They did there best. That's all we could ask for. Yes that Noonan goal was a killer. When Guevara nailed his penalty I was thinking here we come. But as usuall the Revs bunkered down tightly and even thought Nugents chance looked like it might go in. It went wide. We now know what Ricardo Clark, Mike Magee, Eddie Gaven can do for the Metro. The Future is looking bright. Jonny Walker is a good keeper and is solid in net for Metro. He will be there for a full year in 2004. What will happen in the super draft next year I don't know. Will Bob send Clint home? or will he keep him. I honestly would like Clint to stay because I think he is gonna have a monster year. Yes all of those who are Anti-Clint Mathis fans want him gone. I try to look at the team as a whole. If Clint goes, then so be it. That's Bob's choice. If Clint stays then I think we will see a bigger and better Clint Mathis. Lisi needs to be on the field at all times. He can really service the ball and earlier in the year he and Guevara clicked. That was the one mistake that Bob didn't do. Keep both Lisi and Guevara on the field at the same time. Other than that a great year. They may have ran out of gas at the end, but at least we know what's gonna happen next year. The new kids will be a little older and a little wiser. I believe that the Metro will be stronger. Other than that. I am damn proud of them and I can't wait for 2004. At least it won't be a long wait now that they have extended the season into October and the playoffs are in November. Thank You for the highs and lows of 2003. Go Metro.
Nice sentiment. I look back and say, "We got Eddie Gaven." And I have a feeling a year or two from now, we're going to look back at that draft day deal as the greatest moment of the 2003 season." Bradley made mistakes, but they were mistakes of aggression. He rolled the dice on Moreno (though we all know by now that we weren't getting Pope for Petke straight up) and it came up craps. He made his 2004 first-round picks (Gaven and Magee) in 2003 through trades. He had limited funds for an allocation and did fairly well with Amado, though I must admit his dancing bugs me...we need to find him a partner who can create advantages on the counter, definitely not Amado's strength. For 2004, he's got lots of cap room. If Mathis leaves for Europe, you have to believe we'll have two major allocations and we'll have cleared three max salaries off the books (having replaced one, Howard, with a cheaper alternative). In summary: We made the Open Cup final (though we laid a smelly egg in the final), a feat that gets the Metro off the list of "Only MLS team to not participate in a final." It also cannot be overlooked that we had to beat three MLS teams to get to that final. We made the playoffs, qualifying with a month to go in the regular season. We're probably couple of missed penalty kicks from the third-best overall record in MLS for the regular season. We were unlucky not to win Game 1 (them's the breaks) vs. New England. The question you have to ask yourself is: "Are we better today (and did we have a better season) than we'd have been (had) if Bradley tried to go with the team he acquired -- Andy Williams, Mike Petke, Ross Paule, Brad Davis, Ted Chronopolous, Nelson Akwari -- or if we're better off with the likes of Clark, Magee and Gaven." That's not an easy question to answer.
Re: Re: I'm damn proud of them. I think Bob did a fairly good job however I would not make him out to be some large than life hero. In MLS you can do alot in one season. Look at the Chicago Fire, they lost Wolff, Stoickov and Kovalenko. They brought in Andy Williams and Damani Ralph. It was Sarachan's first year as a coach and the Fire had a better season. Bradley is a good coach but I will save the praise for him until he accomplishes something with the metrostars.
There is so much that is idiotic about Gio's post I won't enumerate it all, let's just say that 1) Whether Mathis stays or leaves will be a function of a number of factors, and whether Bradley wants him or not will be one of the less important ones, and 2) shouldn't have all these young players gotten better as the year went on? If you didn't see improvement on the pitch during the season, what makes you think you will see vast improvement during the off season? This organization is a shambles, it just can't seem to recover from the ridiculous policies of the Stillitano era. Bob Bradley has proven to be neither a genius or a failure, just a coach like any ohter coach who can have only a limited effect on what goes on on the pitch. Ditto Nick, on the management side.
