nov 23, 2011 12:49 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Fraser has only had one season with Chivas
Chivas could use some extra cash, sure, but I think they could improve next year and Riley could help them do that.
His community presence will certainly be welcome in LA...
As bad as Seattle’s need is for true heroes like Riley actively at work in our midst, LA’s need is and always has been greater….by virtue of pure size if nothing else. I miss him already. I’ve never heard a bad thing about him re: his life off the field.
The upcoming offseason...
..will be very, very interesting. Good on the sounders to apparently prioritize upgrading positions of need and come up with a strategy of doing so (tentatively, since we’ll have to see exactly how they tackle the fullbacks issue). Best of luck to Riley and Wahl in the future. Thanks for the hard work!
I have a feeling...
this whole thing was worked out days ago, but just released today.
Almost certainly
Feels like a threeway deal that happened to have a draft involved. Chivas gets Riley, Monreal gets Wahl & allocation, we get allocation & maybe protection of other player?
by Derek Young on Nov 23, 2011 12:50 PM PST up reply actions
I know that the draft happened today,
and that the players all changed hands today, but i feel that the three FOs must have been talking about this for a few days. I think Adrian already knew they would take Riley before today. (maybe that is why he was left open).
I have no idea what goes on behind the scenes.
Just need this off my chest
I HATE EXPANSION DRAFTS!!!!
At pick #8....
I allowed myself to think we might survive. One pick and one deal later, we have to replace half our backline. F expansion drafts.
I did the exact same thing.
In a bad mood now.
by Derek Young on Nov 23, 2011 12:59 PM PST up reply actions
The exact reason,
why i did not try to look at the list untill 1220. Figured it would all be realeased by then and i would not have to suffer through the pick by pick torture.
I think the Wahl deal is probably a good thing
Wahl is hardly unreplaceable, and we got allocation. It’s not as easy as saying you can pick up someone like Tyson Wahl off the street, but at the same time, it’s not like it’s impossible either. The Wahl deal basically increased our cap number at the cost of a player who can probably be replaced. Given that I trust the FO to use that cap space, I think it’ll turn out well.
Really?
I couldn’t be more thrilled. Wahl is a defensive liability (yes, his set pieces were fantastic, but he sucked otherwise), and Riley was as well. They were the two weakest links of our starting back line. I can’t wait to see who the FO brings in next.
by Knuckles on Nov 23, 2011 1:36 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Couldn't be more thrilled?
We were two picks away from making it through without losing anyone. Had we kept Riley, we could have traded him for someone (clearly he had some trade value) and still upgraded our backline. We didn’t have to lose anyone in the draft and at the end of the day, losing Riley is far from the best outcome here.
I'd love to make it through an expansion draft without losing someone
That would be cool.
by CarlosT on Nov 23, 2011 1:54 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Except
that would probably mean we aren’t that good. Depth is part of developing a strong team. Isn’t it?
Then again, how did LA get through?
The order in which the picks were announced is inconsequential
Saying that we were two picks away from not getting anyone picked does not make sense.
I don’t think there ever really was a chance to get out of the draft untouched. We had too much talent available, as also illustrated by the fact that we ended up losing two players today.
I'm not that surprised that they took Riley
A case can certainly be made for Riley as the most valuable guy left exposed on our list. I am surprised that the Impact were able to trade him for Braun and another player.
I was surprized by this too...that a LOT of value for Riley...
well done Montreal on that one. They have a nice core. The only head-scratcher for me was Ching. I’m wondering if Montreal knows something we don’t.
They could trade him
back to houston for a player that was protected. Great move to call his bluff. Houston tried to protect 12 players with chings threat. Kind of glad to see the Impact call his bluff.
I love that move
I doubt Houston really wanted to lose Ching. Also, I think the Impact’s selection of Ching vindicates the Sounders’ decision to protect Keller last year, despite claims that neither Portland nor Vancouver would have taken him.
I hate it simply because he might retire
I want Houston to succeed with their stadium launch. A financially successful Houston is good for the whole league. Plus he’s a Zag.
