At the same time, it'll likely take some time to integrate the forward anyway. We may luck out and he hits the ground running, or it may take a month, or they just won't pan out. You're better off having a realistic expectation, instead of thinking we're getting Van Persie, and winding up with lefturo.
Having a little insight into the kind of kid that RSL is trying to complete a deal with, I think he's likely going to be a kid with potential, but may not be someone that can be thrown into a new team in a foreign league and have immediate success. He's likely to be 20-ish and there is good and bad that will come with that.
We started out the offseason knowing that the team needed a #2 (since they only had one forward on the roster). When Findley was signed, people were generally unsure where he fit in, and the fans seemed to decide that the #2 guy was still to come. I think as Kreis always says, the players will decide that out on the practice pitch. Whoever they bring in will compete with Findley and Plata for a starting job.
Who said this guy is or isn't a #2 forward? His age has no bearing on that. He will probably start out coming off the bench because he's new to the team and in a foreign league - just like Sabo did when he first got here. But whether he ends up being a starter or not will depend on how he and the other forwards show, nothing else. All I can say right now is I like most of what I'm hearing about the player.
I appreciate that we have Findley, who knows our system, so the newbie can work into it a bit. Season starts in three weeks after all!
Shipping out Espindola was a very clear sign that this club was looking to improve itself in the striker position. Signing Findley and Plato has not done that in my opinion, in fact if our new striker " to be announced in 8-10 days" is not a signing that clearly replaces Espindola with a new quality striker who can score in big matches in his first few months with RSL then all the BS we have been hearing all summer from the RSLFO has been a lot of BS. Sad that we are all starting to except some kind of idea that this new signing is someone we hope will work out.
Repped, I'm sick of reducing expectations with each passing day. We went into the off season with hopes of getting a clear guy to go along with sabo, now we are hoping to get a guy who can compete with Findley and Plata? ******** me.
I think the Espindola move was as much about money as it was about upgrading quality (although I think it was both). He made $125K last year, and had a significant increase scheduled this season. I think Findley has shown that he's a guy that can score in big matches (like 3 goals in 2009 playoffs, including the key goal in MLS Cup).
I think the problem I'm having is this isn't 2009 MLS anymore, the league has gotten better but has Robbie Findley? He's played 10 games in 3 years, that's kind of scary to think about when he is RSL's second forward. I'm excited to have Findley and Plata on RSL this year but I'll be extremely disappointed if they are the #2 and #3 forwards on this team.
Findley was gone for two years, and has played alot more than 10 games. He played 7 games for Gillingham last fall, and played a total of 26 games for Forest in all competitions the prior season, but your point is well taken. The league has improved somewhat - only slightly - since his departure. Findley hasn't played as much as he would have liked. But any player who has been in the situation of training in Europe will tell you that the experience is invaluable. Not everyone that comes back from Europe has success in MLS, but many do. I saw Findley play once shortly after he joined Forest, and then once several months later and he looked like a much better player. He was using his feet more to get separation for shots. His touch appeared to be improved, and he wasn't relying as much on his speed. However, he certainly will need to work to get back to top form. We'll see.
I love Robbie Findley. My little boy cried when I told him that Findley left for England. I am glad he is back. But I wonder, he is slightly injured now and he had a rather hard time at Forest. I am sure he has a chip on his shoulder and wants to prove something, but there is a lagging feeling in my mind that he might be damaged goods now. I hope that I am just insane and wrong. But since I feel that way, it doesn't translate for me as an upgrade to Espindola. And Plata? I am sure he will have his flashes, but all my hopes of scoring glory hinge on Findley and mystery striker from latin America.
I'm reserving judgement on our situation when we actually find out who our striker is. All the "reports" seem like a bunch of hearsay. As awesome as it would be to have someone be able to come in and partner up with Sabo immediately, I do like the approach of grabbing someone younger who in the long run will turn out better. It's clear that the front office is trying to stay competitive, but as a small market we don't have the luxury of buying top notch players every offseason like LA or NY. In RSL's situation, to stay competitive it takes a lot more planning and forethought. I fully expect to take a step back this season in terms of wins/points, but I do think that we are retooling ourselves to return to 2010-2012 style numbers in upcoming seasons. With all the expectations we are throwing out between our "#2" striker and how the team will do in 2013, do we need a "2013 Season Expectations" thread? Edit: I mean no disrespect to anyone who does bring inside information to these boards when I say "hearsay", but who knows what we are really getting.
You see, I thought new majority owner and billionaire Dell Loy Hansen clearly said that he was going to spend the money (ie where Checketts wouldn't) for a starting striker ... "we want more goals" Hansen said. Did I not hear him right?
Amen. I could give you the name, and you still wouldn't know enough to know how well he'd do in MLS. I think whoever the player is, he'll be coming into a squad and environment that will allow him to be successful as possible. But in the end, it will come down to the quality of the player, and how hard he's willing to fight for the club. If he gives the effort that Espindola always did, then I think he's got a good shot.
Who was are last top notch player we bought? Steele?Alvarez? I would say Sabo was the last top notch player we bought. How many years ago was that?
True. I guess I should say that we won't retool our team bygetting players like Henry, Beckham, Keane. I do expect him to shell out more, but definitely not at NY or LA levels. This has been brought up before and it was impossible to make any high impact signings since then. Our salary cap situation just wouldn't allow it.
Two things: Without Hansen, we wouldn't have Saborio. I don't think there is anyway that deal to buy his rights gets done without Dell Loy. Second, I think RSL is setup for more goals this year. The more I think about (and hopefully this isn't revisionist history) I think Espindola's departure itself may help lead to more goals. I'm drawn to what Ned Grabavoy said. Gil, Viana, and Velasquez appear to be in the plans for this season. All three are likely to show more attacking tendency and get into the box than Will did last season. Findley may chase a ball down in the corners, but generallly he'll get into the box much more regularly. Reports from camp is that Plata is playing much more centrally than in Toronto. RSL is really setup for a second forward playing off of Sabo, and I think those two will do that much mo bettah than Espindola. I know a little bit about the forward target, and know that he's been playing in that second forward role with his current club. My biggest worry for RSL right now is not at the forward position, but in the playmaker role. The injury to Morales (and his overall health this season) is worrisome.
I think in some ways we're shooting ourselves in the foot by not letting Morales go. We don't seem to really have anyone on the team currently that can step in anywhere near his level, and keeping him just means we're not picking up anyone for that spot. I think that's going to have to be a key spot to look at after this season, unless someone like Seba/Viana winds up being able to play the role.
Fernando Uribe scored twice yesterday so that pretty much rules him out. Edit: I just read KIR and he ruled him out days ago. A nice read on the U20 Colombian Team though.
You heard him right. But what you're doing is arbitrarily assigning a time frame to his comments when he didn't give one. He thinks he's already spent the necessary money this offseason to get more goals, and you know what? I believe him. I think RSL 2013 will outscore RSL 2012 (unless major injuries derail things). And I think in the future he'll be willing to spend money to keep RSL competitive. And like KIR, I know who the mystery striker is and I think he is a significant addition to the striker corps. Is he "#2" quality? Yes. Is he automatically going to be "#2"? No, he will have to earn it.
So ibik and kirk know who it is. I know they won't tell us because they are sworn to secrecy. but can u guys tell us if they are going to anounce him this week if he gets singed. Garth and JK said they were hoping to have when they go back to Arizona.