When I see how LA choked, any bitterness I feel turns to butter. Slightly rancid butter. At least we went from the cellar to contender in a season. We are on the verge of something better; we have been on the verge before. It needs to happen, soon, but I don't think we will reach our goals untill we are at home in Harrison. Which brings me back to LA. Kicked out of their own house for the very Championship that will crown their new stadium. And it took a few seasons for Columbus to win a Cup in their digs. And NE lost in their new (borrowed) NFL crater. But even though a new, home ground guarantees nothing, I think Metro will finally emerge only when they/we are home in Harrison. Call it a hunch.
Hey Metrogo. I'm sorry my post sounded so idiotic to you. Next time, just for you I'll shoot my mouth off and act like a rambling idiot who assumes that everyone should be kicked off the squad and I will be the head coach. I'll react instead of thinking what I really want to say. Just to let you know that this loss killed me as well, just as much as it did for you and everyone else. It truly pissed me off that they allowed to be dummied by Fabbro & Noonan scored the goal. I wanted to see Clint break out and take them out. But guess what, you saw the same thing I did. It never happened. We all know what the coaching staff has to do for next season. Build depth. I wish that Bradley did for the Fire in their 1st season, he could have done for us this season, but unfortuantly for Metro, Rome wasn't built in a day. It's gonna happen. How many times in the US Open Cup have Metro reached the Semis and never gotton over the hump into the Championship Final at the same time having it at Giants Stadium. Bob could do with what he had. 3 Rookies in the starting line up is pretty damn impressive to me and they were able to deliver on their talents, but ran out of gas in the end. Tell me when Metro has had a rookie with the exception of Mike Petke in 1998 actually shined so bright. Tell me, I would really like to know. Since it sounds like you are one of those people who always likes to say "I KNOW MORE ABOUT SOCCER THAN YOU DO!" Go ahead Mister tell me what I am saying wrong. Are there plenty of things that needs to be fixed with this club? YES! Are there certain people that needs to be replaced on the squad for next year? Yes. Who will they kick out, that's not my place to say. I am not one of those armchair QB's who thinks this is what the coach should do, or shouldn't do. That's not what I do. Would I like certain people gone?, Yes. Question #1: Do I want to see Clint Mathis gone? Answer is no. I still think he is hampered just a little bit from his ACL re-constructive surgery. If he can do more trainning in the off-season then it could be better and he can regain his old form from 2001. He could be better than ever. Does anyone know how long it took him to rehab his 1st ACL Surgery when he was playing at U. of South Carolina? Does anyone know how long it took him to get back into the top form he had then? Find that out for me. Question #2: Can they improve at the Midfield? Answer is Yes they should. I think when you have Mark Lisi & Amado Guevara in the midfield reacting with one another they have always found a way to get the ball to their teammates feet to score. With Clint's 9 MLS Goals How many of those scored were serviced from the both of them either individually or when both players touched the ball? Guevara & Lisi as a tandum helped Clint Score a goal against DC at GS on May 10th, Against Dallas on May 24th. They each got an assist on July 2nd when Clint scored twice. The 3-2 Goal assisted by Guevara, The 4-3 Goal assisted by Lisi. Also the 3-3 Goal in New England on July 12th to Ricardo Clark. The corner kick in Kansas City to Clint on his 1st goal assisted by Guevara on September 6th. Now could Lisi be replaced with someone better? He probably could, but I truly think that if they can't get anyone else Mark Lisi is my man to be with Guevara on the pitch for 2004. Defensive Midfielders that can replace Richie Williams is Tim Regan. He still needs more work, but we have seen that he is quite adaquate with being in Richie's spot. As a starter? If Richie is still here for next season playing then I would say Bob might try part time starting for Regan. He still needs more work. Rico is the best. A good, strong, two way player. He can come back and win balls of the attacker and he can poke in some goals off his right foot. A steal in my opinion from the Super Draft. That is my idiotic opinion. If you think of something better go ahead. At least I don't have that mentality of "I KNOW MORE ABOUT SOCCER THAN YOU DO!" B.S.!
And I just remembered Don't forget Rodrigo Faria in 2001 scoring those big 9 goals that year as well.