Steven Vitoria has contract recinded by Benfica. Was at the Philadelphia Union last year and is now a free agent. I could see him intrrsted at he switched alligence to Canada and NE is pretty close for CAN NT With consistency he would be a great option with Jogo and Farrell back at RB and Tierney at LB CDM is a big one to fill
Playing Pollyanna at Happy Beach, when a tsunami is unfolding, isn't cathartic; it's dangerous. Fact.
" Burns and Kraft are to the Revs what Obama and Clinton are to the country " Who knew, Comrade, you harbored such naughty Counter-Revolutionary thoughts.....
Well, it doesn't surprise me in the least that a thought like that would come from a GOP debate. Those guys blame Obama if it rains, and then if it's a sunny day, it's Obama's fault that everyone is going to get skin cancer... Anyway, enough of the politics. Someone mentioned Revs history, and thinking back to previous years, they actually DID bring in lots of new players every year, and that was something to feel excited about, even if the players didn't always live up to our hopes. If you can't feel optimistic in pre-season, when can you feel good about your team? Just from memory, here are some of the players the Revs brought in in the off-seasons of the early years: 1996-97: Roster churn from a poor 1996 team that missed the playoffs meant that several new additions were needed. They brought in 2 Argentines, a left back/mid Leonardo Squadrone, who had a good soccer brain and good skills, but unfortunately was not quick enough for the run-and-gun, athleticism-over-skills MLS. Alejandro "Colo" Farais was a rock-solid, tough as nails defensive mf, a guy who ate lightbulbs for breakfast. He played a large part in the improved D, and we made the playoffs for the first time. Fellow Argie Beto Naveda was our #10, a holdover from the previous year. 1997-98: Unfortunately Farias was allowed to leave, and needed to be replaced. I asked Rongen after the season why they didn't keep him and he hemmed and hawed about who knows what. At a Nats game in November, someone else asked the smae question and he said he was on loan. At least he figured out the party line. Maybe MLS didn't want to purchase him? Too bad, he was the kind of player you want to keep! This year's additions were Dutch. Richard Goulooze (who was Faris' replacement) and Edwin Gorter (Naveda's replacement) were brought in. Goulooze was decent, but not what Farias had been. Gorter was magic, a great passer and playmaker, but was on the old side. We also traded a draft pick for Raul Diaz Arce, who had been one of the top scorers in the league the past two seasons. An El Salvador international, it was hoped that he'd bring out more Central American fans. I'll post more on other years, but the point is clear: They used to bring in quality players, guys who they expected to start and be top-level players in the league. Of course, at the time foreign acquisitions were handled by the League, a guy named Sunil Gulati, so the Revs didn't actually have to go out and find these guys. The league did, and it was up to the clubs to lobby for why they (and not Tampa Bay or Dallas or Colorado) should get player x. There was no allocation pecking order at that time either. When Gulati came to work for the Revs, that was one thing I thought he could help us with. How wrong I was on that....
It wasn't for just a draft pick (our 1st rounder in the 1999 college draft, which turned out to be the 1st overall pick), we also traded Alexi Lalas to the MetroStars in what was a three-team blockbuster trade. At the time Diaz Arce was the league's all-time leading scorer and Lalas was the face of our franchise (although he hadn't been particularly successful on the field). It was franchise altering trade that had a lot of people excited about our club's future.
Doc, without any new additions to our roster apart from a couple unsigned draft picks, what would you suggest we talk about? Not even being snarky it's a legit question. Said another way: Zero offseason moves means... Wait for it... There. Is. Nothing. New. To. Talk. About.
Which is why I asked KapeGuy for some input as well. Fine, we can talk about something else ... but what? There's nothing there in regards to this roster right now.
Hopefully this speeds up the urgency to get him caped. Can you imagine losing Diego to Uruguay and Farrell to Peru, and Herivaux to Haiti?
OK, this was all from memory, so you're probably right. For some reason I had it confused with Harkes, who we got for a 1st round draft pick, but I'm thinking that was the following year. We got RDA from DC, Lalas went to Metros and something went to DC from Metros (maybe their first round pick?) Lalas was with us in 1997, but not 1998. We also lost Francis Okaroh to Chicago in the expansion draft, because we were worried they'd take Paul Keegan. The point of all of this is to say that we used to make moves, bring in key players and do a lot more stuff in general that would (hopefully) make the club better. You've got to at least try. Now? Um, I guess we're good enough, I mean we can take our chances that the same roster that barely squeaked into the playoffs (but was in contention for the supporters' shield with 3 weeks to go) is good enough. As I said in the Jones thread, what I fear the most is that the Revs are banking on Jones coming groveling back to take their offer. But if somehow he doesn't and goes somewhere else, then there is no replacement ready to step in. And if they do eventually sign someone, he'll miss a hell of a lot more than the 6 games and whatever Nats games he plays in this year.
Contrast our activity to Barcelona for example, who registered 77 new players in spite of their transfer ban. When the ban was up, players were ready to go. What's key is even with a treble winning season in 14/15 and UCL final (which they won) coming at the end of their season, it didn't stop them from knowing it's critical they make moves and get better. Wish there was an ounce of that urgency here.
No Jones or replacement yet The talk of Lee in Vietnam seemed to be nothing No incoming upgrade players yet Important dates coming soon (and fast): 15 days away: Feb 3-9: Desert Friendlies with Portland, Seattle, Vancouver, Houston, San Jose 29 days away: Feb 17-27: Desert Diamond Cup with Columbus, RSL, Colorado, Sporting KC, and USL Arizona United 46 days away: March 6: Opening weekend
I know what you mean, but Diego chose Uruguay (just like Rossi picked Italy). Both were involved in US Nat Youth teams and were clearly valued. Did not know that Herivaux was eligible for Haiti, thanks for that. I am not sure of Peru's situation, but that may be the best path for Farrell. If Farrell had stayed at Right Back and started to prove out that he was one of the best in the league - JK might have been interested. But other players abroad and within MLS area clearly stronger than Farrell at CB. Any chance of a Nats, US or Peru, might depend on what Heaps' plan is for Farrell, what Heaps can do to improve Farrell in that position, and what Farrell does with his own play in that position.
Given the players on our roster now, should we move away from the 4-2-3-1 formation to get Davies and Agudelo on the field in a strike partnership? We could do that in a 4-4-2 diamond, a flat 4-4-2, or a 3-5-2 Davies-Agudelo Nguyen Kobayashi-Rowe Caldwell Tierney-JoGo-Farrell-McCrary Shuttleworth Would Caldwell get physically pushed around as a lone defensive midfielder? Does McCrary provide enough width on the right hand side, or could we put Bunbury at right back? Davies-Agudelo Nguyen-Caldwell-Kobayashi-Rowe Tierney-JoGo-Farrell-McCrary Shuttleworth Does Nguyen influence the game enough at left mid? (I think this formation would be the worst choice) Davies-Agudelo Fagundez-Nguyen-Bunbury Caldwell-Kobayashi Tierney-JoGo-Farrell Shuttleworth OR, play Tierney at left wing with a backline of Barnes, JoGo and Farrell. Coin flip between Kobayashi and Neumann as Caldwell's partner.
I'm assuming this is the second signing that Bilello mentioned, since the Revs just put out a snapchat of Sambinha wearing a Revs kit. Not much on wiki about him. His transfer market page.
That answers one question I had... #NERevs acquire Sporting CP center back Sambinha on loan. #MLS— Brian O'Connell (@BrianOConnell21) January 22, 2016