This came to me on another webstie that happened to have a soccer group. This question showed up on the MLS thread. "Any Dallas Fire fans Here? I have a question." I responded, that yes, there is a Dallas fan here, what is your question?" The response was quick. "My question is regarding Mark Wilson, a Boro player transferred to Dallas. Have you seen him yet? How has he done?" In a very long response, I posted that yes, we have seen him, he is starting and doing well. I detailed his story, as I know it, and corrected the little confustion on names. The other party blamed it on the BBC. "Fair play to the lad, I saw him in Boro and he was utter shite, but nice to see him settled." I knew that he fell out of favor in Boro, but that is not a concern. What I am interested is how is he doing in Dallas. though he has yet to open his account, he has come close. The end of the slump was fairly close to his advent, though I would not draw a causal link. So, I like the guy as a player. Right now, I doubt that CC has to think very much about starting him. Next year, with a full preseason under his belt, he will be even better. Plus, with the return of Mulrooney, and the development of Ramon Nunez, he will have to fight for a spot and show he deserves it every game. I would appreciate any other comments on Wilson. Scipio Diabolus, vox fatum. Four, count 'em, four marlin today! And a sailfish! http://www.contracafe.com
I think Willo is a very good player who has given FCD a new look with his forward running through the middle of the park. Next season with Mulrooney back means that Talley will be gone and we will have two very good two way midfielders in the side.
It really makes you wonder about the amazing midfield we might have next season. We can go with Mulrooney, Wilson and Simo in the middle. Move Ronnie back to the wing, Nunez on the other wing, ship Alvarez somewhere or let him be a sub. Wow!!! That will easily be the best midfield in MLS.
As usual we gotta be happy about next year. And color me still pissed about Wednesday, Wilson is nothing special...yet.
My impression is that he is not in the top 10 midfielders of the league, but he is better than Simo (thank God!).
Keep in mind these are his first games since the beginning of the year so I think he's doing quite well.
There is nothing "as usual" about what we have to be happy about for next year. We've never had that kind of talent going into a pre-season.
maybe I'm just on crack (probably) but it feels like after the last 2 years we've been so on about "next year".
But not like this. Going into last year, did we really think we had a team ready to challenge for a championship? We've already DONE that this year. We lost it, unfortunately, but we made a final for the first time in a while. Metro is still hoping for their FIRST, iirc. Tampa Bay never made it. I think Miami lost a USOC final....? Even if we flame out of the playoffs, we've had one of the top three seasons in our history this year. Now yes, in some ways that is sad. But to compare looking forward to next year with what we had to look forward to in 2003 or 2004.... just doesn't compare.
I lived in New Orleans for a long time and you guys sound like typical Saints Fans; wait til next year...
After what we've seen from Ronnie and the little we saw from Richard, why is it so "typical Saints fans" to be excited about that? You say that as if we have no reason to be excited about next year - that we're just grasping at straws. That's just silly.
You guys know alot about the team but what you don't know is: 1) will Ruiz get resigned for next year? 2) will all the rookies improve enough to be consistent contributors in games? 3) will Mulrooney be back as good as before? 4) same for EJ 5) Is Garlick good for another year? Is he good enough to get us to the cup? He played great Wed. night. but has had some consistency problems. 6) will National callups affect us as much next year as this year? Saints fans always think their players have the potential if given a little more time. I am hopeful for next season also, but after taking off the red and blue colored glasses I think we shouldn't expect more than mid table again.
Wow. Second place in the West, in the final of the USOC and we really don't know what is going to happen in the playoffs - this is "mid table" to you? All this with injuries to most (all but Vanney?) of our major players? We were out of the playoffs for two SEASONS, f.c.o.l. Methinks you need a visit with Mr. Perspective, dude.
Two different players. Simo is a defensive mid destroyer, he hardly ever goes forward. Wilson is supposed to play the attacking mid, and get back if he needs to, or the left mid and go both ways. Not fair to compare Wilson and Simo. Wilson fights for the shirt. I say we keep him. Screw Alvarez. BTW, if Mina drops a couple passes back to Wilson instead of screwing around in the box, FCD wins the Open Cup and Wilson is a god around here.
You're thinking too small. The most obvious move of this off-season will be to let Valakari and Talley go and bring in a Christian Gomez type central mid. With Mulrooney and Wilson fully capable of playing a true two-way game from defensive midfield, and a real A-mid + Nunez, the sky would be the limit.
This is a valid consideration. The dynamics would be different for pressing outside backs; but balancing a diverse side is always a goal.
There's enough there to be optomistic about........also when you put on the red and blue glasses , does it make everything jump out at you in 3-D? Those things always gave me headaches.
Next season!?!?! Why are you thinking of that you are in second place in the West and are rounding into good form for the playoffs, plus you match up well with SJ. You've got a really good shot at getting to the Cup this year who knows what happens next year. A good one but not the best.
Well Scip, To answer your question, I think that the only honest answer is: TBD / "to be determined". While he seems to have the makings of a decent two way player, and seems to have enough grit to stick a cleat on an opponent, I would like to see more total field vision and creativity given his position. But, in all fairness, who has been able to come into MLS at midseason and flourish from day #1? I stump myself. MLS is a deceptively difficult league to just plop into and to make a major impact.
Indeed. And he does seem to be developing some mutual understanding with his teammates on the field. He's a hustle guy right now, not necessarily a finesse guy. At least, we haven't seen that from him yet. It will be interesting to see how he develops with the team in our remaining matches. But there are signs that he has very good positional sense, and he's obviously scrappy midfielder. I, for one, consider that a plus. I don't see him as a guy that will need to be subbed out when we need to hold a lead. Wacko4Burn's point is a good one to consider. In the USOC Final, twice he was in excellent position to receive a pass that I have no doubt he would have at least put on frame. He was in alone, unmarked around the penalty area, and it's almost painful to consider how close we may have been. Dustin would have had to work overtime merging all the "See? Wilson really IS our saviour!!!" threads. But hey, that's soccer. And it should not go unnoticed: that is one skill he showed on Wednesday, when he provided FC Dallas' lone shot on goal -- he's got a quick trigger, and it's accurate. Chest -- turn -- shoot. I swear I came out of my seat when he took that shot. The strike was accurate and powerful, and Hartman did well to parry the ball over the crossbar. You just don't see that type of shot taken a lot in MLS. At least, not as well as he did it. I think he's a good addition to the squad, and I look forward to seeing him gel even more with the rest of the team over the next few matches.