http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2008/08/eddie-lewis-set.html Ives is reporting that the Rapids have used their allocation on Cory Gibbs once LA passed on him (in order to sign Eddie Lewis).
Is he one of the Bee Gees????? Maybe the Rapids want to hire him so that he could sing the National Anthem before playing. Seriously, I think this is silly. We are a team that can't score goals and we want to sign a defender, however good he might be. I would opt to trade the allocation, sign Britney Spears, have her play topless in th middle. I bet that would open up the wing players to score!!!!!
While I agree that we need a reliable striker, if you look at the stats (or read my Weekly Roundup blog posts ) you'll see: Rapids: Goals Scored: Tied for 4th in the league Goals Allowed: 10th in league So looking for a defender isn't a crazy move.
From what I've seen the last few games we haven't had but a few shots against which leads me to believe that our defense is doing their job but the man in net is not doing his.
The free kick last game was well taken, not Bouna's fault. A good case can be made that the two goals against the Crew are also not his fault. He had some issues a few games back, no doubt. But not the last few games.
If LA passed on Gibbs, he must be in really bad shape. The guy has been out with injuries the last two years. The Gals have the worst defense in the league and their back line is nothing but smoke and mirrors. But yet they elect to take an aging midfielder? Welcome to Denver, Corey, but I have my doubts.
I don't tend to trust Ives as much as Goff, but if this comes true, I think it has the potential to be a pretty solid pickup. Emphasis on potential, of course. And even though we had to use an allocation to accomplish it, what other Nats would there be coming back next year that would want to play in Colorado? Feilhaber will probably have a club soon, and other than that, the only guy I can think of off the top of my head is if Eddie Johnson got tired of west London.
I rated Gibbs as the USMNT's best defender until his spell of injuries. I would rather take a chance with him than get Lewis. Lewis is a solid player, but I would rather have Clark at the left mid - younger, more exciting, and with a lot of potential upside.
I'm happy about adding him - if he's healthy, he certainly improves on any of the defenders on the club now (unless you count Pablo, of course.) That said, he hasn't played a game since the 06-07 season (except for the one int'l friendly against Poland.) He's worth the risk, I think, especially if Mastroeni's really leaving at the end of the year. Having a more competent defense could actually improve the offense in one sense because it will give Terry Cooke and Colin Clark more freedom to stay forward.
Makes me wonder about Petke, if he's done. Also make me wonder if this might be the first shoe dropping.
There's no doubt we've needed to solidify the defense. If Gibbs can regain his form and remain injury free, there's no doubt he'll be an asset. It's rare that a decent (at least on paper) allocation like this falls in the Rapids lap. So who goes? Do we move Pablo back to holding mid? Do we take Erpen or Ugo off the field? Is Gibbs even in shape right now to contribute right away? Is this the player that will take us to the promised land (that last piece of the puzzle to take us all the way to the MLS Cup)??
So had Toronto scored on that indirect free kick in the box, would you have blamed Bouna or Terry Cooke? So Ives and the Denver Post get it up on the internet before the Rapids and MLS do?
Gibbs is a quality back. Assuming he can get fit and stay injury free I don't see how this is a negative. While it won't fix the scoring problems this season, it should help solidify the team in the future. Remember, 2008 is a lost season.
I agree, Gibbs is worth the risk. In addition to the uncertainty on Pablo, there's a question mark surrounding Petke's abiltiy to recover from injury.
I suspect injury or not Petke will retire. Pablo will go to Europe. I don't see much doubt there, and if he stays I suspect he'll be offered less money. Other potential changes? When are Erpen's and Burciaga's contracts due? Gibbs is a good addition. Probably won't make a difference this year, and I don't want to see him this weekend. He can't be match fit. If he gets played he's sure to get injured.
Cory Gibbs is a very good player. Cory Gibbs is a very fragile player. If the Rapids sign the former they will have upgraded their defense. If they sign the later they will have wasted their allocation. A big risk! Unless the Rapids realign in a 1-7-2, no matter which Cory Gibbs shows up, they still have a combination of Burciaga, Erpen & Ihemelu soiling the backline. Gibbs cannot provide cover for all others! Finally, the last time Gibbs joined MLS it was to recover from injury only prior to returning to Europe. How many games will Gibbs play for the Rapids?
I think the evidence is a lot clearer than the statistics that Bouna is going through a really rough patch. Starting with the NY game the offense has been doing well. They might not have scored a lot of goals but look at the shots on goal versus the shots on goal given up. And with decent goal keeping they have at least two more wins since then: CO 4 - NY 0 SJ 1 - CO 1 (Hard fought game evenly balanced with a nice, difficult header from Casey to equalize) FCD 2 - C0 2 (Great early start and Bouna directly responsible for both Dallas goals with his wild, mistimed and unnecessary dashes from goal. Plus made his defense edgy all game long with all the rebounds bouncing off him in every direction) CO 0 - Columbus 2 (Their first goal was a reaction to Bouna's play in Dallas. This time though instead of wild, unnecessary wandering out of goal, Bouna hesitated in coming out. If he makes a quick, early decision he gets to the ball first easily. And let's not forget CO outshot them 23-5 in this game and had two great chances early on to go 1-nil up. Different game at that point.) CO 0 - TOR 1 (Same as Columbus, we had two gilt-edged chances early on. A similar header opportunity falling to Casey that he put wide just as he did against Columbus and then the great pull back by Ballouchy to Cummings. But look at their goal: 35 yards out, Bouna is lined up to the right of center and the goal goes in the top right corner. That has to be saved 100% of the time.) This is not to blame Bouna or Conor (who's missed a few lately). Overall I think they merit their places; they're just going through a rough patch. And I think the lineup has been about right over this time offensively; playing Christian and Mehdi together has really opened things up. You can't really argue with 44 chances over two games! But without a doubt Clavio has to go: it's so obvious he has lost the team. Formation's OK, players are OK but the top has to go. If he's gone this weekend (and I do hope his family is OK and there is nothing too seriously wrong there), I think you'll see a big change already on Saturday. The players will respond to Gary Smith. I'm coming out to see my first game in person this season so maybe that will be the lucky charm - I'm hoping so anyway!