[Mods: I think this stands apart from existing threads, but if you'd like to merge it with another one, I'll understand.] So, what do you see as our greatest roster needs? Why? Who can we get to fill those spots? I'll try to get the ball rolling by putting my opinion out there in the post below (in the name of white space and shorter posts!) -- with so many possibilities, I hope we'll get a big range of ideas here. (I know there are at least a few of you who like to play this off-season game!)
First off, I'm assuming that we lose Lima and Sealy in the off-season - I'm pretty sure we don't have the cap room to keep them both, and I'm pretty sure they'll take better money elsewhere even if offered raises. Now, before the expansion draft, I would have said that forward and midfield (replacing Lima and Sealy) were our biggest areas of need. After losing Riley, we are back to being pretty thin on defense too. What we lacked all last year was a PROVEN, go-to guy who could score goals. I still think that's our biggest need. Yes, we get Glinton back, but he's no Sealy replacement. We need a legitimate threat to take the pressure off Huckerby, O'Brien, Alvarez -- which would make it easier for those guys to score goals. Second, we need another talented, MLS-starting-quality, central midfielder to pair with Corrales. When Corrales went down with injury, our presence in central midfield disappeared along with our playoff hopes. Third, we need another "Riley". My first preference would actually be an upgrade at left-back for Denton (I was always a Guerrero fan), but I think we would be better off if we could find a high-quality central defender to challenge Hernandez, Garcia, and Cochrane for starting time. If he were also capable of playing wide that would be even better.
The problem I see is that what I'm looking for is really the equivalent of the spine of our team, and I don't think we can fill all three of those needs at once. (Due to cap issues and the difficulty of signing quality from outside our league.) Realistically, my hope is that we throw as much cash as we can at either a proven midfielder or forward, and then look for bargains, high-risk-high-reward players for the other spots. My proposal: put together a trade for Ante Razov. He's got a high cap number, but I think we can handle that with allocation $$$ and the cap space remaining. He's a forward MLS defenders have to pay attention to, and that opens up space for Huckerby, O'Brien, and Alvarez. He also provides a legitimate threat on free kicks (just ask Joe, right?). Then... go after someone like Marinelli (just waived by KC) to compete for time at central midfield, and hope that our former Dev players (Ayres, Roberts) and "fix-it" guys (Gray) can fill in okay on defense when needed. Maybe there's someone in the draft who we can find too. <---not likely, given FY's general disinterest in the draft. Finally, does anyone know the status of our fav ex-Malasian-leaguer? Will we be able to bring him in next season? Is that no longer an option? Is it a "wait-and-see" thing? [multiple posts in order to add white-space, readability]
I think this is pretty spot on Roblar. On the first, well this has been a need for a year now. I tried looking up our friend Marlon James, but couldn't find anything. Perhaps he is still available. In the midfield Corrales does need a partner, and I would like to see a more creative type partner. I think Corrales did extremely well in that spot last season, but I think he is really a CDM who just happens to be talented enough to go forward. I would like to see someone paired with Corrales that allows him to play to his strengths, but who also plays a two way game. In defense we certainly need another starter quality player to put into the mix. I agree that another lefty who can play wide and centrally would be best. This would make our team formation this if we lose Seally and Lima: -----------(New forward) ---------------------------Alvarez Huckerby----(New MID)----Corrales-----ROB Denton------Cochrane------Garcia----Hernandez -----------------------JOE! Our bench would be: Gray Grabavoy Johnson Salinas Cunliffe Glinton Gustavson When you look at our starters, you can see a strong team if we can plug those two holes. However, that bench is looking pretty thin! With five senior spots available we have both the physical and cap space to address this need. The only area where we have any depth is midfield. Even with a new center forward, I see significant needs. Johnson worked really well for us, but he may also be needed in left midfield. I don't have much faith in either Cunliffe or Glinton. You might be able to keep one as a back-up, but certainly another forward who can compete for the position will be a necessity. We are also lacking depth in the back. With a very versatile James Riley, we could move the "pieces" around pretty well. Now we have only Gray. I think we'll need two more defenders this season. Depth was a major problem for us in 2008, and I would really like to see us take advantage of the two extra senior roster spots. So I would add these three needs to Roblar's list. Bench depth: 4. An additional starter quality forward. 5. An additional defender 6. Look to upgrade wherever possible (obviously)
We need a thug. A big enforcer type. Dayak/Califf/Robinson like. Bonus if he's plays left back, is tall and can win headers in front of the goal.
