Who Stays and Who Goes Since a lot of people are talking about tearing apart the team I started this thread. Here is the roster. Alavanja, Lazo 6 Alegria, Jose 13 Ammann, Mike 1 Convey, Bobby 15 Curtis, Ali 28 Etcheverry, Marco 10 Lassiter, Roy 27 Mapp, Justin 21 McGinty, Mike 22 McKinley, Ivan 8 Moreno, Jaime 9 Namoff, Bryan 12 Nelsen, Ryan 7 Olsen, Ben 14 Pope, Eddie 23 Prideaux, Brandon 4 Quaranta, Santino 25 Quintanilla, Eliseo 20 Reyes, Milton 5 Rimando, Nick 18 Villegas, Petter 11 Williams, Richie 16 Zambrano, Henry 17 Now there are 11 player that most people seem to agree will still be here next season: Alegria, Convey, Mapp, Nelsen, Olsen, Pope, Prideaux, Quaranta, Quintanilla, Reyes, and Rimando. There is Lassiter(waive) and Amman(retire) on the no doubt he is gone list. Tha leaves 9 players, Alavanja, Etcheverry, McGinty, McKinley, Moreno, Namoff, Villegas, Williams, and Zambrano on the fence for next year. Now some of the fence sitters will be gone others will not. I want to hear who you think is going from that list and why. Here is mine list. Etcheverry- I believe he will retire. He has talked and talked about it and I think he will just do it now Villegas- You can see the frustration in Ray's face when he makes some of the errors he does out there Zambrano- He is a very short term bandaid McKinley- I think he is beginning to feel the pounding he hands out on his own body, these nagging injuries he is starting to get are taking their toll So let's chime in...............
Fence sitters that fall on the other side: Villegas. Frustrating to watch. He's had some moments, but unless he plays for free, he's not worth it. Zambrano. Short term band aid that I think the league forced (or highly recommended) down DC's throat. Williams. Can't keep McKinnley and Williams. And Ray likes Ivan. Namoff. Though he seems to fit Ray's mold as a player, he hasn't impressed him. The others: I think Moreno get's a big talkin' to at the end of the year. The results of that are going to determine Jamie's future here. Etch is up to Etch. McGinty stays. Why? 'Cause they need a cheap backup keeper. Lazy? Must be the best player ever on a practice pitch. I can't see a reason to have him around, but the brain trust likes him. God knows why. From what I've seen, he has all the talent, and half the heart of Kamler.
I realize not everyone thinks the season is over, but I figured I'd start a thread and give everyone a chance to weigh in on how they'd fix United this offseason. Now, please, try to be realistic with these fix-its! We're not getting Rivaldo or Redondo for next year (that means you Sormun!). Ok, my take: GK: Nick's fine. If better than McGinty can be had as a backup, then go for it. Defense: Seems set for a 3-5-2. But I do think we need a young defender for depth. Basically, we need to find our own Jim Curtain. And, yes, I realize we drafted him this past year and he now plays for the Revs. I don't need reminding of the Daouda fiasco. Midfield: Ideally, I think we need to replace two starting midfielders, both McKinley and Etcheverry. Does it bother anyone else that Etch went down to Bolivia for a friendly the week of the most important game in United's season? We can't play a 442 as long as Williams starts at DMid and we don't have the defensive personnel for a 442 anyway. With any luck, the team can find a center-mid replacement for Etch (through our U-Suck allocation or something). As for replacing McKinley, I'd like to move Convey inside to holding mid and find someone to play the left flank while Mapp matures. For instance, Eric Quill is a solid left winger and I think he could be had cheaply from Kansas City. The midfield bench needs gutting. Alavanja MUST go ASAP. I hope Kasper has someone combing the A-League for the next Kerry Zavagnan (spl?). Mapp will probably be the first mid off the bench next year and perhaps a new and improved Namoff will be back??? Ok, the Namoff bit is wishful thinking. Q2 might also be able to drop into midfield in case of emergencies. Forwards: Q1 and Q2 are both solid forwards, but we need one more legitimate threat. I think Moreno needs either a miraculous revival this offseason or needs to go. In that case, we'd be looking for either a trade to acquire an established forward--Dante Washington? Unfortunately, we don't have much to trade. I also think it'd be good to try and find a young and talented P-40 4th forward rather than hang on to a Lassiter or Curtis. Curtis seems like a nice guy and all, but he hasn't improved a lick tactically. So, to summarize: Gone: Villegas, Alavanja, Etch, McKinley, Lassiter, Moreno, Curtis (?) Acquisitions: Quill-type left winger through a trade, 1 foreign starting center mid, 1 foreign or domestic starting forward, midfield bench, and a new 4th forward, if possible. Those acquisitions might be manageable considering that we'll have a U-Suck allocation and two discovery slots for next season. Also, Etch and Moreno are both on Max Salary, so their replacements could be as well. In a perfect world, United might even find Etch and