Morrissey is rightly pointing out that Ben won't be running on borrowed time anymore. Given how much the team has spent on new players, Ben will have much higher expectations now. Rah-Rah stuff will begin to grow tiresome on people that write the checks if he doesn't do well. Shawn will point out that Ben will begin next season on the road so he is still pretty much guaranteed a job through next season.
For shits and grins, I watched the "highlights" of the 2nd leg of the 2012 playoffs against RBNY. What surprised me about what I saw was that Pajoy played the role of hold up forward very well. He trapped, distributed and moved. It was his pass -- cross field no less -- to Robbie Russell that set up Russell's pass to NDL who Conor Lade so gentlemanly left onside. For all the shit Pajoy took on these boards, I haven't seen hold up play like that from either Mullins or Brown -- just sayin'.
Not true with the better roster I will hold him to higher standards. Not Shammy standards but higher. Lol
Stieber started in Hungary's 3-1 victory over Latvia on Thursday. They host Portugal on Sunday. https://www.dcunited.com/post/2017/...-latvia?utm_source=Social&utm_medium=Facebook
He started as a "second forward," so I look forward to him moving inside as play develops, much as Arriola does from the right wing, when he returns to DC.
That's good to hear. He really needs to play as an inside forward for us as Arriola is really more of a true winger.
This is a must win game for Stieber and his national team else they are out of Russia. Good luck to them.
Hungary is effectively already eliminated. They would need to win last 3 games and see Portugal lose 3 games. That's a hail mary considering how strong Portugal is. And Portugal's next games is against minnow Andorra. On the flip side this means no summer soccer for Hungarian NT members next year. Wonder if Zoltan can convince one of his team mates to come over. I'm thinking of Adam Szalai being a perfect fit. A big bruising center forward who can't stop scoring for the national team the last 18 months or so. The best Hungarian player is Balazs Dzsudzsak. He would be one of the top 3 set piece takers in the league. Unfortunately he doesn't fit our team right now since we already have Stieber, Acosta and Arriola under contract for next year, and those are the positions Dzsudzsak likes to play. Some other Hungarians that could plug holes on the team could be center backs are Tamas Kadar (Dynamo Kiev), Richard Guzmich (Yanbian) and Adam Lang (Beitar Jerusalem). Also a good left back Mihaly Korhut (Hapoel Beer Sheva). And a decent defensive midfielder Akos Elek (Kairat). These would all be non DP players.
Portugal won in Hungary. I think after the Euro they fully realized of good of a team they are and are playing consequently. Then of course, having CR7 helps a lot, but it's not only that (in fact they won the Euro final without him on the field). I expect Portugal to smash the Swiss in the last game and go to Russia 2018 automatically
The elimination playoffs are fraught with peril with some good teams likely to be in the mix. Will Portugal decimate the Swiss? I'll say that I'll be watching, but expect to see the Portugal side at the mercy of the draw with the Swiss going direct,
Not necessarily. Don't a lot of teams schedule friendlies against teams not in the finals as "tune up" matches?
Goff reports Kemp out for remainder of the season with groin injury. I would expect Nicky to start at LB for the duration. Franklin will miss the Fire match with yellow accumulation. Will we see Odoi-Atsem or Korb at LB?
Obviously, I meant "Right Back" in #1066, above. And Goff only mentions Miranda's injury, but doesn't say if he has mended or not.
I am assuming DeLeon continues at Left Back, and either Korb or Odoi-Atsem starts at Right Back in place of the suspended Franklin.
That's a real shame about Kemp. I hope they can get his injury sorted out. I know many think players don't develop under this coaching staff. Kemp is the obvious exception to that thought. He has become a competent defender and still offers a good bit going forward. I wish him well. asitis
Korb has played a bunch of left back though and NDL was really more of an emergency LB. I'd say if Korb starts he is LB, if Odoi-Atsem does, he is RB.
I like the idea or Korb at left back because he's more defensive minded. You want Stieber in and around the box as much as possible, so he may not defend that much. Having a 'stay at home' fullback behind him would offer security. On the other side Arriola is more of a two way winger, which can allow De Leon to overlap and create an overload. Korb on left and De Leon on right is a better balance IMO. Which means that Olsen will do the exact opposite.
http://m.yenisafak.com/amphtml/spor/galatasaray-de-jongtan-kurtuluyor-2794620 If this is to be believed De Jong is coming on a free in January.
Why would we need a thug for hire? We've got Russell Canouse at D-Mid and there's no reason to contemplate a change now.