RSL surprises and rumors

Well if you just read the topic line you might think I was talking about the 4-0 defeat of the hated Chivas USA on Wednesday night at Rio Tinto, but I am not.

Surprises

I am talking about the fact that RSL is close to announcing the 2010 season ticket prices, and the buzz is that everyone will likely be very surprised. Those details should be coming very soon, perhaps as soon as this afternoon/evening.

There was also a great surprise as Robbie Findley was called into the USMNT training camp for the upcoming El Salvador match as well as the match against T&T. Was this a move to please the hometown fans or something more as the US looks to find some real speed to add to the physical Jozy Altidore? Whatever it is, I think it is a great reward for the hard work Robbie has done for RSL and about time to make up for the snub he got on the Olympic team.

Rumors

The never ending saga of Yura has to be one of the most talked about rumors going around RSL in recent time. Here is what I have heard from a number of sources, all off the record. Yura is telling the team he is hurt/sick, Yura’s agent says he is fine and the team won’t play him, and the official RSL position is that he is physically unable to practice or play.

I believe all of this is drama created by his agent to get RSL to just release him to go play for Randers without them having to pay MLS/RSL to let him out of his contract early. For RSL the distraction is a pain but the reality is that when Yura was showing up and practicing before the very real injury in the Chicago match he was a major weapon either in a starting role or off the bench like in the FC Dallas match, so why would they want to let him go without compensation? Everyone should remember that it was over the final 7 matches of last year that Yura scored 5 of his 7 goals and without those goals we would have missed the playoffs.

I have defended Yura and his dedication to the team after signing a contract that starts at the end of the year and I am sticking by that if he was going to pack it in like so many have speculated, he could have and likely would have immediately after signing the contract. Instead he practiced hard, played hard, and played hurt even in the pointless exhibition match against Club America.

I have also defended the team for keeping him around and letting him play, if this is a professional league then teams have to count on players living up to their contracts and it appeared that both RSL and Yura were doing so. Is all of this a result of the injury to his wrist in the Dallas match and then the worse injury to his shoulder against Chicago? Could his agent and Randers simply think letting him continue to play for RSL puts their investment at risk?

There are a couple other rumors I would like to talk about, first up is the questions about Nelson Gonzalez and his illness. I saw him at the match Wednesday and he looked fine, well enough to be joking with friends and fans in the stands before the match. There is a lot of buzz about his potential but with so little time left in the season, one has to wonder what is really going on as he is listed as doubtful for the match this weekend.

Next is my new favorite rumor, which takes a hit this week, that Dave Checketts is actively pursing Ruud Van Nistlerooy. With a bloated roster of quality forwards, the ageing and recovering from injury player would look like a perfect candidate to be let go or loaned out by Real Madrid, but with the news that Robben is going to be heading to Germany and adding his talent to Bayern Munich and with Sneijder going to InterMilan, the depth of the Real Madrid attack isn’t what it was just a week ago. I still think that Ruud will be left out of the lineup unless they get hit by a lot of injuries and could still be available but now I would say it is more likely to happen in the January transfer window.

More to come on surprises and rumors later tonight as well as my match preview.

OFF MY SOAPBOX
Audentis Fortuna Juvat” (Jason stay bold)

This entry was posted on August 28, 2009 at 1:42 pm and is filed under The soapbox. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.