I think that Marco still has some game left in him, but not in a United jersey. I've always been from the "we're almost good, just have to tinker, the basic core is solid" school of thought. But three years in the cellar is wake up and smell the mountain-grown Bolivian coffee time. Let's use his and Amman's salaries to find a new midfield general who will: A) Have enough defensive capability to let us be more fluid in terms of bringing other people up -- with the way Pope's been turning into an offensive weapon, wouldn't we love to have a midfield that would give him the confidence to come up more? B) Allow someone who's less of a whiner to step into the role of team leader -- I nominate Ben. Psychology matters a lot in sports, and a lot of DC's worst tendencies (looking for excuses, giving up when we're down, not showing up at all sometimes) are Marco's worst tendencies. C) Give two very talented wings who are at their best pinching in the space and flow to do their stuff. D) Be a threat to score in actual league games that count in the standings. Assuming that we don't wake up in March with a world-class striker on the roster, we need as many people around the box as possible who are hungry for the net. Who is this person? I haven't the foggiest notion. But when things have been this bad for this long, sometimes change for changes' sake actually gets the job done.
Here is my solution for fixing DC United in the off-season: Relocate to Miami. Apparently, they had a great team down there that Ray coached. Why not try to recreate them again?
Ryan Nelsen at d-mid In all fairness, we tried him at the beginning of his rookie season and he obviously struggled.. Ryan is a far different player (much more confident) than the nervous rookie who suited up for us last season... I still say he is more valuable as a central defender but it could be worth a shot to see him try it again.. Williams for my money is even slower than Ryan at this point and Ryan is all upside now while Richie is obviously in decline... Who the hell knows what direction we are going in next season.. All Hudson does is blow smoke about bringing in players yet none of them stick (outside of Quintanilla).. I see the same thing happening over the offseason, a lot of talk of who to bring in, yet no action.. Understandably, there is precious little wiggle room during the season as the salaries are pretty much set... It will definitely be an interesting off-season that's for sure.. Things that need to improve over the winter: 1) Jaime's health - this is a KEY factor in whether or not we can go out and pursue a top flight replacement (which there are none to be had IMHO) 2) Scouting of future players - Hudson was hired only days before the Superdraft and I am willing to give him another off-season to straighten out this seasons bungling of the draft (Mapp - only a handful of minutes and our other 1st round pick now starting and winning games for a pathetic Revs team) 3) defensive midfielder - Bichie just can't cut it anymore.. I can live with him in a 3-5-2 but all alone in a 4-4-2 is a disaster.. 4) Marco - I'm still on the fence on this issue.. His contract is up at seasons end and it will be interesting to see what Marco's agent will want and what the league is willing to offer.. I simply do not see MLS giving him a maximum salary ever again.. They did it to Ramos, they can do it to Marco.. I still believe Marco has some game left in him.. It all depends on his surrounding cast and whether they can perform.. He can be another Valderamma if only his teamates would step up and finish what he creates.. 5) Target forward of some kind - not necessarily a starter mind you, but someone who can come in late and make a difference.. DT suggested the drafting of Knox Cameron.. This would be ideal, but I certainly wouldn't waste the #1 pick overall on him.. Hopefully he can drop to #11 so we could get him.. Places where we are fine: Goal - rock solid with Rimando and McGinty.. Ammann should be waived to free up about 60k in salary for next season.. Defense - Pope, Prideaux, Nelsen, Reyes - possibly the best tandem in MLS.. A little depth wouldn't hurt.. Midfield - (sormun alert!! sormun alert!!) solid pro's in Convey, Etch and Olsen as well as Villegas to a lesser degree.. Williams is on a big decline but is servicable to a point.. McKinley would be a perfect bench player for next season but apparently his contract calls for a big raise next season and I don't see the justification for that.. Chino could be usefull as a backup.. He seems to play well in a backup role but when asked to play any prolonged stretches of time, he seems to suffer.. Hence, a subs role would be good for him.. Lazo is complete and utter dreck.. Release him yesterday... Mapp is still too green to know one way or the other.. One thing is for sure - he ain't no Convey.. At this point in his young career, Convey was starting matches and opening a lot of eyes around the league... The forwards seem to be the big problem this season and it all comes down to one thing - injuries.. We simply can't have our top two forwards (Moreno and Quaranta) out for any length of time because our backups suck arse.. Quintanilla seems a very competent player but I would actually rather see him play in central midfield or out wide left where his skill on the ball, touch and vision could be better used.. It seems rather apparent to me that he simply does not have the speed to play forward in this league.. El Salvador yes, MLS no.. Lassiter is way past it as his only assett (speed) has left him.. Curtis could be a servicable backup at minimum salary but to depend on him in any way shape or form is tragic to our teams chances.. As for other posters comments, Jacen, thanks for the input.. You are a rare breed amongst your loathsome compadres who troll this board.. Your opinions are well balanced and sincere.. I do believe though that allocations are now a thing of the past in MLS.. We will not have one coming to us for finishing out of the playoff race.. Digital Tron, even John Trask has to admit that Lazo is woefully inadequate to play in MLS now.. He may have done well in the past but he adds absolutely nothing to this team, save for his apparent low salary.. Lazo should be all but gone, but this is MLS and the all mighty dollar (or lack there of) rules the day...
