Salas update
By: Tom | June 9th, 2007
I don’t usually like to reproduce news from the Trib’s excellent Red Card blog – I have confidence that you, dear reader, are far more likely to check that Fire blog more than my own anyway – but it’s worth doing so today as Luis has added a note to his entry on the Salas negotiations that it’d be easy to miss if one weren’t as obsessed with checking Fire news every other second as I am.
Here’s his scoop and correction:
According to Fire coach Dave Sarachan, the team spoke with Chilean striker Marcelo Salas and his representatives on Wednesday.
“There’s still dialogue with his people,” Sarachan said. “We’re going to continue talking with him and his people in the next 24-48 hours to see if we can come to a conclusion.
“We hear good things from his side, but it’s going to come down to a financial offer.”
Is the team considering trading for a designated player spot to acquire Salas?
“No,” responded Sarachan without hesitation.
[CORRECTION ON SALARIES: From what the Fire tells me, the team could pay a player the maximum ($400,000) and increase that salary by using available allocation money--all without needing a second designated player spot.]
So, that’s interesting. I didn’t see the Fire signing a guy once transferred for $18 million and still only 32 without using a designated player spot, which made me seriously doubt they could get him when I saw Luis’ original Sarachan quote. But the correction makes me confident a deal can be done.
I can’t say I understand, being new to MLS, what “available allocation money” actually means, and how much of it the Fire might have. Is this similar to the Landon Donovan situation in LA? Can anyone help out a Brit? In exchange, I’ll let you know what black pudding is made of.
Picture credit: Many thanks to Fire fan Farid Andres Farias, who took the above picture with Marcelo Salas in Fire training gear on June 1st, during his visit to Toyota Park.
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Comments
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You get allocation money when you lose a player to another team. For example, the league gave Chicago compensation (”allocation money”) when they lost Carlos Bocanegra to Fulham and DaMarcus Beasley to PSV Eindhoven. Another example is when Damani Ralph was sold to FC Rubin Kazan in Russia.
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Nobody wants to know what black pudding is made of here.
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United States -
Ah, thanks Steven. I wonder how much the Fire have available, then.
Anthony – I’ll have a pictorial explanation of black pudding up soon.
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United States -
The Fire are desperate and need somebody who can score. This was obviated last night by the pathetic offensive Barrett/Carr tandem.
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