Be the Owner - Part 2 of the Be the GM Series
by Fuzion on Jul 25, 2011 10:51 PM CDT
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Okay so I was impressed by the amount of discussion that proceeded from the first post in this series. Now, we make the challenge a lot harder, but yet still a lot of fun. After all, speculation is what we fans do when we realize hope is pretty much lost for this season, right?
So let's have a lot of it. Today's challenge is simple really. You are the owner, AEG, of the Houston Dynamo Franchise. You have somewhat limited resources at the moment amounting to just enough to buy a mid-range DP if you want, but nothing more than mid-range. If you buy the DP, you must name him, what position he will play, and one other change you intend to make. If you do not buy/sign the DP, you must choose three moves to make. They can be trades, international trialists, firings/hirings, your choice entirely, but you must name names. You are the scouting team, if you decide to have one.
So you have the reins of the organization we all love with our bleeding orange hearts, and it's your turn to make something out of nothing. What do you do?
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In case anyone is wondering why I chose that pic to represent this article
That look on Cameron’s face, that’s passionate fire. That’s something that burns deep within that boy. That is what MY Houston Dynamo team will have, gosh darnit! I love the look, and hope they use that picture over and over in media. THAT’S what I miss about my Dynamo. PASSION!
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
New Coach
u play over twenty games and players are not showing any improvement, is not good sign. U can see the focus of KC on the skills that the dynamo’s lack. Kinnear needs to go. He does not use the talent he has on the club. Players can not pass the ball to each other or use combination play to break down defenses. looks like i will not renew my tickets next year. Another bad year no change in play
If a player doesn't have a good handle on the fundamentals like basic passing by the time they reach this level they likely never will
"If my hips had pockets, I wouldn't wear pants at all." @NotBurtReynolds
by papabear on Jul 26, 2011 10:10 AM CDT up reply actions 1 recs
^this. 100 time ^this
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
Correct. That being said, there is plenty that can and should be taught. No one arrives at this level fully formed.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
True
With the Academy teams and such, MLS teams should always be looking at their training methods, but “touch” is an innate skill, or at least one that’s developed at a very early age. You either have it or you don’t. If you don’t it can be improved, but it’s never quite the same.
"If my hips had pockets, I wouldn't wear pants at all." @NotBurtReynolds
Pavel Pardo to Chicago
The Fire just signed Pardo. I don’t know what to make of this.
"We don't care who finishes second." -- Celtic's Peter Lowrie
I actually
do not want any more signings from Mexico or Central America. I know I’m generalizing but they seem to come with a sense of entitlement (because they know they’re being acquired to pander to a fanbase) that doesn’t quite match what is expected of consistent, on-the-field results. Most that are available to us are either over the hill, or better-than-average-but-not-enough-to-justify-the-headache or headed for a bigger paycheck in Europe. So, I’ll pass…
First...
I want to start by saying I have perhaps a better appreciation for our dilemma, and I believe it requires a preface: we, as fans, are a fickle lot. We want to win, and we don’t want to pay too much but its not my job to tell you how to do all of this, its yours (FO). In my line of work I’m often (and I’m sure plenty of you can sympathize) given this bizarre set of requirements to complete something. We want someone with some name recognition or at least who plays for a team or league we easily recognize. We also don’t want a has-been or some 19y/o who is playing for his first team in some swamp/bush league. We also don’t want to pay (or aren’t allowed to pay) a fee of over $4million. He also needs to be quick, great touch, great vision, great passer and can occasionally score.
Starting to see the list of names drying up?
I’m not exonerating the FO and DK, I’m just saying they are in a tough position. Mind you, it is in fact their job to figure it out, and to be honest with you its not a position I envy right now. That being said, there are plenty of names out there (and as a testament, I’ve re-written my “If I Was AEG….” post at least 3 times) but it likely won’t blow anyone away. And that’s about where our expectations should be: if we do a solid job, we likely won’t see a marquee name or someone who strikes you immediately as “the next big thing”. He will likely be very good/better than your average MLS player, and he won’t be dirt cheap but he won’t break the bank. So, just adjust expectations accordingly.
That being said, I’ll submit my post shortly :)
PS – One note about some targets/signings: I personally don’t want a “star” or wannabe star from Mexico or Central America. I’m sure I’m projecting and/or generalizing here but they tend to be very good (or at least better than your average college player here who is in MLS) but have iffy technical skills. I’d rather get someone who is either an African (Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Ghana, Senegal) or European (German, Spanish, French) or South American (Argentinian or Brazilian). Simply put, players from these areas/countries tend to have better overall technique, which we’re in dire need of. That’s not to say Mexicans or Central Americans or Brits are crap, its just honestly their overall technical ability is better than the average American but not better than those other areas. We need technique.
