Comments on: Sounders should sign McBride

By: hotdog

hotdog — Fri, 30 May 2008 18:56:20 +0000

Tubby’s always stirring the pot…

By: Fig Jam

Fig Jam — Fri, 30 May 2008 16:02:15 +0000

Where did I say that?

By: Tubby

Tubby — Fri, 30 May 2008 07:09:56 +0000

I like this post, but why does Fig Jam not like the Seahawks?

By: hotdog

hotdog — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:17:42 +0000

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

By: Hose

Hose — Thu, 29 May 2008 00:01:37 +0000

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.

By: hotdog

hotdog — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:51:09 +0000

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.

By: Hose

Hose — Wed, 28 May 2008 23:27:29 +0000

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.