Well, now that the season has begun, we can finally start to really evaluate who got the better of the Petke for Pope/Williams/Moreno blockbuster trade. Petke obviously slotted in nicely into United's back line against Kansas. I think there's a good chance that Nelsen/Petke (with or without Ivanov) will prove to be the top central defensive pairing in the MLS this season. Neither Stokes (Metros 5th pick) or Ivanov (Metros minor allocation) played for DCU. Stewart (signed with cap space created by the trade) contributed and covered a lot of ground, but didn't really have a major impact on the game. Moreno, Pope and Williams all started for the Muttros against the Crew (the sight of Pope and Moreno in black and red stripes at the kickoff initially caused my stomach to turn). All three played pretty well. Williams was Williams. Pope captained the team, was a calming influence in the back and paired well with Jolley. Moreno roamed all over the field and was an offensive spark for the Scum, but never really threatened the goal (in part because he was never near it). Pope appeared to be nursing a strained calf or ankle by the end of the game, but continued to play. Moreno played aggressively -- with much more flair and attacking mentality than any time last year -- but looks like he has gained a few pounds and lost a step. His lack of acceleration was noticeable on several occasions, as he was tracked down from behind by Martino, among others, in the midfield. However, he was still able to split and nutmeg defenders and play some beautiful touches to teammates. He and Mathis will create some interesting goals this year if they both stay healthy and don't share too many pizzas after games. Based on week 1 performances, I would have to give the advantage so far to the Metros. Petke for Pope was a push or a slight advantage to DC due to the Petke goal. However, Moreno made much more of an impact than Stewart and Williams contributed nicely for NY/NJ, while Stokes/Ivanov were on the sidelines for DC.
You may want to tell the Metro fans that on the "Official Jaime Moreno sucks thread" https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?threadid=43912 I watched the game Moreno was winded at minute 26. If you have a replay of the game check it out he's breathing hard and he wasn't even in the play before. Moreno's got a new look-long hair w/highlights and I think maybe a headband (not sure about it though). He looks kinda girlish. Moreno did make some GREAT moves though. But he needs to score-like Bird said he didn't even get near the goal for a shot. I still think it's too early to tell, but at this point I'd say advantage DC. Regarding the Metros, I think Mathis in the midfield looked terrible. They desperately need midfield help this guy Guevera may be what they need.
Re: Re: Rating "The Trade" [R] That would be like a parent trying to reason with an angry child. Actually, it would be much worse, but I'm trying to be charitable towards the swamp creatures tonight. Moreno is out of shape. However, for the bulk of the game, he was the Muttros most dangerous attacker. Granted, that's not saying much. Magee, while talented, is not yet ready for prime time (Wolyniec was an upgrade when he came on). Mathis was definitely wasted playing deep in midfield. Richie Williams? Jacob Leblanc? Need I say more. Ricardo Clark has a lot of talent and reminds me a bit of Patrick Vieira with his forward runs, but he's a work in progress.
Dear Jaime, I'm thrilled you worked on your penalty kick-taking in the offseason. Burn in hell, Lanky134
Well, Petke had a good game last night. Esky impressed in the 7 minutes he wasn't unconscious for, and we still haven't seen anything out of Ivanov. Moreno had a goal, Pope looked out of position on Jones' goal, and I don't know how Richie played.
Petke's goal at least came in the run of play. Overall, I suppose having Jaime take PKs is like having Shaq take technical FTs.
I was one of those people who wasn't wild about Petke coming here, heartbroken about seeing Pope go and very conflicted about the deal. At the time. After game one, I have to believe that DCU is a HUGE winner in this deal. Here's why... 1. Without the deal, we basically stand pat. We were a team that was built around 3-5 stars making max. salary. You either trade/cut those players or you operate on that same system. I'm more or less convinced that such an approach doesn't work in MLS (b/c you're too vulnerable to callups and injuries so the rest of your bench is too weak when all other players have to make MLS minimum). To put it another way, if we keep Pope and Moreno, we basically can't afford players making above $50K. That would be players like: Convey, Quaranta, Petke, Prideaux, Ivanov, Nelsen, Rimando, Quintanilla, Kovalenko. And after 3 years outside of the playoffs (that is some feat in a league where 80% make the playoffs), standing pat isn't an answer. 2. If past trends hold true, Petke will play 30% more MLS games this year than Pope (Pope averages 20 games a year played--and that is with his career best of 28 in there--I think that was his second year in MLS--my memory may be off bu tthe point is, Pope misses a bunch of MLS games and Petke doesn't). 3. Richie Williams wasn't going to be part of this side, regardless of any trade. Great guy, great practice player and if all you want is a destroyer and pest at D-mid, he's fine. If you want someone who can go forward, with touch, an ability to pass sometimes, he's not your man. I think the SoS won't care for this trade at all. The success of their season more or less depends upon their big 5 (Mathis, Howard, Moreno, Pope, Guevara) having great seasons. Pope has talked about exploring Europe next year. They (the SoS) will likely have cap problems next year b/c they won't have the allocation savings on Guevara's salary (I assume they're using the allocation to help fit him in the cap), if Digi proves he can last a year he'll get a pay raise, and 3 guys they've been starting who are P-40 (Clark, Magee, LeBlanc), if they play enough minutes, will count on the cap. So...I think they MUST move either Moreno or Pope next year.
In Response to Joe's last paragraph, Our team mainly relies on our big 1. Hudson. What he tells the team to do will make or break this season. personally i think he needs to tell the guys to shoot more.
Richie almost had a goal as the half was winding down. Hartman made a great save. I was pissed Moreno scored on the PK and I second what Lanky said. I went to Mass with my wife, so I wasn't able to make it to RFK. I did get a nice treat with the Metros-Gals game on MSG and United on FSW so I followed both.
Week 3 Jaime Moreno leaves the game with a strained back after having done nothing for 22 minutes. Replaced by the guy who scored the game-winning goal. Mike Petke: Solid game but for a giveaway that didn't hurt the club.
In a nutshell, this pretty much explains why he is no longer with us. I'll bet it's not the last time it happens to him this year.
Just to keep this straight: we're evaluating Pope, Williams, and Moreno for the Metros, and Petke, Ivanov, and Stokes for DC, right?
I have to say that because of special circumstances, Williams will be tough to grade fairly-- he is a much different player for Bradley than he was for any DC coach save Arena. He has been playing for Bradley forever, and is highly motivated and has total trust from his coach. His play over the first three Metro games has made a believer out of me: he knows his limitations, but has a lot more attacking ability than I thought. Bradley's system has provided him with lots of cover, so his job isn't restricted to making bad fouls to slow down the other team's attack.
And then there's the issue of the tons of salary cap money the move saved for DC, which is hard to value in this discussion. I was hoping back in December that Hudson would want Jolley rather than Petke, but Jolley has been playing well and keeping his mouth mostly shut, so it's hard to knock him. Pope, Jolley, and Howard together make it very hard to beat the Metros with an aerial game, as Columbus tried yesterday. As a rookie, Stokes isn't really easy to rate the same way as the veteran players, so that's another complication. Looking forward to seeing the hairy-chested Bulgarian, and also to see if Eskie can make a race of the rookie of the year award.