http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34135-2003Mar26.html Should the Revs have any interest in him? My memories of him are a little faded, but I do remember him working his tail off the few times I've seen him. I think he was pretty fast too, but I'm not really sure. Not sure how much he's going to cost either, but he might not be a bad fit for the team.
Wasn't he training with them for a bit in Brazil? I thought the Revs weren't really interested after what they saw. I'm probably wrong on that part. He's also trying to comeback from injuries, and given that JMM seems like he might be hurt off and on all season, do we really want another question mark?
I just tried to look up some recent info on him, but all I got was stuff from before he went to Germany. I didn't think he had a "trial" with the Revs. I believe he trained with a bunch of different MLS teams in anticipation of the Lottery Draft. Injuries aside (because I have no idea what they are or when they happened), he was a burner down the left side of midfield who was good enough to draw interest from abroad. We also have a need for a left-sided player, so he seems to fit that bill. If Ngodzo isn't the answer, maybe Digi is.
Digi did train with the Revs down in Brazil(and I think a bit before that). He also trained with several other clubs. At the time, none of them expressed enough interest in him for the league to try to sign him, though. Lee
If nobody was interested, why do we now need a special draft for him? Didn't Connolly or Bradley mention he was going to be in a special draft back in December or January?
Was it him or Ian Joy who agreed to a contract with the league and then failed the physical? Also, I thought that he decided not to go to Brazil with the Revs because he might have a better chance of catching on with another team.
Well, just found out he had an almost-career ending knee injury. I'd imagine he's probably not as quick as he used to be, and will probably take a while to get his touch back. Even still, for reasonable money, I'd take the chance on him. I just don't have much faith in Kamler or Griffiths. Even with teams shifting toward Ralston and leaving the left relatively wide open, neither was able to convince me they could get the job done. Noonan might be able to do the job, but I'd rather have him up top with JMM behind the forwards.
Joy was the one who failed the physical... he then signed with the league after the draft, got picked up by someone(maybe the Fire), and then got cut a couple of weeks later. Digi didn't have enough interest to get signed for the draft. Obviously there are at least two teams that have interest in him now, so they will hold a special "draft" just for him. Weighted lottery. I think Tim is right. It ended up that he didn't go to Brazil with the Revs. He was scheduled to, but after he trained with them for a couple of weeks, they apparently decided not to pursue him. So he went to some other teams training camp. I got the idea at the time that he was likely to train with 2 or 3 additional clubs to try to get some interest. After watching the two games in CR, I really think the Revs would rather pursue a central mid then a left wing, if they can. They have several guys who can do a very respectable job on the left side of midfield - Kamler, Noonan, Griffiths, Franchino. None of these guys are spectacular, but they don't suck, either. It would probably take a pretty good left wing for the Revs to show interest, and I get the feeling they felt Digi wouldn't be a significant upgrade at the spot. Lee
After DiGi trained with the Revs, he continued on with his MLS tour. The Revs didn't display any interest, but, then, why would they? Even if they thought they could use him, it doesn't make any sense to show their cards, seeing as how he had to go through a draft. That said, I don't see the Revs taking a shot, even if their turn came up, which I don't think it will. I get a strong sense that Noonan is the man at left mid.
The Revs don't have the Roster space or Cap space or need for aqnothet defender. Now if he was a quality AMF that would be another matter. Of course they could pull "A Sunil" and draft him and then trade him ofr a draft pick.
If the Revs don't take a shot, I think it would be a good sign that Nicol either A) feels comfortable with Noonan at left MF or B) has his eyes on someone else who he is reasonably certain he can obtain. Signing Digi would almost certainly prevent Nicol from getting anyone else. I do get a strong sense that Noonan is the guy at left MF, but I also have the feeling that if Ngodzo doesn't pan out, we're not going to end up with anyone else.
Actually, that's not correct. Digi first practiced with DC United, and they most definitely wanted/want him. Hudson tried to get the league to include him in the Supplemental Draft, but the league wouldn't because at least one other team wanted him also, so DC United traded the top pick in the Supplemental Draft to San Jose for Devin Barclay. DC United and Metros are still interested. I'd bet that a couple more are as well. He'd be able to help the Revs, as well as the Quakes, Rapids and Crew as an attacking left back. The delay was on him signing with the league. The league wasn't offering him a very good contract so he held out. I'm guessing that with the season fast approaching, he saw his window of opportunity running out, and took the league's offer. Now, since it's a "weighted" lottery, we can be pretty sure he'll end up with the Metros. -Digital
Wow, that makes no sense. I'm not disputing you, just saying the league makes no sense. If DC wanted him, and wanted to use the 1st pick in the draft, why not let them? Wasn't that what the supplemental draft was for???
Your forgetting that the other team that wanted him was the MUTTS and what they want ----always---seems to take priority over common sense. What do you want to bet that the MUTTS win the Lottery
First, the supplemental draft is ONLY for players who have signed contracts with MLS. If a player doesn't sign (or isn't signed), he won't go in the supplemental draft. Second, my guess is that the reason for the lottery is b/c there was multiple interest. Somewhat like what happens if you try to "discover" a player with no transfer fee that other teams are interested in. Third, originally I'd heard the lottery was supposed to be this friday but will now be monday. At least 2 teams (DCU and SoS) definitely interested. I'd think NE would be interested. D-tron is correct I believe. While Digiamarino can play left-back, he's been primarily a midfielder (much like Hejduk started out in midfield and Bayer moved him to back) except that I'd say Digi is better technically. I'd also assume that he got a cheap contract b/c foreign teams aren't willing to invest any money in a player who had a couple years of traumatic injury (sort of like trying to sell Ben Olsen overseas at the end of last season).
Assuming that he is technically solid, healthy, cheap, and potentially good (adequate), would there be any value in lumping Griffiths to take on Digi? Griffiths is young and fast; has anyone heard anything about Griffiths combining better than he did last year? Does anyone know if Ngodzo is left-footed? Then again, has anyone added in any way to the Magpie's introduction of Ngodzo days ago?
Let's not completely forget about Marshall Leonard when talking about potential left-sided midfielders. I'd be shocked if he wasn't on this team, and he might even be a part of the 18 man roster.
I have to say that if Steve Nicol thought this guy could help the team, he'd be here Nicol knows what he wants. When he finds it, he'll sign it if the league can swing it
Who would be cut to get him on the 18 man roster? Right now he's on the DV roster. Did he have such a good preseason that he might bump Griffith on the senior roster? BTW Mile, you posted two weeks ago that you were watching a significant story re the Revs that would break in about a week to 10 days. Is the story still cooking?
It was actually a little bit longer than that. Rumors were swirling that if the U.S. invaded Iraq that the Revs would simply pack up and get back the United States ASAP - but the league told all of their teams to go ahead with all of their international matches on schedule. I know at least a couple of players were a bit anxious about travelling abroad these days.
Didn't we have *no* faith in twellman the beginning of the last season? He was a no-name, now hes a "you-better-know-or-i'll-knock-your-teeth-in"