I think they are, but don't quote me on that. After all, a DR contract basically leaves the player below the poverty line - and if it were figured on an hourly basis, would probably be about $15/hour. If he's not contractually bound to MLS, he'd definitely be a hot property to the A-League, so he would have some leverage. I see Leonard as a similiar situation to Pierce, when he was drafted. A lower-round pick was used to take a flyer on an undersized defender who peaked some interest, then proceeded to exceed all expectations in their first season. If Franchino and Leonard are both going to be around, I'd love to see Leonard work on his game and get a chance at left mid. His speed and athleticism would be a great asset, but he'll have to make BIG strides in his ball skills and tactical awareness. He's someone they should send over to Europe for the winter.
I always thought it would be easier for JF to make the transition to Lmid, particularly since ML is already a better man-marker anyway. I like both players; it would be nice if it worked out that they could both play and do well. Every year, we think of players who could use "seasoning" overseas, and rarely does it seem to happen. Why couldn't we have a relationship with a European club with a strong youth program, e.g. Ajax, West Ham, Atletico Madrid (?). The deal: a chance to train for first look at our prospects. Do the journalists know if this has ever been seriously considered?
I've heard that SN likes to have three quality plaayers for every two positions. The trio of Franchino, Leonard and Kamler for left back and left mid seems attractive. Of course this formula doesn't bode well for Jay Moore. I agree with you Jon. We have heard a lot about the formalization of relationships of a bunch of MLS Teams with major foreign clubs but I don't recall the Revs establishing similar relationships. Did I miss something? George
Doc, you would think that Nicol still has plenty of friends in the right places to pull it off. I just wonder why this sort of thing has not happend. I wonder if the league has to get involved somehow and it makes it too complicated. Imagine a Rev Liverpool co-op. we send them players for training,,,they come here for a friendly...sounds good to me
Here's my take. Out of the 11 spots in the field, we should be all set with Adin, Rusty, Joseph, Pepe, Ralston, Twellman, and arguably Noonan (not knocking Pat, just mean we might need another impact striker). That leaves Heaps, Llamosa, Joey/Marshall, and Kamler. In a perfect offseason, the changes that I would make to the Revs would be as follows: Try and get a top notch left wing with the SI/allocation. Try and get a solid right back with a discovery pick. Draft a central defender in the first round. He'll platoon/understudy with Llamosa. If a good right back were available here, take him, audition central defenders for discovery slot vs Kante. Draft a P-40 player. It's time, we can still draft a "right now" player in the first round, and roster spots are going to be at a premium. Not too many teams need keepers. If the Brown leaves or if you can get one with more upside than Reis in round 2 or 3, take him. Either sign Westfield (if he can fill this role) or pick a speed demon of a forward in round 2 or 3. A Jamil Walker type would do, just someone to stretch the defense late in games. If you could get Westfield or the draft pick on the dv roster, all the better. Use the rest of the draft picks on possible dv players. If Leonard, Frias, and Downing are all off that roster, we need some replacements. If you can, keep Chris Bagley on the dv roster. He gies us some depth. Therefore, my lineup: .........................Adin ...SI Disc......Pierce....Carlos/rookie........Leonard ...........................Joseph .....Ralston.....................................SI allocation ..........................Cancela ..............Noonan...........Twellman Subs would be Reis/rookie, Heaps (backs up Ralston and right back), Joey (similar to Heaps), rookie CB, Cullen, and two of JMM, Chris Brown, Westfield, and Kamler. Can Brown play on the wings? That would help his case. JMM would need to be on some kind of cap-friendly, incentive-based deal. The team would also have to consider the value of Llamosa, who is paid pretty well. Gone are Downing (which of these people could he beat out for a roster spot?), Fabbro (wouldn't play much over Noonan or Twellman), probably Kante (see above), Frias (one can hope...), Jason Moore. Also, since this would give us a premium of depth, if we could trade a 2 for 1 to get a better player, that would be fine. Maybe something like Joey and Chris Brown for a good central defender, or Kamler and Chicago's pick to move up into the top 6 with it.
I think Bagley is under contract with the Charleston Battery, so I would expect him to return there. He only wound up with us because their season ended and he was local and coming home. He was just hoping to train to stay fit, but given the injuries up front and the availability of a Developmental slot, both parties figured why not sign him and let him see what he could do. He did get some minutes, the most important when he drew a PK to win the DC United game. Nice job, Bag Man, and good luck in Chahhhlston next year. Tom