Players to look at for Next Season

[owendylan]

With a playoff berth getting more and more unlikely most agree that DC's roster needs some major overhauling in the off season. I don't really want to look at who should go or stay but players that we might want to go after. Whether they are current college players we should draft, other players in the league we should trade for or foreign players that can help the team let's start a list and try to be somewhat realistic (Rivaldo, Ronaldo, Michael Owen or Patrick Viera are not coming).

I will start with Angelo Di Livio. Yeah at 36 he's a little long in the tooth but he did play in the WC 2002 and is now plying his trade for a C4 team in Italy after Fiorentina went bankcrupt. A great midfielder.

Lee Sharpe. Former pretty boy and star at Man. United before injury has curtailed, but no ended his career. Currently on a pay as you play contract with Exeter in the English 3rd division. Some good skill and pedigree. Don't know how much his injuries have slowed him down but could be a good flank player.

[erikfootland]

Personally, I don't really think we need an overhaul. Lee Sharpe would be fun, and his Elvis impersonations after he scores a goal would be well worth watching him play, but I don't think it would be too likely. In goal Rimando is incredible, our back line consists of Nelson and Pope in the middle, both of which are very strong, Reyes on the outside, which is great, because he gives us a lot of flank play. On the other side we have Preadeaux, who I really don't notice at all. He hasn't seemed to do anything terrible this season, but still does not seem like an impact player. In the middle we have Etch, who only plays incredible or terrible. He is winding down his career, but I still love watching him play. Even if he only does show his brilliance every few games. Richie I can't stand, and I think he's only good for grabbing onto jersey's and going for a ride. He is a terrible player, telegraphs all of his passes, and fouls in crucial places on the pitch when he shouldn't be fouling at all. I was so relieved when we got rid of him, and now we have him back and it's driving me crazy. We could find plenty of other guys who can play defensive mid. It really is not that much of a demanding position. Out wide we have Convey and Olsen. Convey is getting better and better as time goes on, and Olsen is the man. He has to be one of my favorite players of all time, and being that him and Etch are such good friends, I think that Etch and Olson both get on fire when they are playing together. Up top we have Moreno and Quaranta, with Q2 as a back up. There I think we are set, but I wouldn't mind trying to trade for Wolff, being that he is on the outskirts with Bradley. He would bring a lot of excitment to DC, but I don't think we would be able to trade away for him. The only crucial acquisition that I see happening in the offseason is Gazza coming in, which would likely move us to to a 3-5-2, with Nelson in the center, Pope and Reyes on the outsides, Williams, Gazza and Etch in the middle with Convey and Olson on the outsides, and Moreno and Quaranta up top. Personally, I think that would be an incredible lineup. But almost all of those players are suseptible to injury, and I don't see more than a few games a season with that lineup in the game. But wow, what a lineup it would be. I know that Gazza coming into DC would get a lot of people angry, but we all know how well Etch plays when he has a supporting role. You would think that Etch and Gazza in the middle would cause controversy because they are both playmakers, but we have seen how well Etch has played in All star games with magic in the middle with him. Granted, that is all star games, but him and Moreno cause a lot of problems for other teams. Etch also was quoted as saying, "We need to get Gazza" or something along those lines. But he wants Gazza at United. Once you have the magic, you always have it, as Etch and El Pibe have shown. The real question is form. If Gazza could get into shape, which I think he is actually determined to do, then signing him, and having everybody healthy would make for an incredible lineup. Of course we would have to wait till next season for this, but good things come to those who wait. Sorry for such a long response. I would love to hear what you all have to say about this.

[shawn12011]

erikfootland

Richie I can't stand, and I think he's only good for grabbing onto jersey's and going for a ride. He is a terrible player, telegraphs all of his passes, and fouls in crucial places on the pitch when he shouldn't be fouling at all. I was so relieved when we got rid of him, and now we have him back and it's driving me crazy. We could find plenty of other guys who can play defensive mid. It really is not that much of a demanding position.

