Well, it looks like our season may be over. Shep was saying that the only people whose jobs are safe are Howard and Jolley. So, if it was up to you, who stays next year? For me.... Howard Addo Akwari Jolley Petke Ziadie Davis Paule Moore Williams Mathis Faria stay. Everyone else is either waived or traded.
Must be fired Octavio Zambrano Nick Sakiewicz Time to get a quality GM and a coach that can win us MLS Cup Worthless Players - should be dumped Alvarez Klinger Forko Chronopoulos Lisi Players that won't Return Ramos Balboa (we can't take a $270K chance on his injury) Addo (probably should retire) Players that probably will stay Williams Faria Davis Petke Jolley Ziadie Akwari Paule Moore Players that may leave Mathis - made it clear he's leaving the end of next year, MLS's last chance to get some cash for him. Diallo - I'm guessing he won't be back in MLS next year. Howard - Wants league max, league doesn't want to give it to him. May try Europe.
the only ones that I think should be here are davis, williams, faria, jolly, moore and akwari. the rest they can trade or what ever. we need to trade mathis for a different striker and diallo for either a mid-fielder to replace ramos or a better defender.
Build the team around Williams, Davis, Faria, Jolley, and Moore. Use Diallo, Petke, and Akwari to acquire a consistant scoring threat and a solid defensive leader. I can't bring myself to say that Howard is a keeper because all the times I have spoken to him in person he seems like he would rather be somewhere else.
I think we should keep the game roster. OZ is the problem. I know we complain a lot about poor decisions in Bigsoccer. But would you bench a player that has 15 assists in a game in which you need to win? That pretty much wraps up our season's trouble. Nick should stay. Sure he hasn't built as a stadium yet or given us some real silverware, but did ol' Chuck do better? Nick made this team a contender, and should stay. Its all depends whether or not NJ wants to build a stadium.
Retiring: Ramos, Addo Released: Lisi, Alvarez, Klinger, Chrono, Forko Sold/Traded: Mathis, Petke, Diallo, Paule Kept: Howard, Grafer (even though he looked like a fish out there he flopped so much), Jolley, Ziadie, Moore, Williams, Davis, Faria, Akwari Unknown: Balboa (stays or retires) Defense: Howard is the only "must stay" player on the team. I'm thinking that Petke has outstayed his welcome. Either he or Jolley has to go, and Jolley is likely a bit cheaper and more reliable. The hope will be that Balboa can play sweeper, thus giving us a back four of Akwari / Balboa / Jolley / Ziadie. We will trade or draft at least two new defenders. Midfield: Moore has to be watched closely to see if he can replace Paule full time. If he can, Paule is gone. Williams will be the playmaker. Davis should be a starter on the left. Right mid will be someone new. Forward: Mathis should go train with Frankfurt in the off-season and stay there if he wants to be a long-term professional. Diallo so gave up during the three-game losing streak that he will almost certainly not be back. The only one here now who stays is Faria, and that's because he's inexpensive and still more productive than anyone else at his salary. We will spend a lot of money on getting him a tandem.
