http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/story/46474p-43724c.html Also mentions Ruben Capria. Vaca behind Clint and Jaime could be nice. I see the makings of some nice Metro ball movement, for a change.
You can't have him, plain and simple. With Vaca being groomed as Pareja's eventual replacement, Metro doesn't have anything worth trading him for. Fuggeddaboudit.
I don't understand all this talk about signing a new "Midifeld Chief" I thought we already had one his name is Andy Williams. Andy Williams played great for us last year dealing out quality assists and scoring a few key goals. Our problem last year was the defense and the lackluster play of Mike Petke and Joseph Addo. Now that we have Eddie Pope our backline will improve. Andy Williams can ochestrate the midfield. We don't need a South American midfielder all we need is Andy Williams!
Why is Andy Williams history? beacuse some NY Daily News reports same so? WE DON'T need another center playmaking midfielder we have one of the best in MLS.
Didn't AW lead us with like 13 assists in maybe 2/3 of a season?? Doesn't AW start for Jamaican National team?? I'd stick with him or move him to right midfiled at worst. Is a much better midfielder than Clint was for us last year or ever will be. Vaca would be a great addition as he is super quick but very tiny guy and not sure if he could take a daily pounding like AW.
Vaca is available, but Metro would have to pay through the nose to get him. Draft picks in this weak draft probably wouldn't cut it. If I was Dallas's GM, I'd seriously consider swapping Vaca for Andy Williams who Bradley doesn't seem to like. Same positions, one big and experienced, the other small and inexperienced with "upside." Otherwise, I'd consider taking Jolley or possibly Davis straight up. No draft picks, Dallas is already too young. Frankly, I'm with you guys. I can't really understand why you'd get rid of Williams in favor of Vaca unless it's a cap thing.
Not that we've got the draft picks to give up anyway, but I've heard it said this could be one of the strongest drafts in the history of MLS.
I agree with this. This draft looks to be even stronger than the mighty 2000 SuperDraft. Here are early players (Seniors) listed for the combine. This doesn't include underclassmen who may yet sign with P40: EAST GOALKEEPER: Michael Behonick (American); DEFENDERS: Will Thornton (Connecticut), Rich Bradley (St. John's), Guy Abrahamson (Rutgers); MIDFIELDERS: Anthony Curtis (Connecticut), Trevor Perea (Duke), Donald McIntosh (Duke), Sherif El Bialy (Rutgers); FORWARDS: Damani Ralph (Connecticut), Matias Asorey (Florida International), Phil Swenda (Seton Hall), Machel Millwood (Towson). CENTRAL GOALKEEPER: Doug Warren (Clemson); DEFENDERS: Tim Glowienka (South Carolina), Brent Jacquette (Penn State), John Swann (Indiana); MIDFIELDERS: Diego Walsh (Southern Methodist), Matt Crawford (North Carolina), Ryan Mack (Indiana), David Testo (North Carolina); FORWARDS: Jordan Quinn (South Carolina), Dimelon Westfield (Clemson), Byron Carmichael (Marshall), Pat Noonan (Indiana). WEST GOALKEEPER: Josh Saunders (California); DEFENDERS: Todd Dunivant (Stanford), Tim Regan (Bradley), Steve Lawrence (Marquette), Jason Cole (St. Louis); MIDFIELDERS: Ryan Futagaki (UCLA), Nick Walls (St. Louis), Jack Jewsbury (St. Louis), Andres Murriagui (Loyola Marymount); FORWARDS: Mike Tranchilla (Creighton), Tim Pierce (UCLA), Roger Levesque (Stanford).
Joselito Vaca is not a "midfield general". He can play behind the strikers. He can also play on the wing. Andy Williams can play behind the strikers. He can also play on the wing. Richie Williams' job will be to tackle in the midfield and hopefully he will be able to move the ball forward. There is no reason why Williams and Vaca cannot coexist in the same lineup. And again, it's funny how plenty of folks on this board are magically forgetting about how well Andy Williams played for us. Metro SHOULD NOT let him go.
Maybe because Vaca makes quick, dependable passes and Williams is still a dribble-aholic who f's up way too many simple plays for the few tricky ones that he does pull off? Andy Williams...has he ever contributed to a team that made the playoffs? On last year's makeshift, free-lance-style, no-rhyme-or-reason Metros, he was ok. On a team that's going to strive for more...g'bye.