The SAH Links Guy
You ought to hate Houston for leaving him unprotected then
If Ching was willing to retire if picked—and surely the Dynamo knew that—and he wanted to play one more year, the right thing to do would have been to put Ching on the protected list. They tried to play games and they got called on it, that’s what I like about the move.
I have to agree
Houston tried to slip one by and will get bitten by it by either losing a solid player (or $ or a draft pick or whatever) in trade or won’t have Ching’s services next year. I do feel a bit for Ching, who I also admit to liking as an ex-Zag done well, but Houston’s FO has to take the blame for trying to effectively protect 12 players.
Certainly I feel for Ching
Who is essentially caught up in a power struggle between two teams. If he felt so strongly about staying in Houston, I am surprised that he doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract. With a no-trade clause, he would have had to be protected. (Perhaps you can only get an NTC if you are a DP?)
Is all this movement...
…in order to free up cap space for Rosales’ new contract? Should we expect a new DP announcement soon?
What has chafed me the most about the last two expansion drafts...
…is that the players we lost haven’t played a second (and likely never will) for the team that took them. I don’t blame any of the expansion teams for doing what they did: if the Impact liked Braun more than they liked any of the other players on the protected list, then they made a smart deal by taking Riley and getting Braun, but something about it just rubs me the wrong way.
Yep
To me, an expansion draft should be for picking up players that you will use for your team. The trading and wheeling and dealing just adds too much junk to the situation.
by Adam Waltering on Nov 23, 2011 1:56 PM PST up reply actions
When you're drawing from teams' second XI
There won’t be too many starting pick-ups.
The expansion draft provides a base to start from, which includes use that base to build further through trades.
I don’t mind it, but I will be happy when MLS is done expanding.
Well this years draft was interesting
Im mostly surprised that we didn’t trade Riley to Chivas for Braun. He wouldve been a great addition up top. I was preparing to lose Fucito or Ianni. It should be interesting who the FO brings in to fill the RB spot.
Had we traded for Riley for Braun...
…we would either have lost Braun in the expansion draft, or probably lost someone about that good.
Which means if we'd traded for him, we'd have to have protected him
And have lost someone else. There are a lot of counterfactuals to play around with.
I have to wonder if Chivas USA would have been willing to do that deal with Seattle
The numbers might not support the argument, and it could be a little irrational, but trading away a top scorer to a likely-to-struggle expansion team in the other conference might be easier to do than to trade away a top scorer to the 2nd team in table who have had trouble solidifying that position.
I
doubt it would happen Chivas has to play us 3 times vs only 1 time with Montreal. If you are gonna trade a player away better to trade to a team outside your conference imo.
I agree, why does Chivas insist on being bad?
Trading away a great young talent like Braun seems strange. All in all I wish we didn’t lose Riley but glad it forces our hand to upgrade there, which I feel is something the FO has been looking to do. I think Wahl leaving opens up room for Tettah hopefully to rotate with Leo (unless Leo is on his way out too). It would be nice to get a solid attacking RB, with a little more skill than Riley. Scott improved greatly this year but he is not a starting back by any means. Clearly the FO has a plan because it looks like they are grabbing cash to make a move, I’m waiting for the pay cut to Jaqua as well. Has to happen right?
Few of Riley's faults were in the attacking end
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
He made good run
I agree he made good overlapping runs, but his skill with the ball as far as crossing and shooting was pretty average. But he was good at drawing a defender with his runs to help the attack. Like I said I would have preferred to keep him but it was definitely a position we could upgrade at, our back line was certainly not our strength, particularly on the outsides. I just feel Sigi wants a LB and RB that can really attack like a wing. Leo is our best back that could do that but he fouls too much and over extends sometimes. Both spots could use an upgrade. But I like those guys for depth. Riley’s fitness was fantastic.
Chivas didn't really need Riley
until they lost Valentin, yes? Valentin was selected prior to Riley, right? No need to make a trade if the RB of the future sneaks through.
