Top Stories

D.C. passes on option to buy Davies

CharlieDavies (ISIPhotos.com)

In a move that hardly came as a surprise, D.C. United has passed on the option to buy Charlie Davies' contract from French club Sochaux.

The club announced the decision on Thursday, but it had been clear for months that Davies future didn't lie with D.C. The team is still in talks with Davies about potential options, but if Davies does return to MLS in 2012, it would be on loan to another team in the league and not D.C. United.

Davies endured  roller-coaster season with D.C. United, scoring 11 goals, but he finished the season on the bench for D.C. after what sources called a falling out with D.C. head coach Ben Olsen.

What's next for Davies is unclear. What is clear is he will not return to D.C. United, and while a return to MLS with another club is a possibility (multiple clubs are interested in acquiring him), Davies could also return to Europe this winter. If he does stay in MLS, interested teams would have to work out a trade with D.C., which still holds his rights.

What do you think of this development? Disappointed that it didn't work out for Davies in D.C.? Would you like your team to make a run at Davies? Think he needs to go back to Europe?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. I hear América is looking for forwards. He will get paid way more in the FMF, then we can prove to him that MLS was a better place for him when Chivas USA or DC United go to the Azteca and beat him in CONCACAF Champions League.

    Reply
  2. You are right about him needing more time. In the right situation he should be better next year. In fact,during his time at United I thought he was a more polished player technically, than I remember him being for the US.

    But as Shane points out below Davies also managed to fritter away a lot of the good will he had built up with his petulant behavior. You did not see Gooch or Stu Holden act like Davies during their recovery stints.

    For Davies the goal should be getting good enough to be an MLS regular, then a Ligue 1 regular and then a USMNT regular but Charlie is an impatient, entitled kind of guy and he doesn’t do a good job of hiding it.

    It’s hard to avoid the impression that he is a jerk.

    Reply
  3. At least Bradley did not have his guys roll around on the ground like they were on fire with fake injuries or have Howard become a human rain delay on goal kicks.

    Believe me there are about 100 more unsavory ways to waste time than putting the ball in the corner and fooling around with it.

    Reply
  4. Too bad you aren’t a doctor.

    Then it would be easier to re-adjust your ADD medication. Or if you were an eye doctor you could check your vision. Or you could have a friend, if you have any, read what I actually wrote instead of what you think I wrote.

    Here, I’ll help you:

    ” Gocch, who injured his knee shortly after Davies had his accident, is only now beginning to play a bit like his old self. One could argue that Davies’ injury was more traumatic.”

    Reply
  5. You weren’t ever really thinking this NATO guy knew anything were you ?

    I understand..easy slip..like me, you probably had a holiday party last night.

    Reply
  6. Charlie Davies had all the talent in the world and threw it away. Then, he had all the good will in the world from his fans and every one of his coaches, and he threw that away as well. Really sad.

    Reply
  7. This was his first full season since laying on his death bed and having to learn how to walk all over again.

    Let’s give the kid some more time. It’s not like he is coming back from a broken bone. It will take him a few seasons to get back to 100%. He showed glimpses of his old self this season. I still have faith.

    Reply
  8. One could argue Gooch’s injures were more traumatic than Davies?

    Is that even a serious statement?

    Davies had internal/external/emotional damages from a horrific car accident. Gooch’s injury occurs every other week in professional sports.

    The only comparison is they both have two pair of eyes and two pairs of ears.

    Reply
  9. When he first came back and started to score I pointed out how he was doing it and people jumped on me for being critical of his form. I never saw the strong play that he used to have. Hope one day he finds it.

    Reply
  10. Let me tell you, Americans like winning more than they dislike diving. I’ll take a dive or two if it means getting further in the World Cup. Frankly, I’ve been frustrated in the past with players who take a lot of fouls in the box and DON’T go down. I don’t know if its naive or dumb or what, but its not helping the team if they don’t take advantage of that situation by drawing a penalty kick.

    Bob Bradley encouraged the team to waste time at the end of the game by putting the ball in the corner. That was just as distasteful to me as diving, but hey if we win…

    Reply
  11. His story makes me feel for him, but his attitude on the pitch makes him seem like a jerk. I’m not sure he is the team player that Olsen is looking for.

