Robles does make some sense. He was the starting keeper last season for Kaiserslautern...........leading to callups with the USMNT. But he's lost that starting role.......and seems to really want to be in Bob's plans for the WC. Dallas would seem like a strange destination for him, though. He wouldn't be the starter here, either. No point going from the back-up at a club like Kaiserslautern to being the backup for FC Dallas. Same for Yeldell at Koblenz. That move makes no sense. I think it's very possible that Lambo has shown enough to the coaching staff, that he's now grabbed the backup role.
I thought he did really well when he was in for Sala during his injury. In fact, I thought they might even decide to keep him in he did so well. And who is this Lambo kid I keep hearing about? Can I get some stats/history? I couldn't find anything on wikipedia about him.
There is a lot of hype around him and some are confident he is a future star, but I always wonder how people have confidence in their predictions for players that have played so little meaningful time. He was FCD's first round pick in 2008. I believe he is only 19 right now. He has played for our US youth national teams, so I guess that is where people see and like him, but SH clearly favored an older Burse over him when Sala was out last year. One thing interesting to this discussion is/was the salaries of Burse and Lambo last year. Burse was 35k and Lambo was 103k. Those contracts clearly show the perceived potential of the 2 players when contracts were signed. I wasn't largely impressed with Burse in terms of a starter but liked him as a backup, and since Burse played ahead of Lambo I thought maybe they would keep him for a smaller salary and try to get something of value in a Lambo trade. I would get Lambo is set to make more this year than last year, and it seems SH may be looking for another GK to be the backup or to keep Sala challenged, so again we may be playing alot of money for a 3rd keeper. Picking and keeping Lambo may prove out great for FCD, but sometimes I wonder in a league where finances are still so tight and the organization still needs to control player salaries (although we all want to see our guys making more), why teams will pay so much money for young prospects that don't play. Yes, he may be our starting keeper in 2018 World Cup, but what value did we get from his salary last year? Dax got 68k last year and Lambo 103k? If we used that money for another Dax type player that saw meaningful minutes we could have been in the playoffs
Best of luck to Ray. He has cat-like quickness and is very athletic. I think he will end up being a starting GK in this league. It was obvious he was ahead of Lambo in terms of development and quality GKing, which is why he was the #2 GK. Maybe now this signals Lambo has caught up and it ready to assume the #2 role. If FCD signs another GK I would assume it is as a 3rd emergency GK - for the $ you aren't going to get a better backup than Ray IMHO. Ray is also a quality kid, I hope it all works out for him, he just needs solid consistant PT, still needs to work on angles and when to come out and how hard to come out, and work on ball distribution a little, but I think he has a very high upside. Overall Sala is better yes, but I know Ray made some saves Sala would not have made. But sometimes you get that, an athletic player making a great play - but then he botches a routine one. Coaches value consistancy, you want ALL the routine plays to be made in addition to the great plays. Not saying Sala does not make great saves, he is a top-notch GK, one of the best in the league for sure. Good luck Ray, just not vs. FCD!!
Wasn't Lambo Generation Adidas? That's why they could pay him 100k...........it didn't count against their cap. And that's why you'd keep him over Burse as you're backup. Now, when he "graduates" from his GenAd contract.......we'll see how much they want to keep him.
Has everyone forgotten DJ Countess? Another high pick. Also played with the U17's and U20's where he was the main starter not a backup. Lambo has a lot to prove.
And the U23's. All in all, DJ Countess played in 72 youth matches for the United States. If it wasn't for that bad shoulder injury he suffered in 02.........who knows how good he'd have become? He made some bad career choices (leaving MLS in 06), sustained some bad injuries while at Tigre in Argentina..........and now seems to be done. I see no problem with having Lambo as a backup right now. He does have a lot to prove if he wants to be the starter........that's for sure.
Exactly. There needs to be an MLS FAQ somewhere so this can get answered. Everytime someone points out a "stupid" salary mismatch in MLS, the "overpaid" one is almost always GA. Dax was GA, and when he came in, GA's were going for 60k-ish, so that's where he is now. When Lambo came in, GA's were going for 100k-ish. Comparing GA and non-GA is the definition of apples and oranges.
