Indeed. Exactly. And yes, we’ll have to live with the Cronin/Burch thing. I’ve seen Sam regularly in my ‘hood over the offseason and it sounded like he was still royally bummed about that as well (he and his fam love Denver). Anyway, although the frustration with the 2018 transfer uncertainty is greater, consider it a good thing that there’s drama and competing interest from multiple clubs... unlike many past “big moves” under the Bravo/Hinchey regime. One must ask why there’s drama and interest. Perhaps because it’s a highly sought-after prize. Whereas, with only a few exceptions in previous years, the RFO often made it sound like Bravo’s finds (the many with little drama and little competing interest) were hidden gems that nobody else knew about. Maybe there’s a reason for that. Nobody cared.
Danny Wilson transfer speculation: https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport...ews/danny-wilson-could-leave-rangers-11902021
Kamara chose the Wooden Spoon runner-up for less money than the Wooden Spoon third-place finisher offered. I wonder how much of that was preferring LA as a place to live over Denver (probably quite a bit), how much was believing that the Gals would be more likely to rebuild into a contender than Colorado (probably a lot) and how much was preferring not to play for Stan Kroenke (maybe some). Just wondering and pondering.
On the Rapids Podcast that came out this morning, Anthony Hudson confirms that the team is still pursuing "a couple" more signings before he can feel completely set for the season. Didn't say what positions.
At least they aren't trying to BS us by saying "we have the right team in place". I always hated that crap. Everyone knows the team wasn't ready. Just that the RFO fell down and was trying to save face. Here they are saying "we aren't ready and are still working hard to fix".
I think the biggest obstacle to overcome is the KSE historical cheapness/ poor mgmt over Denver as a home destination. But some people do prefer living next to an ocean too cold to swim in, unreal traffic/ commute times, etc over what we have.
Players that come to MLS with a desire to be a 'bigger' fish (star) by entering a smaller pool may prefer the coastal (NYC/LA) media exposure/lifestyle, e.g. how many people not from Colorado read the Denver Post regularly?
Agree. It's not a coincidence that the prominent likes of Villa, Beckham, Henry, Keane, Pirlo, Vela, and dos Santos all landed in either LA or NYC. Same principle likely applies to the ambitions of the next tier of star MLS players (e.g., Kamara). We'll always have to contend with being a "flyover state". Equally important, Denver's far from being an international city. And, its "whiteness" and 365-days-per-year Bronco hype also aren't doing us any favors. Having said that, having premier club management and ownership can overcome many of these obstacles. Take Green Bay, WI as an example. In the 70s and 80s, the Packers were fully irrelevant because they could not draw the star players of the NFL (predominantly African-American) to an extremely white town of 72,000 people in balmy northeast Wisconsin (you do the math). It has plenty of beaches... but of a different sort and temperature. The team was on average a shitty .500 team for two decades. Very limited talent. Then, with some shifts in team management and some impressive PR, they wooed a guy named Reggie White during his high profile free agency tour across the NFL. And he bought into it. He was THE true standout NFL player at the time... and he was African-American... in 99% white, small town USA. But upon arrival, he made a deliberate, well-publicized effort to convince other black NFL stars at the time that the organization was top notch, well-managed, and pointed in the right direction. A multitude of talented stars began rolling into town despite the glaring geographic and demographic hurdles. Until recently, the organization has been lauded as one of the best managed in the league, and they too have enjoyed being in steady championship contention almost every year for about 25 years... in a small, white, upper Midwest town. In the Rapids/MLS case, I'm not referring to the black-white thing as much as the obvious gravitation of quality international players to the big, flashy international American cities. But if the inept KSE (or ANOTHER owner, perhaps?!) would get its shit together and became a well-respected organization, the Rapids could possibly overcome this inherent geographic obstacle just as the Green Bay Packers did 25+ years ago. My 3 cents.
