Re: Who's on the team Each team gets up to 4 SI spots, and there is a lot of flexibility for Houston. Dwayne DeRosario is the only SI on the roster - Cerritos, Moreno and Onstad all have green cards. So, there are 3 open SI spots, although I wouldn't expect Dom to use them. He has shown a lot of reluctance to sign international players, unless the player has MLS experience.
Re: Who's on the team As to Cochrane, when does his Gen Addidas status expire? He already has two full seasons in MLS. Can the league keep him GA at the league's option for another two years? He would appear to be the player listed above as developmental who would have the greatest chance of ending up on the senior roster this year, assuming his GA contract allows for that.
Re: Who's on the team I believe asdf2 was just commenting on former Quakes that s/he had seen play. Recently drafted players don't fit that category. Also, while I'm on the subject, I'd update Craig Waibel's description to say that he is now (was as of last year) a fan favorite and one of the more popular former-Quakes. He's very personable, spent a lot of time doing community-based outreach (clinics, appearances, volunteer work, etc.) and, after he went down with an ACL tear or whatever it was he had last year, he spent a lot of time in the broadcast booth doing color commentary and he was one of the best commentators the Quakes ever had and has a nice career option available to him once he retires. Also, he used to get some flack from fans for lacking offensive skills in the past, but then he actually scored a few goals and looked a lot more comfortable on the ball/dangerous going forward, so his popularity in terms of his abilities as a player went from average to highly-rated. So, I'd say he's actually one of the best-loved former Quakes and someone fans will get behind. Plus he's got a good blue-collar, lunch-pail type work ethic which is what the Quakes as a team were known for and which lead to their success IMHO. Other contrasting opinions I have (from asdf2's post, which was pretty solid): - Onstad: Lots of people say he's over-rated, but I disagree. He's the second-best keeper over the last 3 years in MLS (Joe Cannon is #1 in my book). I'd put Hartman, Reis, and Busch a step beneath Pat, although all of those guys have had their moments. Everyone else I'd rate as third tier. But I'm a homer too. - Cerritos: I think he's over-rated and should not be counted on to score goals. He can finish with his head as long as he is left unmarked, but that's about it. He is not starter material, but can still be useful as he's a good passer, has a good work rate, and knows how to play in the Quakes/1836 system, but he's not a superstar. - Moreno: Alejandro is quality. He draws a ridiculous number of fouls (sort of like DaMarcus Beasley does for the USMNT) and thus really helps the team by winning restarts in dangerous spots. He's also not a whiner, like far too many MLSers are. I can't stand players like Herculez Gomez, Carlos Ruiz, Amado Guevara, who spoil their talent by flopping all of the time and faking injuries/time wasting. Alejandro doesn't behave that way and I think he deserves credit for playing classy. He's also a much better finisher which is why he beat out Ronald for the starting spot last year, IMHO. He's no Landon Donovan, but he's shown that, given the minutes, he will produce plenty of goals, and he does a great job of keeping possession, so he's quality in my book. Last point...Re: the question about Cochrane's GA deal, my understanding is that MLS has a competition committe that determines each off-season which Nike P40/generation adidas players "graduate" and which one's stay in the program (and thus remain on the developmental roster and salary-cap exempt). Some players have stayed in the program for 3 years, Devin Barclay maybe even stayed in there for four years. Playing time the previous season is a major factor in making that determination. Also, I think there is a maximum age cut-off - something like you have to be 24 or younger during the entire season to be eligibile to stay on the dev roster. Another factor is of course player salary. The dev squad jobs are pretty low pay, although P40/ga contracts can get up there (see Adu, Freddy for one example). A lot of the guys who are getting 24k and maybe modest group housing aren't going to be able to keep doing that year after year, so the ones that Dom considers to be keepers are going to be the ones taking those last 2 senior roster spots. (That would be my guess.) Ryan was a local product at least in so far as a he went to Stanford I believe, so if he moves to Houston and is penciled in as a starting or first-off-the-bench-after-Waibel CB (what with the loss of Califf), that has senior roster contract written all over it, know what I'm saying? If that happens, that would mean there are 7 defenders on the senior squad of 18 players, so the last spot would go to a midfielder or forward. I bet there's a lot of hungry guys in camp who will be fighting for that spot this pre-season...
