SuperDraft 2013: Are you optimistic?

Unlike the NFL where those kid of trade up/down moves are made on draft day just involving picks, you do not see a lot of those types of trades in MLS. In terms of moving into the 1st round without actually dealing players, the Union actually have assets (excluding allocation $ which all teams love) that at least two teams (Montreal & Chivas) might be willing to give up a first rounder to get and they are international roster spots. Both teams seemingly want to load up on European/South American players (in Montreal's case) and Mexican players (in Chivas case) seemingly at the expense of USA players. Philly could offer 2 international roster spots (for Chivas pick at #2 - I do not recall an MLS trade involving 2 international roster spots so they might have a lot of value for the Goats) or an international roster spot and a 2nd round pick (perhaps for Montreal's pick at #8 or #18 - they might want to trade down to get one of the Canadian players in the draft - it might be a bit high to draft them in the 1st round and as of now - the other teams from Canada do not select in the 2nd round).

 

http://www.mlssoccer.com/superdraft...ia-superdraft-preview-left-back-priority-no-1

Here is the mlssoccer.com draft preview for the Union - no surprise that LB heads the list. On that front, Reading United alumni and Union trainee this summer, Greg Cochrane, made Ives' Top 11 for Day 1 of the Combine. It is still 50%/50% as to whether he will be there when Philly drafts - most mocks assume that Kemp (Maryland), Nealis (Georgetown) and Kindle (Cal State - Bakersfield) will be gone.


Philadelphia Union SuperDraft Priorities
Another left back: Gabriel Farfan is durable, but John Hackworth needs some cover there. By the time the Union make their first selection at No. 26, there may be one or two left backs remaining from the elite ones being touted before the SuperDraft.
Wish List (left backs): Dylan Remick (Brown), Greg Cochrane (Louisville), Ryan Clark (Monmouth), Jack Bennett(St. John’s), John Gallagher (Penn State)
Wide midfielders: We’re probably going to find out from the SuperDraft and Supplemental Draft which side of the field Hackworth feels he needs the most help. Aside from the left-footed Keon Daniel, who can man both sides, all the Union have to work with is Danny Cruz (right) and Roger Torres (left).
Wish List (wide men): Uwem Etuk (West Viriginia – left-footed), Don Anding (Northeastern – left-footed), Andy Riemer (Georgetown – right-footed), Ryan Smith (Louisville – right-footed)
Goalkeeper: If Carlos Valdes heads out on loan to Colombian side Santa Fe, then center back could supercede any goalkeeper search (although Chris Albright and Sheanon Williams can manage at central defender). Otherwise, the Union are deep enough at most other positions that they very well might be the one team in the SuperDraft that takes a goalkeeper, if they feel strongly enough about a particular one.
Wish List (goalkeepers): James Belshaw (Duke), Michael Abalos (Cal State Northridge), Brad Stuver (Cleveland State), David Meves (Akron)

The depth chart in the article needs some tweaks (McLaughlin is a RM not a DM, Okugo seems poised to return to DM not CB, Hernandez is a LM/AM not a F, guess Pfeffer was deleted but they kept 2 RMs).

Philadelphia Union Depth Chart (25 players):
Goalkeepers (2): Zac Macmath, Chris Konopka
Right Back (3): Chris Albright, Sheanon Williams, Raymond Gaddis
Center Back (4): Amobi Okugo, Jeff Parke, Bakary Soumare, Carlos Valdes
Left Back (1): Gabriel Farfan
Right Midfielder (2): Danny Cruz
Holding Midfielders (4): Brian Carroll, Greg Jordan, Michael Lahoud, Jimmy McLaughlin
Attacking Midfielders (2): Freddy Adu, Michael Farfan
Left Midfielder (1): Roger Torres, Keon Daniel
Forwards (6): Conor Casey, Antoine Hoppenot, Sebastien Le Toux, Jack McInerney, Chandler Hoffman, Cristhian Hernandez
Internationals slots (4 of 8 remaining): Daniel, Hernandez, Torres, Valdes

 

Why would we draft a young, undeveloped keeper when we already have a young, underdeveloped (GK's hit their prime late) keeper?

 

hoping for a nice afternoon watching our future LB in action today. Need somebody to stand out-but not too much...........

 

Fun day with my kid at the combine. Saw all the brass there. Including Ansaldi. Which surprised me.....but I'm happy to report his phone went non-stop throughout the proceedings.
Hack generous with his time, smiled at every inquiry and said he's pretty happy with what he has.
In other words: Didn't give a thing away.

