I'm not a big Benny fan, but I have to agree with this. He reacted to being subbed out the way Jay, the player, would have in the same stiuation.
Oh right right right. Because keeping Benny as a 'max contract' esq player keeps all his salary on the MLS's tab? Because they pay for all cap-related salaries, correct? And Kraft most likely doesn't want to give someone an 65 k a year. How does the allocation hit work? Would we receive less money next year or something?
It's more complicated than that. We already have 2 DPs, so if Benny was a third DP we'd have to pay a luxury tax to the league. At this point, it's better to pay part of Benny's salary with allocation.
It was explained in the Keene thread. Teams that have a 3rd DP "buy" that third slot, and the money is distributed to all the teams that don't have a DP.
I've got no doubt Benny is ultra competitive and puts a lot of pressure on himself. He does have the occasional beautiful through ball but far too often he looks out of sync, disinterested and whiny. I disagree trading him would somehow be detrimental to the Revs' offense. Stick Shalrie in Benny's creator role. My personal opinion of Benny's game aside, I'm sure you'd agree when Shalrie came in for Benny the Revs started bossing the midfield, rather than begging NY to get the equalizer. However, whether it's Benny, Lekic or anyone else in the world, I hate when a player shows up his coach publicly, regardless of who the player is. However, I'm glad Heaps put him back in his place.
I agree that the game changed significantly when Shalrie is inserted - it's a testament to his ability as the team's captain that the Revs seems to get a mental lift when he's out there. I'm wondering though, if instead of Benny the same result could have been accomplished with Rowe subbed out instead, pushing Benny to the left and Shalrie centrally. Rowe looked completely invisible all game and it probably wasn't a smart idea to have him go 80+ minutes one week after a concussion. Regarding Shalrie as a creator - if this was 2009/10 I'd absolutely trust him in that role, but from mid-last season on I've seen him pull too many loose passes to give him the complete keys to the midfield at this point. Hopefully, that will eventually be Rowe's spot to take.
I'm in the minority then because I think Feilhaber, all things considered, has done a pretty good job. You need a guy with that kind of fire out there. He doesn't shy down from a challenge and always looks for the ball. That's a positive trait. He does need to polish his game though, he still makes mistakes a rookie would and he needs to control his temper a bit but he's a good fit for Heaps' style of play and does have a role to play on this team.
I'm in the same camp. He was pushed around all night. I think he was expecting a few fouls to go his way. He needs to learn to adjust to different referees. If the referee allows rough play, Benny has to get the ball off his feet faster. That said, he's a valuable player. He covers a lot of ground, he's extremely skilled with the ball, and he's worth every penny.