Taylor Twellman not off to Europe

New England Revolution forward Taylor Twellman will not be dashing off to Europe this transfer window as the club has turned down a $3 million offer from Preston North End. This offer was just the latest one from Preston after a $2.5m offer was rejected two-weeks ago. The transfer deal also included incentives that could have added an additional $500,000 to the fee.

This comes as no surprise as the club and the league have been sending not so masked hints that Twellman was not available. With the Revolution going through their biggest roster shift in years this off-season, giving away their all-time goal scorer is not high on their priority list, especially since they don't have another proven striker in their squad.

Twellman is probably very disappointed about this as he wanted to return to Europe, but a large part of the problem is his own. A year ago he signed a four-year contract with the Revs that saw him earn a substantial pay increase, but did not include any sort of transfer trigger or buy-out clause. Had there been such language in the contract, he probably would have earned a little less per year, but he also would likely be heading to England right now.

Concerning the failed transfer, Preston North End chairman Derek Shaw had this to say about MLS:

Unlike the situation over here, it would appear that the MLS do not want to negotiate, they just say yes or no, and I believe that the setup is that the selling club only get 40 percent*, with the balance going to the MLS. It's disappointing because the lad is very keen to join us, but it would appear that the opportunity is not going to be there for him during this transfer window, [which closes tonight].

He makes a couple good points, but again, I don't think the Revs were ever going to let Twellman go, so why spend time negotiating. The simple truth is that even though Twellman wanted to head east, his club cannot afford to lose him.

So what can Twellman do about this now? Perhaps putting in another excellent season while working hard with the younger forwards on the team is the way to go, i.e. show he still has it while training his replacement. Add that to the additional chances he will have with the national team and next year the offer might be a bit too much for the Revs to ignore.

Then again, he could play like crap and demand that he will only improve if he gets to renegotiate his contract, but nothing like that would ever happen in sports.

* I believe that under the current MLS structure, the team actually gets two-thirds of the money or 66.6%.

Twellman and Cooper ticked off at MLS

What would a transfer window be without some players getting upset about their current situation? With that it mind, we look at New England's Taylor Twellman and FC Dallas's Kenny Cooper.

Twellman is upset because his club would not accept a $2.5 million transfer deal from England's Preston North End, forcing him to stay in MLS. He feels that since the Revolution turned down the deal without much thought on the matter, he must be worth more to them then the current $350,000 they are paying him and should become their designated player.

For Cooper, he is upset at the league for apparently backing down from a promise they made to him when he transferred from Europe to the states in 2006. At the time that he moved back home, the league promised him that if his numbers were good for his first season, they would renegotiate his contract. He ended up getting 11 goals and 4 assists in his first year, which most people who agree is a good total (FCD scored 52 goals his first year meaning he was involved in almost a third of all their goals), but it seems the league didn't see it that way saying 'that the option on the contract had been exercised and nothing would change.' They went to the Hunt group who owns FCD, but were told that there was no money available under the salary cap, meaning he will continue to earn $83,000 a year.

Crappy situations for both of them. As far as Twellman is concerned, I can understand his anger as this is probably his best (and maybe last) good chance of sailing on off to Europe again. Add to it that he would go to a club that has a good record of developing American talent and I'd be pretty upset as well. However, one has to wonder why he signed a contract without any sort of buy out clause in it, especailly since he was negotiating with the Revs, an organization that is known for letting go of their players at any price.

As a US national team fan, I wish Twellman would go as I think his only chance at become an international goal scorer is playing in Europe, however when I look at it from a Revs and MLS business stand point, it is hard to give up a player that is consistently in the running for the golden boot, even at $2.5 million (which would cover the entire team's paycheck for the year).

And then there is Cooper and his contract. If what he is saying is true, then the league is a disgrace. If you promise someone something and they deliver, you need to pay up.

It will be interesting to see how these two players respond to all this. Will they pull a Clint Mathis after his bid to move to Bayern Munich in 2002 was blocked by the league and downgrade their play or will they go the Clint Dempsey route and play at the top of their game but keep bringing up the subject every chance they get? My guess is they will go more Dempsey then Mathis.

