I agree the Brilliant & Birnbaum pairing is suboptimal and the rest of the back line could improve, but if Mattocks goes down, there are no current options signed that have produced this year. Signing Rooney and that rumored young South American DP provide us options and weapons off the bench. If we want to win MLS Cup, blow up the defense and rebuild that portion of the roster like we did last summer.
Except obviously Retirement Rooney will start every game and fade by the 5th minute of warmups and Mattocks will be sitting on the bench until the 60th. Mattocks' untimely success this season will make the Rooney signing look even more catastrophic.
Wasn't Brilliant supposed to be a calming veteran presence in the back. So far he has been pretty much a shit show, same as this FO.
anyone see anything about Rooney lately? it is way way too quiet. If he was still thinking about signing, or is going to, there would be way more discussions over in Europe and they have pretty much died....
Is there anything else going on that could distract the European journos from the big Rooney to DCU story? asitis
Watching Mattocks run his ass off at the 'Plex last night made me wonder (again) about the wisdom of the Rooney deal. Rooney would be puking on the sideline by minute 30. If we get him, he should be slotted behind the designated rabbit, such as Mattocks.
Goff tweeted the other day that it was still moving along and was gonna happen. My guess is that we can't get that lucky. The real shame is that he's not with the team now, training, getting familiar, getting his fitness level back up. Instead he'll show up after July 4th, a couple pounds over weight and wilt like a daisy in the DC summer heat.
The world cup may be a distraction that bumps transfer news of washed up Brits to last place teams to the bottom of the que. It's vacation time why show up early to your paid retirement gig? Like the guy on death row he might be waiting for that 11th hour reprieve from the Chinese league.
Well, surely if Rooney is worth so much money, he's starring for a mediocre England team at the World Cup, right?
Goff reported 6 days ago he has agreed to a contract, now it's down to a transfer fee agreement. Rooney was recently in Belfast, securing his US work visa. Goff said he should be expected to show around July 1. Can't wait to see the back tracking on all these dopey Rooney takes, not meaning you. He's 32, not 80, his fitness level will surely be comparable if not better than anyone on this team, once he shakes off the summer break.
Agreed. Even a 'mediocre' Rooney is still 2x the footy player than anyone on this DCU roster. This coming from a Villa fan who despised Rooney. But when he puts on the B&R I'll root for him.
That was the point of my post. If he's going to show up here a week before the first game, he's going to be in no place to contribute heavily. He'll be 2 months removed from a competitive game, 2 months removed from any kind of organized team training. Not that real pro doesn't stay in shape, but there's a reason teams have a preseason schedule and training regimen. And even then, guys take a couple weeks to really achieve match fitness. Even if you think Rooney is a spectacular idea for DCU, you have to agree that not getting him signed and over here training with the team ASAP is a mistake. While the transfer window doesn't open for a couple weeks, he could still be training with the team.
can he? What are the labor rules? I thought there was still a window where you couldn't train too early before a window opened, maybe that was an older rule. How would the team's insurer deal with an injury during said time? I mean, it sounds all good and rah-rah, but how realistic is your wish? Might all be legit, but I doubt it.
I've heard multiple times through various media channels that he can workout with the team before the transfer window opens, but only becomes eligible to play after it opens.
I mean I hope he plays for the club but we should just let him go out and do whatever, he won’t gain a single thing of value by practicing with the team.