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With reports circulating about transfer deals being completed for both FC Dallas midfielder Juan Toja and forward Kenny Cooper, but MLS All-Stars denied that deals were done while a team source told SBI that multiple teams have made strong inquiries about Cooper.
Reports surfaced on Thursday citing quotes from Toja where he stated that he was set to leave for Romania on Saturday to sign a contract with Steaua Bucharest. Toja denied every saying that and clarified that no deal is in place.
“People talk a lot and I’ve tried to make it clear that while it is a great opportunity and we’re trying to get it done, nothing is certain yet,” Toja said after Thursday’s MLS All-Star Game. “The truth is nothing has happened and nothing has been signed so until something is signed then we don’t know what will happen.”
Cooper was less direct in his denial, simply stating that he was unaware of any deal being done.
"I don’t know about anything being done," Cooper said of a potential transfer to Norwegian club Rosenborg. "I tried to stay focus on this game. It’s been the highlight of my career and I just wanted to enjoy the three days in the week."
Cooper has been linked to a move to Norwegian club Rosenborg, but a source told SBI that Rosenborg is just one of three teams that have expressed interest in the All-Star striker.
Toja’s move is not a guaranteed deal either. With the current bid sitting at $700,000, the transfer could stall if FC Dallas decides the bid isn’t high enough for a young midfielder with two years left on is contract.
What do you think about Toja and Cooper possibly both leaving this summer? Do you think Rosenborg would be a good destination for Cooper? Should FC Dallas hold on to both players?
Share your thoughts below
and when i say jump up the ranks of a quality league, im refering to being able to pay quality $$ for our players and put forth qualtiy teams… im not saying in 1 or 2 decades we’d be comparable to top flight europe, but pointing out that we’ll be much much better then right now
BJR- i know his posts after yours were personal, hence y i didnt read them nor did i comment about them….
“Sure, that is a valid point, BUT it has NOTHING to do with either of my posts”
yes (jacking the cap) has everything to do with your first post… how else are we going to keep our players in our league to continue the growth?? b/c they are going abroad b/c of hopes of 2 things: fame and glory, and MONEY…. if we cant compete with lower leagues as far as money goes, how can we keep players like Noonan, Perkins, Pickens, Toja, Cooper, etc. on our rosters?? that is the point you failed to respond to… Kpugs’ original post was pointing out that we are growing as fast as we dare attempt, b/c too much growth could destroy us faster then not enough growth…
players will always leave… simple as that… we dont have the competitive field here in the states they have in europe… we dont have the $$ yet… we dont have the support…. but its all growing.. our league is getting bigger and bigger… the $$ is flowing faster and faster.. and its only a matter of time (at least a decade or 2) before we can truely jump up the ranks as a quality league… at the moment we are a feeder league… plain n’ simple
quite frankly, im not too concerned with the “fans” who grew up watching foreign leagues… if they lose interest, they lose interest…. the fans im looking for as in the growth of our league will be the youth players that come to the games and watch the current squad…
so in otherwords, if your interest in this league fails you, then by all means watch soccer abroad…. the true fans stick through with their teams through thick and thin….
Brett, some clarification follows:
“BJR- what point was there to be made?? that your interest lowers when the better players leave abroad?? ok, what would you do to rectify that problem??”
The point I was referring to was not from my first post, it was from the second. That is, Kpugs tends to come off as a pompous, condescending, know-it-all pr*ck, which for me- and apparently others who commented- detracts from the overall enjoyment of reading Ives’ fantastic blog.
Regarding my first post, my point is that if you sell too many players, then the level of play on the field suffers, and the interest of the fans diminishes. Only recently has the level of play on the field across the league been such that I could actually get through an entire game without being bored out my mind(If there isn’t a quality product on the field, then growth won’t be fostered). My hunch is that the same applies for other fans who grew up following the USMNT and the other euro leagues who are *trying* to be interested in the league. I want nothing more than for futbol to succeed and thrive in the states because I want a quality league to follow that captures my attention and the rest of the world’s.
“Kpugs makes a valid point… everyone who posts similar posts as yours always talk about jacking up the cap so that we can keep these players… kpugs describes the problem with that… while the MLS may have plenty of money, the league is not profitable team to team… if we see years where expenses outweighs the profits we are bound to see an implosion….”
Sure, that is a valid point, BUT it has NOTHING to do with either of my posts! I never claimed that the league should dramatically increase the salary cap, and I don’t pretend to be an expert on the business side of soccer.
“but in all honesty that post was before Kpugs anyhow…”
Exactly!