Re: Who's on the team My understanding of the Gen adidas is in line with Mr Bandwagon. It's not a team decision, it's a league decision. What I don't know is when the decision is made, I do believe it's made in the offseason so based on Cochrane's amount of play last year (relatively limited) I think it's likely he will stay on the Gen adidas list this year. I don't know if they take into account "projected position" in the coming year, as that's pretty hard to determine. It's hard to project him as a starter this year, with Waibel, Gray, and Robinson all capable of playing central defender, not to mention Ianni. Doesn't mean he won't be a starter, just that it's not clear that it's his job right now.
Re: Who's on the team For the record, Cochrane went to Santa Clara. He's one of at least 6 or Broncos in MLS: Joe Cannon Ryan Cochrane Eric Denton Mehdi Ballouchy Jamil Walker Steve Cronin
Re: Who's on the team Mlsnet article on the tryouts says there are two developmental spots available on the roster for the Houston area players trying out. As I understand the article, those players would have to beat out two drafted players to fill them.
Re: Who's on the team I don't think so - as I outlined earlier in this thread, even if you take all of the drafted players in the superdraft and supplemental draft, plus everyone else who is in camp from last year's roster, it only adds up to 26. So there are two open roster spots even if all the draft picks make the team. The only thing that would make this not true is if Houston signs any other senior roster players (international discoveries, that kind of thing). There was an article (I think in the Houston Chronicle) a week or so ago that quoted Dom as saying he was looking at possibly signing an international player or two, but he didn't have anyone specific in mind yet, they were just exploring it.
Re: Who's on the team Except that signing two of the tryout players to the developmental roster would mean bumping two of the players you listed above as developmental to the senior roster. (The team is not going to have 16 senior roster + 12 developmental roster players.) Of the 10 developmental you listed, I can see Cochrane being bumped up to the senior roster, but not anybody else.
Re: Who's on the team I'm not sure if there is a benefit to bumping Cochrane to the Senior Roster for the team or the player. He gets paid Senior Roster wages as a Gen-Adidas player and he is protected comfortably on the Dev Roster probably for the last year. The tryouts specifically were for under 24 year olds - meaning that they are looking for Dev Players ... but I would not be surprised if it was much more of a PR exercise than a talent hunt. With that said, they may be able to find good players that they could use as "Guest Players" in Reserve Games. It would make much more sense from a team management standpoint to hold two open Senior Roster spots for that magical Discovery Player or a trade. We also still have a Senior International slot open as well.
Re: Who's on the team I agree. Cochrane is the only player, talent wise, who could/should be on the senior roster at this point, but if keeping him rostered as developmental means his GA salary doesn't count against the salary cap, versus a senior roster spot does count against the salary cap, then there is every reason to keep him as developmental. Plus keeping open the senior roster spots for truly "senior" players makes sense. The "guest player" and publicity explanation makes sense. Although it is not infrequent that a recently drafted player, especially one drafted in the lower rounds, does not make the roster after failing to impress at camp. So I could see one of these tryout guys eventually signing as a developmental if, for example, Fender or Donatelli doesn't have what it takes.
Re: Who's on the team Now that Marcus Storey is on board, where do you see him in the preference order among the forwards?
Re: Who's on the team Listening to Dominic last night made it seem like he would be on the squad but would be lucky to be in the top 18. Very subtle from him but you could pick it up. He said he would give him a fair chance so maybe he will surprise a lot of people being back in Houston.
Re: Who's on the team Kinnear tends to be loyal to the guys he knows, and makes rookies (or young guys in general) earn their positions. I would definitely be surprised if Storey gets into the top 18 in the short term, it would seem he's mainly being picked up as someone to help fill out the developmental roster.
Wave has crested, but they're building. "What about the players we're getting?" We are getting, arguably, a good team on the decline. With Donovan, in San Jose, they were twice champions. The team still has several decent internationals, including from other (non-US) CONCACAF countries. However, they no longer have a Donovan-quality star, and key players like Conrad are getting old. It will be interesting to see whether we are acquiring another regular season champion, like SJ was last year, or if we are instead getting a team set to undergo a DC-style youth movement and rebuilding. One can argue that the Wells and Storey moves indicate a trend to getting younger, which, as an Astros fan can tell you from last year, is not necessarily that bad.....
Re: Wave has crested, but they're building. Conrad isn't a San Jose player anymore. He was acquired by KC in 2003. I actually disagree with you on the "good team on decline". We have several younger players and even the older ones are still very much in good form, especially in MLS. We've also got Pat Onstad on our side who has a career 1.08 gaa average for his career. The only thing we seem to be lacking this year is some central defense, with Califf leaving a big hole. Cochrane can step up in that position, and then we have the same team that we had last year, winning the supporter's sheild. Plus you can't ever say enough about Dom. I just think everyone discounted this team once Donovan left. They don't realize that the team didn't need a superstar, they have 11 of them on the field all at once.
