News: Rev Roster 2018

yes, and that is what tells me that there is nothing big coming. Sounds to me like they are just looking to fill out the roster. The draft is almost useless these days. All the better players are already claimed through academy programs

I've just heard this too many times.

 

I saw an article today claiming Chicago making a strong move for Lee.

 

That's great news. He would slow their attack to a crawl. Hope they trade someone good. If they said Polster for Lee I would do it, no hesitation. 24 year old USMNT defender for one of the league's most productive (and overrated) attacking mids. Done and done

 

OK that's a big problem. FIX LEE's MONEY. Double his salary. He is the best player on this team and the only one I will pay to see play. Cant fix the friggin turf but who isnt on that crap these days?
No wonder he looked like he had an attitude problem last year. I don't blame him.... do what it takes to make him happy. Trades get us NOTHING. There is no player that can replace him and money... we never get anyone good with it. Cast offs and free Euro transfers that dont work out

 

I disagree. The issue to me is more the last part of your post (my bolding below) which points to the ineptitude of the organization. Hanging onto your 'best player' just because you can't sign anyone better is a recipe for mediocrity -- especially when your best player hasn't had a remarkable season since he was the second best player on the team. Why is it that other teams seem to be able to find and sign difference makers and we can't?

 

No.

Salaries are all about timing. He got an excellent MLS salary when he signed it. It's inevitable that new contracts would surpass his over time; then when it's his turn again, he can leap-frog others, if he's earned it with his play.

If you open up that can of worms, of comparing/adjusting salaries, you'll have a line outside the GM's office.

 

You of course remember Lee himself was a Vancouver castoff. He wasn't even a free Euro transfer; he came from the Vietnamese league. A bit ironic you're assuming the revs can't find another diamond in the rough.

 

Isn't that the same line of thinking that told us it was OK to let Jermaine Jones go, because now that Burns has "proven" he can land a game-changing DP, he'll just go out and get another one?

How's that working out?

 

I don't recall anyone making that claim (but, he did come up with Kouassi and it was pure bad luck that he suffered the only major injury of his career just weeks later!).

Now, Kouassi hasn't come close to what Jones provided initially, but w/o that injury, who knows. He never had the time here to fully recover from that ACL.

 

Sure, they can. But have they? I guess you could say Delamea would fit into that category, since he turned out to be pretty good and no one outside of Slovenia had ever heard of him. But when your only strategy is to roll the dice and get lucky with a Nguyen or Delamea, you end up with more guys like JeVaughn Watson, London Woodberry, or guys not even at that level. Not to mention our "big international signings" like Domi, Dabo, Lekic, Niouky etc.

 

You're making my point. They rolled the dice on Kouassi, and it came up snake eyes. Bad luck? Sure, but these things happen in sports.

Trading Nguyen for assets is trading the known for the unknown. You can't take $500K in TAM and put it on the field and expect it to score goals. You have to invest it in a player. Any new player comes with a risk, until you find out exactly what you have and how he fits with the team. When it's Burns signing that player, that risk is increased (historically speaking).

 

Are you kidding? The only other diamond we've "found" in recent history was JJ, and that was via a coin flip. I read the stories online every day about this and that one being signed but rarely by the Revs We dont find players because the Revs won't spend the money it takes to sign them OR Burns is a complete idiot in his job

Right now, the Revs less Lee are not worth bothering to see just as the Revs less JJ werent either for the first couple years after he left

This crap is nothing new for the Revs... players can't wait to get out of here and except for Juan, dont want to come back. I really want to support this team but it is so poorly managed, theres little good to say. Maybe Fire Burns is the best thing?

 

I would not say that the Revs without Nguyen are not worth watching. We still have good attacking pieces, whether it's with Agudelo as a lone #9 or with Agudelo pairing Nemeth or Bunbury as strikers.

Agudelo
Rowe-Fagundez-Nemeth

or

-----Agudelo-Nemeth--------
Fagundez-Caldwell-Rowe
New stud #6

All of those lineups can score goals and they all preserve Bunbury as a gamechanging supersub. If we trade Nguyen, it should be for a top 5 MLS defensive midfielder, since that's our biggest roster hole.

Our last good roster was the 2014 team with Jones that got to the cup final. We've upgraded at striker (Agudelo & Nemeth > Mullins & Davies). We've finally got a central defensive partnership with promise again (Delamea & Dielna). We can replace Nguyen's offensive output with Fagundez and Rowe. But we've never replaced Jones' leadership or ability to control the game.

Nguyen is a top 5 attacking mid in MLS and has more value to other teams than to us. He's (at least currently believes that he's) likely to be happier in a new location and with a new organization that gives something up to get him, thus proving that they want him.

Marco Delgado, Christian Roldan, Haris Medunjanin, Ilie Sanchez, Sam Cronin, Alex Ring, Diego Chara. If we could get one of those players for Nguyen, I'd do it.

 

I give the revs credit for finding Nguyen, Goncalves and Delamea. Waiver guy, Defender of the Year and a gamer with leadership and tenacity. It's a small but impactful list. JJ fell in their lap after an outstanding WC, they didn't "find" him. Their drafts have been mostly abysmal for a decade so not counting that either.

My point was the very guy he was defending was in that small category of diamonds. Yes it's rare but then again aren't diamonds?

 

Well fair point, that's not working out and I doubt a USMNTer of Jones's caliber will fall in their lap.
However, I would suggest Jones is not in the same category as Lee both in acquisition and talentwise. Jones has played in Germany his entire career,you was a USMNT regular starter, coming off an outstanding World Cup. He was a coin flip acquisition, for lack of a better way to describe it.

In contrast, Lee was already with a team then waived. The revs get credit for "one man's trash is another's treasure" line of thinking. Most waiver guys don't work; this one did. I'm simply giving the revs credit for acquiring Lee.

Now to the present situation. I am in the "trade Lee" camp - but at the right price. I want a high allocation spot to get the next returning Nat. Eric Lichaj or similar. Dallas picks first, he's from there, it's a no brainer win-win for both teams. He's a good player but I have more faith in Friedel's ability to replace him than Heaps.

 

I don't care what the sport is, if a player really wants to go, he can force the issue.

 

Yes. But, we don't know whether Nguyen's trade request came before or after the coaching change - and whether it still stands.

 

I believe the original article said that the trade request happened before the season ended, and therefore before BF was hired.

If I were Brad, one of my first orders of business would have been to sit down with Lee and see where his head was at, reassure him that he was a key part of my plans for the team.

If that did happen, maybe Lee no longer feels the way he did when he asked to be traded.

 

Either Lee's not getting traded, or it's Brad's subtle way of hinting that all of the trade offers are crap and it's time for the relevant interested parties to pony up if they're serious.

 

Im so happy that Brad see's the value Lee brings by staying as opposed to trading him for nothing (like Kamarra). Now Brad's job is to figure out what it will take to get him to finish his career here

 

I doubt Friedel is focused on where Nguyen's career ends. They probably agreed that they'd both give things a chance with new coaching, then figure it out.

And, why do you assume that they'd trade him for nothing? A lot teams seem very interested ...

 

I think the worry is that, unless they trade him for an actual player, the Revs Brain Trust will squander whatever assets they get for him.

 

I believe his contract is over this coming winter. If that's correct, and if he comes to play this Spring & Fall, then pay him. I for one think he has a lot left to give and that it would be a major mistake to trade him or let him walk. Friedel is also on record for saying Lee's going nowhere this coming season. Im glad he sees and knows what Lee means to this team. I truly hope he can convince Lee to finish his career here