“and your post after his was nothing more then a personal attack with no content anyhow”
Yeah, it was a little snarky, but if you want to see a personal attack then read the feces that was spewing forth from Kpugs freakish replies.
I’m not here for a pissing contest…
lakaix15 – i wonder what doubling the cap would do to the +’s and -‘s of the profitability of the league…. from what i understand its the league that pays the player salaries not the teams themselves…
and also, with the double pay rate are we going to see larger foreign investments (players) getting paid more $$ while lowly americans making DEV contracts live in squaller?? if we are raising the cap, then we need to raise the DEV… simple as that…
@kpugs…. in my post i was not looking to go as far as NASL paying players or pay everyone beckham money…. well in 2009 when mls and the PU have to make a new contract im hopeing to see the salery cap raise to 5 million…. and i believe every ownership should be very comportable with a 5 million cap…. and thats dubble what the cap is now…. and with that i belive better players will come and more fans will come….
you have to look at this the dollar is falling and if we are going to keep these crappy salerys…. then we wount have the talent pool to have enough to keep MLS running because theyll all go to teams like in romania and ukraine and etc. even though the league is worse but they can make much more money
hey im not asking a dream salery cap of 10 million which i would love to see but i see that in 5 -10 years…. and if the dollar keeps on falling then maybe sooner….
there is no need to bash me with your childish behavior so please stop….
and as the top team in romania going for Toja yes they would be one of the top teams in MLS but the rest of the romanian league is garbage if we are going to let TOP players go for 700k then i dont know where we are going and as for kenny yes rosenburg is a good team champions league team but i still say the MLS is a stronger league by the table top to bottom is more competative in MLS
-lakaix15
@Betinho
If the quality of the domestic league indicated the quality of the national team, England probably would have at least qualified for Europe this year.
Is kpugs a real name? What are you Brazilian? I thought real names were capitalized and came in pairs.
BJR- what point was there to be made?? that your interest lowers when the better players leave abroad?? ok, what would you do to rectify that problem??
Kpugs makes a valid point… everyone who posts similar posts as yours always talk about jacking up the cap so that we can keep these players… kpugs describes the problem with that… while the MLS may have plenty of money, the league is not profitable team to team… if we see years where expenses outweighs the profits we are bound to see an implosion….
but in all honesty that post was before Kpugs anyhow… and your post after his was nothing more then a personal attack with no content anyhow
Kpugs,
Thanks for reiterating my point repeatedly.
You never answered my question though…
In the future if you’d like to have a go at me (which I wouldn’t mind if there was just a little civility involved- wait, is this Bigsoccer?), please refrain from baseless character assassination and wild speculation (I’m 17, I’ve watched 1 game in my entire life, etc.), and keep it constrained to the content of MY posts.
Love,
BJR
Sam – I think fans are used to player movement. Free agency has been around for a long time. I’m not sure that has that much of an affect on fan base anymore. That’s just my opinion. I will follow a certain team to the depths of hell (unless Brett Favre end up as it’s QB) no matter who plays for them. It takes time to build a base like that.
I don’t know much about Viborg but they must be pretty bad – lol.
I used to live in Denmark, and I don’t think Scandinavian leagues are better than MLS from top to bottom. At best, they are on par, but I think that’s a heavy statement. Like other leagues in Europe, they are top heavy, and the top teams like Rosenborg or FC Kobenhavn (even though it was a bad year last year) are better than any MLS team. Some of the bottom teams are quite awful to watch, and I’d much rather watch the current Red Bull team than a team like Viborg.
Bottom line, MLS needs to somehow get to the point that it can keep guys like Noonan, who has some name recognition and is consistently starting. The current high player turnover makes it tough for new fans to get passionate about a team.
One can raise their points and make their arguments on this site without being a d**k. There’s a fine line there that some people enjoy crossing.
He guys (gals too), lets all post our info online so some pseudo intellectual can berate us. He is so wise and omniscient why do we even bother posting? At 4’11, displaying the classic Napoleon complex, KPUGS rules the blogosphere with his cyber iron fist.
Seriously Ives, love the blog, read it religiously, post occasionally, but guys like this have gotta go…
Okay, a few of you made some decent points, bringing up the NASL and its quick demise. However, I am against our teams selling their two biggest draws for peanuts. 700k? Without Toja or Cooper FCD could lose thousands in attendance per game.
Lets say 2000 fans (although without toja and cooper i bet it would be more) decide not to show up to games anymore because their favorite players left. Lets assume that with tickets, parking, food and drink that each fan averages 35 bucks per game with 13 games left in the regular season.
