Gian-Luca Posted March 1, 2019 Author Share Posted March 1, 2019 12 hours ago, Grizzly said: I never said we should dehumanize him. If something bad or tragic happens to him we should feel sympathy for him. Anyone earning millions a year having to take a paycut that will still leave him earning millions a year is not tragic or deserving of any sympathy especially when it is reflective of their declining performance. Also lets not forget that Bradely was earning 1.1 million with Roma in his prime. He never would have got anything close to 6.5 million anywhere except for MLS. I doubt he would have gotten above 2 million in Europe and even the countries that usually overpay for players like China or in the Middle East would not have overpaid that much because he was not that big of a name. TFC massively overpaid for him because they play in an American league and the US is the only country where he was famous/overvalued like that. By the way if anyone reading this wants to hire me for 6 million a year and then cut my wages by 75% the next year I am perfectly willing to have my feelings and pride hurt! And to this point, unless his father is involved in negotiations on behalf of LAFC, it's difficult to see who would want to pay him much more than $1.1 million now if TFC don't want to give him that (which is TAM level money given that Aketxe was getting $1.2m as a TAM player). I imagine the negotiations with TFC might go something like this: Club: Hey, we love Michael, but his clearly on the downside of his career. We respect his leadership abilities and value them but aren't going to remain a top club if he continues to be one of our 3 DP's. That's just the reality Bradley's Agent: Yeah but you valued him at $6 million before, so even if he takes a 1/3 pay cut because he is only a third as good as he used to be, he should at least make $2 million a year Club: But the stats don't bear out that he warrants $2 million - look at what other players in the league making are doing or how much better the stats are for players playing a similar position with a much lower salary. The number of his takeaways and interceptions he makes have gone down, the number of his giveaways have gone up, he sets up fewer goals every year and he hasn't scored - even in PK shootouts - since November of 2016. Cripes, even Ashton Morgan has scored twice since then. Bradley's Agent: You can't just look at the statistics though - you have to look at all of the leadership intangibles and minutes played. Club: If the leadership intangibles are so valuable that we have to pay $2 million, why did he lead us to missing the playoffs in 2018 by a wide margin and as the only DP on the field, lead us to an embarassing 4-0 loss to a Panamanian team that plays in a stadium about 10% of the size of the stands at BMO Field? Surely you can't be serious. Bradley's Agent: I am serious, and funnily enough my name happens to be Shirley. Fine, let's see how 2019 goes first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_M Posted March 1, 2019 Share Posted March 1, 2019 Looks like strong picks for teams that will make playoffs..could see Philadelphia and Minnesota making it but agree with the rest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 I don't think the Crew are going to finish ahead of Toronto. Valenzuela is out for the year with an ACL tear. Gregg Berhalter is no longer coach. Is Zardez going to replicate his form from last year? Maybe, but I wouldn't bet on it. I also think Orlando will finish higher than 10th. I think people are sleeping on Nani and I think he will be huge for them. Remember, they still have Kjlestan pulling the strings, and Dwyer can still put the ball in the net. Plus, they can't be bad forever, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison44 Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 8 hours ago, Gian-Luca said: Club: If the leadership intangibles are so valuable that we have to pay $2 million, why did he lead us to missing the playoffs in 2018 by a wide margin and as the only DP on the field, lead us to an embarassing 4-0 loss to a Panamanian team that plays in a stadium about 10% of the size of the stands at BMO Field? Surely you can't be serious. Bradley's Agent: I am serious, and funnily enough my name happens to be Shirley. Fine, let's see how 2019 goes first. I havnt seen such snappy realistic dialog since Pulp Fiction. BRAVO!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikmacdo Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Can’t see TFC being 7th with Pozuelo and a healthy Jozy, add in 2 TAM players and the roster should be as good as anyone’s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ddoouugg Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 6 hours ago, Mikmacdo said: Can’t see TFC being 7th with Pozuelo and a healthy Jozy, add in 2 TAM players and the roster should be as good as anyone’s. Yup, agree. These things are always hard to predict, but anything between 2nd and 5th would not surprise me. Obviously, hoping for first, but one must be realistic. SS and MLS cup was the expectation in recent years, but the team must now rediscover that championship swagger. They definitely won't have that right away. The optimist in me can see them rediscover that swagger in 2019. There will be no Champions League distraction and Pozuelo could be a top 5 attacking midfielder in MLS and that is being conservative. Jozy could score 20 goals and the team has a lot of TAM to invest with. Not to mention Bradley, Osorio, Delgado, Morrow, Moor, Mavinga, Chapman, Bono, Morgan and Zavaleta were champions just two seasons ago. Think what you want of these players, but one thing you cannot take from them is Championship experience. They know what it takes to win it all. Only Seattle and Atlanta have a core of winners like Toronto, and the reds are the biggest underdog of the 3. In fact, the underdog role is just what they need as they find themselves post VV/Seba. I am optimistic they'll be in the mix for home field advantage in the playoffs, but I remain cautious at the same time. That is a best case scenario I can see happening. TFC felt like the team of destiny in 2017, but 2018 felt like all that good fortune had reversed. So far, 2019 feels like the club is still cursed by the soccer gods, but hope the tide finally changes tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Club Linesman Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 Wish I shared the enthusiasm of you guys. There are a lot of assumptions in there about getting players. If they finalize Pozuelo and get 2 TAM wingers my enthusiasm will increase, but even with that my temperament will not be as bullish as it was in17 and 18. Let the games begin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mikmacdo Posted March 2, 2019 Share Posted March 2, 2019 2 hours ago, Club Linesman said: Wish I shared the enthusiasm of you guys. There are a lot of assumptions in there about getting players. If they finalize Pozuelo and get 2 TAM wingers my enthusiasm will increase, but even with that my temperament will not be as bullish as it was in17 and 18. Let the games begin. I'm thinking they they should get a winger and a defender. I believe DeLeon can do the job on the right wing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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