Saturday, February 16, 2008

It's not that easy

A few people commented that if Ty Harden really wanted to play for Seattle, he could just request a trade instead of taking a year off. Apparently, that's what Wilman Conde did, but the Chicago Fire haven't let him go. There are probably all sorts of reasons. For example, what organization wants to strengthen a conference rival, especially when they barely made the playoffs last year? Suffice it to say, it's not as simple as "Ask and you shall receive".

By the way, I'm not saying it should be, either. It's true that many players are accomodated, but it almost always is when it doesn't inconvenience the trading team very much, and it rarely happens intraconference.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'm fully confident that Guppy will screw us again somehow and botch this too.

I'm liking the idea of moving Conde out west somewhere and letting them deal with moving him to NY.

In an ideal world, I'd like to get Terry Cooke so we could have a competent right mid for once. I highly doubt Colorado would want to get rid of him though even given Conde's high levele of (on field) quality.

L.B. said...

In an ideal world, there would be one Terry Cooke per team. I love watching that guy play.

Bad thing is, I doubt Chicago gets full value for him. If they deal him to New York, the Red Bulls wont have to give up too much because they seemingly have more leverage than the Fire. I guess it depends on how desperate the Fire is to move him there. If they trade him elsewhere, who wants a player who doesnt want to be with their team and why would they trade for that?

If I were the Fire, I'd loan him out to some obscure second-division Colombian club.

Anonymous said...

I don't know, maybe I'm naive, but I'm just taking Ty Harden at his word: he wanted to pursue another avenue in life that he had more passion for than soccer.

Anonymous said...

I agree with Andrea and I don't buy this retiring story from Ty Harden.

It's not easy to become a pro player, let alone succeed in your rookie year, let alone in front of the spotlight that LA had on them all season. Given that Harden has done all that, I find it easier to believe that he's angling for a move to Seattle rather than giving up on soccer.

Regarding Conde, fans have pitted this as a Chicago-NY battle, but in reality, I see this as Chicago's problem with little to do with NY.

Conde requested a trade from Chicago, sat tight for eight weeks, and then when nothing was happening he went to the media with a very professionally written, highly though-out message. It's up to Chicago to decide if they want to deal him or they want to sit him, and part of that process would be to see what they can get for him from NY or in a multi-team trade.

NY didn't request the guy or make a move for the guy (at least not publicly), so the ball is really in Chicago's court.

From NY's perspective, yeah the guy would benefit the team, but it isn't at all clear that he was high on their list of transfer targets, if on the list at all.

Likening Conde's situation with Harden's, in this topsy-turvy league its often easier to get a trade or transfer if the player brings down their own value first.

Toddzilla said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

Eugene said

"NY didn't request the guy or make a move for the guy (at least not publicly), so the ball is really in Chicago's court.

From NY's perspective, yeah the guy would benefit the team, but it isn't at all clear that he was high on their list of transfer targets, if on the list at all."

You cannot be this naive. Don't say an amazing set of coincidences? Conde "just happened to be the player RBNY was looking for?" Not my words.

If RBNY wants they are going to have to pay, and he is a top level player..........otherwise he plays for the Fire of sits out the season.

RBNY is not going to get away with what they got away with Osorio.

JT Soccer said...

eugene wrote: "NY didn't request the guy or make a move for the guy (at least not publicly), so the ball is really in Chicago's court."

with all due respect eugene, this is Fire v NYRB. Conde may be upset and not want to play for the Fire but the Fire should not just give him to NYRB.

At this point, either NYRB should pony up a decent deal for Conde or the Fire should just bench him until the deal gets sweeter or his contract ends. Conde is a valuable player and while I understand his desire to play for Osorio, the Fire cannot let him go without proper compensation.

If they give in to Conde here, they'll never be able to hold onto any player who decides the situation is no longer to his liking (be it due to a manager change or trade of a teammate).

IF NYRB want him, they'll have to pay - BIG Time.

JT Soccer said...

I like LB's suggestion - loan to a 2nd tier Colombian club would do well.