Thinking if/then/coulda/woulda is silly. We were always going to lose someone. If not Riley, then someone else. The exact same second guessing would occur regardless, because Montreal were never going to select Estrada or Graham or Sanyang. We have too much depth. And people are saying “too much depth” like it’s a bad thing.
I feel like we had this same conversation last year when Sturgis ended up in Toronto and then we traded for O’BW.
Thanks for calling attention to Riley's humanitarian efforts.
It’s easy (and fun) to get caught up in the on-the-field impact of moving players around, but I always appreciated James Riley for everything he did in our community. He’s the kind of awesome human being I love for our club to be associated with.
by The King of Norway on Nov 23, 2011 12:55 PM PST reply actions 15 recs
Plus I taught him how to taste coffee
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
by Dave Clark on Nov 23, 2011 12:57 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
That must have been cool
Do you guys do that noisy sip thing?
Here he is at the event
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
by Dave Clark on Nov 23, 2011 5:43 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
So you took him cupping?
so. much. fun.
Sports.
Some money,
but remember both took substantial pay cuts this last year.
I thought they were given extensions in exchange for those pay cuts?
Or did I just make that up in my head?
The Seattle Sounders are just reDQulous
Noonan got an extenstion
through the end of the season for his cut IIRC
the extension to Jaqua is simply suspected...
…not confirmed, because you wouldn’t think he’d simply give up money from his contract for nothing.
In some player unions that's the only way to take less money
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
Transfer window
Does anyone know the dates of the offseason transfer window? Is it open now, or do we have to wait?
The Seattle Sounders are just reDQulous
January 15th it opens
Deals can be agreed right now though.
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
Waiver draft is on now
Let’s see what happens….
by Brougham Hooligan on Nov 23, 2011 1:03 PM PST reply actions
I am baffled
How did LA get out of the expansion draft without losing a player?
-Ben R.
2nd straight year, right?
I think some of their better depth (or at least younger depth) is home-grown players, who were exempt from the expansion draft, so that could be one reason.
true, but...
given the other picks made, I could definitely make an argument for Cardozo or Stephens over, say, Gardner.
The Impact know Gardner VERY well
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
I don't doubt the knowledge, I doubt the value...
…for that matter, targeting the midfield from Columbus I would have targeted Ekpo (granted the cost difference likely played a major role there). I haven’t watched Gardner play that much, but on my casual impression given the people available it seems they could have gone for a higher ceiling player.
Gardner is a suitable left back
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
so is Sinovic...
…and for all my criticism, LB is likely Wahl’s most valuable position. Gardner has the experience at DM to think they may be thinking of him there, whereas the save cannot be said for Sinovic to my immediate recollection.
With all of their GA and homegrown guys plus the protected players
there weren’t many players I would have taken from Dallas if I were Montreal.
sometimes
its based on pure luck. I mean bar any trades (pre and post draft) 1 team 10 picks 18 teams.
Hell we could been extremely lucky and loose no one to expansion drafts.
they had like seven guys that were hgp or GA
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.
by Jeremiah Oshan on Nov 24, 2011 9:46 AM PST up reply actions
my guess
it already done but nothing really happened.
philly got someone
from twitter “The Union have selected ex-@whitecapsfc MF Nizar Khalfan in the @MLS Waiver Draft. He had 1 goal & 4 assists in 1066 min. this year. #DOOP”
yea
i kind was expecting there wouldn’t be much action.
left back Carlos salcido
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carlos_Salcido
any chance we can get him DP contract ?
by alexyepz on Nov 23, 2011 1:15 PM PST via mobile reply actions
I doubt
Seattle will DP a outside back anytime soon
especially
it would be a mistake to use 335k of cap space on a single outside back were we could a couple outside backs for less than that amount.
how bout this guy
by alexyepz on Nov 23, 2011 1:28 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
I think
the future RB for this team is gonna be Yedlin when he is ready. I don’t think it would be wise to go with a high salary contract for outside backs.
yedlin
is a long ways away, but we can hope. Throw in a flyer that tetteh continues to improve as well
But
is he ready to start thats the question.
tetteh
and yedlin as bookends was my hope..
unless you think leo is the answer, in which case todays events made you happy
Really don't see either player starting next year
Best case scenario is probably getting Tetteh some senior team minutes next year and Yedlin the year after that.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.
by Jeremiah Oshan on Nov 23, 2011 2:11 PM PST up reply actions
these moves definitely give the impression...
they may be willing to give him some minutes. They have to be comfortable with the Leo starting/Tetteh backup setup if acquisitions fall through… and with only so much money to spend on RB, GK and whatever else that plan B has to be considered a strong possibility.
