Roster Thin as Sockers Start Season
Trouble lurks ahead for the nine-time champion Sockers.
The fourth cut in the Major Soccer League’s salary cap in the past five years has given Coach Ron Newman need to scramble.
The task of getting 16 players under a ceiling of $550,000 seems to have gotten the most of the 57-year-old coach. Less than 24 hours before tonight’s season opener at Dallas (5:30, San Diego Cable Sports Network), Newman still was trying to sign his final player.
Early Wednesday, Newman signed veteran midfielder Jim Gabarra and first-year forward John Kerr to bring the roster to 15.
In addition, Terry Woodberry--cut recently by the Sidekicks to make room for defender Richard Chinapoo--orally agreed to a minimum $2,000-per-month salary but had not signed.
Woodberry becomes the last-minute replacement for former Socker Paul Wright, who on Wednesday was ordered by an arbitrator to report to the Baltimore Blast. Wright had taken the Blast to arbitration seeking reimbursement of his full salary and free-agency.
Wright won part of his arbitration and will be awarded either all of his $60,000 salary, or most of it, depending on whom you ask--Wright or Blast officials.
The Blast tried to dock Wright’s pay to $40,000, arguing that he should have reported for work in July when they claimed him off waivers, almost three months before the start of training camp.
The arbitrator disagreed with the Blast on that point, but disagreed with Wright on the free-agency matter.
“He’s not a free agent,” said Drew Forrester, Blast general manager. “He’s our property.”
Wright, who will meet the Blast in Wichita before a scheduled game Friday night and immediately take a physical, is still bitter about the whole process.
“There’s going to be some hard feelings,” he said. “I can’t forget something like this. It’s plain and simple--they tried to take advantage of me. But when it comes down to taking the field and playing soccer, none of that will matter. I can put it aside.”
Gabarra’s signing came only after Newman realized negotiations with U.S. national team midfielder Brian Quinn will drag on for at least two more days.
Quinn on Wednesday said it’s just a matter of all parties sitting down and hammering out a contract.
“We’ll just have to try to get it done on Friday,” he said.
Nevertheless the four-time defending champions open without the scoring of Wright (38 goals) and without the play making of Quinn (55 assists), both of which Newman was banking on.
In contrast, Woodberry had 22 goals last year and Gabarra 14 assists.
There are few other Sockers to pick up slack, mainly because Wright and Quinn are only two of five key departures.
Also gone are midfielders Branko Segota (26 goals and 27 assists in 33 games), Waad Hirmez (43 goals, 20 assists) and Rod Castro (24, 15).
Segota left in a trade with the St. Louis Storm for Thompson Usiyan, who should be more of an asset than Segota--Usiyan comes without an attitude problem and without a history of injuries. Usiyan, 35, enjoyed the most productive season of his career in 1990-91, scoring 64 goals and assisting on 38 others.
That still leaves holes created by the departure of Hirmez and Castro, both of whom wished to remain with the Sockers but were not satisfied with contract offers.
Trying to fill the voids will be: Kerr, 26, a native of Toronto with no indoor experience; Scott Geraghty, 21, a native of Baltimore with no professional experience; Ezekiel Doe, 23, a native of Liberia with no indoor experience; Alex Khapsalis, 32, a native of the Soviet Union with no indoor experience; and Tim Wittman, 28, a native of Baltimore who was cut by the Blast.
It is ironic that the Sockers are enlisting the aid of four players without indoor experience after the failure of the Kansas City Comets and the reduction of rosters from 18 to 16 created a glut of talent.
To counteract their lack of experience, the Sockers will rely on a solid group of returning defensive players, including goalie Victor Nogueira (MSL-leading 4.37 goals-against average) and Defender of the year Kevin Crow.
