I agree about Freeman. $105,000 isn't bad for him. I'm not sure who's said what, maybe the people who want to release him also have Mullan penciled in at rightback. As others have said, I think a fair amount of skepticism about that is warranted given his (untested?) ability to play the position, his ability to stay healthy at this stage of his career, and the likelihood of the FO actually moving him there on a full-time basis.
Agreed I think Freeman is best Utility guy we have especially if we go with Mullan and Zapata and injury threat of older players or they just lose ability. That's why I bring back Freeman in my little look at D.
I'm a bit slow ... So, the international slots traded to NYRB (Ballouchy/Kandji) and to Whitecaps for Nyassi expires by the end of 2012? Rapids will have 7 slots for the 2013 and 2014 seasons unless further trade changes that. 8 international slots given to each team + 1 slot permanently traded from RSL in 2005 + 1 slot traded for use during 2012 from Portland (Kimura) - 1 slot traded to NYRB valid through ??? (the Kandji - Ballouchy trade) - 1 slot traded to Whitecaps valid through ??? (Sanna Nyassi trade) - 1 slot traded to Whitecaps valid through Dec. 2014 (2014 superdraft pick/allocation money) - 1 slot traded to Montreal valid through Dec. 2014 (Tyson Wahl trade)
Plus, did you see how good his corners were in that last game? Hopefully that was a sign that Pareja has finally realized Rivero is not Beckham when it comes to dead balls. If Freeman can just adjust his attitude so he isn't such a hot head, he would be very serviceable for quite a few years. The quality of his crosses is actually something I would focus on for game strategy against the right teams.
i'm hoping klutes to turn out to be like moor/freeman. i'm unsure if left back is his natural spot but he played like a smalling type defender imo. he has game intelligence at such a young age that's what i noticed about him didn't see the speed but if it's there can only be an assesst. i liked zapata his not a amazing left back. but like if a lb or rb bomb forward not many get back in time on defense thats just the liability playing 433 or a 4 back in any manner. still wish we brought cominges back but w/e i say wallace goes 23 with that many injures isn't good for mental development and his ability hasn't grown in 2-3 years because he hasn't played. our defense should be our main focus tho. there has to be someone we can bring in that would help us out.
I was interested too and found this Wiki page, of course Rapids have a few Unkown expire dates so we are in the dark on those. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MLS_International_Roster_Slots
I agree, Freeman is worth keeping around. He can play both RB/LB, can cross the ball well with moderate consistency, and sometimes plays good defense. The Rapids need to bring in youth for the back line, but I don't like the idea of the only backups being guys with little or no MLS experience. I had to look it up, but SL traded the Rapids a 1st round supplemental pick (John DiRaimondo) and the permanent Int'l spot for the rights to sign Gregorio, who they released the next pre-season. Rapids definitely got the better of that deal.
Not sure if this fits here, but watching RSL in their match against Seattle last night two things became much clearer to me concerning just how far we have to go to really compete in our division. One, RSL is bigger, stronger, and faster than we are across the pitch. Two, there isn't a single position that I could see that a Rapids starter would be an upgrade to the player starting for RSL.
Hopefully someone from FO will see these posts and answer the question on rapids website. Funny how that and also sharing stats/ stuff brought up here, happens alot.
I would like to see the younger players who didn't get a lot of PT get to train with a Mexican side or perhaps somewhere in Europe where they would be with a reserve side and play in some of the reserve matches. I realize I am not talking top tier teams. Armstrong, O'Neill and Klute would be the ones I would think would make the most sense for this program. Cascio, Wallace and Akpan as well? The MLS reserve leage doesn't give these guys enough experience.
I'd love to see some youngsters go train abroad. I just would be cautious as to not over expose them and drain their batteries. They need a little break, mentally and physically. But if the right opportunity comes, by all means they should explore it. I wish the Arsenal relationship would could into play here. It would be great to see guys spend couple of weeks training in London. While no dates or camps have been announced, it wouldn't surprise me to see a U-20 camp and couple friendlies in Bradenton. If that happens, one would assume O'Neill gets another invite. That would be very helpful to his development.
My thought about the youngsters playing abroad is not so much for them to work on fitness and technical ability as it is for them to get tactically better. (Wallace does need to get fit Not getting a ton of time with the first team on the pitch means that they aren't learning how to read the game which in my book is critical to becoming a complete player.
his goal record isn't good. but to me a targetman don't have too score. they provide as the focus is on them. tried finding more matchs with him. but this guy i think could do really well in the mls given the right team around. he has vison and passing size strength ability to accurately pass with the head. he speaks english so the language barrier wouldn't really be a factor here.
*shrugs* We can fantasize about new players all day, but it doesn't mean much if the actual Rapids are not looking at them. Thats just me though.
Didn't see this on the Rapids website so maybe some missed it: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...tively”-searching-attacking-designated-player Pretty much what some here have been saying. "Going east" is a bit off track from Bravo's Latin America focus...bringing unproven "MLS" players from down south can be risky, as we have seen. Any speculation on what a Rapids DP price tag is? Not a whole bunch, I would reckon.
Well, with the announcement that we're actively seeking an attacking DP, and three draft picks + 5 supplemental coming up, here's how I see the squad, in pieces: Zapata (32)--------Moor (28)-------Wynne (26)-----Freeman (27) Klute (22)----------draft (22)--------draft (22) ------Armstrong (21) Wallace (23) We've got our next generation back line assembled right there. Could be an area of strength for years to come. ---------------------------Casey (31)---------------------- --------------------------Cummings (30)----------------- ---------------------------Akpan (24)-------------------- ----------------------------DP (20-25)------------------- Castrillon (28)----------Rivero (22)----------Mullan (34) Cascio (22)--------------Smith (31)----------Hill (26) -------------------------------------------------draft (22) The DP will be either a F or a M/F. Factoring out the older players, we have a pretty good young nucleus for years to come if we can keep 'em all together, and just draft/add depth behind them in the next few years.
Also ------------------Larentowicz (29)---Thomas (27)----------------- ------------------O'Neill (19)---------Nane (25)-------------------- This group is also solid, and should play well together for years while we add some draft picks or signings behind them.