Shopping List for 2003

who has heard the rumors or Josh Wolff. Releasing some of that talent, especially Sommer and Serna, will free up the space to sign him. Still need an outside mid and maybe we should look for that in the draft. I saw on Fox Baseball how the twins and A's built there team from practically no money into championship contending teams. We are the equvialent of the Texas Rangers. Lets use the draft to our advantage. Maybe we can get a GM who will do that.

 

This topic has come up in a couple of previous threads. The choices seem to come down to:
- a forward to provide options other than TnT
- a left back who can defend well enough to free up the left mid, or allow us to play 3-5-2 if that suited.
- a left wing mid (for the WG detractors)
- a midfielder who is a credible offensive threat, and is tough enough for MLS and SN.
- When George says depth, the first thing I think of nowadays is a sub for Pierce. Where is that knucklehead Shalrie Joseph we drafted #2, but wanted to play in Europe?

People, I don't think we can have them all. If we could get two of these, I personally would vote for the left back and the forward, but better minds than mine have voted for the attacking mid.

I suppose in the real world in comes down to roster space, money and availability.

Oh and BTW, Serna can **** off.

 

If our goal production can stay at this level, without a complete emphasis on TnT, then it seems to be q.e.d. that we don't need a classic #10 distributor. I miss Andy Williams a lot but I have to admit that we are doing OK without him. Of course this presumes that Cullen and Hernandez continue to play well and that Ralston doesn't get hurt or go stale.

Given that the above continue on a positive track then I would say our needs are....

1.) a central defender to go with Kante, groom to replace Llamosa and/or backup/replace Rusty.

2.) a left fullback to improve on Joey and allow him to move to a.) D-mid or, b.) left outside mid.

3.) a left outside mid which could be a new player, Joey or and improved Griffiths.

4.) a backup keeper.

5.) a forward to go with TnT which might be Wolde and/or Serna or a new player. I think a forward trio of Taylor, Serna and Wolde would be pretty good in MLS.

This all presumes we can keep Brown, Ralston, TnT, Hernandez, Cullen, Heaps, Joey, Rusty, Llamosa, Kante, etc. happy and in the fold.

Tough work for the management. I seriously wonder if they are up to it with a Patties takeover.

JIM DOW

 

Gotta go with Jon on this one. Left back and another forward (SI/TI?) should be the major priorities. Central attacking mid (ala Perez from Columbus, would be nice) and another solid central defender (see below) come next.

I'd add Llamosa to this list. Face it, you can't have two injury-prone guys (Pierce and Llamosa) anchoring the middle of your defense. Everyone knows that Llamosa's a good player, but his best days may be behind him, and his sluggish feet and propensity for nagging injuries are starting to undermine his usefullness.

 

Speaking for myself, I don't see the left back as a replacemnet for Joey at left back per see. It would provide necessary depth at a position where currently there is none, and allow Nicols to experiment with Franchino at Dmid where he might be more successful. As it is, the Revs are extremely thin at the position, and Franchino is far from looking comfortable there.

As for Pierce and Llamosa, the evidence is all in the games-played this year. Is this a one-year anomoly? I don't think so. Keep in mind that if these two had been able to play a respectble number of games together this year, the Revs would probably be in pole position for the playoffs. As it is, their regular abscences have left the team vulnerable (as it is now facing the two biggest games of the year).

 

Back to you, George

???

Um, George, there's a reason for this. As you psych people say, he has issues. Whether he's simply narcissistic, or a full-blown borderline, he has been a shrapnel grenade in every locker room he has set foot in. I will happily pitch in to pay for his bus ticket.

Agree.

Quality is always relative, but Joey is missing the smothering, intimidating quality that the best true defenders have - when you just know that there is no possible way that player X is going to get a cross in on him.

 

You all seem to be in love with Perez from the Crew, and their central D is raw. Maybe your people should call their people and see if they might offer up Perez for Llamosa?

JMac

 

Franchino might be better than what we got now in D-Mid.
A left back would free up Franchino.
Hernandez and Cullen are better as backups than starters.
Left mid remains a priority. Griffiths won't last. Heaps might work in a pinch.
A dominant central midfield player to pair with a current player is a priority.
Serna would fit well with Twellman in Nicol's system.
When Chacon goes we will need a back up striker.
Downing is not a stiff and will prove helpful.

