Pigeons are the top scoring team in the league!

[JayH]

I get what your saying, but here is my two cents (for what they're worth).

Mena is the third option now. Now while between him and Hernandez, he's the better option (debatably), Mena isn't an American, which holds value in itself when you have to trade for international spots. If we traded/sold him we would still have two competent back ups, and would free up some cap space.

Now for Mix. We all love him. Some of us are ripping out our hair that he isn't playing, I miss watching him play,but he is so deep into the dog house that some people have forgotten that he is even on the team. I wish that Viera would play him. I wish that he could return to form, and make a solid comeback to the national team. The truth is that Viera, besides all the odds at the beginning of the season, had this team in first place in the east for a majority of the season, has gained us our first entry into the playoffs, has us fighting for one of the top spots in those playoffs, and even had us dreaming of winning the supporters shield. He did all of this while Mix was barely even a bench player, and it doesn't look like he needs him. Now I know that you care for him LionNYC, like I do but at this point I think that we should do a Mullins/Poku type trade, where we find a much better fit for him and we come out a stronger team for it.

You have those two players off the books, along with possibly Saunders, and we'd have enough cap space to find us a better goal keeper that could hopefully single handily bring our goals against down.

P.s. I didn't mean to be so long winded; I hope that you don't view it as an attack, just an opinion; and if you have any other ideas I'd love to hear them.

Good points. I have had a feeling for a while that our next goalie will be a true sweeper keeper, nimble with the feet, mostly unknown but young/in his prime, plucked from a SA or CA league through skillful scouting. Basically, a Matarrita type talent in net. And he will be more expensive than usual for an MLS goalkeeper, but clearly not at a DP rate. So money saved elsewhere will be useful. As I have said on here often, MLS goalies are for the most part awful, most not much better than Saunders, and very few who can play spare part distributing 11th man sweeper keeper. Getting a true distributing goalie for us would be game-changer - it's almost like we have a back-up center playing point guard.

 

[LionNYC]

I think he moreso means that you don't need to get rid of both of those guys to find a good goalkeeper in MLS. Look at the salaries goalkeepers are making around the league:

Rimando: 400k
Sean Johnson: 250k
Bill Hamid: 325k
Luis Robles: 265k
Andre Blak: 100k
Stefan Frei: 200k
David Bingham: 145k
David Ousted: 360k

Those are some of the top goalkeepers in MLS and there are others that are even better deals (Rowe, Hernandez, etc.) and some are cheaper than Saunders.

The argument for finding a good MLS quality keeper isn't necessarily contingent upon getting rid of both Mix and Mena. In fact, if we were to get rid of both of them and use all of that money to sign a keeper, we would have the second highest paid keeper in the league (behind only Tim Howard).

But do any of these keeper meet Vieira's specifications? Sweeper keeper, good on their feet, and able to play out of the back.

 

[joe]

had this team in first place in the east for a majority of the season

It feels like it's been too angsty in here for this to be true. Anyone want to fact check?

 

[JayH]

But do any of these keeper meet Vieira's specifications? Sweeper keeper, good on their feet, and able to play out of the back.

How about Manuel Neuer?:

 

[EganSoccerWords]

Good points. I have had a feeling for a while that our next goalie will be a true sweeer keeper, nimble with the feet, mostly unknown but young/in his prime, plucked from a SA or CA league through skillful scouting. Basically, a Matarrita type talent in net. And he will be more expensive than usual for an MLS goalkeeper, but clearly not at a DP rate. So money saved elsewhere will be useful. As I have said on here often, MLS goalies are for the most part awful, most not much better than Saunders, and very few who can play spare part sweeper keeper. Getting a true distributing goalie for us would be game-changer - it's almost like we have a back-up center playing point guard.

Agree with your sentiment but not the magnitude. Saunders has been good the last couple of games IMHO, but was legitimately awful for the first 2/3s of the season aka worst keeper in the league. I think even a midlevel keeper for the whole season would have in first place in the Shield standings.

I disagree that there are a lack of goalies that can play sweeper keeper. We don't need Neur but we do need a goalie that can make short accurate passes to their backline and not kick the ball out of bounds every time they try a long ball. Outsed, Clark, Rimando, Howard, Robles, Bingham can all play out of the back and those are just off the top of my head.

 

[JayH]

Agree with your sentiment but not the magnitude. Saunders has been good the last couple of games IMHO, but was legitimately awful for the first 2/3s of the season aka worst keeper in the league. I think even a midlevel keeper for the whole season would have in first place in the Shield standings.

I disagree that there are a lack of goalies that can play sweeper keeper. We don't need Neur but we do need a goalie that can make short accurate passes to their backline and not kick the ball out of bounds every time they try a long ball. Outsed, Clark, Rimando, Howard, Robles, Bingham can all play out of the back and those are just off the top of my head.

Yeah, I'm mostly projecting what I think PV's optimal keeper would be - and I think we may see the team make an effort to find him one. Those you list would clearly be an improvement over Saunders on many levels (overall, and distribution), but it would be a real coup if we could take it a step further and find a truly great distributer.

 

[ktdNYCFC]

Sweeper keepers like Neuer are not just rare - he's basically the only one in the world at that level. Pep at Man City had all the money in the world and ended up with Bravo. As was said above, however, we don't need a Neuer, who can bitchslap a breakaway 25 yards outside of his box with a perfectly timed, all-ball slide tackle. We just need someone who can receive and distribute a pass without shitting themselves.

