The Chivas USA Farewell Tour Thread (2014 MLS Thread)

[GoGo Yubari]

The Earthquakes are really awful, though. But hey, diversity in EWB supporters is good!

Full MLS All-Star Game Roster:

Goalkeeper: Bill Hamid (D.C. United), Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake)

Defenders: Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City), Aurélien Collin (Sporting Kansas City), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Chad Marshall (Seattle Sounders FC), Michael Parkhurst (Columbus Crew), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle Sounders FC)

Midfielders: Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle Sounders FC), Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Michael Bradley (Toronto FC), Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC), Will Johnson (Portland Timbers), Diego Valeri (Portland Timbers), Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City)

Forwards: Jermain Defoe (Toronto FC), Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy), Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls), Robbie Keane (LA Galaxy), Obafemi Martins (Seattle Sounders FC), Erick Torres (Chivas USA), Bradley Wright-Phillips (New York Red Bulls)

CUBO

Happy for the Sounders that got picked, though ohhhh god that's more fixture congestion for basically the core of our team.

[Meacon Keaton]

Besler and Zusi both signed long term extensions with Sporting KC. Glad to see them staying home.

Also lol where are all the Philly all-stars

[Szumi]

We had a guy who could've been an All-Star... then we traded him for a "#9" local boy who most experts think won't even end up as a striker because he's really not that good.

[Meacon Keaton]

See, Bluey? It's fun on this side. :/

[Blue Rosler]

I don't know how comes you're so bad, you had Freddy Adu. He's a cheat player :/

[Blue Rosler]

The Earthquakes are really awful, though. But hey, diversity in EWB supporters is good!

I'm a West Ham fan - being really awful is par for the course.

Just looking at the squads, those four seemed the most appealing to me.

[GoGo Yubari]

Xavi is apparently also joining NYCFC, so if he and Lampard both sign I have to imagine that's all three DP spots filled for NYCFC then and there.

DaMarcus Beasley is reported to be in serious talks with MLS and would bypass the allocation order, which is... weird if he's able to do it and Jermaine Jones reportedly isn't.

[Lineker]

What exactly is the allocation order and how does it work?

[GoGo Yubari]

Basically when a player who has been part of the USA national team player pool (including the youth teams) or a player who transferred out of the league (i.e. the team they played on received compensation for their leaving) returns, they're subject to a draft order that resets every year, with the team that did the worst the previous season having first dibs on getting the player if they want. If they take them, they go to the back of the line. However, like any other draft it's possible to trade with a team to get their spot in that order if a team further down wants a player or wants to be in a better position to get one that season. The reason why it exists in the first place is because MLS strives to be a parity league and they didn't want, say, LA Galaxy to just have their pick of national teamers returning to the league at the expense of everyone else.

An example of all of this this happening this year is Seattle acquiring Marco Pappa this year. At the end of last season they had traded Mauro Rosales (who I still love and miss and wish the best to) to Chivas USA for Tristan Bowen and Chivas' spot in the allocation order in 2014, which since Chivas is terrible was #2. So when Pappa decided to return to MLS this season, Seattle opted to take him.

BUT, to make this even more complicated, if a certain player is deemed by the league and the various team owners to be valuable enough to bypass the allocation order then they pretty much can. The actual first example of this was Claudio Reyna joining NYRB on a DP contract in 2007, but MLS supporters have pretty much taken to calling it the Dempsey Rule because the most high-profile example was Clint Dempsey pretty much having his say of what team he was going to go to because he's Clint Dempsey. Michael Bradley this year was the same way, and apparently Beasley will be too.

tl;dr MLS pretty much changes the rules regarding roster spots and player acquisition whenever it suits them. It's unbelievably confusing and Calvinball-esque, but usually the changes do make a sort of sense and are generally done in mind of being able to attract better players or hold on to good players who might move overseas otherwise.

[Lineker]

Right, makes total sense, got it.

[HailtotheYo]

Chicago is apparently first in line for Beasley and there's a couple of other teams "lined up" after that ... or something.

The Xavi reports are everywhere now ... not surprising, but a bit odd. I knew they'd splash and I knew there'd be veteran presence .... but Lamps, Xavi, Villa seem a bit too "veteran." Thought they'd surely make one of the DP signings a bit younger.

[HailtotheYo]

Beasley down to Philly, Houston and New York.

— MLS Transfers (@MLSTransfers)

July 23, 2014

[Meacon Keaton]

I knew that we'd be in the Beasley Sweepstakes.

[HailtotheYo]

Well Fabinho can't decide if he's a LB, LM, or just sucks.

[GoGo Yubari]

Apparently it's going to be Houston. AEG dropping significant money on a Dynamo purchase is the most shocking news of the summer MLS-wise.

[GoGo Yubari]

Turns out Beasley was subject to the allocation order after all. Houston traded Warren Creavalle to Toronto for their spot to get him.

[Szumi]

Well I'm glad he isn't coming to Philly. While still a good player, I'd rather play one of Gaddis or Williams on the left. Philly desparately needs a real center back, seeing as we don't even have one mediocre one. They need to get Carlos Valdes back, ASAP. Seriously, if Philly would've kept JacMac plus getting Valdes back, they'd be a contender in the East.

[Beeker00Zero]

GoGo is a filthy Seattle man and therefore one of my arch-enemies.

While I'm here, could someone send the Vancouver Whitecaps a potent finisher? I'd almost accept Camillo back at this point if he wants to escape the Mexican Prison Team he isn't really playing for.

[HailtotheYo]

GoGo is a filthy Seattle man and therefore one of my arch-enemies.

While I'm here, could someone send the Vancouver Whitecaps a potent finisher? I'd almost accept Camillo back at this point if he wants to escape the Mexican Prison Team he isn't really playing for.

They were confirmed as inquiring about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwame_Karikari ... don't know where that is though.

[HailtotheYo]

And official ... Lamps is a NYCFC player, 2yrs deal.