Sarvas is in his last year with us, Vincent's return is highly questionable, Canouse, at 22, is probably an average DM for this league, and there's no sign that Durkin is yet ready to challenge him. One decent young DM and a 17 year old protege does not a full compliment of DMs make. A move like this (getting a high quality DM with two years left in his legs who can challenge Canouse and share time through injuries and fixture congestion, but isn't a medium-to-long-term threat to his role as a starter) makes perfect sense. Taken from that perspective, it isn't a change at all, it's a necessary addition for Canouse's development and the resilience of the team. We have no such player who can spell Acosta and/or Harkes in a similar capacity, and we will desperately need one if we're to avoid another year lost to injury and inconsistency. That player will be expensive, and every dollar we don't spend on this DM is one we can spend there, or at forward. So, for better or worse, that it would be DeJong, also makes sense. That said, this sounds like a rumor of a rumor, and I'm not going to assume anything at this point.
O.K. What you said makes sense. But, the D-Mid slot - like Goalkeeper - is a position where American born & raised players seem to excel. I'd rather spend what it takes to bring Kitchen back than invest in another retread at this point. Even Jeffrey has become roughly competent as a substitute & emergency starter. Heck, does Richie Williams have children or grandchildren who are playing somewhere?
I like Kitchen, and I'd have been fine getting him instead of Canouse, but they're similar players at a similar point in their careers playing the same position. IMO, the most likely outcome is one cannibalizes the other's minutes to no good effect, and the other leaves after a year. That's the kind of lateral move you make when you're hoping to find a long-term replacement. I'm not sure about American DMs excelling. Right now looking at the likely Nat depth chart, we have Bradley, Cameron, Acosta and McCarty, maybe? It used to be that you could easily conflate the description of an ideal DM destroyer-plus and the average US national team player, but for better or worse, I don't think that's true anymore.
Frankly, the level of apathy just isn't there. We're spending money and playing attractive ball in spurts. Sure, we are consistently muffing shots like a contender, and we are having a terrible time with the final ball, but it's going to take a lot of bad luck, and even then, I think Ben's trying to not lose the locker room. I don't like our chances.
I'd rather spend our limited foreign acquisition money on players who are good with the ball on their feet or who are good at putting the ball in the net. I guess I'm old fashioned, but that's who I am. There were times this year when I would have settled for Josh Gros on the wing. Heck, I would have been delighted to have Gros and Earnie Stewart on the wing before we picked up Zoltan. On the other hand, Dema I would have to think about - but, in spite of all his faults, one thing you could never take away from Kovalenko was his desire to dominate and win.
DeJong is a shitty old man who is a shitty soccer player and a shitty human. Furthermore, the very last thing this team needs is another gritty defensive midfielder. Further furthermore, this shitty team and this shitty league should be above being a retirement home for shitty old soccer players. Further further furthermore, he was shitty for the shit LA Galaxy; what makes anyone think he's going to be less shitty after aging another year? He's not quite Carlos Ruiz shit, but he's definitely shit.
This season ended when DCU got a big fat nuthin' from that three-game homestand in June. If they had won just those three they'd be above the playoff line right now. Also, if I'd been born taller, handsomer, and richer, I'd be dating a movie star right now.
Bruno Miranda was among the subs Bolivia left on the bench in a 0-0 draw with WC qualified Brasil tonight. Bolivia's keeper was magnificent and carried the day, I believe with one match day remaining in the odyssey that is CONMEBOL qualifying only Brasil has positively clinched a spot. Next Tuesday hopefully Miranda will take the field and show his stuff to the international viewers
After doing his 90 minute impression of a human force field last night this gent is being looked at closely by many and the team he plays for in Chile has already bumped his transfer fee through the roof.
Arriola is in the XI for the USMNT. Hopefully we get three points and Paul contributes/ comes home healthy
He's had an OK half in the fray on the counter. At 3-0 US it's looking like they may try to coast in the second half