Things I remember about Nemeth around the goal that give me hope if he were to be picked up by SKC: He found his way into positions behind or out of reach of defenders/keepers that allowed basic redirections of the ball into the net. Excellent first touch. He could dribble with the ball in open space. Nemeth provided excellent close control in tight spaces near the endline. He had a knack for putting the ball onto frame even in sub-optimal angles. Had a really nice chip and a good mind for where to put the ball to forward attacking players. Using his head in interesting ways to flick on passes or shots from unconventional angles. Things that I remember about Nemeth that make me ok with not wanting him back: Giving up on plays in the midfield Making poor angles on defensive movements on breakaways and not covering a man behind play who ends up as a safety valve for an attacker Recent struggles with attitude during matches Lack of movement when double covered A few poorly timed flops Late game fitness in some matches That being said, I'd love to have him back as a #9 in a heartbeat.
If you look at his career, he's been primarily a center forward, mittelsturmer as transfermarkt says. That is his primary position. His secondary roles are the wings, in either order. I don't know that he's a 15 goal guy right now for SKC. I was convinced he could be during coming season, right before he left. He's much more my type of striker than Dom, though maybe that doesn't work for us, but he's very mobile, he's quick and he's tricky. FWIW my son says Vermes is very much pursuiing this move.. He won't tell me the source, but says it is not Vermes, but is quite close. I know he hangs out with several senior players, but he says this is a better source than that.
To be fair, if we brought him back as a nine, his defensive duties would primarily be high pressure, which he was good enough at, and aside from number 4 and 6, the other negatives you recall might not matter as much in a 9. Your fourth item would matter, a lot. The 6th would be okay by me if he could give us consistent goals or assists into the 70s.
I wish I could rep this section more than once. My belief for a while now has been that Vermes developed his tactics after playing a game of FIFA as Barcelona in like 2009, discovered how dominant they were, decided to implement that exact style in KC without understanding that the system works a little differently if you don't have Messi, Iniesta, Xavi, etc., and then literally didn't spend another second thinking about tactics for the rest of his life.
And yet, his most productive goal scoring was out wide as a winger in KC, not as a center forward. The one thing we don't need is a center forward that doesn't score a lot of goals. Josh Wolff only worked when he had strike partners that could finish. I don't see us moving to a system with two forwards based on the last 11 years of Vermes as TD.
His healthiest season. Fitness and the ensuing form are what has hurt his numbers, not skill. Very Opara esque. Get him on the field, and he can do damage.
That's what they said about Herculez Gomez. The real problem is that until the coach in charge of putting the players on the field shows any willingness to adapt positioning and tactics to the available talent, we're going to have problems. And increasingly it is going to affect the players willing to come to Kansas City.
If the options are: A. We sign no one else to play 9 B. We sign Nemeth to play 9 for 50 cents on the dollar Is there really a choice? Of course you take a flier on Nemeth.
The real Messi is valued at 180m euro. Your post has a Dr. Evil sensibility. I remember when one million dollars would get a top striker...
I do remember Nemeth making a few ridiculous turns with his back to goal. Not sure Id pay 1 millions for him but God it's a step up from Rubio. Speaking of did Rubio even play last week only time I remember hearing his name was when he was subbed!
The Star's take on Nemeth. They say highly unlikely, and I don't see why that would be incorrect. But there are advantages to Nemeth. He has played for Vermes, so Vermes knows him and he knows the expectations and roles. He knows the city and the club setup, etc. It takes less time for a player to return to a former team and adjust than a first time arrival to bed in. He is as close to a plug and play option as SKC will find for a 9. If SKC has the TAM or GAM or WHAM to pay him, wouldn't he be a better option than mailing it back to MLS? If they don't, he's clearly unaffordable. Nemeth, to me, is a nine. It's what he's played everywhere else, and while he bombed out at Liverpool, he was productive in Hungary and scored for Al whoever after he left here. He always seemed a horrible acquisition for NE, mostly because everyone on their roster seems to be a promising 9, and no one can play defense. If he had won the starting role there, I'm be baying for a move for Aguedelo. We have a different reality. We're looking at attacks dying because we don't have anyone who can elevate our play in that role. He's quick, good on the turn, tricky with the ball at his feet, can play with others, and has a nice shot. I'd have rather brought Kei back, or gone in for Ola. If we are in the final stages of negotiation with someone else, than I'm simply wrong. But if we are only to the point of hoping to land someone we very much like this summer, we should not be scared away by a million dollar price tag. Maybe Salloi or Shelton are good enough, and one of them proves it this weekend and makes this a pointless discussion after becoming a sparkly new hat trick holder for us. If they aren't good enough, does it make sense to keep other people's money in our wallent if for want of a 9, our season is lost?
