http://www.3rddegree.net/ In case you missed it under other threads, we have practic enotes up with... 1. More on ROB 2. Oscar starting 3. Defensive changes? maybe. 4. New Trialist you have actually heard of. 5. Mike M. is back and more....
Does a higher defense mean the Burn have been playing the offside trap more or are the two unrelated?
Wilmar Perez? I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that there might be a cause/effect relationship between the Crew's performance this season and the fact he is no longer with the Crew. I hope this isn't a case of "once a Hunt player, always a Hunt player".
In this case they are unrelated, as Jeffries indicated an offside trap was not the idea. It has to do with shortening the space between midfield and defense. call it playing tighter, perhaps with quicker pressure. but not running a trap.
Pelusa Perez Cursious that Oscar would recommend a player, even a fellow Colombian, so similar to himself in terms of age, style and position. From what I remember of Perez, he might be a slight upgrade for Vaca right now, but he's probably more expensive and with less upside. Great to hear about Thompson doing cutting drills. Man, it wasn't that long ago that a blown ACL was a career-ender.
I haven't been that impressed with Vaca the times he's played in the middle for the Burn. I think he's turned out to be a better right mid than center mid for Dallas. Since it's unrealistic to expect that Oscar will play in all of the Burn's remaining games this season, I think finding a capable backup at creative mid should be a main priority for the team. Davis looks like he might have the potential to fill in effectively at the creative mid spot when needed, but I think it's still a bit early to tell. Wilmar Perez, on the other hand, has a proven track record, and if he can be signed at a reasonable price, I think the Burn should seriously look into signing him for the remainder of the season.
Perez, much like Vaca, played well at time but was notorious for disappearing for long streches and providing little defense. Is he worth dropping ROB for? He's no Kyle Martino. I don't know. I guess it depends on whether or not MJ thinks Davis is capable at attacking mid.
MLS Confidential reported that the Burn are several hundred thousand under the cap, so presumably they'd be able to sign Wilmar Perez and still keep ROB. What I'd really love to see the Burn do, however, is use their cap space to sign an impact target forward. But if that's not possible, a creative midfielder, be it Wilmar Perez or whomever, should be next on their list. Unfortunately, given the Burn's present obsession with cost-cutting, we're most likely to see them sign a journeyman player like a Justin Evans rather than an impact player like an Amado Guevara.
Let's hope the Burn prove me wrong, but I'm not holding my breath. The team has already lost thousands of fans with its ill-conceived move to Southlake, and it'll continue to lose more long-time fans if the quality of soccer remains at its present woeful level.
Wilmar Perez? Ha! Repeat after me: THE BURN NEED A STRIKER Not another short, skilled-but-slow midfielder. Why not just clone Joselito Vaca? I haven't even heard the rumor of a rumor that the Burn are close to getting someone to pair with Kreis up top. This is ridiculous--a week or two ago I was ready to mock Jeffries for wimping out and picking up Dante Washington or something to try to fill the role. Now I wish he WOULD pick up Dante--anything would be better than the disaster at the #2 forward slot. Rhine and Johnson are simply not good enough to get it done NOW, if ever. And NOW is important because Kreis doesn't have too many more years where he'll be an effective goal scorer. Once he and Pareja go, the whole team will have to be rebuilt. God, how I wish they'd gotten Tyson Nunez. Anybody. The season's one-sixth over with and still no hint of any major acquisition. Hey Jeffries: Where's the urgency?
Settle down, the European transfer window opens this week. After which players will be 'on a free'. Which means that MLS can then afford one of them.
A more legit idea would be someone like Shaun Goater who is leaving Man City.... as an example pulled out of a hat. I am trying to get a list out of Jeffries, when I do you can be asured I will put it up.
when questioned on inside soccer about if he could go the full 90, our grouchy DM said, "I can play!"
Getting someone on a free transfer is actually more of detriment to this franchise right now. Because when you are available on a free, you can go _anywhere_. And anyone who has a choice, for the same money, between Sucklack, and anywhere else, is likely to choose anywhere else. Getting them to hold down their lunch when they get "the tour" and see the RPA grid for the first time, that's the deal killer. Our only hope is that we sign someone who is stupid enough to do the deal without a site visit. We're just going to have to take a chance on making the signing based on film alone. We should learn our lessson from the Stewart debacle, and kill the site visit and/or trial for anyone of any proven stature. -bs
Oh Yeah! Saw him play recently and my exact thought was how he would look in a Burn uniform. Now, what was that they said about "dreaming"?
Are you an agent? How do you know that Southlake would be a deal killer? Certainly a player that is out of contract and is avaliable on a free is in that position becasue he is not in high demand. At least the ones the Burn would be able to afford. What Stewart Debacle? You mean the one where DC had an Allocation and Dallas didn't? You mean the one where Dallas would have gotten Stewart only if he flat out refused to play in DC? Yeah that is a debacle. Totally the fault of Southlake that the Burn didn't have a allocation.