26 January 2007

The Highly Unpredictable Nature of International Markets

When thinking back to our discussion of the theorized DC United Masterplan, Commenter Big Kris commented that he thought there was a plan, but it might not be coming off. Now, we have to reserve all judgements until after 1 February 2007, but I have to say that the sentiment rang true to me. International transfers are notoriously dodgy. As for whether United is in good shape right now, well, that's an open question. It is possible that viewing everything through the lense of the stadium negotiations has colored my judgement. Or maybe not. United was a team in need of improvement last year. Yes, it won the Supporter's Shield, but as they say on those Ameritrade ads: "Past performance is not indicative of future results" We could see that our team was good, but flawed. That statement is still true today.

Which brings us to the Bobby Boswell story. Do I have a problem with him declining a contract? Nope. Dude wants to get paid. Fine. But the transfer market is just as unpredictable for players as it is for managers. It may work out great for him. It may not. But as long as he plays the way he has while he's here, I have no problem with what he's done. And I hope he does get his big payday, one way or another.

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3 Comments:

At 28 January, 2007 00:11, Anonymous Anonymous said...

All true, but without Donnet, that's another 200K to go shopping with (looking onthe bright side). Just wish MLS salary cap was high enough that we didn't have to always bargain shop on the clearance rack for players.

 
At 28 January, 2007 12:01, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I still don't get why we didn't give Donnet more of a chance. He's young and experienced and more familiar with the DCU system than anyone else who will be brought in. Not to say he was the second coming of Gomez, but he showed some real quality.

Boz is big and steady, two qualities teams look for in defenders all over the world. Still amazing that he wasn't even drafted.

The draft leads to an interesting question-- will some of the guys from prior drafts (Moose et.al.) be ready for primetime this year? A lot of discussion has focused on international pickups, what about the guys we've scouted and drafted here? What about DeRoux?
-K

 
At 28 January, 2007 12:20, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I agree with K. It seems like we can get some real talent in from abroad, but we don't necessarily give them a chance (e.g., Donnet, Filomeno). I loved what I saw from both of those guys in the very limited opportunties that they were given to play.

 

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