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Whitecaps sign Middlesbrough’s Robson as Designated Player

Barry Robson (AP)

Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie has made no secret of his desire for a ball-winning central midfielder, and he may have found the man for the job.

According to reports, the Whitecaps will sign Middlesbrough midfielder Barry Robson on a free transfer once the Championship season concludes. Robson, a 33-year-old Scotsman, is known for being a tough-as-nails, left-footed midfielder who can also contribute to the attack.

(UPDATE- The Vancouver Whitecaps have announced the move, signing Robson as a Designated Player. He is expected to join the club in July pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and Visa.)

In his current season with Boro, Robson has scored six goals and added four assists in 23 games. He has also committed 54 fouls and received 10 yellow cards, both team-highs. Prior to his stop at Middlesbrough, he played for Scottish clubs Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Dundee United, Forfar Athletic and Celtic.

What do you think of the Whitecaps signing Robson as a DP? Do you see him running into foul trouble in MLS? Think he will thrive? 

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Thanks, I was thinking that on trips to the US he is still working in the US (by playing soccer here) so maybe he needed a visa, but I guess it’s not different than a businessman who goes to see a client.

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  2. I think this move signals a commitment to a 4-3-3. Robson is that box-to box guy that you need in the middle. I think you push Camilo up, play Hassli in the middle up top, play Chumiento at Left Mid, and play Nguyen, Mattocks, Teibert, or Attiba on the right side.

    The depth of this roster is even scarier. Having Robson will speed up the development of Koffie and Teibert.

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  3. Thank you! It gets really tiresome reading some of this stuff. I’m willing to bet most of them check FIFA 12 or Football Manager 2012 for their “authoritative knowledge” on DPs.

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  4. fffft. i bet you havent even seen this dude play. Dont forget Thorrington is also aging and oft injured. FTR im not refuting that this could be a garbage signing.

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  5. I would say he is exactly what we were lacking last year. A box to box midfielder that can distribute the ball, score AND tackle. Tony Mobray says he has the “heart of a lion”, which is music to my ears.

    You never know exactly how signings will work out, but I like what I am seeing from Rennie. The Whitecaps are going to be a b#!$ch to play and score against this year.

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  6. Le Toux Hassil
    Camilo Robson Chiumiento
    Koffie
    Rochat Bonjour Demerit Lee
    Cannon

    #Scary

    & Carlos Bocanegra is being linked with the Whitecaps aswell? wow..

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  7. + s lot of the same frustration.

    I could understand if every team had their full allotment of DP’s. The league needs to spend more money on players crowd that complains about almost every DP signing is really annoying.

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  8. “For each Designated Player, $335,000 of his salary is charged to the salary cap and paid by the league, with any remaining salary being paid by the team’s owner. This amount is halved for Designated Players signed in the middle of the season.”

    A DP only means he will make more than $167,500 this season. Seriously is that really that big of a deal for a player projected to start that has to move his family 8 times zones away?

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  9. I’ve liked the Caps since I saw them play my Dynamo last season. To date, I haven’t questioned many of their acquisitons, but this one has me scratching my head.

    His age and pedigree don’t shout “DP” to me. Plus, they’ll only have him for half a season.

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  10. It never ceases to amaze me how many trolls sitting at their computer screens all day know how good or bad a DP signing is/will be, and how much more they know than the professionals hired to run teams. (Or assume the tag DP means millions of dollars, rather than say a few thousand above the DP cap hit. DP’s come in various grades.)

    Give your heads a shake boys. This may or may not be a great DP signing.

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  11. Doesn’t have the pedigree of someone that I’d use a DP slot on, maybe if he played for the EPL or even if he had an upside, and wasn’t ready to wind down his career

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  12. Wait seriously? Some completely unknown South American who’s in his early twenties having previously played for teams that few fans have heard of, is a bigger draw?!? Rafael Márquez (a big name, a huge contract, questionable results) and Hamdi Salihi (straight out of that soccer hotbed Austria can’t wait for his visit to my city!) are somehow bigger draws or better value?

    Vancouver doesn’t have to worry about ticket sales in the same way as some markets. This DP isn’t about them selling tickets but about them winning more games and playing better soccer.

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  13. I think people continuously get this wrong. The original argument for the DP rule was that Beckham would bring name recognition and sell tickets. Nowdays, the vast majority of DP signings are about adding quality and making the team (and level of play) better.

    The reality is that if you sign a first-team player from a major (not even top, just major) European league who can still play and doesn’t have major issues (health or drug problems) than he’s going to cost you DP money. I thought I recalled reading that Joe Max-Moore (as a super-sub) at Everton made more there in his first week than he did in his first year in MLS. Granted, that was a while a go but unless you’re going for unproven reserve team players or journeymen from Scandanavia or aging guys who teams aren’t interested in anymore AND they’re willing to take less to come see the States with their family or model girlfriend, the reality is that MLS either has to pay DP money or sign marginal players from Europe if it’s going to sign Euro talent.

