Drew Moor Traded to Colorado for Ugo Ihemelu
August 31st, 2009 . 1:09 pm . By: Buzz Carrick
In a surprising development, FC Dallas has traded Drew Moor to the Colorado Rapids for Ugo Ihemelu. The FCD players were informed of the move this morning at training. Moor was at Pizza Hut Park in the locker room getting ready for training when told he was heading north. FCD also included a second round pick and some allocation money int he deal. Given the “local kid made good” status Moor as one of the faces of the team in the Hunt mindset, this move is even more surprising. Moor’s position as a leader on the team on the field and in the locker room also means his removal may cause unforeseen waves. Hyndman’s hold on the mind set of this team wasn’t great to begin with and Moor had been one of the coaches backers. In the opinion of this writer, this is the second time Hyndman has overpaid to get a former SMU player from Colorado. You perhaps recall FCD sending second and third rounds picks plus allocation money to the Rapids for Bruno Guarda. Now Hyndman sends a fringe US International to Colorado for another fringe US International, but had to include a second round pick and another chuck of money to get the player he wanted. If you can concede that Ihemelu is better than Moor, which I do not, he certainly isn’t a pick and pile of cash better. Perhaps this is what happens when a team is sitting near the bottom of the table and a coach is starting to feel pressure. This deal reminds me of the 2003 Mike Jeffries move that sent Ryan Suarez, Paul Broome and Antonio Martinez to LA for Ezra Hendrickson and Gavin Glinton. Jeffries had long been trying to land Hendrickson, just as Hyndman has Ihemelu, and perhaps overpaid as well. The one caveat on this deal I do give Hyndman some credit for is that Ihemelu is the kind out outside back the coach wants in his system. Ugo is a match for Jair Benitez on the other side as he’s very fast, can run the field all day, but is bigger and stronger than Jair. This is the kind of player Hyndman wants. But that doesn’t change the fact the loss of Moor is a blow to this team and FCD overpaid. Here’s the FCD PR on the deal. FC DALLAS ACQUIRES DEFENDER UGO IHEMELUFRISCO, Texas (Monday, August 31, 2009) – FC Dallas General Manager Michael Hitchcock announced today that team has acquired defender Ugo Ihemelu from the Colorado Rapids in exchange for defender Drew Moor, the team’s natural second round pick in the 2010 MLS SuperDraft and allocation money. “Ugo Ihemelu is a talented player with tremendous speed that will be a key member of our back line,” FC Dallas Head Coach Schellas Hyndman said. “In my time here, we haven’t had that natural right back we have needed and we believe Ugo will provide that for us moving forward. We would also like to thank Drew Moor for his service to this team the past four years and wish him well in Colorado.” Ihemelu has appeared in 20 games and provided two assists this season with the Colorado Rapids. The 26-year-old defender was drafted as the fifth overall pick by the LA Galaxy in 2005 and helped them win the 2005 MLS Cup at Pizza Hut Park by starting in all four playoff games including the championship match versus the New England Revolution. He appeared in 54 games for the Galaxy before being traded to Colorado in 2007. While with the Rapids, Ihemelu has appeared in 63 games and recorded one goal and two assists. In 2006, Ihemelu earned his first cap with the U.S. National Team as a substitute in the 5-0 whitewashing of Norway on January 29. He made his second appearance with the national team in this year’s 3-2 win over Sweden after replacing Michael Parkhurst. The Nigerian born player grew up in nearby Cedar Hill, Texas and attended the Southern Methodist University where he played under FC Dallas Head Coach Schellas Hyndman. While at SMU, Ihemelu was named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference team in his junior and senior year. Moor was drafted by FCD in 2005 with the sixth overall pick of the SuperDraft. The 25-year-old defender made 123 appearances, scoring eight goals and totaling two assists. FCD now owns two first round picks (FCD natural and Toronto’s natural), one second round pick (either Toronto’s natural or Columbus’ natural), two third round picks (FCD natural and Columbus’ natural), and one fourth round selection (FCD natural) in the 2010 SuperDraft. Ugo Ihemelu Professional Career: Name: Ugo Ihemelu 76 Comments Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI Leave a comment |
goff is saying ugo ihemelu, a second round draft pick and some allocation money come FCD’s way.
At first glance, i hate this move. drew moor was FCD in my opinion, much like cooper was before he left.
%&^! IF THIS ISN’T FOLLOWED VERY QUICKLY BY A MAJOR SIGNING…
Ihemelu is a local boy as well (from Cedar Hill and SMU), but this just doesn’t make sense to me.
