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Eddie Johnson pulls a Dero


nolando

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Yes just as classless as when DeRo did this. The time to discuss contracts is in private with management. Not sure why players think they can pressure clubs to give them a raise like this because if anything I think the poor attitude it displays lowers their value in the eyes of their team and other teams. Doing this got DeRo traded 3 times in a season and ending up on the worst team in the league.

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^

You're not suggesting Toronto's shipping DDR out served the franchise purposes are you? Club went from bad to worse just-like-that and hasn't recovered since. The ever decreasing numbers of bums in the seats at BMo Field sure seem to think so.

And poor Dwayne, having to play with the worse team in the league whilst making the most money of his life. What's he at? $600K or so last year? He's $150K ahead of were he was (on the books anyway) when he was in Toronto if I remember rightly. Not a bad raise for being a problem child.

As for Johnson, shrug. He knows what he's done. He's saying enough's enough, pay me or move me. Seattle show it's willing to spend money. Just not on him.

Hell, if the Big Heads in Toronto have half a brain between them they would be tampering with the man as we write.

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Classless. But class doesn't bring home a pay cheque. Cheeta is spot on. For home grown players with considerable skills the DP signings have to be a slap in the face.

Let's not pretend these guys are as noble as we'd like them to be. As much as this is a little immature, it works and they're not wrong to do it.

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I like that post Cheeta. And yes it's classless, but so is the pay in MLS (unless you're a DP). I sure hope Steven Caldwell never scores for TFC, as he is on 79.000 a year which is just plain ridiculous.

No one's holding a gun to players' heads forcing them to play soccer for a living in MLS.

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No one's holding a gun to players' heads forcing them to play soccer for a living in MLS.

Particularly at 80 grand a year. A lot of players have moved to worse locales to make less than 80 000$ a year playing soccer for a living.

That being said, the minimums are pretty sad.

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Particularly at 80 grand a year. A lot of players have moved to worse locales to make less than 80 000$ a year playing soccer for a living.

But the point isn't who's willing to play for that money. It's who's willing to play for that money who can do an equivalent job. I'm sure there are lots of beer leaguers who would love to play for 80k, but they are unlikely to have the skill that the job requires. We wouldn't pay to watch them play professional soccer, so it's a moot point.

Athletes bitching about money is nothing new, but I have some sympathy for run-of-the-mill MLS guys because the contract terms are atrocious. Basically the team benefits from the upside but cuts out any downside by having multiple one year options. So play poorly you're out of a job, play well and you've earned the right to make exactly the same amount as you do currently. Very questionable legality if they challenged it, also not helping the league attract talent. I can't blame someone who's playing at a level that's well above their pay grade for trying to carve out something extra.

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It is absolutely getting to be time for the MLS and the players to sit down and talk about these things, before it gets too far out of hand. MLS IS getting to be that size now, they aren't some farm league anymore. They have an average attendance last year that was ahead of both the NHL AND the NBA. There needs to be some major, major changes.

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What needs to be kept in mind about Johnson is that he was once the highest paid player in MLS.

He then took a shot at Europe, flamed out at multiple clubs, and Seattle took a flyer on him. It's with the Sounders that he got his career back on track and also started getting call-ups to the US national team again.

So it's not like the Sounders lowballed him. They paid fair market value for a guy who had really run out of options, and now that he's back on the top of his game he's demanding more money in the middle of his contract. And it seems that Seattle agrees with him, given Hanauer's comments on the situation.

It's tough to feel for Johnson under those circumstances, IMO. This isn't a situation like DeRo's where he was consistently one of the best players in the league and was underpaid compared to his peers. The only similarity is the public display of displeasure, which I disagree with.

Interestingly (but not surprisingly), DeRo endorsed Johnson's stance today.

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And TFC did bring in Mista for more than double what Dero was getting and Mista did SFA. Frustration boils over at times in funny ways. Johnson seems to play better when he is underpaid. Maybe he feels he has something to prove. Renegotiating a contract early can work in a club's favour like the Caps with Camilo.

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I expect to see more and more of this as the gap between the highest and lowest payed players continues to increase.

Yes that makes perfect sense.

They have an average attendance last year that was ahead of both the NHL AND the NBA. There needs to be some major, major changes.

Yes but who's watching on TV? Nobody, and that's were the big money should be coming from. So unfortunately, MLS will keep total control over the players for the next decade or so.

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I think it's even worst in the MLS the fact teams "trade" players like tokens at a casino. A player can't say no sorry I don't want to move to Club X I rather break the contract. Only DP apparently can refuse to be traded like cattle. Imagine u making 80k on the East coast and suddenly u get a call pack u r bags we traded you to the East coast. Family needs to reorganize etc. then again 6months later hey guess what MidWest here YOU come.

That's a ****ty part. Canada/USA is 5000km+ in distance. Not like France or Germany where 600km gets you from one corner of the country to another

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I think it's even worst in the MLS the fact teams "trade" players like tokens at a casino. A player can't say no sorry I don't want to move to Club X I rather break the contract. Only DP apparently can refuse to be traded like cattle. Imagine u making 80k on the East coast and suddenly u get a call pack u r bags we traded you to the East coast. Family needs to reorganize etc. then again 6months later hey guess what MidWest here YOU come.

That's a ****ty part. Canada/USA is 5000km+ in distance. Not like France or Germany where 600km gets you from one corner of the country to another

That's standard in North American sports. Players are well aware of it too.

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