Wilman Conde is back in MLS with the Red Bulls. (Getty Images)

This news had been around for some time. The New York Red Bulls and the Chicago Fire finally made it official today though. Wilman Conde is finally going to the Big Apple.

The fun part about this deal however is that it is really a few years too late. Conde wanted to be in New York when former Red Bull and Fire boss Juan Carlos Osorio was in the Big Apple. When Osorio left Chicago for New York, Conde demanded a trade to New York and it never went through.

Conde spent three seasons with the Fire – playing in 73 games, starting 66 and notching four goals and four assists – while  being named MLS Best XI in 2009 and earned All-Star nods in 2009 and 2010. The dude was impressive during his time in Chicago to say the least.

But will this translate well for the Red Bulls as a replacement for Tim Ream? Time will tell on that front.

New York has also signed  Swedish defender Markus Holgersson this winter to help beef up their defense. Both should be a vast improvement over the Ream/Marquez/Keel combos that the Red Bulls used last season.

Reports this morning suggest that the Fire are getting around $150k in return in allocation for Conde. That is some solid return in my opinion for a guy that might not be the same player that he was two or even three years ago.

One thing is certain, this deal is a big gamble on the part of the Red Bulls. Something they and their fans are all too familiar with. Possibly over spending yet again while giving up a good amount of allocation to a conference rival. In my book, you never make big deals with conference rivals. Never. Ever.

It will be interesting to see what kind of deal the Red Bulls got here with Conde. If he is the same guy that was in the league with the Fire, then they certainly got a heck of a player. If he is on the decline like some suggest then it will fall right in line with how this club typically spends. On paper this seems good but giving Conde’s track record and New York manager Hans Backe’s history with the club, this could be a very intriguing situation to watch this season.

How will the Fire fare going forward in 2010? (Getty Images)

Today is the start of a new series. As teams get into training camp and new players come on board its worth looking into each club to see how they are stacking up and what else they need to do to get ready for the 2010 season. I got this idea from the post I did a few days back on how the Philadelphia Union were looking. I figured it would be good to do something like that to all the clubs.

I’ll go in alphabetical order here with this series. Now I don’t know if it will be a daily thing or what yet, it all depends on my current work schedule but I do plan on getting each club by the end of February.

Keeper:

Who they have: Jon Busch, Sean Johnson (GA), Andrew Dykstra

Notes: Busch is the main guy we know that and with rookie Sean Johnson waiting in the wings with that Generation adidas contract things should be looking pretty bright in this department for years to come. I honestly don’t know much about Dykstra so it wouldn’t be too shocking to hear if the Fire waive him or send him out on loan this year at some point to get him some playing time.

Defense:

Who they have: CJ Brown, Tim Ward, Wilman Conde, Daniel Woolard, Dasan Robinson, Austin Washington, Kwame Watson-Siriboe, Krzysztof Król, and Steven Kinney.

Notes: Getting Krol and drafting someone like Watson-Siriboe should make up for the losses of Gonzalo Segares and their lack of depth down the stretch in 2009. Conde will obviously still be the rock in the middle and adding Krol to the outside should work. I’m curious to see if Frank Klopas and Carlos de los Cobos add anything else to this group. Its good but not great right now, maybe one more center back would do the trick to keep Jon Busch from having to come up with big games.

Midfield:

Who they have: Logan Pause, Baggio Husidić, John Thorrington, Marco Pappa, Mike Banner, Justin Mapp, Peter Lowry, Corben Bone, Julio Martínez, and Drew Yates.

Notes: I really like what they’ve done to make up for the losses of Blanco and Chris Rolfe this winter so far. Adding Martinez on loan makes up for Rolfe on the wings and getting lucky in the draft by landing Bone was something else. For some reason I really like this group and hope it turns out to be as good as I think they can be in 2010. I’m very curious to see the development of Husidic in 2010 and I hope Thorringtoncontinues to grow as a player too.

One thing I kind of see happening at some point is a trade involving Justin Mapp. For some reason I get the feeling his time in Chicago is almost up. Just a hunch at this point from me but all I am saying is don’t be shocked if at some point this season we see him in a different uniform.

Forwards:

Who they have: Brian McBride, Patrick Nyarko, Calen Carr, and Stefan Dimitrov.