I think that we need 4 new players to make the playoffs next year. Target forward Holding midfielder 2 Defenders (preferably both widebacks but i would be ok with another rightback and a fast tall centerback)
how about kamani hill? he's a local boy (berkeley), and he doesn't seem to breaking through at wolfsburg. He can play striker, a-mid, or even on the wings. He's relatively tall and looked good on the ball w/ u-20s. Contract expires next summer, but he could probably be purchased in jan.
Not sure if he would fill an immediate need, but what are the chances of acquiring Calen Carr from Chicago? He's tall, fast, and most importantly, he's a local. I also agree that Kamani Hill would be a good acquisition too for pretty much the same reasons.
I agree. We need a sweeper /centerback. Garcia is ok but he needs help and can't handle it all by himself. We need someone who is good in the air like John Doyle was but who is also good on the ground and can help out on offense.
No. Effing please, no. Yeah, he's a local, but I see that as a bonus if a player is good. Joe Cannon is a local, but he's also arguably the best keeper in the league. Kelly Gray is a local, but he's a valuable utility man with great long passes and shots. Ramiro Corrales is a local, but he also holds our midfield together. Calen Carr is a local, but he's shit and his stock is falling fast. I haven't seen anything good from him yet. Eric Denton is a local....well he's just a local.
There's a whole list of "Local" Guys in the MLS. Doesn't mean we have to have them all. I'd take Chris Wondolowski & Nick Hatzke before Calen Carr.
I only brought up the "local" bit because I think it would help lure Hill back from Europe, even if he is currently a fringe player. In addition to his ability in attack, he also has been used as a fullback w/ the u-23s. Not where he's most effective, but additional depth nonetheless.
I don't want any "Local" Guys" if they will not help.......we need players who will come in and make an impact right away on the pitch!
how long do we have until our roster needs to conform to the new limits. right now we have 6 dev players listed.
most important is to pick up good central midfielders and a strong left back. sorry, denton didn't cut it for me. holding mid can open up for our forwards
We need a big center back, a defensive and an offensive midfielder as well as a speedy winger....then we can challenge for the MLS Cup.
You're smoking something. A speedy winger? We have the fastest winger in the league, and we have two of the best, most creative wingers playing ahead of him. And two center midfielders? That's not going to happen. Corrales will start again next year in central mid, after what happened at the end of this season. My needs are: - an asshole centerback who yells at people. Not necessarily Robinson-status, because this guy has to also be good. Just Nick Garcia with more yelling at Ryan Cochrane. Cochrane can be good, he just needs a commander next to him. - Another good center mid. Maybe an attacking one, maybe a defending one, depends on how Frank wants to play. - A strong, physical striker like Conor Casey (but better) that can get on the end of crosses and partner well with Alvarez.
Who exactly? I'm talking about a SPEEDY WINGER WHO CAN SCORE GOALS WITH EASE and not one who can just only run......Huckerby and Ronnie aren't enough, we need more! As for Corrales, I think he is the peoples choice for his long time service but seriously speaking in terms of soccer, he is just an average mid! We need more depth at that position. When Ramiro was injured, there was no relief in the midfield to help out.
