Eric Brunner trade turned into a solid deal for Columbus. (Getty Images)

Since we are nearly done with the 2009 regular season I figured it was high time we started looking back at the best deals that were made that shaped this season into what it has become. I say going into every year that there will pretty much be a trade that shakes up things a bit when it happens and really helps push a club towards the playoffs instead of an early start to winter.

This year there were loads of trades. Some were good and some were down right a waste of time. Now I won’t go through every single trade here today but I am going to point out the ones that I thought were good and some that were bad.

If for some reason you think I missed a trade that was noteworthy this year, just post it below.

Best Trades in 2009:

Chivas USA trades Alecko Eskandarian to LA Galaxy: When he was healthy this year this deal was a great one for the Galaxy. Esky proved to me that he still had what it takes to be an impact player in this league.

Chivas USA trades Atiba Harris to FC Dallas for Marcelo Saragosa: On the surface Chivas got the bad end of the stick, especially if Dallas reaches the playoffs. I put this in the good trade category solely because of Harris and what he has been able to do since he got to Dallas. Schellas Hyndman got a great deal when he finally shipped out Saragosa because Harris fits his system on the wings better than Saragosa ever did in the midfield.

New York trades rights to Eric Brunner to Columbus: There is a lot of reasons why New York has been terrible in 2009, their defense has been largely to blame. One has to wonder if they had been able to keep Brunner and sign him to a decent deal last year if their defense would be nearly as poor as it has been in 2009. Brunner got signed on by the Crew and has really come into his own with them this season. Continue Reading…

Another day, another trade. FC Dallas and Chivas are the partners this time around. Today the clubs swapped players but no draft picks were involved.

Chivas sent striker winger Atiba Harris to Dallas in exchange for midfielder Marcelo Saragosa.

I can honestly tell you this trade does very little for either side. I am kind of happy to see Dallas get rid of the card happy and sloppy defending Saragosa here. I’ve been saying for a while he was trade bait or just on the chopping block for a release.

As for Chivas getting rid of Harris it kind of tells me they are set to make a move or two to get a striker as the summer transfer window stays open for another couple weeks. Harris is a quality player but I doubt he will make a huge impact on Dallas’s roster this season.

What do you make of this swap? Good deal for either side?

I found a good article the other day about a few MLS guys that could use a transfer. While I doubt the author meant for any of these five to be transferred out of MLS I do think a few of these selections were pretty good as far as getting some of these guys with a new club.

This all got me thinking of a few guys that would be worth trading to mix things up here for other MLS clubs. We’ve already seen a flury of trades and releases in the past couple weeks and I know more clubs will be looking to clean house in the coming weeks as we get closer to the summer transfer window opening up in the middle of next month.

Some guys listed are going to be coming back from injury soon, while others are just looking for more PT in general right now. I had a couple of the same players from the article above but differed on a couple other players. I didn’t see a need for Justin Mapp, Devon McTavish or Fuad Ibrahim to be traded away here.

If you have any other guys that thing are worth a mention here, put them below and why.

Ante Razov (Chivas USA): I know once Razov gets fit again he will be a good spark for Chivas but I am still not convinced that he will be with this club at the end of the season. Chivas has shown they have talent that can score, even though no one has stepped up in a big time way to be a go-to scorer like Razov once was. I think he’d be good trade bait to get a little extra allocation in for a summer pick up.

Jason Garey (Columbus Crew): I know the Crew need scorers and Garey should be one but I think his time in Columbus is coming to a close very soon. I still believe he has the talent to compete in this league but I think it could be time to get him into a system where he isn’t expected to be a scorer. It also may be best to see if he could be converted into another position as well. He’s still fairly cheap and could be a player worth taking on as some clubs gear up for the playoff run.

Marcelo Saragosa (FC Dallas): Saragosa is one of those guys that works very hard in practice and usually does a lot of little things right. I just think right now he is a victim of a bad system in Dallas where he isn’t used right. He isn’t a good fit for Dallas and Dallas isn’t a good fit for him. I’d think a club like San Jose or a Kansas City would do well with a guy like Saragosa.

Chris Seitz (Real Salt Lake): I know a trade won’t happen with this kid because RSL has asked for too much when other clubs have approached them about Seitz. Thing is this kid is good but we aren’t seeing him nearly enough like we should. I think it could be a matter of RSL waiting on Nick Rimando to either retire or trade him (which is looking like could be the case later this winter).

Abe Thompson (Kansas City Wizards): Thompson was trade late last year from Dallas to KC and I really don’t think KC was the place for him to go. I know Thompson is a quality striker but he has to be in the right system for that and right now KC just has too many guys ahead of him. He’s still fairly cheap and a club like New York or San Jose could really use someone who is as hungry around the goal as Thompson is.

You know I’ve thought long and hard about FC Dallas and what to make of them so far this season. I’ve thought what it would be like if I had all the money in the world to buy them from the Hunts and make them into something that they deserve to be. I’ve also thought even more about why this club is struggling so much not just off the field but on it.

Mainly it comes down to a few factors but most ultimately end up with a lot of blame on head coach Schellas Hyndman. Continue Reading…

Alright, I figured tonight I would write up all the thoughts and opinions I have on the new FC Dallas head coach, Schellas Hyndman. After reading quote after quote and getting some views from some people in the media here in Dallas, I have a better understanding of some things here.

My overall feelings are still pretty much in tune to what they were a month or so ago when it was rumored that Hyndman would easily be the front-runner for the vacant spot after the dismissal of Steve Morrow. I’m not overly thrilled with the move, along with the hire of John Ellinger as the assistant. But the more I dig into this the more I get a sense of where this club could be headed here. Continue Reading…