Re: DCU Contract News Right, you can disappear on the wing The way I see it, it's easier to contribute in the center. You get the ball more, and you're in front of the goal more, and you have more access to players with the ball So wing would force Freddy to make more of his opportunities Allright I've said enough
Re: DCU Contract News In which case my guess is he'll say the players who play the best and put forth the most effort will get on the field, position is less important
Re: DCU Contract News I think a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-2-1 makes the most sense. A backline with Erpen and Boswell in the middle, Namoff on the right and Wilson on the left. Perhaps Gros can be groomed to play this position as well. Olsen and BC in midfield with Gomez playing in front of them. Adu and Quaranta joining Moreno up front. That would give us a solid defense with four in the back and two defense/holding midfielders. An offense with Gomez, Adu, Quaranta and Moreno could be pretty effective, especially with wing support from Namoff and Wilson. If Dema is re-signed he would be a solid backup in midfield. Esky, if he is healthy, or Filomeno if he is re-signed would add to the options up front.
Re: DCU Contract News When he overheard me talking to DK before the 2004 season he jumped in and said "Lineups? Why are you talking about lineups? Here's my lineup. We'll have 10 players and a goalkeeper" He's used that line a lot.
Re: DCU Contract News And any of these can be solved with different formations and tactics. It would be nice if the team had some more flexibility, and even nicer if they could change on the fly.
Re: DCU Contract News EXACTLY My take from what he said is sure, lineups are important and he has to figure out which one is best, and which position is best for each player, but what the entire team is doing on the field will always be far more important than what each player's supposed position is.
Re: DCU Contract News With any luck these will be features of the maturing of Piotr Nowak as a coach.
Re: DCU Contract News While lineups may not be important to Nowak I think I have seen enough soccer to know that if you put Freddy Adu and Tino wide in the midfield then you are going to need someone dedicated to defending playing behind each of them. I did not see that last season in our version of a 3-5-2.
Re: DCU Contract News I think alot of why Freddy wasn't as successful playing on the wing comes down to having Prideaux behind him on that side. Whereas, Brandon is very effective in playing on the left in a 4-man backline, he just doesn't possess the speed necessary to play there with 3 in the back. When Wilson was playing in that spot behind Freddy, he was able to move up the field with him and support, but didn't have the best presence of mind regarding his defensive responsibilites. Now, if a guy like Erpen (who has both the skill on the ball and the pace to support Freddy's runs and to track back quickly on a counter), were to play behind him, I think you'd see Freddy become much more effective when playing out wide. Just my $.02...
Re: DCU Contract News My exact thought upon hearing Rimando being re-signed "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO GOD WHY??????????????????"
Re: DCU Contract News How about this for defensive set up? Wilson--Erpen--Namoff -------Boswell-------- -A giant slab of stone-
Re: DCU Contract News Guys!guysguysguysguys.... look... other teams have fat tony, fatter zach or Bo Oshwhatisname in goal. just remember, it could be worse. Though why they're giving Nick a raise is beyond me.
Re: DCU Contract News OK, again, a 4-4-2 has wings, and fullbacks. It doesn't have wingbacks, unless you play it like Brazil does. DC ain't Brazil. Teams don't automatically put 10 behind the ball and pray for a draw. Do you mean Gros is an ideal wing, or an ideal fullback?
Re: DCU Contract News If one of our weaknesses last year was the predictability of the team -- a number of posts have mentioned that NE and CHI "figured out" Nowak's system, I think having two line-ups makes sense if the guys can do it. Have one which could be described as "strong and fast out of the back" with Wilson in and Jaime, or Jaime and Q forward, and one that is more like last year "hold the middle". Force the other team to adjust. I like the idea of having both Boz and Erpen on the field, FWIW. If Dema goes, I'll miss his passion. However, i don't see him staying in the lineup if we're building for the future. If only he could learn to score after those long runs...
Re: DCU Contract News I'd take fat Tony and fatter Zach over Rimando quicker than either one could eat a dozen donuts.
Re: DCU Contract News Maybe I missed it higher in the thread...can someone explain "excercised it's option"? Does that mean that we still have rights to Rimando, but still could trade him (say for Busch, Cannon or Garlick?). Or does that mean they're working out the contract now, and he'll be on the payroll/team? Don't want to sound like an echo, but it seems like we could do a lot better than Nick in the net. And with his GA average and shutouts last year, he looks good on paper and I think would be an easy trade to a team who let in more goals than us last year. Free up Rimando and Dema money, and you'd think we could get some sort of a ninja to play keeper. When does the window to trade players / tranfer open up?
Re: DCU Contract News Actually, I would. Both have size (OK, that's an understatement) and have excellent command of thebox, area in which Nick is lacking. Neither has great mobility, but they pick their battles very well.
Re: DCU Contract News I think it's a pre-free agency move. (at least in the NFL/MLB it is) A team can re-sign a player before other teams have a shot. RAD!!! It's game on in MLS. Internationally, the transfer period starts Jan. 1st, right?
Re: DCU Contract News Im thinking Stokes would be fantastic as a Striker. I also like the idea of Dema as a Goalie, did you see that shot he blocked at the finals in 2004. He has wicked skills.
Re: DCU Contract News Except for the fact that Fat Tony vapor locks whenever he's on the same field with Jaime.