I think we got hosed. 2 goals in 11 games? First Round Draft picks 1) Eskandarian, 8 games, 344 minutes, 2 goals, 1 assist 2) Ricardo Clark, 10 games, 920 minutes, 2 yellow cards 3) Nate Jacqua, 6 games. 106 minutes, 1 assist 4) Mike Magee, 10 games, 733 minutes, 3 goals 5) David Stokes has not played (but does dress for games) 6) Todd Dunivant, 9 games, 830 minutes, 1 goal, 2 assists 7) Diego Walsh, 6 games, 139 minutes, 2 yellow cards, 1 red card 8) Memo Gonzalez is with the US U17s 9) Pat Noonan, 8 games, 310 minutes, 3 assists 10) Shavar Thomas has not played Josh Wolff, 6 games 454 minutes, 2 goals, 1 assist, 1 yellow card Who knows who we would've drafted, or whether or not Bob would have played them, but I'm still not convinced that this trade was for the best.
I agree completely. Don't forget that Wolff was coming off a pretty serious injury, and now that he and Simu are teaming together, I can only see things getting better. I think we got the better of this deal in the long run.
True, yet Wolff is highly overrated as a scorer. To think some fans wanted to keep him instead of Razov is ridiculous. Razov has 5 goals in 6 games and Wolff will be fortunate to get 10 this year.
But I think you have to take into consideration the needs of the team. In this case, a striker. In that case, who could we have picked up with our pick of those guys thats a striker? We would have had #3 IIRC??? The only person I see there is Mike Magee. But, think about it this way. We knew Wolff could produce if healthy. Metro's only thought Magee would produce. That and he wasnt slated to be a starter. Only Moreno going down put him in. I'd say the only thing we gave up with Wolff is the intangible of potential.
Also, Wolff is one of those players whose value can't be measured solely by statistics. Our team has so many people who can score-Preki, Klein, Simunte-- Igor, Quill, Gomez and even Conrad. Wolff's speed can stretch the defense, opening up more spaces behind the back line of the defense. Who would we have got that we needed in the spot? Didn't need a D-mid, as great as Clark is. Dunivant would have been a good choice, but all of our starting backline (to start the season) is young (Jose, Nick, Jimmy.) We don't need Walsh. Maybe Pat Noonan. Wolff brought immediate respect to our front line and defenses truly fear his speed. He has 2 goals in the 2 full games he's played, right? Let's revisit this question in 4 months.
I took issue with picking up Josh when the deal was made but in hind sight, he has been able to bring something to the game that is not completely supported by statistics... recognition. The boys in blue HAVE been able to put a bunch in the net in spite of the short comings of Wolff (reminds me alot of the 2000 Wizards... you might stop one but you can't stop them all) but none of our forwards other than Wolff have a name that would even remotely be considered as well known. Sometimes its not what you put on the scoreboard but how many butts you put in the seats that count. I know this won't hash with the true fans of the game but that is just part of reality.
One thing to consider about Wolff is that he does bring some legitimate star power to the Wizards. His good work on the US National team makes him a pretty well known name. Recently my wife and I moved back to KC from Georgia. I mentioned going to Wizards games and she surprised me with a comment about seeing Wolff in blue. She had read about the trade or I mentioned it to her a while back. Either way, she remembered. My point: She probably wouldn't have remembered anything about drafting someone named Magee. There are likely other peripheral soccer fans in KC that will want to see Wolff play based on what he's done for the Fire and Nats.
the criticism on wolff-person is legit and warranted. but we're not playing for 1st place in june. In order to win a trophy, you have to have some high-risk, high-reward players who are hot at the right time. Championship teams have these players, like molnar in 2000, to go along with your steady unspectacular players like zavagnin, for instance. I think at the end of this season, we can make a fair judgement on this trade, but I like the gamble made by the suits on wolff. when he's healthy again (hopefully this will happen) we'll see him back in the usmnt fold as well.
One down side of Wolff vs. Magee that hasn't been mentioned is the difference in salaries, around $100,000. You could get a pretty good player for that.
geez, firefans, bitter much? It's not like wolff-person was a bad guy. Most of us said good riddance to Lassiter, but he was one of the biggest arseholes in sports. I don't dislike Henderson or preki in 2001 with Miami, etc. It's the astroturf field, isn't it? I'd be cranky too.
They've earned their bitterness. Wolff is to them like Onandi Lowe is to us. Both of them could absolutely dominate games, but you could never be assured that they would play (be it physical injury, or mental problems). They know Wolff's potential, but a cold hard look at his career stats in Chicago: 84 games, 5,810 minutes, 32 goals and 15 assists. (playoffs: 6, 282, 0, 0) don't exactly scream "maximum salary". Most of his value in KC so far is in the tangible off-the-field putting butts in seat variety. And I'm cool with that. But as someone who wants a better product on the field, I don't know that his salary is worth what we'll see. Sure he's good enough, but history (Chicago, USMNT) has yet to show him there in the clutch. Onandi Lowe: 13 games, 1,034 minutes, 4 goals, 3 assists. 3, 270, 2, 0 against Miami in the playoffs.
Wolff: 1 goal every 181 minutes Lowe: 1 goal every 258 minutes Preki: 1 goal every 248 minutes Lassiter: 1 goal every 156 minutes Kreis: 1 goal ever 215 minutes So by these numbers Wolff (Lassiter a little more often) scores every other game and Preki and Lowe just under every three games.... That doesnt tell me Wolff is all that bad an acquisition. Maybe I'm wrong. Stats can be made to argue anything.
Let's play the "statistics" game. Chicago played 150 regular season games during the "Josh Wolff" era. 32 goals in 150 games is much worse. If you're paying him - it doesn't matter whether he's on the field or not - does it? Preki had 3 more goals and 48 more assists in the same time frame. And is paid less, and is a midfielder not a forward. With Wolff you have to factor in the games he misses due to injury or National Team duty. It's part of the "package".
I know, I know....I was just making a point that the "statistics" game can be used to "prove" just about anything. If you want production per minutes played, Wolff kicks ass. If you want minutes played and goals scored per dollar paid, hes not all that great.
Agreed. I'm not really convinced either way on Wolff at this point. I'm just playing the devil's advocate. As a fan I can choose to only worry about winning and losing, but I do recognize the "star" value of having a Josh Wolff on the roster. It's just not something I have to worry about of factor into my thinking about the trade if I don't want to. He's definitely got the skill to lead us to a title. But then, so did Onandi Lowe.