Only one change on here…and its Andy Dorman’s destination to Scotland.

As always if something is missing, please comment or email and let me know so I can fix it right away.

Happy New Year everyone! Probably no more updates until Wednesday or Thursday of this week, things have been pretty slow around here anyways lately with the holidays to begin with.  Continue Reading…

Looks like the Andy Dorman era (if you can even call it that) in New England is finally over. Dorman is off to Scotland to bottom-dwelling St Mirren once his contract runs out to begin the new year next week. According to the club’s official site, he will begin an 18-month contract with the club.

St Mirren gaffer Gus MacPherson had this to say about the signing of Dorman:

“Andy has agreed to an 18 month contract with the option of a further year at the end of that.

“All that needs to be concluded is international clearance – we have requested that and it is now in the hands of the MLS (Major League Soccer) in the USA to push the clearance through.

“His contract with the New England Revolution expires over December 31st and January 1st – after that his contract with us will kick-in.”

From what I hear out of New England, Dorman was given a pretty crappy offer to stay so he decided once the season was over he would be on his way out. Falling out of favor with the coaches late in the season didn’t help Dorman’s status either.

I hate to see a guy with a lot of promise like Dorman go but we knew this would be the case with him back in the summer really. Too bad he is playing for a terrible club like St. Mirren. Maybe he can help them turn things around or something. I guess that is the notion for him signing there.

Greetings to you and your’s this holiday season. I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas and that Santa was good to you as well.

Time to get back to work here with just a few little tid-bits today to discuss as we get geared up for the winter transfer window that is set to open up in a matter of a week here. So let’s get down to business:

Some news here at Christmas for you Crew fans. Midfielder Guillermo Barros Schelotto is not heading back to Boca Juniors as has been speculated. From what my sources tell me he wants to end his Crew contract now to join a team he played with even before Boca, Gimnasia.

According to reports from the Argentine press Guillermo Barros Schelotto was reunited with the president of Gimnasia, and came to a verbal agreement to return to the club for next season.

But before he can do that he has to end his time with the Crew. A club who is counting on his services for at least one more season.

Schelotto’s current contract with the Crew ends in June of next year. So what will likely happen is he returns to start the next season then to only wait out his contract and then go to Gimnasia in July.

Tough break for the Crew though. They desperately need to figure out how long they will actually have him, if at all. I really think he will be there to start the next season since his contract ends in June. Though for right now it just depends on just how homesick he really is and how badly he wants to return home.

In other news… Continue Reading…

Thank you for your support this year! I hope you and your’s have a very Merry Christmas!!

Check back here tomorrow for news from around the MLS. But until then enjoy your time with your family and enjoy those nifty-gifties that Santa put under your tree!

And for those who enjoy the Office as much as I do, enjoy this little number:

Only a couple moves to update here on this list. The Harris to Chivas deal and then an another Red Bull retires. I fully expect this to start picking after the New Year. Between now and then as you all know is a little slower than we’d all like. But I can tell you there are plenty of deals out on the tables for these clubs and it could very well be one of the most interesting off-seasons that we’ve seen in this league’s history.

As always if something is missing on here, please feel free to make a comment below and it will be updated as quick as I can. Continue Reading…

I will probably end this week with this as I am set to travel back to West Virginia today from Dallas. Unless something major comes up or some trade or whatever then this could be the last post until after Christmas, but then again we will see.

Last week I covered the MLS over-paid here and now we shift focus to the players who gave their clubs the most bang-for-their-buck.

The over-paid post focused on the players that cost $100k or more. This time around its the players who were paid under $100k. I really tried to stick to players who made even less than that. I could have put guys like Michael Parkhurst (80,575/93,075) or Sacha Kljestan (70,000/108,000). I know there are plenty of other players out there that could and probably should be on this list but I felt to stick with these 10 for certain reasons, some personal.

Here is my list of under-paid players (in no particular order):

1. Maykel Galindo, F, Chivas USA (72,500/ 72,500) – 28 games, 12 goals, 5 assists: Before the end of the season Galindo was the best Cuban import since the cigar. His speed and ability to spread other teams out made Chivas a very tough club to stop offensively.
2. Brad Guzan, GK, Chivas USA (52,237.50/67,237.50) – 27 games, .93 GAA, 14-6-7: To say Guzan is one of, if not the most under-paid player may be an understatement. Better believe that if the league doesn’t up that salary he will be in Europe before you can blink.
3. Artruo Alvarez, M, FC Dallas (32,819.00/46,019.00) – 27 games, 3 goals, 3 assists: A break-out season for young Arty. As a Dallas fan I have very high hopes for a great 2008 season after what I saw in 2007 out of Alvarez.
4. Stuart Holden, M, Houston Dynamo (31,500.00/31,500.00) – 22 games, 5 goals, 5 assists: Another young guy that saw plenty of quality minutes and scored some very nice goals. Three of those five goals were game winners as well, so this kid knows how to make a difference.
5. Scot Sealy, F, Kansas City Wizards (33,075.00/33,075.00) – 18 games, 7 goals, 2 assists: Started off the season slow but towards the end Sealy was the only guy scoring for the Wizards as they pushed the playoffs. Next year Sealy may be the only option for the Wizards.
6. Jeff Larentowicz, M, New England (30,000.00/30,000.00) – 28 games, 3 goals, 4 assists: I have to say Larentowicz is one of the driving forces behind the Revs’ midfield. Sure Shalrie Joesph handles the helping the goal-scoring but I find what Larentowicz does as a catalyst to what Joseph is allowed to do in the midfield.
7. Jozy Altidore, F, New York Red Bulls (85,000.00/108,333.00) – 22 games, 9 goals, 4 assists: I know the second number is over what I said the limit was here but is base salary is not. Seriously I find that 85k a bargain based on what he brings in marketing and in terms of production on the field. I’m sure his 2008 salary will go up a bit and then he will really cash in the following season somewhere in Europe.
8. Robbie Findley, F, Real Salt Lake (36,000.00/48,500.00) – 16 games, 6 goals: I tried to keep rookies off this list but before Findley landed in Salt Lake City, Real couldn’t find the back of the net. With Findley they at least have a decent chance at scoring.
9. Devon McTavish, D, DC United (30,000.00/30,000.00) – 22 games, 0 goals and assists: Mistakes happen sometimes to McTavish but he is still young enough to learn from them and move on. Next year he will have to as he will be one of the main guys in the back for the Black-and-Red. Plus I am a little biased here since McTavish is a WVU grad like myself.
10. Chad Barrett, F, Chicago Fire (41,212.50/48,712.50) – 30 games, 7 goals, 2 assists: Before Juan Carlos Osorio landed in Chicago, Barrett couldn’t hit the broad side of a barn, but after Osorio (and Blanco) came Barrett finally got some confidence in his scoring.

Not a real big news day but did run across this from the newswire. Real Salt Lake sent Atiba Harris to Chivas USA for a third-round draft pick in next months draft.

RSL obtained the 37th pick of the annual MLS SuperDraft on Jan. 18. That gives RSL four of the top 37 picks in the draft – Nos. 3, 14, 17 and 37 – as well as another open roster spot for an international player, Harris is from St. Kitts & Nevis.

Not a real big trade or anything to get excited over. Very surprising to see Chivas trade away another draft pick though for a player that really doesn’t fill a need for them at the moment.

RSL now has four available roster spots for international players, which is a good thing for a club that is scouting heavily in South America this off-season for new talent.

The 22-year-old Harris started 25 games in two season for RSL, scoring four goals with two assists. 

Both projected draft order and off-season move pages have been updated on here as well to reflect this deal.