Random Thoughts of a tough year

9) Who will coach in 2003:

a) Dave Dir

b) Donandoni

c) Dave Masur

d) Giorgia Chinaglia (just for laughs; man, im,againe him arguing with the lame refs MLS has.)

E.)SHEP MESSING?

 

F) All of the Above. Whomever it is, no one will like him anyway.

 

G) Nick Sakiewicz

 

Random thoughts.

I liked the team better when there were players on the team I wanted to root for.

Trading away a fan favorite who played with broken ribs, doesn't win over fans.

Turning your back on fans kicked out unjustly by security doesn't win over fans.

Trading for a player who hurt the fan favorite's ribs doesn't win over fans.

We did soooo much better without Walsh out this year, huh?

We were one game away from MLS Cup in 2000....we have a completely different team now in just two years and the drop in play and the drop in support from both the ESC and general fan population shows how much the MFO has effed up a good thing.

 

Yeah, what he said.

 

Team MVP: Williams
Team offensive player of the year: Faria
Team defensive player of the year: Howard
Best new additions: Akwari, Ziadie, Davis

Once you get beyond those six, there's not a heck of a lot to get excited about. Lowlights:

-- Clint is the bust of the year for the entire league. No doubt whatsoever. He had the chance to be a crossover national sports star and couldn't do it. If he stays in MLS, we should trade him.
-- Petke and Jolley jawing at each other and missing some assignments all season.
-- Paging Marcelo Balboa, white security phone....
-- No right midfielder all season.
-- Davis showing incredible promise in April but little improvement beyond that. I think he can still be very productive in a position in which we've never excelled, but he needs improved conditioning and some muscle.
-- Diallo is streaky, even for a striker. If he can't be consistently decent, dump him.

 

I agree about Davis. In addition to what you mentioned, he also needs a coach to tell him what to do when he doesn't have the ball. At times, he puts himself in the right place, but more often than not, he tends to be too close - even running along side the guy with the ball. I think he'll be alright though with a decent coach.

 

Good post, obie. But I would add the following lowlights:

-- Using the #7 pick overall on an utter waste like Mansour Ndiaye when Martino was still on the table.

-- Serna's pathetic goalscoring output.

-- OZ's substitutions all season.

-- Byron Alvarez.

-- OZ's tactics all season.

-- Klinger still taking up a P40 spot.

-- Not picking up BOTH Faria and Buddle in the 2001 draft. (I'm putting it in this year because look at how Buddle has blossomed this year.) http://www.mlsnet.com/content/02/goals0915.html

-- Nick "busy developing more Clint Mathises".

-- The field at Giant's stadium.

 

I'll give you Simon Elliott, Sasha Victorine and Pete Vagenas for Mathis and Faria right now!

 

Watching Mathis play over the last month has been a disgrace. He never runs at full pace anymore and looked afraid of contact with defenders (well until he can put his cleats into the back of a player) Cut off that stupid mohawk, stop being a primadonna, and become a soccer player again

 

Agreed. I didn't even consider the draft when thinking about my list.

I'll grant OZ and Nick a little bit of slack for this one because they saw a problem and traded him and headcase Hernandez away for Williams & Diallo. Williams is a keeper, but Diallo - I don't know. But he's better than Serna.

This could be expanded to OZ's lineups overall.

You mean BySucko? Worst Metro Ever! There's no explanation for his continued involvement with this team other than bribery or nepotism.

I haven't understood Klinger's status. I thought we were stuck with him as he rehabbed. Considering his injury, could we cut him if we wanted?

We beat this to death last season, but it's fun to bring it up again. Contrary to Nick's answer in the chat that followed the draft, it's unlikely that any other team was so high on him that that Faria was necessary to take at #14 last year. I'm pro-Faria overall (hardest working player on the team this year, never ever ever ever gives up on a play or a match -- the kind of player I want to support), but I remain convinced that we could have taken him at #24 and gotten someone else of quality at #14.

Unless there's a hooker somewhere who names her love child "Clint Mathis", the next Clint Mathis will have nothing to do with Nick.

Goes without saying.

 

Note how you have to add Faria into that trade to make it work for you. I'd seriously consider Elliott and Victorine for Mathis. Heck, maybe even Victorine and a pick for Mathis. We get a lot of cap room and a guy who could rebound in a new city.

 

There's no way I'ld trade Mathis now. First of all, his trade value now is lower than it has been for the last 3 years, and you don't trade when what you're offerring is at its lowest value.


Also, Clint still has a big upside, and it's way too early to give up on him. Something (well, several things) went wrong this year, but he could still come back next year and be closer to the superstar we all want him to be.

I don't think there is any way OZ keeps his job short of the Metros winning MLS Cup. There'll be a new coach who will be more than happy to have Clint.

Clint has seen any chance he had of going to Europe go up in smoke. Unless he really is brain damaged, he'll work his ass off this off-season to get in top physical condition. Between Bruce and now OZ ripping him publicly, I would think he would be driven to prove some people wrong.

I think his contract is up after the '03 season; MLS will no longer hold his rights, and he can move to Europe as long as he can find a taker. This will be even more motivation for him to have a big year next year.

In short, get rid of OZ and about 3/4 of the players. But keep Clint, along with Davis, Howard, Akwari, Rodrigo, and maybe one or two others.

 

I thrw in Faria not knowing your SI situation that well if you were to take on Elliott.

I would trade for Mathis for all 3 if I could, in a second!