Chris I agree with almost everything you said except for one thing. I really don't want to see Quintanilla playing out wide, he is just way too slow. Unless he comes into camp next year much faster, the outside mids of the league like Henderson (when he's not filling in up front), Quill, and Lagos (to name a few), will eat him alive out there.
First, I thought MLS had done away with "allocations" and certainly "you suck allocations." So we get no help there. On the otherhand, Hudson has good contacts outside the league so I think we'll have lots of possible foreign talent to bring in. Second, I think the complaints about Alavanja and Willliams and others of that ilk aren't that important. This team isn't getting points on the road and scoring goals and to point to 1 or 2 or 3 spear carriers or role players misses the point. Those guys might mean the difference between a weak and strong bench or a championship or 2nd place finish. But when your record is as bad as DCU's is now and the attack is so futile, the explanation lays elsewhere. To be successful in this league, you need a lot of things. But basically, your maximum salary players need to be "go to" guys who can carry the team when injuries hit, win games at times in the closing minutes, grab the team by the scruff of it's neck and pull out a key win, make a major stop--and do so consistently. We have had no player on offense who has consistently done that (our record speaks for itself). We've had some fine defensive work. Rimando and Pope (missing half the season) are probably our stars on that side of the field (though they've certainly had help). When you have a salary cap of $1.7 million, you cannot afford to pay $260K to players who aren't dominant players on the field--and dominant consistently. I think Chicago's biggest problem is that they're blowing almost 1/3rd of their cap on 2 guys who are barely on the field (Stoichkov and Nowak). Even then Stoichkov has almost single-handedly won 2 games for them. I love Jaime Moreno and consider him the best striker in the overall history of MLS. I think Marco Etcheverry has been a giant to this franchise and a major force. I think Ben Olsen is a real inspiration and fine player (who will get better). I don't think these 3 players have the impact on the game (and especially consistency when you talk about Moreno and Etcheverry) for United to be able to afford to keep them. I think all 3 have good soccer. But those 3 are nearly half of our salary cap. As much as it pains me to say, the problems with United start with the big money players. They are all good guys who have given much in the past and will contribute to some team in the future. But we cannot afford to keep them if we're going to win. B/c DCU won't become a winner by replacing a Lazo Alavanja with another player making minimum salary.
What DC has mainly done is bring in some pretty good youngsters over the past couple years. They're the future of DC. I'm talking about Alegria, Convey, Quaranta, Mapp, Quintanilla (who I don't think is quite as slow as many are saying). What DC needs to do is bring in some players who have already established themselves and I know how hard this is. It would be great if they could pull off a move similar to San Jose's move to get Graziani. My point is that for now, if DC is to start winning next year, then they need to bring in some players who aren't in the developmental process. But I do think our next developmental player needs to be someone who can learn the defensive midfield position. That is a big problem area.