While Williams has his faults he is servicable. Second you should try playing D-Mid sometime. Usually you are man marking a ,superior skill wise, player and you bust your a$$ trying to stay with them. I look easy becasue if done right you don't notice until the end of a game. ("Hey where was Cien, El Pibe, Novak, Etch today? I hardly noticed him.)

The only crucial acquisition that I see happening in the offseason is Gazza coming in, which would likely move us to to a 3-5-2, with Nelson in the center, Pope and Reyes on the outsides, Williams, Gazza and Etch in the middle with Convey and Olson on the outsides, and Moreno and Quaranta up top. Personally, I think that would be an incredible lineup. But almost all of those players are suseptible to injury, and I don't see more than a few games a season with that lineup in the game. But wow, what a lineup it would be. I know that Gazza coming into DC would get a lot of people angry, but we all know how well Etch plays when he has a supporting role. You would think that Etch and Gazza in the middle would cause controversy because they are both playmakers, but we have seen how well Etch has played in All star games with magic in the middle with him. Granted, that is all star games, but him and Moreno cause a lot of problems for other teams. Etch also was quoted as saying, "We need to get Gazza" or something along those lines. But he wants Gazza at United. Once you have the magic, you always have it, as Etch and El Pibe have shown. The real question is form. If Gazza could get into shape, which I think he is actually determined to do, then signing him, and having everybody healthy would make for an incredible lineup.

While Gazza might add a spark to the pitch he would have to clean up his drinking issues more before they take a chance on him.

[erikfootland]

Originally posted by shawn12011

While Gazza might add a spark to the pitch he would have to clean up his drinking issues more before they take a chance on him. [/B]

Do you know of his current drinking issues? I know he used to have a lot of problems, but I thought he went int rehab last year or something? I saw the pictures of him in training with DC United, and he looked pretty trim to me. Of course you can't tell much by a picture, but seeing some of his older one's, when he really let himself go, he looks a hell of a lot better now. I think it was smart for DC to pass on him this season, and say, "let's talk after the season is over", and off the field issues are huge, which is why I think they wanted to give that window of time to see what he does inbetween then, to see if he continue's to train and get in shape, to see if he is still an alcoholic, etc. What is his current status with his drinking problem?

[erikfootland]

Originally posted by shawn12011
erikfootland



While Williams has his faults he is servicable. Second you should try playing D-Mid sometime. Usually you are man marking a ,superior skill wise, player and you bust your a$$ trying to stay with them. I look easy becasue if done right you don't notice until the end of a game. ("Hey where was Cien, El Pibe, Novak, Etch today? I hardly noticed him.)



I also thought that Namoff did a better job when he played D-mid. Richie doesn't have to worry about getting into the attack at all, and should probably stay as far away from it as possible. And yes, I do play in the center mid, and often times at D-mid, and while it's not the easiest of jobs, you really only have to worry about that one guy, which simplifies the job a whole lot.

[Z010 Union]

Originally posted by erikfootland


Do you know of his current drinking issues? I know he used to have a lot of problems, but I thought he went int rehab last year or something? I saw the pictures of him in training with DC United, and he looked pretty trim to me. Of course you can't tell much by a picture, but seeing some of his older one's, when he really let himself go, he looks a hell of a lot better now. I think it was smart for DC to pass on him this season, and say, "let's talk after the season is over", and off the field issues are huge, which is why I think they wanted to give that window of time to see what he does inbetween then, to see if he continue's to train and get in shape, to see if he is still an alcoholic, etc. What is his current status with his drinking problem?

Doing shots after the game with the team points to the fact that he is not recovered. Shots, in my opinion, are much different than having a few social drinks. I am very disheartened with how this whole thing went, and would very much like to see Gazza with the team, but it won't happen unless he gets his priorities straight. This league is far more image conscious than the other American sports leagues where there seems to be a new murder/drug/drunk driving/assault case every week. So until he sets himself to "toe the line" he will be amazing fans in other countries.

[erikfootland]

Originally posted by Bryan_Elon95


Doing shots after the game with the team points to the fact that he is not recovered. Shots, in my opinion, are much different than having a few social drinks.


