Despite plenty of rumors to the contrary, no blockbuster trades really unfolded in this year's MLS SuperDraft as most clubs quietly went about their business with a minimum of wheeling and dealing.
"There's always a lot of talk and banter going around, and there's very few deals that ever get done," said San Jose Earthquakes general manager John Doyle, who participated in several drafts during his stint as an assistant coach under Dominic Kinnear with the previous incarnation of the club. "So I think it lived up to its tradition of a lot of banter and a lot of deals being thrown out there, and not a lot being done."
The only big move of note took place early in the day, as the Los Angeles Galaxy sent veteran right back Chris Albright to New England in exchange for allocation money. Sending the U.S. international back to the East Coast (Albright began his pro career with D.C. United) opens up another chunk of salary cap space for new coach Ruud Gullit's squad, who have been focused on gathering a bevy of young talent to fill in a lineup featuring superstars David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Carlos Ruiz. The Galaxy would later pick up even more allocation cash by trading a second-round pick to Toronto FC.
"We've picked up almost $800,000 in allocation money since the end of the season," said LA director of soccer Paul Bravo. "So we have some money to go out and do some things that better balance our group. Maybe I shouldn't have given you the dollar amount, but it is what it is. You need to be able to do that in order to do the things that Ruud wants to do."
Both sides said the deal came together relatively quickly as conversations began just a few days ago. For his part, Revolution boss Steve Nicol was delighted to acquire an experienced, energetic defender to bolster his back line.
"Well, he was somebody we targeted," said the former Scottish international, "somebody who we felt would do well on our team, who would fit in with our team, and who's a good player. Albright is all of those things -- and he's an international player."
Though Albright saw his 2007 campaign cut short by a severe hamstring injury in May, Nicol pointed to his lively performances on the Galaxy's Australia-New Zealand exhibition tour as proof that the Philadephia native is fully fit again. His arrival in New England portends a stiff challenge to incumbent Jay Heaps, who has held down the right side of the Revolution defense for several years.
"It's really not about individuals," said Nicol. "We're trying to put a squad together. We want competition for places. [Albright] certainly gives us that."
Later on in the proceedings, Columbus swapped two 2010 SuperDraft picks to FC Dallas in exchange for two picks in this year's event as head coach Sigi Schmid continued to build a young, dynamic core for his Crew side. Having missed the playoffs in his two years at the helm, Schmid admitted that draft day 2010 was the least of his worries.
"Well, it's still youth, what you're looking at right now," he said. "But in 2010 we might not have to worry about many things. So we're either going to be a very good team or I'm probably not going to be around to be affected by it, so I'm passing it on to the next guy. But I think we're going to be a good team by then."
In the end, the biggest trade of SuperDraft '08 took place days before the event itself, when San Jose sent the No. 1 overall pick to Kansas City for defender Nick Garcia. That reality gave credence to the no-nonsense approach taken by most clubs.
"There's always a lot of talk, and there's always a lot of work building up to this," said Bravo, "but not a lot ever really gets done, to be honest.
Charles Boehm is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
