Portland Timbers have added their goal scorer with the signing of their new DP Kris Boyd. After spending a decade in the Scottish Premier League with Kilmarnock then Rangers, netting 164 times along the way.
@MerrittPaulson coyly baited his obsessive twitter followers, "Timbers fans: if you have lunch plans, wait 15 min #rctid". And then triumphantly, after the announcement of the signing, "You like apples? How do you like them apples? Crazy deal. Credit to GW 4 working thru weekend. Came together fast #rctid".
I think it's crap that we had to send a first round draft pick to Houston to make this signing work. Houston Dynamo did not discover Kris Boyd, and this is a perfect example of why MLS discovery rights are screwed up. He turned down an offer to Houston and did not want to go there. That should void any claim Houston has to him, as their negotiations were completed. Discovery claims are a way to stop MLS teams from competing with each other in a bidding war for players, not to let teams place 5 claims on the rights of any player in the world not playing for MLS, as a way to profit from trolling the rumor circuit. Theoretically Gavin Wilkinson could "discover" Didier Drogba, and then should he sign with Montreal, L'Impact would have to pay the Timbers for his rights. It is total absurdity.
Here are some quotes from the press release:
Kris Boyd:
"I'm delighted to be in Portland and hopefully I'll be over as soon as the visa matches up to be in time to be ready for the season."
Merritt Paulson:
"I've said from the beginning, that we are committed to winning and will make a significant investment on the player front if it is the right fit for the organization. Kris perfectly fits the profile of the team's needs and will make a huge impact."
John Spencer:
"Kris is a proven goal-scorer at the highest levels of the game, and we expect that to continue here in Portland. We've been looking for this type of traditional number nine player and are very please we found him."
Kelly McLain from TimbersInsider and SoccerMadeInPortland, posted some audio of Paulson and Spencer talking about Boyd and about the signing itself. Here are some quotes:
Merritt Paulson:
"If you look up a number nine striker in the dictionary, you are going to see Kris Boyd's face popping up there."
"I'm here to win."
"We acquired his rights from Houston who tried to sign him, so it's really since Wednesday of last week, it's been a mad scramble. Working through the weekend, credit goes to Gavin for getting this deal done, credit goes to John."
"We were either going to get it done before the transfer deadline or possibly lose him to another club so it's been all systems go."
"We had a void with Kenny gone and so we needed a guy... to be a post up forward, a back to the goal kind of guy who can hold the ball up. This is going to benefit guys like Jorge Perlaza, other strikers, and play within the system the way we want to play: goals. There will be goals, that's what I expect. We are not signing this guy not to score. Ok that's why I'm bringing him here."
"... it's a seven figure kind of guy."
John Spencer:
"I think if you look at his resume, one thing it will tell you, he's not slowing down at scoring goals."
"If we create chances, he's going to get on the end of them. He's a natural born finisher."
"Merritt was willing to spend money."
"We can sign players here but they've got to be the right type of player that fits the culture and club. We're bringing a guy who's played for Glasgow Rangers, in Scotland, and played in front of 50, 60, 70 thousand week in, week out, and done it at the highest level. I don't think he'll have trouble playing in front of the fans here."
"I think he'll be a good leader."
"It'll be great fun as long as he's scoring goals."
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