Moreno replacements for less than the max. (for instance, Dante Washington probably makes at least 100k less than Jaime) Naturally, finding good players will require a bit of miracle working from the United front office, but that's a given for finding quality foreign acquisitions if you're not New Jersey or LA. My hypothetical team: ---------------Rimando---------------- ---Reyes-------Nelsen-------Pope-------- ---------------Williams-------------- --Olsen--------------Convey-------New Winger--- --------------New AMid------------------ ----New Jaime or New Fwd----Quaranta--- Bench: Defenders: Prideaux, A-League guy? Midfield: Mapp, Q2, whoever (I'd love to see the team finally groom a young Williams replacement.) Forward: Q2, New 4th Forward The biggest changes would come in midfield and with the replacement of Moreno. Removing McKinley, sliding Bobby inside, adding a fleet footed left wing, and replacing Etch would totally change the midfield dynamic. The new amid will almost certainly play more Defense than Marco. Convey is much faster than and has a much better work rate than Ivan. If the new left wing could come close to Olsen's work rate, other teams would have fits. The midfield I envision would be strong defensively, would run alot off the ball, and would play short passes: very different from the current show. They'd be much harder to defend because they'd create chances through collective effort rather than hoping for one player to do everything. Getting a solid replacement for Moreno means we finally would have some menace up top again. So what would you guys do?
Here's how I see it. Goalkeeping: Mike Ammann-Keep him. Nick Rimando-Start him Mike Mc Ginty-not a bad GK, a good 3rd man should someone go down injured. Defense: Ivan Mc Kinley-solid veteran. Keep him. Ryan Nielsen-good prospect.Keep him. Eddie Pope-The rock of the defense.Keep him until he retires. Brandon Prideaux-Get rid of him. We can do MUCH better with someone else. Milton Reyes-solid International with expierence-Keep him. Midfield: Laszlo Alavanja-We can do better with a better player..Drop Him. "Chino" Alegria-Not bad...could be a good bench warmer-keep him. Bobby Convey-I never really liked him. I think High School would suit him better than MLS...Send him to A-League for some fine tuning. Marco Etcheverry:The master and ruler of the passing world....commitment is the ? mark. Does he have it? KEEP HIM ANYWAY. Justin Mapp-good prospect if used properly..keep him. Bryan Namoff-I think we can do better, so drop him. Ben Olsen-solid player, shows heart...Keep him Peter Villegas-not a bad player...He ripped D3 up with the Stallions, but MLS seems to be a bigger challenge for him...Keep him, has potential. Richie Williams-He wasnt the greatest play from Mater Dei High School for nothing. Keep him. Henry Zambrano-Not bad,Keep him. Forewards: Ali Curtis- not bad...Keep him Roy Lassiter-has speed, but no heart in him....decent sub off the bench when he is on(hasnt been on lately.) Drop him. Qx2=Keep them both. Jamie Moreno-keep him too. So IMHO keep everyone except: Prideaux,Alavanja,Convey,Namoff,Zambrano. Some New guys we can bring in: Giovanni Savarese for Lassiter, anyone for Namoff, any decent A-League player for Convey, A Petke type player for Prideaux,Any excellent D-3 guy for Alavanja. It would be a good way to round out the bench. My starting 11 Rimando Reyes Pope Nielsen Williams Olsen New Player\Moreno Marco Jamie Moreno\Q1 Q2 My Bench Ammann Mc Ginty Mc Kinley Chino Mapp Villegas Zambrano Curtis Giovanni
I hope that you're just having a laugh. Convey to A league? Keep Ammann? Petke-type player for Prideaux?
NJDevilsFan...you're not a Metros fan trying to sabotage are team are you? I think that Hudson will hit us with a few surprising transactions in the offseason, but Convey to Richmond is not one of them.
I was hoping to get a nice laugh out of those 3, and NO, I am not out to hurt United. I think the Metros are SCUM. I'm DC through and through, but you all probably find it odd to see a DC fan from NJ, but it's true.
Re: Who Stays and Who Goes Alavanja, Lazo 6__________gone Alegria, Jose 13___________stays Ammann, Mike 1___________gone Convey, Bobby 15_________stays Curtis, Ali 28____________gone...I think we'll have better options when the time comes Etcheverry, Marco 10_______stays Lassiter, Roy 27____________gone Mapp, Justin 21____________stays McGinty, Mike 22___________stays McKinley, Ivan 8____________gone Moreno, Jaime 9_____________gone Namoff, Bryan 12____________gone Nelsen, Ryan 7______________stays Olsen, Ben 14_______________stays Pope, Eddie 23______________stays Prideaux, Brandon 4__________stays Quaranta, Santino 25_________stays Quintanilla, Eliseo 20_________stays Reyes, Milton 5______________stays Rimando, Nick 18_____________stays Villegas, Petter 11____________gone Williams, Richie 16____________stays, ? Zambrano, Henry 17__________gone
I started one of the threads and the merger sure as hell didn't occur per my request. You merged two different topics. Please unmerge them. Thank you.
