Agreed that they should have offered a lower contract. Since we don't know if they did or nof I'm not going to assume the worst.
Oh, I don't think they would not offer a lowered contract. The question is more how low it was. Was it so low it really wasn't an offer, but a justified way not to renew Casey. I mean giving Conor an offer he had to refuse ...
I don't think it's a bad move. I think Casey and Pablo defined the style of team as much as Smith ever did, and I don't see them as part of the new pretty Rapids. I think it's pre-mature to say that Casey's past it. Being approved to play after a knee injury and an achilles injury isn't the same as being ready. I think it's too early to tell if Casey will come back, just as I thought it was too early to make a judgement on Kandji. In the minutes I saw, I thought there was plenty of game in Casey. He could easily be the 10 plus goal scorer again, but the team needs to play to his game. Casey deserves some appreciation. He topped Bravos record and did it in a shorter period of time. Back when the Rapids acquired him, I thought it was a bad move. His record in Europe wasn't great, and his USMNT appearances weren't spectacular either. At the time I didn't expect him to light up MLS and his acquisition seemed to have been driven by his Denver heritage more than soccer. He proved me wrong. I came to appreciate the work Casey puts in off the ball constantly getting hammered by defenders and giving it back to them. I thought he proved to have better foot skills then he ever got credit for and his hold up play was simply the best in MLS. The Rapids wouldn't have a trophy without him. He's a player I'll miss, and will hate to see in another uniform but I'll give him a cheer next time he steps on the field at the Dick.
Portlands will be, they are switching to same style as us. Accept they got their new coach even before the season was over.
Not holding my breath that this will happen but Casey now goes into the "waiver Draft" or whatever it is called. Can we draft him in 2nd part of draft to work out a lower contract? Are there any rules on how low it can be? Or if no one drafts him, I would think for sure we can try to sign him and no restrictions at all on salary other then from Casey. So, point is, he might (2-3 out of a hundred) be back? I just don't see him signing to go elsewhere unless some team offers $250-300K+, he has a house here, etc.
Out of curiosity, did any of those six get picked up by another MLS team (and then play), or move to a good league elsewhere? It seems to me that most of these decisions are correct, across the league and across seasons.
Nyassi went to Montreal, Kandji to Houston, Folan to Birmingham City. Earls went back to the USL. Comminges plays for Gary Smith over at Stevenage. Holody hasn't played.
Nyassi would have been handy to keep around, though he really only started to shine towards the end of this season at Montreal. Before that it was similar to his time in Seattle and Colorado, with an occasional flash of brilliance followed by long stretches of nothing. Kandji continues to be the guy he always was - useful at times but no more so than another third/fourth forward.
Those decisions are correct but let's not forget that Half of those players bravo brought in. The real question is bravo capable of bringing in talent that will stay through the rebuilding process which this clearly is. The rapids better make some big moves
It sounded pretty final to me when I read this in the morning: http://www.denverpost.com/rapids/ci_22012879/rapids-dump-all-time-leading-scorer-conor-casey It's just a shame a few of his near-misses this year didn't find the back of the net. If he had scored 5 or 6 he may have had more value at this point in time, maybe enough to avoid this unfortunate scenario.
I've been Conor's biggest fan on this board from way back when most others were writing that he was crap. I will miss him and expect he'll see at least some success elsewhere. But there comes a time when it is time to move on, and I think that time is now. Rapids need to spend his $ elsewhere. Osacar needs to build his team around players that fit his style to see whether or not he can be successful. We shall see....
FWIW, the Rapids website still has all 8 players cut still on the roster page, still has Casey's image as part of the main background, and Altitude still uses Marc Stout saying "Conor Casey has it!" as their self-promo ad during commercial breaks.
Yes, we can select him in Phase 2 of the Re-Entry draft (but not Phase 1). That requires us to make him a bona fide offer within a week of the draft or lose his rights. Assuming we do he can either accept the offer and play with Colorado next year, or decline and play outside the league but the Rapids would own his MLS rights. If we fail to make him an offer we lose any rights. That said, the press release makes it fairly clear IMO that Casey's time is done here.
Whether one considers these moves bold or rash, they seem to signal the decisive and real beginning to a thorough re-building according to the model proposed by Bravo and Pareja. Part of me is impressed by their confidence in moving forward--they have given themselves no cover if this blows up in their faces. Among the many questions this raises for me are these: What is Pablo's status and when will we know? If he starts the year with the team but then is forced to retire because of injury, can his salary be used for a replacement? What is Smith's status and when will we know? Does this mean that Rivero and Thomas have been secured for the future and at what cost? Does this mean that Armstrong and O'Neil are being counted upon for next year? Do we have competent scouts here and abroad who can identify and sign young, talented, and affordable players who fit the system? Can we find and sign via whatever route a true goal scoring forward (10+ goals)? Does Pareja have the talents needed to be a successful head coach at this level?
Thems a lot o' questions, and here's my unsolicited response. Most will be answered only with time. IMO Pablo coming back will not be that big of a help to the Rapids as far as contributions on the field go...one season off, questionable status with head injury, getting up there in age. He may bring some cohesion to the field but it looks like a lot of his "crew" won't be playing anymore. I'm fairly confident that Rivero and Thomas will be secured for the near future (2ish years or so) b/c I believe the move to bring them aboard was done with 2+ year contributions in mind (I'd be surprised and pissed if the Rapids seem unable to keep them for the next couple seasons). It looks like we have some dough to pay for a good CB and a reliable goal scorer, my current outlook is positive for this. Those are the only answers I feel comfortable giving...right or wrong.
Agree, waiting to see what the other part of the move is. I still expect that we'll see Pablo retire. If so, these moves free up a lot of salary cap. Curious to see what moves are made. Like I said before, this should be an interesting off season.
Hey, do the Rapids get extra allocation money for being so horrible? They're going to have a lot of money to work with. Since an Edu here or there is inevitable, they could use every last cent.
They do, just read an article on FSL and keeping their team together, mentioned non-playoff teams get additional "allocation" funding.
Holy cow! Apparently the re-entry draft is later today: http://www.coloradorapids.com/news/2012/11/first-offseason-moves-could-come-mondays-waiver-draft If this is the case then I actually applaud the Rapids for announcing their list on Friday rather than waiting for the deadline of today. This way it gave the players and other clubs time to contact/research whether they would like to pick any of them up in re-entry draft. Turns out this is talking about the "Waiver Draft" not the Re-Entry draft. I didn't know there was a separate Waiver draft. Only Edu and Zapata are eligible for this draft because they aren't eligible for the Re-Entry draft.
No, that's the waiver draft. That's for players (like Edu and Zapata) who don't qualify for the Re-Entry draft. To qualify for the Re-Entry draft you have to have been in the league for at least 3 years and be over a certain age. As far as I know, this is the first time MLS has held the waiver draft prior to MLS Cup. I assume its because MLS Cup is so late this year.