Quickie Toe Pokes and Random Shots
by playtherapy on Jan 15, 2012 11:03 AM CST
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You can’t hear that cartoon sound bomb plummeting yet, though the vertigo feeling has dramatically changed to falling.
Falling isn’t the right word, so I’ll get literate on you. Falling of Biblical proportions. The 1st Chapter of Satanic Verses Falling. The longer Ching's situation plays out, the lower his valuation. The Impact are in a tough situation here with only one suitor. Whoops, should have said potential suitor as the only press about a potential Brian Ching return is either generated from the Great White North or hacks creating rumors when there’s little there.
Advantage Naranja.
We don’t have our opener until May 12, leaving a lot of time for head scratching as Jesse Marsch questions his hasty 1st Expansion Draft Choice. All the fluff about Ching providing veteran leadership melts under the merest scrutiny. The big question, how to save face??? Bluffs are great if everyone folds and the bluffer takes the pot, but the onus is on the Impact.
Despite Ortiz’s buffoonery, the Dynamo Front Office can afford to sit and wait. The Montreal Impact are either stuck with a very expensive, often injured in his last year or two forward OR they will have to suck it up and take the egg on their face.If Houston truly wants Ching to return, they only have to help the Impact save a little face.
Onward... Most know the way a low budget newly promoted Championship Team survives in the EPL: Purchase 1) a serviceable holding target forward, 2) a scrappy if not downright dirty defensive midfielder, 3) several big physical center backs, and 4) quick flank men who can get the ball into the box. 5) Mix with a tall, fearless keeper and finally 6) play a very physical 4-4-2 long ball direct express. If you’re lucky and play to win at home and draw away, a mid table finish isn’t out of the question. Mainly, it’s a successful recipe to avoid relegation.
Now translate the recipe to a league where a mediocre record gets you into the playoffs and you have the potion to turn a poor team around within a season or even during a season. For a team without a transfer budget with salaries on the cheap, it’s THE formula. Canetti keeps a brave face, yet his skills of transmutation are limited (unless the FO runs a counterfeiting operation). Meanwhile, those Stripers up IH45 keep signing good players and our Eastern rivals are also keeping pace. Well, we’ve always got Nate Sturgis and a very pissed off Colin Rolfe. Take that, rest of MLS!!!
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random speculation... (straight from MLS' rumor central)
“Tottenham midfielder David Bentley, once touted David Beckham’s successor for England, could get a chance to measure up against him. Bentley, who is recovering from an injury and is slated for a March return, wants a summer loan move to MLS, and apparently teams are lining up.” (People.co.uk – Jan. 15, 2012)
*he would fit in well in Houston and we are looking for a RM. His skill set is something like Becks or Davis, but on the right.
" In an interview with Soccer America, former US U-17 coach Wilmer Cabrera stated that he rejected the offer from US Soccer to keep the reigns of the team because the length of the contract was not long enough. But the program’s loss could be a gain for MLS, as Cabrera revealed his in talks to join one team’s technical staff." (Soccer America – Jan. 14, 2012)
*If he’s not going for a head coaching job, he would be a great addition to our academy technical staff. Possibly even as a technical director who could be in charge of scouting. Keep in mind this is very far fetched speculation, but…
- = my own speculation
by foreverorange25 on Jan 15, 2012 6:00 PM CST reply actions
So, what constitutes a face-saving trade?
At this point I don’t think draft picks or allocation will let both parties off gracefully. It probably means a player trade.
If we have to give up anything of real value, I’m against it.
He’s a hero in Orange and I love him, but he’s an old, slow, oft-injured target forward. We can get a lot of them for $400K. Make Marsch suffer with that, and he can come back and join the staff when he either (A) retires or (B) some part of his body forces him to retire before he wants to do so.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
As an Impact fan, I’d be happy to have Ching with us for the season. From the latest bits of info I heard from Ching himself or around the team, he said he will play for us (mtl) and the fans but he wants to retired in Houston, I understand that. Since he arrived in Montreal a few days ago, he seems to have a positive attitude (maybe not this morning at -4°F hehe). As a skilled and respected veteran in the MLS I’m sure he can help the team, but both Marsh and him will have to make an effort to make it works since there’s definitely an history between these guys. If he is really going to retire at the end of the season, I’d be fine with Montreal trading him back to Houston for almost nothing at the end of the season, with a few games left. Let him play in the new stadium there, Houston’s fan will be happy and he’ll retire as an Orange.
?
a reasonable MTL fan? Sacrebleu! I kid, I kid…all cheap shots aside, at least you see things reasonably enough. Don’t mistake, we here in Houston love Ching but we were murmuring early last year about his health issues, and while his contributions last year are self-evident, we knew the writing was on the wall then. Assuming that he is able to play – and were not taking the piss, its a genuine concern for you guys, particularly as its FREEZING up there and he’s now playing and training on an artificial surface – he certainly can help contribute, but he shouldn’t and likely won’t be a focal point for scoring. And we have the same position as you: as long as we pretty much give up nothing (Hainault is a pipe dream that will not happen) for Ching we’d be happy with that.
I will say that I’ve always followed MTL in the NASL and thought they were a really good club, if you pick up our disdain for your team it really is directed at Marsch, not the club itself. It just smacks of a petty or poorly-thought out move that hampers your team in terms of what you get for what you pay. But I actually hope to take a vacation up there in the next year, I’ll be the guy wearing the Dynamo kit :)
The Saputo Stadium’s surface is natural grass, I’m not sure why so many people think it’s artificial :)
But the first few games are in the Olympic Stadium, which is a Team Pro EF RD surface (whatever that means) which they installed for the 2007 FIFA U-20 Word Cup. I guess Ching won’t be thrilled with the Big-O .
