Too bad to hear that he's officially gone now. I hope Catolica goes far in the Libertadores and I hope the Crew got some decent money for Gonzalez. For anyone who cares, Catolica got drawn into a group with River Plate (Arg), Club America (Mex), and Universidad San Martin (Per).
PV, how do you feel about Jacob Thomas, by the way? I think even the most optimistic, drenched in Kool-Aid UCLA graduate West Coast living Crew fan would have to admit we don't do really well replacing players who leave when given long periods of time -- like the fact we still haven't replaced McBride or Cunningham. To think we're going to pull a starting central defender out of thin air seems a bit unlikely, in the understatement of the day. I realize you like Ezra more than most, and Gonzo less than most, but please don't tell me we're fine because we've got Zayner and Moss. We just sold a guy we don't have a natural replacement for. I'm glad we've got cash now to spend on better players. Of course, over the past 6 months or so, we've raised season ticket prices, got a jersey sponsor and built a stage, all with an eye or two toward $$$...and as of now, we've got Brian Carroll.
After much hesitation I broke down, gave in to the price raise, and renewed my season tickets. As of yet I have seen absolutely nothing to make me believe this team will in any way be significantly better than last year.
I am glad that the crew can be a farm club for the rest of the world.I remember Brian McBride, Stern John , and the Great One Brad Freidel. What did the crew get in return.. Cash for the owners. Good to know we the crew will go nowhere when we are considered a Farm club profit center.
Had any of you heard of Marcos Gonzalez, his former club Palestino, or even the Chilean National Team before Schmid brought him to the Crew?
No, and what does it matter? We had 2 seasons to assess his significant contributions to our team. And most of us know, that while Ezra is old reliable, he is not Marcos Gonzales, and I bet that if Jed Zayner or Danny O'Rourke was a better Center Back than Marcos, we would have seen them starting over him. Needless to say, that didn't happen, and so basically you need to face up to the fact that we are trading down with this move.
I'm not sure what your point is. Are you saying that we may be surprised by the quality of players we haven't heard of before? That's certainly true, and I would love to see the Crew bring somebody in to surprise me. But I have heard of Brian Carroll, and I think he's a fairly known quantity, that doesn't raise the level of the squad in any dramatic way. Iro is 23, with no higher level experience than US college soccer. I don't know much about this game, but I have always been under the impression that central defender is one of the positions which benefits most from age and experience (though this may not be as true in MLS, where the talent pool is shallower). In any case, I would love to be surprised by Iro, but my expectations are not huge. Apart from them, who might I be underestimating? Zurwaski (sp)? I'd love to have him, but I'll believe it when he actually steps on the field. I just think that the last 3 years demonstrate that this club needs dramatic change in personnel -- as in dramatic upgrading, not just lots of changes. I don't see it happening. I would love more than anything to eat these words one day, but... Edit: After reading Eboe's post above, perhaps you actually mean the opposite, that Marcos is no big deal and we won't miss him. Maybe he isn't that great a player, but he's the best defender we had, and taking him out of the squad without replacing him with a player of similar quality makes us worse.
Late update from Shawn: http://blog.dispatch.com/crew/ 3 in the back? hmm. Dangerous. But at least Sig was in Dallas pushing for a DP. That's one of the few positive things I have read recently.
I think what PV is saying is that we may bring in another, possibly foreign defender who we've never heard of, but turns out to be able to fill the position.
While I agree with the overall point of OU's post, it is worth pointing out that Robin Fraser (MLS Defender of the Year 2004) retired in 2005 and Gonzalez was brought to the team in 2006.
That's how I took it at first. I'd love to see it, and it may even happen. But why do I get the feeling it will be nothing more than "filling the position", as opposed to "bringing in a guy who will truly kick ass and lift the team"? I've given up looking for the Crew to ever do more than just tread water.
Because he was the best and most consistent performer over the last two years? Because we are under the salary cap and yet we are selling players...to South American clubs? Has the Crew fanbase become so jaded and resigned to a permanent state of suckiness that it's not even upsetting when the club sells one of its best players?
This might be the bitter Flyer Fan posting after watching Dayton get bitch-slapped, but if you honestly believe that's what was intended, then you're an idiot.
All I'll say is this... Did it ever cross anyones mind that Marcos' contract with the league runs up after this season and he's made it clear to the entire organization that he planned to head back to Chile after the 08 season with his family - in which case we'd get nothing for him, so instead the Crew took the oppotunity to sell him to the biggest club in Chile for a decently sized chunk of change? Nahh, that couldn't be - we're just idiots for selling one of our better players. Carry on...
