Seems like we're going to need a thread for these. Here's the Rapids up-to-date-list: http://www.coloradorapids.com/transactions Re-Signed: Nathan Sturgis Released: Diego Calderon Jaime Castrillon Steward Ceus Options declined, in negotiation: Martin Rivero Hendry Thomas
I understood Rapids want to cut his salary cap hit and thus Rapids declined contract. Seems to me he is needed unless you look at Bianchi's tweet, something like he "played like a 5th defender and Rapids would like someone more Dynamic".
The Rapids definitely want to keep him, but the fact that they are trying to do so for less money is a little surprising to me. He may not have been the Rapids' best player this year, but he was arguably the most indispensable.
Mullan and Smith eligible for Re-Entry Draft: http://www.coloradorapids.com/news/...brian-mullan-and-jamie-smith-determine-future Bigger news, IMO, is that Buddle is not. Unfortunately.
Seattle cut ties with Gspurning and now Jimmy Nielsen has retired. And here we are, with Irwin and Pickens on the roster. Hm. As Unkiemark suggested in the other thread, if we DID make a play for Eddie Johnson, Pickens could now potentially be a part of it. At this point, I can't think who we might nab from KC in a trade. The consensus seems to be that the Rapids will get rid of either Pickens or Irwin, and probably Pickens. But now that we've let go of Ceus, that leaves just two keepers on the roster, and the normal number is three. Are we sure that Pickens will be gone? I'd hate to see Matt Pickens go, but at the same time, using him as a backup keeper feels like leaving money on the table, in that we could probably get something good for him.
I can't see Pickens wanting to stay if Rapids are going with Irwin, flip their situations and Irwin would want to go after proving he is starter material. Given all the trades last few years to make players "happy", I don't see both staying. Just find 2 new guys and keep fingers crossed Irwin doesn't get hurt.
I think this covers all the roster news of the last couple of days (Ceus, Mullan, Smith, Wallace, Armstrong, Griffiths, Kindle, Mera, Mwanga) http://view-from-the-couch.blogspot.com/2013/12/roster-churn-prior-to-re-entry-draft.html
Nice work as always Jason. I think the "investment" in Mwanga is all about the first round draft pick in 2015 we gave up for him. Edit: Should we start making wagers on Buddle's belly when camp opens?
SKC has a plethora of forwards that they rotated in and out all season and never really quite nailed down a striking tandem. In the short-term --- as evident by their Title -- it didn't really hurt them but long-term I don't think they can keep the troops happy. I would imagine one or two would jump at a chance to seek consistent 1st team football. Their forward line is: CJ Sapong, Teal Bunbury, Dom Dwyer, Soony Saad, and Claudio Bieler, a DP. Dwyer, rumor has it, is being chanced by an English Championship club for a loan w/purchase option. Bieler is on the outs and outs with Vermes. Both are internationals so that may limit their "trade-ability" if you will. I would dangle Pickens out there for Sapong, Saad, or Bunbury. They need a starting GK and we need a forward. It's a no brainer Irwin will be signed to an improved deal and Pickens will be out the door. I've always liked Pickens (and always will) but let's be honest Irwin is a cheaper option, younger, and has a brighter future. No shame in that. Pickens deserves to be a starter somewhere and I hope the Rapids can help him out while improving our squad. We can find a solid and affordable backup within the league, USL-Pro, or NASL. There is a decent crop of college keepers out there that can be drafted or signed as "free agents" that can serve as the #3. With GK positions opening up in Seattle and KC and Pickens having a fair amount of trade value, it certainly opens up options for the Rapids to improve their squad in several areas. I think it's a win-win for everyone involved.
I don't know if I could handle seeing Pickens in a Sounders jersey. No, I know I couldn't. I would probably cry the first time I saw it... like seeing your ex fiance going out with the douche bag jock, but now he's a car salesman (nothing against car salesman, you know what I mean). Someone had an interesting comment on Facebook: Next offseason there will be an expansion draft with at least 2 new teams, maybe three. What's the chance we hold on to Pickens just as a cash bait for one of the new franchises? It would be a dick move by the Rapids to him, but hey, business is business.
In order: Interesting. NOOOOOOOOO! Um, okay, I guess? Yay! Yay! Yay! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! Yay!
Really surprised options were picked up on Hill and Cascio. I thought for sure both were on their way out. I've never been a fan of Cascio. I think there is little to his game despite the attention he garnered as a rookie. Plus, I don't think he necessarily fits into OP's system. I guess Op sees it differently. Hill is someone I really like and is someone who can provide that spark off the bench. He's just the sort of player when he plays his game and is deployed in the right position --- slightly behind the strikers --- that can be effective in OP's system. I was really surprised he didn't play much last season. I'm surprised Hill didn't ask to be released in order to seek other opportunities. OP, I assume, chatted with Hill and he might have a different plan for him this coming season.
I agree with what you say about Hill. As for Cascio, I also thought he had a pretty sever sophomore slump, but there were some quotes from Oscar a few months back suggesting that Cascio is someone he still sees a lot of potential for. For my money, he earned himself some benefit of the doubt in the Montreal game.
I'd rather we gave the benefit of the doubt for the whole body of work, Roberto Brown and Caleb Folan both had one great game for the Rapids.
Haha, fair enough. Judging based on whole body of work is far too rational for me! I do think he has showed enough potential to be kept, even if he has lacked consistency. At his best he can be a powerful spark to add to an attack, willing to try beating people on the dribble and taking a hard shot. At his worst he coughs it up while doing that without adding anything on defense. I wager OP thinks he can cultivate the positive side and diminish the negative, and he's still young enough that he could become a very solid MLS player-- something of a poor man's Brek Shea (if we assume that Brek Shea himself hasn't turned out to actually be a poor man's Brek Shea)
For me, this brings up the age old question of age and development. At 23 24 are the returns diminishing too much?
It's a fair question. What did people make of Mike Magee at 23 and 24? IIRC, he was rated probably higher than Cascio is now, but not by any great degree. I could be wrong about that. I mention Magee because to me he's the best example of the "solid MLS lifer" type.
It does. To be honest, it varies from player to player and it really is a crapshoot. A myriad of things go into "development". I've always lived by the belief that once you hit that development plateau, whatever age that may be, you should start focusing on refining your skill set and figuring out how those can be effective on the pitch. It's hard to "develop" new skills once you reach that plateau but there's no doubt you can accentuate and retune the ones you have. Mike Magee is a great example --- so is Eddie Gavin, Justin Mapp, and a few others. They are turned their limited skill set(s) into solid careers. Maybe Cascio can do the same. I don't know. I have some shadow of a doubt.
I'm surprised we picked up the options on Hill and Cascio AND want to bring Mwanga back. I figured we'd keep 1, maybe 2 of the trio, not all 3.