    Reply
  12. This is a big deal. With all the cap space cleared, and Davies gone, this is going to be a massive off season with no trade bait (no Quaranta or Simms). Foreign acquisitions, shall we say, are not the FO’s forte, so Olsen better do his scouting magic.

    Reply
  13. Achieved the American dream because you earn it? Oh, pass me that Polly-Anna pipe you’re sucking on. Next you’re going to tell me dreams come true and puppies go to heaven….

    I will agree with you on this point, we as USA fans have a distaste for diving, faking injuries and time wasting and that is honorable. The fact that we call our players out for that is also honorable and we should do it. But I still think that folks are blowing it out of proportion with CD.

    Reply
  14. I don’t buy it. Nearly every striker does it at some point, I’ve never seen or heard of a ref not give a call because they’re on the lookout. Drawing a foul is part of the game and it’s a chance you take as the attacking player. Personally it’s a part of the game I hate but it’s a part of the game nonetheless. To say those goals aren’t legitimate is silly. Personally, I think a lot of folks have never forgiven Davies for his car wreck and that when there’s a chance to bring the knives out they do so gladly, or they’re still holding a grudge because he “got away with it” against their side. Again, silly.

    I will say this though, there is a beef brewing at DCU and Davies is a part of it, that will be more of a concern to a potential buyer than his diving. His ability to score will be what makes folks willing to take a chance on him.

    Reply
  15. Klinsmann wants to have the National team play in a style that represents our culture and one of those aspects is that Americans don’t like divers. Yes diving is part of the game yet fans in the US at MLS games boo players who dive and in some games I have attended they even booed their own home team players when they felt they dived. Just chalk it up to one aspect to how we expect to play the game. You are awarded the foul because your earned it just like you achieve the American dream because you earned it with some sweat, perseverance and yes sometimes a little luck.

    Reply
  16. It should be noted that despite what’s written in this piece above, it isn’t clear that Davies won’t end up with DC. It ain’t likely, but it’s still possible that they negotiate a new, cheaper loan.

    They don’t want him at 1.3 million, which isn’t surprising. Will Chang isn’t going to pay that for anyone, I think. If I had to guess, the team never had any intention of shelling out that kind of dough, unless Davies proved too good to pass up, lighting up the league like had never been done before. It might even explain why he was being held out — to drive Sochaux’s price way down. Or, maybe Olsen would just as soon not have him back, at any price.

    (SBI-He’s not going back to D.C., it’s not happening. He’s not going back to D.C. on another loan. If he stays in MLS, it’s with a different team. Book it.)

    Reply
  17. His play early on was good for DC, when he was coming on as a sub. Once the season hit May, Davies tanked big-time. He had one game where he lit up the scoreboard with a hat-trick — after sitting out almost a full month (the team was off for almost 3 weeks, and Davies was held out of another game to extend his break). Even in that game, he was mostly just in the right place to finish off Chris Pontius’ handiwork. Clearly, he’s not in condition to play a full season.

    Reply
  18. His loan is now over, with the option gone. However, any other team can work out a new loan. So can DCU. The thing is DCU controls his MLS rights, for now.

    Reply
  19. 1. B/c DCU doesn’t “own” him, Sochaux does. DCU only owns his MLS rights. Which they had to pay (allocation and order of selection) in order to get. So those rights are worth something.

    2. What was up was not his contract but his loan. So even if DCU decided they wanted him back, that doesn’t decide it. Sochaux gets a say in it as well.

    Sochaux may release him outright. Or keep him. Or loan him out in Europe. Or let him stay in MLS. Davies probably has an opinion on this but given the number of times that Goff has said he’s likely to look at another MLS team, that implies to me that the Sochaux isn’t expecting/counting on him on their side and/or Davies sees the value of being in MLS and getting PT.

    Reply
  20. 1. He scored 4 PKs.

    2. Only 2 of the PKs were on calls on him.

    3. So no, “half” of his goals didn’t come from diving or from PKs.

    Reply

Leave a Comment