The Crew.com's Cody Sharrett answers your questions weekly on Crew Mail. Send your questions to socialmedia@thecrew.com.
In 2011, the Crew played Newcastle United. In 2008, they played West Ham in a mid-season friendly. Will we play a mid-season friendly this season? If we are, who is it going to be against?
- Antoine F.
Just as New York will be playing Tottenham Hotspur and Philadelphia is hosting Schalke 04, the Crew is interested in hosting a friendly sometime this summer. There is nothing official to report, but there is something in the works with an international club. Stay tuned to TheCrew.com in the coming weeks.
What's our target/goal for this year? We have very good individual talents. Why are we not seeing better communication among the players in the field? Why are we not seeing better performance from the team as a whole?
- Saidul I.
The Crew's goal right now is to make its fifth straight playoff appearance and compete for an MLS Cup. As we've seen in years past, anything can happen once the playoffs start.
Between new players, rookies, veterans, and injuries the Crew are still in the process of meshing on the field. I think any player on any MLS team will tell you that a team doesn't really start to click on all wavelengths until June or July. Sometimes teams never start communicating effectively. Be patient and cross your fingers that the Crew's on-field chemistry continues to improve in the coming matches.
Why haven't you recruited players from the Swiss league so far?
- Christoph A.
The Crew's technical staff has made trips to Switzerland and various other countries around the world in recent years. How a player fits in to the Crew's tactics and the team's budget are just a couple of factors that go into evaluating international talent. So far, the Crew hasn't found a player that makes sense to sign from a Swiss team according to those factors I just mentioned.
When will the Hunt family use some of the money they amassed when GBS, Frankie, Lenhart, and Robbie departed and acquire a player for us the caliber of Thierry Henry, Landon Donovan, or David Beckham? Such a player would boost morale (both fan and player), would increase performance results on the pitch, would be a big boost for PR, and would definitely help sell tickets (which is I assume should be the primary goal to increase the Hunt family ROI (return on investment).
- Scott H.
Signing a designated player remains high on the Crew front office's to-do list, and they hope to find the right player within the upcoming summer transfer window.
Yes, a designated player may improve on-field performance, but only if he fits in with Robert Warzycha's gameplan and can build an on-field chemistry with the rest of the Crew players. However, as we saw in David Beckham's first two seasons in LA, a designated player didn't breed on-field success. It took the right coach (Bruce Arena) and the Galaxy front office building the team around Beckham with additions like Omar Gonzalez, Robbie Keane, and Juninho to win MLS Cup last season. So far, the Galaxy (with Beckham, Donovan, and Keane) is the only team with a designated player(s) to win MLS Cup. (Schelotto was a DP for the Crew in the 2009 season only.)
I agree that a DP would boost fan morale and be a good PR move.
However, I have to disagree that a designated player would increase the Hunt Family's ROI. Not every player worthy of designated player status has the drawing power of a David Beckham. Sure, soccer fans know who Thierry Henry is, but few unfamiliar with the sport would be enticed to buy a ticket to an MLS match because of his name. Non-soccer fans know Beckham becuase he transcends soccer. Besides Beckham, there are only two players in the world right whom I believe transcend the sport enough to significantly boost ticket sales in MLS: Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. I don't see either coming to MLS anytime soon.