Re: Wave has crested, but they're building. Fair enough on the player's name. I meant Onstad. Conceding as much on the name, he's 38. I do not view the urgent moves to acquire young goalkeepers (ie, Wells, Hutton) as very comforting. Having played wing defender this year on a men's team that had central defense issues (and allowed too many goals because of it), that is not just a hole, or a big hole, but an important big hole. I think it is worth considering that the MLS Cup followed Donovan's move.....Donovan wins it in SJ, moves to LA, wins it there. I think we have a good team of good players, and that that bodes well for regular seasons, but I think stars make the difference in the playoffs. There is a reason it was NE versus LA, and that has everything to do with the difference between Davis and Twellman, and DeRo and Donovan. Lemme put it this way: Agoos, Mulrooney, and Donovan are all gone from 2003. Cannon and Conrad were in 2001. DeRo was a sub on those teams. I think we've eroded. Do I think this is an increasingly more youthful team with some talent? Yeah. But then, I look over at a DC or NE and can say something similar about many of their guys. I don't mean too much by "in decline". I simply think that, like DC a few years ago, we are shedding some old players and developing a new core. I don't think we will win the title, or even have th most regular season points, this season. That's a decline. I still think this is a playoff team, better than what most people have. Just not LA or NE or a MLS champion-in-the-waiting.
Re: Wave has crested, but they're building. I think this is pretty spot on, only that this is a team is still being built and is not there yet. I’ll only add to it that i think last year SJ was probably the best rounded team in MLS there is no holes in the line up. Plus, i think DC gets the most of his guys which i think accounted for a major reason why SJ did so well in the regular season last year.
Midfielder from World Class clubs coming to 1836 "To that end, the team has invited Scotland youth international midfielder Ryan Wilkie to camp while in Carson, Calif. Wilkie, 20, who has played with Celtic (Scotland) and Liverpool (England) reserves, saw action against the Los Angeles Galaxy on Wednesday and Chivas USA on Thursday, playing in the second half both times." http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/3698167.html Yes, we finally have somebody from Great Britain. My wish has come true. Even though he is Scottish.
Re: Midfielder from World Class clubs coming to 1836 There was some discussion of him in this thread: https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=320797
Re: Who's on the team? According to the Houston team page, here are the guys currently under contract: Senior Roster: ------------- Chris Aloisi Wade Barrett Ronald Cerritos Mike Chabala Brian Ching Ricardo Clark Brad Davis Dwayne DeRosario Kevin Goldthwaite Kelly Gray Alejandro Moreno Brian Mullan Danny O'Rourke Pat Onstad Eddie Robinson Andre Schmid -- cut yesterday per Houston Chronicle Craig Waibel Zach Wells Developmental Roster -------------------- Ryan Cochrane (gen Adidas) Patrick Ianni (gen Adidas) Julian Nash Chris Wondolowski Not under contract but in camp: ------------------------------- Aaron Lanes (from last year's dev roster) Josh Fender (draft) -- cut yesterday per Houston Chron Mpho Moloi (draft) Tony Donatelli (draft) -- cut yesterday per Houston Chron Marcus Storey (trade from Cbus) Stuart Holden (trialist) Brian Wilkie (trialist) other?
Re: Who's on the team? And by the way, I don't remember seeing Schmid, Donatelli, Lanes, or Fender in the boxscore for any of the games so far. Particularly since Schmid is listed as a senior roster player, I wonder if he's hurt or just not playing well enough to earn playing time? You would think that Dom would be trialing keepers, as they would want 3 keepers on the roster (that seems pretty standard for MLS teams). And with the injuries at defender and defensive mid (Clark, O'Rourke, Ianni, Aloisi, Cochrane) I wonder if they are considering trying to get any other defenders. There were a couple of guys on the waiver list that have some significant experience from last year (Leitch, Regan); maybe one of them will show up in camp. Edit: Never mind on Schmid, Donatelli and Fender - as edited above, they were cut yesterday per the Houston Chronicle. Very interesting that Dom would cut them even before he had to, since the team does not have a full roster of players yet.
Re: Who's on the team? I believe that is done because any player cut after the roster date (3/1) costs you $5000 against the cap.