2014 Rapid Predictions/ Expectations/ Outlook

Oh and Mwanga and Mera find themselves wondering if MLS is in their future.

 

Mera? Mera signed in Colombia two months ago...

 

Classic Rapids support; pessimism = realism.

 

This already happened last year.

 

• In Pablo's first year he struggles but does well enough at coaching to keep the fans on his side.
• That said, we still miss the playoffs and its not in the final game of the season.
• We also due to the home/away imbalance, lose the Rocky Mountain Cup.
• That said, we have a coach who I think actually understands there's some value in the USOC and we finally make a decent run and host a game (hey, I've got to be right one of these years).
• The Rapids will need to go shopping for either a target striker or right back by mid-season.
• Brown will out perform Powers in their sophomore seasons but neither one will have anything looking like a slump.
• Torres will win the team's Golden Boot.
• Mwanga inherits the title of WTF (re-)signing of the season, though it won't be nearly as obvious as the last few years (Harris, Edu, etc.).
• VDC will show he should be starting by the end of the season but there may not be room (depending on injury).
• Sanchez continues to wow us as the best veteran outside-MLS signing this team has made in YEARS.

 

I really hope they got him at a low price.

 

Just curious - for those saying they don't expect us to make the playoffs, if Pareja was still here would your expectation change or be the same.

Personally, I may have said we snuck in but I guess it wouldn't have put them higher than that

 

New unproven coach..? Skepticism is wArranted. I think the Rapids are better than this time last year but the other western teams look so good, it's hard to expect a stellar season. Hoping for good results.

 

About what you said. We would have been a 4/5 seed without the disruptions of a coaching change, especially to a rookie coach.

 

Not really. Not for me. The top teams would still be favored, and I don't think the Rapids have done enough to crack the top 4 in the West. On balance the talents getting tighter. I'm hopeful for Torres, long term. Short term I like Sanchez, but worry about injury and durability.

I don't know how Pareja, and now Mastroeni, will do as far as getting solid play from the rest of the roster.

The top four all have journeymen players that I don't covet, but I have to admit they stay organized, do their jobs, and look like they're part of a winning team. Can I say that Pareja, and now Mastroeni, can get that out of our MLS lifers? Seems to me that the Rapids have done well with the youth, but the veterans are on shaky ground. That's either on the veterans or you'd have to say that Porter, Arena, Kreis (we'll see about Cassar), and Schmidt just know how to get journeymen to do their job and look like they're part of a winning team.

Are Moor, Wynne, LaBrocca, Sturgis, and Buddle the players they could be? Even making that list reminds me of how short on solid MLS veterans the team is. A bunch of guys I don't necessarily miss, but do wonder why they all declined at the same time and so fast. It's all youth and foreign players for the Rapids... a veritable box of chocolates.

It don't matter much. It's the Pablo era and we, as fans, gotta find out what we've got.

Meanwhile Vancouver looked pretty good, we haven't seen San Jose play, and FC Dallas was lucky to sell a dive into a PK.

I knew this would be a long week.

 

I could go with 5 seed, but many of the other teams in the West really improved. Last year we were short on experience, but had many keys going into this year. Now that the other teams have kicked it up, I am thinking our team could be better and still drop in the standings and miss the playoffs. That would have happened with OP or Pablo as coach.

My prediction is that Pablo does as well as OP (we often forget the stupid line-up tinkering). The team plays well enough to flirt with the final playoff spot all season and we make it/don't make it right at the end of the season. Health of the teams in the final game(s) define if we are 5th or 6th.

• Brown is golden boot for the team, with Torres right behind him creating a mini-competition
• Another DP signing happens (MLS quietly tells all teams to get 2 DP's by the end of the season)
• Sanchez is a rock star when healthy, but his age starts to show and he is limited in minutes. He becomes a super-sub.
• Powers starts about half the games due to health, but is outstanding in the games he does play.
• Buddle continues to be on the field when we take points and off the field when we drop points. Everyone on BS continues with Buddle jokes and wonders why he is there since he doesn't win the golden boot. Nor does he solve world hunger or world peace.
• O'Neill ends up starting at RB, but moves back to CB when Wynne is traded mid-season.
• Sturgis provides depth at defensive mid-field, but has a tough time cracking the starting lineup.

