Kansas City in this case. The Colorado Rapids today traded Herculez Gomez to the Kansas City Wizards. I am personally gutted because Herc was always approachable and a damn fine footballer to boot. I understand why he is making the move although it is still unclear just how much say he had in it. There is always pressure in professional sports, obviously, to perform but I don't think that I am alone in thinking that Herc had been put under too much pressure with the limited amount of gametime that he was getting this season. It can be unfair sometimes to expect someone to perform at their best consistently when their opportunities are so few. He had expressed his frustration to me a few times this season. We heard how he was still battling back from last season's ACL injury even though the player felt he was among the fittest members of the squad. He just wanted a good run in the team to prove he still belonged and he never really got that. I shall personally miss him both on and off the field but I wish him only the best.
Interim head coach, Gary Smith, said the following about the trade: "We certainly wish Herculez all the best and appreciate everything that he gave to our club. We wanted to give Herculez an opportunity where he could be productive, while we look for the right combination of players up top for us. I think adding several draft picks allows us to add some spice in the future as well." We shall see. Right now, I would rather have the tried and tested than the promise of something unknown. But sometimes things have to move on and maybe it was just one of those things. Everyone knows it was not personal and just another professional decision. But the Rapids have lost a fan favorite and that will take some time to replace.
As a token of respect, I am adding the link to the matchup for the game tomorrow night as per the Rapids website. It will be the last time you see Herc lining up for us. http://www.coloradorapids.com/TheMatch/Matchup.aspx
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5 comments:
Beautifully shared as usual. Real sad it is (poor Herc), but good luck to him!
So Frustrating! In myopinion this is just one moremove that the Rapids have made in their long history that just made me upset at the front office. It started back when the Rapids traded Chris Henderson the first time and then let him go the second time as well. Herc is a guy I have loved since the begining and I really hate to see him go. I just can't wait to see how Herc burns us the next time we play Kansas City.
So, I read the article on MLSnet.com and I found an interesting quote from Peter Vermes out in Kansas City.
"We've been talking back and forth with Colorado since last season about a couple of different players between them and us. We have a pretty good relationship," said Vermes, who dealt defender Jose Burciaga Jr. to Colorado in January. "Over the weekend they contacted us back and said they'd be interested in making a move on a couple guys. We [then] had more discussions regarding Herculez."
Any idea what other guys the Rapids are looking at moving elsewhere?
I like Herc, and wish him well in KC. But I'm not sure that Herc's style of play was the best fit for what the Rapids need up top. In my opinion, compared to Herc, McManus is better on the ball and Cummings is a better speed guy, so either McManus or Cummings is a better fit with Casey. Herc shows some flash, but he goes to ground and is dispossessed rather easily. Fan favorite is one thing, but I'd rather have a forward who can hold onto the ball and complement the other guy (assuming the Rapids don't ever play that god awful single striker formation ever again). I'm not sure that Herc will ever show the kind of potential he demonstrated during his breakout year in LA.
Scott, I saw this comment too. I will follow up on this next week. I think player discussions go on all the time but this is interesting. Joey, I agree that McManus may be a better guy upfront for the Rapids right now. I think Cummings has some way to go to develop fully. He does have trouble passing the ball at the appropriate times. I think that Herc did offer a bit more versatility than the others. Right now, I feel the organization did not handle him well this season and we may have let go of a definite talent that we should have kept. But he is gone and we have to do something in Dallas tonight.
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