There has been so much rumour and speculation flying around this MLS off-season that it's difficult to sort the wheat from the chaff, to use an old farming phrase I grew up with.
For example, just when I thought I had the expansion thing all sorted out, in comes Barcelona to South Florida with all their money, out goes Montreal with apparently not enough money, and in comes Ottawa with both barrels loaded.
When it came to Dwayne DeRosario we all had our hunches, but I didn't think it would happen until around draft time, if it were going to happen at all this year.
As for the designated player, well pick a name, any name and you'd be as close as the next guy. I don't know much, but I do know this. It will not, I repeat will not be Julian DeGuzman. I have it on good authority from Spain, in fact it's ironclad. One hundred percent. He may or may not stay at cash strapped Deportivo. But DeGuzman will spend at least another year or two in Europe. He's simply not ready to come back to North America.
Not that Toronto FC didn't want him. MLSE brass pursued him diligently but couldn't make it happen. Which leaves us with this. If not DeGuzman, then who? I can't believe it would be any other Canadian. Think about it. If DeRosario is not the team's designated player, then who else would fit the bill? There's no way they'll pay any Canadian but DeGuzman DP money. Not a chance. So it has to be a foreign player, which means any one of several hundred. Or perhaps not one at all.
On that note, Happy Holidays to you all. I can't wait to see how this all unfolds in the new year.