Second...
Here’s my go at it (and of course, all fees are approximate):
DP Signing:
Leandro Velasquez (Argentinian International)
22 y/o, 5’6"
Attacking Midfielder
Current Club – Newell’s Old Boys – Argentina Primera Division (on loan from Velez Sarsfield)
Fee – $720K
Acquisition:
Paulo Araujo Jr (Brazilian International)
22 y/o, 5’7"
Forward
Current Club – Real Salt Lake (MLS)
Fee – $60K
and Cash
Loan:
Oscar Boniek Garcia (Honduran International)
26 y/o, 5’9"
Winger
Current Club – CD Olimpia (Liga Nacional de Honduras)
Fee – ?
Jheimy da Silva Carvalho, aka “Jheimy” (Brazilian International)
22 y/o, 5’11"
Striker
Current Club – Atletico Mineiro (Brazilian Serie A)
Fee – ?
Trial:
Matthew Mbuta (Cameroonian International)
Attacking Midfielder
25 y/o, 5’9"
Current Club – Crystal Palace Baltimore (USSF)
Previous loan with NY Red Bull (2008-09), Cameroon NT experience (African Cup of Nations)
Fee – $70K
Trade/Release: Hunter Freeman
Great stuff!
How did you get or speculate transfer fees? Was that the online scouting report worth that was posted?
Third...
Open new stadium (and sell out seats), sign several 3+ year sponsorship deals (Energy companies), look for new majority owner or ownership group before 2013 season
They've got stars upon thars
Invite Bolivian FREE AGENT 23 y/o MFer Jhasmani Campos Dávalos for a two week trial. *************
See if Oriente Petrolo would be willing to let 29 y/o Joselito Vaca trial with us. He was a wash for the Metrostars, but was an All Star with the Burn in 2002. Make inquiries to see if he’s improved…
Inquire with Saprissa about promising Costa Rican 21 y/o striker Josué MartÃnez
Inquire with Cerro Porteno about promising Costa Rican 22 y/o striker Diego Madrigal
Inquire with Sunderland about the price of Paraguay’s 28 y/o MFer Cristian Riveros; see if current salary is anywhere near our ball park. If not, move on…
See if we sign a Paraguayan, if we get Larissa Riquelme. If not, make her an honorary owner, Phd, a key to the city, anything to get her here. **********************
Inquire with Corinthians about 26 y/o Peruvian MFer Luis Alberto RamÃrez
Inquire with Palmeiras about 27 y/o Chilean Mfer Jorge Valdivia. Make sure there are urinals available to on field players in the new stadium. Despite this, consider DP status.
Inquire with Universidad San Martin about 19 y/o Peruvian MFer Christian Cueva
Inquire with the Charlotte Eagles about almost 31 y/o Columbian MFer Jorge Herrera for a trial to see how much he’s got left. This would be short term, filling an immediate gap.
Now we're talking
Hey, we gotta start hitting up the globe…there are players out there. Again, we’re not gonna grab a Messi, Kaka or even a Ganso but there are other guys who are a level (or two) below them that would still shine in MLS
According to MLSRumors, Madrigal is OOC.
Crap source, I know- but they state (according to translation of La Nation piece) that Diego Madigal is out of contract and looking to Europe or MLS.
Here’s another potential acquisition with no transfer fee.
It's a thought
As long as the contract he is asking for isn’t prohibitive…though I’m really liking your Jhasmani Davalos proposal (with Leandro Velasquez as runner-up) for the CAM role
BTW
How is it other MLS mangers go down to South America to “evaluate players”, then return with players. Arena goes and gets Brazilians, Kreis gets quality, Hyndman mines gems.
What’s the difference or are we the guys who empty their penny jar just to get into a strip club, then sit on the outer fringes, broke and depressed.
Perhaps that’s not the organizational dynamic, but that seems to be the fandom dynamic from this PC.
I think
That’s something we touched on in this post and earlier postings that its not impossible to find this talent because clearly other teams in MLS have done so and will likely continue to do so. Yes, of course NYRB and LAG have the “big market” advantage and surely the full backing of their ownership groups but there’s no reason why we can’t do likewise, especially if the Maids of the Metroplex seem to be unearting gems. Surely Dom and other members of the staff have contacts; for crying out loud, I know people at my work who know peeps at Brazilian clubs so surely we can rustle up something.
