Bratislav Ristic Latest Seattle Sounders Trialist

by Dave Clark on Sep 8, 2011 1:01 PM PDT in Sounders: News

SANTA CLARA CA - SEPTEMBER 29: Bratislav Ristic #77 of the Chicago Fire dribbles the ball against Geovanni #77 of the San Jose Earthquakes during an MLS game at Buck Shaw Stadium on September 29 2010 in Santa Clara California. (Photo by Jed Jacobsohn/Getty Images)

If you are an MLS player and cut during the season the chances are very strong that the Seattle Sounders will ask you to come to Starfire Sports in Tukwila, Washington on trial. The latest trialist is former Chicago Fire utility man Bratislav Ristic. Released in late July, Ristic was a spot performer at RB, LB, RM, CDM and LM. He was never first choice, and seemed to fall victim to the limited international slots in the Windy City.

Merwin at HotTimeInOldTown describes his defensive play as

... at right back more man orientated ... He is a bit better at man marking than positioning defense I'd say. But also I'd rate him a better offensive force than defensive force but only marginally. I find him to be an entirely average player. [He's a] solid bench guy for depth but nothing more at this point in his career.

At 31 years old Ristic would be a move for right now, if the team feels it needs a replacement level talent. While Wes Knight would be a move for the future. The uncertain nature of Terry Boss' injury means that the second string rightback search goes directly against the search for another keeper.

Having so many trialists in camp also gives the Sounders talent evaluation team a better idea of how they compare to other GMs, Technical Directors and Coaches in MLS.

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Good point in that last sentence

I think it’s also potentially particularly good to see Ristic and Knight together (assuming their vying for the same spot). The few times I saw Ristic play for Chicago I thought he was fine. I don’t remember him screwing up, but I don’t remember him as really excelling, either. He’d be a decent bench guy, especially with utility across the back line, and it’s not like we’re really short on international slots with all the green cards many of the team members have gotten.

by Nevtelen on Sep 8, 2011 1:43 PM PDT reply actions

If Boss is really done for the season,

Then wouldn’t the team put him on IR also, thus allowing them to pick up both a RB and a GK (if they can find the latter; clearly there are options at the former) in the next week? I know that concussion prognosis is challenging at best, but if they’re unsure about him with only 6 weeks to go, the prudent thing to do for all involved seems to be to shut Boss down and find another keeper. If they shut down Boss and put him on IR, that shouldn’t impact the search for a defender, unless there’s an IR cap I’m missing…

"There is nothing so more deceptive than an obvious fact." -Sherlock Holmes

by mtn335 on Sep 8, 2011 2:55 PM PDT reply actions