Notes: I’d say this is the one area Klopas has the most work to do. There are rumors that Collin John could be headed to Chicago. John was a former teammate of McBride at Fulham. I’m not entirely sure if that is the best move for the Fire at this point but they definitely need someone else along with McBride and Nyarko. Someone younger than John would probably be the best fit in my eyes. (ignore that comment on finding someone younger, I thought I read that John was 34, but he is only 24. Wow, it is Friday)

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Overall:

The Fire aren’t looking too bad overall considering the talent they lost this winter and the coaching change. I still have my doubts defensively with this group and I question right now whether or not they have enough offense to remain a top dog in the east. Also with SuperLiga on their schedules again this year I wonder a bit about their depth. On the surface it seems decent enough but a couple more quality moves like Krol and Martinez before the season will put my worries to rest with this group.

Klopas and de los Cobos have done a good job so far this month. Their draft a couple weeks ago was one of the best in the league. Usually a coaching change in the winter will see its ups and downs but seeing how de los Cobos is letting Klopas take control of picking out a good majority of the talent I think this team will be just fine in 2010.

Expect a new look Fire in 2010. (Getty Images)

The 2009 season for the Chicago Fire was expected to be a big one. Talks of MLS Cup and Supporter’s Shield were all the rage to begin the season. Early on this year it looked like the expectations were being met as the Fire lost a single game in the first three months of the season.

Then came the summer where sometimes good teams go to waste. The Fire found some injuries got in the way of a dream season as Brian McBrdie went out with a shoulder injury while head coach Denis Hamlett struggled to keep a locker room happy. The Fire defense, which was once one of the best in the league started to come up short and even more so once Bakery Soumare left town.

Down the stretch the Fire kept coming up short as injuries piled up and their home play was anything less than stellar. In the final 12 games the club only won four games while never really finding any sort of consistent play.

In the end PKs did the club in against Real Salt Lake in the eastern conference finals. Their home play at Toyota Park was still a weakness and now they head into an offseason with a load of questions.

What Went Right In 2009:
When things were clicking and all parties involved were healthy this was one hell of a club. The depth early on was there for this bunch but towards the end even that depth wasn’t enough to push them towards a MLS Cup. McBride and Blanco were still a force to deal with and guys like Wilman Conde in the back were still some of the best in the league. On any given day the Fire could beat you any way around the field they wanted to with Blanco leading the attack.

What Went Wrong In 2009:
Let’s just say expectations were not even close to being met in the Windy City. Sure they reached the conference final but this bunch had better things expected out of them to start the year. The injury to McBride was a real killer in the middle of the year as the offense really never found it’s punch even though guys like Chris Rolfe were still tough to hold up around net. Once the word got out about Hamlett and Soumare and the locker room issues there the club really never was the same again. Questions surrounded whether or not Hamlett would return and they still will for the coming weeks.

What’s Next:
A lot of changes are going to take place over the next few weeks. Blanco is going to Mexico as we know. Rolfe is out to Europe and I’d expect a few more changes to come after that. No word yet on if McBride is coming back for another year and I would imagine a lot of that comes down to who will be coaching this club next year. Hamlett may still come back for the 2010 season but one has to wonder if he really is the right man for the gig. I’d imagine we will hear about his status over the next week or so before the expansion draft. After that expect some moves to happen and some player to leave.

Anyways, I’ll have a full rundown next week of who I voted for and why. Not to say that I won’t take some input from you all on these matters. Tonight I wanted to go into another award race that is pretty tight as the one I discussed earlier in the day. The Defender of the Year.

This is another award that is going to be very tightly contested between a number of players. Last year we saw Columbus’ Chad Marshall run away with the award, and while he is in the running yet again for it this year I don’t believe he has completely won everyone over for it this season.

Who exactly do I see in the running? I have a few guys here listed below that I think are all candidates for this award. If you feel I left anyone out just comment below with a good reason and they may get my consideration.

Chad Marshall (Columbus): Yes Marshall is in the running and you got to believe he will get his fair share of votes this season. The thing is his injury issues will keep him off some folks ballots and at the end of it all I kind of doubt he will repeat as Defender of the Year.

Geoff Cameron (Houston): Had the season ended last weekend you could bet Cameron would be the top choice for this award. More than likely we should see Cameron walk away with the award this season for many reasons. He’s been by far one of the most consistent defenders in the league and how sick was the bicycle save last week?

Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (Seattle): Some say Kasey Keller has been the reason why the expansion Sounders have been fairly solid on defense this year but I would argue that it is mostly been due to the play of Hurtado. This winter addition has been one of those that you have to give the Seattle front office credit for because he’s been a total gem of a find.

Wilman Conde (Chicago): About two months ago I would have said he was the top choice for this award but as the Fire have slipped lately so has Conde’s play. Conde is still one of the best defenders in the league but something tells me the in-house issues in Chicago still remain and Conde won’t be there next year.

Jonathan Bornstein (Chivas): One of the reasons why Chivas USA has been near the top all year is due to the consistent play of Bornstein. He missed a decent amount of time this summer with the National team but it hasn’t kept him from picking up the slack when he is with the Goats. The Chivas defense would be nothing without him I think.

Omar Gonzalez (LA): The LA rookie has been very good, so good in fact that he has a shot at two awards (other being rookie of the year).

Others in consideration: Darrius Barnes (New England), Bobby Boswell (Houston), Tyrone Marshall (Seattle).———————————————————

Playoff Scenarios Will Make Your Head Hurt

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I’ve come close to posting the playoff scenarios for this weekend but there are so damn many of them that it makes my head hurt even trying. Thankfully Beau Dure has us all covered.

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Hello Mr. Gulati

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Ever wanna know what it is like to actually talk to USSF president Sunil Gulati? Well new writer Brian Morse over at MatchFit USA has you covered. Seriously, this is real conversations between a fan like yourself and Gulati. Guess the USSF does care when you email them. Very cool read.

Order of video: Alejandro Moreno, Alecko Eskandarian,  Wilman Conde, Jeff Cunningham, Kai Kamera, and Arturo Alvarez.

I felt looking at the results and each game this past week that week 16 was really predictable. I know I missed a couple games in my score predictions but aside from the RSL-San Jose game this week lacked a lot of surprise or anything worth getting overly excited about. Maybe that is the dog-days of summer kicking in here for the league but each result was as predictable as the next on Saturday.Which can be a good thing but can also be a bad thing.

RSL Gets Lucky Late

I’ll start with the first game of the week on Friday here today. Something can certainly be said about Real Salt Lake nearly losing at home to San Jose while dominating the bulk of the game. Kudos to the Quakes for their defense for the first 90 minutes of the game. Unlucky was certainly the own-goal to Chris Leitch. Sometimes the ball bounces that way folks.

But looking at this result for RSL I begin to really question this club going forward this season. Certainly some pieces were missing but I still felt they had the side on the field that should have won this game. I just feel that they are certainly missing a piece or two here though. I like Robbie Findley and Yura Movsisyan but neither are the go-to striker that this club needs to depend on. Findley can be too hot and cold while Movsisyan tends to miss the easiest of shots. Then I look at their defense and wonder if they have the talent to hold up against clubs like Houston or Chivas in the playoffs. Right now I just don’t see them getting there.

Red Bulls On The Brink

The few that cover this Red Bull club up in New York are all saying the same thing today. “The Season on the Brink.” Well with the most games played (19) and the most losses (13) and the fewest points (10), yeah you could say they are on the brink. Honestly they’ve been done for a lot longer than that. I said in my season preview for this club that they’d either be a good playoff club or an underachieving side.

One thing that is amazing is how long Juan Carlos Osorio has kept his job here. After nearly two-thirds of the season being complete and his club is this bad, many would think he’d be gone already. I kind of have a feeling he will be there until the end of the season. That is unless he decises he has had enough before then and leaves on his own terms via Fernancdo Clavjio.

I think the only thing that can be said for Osorio at this point is the couple players he draft this year that have turned out to be pretty good. Jeremy Hall and Nick Zimmerman both definitely show a bright spot for this club’s future. Comes to show that you can’t win on over priced foreign talent alone in this league, you need quality young talent to do work too.

Dallas Gaining

Much can be said about winning 2-1 at home but a lot more can be said about how it was done. Dallas got a huge lift getting New York in town this past week. Not only were the Red Bulls a fairly easy test but it gave way for guys lik Jeff Cunningham to break the club out of a bit of a funk when the club doesn’t have Kenny Cooper in the line-up. I liked the combination of Cunningham and former Red Bull Dave van den Burgh on Saturday for Dallas. Some how it worked but sadly enough we won’t get use to it here once Cooper returns.

