Boy, I am going to really catch hell for this one... Davino's not in camp due to Visa issues?? Why don't the cheap bastards at HGS just hire a coyote to deliver their new defensive prize?
Cooper will score 15 goals this year and the team as a whole will have 25 and people will think it was a great move to dump Ruiz and center the offense around Cooper.
I'll be a little more optimistic and say that we'll get 30-32 goals. Not that it makes much difference in the end, of course.
Ok, look, I am clearly *not* the soccer genius here.... BUT... you are telling me that you are going to simply subtract Ruiz's goals from last year. True, this team only tallied 37 times last year, but Ruiz pitched in a mighty 7, Cooper had four until his leg was broken, and they STILL scored 37 goals. To believe they will only average a goal (or less?) per match, you've gotta believe Cooper is not going to really contribute, that Rocha won't contribute and no one picks any up from the other forward position. I understand being skeptical, but -damn- isn't this more approaching hopelessness than skepticism?
You presume that Cooper will perform as well as the focus of the attack as he did when he was playing alongside Ruiz and had Ruiz taking some defensive heat off of him. The same goes for all of our attacking players. They'll all have to step up without #20 up front getting a lot of defensive attention. Am I being a little pessimistic with 30-32 goals? Perhaps. But at the same time, we're sitting here right now at a significant goal deficit compared to last season and it's going to take some "ifs" coming to pass to get up to our meager effort from last season, let alone improve our total.
If you think simply on pure talent that Cooper is better than Ruiz, which I don't, then sure Cooper might score more than 7 goals. With the same service and defensive focus that was on Ruiz being on Cooper this year, he won't get more than 7 goals unless we sign another forward to take the pressure off or someone has a breakout season.
No, I don't believe Cooper is better than Ruiz either. Of course not. And the point about Ruiz not being there to relieve defensive focus is well taken. However, I don't believe it's prudent to just subtract Ruiz's goals from some projected team total for the coming year. To do so insubstantiates any possible improvement on other players' parts- breakout years notwithstanding. I'm speaking more of a drip than a deluge of goals (Alvararez suddenly nets 13, for example). To start with, one has to believe that these players have improved over last year, especially the guys like Toja and even Dax, who experienced their first MLS seasons; these guys enter the season knowing what to expect at the barest of minimums. Now, I agree that Cooper will need some help up top. And, if we are to believe Morrow, that help may well be coming. If it does not, Cooper will be left to sink or swim, and FCD's hopes most likely with him. However, in either case, I would expect more goals from these other players, especially the younger guys, simply because they should be better acclimated to MLS. Will we match or surpass '07 totals? We'll have to wait and see.
I would tend to agree that FCD is probably about the same this year as they were last year as we've lost Ruiz, but should gain some offense from young players getting better like Ricardinho, Dax and Oduro. The problem is, moving sideways isn't good enough as much of the league has gotten better in the offseason and we've, at best, moved sideways. My comment about Cooper scoring 15 of 25 goals was mainly just to say that even if Cooper has a great season stats wise it doesn't mean that dumping Ruiz was a good move.
wow, i didn't see many ppl begging to keep Ruiz around when his trade rumomrs began. IMO, FCD is one of the most interesting teams to look at. All the international you're trialing, plus a good core of players from last year; i think you could have a very good team. The defense should be solid, as will the mids with the exception of a real creator (no toja doesnt count he's too slow). Actually I'd like to see what artuo could do in the center of the park, he has very good foot skills and might be able to get some more goals that way. I think you guys certainly have one of the best rosters in the league and a good amount of depth.
Kind of you to say.....but long-time fans of the FC/Dallas/Burn have become skeptical of rosters / line-ups / names over the years. We like to wallow in bi-polar extremes of possibilities until the team starts playing. Then, if we win, and keep winning we feel better. If we win all our home games we feel better, If only lose a few road games we feel ok If we win a few road games (more than 1 in four) then we feel better, If we actually don't swoon in late Aug early Sept, we will be happy Make it past the first round of playoffs and we will be hopeful, joyful even - Basically, the denizens of this board do not trade much in hope or optimism - - 0 - - 0 - - 0 - - As for me and mine, I personally believe in the talents and skills of young Cooper. The power of our keepers, the strength of our veterans, the savvy of our internationals, the dreams of our youth, and the passion of this team for the game. I believe in the strategies and experience of the coaches. I am ready to support the team and the decisions they make (I am pretty darn sure they have more information, knowledge and training than any of us). They better do a good job! Waiting for the team to play, to be delighted by some better that expected play (*crosses fingers*), to have them start strong and finish stronger. - - 0 - - 0 - - 0 - - Back to your regularly scheduled gnashing of teeth, rending of poorly designed uniforms, wild speculation, fear and loathing.
Well put and Theo wants to take this away from us by trying to inject logic. How dare he try and do away with the only real tradition with have.