I think we're too worried about getting the mythical #9. With our offensive problems, I don't really care what specific position they play so long as they can put the ball in the net once every 2-3 games. I mean, Messi or CR7 aren't a 9, but they'd probably help our attack out a little bit.
One thing that's annoying about our Quest For 9 is that we moved Dom because he was asking for Dr. Evil money and were able to get more than $1m back for him. Now, admittedly, we spent money on Russell and Felipe and Croizet, but the idea of again balking at 9 because he costs ONE MILLION DOLLARS seems a bit retro. Strikers cost more than other players. They just do. It isn't just that they cost more for SKC, but to just about everyone. Sometimes, you get a bargain, you get lucky and hit a sale day. Usually that is a young player who breaks out. So if the hope is this will be Salloi, then power to PV. This gets to the talk about Nemeth. If we don't like him for the 9, fine, move on. But the rumors are we've been in talks for weeks with NE, implying we want Nemeth, think he will work in our system as a 9, and are balking because of money. SKC has financial considerations, of course. but we aren't going to find a cheaper striker. As noted on here earlier, Bobby Wood (who was not seen as desireable for SKC on here) would cost as much as $12m to transfer (that's about his buyout), and would want what he now gets, $2.5m a season. And he hardly ever scores. If we want to wear big boy pants we have to stop crapping down our legs.
For me, the concern of a 9 is about player balance. I currently like our midfield pretty well. I think our wingers are up to snuff. It's just that central forward position that is lacking, and I think just having the right guy there will, personal goals aside, really tie together the offense. Anyone watch San Jose lately? I'm talking about Danny Hoesen. He didn't break their bank, he's not a billion dollars. But he's got everything we need in that position. Admittedly, the quakes have done some terrific business lately and are actually pretty fun to watch. Anyways, rambling. Point is, if we spend big on a number 9 and he only barely breaks a dozen goals in a year, lots of folks will call him a bust. But if he returns some shape to our offense, everybody around him will become more goal dangerous.
I thought Shelton played well tonight and certainly has the size to be a 9. If he can hold the ball and pass, that could be the shape you're speaking of.
I didn't realize how big that guy is. He won a lot of 50/50 balls in the air. I liked what I saw from him tonight.
I've been super skeptical of him. But yeah, between him and possibly Salloi, we might actually be much better off than I thought
Just had an odd-ish experience. Was watching Eurosport's weekly MLS wrapup (very well done, btw, which is part of the odd part) and the German voice of football on Eurosport was going through the highlights of match after match and was fairly monotone, giving respect where due, but just being the smart football guy German announcers are (again, a bit odd for Americans, but German announcers know the game). And then he was going crazy, Richtig gut. Wow. Unglaublisch. Mann, eine toppspieler (really good, unbelievable, man a top player) and it was all about one player: Salloi. He couldn't say enough positive about the calm Salloi showed on the first assist, or the quality of the ball. and the presence of mind to send that last goal through with the no-look backheal and, well,German announcers almost never do this. For SKC this is not good news. If even Eurosport is singing his praises, the sorts of people who buy contracts already have thick files on him, and this new contract was signed just before the wolf hired some top people to remove the door. Salloi is being called Bundesliga ready, right now.
That's not necessarily bad news. Selling him might suck, but the team would keep every penny of it. I'd like to see the kid get a really great run, even if it means in a different league. And frankly, add much as I do like watching him play and what he adds to the team... it's not like we've ever been actually reliant on his production to this point. I mean, I'd rather him stay and excel here, but at his age and with his passport, if he comes anywhere near excelling, the team is going to struggle to keep him here.