I've supported Nick for putting together the talented lineup we have, and blasted OZ for ruining that lineup. At this point, I'm sick of them BOTH. Yes, Nick put a good team together, but OZ should have been fired months ago. We all saw it and wanted it, but it never happened. Instead, Nick kept his trust in OZ, and look where that lead: Ditching Danny Hernandez. We thought he was a run of the mill headcase and OZ did all he could to fix the situation. Seeing how well Hernandez plays in NE, I don't even think OZ tried to work with Hernandez, he just gave up on him. He also let OZ ruin the remaining players on the roster. Petke and Jolley, two guys who used to be the best of friends, constantly argue on the field and had a media pissing contest earlier this season. Forko, who showed some glimpses of talent, found his way into a bottomless doghouse and was never heard from again. Mathis got more and more frustrated, to the point that he had a blow up with OZ, and OZ dragged his name through the mud. Davis showed signs of developing into a truly great player, so OZ promptly sat Davis' ass on the bench. Some of these players likely won't be able to recover from the OZ experience with this team. We might end up having to trade quality talent over the stupid feuds and garbage that OZ fostered. As it is, we won't know one way or the other until next season with a new coach. The players: Some players MUST go. Ramos is retiring, so he's out. More on that list are: Alvarez. The man is simply not worth a roster spot. Chronopolus. He has been the weakest link in our defense for more than half the season, and why he kept starting is beyond me. Diallo. If we are going to rebuild, we have to start fresh and knit the team spirit back together. The LAST guy that will be able to help with that is Diallo. Frankly, I don't even care if we get anything back for him. Balboa. We'll need that salary space, and I count myself among those who think Marcelo milked his knee injury for all it was worth, and he made his token appearance tonight just so he could act like he participated. Some players MUST stay. Mathis. He's still the best striker in the league and the nation. Give him a coach who will set up a quality lineup around him, and Mathis will make Twellman's stats look like Albrights (a slight exaggeration). Faria. The man scraps, fights, and runs for the full 90. He didn't give up on this team, and that makes him one of 2 people who can say that. He's also cheap, and is good for at least 10 goals and a couple of assists per year. Howard. The other guy who can say he never gave up. Nuff said. Davis/Moore/Akwari- Our youth movement shows definite promise, and I can only imagine how good they will be under a competent coach. Ziadie. Not as a defender, but as a cheap backup to whoever our new right mid will be. Williams. He's quality, and with support on the wings, and good strikers in front of him, Williams will light up the league next season. Paule. He's been a rock in the defensive mid role this season. Petke/Jolley. They were great friends once, so hopefully they can get over the feud. They need to either: A- Get starting calibre defenders at wingback, or B- Go back to the 3-5-2. Once one of those 2 things happens, both will be back to the quality we know their capable of. Players that I couldn't care less about: Forko. Had some good moments for a rookie, but then completely disappeared. I wouldn't mind seeing him developed here more, but I wouldn't cry if he left. Lisi. Lots of hype, very flaky. He's played well at times and very very poor at others. I'd like to see the new coach try him at forward, and if Lisi can make the transition, then I like him as a 3rd or 4th striker. If he can't, he's gone. Klinger. Is he still here? Addo. Competent, but he's not vital and wouldn't be a starter either way, so if he's an attitude problem, dump him. The HOLES: We have a few very obvious holes in our lineup. Right mid being the worst. We will have A TON of cap room to work with. Ramos, Addo, Balboa, Chrono all make serious dime put together, and if we can dump Diallo as well, and factor in the fact that we won't be paying part of Richie Williams salary anymore, we will have some serious cash to work with. We need to take that cash, and pick up the best Right wing mid on the market. Full treatment, bring in a guy who is in his prime and will be the best right mid in the frigging league. After that, our next hole in the starting lineup is defense. If you follow my line of thinking, and want to return to the 3-5-2, then we need a starting center back. Petke and Jolley to play on the outside of a 3-back set like they did in 2000 and 2001 so well. That means we need a key guy to come in and play in the middle. If you favor the 442, all that changes is instead of a centerback, you'd need two starting wingbacks. With those 2 holes in the starting rotation fixed, we'll need to work on depth. IF Lisi could work as a forward, we'll still need another striker. The draft looks to be a good place for this. We'll also need backup defenders, and a backup for Davis at left mid. Again, the draft may be a good place to do this with 2 1st rounders and 2 2nd rounders. With all of that done, our lineup would look something like this: Howard Jolley New defender Petke Moore Paule New RM Williams Davis Mathis Faria I honestly think that lineup could win a championship in this league. Moore will be another year seasoned, and Paule will have another year of experience at holding mid (a position new to him this year). The two new guys should be impact players with all the money we'd be able to throw at them. Mathis would be back up front, where he's more effective anyway, and Faria's running will result in both goals, and giving Mathis space to move (which will be effective without Diallo occupying that same space). Speaking of Mama, his taint will be gone from the locker room, which will more than compensate for his goals being gone from the scoreboard. With this lineup we should be able to spread the field, and play balanced, attractive soccer. That being said, OZ needs to be fired right now. Before Chicago/Columbus. This team needs to have the weeds picked and the core brought back together, and that needs to start right now if it's going to happen by next season. Name Ramos or Howard a player coach if the Metros actually make the playoffs. JMac
Sorry to say, skill counts but the Metros (with a few exceptions) are by far the most unathletic team around. Watched the LA-SJ game last night and saw 94 minutes of continuous breakneck speed with skill and determination by both teams. By comparison, it's gotten so that it is almost unbearable to watch the Metros. Complete overhaul, particularly of the midfield for pace needed. Then there is the FA consideration. Faria - keep (will he have a green card next year?) Diallo - keep, he will produce with a good midfield) Williams - keep, a solid midfielder with pace If these stay, where do Metros go for quality non FA rebuilding?
