do you guys snap him up with your allocation spot no questions asked? I know you thought long and hard with Benny's price tag last go around, but proved to be worth it. Who would be for/against bringing him in?
Same. We need a CB, a LB, a CM, and a Winger/Attacker. Striker should be further down our shopping list.
I guess it depends... 1. How much will he cost? 2. Who else can safely be expected to return from Europe this year?
Rather have the Revs go out and sign a real DP striker. If they don't then I say bring back Lekic and let him play a full season with Caraglio to see what they can do.
This. If he's a bargain and wants to battle out for a spot in pre-season and knocks Dube off the team, sure. However, it really depends on who else will be available because as noted he's done sweet fa overseas in terms of production.
This. Do I love EJ? Yes. Would he most likely find his old form and start scoring in the mls again? Yes. I'm sure his confidence will return and he will pick right back up. Would he be a good striker addition to any mls team? yes. Although there is no way he can possibly be demanding the wages he was receiving when he left, He would probably demand money close to what Freddy Adu is making in Philly- far too much for the revs who need to invest heavily in their back line and midfield. It would be an exciting addition, but it just isn't what the revs need right now.
We're going to go round three with Edgaras Jank....OH! Eddie Johnson. Yeah, sure. We could use to improve at literally every position
Could he help, is he better than Schiller? Sure, but at the kind of money he is likely to want ($350,000 or so?) I would say no thanks. It would be like Chivas and Philly passing on Benny. For that kind of money, we should be able to get a pretty good player at a position where we need the help more. Up top we have Caraglio and Lekic right now, and while I realize a lot of folks aren't happy with Psycho, he likely has a guaranteed contract. By bringing in another striker, we've now got 3 high(er) priced players for 2 positions. Meanwhile, we're counting on some guy making 40 grand to anchor the midfield. If it was a returning Nat at another position he certainly would be worth thinking about, but just being able to hang a banner proclaiming that we've got the "biggest Johnson in the league" isn't enough to warrant signing him.
For the money? Are we serious here? They have plenty of room under the fake cap, unused allocation money and DP slots available. They could fill a multitude of positions with high priced players.
Yeah, sure they could... But will they? And will they be any better than the guys they have brought in int he past?
I guess that's the difference between 'can' and 'will'. We all know that the Three Stooges were given a Savvy Budget less than the cap was. (which, for the life of me, I don't understand. There's a Capital Call; we're paying for those players anyway!!) If we sign Johnson, we definitely 'could' go out and get a high-level CB or CM, but I doubt we will.
Well, if they won't, then it won't matter if they sign anyone, because they will suck like they have in the past.
Not that they need to sign EJ specifically, but if they don't go out and make a number of quality signings, there is no chance that I will spend any time or money on this team in the near future. And there is no chance this team gets any better.
What I'm saying is if they are willing to spend $350k on a player, and that will be their "big" signing for the off-season, it better not be spent on Johnson. We will still suck with or without him if we have more or less the same cast of characters in the starting 11. If they fill out the rest of the needs in several other positions (4-5 new signings) and then there is money left over to sign EJ, sure, why not. However, I don't see that happening, and I don't think anyone else here does either.
The problem is that we're 2 'big signings' and 3-4 'major upgrades' away from challenging for a trophy. To clarify: Benny was a 'big signing'. A name and a tremendous improvement over Pat Failin' Milton was a 'major upgrade'. 0.0% name recognition, not an elite talent by any measure, no caps, but easily a 15% increase over Killer
What I'm saying is that one "big" signing isn't enough, and not worth it at all, no matter the position. They need a number of big signings, and quality players. EJ would certainly improve the quality of the attack. Then they could focus on the quality of other areas as well. Signing different quality players is not mutually exclusive.
I think we are all in agreement here. I would love to see them make "2 big signings and 3-4 major upgrades" this offseason, but I don't think they will. Surprise me! Prove me wrong! If they make 1 "big signing" and 2-3 "major upgrades" we will be better, maybe in the playoffs with a .500 record next year, which would certainly be a huge step up. Of course, in the following off-season they will still need to make 1-2 "big signings" and another 2-3 "major upgrades" to continue to improve. This isn't a one-time fixing, but a continual process. Of course, it all comes down to the same questions it always has: Do the Krafts really understand what needs to be done? If so, how willing are they to do what is necessary, even if it is a 2-year plan as described above? The next month or so is going to be very interesting, and I think we will get a decent idea (but maybe not a full answer) about those questions. This off-season is going to be either really exciting or really depressing, and right now I honestly don't know which way the weather vane is going to point...
Hasn't EJ had a history of injuries somewhere on his leg (knees, calves, hamstrings, etc)? If so, as history has shown, that could be a terrible idea.
EJ = NO Forward is not the problem right now. We need better outside halfbacks to get the ball into scoring position. Benny and Joseph cant do it alone and who knows if Joseph will be back. Im guessing not