Our Goose is Cooked?

[GrillMaster]

Dude... I don't mean to nitpick, but... dude!

--kraviWhoops, first draft was something like the team and then I changed team to DCU but forgot to delete the article. Edited now -- thanks! ;)

GM

[gocaps]

I love Goose - he was probably my favorite player on the glory days United teams - but he's old, costs a lot under the cap, is even slower than he was before, and is injury-prone. He has two major things to offer now - veteran leadership in the back, which the Metros can definitely use, and set pieces, which with Guevara they don't need much help with.

So the Metros give up a 4th rounder and a whole lot of cap space to add some experience and leadership. The cap space alone means that they overpaid. This move reminds me of United from 2000-2002, when our FO brought back every washed-up forward from the glory days that was still playing (RDA, Lassiter) in a desperate attempt to recapture the old-time magic.

What's funny is the Metrostars had no old-time magic, so they're trying to recapture some of ours :)

[sch2383]

Having Eddie Pope playing in that Swamp is hard enough on me, but Goose too? I wonder if he will look as sad as Eddie does when he says he plays for the Metrostars?

[Lanky134]

Having Eddie Pope playing in that Swamp is hard enough on me, but Goose too? I wonder if he will look as sad as Eddie does when he says he plays for the Metrostars?
Is there anybody who doesn't?

[Lanky134]

And it's official. (http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20041210&content_id=20083&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp)

[TEConnor]

Is there anybody who doesn't?

No.

And can I just say that you have the funniest Avatar and caption I've seen in a long time...

Tim

[Lanky134]

Aw, thanks man...

[monster]

No.

And can I just say that you have the funniest Avatar and caption I've seen in a long time...

Tim
HEY, HEY, HEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:p

Regarding the cap implications of this, I thought the 2005 cap had not yet been determined so it could not be as bad as some might think. Doesn't matter to me, he wasn't going to be stopping Christian Gomez in SJ so now we get to school him four times.

[scarshins]

This also is a reprise of the center defense that started (but didn't finish...) the 02 World Cup team.

[fatbastard]

And can I just say that you have the funniest Avatar and caption I've seen in a long time...What?? Some guy from Pennsyltucky looking excited because he gets to hold two big jugs?
:D

[Short Irish Guy]

Damn, and to think I was a fan of Agoos...

[Th4119]

So how much money are the Metros spending on these two guys in center defense?

Max salary defenders were a problem for us in 2000, and I doubt Eddie or Jeff have taken a pay cut since then.

This also frees up a ton of room for the Quakes, with Donovan and Agoos leaving they should have extreme flexibitily to either go after some good players, or look for some decent Mexicans for their move to Houston.

[GrillMaster]

Another thing to think about is that Jeff won't be playing half his games in that indoor-sized rink that is slightly larger than a legal sized sheet of paper. A bigger field means more space to cover. If cheatin bob plays Goose, I figure it has to be in a 4-4-2 formation. I don't think Goose has the wheels to even play the angles in a 4-4-2 on the larger fields; and I think the synthetic surface of the swamp is going to give his back and calf a real workout. It might be time to buy some stock in the company that makes ben-gay 'cause Goose will be using a lot of it in 2005.

GM

[DangerMouse37]

First, c'mon gang -- Goose is no threat to us at this stage and he does deserve some credit for many years of hard work here. Less like Goose at this stage, more like, well, pate.

Second, the poor bastard has to play in the swamp, a big, empty cavernous, pustule-filled rot of a stadium. Pity the fool. The thought that he'll make it through a whole season on that "turf" without major back/calf/neck/other problems, well, I want some of what the Metros FO is smoking. I have to assume there were no other options

On the other hand he still knows the game well and could play a role. Maybe, maybe he can suck for a year, make a miraculous recovery and come home to win another cup here with Jaime. He'd be, like, 50 in 2 years, right?

If Barry Bonds can do it, it must be possible.

[CHICO13]

If Barry Bonds can do it, it must be possible.
Except the Goose has been doing it on Beer and Brats and not "The Clear". ;)

[The Artist]

The Metros have become DCU's retirement league. Or in Moreno's case reserve/rehabilitation team.

[McOwen]

Not much to add here, but it bares saying, Goose and Pope didnt add much here back in the Rongen years. Not much reason to think they will do much 2-3 years later.

--Sad for Goose though...

[vivaelbolivar]

Why God Why :(

[United_Caps_Fan]

Oh Well. who knows, maybe the metrotards will screw up again and just get him back to his best just in time to send him back here. :D

[JoeW]

I think Bradley believes (and he's been telling his players this) that the only reason his team folded late in the season and the playoffs is a lack of leadership. Thus, they try to trade for Chris Armas. When Chicago won't deal, they go for Agoos.

Jeff is still a fine player. Maybe he'll be the final piece of the puzzle for Metro (but it would have to be a heckuva big piece!). But Bradley originally traded for Pope and Moreno b/c he wanted their leadership. And anyone who's honest about the Metros team would say that another plausible reason for their collapse is:
--no outside wing play;
--poor overall defense (especially on the outside);
--team easily thrown off stride by physical play;
--bad job of the defense and D-mid positions getting the ball to Guevara and Gaven (so they had to track back to get touches--and then were too far away to provide good service to the frontline).

If you think that the Metros problems were not about leadership, than getting Agoos does nothing for this team. B/c they're likely to move Pope--and while Agoos is a better organizer than Pope, Eddie is quite a bit better than Goose in a number of regards. And given Agoos' recent injury bouts, it's even money as to who will play in more MLS matches next year: Pope or Agoos.