Can someone please tell me why in the hell did the Burn pass on Joe Max, when they had salary cap room to spare as well as an allocation? In my mind, our D is solid, the midfield is great; the Burn just need another striker to pair with Kreis up top. I think we missed on a big opportunity to push the Burn into the upper eschelon of the league. Right now LA, NE, NY, and DC are all sitting above everyone else in the league. Dallas, SJ, and Columbus probably form the next tier. KC, Colorado, and Chicago are going to struggle. I think Eddie Johnson is still a year away, and could use the experience of Joe Max to grow as a complete player.
Probably becasue Joe-Max and Jason Kreis are pretty similar players in style. Anyone who knows me, knows I am a big fan of Joe-Max, but he did not make sense for the Burn. Now if the Revs want to trade him for Kreis I would do that as I think JMM is better than Jason. INHO one could make a case that if the Burn do need another forward it is a big taget forward of the McBride, Conor casey type. Personally I am ready to give Edddie an extended run and see what happens.
I think you're right, Buzz, though I am not sure I would trade Jason. A target forward like Casey, or McBride, or that guy who played for Tottenham Hotspur in the Dallas Cup a few years back would be a prefect fit. That is why I was so high on Jaqua, and so happy when my Portland contacts told me he signed. The best laid plans.... The Burn have wings who can cross accuratly. Nice for them to have someone up front to cross to. Though I have heard Cerritos is better with his head than one would expect.
Me too, I was hyped when I heard he was in the pool. I had Burn taking Nate at #4 in my mock draft. Such is life I guess.
Just because you have salary cap room doesn't necessarily mean that you should spend it on an expensive 32-year-old forward when you've already got four legitimate forwards in Kreis, Cerritos, Rhine, and Johnson.
I think you have Colorado and NY reversed. I expect Colorado to challenge for the cup, especially if they sign that African striker, Zizi Roberts. In NY, I think the bright lights have put the zap on Bradley's head. Even with the annual 3 new SI's for Metro, I don't see how they can even field 11 players this season. With the age and injury-propensity of their high priced players, they'll be lucky not to finish dead last.
NE isn't above anybody, just like Colorado wasn't above anybody after they had their chance to shine in the sun in '97. NY and DC haven't done crap, especially DC. Fine, they look good on paper, but that means absolutely nothing in MLS. About JMM, I'd rather give Eddie the chance to stake his claim to the spot. He's got game. His choices on the field are suspect, but more games on the 1st team should take care of this.
Why was that cold? Becasue I think JMM is better then Jason? JMM has been to three World Cups. Jason has what 8 caps? 10 maybe?
Serna is better than Jason. Grazziani was better than Jason. Johnson may be better than Jason. You don't just pick a player because he's more talented. Why pick a guy at the end of a career who has no loyalty to the Burn and is here for the paycheck over Jason? This reminds me of your intense interest in trading Vaca for Davis and another draft pick not too many weeks ago. I respect your opinion, 3rddegree, but you seem to concentrate so much on what we're gaining, you lose sight of what we already have.
I guess I would tend to make the following case: 1) The burn have many forwards, but who is proven? I don't think Rhine is a star. Johnson is a future star who hasn't done anything at the club level yet. Cerritos? Please, he is not worth the money. If we bring in a quality striker to pair with Kreis, the Burn will do extremely well. And a seasoned veteran at the international stage could really benefit Johnson. Remember, if you want to give the kid playing time during the year, you can play joe max at central midfield as well. 2) If the Burn are going to move towards the future by playing EJ, then it is time to trade Pareja, or make him a player/coach, and move Vaca into the center of the field. 3) Colorado will be horrible this year. We will see about the Metros, because they do have some injury-plagued players (Pope, Moreno, Mathis, etc). But if they stay healthy and pick up that spanish player, watch out. 4) The Revs are going to be better this year. They dumped the poison over the last year (Diallo, Chacon), and are much improved with the pickup of Moore. Saying they will finish .500 in the league because of how poorly they played during most of the season last year is ludicrous. The fact is, once they learned Nichols' system and sat the people who were whining, they won. And I think they will continue to do so this year. 5) DC is going to be very good. They have great allocations. They made trades to really bolster the team. And their youth is maturing a bit. Olsen is back and healthy and at full speed. They played well at the end of last season and improved tremendously through trades. That is a team on the rise who will challenge for the title in the East.