Isn't that kinda like George Costanza telling Steinbrenner he figured out a way to unload some junk on the Giants for Bonds? I'd love to see a Pareja/Williams midfield happen but it aint gonna fly so Fuggeddaboutit, Donnie. O'Brian has done enough to earn at least half of the starts on the flank. Oscar's enough of a 2-way guy to cover for Vaca & vaca really connects w/ the play up front well so we don't need a change there. Though a williams or maisenouve(sp)fantasy deal would make me a season ticket holder, we got enough for now. What the Burn needs is for EJ to bench Cerritos for good & play like he does in the U-whatever ranks. That way maybe kreis' will last throughout the whole season. OOOuuut!
Vistula is on the money!!!! Additionally, the cap is going to hit Williams and another, or two. Regardless of what you think of their play the Metros will give them up for lower salaries or picks. Williams? Balboa? Paule?
Just did a bit of game-by-game research. AWill's last primary assist for Metro came on July 31, when he had two. The first one is described as a missed-trap that led to a Faria toe poke amidst a goalmouth scramble. The second one was a shot that hit the crossbar that was nodded in by Diallo. He had some secondary assists in August, but nothing, zilch, nada in the big stretch-run games. In fact, he was so bad that OZ benched him for the game at DC. His big game as a Metro came in the 5-0 shutout of LA at home...the game that made the least sense of any Metro result all year. You can call it an aberration, or dumb luck. AWill had three assists (two primary) in that game. Andy's first game for Metro was on May 25. He had a secondary assist in his debut. He followed that up with that big 3 assist ame against LA (June 15). His next assist came on July 6, at Columbus. He scored vs. Chicago at home, then a week later, had a goal and a primary assist vs. New England at home. Three secondary assists at KC on July 24. Then, like I said in the beginning, two primary assists on July 31, in a home loss to Columbus. That's basically 10 assists (and all six of his primary assists) in his first month as a Metro. He had six of his 13 Metro assists in two games. After that, he did not do much playmaking at all. A couple of secondary assists and a bunch of goose eggs. Metro need better.
In 1999, Billy Walsh was the team MVP. And to Billy's credit, he said, "Being MVP on a team that doesn't make the playoffs doesn't mean diddly poo." If AW was MVP, whuptydamdoo.
Andy Williams should stay - plain and simple. Why even trade to get a player if the Metrostars just ship out again anyway? Isn't a trade supposed to make a team better by providing it with a player who fits well? Don't get rid of Williams for Vaca. It is pointless. Williams' numbers last season don't tell the entire story. He definitely was our best player overall last season. He deserves to be around for 2003.
You'll have plenty of opportunity to watch AWill play this year...on the USL Game of the Week on FSW. Trade him? Won't happen, because no one wants him. There may, however, be a bidding war between the Rochester Rhinos and the Charleston Battery for his services. No malice toward AWill here, just preparing all his Faithful Supporters for the inevitable. He is gone. Part of the problem, as stated by a previous poster, is that Metro will not have room for many six-figure guys now that they have the Howard-Pope-Mathis-Moreno core. Add to that, a Playmaker SI, and you're looking at a lot of guys who make sub $50 filling out the squad. See the '98 Chicago Fire (Campos, Kubik, Nowak, Podbrozny, Kosecki) as your top-heavy role model.
ok,,,fine williams has has flaws, but is vaca really that much better? from what i see from vaca he he's fast and can dribble, so can a. williams. Vaca is a prospect and young, but who cares, the rest of our squad is in their prime
Vaca makes killer passes, AWill doesn't. Does that make Vaca better? I don't know, but it should make Moreno and Mathis better.
And after Joselito Vaca proved that he can cut it in MLS, do you think that he won't be demanding a high salary contract in the very near future? Even if Vaca decides he wants to leave Dallas, the Burn would have to be just plain silly not to ask for plenty in a trade. Frankly, besides Andy Williams, Metro has nothing to offer Dallas. A draft pick? An allocation? How sweet. As for Williams' lack of assists, a playmaking midfielder can only make a forward so much better. When Diallo was hustling, he and Williams connected beautifully. However, after a few games Diallo picked up a few injuries. During games in the latter part of the season, Diallo started wandering all the way out by the wing, his finishing was crap, he took stupid fouls, and he ran out of gas at the end of every game. Rodrigo Faria was set up so many times last year but he blew so many chances, sometimes it was Hurtado-esque. Mathis in the midfield? No way... and when Mathis was up top, he wasn't his old self. And when Byron Alvarez came on as a sub... ...well, you get the picture.