Deal done, Metros seek midfield chief well, it would certainly answer the question of whether O'Brien starts or not... but like the article says, he is one candidate of many, and it will probably be a lot easier to steal someone somewhere else.
vaca to metros? Intriguing, to say the least. What would the Burn want for Vaca? I'd say the Metro's 1st round draft pick (#2) and ...........Nelson Akwari.
Re: vaca to metros? Why? Unless Jeffries is convinced that Vaca won't be able to ever handle the physical side of MLS, there's no logic to giving him up. True #10's are super rare and I certainly wouldn't give one up for a young unproven defender, when we can get the same thing in the draft, and already have a few on the bench. As for the 1st round draft pick, I would still pick Vaca over any of the draft picks out there, wouldn't you? And remember, Vaca's being groomed to take Pareja's place. We have no one else who can take Pareja's place right now, and we ain't gonna get it in the draft. Stop this inane thread now!
Cast your minds back to the first game last season. Oscar suspended, Vaca hurt. Jason was the schemer. He played hard, one of the few Burn players who did, but it was not his position. Anybody remember what happened that game? To get Vaca, the Mutts would have toswing a blockbuster trade, and make sure a forward was part of it. Also, another draft pick, so the Burn could get another schemer in the draft. It would certanly change the priorities in the draft.
Would you give up Vaca for Mathis? I might. But the problem with any deal for Vaca would be Cap impact. Vaca is too young and talented to give up for anything short of a ton of talent. Unfortunatly talent usually cost too much money. I MIGHT give you Vaca for Brad Davis and the #2 overall pick.
How about a three-way with San Jose where NJ get Vaca and we get Graziani??Isn't Stone supposed to be a number 1o also??
Old post asked would we take Mathis for somebody??I'd trade him for Joselito straight-up no questions asked...
Stone is ball winning defensive midfielder. Young and very advanced tactically. He should start to see playing time this season. Maybe a start in Deering's place now and then.
Like I said in my first post I would certainly do it on talent. Cap might be a problem. I am sure Mathis is max salary, but I am not positive about that. Vaca and I believe is much less than that.
Most reports say Mathis is likely headed off to Europe at the end of the 2003 season once his contract's up -- too many burnt bridges between him and MLS and all that. So unless the Burn are planning to forgo the future and go all out for a championship in 2003, I'd think it would make sense to avoid Mathis. Plus if Mathis came to Dallas, there's always the concern that Jeffries might have trouble keeping Clint in line. Jeffries lost his war of wills with Graziani and would be likely to lose against Mathis should Clint start acting up.
How do you figure that. Graziani is gone and Jeffries is still here. Last year this team had it's best record ever. Without Graziani. Graziani has now worn out his welcome in SJ too...
I think it's unfair to say Ariel has worn out his welcome. Just because they are trying to trade him and he didn't get along with Jeffries here doesnt mean he is in the same situation there in SJ. I havent seen or heard anything that would lead me to believe he's a problem out there. They want to trade him because LD gets all the money,correct??
The reason I said Jeffries lost the war of wills is because it was all too evident that Jeffries had trouble keeping Graziani in line -- the chair incidents; the problems at practices that you documented; etc. The reason Graziani left and Jeffries stayed, rather than vice versa, was a monetary one. Since the league, and not individual teams, pay the player's salaries, it's easy to arrange trades and shuffle problem players from one team to another. With coaches, though, a low-budget team like the Burn want to get their money's worth. No way does the Burn want to get rid of Jeffries after only one year have to pay off the remainder of his contract. Last year this team had it's best record ever. Without Graziani. I'd say 1999 was a better year than 2002 for the Burn. In 1999, the Burn were 19-13 (51 pts; (3 SO wins)) and made it to the 2nd round of the playoffs. In 2002 they were 12-9-7 (43 pts) and were knocked out in the 1st round. Graziani has now worn out his welcome in SJ too... Perhaps, he has. But so did Mathis in LA and then NY. Players like Graziani and Mathis have the best chance of success under coaches like Bradley who put a bit of fear into their players. Nice guys like Jeffries do well coaching self-motivated players like Pareja or Kreis but often run into trouble trying to control head cases like Graziani and Mathis.