Serna is not better then Jason 2002 Kreis 30 pts, Serna 3 pts Serna who got beaten out by Wolde Harris. Graziani might be better than Jason, their points are similar(33-30 in 2002), but Graziani was a cancer, Jason is not. Agree Johson might be better than Jason. But JMM is everything Jason is off the field, and better on it. Believe me I like Jason, I wonder why he doesn't have move caps. But I still think JMM is a better player. I don't think it is fare to say my interest was "intense." I stated I MIGHT be willing to give up Vaca for Davis and the #2 pick. And trading Vaca for the #2 pick and Davis would have gotten Burn Davis and Ricardo Clark. Yeah my opinion that Davis was a player worth getting was so far off that the Burn traded for him anyway. And giving up Vaca would have been so bad? A player who is not going to start this year. A Player who frankly can't play in the middle in the Burn system as it is. A player who needs a 3-5-2 formation to be effective. Yeah I would have given up Vaca for Davis and Clark. Two US players with vast upside, for one undersized player who will require a SI slot. And the Burn would have still had the #4 pick, where they could have Walsh fit the exact same role as Vaca is if you really want a player like that. Or maybe Magee, or Memo Gonzalez.... So in my senerio Burn lose Vaca and come out of the 1st round of the draft with Davis, Clark, Walsh, and Shavar Thomas. Perhaps I do lose site of what Burn would be giving up, but maybe I do not have blind loyality to players on the current team. Maybe I see a team who has never reached the MLS Cup. Maybe I see ways to make this team better. Now you are going to saw I think Vaca sucks and Burn should trade him. I am not saying that. I like Vaca, I think he has a great upside. But he is not going to work in the middle of a 4-4-2 without a player like Chris Armas behind him. Unfortunatly the Burn don't have one of those. (ok Stone might be someday, but not yet) Right now the Burn play with two holders in the middle. Vaca can not play that system.
I don't disagree with you about Serna vs. Kreis - I'd rather have Kreis. However, Serna was not beaten out by Wolde. Serna went down for the season injured very early on in his Revs' career, so there was no choice but to put Wolde in up top. Trust me, Diego would have been starting if he were available. Also, it's also not particularly fair to compare their 2002 outputs, since Kreis wasn't injured for half the year, nor was his family being threatened by extortionist drug lords. Serna had to deal with both. He may not have done much last year, but there were good reasons for Serna's poor showing.
I don't think Vaca plays enough defense to play center-mid in a 4-4-2, either. But I also think Kreis is a much better MLS forward than JMM. Just because he's a much better finisher at the club level. I realize that JMM brings a lot more to the table in terms of versatility, dribbling, passing, holding the ball, defense, etc, which is why he played for the Nats and poor Jason could never really break through. But Kreis is a better pure finisher. I find the idea that New Jersey and DC are now among the top 4 teams in the league a bit of a stretch. To this date the Metros have: -2 potentially MLS MVP forwards (IF, repeat, IF healthy and motivated) in Moreno and Mathis -1 potential MLS MVP defender (IF healthy) in Eddie Pope -1 good MLS defender in Jolley -1 potential MLS MVP keeper in Howard. All they currently have to fill those 6(which could easily turn into 9 with USMNT duty) gaping holes in their starting 11 are 3 highly regarded amateurs. They're my pick for last place this year. DC Stewart will help, BUT: 1. No defense gets better by trading Eddie Pope for Mike Petke. 2. They kept Etchevery, who will do nothing but boot the ball down the field with his trusty left foot to our waiting defenders because he can't move anymore. He also doesn't play defense. They're in for a rude awakening if they think Dema is going to play enough defense to cover for Etch. 4. Alecko is unproven at this level. Quaranta is unproven at this level. 5. No proven defensive midfielder. 6. No depth.
I think Vaca will be fine in the Burn system. Deering, Davis, Stone behind him, when the Burn needs Vaca to be great, he will be. I think he will prove himself this year.
Okay, so - Colorado starting 11: Up top: Spencer and supposedly the african guy. - I love Spencer, but he fell off considerably last year. The other guy is an unknown Flank midfield: Chung and Henderson. Okay, these are very good players. Central midfield: Someone and Mastroeni. Great defensive presence, but nobody to spread the ball around. Defense: Grimandi can organise, but is worse than Morrow. Stewart started well at right back, and faded down the stretch. No more Titus. Kotschau started at left back, which should say enough. Keeper - Garlick is solid. I don't know, I think they have holes in the middle of the field and at the back, they just don't scare me much. DC: Up top: They will play Stewart with Quaranta. Midfield: Convey, Etch, Kovalenko, Ben Olsen, Nelson. Very good group of players, and with runners like Convey and Olsen playing the wings, you can afford to play with two attacking mids. When Etch is hurt, they can move Stewart to central mid and Alecko off the bench. Defense: Petke, Ivanov, and Reyes - very very good defense. Keeper: Rimando - solid keeper. Depth: Quinsinilla, Alecko, Stoichkov, Alegria, Namoff, etc. NY: Up top: Mathis and Moreno Midfield: Spanish guy, Lisi, Williams, McGee Defense: Pope, Jolley, Ziadie, Ricardo Clark Keeper: Tim howard - best in the league. Sure, there is weakness in there, but Mcgee is supposed to be pretty good. Clark is an instant starter. The spanish guy is a good player. They obviously are asking for injury problems, and don't have all the much depth, but there is a lot more potential there than the Rapids have.
