Caught in Possession

On Friday my PSW piece on Brian Carroll went live. The man they call BC is entering a potentially pivotal year in his career as he looks to boost his new club, the long-suffering Crew, and prove that he was – and is – more than just a cog in the DC United midfield machine.

Here are a few outtakes that I found interesting – mostly BC and one from Sigi Schmid.

On his departure from DC and subsequent hopscotch from San Jose to Columbus:

Yeah, it’s a little interesting. I knew pretty close to the expansion draft that I wasn’t going to be protected, so I thought there was a decent chance I would be going to San Jose. And then the day of the expansion draft, pretty soon after I was in fact drafted, I figured out that I wouldn’t be staying in San Jose. So it all happened really quickly. But looking back at the previous expansion draft, things like that occurred then, so I figured it’s not that abnormal for them to be occurring to me now. This just comes with the business and I understand it. Actually, going to Columbus is pretty good. My wife’s family is from the midwest and I think going to Columbus will be a good move for me, a good change, and I’m looking forward to it.

Comparing Crew fans to the vociferous supporters he’s known over the past five years:

I think DC United fans are loyal and they’re good fans, but I also feel like Columbus has a great following. I think their fans are very passionate about their club. They’re the first club to have their own soccer specific stadium, and I think the atmosphere at that stadium is a great one. When I had an interview with one of the other analysts from the Columbus area, he likened it to Lambeau Field, and the atmosphere there, while it might not be the biggest or grandest stadium in the league, it certainly has a good, solid strong atmosphere to it. And I think he’s right.

On the much-anticipated negotiations between the players’ union and MLS to negotiate a new collective bargaining agreement when the current one ends next year:

I’m certainly expecting a long negotiation, just based off the history of the last negotiation and the fact that we couldn’t get a lot of things that we wanted. We did make some strides, but we knew back then that the small strides we made were things that we had to do in order for the next CBA agreement to be more in our favor. Just based off how the last one went, this next one coming up is going to be even tougher.

His parents’ reaction to his being traded:

Maybe I’ll be leaving, but hopefully [my brother] Pat will be coming in. But they’re excited for me and my change, and the new challenge I have coming forward. So I think they’re satisfied with the time that they’ve been able to have me around the home area.

Crew coach Sigi Schmid, on the DC/SJ salary concerns that led to BC’s arrival:

I think that’s really a question for DC…Obviously they had to make a decision on [Clyde] Simms and Brian, so was it a decision that they thought Simms was a better player, or was it a salary decision? Because sometimes that happens in this league, unfortunately. For us, that wasn’t a concern.

Comment posted by Charles Boehm @ 10:33 AM