Practice Notes & Quotes 10-22-02

[Diceson]

Asst. Coach Trask covers some of the trip . . . 'Nelly' with some interesting new things to say:

http://unitedmania.mlsfansites.com/story.php?news_ID=200809&PHPSESSID=a7d0e57193132ea50887c46530bf36cd

[Lowecifer]

Thanks Diceson.

Great as usual.


I liked these particular comments:

From Nelsen:

"This league . . . personally I think this league is at such a good standard that you can’t carry players, you just can’t. No competitive league in the world plays with a player that can’t defend."

...hmmmm

and

From Trask:

Dave Kasper mentioned to me that the guys just looked more powerful. I think that’s directly related to some of the training we’ve been doing for the last couple of weeks. The guys are starting to buy into it.

This is very encouraging! Fitness is such a problem for United, and if Petrosian can get the job done, he could be the MVP next season.

and

"The coaches from Tottenham couldn’t stop talking about Bobby during training. They really rated him very highly."

[DigitalTron]

Great reporting Diceson! Thanks again!

So MLS owns the option for Nelsen's contract, which was what I thought because that's standard contracting for them and I haven't heard of a single confirmed case where MLS didn't own an option on a SuperDraft pick's contract.

Nelsen is getting a green card :eek: That sure is big news to me, because I had heard that he wasn't even looking into it, guess I heard wrong. When he gets it (who knows what year it will be) he'll be in a great situation from an MLS perspective.

This quote from Trask about Convey speaks volumes:
The coaches from Tottenham couldn’t stop talking about Bobby during training. They really rated him very highly. It was nice to see them rate a young American that highly. Also, I guess Trask had already done a lot of scouting on Justin Mapp prior to ever coming to DC United. Nice.

-Tron

[Cweedchop]

Good stuff as usual John..

Please keep us posted as to when the show comes back onto the internet...

As for the content, I'm both happy and a little peeved at Nelsen..

I'm happy that he had a ton of good things to say about his future in DC and the great things he said about the progression of play in MLS (listen carefully to what he says Mr. Moreno, Mr. Etcheverry and Mr. Villegas) but very dissapointed in his attitude in regards to his contract status with MLS..

Ryan, dude, you signed the contract out of college.. Live with it.. You have only one year left and if you play even remotely as well as you did this past season you will be taken care of.. The only players that MLS seem to mistreat in terms of contracts are fading star players or over-the-hill players who think they are worth a lot more (Wynalda, Bishop)....

Relax.. Play your butt off and you will get rewarded.. Please don't tell us (the fans, most of whom probably make a lot less a year than you do) that you can't survive on a meager salary and can't afford to pay for your green card application.. Bullocks....

Boy, what a life I would have if I made $50-60k a year and only had to work for about 2 hours a day and got all my travel and expenses paid for...

[ursula]

I fervently hope that before next season is done that MLS sign Nellie to a nice extension, something that will make him very happy. The idea that he'll be getting a green card is most welcome news.

The stuff about Convey, well, you have to think that the English teams are most interested in him...oh boy.

[CHICO13]

As usual, another stellar job from the Diceman.:)
Nellie getting his green card would be a real interesting turn of events. I hope the league does the right thing and gives him what he deserves. Hope to see you at Fado's on Friday Dice.....Chico

[Sachin]

I loved this quote from Nellie:

With a three you’ve got to have it organized. I think that was the problem at the start when you had Brandon, Eddie, and Milton who aren’t “organizers.” They are just man-on-man great defenders. That’s not their strength in organizing, while that is my biggest strength – organizing defenses.

I've been saying the first part for two years now, mostly about Pope. I hope Nellie can organize the back like the way Goose used to.

Sachin

[Jose L. Couso]

Great report Diceson!

Thank you very much, and keep them coming!

There should be a new chant heard at RFK: "Meet us at the Clipper". :):D

[Topo]

I have always said that Pope couldn't organize the back line. Although he is a great defender, somebody else has to be the defensive organizer. Nelsen seems to agree.

The league must pick up Nelsen's option. He wants more. But, it comes at a cost. If he wants a higher deal next year, I assume that they'll make him sign at least a two to three year deal to raise his salary next year so that when/if Europe comes calling, they'll be able to get a fee.