…unless there are more trades in the works.
Best of luck James and Tyson
Riley was an iron man! I’m sad that he has to go to such a wreck of an organization.
If we don’t get someone at least as good as him our back line will have a glaring weakness. And losing Tyson doesn’t help our cause either. I love Leo’s defensive game but he isn’t getting any younger.
Any idea at all of the range of allocation dollars we got for Wahl
Riley and Wahl combined for around $155,000 in salary last year, and I’m trying to think what we can spend to replace them.
It would be really convenient if Tetteh could step up and take Wahl's minutes from last year
So that we didn’t really need to replace him in a like for like manner. But Tetteh probably isn’t quite ready it seems.
by ubelmann on Nov 23, 2011 1:39 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
That's my sense as well
Without having any sort of numbers around to look like, I have a feeling we could get a decent, but not great MLS fullback at around $80,000. I’m just wondering what our possibilities for upgrades are.
Montreal's picks strike me as a bit odd overall
How many outside backs did they get? Like 30? I wonder if they’re looking at other trades besides Riley.
The took six defenders and one DM. No doubt they are going to be dealing.
by DaveValleDrinkNight on Nov 23, 2011 1:50 PM PST up reply actions
Also, apparently Ching said somewhere that he would refuse to move to Montreal.
That could be a problem.
by DaveValleDrinkNight on Nov 23, 2011 2:03 PM PST up reply actions
The plan could be to ransom, er, trade him back to Houston for someone else
I don’t remember where I read it, but someone said Heinault might be the true target.
Well, is Houston willing to play without Ching?
Honestly, it seems like a bigger problem for Houston than for Montreal.
True, but Jeff Parke said he didn't want to play for the Sounders
I think we all know how that worked out. Athletes don’t have a long time to wait out the team and Ching doesn’t have many cards besides retirement.
That was a quote taken out of context
He was talking about wanting to try to get a contract in Europe, which of course by corollary meant that he did not want to play for the Sounders. But he never said he had something against playing for the Sounders as such.
Sure
But the year and a half it took to sign him wasn’t taken out of context.
I thought
that was more because we had our CB situation covered in 2009.
Which was exactly the same in 2010 when he signed.
He signed before Hurtado got hurt. Park turned down many Sounders offers until it was established that they weren’t going to trade his rights and he just had to sign with them if he wanted to play in MLS.
that was about not being able to agree on a contract
Parke wanted more than the Sounders would pay and really only came back after it was clear he couldn’t make decent money in a decent situation in Europe.
Editor/writer at Sounder at Heart, MLS editor SB Nation. Follow me on Twitter. You'll Never Yacht Alone.
by Jeremiah Oshan on Nov 23, 2011 6:50 PM PST up reply actions
Now that my initial shock has worn off...
I must admit that I am intrigued by this set of circumstances. The Sounders FO will be describe in many ways this off season, but based on today’s events, timid isn’t one of them.
The team lost its starting FBs. But in return gained, 150K plus allocation money while keeping their inexpensive youth and bench depth everywhere else on the pitch. Obviously, the FO has made a decision that they were going to upgrade the FB position this offseason. Once they made the decision, they lived with the consequences and acted on it.
I’m curious to see what happens with Montano and Leo.
One thing we've definitely learned about the FO is that they value players up the spine.
We saw it last year when they left out Nyassi. Saw it again this year when they protected Evans and Friberg. Definitely interested to see what they’ve got lined up for our FBs.