I do think sweeper keepers are going to become more prevalent, however. An interesting experiment could be taking a young homegrown goalkeeper and training him as a centerback at the same time as training him at keeper. Who knows, in a few years you could have a backup/future keeper good with his feet and able to slot in at CB if needed. Imagine backup keepers not wasting away on the bench for years?

 

[Konrad]

who? This guy?

Yea I guess he could work........

 

[SoupInNYC]

But do any of these keeper meet Vieira's specifications? Sweeper keeper, good on their feet, and able to play out of the back.

I honestly don't know all of the keepers well enough to know the answer to that question, except that Rimando definitely fits PV's style.

Honestly, with as bad as Saunders is at fitting the style of play that PV wants, any of those keepers have to be better than him at playing out of the back, good on their feet, etc. The only one who I don't think is much stronger than Saunders if at all at those qualities (not at organization or shot stopping) is Sean Johnson.

My main point is that in order for us to upgrade at GK, we don't need to spend $1m on a goalkeeper.

 

[JayH]

Sweeper keepers like Neuer are not just rare - he's basically the only one in the world at that level. Pep at Man City had all the money in the world and ended up with Bravo. As was said above, however, we don't need a Neuer, who can bitchslap a breakaway 25 yards outside of his box with a perfectly timed, all-ball slide tackle. We just need someone who can receive and distribute a pass without shitting themselves.

I do think sweeper keepers are going to become more prevalent, however. An interesting experiment could be taking a young homegrown goalkeeper and training him as a centerback at the same time as training him at keeper. Who knows, in a few years you could have a backup/future keeper good with his feet and able to slot in at CB if needed. Imagine backup keepers not wasting away on the bench for years?

The Neuer heat map was just for fun

 

[Konrad]

It feels like it's been too angsty in here for this to be true. Anyone want to fact check?

I think we're also an angsty bunch, but I'd love it if someone could! I'm like a really hazy 85% certain it's the truth.

 

[Konrad]

Where's mgarbowski when you need him #comebackweneedyou

 

[Kjbert]

Iker Casillas is available on a free next summer

 

[sbrylski]

Iker Casillas is available on a free next summer

Stole my comment. I'm sure we'll try again to get him over the winter, but I sure hope we don't wait around into next summer to replace Saunders.

Here's a rough list of teams with two starting quality keepers we could target:

COL: Tim Howard (2,575) and Zach MacMath (140)
CHI: Sean Johnson (253) and Matt Lampson ($77k)
DAL: Chris Seitz (136) and Jesse Gonzalez (77)
LA: Brian Rowe (80) and Dan Kennedy (195)
TOR: Clint Irwin (107) and Alex Bono (85)

Find the team with the cap crunch that's looking to drop a keeper and go for it. Sean Johnson, Chris Seitz (if FC Dallas commits to the youngster Gonzalez), Zach MacMath, and Dan Kennedy are probably the most likely to be pried loose.

 

[LionNYC]

Stole my comment. I'm sure we'll try again to get him over the winter, but I sure hope we don't wait around into next summer to replace Saunders.

Here's a rough list of teams with two starting quality keepers we could target:

COL: Tim Howard (2,575) and Zach MacMath (140)
CHI: Sean Johnson (253) and Matt Lampson ($77k)
DAL: Chris Seitz (136) and Jesse Gonzalez (77)
LA: Brian Rowe (80) and Dan Kennedy (195)
TOR: Clint Irwin (107) and Alex Bono (85)

Find the team with the cap crunch that's looking to drop a keeper and go for it. Sean Johnson, Chris Seitz (if FC Dallas commits to the youngster Gonzalez), Zach MacMath, and Dan Kennedy are probably the most likely to be pried loose.

Zach MacMath. Too expensive to be a backup. That being said, if Saunders is our backup next season, his salary of $150K is unjustified. He'd just be a moocher like people think about Mix now.

 

[sbrylski]

Zach MacMath. Too expensive to be a backup. That being said, if Saunders is our backup next season, his salary of $150K is unjustified. He'd just be a moocher like people think about Mix now.

I actually may prefer Sean Johnson, who is rumored to be moved out of Chicago, but I admit I don't really know much about how well any of these guys are with their feet. And Sean Johnson is a Georgia native, he could be interested in finding his way to Atlanta United.

 

[Ulrich]

I actually may prefer Sean Johnson, who is rumored to be moved out of Chicago, but I admit I don't really know much about how well any of these guys are with their feet. And Sean Johnson is a Georgia native, he could be interested in finding his way to Atlanta United.

We just lit Johnson up - granted the D in front of him was horrendous, but did he make any non-routine/real saves?

 

[Kjbert]

Johnson is living on reputation right now.

There are some good keepers in this league. None have the ability that Bill Hamid does on his day.

 

[SoupInNYC]

I actually may prefer Sean Johnson, who is rumored to be moved out of Chicago, but I admit I don't really know much about how well any of these guys are with their feet. And Sean Johnson is a Georgia native, he could be interested in finding his way to Atlanta United.

Johnson is awful with the ball at his feet. If we are going to throw money that he is being paid now at a GK, I would much rather use it on someone who better fits PV's system.

 

[JCMore]

I'm confused... is that Neuer guy a Keeper, CB, Middie, or a Striker? Seems like he could play anyone of those on our team and be the best at it with our current depth Chart... asides maybe Villa at Striker... maybe