I thought there were some issues on Drogba's side as well. Such as he was on an extended vacation, wasn't taking the competition seriously, and wasn't adjusting to the country ... hence his bud Anelka joined him. However, this sounds like grousing from the owners.
Do you have Anelka and Drogba reversed? Anelka went midseason, Drogba came later. I think Drogba's scoring at a pretty good clip.
http://www.wsc.co.uk/wsc-daily/1155-december-2012/9263-nicolas-anelka-will-not-be-missed-in-china Read this article. It sums up Anelka's time in China. He's just an asshole but that was known previous. Despite the talent and production he's switched clubs like we change socks. BTW, he arrived last Jan., full 6 months before Drogba. As for Drogba he arrived in May and by Sept. rumors were flying he wanted to leave China. His unhappiness stems from unpaid wages and when wages were paid they were not the agreed upon sum. To top if off his family has not adjusted well to China. He's absolutely treated his Chinese adventure seriously, has produced, and has meshed well with the Chinese players.
I keep forgetting, is J. Smith currently taking up an international slot? He's not on the roster so...
So we really ARE trying to win this season by outscoring everyone! I think it was in a different thread, but whomever mentioned "inverting the pyramid" and playing 2-3-5 was on to something.
We currently have 7 signed internationals (including Eloundou) and 8 international slots. No, he's not on the roster AND he got his green card.
According to the MLS article on Eloundou, Rapids have 2 international slots left. I'll assume their writer got it wrong and their editing still sux. "With the addition of Eloundou, Colorado now have two international spots available on their roster for future acquisitions."
Personally, I think growing the game by encouraging attractive attacking soccer should be part of the mandate of every team in the league. That's how you put, and keep, butts in the seats and eventually drive ratings. I know that's how Hinchey, Bravo and Oscar look at it, and I know for certain that was part of the reason that Gary Smith was let go (coupled with his refusal to meaningfully engage with youth/youth development/the draft). Now winning should come first, but winning the right way by playing good soccer should come second - maybe even 1A/1B. We did sign an Ecuadorian international defender, drafted a guy regarded as the outside back with the most upside, have another well-regarded outside back returning from injury, moved Mullan to outside back, signed additional defensive midfield cover, and I'd expect O'Neill to get minutes at both CB and defensive mid. Adding this kid from Cameroon, along with Buddle, Harbottle, Brown, Harris, (and I predict Romero to make the roster) can only increase competition up-front and I'd be stunned if it didn't produce more goals than last season. Seems to me that they're doing a good job over there, but of course we won't know until the season gets going.
Signed Internationals: Calderon, Castrillon, Harbottle, Rivero, Thomas, Brown, Eloundou. According to the wikipedia list, which seems to be fairly accurate with what I can remember, we have 8 slots.
Well written post/analysis. What excites me about all these potential moves and signings is not so much this season but the long-term vision. It will likely take time for all these young players to gel together but I like that there is accomplished leadership (Thomas, Mullen, Pablo, Buddle, Moor, Pickens, etc.) mixed in with what could be a plethora or exciting, young talent. That has me pumped for what this squad could become and the brand of soccer we may get to see. I'm cautiously optimistic this will be a better season than last but I would not be surprised if it takes 10-15 matches for us to start getting solid glimpses of that. What I'm more optimistic for is how they will look the last 5-10 matches (assuming they don't get the awful injury bug) and what they could look like NEXT year.
Does Brown count as an international or was he Generation Adidas or something? Or goes he have a green card - seems like he's been in the US for a bit now?
Generation Adidas: http://www.readingunitedac.com/deshorn-brown-signs-generation-adidas-deal-major-league-soccer.html
Even as GA he still takes one of the international slots, his salary just doesn't count against the cap and he's automatically protected in any expansion draft.
Does he count as an international then? No, right? Either way I think Castrillion is gone so it probably won't matter...
See, this is why I will take Jason's reporting on fact-based information over MLS.com "reporting" most any day. Thanks for that.
That was me. Just to get a look at all the new guys and the old guys up front in preseason we almost have to trot out a 2-3-5. I'm wondering if our rallying cry this year is going to be "You can score four, but we'll score more!" With all of these guys they are bringing in, I don't know if anyone can consider themselves safe. It seems like Eloundou and Harbottle are very similar and I wonder if when push comes to shove they will be forced to make a decision between the two of them, or end up cutting Hill or Harris instead.
I guess I'm confused about this lack of defense talk: Wallace Calderon Moor Wynne Wallace Calderon Wynne Moor Wallace Moor Wynne Mullan Wallace Calderon Wynne Mullan Calderon Moor Wynne Mullan Klute Calderon Moor Wynne .....etc, plus Pablo could conceivably play CB, as has Sturgis, as could O'Neill. Plus the Kindle kid who seemed fairly highly rated. Look, we gave up 50 goals last year (5th worst), but it was really the TIMING of those goals that killed us. How many leads did we lose late, or draws turned into loses late? I think experience like Thomas, Pablo, Calderon will really help in that regard. I guess it is a question of what we want to be with limited resources. Maybe they need to add a defender, but who, from where, at what price can be had and is better than what we already have?
Let's say Calderon and Wynne get hurt at the same time. (It can happen, Wynne and Marshall were hurt at same time last year) I would have had a lot more confidence putting in Zimmerman or Keel at CB than I do putting in O'Neill, Sturgis, or Pablo. Those are two players that they easily could have gotten this offseason but didn't. A weakness last year was depth at CB. We made it better by getting Calderon, but I would like another true CB as the 4th CB and not a midfielder who might be able to do the job. (With that said, I do think O'Neill and Klute have potential, but there lack of experience is what lowers my confidence in them at CB.)
With the Eloundou and LaBrocca news there are reportedly 38 players in camp or attached to the Rapids. 26 of them have signed contracts, 7 of the 8 international slots are filled. With the assumption that 1 of the 3 trial GK's will become the 3rd GK, that leaves 8 players trying for 3 unsigned slots (assuming nobody signed gets cut of course) and 3 international trialists trying for 1 international slot.
Looking at who might get cut/moved who's already signed, I'm going to rule out anyone who's signed a contract since last offseason. That's Ceus, Calderon, Wynne, Harbottle, LaBrocca, Mastroeni, Powers, Serna, Thomas, Brown, and Eloundou. That leaves 15. I'm also going to rule out any core players that are so obviously not going to be cut its not funny. That rules out: Pickens, Moor, Mullan, O'Neill, Rivero, and Buddle. So if any cuts/moves happen from our signed players, my prediction is that it will come from this group: Chris Klute Anthony Wallace Davy Armstrong Tony Cascio Jaime Castrillon Nathan Sturgis Andre Akpan Atiba Harris Kamani Hill