New England Revolution wins the East, look for the double

Chicago Fire 0-1 New England Revolution

Chicago's lack of finishing finally did them in as the Revs return to MLS Cup for the fourth time in six years. Overall, the match was lacking in excitement as both sides suffered from poor passing in the final third, but the real story is the lack of quality shots on goal the Fire had. Of their 10 on target shots, only two forced Matt Reis to make any sort of effort to stop them.

Blanco was mostly invisible on the evening thanks in large part to referee Kevin Stott. Since a large part of Blanco's game is based on getting calls from the ref, if the ref ain't calling', it just ain't happening. But Blanco was not the only player lacking. Other then some quality saves by Matt Pickens the team was a wash.

The Twellman goal was excellent, but overall, the Revs were a bit caged, but that is sort of their style.

As far as the ESPN call, it did not add anything to the excitement level. Even though they talked a large amount about the game, overall, it was just filler and enough about Boston being the city of champions. We got it the first time.

Goal: Taylor Twellman (2) 38'
Attendance: 10,317 (not very good at all)

2007 Eastern Conference Championship - Chicago vs. New England

Chicago Fire vs. New England Revolution
7:30pm ET/4:30pm PT
TV: ESPN2

Tonight decides who will represent the Eastern Conference in MLS Cup 2007. Will it be the hard charging, Blanco fueled, giant killers Chicago Fire or the always dependable, Matt Reis backed New England Revolution?

Without a doubt, Chicago has had a good run of form over the last couple months, but it really has not been as impressive as it sounds. Yes, they have not lost in their last 10 league matches, however, six of those games ended in ties and they scored one goal or less in seven of them. It makes for a good record but when you are in a must win situation, it doesn't hold up as well.

The Revolution have had a bit of a bumpier ride in terms of results and they looked a little soft against New York in the first round, but overall, they hold a number of key advantages. First, they are playing on turf in their own house. Second, they have a goalkeeper who is getting close to top form. Third, they have multiple scoring options. Fourth, unlike DC, injuries are not hurting a number of key players.

All of these will make Chicago's job extremely difficult, but there biggest issue is the same one they have had all year, failure to score. The Fire have the fewest goals of any playoff team (31) and are second worse when compared to the league as a whole (TFC holds the bottom spot at 25). This lack of attack, especially up against a keeper like Matt Reis, is what will doom them.

On the other side of things, the Revs have one of the most productive offensives in the league and with seven of their regular starters having two or more goals, this productivity is not limited to one area. This will force Chicago to pull players back behind the ball, meaning they will again be counting on break aways and counter attacks to see them through this match.

A very telling thing to look at concerning the Fire is the way they played in the first leg of the DC series. When they went up a goal, they said that they were going to push it in order to get a second. But what happened? The team didn't know how to push forward and instead they wasted the clock and helm off a limping United. So even when they decided to push forward, they could not.

Without a doubt Blanco will play a major role in Chicago's night, but which Blanco will it be? Will it be the Blanco from the first leg who gave away the ball over 40 times or the Blanco of the second leg who was placing the balls were needed and catching the United defense cheating? But the center of attention might not be the most important person to watch as the Fire will need Chad Barrett and Chris Rolfe roaming into the final third regularly if they hope to beat Reis.

The Revs will call on one of the best midfields in the league to dictate this game. Steve Ralston and Andy Dorman have made trouble for their opposition all season with Jeff Larentowicz and Khano Smith adding a great fight to the center. On defense, Michael Parkhurst has been making a case for international duty with his 'defend hard, defend everywhere' style while Jay Heaps likes to get involved when numbers are needed. Combine all this will Pat Noonan and Taylor Twellman and you have all the makings of a whooping.

Chciago might be able to hold off that whooping due to their strong defensive work, however that normally is the result of keeping 10-players behind the ball, meaning that if they go down to the Revs, their style will open up as they push forward, resulting in more possible chances for New England.

Predictions:
Me: CF 0-2 NE
Wife : CF 2-1 NE
But the wife did not stop there, she predicts that NE will go up a goal in the first half hour, Chicago will tie it just a few minutes after halftime and get the winner sometime between the 82-86'. Specific enough for you?

