Of course they've been hinting at this for the last couple of weeks, but TODAY IT'S OFFICIAL
(It's even – it should be noted – posted on Major League Soccer-Soccer, making it just about the first actual news broken there first.)
Each DP slot will count as $335,000 against a teams' salary budget. If the player is signed in mid-season, as is often the case, that drops to $167,000.
The rule change is effective immediately.
DP slots may also be used to sign existing players. The league announced that Landon Donovan, heretofore "grandfathered" into the budget, will now count as a DP.
Additionally, if a club wishes to sign a third DP, they must pay the league $250,000, which will then be divided equally amongst all other clubs who are not carrying a third DP.
If you thought Peter Nowak was going to back down just because virtually everyone outside of Philadelphia thinks he's encouraging his team to play thugball, THINK AGAIN:
“If you want to avoid contact, I would suggest badminton or curling or chess maybe. That’s how we play the game. This is a man’s game."
Thank goodness he didn't go the Jack Lambert route and recommend that his opponents hit the pitch wearing dresses. Of course, the season's still young.
"That’s who we’re going to be. If the other team doesn’t like the way we play, get used to it because we’re going to play every single game like that — regardless of the cards, regardless of the suspension. Get used to it."
And just to make sure that Freddy Ljungburg gets the message, he added this:
“If you have a problem with (your) back it’s probably because you’re an old man and playing on turf. …Sorry to say.”
Over to you, Fred.
And in other Philly News: DANNY SZETELA has reportedly winged his way to Philadelphia where he will try to impress Nowak and land a job, possibly by beating crap out of Alejandro Moreno or something.
One barely knows what to say about the atrocious conditions the US Women and Mexico played in last night at Rio Tinto.
The ball simply could not roll, making ground passes all but impossible. The US seemed to do a better job adjusting but the result was, at times, silly looking as players played little popups to each other.
It was like watching a game played in two inches of water.
For those of us who have long desired that the internet come with some sort of intelligence test, THIS POLL proves the point beyond a doubt.