By no means is anyone using Steele as tool to measure other players against. I believe the point was that he's just a tool and that what we have is (hopefully) an automatic upgrade.
I do understand how so many are so concerned over RSL's midfield but really we lost Steele (he sucked) and we lost Johnson, Yes we will miss his hustle and heart, mostly we will miss his ability to recover and break up opponents counters with his speed, but offensively RSL loses very little. Morales may have lost half a step from two seasons ago but his soccer mind is still intact and I suspect players like Valasquez Gil and Vianna will learn to combine well with him given the opportunity. Weak point in this years midfield will not be the above young players or Morales it will be Grabavoy. If RSL can get a couple good attacking strikers , and can learn to play wide in order to start playing crossing balls into our target striker (Sabo) it may be a real fun team to watch. I for one am much more excited to watch this new team play than the boring keep away lack of vision soccer we saw last year.
Hopefully they all work on taking shots in the offseason. It kills me how many times we'd be sniffing around the top of the box and you could see there was a large enough gap to take a shot and we'd either dribble into the defense, or try and pass through 2-3 defenders. I'd much rather see us blasting a shot into the stands instead of watching us lose possession when an opportunity was there. One other thing that needs to happen is rotation. There was next to no rotation last year unless someone was injured. We have guys that are up there in age and realistically probably can't handle a full season without some rest. Learn to rotate some players out and try and keep people healthy. It doesn't mean we need to shuffle the lineup every game, but here and there to keep guys fresh would do wonders.
Its simple, Johnson was better than most of our existing wide midfielders. I already lost faith in Grabs ability to start consistently on the other side and so you have a mix of 5 guys of unknown ability or not mature enough competing for these very important roles. Was WJ or Steele Barca quality, of course not. But I am not confident in who we are planning on giving the roles to.
there is a lot of "if" in your argument. There is in any argument, granted, but banking on guys we've seen play but struggle to be consistent to suddenly really develop is something we should know better than. Just look at Gil and Warner. We placed a ton of hope on those guys when Javi went down. We thought, hey, these guys showed last season they can step up in the big moment as a sub, why not as a starter? And then they stumbled. Sure, Gil and Warner are decent players, but they aren't the players we were hoping they could be. I feel we are in the same boat with the pressure we're applying to Viana and Velasquez. I don't doubt these guys can play in this league. They've shown glimpses of it. However, to bank on them to be the next thing out there is scary to me. I don't care how good our forwards are, our formation doesn't work without a good midfield.
Can Jason do this? It seems he gets stuck on his favorites unless something external (injury, suspension, call-up) forces him to change. Will he be able to give everyone a chance with the first team in order to find the combination that works the best? If he can, it will be a step forward for him. If he can figure out the midfield puzzle, we'll be okay (assuming a good partner for Sabo).
I could've sworn he used to rotate more during the 08-09 seasons, but I could be wrong. I think a combination of rotation and finding the right formation for the players we have will be a big step forward. If it winds up still being the diamond then great. If another formation would better fit the players we have, it'd be nice to explore that.
From what I remember, you never knew who was going to start up top in those years. Yura, Espy, Findley, etc were all possibilities. There definitely was more competition for the spot and Kreis was more willing to let people shine, or so it felt.
[quote="Kreis was more willing to let people shine, or so it felt.[/quote] AGREE!! We have some talented players who need time, but Kreis when with as much of his 11 and Steele as he could.
He's not really the forward we're looking for, correct? Listed as a M/D, plays for the Reggae Boyz as a D. Made just under $100k guaranteed with Portland last year. Played 19 games but started 15. 15 shots, 2 on goal, 0 goals and assists.
Almost certainly...they have played together for the reggae boys a few times. Correct. RSL now owns his rights and has 1 week to make him an offer.
I'm thinking this guy finishes the defense, nothing offensive He'll be a 3rd/4st string outside back that has potential. Honestly, I really like this addition (should it officially happen). I thought he showed well at Houston and Portland. We're going to pay him less than he made previously (roughly 100K) and we don't have to worry about drafting or adding any defenders. Defense Depth Chart Outside Backs: Beltran, Wingert*, Mansally, Palmer**, Martinez (sorta) Center Backs: Borchers, Schuler*, KWS, Salcedo * Can play both if needed ** Assuming we sign him Well played Garson, well played
I didn't see it noted anywhere, but Paulo was selected by Vancouver. Interesting that Reynish didn't get selected. Hopefully he lands somewhere.
Hopefully he's a guy that can play both D and Mid. That'd be a really solid backup spot if he can fill multiple roles that way.
Interesting pickup by RSL. If they can sign him to an affordable deal, he might fit the need at midfield. He's not Will Johnson, but had a decent engine (at least with Houston). Decent speed, and reasonably technical. He might fit the RSL system better than he did in Portland and can also be the emergency outside back that the team will miss with Will's departure. Pretty strong signal that RSL is indeed looking for a more experienced midfielder. I'll be surprised if there aren't several other such players invited into camp.
He plays as a defensive midfielder or as a right back, though he doesn't play either position very well. He contributes almost nothing offensively, since he is a very poor passer and when he decides to shoot it is usually way off target. He has enough athleticism and a high enough work rate to be decent on defense, though even there he sometimes makes mistakes due to his lack of tactical awareness. I don't understand what RSL is thinking with this move. Doesn't RSL use a system that is based around controlling possession? What use could they have for a player who is as uncomfortable with the ball at his feet as Palmer is?
Although, in fairness, we also weren't winning as much in those days. I think the mediocre results lent themselves to more competition for starting spots.
While we weren't winning as much, it had to be a good thing to have competition with players trying to start. This last season there was basically 0 bite from the subs, and in a lot of games from the starters. There was no risk of losing your starting spot, regardless of how well you were playing in games, unless you got injured. After so many poor showings, Steele never should've been the first guy off the bench (or starting), and I thought Seba showed rather well the times he was playing at the start of the season, and to essentially leave him out of the team for most of the season was just crazy. I'd much rather have a form of rotation based on form in games vs 'the starting 11' playing every game no matter what, even if they're stinking it up.
Most players in the re-entry draft fit this description. Sometimes a change of scenery can do wonders for a player. We'll see if that's the case. Odds are against it.