Emilio possibly leaving

And he's got a great sense of humor. And no sense of shame about his lack of musical talent.
I remember reading about his sliding on spikes across DC's locker room crashing into the linen hamper after scoring the extra time goal to beat Chicago in 2008 in a game that got Gallardo and Namoff ejected. The team reportedly jumped on him in celebration. Awesome.

 

This is probably for the best. Emilio has been an effective striker, especially in '07, but his time his come. The cost isn't worth the product. Emilio has superb finishing ability and nose for goal, but has a bad touch and lacks speed. It's time to move on. If it goes through, I wish him the best.

 

I wouldn't write him off yet...even at 1/3 or 1/4 of last year's salary he's probably doing a lot better than what he'd get in Brasil, let alone Honduras.

 

I would very happily pay him $220k, but this $700-800k stuff is tiresome for his role.

If he stays for less and is still happy we gave him more for 2 years, awesome. If he decides to move on, best of luck to him (unless we meet in future CCCs, of course). He worked hard for the shirt and was very entertaining in many ways.

 

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wtRyaP35m0"]YouTube- BobbyBoswell.com: Emilio sings James Blunt[/ame]

 

hahahha

 

I agree with uniteo, it's a long way from exploring opportunities to signing for a contract significantly more than he could get here.

Frankly, I hope he does come back unless DC has someone lined up to replace him. He had a bad year and still was a fairly reliable scorer, only Casey and Cunningham scored way more goals than him. At 10 goals, he was just out of top ten in goals, only two behind Angel, Donovan, Schelotto, one goal behind Montero, DeRo, Wolff, Findley. This was adown year for scorers and he held his own for the most part.

It's tough to find a scorer in this league, I wouldn't let him walk away unless I was certain I could replace his 10-12 goals a year. I like Pontius a lot, but he won't score 10 next year, nor will anyone else on this roster.

 

I'd agree with everyone that he is- was- a better striker than the recent critcism allows for. And, DC just doesn't have any other pure striker.

So go hire one. A young one. Out with the old in with the new.

And I think it's entirely possible that Pontus or any other player up top that steps up can lead the team in goals this coming year.

 

I hope he finds another team, one in mexico, because i think he would do better there then in the MLS, where here, the pace is much faster and pressure is stronger.


But I hope he does leave, for the better of our team, because given his cost, and his background, no matter who the coach is, they will be forced to start him given his reputation, and i dont want to see him start for us EVER again!

He is literally one of the most luckiest, right place at the right time, goal scorers, and beyond that is useless.

I hope he goes to mexico or japan and gets big bucks, but i wnat him gone. No matter if we have a replacement or not. I rather throw Pontius up top in his place.


And I dont see emilio getting a contract back in brasil, like the blog suggests, if anything maybe in the second division, but most likely he is going back to honduras, where his wife and where is daughter was born.

 

Happier days.

 

No kidding. Just watched a DVD of the June 2007 game at RFK against the Red Bulls. Olsen scored three, Emilio got his first goal, Boswell and Erpen combined at the back with Gros, Namoff and Perkins. Gomez, Moreno, Fred and Carroll also started.

United won, 4-2. Hard to believe so much has changed since then, and Emilio's stock rose so fast and has now fallen so low.

Great memories in any case.

 

Could be, but even Chris himself admits he needs to become a better finisher. If he does, watch out, we have a star. He does most of the rest of it pretty well.

 

Yeah. I started, and gave up on, making a list of what I wish each player for DCU would spend their offseason working on. For Pontius, all I had was "Finishing drills, finishing drills, and finishing drills."

 

Well, cost isn't an issue, as United did not exercise their option on his contract. They offered him a new deal at an undisclosed, lower salary.

 

^^^You know it has to be at least for what he came here from Honduras for, like in the 300ish range. Thats still a TON for a guy that I rather have sit on the bench.

 

I never thought Emilio regressed much this past year. Strikers like him need to be set up, and I think there is no question that Gomez, Fred, Olsen, and Moreno were all slower. Emilio is a finisher, and he needs to be close to the goal with 3 or 4 good chances per game to get one goal per game. That's what he did when he got 20+. Last two years, he's been playing back further where he was never good.

I'd say he's worth 220K or so, but only if we have a much improved midfield. If not, then we better go find ball-holders and speedsters up front, and get a stronger defense.

 

^^^Truth! He is a PURE finisher, and can't reallly do much beyond finish and place himself smartly to recieve bobbles in the box and easy 1-2 finishes. Thats All of his game in 1 sentence.

We need a better center forward, and a better, younger, secondary striker to take Morenos Throne. If we get those two we'd be good to go for a couple of years.

Pontius could be that next CF, but a good supporting striker as good as moreno will cost money to replace.

 

All excellent points.

Emilio is a player of extremes. In the right situation, he's an MVP. In the wrong situation, he can kill your team.

In 95% of the matches in which he didn't score a goal, he was a poor player. And that's because he doesn't do anything else to help a team win. Granted, scoring goals is THE key ability in the sport. But he doesn't set up other players, he doesn't hold the ball up, he's not a threat on dead balls, he doesn't have the speed to stretch the field. That's a hell of alot of negatives.

If you pair him with a striker with speed, and put him with a midfield that controls the ball well, he can do you alot of good. If not, then not. My opinion is, if Moreno is slotted to be a starter this year, Emilio must go. If Moreno is slotted to be a supersub, and DC is going to replace Gomez with a more effective central mid, then in a lineup featuring Emilio and Pontius up top, a midfield of a DM (Szetela or Simms or Wallace), Wallace/Castillo and Quaranta, and a solid #10, in such a situation, Emilio is likely to score alot of goals and be worth a pretty hefty salary.

Without those elements, he should go.

 

yep

 

If he stays at a lower salary, he can still be a valuable part of the team. If he goes elsewhere, thanks for the goals and best of luck.

Que sera, sera.

 

He should have had ten this year. Pontius definitely needs to work on finishing, as others have said. If he gets it (1st touch, far post, low and hard) and can do it, he'll score a lot and rocket up the national team depth chart.

If not...well, he'll be a nice midfielder to have around. But how much progress can he make in one off-season?

 

I say this in defense of the guy: he's 'one dimensional', he doesn't pass like Montero does, can't orchestrate like Donovan, doesn't check back for the ball to nearly as much effect as a McBride, and doesn't have that 'presense' that sucks defenders and creates openings for others like an Angel. . .but the one dimension he has is one more than half the league doesn't have. There's an entire genre of 'poachers' who manage to carve out excellent careers on this one dimension, and there are a whole lot of MLS who would be better if they had it. (Though superdave's point, that Emilio probably adds more to a good offense than a bad one, is duly noted.)

I don't think any MLS team should be spending its DP on a 'target striker,' they don't get enough touches on the ball (I'd save mine for withdrawn/creative forwards, a-mids, and d-mids, who are almost guaranteed to get touches). But for the salary slot of "above average starter" (say the 200k range, give or take), I think he'd be worth keeping, unless we have some genius replacement in mind.

Because if we can keep Emilio on a reasonable wage, we need an A-mid. . .but if we lose him, we still need an a-mid, we just need a target forward too (notwithstanding the gamble that Pontius could become one).

 

"Doesn't pass like Montero"...???
Did you mean Moreno? Please tell me you meant Moreno.

 

no, he's talking about other forwards in the league, not ours.
Though I do not consider Doinovan a forward at all, even though unimaginative coaches often have him play there.