Fox Sports: Kenny Cooper Traded to New York Red Bulls
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 12, 2012 9:47 AM PST
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Fox Sports has kicked off the Timbers' draft day with a bang, reporting that the Portland Timbers have traded star striker Kenny Cooper to the New York Red Bulls for a reportedly large amount of allocation money and a 2013 first round draft pick.
Timbers fans have had mixed feelings about the former US International, as he played below expectations for much of the season, especially when compared to his performance with FC Dallas. His 40 goals in 90 games with that team helped him attract the interest of the 2. Bundesliga side 1860 Munich, where he only played 13 matches, languishing in a loan deal with lower division English squad Plymouth.
Still, he led the Timbers in goals scored and shots on goal, earning him a new middle name from the Timbers faithful during his year with the club. If the report is true, KFC will be missed at Jeld-Wen Field.
Assuming the report is accurate (UPDATE: confirmed), the transfer leaves a big question mark in the starting XI. Cooper is the only Timber to have played in all 34 matches in 2011, starting in 29 of them. Whatever your opinion of the "Texas Tornado," as he was briefly known in Munich, he nearly always filled a spot on the lineup card.
The transfer reduces the Timbers to six strikers, including two who are unlikely to see much time on the first team in 2012. The Timbers' strategy for draft day, whatever that may be, is almost certainly unchanged in the wake of the transfer, as the team's greatest needs still reside in the midfield and defense.
Assuming no further trades will change the Timbers' striker pool (which, by the way, is not an assumption I'm at all confident in), the starting strikers on 3/12 would appear to be some combination of Jorge Perlaza, Eddie Johnson and Darlington Nagbe, all rare pairings in 2011. The transfer does create room for Bright Dike, however, a player who had been seen as the biggest loser in the signings of Jose Adolfo Valencia and Brent Richards. Dike's size and physicality will now be unique on the squad with Cooper gone, and I believe his contribution will increase in 2012.
My best guess at this point would be a Perlaza-Nagbe pairing up front, providing a combination of Nagbe's vision and passing ability with Perlaza's physicality and speed. But an all-Colombian striker force is not outside the realm of possibility either, especially later in the season.
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to the Red Bulls no less
I will have a hard time even rooting for him there. (I’ve been a KFC fan for years, bummed he didn’t pan out well here).
A great reason to root against them
The worse NYRB do the better PDX pick next season. Beat NY!
What to do in FIFA?
KFC was a beast in FIFA. Can I in good conscience bring Robbie Findley over to the Timbers and use him as my striker now?
I'm not entirely sure how I feel about this..
Yes, he was inconsistent. However, by the end of the season I think he and the rest of the team had figured out how to play to his strengths. I just would have liked to see one more season from KFC in timbers green.
I did read somewhere that for Coop, RB giving us a first round draft pick next year and supposedly 300-400K in allocation money could make room for a nice addition though.
Yea we have a lot of space
We got a lot of cap room now. If I’m not mistaken we already had the lowest payroll last year and moving Cooper as well as the allocation money and the fact that Jean-Baptiste is free means we got room for some big signings
Portland just abused NYRB's rumored dislike for the draft
and the fact Soler is a known hack as a GM.
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
True, but it sounds like Cooper is a replacement for Agudelo...
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 12, 2012 10:09 AM PST up reply actions
Yes indeed. :)
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 12, 2012 10:11 AM PST up reply actions
Not sure
The Fox story just suggests that he and Backe don’t get along. My guess is he’ll stay in MLS for the time being.
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 12, 2012 10:18 AM PST up reply actions
I hope not
For his sake and for the sake of the national team. He is wasting away in NY behind two good strikers at a terribly run team with a coach who does not value him. He needs to get to a real team to start developing.
Liverpool has expressed an interest in Agudelo
At least according to this report.
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 12, 2012 2:44 PM PST up reply actions
One thing that does make me sad
Kenny’s such a nice guy, really humble and polite and great with the media. New York has such a crappy organization and whole scene there is so negative, I have to feel bad for Cooper to be put in that environment. He deserves better.
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 12, 2012 10:12 AM PST reply actions 1 recs
Yeah
I wholeheartedly agree. RBNY is laughably poorly run. Too bad for Kenny to have to put up with their bullshit. Although I have to have the sense that if he weren’t such a nice guy he would have been a better player.
It's true
strikers are usually jerks.
