Jimmy Conrad... could we swing it?

[Stryker]

So after combing through the MLS rosters for a good CB I keep coming back to one name again and again... Jimmy Conrad.

Positives:
Hes already in MLS
He's without a doubt one of the top 3 CB's in the league if not the best
Salary of 225,000 a barrrr-goooooon.

Negitives:
Not a whole lot

Bargaining postion:
He's KC captain
He lives in KC... nuff said.
KC is in even worse shape than us for forwards could we deal Barrett or Ibbe if we have another Striker lined up?
KC's center field is abysmal... deal Guevara?
Our plentiful first round picks and allocation surplus.

Discuss

[tfc]

No way we are dealing either Barrett or Ibbe. Ibbe will be worth a lot in a few years and I bet we will deal him to Europe for some big $$$, Barrett signed a 4 year contract with us and I wouldn't be surprised to see him become a solid MLS striker in the next few years.

[Stryker]

Obviously we wouldn't want to lose ethier Ibbe or Barrett but if you want to snag the best CB in the league we're gonna have to trade something of value that they need and thats forwards.

Conrad played all 30 games for KC, scored 6 goals on 15 shots and was an MLS All-Star.
I'd say that makes him pretty valuable.

[Hitcho]

Obviously we wouldn't want to lose ethier Ibbe or Barrett but if you want to snag the best CB in the league we're gonna have to trade something of value that they need and thats forwards.

Conrad played all 30 games for KC, scored 6 goals on 15 shots and was an MLS All-Star.
I'd say that makes him pretty valuable.

I don't think anyone disputes JC's value and ability, that's a given, and we'd all love to have him. But this is a random thread asking who we'd want to give up to obtain him when A) there's no real prospect of that happening and B) the answer is no-one since we barely have a decent first XI and strength in depth is something we really lack, which means there's actually no-one we'd want to give up. You've cited strikers, but we NEED another striker, we don't want to be giving up what we already have.

I'm hoping MoJo will acquire a top CB from outside MLS and use the salary space and allocation we have to get him on board, same goes for a DP striker if we get one. I don't really want to ship anyone else out of our squad for now, unless it's a like for like trade where we're upgrading.

[CretanBull]

Chad Marshall is on trial in Germany, if he doesn't work out there he would make an excellent addition to our team and we could afford to out bid Columbus for his services (he played there last year, but is out of contract with them now).

[Lucky Strike]

The only way of getting Conrad that would be helpful would be to deal draft picks. Our 1st round (#2 overall) pick would, in my view, be a minimum price. I can see KC asking our 4th overall pick as well. Is that worth it? I don't know but we can really trade away any players right now. Unless we can sucker them into taking Marco Velez for some reason.

[Stryker]

I don't think anyone disputes JC's value and ability, that's a given, and we'd all love to have him. But this is a random thread asking who we'd want to give up to obtain him when A) there's no real prospect of that happening and B) the answer is no-one since we barely have a decent first XI and strength in depth is something we really lack, which means there's actually no-one we'd want to give up. You've cited strikers, but we NEED another striker, we don't want to be giving up what we already have.

I'm hoping MoJo will acquire a top CB from outside MLS and use the salary space and allocation we have to get him on board, same goes for a DP striker if we get one. I don't really want to ship anyone else out of our squad for now, unless it's a like for like trade where we're upgrading.

It is a random thread. But I don't see the harm in discussing possible trade senerios. Perhaps doing so would open some peoples eyes to the difficulties of aquiring top talent in this league. Besides, I think a big trade is a far more likely scenerio of landing a top player than attracting a foreign free agent. Too many people have it in there heads that snagging a good foreign player is as simple as calling up directory and asking for "Quality players out of contract".
Remember not only do we have to convince foreign players to come to MLS, but we're also competing with the LAG's of the league who may have also contacted the player.
Too many people are under the impression that its easy to get something for nothing.

[Lucky Strike]

It is a random thread. But I don't see the harm in discussing possible trade senerios. Perhaps doing so would open some peoples eyes to the difficulties of aquiring top talent in this league. Besides, I think a big trade is a far more likely scenerio of landing a top player than attracting a foreign free agent. Too many people have it in there heads that snagging a good foreign player is as simple as calling up directory and asking for "Quality players out of contract".
Remember not only do we have to convince foreign players to come to MLS, but we're also competing with the LAG's of the league who may have also contacted the player.
Too many people are under the impression that its easy to get something for nothing.

Random perhaps, but you've clearly put some thought into it. This to me is much better than someone trudging along and saying: Why don't we get Player X without looking at any other factors (contract status, happiness, etc...)

