I would argue that the best teams have a good core of domestic players or solid MLS veterans. We have/are developing some of those guys: Johnson, Berry, Nyarko, Big Red, Dilly Duka, and Magee. We need to add a RB and a CB, to this group. But, where we really lack as a team is in the big talent, the game-changers. The guys who take a team on their back and win. You could throw Magee in that mix, but I see him as the perfect second striker. We need a big talent forward and a big talent attacking mid. Add those two and fill that RB and CB with decent quality players (nothing special, but solid) and you have a great team. Can you imagine Blanco at his Fire best (or Mila for you Poles) with this team and Keane or Henry or Di Vaio up front with Magee? Three or four players (two good DPs) could make us the best team in MLS. Gutting this team will just lead to more of the same. The problem is we, for whatever reason, are not signing big talent DPs. We're signing ill-scouted prospects with upside.
Yeah, maybe. It will be interesting to see if the team fades down the stretch, but our Magee Era PPG over the whole season would have us leading the Supporters Shield race by four points with a 1.92 PPG. There isn't any one in our XI who one would project to get significantly worse with age next season other than Sega. Maybe Rolfe but he has already been pretty bad.
Team Clean Sheets Failed to Score Goals Scored Goals Conceded Eastern Conference Chicago 4 7 32 37 Columbus 8 8 31 38 DC United 5 14 16 44 Houston 6 9 31 35 Kansas City 10 7 41 27 Montreal Impact 8 5 45 37 New England 12 8 37 29 New York Red Bulls 8 8 44 36 Philadelphia Union 10 6 37 38 Toronto FC 3 11 23 39 Looking at these stats it looks to me like we have trouble on both sides of the ball, but are not horrendous on either side compared to the rest of our conference. One thing that stands out is the lowest total for clean sheets, and this despite having (arguably) one of the top two keepers. Clearly we need some veteran help in the defense (although maybe Rios will provide the boost there). My subjective impression is that a big time play making CAM is our number one priority. More possession is one of the best ways to prevent giving up that single heartbreaking goal that has been an issue for us since Grazzini left.
He's saying that teams are figuring us out already this season (just like last year, when they figured out how to play us, mainly double team Rolfe), next season will be worse. You just can't throw out the same 11 week in and week out (or year in and year out). Just look at what other teams DP's have been doing the last 2 or 3 months, that's what we need. We need to stop signing players, that MIGHT be good/great and bring in players that already have been good/great.
No confidence in Anibaba? I say lets get a decent RB, an actual RB and play with Berry-Anibaba, and see what happens. Red if I remember correctly is a "free agent", so who knows how much money he will want.
Add a Keane-level #10, a Friedrich-level #4 and a couple of talented American kids (the level of Nick DeLeon/Luis Silva/Kelyn Rowe/Dillon Powers) and I think it could beat anyone, assuming Johnson, Berry, Anibaba, Duka all get better and Magee and Red and Patrick don't start declining. Lot of assumptions though. But this is a 2014 speculation thread so let's dream big.
We really don't need performances like Seattle has been getting from Martins against us or Dempsey in general. Besides, singing big DPs to play virtually every game contradicts your advice to rotate players. Larentowicz may be a free agent, but if we offer him a contract roughly equivalent to what he's getting now we'll own his MLS rights and I don't see a foreign team picking him up.
I would be happy with Anibaba taking Soumare's spot and a new solid RB coming into the team. That's one less player we'd need to sign. In my mind that lowers our needs to AM, RB, and ST in that order. I'd even say that if we could get a great DP AM, I'd be willing to give Anangono more time with Magee up front. --------------------Johnson--------------------- -----RB-----Anibaba-----Berry-----Sega------ -------------------Rios/Big Red*---------------- -----Duka--------------------------Nyarko----- -------------------BadA$$ AM------------------- ------------Magee------------------------------- ----------------------------Anangono**--------- *God, I hope it's Rios **Not sure about him I think a Sega upgrade is going to be needed soon, but maybe not next year. this could be a dangerous line-up
You could only have 3 DP's, so there is plenty of room to rotate and I didn't say that they would play every single game. If you get big name DP's (example Keane), they are going to miss a game here and there for international duty. By the way Martins has more goals than our last 4 DP's combined, so yeah I wouldn't want a player like Martins. And I'm not saying that we have to break the bank on DP's. Look at Montreal's DiVaio he getting paid good (1.9), but it's not like he's breaking the bank. So look for players in the 1.5-2.5 million range (Blanco, DiVaio, Donovan before his raise, etc). The problem with this your Dear Leader would NEVER open up his wallet (his wife's purse) to go and get these kind of players.