2,000 x 35 = $70,000 less per game x 13 games = $910,000
Personally, I think i used low numbers. I think FCD would lose more than 2,000 fans per game and I think that the average fan spends more than 35 bucks per game, but I wanted to keep it low.
My point is: If you are going to sell your fan favorites, you better be thinking more than 700k. And if I recall correctly, FCD would get a percentage of that 700k with the MLS getting the rest.
PS. Kpugs, your first point was valid, but as whoever pointed it out, you do come off as a snob who is very insecure. Remember, its the internet. Don’t let it bother you.
“Steaua Bucharest is a top romanian team and the qualify for the champions league each year but they dont make it past qualifying to groups each year becasue there not that good”
Um, Steaua made the group stage the past two years.
I can’t believe I’m doing this but I do back you 100% kpugs. I am so sick of the folks who want to rip everything wrong with MLS and up the salary cap and dismiss the NASL angle.
This league has a couple of bit TV contracts, no exposure in mainstream media, either here or abroad. Last year was the first year anyone outside the US had even heard of it. And its not through exhibitions agianst Prem teams in July that the profile will be raised. Its by sellign quality players ot other leagues so that people suddenly go: ‘hmmmmm there seems to eb some quality coming out of NA maybe I’ll start paying attention’.
So Juan and Kenny go build your carreers in Europe. Playa couple Champs League games net a goal against a big club and have your career blow up. Ultimately it is good for MLS becaseu we are still early on in this thing.
Oh yeah, and if you’re whining about the rules and what not you sure has heck better be investiong in the league too. Buy tickets buy jerseys, tune in to out of market games.
ok…kpugs
Like betinho & brett I understand your point in the first post and in fact I agree 100% with it. However you seem to be a serial blogger with your childish attitude. “Email me I dare you” And calling people names that I haven’t heard since I was at recess. You SEEM have a wealth of soccer knowledge, however when you announce to everyone just how well informed you are, it actually makes you look more insecure. Spare me on the “email me *****” or “you brought up no facts” because the fact is I thought your first post was a classy one, but your next couple you handled like Chad Barrett with a ball in front of an open goal…
How awful is Dallas going to be without those two (and McCarty now in the Olympics)?
@ Steve – The top teams in each league have their merits. I think the question is more about the league top to bottom. I don’t have much of an opinion on the Romanian league or the Norwegian league because I follow them. I still wonder why Norway doesn’t have a stronger national team if the league is at the level mentioned above. That’s serious not taking a shot…
@Brett – I totally agree that the DEV contracts have to come up. If the MLS does that the USL will not be beating the MLS in USOC so consistantly and TFC might be in this years CL.
As far as rankings go, I tend to agree with you Betinho, but without knowing too much about the Romanian league, that’s all I have to go by and I’m sure it’s not complete BS. I would imagine it’s at least in the ballpark based on results.
@Betinho,
Rosenborg actually did fairly well in last season’s Champions League. They beat Schalke and Valencia and had a draw against Chelsea in the group stages and missed advancing by only 1 point.
Betinho – the problem we’ll see is that players will always go overseas, but perhaps we could avoid the players who go to equal or lesser teams just to pick up the paycheck… perhaps in 10 years we’ll see some decent salaries and our players wont have to look for jobs after playing soccer… but the US is very business minded, i would be surprised if the salary caps stay this low do to profitablity
kpugs- with posts like that you’re bound to knock me off Public Enemy #1….
but i agree with you… id rather our league thrive then bankrupt… all the people who think we should up the cap by tens of millions dont have their head on straight… until the MLS get a lucrative TV deal and more then 2 teams become profitable, then i say we only up the salary by meagar amounts….
in fact, ill even add to that… they increase the salary cap by a million but also raise the DEV contract amount… 13-19k is simply not enough for our kids to be living off of… i know they have other incentives, but they could work at McDonalds and earn as much…. obviously they are developmental contracts but at least give them enough to live somewhat comfortably….
Steve, IMO the likes of UEFA, FIFA and CONCACAF, in regards to ranking teams, are a joke. The basis of my argument would be FIFA’s continual ranking Mexico ahead of the USA when EVERYONE knows we own Mexico 😉
kpugs,
your origional post here make a lot of sense. I agree with that the league needs to grow slowly. IMO it’s great the MLS is having these types of problems. i just hope they can come up with some inventive ways to solve them. i don’t want the league to implode either. It’s thin line they are having to walk.
