14 responses to “Big Question: Why Sign Forward Brandon Allen If He’s Not Getting Playing Time?”

1. 

   Wes

   August 16, 2017

   From what I know about Allen comes from Seeing Red’s Mark Fishkin. He described Allen as a poacher. He gets a lot of garbage goals. That’s a nice feature to have and I wonder how that fits into our 4-2-3-1 set up? Can we start using Danladi next to Christian and then Allen comes in and out for Danladi?

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   1. 

      Bill Stenross

      August 16, 2017

      Danladi brings some much needed speed. I think Christian already is a quality poacher, along with having a wider skillset. Is being a poacher enough of a skillset for an MLS attacking player.

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      1. 

         Dave Laidig

         August 16, 2017

         Ask Wondo

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2. 

   Joe Leyba

   August 16, 2017

   Maybe he was signed as a sacrifice to the field turf gods?

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   1. 

      Wes

      August 16, 2017

      Burch wasn’t enough to slake their thirst?

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      1. 

         Jim Oliver

         August 17, 2017

         Their thirst is unquenchable, the void in their gut bottomless.

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3. 

   Dave Laidig

   August 16, 2017

   I would like to think that the team is just being proactive, adding a player that they think will contribute some minutes in 1-2 years. But with the roster actions not matching up with the team’s explanations, it’s tough to give them the benefit of the doubt here.

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4. 

   Tacoboi

   August 16, 2017

   He looked good in the friendly, one of the few players that seemed to care. Shame that he can’t get more playing time. Play him behind Christian to make defenders do a double take.

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5. 

   Troy Kadlec

   August 16, 2017

   If you have a tight game and need attacking firepower, Allen will sub in. If Danladi and Ramirez are dinged, Allen will play. If one is dinged, it will depend on the gameplan whether you pull in Allen. The guy has been eligible for 4 MLS games since he got here? If he’s not hands down better than what Danladi or Ramirez bring, you aren’t going to use him as anything other than a sub spark at the end of a match.
   I would have liked to see him up top with Danladi when Ramirez was out, but we got murdered on the counter and having another player on the wrong side of a counter would have been ugly. I can’t fault Inchy for not wanting another 5-6 goal loss on this year’s record.

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6. 

   Kyle Butler

   August 17, 2017

   Quite frankly, there is too much distance between Inchy and the front office. Too often it feels like the team makes moves that they believe to be logical, but Inchy doesn’t care to take into account. I liked the Allen signing because I thought he would get some solid chances at the end of games and at worst would be a cheap option as a third striker with a lot of potential based on his USL strike rate.

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7. 

   mumbleblade

   August 17, 2017

   With his poacher tendencies, I think Allen is a like-for-like insurance policy for Ramirez. As much as I would like to see Allen get minutes as the season winds down, if Christian is healthy, he has to start. If it’s between Allen and Danladi, I’d also take the youth and speed of Danladi up top (and it appears Inchy would agree). So maybe we’ll only see Allen if (god forbid) Ramirez gets injured or has a scoring drought (and if Danladi proves ineffective as a lone striker).

   He may also serve as a motivational tool, providing competition for Ramirez. I think Ramirez will need some motivation to stay sharp, especially if his USMNT prospects continue to fade. Lord knows Inchy is all about motivation/effort, or at least perceived effort (see: Ibarra, Miguel).

   I really hope Allen (or another player like him) remains on the roster beyond this season, for the aforementioned reasons. Plus, we just need depth at striker (and everywhere else except the wings).

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8. 

   Matt

   August 17, 2017

   I’ve seen him in pre-game warmups only, and was not impressed. Nothing to judge on, I know – but just wonder if he isn’t giving the effort in practice/impressing Heath enough to get playing time.

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9. 

   David Sterling

   August 17, 2017

   I’m going to say he is an insurance policy on the remainder of the season to fill the squad. It would seem that the office may not necessarily take Heath’s input in their decisions. He’s never been too keen on Ibarra, they’ve basically signed all wingers, and Allen doesn’t get used when you’d expect it.
   In the system we’re playing he can’t be anymore useful than a fill-in, so unless Heath plans on changing, I don’t see Allen getting many minutes.

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10. 

    Vinyl Haircut

    August 17, 2017

    I totally agree with others that Christian needs to start every game he’s healthy. But our 2017 record is virtually irrelevant. What’s important is to set ourselves up for future years, and to do that the staff needs a thorough analysis of every player. Practice is never the same as real game action, and the Seattle game was a perfect opportunity. I have no problem giving Danladi the start up top. But in the 68th minute, down 2, we subbed in *Venegas*. That’s a worthless action, in my opinion. He’s shown almost nothing, and we have a good sample of game action with which to evaluate him already. Rather, had we subbed in Allen, we could have instead played with two strikers and put Molino outside (where he’s better suited anyway). Or we could have dropped Danladi into the #10 role and kept the formation largely the same. Regardless, the staff would have had better data upon which to evaluate players for next year — especially Allen, for whom I believe we have an option to buy.

    I like Heath, but the reason he gave for not doing this — that the score wasn’t 2-1 — is just ridiculous. The score at the time of the Venegas substitution was 2-0. The result was still in the balance. But so what? Even if the game had been out of reach, doesn’t that make it even easier to sub in Allen? We aren’t making the playoffs this year regardless, so this is the time to see exactly what we’ve got, who we can build with, and who must be jettisoned.

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