Just to let you all know that Ryan Nelsen (aka Horatio) is playing brilliantly since he came and is a favourite at Blackburn. He's been one of the best defenders since Colin Hendry.
Couldn't remember which team he came from, so could the moderator move this to DC United forum please ?. P.S. No chance. You can have Lorenzo Amoruso though .
Nelsen is a class act and a great pickup for Blackburn. It's good to hear about players using MLS as a launch pad to European success, it speaks well about the quality of the league. Stamen: As good as Nelsen is, you guys had a chance to get Dwayne DeRosario and he apparently didn't pass muster at tryouts last year. Too bad, he's a fantastic player for San Jose.
IIRC, De Ro was offered a six-month contract by Blackburn in January of 2005, but he turned it down because he didn't want to uproot his family for a temporary contract.
I can understand it from Dwayne's point of view. I think we lost out on McBride for similar reasons, but then we got someone called Jon Stead who knocked in loads of goals for the remainder of the season (and was absolute poo afterwards). There is a person on the unofficial Blackburn site raving about De Rosario, but everyone else is quite sceptical. Do you think he can improve a middling EPL team ?. Premiership clubs don't want to risk what little money they have on players who may be great in the MLS, but cannot cut it over here. This will probably change as the reputation and standing of the MLS grows worldwide.
No, we lost out on McBride because Fulham made a better offer at the last minute, having sold Saha and needing a sudden replacement. I'm still kinda bitter about that. I'm happy to cheer on Nelsen as a Rover for the same reason I hated him at DCU.
No need to be bitter about McBride, we had Stead who did much better than him for that half a season, and then made about £500,000 profit after he went sh_t by lobbing him to Sunderland. Is Dwayne an attacking midfielder ?. We have guys who can run around, but we need a bit of creativity to replace Tugay, who is 35 or so.
He was a forward, but SJ put him into thier a-mid role this year. He really flourished in this position, and was many people's pick for MVP of the league. Somebody from SJ can probably tell you more about him. I could just give you generalities from knowing his reputation in the league. Basically, that big boot seen in the clip above. He is more creative than a runner but a bit of both (i've seen him score from both flashes of brilliance and beating his man to the cross on a long run). He is also a suprisingly good distributer for a converted forward (from what I saw when they played DC where we really keyed on him and made other players beat us).
DDR is very, very creative, a real flair player. Won GOTY in 2004 for a fantastic full volley. But he's only produced at this level for one season, so as a Rovers fan, I wouldn't want him unless a) he comes on a cheap transfer (which given his age is quite possible or b) he's just as good in the MLS half season before he can be transferred next August. Make him prove he's not a one year wonder. But here's one way to look at it. Nelsen was MLS' best defender, and see how good he is in the EPL. DDR was the best attacking mid in MLS. Here's a tip you can pass on to the Rovers' board ...if you need to replace Mokoena or Savage, look at Shalrie Joseph, the true MVP last season and MLS' best midfielder, and already proven as not a one-year wonder. Great player, and IMO extremely well suited for the Premiership style. WP may be an issue as he's Grenadan.
I agree with Superdave about Shalrie, tough as old boots and can play aswell. Having said that, leave him alone, The Revs need him.
For team like Blackburn looking for central mid who could jump right in the following 3 would be good options Ronnie O'Brien: two-way mid. Can play on the right as well. Work permit would be no problem as he's Irish. DeRo: Attacking mid. Work permit should be no prob as he's Canadian. The funky chicken might be a problem. Shalrie Joseph: The best of the lot. 6'3" hard nosed holding mid with pig tails who excels in all phases of the game. Work permit might be a problem. None of these would be really expensive imo.
(WP: he'd have the same story as Nelsen) As a Blackburn fan, this idea amuses me. As a Revs fan: NO NO YOU CAN'T HAVE HIM YOU'VE NEVER HEARD OF HIM GO AWAY