I don’t know much about the NOrwegian league so it’s good to hear people saying how good it is. I do have a question though…why don’t we ever see Norway in the big international tourney’s if the league is on level with Denmark and better than Sweden’s?
According to the UEFA league coefficient rankings which determines the amount of teams that qualify for UEFA cup and Champs League, Romania’s league is above Portugal, Netherlands, Scotland, Turkey, Belgium, and Greece.
Also Steaua’s Club Coefficient was 55 before last season’s champions league. That coefficient is similar to what Marseille, Lazio, Stuttgart, CSKA Moscow, and Sporting Lisbon had at that time and higher than Rangers, Fenerbahce, and a number of other solid clubs.
At least according to some numbers on a computer screen, I would think that points to Steaua being a step up from MLS.
Arguably, the Welsh league is also in the Top 10. Arguably …
kpugs, you have always been a giant douche and the last 2 blog post comments sections have proven that may have been a grossly underestimated conclusion. Congrats.
Put the bottle down and take a nap, chief.
FCD should dump them both if they have good offers as soon as possible and use the allocation money to begin rebuilding. They are going anywhere this year and should start working now for next year.
Rosenborg BK is one of the greatest clubs in Scandinavia, and the Norwegian league is a step up from MLS. The league is a window for the big leagues in Europe. The english, spanish, italian, french, dutch and german leagues pick players from the Norwegian league. The next player leaving RBK is the Swedish national player, Fredrik Stoor, who will be transfered to Fulham, England, on Monday the 28. of July.
I hope Kenny Cooper choose RBK and a nice city like Trondheim for the next years in his career. (www.trondheim.com)
We welcome you !!!!
Internet: Serious Business
burp. yum.
Norway’s league is better than MLS. So’s Denmark’s. We’re definitely better than the Swedish Allsvenskan, though. (Charlie Davies is actually ripping it up with 7 goals at Hammarby)
Norway’s league is better than MLS. So’s Denmark’s. We’re definitely better than the Swedish Allsvenskan, though. (Charlie Davies is actually ripping it up with 7 goals at Hammarby)
Where is the super-intelligent reply from BJR? He is so smart. But too cowardly to bother sending me a line.
And finally, I regret all of these arguments. Fact is, if you are my age or younger and born in the USA, you are most likely a joke to me in terms of how you follow this sport.
So stupid self-important douches, drop me a line. kpugs7@gmail.com. I will accept your apologies at our next tailgate while feeding you food and beer.
This is NOT me being mean unless you are an idiot. But that’s how this sport rolls here. Thank Christ it’s not race cars and random animals.
Oh and just in case no noe saw it, kpugs7@gmail.com. Any little girls who want to have it out feel free.
If you know nothing about anything like the guy named BJR who is too cowardly to even use hsi real name or login, and who is too cowardly to email me, that’s fine.
Just know if you are in that pathetic group I disdain you, and think of you as pathetic. Run your mouth all you want but when you literally display stupidity, sorry. I’m roasting you. At least if you have a sack it will be private.
Ives, I’m sorry man. I didn’t realize my admittedly strong opinion would spark people to target me (stupidly). I really am sorry. Trust me, this idiot watched his first game today.
BJR, you ever think of actually posting your name or email address?
Or for that matter, ever raising a topical point?
Oh, no of course not You’d rather pretend to be smart. Lovely job. Let me know when you have something to say. That doesn’t involve zero facts. Hahahaha. Does it bother you that I know you literally don’t follow the sport? Because that’s how stupid you sound.
Great job…You are so smart you literally have no idea what’s going on. If you have a set of nuts feel free to email me, keep in mind I post my email address constantly you little p***y. Go ahead and email me, and as I roast you I will post every single email online.
No come on, go ahead. I beg you. You smug piece of crap. I know more about American soccer than you can ever hope to understand. And if you don’t email me? Well of course I’ll just keep bringing it up. I’ll just keep saying how terrified you are of actually logging in and/or sending me an email. Go ahead, it’s all getting posted in this blog at my earilest convenience.
But we all know what will happen. You’ll post anonymously because you’re 17. And you know NOTHING about soccer or hte NASL. Congrats my friend. You are one of the best.
Kpugs, do you ever reread your posts and think, ‘wow, I’m kind of a reactionary, snot-nosed jerk’?
“Look I’m only 28 and I know I sound like an old fart. But if anyone complaining here doesn’t know the history of the NASL and why that league collapsed when it had some of the biggest stars in the history of the planet, *then maybe you’re not true fans of the game*. I’m too young to have gone to NASL games despite my family having season tickets. *But I’m not too stupid* to realize they paid players far more than they could afford.”
