The Nowak situation

Sorry for the lack of columns since the end of the season. Every year, when the Fire finish up, I tend to feel burned out to the point where I don't want to think about MLS and our men in red for a while. I know I promised some kind of write-up of the whirlwind trip to Morelia last month (at least I think I promised it, to somebody, anyway), but that will probably wait until I actually get my pictures developed.

Right now, I want to talk about Peter Nowak. There has been some speculation online about the only captain the Fire has ever know being dealt to another MLS squad. Of course, "speculation" in the insular world of BigSoccer.com generally means someone says how much they'd love to see someone on their team, and repeats it often enough that someone goes off and trumpets it as a bona fide rumor, otherwise how could you justify anyone thinking we'd trade Chris Armas? Anyway, on its face, the idea of Nowak in another uniform seems absurd, a betrayal on the level of, say, Bob Bradley bolting for the please-don't-call-us-New Jersey Metrostars. What, you say that actually happened? Actually, like our formerly beloved coach's departure, a Fire team without Nowak isn't really that far outside the realm of possibility, and could actually help the team in the long run.

Before you burn me at the stake for heresy, think about it for a moment. There were early reports that the Polish national team veteran wasn't thrilled at the prospect of playing for new coach Dave Sarachan, or possibly, the prospect of NOT playing for Bob Bradley. So, on the one hand, you've got the notion that Nowak wants to leave. On the other, there's still that pesky salary cap. Josh Wolff still hasn't moved, although there are still some rumors of him heading out to the Meadowlands, which would carry a certain amount of irony, given his comments about artificial turf with regard to his late-season ACL tear and the entirely ficticious "rift" between him and Bradley. If it turns out that noone wants one of the team's high-priced strikers, attention obviously has to turn elsewhere.

Of course, I'm not inside Nowak's head, as it would be very hard to type from there, so it's hard to say which way he would go. Given the fact that he's been something of a magnet for thugs like Mike Duhaney and their subsequent injury-causing tackles, the easy option is just retiring. Salary is gone, and no sense of abandoning the team. However, we saw last season how Peter followed up Stoitchkov's rejection of a pay cut with a "if he's going to do it, so will I" move of the same order, so who's to say he won't follow in Bradley's footsteps? The question then becomes where. Is following through in Bradley's path an option? Maybe, although recent articles made a point of Metro's need for a Nowak-like player without the hint of a Nowak rumor. It looks instead like Metro will perhaps use the allocation they picked up from DC and deal it to Dallas, who would very much like returning USMNT star Earnie Stewart, for Joselito Vaca.

This is illuminating for a couple of reasons. Adding Vaca as a midfield general means Bradley doesn't think current attacking mid Andy Williams is the answer, and Williams has lately been rumored to be the other side of the Wolff trade, although I've also seen Richie Williams mentioned. It could be that someone just saw the last name and didn't remember that Metro has two of them after the big DC trade. If true, it very well could indicate that the Fire don't expect Nowak to be back in the middle of the field, and have picked Williams as his successor. At 25 years old, he's even got long-term potential, rather than the short-term question mark of a bench-ridden Alex Pindea Chacon, giving ample time for the Fire's young guns (Craig Capano and the newly acquired Justin Mapp) to develop into creative midfielders at the MLS, and hopefully international level.

The actual rumors mentioned earlier involve the New England Revolution, who have no central midfield to speak of, but are solid nearly everywhere else. That said, and I quote "Rumors are that the revs are interested in acquiring Pioter Nowak." That's a wish list, not a rumor. Absolutely no mention of what the Fire might get in return, so I'm going to discount this one significantly.

My gut feeling on this is that Nowak hasn't decided whether he's going to play here, elsewhere, or at all next year, and that's the "sticky wicket" in another round of big moves throughout the league. However, it looks like the Fire may be prepared to deal without him next year, and adding Williams looks like it could alleviate at least some of the concern about the gaping void in the middle of the field should our club's fearless leader, both on the field and off, doesn't return.