The Scoobies go shopping… abroad

By: Melissa | December 2nd, 2007

John Doyle recently gave an informative interview with American Soccer Daily where he explained whats next for Our Gang. He says the Scoobies used the expansion draft to nab some solid, young defenders but they are now switching gears to fill out the midfield and find our new ace forwards. A few trips out of the country are planned to look at specific players but Doyle stresses they want to look within the league to find that ace finisher – likely using their SuperDraft picks to trade for a MLS veteran forward:

“We do have the #1 pick, and then the #2 starting in the second round, so we have high picks,” said Doyle, who also grabbed Los Angeles striker Gavin Glinton in the Expansion Draft. “We can do a little bit with the draft, look to make trades with some of the picks to acquire a veteran goal scorer. We want to look in the league for a goal scorer.”

Expansion choices Ned Grabavoy and Joe Vide look like solid choices for the midfield, which could be filled out after some foreign scouting excursions planned for Doyle and coach Frank Yallop.

“We also have the extra expansion money,” he noted. “I’m going to visit Scotland and England to look at a lot of players. Of course, that could be a stretch financially.”

“Frank will also look in Trinidad & Tobago and I’ll probably be on the way to Brazil in a couple of weeks. We have also gotten 5-6 phone calls from agents with players in South America and Africa.”

Doyle also spends some time expressing his excitement over acquiring Preston Burpo specifically highlighting his success with the Seattle Sounders and says: “We’re looking for big things from Preston.” Ok guys, whenever I make a prediction from now on, just immediately assume the Scoobies will do the opposite.

Lastly, American Soccer Daily points out that early predictions for Our Gang to grab some local talent in Europe is not likely to pan out.

Of course, not every roster building operation will be a success. Reports suggest Doyle will be looking to bring players with local ties in from Europe, but it is an ambition unlikely to bear immediate results. Wolfsburg outcast and Berkeley native Kamani Hill recently told ASD he isn’t ready to move to MLS yet, while former Quakes Danny Califf (of Danish title chasers Aalborg BK) and Ramiro Corrales (of Norwegian champs Brann) could well be in line for Champions League involvement next fall.

Oh well. Seeing any of those three in a Quakes uniform next year would’ve been pretty dope. Not much else is going on this weekend except the tryout tour returned from vacation yesterday with a stop in Walnut Creek. It’s in Hayward today (I seem to recall reading somewhere there will be tryouts in the South Bay but I’m not seeing dates anywhere on the Quakes’ official website). Pictures of the San Francisco stop are online now with some nice shots of Kezar Stadium (*sniff* RIP Victory *sniff*).