If you want to make a move now, what about Lee Nguyen? Yes he is 31 but he has been very productive over the last four years. He could be a creative spark in the midfield to help move away from being just a counterattacking team. Do a 2 year or so contract and see how he pairs with Martinez.
I felt like what I said was pretty calm in tone and analytical in nature to get back "diatribe." He is an interesting player but had 1 assist in 14 appearances There are a list of players like Landin, Torres, Bruin, Barnes, who have been handed leadership roles they couldn't quite carry and in some cases history suggested they weren't even worthy of. I think he's interesting but generally sloppy -- even more so than Memo -- so you can hand him the 10 jersey all you want but is he up to it? All due respect but if they like Martinez and can cope with Torres, Torres doesn't leave. Torres heading out hands them space and money and the most sensible response is a midfield upgrade. Objectively viewing their qualities, Cabezas and Martinez are young workhorses who are not without offensive use, but not really designated playmakers. So you use Cabezas and Martinez in lieu of choices like Alexander, to do the heavy lifting, and you hire then liberate a more talented and "clean" playmaker who can put the ball right where he means to. I mean, it's not an anti-Martinez diatribe per se. It's use people for their skill set and be honest with yourself. Martinez works hard but can also be somewhat creative, just not hyperprecise. He's the supporting guy, not the stud. Just like when they tried to make Bruin the sole forward. Alex was gone no matter what. His play suggested he checked out midseason. It would not be rational for a team trying to improve to throw a bunch of money at their incumbent roster. They are going to give Martinez a run of a few months at 10, yes, but they will be sitting on Torres' money and with 3 decent forwards already that is not the most obvious use of the money. If Martinez struggles it gets retasked to either replace him or push him back in favor of a 10. Don't believe me, read the quoted material I posted about the Torres sale and making Martinez 10. He "is" the 10, currently, nominally. For how long. FWIW I was right on the offense being much better and the defense having depth issues, and that we were likely a playoff team, last preseason. I took crap like I was a supposed contrarian for saying so. In the same honesty whether you like or believe it sensibility, Martinez is an interesting player but not even the equivalent of the better or lesser tenants of CAM in the better parts of team history (DeRo, Holden, Cameron, Davis). He will get his chance because we own him and Torres shipped out too late to bump him back now. But suggesting Martinez must be the future is more like a diatribe regardless of facts. At minimum he will have to produce out of the gate and earn it, and he sure as hell hasn't done it yet. He doesn't look like half a million yet, to me.
As far as Lee Ngyuen - his stats justify higher salary compared to the production of most other DP s around the league: The attacking midfielder recorded 11 goals and 15 assists in 2017 and ranks fifth in MLS over the past four years with 82 combined goals and assists. more than Lodiero or Higuaín etc etc
Question, and im not trying to hijack the thread... You look at the Texans and no matter what happens on or off the field they sell out every game and continue to do so. Not saying the dynamo are in danger, but just out of curiosity. How long will this city sustain an mls team before it would fold or move?
You really don't know much about MLS, the Dynamo, or soccer in general do you? Plenty of people, including famous sports broadcast journalists like Frank Deford and others like you have speculated that soccer will never survive as a professional sport in America for over 20 years... Frank is now deceased and the Dynamo are still here aren't they?
but to indulge you in a hypothetical - what would cause a MLS to cease operations in this city? An owner like Bud Adams.
Lease is hard to get out of unless team pays off stadium debt which would likely make it difficult to finance a move. I have to pull the stadium agreement but it’s not impossible but difficult and since MLS is having a hard time getting taxpayers to fund stadiums in other cities, where will they move that is better?
Most soccer stadiums around the world don't sell out.... Major teams will, but watch most Spanish, French, Mexican, Italian games and see empty seats.These countries Soccer is most likely the sport of choice. When you have 3 sports like Baseball, Football and Basketball as the major attention grabber for viewers, Soccer takes the back seat every time. Teams like Portland... have one team besides the Timbers competing attendance. The only reason why LA Galaxy sold out as much as they did was because of the money pumped into the team with well known players ei Beckham... before him look at their stadium.... ********ing empty! Dallas... EEEEEEEEEEEEMPTY for a very long time. When I traveled with the SG to games Pizza Hut Park was a freaking ghost town. I feared and secretly prayed they would close down that shit box of a team, but they have done an awesome job at turning around their attendance issues. MLS knows its playing forth string to cities that has a team from the other three sports and ones that are Hockey cities. As long as the teams are pulling in people over 6K-10k a game there is much room for concern. The Dynamo do that 95% of the time.