I don't think Anangono is going to be the answer. I think if we can't get BADA$$ Forward, then with a BADA$$ CAM running the show, I think Rolfe would do much better (but I'd rather have that BADA$$ forward).
But then you and others would complain because the coach only rotates the players when he has to do it.
Yeah, because it's been working the last 2.5 half years. Playing the same 11-14 players, hell Frankie has used the same starting 11 when we play 3 games in a 7-8 days span in the middle of summer. Maybe just maybe the player wouldn't be dead tired in September and October if Frankie would give other players minutes. If they are not good enough to be playing, then it's on Frankie and Deal Leader to get players that can.
That's already happening with ZERO DP's, complaining when we lose a USOC match. That would never change.
Maybe, just maybe, losing Grazzini and Pappa part way through 2012 had an effect on the team and our results. Maybe.
http://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/en/chicago-fire/leistungsdaten/verein_432.html As of game 26. Anibaba and Berry have played every minute for this team. Edit: Their numbers may include Open Cup games, so not up to week 26 in MLS.
Lots of other coaches in the this league, globally, and hell, in other sports deal with players not being available for prolonged stretches of a season due to injury or trades, etc. The good ones develop all of their players...in this league, good coaches like Bruce can play blend in guys 18-22, more than one at a time even, and get results. #KlopasOut
Then that's on Frankie and Dear Leader. If you're going to loan/transfer out two of your best player, you better have someone the replace them or have a Plan B. If I recalled just about everybody was fine with letting Grazzini go and that we were doing just fine without him (Now after he's gone, we realize how much we missed him). Don't tell be that once Frankie decided on his 11-14 players (except for injury/suspension) that he wouldn't been playing them. That was one of the biggest complains about Frankie (maybe his substitutions) how he hardly changes his starting 11.
and Seagres (25 games for 2,250) and Soumare (15 games for 1,350) have played every minute when they played (both had a suspension).
...and the year before, keeping a man on Oduro, essentially teams marked him right off of the team in mid-2012 and out of Chicago in February. We have been a "one-trick" pony of a team for the past three seasons. Of course, that may be better than the "no trick" pony we were in 2010, where out "top scorer" had a whopping 7 goals (Marco Pappa).
Have you done any homework on our team and our minutes? What would be enough? How many players need to rotate? We have ~22 players with 200+ minutes on the season. 15 with ~800+ minutes on the season. LA have ~22 players with 200+ minutes on the season. 15 with ~800+ minutes on the season. It's actually amazing how similar our numbers are if you actually do some research. We lost MacDonald who I'm pretty sure had 800+ minutes on the season but he isn't included in these numbers. I do count Rios as having 800+ minutes even though his stats don't show up on the Fire's. It's an educated guess. LA's numbers include the fact that Arena has to mix things up because they have high profile players that get called up to their national teams as well as having to mix things up for international competition. Based on numbers alone it would be safe to say Klopas rotates more than Arena. If we had more national team players or international competition we'd be forced to have more rotation pushing our numbers further out than Arena.
Elsewhere I referenced Tweed Thornton's analytic columns of player utilization, etc....that's where I am coming from POV-wise. His research is, imo, thorough. Again, I am doing primary and secondary research, getting evidence, etc....You the same I suppose (though Khan pointed out differently)....we have different conclusions as to whether Frank is a good coach. Sometimes sacred cows make the tastiest burgers. #KlopasOut
So when faced with numbers that doesn't support your hypothesis...you claim difference of opinion? Whatever dude! I will add that RSL appears to do a better job of rotation than LA or Chicago. If RSL is the pinnacle of that style then we do have a little ways to go.