As to the comment about the analysis of the team, I don't mean to sound patronizing (as TEConner thought in the post game thread), it's just that since I moved to Maryland in May, I've seen much more of DCU games than any other team in the league. As for some of the issues raised, I based my comment on the upcomming allocation on the press reports from the league. I too had assumed that they were doing away with allocations after the dispersal draft, but I don't think they officially announced anything to confirm that. Later, when Vanney left for Bastia, there was a league press release saying that LA had an allocation for the loss of Vanney, which leads me to believe the much hyped elimination of the allocation process was just a Bigsoccer rumor. As usual, the league is a bit hazy on the issue, and we'll only find out for sure when the season is over. If DC does get an allocation, I would use it on a striker. DC needs a dominant target forward to work off of Quaranta's speed. DC should spend the bulk of their money in that area. Hudson, no matter what anyone will say about his tactical ability, has a great eye for cheap talent. As such, I'm anxious to see what he can dig up for the DM and left wing holes with those discovery picks. With those moves made and some depth through the draft, again, I think DC could once again be a championship level side. Just look at the offense. Convey would miss less time from injury in the middle. Olsen and a new player running the wings. Quaranta and the new forward starting. Moreno would be the best offensive sub in the league, and as a supersup, he would likely be much more effective and durable. JMac
Yeah like Alavanja, Curtis, Villegas and Lassiter that's an eye for cheap talent, not. Also I think DC is out of discovery slots. I can't remember exactly how it works but I remember hearing that we needed to trade for a discovery spot to sign Gazza and others. I could be wrong as these rules are free flowing.
And Reyes and Rimando and Quintanilla and many more from his Miami days. As to being out of discoveries, the entire thread is about how to improve DCU during the offseason, so once the season ends, DC gets two new discovery slots. Every team gets 2 discovery options per year. This year, DC used theirs on Reyes and Quintanilla, which is why you heard the trade rumors during the whole Gazza mess. JMac
Is Reyes cheap? I don't know what his salary is but I thought it was around $100,000. Is that cheap for MLS? I'm not sure. Also I think the verdict on Quintanilla isn't ready to be given. Cheap yes, talented, not quite sure. As for Miami, I can't think of one player Ray brought in, as in not already on the roster, that was cheap. Rimando was already on the roster when he took over as coach. Chacon and Bishop where league max or close to it as was Serna, who was on the roster. Mastroeni was already on the team. I don't know if Preki and Henderson took cuts to play in Miami, but do they really count since they were a known quantity? Same for Llamosa.
All that I will say is that Alavanja, Lassiter, Williams, Mckinley, Zambrano, Villegas, and Ammann need to go.
1. I think Reyes makes around $60-70K. Don't know that for a fact but the discussions before he was to be signed (about how the league might pay the transfer fee for Reyes) had to do that he'd be cheap, the transfer was cheap, and he'd help draw some fans. And, Reyes was a target before Hudson. 2. I think Hudson has a good track record bringing in talent. Miami certainly shows that (Bishop was a good find. So was APC. He got great play out of Rooney, Preki, Rimando, Serna, and Mastroeni). His acquisition decisions mostly paid off. To look here in DC is misleading. Hudson tried to acquire talent around the margins. He did pretty much remake the defense and it paid off. Otherwise, he tried to get cheap bargains to support our stars. But our stars couldn't stay on the field or couldn't perform like stars. Lassiter was a good acquisition. Nope--he's made no difference. But we gave up nothing and he signed for peanuts I thought. That's worth a gamble. Keep in mind, by the time it was clear that Moreno, Olsen, Etcheverry weren't going to be guys you could hitch your wagon to this year, it was too late to do anything internationally. Dalglish was the last shot. After that, you're talking a work visa (with the 2-3 week delay) and getting in game shape. You'd have to dump a star player (likely Moreno or Etcheverry) to get someone the last month of the season--maybe. So, instead, you go for guys who are already signed within MLS (Lassiter, Zambrano, Villegas, et. al) and who are cheap. As for "remaking Miami", I think that is what we're in for. What Hudson did in Miami was pretty close to what an NBA team does that wants to compete immediately. He: (1) clearly cap room (by cutting or dealing almost every expensive player on the roster); (2) acquired some good international players (APC, Bishop); (3) kept his rising Americans (Rimando, Mastroeni); (4) traded picks for allocations or veteran plans being dumped for salary reasons (Llamosa, Preki, Henderson); and got guys like Rooney to have career years. But it is all predicated by having the cap room to add 2-4 stud players. And to do that, DCU won't get that room by cutting Lassiter and Alavanja. I think all the big budget players on this roster (with the possible exception of Pope--and even Eddie isn't entirely safe) are gone. It's not that Moreno can't play, but at $265K, he needs to be one of the top 5-6 forwards in the league or Hudson can find someone who'll produce more for the same or less.