Actually I completely agree with this part of your assessment, but I still think the Metros and DC United can be among the league's elite. Some things to augment your insightful analysis: Metros: 5. Enough cap space to add a true #10 player, and it looks like it's going to be Barcelona hot shot Mario. 6. Peripheral USMNT Dmid and quality MLS player Richie Williams to free the #10 to concentrate on creating. 7. Possibly the best player in the SuperDraft in Ricardo Clark who can step in and start at Dmid or even on the wings if needed. 8. The best defensive organizing coach in MLS. He is also the best at covering for injuries with mediocre players without sacrificing defending. DC United: 7. Pope isn't being replaced by Petke, Galin Ivanov of the Bulgarian National Team is replacing Nelsen as organizer and Pope as central defender as United switches to a 352. 8. Nelsen is pushing up into midfield to replace Richie Williams, and while he may not be as strong defensively as Richie, he adds a scoring threat, target man, better dribbling and passing. 9. Dema Kovalenko--a former All-Star player--is an additional midfielder, so while he does need to defend, he has support from Nelsen in the center, and both Olsen and Convey on the wings. Clearly Dema adds an attacking element that was not present last season with Lazo Alavanja. 10. Etch will no longer be the focal point of the offense as Hudson switches to a more free flowing Miami Fusionesque offense. 11. Santino has performed well both inside MLS and with the US Youth National Teams, his problems last season were injury (most of the season) and lack of another forward to diffuse defensive attention. 12. The addition of Alecko Eskandarian as the 3rd forward pushes Ali Curtis to his rightful role as 4th forward. Alecko will score some goals. 13. Depth was added on the back line with Petke and the top defender in the draft, 6'3 David Stokes. Dmid depth for Ryan Nelsen was added with P-40 Brian Carroll. DC United added the best forward, best defender, best goalie and 2nd best Dmid in the draft. They should add depth. If Petke starts it means that Prideaux becomes a backup, not too shabby. So I see the Metros having a solid defense in front of Howard (because Bradley can make you and I look like MLS defenders) and probably the best scoring forwards in MLS in Mathis, Moreno and Magee. I see DC United moving from one of the worst clubs depth-wise to one of the better clubs depth-wise. The Burn are the deepest IMHO. I also see a lot less dependance on one forward to score, as a healthy Olsen, the addition of Kovalenko and Nelsen to midfield and the maturation of Convey (goal flurry at the end of the season) should provide some goals from the midfielders as well. When teams bunker, United can sub in 6'3 David Stokes or 6'2 Mike Petke and push Nelsen to center forward. When United wants to counter they now have Stewart, Esky and Curtis with speed. Hudson now has options and quality at every spot. He can now play his game. -Tron
Good analysis of DC United. I think Colorado plans to use Grimandi and Mastroeni together in midfield, which should blunt most attacks for their weak back line. Spencer was injured much of last season, assuming he's healthy, he'll be back in form. In his absence Chris Carrieri made huge strides and scored double digit goals. But I think the Metros are going to line up like this: ----------Moreno---------Mathis----------- -----------------Mario--------------------- Magee----------------------------Unknown ------------Williams-------Clark------------ -----------Unknown---Pope---Jolley-------- Magee could start on the right as well, or he might be the first offensive sub. Much like Mathis, Magee often looks ordinary, but he's a scorer, and his occasional brilliance is too powerful to ignore. The other winger could be Zaidie, Lisi, or very likely someone else who is possibly not on the team yet. Along the back line I look for Tim Regan to play a lot, but that spot and the 2nd winger depend upon whether Bradley plays 352 or 442. If he goes 442 I'd expect Ricardo Clark to be the right winger and pinch in centrally to help out on defense much like Jesse Marsch did when he played winger occasionally. -Tron
I actually like McKeon. He would be one of those I would bring in to take a look at. It would be interesting to see him play with Vaca in a scrimmage. He would have to look pretty good though, the Burn midfield is pretty crowded. Based on last year Deering is still better anyway.
Deering may be better but McKeon is a better fit for Vaca. Just depends on what the team wants in the long run. Such as is Stone almost ready to play that type of role? Is Bussey or Gbandi a possibility there? Is the young Irishman on trial a solution there? Are they really ready to turn over the team from Pareja to Vaca? If Eddie is the real deal at forward which one does he play better with? A lot of sorting out to do but defensive mid is not as crowded as other spots. If McKeon is a better fit they could even move Deering. KC fans probably think we nuts for even talking about him though as I hear they hate him. I guess he was sort of their Eck (although Eck was never a bad apple).
I am sure Stone will grow into the role, but I disagree with everyone here. Vaca will show this year and the next that he can play in a 4-4-2 and with a holding mid behind him. I think Deering or Davis will be fine behind Vaca this year. In fact, a holding mid will channel Vaca's agressivness, qwhile giving him someone to drop the ball off to and reset. Remember, he's a young player, even if he has a few years under his belt and a few caps to wear. He is still learning. Once he becoems the man, he will fill the role magnificently. As I have said before, I really want to see Vaca and Davis in the center together. Am I wearing Burn colored glasses? Never. Never had a pair. Never will. Want to hear my prediction? I just think that Vaca will surprise you, given the chance.