A very big shoe better drop soon.
I hate this! I am starting to hate the Hunt family too! Drew wasn’t a favorite of mine, but I liked the local guy factor…FC Dallas has lost me as a fan for awhile.
IMO, Moor has been the best player. I think he actually made a step forward in his development. But in a such a bad season, you would never notice his play. My first thought is there was a run in with SH and he was dumped.
agreed with steve.
wait… according to the press release, FCD is the one giving up the pick and allocation money?
Buzz, I haven’t seen many cRapids games. What is your impression of Ugo?
Drew’s one of our strongest, most consistent players…the face of the team maybe.
i HATE this move.
HATE it.
I’m hearing the pick and $$$ are going the other way, in which case Colorado’s FO has 1-up’d ours twice in just over a year.
Any confirmation yet on the considerations apart from Drew and Ugo?
That’s just great. After Cooper I thought that Moor was the best player on the team. I’ll be scratching my head for a while trying to figure out why we traded the current face of the franchise for an older player.
Buzz, what did you mean by this line, “Hyndman’s hold on the mind set of this wasn’t great to being with and Moor had been one of the coaches backers.”
Are you saying SH was against this trade?
I understand Schellas wanting to bring in Ugo, but losing Moor sucks.
Was Drew not fast enough at RB for Hyndman’s liking? Moor played RB for the national team, if I remember, so it’s not like this was an unnatural position.
Nevermind. Press Release confirms it. FM(Soccer)L
Steve, Ugo is a amazing athlete. Crazy fast. He’s Jair but bigger. This is the kind of outside back SH wants for his system.
Jones, several typos in that sentence, trying to update this to fast. It should read… “Hyndman’s hold on the mind set of this team wasn’t great to begin with and Moor had been one of the coaches backers.”
damn you guys are right. i read it wrong.
that means this makes even less sense.
terrible move.
i’m tired of former SMU players coming to our team. this is not a reunion.
why do we send arguably our best and most consistent player away with cash and a pick.
stupid stupid stupid.
With Cooper gone, Moor was our third leading scorer (Cunningham at 9, Ferreira at 4, Moor at 3). Where are the goals going to come from? We’ll really miss him on set pieces.
I think the real winner here is Drew Moor, who gets to get off the bus with his dignity intact.
So we give up yet another player who has been a real fighter for the shirt, one of our draft picks AND allocation money in exchange for another one of SH’s ex-SMU buddies?
I think I am going to lose my mind.
baconboy,
Good point! Drew did get out of this disaster! Still cannot believe we have no idea how to trade players.
I think giving up the second-round pick is fine – with the rosters being what they are, picks outside of the first round have a difficult time sticking anyway.
I guess I’m the only one here who’s not surprised by this. Moor, Dax, Ricchetti – none of them fit SH’s system and I bet all three are gone by next March.
Not taking sides at all on this one (he overpaid, and for all the fan “bad will” this will bring, he’d sure as hell better field a winner next year), but if you’re a Hyndman hater, your hopes of getting him out of Frisco in 2009 are now officially dashed with this signing.
This is a bonehead move by FCD. Drew was the face of this organization, extremely active in youth soccer events, the only remaining player with a lot of team history.
The only positive aspect of this trade is for Drew. He got to get off the sinking ship – and get onboard with a team who is bound for the playoffs.
Instead of Hoops Nation, next year the Marketing dept will be promoting the “Official club sponsored” supporters group as “The Pony Nation”
well I guess we are a bottom team and something needs to change. Our defense has had a lot of break downs and we have changed out every other defender so I guess Moor was next.
Hope it pays off, becasue Drew is a great guy and ambassador for the team.
I agree with Eugene. The draft pick is pretty much irrelevant. This team is full of young players with nowehere to play.
No matter what the sport, when you are bad you have two options: fire the coach or move players. For better or worse, Hyndman is not going anywhere. So, the players go.
Again, for better or worse, Hyndman is building his type of team. Next year will be make or break.
I think Dax has found his niche in SH’s system and is here to stay.
I don’t know Ugo well, but Buzz says, “Ugo is a amazing athlete. Crazy fast. He’s Jair but bigger. This is the kind of outside back SH wants for his system.”
To me Drew Moor was always overrated here. Local boy makes good, etc. Good face for the team, etc. But he’s not a right back in a 4 back system and he not big or tough enough for a CD. To me his best position was RB in a 3 back system. But I still contend he had too may on-field lapses. Let’s face it, he’s been a starter for years, and we’ve given up lots of goals every year.
