Sidra, Davies, Attakora, Zavarise

[madmonte]

Right, a paycut...but I guess it would be better than being unemployed? I mean if it comes to that. Hope it works out for him whatever way he decides to go.

[Ruud]

What's the hold up with Attakora though - couldn't a team like Montreal use him? Is he not even on the bench for San Jose? Is it a money issue?

Attakora could be good in Montreal as well. Gee whiz - we keep giving up late goals in last 15 minutes of games, and the coach has no one to bring in to shore up Brovsky or Valentin. Or maybe he just chooses not to.

[villus]

Attakora will be a very good player if he gets the right situation. CB's tend to be late bloomers, I think he is a good example of that type of player he has all the physical tools but needs to be coached and taught the ins and outs of the position but has lots of potential.

[madmonte]

Attakora will be a very good player if he gets the right situation. CB's tend to be late bloomers, I think he is a good example of that type of player he has all the physical tools but needs to be coached and taught the ins and outs of the position but has lots of potential.

Right. I think it's because of the strength required in that role. Around here we call that "man-strength" which doesn't seem to fully develop till mid twenties, which Nana is nearing. I feel that if he could have taken that role in 2 Bundesliga it was rumored he was offered, rather than holding out, we wouldn't be having this conversation...

But then I also feel like I should do more research into that, as I think that may have been just a rumor...and even if it wasn't, I know not enough about the details to say why it did or didn't happen. However, as I understand it, San Jose having contract rights effects him ONLY in terms of MLS teams signing him? Help me out with some details guys?

[jpg75]

Yes, as confirmed by Grizzly, Nana had a contract offer from Union Berlin to be a backup CB. As he is a Bosman, Nana was and is free to sign with anyone outside of MLS. It is only within MLS that San Jose hold his rights and he is restricted from joining another club within the league - unless a trade is worked out.

[Obinna]

^And Nana has also said he prefers MLS after his trials in SPL and B2.

I think he needs to develop into a top level MLS defender before he goes across the pond in order to make worthwhile move. Look at the players who move on (or are rumored to move on), players like Tim Ream and Geoff Cameron. Those are guys who have earned (or will eventually earn) moves to good clubs.

A move to the SPL (outside of Rangers and Celtic) or B2 is not a worth while transfer, it is only a lateral move. It arguabley gives you more exposure and opportunity to move up, but you will only move up if you are a great player in those leagues. And to be honest, if Nana is not a great player in MLS, he will not be a great player in those equivalent leagues. In that case, better to shine domestically first if the best interest you can get in Europe SPL or B2.

[Sam]

^And Nana has also said he prefers MLS after his trials in SPL and B2.

I think he needs to develop into a top level MLS defender before he goes across the pond in order to make worthwhile move. Look at the players who move on (or are rumored to move on), players like Tim Ream and Geoff Cameron. Those are guys who have earned (or will eventually earn) moves to good clubs.

A move to the SPL (outside of Rangers and Celtic) or B2 is not a worth while transfer, it is only a lateral move. It arguabley gives you more exposure and opportunity to move up, but you will only move up if you are a great player in those leagues. And to be honest, if Nana is not a great player in MLS, he will not be a great player in those equivalent leagues. In that case, better to shine domestically first if the best interest you can get in Europe SPL or B2.

Problem is even if you are playing/sitting on the bench and not playing at a level in Europe that is below MLS you are still making much more than MLS, which is the big problem with the allure of Europe and why so many of our players have stagnated playing in the lower leagues over there.

[jpg75]

You also run into problems if the MLS team holding your rights is low-balling you on a contract offer and/or is holding out for more trade value to send your rights to another MLS club. If Nana is not signed or traded by San Jose by August he needs to forget MLS and look abroad.

[Obinna]

Problem is even if you are playing/sitting on the bench and not playing at a level in Europe that is below MLS you are still making much more than MLS, which is the big problem with the allure of Europe and why so many of our players have stagnated playing in the lower leagues over there.

Totally agree. This is why MLS needs to raise the salary cap and pay their players more.

Johnson, Jakovic, and Hainualt make good money in MLS but it is hardly enough when your career is over in your mid thirties (late thirties if your lucky).

I believe the MLS has been raising the cap around 5 percent a season and this is to last until 2014. However, do wages still need to be this low for clubs to be finacially stable? Obviously it works but slightly higher wages would attract/retain better players and improve the quality and the league. The league would subsequently benifit finacially.

