http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A24368-2003Jan7.html The top is about Garber and lists the home schedule. (Doubleheaders with the WUSA's Washington Freedom at RFK Stadium are scheduled for May 17 and July 19.) At the bottom, Hudson continues to hint that he's going to use the #1 pick on Esky. No JMM but maybe(?) Stewart to "fill an attacking role." I say maybe because Hudson will be off again, this time to Spain, to scout another possible forward. Everything's still etched in soap--but not for much longer...
Stewart would be an interesting mentor for Esky. Are they alike in playing style? I've never seen Esky play. Sachin
Re: Re: 1/8: Wash. Post article--Schedule; roster talk Just about to say the same thing. Realizing that we are almost certain to draft Esky, it's that much more important for us for him to have someon egreat to learn from in that role.
Re: Re: 1/8: Wash. Post article--Schedule; roster talk Great article Steven, thanks! Not really. Esky is quick and can get a shot off in a very tight space, but he's not the playmaker, midfielder or possession guy that Stewart is. While Esky is small, he actually can play with his back to the goal and hold the ball well. He kinda reminds me of Eliseo in that regard. But Esky has a very quick turn, and he can go from a seemingly non-threatening position facing away from goal to turning and creating separation from his defender and getting off a shot, all in an instant. That skills is similar to how Ruiz and Twellman got off a lot of good shots last season. But, that's not really Stewart's game at all. Frankly if Stewart were here I'd want him to mentor Santino, because Stewart's attacking midfielder and long range shooting talents would be more similar to Santino's than Convey, Eskandarian or Curtis. -Tron
It's been awhile since I saw Alecko play (Toulon tournament was the best time) but from that long ago time, I'd say he's quite a bit different than Stewart. Earnie is fairly similar to Quaranta, though Earnie's vision is much greater than Tino's (and to be fair most any US forward). Alecko strikes me as similar to Twellman in style.
Re: Re: Re: 1/8: Wash. Post article--Schedule; roster talk I wouldn't say Stewart is a possesion guy, like say, Renya. He (Stewart) definitely has decent distribution and possesion skills, but his strenghts have always been his piercing runs, good shot, hustle, and poaching. Stewart would be good for DC, no doubt, and would have a positive influence on all the youngsters (Esky included). Frankly, I'd be happy getting Ernie or JMM.
Am I reading this correctly; that they aren't going to make a decision on Earnie until the middle of next week? AAARRRRGGGGHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I'm going to be utterly useless until they make up their mind.
It's going to drive us all crazy but I like it and what it says to the team that Hudson never says "there, the team is finished, no need to see if I can tweak it just a little more, improve the reserve GK or get a better 23rd man or upgrade the gator-aid boy (or girl). He's got a member of the Polish National team and WC team with a nose for goals, a star of the US National quarterfinal WC team (and top scorer in WCQ) as options at forward and he wants to sniff out one more option in Spain. The man just won't quit. As for the decision on Stewart next week, here is my take on this. He (Hudson) and Stewart have talked (my, that was quick wasn't it?!). Stewart and Kasper will probably meet as well and Earnie and Yvonne will visit DC. Look at schools, houses, get a feel for the area (let us hope we don't get a blizzard this weekend!). Then it's off to Dallas for a few days. Mutual decision by next week. Which also gives Ray the time to scout out his Argie in La Liga. I don't know enough about Ivanov to say he's our holding mid. But you know that was an issue for Ray. So either Ivanov is the man, OR Nelsen is getting promoted to that role (possible--since his rookie season he's grown immeasurably as an attacker, his "grit" and assertiveness) or that one of our central defenders will be moved for a D-mid. SJ is desperately hoping that Barcelona of Ecuador will buy Graziani. Here's the catch--they may not know until right before the season starts. Which could mean SJ is in a sudden cap crunch in March. Mulrooney isn't so unrealistic then. Also, LA is cap compliant now (b/c Hong's contract doesn't kick in until 2003 season). But I think they have a cap crunch once it does. So Vagenas or Elliott may still be realistic options.
Presumably Cien will retire after next season, un-crunching them. Right? You guys don't think Hudson will make a move for Harkes or Rooney?
I saw Alecko Esk play 5-6 times at UVA in the last two seasons (he was injured to start last year) and here's my take: He's a scorer. I don't remember much in the way of defense, workrate or clever passing (not saying he doesn't have those skills, just that I don't recall), but the goal he scored against UMD to win 1-0 this season and a side volley he drilled at the keeper off a driven cross from outside the box last year (William and Mary?) sold me that he can score goals out of nothing. He's one of those players that can pop up at any second and create a chance. Which is exactly what we need at DCU. I hope we take him.