I.E. Feel free to donate some money to your favorite team if you’re going to whine. Or at the very least add a little bit of “but it’s not the league’s fault” when you say “MLS SALARIES SUCK…..”
I like the open endedness. Do yourself a favor and study the league and teams, attendance, etc. before you start demanding they hand out money willy nilly.
In a way I agree with you guys. MLS is arguably a top 10 league in the world (hey jerks, I used the word ‘arguably’ for a reason, chill out).
Neither Norway nor Romania are even close. Having said that, salaries are salaries. At least MLS is slowly moving in the right direction. At least these crappy teams MLS players go to to get paid profit. I am not defending the pathetic salaries here.
But answer a simple question. Would you rather see players leave and go to inferior leagues to make some money, or would you rather MLS go bankrupt and dissolve? That’s an easy question for me. Apparently some of you guys would rather bankrupt the league.
Look I’m only 28 and I know I sound like an old fart. But if anyone complaining here doesn’t know the history of the NASL and why that league collapsed when it had some of the biggest stars in the history of the planet, then maybe you’re not true fans of the game. I’m too young to have gone to NASL games despite my family having season tickets. But I’m not too stupid to realize they paid players far more than they could afford.
Salary cap sucks? Yes. Max salary sucks? Yes. But we are slowly, slowly, slowly moving forward. It does no good to complain at this point in time. Just pray if you are a fan of the team losing players that they get some coin for it.
wow from jozy 10 mil transfer to spanish power house
to
toja going for 700k to a league that is worse then mls (yes i do follow the romanian league)….Steaua Bucharest is a top romanian team and the qualify for the champions league each year but they dont make it past qualifying to groups each year becasue there not that good…. i bet even a mls side can make it to a champions league group stage…. this is bad for the league
and as for cooper he should stay in mls because mls is also a beeter league…. but then again, MLS SALERIES SUCK….
I watched the ASG asking myself who is going to be left. Rumors have been out there that landon, buddle, toja, cooper, pablo m., brek shea and more. The problem is that for every domestic player sold, no matter for however much, the team cant spend that all on a player. only a small amount can go back to a player and a portion more can go to tranfer fees, but it leaves you trying to fill a hole for the same problem. Since there is a limmit to how much domestic talent is available it leaves teams to look for internationals. The value on an international is no where close. example: If a domestic player costs $50.00 an international of the same talent level would cost $150.00. Obviously those arent realistic numbers but u get the point. So if you care about the league making money and being profitable the fact that were producing players to sell is great. but, if you like to watch the games and were hoping the league would progress this will be a huge kick in the groin if it keeps up.
If the league choses to continue to sell its players the league will result in a team of old and young project players and nothing inbetween with any talent. If they had it they’d go too
It’s a tough situation for FCD:
On one hand, 700k isn’t enough for the type of player Toja can be. On the other, 700k is a good offer for the Toja we’ve seen this year. It’s an absolute joke that he was an all-star this year; he didn’t deserve it with his play,
As for Cooper, I think the club has to either sell him or give him a massive (relatively of course) pay hike. 80,000 per year isn’t even close to market value for a big, young striker, even in MLS.
A lot of other reports have the offer for Toja at 1.5 mil.
It’d be bad for MLS to let them go for cheap. Toja should be worth at least $1 million, and maybe a shade more based on his contract length. MLS shouldn’t let Cooper go for less than $2.5 million to $3 million.
I get worried when I see good, exciting players leave our league to make lateral moves abroad. The Tippeligaen isn’t really better than MLS.
I hope Cooper doesn’t go to Rosenborg. If he must go, hopefully he goes to one of the top tier leagues.
As much as I want him to go and develop in a top league, watching players like him, Jozy, and potentially Donovan (even though he had one his no-show games, F**K!) leave lowers my interest in the league. Gotta have some yanks to root for out there…
This week has been super-painful. I mean, there’s not much worse than losing your top scorer, and your top draw, right? Right?
—
http://www.los-toros.com/2008/07/24/top-11-things-that-could-make-this-week-worse-for-fc-dallas/#comments
They should hold out for more money for each of them. I think Toja is worth at least 1 million (because of potential and length of contract left) and Cooper should be around 1.5-2 million.
as a HUGE kenny cooper fan..id love to see him go somewhere where he can start as opposed to being buried on the bench. dont want to see a Freddy adu situation.