I wonder why the Wahl deal was done today
I am having a hard time seeing how it fits. It looks like Riley went in the draft and then the Wahl deal was announced, but there is no telling the order in which the events happened. Very different scenarios: (1) they knew they were losing Riley when they traded Wahl, or (2) they traded Wahl before they knew Riley was gone. Everyone is assuming we simply cleaned house on Ds. It could instead be that they traded Wahl for allocation money, knowing that Riley would be at risk. Not really a plan involving both. They certainly didn’t need to do the Wahl trade today.
by Brougham Hooligan on Nov 23, 2011 1:49 PM PST reply actions
It doesn't seem like it would make a lot of sense to do a trade before the expansion draft...
…unless there was an agreement that Montreal wouldn’t take someone from your side in the draft.
MLSsoccer.com says Wahl trade was first
If there was a preagreement with Montreal, I suspect we’d have heard about it by now.
by Brougham Hooligan on Nov 24, 2011 6:01 PM PST up reply actions
It may
have to do with how much playing time wahl is gonna get next year. It could been a sign that he won’t get as much as he did this year in Seattle.
May have to do with budget balancing
Losing Riley rather than Wahl to the Expansion Draft meant that their budget for FBs was tied up to the left side. By moving Wahl the team frees up more salary space and gains allocation dollars. Ultimately I expect them to go into camp with the idea that they want two clear starting FBs and two clear backups and to have the salaries of these 4 players to reflect the difference. They look to find two starters who will make money comparable to what Leo made this year and two backups who make near the league minimum. (This isn’t a guarantee that Leo will be one of the two clear starters.) It appears that they didn’t expect Wahl to be that man and his trade value was at a premium today.
Any extra allocation money remaining can be used in signing both Rosales and another big target.
by Abbott Smith on Nov 23, 2011 2:09 PM PST up reply actions
Seattle
can still get players that doesn’t involve cap space like drafting one in the super draft for example. Plus Tetteh is still GA.
Agree
Even more of a reason to free up budget space. Having bench depth that doesn’t count against the salary cap is a definite advantage. Also remember that only 18-20 players count against the cap. The young, cheap developmental players can often be off the cap books even if they are not GA.
by Abbott Smith on Nov 23, 2011 2:15 PM PST up reply actions
Regarding the budget balance
Although a little OT, to me, the gorilla in the room is Zak and OBW. That’s over 300K tied up for unknown quantities. As of right now, its unclear what we can expect from them in returning. Unfortunately, we don’t have the luxury of using up that much cap for a gamble and waiting to see how they come along—we are in a CCL knockout tie in 3 months. We may have to find a bird in the hand with that 300K and lose one or both of them. A harsh reality indeed.
by Brougham Hooligan on Nov 23, 2011 2:28 PM PST up reply actions
Depends on the language and length of their contracts
I don’t know how individual MLS contracts are structured, but certainly could see OBW having a smaller, health incentive laden contract for next season if the team and player can agree to the terms.
I expect the Sounders to expose some of their veterans to the Re Entry draft if they can. This would enable them to restructure some of the contracts for any players not selected.
by Abbott Smith on Nov 23, 2011 3:48 PM PST up reply actions
I thought they'd take Riley.
Good player and by all accounts a great person.
I didn’t think they would trade Riley. Welcome to the unofficial start of silly season!
by DaveValleDrinkNight on Nov 23, 2011 1:56 PM PST reply actions
And
there may be more trades in this silly season and i think one trade will involve Montreal Houston and Ching.
I am surprised but hopeful (104 days til Santos)
I remember how much better Wahl played when given playing time. Hopefully Tetteh can get some playing time. He looked like he still had room to improve…. At least there will be something to read about for the next few months.
Nos audietis in somniis, Nos audietis in altum: You will hear us!
by chrisso on Nov 23, 2011 1:58 PM PST via iPhone app reply actions 1 recs
Burning question.
How long until the Impact threaten to cecede from MLS?
by DaveValleDrinkNight on Nov 23, 2011 1:58 PM PST reply actions
I'll test this here...
