MLS Transfer Rumors: Of Course Figo’s Not Coming In, but Dorman (and Maybe Eddie Johnson) are Going Out

By: Laurie | January 3rd, 2008

When I read the rumor that Luis Figo had signed a contract with AEG, current owners of the Houston Dynamo and the LA Galaxy, first I applied my normal logic processes to the idea. No go. Couldn’t make it work.

Then I applied AEG logic processes to it. You know. The logic processes that say, “Throw money at everything, assume MLS will change the rules to benefit you, and hire guys like Alexi Lalas.” Those AEG logic processes. Still couldn’t make it work. So you know the idea is really out there.

Seriously, there’s just no way. Houston is rumored to be on the market, so why would AEG commit the future owners to this? And Houston has salary cap issues anyway and has said they’re not interested in a Designated Player. Can you imagine Figo (and his supermodel wife) coming for non-DP money? I can’t.

That leaves the Galaxy — a team which absolutely, positively needs a frequently-injured older player with high name recognition.

Oh. Wait. They’ve already got one. And two would benefit them…how, exactly?

So I wasn’t all that surprised to hear that this rumor apparently has no factual basis. At least at this moment.

What does, though? New England’s Andy Dorman to St. Mirren in Scotland. He’s signed an eighteen-month contract, with the option of another year after that.

And KC Wizards’ Eddie Johnson has been linked to… Well, pretty much everywhere. Down the Byline gives us the following rumors: “Fulham, Middlesbrough, Manchester City, Reading, and Derby County) and 1 Portuguese team (Benfica).” Maybe it would be easier to say where he’s not going.

And Soccer by Ives is reporting that UCSB midfield Eric Avila could be skipping his senior year in favor of a Generation Adidas contract and the MLS SuperDraft. Stop by Ives’ new site to read his thoughts on which team(s) might benefit most from Avila.

Clarence Goodson, picked up by San Jose from Dallas in the expansion draft, will apparently either come to terms with San Jose or he won’t, in which case he may head to Germany or Sweden. The Soccer Silicon Valley blog has this to say to Mr. Goodson about the decision:

Scandinavia and Germany - cold. Actually, often very cold. Average midseason high temperature in Hamburg is 39 degrees. The lows? Don’t ask.

San Jose - average high temperature in midseason is 80 degrees. It cools down nicely by game time — the average low in July is just under 60 degrees.

We hope this makes your decision easier.

And once again, this is all I feel like writing about this week. If you’ve heard other rumors, leave them in the comments for next week’s version of MLS Transfer Rumors.