Right now I think the league minimum is 40,000 and the maximum is 400,000. Perhaps it is a pipe dream, but I dream of a day in the near future where the league minimum is 80,000 and the maximum is around 800,000. In my opinion that is where it should be, and when/if that happens there will no longer be any financial benefit for our guys to ride the pine in the Championship, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, or any other second rate European leagues.

[Obinna]

You also run into problems if the MLS team holding your rights is low-balling you on a contract offer and/or is holding out for more trade value to send your rights to another MLS club. If Nana is not signed or traded by San Jose by August he needs to forget MLS and look abroad.

Also agree with this, he doesn't have much of a choice at this stage. He is not really a young player anymore and needs to get first team minutes anywhere at this point considering the situation. In an ideal world he would stay in MLS, but playing time has to be a priority. Anyone know when the MLS window is open and if his name has been mentioned in trade talks?

[villus]

Really surprised he turned down the B2 offer. Must be a cultural thing, because he would make a lot more money with better chances of moving to a better contract (if he can play) and its a signing whereas now hes sitting at home in limbo. Also B2 would be better coaching imo and probably better soccer overall imo.

[Grizzly]

Really surprised he turned down the B2 offer. Must be a cultural thing, because he would make a lot more money with better chances of moving to a better contract (if he can play) and its a signing whereas now hes sitting at home in limbo. Also B2 would be better coaching imo and probably better soccer overall imo.

He turned it down because he was being offered a spot as backup CB and he did not find the level of play better than MLS where he was starting. Union Berlin has good defenders who are getting older so they were looking for someone to take over from them in a couple of years. I think when he turned it down he was expecting to be re-signed or traded in MLS, possibly it was a mistake given that that did not happen. I think he would be a very good pickup for several teams in the league including Montreal but I guess that also depends on what San Jose wants for him and his salary demands.

[Soccerpro]

Totally agree. This is why MLS needs to raise the salary cap and pay their players more.

Johnson, Jakovic, and Hainualt make good money in MLS but it is hardly enough when your career is over in your mid thirties (late thirties if your lucky).

I believe the MLS has been raising the cap around 5 percent a season and this is to last until 2014. However, do wages still need to be this low for clubs to be finacially stable? Obviously it works but slightly higher wages would attract/retain better players and improve the quality and the league. The league would subsequently benifit finacially.

Right now I think the league minimum is 40,000 and the maximum is 400,000. Perhaps it is a pipe dream, but I dream of a day in the near future where the league minimum is 80,000 and the maximum is around 800,000. In my opinion that is where it should be, and when/if that happens there will no longer be any financial benefit for our guys to ride the pine in the Championship, Scandinavia, Eastern Europe, or any other second rate European leagues.

Isnt the league min still 32.5k?

In any event, even with the current cap, the min should be 50k. It's a tough sell to young players to skip university for Best Buy/Future shop money with no career longevity.

Also people overhype Nana on this board, like all young Canadians. Yes he may not have been fully healthy in San Jose, but he was terrible there. He was good for a young player in Preki's ultra defensive scheme which isn't the biggest award in the world.

[Grizzly]

Also people overhype Nana on this board, like all young Canadians. Yes he may not have been fully healthy in San Jose, but he was terrible there. He was good for a young player in Preki's ultra defensive scheme which isn't the biggest award in the world.

That is not true. He had a couple of poor games when he first went to San Jose after he came back too early from an injury and then got reinjured. The second time he returned fully healed and played quite well for a few games before getting a totally different injury that ended his season. San Jose offered him a contract in January but Nana was really set on going to Europe after the season so that is why they did not protect him in the expansion draft and probably why Montreal did not select him. Apparently he also did not want to remain in San Jose for reasons he would not specify. According to Nana there are a few MLS teams interested in him but they are not willing to pay the price San Jose is asking for his rights.

He may not be a top star, but Nana is a decent starting CB at MLS level. Now that Ferrari is injured I would be pretty happy to see him in Montreal and even as a full back I think he would do a much better job than Brovsky who is costing us goals or Wahl. Even Valentin has been pretty inconsistent, playing well one game and poor the next. (And even if we signed him as a striker he could not possibly be a worse striker than Braun )

[madmonte]

All I know is he played like a beast for the men's U-23 team recently. Particularly when we beat the US

[Wingback6]

While I can't speak for the other dudes, my impression RE Nana, is that it's an ego thing.

