jimmy snels said:
ok mr sarcastic im not saying their not good players but i think that in all honesty that maybe we should use them slightly wiser, dobben is a 3rd line grinder at best, and although stu turned out to be a good player again he was signed on our 3rd line. im saying that in the past we signed better players on these deals. matzka was one of our better players last year yes (not this year at minute but i like him) but i think we dont utilize these slots enough. You seem to be very touchy about anyone having an opinion mate, we are all allowed one, a simple "i disagree, i think the quality of imports signed to the deals is great" would have been fine. this is a forum set up for discussion.
out of intrest would you say that dobben, smith and pierce who are i believe on uni deals as good as the past signings on them?
I'm not touchy about anyone having an opinion. I simply don't agree with a few things being said on here so I post my opposing views. I am allowed mine too, mate
what does seem to be growing is that if someone moans (not saying you were, just stating a view) and then is called on it, they really don't like that at all.
It does seem that anyone who takes issue with a criticism of the team when they feel it is unfounded is labelled a happy clapper though. If that's the case I shall reach for my tambourine as I am proud to be one.
You have referenced two players persistently in your argument and I can see why. Phil and Tepper are two of our best players, in their era, ever in their position in my opinion. Jarvo was awesome too. However we also signed Romfo on a Uni deal (got gassed) and Hartwick who many never rated (I did).
Stuuuu turned out to be the find of the season last year, playing with every conceivable line mate and ascending to the captaincy. Scott Matzka is a thoroughbred and returned to us when his situation was poor so I would say those two are good uses of Uni places.
Last year we had our third Goalie Mark Smith on a Uni place and pound for pound I thought he was our best and most consistent player last season. This year his brother, who is playing very very well again, has stepped onto a Uni deal.
As for Scott Dobben? Well I like Scott's play. I think he is a very solid two-way player, can shoot, score, is very good at the draw and versatile too. It should not be glossed over that he, like Stu before him, has had a carousel of line mates due to injuries, has played on every one (and lit up the top line when he was there), and even played extremely well in defence. Phil Hill said he had no idea how he was able to play D so well, as a forward. So yes, in terms of this year's team I think Dobbs has been a great acquisition for these reasons.
IMO Scott's biggest problem is that many seem to want to compare him directly with Tylor, who was genetically engineered to be a Cardiff Devil and had achieved cult status. They are not the same style or type of player so that was always going to hamper him a little.
I think with settled line mates and settled lines we could see some very good things from him.
Dare I point out that only last season too we signed a 50+ goal scorer on a Uni deal?
From working closely with the Coaches this Summer to process the visa paperwork I would say that in my opinion, in the recruitment climate we had, with the budget we had, yes we used the Uni places well. Several other players nearly came here on Uni deals too but eventually opted to stay home or go to mainland Europe.
