Not with our defense. We are a team that will likely always give up a goal or two so I'd rather build a squad that's resilient and lethal enough to score multiple goals. 2-2 road ties and 3-1 home wins would be my wish
If we go 17-17-0, I'll buy everyone here a beer after we get knocked out of the playoffs in the first round!
I am also hearing that for Tim Parker, Vancouver is looking to obtain Justin Meram type of return that would be roughly $1 million in allocation money and an international slot. Currently I'm hearing that DC United and Montreal are very much in the mix to land Parker.— Kristian Dyer (@KristianRDyer) February 22, 2018
? We can still get a forward AND get Parker. IMO, it's not an either/or scenario. Parker would be a great move to shore up our defense, and we already know the FO is holding out to get a forward during the summer.
Why would you want United to give up $1MM in funny money and an international roster spot for a center back? It would make going to a 3-5-2 very intriguing, but that is an expensive ask.
I'll take Parker. Personally I'm nervous about both Brillant and Birnbaum. In 2016, Brillant was a starter on the worst defense in modern MLS history. Although that may have been more of a general NYCFC issue, nonetheless it is worrisome. And even if he settles in, the guy is 32 so he's not likely to be here much beyond this season. And the worry with Birnbaum is of course the head injuries. I know people are obsessed with the striker situation, but our defense is a bit thin too. There is nothing unreasonable about Olsen/Kasper focusing on that.
I would rarely start or consistently use NDL as an outside defender in a 4 backline. But as an outside midfielder in a 3-5-2, he could be useful. In a 3-5-2, ALL of the defenders are marking backs. Its a huge mistake not to put a really good marking defender in the center. But then you won't expect any of them to go up field or overlap down the flanks.
I agree with you insofar as Birnbaum is a health risk who could retire any week and Brillant is not the answer. On the other hand, I'm OK with Opare as a week-to-week starter and Robinson has been perfectly acceptable as a spot starter. On the other other hand, Parker was a top 5 MLS CB last season.
1 mil is a bit steep, but Parker has two things going for him ... he's only 24 and he doesn't occupy an international slot. We've seen players like Feilhaber and Kljestan moving for similar prices, and those guys are 33 and 32 respectively. Sure they're bigger game changers compared to a CB, but they're very close to the end. Parker could give you maybe another 10 years of value. Two other points to consider. Part of the high price tag here is also a product of Vancouver not necessarily wanting to sell him. They're being forced into this, so they'll naturally want reimbursement. And another point is that DC is one of the weaker scouting teams in MLS. If they have CB circled as a shopping priority, they may not know where to find one. Which limits them to the internal MLS market, and the opportunity to snag a real starter is slim.
What @DecadeOfDCU26 said. United doesn't need to trade away an international roster spot when it currently needs to acquire one.
If we offload Brillant in a separate trade, we can free up an int'l slot. EDIT: We haven't even tried a 3 back thus far, I don't see us building up a stable of CBs for that purpose.
The Goff article from a month ago gave the impression that the FO was expecting more than one green card to come through.
The ones who have been holding out on spending until the stadium was on its way to being built? The ones who spent an obscene amount to get Arriola? The ones who also paid transfer fees for Acosta, Segura, Moreno, and signed off on the Asad deal? I might think they were stingy prior to 2017, but they've been willing to invest in the on-field product for a while now. It just may not always be where we fans would like to see it. We've seen signs over the past 6 months that they can spend the money when they want to and, if the opportunity is right, they can dip into buying TAM any time they want to to get this and other deals going. If the right player is available and the team is serious about pursuing it, then I'm all for it.