The team can't "carry" players.

Nelsen's analysis seems pretty good.

Nice work Diceson.

[owendylan]

Originally posted by Cweedchop


Boy, what a life I would have if I made $50-60k a year and only had to work for about 2 hours a day and got all my travel and expenses paid for...

You mean you don't work on a government contract? :)

[Z010 Union]

Dice,
Please tell me that the guest player is not ATC.

[revelation]

While Nelsen may be getting 50K - 60K to play a sport, that is nothing if you consider that playing soccer is such a finite activity. He has maybe 10 years left (he'll be 35) to make all his money. At 50k a year in DC/No VA, that is not a lot left over. So, while I'd swap places with him in a heartbeat, for a professional athlete, he's making NOTHING.

As for "the league will take care of him," all I have to say is Tony Sanneh. For a lousy 100K (a 50K raise), they refused to re-sign him and so he left to go overseas to make quite a bit more. So, I have no faith that Nelsen will get any more money even if he plays well next season.

[ursula]

I wa thinking of Sanneh too when reading about Nellie's contract.

[ignatz]

Originally posted by ursula
I wa thinking of Sanneh too when reading about Nellie's contract.

This is all very true on the human, individual level. But it also presents us fans with a conflict: salary cap. Every dime one player gets is a dime someone else on the team doesn't get. The question, then, isn't just how much Nellie (or Tony) can get somewhere else, but how much of a limited amount he should get that won't be available for another player here. Clearly, there are some options (Amman retiring, possible pay cuts for Jaime and Marco etc) but, at the end of the day, it's still an exercise in cutting up a finite pie.

[Cweedchop]

Originally posted by revelation

As for "the league will take care of him," all I have to say is Tony Sanneh. For a lousy 100K (a 50K raise), they refused to re-sign him and so he left to go overseas to make quite a bit more. So, I have no faith that Nelsen will get any more money even if he plays well next season.

True dat, but that was 4 years ago.. I dare say things have improved greatly in regards to keeping young talented players in this league..

Since Sannehgate, I think all MLS players have been treated fairly and Nelsen will definitely get what is coming to him or he will just leave. It's really pretty simple..

[Th4119]

If they double Nelsen's contract (about $120,000 based on what people have said in this thread if doubled), and he gets a Green Card, he is instantly one of the biggest values in the league.

[Diceson]

Originally posted by Bryan_Elon95
Dice,
Please tell me that the guest player is not ATC.

No it's not ATC, even though he's from the same country and has the same name. This is a young kid with some very raw talent - makes equally beautiful and bonehead moves. The players and coaches seem to like him for his hustle and dedication. It looks like a story where he was invited into practice as a favor, but managed to impress the right people enough to allow him to stick around to help fill out the practices. While it would be a stretch to say that he would end up drafted next year, it could lead to some visability for D-3 or A-League team.

[Sachin]

Originally posted by Diceson


No it's not ATC, even though he's from the same country and has the same name. This is a young kid with some very raw talent - makes equally beautiful and bonehead moves. The players and coaches seem to like him for his hustle and dedication. It looks like a story where he was invited into practice as a favor, but managed to impress the right people enough to allow him to stick around to help fill out the practices. While it would be a stretch to say that he would end up drafted next year, it could lead to some visability for D-3 or A-League team.

I read this as:

He was invited as a favor and he'll most likely end up as our #1 draft pick, like Kante last year/

Sachin

[mdesimone1]

Originally posted by Sachin


I read this as:



Sachin

dude, you are killing me... it was painful to watch kante play in mls cup knowing that we passed on him. he could have been with us. just another bonehead move brought to you by dc united. i so want to be in charge of the team in terms of personnel.

[dsheon]

I have to weigh in on the Kante issue.

I saw him play against a college team - Florida Atlantic for DCU last March. That was a team we crushed. The only weakness was Kante who was spun into the ground more than once.

You have to remember that we have one of the best defenses in the league, and excellent depth as well. We're going to have at least one defender on the bench that would start on any other team in the league.

So was it really a bonehead move to cut Kante? It's easy to say we should have kept him, but don't even bother saying that if you're not also going to add who you think we should have cut to keep the roster space.