Which rookie if any is likely to be in the starting lineup come openind day? the Fire always seem to have good luck with their draft picks. What do most of you see as the starting 11?
The first question is whether Mapp gets a regular starting spot at the expense of Williams. The next question is who replaces Boca. Now it looks like Gray out left and CJ in the middle. The biggest question is who starts in goal. The Count or The Ringer. Slim may be a dark horse.
With Marsch injured, I'd say Scott Buete has the best chance of breaking the starting linup. The forwards are set. Armas and Beasley are locks to start in a 4 man midfield. One of Mapp and Williams will probably be the other. Pause is still in the picture but is vulnurable enough to be beaten out by Buete. The defense has Curtin and Brown (if healthy) for sure and two of Whitfield, Perez and Gray. The keeper will be Ring or Countess. I'd have to say Buete has the best chance. I think we have a lot of talented rookies though and we will see rookies impact similiar to last year.
Could we be the first team in MLS history to simultaneously have 3 keepers with pretty good nicknames?
Not sure what this has to do with "Fire rookies" nor am I sure what any of our keepers nicknames are.
soon It's just a matter of time until Buete forces his way into the lineup at the expense of Marsch or Pause. He brings the same work ethic and leadership that Armas has shown during his eight years. Leonard Griffin will also force his way into the backline probably unseating CJ Brown before the season is over.
Well admittedly Ring and Countess are up for grabs a bit but there's a lot of options there. But come on, Slim Pickens? That wins the race by itself.
Query: Last year, after the league-mandated purges, my contention was that a few of the rookies/2nd year players HAD TO contribute for the club to succeed. Fortunately, Ralph and Mapp and Pause and Gray all made significant contributions for the team. My query is this: Who among the many rookies is ready to contribute right away? Although we've seen the preseason match reports and reports from the various camps, hereto fore none of them give us a sense of which rookies are making the coaches take notice. Any ideas? Thanks in advance...
Rooks Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to see any games, so my picks come from two sources. From the match reports, I'd go with Sumed Ibraham. Every match report I've read has this kid as a major stand out. From word of mouth, I'd have to go with Scott Buete. Every thing I've heard about this kid tells me that he has the heart and work ethic to one day wair the captains armband of the Fire. With Marsch injured for the begining of the season, Buete will have an easier time breaking into the starting line-up than any of the other rookies.
While Buete has upside, the original question was about the starting lineup. Pause has to be first in line to replace the injured Marsch, I would think, which gives the leg up to Griffin as a potential starter at left back, depending on how he's looking compared to Kelly Gray. Orlando's injury might pop Griffin into the lineup sooner rather than later as well. Other than that, the only real way I see any of the rookies getting a starting spot is due to injury. They'll get playing time, yes, but start? Probably not. Later, COZ
Again, without seeing them play, it's hard to say, but I wouldn't write Logan Pause into the starting lineup with a perminant marker. Scott Buete (by all reports) has the same kind of work ethic as Logan and possibly the ability to contribute much more offensively. Pause was a great defensive mid last year but his passing was absolutely horrible. He offered nothing to the attack. So if Buete can do the same job defensively plus give a boost to the offense, he may very well win that starting position. I agree that Ibraham will probably be worked in slowly off the bench but he has the potential to make an impact in the game when he comes in. I haven't heard anything particularly positive about Griffin (nothing negative either mind you). He needs to beat out Kelly Gray and Orlando Perez. I don't see him getting much playing time let alone starting.
I know I've said this before but I hope Buete can turn into the middle offensive midfielder we so desperately need. We have enough defensive midfielders and we have a plenty of forwards. We need someone who can dribble up the middle and make that final great pass.
Keep in mind that we've got Mapp and Capano who may be able to fill that role as well. And you know where I stand on the notion that we "desperately need" an attacking mid. Later, COZ
We started Boca as a rookie. We started Curtin as a rookie. I think we'll start a rookie on defense if any of them excel. Sumed or Griffin get my vote.
But not at the beginning of the season, which was the original question. Curtin only started 12 matches his rookie year and Boca didn't start until the 5th match of the season in 2000. I doubt we'll see any rookies starting at the beginning of the season (barring unforeseen circumstances), but some will no doubt have starting responsibilities as the season progresses. Not that anyone is a lock, but Beute has a very good chance as does someone in the back line.
defense = Sumed ? Sumed adds a lot and can certainly help any team but not as a defender. He will be ideal for the Fire coming off the bench for a late game spark in the attack. He is not a 90 minute either, at UMD he rarely played the entire game and that was obviously at a slower pace than MLS. Buete could play left back in the defense if needed but is better in the middle at holding mf position however that's taken by that Armas guy. His next best position is out left but again doesn't a guy named Beasly play over there? Good problems for Dave S. to figure out.
Fire Trialist? Does anyone have or know of where you can find an updated list of the trialist the fire have? I've seen one but I know its about a month and half old. Thanks....
We don't have any other trialists right now besides the 10 players that were drafted. None have been cut at this point.
Looking at the Fire roster, they would appear to have six roster spots open (5 on the 18-man and 1 on the developmental). Are rookies going to fill all six spots? Does Sarachan have other vets in camp on trial. Will last year's Developmental Players, Walls and Futagaki, get a chance to win a spot?
here's a thread with complete, up-to-date roster info: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=91339 In short, walls and futagaki are waived. Futagaki was invited back for camp but hasn't shown up in match reports for weeks (suggesting he's probably gone). We have 15 senior roster players, 3 p40s and no devs. That leaves 3 senior roster spots and 3 dev spots for the 10 rookies and any other prospects that may be out there. I'd bet that buete and griffin (and maybe stephenson or ibrahim) would get full spots, and probably other rookies if offered a contract will be developmental.
Has anyone heard anything about a guy named Tim Finklea, he played with the Cincy Riverhawks last year. I was told he was a late addition to the Portugal list as a trialist and has been training since. Maybe he's down with the Fire Reserves. A friend of mine knows him and told me he is training with the Fire, but I've yet to see anything consitant with his name mentioned.