2010 Philadelphia roster

I got that and I think you're on to something--Rutledge was a surprise pick to me, too. Looking back at my post, I don't think I expressed that clearly enough. Sorry.

eta: I do think the international players (including USA internationals) make Philly a strong contender but I need to be convinced about some of the rest of the squad.

Of the 52 players drafted after Rutledge, I count 37 still in the mix (including injured players - Enyeart, Gordon & Morote-Ariza). All of the other 2nd round picks are still around if you include Dobratz (who's completing her college work) with Washington. Rest of the draft - round 3 (7 of 9), round 4 (7 of 9), round 5 (6 of 9), round 6 (6 of 9) and round 7 (4 of 9). It will be interesting to see how many of these players make the final 4/1 rosters.

I think you messed up the [ quote][ / quote] feature b/c McDude posted what you have quoted w/ my name.

Anyway, it is my understanding that Sanderson has speed. She was on the England Euro roster so I'm not sure what you mean by "doesn't make the England squad." Now, will her prolific scoring in the English league translate to WPS? no idea. But she does have talent and potential.

Del Piero, thanks for pulling those numbers relative to the 2010 draft & the 24 player rosters.

eta: I was just looking at the 24 player roster and I couldn't really figure out what a reasonable starting lineup might be. Part of it is my own unfamiliarity with certain players but part of it the odd duplication of "strengths" at one position that leaves other positions oddly vacant. I think that backs up Del Piero's points about scouting & the college draft.

Anyone braver (or more knowledgeable) than me want to throw out a starting lineup for the rest of us to pick apart?

Sorry about that Kool-Aide; I apparently wasn't paying enough attention.

I hope you are right!

Yes, my quote (not kook-aid) on international players more deterministic of success....somehow BS merged them both. I think 2 of 5 for philly are blue chip internationals, maybe 3 and jury still out on other 2.

Del Piero - impressive that you know all the stat's on draft choices and well done. I could be wrong but still don't expect much from draftee's after the first round based on college player performance last year (limited track record admitedly) as too big a jump or gap between college and pro.

Apologies to Kool-Aid, mispelling in previous post inadvertent.

No worries

One thing to consider though, is that this year's draft pool (ie 2009 NCAA seniors) is considered by most scouts/observers/etc to be unusually deep with quality players. Next year's draft, no so much. While I get what you're saying about the transition from college to pro ball (and generally agree up to to a point), but if a team can't get value out of a deep draft, that doesn't bode well for scouting American talent before they get to camp. Getting a 0 in this draft could hurt not just this season but next season.

Maybe we're wrong. But the rookies remaining on the roster (I think, w/ a very cursory glance) seem to be those initially drafted (ie deemed valuable) but other teams (eg: Johnson)

I'm brutal with certain positions my line up would be:

Rodriguez Sanderson

Magnusdottir Seger Lindsey fill in spot

Mitts Falk fill in Larsson


Like I said, i'm not good with specific positions but I see those as starters

Yes the 2010 draft is very deep and talented.....no doubt about it. Yet still a big leap from college to pro with heavy competition as we are seeing from all the preseason camps. I hope to be surprised by the number of new college players that make it this year.

Each existing WPS team also looks to be improved from their 2009 season.

FYI - I think I read an Emma Hayes article awhile back stating her expectations for contributions from only her first and second round choices and anything after that would be pure gravy or developmental players at best. There is always though the exception to the rule.

I agree that it seems odd that an "expansion" team would cut so many draft picks loose already, but also note that you have an unusual number of experienced starters on board from the start, so traditional logic doesn't necessarily apply here.

I think Philly is going to be very strong right out of the gate, can't wait to see how well the paper roster stacks up on the field!

Guys, it is kind of interesting that you all seem to think we have cut so many draft picks loose. In fact Pre Draft we had nine picks, we used three of them on Arod,Henderson and Falk leaving us six. our top two being 2nd and 4th rounds and yes by our own admission they did not work out. Kelly Henderson will Join us post school and we actually did pick Carrie Patterson with our 4th round pick. Dani Collins is still in camp also. So 6 of nine are still around technically and Caitlin Farrell decided not to come into preseason and was not cut .

It has been a long day we actually had 8 draft picks, so again technically 6 are still around.

