Who would you keep/lose?

One quick comment about Clarke.

He went 2-3-1 with this roster.

No trades, no cuts, no signings... played with the hand delt by another coach... not to bad.

Elliott has 6 names we are told.
Clarke, Mo Johnson, Brian Bliss we know.

Can we assume Schellus?
and who else?

Ellinger? With U-17 for a while.
Mooch? retred coach, busy with Olympic team.
Rongen? please.
Kinnear? Source tell me he is not in for Burn job, but I can't get it confirmed.
Lilly? the Montreal guy from A-League. Not a fan of no MLS experience.

Unless Sigi gets canned in LA, Clarke is my choice.

 

Bear in mind though that one of the 2 wins was Clarke's first "honeymoon" game which was also a Brimstone game which is always unpredictable.

The second win was the last home game of the season and was meaningless.

In the 3 losses we were outscored 10-3 and more importantly looked awful.

Now I do like what I've seen from Clarke overall certainly compared to MJ but these 5 games I'm afraid would mean nothing to me. Practice and player response to the coach would be much more important to me.

 

Good points. (Then again a win is a win)

So let me address some practice impressions etc.

Discipline is up, communicaiton is better, players know "where they stand", talks are more to the point, drills require thinking on your feet, drills focus on specific areas to improve, there is a greater variety of work, more full field work, and the attitude is better.

Right away the offense improved under Clarke (easy to get right), the defense was bad, but it has gotten better of late too.

Mostly I am impressed by just talking to the guy. Colin is a straight shooter, focused and too the point. He has wonderful expereince playing at high level in England and World Cup. He has extended coaching expereince here in states, both as ast and head coach level. And now he has a taste of MLS and what doesn't work with this team.

I really think he is a better candidate than the other names I hear. Have I talked to other candidates? No. And I can give you some names I do like better, but for now Clarke remains the current candidate I like the best.

Unless Arena steps down from Nats, Bradley quits Metro, Or Sigi is out in LA.

All of which is just one man's opinion.

 

As Valerie stated on another thread, I like the way Deering has changed his game in order to suit the "Dragon style" and changes in the lineup.

Deering's role at the CB was a holding one, and he was responsible for the shape of the back. But that had to change at Dragon, so he gradually (expecially the last few home games) reinvented himself into the kind of performance that Val has commented on for the last game.

I think this kind of flexibility is invaluable; especially considering the critical nature of that position at Dragon. He should be a steadfast player in the middle of the Burn lineup next season.

Since noone has mentioned Shavar Thomas, I will. I'd lose the people around him and keep Shavar. Dunseth is known to be a terrible man-marker with no vertical ability. Goodbye. EZ pushe up so much and gets caught up-field so often, it's no wonder that Thomas was burned on odd-man rushes as much as he was. Hang a rookie out to dry? Cardinal sin. If Behncke is kept, he needs to be played in the middle ONLY. I've seen him fall and get burned too often to entrust him with the 1v1 responsibilities that the outside back position demands.

I've said it before, I'll say it again - I don't see Gbandi turning into a reliable defender. He doesn't defend. He's not good at it. He doesn't have the ability to properly read defensive situations and apply himself appropriately. However, I'd be shocked if the Burn let him go. I think they're in a love affair with him. Unless the Burn bring in two, solid veteran defenders that will commit to staying back (Thomas will always do that), I can't see a solid three developing that will allow Gbandi to play midfield. And the heat and field turf of Dragon won't allow a 3-5-2, unless Chad is basically committed to staying in the defensive half at all times.

Oscar looked great the last game. Don't know if that's enough to risk him getting injured for most of the season though. Probably not. Davis is the real mvp, he stays. EJ stays, I'm pretty sure Rhine will be here next season (especially if Kreis is), and I think my hopes of seeing the front three of Ali/Toni/EJ is going to be broken up by trading Curtis and not resigning Toni.

This, of course, will leave Rhine and Kreis up top again, and that will fit in with the hell-that-is-Dragon. Kreis will score his normal amount of goals, and Rhine will put in a couple. But it will come nowhere close to what's needed for Dragon and the Burn's rise out of the hell that was 2003.

Most know that I want Kreis to go to a San Jose or the like - so he can retire with a championship. Although a couple of teams have come from the cellar to win MLS the next season, I don't see that happening in Dragon - especially with the you suck allocations and impending changes to the team.

I'm still in the "HSG-is-scrimping-and-saving" belief, so I think they'll just keep Clarke and not incur more expense by bringing in another coach.

