Koke leaving Dynamo As if yesterday's game against FC Frisco wasn't bad enough, Brahma dropped this bombshell on us from facebook: Figured this was worth it's own thread all things considered.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo Well, he may be unhappy about some things but for sure it's not the welcome he's received from the Dynamo fans. And, as I said in the Dallas game thread, I saw him laughing and talking with Jason Garey as he came on the field before the game so he seemed to be in a good mood.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo See-the heat has that effect on everyone. I am back this weekend and I am like holy sh%^ this is oppressive heat. I really forgot how humid this place is. I am getting used to 75 and 0 humidity. I think it's just a rumor. But I in the back of my mind, I wouldn't doubt it with the money he is making here, which it a lot less than I originally thought.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo Well on the PIP thread Dynamogal says there are always rumors about Koke on FB, so maybe it was just one of those. I don't see things like that on FB, all I ever see is that "Debbie needs a pig on Farmville" or that John is now friends with Martha and 37 other people. But maybe my friend just saw an old rumor like Dynamogal was talking about. Whatever it was, its not there now. I was afraid when I got home there would already be a huge thread about it, but since I'm the only one that brought it up maybe there is nothing to it.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo Wait, I will have to look at what I wrote in the PIP thread - I didn't mean that there are "always" rumors about Koke if that's the way it came across - I was just trying to validate what you said brahma - that I've seen conversation on FB today (and not before) about Koke being unhappy and wanting to leave.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo no problem - I do sometimes have a tendency to type something different than what my brain is thinking.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo Brahma, If it's just a silly rumour, then you must be good at starting one. I've gotten a few text messages today from friends telling that they heard that Koke is leaving. Even internet blogs are now showing the same info (they use the word "reportedly"): http://www.houston11soccer.com/2011/05/late-goal-saves-day-for-dynamo.html If you don't mind, maybe you could perhaps start a rumour that you heard from a hot beautiful girl that Hydro is the world's best lover?
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo Yea, well that wasn't exactly the way I heard that rumor. If he is unhappy, and if it does have to do with the heat, I think it says something about where our signings should be coming from. I really think it's way too hot here for most Europeans. The Jamaicans on our team seem to be able to handle it as do the South Americans with Dallas. I don't think, for example Riordan would be happy here either.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo I know what you're saying, but I'm a Yankee transplant and played soccer here in various leagues and I'm still here to talk about it. I get that professional athletes are playing at a much higher physical rate than amateurs, but their fitness should be vastly higher as well. The heat shouldn't matter THAT much if you're committed to playing. If you're looking for excuses though, the heat is certainly an easy one.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo It really wouldn't bother me that much if he left. He certainly has some good skill on the ball and was probably a reasonable bet as a signing at the time. But my concern about him was whether he could handle the physicality of this league and the work rate requirements of our team. I haven't seen much to think that he can, although players can sometimes adjust over time. While he was playing attacking mid in Greece, that league may not be as physical and he may not have been expected to do as much running as Dom expects. It's one thing to be fit to play a role when you don't have to do much running and pressing, but that's not the expectation in this midfield. Even Brad Davis, who is not famous for his defense, will chase when the other team has possession. If Koke thought he could come in and just wander about the area in front of the other team's penalty area, then he should look to some other leagues. The heat isn't a shocking concern, but I suspect only part of the story if he's indeed leaving. There actually are attacking mids and forwards who play in the heat in leagues in South America who show some serious work rate. If he leaves, I think much of it would involve his expectations versus Dom's expectations about playing attacking mid or forward. That's also why I don't think that signing a player like Sinha or Giovanni Hernandez would do us a whole lot of good either. We need guys who are willing to put in the work rate and handle the physicality. We'll see if the story holds, but he'd clear a bit of salary space. We need to make some personnel changes and losing him as part of that process doesn't bother me all that much.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo From what I've seen, he can be a really good player for the Dynamo. He just needs that adjustment period that a lot of players need when coming to MLS (or a new team in general). However with all of that said, if he doesn't want to be here then he will only hurt the team by being here. For now, I'm just gonna hold out hope that this is just a rumor.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo This highlights a completely hopeless problem that we're always going to have. There will be many players who will not come here for any amount of money because of the weather. Ok, not hopeless. All they need is a multi-million dollar indoor practice facility with retractable roof so they can grow grass.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo I doubt that the heat and humidity is the sole reason (if indeed the rumors are true). A little bird told me that they overheard him speaking in Spanish after the NYRB game to the effect that he believed he should be starting as should Cisco. I would imagine that it is a massive blow to ones ego - if one were previously the Cpt of a team and then relegated to a bench position.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo He updated on facebook last night that he's not happy in Houston. He'll be going back to Spain this week to be with his family and listen to other offers. At a practice he commented to one of EB's guys that he didn't travel all this way to be a bench warmer and that if he didn't get more time he wasn't going to stay.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo I also saw the message on his facebook. Talked about him asking the coach to leave and he said Dom was fine with it. But then when I went back to read it again it was deleted. It seems like he posted it right after the game so maybe tonight was his last straw and after the game he went and talked to the coach. But really, give the team a chance, you've been here for a month and already wanting out? Prove that you should be starting. I can't stand players who think that they can just walk into a club and be hot sh*t and start.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo True, it does come off as though he may be resting on his laurels. Consider this though, you buy out your own contract at a team where you're adored, sign a contract to make less money, move from the place where your daughter was born all the way on the other side of the world, only to get less playing time then you were before.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo His personal FB account was deleted for a while. When it came back, all the messages were gone. I haven't heard from the team, but I know Mr. Gretsch and Mr. Yardley well enough that I'm sure they'll sit down with him too. Those public comments are usually not appreciated by a team press staff.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo When we signed Koke, I couldn't but wonder aloud with some of my friends, why would a Spaniard go to the Greece and then to the MLS? If you are a Spaniard and you are good enough to play, you have already a foot inside La Liga. When it comes to wages, you have pretty much 5 tiers: Tier I: Premier League and La Liga Tier II: Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1 The rest of the tiers are divided between great money, good money, at least I'm playing soccer. Most Spaniards do not move because they are already in La Liga, the ones that move, move because they are in a different world, a world in which you don't consider leagues, you consider the top 5 teams, you either play for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea or Arsenal. If you can't find a starter position in La Liga, you may consider finding a starting position in some of the not so better teams in Bundesliga, Serie A or Ligue 1, but the Greek league?, And then you decide to go to MLS? We are not a bad leagur, and the Greek league is far away from La Liga and Premier League, but right now, their level is higher than our level because they don't have a cap. There has to be a story there.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo If he goes back to Spain, I'm not sure he can play in BBVA (Div 1) Division 2 (Adelante) maybe... maybe. Perhaps Almeria, Cordoba, or Recreativo, using Malaga as reference re: his home turf. Granada might go up and if they don't they are still kind of a Udinese farm team.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo Just checked the FB page. Koke is saying again he will leave. Many Aris fans want him back and who knows if he had regrets about leaving Greece.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo If he wants to go, that's fine. I can see his point, but I wish he would give it a little more time, I think he could fit in well. Also, I don't want the Dynamo to be the team that guys don't want to play for. I think that's depressing. And I agree, I want to see Cisco play on the big team too.
Re: Koke leaving Dynamo You know what is really infuriating to me about all of this - what our opportunity cost was for signing this quitter. If we hadn't rushed to sign him and Watson, we'd probably be sitting with Feilhaber in central midfield. I posted the below on April 19th: