I don't disagree, but Hurtado is only on an option year, so we could not exercise that, while with Nemeth we have more leverage in negotiations. On the same money (or thereabouts), I'd take Nemeth. Of course, the other solution here is leave both unprotected and see if someone else claims one.
My prediction for 2020 forwards.....Hurtado and Shelton. Our big off season move will be bringing back Khiry.
Oh I know (I track all that stuff, he also played in a Cup game for their first team). But he’s on a Bundesliga roster!!!! (How I assume the response would go)
Well, we would have an entire offseason to replace them... But we can't keep recycling these kinds of yesteryear players and expect them to work. MLS is moving forward, and we're not going to get very far relying on Hurtado or Nemeth. Free up the cap space, sign better players. If we can't do that, then I suspect 2020 is going to look awfully familiar.
Agreed. I'm hoping this offseason has much more aggressive signing and less in the way of diamond-in-the-rough hopes. Because our core is disintegrating, and that's the root of the issues at hand. You can take a flier or two when your team is solid without them. When the team itself is lacking, you need proven ability. And by proven ability, I don't mean the ever-hilarious returning player signings. I was intrigued by Nemeth's return (didn't pan) and happy about Benny's return (did pan). But some of these randos getting dragged back here after they've failed at another club or two really doesn't feel like we are making intelligent roster moves at all. I am happy enough to keep Hurtado as a backup striker. He's at least useful. But he needs to be the backup to someone consistent and impressive.
I dunno, Joseph Martinez was a Nemeth type gamble that worked. He was kind of done in Italy. We should get a player like him!
That's a terrible comparison. Nemeth was playing second division Dutch soccer before SKC signed him. Martinez was playing on a good Serie A team that has Bellotti, who is a national team CF for Italy, and just couldn't break through. Atlanta paid a $5 M transfer fee for him. SKC isn't going to touch that kind of player.
Yeah, Nemeth/Martinez would have been a good comparison if KC had gotten him after his stint at Liverpool, not 5 years later.
Okay, but they are the same type of player project, once thought of as rising stars who had lost their luster and became reclamation projects in MLS. By the end of his time in Italy, it was clear he wasn't going to be the player they wanted. The money they paid was the result of the fact that he was an overwhelming success while on loan in his first MLS season. I'm also not saying Nemeth is as good as Martinez. My point was, reclamation projects remain one of our two options for finding players (three if we count developing them separately from finding the young just about to break out stars). We cannot afford good players hitting their peak.However, in Russell and Felipe, we can see that reclamation projects do work (I know, Russell was more stagnant than anything, but he was out of favor). So i repeat, we should get a player like Martinez.
That would be okay, but really all I want is someone who can score 30 goals a season. I'm not picky about how we find him.
BTW, a quibble, but Roda were only in the second after he left them, He was one of their top scorers in the season in which they were relegated, but attacked a ref over a not given PK, got a five match suspension, came back pouty. They went down, he burned his bridges. That's why he was without a contract when we signed him.
Neither of those is going to happen this offseason. I can see Vermes starting 2020 on the hot seat, but there's no way he's gone. As for a roster with no one over 30, there's no way KC is going to get Melia, Besler, Sinovic, Zusi, Espinoza, Feilhaber, Wallace, and Fontas all off the roster before the 2020 season starts. Feilhaber, Sinovic, and Wallace are all out of contract, so those 3 should likely be gone. Fontas we should be using our 1 offseason buyout on. Melia, Besler, Espinoza, and Zusi though are all under contract through at least 2020 (Zusi 2021). You're A) not going to find a willing trade partner unless you're ready to cover a large portion of the rest of their contract and B) not going to get mutual termination from any of that group I'd think.
From memory, I saw this team quit at least four times this season. Second game vs Monterrey, USOC vs Minnesota, LAG 7 goal game and yesterday. Previous teams would have run through a brick wall for Peter. For whatever reason, this group of players did not respond to PV. Maybe there were fractions within the locker room. Maybe they got tired of playing for a coach who is incapable of making a single meaningful tactical change. Who knows. As we bring in more players from oversees, players with experience in big clubs/leagues, they will have their own ideas of how to play and how to respond to challenges. Those players are more apt to get tired of playing for someone who only knows one way to go about his business and can't a single adjustment to change the direction of a game (or a season). That group still has some tread on the tires and provides leadership. I'm OK with each of those being part of SKC 2020. That said, they need to find a new role for Zusi. He can't be the primary starter at RB next year.
No I agree on that, Zusi needs to become a ‘supersub’ On the wing someone who can provide a burst of energy off the bench and spot start, almost similar to the role Brad Davis played his one season here (not that it was his expected role).
We have a problem with Jaylin Lindsey though. When he's on the field, our defense gets shredded. Whether or not that's all his fault, it's still concerning. While he has a lot of potential, it's hard to see him as the main man for next year. So what happens if we sign a serious RB? Do the masses freak out because the youth player is still not on top of the depth chart? Hell, I'm not sure I've yet seen anything from Busio that says he should be pushing for a starting position. I still expect him to be a sub at least for next year, and I can't imagine fans would love that at all.
My point about this being the new 2010 is that maybe it's time to give them a decent run and play themselves into being starters. It might be an ugly opening month or two, but I do think they've been brought along slowly enough to this point. I would note, however, that the masses will continue to tune into the Chiefs, regardless of who plays RB for SKC.
I would note that until this season, I was a huge believer in Zusi at RB. I really thought he was as good as anyone in MLS at that spot. But people reach a tipping point, and he looks to have reached his.
Nashville and Miami need bodies and need experience, and would be smart to take at least one or two of these guys each, if offered.
I think you're overstating any possible interest. And it's not like the people building the rosters for Nashville and Miami didn't see how they all performed this year. Good luck getting any deal that's worth it (because to get one you're likely going to have to cover so much of their salary that it really wouldn't make it worth it).
Especially because Miami and Nashville saw what happened with Cincinnati this year, who went after MLS-lifers, overpaid for them, and realized that there isn't necessarily the same magic in aging franchise guys like there was five years ago. But maybe. I doubt Besler wants to go, but Zusi could fetch us a few dollars if we ship him.