Agree. The DP label no longer carries the weight it once did. SKC now have several of what used to classified as DP players. My expectation for players on this roster is the same (high) regardless of if they are technically a DP or if their salary was paid down with TAM/GAM or any other form or MLS AM.
http://cornerofthegalaxy.com/2018/0...a-galaxy-fall-well-short-against-sporting-kc/ Ashley Cole: "Credit to them. They are a very good team." Zlatan: "It doesn't matter if you hit the post. If you don't score you don't win. I think they wanted it more than us."
Okay, I get the idea that corner of the galaxy is a homer, but this is a pretty funny definition of what happened: "Cole’s shot, a ripped left-footed ball that was curling towards the far lower corner of the net, grazed by Melia’s fingertips, just barely tipping the ball out of the goal and pinging it off the post." Could they not bear to use the word "saved"?
Khiry Shelton is really important to the way this attack has worked. HIs ability to take up defenders and stretch the field allows Salloi and Russel to have extra space. Very impressed by him. It's so easy to see why he's starting. I have a feeling that if Peter Vermes could draw up his ideal forward it would be almost identical to Shelton
You're not wrong. Shelton is very strong, deceptively fast, and commands attention even though he hasn't scored any yet this year. He has a good awareness of where his teammates are, he's willing to play tough defense from the top, he's willing to chase down balls out at the corners, he stays on his feet and doesn't go down easy, and pressures the GK when they are trying to play out of the back. I'm starting to think that the reason we were offensively poor the last several years is because we were trying to funnel everything through Dwyer. He was good, no doubt, but we were over-reliant on him to be the goalscorer. Well, that, and our wings were not generally to the level that Russell and Salloi are at right now. Shelton's qualities are allowing the wings, the entire midfield, and the wingbacks to shine. 12 goals scored in 6 games, by 7 different players so far.
I don't disagree, but look at those numbers. We've already passed the goal expectations from Felipe (he's never scored like this before, but we are going to need another six or seven from him). Plus, we're relying on Russell and Salloi to score 10+. This is all possible, but it takes a bit of pressure off if the 9 can score. I think he can, and frankly it's a bit unlucky he hasn't. But if we're looking at him as the classic does everything but score type of 9, those guys usually do score a bit. Even Heskey scored every three games or so, until he slowed down and it was considerably less than that.
It's becoming meaningless in the overall scheme of things and for many fans that know about the TAM/GAM, but based on what I saw from a random straw poll last night, I think the fact that he's a DP has an effect on how some people view his performance. I didn't think he played bad last night, I didn't think he was overly good either, but there have been very few performances that I can remember where people are literally all over the board from great to terrible in terms of how he played last night.
Shelton is turning into a great budget striker. Big difference is if we paid out some cash for a well scouted 9, we'd have all these things you're excited about (gravity, link up, shape) plus the potential ability to score more and maybe dribble a bit. Shelton is the right kind of forward for us, I really do think, but he's still awfully raw and I'm not sold on how clutch he could be. He seems consistent and decent, which gets us somewhere. But I'm not sure it gets us silverware. I'm still hoping we try to land someone notable this summer to really improve our offense.
I was thinking about this and went back for a second watching of him after coming in at DC, and in this one. He's far from a total disaster area. He plays a very quick one touch game, and he involves a lot of players, in all directions, from the center. I agree that when he gets ambitious it all tends to go pear shaped. The MLS writers were mocking his alleged "I'm the best dribbler in the world" attitude, which is a bit unfair, as he doesn't take off on a lot of long maizy runs, just the occassional one. And he has to get his shot off more quickly. It's weird how slow he on that, maybe it's trying too hard and a huge windup. But he does keep the ball moving. The number of 10+ pass combos we have with him in the center is impressive. He needs to get better, but I would argue that he's shown that he is and will continue to do so.