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  14. I am not a tax attorney nor INTIMATELY familiar with MLS pay schemes. I believe that he will need a passport when he crosses the border. Additionally, he’ll need a work permit for Canada. For instance, when TFC drafted Rod Dyachenko from DCU in the expansion draft, the Canadian Immigration officers wouldn’t let him cross the border (even though he pointed out he was on the team roster on the TFC website) b/c he didn’t have the work permit. This is not always so simple: Richard Mulrooney’s wife couldn’t qualify for a work permit which led him to demanding a trade from the team back to the States.

    I don’t think visas are required to go back and forth across the borders but since I’m a US citizen, I’m obviously not up on what a foreign visitor from a sports team would encounter.

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  15. I could understand the hyperbole if we were discussing a younger player in the EPL but we are talking about a Championship-level player who will turn 34 this fall and presumably is ticketed for a motor position, ie, DM. And while I definitely said discount for the Championship I wasn’t so much writing him off as saying it was a poor bet for an expansion team to make. The basic problem I see is they will wait a half season for an aged player who at best can only help short term and at worst goes over the hill, breaks down, or otherwise wastes their money. Particularly considering their winning is off in the future, I don’t understand putting DP money into a player who in their dreams is a Djorkaeff that does well for a little while and then loses it.

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  16. This guy is a ball winning type of central midfielder or at least that is what Rennie wants him for….

    I think he is just what they needed.

    He will be behind Camilo with Chuimiento on the left wing and I don’t know….someone on the right…could Mattocks play there?

    I do hope they find a way to keep Omar Salgado A) Happy and B) with playing time as he needs it to develop…

    But they have Le Toux, Hassli, Atiba Harris, Omar Salgado, Tan, Mattocks and the guy from the NASL I forget his name…I guess eventually they could pass on Hassli for a cheaper more youth/future thinking option like Salgado and/or Mattocks…
    Hassli is at the end of his career, how long that is who knows…

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  17. I’d take that bet, the only reason they’d not make the playoffs this season is because they are in the west.

    They’ve improved depth in every position, they’ve added 3-5 starters depending on how the lineup is set. In addition a few players should be fully healthy and actually be available for selection more often this year (Demerit, Thorringon).

    On top of it all don’t discount the Rennie effect on the team. Having a strong, stable coach who has full control from day one will make a huge difference.

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  18. Not really DP calibre. Probably one of the more disappointing DP signings to date and not the spirit of the rule to bring in big name stars that help on the field and at the ticket counter.

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  19. Is “fundamentally sound” what a DP gets you these days? Another slap in the face of homegrown players like Brad Davis and other standouts who get paid $@%*. MLS’ logic is you haven’t proved yourself until you are an overage average and playing in Europe regardless of how you actually perform. Unlike other DPs, what demographic is this guy going to appeal to?

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  20. The people discounting the Championship are hilarious. It’s a very reputable league and it could be ARGUED that despite being a 2nd division, it’s a top 10 (or just outside the top 10) league. It’s also amusing that folks are writing off Robson at 33. He has not shown his age and is in fine form for ‘Boro. They are pushing for a playoff spot and Robson is a key player helping that drive. He’s a quality player and will be a welcomed addition to Vancouver and MLS. Is he going to “wow” anyone? Probably not. That’s not his game. But what he will be is a fundamentally sound team player who makes the players around him better. Robson Is productive and will be a good return on value.

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  21. They were horrible last season… Le Toux isn’t going to help their defense… this guy will but it may be too late by the time he arrives in July.

    My money is definitely still on them missing the playoffs.

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  22. It looks like they can definitely use a choppper and he’d generally speaking fit the bill. But Boro is a second division team these days, so you arguably have to dial back what his still being a Boro first team player means. And this strikes me as more the sort of move I’d make if I thought I’d win this year because who knows if a 33 y/o stays healthy or even retires soon. It’s very short term and I don’t understand that from a recent expansion team.

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  23. The Caps still need depth at RB.. Not sold on Estridge or Klazura backing up Lee.. They seem to rate Klazura higher than Estridge which is shocking since my PDL team crushed the Klazura’s-Indiana Invaders 4-0 and 4-1, and NOBODY on that club looks mls calibre, imho. I just hope Rennie see’s something in Klazura that I don’t..

    Not sure about Robson but he sounds like a decent signing, although it’s only for half a season.

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  24. Vancouver is shaping up quite well this season… It seems they could be on the opposite end of the table compared to last year this coming season.
    Excited to see Hassli + Le Toux working together.

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