I've considered fids point, and the fact that he was really leaning towards a return home, so while I'm sad to see him go, I think he's happier, and to that end, will be better for us long term. If somebody isn't happy here, how often are they going to not give 100% or give up on plays? I'm not saying he'd dog it, but let's have people that are hungry to be here and to improve. I'm think we just added enough money to cover some transfer fees from Europe, and the bit about Sigi taking a day trip to Dallas to work the brass is very encouraging. Let's go Crew.
Please understand I'm not an apologist for Sigi or Mix Master McCullers, and I really liked Gonzo. He was my favorite player to watch last year outside of GBS and Robbie Rogers. May not be saying much, but he was one of my favorites. But IF (and I know, it's an "if") Danny can be solid back there, and we get a "healthy" Chad Marshall as well, how is O'Rourke/Marshall that much worse than Gonzo/Ezra? Plus, we have at least $100,000 extra to throw around becuase of Gonzo's salary, plus whatever money Catolica flashed, to put into the offense. I guess what I'm saying is, IF the FO can pull their heads from out of their asses and spend some decent money on a proven scorer as a DP, plus bring in some adequate free agent cover, maybe another veteran defender to throw in the mix, I feel we'll be vastly improved over next year: I think what has most of us riled is that the FO once again has taken a known commodity, turned it into an uncertain amount of money, and told us to trust them that all the "IFs" will work out. And I see that. I just want to believe that this one will work out.
All that you say is true, and it's not the sale that upsets me so much as the feeling in the pit of my stomach that we'll be lucky to field an adequate replacement, let alone an upgrade. As for getting a healthy Chad Marshall back, I would like nothing better (except maybe healthy and fulfilling his early promise). But the brain is a funny thing -- they can tell you his risk of future concussions is no worse than anybody else's, but time will tell. I can't help but be worried about the young man's future -- and not just his soccer future.
Yes Marcos' contract was up after the year and given that nobody seems to like playing for Sigi it's safe to say he'd walk. So the Crew saved some money, and made a little on the transfer. In most leagues around the world it's a perfectly rational decision. But my question is this: what good is saving the cash when you play in a single entity league where the league pays player salaries and you are not even maxing out the salary cap?
Well this should ring some alarm bells. Of course I hadn't been holding my breath waiting for a Crew DP signing. Obviously the Hunt organization never had any intent to sign a DP for the Crew unless they "earned" one via player sales. The Zurawski rumors now seem like they were putting the cart before the horse. Or maybe they were hoping to do some Schelotto magic to sign him as a non-DP. Whatever. I'm not going to say that Gonzalez is not a loss. He clearly is a very good player. It would be asking a lot for Iro to come in and be as good or better than he was. On the other hand, there are many who think Marshall's rookie year was his best. The drop-off might not be quite as bad as currently feared. I am quite sure O'Rourke would be a decent center back as well. Zayner was a gA and a #13 pick. If his ACL injury hasn't slowed him down permanently, he could still be a very good player. There are more than two months before the season starts and there is still time to obtain players from outside the league and to make trades with other teams. Sigi can't be too upset with his stable of defenders because he only drafted one, unless his is planning to move some of his drafted forwards to the back line. It wasn't too long ago when Crew fans were wondering how Robin Fraser would be replaced. We wondered what the Crew would do without Jon Busch and Jonny Walker but Sigi traded a partial allocation for Will Hesmer and Danny O'Rourke, both of whom have performed more than adequately. Just like Gonzalez, Schelotto popped in from nowhere. How do you know Schmid doesn't have a few players lined up for his new DP money? Personally, I would hope that the Crew continues to go the youth route and find young players like Gonzalez that have potential to increase in value. But Zurawski does sound good. I don't know why Sigi used Kei Kamara so little but Brian Carroll is a good player. He may have had a poor season with DC but I suspect he will have a good one for the Crew (our standards may be lower). I'm not really expecting anything from Evans, Peterson, Zayner, Ward, Moffat, Pacheco or Griffin but I'm optimistic that at least a couple of them will be pleasant surprises. Note that only two of those guys were drafted. I do know that there is no way Sigi can go into next season with as few offensive options as he currently has. I'm optimistic that the Crew will pick up at least two or three players whose task it is to put the ball in the goal. Six experienced offensive players (and that includes Garey, Rogers and Virtuoso) and a bunch of low round draft picks isn't going to cut it.