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Our Beloved Frenchman

I could deal with Le Toux going to Bolton. Sure, when the rumors started they had just trashed by beloved Liverpool (my other team, since the Union weren’t around in my youth) but at least he would get a shot at the EPL, the big time. And when he was there wreaking havoc on ManU I could look and say "hey, I remember seeing him play live in Chester, and he did the same thing here". So I could deal with a move to Bolton, it was a great chance for our beloved Frenchman.

Then those rumors started to go away, and my blood pressure settled and normality returned to my life. First it was that Bolton needed more time to evaluate him, then it was that Le Toux didn’t want to leave his beloved Union.

Then all hell broke loose. Rumors of a move to Vancouver started swirling, and I, like most of you I am sure, dismissed them as sports writers seeking attention. But then those rumors started to grow, and my blood pressure steadily rose again.

Like I said, I can understand the Union letting Le Toux go to Bolton, it is a great move for his career. They just let Mondragon go back to Colombia per his request to finish out his years where his fantastic career started, so the Union have class and respect their players wishes, and that is fantastic. But Le Toux said he wanted to stay in Philly, that’s why he supposedly gave Bolton such little time to evaluate him. But Vancouver? I guess if you like hockey it’s not a bad place to be, but besides that I hear they have an aquarium, and that’s about it (Olympics are over so that doesn’t count).

I ask the Union why they did this, why ship out your all time leading scorer and creator, as well as the only player in MLS history to play every second of every game for an entire season. I am not knocking our current group of strikers, Mwanga had a solid year then a lackluster one, JacMac is tearing up the U23 national team, and Josue is a solid young prospect. But none of those guys are battle tested. We don’t know if they can stand up to the rigors of a full MLS season and emerge victorious. We don’t know that they will give 100 minutes of pure hustle every game, then run laps around the field thanking the fans for their love and support. We don’t know that they will do happy dances after they score goals. We don’t know that, after scoring to bring us within 1 of New England (after being down 4-1) that they will sprint to the goal, grab the ball, and sprint to the center circle to restart play faster. We just don’t know. With Le Toux, we did. We knew he would give everything he had and more.

To the Union, I say shame. Shame for selling a player who loved you and your fans, and who your fans loved more than anything else. You better use your ill-gotten gains on something great (I hear Ronaldinho is unhappy that he isn’t getting paid). To Le Toux I say you will be missed. You will be cheered upon your return to PPL Park. We will all continue to wear your jersey with pride for you are like our Brian Dawkins, beloved forever in this city. To Vancouver I say congratulations; you will love every second of the Sebastien Le Toux experience. And if you get him for a cool $1,000,000 like reports are suggesting, well, at least Jesse James used a gun.

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