Sounders should sign McBride
Fig Jam
The Seattle Sounders… my favorite Seattle sports franchise at the moment, should take note that Brian McBride has left Fulham to return to the United States. The 35 year old US soccer stalwart would be a great get for the Sounders in my opinion, as he would provide name recognition, veteran leadership, and Premier league experience to the virgin MLS squad.
McBride has played for the United States in 3 World Cups, scoring a goal in 2 of them. For the Sounders, he would be a big target that could be utilized on set pieces and who could provide a spark on offense for a team that will be playing together next season for the first time. Having a guy who can change a game in an instant may be helpful for a team that may struggle with chemistry for a while.
I dunno… I defer to Hotdog on all soccer related matters, but this seems like it would make a lot of sense. Right or wrong?
May 28th, 2008 at 4:27 pm
McBride would definitely be an excellent pickup for the Sounders, if nothing else for the name recognition, pairing him alongside Sebastien Le Toux. However, keep in mind a few things that make it a somewhat risky adventure. First off, he’s 35. That’s ancient for field players, whereas picking up Kasey Keller, a goalie with Washington roots, is a safe bet. His last few seasons have also been marred by injuries keeping him off the pitch for large parts of the season. With Saint Louis likely picking up an expansion team in 2011, signing McBride to a two year deal would likely result in success for the Sounders, getting what will likely be his last two good years of of him while allowing him to return to STL, his old college stomping grounds, as the face of their new franchise.
May 28th, 2008 at 4:51 pm
Fig - you’re absolutely on the money when you say he’d be a great fit. Many people have listed McBride as one of the greatest bargains in the last 15 years of the EPL - Fulham got him for a $1.5 million transfer fee.
I may be mistaken, but I believed the fans voted him Player of the Year for three consecutive seasons.
Regarding Hose’s point about his age - based on his form over the past few seasons, I don’t consider his age an issue. All he’s been doing is scoring goals in perhaps the most challenging league in the world.
He did dislocate his knee scoring a goal early in the season, but managed to come back and score some key goals to help Fulham avoid relegation.
Bottom line: you make room for guys like Brian McBride. The only sticking point: his rights currently belong to Toronto FC (I totally don’t understand how that works) so the Sounders would have to trade them something, like a player or a partial allocation (yet another term I don’t understand).
PS: That’s another way MLS sucks - the single-entity system makes it really difficult for players who wish to return to the league.
Another vote for McBride: He’s a warrior. I talked to him once and got a chance to look at his face - it’s all disfigured and scarred up from his many aerial collisions. Total bad-ass.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
The rumor mills say McBride wants to play for the Chicago Fire (he’s from Arlington Heights, IL, a suburb of Chicago). I think he has a good chance at being traded to the Fire, which would mean he would get paid much less as the non-designated player.
Don’t forget he has close ties with the Columbus Crew (who have a DP slot), giving them an outside chance.
May 28th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
Yeah - it really all depends on how much salary McBride commands. It’s possible that a team could consider eating the salary budget hit if it’s not too excessive. Blanco’s not going anywhere in Chicago, but it would be great to see them play together.
One should also remember that the ‘rules’ of MLS are more just guidelines - they are giving the Galaxy a DP slot for Donovan and not charging the Crew a DP slot for Schelotto, despite a $1 million compensation package.
Here’s an excellent article that outlines the shenanigans: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=528307&root=mls&cc=5901
May 30th, 2008 at 12:09 am
I like this post, but why does Fig Jam not like the Seahawks?
May 30th, 2008 at 9:02 am
Where did I say that?
May 30th, 2008 at 11:56 am
Tubby’s always stirring the pot…