From TYCSPORTS.com Franco Niell, quien fue transferido al DC United. El delantero viajará mañana a los Estados Unidos para incorporarse a su nuevo equipo, a préstamo por un año y a cambio de 60 mil dólares. Franco Niell is a Argentinos JRS player. Well he is like a Saviola or Donovan like player. VERY SKILLFUL very quick and good finisher. HIS PROBLEM is his SMALL sizes. He´s a little guy. But very talented. The deal: a 1 year loan for 60,000 dollars.
Wonderful! Thanks for keeping us current. (Please, someone rep this guy for me.) Skill on the ball is something we don't grow much here in the US, so this guy might be a bargain. Que le vaya bien, mi amigo.
I'm gonna miss this midget he was fun to watch(also because he was skilled). I remember the ad he did with Bossio it cracked me up when i saw that for the first time. Although he's very short he has scored from headers too.
Hmm, i guess we can always use more skillful players, i think the bigger need is defense though, hopefully we can also sign Peralta. Wow...just say that clip, the guy looks like hes 15 years old, hes tiny.
our boy Niell features about 1:20 into this clip. Looks like he will annoy the living h3ll out of his share of defenders this coming season... I like! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RXKQbD1yOw
I'll believe it when he's standing next to Veron in DC. Er... When Tom Soehn tells me it has happened.
He looks like a really fast ant on those you tube vids. I wonder if the typical MLS Defender can keep up. Does anyone know if hes injury prone or has stamina for 90 mins.
Of corse the typical defender can keep up. If it's one thing MLS has it's athleats. Add that to refs who let way to much go and don't keep controll of matches and I don't see this guy doing much. Some flashes of brilliance when a defender is stupid enough to give him the space or time (well, ok that WILL happen), or he doesn't get hacked, but otherwise not much.
Our 3rd and 4th Forwards had plenty of shots and opportunities last season - Just couldn't finish or instead shot too hastily and we lost the ball - At least it looks like this guy can finish - He'll do well - And at $60K he has to be a bargain - He's filling only a supplemental need, but still a pretty good pick up
Is this guy expected to come in and compete for the starting job? if so, $60k is pretty cheap. If he's coming in to be the 3rd or 4th, seems a bit pricey to me...
I think the answer to that is Jaime - if Jaime comes back this guy is 2B. I just don't think Jaime has the legs to go 30 games anymore so if this guy is technically the 3rd forward on the depth chart he is going to get a lot more playing time than most 3rd forwards.
Yes, I also see him as a platoon player to alternate with Jaime. He will be an upgrade from Addlery on the roster. Not a big signing, but a piece of the puzzle if we can sing a wing mid and a center back organizer.
Please don't tell me we have upgraded our forward line with Emilio, a beloved but no longer effective Jaime and a tiny 2nd or 3rd level Argentine forward we got for 60k. If this is a #4 forward or a backup fast wing. OK. But we need some serious additions to firepower depth.
He looks like he understands the position very well and can (a la Donovan/Twellman) use his speed to position himself in space. Should be fun to watch with Gomez (fingers crossed) and Jaime providing service. That Diaz goal for Independiente was pretty good too.
Sounds promising...DC really needed to address the lack of team speed, moreso with Gros out. (Get it? Gros out, gross out? I slay me.)
I have a feeling this guy will play better than Kpene when he would play for us during his limited playing time.
good addition for forward depth. Still need another first tier striker 1st tier: Emilio 2nd tier: Moreno, Niell (hoping) 3rd tier: rest of the pack
My understanding is he is leaving Argentinos Jrs because he knows he won't be in the starting 11, and probably won't be the first one off the bench. His move to United over Rosario Central is based on the anticipation that he has a better shot at getting playing time.
If Jaime come back there is no question as to who starts opening day. But after Jaime our depth at forward is rather bleak. I agree that Jaime doesn't have the legs anymore to go the full 90. I was just curious as to what his statistical output was like last season versus prior seasons and it came out looking like this (All stats per 90 minutes played) - first numerical catagory is Goals plus Assists (or similar to NHL style Pts) per minute played- the second is Shots per minute played and the third is Shots on Goal per minute played. The last is Fouls Suffered per Minute played (which I think is an interesting gauge of how annoying he's being to other defenses). Team PTS/GM SH/GM SO/GM FS/GM 2007 D.C. United 0.81 2.13 1.13 1.88 2006 D.C. United 0.70 1.70 1.03 2.07 2005 D.C. United 0.85 2.83 1.69 2.06 2004 D.C. United 0.83 1.54 0.99 2.01 2003 MetroStars 0.35 1.74 1.04 2.61 2002 D.C. United 0.54 2.26 1.01 3.42 2001 D.C. United 0.72 2.86 1.91 4.15 2000 D.C. United 0.77 2.77 1.50 3.29 1999 D.C. United 0.98 2.98 1.45 3.15 1998 D.C. United 0.93 3.00 1.66 2.07 1997 D.C. United 1.25 3.44 2.40 2.09 1996 D.C. United 0.77 2.70 1.16 2.19 I was actually surprised to find that numerically, his output was pretty similar to the previous three seasons. So really the Jaime question is really one of Health and Fitness.
Actually this is more interesting to me for some other reasons. If we did a graphical output (overlay of graphed lines), which I won't because I'm too cool for that, it would be noteworthy that his "points" production is basically constant, while his total shots has come down over the years, yet his accuracy has also remained constant. This is the predictable and perfect path of a player over a career. He's gotten "smarter". Also interesting to note that his overall numbers appears to be the lowest around the same time as his peak fouls suffered numbers. Granted this could be due to other causes, such as his being more anonymous the first couple seasons, younger and faster, and being more tightly marked and older and slower in the middle years. The last portion is probably down to reputation with officials. Who knows. Anyway.
We already have a classic #9 in Emilio. So what we need is a regular second forward with ball skill to compliment him. Because I don't see Jaime as a regular starter anymore. And from what little I've seen of Niell, he appears to be good in tight spaces. And can finish. He might also be a guy that could slip out onto the wing in certain spots.