GK: Strongest part of the team with Gspurning in goal. Have a year to find strong backup. Defense: Weakest part of the team, especially in central defense. I keep Parke until we can get someone better. Hurtado is too much of a liability with his poor judgment and reduced mobility. Midfield: Average - strong ball winners but underperforming in controlling/creating attack. Disagree with @knuckles on Zakuani. Zakuani is fast, but has poor footballing intelligence to be in midfield (wanders aimlessly around the pitch, unaware of developing play and how he should move, unsure of what to do with the ball when he gets it, poor defensive support) and is too frail to be a forward...trade him if we can get anything for him. Forwards: Have potential to be potent if we can retain FM & EJ, but need varied and consistent service from midfield (not just crosses from the right wing) to be effective. Manager: Time to be rid of Sigi. His brand of soccer is stagnant; and finishing in our worst league position (7th place) in four years shows we're not improving under his leadership.
Defensive strength is required; improvements in midfield and up front are always sought after. But for me, improving the team leadership - new manager - is the most essential step that the FO can take. I urge the owners to commit to a more attractive, offense-minded style, hire a like-minded manager to do that, acquire personnel with intelligence and talent to fit that style, and give the manager the time to develop the squad.
Axing Sodade would not be fair for him. He tore his ACL during Olympic qualifying and had zero chance to really show himself. Seattle doesn't cut players if they are hurt.
« Last Edit: Nov 22, 2012, 12:56pm by gstommylee »
Tjeertandjohn Standard Leavenworth member is offline
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Re: SSFC 2013: What next? « Reply #31 on Nov 22, 2012, 4:05pm »
Fair? Who gives a damn about fair. We need to have the best team possible. Give him a shot to make the team, but you don't give him a roster spot because it's "fair".
Knuckles, you fail to understand that I like Tiffert. I just don't think he's a DP. You keep talking as if I rank him in the Nate Jaqua "waste of roster space" catagory. It may just be a matter of style. I think it is. Europeans and South/Central American players play a different style. Tiffert is being thrust into a midfield that has a lot of latin flavor. When you compare our DP's to LA, there is no comparison. LA had 3 complete players. We have three above average MLS players as DP's. The difference is pretty obvious. I agree with almost everything you have to say. Still don't think Zakuani will ever develop the ability to play in the midfield. I agree with COYS on his assessment of him.
« Last Edit: Nov 22, 2012, 4:08pm by Tjeertandjohn »
Sounder Legends over the years. John Rowlands, Tjeert Van't Land, David Butler, Geoff Hurst, Mike England, Roger Davies, Mark Peterson, Sebastien LeToux, Kasey Keller, Roger Levesque and LAMAR FUCKING NEAGLE!!!
Also, I was dogging Nate Jaqua BEFORE dogging Nate Jaqua was cool.
Joined: Jul 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 3,339 Location: Locked in the trunk of a car.. Karma: -58
Re: SSFC 2013: What next? « Reply #32 on Nov 23, 2012, 6:24pm »
Actually, Toja, I don't think that at all. I just think we have a different definition of what a DP should be (but mine could be colored by too much free online porn)...
Actually, Toja, I don't think that at all. I just think we have a different definition of what a DP should be (but mine could be colored by too much free online porn)...
Sounder Legends over the years. John Rowlands, Tjeert Van't Land, David Butler, Geoff Hurst, Mike England, Roger Davies, Mark Peterson, Sebastien LeToux, Kasey Keller, Roger Levesque and LAMAR FUCKING NEAGLE!!!
Also, I was dogging Nate Jaqua BEFORE dogging Nate Jaqua was cool.
GW-1 Administrator Kick it. I'll cover it. member is offline
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Re: SSFC 2013: What next? « Reply #35 on Nov 30, 2012, 9:44am »
Re: SSFC 2013: What next? « Reply #36 on Nov 30, 2012, 3:23pm »
And yet somehow LA is able to carry LD, Beckham and Keane....and now talk of Kaka coming in. This does not bode well for MLS, its just lucky that NY hasn't been able to string it together.
And yet somehow LA is able to carry LD, Beckham and Keane....and now talk of Kaka coming in. This does not bode well for MLS, its just lucky that NY hasn't been able to string it together.
Joined: Jul 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 3,339 Location: Locked in the trunk of a car.. Karma: -58
Re: SSFC 2013: What next? « Reply #39 on Dec 2, 2012, 9:02am »
I'm actually tired of all the whinging about LA and NYRB and how they are granted special privileges. You know what? So what. Deal with it. That's the reality, and the Sounders have done their damnedest to deal well with that. Beckham himself has said that we are one of the most desirable and marketable clubs in MLS along with the other two. Hanauer and Roth have a vision of how to build and run the club, and they are gong to stick with it. I, for one, applaud them.
I'm actually tired of all the whinging about LA and NYRB and how they are granted special privileges. You know what? So what. Deal with it. That's the reality, and the Sounders have done their damnedest to deal well with that. Beckham himself has said that we are one of the most desirable and marketable clubs in MLS along with the other two. Hanauer and Roth have a vision of how to build and run the club, and they are gong to stick with it. I, for one, applaud them.
I agree with you. Given salary caps and other restrictions, I think Hanauer's idea of building a stronger, fuller squad (top-to-bottom) will lead to long-term and consistent success. There's a large gap in quality at LA & NY when you look at the stars and the rest-of-the-team. We don't have the superstars, but our overall squad is as strong or stronger than just about any MLS club I can think of. The old NASL Sounders didn't have the superstars either, but we were a strong and difficult side to beat and were most often challenging for the top spots. I think building steadily is the way to go over the long haul and I'm glad we're not relying on the flash of a big name.
“Football is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.” Danny Blanchflower, THFC
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Re: SSFC 2013: What next? « Reply #41 on Dec 2, 2012, 10:36am »
Via the SaH link, it's not great news that the Sounders have signed themselves into a bit of a "corner" in terms of the cap. That suggests the Sounders thought / think they are at championship caliber as-is. We could argue that case, but the reality is that we have yet to produce an MLS Cup trophy.
Unrelated, sort of: Gonzalez v. Zakuani...we could have had either one back in 2009. I don't fault our choice, but I do wonder "what if..." Omar had been in the middle for us to build a defense around...
Unrelated, sort of: Gonzalez v. Zakuani...we could have had either one back in 2009. I don't fault our choice, but I do wonder "what if..." Omar had been in the middle for us to build a defense around...
Thought the same thing...along with getting George John out of the UW. "Who knows what would have....?" are my default answers to "What if we had....?"
“Football is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.” Danny Blanchflower, THFC
GW-1 Administrator Kick it. I'll cover it. member is offline
Joined: May 2007 Gender: Male Posts: 20,758 Location: The STATE of Soccer Karma: 29
Re: SSFC 2013: What next? « Reply #43 on Dec 3, 2012, 11:14am »
Let him go. Too bad Olave's going to RBNY; would have been a great replacement. I think we can find better defenders than Parke and Hurtado (for example, Christophe Berra at Wolves whose contract is up this coming summer; or young Hutchinson who's on loan at Forest from Chelsea - maybe we could make a loan deal for him). For me, two strong center halfs and a creative central midfielder ought to be tops of our shopping list.
What I would also like to see for 2013 is a working arrangement with a Premier League club like SJ has with Spurs. The 'Quakes benefited from having Dawkins in their side this season and I think we could benefit from a link-up with an EPL side (Chelsea, perhaps...they've been here quite often and seem to relish the preseason training set-up here).
“Football is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom.” Danny Blanchflower, THFC
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