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 12, 2012 10:21 AM PST up reply actions
Nagbe a striker
Combo’ing with either Trencito, Perlaza, Johnson, or Dike. Could be good, we’ll see. The way Spencer likes to play I expect either Johnson (if healthy) or Dike to get increased minutes this year.
With 6-7 strikers we all knew someone was probably going to be traded. KFC the most tradeable. Really not a big surprise. But I do expect another D signing and some help on the wings MF.
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by yepyou'reright on Jan 12, 2012 10:22 AM PST reply actions
false 9?
Do you see Nagbe as a potential false 9? It seems like Trencito has the potential to play in the center, but is still really raw and Perlaza really isn’t a 9 at all.
Possibly. It's intriguing.
Watching Nagbe play a CAM/false9 type position in the first half of the West Brom friendly had me excited. Comments from WBA supporters were things like, “Wow! Nagbe is GOOD!”. Same against NE@home, where he seemed to be playing more of a false 9 style. But I’m no expert on that.
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by yepyou'reright on Jan 12, 2012 10:44 AM PST up reply actions
I am torn on Nagbe's position
I am not a huge zizzo fan and I like having Nagbe on the right wing with the flexibility of moving inside at will. I am also very high on Eddie Johnson and would like to see him/dike/trencito split minutes up top with perlaza starting most games at the other forward spot if we play a 4-4-2
Can't blame Spenny...
Coop really didn’t come on until the end of the year, and I’m thinking the FO wanted to get max value for him, lest they risk another season where he flounders again and his value falls further. Good decision, imho.
Twitter post from Soccer by Ives:
“Been told Portland doesn’t get Allocation $$ for Cooper unless NY keeps him past 2012. So fallback is a 1st round pick for 1 year of Cooper?”
Hmmm, if true this sours the deal a bit.
Uh, quite a bit
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 12, 2012 10:46 AM PST up reply actions
How the hell does that work?
We wouldn’t get the allocation money till next year? This is confusing.
The Timbers might not get any allocation money
If this is true, Cooper has to be a Red Bull in 2013 for Portland to see any allocation dollars. If he plays for NYRB in 2012 and somewhere else in ’13, all the Timbers get is a draft pick.
If true, then it's a salary cap move
Like mao tweeted, a GA draft pick and moving Cooper saved the Timbers a lot of money today.
One of the forwards had to be moved. There were too many. Still, he has MLS experience and you would think that would count for a little more on the trade market. Just goes to show you how fast things can change.
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by yepyou'reright on Jan 12, 2012 10:48 AM PST up reply actions
Conditional allocation cash?
Are there such things as “good faith” clauses among single entity trades? NYRB can game the condition if they aren’t any standards that they should act in good faith to meet this “event”.
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
It's conditional on him being a Red Bull in 2013 (if it's true)
If he is traded or released before Dec 31 of this year, the Red Bulls do not have to pay allocation money.
Yeah, but I'm asking how the heck will the Timbers enforce it.
Intra-entity trade is not exactly a contract. How do we know NYRB will act fairly?
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
There has to be another clause in there
Like if they do cut him Portland gets another pick….. or something like that.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
I can't believe MLS as an entity would just "let things slide" though
NYRB will act fairly because if they don’t nobody will trade with them in the future, because their behavior will be known to all the teams in the league.
yes, but more so
It’s more like peer pressure. If NYRB say today “we will give the Timbers allocation money if Kenny Cooper is a Red Bull in 2013”, and then they sign him to a 2013 contract and “forget”, there is absolutely no way that 1) the Timbers or the league let them forget (Even as a single entity, do you not think MLS has a legal/contracts/compliance department that deals with stuff like this?) and 2) if by some miracle the Timbers do forget, any other team would make a trade with the Red Bulls that involved future considerations, because at that point NYRB would have a history of not living up to their words.
MLS is a modern organization, and this isn’t 1957 with deals being done over handshakes in smoke-filled back rooms. People keep track of these things, especially where money is involved.
The ease and efficiency in today's contract systems is because
we have these rights and set rules on enforcing people to perform under a “good faith effort” to make the condition come to pass. What rights does Portland have if it doesn’t come to pass?
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
We are now entering into territory in which I have no insight or expertise
all I would surmise is that those rights were probably written into the agreement to trade Cooper. That’s not something a big organization would just gloss over.
I think
The whole thing Kejsare was talking about was that point. What is stopping New York from just releasing him to make sure they don’t pay the allocation money?
