I keep seeing these posts about how Bob is "running" from a bad situation, and how we're gutting our entire lineup because of the salary cap. First off, they haven't announced the cap or the roster restrictions for 2003 yet. I already saw something indicating the roster size might finally be a bit bigger, so maybe there's hope that the salary cap may get a boost as well. Second, imagine that we lose Stoitchkov and Wolff to the cap. And maybe two other guys. For the sake of argument, let's say those two are Dema and Jesse. That means we'll still be able to field a team that looks like: G Thornton D Brown Curtin Bocanegra M Whitfield Gray Armas Nowak Beasley F Razov Faria If Beasley goes on to Europe, Perez will likely take his place, which won't be great, but he's still young. Plus, we've still got Dipsy, Saavedra (who should still be roster and cap exempt), Capano (ditto), Nugent and Daniv on the bench. And maybe Billy Sleeth, but my guess is he gets cut. Point being, you've still got an MVP (for the finals, shoulda been for the league as well), a Honda player of the year, two Rookies of the Year, one Olympian, and six USMNT pool players, one of which had a heck of a World Cup last year. And I don't remember if Zach won Goalie of the Year in '98. We're not NEARLY as bad off as some people would have us think. Discuss. Later, COZ
Yeah, but when the injuries happen, who's there to fix the holes. For that matter, who's there to run the show? Honestly though, I would like to say that we are incredibly much better off than Metro. Bob has left the best management for the worst, I hope he can deal with them as best he can.
it's a new day and a new beginning bob's been great, but maybe it was time to get some new blood running the team... don't get me wrong, i'd love to have him out there for next season, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing... maybe we will get the new "jeff bradley" and we will have gotten faria AND a 2004 draft pick for that luxury
Why not just go for the old Jeff Bradley? I understand he's just doing wordsmithing about some inconsequential small-balled sport for some fly-by-night rag anyhow.
Actually, I think Bob is -- well, "running from" is probably a bit unfair, 'cause he's no wimp, but let's stay with that -- running from a situation where expectations for high quality results are VERY high, to a place where things are SOOOO bad, it could only get immediately better with a smidgen of intellingence applied. I agree with COZ that we're actually OK, but it will be another transition year for us. I just can't see Beasley sticking around -- you know he is going to cash in. How much gas is left in Peter's tank?? Not much. Our young players -- Saavreda and Capano -- are full of promise, but, well, still young. It's more important for us to stay healthy than anything else. Lack of depth is a problem for everyone in this league, but it was really brought into relief for us because we were SO good with all our first choice starters -- our drop, therefore, was more precipitous. I do worry about the combination of Faria and Ante -- we may have games where we explode for 4 or 5 goals, and other games, where we will be stunned by the amount "shanking" that occurs. It will be maddening. Hide the women and children.
The thought throughout these boards is that both Stoitchkov and Wolff will be leaving the Fire, and I'm not altogether convinced of this. With Coach Bradley leaving, I'd imagine that the players who are closer to Bradley would be more likely to leave the club. Specifically, the Princeton alumni on the roster, and Razov enjoyed Bradley's favor while he was here. With Bradley gone, wouldn't it be more likely that these players may fall out of favor with whoever will be the next manager? And wouldn't Bradley, with his goal of remaking NY/NJ, want to acquire some of the players he likes? Whoever will be the next manager will have some difficult choices indeed. I personally doubt that the lineup proposed by NotAbbot will take the field next opening day. Whether it be for reasons of changes in the salary cap/roster size, changes in the coaching staff, or changes in the career goals of the players, I'd wager that fully 1/4 to 1/3 of the roster may be turned over. The team may need to retool to suit the desires of the new manager, and rebuild for the future. Consider: At forward, there are two players at or near the league max (Razov/Wolff), an aging foreign legend (Stoitchkov), a former rookie of the year (Faria), and unknown quantities in Nugent and Selolwane. In the Engine Room: A wunderkind (Beasley), who may want to bolt for Europe's greener pastures; An elder statesman who, when healthy, is the best player in the league, but is plagued with injuries, and on a club that plays on artificial turf (Nowak); A pair of midfielders (Armas/Whitfield) returning from horrific injuries; A player who came off his worst season as a professional (Kovalenko); A player who's played for Bradley his entire career (Marsch). I believe all, except Whitfield are above 6 figures in salary, and at least one at or near the league maximum salary (Nowak). Whoever will manage this club will likely want to cull some of this salary, and match the right players to his system. In the back, three solid starters, of which two (Bocanegra & Brown) have been considered for national team duty, but alas, not much depth beyond the starters. Additionally, Curtin must be due for a bigger payday in the near term, which would further press on the salary cap. The wildcards are the utility players (Walsh, Vaudreil, Perez, et. al), and the youngsters (Capano, Nugent, Savedra, Sleeth, et. al). I'd bet that the utility players will all be shown the door, and at least one of the youngsters will be cut as well. Moreover, as I recall, the club does not have many Superdraft selections in the first few rounds either this year or the next. The more I think about it, the near future for our favourite club is more uncertain than one may imagine at first glance. Not likely to be marooned at the bottom of the table, as there is more than enough existing talent in the club to continue to contend. However, there are tough decisions to be made. Decisions, that if left in the hands of the incompetent, we as fans may be in for a long, tough road ahead. I only hope that Mr. Wilt chooses the right man for the job. Cheers!
