Apologies if this is already elsewhere. Found it fascinating:
http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer...eke_kelly.html
And yes, I think Kelly has some inside sources :P
The backstory of Defoe/Bradley deals
Apologies if this is already elsewhere. Found it fascinating:
http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer...eke_kelly.html
And yes, I think Kelly has some inside sources :P
Yup already read it, very interesting. Even LBJ was involved...
Of course parts of it could be a snow job. Was Defoe really their top target? Who knows? Maybe he was #5? It would still be best to spin it like they are. Good story in any case!
Last edited by Auzzy; 01-24-2014 at 08:06 PM.
very interesting that another team was willing to bid the 50 mil that was needed but Bradley didn't want to go. Maybe Columbus with new ownership made that bid?Originally Posted by Borga
Great piece in the star!
Still yet to be proven.
I'm no fan of Kelly but this is a great article. Especially like the information about how we were after Gilardino and Defoe at the same time.
According to Ives it was SKC. Understandable why Bradley chose Toronto over Kansas City.
That article is amazing. So much behind the scenes info that we spent months speculating about. Kelly outdid himself.
I wonder if Gilardinho is more upset now that the money was available for Bradley but not him?
Forget Drake, he got Lebron to put in a word for us. Talk about pulling strings. Leiweke is a hero.
Amazing stuff
While no exposé, a few heads will role because of this article. Fun to read though.
Thanks for the article, that is amazing.
I think that I don't hate Cathel Kelly anymore.
"Leiweke pressed Nelsen for names to add. Nelsen submitted a list of 100 international players he’d like to buy. Between them, they whittled it down to 10."
I would love to have seen that list of 100
WE DID IT!
Why do you think heads will roll?
There should be a shrine erected in both these guys honour. Absolute classic
When did Ives say that? also did he give any reasons why he turned down SKC?
I think that there are some names associated with disclosing information that related parties might not wish to have disclosed. There is a reason we don't often get an inside view of the inner workings of MLS, FIFA rules, agents, owners manipulating parents and other conniving tactics used in professional sports. Just my opinion. But I'm sticking with it.
None of this surprises me. What surprises me is that Kelly names names and some will interpret the details to suggest that some actors were disingenuous or devious. I would be surprised if there weren't a few names mentioned in the article that would prefer that some of this information wasn't made public.
Nothing more. But, in hindsight, maybe "heads will roll" was overstated.
http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/...sage-to-league
oh nice... thanks for that
Fascinating insight.
TL is a master at what he does, this guy has some serious connections.
Very interesting indeed. Gotta give TL and the Bez major props for this one.
Last sentence in that article should be something we should worry about? TFC FO pissed off a lot of MLS owners and teams by "overpaying" for Bradley and Defoe. Now players are going to have higher asking price and use Toronto DP's as examples. Also, I wonder how much TFC DP's signing play a role when CBA expires next year.
Last edited by TFC07; 01-24-2014 at 09:59 PM.
Man that reads like a bank heist novel...don't know who had more fun with this, kelly writing the piece, Big Tim and Little Tim making the deal or me reading the said article.
Wow! Cathal! That came out of left field. I don't particularly like the guy but he CLEARLY knows some people who like him down at MLSE hq.
So Leiweke is buddies with Lebron/his agent eh?... Lebron and Drake are buddies too.... It's impossible. It can't happen. It'd never happen... But after reading that article, dollars to donuts Timmy's gonna do his best this summer to try and talk LBJ into a move. THAT would be crazy.
All in all, A+ article. Is it March yet? (Also how about the members of the Italian soccer community being involved with Gilardino? Guess that whole storyline can be put to bed)
That's what I was thinking when I was reading the article.
It seemed to hit all the major points that I was made aware of. My wife and I read laughing out loud as all the names hit on our recollection of the timeline. Defoe's name hit my attention radar around late September, so its been a slog for them.
Road Trips: July 7 2007 Chicago, July 22nd 2007 Columbus, August 11 2007 NY, October 13 2007 LA, March 29 2008 Columbus, May 24th 2008 DC, May 26 2008 Montreal, June 28th 2008 NE, March 7-11-14 2009 Charleston, March 28 2009 Columbus, April 10 2010 New England, May 12 2010 Montreal, April 7 2012 Montreal, March 16 2013 Montreal , June 3 2014 Montreal, March 14 2015 Columbus
Twitter: @RPBPhil
Excellent read, and the most enjoyable TFC related article since the inception of the franchise.
We can now say that stranger things have happened. If anyone can pull it off, it is Leiweke.
Next team that tries to land those kinds of players can worry, to quote Alfred E Newman 'what me worry?'
WE DID IT!
someone has to start taking the training wheels off the league.. TL is the man
Good. I want the rest of the league to be pissed off, how about some of those owners actually open up their pocket books up for once(Other than the LA,NY,SEA etc) instead of using it as a tax write off. Fuck them, were going to buy a cup and they can sulk all they want.
I agree that there is way too much info in this story. Somebody might be upset.
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