FC Dallas chooses Walker Zimmerman. Honestly I would have gone with zavaleta, but whatever. Also, the choice of defender makes me think Ugo won't be returning. What a shame.
Sweet Jesus..............we just picked up a centerback. Zimmerman is supposed to be a good prospect, but that's not the direction I thought we'd go. I'd say the front office is VERY worried about Ihemelu.
Listening to NASN's stream of the draft, they keeps saying Zimmerman is injured and will not be ready to participate for at least 5 weeks.
Actually, I think this pick signals what FCD plans to do about Ugo... Let him go. If they don't intend on letting him go, this was a wasted pick unless FCD believes Zimmerman can also play the defensive mid spot.
Really surprised that we took Zimmerman there. Mikey Lopez and Dillon Powers still on sitting there for selection. Once Bekker went off the board then the strategy changed..
Yup. On the youth boards we've been talking about how he's probably out of U20 World Cup Qualifying. This kid was practically a lock starter for that group (with Brooks unavailable from Germany, and Packwood of Birmingham injured), so that's the level of talent we're talking about. He's a great prospect (supposedly). I just don't know if the right move was to bolster our CB group. We have John and Hedges to start. And we already picked up Keel and Woodberry this offseason to back them up. Even if Ugo is out, we already had depth there. And a U20 centerback isn't going to start right away. A midfielder like Powers or Lopez may have been a more impactful player................this year. It's stunning to me that Lopez is still on the board. You know it's conceivable that Powers or Stertzer fall to us at #20 with the way this draft is headed.
That would be awesome if either one is available at 20. I would like to see Powers over Stertzer, I think he was graded higher coming out of the combine.
Unfortunately I bet this is Clavijo making the call................................. We've been down this US U20 centerback road before with Kyle Davies. How'd that work out? Zimmerman is supposedly a great prospect. Before getting hurt, some mock drafts had him going #1 overall. So we're getting a good player here. I just see U20 centerbacks as a crapshoot in many ways. Not ready to contribute. High, high, high upside, though. I just can't see him actually playing for a while. And what was the point of signing London Woodberry, supposedly a 1st round centerback talent................and then taking another young centerback?
I can only hope that he plays a little D-mid. So many questions about this pick left unanswered. Usually I am the "happy-go-lucky, keep-the-faith" kind of guy in these forums. Right now, I am very confused... I'm not going to knock this kid's talent and upside. Zimmerman is a great pick even with the injury recovery. I just don't see were another CB fits in our plans unless Woodberry or Keel can move to the left or right defense or if Zimmerman can move up a bit.
This may well be true, but SHs's previous drafts have all been Defender heavy, especially the early picks, IIRC.
I can think of one of two motives for the pick. Either he is capable of DM long-term, or we are preparing for one of the starters (John/Hedges) to head to Europe within the next year or two. Other than that, I don't understand. Hopefully we fill a need (FORWARD) with that 20-spot.
Yup. Why get a 6th centerback when we have real, legitimate holes elsewhere on the field? London Woodberry played CB at a very high level in the best conference in NCAA soccer (in my opinion). Same conference as we plucked Matt Hedges from Personally I think London has all the ability in the world to START in MLS. And we know Keel is also a good backup. Even if Ugo is out.......what is the point? I wonder if the FCD brass have a lot more confidence in Bobby Warshaw than I have. Or alternatively, whether Clavijo has some tricks up his sleeve here. Perhaps we were picking for somebody else................if you know what I mean.
Walker's as much of a CB as you want to find. He's 6'4"-ish. When you see him, your first thought is centerback. Don't get me wrong. He's supposed to be a greeeeeeeeeeeeeeat prospect. It just seems like an odd choice based on the needs the team has elsewhere on the field. But perhaps Clavijo is going to address those needs in another manner.
Bobby Warshaw....................... Perhaps it was important that Walker Zimmerman was Generation Adidas, and won't count against our cap. Powers and Sterzer would have. I'm begging Lopez to somehow fall to us at #20.
My suggestion for Pick 20: Marlyand left back Taylor Kemp............................. You know, Georgetown central mid Ian Cristianson is still on the board. He might be the pick too. After Powers, Loperz, and Stertzer, I think I remember him being the "next guy."
Zimmerman, with all our CB's? Why? Sure it provides cover.....at some point down the road but we have more pressing needs. Maybe I'm wrong but my gut tells be this is a wasted pick for us in the near term at least, but not only that, but it's not a good destination for Zimmerman either from his perspective. We don't need U20 NTers rotting on SH's bench for 2+ years. Our reserve league is terrible so I wouldn't be surprised if his development stalls.
.... or ZL moving into the MF? It has been discussed here before. I'm sure that had something to do with it. Still not distraught that they took what was considered the "Best Player" available at the time, but a little concerned about damaged goods.
Yeah I think this is one of those "great value" pics. Before the injury which prevented him from playing at the combine, many people had him as the #1 pick in the draft. His injury isn't an ACL or something bad like that. If I remember correctly it's a groin injury of some sort. He'll recover from that without a problem. We might grow to love this pick. We have concerns about Ihemelu. We have concerns about George John's durability. Keel is a backup-level player in terms of talent. Woodberry is a question mark. So............................ Maybe 3 years from now this will seem like an absolute steal. We are talking about the hands-down top centerback in the domestic US U20 pool. If he's fit and we qualify..........he's a lock for the US U20 World Cup team this summer.