He was a starter at a young age, probably too young. I don't see how at his age, he can think he's above being a back-up CB in B2, just because he was a starter in MLS for all of one season in an overtly defensive system. Imagine if Occean had possessed that kind of attitude at the beginning of his career? I guarantee he wouldn't be where he is now. Because his career would be over.

And if Ali is indeed sitting on his contract for monetary purposes, then, while I can sympathize with his choice because of his age and whatnot, from the standpoint of an athlete, that is selfish and disgraceful.

[BearcatSA]

Also people overhype Nana on this board, like all young Canadians.

I think certain important skills get overlooked with these younger defenders. Attakora, Henry and Morgan are very athletic so in 1 v 1s when the opponent has the ball they're hard to beat. However, all three have struggled at times with marking opponents away from the ball, positioning/reading (I still see that with Hainault as well). Also, their play on the ball (especially with the first two mentioned) is not a strength. Morgan is also better when he has space to get a head of steam going Marvel Wynne style as opposed to having to use 1 on 1 trickery to steal the space needed to get a cross in

[Sam]

That is not true. He had a couple of poor games when he first went to San Jose after he came back too early from an injury and then got reinjured. The second time he returned fully healed and played quite well for a few games before getting a totally different injury that ended his season. San Jose offered him a contract in January but Nana was really set on going to Europe after the season so that is why they did not protect him in the expansion draft and probably why Montreal did not select him. Apparently he also did not want to remain in San Jose for reasons he would not specify. According to Nana there are a few MLS teams interested in him but they are not willing to pay the price San Jose is asking for his rights.

He may not be a top star, but Nana is a decent starting CB at MLS level. Now that Ferrari is injured I would be pretty happy to see him in Montreal and even as a full back I think he would do a much better job than Brovsky who is costing us goals or Wahl. Even Valentin has been pretty inconsistent, playing well one game and poor the next. (And even if we signed him as a striker he could not possibly be a worse striker than Braun )

I've said Nana would be a good fit in Montreal from the start of the season. Right now Wahl is probably the most versatile defender the Impact have in terms of being able to play both as a fullback and centre back, and that isn't saying a whole lot. Nana would be a great defender to have in reserve, because as mentioned he is effective at both right back and centre back. And as mentioned above as well he could certainly start over the likes of Brovsky.

[closetboostie]

And if Ali is indeed sitting on his contract for monetary purposes, then, while I can sympathize with his choice because of his age and whatnot, from the standpoint of an athlete, that is selfish and disgraceful.

Selfish and disgraceful? I think he's well within his rights to get the money he's owed. If your boss fired you before your hypothetical contract was up, and was required to pay you regardless, would you release them from their obligations so you could work for less somewhere else. I await your response.

If Ali does have offers to play I'm sure there have been negotiations for a buyout, which would save Montreal money. But likely their buyout offer was not acceptable to Gerba.

[ditty]

^And Nana has also said he prefers MLS after his trials in SPL and B2.

I think he needs to develop into a top level MLS defender before he goes across the pond in order to make worthwhile move. Look at the players who move on (or are rumored to move on), players like Tim Ream and Geoff Cameron. Those are guys who have earned (or will eventually earn) moves to good clubs.

A move to the SPL (outside of Rangers and Celtic) or B2 is not a worth while transfer, it is only a lateral move. It arguabley gives you more exposure and opportunity to move up, but you will only move up if you are a great player in those leagues. And to be honest, if Nana is not a great player in MLS, he will not be a great player in those equivalent leagues. In that case, better to shine domestically first if the best interest you can get in Europe SPL or B2.

I also would like to see a player at Nana's level play in MLS rather than 2. Bundesliga or the SPL. But the problem is that even the 2nd tier in Germany would mean a huge, huge pay raise. Plus, for now, the exposure to the top tier in Europe is night and day compared with playing in MLS. For example, I was surprised when Edson Buddle left LA Galaxy to sign with Ingolstadt in Germany. But apparently he at least doubled his salary and saw it as a stepping stone to a better league, which didn't materialize. Granted, I believe he was one of the top earners in Ingolstadt.

[ditty]

Problem is even if you are playing/sitting on the bench and not playing at a level in Europe that is below MLS you are still making much more than MLS, which is the big problem with the allure of Europe and why so many of our players have stagnated playing in the lower leagues over there.

