WE should do whatever we can to trade up for this player At 16 he had Chelsea and AC at the door of Tx Rush Director, passport issues and a surrogate dad who whisked him off to Austin scuppered all that but this player has so much talent its not even funny He is the steal of the draft trust me whereever he goes
We may not have to (if he is on Dom's target). Truly depends on what positions people ahead of us draft. If you figure the GAs will go toward the top. A few of the other Middies will go first. He may be sitting there. I wonder though, if Dom is looking at Forward this draft. I assume the kid has a salary budget hit, that may not be in our target - looking for minimum salary or GA to fit the budget space.
yeah I just went and looked that up. I don't know if he goes top three but he will be gone before we get to him. I don't know if we trade up or not since we may need our allocation money to actually sign someone this year from outside MLS.
A mock I ran across: http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2013/01/14/mls_mock_draft_2013/ #13 - HOUSTON DYNAMO Player: Blake Smith, midfielder, New Mexico Comment: Good left-footed midfielders are tough to find in MLS, and with Houston loaded at other positions, they can afford to reach here.
The Dynamo are very shallow on the left. They only have Davis and Ashe, and possibly Taylor for LB. They need a good forward, but are scary shallow at LM, LB, and CB. Blake Smith does make sense to me.
It depends on how you look at it. In the case that Davis is out they move Ashe up and Taylor over with Brunner coming in the middle. If Ashe is out, you move Brunner to the middle and Taylor over. If Taylor is out, Brunner slots in. Frankly, that is about par for the course in terms of depth in MLS as we really have the same issue on the right with Creavalle the only decent option behind Sarkodie. To me, the central middie is our weakest spot, only because with have three DM and only one (in Barnes) that is more of an attacking player. If he cannot win the starting role, then we are stuck with starting two DMs all season. I know some like that, I for one in not a fan of what it does to our offensive output.
If Taylor is at the Gold Cup and Davis or Ashe strains a hamstring or worse then the left side will be the most shallow spot. We are deep for forwards. If Taylor is at the Gold Cup and Boswell is injured then there will be an emergency.
Most of the combine/draft analysis I've seen suggests that this year is fairly deep at left back. At least one of the top two left backs may still be available by the time we pick, if that's what we want.
I think we may lean left as well. With the tactical flexibility Dom showed last year though, I think we are less dependent on having to have a great backup in our traditional 4-4-2 setup. In other words, last year we seemed to be comfortable bringing a forward to cover the left in a 4-5-1 (Kandji). So my guess is that we will see if Cummings can play a similar role at some point in the preseason. In addition, you guys seem to forget that there were times last year that OBG switched out left. So if Davis was hurt, Ashe stays at LB, OBG goes left and Watson likely is the first option or Camargo. With regards to LB, I imagine the options are: A. Ashe B. Kid N' Play C. Taylor Whether B is first or C is second depends on the form of Kid N' Play and Brunner. Also, Soto is left footed and his delivery on set pieces is above average from the limited PT I have seen from him. I don't think he plays a traditional winger, but probably plays the position a lot like Davis would (more centrally).
Rico filled in well there last year should it come to that. Still, would be nice to have another option for sure.
I'm really hoping that Soto and Dixon are ready to contribute more this year. We have a lot of games and just need personnel who can take some of the load off the regulars.
Yeah, but I have a feeling if they were better than Watson or others, they would have played and they clearly did not. Soto got great experience in San Antonio and my recollection is that he performed well so hopefully he can build on it. Dixon might win the award for most disappointing season last year. He had the super-sub goal v. RSL two years ago and I thought he would make that his role last year --- sparkplug off the bench, instant impact. Instead, he struggled to find minutes. While both played in reserve matches, I really hope we see more of them in the future.
I agree that they likely weren't better than, say, Watson last year. But Soto and Dixon may each may still improve. At 29, Watson is what he is, but Soto and Dixon are still young and (hopefully) learning. We'll see.
I don't disagree but we are thin at CB, left back, RB, and attacking middie. That is just the way it is with 18-20 senior roster. Any of those positions could be up for draft.
Jonathan Yardley had a great point on the KN show on Sunday and it mirrors what troutseth has been saying. if we're staying put we may not take best available or look to fulfill a need but take any GA signed on the board. word around the campfire is there's a GA dude that has dropped from the top 10. if we dont trade our pick to Portland for allocation money. I see us taking on this project.
Dynamo did that a few years back. Traded 1st rounder then picked Cruz because he was only GA left on second round. Think they drafted Marcus Tracy that year even though he signed in Europe because they has no roster or cap space anyways. Unless they are GA or cheap, I don't think Dom wants them on the roster (which means no 1st rounders unless they are GA)
btw, iirc. Offebacher and yossarin have seen Kekuta Manneh when the Austin Aztex played the Texas Dutch Lions.
At this level of competition, a real CB is needed. We may get a forward player in the draft, but I think that it is more likely that we'll get a defender or LM.
I agree that a game here or there would have less of a negative impact. With CCL and League play-- an injury to a CB, or LB could cause a fill-in to be a long stretch. It's better to start building the back line up now if there is a good player, IMO.