As for the statement I bolded, it's very well put! We're not playing Football Manager!

[Stryker]

Thanks Lucky Strike.
CretanBull, I too was thinking about Chad Marshal. If we could convince him to come we'd still have to give Columbus something as they have his MLS rights.
I believe thats a draft pick right?
His current salary was $148 000 for this year. Im betting he'd want upwards of $200 000 for a new contract.

[Yohan]

Thanks Lucky Strike.
CretanBull, I too was thinking about Chad Marshal. If we could convince him to come we'd still have to give Columbus something as they have his MLS rights.
I believe thats a draft pick right?
His current salary was $148 000 for this year. Im betting he'd want upwards of $200 000 for a new contract.
Chad Marshall is worth more than 200k per year. First round pick? for a top MLS CB? bargain

Our CB problem would be solved with Chad Marshall. I prefer him over Conrad actually. Younger too.

[ensco]

He would be terrific. But it's not about what it would take to get him.

1) He is the most popular Wizard by far.
2) He is the face of that team in KC.
3) He is the locker room leader

They have a season's ticket group, and supporters, to think about (such as it is).

They would never deal him. Never.

[Stryker]

He would be terrific. But it's not about what it would take to get him.

1) He is the most popular Wizard by far.
2) He is the face of that team in KC.
3) He is the locker room leader

They have a season's ticket group, and supporters, to think about (such as it is).

They would never deal him. Never.

All the above could have applied to DeRo. But yes I see what you're saying. Conrad's only been with them 1 year though.

[ensco]

All the above could have applied to DeRo. But yes I see what you're saying. Conrad's only been with them 1 year though.

No I don't think so. There were/are other popular players in Houston, and there were definitely other locker room leaders in Houston.

Conrad has been in KC for six years, btw.

[Stryker]

Conrad has been in KC for six years, btw.

Yes you're right, not sure who I was thinking of there.

[jloome]

He would be terrific. But it's not about what it would take to get him.

1) He is the most popular Wizard by far.
2) He is the face of that team in KC.
3) He is the locker room leader

They have a season's ticket group, and supporters, to think about (such as it is).

They would never deal him. Never.

True.

We should go for CJ Brown instead, from Chicago. Very similar defender, great track record. He's 33, so coming to the end of his career, but he's very solid and out of the starting lineup, due to injuries last year from which he has now recovered.

His contract expires at the end fo this year, as well, so Chicago will want to move him before the league renegotiates.

Lider Marmol at Chicago is another potential, as he isn't getting a chance to play despite being heavily touted in Paraguay before he came. Same with Gonzalo Peralta, who had a very up-and-down year at DC but has a good track record prior to that. DC is trying to cut his wage, as he isn't under contract for next year yet.

[Shakes McQueen]

jloome: Too bad it'd require Mo to try and deal with Chicago.

- Scott

[Hitcho]

It is a random thread. But I don't see the harm in discussing possible trade senerios. Perhaps doing so would open some peoples eyes to the difficulties of aquiring top talent in this league. Besides, I think a big trade is a far more likely scenerio of landing a top player than attracting a foreign free agent. Too many people have it in there heads that snagging a good foreign player is as simple as calling up directory and asking for "Quality players out of contract".
Remember not only do we have to convince foreign players to come to MLS, but we're also competing with the LAG's of the league who may have also contacted the player.
Too many people are under the impression that its easy to get something for nothing.

Sorry, I wasn't trying to make a big thing out of the random element dude. What I was trying to get across was that we really don't have the kind of squad where we're looking to ship players out, at least not without replacing them, so to post a thread asking who to trade for JC is difficult to answer (unless we can convince them to take Velez, or Marshall, which seems unlikely).

I can't speak for others, but I am under no such impression as to how hard it is to get top quality players into MLS from outside the league. One look at the players in MLS and the number of failed trades and links will tell you that. But that's why we have scouting networks and rely on the likes of MoJo, Carver and the senior players with experience abraod (eg, Brennan) to convince players to give it a shot. Besides which, I think we always need to be looking inside and outside the league to improve the TFC squad. It's just that trading inside the league for top players invariably means giving a player up in return, and we don't really want to do that right now, especially an important player. Hence my preference for looking outside the league right now for a top CB in January, because we can keep our existing players that way, and add (cheap) depth to the squad through the draft.

Note - the De Ro trade was an exception, no-one saw that coming in terms of what we had to give up to secure him!

[jloome]

jloome: Too bad it'd require Mo to try and deal with Chicago.

- Scott

Time heals all wounds, especially when there's money to be made. But you might be right. Nonetheless, Brown woudl surely have a say in it, and he'd be a lock to start here.