I think ,I have wrote about this subject before.This is what I would do if I would be in RAY's shoes: First of all, I would keep the whole defense, it seems to me they are a competitive group at this time, at the MLS level. Secondlly, I would trade(fire) everybody else except Moreno,Olsen and Eliseo.I would play, "big time", in the other MLS technicians' ignorance and I would try to get the best deals, I possibly can , for: Convey,Tino, Ech,Williams,Ivan,Alegria,Villegas,Lassiter and Curtis. I do not have great hopes about deals regarding :Alavanjia,Mapp and Namoff.But,no matter what, I will get rid of all of those guys. I am not 100% convinced that we need to keep Olsen if, a good deal arises.Same with Eliseo, if we can get a better foreigner ,I would trade him as well. The most important part is to select very good foreign players,we need two midfielders and one striker( or may be two).They should be injury free,reliable,able to play(run) full 120 min.also, a good size players too and with a lot of talent. The american players are gonna go for a trial period of 6 weeks, before any decision will be made.I would invite to the "trial camp" players from all possible leagues.Their performance is gonna be the only decisive criteria.Does not matter if they come from A-league,college,juniors,amateurs, etc.as long as they show talent,skills,performance,physical fitness and dedication for the professional soccer player status.I would try as many as I will see having a "spark of talent". Once the team is assembled, I would start a 4 month intensive training in a remote location where the soccer machine will be built.I would not rest untill the team can play for 120 min.,fast modern soccer,suffocant defense,high speed combinations around the penalty area, a good variety of preset combinations for corner and free kicks.Most of all, I would work to improve the finishing skills for the whole team, not only the strikers.Every player should be able to score from outside shots, with a 50%,at least. I would establish a permanent screening operation that will be able to alert me about any new player that shows a "spark of talent". This is my opinion a professional coach should do if he really wants to be competitive next season in MLS.
Sormun, you are really being unrealistic. A four month intensive training camp. When are you going to do this? The players need a rest in the offseason. You're describing concentration camp. They're going to hate soccer because you want them to do it every breathing moment. The other thing is that it's crazy to trade that many players. And trading Santino is crazy. He has all the right tools to be a great forward in the future and he's not too bad right now. He's fast, has a good touch, good with both feet, good shot, and size and strength. That is a very rare combination. I can't think of a single 17 year old anywhere else in America with his talents.
sormun, I can agree with most of what you said. However, how can you POSSIBLY want to keep Moreno when you said the above? I mean, getting rid of him opens up max salary, an SI spot (required for one of your foreigners), and gets rid someone who IS NOT...as you would say....injury free,reliable,able to play(run) full 120 min.
You may be right, but my understanding was that Reyes made a little more than that but less than $100K. I was thinking it was in the range of $80-90K. But I estimate Reyes is probably worth about $150-180K. He has phenomenal defending ability tactically, good technical skills, enough speed to stay with any player in MLS (very rare for a defender), a fantastic work rate, a physical presence, and almost unlimited stamina. He never takes a game or play off and is very rarely injured. He's a doberman with a pedigree IMHO. He hasn't been beaten in the air that I can recall, so basically he has no flaws. His offensive game is just a bonuse as far as I'm concerned. IMHO, he's the best flank back in the league, and the gap between him and someone like Ezra Hendrickson is kinda like the gap between John O'Brien and Burns. Both were national team members ... but ... I mean ... really. As for Lassiter, I said it at the time and I'll say it again, there was zero upside, so even if he plays for free it's a loss, because he takes up a roster spot. If he steps foot on the pitch it's a very big loss because he doesn't have any potential to help the side, whereas even I have some potential, heh. Sorry to nit-pick. I generally agree with about 90% of the things you say, so I don't feel the need to re-iterate those points. -Tron
I'll just say Roy Lassiter is the worst forward in the league. He should've retired at the end of last season to save himself some embarrassment. Somebody said yesterday that he should have been put in just to distract the metros defense. That wouldn't even work. I don't think Petke and Jolley would need to waste much energy on him. Just keep pushing the back like up. Roy is 33 and still hasn't learned how to time a run. Pathetic.
sormun, Yes, let's get only players that Euro scouts want. Yep, sounds like a great idea. 11 players Euro scouts want, and then a bench. For $1.7 million. Piece of cake. What are Hudson and company waiting for? RS
Sormun, i respect your opinion and i would agree with you if you are talking about players on like a reserve team or something hopping into the first team, but if you are saying this about every player on the team every year, then it just wouldn't work.
