http://www.scotsman.com/sport/footb...y-driver-in-mls-houston-dynamo-move-1-2798763 + https://twitter.com/DarrellLovell + (i realize this has been posted in the pre-season catch-all, but felt it needed its own thread)
FWIW, Darrell Lovell tweets that the Dynamo may be working on opening a foreign spot. There are a couple of obvious candidates, and I'm hoping they've found a new home for Watson.
i saw 37 seconds of his highlights. conclusion: the guy is legit. personal opinion: if it happens, 4-4-2 would be the only realistic formation to get your best 11 on the field.
OK, so that is what I have been going through in my head. How do you do it in a 4-4-2 if he comes on board? Bruin, Cummings, Driver, OBG, Davis, Rico . . . . you have to put one of them out of position in the middle and leave Barnes on the bench
Yeah, I don't believe he'll be starting. If he played England's u-21 at that age, would that have put him playing with Barnes at some point?
sorry did i say 4-4-2? i meant 4-5-3. yeah, i'm going to have to sleep on this one and get back to you tomorrow. my thinking is you play Andrew Driver out of position "ever so slightly" withdrawn up top. great problems to have!
from the 37 seconds i saw, it would be criminal if he doesn't start. if you know how i feel about the Scottish football, you know that's high praise as i think the best native born Scottish player is Georgios MacSamaras.
Driver is a pretty darn good player. Speed, decent touch, and can throw in a pin-point cross. He won't score a ton of goals but he'd certainly a useful player that can bring a positive influence on the attack. IIRC, he has no prolem tracking back on defense and can win his fair share of balls. A couple of things to point out: FWIW, he's English not Scottish and was very close to repping Scotland. Unfortunately, at the last minute the Scottish FA nixed his chances as he had not met the new residency laws. Driver has undergone a couple of knee surgeries over the last couple of years but it appears the effects are minimal. Last but not least, he's had a very long love-hate relationshiop with Hearts. He's been pretty vocal about the revolving door of managers, distaste for how Hearts has conducteded business, and their refusal to sell him despite solid offers. I think his opinions has, for a lack of better words, earned him a ban from Hearts. He's been frozen out.
I think we've got too many striker/winger types to try to run the best XI in a 4-4-2 if we add Driver. 4-3-3 with Cummings and Driver out wide up top, Davis-Rico-OBG in midfield? I'm liking what I see from Driver in any case, if he's fit seems like he'd be a good signing.
So, clearly this dude can ball. Would be very nice to get him in the fold. Wonder how he likes the heat?
How you get these guys all of the pitch coupled with his potential salary make me question the truth of this rumor. I cannot figure out how you get Driver, Bruin, Cummings, Davis, Rico, Barnes, and OBG on the pitch at the same time without going three in the back. Three in the back is not something I think Dom will use as his default formation and that would leave one of Ashe, Sarkodie or Boswell out. Don't get me wrong, I love a Driver - Bruin - Cummings top line; but I would like to see Barnes out there as I think he has the best vision of any potential central middies. With those three up top he wouldn't make the start as you would go Davis - Rico - OBG. I know we need all sorts of depth and different lineups this year with call-ups and international competitions but we are talking about our default starting 11 - and moving any of the above guys to the bench may not sit well and would lead to a lot of money on the bench. Of course, I also wonder if we don't need to trade someone to make this happen (again if true); maybe Barnes is on the block?
The heat shouldn't be an issue if he is coming to Houston right now. It's not hot, and he, like the rest of the team, can get used to the heat as it increases the next few months.
It would almost have to be Barnes or Watson; maybe Camargo. They could trade a different player away to clear space for an I-spot in return. So, in essence, a lot of options to get the I-Spot. I am just wondering what we are doing with all the guys making 200k plus. You cannot get them all on the pitch.
I'm hoping it's Watson. But, as you point out, you can also trade for an int'l slot. Should be an interesting week.
Barnes is one I wonder about. I really like what I've seen of him but he hasn't seen a ton of minutes, I don't know if that's been due to fitness, heat, practice habits, or some combination thereof. We did seem to see him more later in the season last year. I agree that Dom won't go to a 3 man backline (unless we're chasing points late in a game), that does make you wonder what sort of role Driver is being brought in to play. We will eventually need a long term replacement for BD (as mentioned) but I'd think that's at least a season or two away from happening. Driver's salary cap hit is a valid concern as well.
Seems Camargo would easily have the most value. Of course, I guess value isn't really a consideration if they're just trying to open up an int'l slot. I'd think the move would also have to clear some cap space.
And that is the kicker. In a trade of this ilk, you may not care about value, because you are looking to give a player away and get no player in return to clear cap space. They could trade for a reserve player and not sign one of Arena/Nealis. I think they will try to trade for allocation money and/or an I-Spot. They will probably end up with an I-Spot depending on who is traded. Of course, if this rumor is false or talks fall through - we may see no moves.
That is a fair point but what is also worth pointing out is Driver has never looked the same player since his knee injuries. One could argue that he hasn't been given an extended run to prove otherwise but he has been given a fair amount of chances since recovering from injury and does not look the same player. He certainly isn't as explosive as he was originally. (and he's only 25 so that in itself should be fairly worrying)
at the end of last year i would of said Barnes, but he has looked very good this pre-season. i think he stays. i know alot of yous have a dislike of Je-Vaughn Watson, but the dude has value in "this league". i would hate to only get an international spot from him in return besides any team acquiring Watson would be using 2 spots: the one they're trading and the one he would occupy. i don't see that happening. like CA said above that leaves Camargo.
They wouldn't trade Watson for an I-spot, because as you point out, teams would be unlikely to give up two. This makes him harder to trade as our best scenario would be allocation money. Of course, we could cut him as I don't think he is guaranteed. They could trade Barnes, Camargo, or Watson for allocation money or a reserve player (or draft pick). They could trade ANY number of other players for an I-Spot alone.