Still on another note Dallas has a long way to go here. No doubt they won’t be in contention to reach the playoffs out of the west this season. But they are slowly building a decent base for next year.

Houston Returns To Winning

After a small slide for the Dynamo the league leaders return to the road in Kansas City and get a quality win. The Dynamo get another win, their ninth of the season and become the first club to break the 30 point mark in the standings.

Houston really handled the pressure well late as Kansas City pressed for a game-tying goal late. KC continues to lack some punch up top which is going to haunt them as this season moves towards the playoffs in the next couple of months.

This was a physical game between these two sides. Houston may have gotten the win but they will be without two key defenders for their next game in Seattle. Both Geoff Cameron and Bobby Boswell will miss the important game with the expansion Sounders due to suspension.

Crew and DC Level

Too bad both sides were missing a chunk of their roster for call-ups and injuries because this one would have been much better for it. Still a quality game with some bad calls from the center ref in it. DC took a late first half lead into the lockerroom to only give it right back up after the break to the Crew. From there on neither side really took hold of this game. DC seemed to control a little more of the pace in this one which lead to a boat load of extra attempts on goal. Big credit to the Columbus defense for stepping up a little more in this one because of that.

DC presented the Crew with a five-man midfield which seemed to slow down Guillermo Barros Schelotto a decent bit. The Crew did find a couple ways around it but never enough to really pressure the Black-and-Red backline.

Both sides are in the thick of things for this eastern crown race. In all honesty right now I think it will between these two sides though we could see the Fire sneak up in there after the way they played in Colorado this week.

Colorado On the Slide

I guess my talk of this side being a dark-horse in the west was possibly a kiss of death to the Rapids. Another loss at home, this time to the Chicago Fire who have looked really good in their last couple of games (SuperLiga mostly). To me Wilman Conde was the player of the game and possibly the player of the week from this game. Colorado had no answer for him when he was around the goal and when he was defending his own goal.

The win was a big one for the Fire as they leap back up the standings into a tie with DC. They really looked like the side we thought we’d see all season long this past weekend. Maybe this is the start of their run going forward here.

As for the Rapids I still have high hopes for them going forward, espeically once they get Conor Casey and company back in the lineup. This club still has some work to do though to make sure they are in contention for the rest of the season to get into the playoffs. I’m slowly writting them off for catching Houston or Chivas here but if they want to stay up there with Seattle for third-best in the west they need to improve their roster right away. Add some depth to the defense and find a playmaker who can set up the scoring in the midfield. Right now they are lacking a bit and it is causing them to drop games that they shouldn’t drop, especially those at home.

Newcomer Nets One For LA

Not a bad start for Alecko Eskandarian. He moved lockerrooms at the HDC over the week and it payed off in a big way. His goal marked a quality win for LA on a night that really saw nothing more than a bunch of fouls. Honestly there may have been more fouls on the field than fireworks in the sky after the game.

The Galaxy really controled this match from start to finish as Steve Nicol’s group is really struggling to find their way again now that the injury bug has knocked out more key members of their roster. Either they are going to have to be creative to find ways to win or just hope they can ride out this strom of injuries again here this summer. Things are not looking good either way in New England right now.

As for LA it was a typical win for them, once they got the goal it was all they needed to play their style of game. Sit back and take pressure while countering when needed. Look LA will make things interesting this season but once this circus called Beckham kicks up again it will be real interesting to see which way this club heads. History should tell us which way that will be though.

Butts-in-Seats

Holiday weekend produced good numbers for the league. All over 10k, even in Dallas. LA and Colorado posted the biggest numbers with 20k and 19k respectively while Columbus and Dallas each got 14k. RSL posted a solid 17k on Friday’s game. And KC scored another sell-out, five in a row at home now. Very positive things there folks.

The trades all center around Mo Johnston and Toronto FC.

With a couple days away from the MLS Combine, the trade rumors are heating up around the league. Lots of teams are looking to move up and even down in next week’s draft. Others are looking to deal not only for picks but for other players.

Some of this below is rumors and talk going around the league circles and other is just pure speculation on my part. (I have links for some and others were sent into my inbox)

With next week’s draft a few teams have multiple picks in the first round as well as plenty more in later rounds. (NOTE: I’m still curious to see what comes out of the deals that involved Supplemental picks from this past year. It doesn’t appear that any have translated into new picks for any club or that any club has received any sort of compensation for it (though I would imagine there will be a tiny allocation on the league’s part for those deals).)

