Posts tagged BrianMcBride at FanHouse

Last week, when MLS threatened to step in and broker a deal that would allow former Fulham striker Brian McBride to finish his career with the Chicago Fire, I said that either Chicago or Toronto FC was about to get the shaft.

Well, last night during the MLS All-Star Game, commissioner Don Garber said that the deal was done, and Soccer By Ives is reporting that Toronto will get forward Chad Barrett, a superdraft pick and allocation cash.

So yeah, TFC got the shaft.

Chad Barrett might have five goals in 16 MLS games so far this season, but judging by his performance in Olympic qualifying last March -- when he couldn't score in a brothel with a back pocket full of Benjamins -- Barrett probably isn't the long-term answer for TFC's scoring woes. It's a wonder that Toronto didn't even try to convince McBride to come play for them this season.

I still think the rules that made this deal necessary are ridiculous and that McBride should have been considered a free agent, but at least he will get his wish to finish his career in his hometown. The Fire won't get McBride, though, until after the Olympics.

Two years after retiring from international soccer, Brian McBride will wear the USA jersey one last time.

McBride was one of the three over-23 players named on the U.S. men's Olympic soccer team, which was announced today by U.S. Soccer. The former Fulham striker will join future Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan and New England Revolution defender Michael Parkhurst on the team.

There are few surprises among the under-23 players on the roster. McBride joins Jozy Altidore, Robbie Rogers and Charlie Davies up front. Freddy Adu and Michael Bradley headline the midfield, which also includes MLS standouts Maurice Edu, Stuart Holden and Sasha Kljestan, along with Benny Feilhaber (Derby County) and Danny Szetela (Brescia).

Parkhurst leads a back line that includes Michael Orozco (San Luis) and three MLS starters -- Patrick Ianni, Nathan Sturgis and Marvell Wynne. Chris Seitz will back up Guzan in goal.

McBride hinted last April that he would be willing to join the U.S. Olympic team. His presence would allow Peter Nowak to play a 4-4-2 with McBride and Altidore up front, rather than the 4-2-3-1 that barely managed a goal in Olympic qualifying. The U.S. side still faces an uphill battle in Group B against the Netherlands, Nigeria and Japan, but it's hard to argue the talent isn't there.

Former Fulham striker Brian McBride still wants to finish his soccer career in his hometown of Chicago. Major League Soccer's arcane allocation rules, however, are still preventing this from happening, as Toronto FC has the allocation rights to McBride and has reached a stalemate on a deal with the Chicago Fire.

Well, guess what? MLS commissioner Don Garber has seen enough, and he's now threatening to make the deal for them. Said Garber:

"The league, at some point, has to determine whether we get involved. ... The league doesn't want to get involved and our hope is that we won't get involved. We hope that the market and common sense prevails."

The problem here isn't the market and common sense. It's the rules that allow Toronto to block McBride, who is practically a free agent here, from returning to Chicago in the first place, and the irony here is that Chicago has already used these league rules to take a player away from the New York Red Bulls.

The Columbus Crew is attempting to sign former New England Revolution striker Pat Noonan, who has 12 caps with the U.S. men's national team. The way Major League Soccer does its business, however, is preventing this deal from happening.

When Noonan's contract expired after the 2007 MLS season, the Revolution offered Noonan a new deal at a lower salary and told him to take it or leave it. He left it, signing instead with Aalesunds FK in Norway.

The way MLS player contracts are set up, however, Noonan is not a free agent within the league. All player contracts are with the league, not the club, and players are allocated to certain clubs. Because it made Noonan that lowball contract offer, New England still has the allocation rights to Noonan within MLS.

The Crew has said it is willing to pay Noonan more than what he made with the Revs, pay the transfer fee to Aalesunds and compensate the Revs according to MLS rules. The response from MLS and the Revs? "Get bent."

Here's some irony for you: Brian McBride announced last week that he was leaving Fulham and returning to the U.S. to finish out his career in Major League Soccer. According to reports, he wants to play for the Chicago Fire, which is his hometown club.

However, McBride can't sign a contract with a specific MLS club. He has to sign with the league itself, who then allocates him to a specific club -- and the club at the top of the allocation list is Toronto FC.

So the best striker in American soccer history comes home and finds that MLS rules will force him to play for the lone Canadian club.

Seriously, does that seem right to you? Why does McBride have to go through all this red tape just to sign with his chosen MLS club? Rules like this are why so many people view MLS as less than major league. Free agents should be allowed to sign with the club they choose, not the club the league assigns to them. This is just one more thing that really needs to be fixed in the next collective bargaining agreement.

You know where McBride should really be today? Santander. The U.S. men's national team takes on Spain today, and with Landon Donovan still begging out with a lack of balls sore groin, the U.S. needs all the help up front it can get.

(H/T: Soccer By Ives)

Brian McBride has announced that he is leaving Fulham and will return to America to finish his career in Major League Soccer.

The American striker transferred to Fulham from the Columbus Crew in January of 2004 and scored 40 goals in more than 150 appearances for the London-based club. He was twice named Fulham's player of the year and was instrumental in helping the club escape the relegation zone and stay in the Premier League for another season.

McBride also scored 30 goals for the U.S. men's national team before retiring from international play following the 2006 World Cup. He has been rumored to be one of three overage players to join the U.S. Olympic soccer team.

Expect MLS to announce McBride's return to the league before this season is over.

(H/T: EPL Talk)

Captain America saves the day in London. Film at 11.

Brian McBride headed in Jimmy Bullard's free kick in the 52nd minute, and Erik Nevland added a breakaway goal 35 minutes later to give Fulham an all-important 2-0 victory over Birmingham City. That win, combined with Reading's 1-0 loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur, lifted the Cottagers to 17th place in the Premier League, one spot ahead of the drop zone.

McBride, who was out injured for a large stretch of the season, has helped fuel this Fulham comeback, helping the club take 9 points out of its last 12. In fact, McBride and Nevland also scored in Fulham's 2-0 win over Reading three weeks ago. Reading and Birmingham are now both on the verge of relegation, and their situation grew even more dire after Bolton Wanderers defeated Sunderland, 2-0, to lift themselves 3 points clear of the drop zone with one game left. Middlesbrough and Wigan also secured their league status for next season with wins today.

Fulham now controls its own destiny. They can complete their great escape with a win at Portsmouth, a club that has looked disinterested in league play since reaching the FA Cup final.

Brian McBride retired from the U.S. men's national team after its disappointing World Cup showing in 2006. Soccer by Ives, however, is reporting that the Fulham striker has expressed an interest in joining the U.S. Olympic team in Beijing.

Generally, the Olympic soccer tournament is a U-23 event, but the International Olympic Committee grants each team three roster exemptions for over-age players. McBride, who has never participated in the Olympics, will be 36 in August when the Games begin. Plus, several players on the U.S. senior team will be busy with World Cup qualifying in August, meaning McBride could easily be one of the U.S. Olympic team's three over-age players.

The timing of these games, however, makes this curious. After all, the English soccer season begins in August, and no club likes the idea of one of their starters missing the entire preseason because of national team duties.

However, McBride plays for a club that looks certain to get relegated from the Premier League by the end of April, and it's unclear whether the American forward figures into Fulham's future plans. Could McBride's interest in the Olympics be a sign that he doesn't want to end his career in a Coca-Cola Championship? Would he choose to cap his career with the kids in Beijing and ride off into the sunset?

Either way, a forward line featuring McBride and Jozy Altidore seems fairly formidable, no?