Well, the hope is that Faria will get a green card, Diallo will get a train ticket out of town, and the team will get a "You Suck" allocation, provided that those return to the league since there will be no dispersal draft. It's hard to say "complete overhaul" and say that we're going to have the same 3 FA's. Faria should work toward a green card even if we decide to not keep him because it increases his trade value.
The only positive thing out of all this mess, is that we do get eliminated and get a chance to get an FA next year.
There was a quote this year in a newspaper where Mathis basically said he can sign in June of next year on a free transfer and then move after the MLS season is over. He made it sound like his mind was already made up. I could see this happening next year with Mathis: -More half-hearted efforts until June, not taking on players to avoid Injury. -Signs with European team in June. -Fakes injury after signing. Spends the rest of the season on the bench so he will be in good health when he goes to play in Europe in the fall. I don't know if a new coach will have any say in the matter at all. I think it's probably best if MLS tries to sell him now while they can still get something for him ($500K ??).
Even if Mathis stays, the Metros need quality forwards. You can't rely on two guys, even if one of them happens to be an in shape and hard working Mathis. So the #3 and #4 forwards need to be good. That is another significant hole for this team.
Only guys I keep are: Williams, Davis, Howard, Akwari, Mathis, Jolly. Everyone else should or could be traded to rebuid this team. Faria will never be more than inconsistant. Diallo too unpredicatble a head case, Ziadie and Moore are subs elsewhere. Chronopolous and Lisi could not start any place else. Petke going down the tubes quickly. And Paulle too average right now with this team. Addo too slow and old. Start fresh with one FA as a defender and one as a fast scoring forward or Right Mid. Develop some new young players thathave a good attitude and hustle and at least we might be exciting to watch. PS: play Mathis at Forward.
Fess up, are you OZ or Nick? Stillitano? How many times do we have to gut the roster, come into the season and play like crap before people here realize that's not the way to build a successful team? Look at the successful teams throughout the leagues history. Early DC, LA, SJ, Dallas this season. What's the link? Consistancy. If we had no talent on this roster, it'd be different, but we have the talent. We just need a new coach, and two new starters. RWM and center D in a 3-back set. JMac
Oz must go. He may be a good coach (not this year), but he has lost control of these players and they don't seem to be motivated to play for him. We can't gut the whole team. To many changes could make next years team just as bad. Keep these guys Howard Akwari Jolley Petke Ziadie Davis Paule Moore Williams Mathis Faria If Balboa does not retire and is fully healthy, I would keep him as a Def Mid/Sweeper and to be the on field leader we did not have at all this year. We need a Right Mid!!!!! With Diallo gone use a FA for this spot ( preferably a European, not a "knock your socks off SA") Our line-up could be Howard Jolley Akwari Petke Paule Balboa New RM Williams Davis Mathis Faria It seems to me all the fans that post on this board are all in agreement of how the team can get better. Let's hope management agrees!!!!!!!
============================= The only post I agree with 100%. Can't believe that everybody else who posted above wanted Faria to stay for the next season. He's a waste.
The reasons are simple: 1 - Faria has 12 goals and 5 assists this season. This ties him at 8th overall in scoring in MLS. 2 - He's tied for 7th overall in MLS in goals. 3 - He's cheap. $45K for a goal scorer is a huge plus with $1.7M Cap. 4 - He's durable. If you don't get this point, review Tab Ramos and Balboa circa 2002. 5 - He plays with 100% hustle and heart every game. If you don't get this point, review Mathis circa 2002. 6 - He's relatively young at 25 years old. 7 - He's applied for a Green Card. 8 - In order to replace him, you need to name me a player that will do BETTER than 12G/5A next year, will hustle every game, costs only $45K, is on free transfer, is durable, is 25 years or younger, either counts American citizen or is getting a Green card, and is guaranteed to play in MLS next year. You have 5 seconds to name this player.