If they’re equivalent players but Ugo fits better. Then I don’t care that we over-payed. We have too many draft picks and too many young players as is. We need people who fit the system and can play now.
Could the Hunt’s have two more polar opposite teams. Columbus is leading the east and FCD is looking for ways to get deeper in the cellar in the west.
I rate Ihemellu higher than Moor, but this still seems stupid.
Whoever the next coach is, he’s going to have a lot of work to do to clean up this mess Schellas is making. An SMU Alumni team with no draft picks and all of our young talent gone (Brek at least).
Saban,
I hope you are right, because if this ends up being a trade for roughly comparable talent, then we just took a morale thrust kick in the gut for nothing. Oh…except for the box of money we gave the Rapids as a cherry on top of the deal.
I like Ugo’s size and speed, especially considering that we are a team of midgets right now, but we will have to see how well he fits in. All I can say is I really, really, hope you are correct.
Speed is fine as long as it is going in the right direction. If you run to the wrong place, you only get there faster. Moor was good because he had a good soccer brain and could get to the right place at the right time. Mental speed can deal with physical speed.
I was surprised to read this at first but now I’m not as surprised after thinking about it. Consider…
1. The team has been losing and the current combination of players hasn’t gotten the job done. Therefore, this was a move to improve the team for next season. (Let’s face it, this team is going nowhere and if the team goes to the playoffs this season it’s because they bought tickets)
2. Ugo, like Moor, is the local boy makes good story. Don’t forget that Ugo grew up in Cedar Springs and attended SMU.
3. Ugo has contributed to winning an MLS Cup, so he knows what that’s like.
4. Moor will get to ply his trade in Colorado where he will more than likely play in the playoffs.
In my opinion, if Hyndman does not produce a winning, playoff team next season, he needs to be replaced.
baconboy is right. Plus, Moor is underrated offensively. Drew was often in the right place on corners and he knew how to place headers. Ugo has one goal in his entire MLS career. Cunny can’t do it all by himself, so hopefully Chavez can pick up the slack.
Any word on Schumacher?
By the way, I’m a different Robert than the previous poster so I’ll change my posting name from here on so as not to avoid any confusion.
Or should that be to avoid any confusion. I’m confused!
Bacon,
I agree with everything you said. I’d just add that a player with a good soccer brain, can still have mental lapses, and Drew did.
I still remember one game he played for the US team in Copa America and his man scored both goals. He did the same thing here, but MLS players didn’t burn him like S. American Nationals would.
Also, SH like outside backs that can get involved in the attack. That was always a weak point for Drew.
Now, whether SH system will work in MLS once stocked with ‘his’ players is another matter TBD.
I’d take Ugo over Moor anyday. Did SH give alot away? IMO no, because the team has alot of picks next year and they have too many youngsters as it is. The big question to me is how much allocation money was included.
Once again SH shows how clueless he really is…just what we need in Dallas a mini SMU team – we would be better off with an Indiana team – way more of them in MLS than SMU..good move for Moor, he wasn’t getting the respect he deserved, way over paid and a second round pick to boot !!!
Cancel my tickets, this team is going to be bad for a long time
Congratulations to Drew on getting out of this mess
When I saw the headline I was really hoping that I had somehow confused August 31 for April Fool’s Day, but no such luck.
I’m fine with acquiring Ugo, but I have to think FCD could have used a different [read: lesser talented or proven] player and some combination of picks and money. With all the picks (and no spots for young players) and money the organization has amassed, could MH and SH not make something work?
Not that it’s relevant at this point, but my vote would have been to play Drew inside with Davies and move Richetti.
I am season holder number 6. At least that is what I was told so many years ago. I have had 3 sons since then and they all grew up (often in baby carriers) at the cotton bowl, southlake, PHP …but even they had enough after last year and all voted to not renew—and now we see the death gasps of this coach, team, and Hunt family in soccer in Dallas. Lamar used to sit with some of us at Southlake and just gripe about, well, everything. I can only imagine his thoughts on this season, team, etc..the idiots win but not with my money.
Drew Moor was never going to be confused with Maldini, but if you’re going to trade him AND a draft pick AND cash, AND you’re not going to clear up any cap space, you should do a lot better than Ugo Ehemelu.
From a soccer standpoint it only makes sense if this were going to make us better this year. since we are not going anywhere this year you then have to look at the PR and this is not a good PR move even though you are replacing one Dallas product with another. More has been the face/sidekick to cooper for several years and you are not replacing him in that way.
