NEAGLE IS BACK: Sounders reacquire Federal Way Native from Montreal

By Money Mike


Earlier today there was a tweet saying that there was going to be a roster move made by the Sounders with a player coming to the Emerald City. Out of all the players over thinking, hoping, or expecting, I don't think anyone would've predicted the return of this man. The Seattle Sounders reacquired Lamar Neagle from the Montreal Impact in exchange for an international roster slot. The Sounders now have seven international slots and four of them are currently occupied by Andy Rose, Adam Johansson, Christian Tiffert and Mario Martinez. Neagle rejoins the Sounders for a third stint and will surely be with the Rave Green for more than a year, unlike his first two stints with Seattle. Last February, the Sounders traded Neagle to the Montreal Impact along with Mike Fucito in exchange for Eddie Johnson in what almost the entire Sounder nation considered to be a dumbass move because of his horrible stint in Europe and his lack of form, but EJ proved everybody wrong with he scored 17 goals in 38 appearances in all competitions for the Sounders.

So as all of you know, Neagle has been in and out of this roster these past five years. He signed with the Sounders in 2009 as a Developmental player (not a Homegrown player), however he didn't made an appearance for the Sounders in 09' and was released. In 2010, he joined the Charleston Battery of the USL Second Division and led them to their third League Championship in club history. He made 19 appearances that year and led the league with 12 goals and also recorded an assisted. He also scored in the USL Second Division final that turned out to be the game winner. Following that, he moved to IFK Mariehamn in Finland for a short stint and scored two goals in five appearances. After his stint in Finland, Neagle returned to Seattle on trial and ended up signing a contract with the Sounders after impressing the Sounders coaching staff during preseason. At the start, people weren't expecting to see much of Lamar Neagle in 2011 but after Steve Zakuani suffered a double fracture at the hands of Brian Mullan, Neagle stepped in and made a huge impact for the Sounders, making 23 appearances and scoring five goals including a hat trick at home against the Columbus Crew. And of course last season, he gets traded to Montreal where he made 23 appearances and scored two goals for the Impact including one against the Sounders. Now here he is back in his home town of Seattle, ready to make a bigger impact with the Sounders.


Thoughts on this move:

I have to admit, I'm just about as shocked to see Neagle back in Seattle as I was seeing him get traded to Montreal last season. But either way, it's great to have him back in the Emerald City. The fans love him, he's become more of an attacking threat game after game and I think this year will be the year he unloads and makes as much of an impact with the Sounders as he did during his second stint. Of course this also leads to more questions. With Fredy Montero out on loan to Millonarios for the 2013 season (by the way, he will be back with the Sounders in 2014 for sure), what do you do with your lineup. Fans have been debating about who should partner up top with EJ. "Rosales should start up top, no Zakuani should start up top, no Martinez." Do you guys ever consider Neagle as a possible option? He played forward in college and also at Charleston. Putting Martinez up front would be a bad idea because one, he's not a forward and two, you lose a bit of creativity in the midfield (not that Zakuani doesn't have it). More moves still to come for sure, but a good move here by the FO.