But I agree, it just “feels” like we play the nickel slots while other teams play at the high-stakes tables
RSL another example
Salt Lake makes Houston look like a footballer’s resort nirvana. Hardly big market.
Guh
Don’t even go there. That should be the example that’s thrown to Canetti and the FO: if that international, cosmopolitan hotspot that is Salt Lake can snag quality players from around the globe SURELY we can do likewise
/hates RSL for the “Real” part….really? REALLY????
//First, Salt Lake and Spanish aren’t synonymous
///Second, if there’s anything remotely royal about SL, I’d love to know
////rant
ROFL
Jealousy, look what you’ve done
You’ve got a hold of me, you’ve made me become
Thought I’d never be what I’m running from
This jealousy look what its done
You rip apart my insides
You know that I can’t sleep
You tear apart my whole life
You take the best of me…
Song to the FO
When routine bites hard,
And ambitions are low,
And resentment rides high,
But emotions won’t grow,
And we’re changing our ways,
Taking different roads.
Then love, love will tear us apart again.
Love, love will tear us apart again.
I don;t want Messi
I want Larissa Riquelme.
(Gulp)
I can see a couple of reasons why we’d want to include her
/ducks
//“I’m a married spud, I’m a married spud!”
Screw the roster rehaul
Eye candy gives pleasant dirversion from sucky season.
Damn those couple of reasons causing my brain to choose the word sucky (seriously, didn;t even plan it)
+1
--
"You live and learn. At any rate, you live." -Douglas Adams
Managing Editor of Dynamo Theory
Yo si le voy, le voy al naranja!
by Zach Woosley on Jul 26, 2011 4:15 PM CDT up reply actions
I have to admit
You guys did your homework this time. I’m impressed. Now if only the FO actually read this blog consistently, we could actually get some change to happen. Hell, I bet we’d offer to be “internet scouts” for free, or at least our own season ticket section in the new stadium. Sounds reasonable if we put butts in the other seats!
#DTInternetScoutingInc
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
Well
its certainly a start. Considering we’re doing this while taking breaks at work (ahem), I’d say its a first start. Again, maybe looking later and having a bit more time to dig deeper and really flesh things out we might really find some nuggets of truth.
But, it was a nice exercise…as I mentioned earlier, it really does open your eyes to the task at hand. It’s no small feat, and while there is literally a world of footballers out there, finding the one that will fit for your team at the right price and right set of circumstances can prove to be a challenge.
And I’d so be an internet scout for free. Though if they can reimburse me for the trip to World Cup 2014 for “scouting purposes” that works too :)
(love the #DTInternetScoutingInc – start the trend now)
Serious about Jhasmani
Free agent meaning no transfer fee, played in Copa America, attacking mid…
Huzzah!
I did a double-take at that because I saw the name and remember hearing about him because of Gremio…but yeah, I’m checking my blind spots because I’m wondering why we’re not taking a chance on him. Last I saw his salary was $750K, but that was before he became a free agent. Young, great technique (Bolivian youth teams & Gremio academy), reasonable wage?? Did we not just talk about the checklist earlier?? Get over to IAH and book a flight over to La Paz now…an excellent choice sir
Chiumiento on rye, plz
If I’m gonna go MLS players, it’s definitely Davide Chiumiento, despite his 280k salary. Hey, they could always kick DeMerit’s injured leg into retirement, eh?
Or, perhaps with incentives, we might have a willing recipient for Boz’s sumo sizedsalary.
Boz’s sumo sized salary- the Unmovable Feast.
playtherapy FTW
Dude you’re turning up all aces. First, the Jhasmani selection is perfect AND we could always try and trade away Boz to TFC for Chiumiento as either a backup or competition at the CAM. Or he (Chiu) could always move to forward or winger…either way I think those are both realistic (at least IMHO) shots at sorting out the CAM issue. After that we can try (or concurrently) snag either Garcia or Costly (who according to rumors is now an FA and has been whispered to be talking to Houston)
Jeff Bull's (Portland Blogger on Big Soccer) take on Moffat
Awesome…and thanks for the scouting. As for Moffat, he’s tough to pin down at least in his current incarnation. My main memory of Moffat, and why I was pretty geeked up about his arrival in Portland, started with his promising introduction to Columbus in 2009…or was it 2008? The thing is, he came in as a relative unknown and looked pretty sharp for a while. He went down injured just as he got rolling and it’s been on-and-off since.
