I think people are overestimating Martinez' decline. He's still an elite player in this league even if his production has dipped slightly (this past season was the first season in MLS that his G/90 was below .5).
I'm not saying the Timbers have to go get Josef Martinez specifically, although I wouldn't mind it. I just think that tier of p…
I think people are overestimating Martinez' decline. He's still an elite player in this league even if his production has dipped slightly (this past season was the first season in MLS that his G/90 was below .5).
I'm not saying the Timbers have to go get Josef Martinez specifically, although I wouldn't mind it. I just think that tier of players (the tier with, like, Almada/Acosta/Driussi) is where the Timbers should be looking to fill their DP spots.
All of which comes down to scouting, since that tier of player doesn't come up on the market often (thus the "I'd see what it would take to land Martinez" thought, for me) and that's a big gap for the Timbers, or it has been in the past. We'll see if Ned is up to the task of finding the next great MLS DP; Evander's good and getting better, but I want the Timbers to aim higher (make Evander the baseline, not the high water mark) and get someone at that super-elite level.
He spent 10 on Evander. It's not out of the realm of reality for him to do it, but that would also involve him being way more invested (not monetarily) in the team to want to push it to that level.
I think people are overestimating Martinez' decline. He's still an elite player in this league even if his production has dipped slightly (this past season was the first season in MLS that his G/90 was below .5).
I'm not saying the Timbers have to go get Josef Martinez specifically, although I wouldn't mind it. I just think that tier of players (the tier with, like, Almada/Acosta/Driussi) is where the Timbers should be looking to fill their DP spots.
All of which comes down to scouting, since that tier of player doesn't come up on the market often (thus the "I'd see what it would take to land Martinez" thought, for me) and that's a big gap for the Timbers, or it has been in the past. We'll see if Ned is up to the task of finding the next great MLS DP; Evander's good and getting better, but I want the Timbers to aim higher (make Evander the baseline, not the high water mark) and get someone at that super-elite level.
He spent 10 on Evander. It's not out of the realm of reality for him to do it, but that would also involve him being way more invested (not monetarily) in the team to want to push it to that level.