After 5-1 defeat to LA, FC Dallas fire Morrow

Less then 48-hours after one of the worst results in club history, FC Dallas have sacked head coach Steve Morrow. Morrow took over Dallas after the team fired Colin Clarke in 2006. His MLS record stands at 15-17-8.

Assistant coach Marco Feruzzi will take over till a perminant replacement is found.

Although Dallas got off to a decent start during the first couple weeks of their 2008 campaign, they have only managed 1 point from their last four matches. Combine that with the bad taste from 2007 (including the Denilson debacle, even though that was more of managements design) and you have all the reasons Morrow is looking for a new job.

During his year and a half in change, Morrow never really figured out the FC Dallas back line problem. Also, even though he showed some strength in benching Ruiz for parts of last season, he never seemed to be in control of the club.

As far as replacements, SMU coach Schellas Hyndman will be in the mix, like he always is whenever Dallas looks for a new manager, but he probably will not bit yet again. That should open things up. My guess is it will be someone with limited to little head coaching history.

As far as Morrow, maybe he can still get the job at Walsall.

KC sign Argentine Claudio Lopez as their Designated Player

After months of rumors and speculation, the Kansas City Wizards finally signed Argentine striker Claudio Lopez for the 2008 season. Lopez said of the move, "I had different offers but Kansas talked to me first and I respect that."

The Wizards will call on the 33 year old Lopez a lot since their striker options are thin. This could be a test for Lopez as he has minutes have been limited during his past season with Racing. The good news is he is not coming off any major injury and he has a habit, even now, of finding the net.

Lopez will probably be combined with Scott Sealy up top. This match-up should give KC a dangerous attack that never seemed to come together with Eddie Johnson. Of course this will only happen if the Wizards can provide the support out of the middle, which is where fellow Argentine Carlos Marinelli will probably come in.

Overall, this move is an improvement for Kansas City, however, as with all Designated Players, the proof will come on the pitch. Will Lopez end up being more of an Angel or a Denilson? My guess, a bit in the middle. Lopez will get some good goals as he is a born scorer, but I think he will fade towards the end of the season.

Denilson gone, what did MLS learn from the first DP failure?

On Friday, Denilson made it official, he is done with FC Dallas as he signed with Brazilian side Palmeiras. It is no shock that he is gone as FCD basically told him take a big pay cut, thus no longer being a designated player or don't come back. Since Denilson likes to make money, he decided to move along.

So what lessons can be learned from the first departure of a designated player? Basically don't bring a high profile player into a system that does work well with that player. Also, just because a player was on a World Cup winning team doesn't mean it will make a difference on the pitch or in the stands.

FC Dallas had a pretty tight midfield during much of the first part of the 2007 season, but then it all started to fall apart in September. This was not due to Denilson alone, as they also had some injury issues, but his odd fit with their style didn't help. He tried some fancy footwork, but his passing was off and his fitness never really seemed right. The fact that the team went from battling for the Supporters' Shield to middle of the playoff pack during Denilson's time with the club shows that things were not right.

In the end, someone was bound to make a poor choice with their designated player spot (I'm sure some New York fans will argue that Reyna is another example of this), so let's just hope the league as a whole learns from this.

When Beckham and Blanco were signed, some called it NASL part 2, but both these players accomplished what the league wants from DPs (ticket sales and pitch play (okay Becks hasn't done much on the second one yet)), while other DPs, Angel and to a lesser degree Reyna, at least made something happen on the field. Denilson did neither and seemed to just be around for the paycheck. The good news is FCD was able to cut their losses quickly thanks to a smart second year option in the contract.

With Denilson gone, that means the league again has five DPs.

FC Dallas gets Denilson, now who needs to leave?

It is finally official, Denilson is going to Dallas. After months of negotiations, the two sides have reached an agreement that will see the World Cup winner (the fourth in MLS history) take to the pitch as soon as his work visa is granted.

However, before he does that, FC Dallas must make room on their roster, which means trading a senior international (SI). The four players currently on that list are Adrian Serioux, Marcelo Saragosa, Carlos Ruiz and Pablo Ricchetti. So who should go?

The signing gives them a striker which might point to Ruiz. However, he has been playing some good ball of late and does Dallas really want to give up an attacker when they have both Cooper and Mina on the injured list? Also, could FCD find a team willing to pay his salary ($435,000) at this point in the season?

Ricchetti seems to be safe as he new to the club and has looked strong in most of his 13 starts (salary - $126,625).

Saragosa has not been outstanding but he is a good option off the bench and has the lowest price tag of all four players ($71,883). Also, I don't know if FCD wants to get rid of someone that can shutdown counter-attacks as well as he can.

Which brings us to Serioux ($120,500). He is the damaged goods the team picked up from Houston (via Toronto) during the off season. When he is healthy, he can bring strength to a backline, but he has had serious health problems during the last couple years. He would love to go to Toronto but all their SI slots are in use and head coach Mo Johnston has traded him twice in as many years, so I don't think that is an option. If he had been playing, LA might be willing to grab him, but I'm guessing that the last thing the Galaxy want right now is a recovering player.

So who goes? The easy one for Dallas would be Serioux as he really hasn't contributed anything to the club, but my guess would be Saragosa. Even though FCD is a little light in the middle, Saragosa will be the easiest trade. Low cost with a good resume should attract some interest.

Then again, maybe LA would be interested in getting Ruiz back. His amazing ability to get fouled might be exactly what the Galaxy is looking for to highlight the talent of Beckham. I guess New York could also be an option as Altidore might be moving along after this season and the team will need a second attacking option.

So who would you trade away if you were Steve Morrow?