Revs Offseason 2016-2017

You guys should know me by now... the "4-5 steps ahead" should have been a dead giveaway!

The players' equivalent of Burns' excu, um, I mean explanation would be "But every time I shoot the ball at the net, that guy with the gloves always jumps in and catches the ball!"

 

I think that was the original plan, but then Kouassi got hurt, and the Revs were forced to keep Koffie for the rest of the season to ensure that we almost made the playoffs...

 

There were some lean times even under Nicol. The off-season leading into 2009 was incredibly frustrating because many of us here had a strong hunch (if not "knew") Twellman wasn't coming back, yet the FO did nothing. Shalrie played up top early on IIRC, that's how desperate things were. Then in 2010 they acquired the likes of Joseph Niouky who was touted as a "box to box" midfielder. Many were laughing at that assessment in the preseason and it turned out to be indeed laughable. You had Phelan, Ryan Guy - the team was short on talent those years and we the fans knew it.

That all said I think this is (so far) the most disappointing off-season because there just has been so little accomplished. Last year Kouassi was signed then got hurt before even stepping foot in the US so we can't blame the FO, that's just shit luck. In contrast, this year, no disrespect to Daigo but I am more happy Llamosa joined as an assistant coach - he's the signing of the off-season for me, which is pretty sad.

I'm learning Portuguese; regarding the offseason, não é bom.

 

I don't agree given that we've never done that with other players in similar situations previously. I think we were probably pretty happy to make him a qualifying offer and hold onto his MLS rights.

 

2009 was a brutal offseason; you're right. That being said, 2009 was a different time for the league. There were far fewer teams, most teams were less ambitious, spending was lower (no TAM), there weren't as many DPs, etc. What makes this offseason so frustrating, aside from the fact that we've done absolutely nothing, is that so many teams are active and making quality foreign acquisitions.

 

You're right, context is everything. What frustrated me back then was the core guys were aging, drafting was getting worse and it was obvious there wasn't much in the pipeline talent wise. Shalrie, Ralston, Twellman after his injury in 2008, Parkhurst leaving for Denmark - the writing was on the wall that these guys were not being adequately replaced. You could even see it happening further back, Dempsey left after 2006, Noonan after 07, Dorman after '08; Larentowicz after '09, none of them were properly replaced.

But yeah, that was a different era of MLS. The revs made the transition much later than their competitors. Now we are once again stuck an epoch behind everyone else. The Polish horsemen charging German tanks comes to mind.

 

This is the quote of the thread, Tom.

 

Bingo!

 

You know the rule, only one new additon of someone making more than $100,000 in a calendar year. This is a business, not a charity!

 

Well, I would agree with the first part and the second part. They *could* come up with some good signings over the next month and give us some hope for this team going into the season. I don't even want to get into a discussion about how likely that is, but as frustrating as it is now, let's see what it looks like when its time to kick a ball in anger.

But, yeah, this is a really depressing/discouraging offseason. Burns is going to have to make one heckuva recovery to turn attitudes around.

I have to agree in full - when they know they need to get signings, when they know what the needs are, when they have resources to use, when they have plenty of time to get started early, ... and they still can't get something done by a reasonable date???

 

And the other two are expansion franchises.

As for this being the worst ever offseason, I still twitch at the mention of the names Didier Domi and Ousmane Dabo. That was a dire time.

 

Those two statements capture how I'm feeling about things right now. I wanted Burns gone years ago and that urge has grown to the epic proportions. He has clearly demonstrated that he doesn't how to accomplish the most important element of his position---finding and signing players. If there aren't a solid number of top quality reinforcements in place for preseason I'm afraid I'm going to start numbering myself as a member of the NNN club

 

Don't forget that Moreno fiasco. We dragged him here kicking and screaming.

 

Every post that talks about Burns negotiating for players...this image immediately comes to mind.

 

The visa issues seem to only impact the revs, everyone else seems to know how to get things done on time or at least more efficiently.

 

HARDWARE!

MLS announces winners for 2016 Club and Executive Awards
January 13, 2017, 11:58AM EST
Franco Panizo

 

For those of you looking for a rumor, here ya go:

The Revs are looking at Helder Postega, a former Portugal International who played in the 2006 and 2014 WCs and Euros 2004, 08 and 12. He's also played for some pretty notable clubs, including Porto, Spurs, Sporting, Lazio, and Valencia, with experience in the Champions League/Europa/UEFA Cup.

He's also 34 and his most recent club is Athletico Kolkata in India, where he recently had a serious injury.

 

Source? Interesting that we'd be looking at an injury ridden 34 year old striker given our not too distant history of trouble with just those type of players.

Postiga wiki -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hélder_Postiga

Just looked into the Indian Leauge for 2 minutes. 8 teams, October to December season, 14 games and a 4 team playoff to determine the champion. Huh.

 

this is a joke, right?

 

thats what I initially thought, but then I considered the teams tendencies.

 

Yes, very odd. There are actually two first division leagues in India. The Indian Super League is the October-December league. The other is the I-League which runs a different schedule. They are not affiliated with each other.

 

Sorry, I was bored and came up with a player that was somewhat plausible. Either a somewhat, but not too well-known name who would have been a great signing 5 years ago (let's forget about money), or a guy no one (even the most die-hards) have ever heard of, who is younger and potentially a decent player. But not a needle-mover. Oh yeah, in the wrong position.

That's the kind of guy the Revs might be rumoured to sign, but won't.

 

One of the many frustrating things about the Revs' tendency to not have players signed in time for the preseason is that it makes the Revs' personnel decisions appear to be driven by necessity, not aspiration. As in, Seattle or Toronto or whoever are making moves in December – they must really want those guys, right? Whereas the Revs are making moves in the few weeks before the season starts, making it seem like they're just filling holes, not actually getting guys they legitimately desire on their own talent.

That's not necessarily a fair perception. Maybe the FO really wanted Koffie or Koaussi or whoever. But damn if it's hard to think that the Revs are proactive on personnel, rather than just fighting fires.