Oops, I see you already made my point!

[Wingback6]

Selfish and disgraceful? I think he's well within his rights to get the money he's owed. If your boss fired you before your hypothetical contract was up, and was required to pay you regardless, would you release them from their obligations so you could work for less somewhere else. I await your response.

If Ali does have offers to play I'm sure there have been negotiations for a buyout, which would save Montreal money. But likely their buyout offer was not acceptable to Gerba.

No ofcourse not, and they aren't complaining about paying him. But he is payed to be a player, not to sit at home, so he is failing to provide the service, now obviously not in violation of his contract, but certainly in spirit.

What's more, this only makes sense if he's pretty much given up on soccer. One has to think that if he thought he had some time left in his career, that one or two, more contracts for less money, while he was playing, would benefit him better in the long run, then getting paid more in less time.

And at the end of the day, aren't we supposed to play for the love of the game, and the money comes second?? So regardless of the boss, employee relationship, playing at that level is a gift not many get to share in, and to squander even a bit of that time 'at the top' for personal reasons is disrespectful toward all the people who have struggled to get there and never made it. So yeah. Self-centered.

[madmonte]

No ofcourse not, and they aren't complaining about paying him. But he is payed to be a player, not to sit at home, so he is failing to provide the service, now obviously not in violation of his contract, but certainly in spirit.

What's more, this only makes sense if he's pretty much given up on soccer. One has to think that if he thought he had some time left in his career, that one or two, more contracts for less money, while he was playing, would benefit him better in the long run, then getting paid more in less time.

And at the end of the day, aren't we supposed to play for the love of the game, and the money comes second?? So regardless of the boss, employee relationship, playing at that level is a gift not many get to share in, and to squander even a bit of that time 'at the top' for personal reasons is disrespectful toward all the people who have struggled to get there and never made it. So yeah. Self-centered.

This all makes sense if they are paid like Alex Rodriguez and are set for life. Guys in Gerba's pay scale are not. And yeah, I'd say it was a calculated decision with giving up soccer being in mind. After all he was released from an expansion MLS team, where do you think he goes from here? It was probably a decent paying contract that might get his kids through college. No, he should give that up, even though he is rightfully entitled to it by contract, to make $35,000 per annum for the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers or something.

It's not as though he felt he had 1,000,000 options when he made this decision. He might have bought a house based on this decision, and if he tries a different move, he gets thrown out of it because he can't pay for it. Don't preach unless you know.

It's normally so easy to pick on athletes because they are often overpaid scum who go on strike to become scum that's even more grossly overpaid, but again...he's not paid like Rodriguez and set for life here.

[Marc]

This all makes sense if they are paid like Alex Rodriguez and are set for life. Guys in Gerba's pay scale are not. And yeah, I'd say it was a calculated decision with giving up soccer being in mind. After all he was released from an expansion MLS team, where do you think he goes from here? It was probably a decent paying contract that might get his kids through college. No, he should give that up, even though he is rightfully entitled to it by contract, to make $35,000 per annum for the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers or something.

It's not as though he felt he had 1,000,000 options when he made this decision. He might have bought a house based on this decision, and if he tries a different move, he gets thrown out of it because he can't pay for it. Don't preach unless you know.

It's normally so easy to pick on athletes because they are often overpaid scum who go on strike to become scum that's even more grossly overpaid, but again...he's not paid like Rodriguez and set for life here.

Particularly so given his post-soccer career opportunities. There are limited well-paid career opportunities for former Canadian internationals. Only so many media spots or coaching jobs. He didn't go the NCAA route so doesn't even have the benefit of an degree. It's very likely he's going to have to start from scratch.

[closetboostie]

And at the end of the day, aren't we supposed to play for the love of the game, and the money comes second?? So regardless of the boss, employee relationship, playing at that level is a gift not many get to share in, and to squander even a bit of that time 'at the top' for personal reasons is disrespectful toward all the people who have struggled to get there and never made it. So yeah. Self-centered.

You may play on sunday for the "love of the game" and that is your right, but he is a professional. He owes it to himself and his family, if he has one, to get paid the most for what he does in the short amount of time he has to do it. He doesn't owe anybody else anything. The only possible motivation for getting out of the contract to play somewhere else is to prove he's worthy of another one. You and I don't know the circumstances surrounding that. It's "disrespectful" for any of us fans to expect someone to take less money because they owe it those who weren't good enough to make it.