Actually, the lineup I proposed *can't* take the field opening day, as Razov is suspended. Here's my reasoning: We can't possibly keep Razov AND Wolff, because of salary concerns, so one of them goes. If you look at scoring production on the team, you'd be insane not to keep Razov. And the conventional wisdom is that Hristo isn't worth what we've been paying him, so he's gone unless he's willing to work cheap, which is unlikely. So we're at Razov, Faria, Dipsy, Nugent, Saavedra. In the midfield, Beasley is obviously an issue, but there's not much time for him to make any kind of impression before the European transfer window opens and closes again. Nowak is also *somewhat* questionable, but I don't think St. Pete is quite done yet. Just a hunch. Armas and Whitfield aren't coming off "horrific" injuries, they're coming off the most common injury there is for soccer players. I don't see that being a big deal, except possibly the weight loss Chris suffered when he had that brief infection. As I said before, keeping Nowak and Armas in red and on the field will be all the difference next season. We've got two or three options at each of the other midfield spots. In the back, I was originally thinking either Brown or Bocanegra might get traded for cap reasons, but I'm not so sure anymore. It still might happen, but even so, we've got options. So, if you were wondering, that's my rationale behind my projections. I think a position-by-position depth chart might be a good thread, and seeing as how I've got nothing but free time, I'll get working on that. Later, COZ
NotAbbot: Thank you for refreshing my memory about Razov's suspension. I agree, in that the club cannot possibly retain both Razov and Wolff. I do disagree, that Razov's production would be looked at by the new manager as a reason to retain him. Rather, I feel it would be a reason for a new manager to trade Razov to another club for another commodity (or collection of commodities). In a trade, Razov would be more likely to acquire more value in a swap than Wolff at this point. Wolff would be difficult to trade for fair value, in light of his recent injury history. If the team must retool/rebuild, and the team cannot retain both players, why wouldn't a shrewd front office move the player with more value? Additionally, were the two players' situations reversed, (With Razov in Korea and Wolff in the US) I find it difficult to imagine Wolff being unable to duplicate Razov's numbers this year (barring injury). In any case, Razov is the player that would be more desired around MLS, given his production, the unlikelihood of further international competition, and his health when compared to Wolff's current situation regarding production, future internationals, and health. As far as Armas and Whitfield are concerned, I consider a season-ending/12 month rehabilitation injury to be horrific. NotAbbot, if these are not, what do you consider to be horrific? I always considered ankle sprains, cuts, gashes, and bruises to be far more common than the injuries that Armas and Whitfield (And for that matter, Wolff) suffered. Their injuries were horrific, and likely helped to derail what would otherwise have been a more successful season. This is not to state by any means that I feel that Armas, Whitfield, and Wolff cannot recover from their injuries; Rather I fully anticipate their recoveries to be swift, complete, and for these three to be back on the pitch next season. Cheers!
Well, I've had reconstructive surgery on both my ACLs, so I guess I have a different definition of "horrific." Unfortunate, yes. Inconvenient, yes. Pretty painful for about a week and a half, yes. Just not horrific, IMO. And I absolutely agree that their loss contributed to our problems this season. I've said many times that our midfield wasn't able to disrupt our opponents as they had in the past, which led to more work for our defense and more shots against Zach. But if you think they'll be back in top form next season, it's sorta moot anyway with regard to 2003. We agree on that point. Later, COZ