Doing shots after the DC United game he went to? Or doing shots after some of his games in Europe? I actually heard that he showed up to a bar once still in his uniform, head to toe, including his boots. There is no doubt that he was an alcoholic, but is he still? Have you heard anything lately about him abusing? Was this doing shots thing recently, or in the past?

[shawn12011]

Originally posted by erikfootland



I also thought that Namoff did a better job when he played D-mid. Richie doesn't have to worry about getting into the attack at all, and should probably stay as far away from it as possible. And yes, I do play in the center mid, and often times at D-mid, and while it's not the easiest of jobs, you really only have to worry about that one guy, which simplifies the job a whole lot.

I find it hard to keep up with a faster, better play. That is where I was going with that. Typically a D-Mid is not as talented naturally as compared to the player he is marking. I thought Namoff did fine as a D-Mid as well. I play all 11 postions and find D-Mid to be tough.


Originally posted by erikfootland



Doing shots after the DC United game he went to? Or doing shots after some of his games in Europe? I actually heard that he showed up to a bar once still in his uniform, head to toe, including his boots. There is no doubt that he was an alcoholic, but is he still? Have you heard anything lately about him abusing? Was this doing shots thing recently, or in the past?


It was the post game get together after the New England game I believe.

[owendylan]

Originally posted by erikfootland



Doing shots after the DC United game he went to? Or doing shots after some of his games in Europe? I actually heard that he showed up to a bar once still in his uniform, head to toe, including his boots. There is no doubt that he was an alcoholic, but is he still? Have you heard anything lately about him abusing? Was this doing shots thing recently, or in the past?

Well I think a lot of people would say once an alcoholic always an alcoholic. While Gazza's drinking is always a fun and interesting subject. I find it hard to believe that we can't come up with other players that we might want to see play for DC next season. We will have a bunch of players being jettisoned. Maybe not starters but our bench will need to be filled out with better players. who should they be? Anyone anyone,? Bueller?

[notebook]

I think the improvement priorities for next year are central midfield and forward, a large target forward would be particularly helpful. We need additional depth at a number of positions, but I think these are the priorities.

The central midfield play has been miserable this year and we need replacements for both Etcheverry and Williams. They still have their moments and have had long, productive careers, but I don't seem them as part of the next great DC United team.

We would look good at forward if Moreno and Quaranta are both in form next year, but I think the prospects of that are shaky. Quaranta has shown some early signs of being injury prone and I have my doubts whether Moreno will ever return to his previous form. We need some insurance at this position in case one or both of these guys can't perform next year.

The question is how do we get the guys we need?

TRADE
Pope - The only trade worthy player I would be willing to part with is Eddie Pope. However I am not sure of his contract terms or his willingness to leave the DC area. If we can trade him, perhaps we could work a trade with Columbus or the MetroStars for one or more players like Edson Buddle, Brian Maisonneuve, Duncan Oughton, or Andy Williams.

DRAFT
We have the top pick and hopefully an impact player is available at the central midfield or forward position. We will know more once we see which players decide to come out early. Ideally someone like Ricardo Clark comes out.

INTERNATIONAL
Hopefully this wide field is one where Ray Hudson excels. I would actually kind of like to see the Gazza acquisition work out for next year if he can still play. We need help in central midfield and it sounds like he would add some pizzazz that is sorely lacking right now. If he is not the right guy, hopefully Ray can turn up some other "gems".

[erikfootland]

Originally posted by owendylan

Maybe not starters but our bench will need to be filled out with better players. who should they be? Anyone anyone,? Bueller?

I think that we can get rid of Lazo Alavanja, he seems to be lazy and doesn't seem to contribute much when he get in. While I can say that I have played against Chino at the youth level, which I think is pretty cool, he doesn't seem to have what it takes either. The coaches seem to like his work ethic though, so I don't think they will get rid of him either. But if they did, I couldn't see him joining another MLS team. He just doesn't seem to be up to that level yet. I think that Curtis is a good sub off the bench to have, which makes us able to send Lassiter packing. Again. McKinley is a veteran to the league, but is a big hack, so we should probably start looking for new options for him as well. I feel that Prideax is expendable as well. I don't want to say we should cut him already, but I think that the plan for Zambrano is to attempt to help us out for the few games remaining, then send him packing as well. He's more or less a replacement player for the rest of the season because Quaranta is out. As for these players replacements...Well, I'm not really sure of what subs we should trade for subs. That's kind of a complicated question, cause I don't think we could get any quality players for these guys. Maybe some kind of a deal for a Prideaux/Alavanya combo. I don't think too many of the other guys would get anybody exciting. Maybe just clear some room for some draft picks or something. If we are lucky we could get a few picks for some of these guys.

