A few reasons why: - The DC crowd got really quiet and stopped whistling while we had been chanting - We had moved down front - We were thrilled beyond compare at that point I think it's a little of both, but mostly Hristo and Etch. Everyone (EVERYONE) knows that Hristo should not be starting, but he does. Why? Something in his contract? That he complains endlessly? That Hudson still doesn't believe it's over for him? It has to be something, and until Hristo decides that he should take one for the team (which he never did in Chicago either), they're going to have a problem. The fact that he gets out there and then does whatever the hell he feels like is what's causing their problems.
Part of it: Hristo is a coach. And for some bizarre reason he thinks he can help the team more by being out there than by sitting his loud fat ass down and telling Alecko what to do. But yes, it's impossible to tell what position he plays out there now. He just runs around aimlessly. It's like DC is playing with 10 men. It's sad, because Hristo, at least in 2000, still had it. He had some fire and pace and drive. Now, it's all bullshit.
Here's the difference: The Metros often don't pull the trigger when they have a team against the wall. This year's Fire will often leave you splattered all over a city block.
Three questions and one answer: 1. What did we give you for Stoitchkov? 2. Can we cancel the deal? 3. What will you take for Sarachan? Answer: No, you can't have Earnie.
1. A draft pick. Might even have been a conditional draft pick. Either way, it was next to nothing. 2. Hell no. 3. Not a damn thing. He's ours.
Wasn't Justin Mapp part of the Stoichkov deal? Or was that for Kovalenko? I don't remember. But getting Justin Mapp was definately a good thing.
Fire Sends Hristo Stoitchkov to D.C. United Chicago Trades Bulgarian International for United’s 2nd Round Pick in 2004 SuperDraft No. Well, I'd say nothing, but everone has their price. So basically, your first round pick for the next 10 years, any allocations recieved in that time period, salary cap relief, half the salary paid of our next coach hired for the life of the contract, 50% of your share of any future stadium revenue, 40 acres, a mule, and you have to take Orlando Perez and start him every match until he dies. Of course, we can negotiate.
How about we give you Hristo back (you keep the draft choice), PLUS (such a deal!) you get Ray Hudson and Marco Etcheverry. The added benefits of this are that Hristo's home is still in Chicago and I believe Sarachan still owns a home in the DC suburbs, so think of the convenience to all. I believe, as someone said above, that Dema and Justin Mapp were involved in a one-for-one trade. That definitely benefited both teams and us especially because we got a mid-fielder who Ray would put on the field, whereas if we had kept Mapp, he'd be riding the pine along with our other rookies, and you, of course, got a great young player. Ray does not believe in "great young players." He likes old, slow has-beens. By the way, I am shocked -- SHOCKED!!-- at all of the negative remarks in this thread about Dema. I don't recall quite that kind of negativity on the Chicago boards about Dema's conduct and playing style during that part of his career that preceded the trade. Did I overlook it?
Great article that makes a lot of good points about how much of a team game soccer is. Consider how often we've heard about Beasely being the most fouled player in the league or whether Razov should've played against the Crew, risking injury to win the golden boot. The great thing about the Fire's performance last weekend was the fantastic Team effort that was put out there. DC hasn't had that lately, and I agree with the posters who blame hotheads like Hristo. When that team realizes that a player-coach whose leadership includes earing yellow cards for dissent over correct calls does more harm than good, they'll be hard to beat. Until then, DC will remain a doormat team. And it's a damn shame, since they have tons of talent there. I'm terrified of the prospect of Hristo trying to school Freddy Adu next year. He did OK with Beasely because that was before his age was such a factor that he started sucking and responded to his own inadequacy by kicking at everything on the field. Of course, league driven trades designed to make the Metros stop sucking don't do teams like DC any favors. Such a trade has helped us out, since Bradley was apparently part of the problem last year. Thank god we're not either of those sad-assed sides. By the way, watching Faria blow sitters against LA made me very happy he left the Fire, bt I imagine Sarachan would've given Damani the nod early on nonetheless.
This is why I'd love to send Ray, Hristo and Marco to you and take Sarachan. In the unlikely event that we have both Ray and Freddy next year, don't worry. Ray won't have much to do with him. Pele lit up the World Cup when he was 17. If he had played for Ray, his time would have limited his play to US Open Cup matches. Consider: in the first round of the 2003, we took defender David Stokes with the 5th pick in the first round. He hasn't seen a minute of MLS play. Just Open Cup. With Nelson called up for New Zealand national team play, with Ivanov and Prideaux not exactly reminding anyone of, say, Bocanegra, and with Petke getting a yellow card suspension or two, our first round pick wasn't able to get off of Ray's bench for a single minute of MLS play. I can't find the stats, but in 2002 Justin Mapp barely saw the field. And the reason couldn't have been that everybody out there was so stellar that Mapp could't crack the line-up. So, if Freddy is with Ray next year, Freddy will get to run around in practice. Of course, no one will teach him anything. Ray believes they should find out for themselves.
I don't believe Ray will be in DC next year. Unfortunately, I don't think MLS will be able to find enough coaches to go around that work well with kids.