Morning Coffee out of the Freezer
FREEZER CALL: Okay, so thinking about it, it makes sense to publish the Freezer on Fridays. There are a few reasons for this, but mainly it allows us to consider the midweek games for the Freezer, and set the table nicely for the weekend. Your recommendations in the comments are most appreciated as we go forward. The previous week's Freezer is here.
OVERSEAS REPORTING: Congratulation to Hoops for keeping the Scottish race alive. Kevin G and his gang have been good friends to us, so we're glad to see some good fortune go the way of his lot. Further, the official Unibond Premier League team of the DCenters, Gateshead F.C., are solidly in with a shot at promotion, as they currently sit third in the standings, which puts them in the playoff (if I understand the promotion system at this level correctly).
SEE ANYTHING YOU LIKE? Sideline Views reports that Chivas is interested in a D.P., having traded away their D.P. rights to New York. Let's see, what teams haven't used their Designated Player allocations? Oh wait, didn't we get one from Colorado for Christian Gomez? I'm not sure if we could trade it, but if we could, and this is just speculation, is there anything you might want out of Chivas? There's some talent on that squad...
Labels: CD Chivas USA, Celtic FC, Freezer, Gateshead FC, Links, News
posted by D @ 10:04 AM
9 Comments:
If we were another team (RBNY, LA) I would fear that we would be trading the DP slot for Esky and "future considerations." With Kevin P I wouldn't be surprised to see Brad Guzan or Sasha on their way to DC.
As far as who Chivas has that we should try to get: two words
Sasha Kljestan.
Of course, he is probably untradeable, so I could see asking for someone like Ante Razov and/or Jonathan Boornstein + a couple of draft picks.
I think Razov could work with Emilio and Moreno in a decent rotation. Razov is coming back from an injury, but hasn't been particularly injury prone.
Boornstein can add some more experience and depth to the defensive side of the squad. Not sure if his style of play would work the the Gonzalos though.
The big problem with Kljestan is that we would lose him for significant chunck of the summer due to Olympic duty.
The other problem with either of these is salary cap room.
I've been thinking we should trade it to Chivas USA for quite some time now. Not having a DP slot, they're the obvious choice.
Who would we want? I don't know how much cap room we currently have. But ignoring the cap, there's two players I'd go for right away:
1. Maykel Galindo. Right now our forward corps is Moreno / Emilio / Quaranta / Niell; and with injuries elsewhere Q's likely to see time out on the wing, which is really unfortunate, but that's another story. So we're not deep at forward. Galindo hasn't started this season strongly, but he played very well last year. But would they give him up?
2. Jonathan Bornstein. Bummer for Burch, but Bornstein's a better left back. We'd immediately have depth at a position most teams don't. We'd also have to accept losing that depth from time to time as Bornstein goes on national team callups.
There's also a couple that would be worth it as part of some package deal:
1. Francisco Mendoza. Young, can be used in a lot of different ways. But I suspect they can't offer him up because I think he's actually on loan from Guadalajara, or something like that.
2. Paolo Nagamura. I actually confess I don't know his game that well -- but he seems to have a knack for being in the right place at the right time, at least from what I've seen.
Players I wouldn't take:
1. Ante Razov. He's been on fire for Chivas these last two years, yes; but it's hard to imagine that continuing. He's 34 years old. We have a 34 year old forward.
2. Brad Guzan. He'd only give us one year before leaving.
3. Sasha Kljestan, unless there's some position other than Gallardo's that he plays *well*. He needs to be on the field. OTOH, if there is, move him into the first group.
bootsy sez, "Sasha Kljestan, unless there's some position other than Gallardo's that he plays *well*. He needs to be on the field. OTOH, if there is, move him into the first group."
I sure wouldn't mind seeing a better backup for Gallardo on our bench. Dyachenko isn't cutting it, as far as I can see...
Can Kljestan play wing? Seems like I saw him out there in the US/Canada game, but I don't recall for sure. If so, that would be a nice fit -- An alt for both Olsen and Gallardo.
I'm also curious about other options for our extra DP slot -- like actually bringing another on board.
Unless Emilio gets his act together (still very possible, of course) he's less and less likely to earn that DP slot next season.
Any opinions on another striker out there, worth a DP slot, likely to move to MLS, and a good fit for DCU?
- rke
I could see something like Dyachenko and our DP for Razov and Lawson Vaughn (and possibly some allocation $$). There's absolutely no way Chivas gives up Kljestan right now –– he's been their best player this year.
a Bornstein wouldn't boot Burch from the line up 100% of the time... I like Burch 100% more then Mediate any day of the week.
on an unrelated note: http://football.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,2274358,00.html
Ante Razov would never work out. Could you imagine having the top two goal scorers in MLS history on the same team? The last thing that we need is another old, past his prime forward (Note: Both Jaime and Ante are still great players, but neither is worth giving up trading the DP for).
Galindo is interesting, as he is young and quite talented. I could see him as a replacement for Jaime in the future. We would have to include Niell in the trade somehow though.
Sacha is an amazingly talented player. I can't see moving him out of position though, and Chivas would be fools to part with him.
It's a little early to give up on Wells. Guzan isn't perfect either, he just has more starting experience.
A good defender, like Bornstein, would be the best bet for depth. I doubt that we could work out the salary cap ramifications though.
Maybe we could trade for Preki? Just throwing that out for the "Fire Soehn" people.
second the Preki nomination. hilarious.
could we sub him in on set pieces? there's got to be a loophole for coaches...
I'd trade the DP slot for Borrrrrrrnstein straight up. A back line of Namoff, Peralta, Martinez, and Bornstein would easily be the best in the league. Burch could play left mid more often too.
I'd trade it for Guzan too and start him over Wells if I didn't think he might leave after this year.
Post a Comment
<< Return to The DCenters Main Page (HOME)