The merge was at my request, since both threads covered the same basic topic. Besides it is still your title. Shawn
It wouldn't be the first time. Moreno had an awful, injury-plagued season a few years ago. (Much worse than this season.) He bounced back quite well. I think he still has it in him. The league isn't going to just give us a star who will without-doubt dominate. Any one with the potential of Moreno would probably be a bigger risk.
Re: Re: How would you fix United this offseason? Well of course not. Those picks are reserved for the Mutts.
OK, Texas Chain Saw Massacre time: Moreno: Return fit and pos attitude or GONE Etch: Adios Compadre, Muchas Gracias Williams: Dont let the door hit ya, midget. Reyes: Stays Pope: Stays, Team Captain Team Q Shooters: Stay Rimando: Mongoose Man STAYS Ammann: Sorry , gone. Nelsen: Stays Prideaux: Stays McKinley: Stays as back-up, mentor Curtis: Bench Fodder Alegria: Bench Fodder Alavanja: He aint at the bus station YET? Mapp: Stays McGinty: Stays Olsen: stays if fit, other poss. Team Captain Lassiter: Airmail him to anywhere but here Convey: Stays Villegas: 50/50 as bench fodder Namoff: look at him as bench fodder/trade
i think MORENO AND MARCO should get there slary cut in half if they return, as well as getting rid of mckinley, roy, curtis. bobby needs to play harder, chino has to go he will never make it on this team. lazo must go all he know how to do is lose the ball. what about eddie should he get a lower salary or should he just be sold to a european team
Honestly, in this offseason it's shopping time for Hudson. Who goes will be decided in large part by who he can get. If a clinical finisher is available, Hudson will take him and make room as necessary. Dalglish and Joares were the two that fitthe bill last season, and with the Brazilian economy, Joares is likely still available for next season. The Belgium target forward also seemed to do well, and I'd look into that one again if I were Hudson, because we need a target forward. I expect Marco to return next season, and frankly, as much as I'd like to see Convey in the center of the park, he needs to work on his turning with the ball, holding the ball against heavy physical defense, and playing in the center of the park with defenders converging from multiple directions. We've shown that without either of our Bolivians, we don't possess the personell to succeed. So, the only way they leave is if they're replaced. The SuperDraft will provide the future backbone of the team, but I seriously doubt that it will include any starters next season. Defensive depth can be had, and maybe someone like Knox Cameron could be a target forward, but there are no Taylor Twellmans who can come in and light up the league with goals. Our finishing will be a result of improved health and form, or a veteran acquisition. This season we had no preseason and zero contiunity. Next season we need to have those things. Lock the revolving door. Get a group of players in the offseason and stay with them. Honestly, there are about 10 guys that are definitely going to be here, and a good 7 starters are already set. Starters: Rimando, Prideaux, Nelsen, Pope, Reyes, Olsen and Convey. Santino, Mapp, and Eliseo will also make the team. There are 12 other spots available (9 full roster spots and 3 developmental/P-40 spots). I fully expect the draft to fill all 3 of the developmental/P-40 spots. That leaves 9 decisions. Of those 9, 2 will be forwards (i.e. Moreno +1 veteran +1 P-40). And 4 will be midfielders. The other 3 are up for grabs depending on the P-40s we get from the draft. The Williams/McKinley thing will be a function of available forwards asking price and the Dmid's cost. I wouldn't be supprised to see both jettisoned for Rooney. But I doubt it. Lazo is Trask's guy, so unless Trask is fired, Lazo's staying. -Tron
Sadly enough this is probably true. We can't afford to have coaches favorites play a role in the roster, but...
It would sure be nice to pick up Greg Berhalter in the superdraft and move Nelsen into the Williams/McKinley role. I think Nellie could provide good goalscoring punch from the D-mid spot. If he works on his distribution, he can be a top-class player in that position.
