Pope rumored to be coming to Salt Lake

Dadof3 · 01-31-2005, 09:15 PM

😲 According to this article...
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/01/s...r/01soccer.html

"The MetroStars opened preseason training yesterday in the practice bubble in East Rutherford, N.J. The veteran defender Eddie Pope was still part of the team, although he remains in California training with the United States national team and will be traded to Real Salt Lake, possibly as early as today, according to two league officials."

This is no longer your father's expansion team...if we get a top level D-mid...yikes!

Even without a D-mid, with the Quakes and Galaxy's problems, with Pope, we should make the playoffs.

bordelais7 · 01-31-2005, 09:34 PM

I'm sooo not looking forward to all of the hilarious Pope/Mormon jokes that people will come up with.

However, I guess it will be worth the torture to have a defender of his class on the team. If this happens, wow. Who'duv thunk?

Neil · 01-31-2005, 09:44 PM

Man, I hope this is true.

Rover · 01-31-2005, 10:07 PM

Eddie Pope would be a quality addition, even if his career is winding down and he's had frequent injury problems (like most vets). The biggest asset he would bring is his consistently tough marking--he's always in the right place at the right time. Not a vocal leader, and that's been the knock on him over the years. But who cares if he's leading by example?

If this runmor is true, it answers many of the questions about the RSL defense that we've been hearing. Unbelievable how well the club leadership has assembled a great mix of quality vets all over the field--just what the young talent needs to bring them along as pros. If RSL gets Pope and he stays healthy, we may be capable of a legitimate run to the playoffs. Hope the story is right.

Arelius · 01-31-2005, 10:22 PM

Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole... Eddie Pope, Eddie Pope!! Ole, Ole, Ole, Ole, Eddie Pope, Eddie Pope!

bordelais7 · 01-31-2005, 10:23 PM

Wonder who we'd be giving up. Any preferences or ideas? Pope's good, but he's 31. Hope we don't mortgage too much of our future to get him (I know, sounds weird to be saying that about an expansion team).

balltoon · 02-01-2005, 12:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bordelais7

Wonder who we'd be giving up. Any preferences or ideas? Pope's good, but he's 31. Hope we don't mortgage too much of our future to get him (I know, sounds weird to be saying that about an expansion team).

I would throw out a wild guess and say we're giving up one of our 9,000 center defenders, plus Pablo Brenes and maybe a draft pick or allocation or something like that. If the rumor that Brenes isn't signing is true, maybe they convinced him to sign if they traded him back to the Metrostars. I'd guess it's someone like Jeff Stewart or Rusty Pierce. Really the only safe bets are that it's not Mathis, Kreis, Williams, or Countess.

SoccerPrime · 02-01-2005, 05:22 AM

Just in case you guys forgot, Pastorino told the Loyalists 2 weeks ago that Pope was offered to them and they turned him down.
Maybe they changed their minds???

Let me add that I love Eddie and I think he will do well with RSL. Also, Pope, Kamler and Kreis should be a veteran enough group to help the younglings and calm Mathis...well maybe a little.

SoccerPrime · 02-01-2005, 06:20 AM

IT IS TRUE!
http://sltrib.com/realsaltlake/ci_2546823
Nice!

SoccerPrime · 02-01-2005, 06:32 AM

And for a slightly slanted version of the tale:
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?qstr=eXJpcnk3ZjczN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXkxMzcmZmdiZWw3Zjd2cWVlRUV5eTY2NDgzNTgmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2