None of us know so I am not expecting an answer (it helps that I speak Kejsare after living with him for 18 years)
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
My assumption is that MLS is a modern enough business with sharp enough lawyers that these things are not left to chance
I don’t know that for a fact, but considering there are many dollars at stake I seriously doubt a loophole that big would be allowed to exist.
Whats preventing him from just releasing him
Is losing out on the talent with nothing coming back. KC’s trade value is also a bit less, given other teams know NYRB will be likely to try and release him, so they will likely find even fewer suitors if they were to try and release him.
If he has a bad year, or even a year like last year, I could see NYRB releasing him, if he scores 15 goals though, it would make it tougher for them to. That said, if Ives is right and ALL the cash is dependent on him making the roster, unless he’s an all-star, I would suspect he’ll be released. I am starting to wonder if some of the cash is guaranteed, more if he lights it up and NYRB wants to keep him. More balanced from either side.
Another thought, more Rod Wallace in the midfield?
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by yepyou'reright on Jan 12, 2012 10:53 AM PST reply actions
Seems likely to me.
Contributing Editor for Stumptown Footy
by William Conwell on Jan 12, 2012 6:47 PM PST up reply actions
No Please
Zizzo and Alhasan services from the wings was crap and Wallace is no better. Wallace is not the answer in the midfield.
If Rodney Wallace in midfield
Means never seeing him on defense again, it’s worth it.
Oklahoma State will beat LSU in the National Title game by more than 7 points.
Yep
And we know he can score goals.
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by yepyou'reright on Jan 12, 2012 8:08 PM PST up reply actions
Well this is a bummer
I still think Cooper could have been successful in Portland, oh well. Hopefully the allocation money comes through.
Oklahoma State will beat LSU in the National Title game by more than 7 points.
Are NY trying to make themselves fail?
I don’t think Cooper is terrible, but he clearly was not a game changer either. I admit I didn’t watch every Timbers game, but I would guess I watched 10-12 this past season and was never really impressed with him. For NY to allegedly offer 200-300k in allocation AND a first round pick, just screams absolute insanity to me. It’s like their DeRo debacle. They gave a ton up for him to Toronto, then months later traded him to DC for an incredibly underwhelming Dax McCarty.
I honestly couldn't care less what NY do and with whom they do it
If Portland benefits from that insanity, so be it.
Their FO
I laugh at their decisions and wonder if they are not the Oakland Raiders of the MLS (I am a Raider fan I should know what that looks like)
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
that is a great analogy
I was a Raiders fan as a kid then moved on to Seahawks as I grew up. But yeah. Cooper is a decent player, I think any team would want a guy like him. But throwing stupid amounts of allocation dollars (which are finite and scarce) AND give up a first round pick shows the negligence Soler is wreaking on his organization. Portland made out like bandits on this deal, and if I was a betting man I’d wager you guys will be getting a pretty early pick with that. Good lord!
by chrisperry1983 on Jan 12, 2012 4:31 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Of course...
If they are selling Agudelo, as is rumored, they will get fat stacks of allocation cash. Teams get something like 50% back on players that are sold (the rest goes to MLS).
Contributing Editor for Stumptown Footy
by William Conwell on Jan 12, 2012 6:49 PM PST up reply actions
They get a third up to something like 600k
But just because they (in theory will) have money to burn doesn’t mean you should waste it. Even if they were in a pinch needing someone, I would assume based on what most other FO’s are doing that they already have feelers out for people. And I doubt they are in a pinch, there’ve been Agudelo sale rumors since he stepped foot on the field.
by chrisperry1983 on Jan 12, 2012 7:20 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
Luke Rodgers hasn't had his visa renewed yet
I see that the reason for the trade was Agudelo on Olympic duty this year and the fact that Luke Rodgers has not gotten his 1 year visa renewed yet.
Gilbert 2.0
Looks like Rodgers is running into what Kerrea Gilbert ran into.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
Telling quotes from the Oregonian
“We want to find a player who we feel can have a bigger impact on the team and play the way we want,” said Gavin Wilkinson, the Timbers general manager. “We’re just looking for a different type of player.”
I’m not going to be surprised if another striker comes in.
volatilelyle.com
"Play the way we want"
There you go.
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by yepyou'reright on Jan 12, 2012 8:13 PM PST up reply actions
Also
My brother and I talked over the allocation money situation and I think we came upon something that makes sense.