 

Does anyone think with new management (whoever it will be) the revs can make some trades that will benifit OUR team? For instance, should we grab a forward that isnt used much but is still a weapon (Carrieri, Gonzalez, Barkley, any left over forward on the crew) or make a big trade for a player like Wolff or Faria. Should we use our SI on a goaltender, or do we pick one up in the draft. I like the idea of Llamosa for Perez. Our inside D is pretty much set, Pierce and Kante are unstoppable there. Heaps does a consitent job on the outside, and his job is made easier with Ralston playin ahead of him. How bout a big trade for Ronnie O'Brein?, or do we take the chance on Griffiths and Ralston can teach him how to cross. Any thoughts people? Any suggestions?

 

Joey is a decent left back, but he's too slow and small to really excel at the spot. He has to give a lot more space to quicker players than Pierce does, but he is very tenacious and is a good ballwinner, which is why I would also like to see him at D-mid.

As for Pierce, I wouldn't label him as injury-prone based only on this year. Any time a football player has a groin injury early in the year, they seem to be in and out of the lineup during the year for re-injuring their groin. This doesn't usually seem to carry over from year to year.

 

I have no idea what Nicol would want, but I think we could really use someone in the middle who can connect the defense with the offense as well as the two wingers. It would be an added bonus if he could tie up the other team's defense to free up some space for Ralston and Kamler or whoever's on the left. He doesn't have to be a strong goal scorer or provider, just someone who can start the offense and continue it when the wingers get stuck.

I don't think this is a vital spot to fill, and some other spots might be more important, but if we could pick up such a player it would be nice.

 

I think releasing Llamosa would be a mistake- we've all seen what a lack of defensive depth means to this team and it wasn't pretty. Granted no one knows if he will be healthy or not, but I think you've got to take the gamble that he will be. If our roster stays the same we have, imo, 3 better than MLS average central defenders- Pierce, Llamosa and Kante, and 2 serviceable backups in Hernandez and Cullen. Striker, backup goalie (we all know Sommer is gone) left midfield and attacking midfield are all more pressing needs.

 

don't release Llamosa, use him as trade bait. You can put him on a team that has a weak inside D but strong outside D.

 

Whatever we do, we should have a good deal of cap space to play with, even after giving Taylor and possibly Brown and Kante good-sized raises.

Sommer is probably making close to the max (he was one of our 3 marquee players for a while), likewise Chacon and Serna. Rooney most likely makes quite a bit as well. Releasing those four wil at the very least let us sign one player at the league max.

 

Have the Revs ever tried to play Ralston as a center mid? I know Tampa did this whenever Valderama couldn't go.

 

- Juergen Sommer is making nowhere near the league max. Rooney isn't either, but he makes a healthy salary. Both Serna and Chacon get significant paychecks.

- I wouldn't release Llamosa. Even if you don't want him, he's got trade value. That, and I'm not sold on Rusty Pierce as a central defender. I still think he's still either a a right back or a defensive midfielder. I'd still like to see the Revs pick up another young central defender to groom behind Llamosa.

- I think our number one offseason priority should be finding a #10. The Hernandez and Cullen midfield duo has been fine, but I still think we'd be a whole heck of alot better if we had an Etcheverry or Cienfuegos type to run our offense.

- Diego Serna is just too big of a headache to deal with on a regular basis. I'll take my chances using his cap space and his SI space on someone else.

- There are a number of interesting personnel decisions this franchise is going to have to make over the winter. For instance, someone is going to have to deal with the fact that you could make the argument that we've got seven players on the roster whose best position is as a defensive midfielder. That's too much. And how do you fit Pierce, Kante, Llamosa, and Heaps into three spots on the back line? Someone there isn't going to be happy.

- You know, I did a really good job of bashing Steve Nicol a while ago, but I'm not too proud to admit he's done a nice job of late. He gets boatloads of credit for turning the Revs into a team that's increasingly tough to score against. After the 3-2 loss to Colorado on July 24th, the Revs were 6-12-1 with a team GAA of 2.21. Since then, they're 4-2-1 with a team GAA of 0.86 - including 3 shutouts.