His time in Portland wasn’t the best. He looked, frankly, disoriented whenever he took the field for the Timbers, but that could have tons to do with joining a new team with no established system, etc. Still, he played only rarely or when the coach was pissed off at someone else; hardly a sterling recommend. All the same, what recommends Moffat over just about every other high-effort, decent skill midfielder in MLS is a mystery to me. Put another way, a one-player-for-one-player swap would have tallied all right, but Houston’s thinking on this just confuses me.
http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/blog.phps=d702dd14db6f6274793c706b9ddc157c&b=11840
I'm going to have to figure out how to make this tougher for next week's run in the series
Seriously, kudos to the suggestions. Damn good finds.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
I don't know about PT
but this was actually quite challenging…and like I said earlier, it gives you an idea of what the FO is facing. It’s one thing to say what you need, its another thing entirely to find, flesh out and articulate what that is. So on this we had to do some homework about names, pedigree, potential contracts/fees, etc…it was nice :)
Thanks for the ideas and of course to all the DT crew for keeping (somewhat) idle hands, er, not so idle
Yup, challenging and fun
Now if we’d only get some prospects. Nope, not just to do something, but someone with potential to be a difference maker. Koke was a good example- a good try, but a miss.
We need to keep trying but not with players who haven’t distinguished themselves. Lindeman was worth a tryout, based on the amount of gaosl he scored a season or two ago from attacking mid. Cruz was worth a shot, but Castillo seemed a waste of time. Jury is out on Sanchez and I’m shocked- at this level, at the blister thing as it seems very junior league.
My beef- while tryouts can’t hurt, there needs to be concurrent movement for more pedigreed trials or signings. If it’s cap room, why not do the math in the off season? Why continue failed solutions from last season? Why wake up when the season’s almost lost?
Well said
I do hope that the Koke episode doesn’t make the FO gun-shy about those “extended trial” setups like they did because honestly, I thought we played that one well: we brought in a guy who showed he had talent & quality, he seemed earnest enough to join and we structured the deal that if things didn’t seem to be working out then we could both wash our hands and walk away and no one was hamstrung by the deal.
As you note, guys of the Lindemann/Cruz level are worth a trial (I’d say a 2-week trial) but that can’t be business as usual. We need to keep after guys of the Koke level (I’d put Davalos & Velasquez there, if not a bit higher) and bring them in with similar deals. That way they can keep playing and if it doesn’t work out, they’re still in playing shape and able to showcase what they’ve got to others. If it does work out, we get a very, very good player relatively cheap.
And again, perhaps they did the math but figured with our team we might be able to contend for the playoffs and that trialists would be sufficient. Perhaps they didn’t see the chain of events that led us to being stuck in the Eastern doldrums…but that’s simply conjecture on my part
What I don't get is why the Dynamo honestly don't reach out to internet sites like this
To save them money and time. Hell, we’re HAPPY to do the homework, the legwork, if it improves our team. And the chance to say WE were involved with a professional signing, hell man, that right there would be all the publicity we’d need. But hey, we’re just crackjobs with dreams. :P
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
Quandary
So I guess for them, being “professionals” or at least responsible for that task, they feel it should be their work, their scouting etc. And fair enough, I can appreciate and understand that…but, they’re basically doing what we’re doing: scouting off the internet. They may take a trip to go investigate further (and can expense it out), but they likely get scouting info from the same data pool that we do. Curiously, with the advent and mainstream embrace of Fantasy Games, it makes amateurs like us stat/profile geeks because we scout players as much as they do (shots on goals, assist, passing percentages, dribbling percentages, indirect assists, possession/giveaways, influence on pitch, etc)
Look, at work I’ve got zero problem researching an issue off the internet; in fact, I’d be pretty stubborn not to. If there are good, legit ideas out there then give them credit and use the idea. Like you said, if they EVER read this site and even took a shred of what we’re saying here even as Plan AA.1 (way down the list) then hey, I’d be stoked about it and hopefully they benefit (and we as fans, as well). I’d be more than happy to spend some time at home digging up & creating dossiers for the site if they could use ‘em. But yeah, we’re just interwebz guys :)
Exactly
But in this day and age, it makes sense financially. We do the work, hell, they can take the credit. Maybe just toss us a package of free tickets to a home game so we can run some contests on the site. Nobody else would be the wiser…
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
Preaching to the choir
Look, alot of organizations love their fans/ultras (well, not the crazy ultras) and the publicity they drum up. If in any way, shape or form our piddly thoughts can get you, Ginge and the rest of the DT crew better access & credibility, I probably speak for the Naranjariat in saying we’d be all for it. Dynamo wins, DT wins, we win.
