I voted sixth, and felt I was optimistic. Anyone that expects Andy to have the same year this year that he did last year is crazy. He absolutely was killer in so many games last year. He also had a few mental meltdowns. My expectation is that he's more consistent. Making the saves he is supposed to make, and still getting some that he has no business getting. However, it would be foolish to expect 10 save games from him. Our back line is in trouble. When does camp start? Right now, our back line is O'Rourke, Marshall, Gehrig, Williams? Really? Holy Christ. Midfield is probably the most continuous from last year. I think we can still play a five man midfield. I hope that Milo can escape the Robert Crush and play as well as he did in spurts last year. Gaven out wide on one side, and on the other? Tchani, I guess..... That leaves Higuain in the middle, until RW tells him to play more defense. And Arrietta does what Arrietta does. I'm not terribly excited about this year, and that saddens me. I expect we'll see mediocre results from above average effort.
I think the backline projects as Wahl-Marshall-Gehrig-Williams at this point (pending international transfers) with O'Rourke at d-mid. Welcome to Bobbyball.
So hard to tell with the roster at present. Really, we should wait until after the draft, after training camp, and after the rosters finalize to make picks. Right now, absent any depth up top at all. Duka's situation unclear, and only 1 natural fullback on the roster, I voted an optimistic 6th. If we can add some actual depth before then, then maybe we sneak in. But I think KC, NY, DC are near locks. Also, Robbie Robers left Leeds today. Don't we still have his rights? We protected him, as I recall.
7th Place in the East 2009(1st Year after Sigi) Lost to lowest seed in opening round of playoffs 2010(2nd Year after Sigi) Lost to lowest seed in opening round of playoffs 2011(3rd Year under Bobby) Lost in wildcard game to same team that knocked us out in 2010 2012(4th Year under Bobby) Missed out on the wildcard spot by 2 points. That is a trend and I unfortunately don't see it changing under this head coach.
If you can figure out MLS player rules you are a better man than me. My guess is the real rule is what NY/TFC/LA/SEA want then if we protected him. I just want his sisters to return.
Jardy just tweeted that Milosevic will not be back. I have yet to read the article. I'd like to downgrade my vote please.
Is the Bernardo Anor as a left back experiment done so early? I think an Anor ---Williams----Marshall---Barson/O'Rourke first choice backline would actually be quite good. The problem is depth
@MassiveCityFFC: @GuldanMR: Per Jardy's piece http://www.dispatch.com/content/blogs/covering-the-crew/2013/01/mirosevic-not-returning.html I think MassiveReport Guy has it right. "Trouble".
I know the sourcing of the story. Doesn't change my opinion on the risk Jardy is taking by getting the ball rolling. Trouble is definitely looming in any case.
Pretty much this. As of now we're 7th. Other teams have done more to improve so far this off season, and even with Arrieta and Higs we still lost the late season games to teams ahead of us in the standings. It would probably take more than just a left back to make me move it up, but 2 or 3 quality additions might move us into playoffs.
I wonder if these poll results would be different if they were taken following the recent acquisitions.
I forgot to vote. If I'd voted before the poll closed I'd have said 8th, ahead of TFC and NE. Now I'm a bit more optimistic and will say 5th or 6th, ie on the bubble for the playoffs. We still don't have a lot of firepower and are an injury to Arrieta or Higuain away from fighting to stay off the bottom.
Unfortunatetly, I feel the same way. I think the coach will be the reason we don't win 6 - 9 pts over the course of the season, and we'll miss out. Again.
I dunno, I might change to 4th (from 7th) if we get Sanchez and after seeing some of the attrition from other teams.
West 1) San Jose 2) LA Galaxy 3) Portland 4) Seattle 5) RSL East 1) Kansas City 2) Houston 3) Chicago 4) Columbus 5) DC United
East 1.) DCU 2.)Houston 3.)SKC 4.)Chicago 5.)NYRB West 1.)San Jose 2.)RSL 3.)L.A. 4.)Seattle 5.)Portland
East 1. Houston 2. SKC 3. NYRB 4. DCU 5. Chicago West 1. Salt Lake 2. LA 3. San Jose 4. Portland 5. Seattle
I really do believe things are starting to take shape for us. Our problem is still that we don't have quality in the center of the field. Eddie Gaven can play in the middle and I actually would like to see him start the season in the center of the park. He works tirelessly and we have lots of wing options (Speas, Meram, Finlay, Anor, Oduro). Kevan George is a quality reserve. He shouldn't be starting for us. Danny O'Rourke is always assumed to be a starter when he is healthy. I have 2 problems with this: 1. Danny is rarely healthy and certainly can't be counted on throughout the season; 2. Danny isn't a good center mid. Sigi realized this and stuck him on the backline. I think Danny has the pace to be a VERY good outside back, but I don't think Robert will play him there. Tony Tchani is a great athlete and a nice guy. But he doesn't have a great touch and he pisses the ball away constantly. We won't be able to keep possession with him in the middle of the field. I look at him the same way I look at George: he should make 5-10 appearances throughout the year. Wil Trapp has great technical skill, but he is still just a kid. I'd rather see Trapp play than Tchani or George. Agustin Viana could be an answer, though this leaves us a little thin at the back. It wouldn't be the worst thing in the world for Tyson Wahl to be our opening day starter at left back, but we have to assume Viana is an upgrade. If we sign Konrad Warzycha, he could potentially be another option, but I don't think he is really going to be any better than George or Tchani. I really hope we land Matias Sanchez. I'd be comfortable with a Sanchez-Gaven pairing, but other than that I'm terrified thinking about how we're going to keep possession.