Bah. Another old, used-to-be good/great. I'm sure he'll help the team so I'm not really upset. But I would have been happier if we had signed that 24 year old African player with "huge potential" ... I forget his name.
IIRC FDA's story the other day suggested that he won't arrive until after our next match. Regarding who sits, I think it boils down to Cullen vs. Hernandez, but it may be a moot point cause as soon as Joseph is back, they'll both be on the bench. I'd say it doesn't look good for DH. Cullen is more versatile, works harder and more consistently, may well be cheaper, and doesn't criticize the coach in public. DH may have more offensive skills, but with Vasquez in the fold that is less crucial for the defensive mid.
Everyone loves players with potential, but I think we're good enough right now that it makes sense to sign sumeone who can contribute right away (assuming he can), especially with Joseph out for a while.
Re: Re: Rev News, 6/9 Disagree completely pretty much, except about Hernadez' pricetag and tendency to gripe. But only time will tell (actually, some would say it already has...). However, since this guy hasn't played Game One in MLS yet, and Nicol is nothing if not practical - I don't think anybody's going anywhere yet. In the mean time, I think it's easy to make a strong case that the best Rev's midfield tandem is Hernandez/Joseph. If Joseph is out longer than anticipated, Vasquez provides some cover in the midfield. If Joseph comes back quickly <fingers-crossed>, Vasquez provides more lineup options in game situations (perhaps the kind Nicol was looking for when he tried to sign Nowak) and more midfield depth down the stretch. Let's just hope this guy can play, and isn't averse to working hard at both ends of the field, because where the Revs have really been exposed in their bad games this year (Columbus, KC) is team defense. BTW, clearblue's comment (on another thread) about the benefit of a guy with a few year's under his belt is well taken. Right now, aside from Llamosa and Harris, the Revs are pretty green-behind-the-ears. You could see a this clearly in the last 20 minutes of last Saturday's game against KC. Preki was running the show for KC - but who was running the show for NE?
Re: Re: Re: Rev News, 6/9 Do you really think Hernadez is a better defensive player than Cullen? Yes, since none of us have seen Vasquez play this is all academic, but 5 years at River Plate plus a handful of appearances for the Argentine Nats go a long way towards convincing me he can play. If Vasquez does become the offensive focal point, it becomes more important for his midfield partner to play good defense, and if that is a the primary qualification, then the nod clearly goes to Cullen, imo. Cullen can back up all four defenders as well as both central midfielders. DH can not. Cullen can sit on the bench without disrupting the team. It is a good bet that Hernandez can not. At the end of the day, though, I hope Shalrie makes a quick recovery and sends both of them to the bench.
Re: Re: Re: Re: Rev News, 6/9 Honestly - and not to beat on Cullen - yes. Again, not to beat up on Leo who plays hard and always gives 100%, the key word here is "backup". Cullen does a good job of "backing up" players in the defensive third. That is, he plays the passing lanes well and fills in behind defenders when they are challenged. But he doesn't challenge for balls paricularly well, doesn't win many balls, and can't really contend for balls in the air (goal #2 against KC). He also isn't really a man-marker, and tends to play too far off his man to tackle much. I don't really think you'd want him filling in the backline much. Great guy, gutty player - but IMO not in Joseph's or Hernandez' category. IMO Not generally resume material. Agreed, but my guess is that if he does, Hernandez starts and Vasquez and Cullen are two different options off the bench depending on the opponent - at least until Vasquez shows what he can do. Again, all just speculation on my part...
Bah. Another old, used-to-be good/great. I'm sure he'll help the team so I'm not really upset. But I would have been happier if we had signed that 24 year old African player with "huge potential" ... I forget his name. Reply w/Quote PUDDLEDUCK In general I might agree but in this case not. 1.) Ballplaying (passing) central MF's can go on forever. Witness Cienfuegos, Mancini, Hutchinson, Preki, even the vile Mattheus. Sure, someone has to run some for them but we have that. This is certainly worth a try. 2.) We don't really know about used-to-be-good. Argentina produces this kind of player by the 747-load and the list of clubs he has played for is very good. Sure, Atlanta is in Primera B, so he might be able to make more money working in the real world but he certainly will make more money here and in hard currency, too. 3.) We already have a bunch of players with potential, and good potential to boot. What we need, as witness the KC game, is some wise heads with decent legs and the authority to tell the kids what to do. If Stevie still had the wheels I'm sure he would have been in there in the last 20 minutes. With $100,000 to play with this may be a very good buy. Plus, I can't imagine that anyone is going anywhere as a result of this. JIM DOW
Well, let's think about it this way - Nicol's had a chance to personally evaluate the player, he hasn't rushed into his decision to find a replacement for Nowak, he cost us relatively little, and he comes with a pretty fair pedigree. Then again, so did Jose Luis Morales, but let's give this guy a chance. I'm quite interested to see how he'll be played, what his style is, etc. The Magpie
Am I the only one who thought Morales was a decent player? The problem had more to do with the fact that it takes next to forever to get a deal done in MLS. In Morales' case, he was ready, willing and available to join the team when the Spanish season ended, roughly the end of May. He didn't join us until August, and by that time, fearing the deal would have fallen through, the Revs had already picked up Wynalda. Either one of them would have been OK, but not both. Since there were a limited number of minutes to go around, he didn't pan out as hoped. I still say he was better than Waldo, and if he'd been with us from the start, it would have been a much different scenario. It wasn't as if the guy was Esmundo Rodriguez or anything... Tom
From Chris Bergin a little while ago---- "Liberian international Kelvin Sebwe on trial at New England." Former clubs: Monrovia Black Stars (Liberia), AS Monaco, Toulouse (France), FC Liege (Belgium), Skoda Xanthi, AEK Athens (Greece) Panahaiki (Greece), AL Ain (UAE). I know that we have trailists in all the time but since the rap on Velasquez was that he was in the mold of Hernandez and Cullen maybe we aren't finished fine tuning yet. Could it be that Danny Hernandez is on the move?? Could it be that we are still looking for our AMF?? Nawww, were done playing with the roster for this year. George
Just read the write up on the Revs web site. SN is saying that he is a new attacking option ("who can also defend") and he will be wearing #10. I guess we've signed our AMF after all We now have three "old guys" to mentor the youngsters: Llamosa in the back Vazques in the middle JMM up top. How does "Gallego" translate? George
Re: Re: Rev News, 6/9 Hmm...I knew there was a Galicia in Spain, and one in Poland...but I didn't know there was one in New England. Ted.