Goff....It's Official/ Washington Post 1/17 Stevens latest is up.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22605-2004Jan16.html
Good news! (Not sure about Harkes though.) I edited the thread title for this bit of news because I think it's very significant.
Good article. Nottingham Forest should be a fun game. I hope someday they can bring Liverpool and Arsenal to Washington DC.
Standing just one spot above the relegation zone. Not even ahead of the Dingles. By the time they arrive here they may be out of the 1st and into the 2nd. Since we've never lost to a Premiership side, these guys are dead meat....
I like the idea of Harksey joining the staff. I have no worries about him undermining Nowak in any way. Won't happen.
Simpson back in black and red is a great thing! Warren and Nicky are sure to continue to improve, especially positionally. Harkesy??? I'm puzzled by that rumor. I've never visualized Harkesy as a coach. I hope Ara was worth it. GM
Great that Simpson is back. I think part of the reason Rimando wasn't as good last season was because Simpson wasn't there to help him unlike the previous season.
Great news all around! I'm very excited about Simpson being named a coach. I always thought he received a bit of a raw deal when he was strung along as GK coach before. I've always thought Harkes would make a good coach, so I'm hoping that he is named as well, although I think that would make Nowak's staff the largest in the league, heh. Great to hear Piotr Nowak saying that Freddy would play immediately, because Hudson was making it sound like he'd never play. I'm sure the reality--for both coaches--lies somewhere in between the two. I'm still hoping to see Freddy as a 60' sub every game. That gives him 30-45 minutes to work his magic but with less pressure, and while working against tired defenders. And in the greatest show of Internet Appreciation yet, Nowak signs the guy Knave scouted! That freakin rocks! Man, if only every draft made us feel this good. -Digital
I would expect coaches to down play the chances of Freddy playing, all coaches. With Nowak saying Freddy will see playing time early, it makes me wonder if he will start Opening Day. Freddy said it the day he signed, "if you're good enough, you're old enough" if nothing else, the topic of Freddy's playing time will make the Marco debates look like child's play.
So you're saying that a second half surge by Forrest into the Promotion zone is unlikely? Well the Forrest fans should be happy, they're still big fans of Ben.
It is good to have Mark Simpson coming back. It was nice of the Washington Post to print the list of all the MLS draft picks (page D7).
It seems to me that Harksey's in a 'soccer-related odd-jobs' mode since his retirement. The weekend FSW gig in LA could have worn him down. That's a lot of travel from here, and it probably didn't pay that much. I find it puzzling too, but we've gone from a team with way too many personalities/egos, to a team with Earnie Stewart as it's only real international veteran. Maybe having Harksie around would be a way to help out Bobby and other players with overseas aspirations.
Re: Re: United Tabs Adu :: Simpson Assistant Coach :: Goff, W. Post, 1/17 well cerritos has 45 caps for el salvador and nelsen is the captain of his national side (though he is relatively young).
I always admired Harkes as a player and am glad he's gotten into the media gig. That said...I don't have a warm fuzzy about him being in line to assist. Maybe he'd be a fine assistant, maybe not. I just don't have enough of a feel to determine how he'd be and what role he'd play. IF he is hired (and this could be a rumor being floated by Harkes himself), it would make for a very young staff that is capable of strapping on the cleats, getting on the field and playing alongside the troops in drills and scrimmages. Also, the transition I see (again, IF Harkesey is hired) is not that the team has no personalities or leadership. But Hudson wanted strong personalities on the field. I think Nowak wants them on the sidelines. And I'm a big fan of Simpson and am glad to see him back. But I also was not a critic of Vanole--who is a fine coach in his own right.
Can Harkes put aside his ego to play second (or third) fiddle to someone? At least he wouldn't be able to say he's the better player. As for Liverpool coming, in the Times article they reported Liverpool would be touring the Us this summer. Probably just on the East Coast so we may get a shot at playing them.
We're getting "mid-major conference" respect. Sort of like how the Georgetown's of the NCAA's won't play a non-conference game against a decent opponent. The EPL is now afraid to play a "mid-major" like United in a friendly. United'll have to make more trips to England and beat them in their own houses. Plus we owe Forest some payback. And Convey played in all the games last year, not to mention all his Under-(15-17-19-21-23 etc) experience including captaining those sides. Olsen had some decent runs. And off of last year's roster there were those other two USA '94 stars. Thx, Jay!