Not sure I ever saw him do any holding but I agree there was a lot of pointing. Strangely enough in the games without TMac on the pitch pointing constantly where he wanted his teammates to go they all seemed to do just fine moving around the field.
NYCFC Players Wanted Thread
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Not sure I ever saw him do any holding but I agree there was a lot of pointing. Strangely enough in the games without TMac on the pitch pointing constantly where he wanted his teammates to go they all seemed to do just fine moving around the field.
“Holding” was only in reference to the part of the field he was occupying.
You've seen Ring shoot, haven't you?
A couple people have mentioned wanting a young ST. Does that make sense if we are in a 433 and Villa is going to get as many minutes as he wants? What about someone like Alan Gordon? Vet, Target Forward, can spot start every now and then. Checks off a lot of boxes.
That would be interesting. I don't have a strong preference with regards to the players age but we need a backup and a target forward that can hold things up when we are chasing the game seems like a great option. I'd be surprised if Gordon left the west coast, he seems like such a Cali guy.
I just don't want a guy that is going to need minutes to develop without a USL team.
I would absolutely LOVE it if we brought Gordon in. He's a proven goal-scorer, target forward and has a knack for scoring late after coming off the bench. He doesn't mind (or at least doesn't appear to mind) having the role of late sub needing goals and he would give us a dynamic that we don't currently have on the team for us to shake things up if needed.
He also wouldn't break the bank and doesn't require an international spot. Make it happen.
Someone like Gordon is good when we need a late goal and want to put a body in the box. We tried that with Ugo and Stertzer, but nothing ever happened. I wouldn't mind someone like Gordon that could come in like that, but at a reasonable cost. We definitely don't have anyone like him for late corners/set pieces.
For a back up to Villa, we should be able to do that with a winger with the way we play...but our wingers don't/can't score. Villa is more of a winger also, but he's an anomaly being so good. He can play anywhere up top.
I trust Gordon to be much much better than Ugo. Honestly, after watching him all of last year I think Ugo's place is in USL.
Rubio Rubin anyone? Backup to Villa and Harrison?
He's on the allocation list, so we would probably need to cough up some AM to a team high on the list. Would be nice to not use an international spot on a backup. Would also complete our stable of attackers and leave us looking for CM and CB.
Rubio has had a hard time at the club level but still being called into USMNT camp and is just 21. What he desperately needs is more playing time though, so he might be making every effort to go somwhere he'll be penciled in as a starter. Even if Villa retires after this year, it is incredibly doubtful we wouldn't sign a much bigger talent to replace him.
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http://www.espn.com/soccer/soccer-t...-rules-out-mls;-hopes-emre-can-joins-juventus
Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira says he is not considering a move to Major League Soccer since he feels he still has plenty to give in one of Europe's top leagues, while he has advised his club to make their move for Emre Can.
Khedira, 30, still has a contract with the Serie A club through to 2019 and he has told Sky Sport Italia that he does not expect that to be his last contract in Europe, as he insists that a move to MLS would not make sense.
But he can still be here before a stadium is announced...
Juventus midfielder Sami Khedira says he is not considering a move to Major League Soccer since he feels he still has plenty to give in one of Europe's top leagues, while he has advised his club to make their move for Emre Can.
Khedira, 30, still has a contract with the Serie A club through to 2019 and he has told Sky Sport Italia that he does not expect that to be his last contract in Europe, as he insists that a move to MLS would not make sense.
But he can still be here before a stadium is announced...
He needs to get up to speed on the league.
I am not sure the MLS of today takes a 33-34 year old Sami Khedira. The MLS of 3-4 years from now almost certainly won't.
I am not sure the MLS of today takes a 33-34 year old Sami Khedira. The MLS of 3-4 years from now almost certainly won't.
What about the league would tell him this wasn't an option even if he was up to speed? I'm happy it's becoming less prevalent but their are still too many recent MLS retirement tour examples to expect these guys to start believing the option is gone. Pirlo just wrapped up his multimillion dollar, multi year, paid US vacation, and we are only a year removed from Lampard and Gerrard doing the same. It's going to take a number of seasons without players like these in the league or a number of guys that want to sign only to receive no interest before guys a few years behind them realize they won't get the same opportunity. If the rumors come true and Yaya turns up on a roster or even Zlatan the expectations will continue. Ideally the change starts sooner rather than later so the players truly interested in playing in the US for a few years are forced to choose between coming earlier in their careers when they still have more to give or missing out on the chance entirely.
I agree, and also, he doesn't have to do anything. Replace "MLS" with any other non-top five league in Europe, or any other club that doesn't stand a chance of making the Champions League, and his stance still makes sense. Would he consider a contract today in Sweden? Switzerland? Belgium? No. It's our own insecurities that cause us to react negatively to his comments.
Until MLS is "top tier worldwide," which may never happen, we will always be in the "not top tier" bucket from the perspective of guys like Khedira.
While I agree the timing situation from a top flight players perspective is similar regardless of league I think the problem is exacerbated when it comes MLS because the league is quoted as the post peak target by agents or players considerably more often than any other league for a few reasons:
1. MLS has the financial means and has demonstrated a willingness to pay these well past prime players high level salaries in a way most of the other leagues will not or cannot. It's MLS or China at this point if a player's on field talents have faded to a point where their celebrity and past accomplishments are needed as a considerable supplement to the justification of a multi-million dollar salary.
2. Playing in the US is viewed by players as a way to expand their brand for either endorsements or post career ventures like DV7 soccer academy.
3. Many players view living in the US as a thing they would like to do for a few years once they are done with Europe.
For these reasons and many more the frequency MLS is thrown around as a "retirement" option for players is vastly higher than other leagues. The result is that it creates a stigma the league is forced to work against as it tries to continue to improve. Another somewhat related question is how many other non-top five league's have any aspirations of rising to a top flight level in the way the MLS does but that's a whole different conversation.
You 're right about the recent history, but I think/[hope?] the league is changing faster than ever before. I think it's already at a point where the top teams who aspire to win the league are done signing old big names. I can't imagine Toronto, Atlanta, NYC, Seattle, the Red Bulls, and a few other teams doing it any more. If they do it is a clear mistake and will set them back. The last 3 expansion teams didn't even do it. Maybe Miami -- if they ever exist -- will. But at this point already I believe guys like Zlatam, Yaya and Khedira (at the age he's contemplating) should not expect to come to MLS and play for a top team or even in a glamorous city anymore. I think the best they do is a team that aspires to finishing 5th or 6th and getting lucky in the playoffs. And I think we may be getting to a point where that type of league winner is less likely, apart from teams who have multiple injuries and get healthy at the right time, or maybe who get a key player in July.
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