February 5, 2007
When Real Salt Lake opens training camp later today, Rhinos defender Scott Palguta will be wearing the #14 in his bid to jump to MLS.
The bad news for Rhinos fans is that Real Salt Lake only has seven defenders listed on their pre-season roster. There could be some midfielders that will get a look on the back line, but the pure numbers at first glance seem to indicate that Palguta has a pretty solid chance at sticking.
If Palguta does impress on the field, the only hope that he returns may be with how contract negotiations go between Scott and MLS. It wouldn't be at all surprising if MLS was unwilling to make a strong enough contract offer to pry him away from the Rhinos.
The latest on the Real Salt Lake stadium drama
Valentine expecting a Real deal - Deseret Morning News
The on again, off again stadium deal in Sandy, Utah for Real Salt Lake looks like it might have a strong pulse yet again. Although, with the way things have been going, wait a few days and things will change with the wind.
One thing that doesn't appear to be changing is the fact that Rochester isn't in the mix this time around. Rhinos President Fran DuRoss has said on the record that the club hasn't talked to MLS or Real Salt Lake in a long time and that the club would need an additional investor to come up with the $20 million or more needed to acquire an MLS franchise.
Klinsmann moving down under?
Apparently the Aussies sat down with former German National Team coach Jurgen Klinsmann to talk about their opening with Guus Hiddink. Hiddick guided the Socceroos to the 2006 World Cup and has since departed to head up the Russian National Team.
It will be interesting to see if Australia will meet the demands that the US Soccer Federation were unwilling to give to Klinsmann. It will also be interesting to see if Klinsmann will leave Southern California, or whether the Aussies will let him commute like he did so often with the German National Team.
DC United goalkeeping situation worth watching
Troy Perkins is DC United's first team goalkeeper. The big question right now is who will back him up in 2007.
The team is looking at a variety of options. One being going after a USL 1st Division goalkeeper. The question would then be, who in the USL 1st Division would they be looking at?
Greg Sutton has already made the jump to Toronto FC. Scott Vallow is under contract to the Rhinos for 2007 and I can't imagine that they would let him go. Puerto Rico Islanders goalkeeper Dan Kennedy would seem to be a solid fit.
Personally, I'm hoping for a young American goalkeeper that has previous experience with DC United: Montreal's Andrew Weber. Although, with Montreal's strong defense and defensive mindset, they'll likely be tough to play against regardless of who's in goal.
The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author, and not necessarily those of the Rochester Rhinos or SoccerSam.com. Feel free to send any comments or complaints to news@soccersam.com. James promises to read (but not to respond) to all of them.
