Well, that about sums up D.C. United’s offseason priorities, in case it wasn’t clear beforehand.
United has dealt Fred, the 7th overall pick in Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft and allocation money to Philadelphia in exchange for the Union’s number one spot in the MLS allocation order. By moving into that spot, United can reacquire goalkeeper Troy Perkins, who bolted for Norway two years ago after manning the nets for two straight years in D.C. In both of those years, 2006 and 2007, United won the MLS Supporters’ Shield. In 2006, Perkins was also named MLS goalkeeper of the year.
In Norway, Perkins continued his progression with Valerenga, and he’s now a part of the U.S. national team pool. One question mark coming into the year could be the outside possibility that Perkins is named as the U.S. team’s third goalkeeper – behind Tim Howard and Brad Guzan – for the World Cup. That would put a dent into his plans with D.C. It should also that Perkins’ ascension into the U.S. national team pool is what made him subject to the allocation process. The team can thank him for that…
Meanwhile, United now has four goalkeepers, since Josh Wicks (injured, back mid-March), second-year backup Milos Kocic, and tennager Biil Hamid will also be on the roster come the beginning of training camp (whenever that is, thanks to the uncertainty caused by CBA negotiations).
Fred had 7 goals and 8 assists in his first year in D.C. in 2007, but he’s been consistently inconsistent since, with just two goals and four assists each of the past two years — and he cost a boatload of money ($257,000 guaranteed last year) so Peter Nowak will have that to contend with if Fred’s form doesn’t improve. And thus ends the Brazilian era in Washington, at least for now, given Luciano Emilio ain’t coming back, either.
If you’re keeping score, that also leaves United with exactly one draft pick – in the fourth round. They might as well pack they’re bags and head back to D.C. already.
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