"Who makes the most in MLS?" Brought to you by Becks millions.

Major League Soccer's Players Union has released this year's salaries. It should come a no surprise that the team with the largest payroll is LA thanks to David Beckham, who is the top earner in the league.

Anyway, here are the team numbers:

Team	Base Salary	Guaranteed Compensation
1. Los Angeles Galaxy	$8,056,188.83	$9,179,948.56
2. New York Red Bulls	$4,334,615.50	$4,896,656.83
3. Chicago Fire	$4,185,825.50	$4,464,612.50
4. Kansas City Wizards	$2,429,925.00	$2,625,050.00
5. Real Salt Lake	$2,168,437.25	$2,602,531.00
6. Toronto FC	$2,174,290.00	$2,497,378.50
7. Colorado Rapids	$2,322,113.75	$2,431,763.75
8. FC Dallas	$1,992,803.75	$2,385,628.75
9. DC United	$2,171,178.00	$2,328,503.00
10. Houston Dynamo	$2,184,349.00	$2,260,349.00
11. New England Revolution	$1,992,948.00	$2,087,948.00
12. Columbus Crew	$1,807,199.19	$2,064,349.19
13. Chivas USA	$1,757,875.08	$1,893,125.08
Totals	$35,584,945	$44,717,850

Chivas USA has a very small payroll, but it is actually less then what is reflected in the chart now that $291,250 Amado Guevara has left the club.

Here are the top ten paid players in MLS:

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. David Beckham	LA	$6,500,000
2. Cuauhtemoc Blanco	Chicago	$2,666,778
3. Juan Pablo Blanco	NY	$1,593,750
4. Claudio Reyna	NY	$1,250,008
5. Landon Donovan	LA	$900,000
6. Eddie Johnson	KC	$875,000
7. Freddy Adu	RSL	$550,000
8. Carlos Ruiz	FCD	$435,000
9. Clint Mathis	NY	$410,000
10. Taylor Twellman	NE	$350,008

Again, no shock that Beckham is making the most. Actually, Becks will make more this season then the total salaries for Chivas USA, the Columbus Crew and the New England Revolution combined.

Now lets look at pay by position.

Forward

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. Cuauhtemoc Blanco	Chicago	$2,666,778
2. Juan Pablo Blanco	NY	$1,593,750
3. Landon Donovan	LA	$900,000
4. Eddie Johnson	KC	$875,000
5. Carlos Ruiz	FCD	$435,000

Midfielder

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. David Beckham	LA	$6,500,000
2. Claudio Reyna	NY	$1,250,008
3. Freddy Adu	RSL	$550,000
4. Clint Mathis	NY	$410,000
5. Ronnie O'Brien	TFC	$258,750

Amado Guevara of Chivas was in fifth till he left the league.

Defender

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. Pablo Mastroeni	CR	$298,000
2. Eddie Pope	RSL	$265,000
3. Greg Vanney	CR	$236,667
4. Jimmy Conrad	KC	$206,000
5. Ivan Guerrero	CF	$187,500

Goaltender

Player	Team	Guaranteed Compensation
1. Shaka Hislop	FCD	$220,800
2. Ronald Waterreus	NY	$200,000
3. Joe Cannon	LA	$192,000
4. Pat Onstad	HD	$168,000
5. Matt Reis	NE	$150,000

I guess if you want to get rich in MLS, being a goalie is not the way to do it. Interesting that Hislop is FCD's backup keeper. Their started Dario Sala earns almost half of what Hislop does at $119,875.

If you want the numbers for all the players, take a look here.

Twellman reenlists with Revolution for four years

Forward Taylor Twellman has signed a four-year contract with the New England Revolution. Twellman will see his salary double from about $180,000 a year to $375,000 for the first two years of this contract. He will receive a raise based on performance for his third year and $450,000 in his final year.

Twellman knows how to get goals in MLS. Hopefully with the improved competition and better rate of pay, he will be able to improve his speed and make quicker decisions, thus making him a force on the national team as well.

"He has been our leading scorer since joining the team and we look forward to him being our and the league's top scorer this coming season," coach Steve Nicol said.