OK, I'm looking at who we have, and what we need to get better. My views are not far off from most on this thread. Forward: We've got some serviceable forwards, but we need a legitimate scoring threat. Someone who puts fear into opposing defenses. Razov is an intersting suggestion, but I think he's passed his freshness date. I still want us to find some kid in Central America who feels he is languishing on the bench and needs a better opportunity to show his stuff. A youngster with a chip on his shoulder. A guy who feels he has something to prove. (Or Marlon James. I just don't think we can get Marlon now.) Then we match him with one of Alvarez, RJ, Somma, Ghebru or Arce. If Somma, Ghebru, and Arce are not good enough for MLS, then we need to ditch them. I'm guessing that Frank and JD saw something in these guys that made them think these guys could play in MLS. Midfield: We have plenty of quality on the wings, an enviable position for any MLS club. Where we lack depth is central midfield. We have Corrales, and after him, no one. (I'm assuming that Lima is gone.) So we need to try Alvarez and Somma at center midfield, and we need to sign some other guys. I'd sign Marineli. He's an upgrade from where we are and he might work really well with our great outside players. He's not a big assist guy, but he would help with possession. Can we get Eric Avila? I bet we could get Josh Tudela from the filth, but would we want him? He looks like he's falling off their plans, so I doubt it. We going to need to sign someone from overseas and we're going to need to snare someone from USL and grab a player or two in the draft. I want options!! Defense: Ouch. Losing Riley really sucked. We could play Hernandez on the right, but I want either Hernandez or Ayres starting in central d. That, or I want a new central defender to match with either Cochrane or Garcia. I thought Nick was good at the beginning of the season, but slowing down noticeably towards the end. I know that a lot of you are not high on Denton, but he's OK in my book. Maybe we can start Roberts at right defender? I'm thinking that we need at least two or three new defenders in camp. - - NuevoHombre - - - Alvarez (or RJ) Hucks - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ROB - - - Corrales - - - - - NewGuy Denton - Hernandez - Cochrane - Roberts - - - - - - - - - - TheJoe And this assumes that we can salvage Cochrane as a starter, otherwise it would be Hernandez and Ayres in the center of our defense. I see on our roster that it says Roberts played mostly central defender in college, so maybe we go with Herandez and Roberts in the middle, or Ayres and Roberts in the middle and Hernandez on the outside. Ugh. I'm not liking the sound of this. Any chance we can get Aron Pitchkolan? I am much more concerned about our central defenders than I am about our outside defenders. If we go with Garcia and Cochrane in the center we are going to get ripped. Mmmmm. Not happy. We need more guys who can start in this league. GOOOOOO QUAAAAAKES!!!!!! - Mark
Here's some thoughts. Who can we snag from the Champs? Could we get Pat Noonan away from the Crewless? or Lenhart? Lenhart is a big target forward with some pace. He might be a really good fit for us. Of course, Frank and Ian would have to drill the jerk out of him, but they've turned around hot headed players before. Noonan might be really good in the center of our midfield. Ugh, I shudder to even suggest it, but, what about ... Herculez Gomez? OK, I'm sorry. But he didn't get a lot of minutes, which might mean that we could get him. He can play forward or midfield, though he's not a central midfielder. OK, never mind. Ivan Trujillo or Abe Thompson might be available too. KC just signed Adam Cristman, so they might be willing to move a forward. Could we get Galindo from the GoatShaggers? He seems to be out of favor there. But what would he cost? At DCU, Quavas Kirk might be available. He's 6-2, so plenty of height for a forward to pair with Arturo. Or Dyachenko might be available too. Eric Avila as mentioned earlier might be available. He'd be an immediately help in the center of the midfield. The evil, filthy, cheating, water-stealers will be having a fire sale. Is there anyone there we might want? Probably not right? I mean, they sucked this past season. Brandon McDonald might well be available. He was one of the few guys on their squad who I didn't think was total crap. He got hardly any minutes once TheBruce took over, so we could probably get him for that crappy draft pick they gave us. He's a center midfielder, mostly defensive. He could partner with Ramiro. But he'd need an exorcism and cleansing ritual first. Jarrod Smith of the Hosers might be available too. OK, so some of these are probably terrible ideas. But I don't see a lot of suggestions here. GOOOOOOO QUAAAAAAAKES!!!!!!! - Mark
No spring chicken, but if we want strong, physical striker, what about 6'3" Danny Dichio? He's English, big, strong, can strike the ball, would get on well with Hucks presumably. He's been productive in MLS. Better yet, maybe Frank and Dom can come up with another key new international signing to add as striker.