No, I have said that in our particular situation we need to have a good four month of training when we need to rebuilt the whole team.Obviously, there is a different situation when you bring two or three new players, compare with our situation, when we need to bring ten or twelve players .
Sorumn, that makes more sense than what I had intentionally thought you were trying to say. I was confused and yes we do need to dismantle the team. If we're not going to win trophies then we need to at least get into the tournaments.
Sorry, Long Post 1) So the defense is competitive ... isn't that kinda like saying Mt. Everest isn't small? 2) OK, I wouldn't mind keeping those 3, even if you did pick 2 former all-stars that have produced almost nothing the last two seasons because of injuries. But do you really think MLS is going to open it's pocketbook to totally retool the team? You've already committed 2 SI spots (Nelsen on defense you said you'd keep and Moreno on offense) so of your new players you need 9 new Americans or green card holders + 1 (and only one) new SI. I'm just not sure where these players are going to come from sormun. You have no respect for the good young players of the league such as Convey and Santino, so obviously they're not going to come from the draft. You intend to scour the A-League etc. No offense, but every single MLS side does that. That's where we get players like Rick Titus (A-League's best defender in 2001) of Colorado ... and we get Craig Demmin (A-League's best defender in 2000) at Tampa Bay drafted ahead of Ryan Suarez. Even the best guys in those other leagues aren't great players. As MLS improves the gap widens. As the scouting in MLS improves there are fewer Tennywa Bonseus, Dwayne DeRosarios and Edson Buddles to get from the A-League. You may find 1, but I seriously doubt you'll find 2 players in those leagues. Best case scenario, even assuming you do find one--and he is American--you still have 8 more to find. You seem to think MLS general managers are willing to leap at the chance to trade a productive MLS player for equal or lesser value. That just doesn't happen. The only guys that are available that are good are usually either salary-cap problems or head-cases. Yeah, you can get Stoichkov, because he's always injured and overpaid. You can get Diallo or Serna, but they're cancerous to the team. You might be able to get Wolff, but he's injury prone and expensive. I applaud your never-say-die attitude to improve the club. Unfortunately, I do not think your approach is all that realistic. What you're recommending is what Hudson did in Miami and what Yallop did in San Jose, and in those two cases it did work, so it is possible. But, I'm just not sure Hudson has the power to pull it off here, or if the key items are really available right now. Yallop fields a below-average side away from home. At home his team is awesome because it's built for the super-small mini-stadium that is Spartan. He acquired a great defensive organizer in Agoos and built his team around him. He correctly projected Agoos from left back to central defender and it worked great. Then the league gave him Landon Donovan. If the league is willing to give us Carlos Bocanegra and acquire John O'Brien, then hell yeah, we'd be doing a lot better, regardless of whether we gut the roster or not. In Miami Hudson capitalized on knowing the foreign player market better than MLS. He found green card holders like McKinley, Marshall and Preki. He added an unknown SI Pineda Chacon and moved him from creative attacking midfielder to striker. He then took the "uncoachable" Serna and goaded a career year out of the guy. He had two emerging US stars--Mastroeni and Rimando--glued together by yet another United veteran defensive organizer, Llamosa. Your biggest stumbling block is betting on Moreno. If La Bomba plays well next season, the current roster is top 4 in the league. If he doesn't, your changes will not be enough. The offseason rules of MLS prohibit an extra month or so of practice. It would make the team better, yes, but it would also be illegal as it would provide a competitive advantage over the other teams. MLS is able to attract some players because of its emphasis on a long offseason, fewer games and stricter officiating cutting down on the injury problems. This prolongs people's careers, and it's a selling point. I don't forsee the rule drastically changing anytime soon. Keep up the constructive thoughts sormun, maybe we can find a workable solution. -Tron