Me and the couch found this on the FCD website tonight.... http://fc.dallas.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20041123&content_id=19578&vkey=news_dab&fext=.jsp&team=dab Discuss.
Here is my issue with the "let them learn from the sidelines" viewpoint, as it pertains to MLS. Unlike other leagues around the world, MLS has crazy ass roster rules to contend with. Salary caps, developmental rosters, JI-TI-SI status, allocations, discoveries....all that nonsense that confuses the crap out of most fans. One thing that has become clear to me, from watching roster moves and player acquisitions around the league, if you don't play your youngsters you will eventually be backed into a very tough decision. P40 players will eventually graduate and suddenly their salary has to be fit under the cap. If they haven't played enough, the club isn't sure if they have roster worthy player. Junior Internationals turn into Transitional Internationals and then the dreaded Senior International....again if they haven't gotten the proper PT then they will have to be let go due to the roster rules. You can't just hold on to a youngster and wait for them to blossom. They must be played and played young. Look around the league, teenagers and recent college grads are contributing to pretty much every team.......except ours. Even EJ had to turn into the Grown Ass Man before he was given a regular starting role. Now, maybe slow and steady is better for some players.....but it can't be the way for all. Teenagers are playing in leagues all over the world....more so in less advanced leagues (a category that MLS certainly belongs in). If there is one thing I'd like to see changed about Clarke's system its this.....play the youngsters. Two seasons in a row of missing the playoffs....what the hell else is there to lose? How many more games do we need to see the likes of Quill-Davis-Gbandi roaming the left before a Wagenfur or Maurin is given a shot.......or Ramon Nunez. One game....here and there.....let them start....honestly we have so little to lose. Its a damn crime.
Because of the big differences in ages, rookies should not be treated the same. Eddie was 16-17 when he came so it was not surprising he didn't get big minutes. Nunez is a similar age. Wagenfuhr, Maurin and Goodson were much older and the excuse for them not playing is not as strong. Another comparison is with DC United where Gros and Adu got a lot of minutes and the team still won it all. CC is not the first Dallas coach to play mostly veterans as Dir and Jeffries were much the same. The problem seems to be that without reserve squads, Dallas draft picks have not developed as well as teams that win titles. Take your lumps early in the year. Most teams make the playoffs so having depth late in the year and being on a roll is more important than winning a few more games early.
Isn't the deal with Adidas supposed to create a reserve team system? I think this should help out the problem Dallas has with playing its younger players. You are right though. I cant think of anyone that has really come out of being drafted and developed with the team other than EJ. I seems to me that Dallas has always been conservative with their play, and this seems to transcend into the youth development.
And how's that working out for us....let's see no MLS Cups.....two straight years without the playoffs....yeah, sounds like the strategy is right on. I agree that playing right away isn't for everyone....and I mentioned so in my first post....but obviously it works for others in the league and it NEVER happens here in Dallas. Look at Eddie Gaven......at Freddy Adu.......at Szetela.....at so many youngsters who are challenged with playing time in their first season.
doing this from memory..... Players who started right away: Ryan Suarez, Joselito Vaca, DJ Countess, Sergi Daniv, Jason Kreis, Shavar Thomas, Player who sat bench for season or two before becoming starters: Eddie Johnson, Antonio Martinez, Paul Broome, Matt Jordan, Eric Dade (was he drafted), Jeff Cassar (ok so not in Dallas), Lazo Alavanja.
I don't think DJ started right away. He started out in NY didn't he, then got traded to us and was Jordan's backup for a season. In 10 years, only 5 players have been given a chance right out of the gate. I think that pretty much hits the nail on the head.
This is the "plan" that Clarke and Greg Elliott keep talking about. And like any plan - if it works they are geniuses. If it doesn't, they will be looking for work in 2 years. We can throw out examples on both sides where throwing rookies into the fire worked out okay (Troy Aikman, Peyton Manning, Damani Ralph, Pat Noonan) or where letting a player mature worked out well (Eddie Johnson, Joe Montana) and where each theory crashed and burned. Neither one is 100% right or 100% wrong. Its up to the coach. Its up to him to figure uit which player is ready and which one will be better served by watching for a while. It can be frustrating at times, no doubt about it - but its best to devise your strategy and stick to it rather than toss it aside because you hit a 4 games losing streak. Marriage and kids and a job and a 401K plan have taught me to be a patient man - so I am willing to let the Clarke / Elliott plan run its course. Its worth a shot.
I agree, but it seems like the current leadership feels like no player is ever ready and all are served by watching for a while.....and this I don't agree with. We have seen it work around the league, we know its possible.
When leaders are the cause of effective tools; are success plans accelerated? Does AEG do anything differently? Is there an imbalance in MLS at the top? Is entertainment a direct result of the passion equation? Does scrimp-and-save inject limitations if passion isn't a critical factor in the success plan? Again, key people in key places are crucial. If HSG has someone at the top who doesn't exemplify Lamar's passion; it will trickle down. If HSG doesn't provide the necessary tools to grow effective players; success will be slow. GM and Coach are two key roles that require equal investment. If you want to accelerate a success plan, invest in a balance of key role players. Maybe one Eddie Johnson would've been joining Donovan in Europe already if he had grown-his-ass under AEG. © 2004 Amping The Hell Out of HSG Company. All hope reserved.