so we cut rimando, prideaux and kovalenko, and start stokes, quintanilla and esky?!!? yikes. are you a metros fan or something?
I agree with your assessment of the defense -- it could be very good indeed. and even though we have an unused SI, I still wonder about ivanov -- flashes of ability mixed with moments of oblivion just don't seem worth an SI spot to me. but I would definitely leave convey on the wing, and I'd rather look at dema in the middle -- just seems more responsible. and I'd like to see the cerritos/earnie tandem after a full preseason, with martins coming off the bench and esky parking cars. Q1 is the enigma to me. he looked good at wing (which would let you move convey into the middle, but nowhere to put dema), but I'm sure he could still play up front. but I guess he'll get hurt again anyway so what difference does it make. most important thing: new coach. please.
Dropping Petke, Namoff, Prideaux, and Dema and keeping Esky and the Qs? That's...very odd, IMO. I also can't see anything about Cerritos that makes me want to keep him more than Martins. Martins is taller and stronger, but not as fast, maybe (I see Ronald walking a lot when we need him to be running). I think Thiago is cheaper, so I'd rather keep him than Cerritos. But we certainly agree on : no Hristo no Marco no Galin
Just my 2 cents, but whoever called Convey was good was right, and to a point Q2 as well. Put these guys with a "go-to guy", Ruiz, Razov, whoever, and they don't have all the pressure o them and they could really cause some damage. On any other team they would be terrific supporting cast, but they just aren't the guys that do everything themselves. If United had that one guy, that one dude who the other team was thinking "we HAVE to stop him" then we would rock, but other than Marco circa 1999, or maybe Benny right now, we don't. Our go-to gut is a 40 yr old, big on spirit, short on wheels. Opposition dosen't have to play great defense, just solid defense. The majority of the time this year it seemed that the other team didn't beat us, we just couldn't get it done. Any opions on martins? He's big, and has long hair, and that kinda crazed look on his face, i refer to him as the 'beast'. Do you guys think he might turn into our go-to guy? last thing, why lose Petke? Thought he was a stud defender.
The quote was from a match report in one of the Australian newspapers. As I recall it was along the lines of the 'best midfielder in Australia' rather than 'the best Australian midfielder'. The Colosimo issue was discussed exhaustively in a previous thread a while back (https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68861&highlight=colosimo). To me the attraction is that he had the ability to go and play in Europe but was prevented from doing so by a serious injury, from which he's now recovered. Could be a bargain, especially since we obviously need a defensive midfielder.
i pretty much agree, cut etch, stoichkov, ivanov, and hudson. i don't cut cerritos or martins because with a better coach i can see them being the quality finishers the team needs and i definitely don't cut convey because all he needs is a coach that gives him the liberty to take the ball up the field at his feet and gets it into his head that shooting from 20 yards is okay. and that coach should not be with another team.
its perfectly clear to me (LMAO) ... There isn't a single player on United who is a legitimate threat to score from 15 yards or further out ... with the possible exception of Dema (but while I love the guy and the fact that he does load it up ... and to be fair he did score a couple long shots ... I think its more his personality BANG then his shooting) so .. what does that mean ... long balls for headers a la Bruce Arena ... only Cerritos has a flair for knocking the header in ... and he's vertically challenged so ... what does that mean ... United has to create a threat in the box ... which means carry it in ... or make a nifty pass inside the 18 ... only problems there are ... virtually no one other than Etch can dribble it in to the box (and he's losing his touch to be honest) ... and a serious team-wide weakness is deft passing touch ... bottom line ... United is virtually toothless in the attack with the exception of El Diablo's fading offense and the occasional hustle play out of Olsen ... its ... well its a long shot and as I said ... United doesn't scare anyone long-distance My take is Esky is a BUST Stewart is an flank midfielder Olsen, Convey, Dema are all ok on the flanks ... got plusses and minuses each of them Convey isn't physically strong enough to hold the central midfield Q1 is a ?? Q2 is defying the laws of gravity because he remains standing without a right foot ... Cerritos is good .. but close to the end of the ride Etch should be given a very nice retirement party Martens has potential Chino should find a nice job in Peru Namoff should always start over Ivanov Dema and Olsen should both get looks as strikers (they both are probably better than the reserve forwards) and if they don't find a serious scoring threat and a starting central midfielder (someone not on the roster at this time) ... next season is going to suck!
No Namoff and Petke. What are you mentally ill? sure they may not be fleet footed sleek defenders, but they are to heart and sole of this team.
More laughable is Q2 as d-mid and Eski and Stokes starting (though Stokes is possible). And where the heck is Dema? Our MVP isn't good enough for you?
I don't see why anyone would be really so disappointed with the following line up for next season: ----Rimando---- Reyes--Wanker--Nelsen--Prideaux Olsen--Namoff--Kovalenko--Convey ---Stewart---Cerritos--- Or ----Rimando---- Wanker---Nelsen---Prideaux ----Namoff---Reyes---- Olsen---Kovalenko---Convey ---Stewart---Cerritos--- Or ----Rimando---- Reyes---Wanker---Nelsen---Prideaux Olsen---Kovalenko---Convey---Stewart ---Quaranta---Cerritos--- So many options with our existing players if they are all healthy before going on a wholesale dumping spree. The team has some really dynamic players that could work well together if they were just all healthy... :sigh:
To be honest, I'd rather not have Prideaux as a left back except in an emergency. He's a pure centerback and lacks the skill needed to play outside under optimal conditions. Namoff and Reyes as WBs in a 3-5-2 has promise, but I don't know if it's the answer either. Namoff at left back is a viable alternative, however, and Prideaux is certainly worth keeping in case Nelsen finds a better job elsewhere, or we have an injury.
Convey Convey is a funny one ... he should be effective(speed, aggression, understands positioning, some skills) but as an occasional DC United watcher I've never once seen the guy play a truly useful game. No doubt that it happens, but not very damned often, not often enough for me to see watching United 2-3 times per year. So ... is it because Convey has been wrongly marginalized by Hudson, and is awaiting a coach who will give him center mid and the freedom to sign? Or is it because he is at heart a complementary player, one who will play well on a good team but indifferently on a poor team? This is a key question for DC United's coaching staff to sort out.
Don't have a problem with those players, just want some stud of a striker who won't take no for an answer when going for goal. We need someone like Big Mama Daillo or Stern John or even a Serna like player when he was on the Fusion. Some one with Attitude and the Skills to match and isn't afraid to shoot on goal. Put a player like that with Martins and hold on. Also have the team take a good look at Preki and ask them if theyr notice how Preki isn't afraid to shoot from 18 yards out? -The Far Side
From the interview with Kevin Payne here... https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=81039 DC United is looking for a new training facility. This has been the SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT reason that DC United has gone down the tubes. There are a myriad of reasons for the lack of a good training facility in ruining the team: 1) Poor quality pitch - prevents one touch practice. Players get used to taking multiple touches to control the ball because the field is bad. They continue this habit in games and really play slowly. 2) Lack of weight facilities - puts the responsibility on individual players to work out at their own gyms. Not every player has a good work ethic and a chance at team building is lost. The team that works out together has more opportunity to build unity. 3) Appearance of 2nd class stature - practicing on a pitch which is not taken care of leads to a feeling being treated poorly by the Stadium Authority. This contributes to a feeling that the team is less worthy of their efforts and that the MLS is "bush league". 4) Poor medical facilities - lack of rehabilitation equipment slows down recovery times. Injuries with recovery times of 4-6 weeks in MLS are half that in places with proper rehab facilities (i.e. among top European teams). I'm sure there are others...