Right, a bit of a slow day between matches, but here we are again. A couple news items for you, but tomorrow expect a bit of a match preview and some incomprehensible rambling.
US Open Cup
While it’s a shame that we will soon be playing FC Dallas on the road — immediately after playing them at the Rio Tinto — because we didn’t place a big enough bid to host. Now, I do think the bidding process is a sham, and it’s only an attempt to leech money from clubs. In a respectable cup draw, the home stadium is selected in a random draw, and the final is played at a neutral stadium, usually a very respectable one that is selected well before hand. But given the system we play in, I can’t imagine the entire team would rather have played a cup tie at home and not interrupted what should be a very helpful home stand.
But despite that slightly ominous spot, should we escape the FC Dallas draw and go forward to the semi-final, we will be hosting one of LA Galaxy or Seattle Sounders. That, I must say, is truly encouraging: We may not have ponied up for the quarter-final when we should have, but if we can go forward, we’ll be in a very good position. Let’s win this thing, boys.
Carlos Hernandez trial
Four-Four-Two’s Australian outfit is reporting that we have one Carlos Hernandez on trial. He’s an attacking midfielder who plays for Melbourne Victory and is one of the stars of the A-League, but apparently Melbourne is seeing some issues with wage as they try to sign one Harry Kewell, who is currently a free agent.
Now, that Costa Rican Hernandez was on loan with RSL is not exactly news to some of us, and Keepin’ It Real reported it six days ago. Four-Four-Two, of course, sourced their info from “reports in Costa Rica” — a bit slow on the uptake, apparently.
I don’t expect we will sign Hernandez, but any movement will have to take place on or after July 15, when the mid-season MLS transfer window opens. His club is clearly looking to ship him off, and if he’s as good as Australian media make him out to be (I’m no expert on the A-League — not by a long shot) then perhaps he’d be worth a go. But Melbourne picked him up for a reported $1m AUD in 2009, and fans seem to think the club won’t release him on a free, looking to recoup some of the signing fee. That, of course, is only speculation, and speculating about transfer fees is absolute folly.
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