Those who want to know more about the latest object of Ray's lust can check out his personal web site at Ginola14.com.
Maybe Ben will go there. Personally, I'd rather keep Ben and let Ginola do his shampoo commercials in Europe.
"Dis is David Ginola, welcome to my official website" Ha! "David Ginola the exhibitionist"??? huh? "i am so f-ing French it hurts" --does "MSL" have a shampoo sponsor?
He can take over Paul Caligiuri's old Pert Plus role. Although I'm sure Ginola uses more "stylist endorsed" products.
yeah what brand was it? Was it Pantene? I thought it was actually Pert (apparently its a bit more "exotic" over there! p.s. Does anyone else remember the little "diving Ginola's" desktop game that was around for awhile?
No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! to Ginola....he had some cute ball moves but he looked like a 45 y.o. and we don't need that. Same for Gazza, who while looking fit, also looked about 50. These legends and past their prime and would not add much value (other than as mentors) on the field. Seeing them in action against us made that clear for me.
I was all set to jump on the "No to Ginola" bandwagon, but what I saw at White Hart Lane sure convinced me that he can generate a lot of offense from the wing. Frankly, if we can get him, I think it would be a very good acquisition, but I doubt he'll play for MLS money. But he's got a little to learn about DC United. This quote is just sad: Ummm, someone tell him that the team is DC United. And if he meant the city (which was my guess) then tell him that it's Washington DC. It's kinda like saying Europe is in France. While I'm sure there are some who would agree with that statement, it's generally accepted as incorrect. -Tron
I haven't seen Ginola play in a couple of years (I haven't gotten a chance to watch the tape yet of this week's game), but he absolutely was one of the most exciting players to watch a few years ago. I don't know how much is still in his tank, but Ginola a little past his prime is probably better than Etcheverry ever was.
Ginola's not worth the amount he would cost in a salary cap situation. If we didn't have the salary cap, we could take a flier on him. But, we can't afford to do that. He's too old. For those of you who didn't watch the Spurs game, he also doesn't have any hair any more. He was sporting some really short cut revealing a receding hairline.
As far as taking Ginola one has to think about who's spot he would take. If he comes in as a wide mid player. Then if Bobby's going to the middle and Etch is leaving (or still there with 2 attaching central mids), then Ginola and Ben would be the wingers. Ginola doesn't play enough defense to make that work. If it's suggested that he REPLACE Bobby as wide mid, then either MLS is getting a huge check from somebody for Bobby that will pay for several Ginola's or somebody is out of their mind. Bobby outplayed Ginola except for one or two moves on Reyes. But Bobby was much more dangerous and has 10 years of potential and already has a less than max paycheck. Maybe Ray is thinking of replacing Etch directly with Ginola. And having him work centrally with Bobby. This is assuming Etch "retires". This is probably the most workable option. If Etch is forced out then this becomes much more likely.
Ginola is a defensive liability, and that is being polite. He plays less defense than Etcheverry on a bad day. Now, being that this is MLS, you can sort of cover for him a little bit more than in the European leagues. Is the one goal per game he will generate going to be higher than the number of goals we give up by having him on the field? He will surely ask for the max salary, as well. I think we can find a similar player for less money.
The DC United players thought he was amazing, very impressed with his skills no matter what his age is. Word has it that he is still asking waaaaaaaay too much in salary right now. Gazza on the other hand, was heard to say in London that he'd pay to come to MLS and play for DCU.