He's posted that Tweet before I think. And I think there was similar panic. That being said, I hope he's not going anywhere. But dumping Williams? Fingers crossed!
I think if Ray was tweeting something about him leaving it would be on his main twitter account. (Hopeful thinking)
Trading MacMath for Ashe is probably the best thing for our team, even though it most likely won't happen. It gives us an upgrade at LB, RB and one of the best bench defenders in MLS in Williams. I legit think we could win a cup with the lineup of: --------------Casey------------- Wenger---------------Le Toux -------------Chaco------------- -------Okugo----Noggy------- Ashe---Edu---Valdes--Gaddis ----------M'Bohli-------------- Especially with the bench strength of Cruz, Williams, White, Brown.
Why are people insecure with their feelings ... Stupid, fcuking fat fingers ... I think Sheannon's and Ray's respective salaries are inversely proportional to their foot speed.
If the Candyman continues to produce assists and put in performances like he did last Saturday, he can stay. It usually takes him at least half a season to find his form. Gaddis, meanwhile, has been pretty poor. Wonder how much of that is fatigue.
Since there are the players everyone seems to be discussing, here are some numbers: Player (Age): WhoScored/Castrol Ranking (Salary) Gaddis (24): 6.82/191 ($52,313) Williams (24): 6.93/163 ($130,500) C. Ashe (28): 6.57/253 ($174,750) Sarkodie (23): 6.57/259 ($195,500) Doesn't support trading either Gaddis or Williams for Ashe straight up.
Probably a good deal. We don't even have 2 legit backups to play in friendlies or USOC matches. Our outside backs have had it pretty rough. This is why I think acquiring Ashe would be perfect. It's just unfortunate we play the Open Cup final right after the deadline so I doubt the MacMath trade will happen and I don't know how else to bring in Ashe. Is Berry healthy and fit enough to warrant interest from Houston? But both those ranking systems are flawed in this aspect. Gaddis's ranking would most likely increase if moved to the right, so we'd get that added value with Ashe. I still wouldn't be for either of those trades though as half the reason I want Ashe is for the security of an actual outside back on the bench.
According to both of those sites, Nogueira is trash. WhoScored thinks Fabinho is far and away our best defender. Suffice it to say...I trust neither...
I think Gaddis has been one of our best players in the second half of the season. The heavy traffic of the past few weeks clearly got to him after playing ever minute (correct me if I'm wrong). I can't blame him for being dead on his feet at the end of that stretch. It's just bad squad management. Besides, Ray would be significantly better playing on his natural side.
These sites only give a partial picture. But WhoScored breaks down Ray's performances by side. As you'd expect, he rates higher on the right than the left (6.86 vs. 6.79) but he still isn't better than Williams (unless you account for the salary discrepancy). I disagree. WhoScored actually says Nogueira has been inconsistent. Some fantastic performances (both TFC games and two matches in early June), some mediocre games (the loss to the Galaxy and the Impact win) and some stinkers (the loss to Houston). Vincent is a great player but I believe this is a fair characterization of his contribution to the Union, perhaps in part because he's played different roles in the midfield depending on who else has been available...something that hasn't always played to his strengths. I would agree that any of these sites are only a tool and not the whole picture.
Well, obviously, and a 25-year-old Johann Cruyff in midfield would be nice as well. The question is, if Houston (or anyone else) is willing to trade a player like Ashe for Ray, but not for Sheanon, do you do the deal? Or do you stick with a left back depth chart of Ray and Fabinho?
WhoScored is cracking me up. Fabinho is our best defender. And what I consider Ray's best performance (vs Red Bull in July) when he pretty much took Sam out of the game and shut down an entire side of the field by himself...he got a 6.9. Saturday against Toronto, he got a 7.2...and I thought it was one of his below average outings. It can't judge defenders worse crap, IMO.
WhoScored lists Andre Blake and Fabinho as the Union's two highest-rated players. At least mine was rooted in reality. Defoe in goal?! That's what TFC's been doing wrong ...
A deal to make the Brown loan a permanent transfer seems like an option with Carroll retirement also an option given his reduced role and MLS has not had a retirement announcement in a few days after Bocanegra and Pause just did it. A trade seems unlikely but if there was one - would think it might be someone like Berry just to get some assets for him prior to the 9/15 roster freeze as opposed to lose him for free in the Expansion Draft after giving up $100K to acquire him earlier in 2014. If the news is a contract extension with higher $, I would go with Gaddis. He has been a starter for 2+ seasons and is still stuck on near-minimum $ and the starter with the next highest salary makes over 2X what Gaddis makes. He does not seem like the type to want to try Europe in even the lesser leagues. A new deal for Okugo seems more of an off-season event given his desire to eventually play in Europe and desire to assess his options. Even less breaking but also a viable option is a loan of a player for a at least a few games to a NASL team. Harrisburg City's season is likely over soon (they play Orlando City in the playoffs this weekend). Sending someone like Berry or Blake to NASL would give them some minutes that they will likely not get here in the short-run.
Stats are incredibly subjective and don't really tell the full story. When Ray played RB, he had to deal with a backline that included Wheeler and Fabinho. What we all know is that Ray is a better defender than Sheanon just by watching all year. Sheanon also seems to get boosts for the occasional good offensive games he has which balances out some of his questionable defending.