 

Depends on what moves were made in the off-season. I know that technically it's Bravo who is in charge of that, but I do suspect we would have been a bit more active in that regard had Pareja stuck around. Thomas might still be here, Rivero would still probably be gone, then it's a question of whether we would have brought in guys like Andres Escobar or David Teixera, who went to FC Dallas after Pareja signed on. If it was Pareja with this current roster, I'd probably suggest 3rd at best, 8th at worst, most likely somewhere in the middle.

 

Definitely, Bravo needs a coach coming to him to say, "In order for us to win we need an upgrade at position X." Without a coach, and with Pablo firmly seated on a bubble, I'm not sure that we got the moves that a coach would have wanted.

I don't know what the other players would have done. It could just have easily been Bravo saying that Thomas won't fit with our cap, and nixing the other two players as them being guys we would have otherwise had.

 

This is kind of interesting. I don't fault the move or getting younger / changing style but I still think there was more going on. Pablo clearly did not like OP and neither did some other veterans. To be successful in MLS it really does require a mix of youth, international, and veterans. One would think Pablo would be a players coach and one veterans would respect and want to play for. Hopefully that is a move in a positive direction.

 

I'll start with my expectations for the season overall - the Rapids will make the playoffs. There may have been some improvement in the Western Conference, but I believe this Rapids team has the goods to finish in the top 5, at the least.

Early on there may well be some struggles with - in part due to the challenging schedule - but in the long run I feel Pablo will get things figured out.

Some keys:

• Defending, especially with Thomas gone. I am assuming Mari will be the guy, but how he preforms has to be seen.

• Sanchez. In my book he is the key player for the Rapids. Without him last season I don't think the Rapids make the playoffs. He is technically and tactically superior to most MLS players. So the Rapids need to be sure he in the field as much as possible whether he is playing the "10" role or out wide. In fact, he needs to be allowed to have the freedom to move inside and out as he sees fit.

• It seems that the Rapids have a lot of attacking type players who may deserve/earn time. We've read a lot about Serna and Eloundou in the preseason. It will be interesting to see if they are able to make much of a difference on the pitch.

• On the back line, it seems there is less depth than anywhere else. Let's hope that they stay healthy and fit for the majority of the season.

 

I'll predict that the Rapids finish 6th in The West with the final game of the season determining our fate.

That Vancouver game will be huge. It will be between Dallas, Vancouver and the Rapids for the 5th and final playoff spot.

 

I would say we just miss playoffs if OP was here. West is TOUGH.

 

some good thoughts and predictions from people so far.

-I have no faith in this team this season. Reading through has given me some things to look for, however.
-I wish we could have higher expectations out of a golden boot vs just barely making double digits. but given how often we have had one in single digits....
-I have no idea about Pablo but hope he can find his way. At least he isn't on the field getting red cards. Tactics and substitutions late in games matters and he hasnt shown any merit there yet.
-why bet against a summer swoon?
-Iwrin will make people wonder why we let Pickens go
-rb.....ahhh....ohhhhh....rb
-tailgates will be good....and windy
-mini donuts will be conquered!!!!
-playoffs.....I just cant see it....
-Hinchey will continue to postulate twitter ludicrousness...ludicrously....
-Denver media will look at the Rapids ineptitude to fill up space when the Rockies show they are AA at best

 

I'm terrible at this.

 

FTFM.

 

In this prediction,

• Which team will finish 1st in West, &
  
• Which team will win the SS?

 

I just figured the west would have the top two teams. I'll say Seattle. But they totally choke in the playoffs as usual.

 

Except against us ...