I really could honestly care less about that part
I’m more than content with how we’re growing purely on word of mouth, and due to our awesome commenters. I am more relating to the fact if MLS can embrace the world of internet blogging as it’s mainstream media, why can’t they do the same for their preliminary scouting? If every team took some of the suggestions from their fanblogs and then did their own scouting, how much time and money would it legitemately save them? Really, it would save a bunch. Just sayin’
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
The man who kicked the hornet's nest
Well as long as DT keeps growing I’m a happy clam.
As for blogging, I will say I’m very happy that MLS has embraced it far more readily than many of the other major sports leagues. That being said, it seems its more to generate chatter & interest rather than a source of input. Again, I can see why FOs in general might be wary(because who the hell are a bunch of bloggers??), but I think they’d find an engaged, knowledgeable and passionate fan base found online. And we are really about what’s best for the Orange
by Michael_D on Jul 27, 2011 11:45 AM CDT via mobile up reply actions
Well, that and imagine how much it would pump intrigue-wise?
Talk about generating real, worthwhile publicity. “Golden Nugget DP found by MLS club through Fan blog.” It just screams a connection to the fanbase that NO OTHER PRO SPORT HAS. Period.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
The Lalas Quandry
While we can come up with prospects- it ain’t that simple. Alexi Lalas played @ GM like he was a fantasy league manager. Sometimes, the best team drops or trades the best player because he just doesn’t fit.
For example, my Championship Manager 2009 Dynamo Team had Landin banging in the goals with an over 7.0 game rating. Weaver had several multiple goal games and scored in about 60%.
Computer games reduce players to numerical probabilities. These don;t factor intangibles like team cohesion, attitude, et al…
Yet in real life…
I don’t know much about the players listed other than limited game observation on a very few, scant internet info- and I also don’t have a subscription to a scouting site like http://www.imscouting.com.
BTW- my Dynamo Team had Irani Ali Karimi who was our best player.
Right but...
its the FO’s job to investigate those “leads” further. Considering that as far as we know, their scouting very much resembles our scouting, with their real advantage being they can send someone over to investigate further. But other than that, it seems they’ve viewed online information, videos, etc….which is again what we see.
The point I guess Fuze was making is that look, we could (in this crazy scenario) do that initial research and vetting for them, and then they can investigate further and the ones that they are most interested in they can hop on a plane and go visit/observe them.
Agreed
Yup, you two are quite right, just wanted to throw in that Lalas caveat.
Now ANYTHING to get the Dynamo moving.
Moving forward, I mean.
Forward.
Yes, please clarify for the love of Durga(I need a better god name for soccer)
But yeah, Michael is right. I’m just saying let us do the simple legwork and the team’s FO can take what we find and then narrow it down to a reasonable list of prospects. At least it takes their time and manages it to the best of it’s ability. If they still want to do some research, fine, but come on Ginge pulls more rumors than anybody well before we hear them elsewhere. And hell, what Michael and PT have found out of thin air, it’s at least something more than the FO has shown us the past 2 weeks or so.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
Good points
Not trying to be a nay sayer, just not equating my expertise with pro soccer scouts.
You two also make very good points- do we have soccer scouts and do we also have as much (if not more) footy expertise than Canetti who is essentially a PR/Marketing/Human Resources guy???
I think it's been long assumed most MLS teams do not HAVE pro scouts
They use their contacts and also use their coaching staff.
As for Canetti, I don’t think he does most of the legwork when it comes to signings, I assume he does the financial aspects, but I would believe he would have hirelings do the legwork. Makes the most sense to me.
-- "...I was sick, napping, and then woke up and came to the computer to read a note from the Gingered Angel of Doom..." Martek - Dynamo Theory Blog
Bring La Ris SA!
I’ll even give up tsalsa as there will be NO need.
BTW
That caption screams for the line from Roadhouse:
“I used to f*** guys like you in prison”
/sorry
HA!
Our cultural allusions/funnies/references are waaaay out of date :)
Also
since we apparently like ‘em cheap-as-chips, why haven’t we tried going the NASL route?
There’s:
Pablo Martin Nunez (Uruguyan International)
24 y/o, 5’6"
Midfielder
Current Club – Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (NASL)
Fee – $35K
Michael Palacio (US International)
24 y/o, 5’11"
Attacking Midfielder
Current Club – Ft. Lauderdale Strikers (NASL)
Fee – ? (Can’t be THAT much…~<60K)
Lucas Paulini (Argentinian International)
22 y/o, 6’1"
Midfielder
Current Club – Atlanta Silverbacks (NASL)
Fee – ? (Again, can’t be that much…<50K)
Young guys but with good college/international pedigrees, cheap and could grow w us if they make the cut
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