But those are the guys SKC is going to sign, aren't they? I would love it if we went out and paid the money and got Bobby Wood out of a bad situation in Hamburg, he would light up MLS. Atl, NYC, Tor., Sea., even Orlando and now maybe LAFC might try something like that. We are going to build up young players, and find the occassional buried diamond for our system (Ilie). I admit, I am heartbroken about what happened to Gerso this year. He was an answer to our prayers, and then he wasn't. but it seems that he's the level of "proven" striker we're going to bring in. Maybe we get lucky. that being the case, I wouldn't mind a firesale Kei...
Gotta think even a tiny bit of research tells potential signings that our coach hates forwards, hates creative players, and hates stars.
We can all dream big dreams about signing players like Almiron, but there's nearly 10 years of history on PV. None of that history points to Peter valuing goal scorers. The run of players that SKC has lined up as forwards during Peters tenure is impressive only for its sustained futility. Year after year its the same issues...front line can't finish, team has no difference makers, team is too reliable on one player for goals, the most reliable attacking threat is a CB on corners, etc. Year after year, PV "solves" the attacking problems during the offseason by brining in players like Blessing, Salloi, Hallisey, JP, Convey, Saad, Zizzo, etc. They only time there has been any buzz about SKC spending real money on a player was for a No. 6 (Bradley). That pretty much sums it up.
We almost signed Marko Marin. That would have been a thing. But we didn't. Oddly, Blessing is the only player I can think of who hasn't traded in all his flair for industry yet. But he's still young. I'm sure he'll get ground down into a plain midfielder eventually.
Vancouver spanked SJ last night and part of the reason was former SKC guy Nigel DeJong. He was very impressive. Best I have ever seen him play.
No, Bobby Wood isn't the kind of guy we want to sign. Bringing an American player back to MLS means you're paying a premium for a name. I'm specifically talking about South American talent or using the Barcelona pipeline. Getting guys who are good who aren't going to demand a 2x or 3x salary because of their name And I'd rather set myself on fire than have Kei back on this team.
But year after year we've gone into the offseason with significant gaps other than forwards that we had to focus on as well and we didn't have enough money to spread it around. This is really the first time going into an offseason where the back 8 are pretty much there and not out of contract and we have money to spend on forwards.
Short version: I disagree. We should be looking at a lot of folks, including in that back 8. Long version: Benny had a mediocre to poor year ( he took a lot of shots, so maybe it's that xG thing in his favor). Maybe he bounces back, but he turns 33 before next season, but as our designated creative force, we need more out of that role. But think about this, by next season we've got: Benny 33, Besler, 31, Zusi, 31, Espinoza 31, Sinovic, 31, Melia, 31. Ike is an old 29 with his injury history. On the upside, no World Cup for anyone, with the possible exception of Roger. But thats the core of our team all over 30. Can they still play, of course. If we want anything from them by October, do they need a ton of rest and a bit of luck to stay healthy, of course. do we now have that on our roster? No, we obviously do not. Losing EPB is a huge loss. He really benefited from having a high quality third cb. So he's replaced by Didic, but that's a step down in quality. We've got Ilie in his footballing prime, and playing like it. I don't understand what's happened with Gerso, in this playoff match, he looked far more dangerous than anyone we've got, and he's clearly got confidence somewhere below zero. And the way Salloi was sent on before the physio had a chance to look at Gerso says there's something very toxic between Gerso and Vermes. As for the youngsters: Blessing is both a Vermes type of defender and a talent. he's game as hell, and on a better attacking team he'd be an ideal 60th minute sub. Salloi needs to hit the weight room today and keep at it hard until camp, his lack of a physical game is his Achilles heel. If he doesn't, he's of limited value going forward (because teams know to put a body on him now). Yeah, bringing in someone with the potential for 15-20 goals is vital. And yeah, it probably shouldn't be Kei (but seriously, where is the love? The snowball fights?). but we're on the verge of a total makeover. It's either this year or next, and the best teams do not wait until it is too late.
I agree with your assessment. We should absolutely be planning for the future and finding some ways to give these guys more rest more often. At the same time, if you put quality strikers in front of our core, nothing else changed, we've got a MLS Cup competitive squad, IMO. Knowing PV, we'll see quite a few midfield and defensive signings this offseason, but GK, defender, and midfield just need a little bit of succession planning and depth, our forwards need a complete overhaul.
Wow, Dom Dwyer and CJ Sapong? both called up for the USMNT vs Portugal. Well, I guess this is the time you start trying out new people.
Herculez Gomez - 1 goal in 41 games to LigaMX Golden Boot Omar Bravo even Kai Kamara and so on. If you fancy yourself a young goal scorer, I'd stay as far away from Peter Vermes as possible. He puts you on an island and makes your wingers people like Graham Zusi and Jacob Peterson. That's nice and all, but they're not going to score goals. Or, you get put out on the wing away from the penalty area where you do most of your damage - because we can only have one player in the penalty area at a time.
class of 2001-02: http://www.npsl.com/news_article/show/864598?referrer_id=1510764 ROY LASSITER TO LEAD NEW ERA OF PACNW-OSA FC 12/07/2017 6:45pm EST
since we don't seem to be concerned about scoring goals, we should bring him back and play with 2 D Mids to bolster the back line.....
I doubt he's coming here. We got money for him so his rights are in the allocation order. About any team can benefit from him though.
Yeah, my quote was mostly sarcasm. Illie is probably our most important returning player imo. Whoever gets him though if this is true, is getting a hell of an MLs player
Rosell to Orlando. Orlando City is in final stages of acquiring Uri Rosell. Deal should be wrapped up soon, maybe by tomorrow, per source. I am not sure yet what #OCSC is sending to #FCD for top allocation spot, but Rosell to Orlando is all but done.— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) January 29, 2018