Wondering what you think: If the team could have put Reyes on the disabled/out for season list a few weeks earlier, perhaps we could have found a way to get Cerritos and keep Ali Curtis. Not exactly sure how, but perhaps it could have been done.... So strictly hypothetically speaking, would you rather have Ali or Martins? I know we haven't seen him play in black/red, but neither has Dave Kasper and Ray Hudson. As much as I liked Ali, I'm willing to take the gamble on Martins. Should be very interesting.
Martins, especially since hes a target and has confidence (running away with the A-league scoring title, and being signed by an MLS club).
I loved Ali too, but for god's sake, he couldn't hit a barn door. Useless in the air too. Hard working but without what it takes at a high level. You can see that from how much more productive Stewart is with a calibre player like cerritos reading runs and creating things. Ali had 2 modes: 1) trap ball, wait for help (which never came). 2) run like hell for the long ball pass (which never worked). Cerritos for Ali was good and if Martins makes a good target man for corners (CHRIST, DOES ANYONE REMEBER GOALS FROM CORNERS??!!) and swinging aerial crosses from Q2 etc., he will be a great addition. Is he good on the ground though? Does anyone know?
They're different types of players, Ali as more of a speedster, Thiago as a target forward. Curtis wasn't finding net, Martins does. Great move in my estimation.
If Ali continues to show an improvement curve like he did from 2002 to 2003 he'll be a very good striker in 2004 or 2005. Of course, dishing balls to/working off his fellow striker is still a weakness that he must concentrate on. Shooting the ball should come relatively quickly. Given his determination, I think eventually he will be a good striker, especially in a counter-attacking system. Ali may have to spend a season in the A League to get the significant playing time he needs to continue his improvement, unless Dallas starts to play him. Don't know enough about Thiago to compare, except for stats. I do know that he has been up and down in the A League, but is currently on a roll. A hot striker is a good thing to have on your team. A very, very good pickup for DC. GM
Martins Has anybody ever watched Martins play at any level? I mean how can you even compare the two when Martins hasn't even played a minute in MLS?
Re: Martins In one game against MLS teams, Thiago has 1 goal. In 17 games against MLS teams (before he got traded) Ali had 1 goal. You could also argue that Ali had better teammates here than Martins did in Pittsburgh. And yes, a lot of us saw him play in the Open Cup game.
I think the main thing that people don't really talk about with concern to Ali was his criminal lack of linking up with teamates.. Ray Hudson said on the radio show last week that while Ali was certainly dangerous, he failed to avail himself to teamates in a linking capacity that frustrated him and his teamates to no end.. This obviously has no bearing on Ali as a person, but as a footballer, he was more concerned with his one-v-one ability than integrating any of his strike partners and this is the major difference that Hudson sees in the Ali/Cerritos situation.. As for Martins, a number of us has seen him in person and when a lower division player stands out so well, people tend to notice and there were plenty of people who noticed this player right away..
Ali was up and down, so I'm all for trying something new to get a goal or two out of the forwards before the season ends.
Re: Martins Here are a couple clips, albeit not nearly the best ones of Martins, of Thiago scoring a couple of goals. In the first one, a 3-0 victory over Richmond, his Brazilian colleague, Ricardo Villar (led the league in assists) does much of the work by getting by two Richmond defenders before getting the ball stripped. Unfortunately for Richmond, the ball is stripped from Villar and lands right at the feet of Martins, inside the 18, who makes no mistake in slotting it in. This first goal shows how opportunistic he is. Always at the right place, at the right time. He has the nose for goal. He can be a "garbage goal man" when he has to be and scored many goals like this. The link is: http://www.riverhounds.com/schedule/game051003.htm In the second clip, a 2-0 victory over Richmond, Justin Evans (formerly with the Fire and the E'Quakes) hits a nice, long lead pass to space ahead of Martins beats his marker to the ball and who fights off his opponent and slots the ball past the keeper. This second goal shows that he has a good mix of speed and strength. He scored several of his goals on through passes where he had to fight off one, two or three defenders to score. The link is: http://www.riverhounds.com/schedule/game052603.htm The goal many of you saw at the USOC game, the world-class volley he took out of the air, shows that he's certainly not all speed & strength, nor opportunistic garbage goals - He's also a very skilled soccer player. In short, if given an opportunity, I feel that he will excel at the MLS level. What? An A-Leaguer doing well in MLS? Just ask McBride, Sanneh and Onstand, to name a few who have made the successful jump to MLS, whether it's possible. Good luck with Thiago . . . you have a gem of a player.