They just announced Columbus. I guess they figure there are so many Ohio transplants here having both Ohio teams will help ticket sales.
Good point. I think we have at least one "forward" (Rooney), but to me he is not a "striker." Rooney's strength, as I saw it during the season, was developing the play and bringing others into the attack. Yes, he finished (most) of his chances, but I think of him as more a creator than a finisher. Ditto with Lucho, who at least is listed as a midfielder. I would like to see Rooney play behind a genuine striker, by which I mean someone who may not be a magician on the attack but puts himself in position to score when he gets service. Rooney could slot in behind him. For this to work, we would probably have to play a 3-2-3-1-1, with Canouse and Moreno/Durkin behind a midfield of (probably) Asad; Acosta; and Arriola/Stieber, with Rooney just behind this mystery striker we don't yet have. And, of course, we don't have the defenders (yet) to risk three in the back, but with two holding/defensive midfielders and Arriola tracking back I think it could work. But we still don't have that striker, IMO.
Lasting disappointment that Bennie couldn't find a way to build chemistry with Mattocks on the field at the same time as Lucho and Rooney. I don't think we need a different striker, there was nothing wrong with the one we had. He was a poacher in his prime and playing with attitude.
It wasn't a chemistry problem. He just never figured out who should sit so Mattocks could more. Neither could I frankly.
oh, forget it - Mattocks doesn't have a soccer brain in his head - there never was any possibility of "chemistry" between him and anybody else on the team
Not misinformed or uninformed as I have said this is a gut instinct. No facts backing my opinion. I am not telling you I know he is nothing special, my instinct tells me he will not be anything special. I have been in this game over 40 years so I do have a little bit of a background to work from.
Even if he turns out to be nothing special, this is exactly the kind of player they should be looking at. 21, 90 appearances in Argentina's.top league, started on Argentina's u20 team. He won't break the bank (TAM level player it's looking like). Why the gloom? I think it's only fair to give him some time to adjust to the new league and new country, so expectations should be tempered, but after that period they've got a highly skilled attacker who can run away from people, like a trickier Arriola. Just curious, what kind of season would he have to have to turn that frown upside down?
on the good side - Yesterday, I was lucky enough to marry my best friend and soulmate. Thank you to all my friends and family for making it a night that was unforgettable for the two of us! ❤️#canousescoresaspouse pic.twitter.com/968jzDT53V— Russell Canouse (@RussellCanouse) December 23, 2018
Mattocks played 10 minutes total in the last 10 games. Something a little better could have been done.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2018...orts-ventures-announce-stadium-deal-agreement So it looks like Austin is getting a MLS team shortly, regardless of the fact that they were not even in the race. They can skip the line and get at number 27 directly, and fart in the face of San Antonio, St Louis, Sacramento, Phoenix, and all those other who were complying with procedures and doing everything they were supposed to to in order to be taken in consideration. The one who gets f@cked the hardest is San Antonio, which can basically say goodbye to any hopes, as they would be the 4th TX team. Unless they sue (which I believe they are doing) and win the law suite.
DC United has sealed the signing of 21 year old Argentine attacker Lucas Rodriguez on loan from Estudiantes with an option to purchase. Announcement should come within the next few days. #DCU #DCUnited #ELDP via: @CLMerlo pic.twitter.com/LKU72skhbl— MLS Buzz (@MLS_Buzz) December 25, 2018 Sounds like the move is complete.
That will be quite an achievement to become the most hated team in the league before joining the league.
Saw over on the MLS site that Atlanta owns his rights and there may be compensation due in order to sign him. The following article shows his expected cost to acquire (around $7M) when Atlanta kicked his tires last year. May be a hint at his DP hit should you bring him in as a full timer https://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/20...7-million-for-a-player-they-might-not-acquire
This sounds like the end of the line for Zoltan Stieber, a player I quite liked. I hope Benny doesn't come to view this as another Branco Boskovic-like situation, where, years later, he realizes he (and Chad) underestimated and misused a very high quality player.
Yeah, I don’t see him in Olsen’s plans. I think the Stieber situation again shows the coaching staff’s tunnel vision. They stick with whatever is working at a particular moment in time, and don’t come up with alternatives until it’s too late. At the end of the season, Rooney was running out of steam and some teams were figuring out how to counter the Rooney/Acosta partnership. But the coaches didn’t make any adjustments (like using Stieber). Columbus definitely out-coached us in that last game.