The reports say 200-300k. I think that right now we get a portion of that and if he continues to play with the NYRB then we would get the rest as a bonus. These types of trades happen in the NFL all the time, like the Carson Palmer trade to the Oakland Raiders. The clause in that trade was if Oakland made the playoffs and won a game they would have had to give a higher draft pick than what they gave initially.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
kind of a performance based thing?
Except in this case he just has to be on the team? Is there anything stopping them from selling or trading him before end of season? This is one of the weirdest deals I’ve seen.
by chrisperry1983 on Jan 12, 2012 9:46 PM PST via mobile up reply actions
So Timbers got a 2013 first round pick
At least some allocation money now and maybe more later, plus Cooper’s salary is off the books? Am I understanding this right?
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by yepyou'reright on Jan 12, 2012 10:50 PM PST up reply actions
From what I have seen
I think this might be it because if it isn’t we gave a 230k player for a 60-80k player. No way that Portland does that deal if that is the case.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
Good deal for us
Unless Kenny has a miraculous turnaround and suddenly becomes a goal machine again.
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by yepyou'reright on Jan 13, 2012 5:26 PM PST up reply actions
Then again, we only play NY once
And if we’re better too, then it’s good for everyone.
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by yepyou'reright on Jan 13, 2012 5:27 PM PST up reply actions
Kinda like the POR-HOU trade.
Just that Houston’s run was deeper. We improved too!
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
I tried to argue this case about what rights does Portland have if NYRB doesn't honor
their side of the bargain in a “good faith effort”. It can suck for Portland if it’s all allocation cash or nothing without NYRB working to honestly keep him.
Jag kom, jag såg, erövrade jag.
I came to this conclusion yesterday as well
We have to be getting some, maybe even a small amount of allocation money now (or at the very least, have a portion guaranteed for next year), otherwise, short of Kenny being an All-Star/MVP of the league next year, there is no way they’d keep him. He’d cost them 600k+ in salary and allocation money. That’s just too big, especially for a guy that you can’t really market around (ala Henry). Even if we had another guy lined up, I’d be hard pressed to agree that Cooper is worth a NYRB first round pick, given they haven’t given a crap about those since Soler and Backe have been around.
One other thought
Rather than an international signing (obviously a possibility given where we’ve been signing so many players)…..what are the chances we are looking to make a trade within the league? I would not be happy with this, but doesn’t this sound like a few strikers in MLS that could be looking for a new home?
“What we identified in the off-season was with the players that we have up front, we needed to play off somebody,” Wilkinson said. “Somebody who can hold the ball up top, somebody who could be an imposing figure and somebody who would basically put their heads in where it’s going to hurt sometimes.”
Ching in Montreal and I could see Casey getting moved in Colorado if the new manager is serious about being more uptempo. I would be disappointed in both honestly, but just an idea. Seems like those are the kind of guys GW and Spencer would be looking at.
That description sounds a lot like what Dike could be
provided he was given the chance to grow into that role. He’d have to get better at holding the ball, but he certainly fits the latter two criteria.
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 13, 2012 9:05 AM PST up reply actions
No doubt
And based on size it could describe Valencia, and I think Nagbe has the hold-up ability to shine. The team also likes EJ in that role from what we saw last year, so I don’t think we need another forward, but that article sounds like they are talking of adding one more. Unless we really kicked ass on the whole “getting green card things” we are getting close to limit for international players.
Well.....
so much for that I guess…..another interesting quote from GW, via MLSsoccer.com
THREE’S COMPANY: The LA Galaxy need to make way for the Portland Timbers in the 3-DP club. Technical director Gavin Wilkinson says that Timbers ownership is ready to spend for a No. 9 striker "with the ambition that when we bring him in, it’s 12-14-16 goals."
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2012/01/13/smorgasborg-juiciest-servings-superdraft
Well, I've given up
trying to figure out what they’re doing this offseason. I should have given up long ago.
When I write, I write for the Timbers. Contributing Editor of Stumptown Footy
by Andrew Wheeler on Jan 13, 2012 10:10 AM PST up reply actions
That's juicy
Why is this place crickets today?
volatilelyle.com
by almost awesome on Jan 13, 2012 5:53 PM PST up reply actions
Not sure
Grades were due today for end of the semester for me so I haven’t done a lot of sleuthing nor my analysis of our draft.
Contributing editor to Stumptown Footy the Portland Timbers SBN blog.
Class and work all day for me.
Contributing Editor for Stumptown Footy
by William Conwell on Jan 13, 2012 9:46 PM PST up reply actions
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