Well VW, we just have to disagree then. When a player quits on a coach there is not much he can do. I consider it a victory that he kept the rest of the team from quitting too. But I do see your point. Although I don't think Mathis wore out his welcome in LA. But he certainly did at Metro. That would be my one reservation about trading for him, he doesn't want to be in MLS anymore. As for Graziani in LA... I have heard that toward the end of the season he wasn't playing WITH Landon anymore. It is true that they have cap trouble and have to move someone. And they are looking to move Graziani. Mainly becasue of salary, but also becasue he doesn't play well with the Golden Boy. Just like he didn't play well with Kreis. burn 2002, you and I have had this discusison before. You know how I feel about Graz, and I know how you feel about him. I am sure we don't need to go through it again.
I was watching Graz and his chemistry with Landon pretty closely late last season. There was a problem there and it could be seen. And factually speaking, Landon passed to Graz often enough but Graz bitched when he didn't pass to him EVERY time. Graz did not pass to Landon very much at all. Let's face it, Graz is a bitch. Just like his wife!! Hey sweeper, how about a "Graz is a Bitch" sign and chant/yell?
I guess I'm the only one here who has kind of fallen out of love with Vaca. Great ball skills and crossing ability, but too small and slow. I know we will need a replacement for Pareja sooner rather than later, but there are several trade possibilities I'd consider with the Metros and I certainly don't consider Vaca untouchable. I'd trade Vaca for Eskandarian straight up. Getting the #1 pick would be the Metros problem. Cut Rhine and put a little extra pressure on EJ. I'd trade Vaca for Jolley straight up. We'd have hands down the best defensive stable in the league and would be wheeling and dealing for years to come with all our wealth of talent. I might trade Vaca for Brad Davis straight up. What I've seen from Jeffries is that we prefer to attack from the wings with two defensive central midfielders. Swapping Vaca and Davis would effectively give us another attacking mid, only costing us a central mid who doesn't really fit our system. If Bradley really does want Vaca, it's our responsibility to see if you can turn it to our advantage. Hell, it's the most fundamental principle of all business - buy low, sell high.
Excellent points about Graziani, 3D. And while I have been a bit critical of Jeffries re Graziani's departure, certainly most of the blame should go Ariel's way. Getting back to the Vaca situation, I could see how Jeffries might be interested in a trade if the price is right. Given their personnel situation, I think the Burn are best off staying with a 4-4-2 alignment that uses 2 d-mids and 2 wing-midfielders. And since the Burn's formation doesn't make use of a #10, Vaca may be more valuable to another team such as the MetroStars. Does it look like Moreno's recovered fully from his injuries? If so, perhaps the Burn might want to consider trading Vaca and Rhine to the Metros for Moreno and picks.
Inferno Man.. I think you are an ass for calling someones wife a bitch on this board. Next time graz is in town will you go say that to his fac? Knock it off please. that's crap....Never talk about a mans wife behind his back.Inferno"man"??
Vaca small and slow I do agree that Vaca is small, and does not have incredible speed. However, does he really need a lot of speed or does he just need a lot of endurance (which I think he does have). As far as being small, I think he should be given the opportunity to show what he can do before deciding his fate. We now have a very solid r-mid in ROB, so it is time to give Vaca his chance. The problem with trading Vaca is that we won't have a suitable replacement for Pareja, which we will definitely need this year. Could Diego Walsh step in and do the job as a rookie? If so, I agree that now is the time to trade Vaca for a proven forward and take Walsh in the draft.
I forgot the most obvious possibility of all. Vaca for Andy Williams. Metro doesn't seem to want him. Unless there's something I'm missing about Andy Williams, I'd make that trade in a minute.
I don't think Andy Williams has the potential/upside that Vaca has. He probably also costs more. If Dallas trades Vaca, it should be for an elite MLS player or a lot of draft picks or allocations.