[Lanky134]

I'd like to see Vaca take over for Marco, even if Etch stays. Forget the poetry about passing the torch to the next potentially great Bolivian, I've been impressed with what I've seen (though admittedly that's not much) and he'd be a great asset to our team.

Dave

[erikfootland]

Originally posted by notebook

TRADE
Pope - The only trade worthy player I would be willing to part with is Eddie Pope. However I am not sure of his contract terms or his willingness to leave the DC area. If we can trade him, perhaps we could work a trade with Columbus or the MetroStars for one or more players like Edson Buddle, Brian Maisonneuve, Duncan Oughton, or Andy Williams.


I think that Pope probably has a no trade type clause in his contract. I remember earlier in his career he said that he wanted to stay in DC. After the 98 world cup he wouldn't go to Europe because he wanted to stay in DC, so I don't think he would go anywhere else. Maybe if there were an expansion team someday in Carolina...

[K]

Originally posted by erikfootland



Doing shots after the DC United game he went to? Or doing shots after some of his games in Europe? I actually heard that he showed up to a bar once still in his uniform, head to toe, including his boots. There is no doubt that he was an alcoholic, but is he still? Have you heard anything lately about him abusing? Was this doing shots thing recently, or in the past?

I guess the discussion on this is gone but yes, he was observed by fans and the DC coaching staff to be drinking heavily at the Capitol Lounge after the July 27 NE game. Other actions by him indicated that he was pretty smashed when he left.

K

[Z010 Union]

Originally posted by K


I guess the discussion on this is gone but yes, he was observed by fans and the DC coaching staff to be drinking heavily at the Capitol Lounge after the July 27 NE game. Other actions by him indicated that he was pretty smashed when he left.

K

So you guys hooked up?

Kim!

[sebakoole]

Originally posted by Lanky134
I'd like to see Vaca take over for Marco, even if Etch stays. Forget the poetry about passing the torch to the next potentially great Bolivian, I've been impressed with what I've seen (though admittedly that's not much) and he'd be a great asset to our team.

And he fits the (lack of) height requirement since he's well under 5'8''. ;)

[GoDC]

Originally posted by Lanky134
I'd like to see Vaca take over for Marco, even if Etch stays. Forget the poetry about passing the torch to the next potentially great Bolivian, I've been impressed with what I've seen (though admittedly that's not much) and he'd be a great asset to our team.

Dave

That is one guy I am not that hooked on. Vaca has some skills but he is not what we were led to believe when he came into the league. He also plays more on the wing for Dallas in the games I have seen. OK but I would not want to hand the team over to him.

[Lanky134]

Remember that he's also young (which probably rules him under Hudson's Law) and has done much better this year than last. With a healthy Ben and Bobby the three of them can compliment each other quite nicely - lots of rotation and attacks coming from all angles.

Of course, none of that will mean anything without a finisher...

Dave

[JoeW]

First, I think we need to forget getting a player with the 1st pick (unless someone like Gibbs or Berhalter or Reyna or Stewart is available in the SD--ala Twellman was) who will be an impact player. We had a 1st pick once--his name was Jason Moore. A year ago the top 2 picks were Chris Carrieri and Ali Curtis. Granted, Gbandi still has a bad wheel but everyone penciled him in as a starter for Dallas right away and it just hasn't happened.

Yes, I want a first round pick who can contribute, someone with a future, someone who (with time) will become a player). But if we get anything more than a good sub, we're either rebuilding OR a proven pro was available.

