Off-Season Roster Moves: Trades, Free Agents, MLS Draft and Academy

Petke will treat Bover like any youngster who looks good at pre-season. He will get more minutes off the bench and will probably play more of a squad role than he did in 2013. Nothing else. If he does do much better than perhaps we could see him loaned for more minutes and then make more of a contribution in 2015.

Anything else would be a surprise.

 

You yes talk just boloney....What I say was when some of you say on that time, that the game against Toronto or Portland I don't remember which one, Henry will not play because wasn't in grass and I say, to stop that bull shit because we need the points to win the division title because in the MLS CUP we was going to be out on the first round and that it is what happen....

 

So in your mind, if we played with Bover (or Moreno for a relevant example) instead of Henry last year we would have had a better chance at winning the MLS Cup?

 

I might be wrong but I think Metz was just saying for all the money he makes Henry should step up like a leader and play in big games no matter where they are. Jut my interpretaion from my memory so correct me if I am wrong.

 

Metz also said that we would never win anything with Henry. He said it time and time again.

 

I really believe that creating (or transitioning to) a full-scheduled affiliated league like the USL Pro will be seen as a tipping point in US soccer history. We will see more and more 16 year old kids signing pro contracts and getting competitive games instead of waiting and trying to figure out if college makes more sense for them. Having a better development model, one bridging the academy to the first team, will lead to the club being more proactive in handing out homegrown deals and players more eager to sign such deals.
I personally would love to see an educational aspect attached to the current academy model. I think having resident academy players would lead to vastly stronger MLS teams and a stronger USMNT by extension. It's also the right thing to do. If these kids are willing to risk their college eligibility to chase their dream of playing pro soccer, then the clubs need to ensure that if these kids fall short then they at least have a solid education to fall back on.

 

true, i remember that as well.

 

For anyone still looking to catch up after the off season, this is the best preview I've seen so far:

http://americansocceranalysis.wordpress.com/2014/03/06/season-preview-new-york-red-bulls/

And in case anyone not named metz still doubts Henry's influence on the team, this might help put things in perspective:

 

We need a game thread. I'm excited to discuss actual MLS games!!!

 

I think Oyongo will get a shot at LB. Miller will be away with Costa Rica in Brazil and I see Convey being the 15-20 minute guy off the bench at LW. Conner Lade has to step up his game or I can see him becoming expansion draft fodder.

 

I'm actually in wait and see mode. Can these guys really be that much worse than what we see week in and week out in this league? Maybe I'm being naive, but I need to see demonstrably worse officiating (if such a thing exists) before I'm worried.

 

We've got Abbey. The officiating will almost certainly be demontrably worse.