MLS Incoming? The Sagas of Pat Noonan, Brian McBride and Nate Jaqua

By: Laurie | July 8th, 2008

Yesterday we talked about a couple of US Players moving around in Europe. Today let’s look at players who may have decided there’s no place like home.

First, what’s going on with Pat Noonan? Will he or won’t he return?

The US International hasn’t been gone that long. He finished the 2007 season with the New England Revolution, but they didn’t offer to renew his contract at a price he was willing to accept, so in the January transfer window he went to Norway — to Aalesunds FK, to be exact. But apparently Norway (or perhaps his lack of playing time) weren’t to his liking, because now he’s looking to come home.

He wants to return to MLS. The Columbus Crew want to sign him. Sounds like they’ve even come to terms. So it’s an easy deal, right?

Not so fast. Remember that when we’re dealing with MLS, we’re dealing with single entity. We’re not dealing with one club, we’re dealing with the entire league. And the league has a list of things you can (and can’t) do. And one of the things you can’t do is… Well… Let’s let the Columbus Dispatch tell us what’s going on.

(And keep in mind here that official MLS policy is that these things aren’t discussed. So nobody is going on the record.)

Noonan, a five-year MLS veteran, signed with Aalesunds FK in January after he could not agree to a contract extension with New England. Because Noonan left without a transfer fee being paid to MLS and because the Revolution made an attempt to re-sign Noonan — albeit at a lower salary than the approximately $225,000 he was paid in 2007 — New England retains his MLS rights. …

The Crew is willing to pay Noonan a salary in the range of what he made last year, is willing to pay his current club a modest transfer fee and is willing to compensate New England, for whom Noonan reportedly does not want to play, with something substantial, possibly a high draft pick.

Coach Sigi Schmid said the Crew can accomplish this and remain within league rules and under the salary cap. It cleared roster and cap space in June by waiving forwards Nicolas Hernandez and Guilherme So.

Part of the problem, however, is that MLS would essentially be paying to reacquire a player for whom it was not compensated, even though Noonan wasn’t under contract when he left.

“A player that can turn down an offer from the league, go overseas on their own volition and then we as a league have to buy them back,” Schmid said. “That’s bad business and MLS doesn’t want to be in the habit of doing bad business. That’s completely understandable.”

An agent with knowledge of the situation indicated that Noonan’s decision angered Revolution and MLS officials and that he is being punished for leaving.

So… Let me get this straight. We have a US international who wants to play in MLS. We’re losing talent overseas due to the salary cap. Columbus is perfectly happy to pay Noonan’s salary, the transfer fee to his Norwegian club, and to compensate New England to acquire his rights. And MLS is saying…no.

Helluva way to run a league.

The Brian McBride saga is looking a little more straightforward. The former US international (he retired from international play after the 2006 World Cup) played several good years at Fulham in the EPL, he helped them to avoid relegation last season, and now he wants to come home.

The Chicago Fire want to acquire him, but they have yet to make Toronto FC an offer they can’t refuse. (And if anybody is wondering how a player who hasn’t played in the US for years can be owned by a team that wasn’t in existence till 2007? Ummm….yeah! MLS, baby!)

Fortunately for all involved, McBride isn’t being punished for past sins, and Toronto probably isn’t keen on paying the salary he would require, and McBride wants to finish his playing career in his hometown, so this is looking like a pretty straightforward trade. Except for the minor detail that Toronto and Chicago haven’t been able to come to terms. Toronto appears to want a very good player who can jump right in and make a difference (the name Justin Mapp has been tossed around) and Chicago isn’t willing to give up the future for a player who will probably retire in a few years.

McBride has made it clear that he has options elsewhere, particularly in Europe. The message: Make the deal, or lose the player. Can’t get more up-front than that.

So will we see McBride back in MLS? My guess would be yes, but stay tuned.

And then we have Nate Jaqua. Also a sometime US international, although he’s never really cemented a spot on the team. I have a soft spot for Jaqua because he got so hosed in LA in the Beckham frenzy last year, so I’d love to see him get a good deal somewhere. I thought that might have happened when he headed to Austria in January to play for SCR Altach. He had a pretty good run this season too, with 5 goals in 10 appearances.

But apparently life in Austria doesn’t agree with Jaqua, because he’s looking to come home. And Houston, who in the off-season lost not only Jaqua but also striker Joseph Ngwenya, has not been the MLS Cup-winning team we saw last year.

And so Houston has apparently offered Nate a new contract, which he is likely to accept.

Although my most recent info is a few days old, so who knows what’s happened in that time. There has to be more, right? Because that can’t be all there is to the story. I mean, offer and acceptance? Like a straightforward business deal? No intrigue, backstabbing, backroom negotiations and hard feelings, all played out in the press? (With nobody willing to be officially quoted, of course.)

Come on, MLS! How boring would life be if I can’t count on you for my daily dose of intrigue, complexity and/or absurdity?

Ah, never mind. Here we go. I found it. Maybe not absurdity, but definitely an extra layer of complexity. Rumor has it that the 2009 expansion team, Seattle Sounders FC, is in negotiations with Houston for a purchase that would allow Jaqua to play the rest of his season in Houston, then let him transfer back to his native Pacific northwest in ‘09.

I knew there had to be more to the story. Thank you MLS, for not letting me down.