Hence, from last season: Stuart Holden $34,728 Danny Cruz $98,000 If there are ever any confusing salary questions.........people need to consider if the player is Gen Ad or not.
His attitude was what got him shipped out of Dallas. Still I rated him better than Jeff Casuer in 2003.
like conning the fans into thinking he's a regular Joe while flopping around on the field w/ injuries and not willing to take the big hit or sacrifice his body making a next to impossible save. Sala cannot go a whole season, period. Josh Lambo would be a USL D1 backup at best. MLS goalie pool? r u effin kiddin? gtfoh! Dumb headed move, makes no sense. Burse clearly has the talent and saved their butts in a few games. I was hoping he'd take the mantle and have that "break out year." You can't win a title w/o quality at depth. Sorry.
I want to see what Lambo can do first. Like I said about Vdb/Nguyen, I think that Burse being waived was an thinking act. They have seen Burse and Lambo training togheter for more than 1 year, and I think they took the right decision. Nothing against Burse, but Lambo is younger and a GA. It makes sense.
Maybe you turn out to be right, but the GK'er coach was highly impressed w/ Lambo last season, and even said that he was not far behind Burse. I think that the big knock on RB was his self-doubt and pretty regular mental gaffes. In my uneducated estimation, that could be cured by starting a full season in a lesser league. Too bad the Portland loan was cut short. RB might be starting material today w/ a full season of experience.
Pretty much. If the coaches think Burse and Lambo are equal...........they should go with the Gen Ad guy. Pretty easy decision if you ask me.
It's a no-brainer. I liked Ray, but it's not as if he didn't have his shot last year. He started more matches than Sala did (16 for Ray vs. 14 for Sala), and when it came down to it, he couldn't grab the job away from the vet the way that Matt Jordan did in '99 when Dodd was injured early. So the question then becomes "Do you want to have a $34,000 cap hit for a #2 who had his shot at #1 and couldn't take it, or do you want a $0 cap hit on a #2 who you might think has a shot taking over the #1?" and that's a no-brainer. Now, Lambo had better step and show something because he's eventually going to graduate from GenAd and he's not going to be nearly as attractive when he suddenly goes from being $0 cap hit to a $103,000 cap hit overnight. If he hasn't grabbed the starting spot by then, he'll be out of here even quicker. $103,000 is way too much for backup keeper in this league.
Not to mention that when even your second round picks seem to have to fight for a roster spot, an extra spot is much better used on a player who may contribute than a 3rd goalie.
But isn't the idea that they are bringing in another goalie, possibly from Germany? That's where I get confused, as I would think Burse at his salary make more sense for roster purposes than signing some Euro keeper who seems unlikely to be coming in on a 35k deal.
I've seen Lambo in u20 games and in limited training sessions warming up b4 games. while I admit this is not top division level exposure, I don't like what I see in terms of skill, positioning, quickness, and athleticism. He looks exceptionally average. I also was angered by him being drafted in the 1st place. He has no game. Nguyen is a local kid & maybe he's a nice fellow; but he lacks speed and makes bad decisions on the ball. I've watched him for about 4 yrs and I am convinced he cannot play at the MLS level. His lack of a high gear makes it hard for him to track back so he cannot either play in the middle or the outside. He's a one trick pony at best. waste of time. VDB has a big soccer brain and the right skill set.
Frankly, this is too often underrated when people start talking about what a player brings to the table. We've had too many players come through town with million-dollar talent and 10 cent heads.
He doesn't count against our cap. That's why we drafted him, and that's why he's on our roster. Same as the whole other litany of GenAd players we have.
Bump. Well, it appears he is now on trial with DCU. http://www.behindthebadge.com/2010/02/bradenton-roster-updates-1.php#comments
This is unexpected to me. A few years back, I read a little about his family and would've thought he would be very quick to hang 'em up if the big money no longer looked realistic. Of course, a decent keeper can probably hang on for a lot longer, as opposed to an outfielder. I read that Dello Russo called it a day and took an asst. coaching job at Maryland but will play MISL for Baltimore on the side.