I hope that Ihemelu can be a difference maker as this season rolls to an end and next year.
Very surprising move, but I think its a Great one . . . Drew Moor had just about hit his ceiling and Ugo has all the tools to continue to blossom for FCD and the Nats
Curious about this because Drew is really a center back and we’ve got none on our roster good enough to play. Richetti is a midfielder, Davies is gone with the U20s and will eventually return to Europe (more sooner than later). John & Purdy cant stay healthy. Torres is slower than a grandfather clock.
Seems if he wanted a right back, he could slide Drew back to his natural position and find another way.
Maybe he’ll go try and get Colin Clark from Colorado, ACL tear and all? Where’s Luchi Gonzalez nowadays?
I feel like typing today. So, while we’re on the subject of FCD’s defense, I’ll mention something Carlos Bocanegra said about his experience in England. He said you had to stay focused all the time because any mistake ended up in the back of the net. That was his biggest adjustment. I think over the last few years that has been one of FCDs biggest problems; lack of defensive focus. Is it the heat, the coaching, the players?
Drew may have asked to leave. Probably every player on this team wants out Drew just had some options. I would list the talent gone from here but it would take too long. There are now no players left that actually played on a team that won in Dallas. This will soon be the 2003 version of the Burn a ban of losers with a coach in over his head..
Isn’t this the equivalent of subbing strength for strength? I mean, I’d have been down if it meant trading undersized mids for big defenders, but WTF? What’s next? Trading Avi for Alvarez? Trading Cooper for Conor Casey? Trading Pablo to get Saragosa back? WTF. And here I was, pen in hand — all set to resign my season tickets!
Whoa.
Only 6 players (Sala, Ray, Wagner, Ricchetti, McCarty, Wallace) left from the 2007 playoff team. Wow.
[...] Colorado Rapids trade Ugo Ihemelu for Drew Moor [...]
Well, Bus Coach certainly has his own players now. No more excuses next year.
you guys are retarted. look at every manager across the world. they bring in players that they are comfortable with and that fit the way they want to play. stop whining like little girls. yall should be worried with this bad season if no moves were being made!
Schellas hates whitey:)
Good for Drew!!
The team is freakin’ broke! Let the powers that be try to fix it! You like a guy for being the “face of the team” and “mentally strong”…well cry me a river. This league is a results oriented business and action needs to be taken!
I hope more is to come – to include size, speed and touch up front. And for everyone that is consistently complaining, do you have any ideas of how to run things? A new coach is going to have the same personnel! Losing sucks but it sure sounds like a bunch of you are whining. Hop on the “Change Train” baby!!! Suck it up.
Wow…yet another bus crash by the in-way-over-his head coach.
Good luck to Drew…a class act.
And good luck to the front office trying to sell season tickets.
Overpaid, but better player.
FCD Bollocks and Tulsa Fan have good points. Moves have to be made when a team performs this badly. I over-reacted when the news first broke because I like Drew.
Drew has not been the kind of dominant force on the field that has to stay. I do think they overpayed, but how much is a 2nd round pick really worth? It might not have been much allocation money, either.
Fcd balls, tulsa f and steve … Put down the KoolAid!
Not one person here thinks Drew Moor is Puyol. We just understand now that if Schellas is involved then it’s a move down or sideways but never up. You kids think that real world transfer standards apply to Schellas but they don’t.
screamer, how ’bout you put down the hater-aid?
As much as I disagree with many of his moves, SH is not wrong all the time. I’m not happy with the move, but I felt those taking a reserve-judgement approach were saying some valid things. Ugo may end up a better fit for this club.
The only thing I can say is good for Drew! At least he’s on a team now that’s actually got playoff hopes, and are actually in contention. Very dissapointed in the coaching staff and their choices this year. I will miss watching him play when Dallas plays here.
seventhrowscreamer – it seems to me that it only ignorance would cause a person to hate a person so much as to discredit anything they do or may do in the future.
You may dislike SH or just think he is not a good manager, but not everything he has done has been wrong and not everything he will do in the future will be wrong.
For example, he brought traded Saragosa for Harris and that has been a plus for FCD. He brought in Jair and he has really added to the team.
This trade may or may not work out, but to say it won’t simply because SH executed it is simply pure ignorance.
To those critical of this trade – knowing that it nearly 100% likely that SH will be the FCD manager next season what would you prefer to happen?
1. SH make no moves to improve the team, no trades, no one waived, no new signings and next season is a repeat of this season and SH gets fired?