 

Say, Mike...

Do you know where Shalrie Joseph is, and whether he has any thoughts of returning to MLS?

Better still, I wonder if there would be any chance of "discovering" Corey Gibbs or Conor Casey?

I agree that we should hold on to Llamosa, so long as he would be happy with limited PT. I wonder if he would make a good Asst. Coach?

 

I agree that Shalrie Joseph would be ideal, but I don't know what his deal is.

If you remember, he and his St. John's teammate Jeff Matteo "signed" with the same Serie C team in Italy. Or at least I thought they both signed, because Matteo is already back with Columbus, but I haven't seen anything of Joseph. It could be that the team in Italy simply decided that Joseph was worth signing and that Matteo wasn't. Or, it could be that Joseph is back in the US, but like Shaun Tsakiris did, he'll wait until the winter to sign.

I DO know that Joseph played a significant amount of time with a PDL team from New York this summer, and was named to the PDL All-Star team.

 

I'm a United fan, but I do think this is a good thread. I hope you don't mind my input.

Actually, I think you can get all of those things in the next draft, because it should be deep. The Revs will draft somewhere in the top 4 most likely, and there will be talent of each type there. I'd say the best fit would be Ricky Lewis of Clemson, a big (6'0) fast attacking wingback that can play on either side. Many are projecting him as a potential #1 overall pick, but I think the other clubs with the top 4 picks will be looking for other positions, so there's a good chance he'll be available. He can play left mid in a 352 or left back in a 442, and can fill in for either on the right when needed. He has a lot of potential, is a US Youth Team member already, has international experience, and should be able to contribute right away. He's also very fast and skilled offensively and defensively. Left sided attackers are very hard to find, so he's a keeper. He could fill your left back or left winger spot, and allow you to move Franchino around if you wanted or needed.

Likewise, there should be a significant number of decent but not fantastic forwards in this draft, so it's a good bet that one will fall to the second round for you. A guy like Pat Noonan might be a good fit. He's big but not a dominating target forward, he can score or create, but he's not Donovan, so he should be available. He is able to add a little bit of everything, which is quite nice for a second round pick.

There are also a lot of MLS caliber back line players that may be coming out. IMHO, central defenders are a cut above because they can organize and play air-tight defense. You will not get someone like Llamosa in the draft, but you can get a young guy that might become the next Bocanegra or Suarez in a few years. And, you probably will be able to get a decent one even in the third round that can hold a P-40 slot without taking a roster spot. If a guy like O'Rourke of Indiana comes out, he could be a big strong central defender or Dmid that could contribute as a sub and not take up a roster spot.

Goalies are easy to find in the US, so that will be easy enough to get. You can have either a low priced A-leaguer, or a P-40.

The draft is crucial for SN. He isn't being blamed for this season, but the talent turnover that happens this offseason will be his doing. I suspect that he'll bring in two veterans, one attacking and one central defending. The other things will need to be the product of the SuperDraft. There will be a lot to choose from.

Best of luck. Hopefully the East can show well in the playoffs. The regular season has totally sucked for us (the East) this year.

-Tron

 

Ray Hudson has stated several times that no player on the Miami Fusion made the max, and that Ian Bishop made the most, which was substantially more than the next guy. So, I don't think Serna is making anywhere near the max, which was probably one reason he was so highly sought-after in the Allocation/Dispersal Draft. Because Pineda-Chacon lasted so long, I think he probably makes more. But, I'm just theorizing, because I really haven't heard any hard numbers bandied about by anyone in a position to know.

Ralston can do a fair job at central mid, but he doesn't like it and isn't nearly as effective.

-Tron

 

Your input is appreciated and thanks for the spin on Lewis.

Other factors to consider are the facts that:
1) there are some outstanding U16 to U18 players out there, and
2) that, as Griffiths doesn't count as an SI, Revs are likely to have two available SI spots next year. Despite the unimpressive all-star game, my ideal pairing with TnT would be a player like Ruiz.

 

salaries increase year by year, which is the reason why Chicago is looking to get rid of Wolff.

 

Why doesn't Wolde count as a SI player?

I really hope they keep Kante around, even though he'll be a SI next year.... I think he's really stabilized our D, and could be there for years.