Some good early speculation here on what our starting team could look like: http://www.northjersey.com/page.php...lRUV5eTYzNDI5NDYmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2 One possibility: ...................Moreno....Mathis................. .......................Mario Rosas.................... ..Sheppard...............................Unknown.. .........................Williams........................ ...Jolley..........Regan......Pope........Ziadie... ........................Howard......................... This is still early speculation and is dependent on who gets signed. There wasn't any talk on who we are looking at for right wing. Maybe Clark will fit there?
more likely: 3-5-2, with the two outside wingers being rather defensive ...........Mathis...........Moreno......... ......................Mario..................... Sheppard.........................??????? ..........Williams...........Clark.......... ......Regan.......Pope.......Jolley...... ....................Howard.................... or, with Garnero ...........Mathis...........Moreno......... ...........Mario...........Garnero.......... Sheppard.........................??????? ...............Williams/Clark............... ......Regan.......Pope.......Jolley...... ....................Howard....................
Yeah, that was my thinking at first before reading this article. Bradley seemed to prefer the 3-5-2 at Chicago with 2 defensive wings with good speed (e.g. Beasley/Whitfield). But then I read this article with the above quote and this one: -and I figured this guy has more of an inside scoop than I do. But I think this lineup could work too: ...........Mathis...........Moreno......... ......................Mario..................... .Sheppard..........................Ziadie... ............Williams.........Clark............ ......Regan.......Pope.......Jolley...... ....................Howard....................
This is sad when our "best 11" contains five players who haven't signed yet (Mario, Garnero, Sheppard, Williams, and ????). Perhaps discussing formations at this point is a case of putting the cart before the horse. (Or maybe having a cart without any horse).
You know, Rosas has already signed the deal, and will be in camp in Florida very shortly, all we need is the paperwork from Barcelona to come through. So, we have our number ten in camp. Garnero is not neccessary to make this team gell, if it happens, then great, if not, then we move on to look at other players. Sheppard is a young guy with international experience, who fills several slots we are weak in. Looks like a very good and ideal fit if you ask me, he can play along the left back and also left mid and frees up the attacking options for Rosas and Gernero. Wide right could be interesting, maybe this Trout guy pans out, maybe we use a very defensive minded player out there; I wouldn't be suprised to see a lopsided midfield with conecntration going central and left. The defense is strong and up top we're strong. Doesn't look bad to me at all.
I like the looks of this lineup. However, I'm not in a rush to re-sign R. Williams. I'd rather use that money elsewhere - let Ricardo Clark and Jeff Moore fight it out to see who starts at D-Mid. I'd also look to re-sign Addo for some cover in Central Defense (as well as D-Mid). While he does scare me at times with some of his challenges, the guy is an experienced defender that should blend nicely with some of the youth that may be playing back there (especially when Eddie is gone). Actually if healthy, I would take Marcelo over R. Williams or Addo for one year to cover those two positions. We could then use the money allocated to R. Williams to find someone to play right midfield. Hopefully, Dillon Sheppard is the real deal at left mid/back.
I don't think this is accurate. The latest article from Ives Galarcep said: "The answer has been Mario Rosas for weeks now, but slow paperwork from Barcelona has kept the diminutive playmaker from being cleared to sign with the Metros."
http://www.northjersey.com/page.php...lRUV5eTYzNDM5NDQmeXJpcnk3ZjcxN2Y3dnFlZUVFeXk2 I thought that Mario would make too much money to count as a Transitional International. Rule change? We should have never gotten rid of Perez in the first place though I don't know what we have to offer the Fire besides future draft picks.
Mistake by Ives, I believe. Mario cannot be TI (Andy Williams rule. Everyone loves Andy Williams, no?) Shappeard would be a TI. Garnero would be a SI. Also, Ives says we won't get Mario AND Garnero. I'm told that's false, it's a very distinct possiblity. See Chicago '98 with Podbrozny and Nowak, very similar players utilized differently by Bob. I think we can learn a lot from that 98 Fire team, here and then Bob was starting from basically scratch. So we might very well see very defensive wingers, and two central midfielders on the field at the same time.
Interesting. Any idea on how we can fit him under the cap? There was an article a few days ago that said depending on what Williams/Sheppard sign for, we may only have $24K per player for our remaining 10 rostered players. I doubt Garnero would sign for $24K. Maybe our allocation reduces Mario's salary enough to make the space?
You are right, Gamblor. One thing no one takes into account is the "allocation." Basically, an "allocation" is a sum of money. So, with a player like Garnero or Mario -- who don't require transfer fees -- you can simply use some of that money to pay a portion of their salary. In other words, the allocation is a form of cap relief. So, take one minimum guy and add 75k and now you have a 100k guy. Get it?
Ahh, so its conceivable then that we could add both Garnero (if he prooves himself well) and Rosas at healthy salaries while not impacting the cap? Will wonders never cease!
Jeff, thanks for the reply. Yeah, that's what I was guessing. Is our remaining allocation worth $75K or $150K? There was never any clear indication in the papers on which one we traded to DC. I think we're getting close to having a very good team.