1. Heaps has done enough to keep his job. Some will disagree, but what ever his credentials may not have been, the team finished ahead of where (almost) everyone predicted, and plays in an attractive style. 2. The team has an excellent core, which for me includes: Gonçalves, Rowe, Nguyen, Fagundez, Farrell, Caldwell, and possibly Imbongo. The growth and happiness of the core players should be a factor in decision-making over the winter. 3. We should be thinking now about hiring starting players. No vacation for Burns and Heaps. The league has moved past the point where raw rookies are routinely given OJT in matches that count. All it takes is one legitimate player from a top league (e.g. DiVaio), and you can pull in 4 of his best friends. 4. We should only consider hiring players who are technically flawless. When this team can't string passes together, it has nothing. If there is anything that the SKC series demonstrated, it's that there is very little unpressured time on the ball when playing against good teams. 5. I don't know if Reis plans to retire after this injury, but if so, can we please do the right thing for once, and give him the send-off he deserves, and not the pathetic non-celebration Ralston and Twellman got? 6. This will sound melodramatic, but this off-season is crucially important. The club has a great chance to build their fan-base, and to build loyalty within the team. If the players and the fans sniff out the Grant Wahl-diagnosed "lack of ambition", and the core bails for Scandinavia, we're going to be partying like it's 1999.
Every discussion from here till opening day is going to focus on what players we need, and what positions we need to fill. GK is obviously going to be a discussion, but to me, the cryingest need is for an international-caliber striker. We've learned that in MLS (and heck, everywhere else as well), you need a Keane or diVaio or Sanvezzo to take you from being a mid- or lower-table team to being a contender. The Revs have the people in the midfield, with Rowe and Nguyen and Caldwell and Fagundez, to give a top-quality striker plenty of service. And a top-quality striker can also open up chances for Fagundez and Rowe, who we know can score. Obviously the front office thought they had that striker in Bengston, and plenty of us thought so, too. We were wrong about the person, but the basic idea was the correct one. So send Bengston packing, and bring on the next guy. Pay him what it takes, and build from there.
The Revs have $1m or so in salary cap space. They have international roster spots. They have (at least) 2 DP spots available. I know you're used to it Mike Burns, but don't suck this off-season.
@rkupp can we finally start talking about the offseason now? In all seriousness, this is arguably the biggest offseason in franchise history. In no particular order: 1. Re-sign the captain. Goncalves was a beast all season. Just get it done, I don't care if it's DP money. 2. Cut the dead weight. Mainly Toja and Bengtson who simply aren't good fits for this club. 3. Find a metronome. We desperately need a player who can dictate the rhythm of a game through winning tackles and distributing. I think this should be our top priority. Spend DP money and get ourselves a stud to anchor the midfield. Pair this player with Caldwell and I think we'd it would make a world of difference. Dorman should be a reserve and Simms should be cut. 4. Replace Agudelo. This guy was dynamic throughout the season and added a big spark for our playoff push. I think we could realistically find a similar player in the $275k-$350k range. 5. Left back needs to be improved. This position has been a black hole for years. Tierney is scapegoated far too often and is a quality reserve in MLS, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't upgrade the position. Maybe O'Brian Woodbine can fill this void? If not I'd like to look within MLS for an upgrade. We have multiple draft picks, some allocation money, and a lot of cash. Let's find a trade partner. 6. What's going on between the pipes? Matt Reis turned back the clock and stood on his head towards the end of the season, but he can't be relied on at this point given his age and the injury. Shuttleworth isn't an above average MLS starter from what I've seen. Lets get a young goalkeeper into the fold (maybe Andre Blake through the draft?) and bridge the gap with another year of Reis or another MLS veteran.
Pretty much agree with everything that Crooked wrote, except I'd like to see us sign two significant forwards.
I agree with most of what has been listed as needs. I say look at what we have and start by replacing what we will be losing. That means start at striker and goalkeeper. If those loses are replaced with players of equality quality, then the team will be marginally better next year. Accomplishing those two replacements will be very difficult given our track record and the crap shoot that is bringing in "appropriately" priced talent. Then try to move on to the holes that have existed for years. I agree with cutting the dead weight and signing players who are technically superior. Please do not sign players who are past their sell by date. Finally, if you sign technically superior players, then I believe that you will automatically improve depth. The team cannot continue to carry players who cannot be trusted with playing time and who are not being developed for a future role. These players just occupy roster spots to meet the league minimum. The Revs have a long history of being about 12 -14 players deep, at best, more like 7-9 players deep. Heaps had no where to look last night because he did not trust anybody on the bench. Our lack of depth will always limit our potential as we are a few injuries away from starting/playing guys who do not belong in the league. Find guys with technical talent to replace them. I think lack of reserve league/games for the bench really hurts the Revs/MLS. Guys with no technical ability who sit on the bench all year cannot develop and you would not want to rely on them when in the most important of situations.