I’m quite ignorant of MLS rules with the salary cap and money management. Would it be possible for Houston to absorbs his $400K salary proportionally to how many games left in the season or they would need the full salary cap space to take him back ?
Hmmm
that’s a question above my pay-grade, though we do have some commenters here who have a very good understanding (or at least as well an understanding as one can have) about MLS’ rather Freemason-like salary rules. My understanding, though, is that MTL takes the full salary hit once Ching begins practicing…if a trade were to happen later in the season I’m not sure if the salary (and subsequent cap) are pro-rated or what. Hopefully someone can chip in and clarify that
And frankly, artificial or not by the time training, pre-season and the like start its still quite cold up there (remember, Ching is from Hawaii and played in warm Houston)…so while to a native playing in 20-40F weather is not so bad, to someone with bad knees whether its artificial or natural grass its like playing on concrete.
The team will leave Montreal for 12 days on Jan 18th. Training in Guadalajara against 3 first division teams in Mexico. Then back for 4 days in Montreal and leaving for 12 more days in California (vs Chivas, Timbers and ???). Then, they will play 3 games at the Disney Classic in Orlando (Houston, TFC, Vancouver, Dallas, Kansas City, Orlando, B.K. Hacken). We won’t be in the cold too much :)
June 23rd, July 21st and Oct 6th (in Houston, maybe with Ching in Orange hehe) : Impact vs Dynamo!
Very excited with the MLS adventure starting. Okay, I’ll keep quiet about the Impact on DT now :)
Well, anything can be negotiated, but...
…there is no way Dynamo is going to absorb Ching’s salary hit. And I would also anticipate that there is no way Dynamo will absorb the majority of Ching’s salary hit. You guys are stuck with that against your cap (Thank Jesse Marsch).
I guess we have to ask why on God’s Green Football Field would Dynamo take on any of that money they don’t have to? Also, if the team signs Kris Boyd or someone of his salary level, they may not be able to even if they wanted to.
With that preseason schedule, expect Ching to get injured in Mexico and/or California and then be unavailable until the opener. I hope that doesn’t happen, but I can guarantee you there won’t be a single Dynamo fan who would be surprised.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
I think that if we get him back
Depending on his contract and the nature of his departure from the Impact (picked up on waivers vs trade), we would have to pay up the remaining amount of his salary but it might not count towards the cap.
Could easily be wrong though
I would turn whenever Michael_D mentions Dixon into a drinking game too...
…but I’m not too sure my liver could take it.
Maybe drink iced tea.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
Good interview
He wants to be in Houston, but is a competitor and above all a professional.
Just heard him on Glenn Davis' program tonight
That is not a happy man. No question about it. He’s a pro, he’ll do what he needs to, and he’s no fool, so he will not walk away from $400K+. However, we’ve all had jobs we did not want to be at, working for a paycheck or from the sheer inertia of not wanting to move. We all know what that’s like and how that feels. But if you don’t know how that feels, or have forgotten, listen to Captain Kamehameha on Glenn Davis’ show (link here) and it will all come flooding back to you.
It’s awful to hear this in Brian’s voice. Just painful.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
Hoo boy
I still have piss-poor memories of one job I had and literally 2 months into the job I was actively looking elsewhere. So I sympathize with the whole “well, its a paycheck” mentality. Yes, Ching is a pro and will show up but yeah, my heart does go out to him…he’s playing somewhere he really does not want to be, no offense to the good folk of Montreal.
Holy crap
After listening to him on Glenn’s program, I just watched this video you posted, saturnin55. Ching is about to break out crying at least five times in that interview. That is hard to watch.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
Yes it’s hard for him :/ He says the right things and he’s now behaving like a pro. I am happy he is here training with us and hopefully things will get better with time, that he can help us and at some point, that something can be done to allow him to retire in Houston.
I know you guys don’t like Marsch, but since the last few interviews I saw of him, he speaking nothing but positive things about Ching (no more talking like he is a bargaining chip like at the expansion draft) and he seems to really believe he can help our team on the field. If both sides are able to step up above whatever fights they had in the past, I’m sure it will be for the best of the team and Ching.
Its just tough
its almost like watching a friend go through a tough break-up…they have to work through it, and there’s always the chance of reconciliation so you’re left in this sort of no-man’s land of emotion. Ching bleeds Orange and it shows, and its just tough to watch…truly a crap sandwich all-around.
And like we’ve said, I actually like your team – in fact, last year I had suggested we pinch a couple of your players – I’m just not thrilled about what happened and how. Don’t get me wrong, if Ching could stay healthy he could definitely help your team, and if he threw himself into it you could get even more out of him. It was just a very “odd” move by Marsch to select him when he could have a younger, cheaper forward who would be excited to play there, particularly when it was an open secret that Ching wanted to retire in Orange this year. I do hope it can still happen, and this whole episode aside its good to see another fan base coming to the spotlight (for all our ill-will about this, you guys seem very excited and I can’t blame you).
Actually
Marsch’s ploy has backfired- BADLY. We’ve struggled with Ching’s salary for some time- though this was NOT the way we wanted it solved.
We want Brian back, but if I were GM, I’d stick the Impact with the majority of his salary even if we took him back. The onus is on Montreal.
Tragic for Ching, really.
by playtherapy on Jan 17, 2012 10:51 AM CST up reply actions
Emo
I’m hoping its the whole “I would’ve been drafted higher last year” thing and that frankly he’ll grow the hell up about it. I could’ve gone pro (no I couldn’t) except for a couple of bad breaks (never happened) but you don’t see me moaning about it (I’m moaning).
But really, he’s going to play and potentially feature in the first team this season, and on a team that lost in the MLS Cup…life could be far worse. Its not like you’re going to play for some club in Frisco or something.
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