Nguyen has the technical ability to do something similar to what Sanchez did, quarterback against packed in teams, has some production history. However, the team has moved beyond the Davis era kickball/corners/deadball concept to one where we get downfield fast. I wonder if he has the longball-from-deep ability and foot speed to be part of the Elis/Quioto counter concept. I think we could use the "parked on the other end 10" too, but only half the time. The other half is bombing outlet balls wide early from our end -- to someone like Elis -- and you need someone who can do that part of the gig too. There is also the issue of age. There are performance and injury risks with age, and there also is the question of whether the acquisition cost is worth it in the long term. I don't like double-hit loan deals but once secured Elis in theory could be here half a decade or more in his early 20s. With Senderos, Leonardo, etc., one questions if they will finish 2018 or be here in 2019. Nguyen is closer to the second group than the first, age is age, facts is facts. Some will point to stats but this is one of those things where one year Davis is 9 assists for us and the next he's bench and the following offseason is retired. It goes that quick. Reality check: Nguyen is in year 3 of a 5 year deal, his second with NER. Having already given him a raise and new deal NER is miffed this is even happening and has made noises like he is going nowhere. Also worth noting that if dangled he would attract other MLS suitors and reportedly offers to go back to Vietnam, where he has already played once. This against the background of a deal the team with his rights can enforce for 1-3 more years. So expect an escalating auction if they are ever so inclined. At a certain point of unwillingness NER will likely crack and make a deal in spite of their promises, because you'd rather have some other player who will suit up, or room to fix their problem, than nothing. But that doesn't make it a Torres situation where you'd dump the guy for little or nothing just to clear the spot. Also bear in mind it's likely a double-hit scenario where there is (a) trade for rights plus (b) contract redo. If the trade exchange plus the new salary climbs enough why am I not just going on the market to secure a $1.5 million kid in his 20s who plays the same spot. That is actually cheaper than having to trade away bench players or roster tools plus sign a $1.5 million contract for multiple years, and the risk of physical breakdown is less imminent. FWIW NER has only deteriorated the past few years on below the red line so I am not sold this is The Move For Us.
I believe his insistence on moving is not just du eto money - NER are losers and just fired there coach, replaced by a former goalkeeper who has never coached a men's professional team for even one game. Freidel could end up being great but he has nothing in his background that would suggest he is capable of elevating a struggling MLS squad that is hemorrhaging it's best players.
Or Houston could have made one of the three moves Orlando made: Kljestan, Meram, or Rosell. Could have gotten them for TAM and still have a DP spot.
The Dynamo averaged 17500 x no less than $25/ticket x 17 games. Do the math, no less than $7,437,500 in ticket revenue, setting aside more expensive tickets. Add in 3 more games for playoffs. Understating this by assuming a regular season crowd at regular season minimum price, another $1,312,500. [Thus proving my theory that spending a little more also makes you more because the team competes longer.] A few more million for shirt sponsor, stadium sponsor, share of national TV deals. Payroll is between $4-5 million, plus acquisition costs, overhead. Few things you're missing, (1) the Texans are not barely surviving so the survival line is not Texans Or Bust, but rather some level of success below that, closer to what we manage. The Texans are making money hand over fist. The line is closer to Dallas, Columbus, etc. (2) that a team like the Astros that couldn't have been making much money in its ebb years can borrow money to survive for a period. (3) that some teams are run by people like Cuban as a vanity project without regard to profit or loss. Your better argument is the counterfactual of the Dynamo screw up last season too and they bleed more fans, what happens. But that stopped and they made the playoffs, it doesn't apply.
Kljestan, to me, given keys to car couldn't drive NYRB to the title. Very similar to Nguyen in sense of older player with significant production but are they past it and did they ever win their teams anything. Both a little soft and this is an all for one one for all type team. I don't blame Nguyen for wanting out, coach fired, new apprentice coach hired, lousy team. I just can't intellectually act like he isn't somehow part of that lousy team that got the predecessor fired.
personally responsible for 11 goals and 15 assists should be enough to for any AM in MLS JC. That was better than both Tomas or Alex combined last year
name a AM they can get for that money / at this time / that has proven they can produce similar results in an MLS level league. Slycat was right in his post.
It would require money (maybe not even real cash but Garner bucks) and vision, things the Dynamo lack. Imagine us with Meram in the midfield! No, don’t do that, visualize a Honduran prospect on loan who we were able to acquire for a truckload of brisket and no cash!!!
Meram asked for a trade and Rosell said I want to come back. You don't even have to scout for these guys. They are knocking on your door saying hey make me an offer. But no, we get a Chicago backup and a SJ biter.
In fairness, both are needed additions. They aren't #10's or DP's, but we needed d-mid depth without Rico and we needed a veteran replacement for Vincente Sanchez. The issue ultimately lies with Tomas Martinez. They have made him the #10 jersey and placed that expectation on him. I just don't see it. I think he is a very promising midfielder, but I just don't see the #10 position in him. You either have "it" or you don't. He's like Alex in that I think he can hit a deep ball accurately and intelligently or a cross which can lead to a good amount of assists, but his control in tight space and ability to split open a defense - he just didn't have much of it last year. Maybe with a preseason he will show more. Houston has put its #10 eggs in his basket for better or worse. I would have looked hard at trading for Nguyen. This front six would have been really, really strong. ----------Manotas----------- Elis--------------------Quito ------------Nguyen---------- ----Cabezas-------Martinez
A Dynamo impediment to success is that they won’t pay in cash what you need to pony up for true #10 talents. So you take a cheaper option like a Tomas Martinez who has bounced around countries and second divisions but at one time was a prospect. I’ll give you an analogy - #10 is in many ways the soccer equivalent of a starting NFL QB and the Dynamo sign Brian Hoyer and Safe Rosenfels types instead of DeShaun Watsons