As for MLS players worth taking a look at, here are some possibilities:
--Jorge Rodriguez. Salvadoran, defender/D-mid (which might make ABMOD expendable), classy guy, good ball skills. And he's sitting on the bench with Dallas.
--NE talent. They're going to do some player dumping (and it will have to involve salaries). As I said at the start of the season (one of the few predictions I wasn't wrong with), Clavijo couldn't assemble a team if you let him pick from the WC winners. Besides, it isn't Nicol's people--he'll want to make changes even if they were performing better. Other than Twellman, perhaps anyone on the roster might be available for the right price. I'm not a huge Ralston fan but he's still a good asset.
--Dante Washington. Local kid and a front-runner. Columbus just barely got under the cap this year with some major dumping. They'll need to dump another starter or two this offseason. Unless they sell McBride or Cunningham, I think Dante will be available cheap.
--Faria. Scum need cap room. They need to dump an SI (unless they get Berhalter). They need at least a central defender. One of their forwards (most like Faria) will be available for cheap (b/c they want cap room--so they want picks or cheap players in return for him).
--Wolff. I'm VERY leery of making a run at Wolff. He's never led his team in scoring. He's never played more than 2/3rd of the regular season games (mostly b/c of injuries that make Moreno's health look like an iron-man performance). And you know he'll miss games b/c of National team commitments. Oh--and he makes the maximum so you get him only by moving/releasing Pope, Etcheverry or Moreno (I'm not saying Chicago would make that deal, only that we'd need to free up $270K). But Chicago is trying to move him. And he's a fast striker who's American.
--Vagenas with LA. In and out of the lineup, good versatility, young.

As for what we need, I'm not arguing we need to clean house. But I do think we need to realistically admit that NONE of our current offensive heavy weights (Moreno, Etcheverry, Olsen, Quaranta, Convey and even Pope on defense) have shown they can play most or all of the season in the past 2-3 years. We're getting killed b/c (a) we can't finish better than a plate of dead worms and (b) the players you'd build a team around (your "allocation" or maximum salary guys) are players who miss a lot of PT for us (mostly b/c of injuries). Until that changes, it doesn't matter who we draft. We've got to have at least 2 guys who are in key roles who you pencil in every night and know they'll not only play, but be someone who carries their weight and then some. Adding 1 or 2 players (unless they have names like: Earnie Stewart or someone who leads MLS in goals) isn't going to be enough UNLESS some of our key injuried guys (Moreno, Quaranta, Convey, Etcheverry on attack) suddenly play healthy and well for an entire season. That's my take.

[shawn12011]

I posted this in another thread. I think it shows where we can clear up cap space for one major player and raises for Bobby and Nicky, who I believe are due, per their contracts:
Alavanja, Lazo 6 (Gone) 30k
Alegria, Jose 13 (Keep)
Ammann, Mike 1 (Retire) 100K
Convey, Bobby 15 (Keep)
Curtis, Ali 28 (Keep)
Etcheverry, Marco 10 (Retire) 175K
Lassiter, Roy 27 (Gone) 40K
Mapp, Justin 21 (Keep)
McGinty, Mike 22 (Keep)
McKinley, Ivan 8 (Gone) 50K
Moreno, Jaime 9 (Keep)
Namoff, Bryan 12 (Gone) 24K
Nelsen, Ryan 7 (Keep)
Olsen, Ben 14 (Keep)
Pope, Eddie 23 (Keep)
Prideaux, Brandon 4 (Keep)
Quaranta, Santino 25 (Keep)
Quintanilla, Eliseo 20 (Keep)
Reyes, Milton 5 (Keep)
Rimando, Nick 18 (Keep)
Villegas, Petter 11 (Keep)
Williams, Richie 16 (Gone) 100K
Zambrano, Henry (?) 30K

Now before people go off, my number are approximate and some of the cuts are what I would do. Not what I expect but there is cap space there for at least 1 major move. Some of these moves are no-brainers, I expect Ammann to retire (he is not healing) and Lassiter to be let go. Williams and Etchevery are hunches, only. Villegas may also go but I'm not sure on that one. I would love to see a Berhalter take over as the D-Mid for this team but all that depends on MLS.