Anyways, back to the trade discussion and draft thought on hand here. I think I will pretty much go team-by-team here in what they are looking to do or not to do here as we head into the draft. Some teams are very quiet, while others are talking up a storm.

Feel free to pipe in your own thoughts on what you think your club will do here.

Chicago Fire: A little talk out there about the club wanting to actually deal defender Wilman Conde to the best bidder. While I figure they would just transfer him elsewhere it seems as though that may not be happening. Right now a couple clubs could really use a strong central defender like Conde (LA, Toronto, Dallas to name a few).

I don’t see the Fire dealing Conde to Toronto for that number 2 pick that everyone is talking about. Conde for the number two just doesn’t seem to be good enough in my book if I am the Fire. I think there would have to be a package of picks/allocation/player in the deal to make it work.

Chivas USA: The AmeriGoats have two early picks in the draft and nothing else. I don’t see them dealing either pick unless the right deal is presented to them. They have some work to do still this offseason but I doubt the trade rumors with them will pick up until closer to the start of the season like last year.

Colorado Rapids: Right now it looks like the Gary Smith and the Rapids have a slew of picks in this year’s draft. Kind of similar to Kansas City last year. The Rapids have drafted pretty well in the past but have been unable to see any of that positive drafting on the field. I doubt they will be able to get into the first round unless they find a club that is willing to part with their first rounder (maybe a Salt Lake or Toronto?). More than likely this club is hitting the transfer market for impact players instead of focusing on the draft. I do however look for them to deal one or two of their later picks.

Columbus Crew: Three picks, all the last of each round. With Chad Marshall back in the mix they won’t have to worry about finding a replacement in this draft so expect them to stay like they are and stock up on depth here while they scout for another impact scorer in the transfer window.

DC United: I think United is sitting pretty at number 6 and 7. They more than likely won’t trade up with those picks however. Most of the people I’ve talk to about DC feel that they will do nothing and stay put. Good thing too because they should be able to land two solid players if they stay where they are at. I only see them moving up if they feel they have to get someone earlier than number 6. They could also move a pick to land a veteran defender too, similar to what New England did a year ago in dealing for Chris Albright.

FC Dallas: A lot of talk with this club in moving up to that number 2 spot from Toronto. The Hoops have the number 5 pick right now as well as another first rounder at number 11. Some reason the big talk is the club will send Canadian defender Adrian Serioux and a pick to Toronto so they can land Maryland’s Omar Gonzalez. SBI and a few others seem to believe that deal will happen.

I’m in the camp that thinks its a silly move for Dallas to make. Sure moving up is nice and all but Serioux is viewed to be worth more than a number two pick here in Dallas. Plus those around the club that I’ve spoken with say that Schalles Hydman isn’t all for having more younger players around. Remember the club drafted a ton of young guys last year. Trading a solid veteran for another young player wouldn’t be wise in my book.

Edit: I’ve also heard word of another deal floating out there as a reader was nice enough to send it in (I won’t give out their name or anything here to cover them). Apparently the deal that could be in the works is a three team deal with Dallas, LA and Toronto. Dallas would be sending Serioux to Toronto and would get the number 2 pick; LA would send Eddie Lewis to Dallas and Ante Jazic to Toronto; LA would get the 4th (and maybe the 5th) and 18th pick as well as Johann Smith from Toronto. Interesting. Probably unlikely to happen but still interesting.

Houston Dynamo: This may be the quietest team come draft day. They will wait their turn and select a couple solid players as usual. They will have to do that as they only have two late picks.

Kansas City Wizards: A team that needs to make an impact again this year. While they won’t be trading up to number one this year they do have options I think to make some movement around the draft. With the draft full of solid strikers I doubt they will make a play to move up any more than where they are at in the first round but they could do something to get one of Toronto’s picks if they really want to. I just don’t see who they have that is worth trading in return for one of those early picks. Peter Vermes is working on something, that much I expect.