Re: Re: 1/8: Wash. Post article--Schedule; roster talk Harkes, Rooney and Stoichkov are fine additions if we're looking at them as occupying the ~14-16th roster spots and they come cheap. But if any of those guys start or eat up a lot of cap room, we've made a bad move.
1. Cienfuegos has probably already taken some cuts. Sigi the Hutt seems comfortable with his A-mid by committee: some Cobi, some Cien, some Elliott (moving up from d-mid since that is where I think Hong will end up). I think he realizes that none of those guys is the A-mid answer but Sigi does a good job (like Arena does) of using players in ways that magnify their strengths and hide their weaknesses. That said, LA made a very specific point of indicating that Hong's contract didn't apply until 2003 so they were cap compliant. There were also some mutterings there that Lalas may be in danger (not that he offers much in the way of cap savings). Bottom line: unless Cienfuegos is cut this year (and I don't think LA wants that--they want him to retire a Gal, don't want a repeat of the RDA situation we had, think they need a committee at A-mid). To put it another way, Chicago was desperate for cap relief. SJ and Columbus aren't far behind. If there were any teams besides KC and DC substantially under the cap, wouldn't have Chicago talked to them? Nowak for a CONDITONAL 2004 draft pick (not even necessarily a first rounder)? SJ and Columbus put their best finishers out on loan until the very start of MLS season b/c of cap reasons. Nah--LA doesn't have a lot of cap room. 2. Hudson makes a move for Harkes and/or Rooney ONLY after the Stewart/foreign striker allocation situation is resolved, after the superdraft, after the Ivanov situation is resolved and he sees what holes he has and what cap room is left. I think Rooney is incredibly unlikely. Harkes might b/c he's local and might be willing to play for the league minimum. But Ian Bishop is returning to the US (has offers from 2 clubs--don't know if DC is one. Ivanov may be a D-mid. Ricardo Clark may fall to #5. If DC adds 2 good D-mids to the squad and given the crowd at A-mid, it's really hard to justify either Harkes or Rooney then. As for Hristo--who the heck knows? I think this is complicated by a range of factors. For instance, if he doesn't get his green card and we pass on Stewart (going in Ivanov and a foreign striker) it ain't happening, no matter what enducements are made. Ray likes the idea of him as an assistant and emergency player evidently. But whatever happens on this front isn't happening right away.
Chris Bergin thinks Ian Bishop may be Charleston-bound. To sort-of agree with JoeW- the situations in C-bus, San Jose, and LA all bear watching, My guess is that something is going to shake loose from one of them right before the season opens. However the signing of Stewart does not really get affected by those teams cap situations since, as Joe implied, what we might get out of them is a d-mid. As a side note, any deal with C-bus for Washington might come in conjunction with their potential cap squeeze once McBride comes back. However, the way Hudson is praising Escandarian makes me think that Alecko will get a full trial in pre-season not only to see if he can develop but to see if he can start for us and if he's good then the need for Washington evaporates.
Quaranta, Stewart, Curtis, Eskandarian, and Quintanilla (even Olsen in a pinch) is a good set of forwards that might produce and would be comparably inexpensive when matching up to most other MLS teams. Therefore, I agree that if Stewart comes there is no move for another forward from any source. What seems logical at that point is using roster and cap spots for depth in defensive midfield. Hence, I still think that Rooney is an option. Tim
Whether we take Stoitchkov might hinge on Ivanov -- a "coach" who speaks Bulgarian might be necessary.
Somebody posted (can't remember where) that Cien had re-signed for this year for $50k, so that helped LA's cap tremendously. How they are still under the cap with Hong is still left up to the imagination of everyone. Does anyone remember when the first Waiver draft usually takes place? That will be the time when we add a Harkes or a Rooney if we are going to. They will have to be waived by their current team and then re-signed at a lower wage for someone to take them on. So if we can pick up a Harkes to be a role player off the bench as our 16th man or so in the waiver draft, I see that as more likely than making a deal with Columbus for him.
See, here's your mistake. Try to be like me...utterly useless all the time. Then things like roster indecisions won't upset your rythm
while nelsen has improved i still think he is just far too slow to play anywhere but in the center of the backline, unless ben johnson's coach and druggist have worked with him in the offseason, he hasn't likely gained any speed. especially if we happen to have etch in, having the two of them would give us a really scary lack of speed and likely force our wing players to have to cover back too much.