DH to the bench? I can see De Guzman/Jacobsen/Ferreira up the gut, Shea on the left, Jackson on the right, and Perez (once healthy) up top. But what they really need to do is trade for a forward. That seems to be their immediate priority.
Update: de Guzman Agent confirms trade. http://www.3rddegree.net/2012/07/12/fc-dallas-trades-for-julian-de-guzman/
If that is true then I would consider it fair. I am not sure if DeGuzman is really needed but neither is Wiedeman. Although, he would probably benefit the most from this trade if he finds playing time.
Seems like TFC is not the only one with this problem. Anyway, good luck to you guys with JDG. A very good player, though not worth the money he's paid (I think we're still paying the bulk of his salary).
De Guzman has some degree of talent, but he can't seem to score goals. Why are we continuing to invest in defense when what this team desperately needs are attackers? Is this another example of HSG being cheap instead of smart? De Guzman will go down in MLS history as one of the worst DP contracts of all time. I think DeRo pushed him on Mo Johnston and like the idiot he is, Mo bit. This team cannot play with one decent attacker up top and no bench strength behind that player. This insanity has got to stop.
For years I have thought that no matter how bad things get at least we do not have De Guzman on our team. I have listened to commentators on TV profess his greatness but all I have seen on the field has been mediocrity and a player who looks like he does not care. I have been underwhelmed his passing and shooting skills and flabbergasted by his ability to give the ball away at will. This is going to be worse for FCD than the Santos trade and like Santos he will be gone by seasons end.
While I fully agree that the club needs a backup striker, I would argue that Hyndman has to solve his disastrous midfield situation first. He has almost all of the parts to play a proper 4-5-1 (4-1-4-1), but not a 4-4-2. I have never been impressed with JdG, but like many that was mostly because of his DP status and the amount he was getting paid. But if he comes here, plays like his resume implies, and Dallas can resign him for a fair deal - then we're talking . A midfield three of Ferreria, Jacobson and JdG with Shea and Jackson out wide gives me reason to hope. Now, this all is dependent on David recovering fully and JdG actually playing like he gives a sniff. But if he shows up and is a traffic cone, he's gone at the end of the season and all FCD lost was Wiedeman, who frankly has never looked MLS quality to begin with. Regardless, Dallas still needs to find another striker.. but that is far easier said than done considering the role they need filled and what it might take to give up to get the right guy.
You say that like FCD has a ton of quality d-Mids to begin with... If so, please list. but don't add Hernandez (hurt/too old), Warshaw (hurt/too young), Marcelin (horrid), Guarda (more horrid)
An improvement at DM... This makes great sense IF we're also about to sign a badass linking midfielder and a striker that can provide cover for us when Perez is hurt.
The reason the attack is so anemic is the total lack of midfield, caused by having DH playing so damn deep he's basically defender #5, that coupled with Marcelin/Warshaw being incredibly limited, you've effectively got 6 defenders, and due to that complete lack of midfield Jacobsen then has to come so far back he's basically a 3rd dmid with no outlets or places to play the balls too (wings stranded out wide, and the unlucky SOB up front is on an island). So if De Guzman can provide sufficient cover and replace the DH/Marcelin Combo, then Andrew Jacobsen can push up a little but still provide d-cover, and then Ferria floating ahead of them/out sides, I think you'll see a lot more offense out of the team.
Here is the thing for me on this: sadly, he is an upgrade a DM, which says a lot about our current roster. It cost them a guy who in my opinion has a big bag of nothing who did well in preseason, but in games looked completely overwhelmed. His contract ends at the end of the year, so what's the big deal? At least they made a move to upgrade the squad. And it's addition by subtracting Hernandez from the starting 11, which to me is a big upgrade even if it is DeGuzman, who I find mediocre at best.
Jacobson is no linking midfielder. He's a great player, but his strength is in his physical ability - he has an engine, he's big and strong, he tackles well, and he can hit the ball from distance. His passing is mediocre at best and terrible at worst. If you want to get the ball into DF and keep it, you have to have a quality linking midfielder. Villar is a great passer, but he leaves you without much bite centrally. If Hyndman were smart he'd be grooming Jacobson to take over for DH - I just think his skillset will always limit him as a linking midfielder, but he could be very successul as a holding mid.
If he does a first season Toja for us (as opposed to second season Toja, second season Rocha, or Davino), then I guess this is a good trade. We really need to clear out some more of the dead weight, though, so we can have cap/roster space to bring in a backup striker and CB. - At this mid-latish stage of the season, if Ugo can't even get on a stationary bike without getting concussion symptoms, he needs to go on Season IR, go see a specialist and take care of his health without worrying about when he can get back on the field. That takes his large cap number out of the equation and allows us to bring in cover for our only two healthy CBs, Hedges and Pertuz. - Now we have 6 (six!! And to think Morrow was accused of hoarding central midfielders) defensive midfielders, Hernandez probably ought to retire, for the good of the team. He's done as a starter, and can he really be called fresh legs off the bench with his knee problems? - Trade Guarda. For anything. Christ, take a bag of beans for all I care, at this point he's behind even Ulloa in the depth chart, and while his cap number isn't much, he's still a waste of a roster spot. - Talk to Colorado about trading Luna. He's clearly not developing under Hyndman, and you've got to think Pareja might be interested, given how he played for him. Again, even if it's draft picks and/or allocation, it'll probably be worth it. No point in having a player around that the coach has no interest in playing.
Well, I do think the knock on JdG is more based on his salary than what he does on the field. I think he's at least an upgrade from what we have, especially at holding mid. Again, at $1.4m and DP status, no thanks, but at a fair price and if his plays to his resume, he can be an outstanding upgrade from anyone on the FCD bench.
I agree with all these points, but I am pretty sure that IR isn't cap space freeing, just the roster spot. Maybe I am mixed up on that though. But I agree, it's time to start churning the roster to see what pieces are going to be building blocks towards next year, and which ones are just earning paychecks. The team has a very familiar feeling, sort of 2003-ish, where we have a lot of guys who have been around for awhile and aren't necessarily hurting or helping...and if you are someone in that position, you should be moved along to find someone who can potentially help.
I like this trade provided it does not hamstring FCD financially. JdG should be motivated; if he is, it is an upgrade.
Maybe I'm wrong on this, it was my first season after all, but I seem to recall when Roberto Mina was out for the full season, he didn't count toward the cap.
you got to handed to FCD for being obstinate. FCD gives a big FU to their critics by adding the 2 type of players they get sub-par contributions, Home Growns and High Price DP's. High dollar veterans under SH do not last long. It may take a full to half a season for them to say; " What? you won't me to do what? Ah OK whatever." I just don't see SH has the respect to inspire veteran players. When you are in last place, you dump salaries to gain flexibility not to take on more. Denial. Being honest to what you are is the biggest problem in building a team. FCD is a bad team. It is not a good team getting bad breaks. It's been a bad team since the middle of last summer when the team quit on SH. When he ran full practices in 100° weather.