I doubt Berhalter would go in the superdraft if he was signed by the league, but I can see a team using an allocation on him. If the season was to end right now, DC and NE would get one for missing the playoffs, LA still has one from the loss of Vanney, and the Metros will likely get one for the retirement of Ramos. Berhalter is from NJ, so that could go in the Metros favor, but on the other hand, Nick is still pursuing aging Italian defender Costacurta, so he may not be considering Berhalter. DC could be a good spot for him. JMac
I posted this in the post match thread before I saw this thread, so I'll copy it here, and if Knave and co don't want 2 of em, they could delete the one in the post game thread: Sorry for the length of this post, but I was surprised by all of the fans here fearing the worst about their team. I think fans tend to see their team in both the best and the worst light. For example, fans tend to defend their team beyond logical reason at times, and they also tend to rip apart their team at times when it's unneccesary. I think this thread is one of the latter. DC has a number of fine players on their roster. I think the starting 5 in the back (Rimando, Prideaux, Pope, Nelson, Reyes) is one of if not the best defensive unit in the league. Not surprisingly, the defense has also been the part of the field least hit by injury, and they have played together more than any midfield group or striker tandem. Chemistry is very important in this game, and thanks to injuries, DC's midfield just doesn't have it. That said, for DC to be a championship caliber team again, a couple of changes need to be made. To start, Convey needs to move to the middle, before he becomes a pubescent version of Tab Ramos. In Tab's case, he was a natural winger who was moved to the central mid slot because he kept getting injured. Convey is a central mid who was moved out wide because Etch had the central job. Unfortunately, Convey is too injury prone to be out wide, and that is starting to show. He is too timid, and he hasn't gone 1v1 much lately. If Etcheverry was producing in the middle, that might be a good enough reason to keep Convey wide, but Marco is stifling the development of one of the next good american central mids. Marco needs to go next season, with Convey taking the central mid job. That leaves a hole at left mid. Hopefully, Mapp will be ready by then, but if not, DC will need a left winger in the offseason. Right wing is set, with Olsen starting and Villegas as a capable cheap backup. Defensive mid is another area where DC could use an upgrade. Williams is good, but with Convey as the attacking mid, DC will need someone a little more imposing to watch Bobby's back. Up front, Quaranta is good for one starting spot, and Moreno and Quintanilla are great for the 3 and 4 spots respectively (unless Moreno suddenly has a bout of health). That leaves a hole for a starting caliber striker. So as far as I can see, the lineup would look like: Rimando Reyes Pope Nelson Prideaux Olsen ????? Convey ????? Quaranta ????? with a bench of: Villegas, Moreno, Q2, Williams, Alegria, Mapp Everyone else is mostly worthless. That leaves 2 (possibly 3 if Mapp isn't ready) key, starting level spots that need to be filled in the offseason. If DC misses the playoffs and gets an allocation, that will take care of one of the spots, and discovery picks (slots DC has done well with this season, picking up a good starter and a contributing young player) can take care of the other two holes. DC will have the salary space, with the salary of Etcheverry, Amman and Lassiter freed up. They would still have some problems with depth. Up front, DC would be very deep, with Quintanilla being one of the best 4th strikers in the league. The midfield would be alright, with backups available for every spot except attacking mid. The defense is where the most depth is needed, so after getting the new left wing, D-mid and striker with the Allocation and discovery slots, DC should use the draft to select a backup A-mid and defense. With all that done, and the team having the offseason to come together under Hudson's style, DC could easily be a championship level club in 2003. JMac
Might want to look at not playing all your defenders at the same time. I know Ray does it, but you should have a defender ready to go in. With Reyes, Nelson, Pope, Prideaux on the back line and McKinnley starting in midfield, who plays if Pope gets a bad knock? Chino? Lazy? A decent fill in back should also be on the shopping list in the offseason. I know everybody (fans and team) are satisfied with the defending and are desperate for goals (how else could you justify Roy and Zamboni?) but some extra coverage in back would be spiffy.
Damn, my analysis was nearly identical to McCullough's. The only real difference is that I was thinking a 3-5-2 and Jason a 4-4-2. The 352 does leave one defender on the bench and it also gives both Williams and Convey help in midfield. I agree an upgrade over Williams would be ideal, but I think it'd take some real magic for us to get one. I'm also a little more cautious than Jason with regard to Convey. I would rather try Convey as a dual amid with someone else before throwing him into the fire as the lone amid in a 442. Regardless of the details, we seem to have pinpointed the same problem areas. United need: 1. A new starting striker. 2. A new starting left midfielder. 3. A new starting central midfielder (defensive or attacking--to replace either Etch or Williams) 4. New bench depth. Those acquisitions are far from out of reach. They aren't perfect, but Rooney and Quill are both solid players riding the pine for other teams. Dante Washington will see less playing time for Columbus next year. United can also look outside the league. Maybe Hudson can make another Reyes-like acquisition from outside the league (except on offense this time) and United can use Etch's max salary to get a guy who's anywhere near as good as Carlos Ruiz. We can hope the depressed transfer market helps on that front.