OR
2. SH makes the moves he feels necessary to improve and the team makes the playoffs next season?
Yes I know there is a third possibility, but no one (except a Houston or Chicago fan) would CHOOSE it – 3. SH makes the moves he wants AND the team has a repeat of this season.
It has been reported that the allocation money was “significant” …
Not that I doubt you, but “reported” where? I have not seen this “reported” anywhere.
Ives is reporting that FCD has been shopping Moor around for some time.
When you consider draft picks, I agree how much are they worth? And how many new players can we add each year. We’re already too young, and we still have Two first round picks, a second, and two third round picks.
When it comes to allocation money, is HSG going to use the money to bring in a player they have to pay a fortune? I think not.
I say just compare the players ability and system fit.
Jonesing. Colorado’s coach is saying it was significant money.
Is there anyway to get an interview with Drew and get his feelings on this?
I hope this will work out. I have nothing bad to say about Jair and Harris trades/moves. However this seems to be an unequal trade for FCD. Like many have said the pick really dose not matter but the money has to mean something.
Soccerroo – where did you see Gary Smith quoted on the amount of allocation money?
Even if he did say “significant”, don’t you think that would be in his own best interest to make the trade look better? I’ve seen mixed feedback from CRapids fans on this trade, certainly if it seemed that they received “significant” money along with Moor, it would make it better. And really what is “significant”? If you wanted to give me $100 right now, I would consider that “significant”, but if FCD gave $25k in allocation money to CRapids is that really “significant”?
i agree w/ the minority on this board. i didn’t think drew moor was all that. he was only magnified as a good player b/c he’s a hometown boy. although i thought drew was solid, he was still part of the problem. if he was that good, SH would have never took him out as a CB. i thnk ugo will be more of a factor simply b/c of his speed. if you like what jair is doing, then you will like ugo. drew was only OK…we will be able to move on from this.
I don’t hate anyone. Schellas is not the man for the job just like HSG is not the best owner in a place like the DFW area. I guess I see things before some others. I go to every game so if you see results on the field(and that means playoffs) that back up what you believe then come see me. I’m not hard to find. In the mean time you don’t know what you are talking about.
Jonesing,
Just answering your previous question. Here is the link from FCD homepage. So it is an MLS story. Really have no clue as to what significant means but he feels it is enough to help them get another player as well if needed.
http://fc.dallas.mlsnet.com/ne...mp;vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
1) Glad Drew got out. Have to wonder how much not having a true CB partner for last 3 years reflected on his play.
2) Sorry Drew went to Crapids. They are #1 on my teams to hate list.
3) At least SH got a known commodity with potential in Ugo. Hopefully he’s not a head case.
4) This team should have been blown up after the last playoff loss. It’s taken too long. Anyone really miss Alvarez?
5) No DP will come to FCD in its current form. The Ugo’s of MLS are all you’ve got at this point.
“I guess I see things before some others.”
Oh geez, give us a break!
“I go to every game”
Whoopee for you! Attending games does not make you an expert, but your postings show your lack of knowledge.
“so if you see results on the field(and that means playoffs) that back up what you believe then come see me.”
Like I said, something needs to change for FCD. It does not appear a coaching change is any option and unlikley there will be an ownership change so any FCD fan should be wanting to see player movement – outgoing and incoming. If FCD went into next season with most of the roster from this season intact, the result most likely would be the same. The only chance of improving is by making changes.
“I’m not hard to find.” Why would anyone be looking for some goofball poster on a soccer board?
“In the mean time you don’t know what you are talking about.”
In your opinion which, after reading your posts means very little – nil, to me.
Come on, at this point, we can make it to 100 posts!
I have watched Drew since he was 11 years old and Ugo at SMU. Drew is more of an offensive threat since he has great heading ability. He is not a flashy player, but plays with intelligence and heart. Ugo is a better athlete, but not a better player. Hyndman had more talent at SMU since N Texas is a youth talent machine and faced no in-state recruiting rival, but yet made only one final four. He was a poor coach at SMU and won meaningless games in very weak conferences. Now as an MLS coach we see he can’t evalute talent and can’t coach. As an original season ticket holder I think this is it for me. The Hunts are terrible owners with a track record to that backs it up.
#75
At the end of the day, maybe this trade works, maybe it doesn’t. Maybe Ugo is better, maybe Drew. Etc etc. This is all beside the point.
Moor was a veteran leader in the locker room. He had his coach’s back. Even is Ugo is a slight upgrade, is this a trade you really want to make?