So, in short, I think they'll try and get back to what made the Burn quasi-successful before they came to Dragon. Center the team around Kreis, and rest their faith in him. A proven commodity can reinstitue stability, so I don't blame them.

Hey, even though this season, on the whole, was hell; I got to see a very entertaining front three of Ali/Toni/EJ for awhile. I guess I can be happy with that until 2005?..?

 

you can find my take on this thread's real topic is here...

http://www.3rddegree.net/comment/120F/index.htm

 

I'd like to see Toni and Kries together.
I don't remember them being on the field at the same time this year.

I like the way Toni holds the ball up top. Combine his ability to feed others and Jason's shot, it could be a productive combination.

 

How about Namazi as the coach. I know he must be available since WUSAwent under

 

Here is a link on Namazi.
http://www.sandiegospirit.com/players_coaches/coaches/omid_namazi/

 

Off the Team

Bonseu - he's not going to be a leader in the defense, he's not significantly better than Thomas, and he apparently wants to leave.

Deering - He's old, he's expensive, and he's just not productive enough.

Dunseth - He's got no upside, he made a number of serious errors in his brief stay here, and he's never been particularly good.

Glinton - A guy who wasn't able to get playing time on this team, this year, is a guy who probably doesn't deserve to be in the league.

Morrow - Obvious. He's retired.

Nhlecko - Nice to see a productive target forward, but I imagine we can find someone of his talent in the draft (e.g. Knox Cameron), if we don't already have him in Jason Thompson. Overpaid.

Rhine - Would be a very productive a-league forward.

On the Fence

Behncke - Hasn't been great, but he's smart and cheap. He, unlike Bonseu and Thomas, might actually one day develop into a general of the back line.

Curtis - Not skilled enough to be a midfielder, not enough of a scorer to play forward. But a good character guy, and probably pretty cheap.

Hendrickson - He's getting old, but serviceable outside backs aren't exactly easy to find in the league. But if a replacement presents himself (perhaps Salyer), he's expendable.

Kreis - I don't know what he would be worth to other teams, and it would hurt to lose him, but he's on the downside of his career, he's not going to help rebuilding, he apparently doesn't like EJ, and he seems willing to leave.

Pareja - He should definitely not start next year, but having him play a Stoichkov role would be nice.

Rosenband - Is he still on the team? I doubt, considering the number of draft picks we have this offseason, that he'll make the cut.

Urbas - I can't see any reason to get rid of him, but he might get pinched.

Vaca - Had trouble finding a place in the lineup after Clarke took over, but a talented player. Would make good trade bait.

Cassar - unless a very good keeper falls to the third or fourth round, who would we replace him with?

Keepers

Davis - our MVP this year

Gbandi - I hold out hope that he will look much better playing in a competent defense.

Johnson - Our most talented player, our youngest player.

O'Brien - next year's captain?

Salyer - Has looked good in the limited time he's gotten; is on a developmental contract.

Stone - May not have been great this year, but is only 19. Should come back improved.

Thomas - Immense physical talent.

Countess - Next year, we'll reap the rewards of this year's shelling. He should be quite good.

 

He is a poor defender. Having physical talent means little when you can't play the position.

 

I agree with Buzz. I think the last time this happened was two years ago on draft day.

I think the vets are mostly gone. I would keep EZ for one or two more years, and Jason. On the other hand, I would not keep Rhine, Glinton, or Behncke.

Unlike many on this list, I have confidence in Thomas and Gbandi. Viking grants the tools, perhaps, but not the ability when they step onto the pitch. Rookies need time to develop. While Jeffries made a mistake in benching Broome to play Gbandi when he was clearly not ready, and Thomas had to play in the frequent absences of T Bone and our Irish, both have learned about the speed of the MLS game as opposed to the UConn game. I bleive that Thomas will be a good center back and Gbandi will be a star on the outside. Salyer will play in 2005 when his speed will be less of a liability.

I worry about the middle. While I am sure a YS Allocaiton could take care of the d mid, I am concerned about the distribution. Vaca could be the playmaker, but not in the 4-4-2. Davis does not pass well enough, nor does he have the aggression. ROB does not see the pitch well enough. This position must be addressed, and I am not sure that player will be around any time soon; at least, the Burn will not be in a position to sign him.

Up front, I like Toni, but I do not think he will be around. Too many problems. I like the speed of EJ and Ali up front, and EJ has been adding a lot to the team, coming all the way back to defend. I expecte to see Jason and Ali next year.

And I would expect to see Clarke on the sidelines. I would like to see him with two years to get the team in order. It will take that long at least.