LA Galaxy: Where to begin with this one? Right now there are plenty of rumors surrounding this club and I do expect Bruce Arena to make a deal or two. Four picks is usually plenty for most clubs but I see him trading for another pick if possible here. A lot depends on cap space if Landon Donovan spends more time in Germany than what his loan states. They need talent that can make an impact right away and be cheap at the same time. So trades seem likely here. How many is the real question.

New England Revolution: One of the other clubs that is said to be wanting to move up in the draft. Two first rounders, well, late first rounders could make it tough to move up as far as number two. I agree with the notion that they are more likely to go for the number 4 pick than the number 2. They have holes to fill in defense and in the midfield (plus they need attacking options too). I sort of see them staying where they are at and Steve Nicol lucking into a player that shouldn’t fall as far as the 10th spot (like a Sam Cronin).

New York Red Bulls: Lord knows what this club is really up to. They need defensive help in a bad way but I doubt they will do much in the draft to fix that. Only three picks to show for I would imagine they won’t be dealing unless it is to deal out of the first round and into a pair of second or third rounders.

Word has it they are looking to deal their open DP spot to clear some cap space and get a couple solid players in return. Smart move if they can pull it off. It won’t be during the draft, that much I can tell you.

Real Salt Lake: Another club looking to move in the draft. They would probably be looking to move to that number 4 spot to grab Sam Cronin or Jeremy Hall if that is the case. Some up in Salt Lake City that I’ve spoken with are saying Jason Kreis is very high on Cronin. They could trade a defender or two away to get up in the draft. Otherwise I would imagine they will just hold on to the two picks that they own right now.

San Jose Earthquakes: Limited with the number of picks again this year. They will more than likley focus on the pressing needs in defensive midfield and in defense really. I doubt they will draft a striker here as I believe they are looking to sign one in the transfer window.

Seattle Sounders FC: New kids on the block have a few picks to play with. They won’t deal that top pick unless Sigi gets a deal that is just too good to pass up. In other words I doubt it will happen this year. I would imagine they will use that top pick on a striker and use the rest on their defense if they don’t deal them away for players or allocation.

Toronto FC: Anytime you have three first round picks you are gonna be talked about a lot here. The number 2, 4, and even 11 are all up for trades as far as I am concerned. Not a lot of people are mentioning that 11th pick as most believe the Reds will use it on O’Brien White. I think they could still deal it and snag White in a later round. More than likely that second pick will get traded away. For some odd reason I just see some myster club stepping up here and playing the deal game to do it (could be LA actually). More than likely this club will deal their top two picks and get some solid veterans in return (something Mo Johnston is high on doing so they can still focus on signing a DP). A lot of dealing will start and finish with Toronto in the coming week. I’m sure Mo is smiling for that reason.

More SuperDraft talk on the way in the coming days! Stay tune!

Kansas City has brought back forward Josh Wolff after a year and a half away from Major League Soccer. Wolff spent the last couple of seasons in Germany.

Wolff joins a KC offense that has managed just 11 goals all season, second-fewest in MLS this season (second only to San Jose).

Wizards coach Curt Onalfo is hoping Wolff can duplicate his goal-scoring success from his first stint with the Wizards, when he netted 27 goals in four seasons, including a pair of 10-goal seasons (2004-2005). Wolff compiled 59 goals and 35 assists over the course of nine seasons spent with the Chicago Fire and Wizards.

He won’t be able to play with the Wizards until the opening of the summer transfer window on July 15.

Some wonder after seeing Wolff struggle with the US National team recently if he is really the answer to KC’s offensive woes. Honestly, I think at this point anyone new could be good for this offense. They brought in guys like Claudio Lopez at the start of the season to no success. I don’t think he alone can help this club though get back into the playoff picture right now. He is 31 and has seemed to have lost a step.

New York officially announced the signing of midfielder/striker Jorge Rojas.

The 31-year-old is arrived yesterday and will undergo a physical on today ahead of signing a contract with the Red Bulls. Just like Wolff, he will not be eligible to play for the Red Bulls until after the July 15 open of the summer transfer window.

With Rojas on board, what is next for New York? A forward, defensive midfielder and central defender are all on the agenda, but word has it Juan Carlos Osorio may not be able to fill all three needs without making a trade.

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In other news, some trade news really. Some of you probably have seen or heard about the locker room fight between Blanco and Wilman Conde.

Think Conde is on his way out of Chicago here soon? Honestly some believe a possibly three-way trade between LA, Chicago and Toronto is in the works now that Carlos Ruiz is on the trading block. Ruiz goes to Toronto, Conde to LA and Brian McBride (of course) goes to Chicago.