Where is our striker signing???? I think others have alluded to the fact that while this offseason has been productive by Rapids standards, it’s not like other MLS teams are treading water. Have the Rapids improved to a far greater extent than other MLS teams?
This seems a bit more positive news on Keseru. http://www.telekomsport.ro/oferta-u...ofere-un-salariu-de-1-100-00-de-euro-17683907
Quick translation: It sounds to me like the Rapids have offered $1.1M to Keseru and basically he was until the end of the month to say yay or nay. The indication I get from the translated article is that Ludgorets is standing pat and not "allowing" him to leave until the Summer. Clearly sounds like a ploy to drive up the transfer value as Ludogrets has signed a replacement and have prepared for life without him.
It's always hard to determine what's up and down with these local sports publications hyping and speculating on transactions like this. I remember we had a bit of a roller coaster ride with Gaby Torres and all the Spanish Language communications stating all sorts of things, even that the deal wad dead... like just a couple days before it was announced Torres was signed. From the article stating Keseru was "not impressed" with the $ offer, including car and plane tix for family, to the Ludogrets club playing hardball with his contract, I'd say it's probably a legit. offer and Keseru and Ludogrets are likely to take it. Assuming the info. is accurate.
Can we get Gaby Torres back? He was an absolutely horrible fit for Pablo-ball, but it seems like his finesse would work well under Hudson's system.
I view Gaby like I do Gashi. Talented players that let their paycheck get to their head and decided to get fat and lazy. I'd rather not have either.
Speaking of.......... Gabi Gol just made a move from his Swiss club to Huachipato in the Chliean Primera Division. From what I've been told, he performed pretty well, as a winger of sorts, in Switzerland.
For a second I read that as "fitness" and not "finesse" and I was all WTF? One thing that is not acceptable is for the Rapids to wait for summer for their striker signing. Not unless they have a way to sell throwing away 2018 to the fan base (like half-priced season tickets in 2019 or something to make up for it).
I agree completely. However, I might tolerate getting a decent, proven striker now if it means we get a DP level striker in the summer.
Scottish Sun (take it for what its worth, very little) reporting Rangers CB Danny Williams will be Commerce City for his medical tomorrow: https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sp...on-mls-colorado-rapids-medical-transfer-news/
Amen. This is why I'm taking a "wait and see" approach before considering season tickets. It's hard to imagine the Rapids being competitive without bringing in a talented goal scorer.I give them that this is difficult, but time is running out to have someone here that will be effective when Toronto arrives in town.
Ugh! F****ing Rangers. I guess I’ll have to get over the fact Wilson wore a Gers kit, if this indeed is true and he’s on his way. It will be hard. It was hard, initially, for me to root for John Spencer for that reason but I got over it. Shhhhh....it’s blasphemy.......but Wilson is the ONLY current Rangers player I’d take. He’s a bit like Tommy Smith in his defending, stature, and ability to get on the end of set pieces. A Ford - Wilson - Smith combo ain’t bad on paper. With Gashi swinging in balls, on set pieces, we could be lethal. If we don’t find a striker we will have to be.
As noted, there are a few exceptions, And for every Tim Howard, there are several embarrassing Bravo flops where the “hidden gem” player didn’t fit the system or was completely washed up (Zat Knight, Edu, and many more). Listing all the names would trigger an adverse reaction by the poster. So I’ll refrain.
Tons of reports of Wilson coming to Colorado now. I always look to fan response as a real indicator, here is an article focused directly on it: https://thisisfutbol.com/2018/01/bl...ague/rangers-fans-react-to-wilson-exit-links/ Note that few of the comments point to him as a bad player. They point to his character and money grabbing desire. They also think MLS sucks and he is killing his career. From my perspective, that sounds like a fan base who doesn't want to see him go because he is a quality player. So, if it happens, good on the RFO for making it happen. I say take the players who teams are pissed to lose. Those are the players we want over the ones the fans are more than happy to see leave. rod.