…Before I put it up on mlssoccer.com, how long before Montreal usurps the Sounders title as the most loathed fanbase in MLS? I’m gonna guess halfway through the season. From all the limited interactions i’ve had with people from montreal, I get the impression that they are kinda arrogant.
Not sure they'll be ubiquitous enough.
A lot of the hate for SSFC fans comes from the fact that we’re sort of everywhere.
Two, maybe three weeks.
We’re gonna have to work overtime to take our title back.
by DaveValleDrinkNight on Nov 23, 2011 2:05 PM PST up reply actions
One idea
How about when Montreal plays here, we do stadium announcements in really bad high-school French.
by Brougham Hooligan on Nov 23, 2011 2:09 PM PST up reply actions 3 recs
Béttér yét, ín á réálly bad frénch áccént
by CarlosT on Nov 23, 2011 2:32 PM PST up reply actions 4 recs
Like the French taunting knights in Monty Python
“I’m French! Why else do you think I have this outraaaaaaageous accent, you silly king?”
We could hire...
Justin Timberlake to say Montreal players name using his Jacques “LeCoq” Grande accent from the Love Guru.
by Adam Waltering on Nov 23, 2011 4:02 PM PST up reply actions 1 recs
Could Evans be moving to RB?
I know the national team wanted to try him there. Lord knows we could use the height on the back line. Evans would also be a passing upgrade over Riley we all know how much Sigi is looking to trigger offense from the RB and LB positions.
I don't
know if Evans would be a wise choice maybe depth but starting?
Think about how Leo plays on the left
Evans could play that kind of game. Coming forward fairly often, triggering Mauro down the right side…etc.
He would be a better ball control optiion to Scott at RB. And Sigi seems intent on putting a trigger man at RB and LB.
It would solve some of our log-jam in midfield
Still, I’m not sure he would be as effective there. One of the best aspects of his game is positional and situational awareness which is accentuated in the C-mid spot.
The SAH Links Guy
Riley issues?
Did we ever get the story on how Riley was the most used player all year and then suddenly didn’t start or even play at all at the very end of the season? Don’t tell me its matchups, it clearly wasnt.
Injury? Seems like something deeper and more serious to me.
This was actually a really significant development that got lost in the shuffle
by RalfZakuani on Nov 23, 2011 5:57 PM PST via mobile reply actions
Well, he wasn't the most used player all year
Why do you think it wasn’t about a desire to prevent the counter?
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He was benched in the true sense only once all year and it was the crucial game. If it was just matchups I guess Sigi just realized he had been doing it wrong often all year?
by RalfZakuani on Nov 23, 2011 6:26 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
He was "benched" against Dallas too
I am not a Supporter | I am not a Fan | I am a Sounder
Sounder At Heart
You have to wonder
If Sigi blamed him in part for the SLC loss. His benching was one of the key switches made for the second leg.
He started the three last MLS regular season matches and the first playoff leg at Salt Lake as well as the CCL match against Monterrey
Before that he missed two MLS regular season matches and two CCL matches due to injury. These were away at Vancouver, away at New England, home vs Herediano and away at Comunicaciones. These were played between Sep 20 and Oct 10.
The only match he did not play despite being available was the second leg playoff match, and that was apparently because he had a horrible match in Salt Lake.
This was mentioned above for a little..
.. but what are the thoughts that Tetteh might be the future answer at LB and thus, the Sounders feel Leo can get the majority of the minutes, while slowly integrating Tetteh and then having Tetteh full time start in 2013
Only watched him briefly in the US Open Cup those 1 or 2 times, is he that far away from being productive?
by BaltimoreIslander on Nov 23, 2011 8:01 PM PST reply actions
I've seen him a few times in reserve games
Amazing speed which helps bail him out defensively. Still needs to learn and develop in the position. I can see him getting caught out often especially against faster wings.
The SAH Links Guy
Montano has also moved to Montreal
From FB “my new team is montreal impact in 2012 …. mi nuevo equipo es montreal impact en el 2012 ♥”
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