I completely agree with that as well. Considering we have a lot of "depth" up top, here's how I view things: Fagundez = The present and future Sene = Injured Imbongo = Situational starter Agudelo = Gone Bengton = As good as gone Davies = Useless Barrett = Useless
with a salary cap you have to prioritize Priority #1: sign Goncalves to a long term contract Priority #2: sign a striker of Agudelo's quality Priority #3: sign a partner for Caldwell in defensive midfield with size, strength and passing ability - ala Hernan Bernardello, Wil Johnson, Kyle Beckerman, or Osvaldo Alonso, or an Andy Dorman who can complete a pass Priority #4: sign another striker of Agudelo's quality Priority #5: left back Priority #6: GK I think GK and left back are lesser priorities because Shuttleworth is not terrible - he's just not Matt Reis. If we accomplish #s 1-4 and all 3 new players turn out to be successes I would be fine with Shuttleworth starting in goal. Similarly for left back, if we have a top level d-mid signing combined with Caldwell, then platooning left-back with Alston, Tierney and Polak is acceptable to me. If we get a left back who can provide an attacking threat that would be gravy.
1. CF 2.CB 3.CDM 4.CF2 5.GK For me AJ Soares is a liability defensively, can't keep possession and a poor distributor out of the back. He's got beaten for pace and strength. For me, we need to find a more solid CB. Did everyone forget about Alston at LB? See if anyone wants to buy or trade for Bengston. He's a good player on a different team. Cut Toja!
While I agree on Soares being inadequate, I don't think we can need to/can afford to make CB a priority at this point. It' time for Farrell to make the switch to CB. Hopefully a healthy Alston can start at RB, or we look to upgrade that position through the SuperDraft, Re-Entry Draft, or trade.
For me it's: 1. Striker - 2 please! 2. CDM 3. LM/RM 3. LB 4. CB If we're going to bring in players who fit that 4-1-4-1/433 system, we need wide players. Once Sene went down our only option was to start putting natural strikers out wide, and none of Agudelo, Barrrett, or Imbongo were really what we need out of a midfielder. I'd like to get a real LM to compete with Sene, and possibly let us have the option of playing Sene at striker when called for. We need a larger version of Caldwell. Someone who can bang with big teams like KC, Houston, and also has passing ability. The end of the season we were in a hole of picking either physicality in Dorman or passing in Caldwell, and we desperately needed both at the same time. I think Alston at LB for a full season is going to be good enough that it's not top priority. I think Farrell/Alston/Tierney/Barnes/Woodbine was sufficient for outside back. Not ideal, but definitely not top priority. Likewise with CB, I think McCarthy brings a lot of what Soares doesn't. If we can bring in a better players at CB and LB, great, but not before we fill positions of greater need. FWIW, Darren Mattocks seems to be talking his way out of VC.
I agree with Bengston and Toja. Beyond that, there's not a ton of dead weight. I wouldn't act punitively on Barrett and Davies prior to seeing them in pre-season training. We'll be spending the $$ (I hope) on the gaps left by Bengston and Agudelo - why axe a guy like Barrett when we don't know whats coming down the pipe in re-entry draft? There will be the usual churn in the lower echelons of the roster. One lingering question I have is: if Duckett, Polak or Woodbine couldn't make the 18 for the KC matches (where we had no reserve outside backs) are they viewed as having any significant upside?
lol yes fire the goal scorer and the ONLY guy on this roster who can hold up the ball in our thug league and occasionally put it in the back of the net. Keep Imbongo - not saying start him but he's done a more than adequate job this season IMO. Don't cut him out right without a suitable bruiser forward replacement. Every MLS team needs a Will Bruin / Imbongo type. I agree with a lot of your posts but not that one (*unless the sarcasm went over my head, then well played!)
Left back, schmeft back. The team's weakest position is obviously at commentator. Someone needs to be brought in to replace Causey, and ideally Feldman as well.
Yes, they're obviously more suited for coaching positions anyway. Though I agree with those saying: Find a quality Agudelo-level (or better) replacement and securing Goncalves are jobs 1A and 1B. Either order.
in a world where the krafts aren't the owners of this team, jermaine jones would look pretty good in a revs shirt.
From the booth to the goal? We know who is in line to take over for Reis - he's already a KSG employee.
I was thinking about Jones as well. I just do not know what it would take to get him here meaning, how will he enter MLS? How will it be determined who gets first choice at him?
I'd never offer Jones a contract right now. He's playing with an injury. I'd wait until he gets surgery and recovers. Schalke won't sell him anyway. They have too many injuries. If they sold him, they'd need to buy a replacement. So at best, we could sign him for after the World Cup.
This kid is only 23, has made great strides from last year and is a physical beast that no defender wants to go against. I know everyone is on him about his 3 reds this year, but he hasn't had any in nearly 3 months. If he keeps improving he can be a real impact player. That was a beautiful goal he had last night.
FWIW, Jermaine Jones would fit this team like a glove. Really need a big, physical, ball-winning DM to fit in our system. What they really needed this year was for Kalifa Cisse not to be a bust.
I think Imbongo was born to play in this league. He's better than anyone else on the team at holding off leg breaking defenders, and in high pressure he can cause a few turnovers. Yes his shooting from distance is poor and his touch is average or below average, but in the MLS I'm not sure its that important. If you can muscle your want into the box, or muscle a shot off when your being tackled, you'll do fine. Also, for $90,000, he delivers most than a comparable CF.
Raid Stoke for Wilson Palacios or Mo Edu? Probably still out of the Revs price range, but that sort of not-quite-EPL-starting-level ability tends to dominate in MLS. What was up with Cisse this year? I never saw him play so I have no idea why they decided to spend 400k on him.