GMPhilly, with all due respect, your draft choices were Rutledge, K. Henderson, Malachi, Farrell and Collins and of those, only Collins is in camp and Henderson will be coming later. The three players you acquired for your two #1 picks do not count as draft choices as they have been in the league for a year. What concerns me as a fan is Paul Riley's lack of emphasis on the college draft. In a recent audio interview he said he would prefer having players that are in the league for a year like A Rod, Val and Falk.
I think you build in any sport through the entry-level draft and this team has little to show for that portion of the building process this off season. I just think the team made mistakes in talent evaluation.
Most importantly, Lauren Cheney is clearly a better player than A Rod — anyone who saw the most recent international competition would agree. Other than Wambaugh, she is the top forward on the US Team. Players like Cheney who are 5-9 or 5-10 with tremendous creativity and finishing ability are rare in women's soccer. A Rod is a fine player but seems to play better when paired with a hammer like Cheney or Wambaugh.
Trading the second #1 for Val and Falk was OK but Val's importance was eliminated with the addition of LeBlanc (rather than Cox or Bock). Also, throwing in a #3 eliminated some flexibility on draft day. If I was going to trade a #1 pick for a goalkeeper, I would have tried (to be fair, maybe you did) to get Jillian Loyden, a local kid who I think is at least on par with what you have.
And while it's great having an ambassador/ star player like Mitts, I am curious how hard you pushed to also get Carli Lloyd— another local kid who is also one of the top attacking midfielders in the women's game. That would have been a marketing coup for an expansion team trying to generate buzz in a very competitive sports entertainment market like Philly. It would also have been nice to pair her with Seger in the MF. Did she not want to play here? Or did you not want her here? I would think the league would have stressed to her the importance of getting an expansion team off the ground from competitive and financial standpoints.
I really want to see this team succeed, I just wonder if the personnel decisions will prevent that from happening this year. Hope I'm wrong.

Philafan, as I have said I am not going to debate the merit of our players you will have to wait for the season to do that. I will tell you Arod has looked fantastic in Paul's system, like Arod last year only time will tell as whether Cheney will have a great season. In all honesty I hope they both do.
We did try to sign Carli but could not afford it against the cap. I still do not understand your logic on the draft. We were actually left with five picks and yes a couple did not work out.

I thought draft picks = college players coming out this pass season?

Thanks for the sarcasm, if you do not want me to post and give you information I will not do so. General Managers in every sport in America trade draft picks for players.

I would not have taken the risk on Lloyd, they already signed A-Rod which is a bit of a risk and taking two of them is a little risky. Philly from the get go has said they were not taking the draft pick route but building from players who have experience and their internationals. Could they have kept that number 2 and signed cheney? Sure, but at the time they used the pick, they didn't know she would be playing like she is now. There could have a been a little better balance between the draft and signings, however philly chose their route, and their team looks pretty good on paper for being an expansion.

GMPhilly, Thanks for taking the time to respond. My logic on the draft choices was that I was just evaluating the players you picked that day, not the players you acquired for draft choices. It doesn't look like those players are going to be of much help while other teams did manage to pick up players who will be on their rosters and most likely contributing. For a team that has said that players like Marta (which I completely understand) and Lloyd are too expensive to sign, I would have thought the college draft would have been a more important way to build your team than it was for you.
I completely understand that you cannot talk about specific players, let alone those who are now on other teams. I just wanted to voice my opinion. Nice to know that you did go after Carli. I wonder, though, if you had not traded for ARod and drafted a younger, cheaper player than Lindsey in the expansion draft if you could have afforded Lloyd. Nice to know that ARod is fitting in well and hope she had a nice season. Again, she's a solid player and seems like a great kid. And you are correct, we'll know whether you were right after the reason.
FreeKicks, my feeling was that it was clear that Cheney was a better player than ARod last fall when they dealt the pick. She was a four-time All-American in college who had played on the Olympic team and just brought a better combination of size and skill than ARod. I agree with you that there could have been a better balance between the college draft and signings. That was my essential point. I just think a core of Mitts, Seger, Lloyd and Cheney would have been better than Mitts, Seger, Lindsey and ARod both on and off the field. Philly is a big city with lots of options for the entertainment dollar and you have to win right away (like the Charge did) to draw in fans, especially at a time when there is a men's team starting up in a much more attractive and centrally-located venue. It's also easier to market the team with recognizable faces like Mitts and Lloyd. But we'll just have to let it all play out.

As a Breakers fan, I feel simply unloading ARod was a plus for the Breakers, so getting Cheney in return was a magnificent bonus. I hope both players have many great seasons, and am glad to hear that ARod is a good fit for you, but she was a bust in Boston and right at the moment think getting Cheney for a spare part with limited skills is the steal of the off-season so far.

To the original point of the sub-dicussion about the relative value of Philly's draft, I think GM's defense of it is rather weak. I think that a strong squad is being built, just not through the draft. The stated preference was to acquire experienced players, not rely on the college draft, that is what you have done. So why not just say the organization is executing its plan and be done?

Kudos for passing on Lloyd, she may be a local product and all, but also may be more overrated than ARod. If she lived up to expectations she wouldn't have been available, never mind as a free agent. At least ARod had a price.

SocFanDan, Lloyd was available because she was a free agent and wanted to come back east, not because no one wanted her. She is a starter on the US National Team -- enough said.

She was a starter on the USWNT, sometimes. She wasn't even a consistent starter for Chicago, who had no problem letting her move East. No one on the Red Stars boards are wondering what the heck they are going to do without her. Just saying.... overrated, not a bad player.

i agree, by Lloyds own admission she didn't have a good season at Chicago for whatever reason and they came to a mutual agreement for her to move on.Chicago are not crying about it and neither is Lloyd.