Re: Vanney to DC?! And I will say this as well - Namoff is the veteran on the backline and he is still a young pup. This trade may not be about improving our backline via Vanney, but rather Vanney upgrading Boswell thereby upgrading our backline.
Re: Vanney to DC?! i dont now how anybody could be convinced that that someone is vanney after last nights match...
Re: Vanney to DC?! And if you watched the first few DC matches in isolation you would certainly say it wasn't Erpen. Players have bad games. If you had said, have you watched Colorado's games this year - he has sucked. In fact, the only other Colorado game I watched I saw Vanney and that defense kick our ass with the exception of one cross.
Re: Vanney to DC?! I will say that Vanney is a hair upgrade over the Erpen mullet. Those years in France brought him home with some nice hair.
Re: Vanney to DC?! The backline needs leadership. Erpen, or any of our current defenders, do not have that ability. Other DC defenders play it safe, but Erpen is alittle sloppy with his play. However, when leadership is on the backline, Erpen is our top defender. When Nelson was here, Erpen wasn't as careless, and that continued until the voice of Nelson finally faded completely, long after his departure from DC. Erpen is our most gifted defender, but he needs to be told what to do. His ball controll is significantly better then the average MLS defender. We need leadership in the backline, but not at the expense of Erpen.
Re: Vanney to DC?! Who is this Nelson of which you speak. He was NOT on the team at any point in the 2005 season (otehr than a small training session when the EPL ended) and Erpen didn't show up until later that year. Most gifted defender? Right now that is Boswell. And, lately, that isn't say too much.
Re: Vanney to DC?! I give you four nominees: Jaime Moreno - (already entered in the primaries earlier this season) Josh Gros - (people will focus on his errors while learning a new position) Christian Gomez - (what, he's not having another MVP season?) Greg Vanney - (because he replaced the latest whipping boy )
Re: Vanney to DC?! So has anybody heard what perecntage of Vanney's salary Colorado will be paying for the rest of the year? Vanney makes a lot, so hopefully he only remains with United for the remeinder of the season unless he's willing to take a paycut. Also, so we still have the rights to Jay Needham? He's been getting some pretty solid minutes playing for Puerto Rico in their central defense. If we do let go of Vanney after the season, signing Needham would free up some cap room and allow us the financial flexibility to sign an SI wingback/winger.
Re: Vanney to DC?! The official press release just arrived: News Release For Immediate Release - June 29, 2007 D.C. United acquire Greg Vanney in exchange for Facundo Erpen Washington, D.C. (June 29, 2007) - D.C. United announced today the club has acquired defender Gregy Vanney from the Colorado Rapids for defender Facundo Erpen. Vanney, 33, played the full match for Colorado in United’s 4-1 victory over the Rapids last night at RFK Stadium. “We are very excited to be getting such an experienced player who has succeeded at the MLS, French Ligue 1 and U.S. National Team levels,” said United Technical Director Dave Kasper. “Greg will provide strong leadership to our back line and we expect a fast and smooth transition for him into our team.” A U.S. international, Vanney has nine years of MLS experience. He joined the Rapids in January 2007 in a trade with FC Dallas and made nine appearances (all starts) this season. Prior to joining Colorado, the Tempe, Arizona native spent two years with FC Dallas, where he made 53 appearances (all starts) and totaling a goal and three assists. From 2002-2005, Vanney was a member of FC Bastia of the French First Division. While with Bastia, he made over 60 appearances and helped the team into the French League Cup final. Vanney’s first stint in MLS began with the Los Angeles Galaxy where he played from 1996-2001. While in LA, he made a total of 168 appearances (158 starts), notching 21 goals and 19 assists. Throughout his entire MLS career, he has played in 30 playoff games (29 starts), totaling five goals and six assists. Vanney is a three-time MLS All-Star (2000, ’05 & ’06) and was twice named to the MLS Best XI (2000 & ’01). Additionally, Vanney has had an extensive career with the U.S. Men’s National Team, earning 37 total appearances. He was selected to the 2002 World Cup squad, but suffered a knee injury a month prior to the tournament and was unable to participate. He made his National Team debut on December 12, 1996 in a World Cup qualifying match versus Guatemala. Vanney began his collegiate career at Florida International University in 1992, before transferring to UCLA the following year. He was an honorable mention All-American at UCLA in 1995. “On behalf of the organization, I would like to thank Facundo for all of his contributions during the past two years,” added Kasper. “We wish him and his family the best of luck in the future.” Erpen was originally signed by United on August 5, 2005 as a youth international. Over his three seasons with the club he made 49 appearances (all starts) and collected four goals and four assists. He made five total playoff appearances (all starts) and was named as an All-Star in 2006. Prior to his MLS career, Erpen spent time with Talleres de Cordoba (2000-2005) and with Club Juventud Unida de Entre Rios and the youth teams of Boca Juniors (1999-00). Broadcasting and P.A. Request: When speaking of the organization, please refer to the team as either “D.C. United” or “United,” but not “the D.C. United” or “the United.” We appreciate your cooperation. --- www.dcunited.com ---
Re: Vanney to DC?! Everyone's a critic... For those of us who were posting in the wee hours, Goff had merely two or three sentences on the blog. If you were reading at 11:50 this morning (and then posting a snarky comment here two minutes later), you received a significant bit of information. So, maybe you could take a look at the timing of the thread before slagging-off those posting to the thread.
Re: Vanney to DC?! This sucks - I know this isn't about Erpen for Vanney but about freeing up a valuable Youth International slot - But it still sucks I guess the the team was looking at getting another International player and looked around the team at who of our Internationals was the at the bottom and especially a Youth International who would be a Senior International next year - That made it Erpen - And if you're going to trade away a Defender you might as well get a Defender in return - The only good thing is that this won't come back to haunt us later in the year - Its unlikely Colorado will make a significant run into the playoffs, and if it does improve them, maybe they'll get some wins from Dallas or Houston and help us indirectly for the Supporters Shield But it still sucks - The team better sign a really good YOUNG international player to make this worthwhile But it still sucks
Re: Vanney to DC?! This makes me sad. Damn all the 'logical' reasons for this trade. I'm a woman and therefore do NOT tie myself down by caring about what makes sense. I like Erp-fu. I don't want to lose Erp-fu for some dude named 'Vanney'.
Re: Vanney to DC?! My comments rarely have to do with what players are like personally; I meet very few of them, and their personality, be it nice or nasty, has only limited relevance to their play. When I talk about Erpen's arrogance, I mean his willingness to put himself out of position, perhaps disastrously, in order to make a showy play. I mean his frequent flashy moves that generally end up with him on the ground and an opposing player racing in on the goal where the keeper now has to deal with him one on one, instead of with the support of what had been the last defender anywhere near the play. I mean his tendency to let the defense of the team's goal, which should be his first priority as a defender, take the back seat to his antics. I mean his putting himself before the team. Other players make sloppy mistakes, bad passes, slip on the turf, time a tackle poorly...these are all things that are either a matter of bad luck or that can be fixed through training. When Erpen does one of those things, I wince, but I realise they could happen to anyone. But when he pulls one of his patented "Hey, lookie what I can do!" moves and it leaves him injured or carded or forces one of the other players to have to cover for him in a situation where they shouldn't have to, or, worst of all, leaves us with the ball in the back of our net, I frequently wish that the DCU FO would just pull the trigger and find this guy a new job. And Dave Kaspar and Tom Soehn just made my week by doing that very thing.
Re: Vanney to DC?! If there is not another move in the works, this is an awful trade. Vanney is NOT an upgrade. Period.