I agree with the posts that remind us that we can't gut the team. We went that route before, look where it gets us. Keepers: Howard - even with a raise Petke - tough year but he bleeds red and black. needs to reconnect with... Jolley - with Petke, couldn't maintain a 2 man back line, but who could have? Akwari - cool name, lot's of speed. Take some burdon off of Petke and Jolley if we go with 4 back again Moore - don't know if he should have had to shoulder what he did this year, but showed promise Paule - damn, he runs funny Williams - we need to teach to pass tho Davis - future nat Faria - as it has been said, find me a better guy that works that hard for twice the money and I'll consider it. Mathis - I am iffy on this. I love him but I don't know if we see Mathis 2002 or 2000 next year. A gamble Gotta Wonders Balboa - wasn't around. The fact that he came in and ran forward on Saturday made me feel good. Still my favorite US defender and could be a leader (which we need even with keeping the above) Diallo - lots of goals. Big, skilled. Wonder if he won enough hearts in the locker room not to disrupt. Doubt it. Grafer - I think he is usually good, right? Sat. wasn't his fault, but he didn't help. Krupnick - never met him. Lisi - I hear he is talented Don't Let the Door Hit Yous Alvarez Chronopolous Klinger Addo Forko Zadie Oz - regardless of whose fault it is in the end, the Captain goes down with the ship. Period.
i think akwari and howard were the only promising signs of the last few games. would have been a lot worse without howard. but i definitely agree with you on diallo and petke. big mama is a head case and not worth the trouble. how many times did he have to be pulled when he lost his *************** towards the end?
My 2 cents (as an outsider and infidel no less)... 1. You've got an incredibly talented roster. The number of people in this league who can claim to be real goal scorers--you can count those on 2 hands (and not use all your fingers). You've probably got 3 of them (Mathis, Faria and Diallo). Tons of technical ability on this team. But poorly put together, poorly coached (Mathis does need a sports shrink but if your boss said that publicly, you'd sue their butt and the company. That was just CYA behavior by OZ--stupid, stupid, stupid). 2. Dump Diallo. The original reason for going for Countess wasn't b/c you needed him or thought Howard would leave in a year. It was to get bait to deal to TB for Diallo. You eventually ended up with Diallo and discovered....only Hankinson (with a sweet passer like El Pibe) has ever been able to get him to play somewhat consistently. Let's face it--the guy is huge, fast, skilled, a nose for goal--and the rest of the world won't even take a sniff at him. He has to play with teams in....Norway? He's a team cancer. Regardless of the rest of the team dynamics, he makes it much, much worse. He quits, is petulant, demands the ball, often doesn't give it ball, wastes all that talent. And he sets a terrible example in a league where most of the players can't afford to slide by on their technical skills. 3. Dump Chronopolous. He's not as bad as some of you say he is. But he's slow and adds nothing on attack. If you're going to play 3 in the back, you need a guy with better speed. If you're playing 4 in the back, you want outside backs with technical ability (not him) or put him in the center. The rest is about repairing team chemistry (which is do-able) and some role players (which is also do-able). You may feel disgusted with this team right now--there is no excuse for this kind of talent to not be in the playoffs--absolutely correct. But the team doesn't need to be blown up. And the arguments for selling players now (Mathis, Howard, etc.) b/c they might go to Europe are weak ones. It's unclear if you'll get any allocations for those losses. Besides, with the weak transfer market, it's not that difficult to pick up decent Euro talent (and MLS clearly has pipelines into CA and the Carribean) for cheap.
Howard won't be sold for a transfer fee because he is out of contract at the end of this year. If he doesn't like MLS' offer and a Euro club makes a better one that Timmy likes - he's gone on free transfer. Nothing the Metros can do about it.