Do I believe that trade will happen? No. I just don’t see Ruiz going to Toronto. I know he wants to stay in LA so the move to Chivas still makes sense to me.

This very well could be a deal that could signify a possible deal with Chicago before long regarding US striker Brian McBride. Toronto makes up the roster space to get the room for a possible player that Chicago will be giving up.

What player might that be? Toronto had strong interest in Justin Mapp, while Wilman Conde would also be a good addition for Toronto. I’m still thinking they could/should go for a Chris Rolfe or Chad Barrett.

New England makes out very well in all of this by acquiring a versatile and highly-regarded rookie in Phelan, who can provide cover both in the back and in defensive midfield. Adding a defensive player like that to increase their depth going into the summer is a move I really like for the Revs, plus I am still pretty high on Phelan to be a quality player in this league.

It will be interesting to see what Mo Johnston has under his sleeve now and just what the Fire will give up for the chance to add McBride. I think to say that Toronto doesn’t have leverage in this deal is a bit silly but it is MLS we are dealing with here when it comes to a high profile player.

This time of the year is also a big time for clubs to start trading parts away to rework their lineups in hopes of getting back on track this season.

We’ve seen it in recent years and last year was a great example of it. On this day a year ago, the Columbus Crew and the Houston Dynamo were a part of a four-player swap. The key parts were Joseph Ngwenya being dealt from Columbus in exchange for Alejandro Moreno. The trade proved to be a big one for the Dynamo, and now the Crew are seeing the benefits of that trade.

I bring this all up because of a post Ives wrote today. He is calling for Chivas USA (who made a trade over the weekend) to trade for Chicago defender Wilman Conde and in the process send former Fire striker Ante Razov back to the Windy City.

A young defender who wants out of one place in exchange for a striker who will probably want out of LA since the going has gotten tough in recent weeks.

Honestly, its a trade that works for both sides and I’m glad someone brought it up today.

But what about some other clubs that are looking to deal.

Obviously DC United is close to shaking things up here.

I think we are about a month or so away (if things remain the same) from this club getting another makeover. Of course money has to make sense in these deals but I wouldn’t be shocked to see this club unload some talent that they brought in this year.

One move that I wouldn’t be shocked over is to see DC trade for another keeper here. Both Zach Wells and Jose Carvallo were the answer in goal this season. Wells continues to show he is nothing more than a backup here and we really haven’t seen enough out of Carvallo.

As far as trades go with DC, don’t look for any eastern conference club to link up with United in a deal. As tight as things are in the east it wouldn’t make sense for anyone to help DC out here. So look for a western side to play part as a deal maker with DC. Don’t be shocked to see DC try to swing deals with Chivas, Colorado or Real Salt Lake here.

Another eastern side that will more than likely be looking to deal, based on who is running their program, is Toronto FC.

The Reds are reportedly looking to land a top-flight scorer this summer for their designated player and in the process they will more than likely have to dump some contracts to make things work out in terms of meeting the salary cap.

One guy that is more than likely on his way out is Jeff Cunningham. Look for him to get moved around and who knows maybe even Toronto would deal with DC when it comes to Cunningham. However, I still see Cunningham back in the west before the season’s end. My bet is either Chivas, Colorado, or Houston will make a play for Cunningham. Sure he has aged some but he still has some goals left in him if the playing time and situation is right for him.

I also wouldn’t be shocked to see Toronto trade a defender away like Todd Dunivant this summer. The pieces they have put together on defense, along with some of the young rookies that they brought in this year spell trouble for a guy like Dunivant. I think the Reds would have no problem trading him away to about any club in the league right now. He’s a quality defender that many teams could use.

Out west there are a couple clubs already mentioned. Chivas, Colorado, Houston.

Though it could be fair game for any western side to made a deal right now with the way things are going in comparison to how they are stacking up against the east right now. But I see teams like San Jose going out and signing players this summer rather than trading for them. Same may be said for Dallas or LA.

The wheels are in motion here for plenty of deals to be worked out this season. But don’t be shocked if we see a big name player or two move in the next month or so.

Any deals out there that you want to see? Its a busy time for GMs and coaches in MLS, not only with games on the field but the action in the office is really heating up.