You’re the Boss: Goalkeeper Conundrum
By: jon | May 11th, 2009
This is part 1 in a…multi part series where we’ll go over a situation that needs to be addressed by the Front Office or Tommy and lay out the pros and cons, and ask you to decide.
Today’s issue: the goalie position.
As I wrote earlier, Louis Crayton appears to be on the outs. Both from my sources and from Martin Fernandez from United Mania, Crayton appears to be rubbing people on the staff the wrong way with his attitude. He has played pretty well this season, starting 5 games, with 20 saves, 1.20 GAA, with a 2-1-2 record. Not along wrong with those numbers.
However as proof of the team’s general confusion at the position, note who has been getting most of the playing time lately, including a home game against a team that is close to DC in the table.
Milos Kocic, the rookie keeper from Loyola, has shown his experience level so far this season, with some issues in coming out to claim crosses, nervy clearances, and a major error that resulted in a goal against Toronto. His stats are not bad either, 2-0-1 in all competitions, 7 saves, with a 1.50 GAA. The team seems to be giving him the benefit of the doubt, giving him every opportunity to grab the reins with both hands, but I think no one is convinced.
Josh Wicks is also on the team, but figures to be a backup for eternity. I may be wrong, but I doubt it.
Clearly, a numbers game is at play here, with Crayton’s large self-negotiated salary potentially coming off of the books in July, and Kocic and Wicks’ salaries being much more Cap friendly. Will the team reach an agreement with Crayton, perhaps bringing down the salary, and giving the team some stability at the position? Or maybe the team says goodbye to Louis, hands the ship over to Milos and say, “Its your show, kid.”. Or maybe, the team looks to the outside, again, for a goalie for the stretch run of the season.
So you’re the boss. What do you do?
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Category: Milos Kocic
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Comments
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I thin fans have been talking about this for a while. The DCU GK position is in need of serious attention.
If I were the boss, I’d look at all the great GK talent in the USL-1 (Puerto Rico, Vancouver, Montreal) and try to bring over some talent from there.
Posted from
United States
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Oh, I know they’ve been talking about it. I’d prefer they talk about it here.
Also, the consecutive alternating starts brings the issue some current salience.
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United States -
Hey Gang!
I don’t see a way to email you but I wanted to see if you were interested in this, I help produce RightOffRussell and one of our writers interviewed Tony Limarzi, radio announcer for DC United the other day … thought you might be interested and willing to check it out and link to it if you liked it, thanks!!
http://rightoffrussell.com/dc-united/interview-with-tony-limarzi-the-voice-of-dc-united/
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United States -
I don’t think the answer lies in the USL. Jay Nolly is near the top of most stats categories with Vancouver. We already had him here. There are reasons he was let go. If he’s one of the best the USL has to offer, I’d rather look elsewhere.
If it were up to me, I’d go after someone like Kenny Steppe. He was the Belgian league’s 2008 goalkeeper of the year, got sold to Heerenveen, and is currently the backup there. He’s struggled a bit though, with a GAA of 2.00. Unfortunately, I happen to think that MLS is behind the Eredivisie, and the fact that Steppe played well in the Belgian league and is having a hard time in the Dutch league may mean that MLS would be a good fit for him. On top of that he’s young – only 21, so the potential for growth is there. We just need Heerenveen to give up on him.
How much do you think it would cost for a backup keeper from a 2nd tier European team? Maybe it’s reaching too high, but as a former keeper myself, I’d like to see a priority placed on the position.
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United States -
Spectre going with the uber obscure pick. nice.
Posted from
United States
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