Nealis' squad filled with forwards who certainly look the part-but couldn't finish a sentence.
Hurtado and Beckker impressed in midfield. Cochrane had a solid outing, and the Brazillian put forth a nice 2nd half in a losing cause.

Had my eye on the NM winger Smith for much of game 2. Kid may have a future.................

 

It seems that Cochrane's stock continues to rise given his play and versatility (LB, LM, RB) - if I had to bet now, I do not think that he will be there when the Union picks at #26 (nor likely will Kemp, Kindle or Nealis). Luckily, John Gallagher (Penn State), Dylan Remick (Brown) and Ryan Clark (Monmouth) should be serviceable LB reserve-type picks who could be Philly-bound.

 

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/college-soccer-articles/big-board-v20---the-top-125_aid28347

Top Drawer Soccer posted its 125 player Big Board - see link above. I plan to post my annual mock drafts here prior to Thursday's SuperDraft. In terms of the LB rankings by TDS in their 125, they are:

18. Kindle (Cal State Bakersfield)
22. Kemp (Maryland)
25. Nealis (Georgetown)
31. Cochrane (Louisville)
37. Gallagher (Penn State)
48. Remick (Brown)
57. Bennett (St. Johns)
66. Clark (Monmouth)
97. McKenna (Ohio State)

 

After much analysis of team rosters and positional needs, international roster spot availability, salary cap constraints, drafting precedent and trends, etc., here is my annual mock for both the SuperDraft and Supplemental Draft.

For Philly, here are my thoughts:

26 - Greg Cochrane - LB/LM - Lousiville: if all of the top LBs were still on the board, I have a feeling that Hack would still select Cochrane given his times at Reading United and 2012 summer training stint with the Union. He seems to fit the outside back reserve mold that Gaddis filled at RB. Cochrane also has the ability to play LM so between G. Farfan and him - it would minimize the need to draft a pure LM. Once the run on LBs starts, Philly may have to trade up a bit to get him as there are plenty of teams (DC, LA, DAL, NE, COL) needing LBs late in the 1st round and early in the 2nd round and Cochrane's stock is on the rise. The recent signing of 18 year old CB/LB Damani Richards (Trinidad) should not affect the need for the Union to get a bit more experienced depth at both positions.

29 - Tommy Muller - CB - Georgetown: Big East player so the Union have had plenty of chances to scout him. He is on the smaller side (5'11") for a CB so it may cause him to slip out of being a possible late 1st rounder which is where some mocks have him going. He would be a good fit on the Union for his pace given that the current CBs (Parke, Soumare) are more known for their size.

62 - Stephen Okai - CM - Mobile: The Ghana native did well with Reading United. He is versatile (played various defender and midfielder roles at Combine after having a more offensive role at Mobile). The Union have the international spots to spare on a reserve such as Okai to see how he fares in MLS.

81 - Larry Jackson - G - Santa Clara: While the Union still need an experienced #2 goalie (i.e. Hartman, Gaudette) to push MacMath, I doubt that they will want to carry 3 goalies on the salary budget roster now that MacMath has graduated from hia GA status. Jackson was a 2007 U17 national teamer for Hack so he can occupy that spot until Zack Steffen is ready for a HG contract after he gets some experience at Maryland.

100 - Cody Calafiore - RM - Temple: The Union always seem to take a local player in the Supplemental Draft (2011 - Richter - LaSalle; 2012 - Brandt - Penn) so the trend will likely continue. Calafiore supposedly spent some time training with the Union so he gets the nod (plus he can play outside mid). Others to consider are midfielder Sean Peckham (Lafayette and captain of Reading United) as well as forward Kyle Soroka (Villanova).


1st Round
1. New England (Toronto) – Andrew Farrell – CB (Louisville)*
2. Chivas USA – Carlos Alvarez – AM (Connecticut)
3. Toronto (Portland) – Walker Zimmerman – CB (Furman)*
4. Toronto (New England) – Kyle Bekker [Canada] – CM (Boston College)
5. Vancouver (Philadelphia) – Mikey Lopez – DM (North Carolina)*
6. Colorado - Eriq Zavaleta – CB/S (Indiana)*
7. Dallas – Dillon Powers – CM (Notre Dame)
8. Montreal – John Stertzer – CM (Maryland)
9. Columbus - Deshorn Brown [Jamaica] - F (South Florida)*
10. Vancouver – Kekuta Manneh [Gambia] – F (Austin Aztex)*
11. Colorado (Chicago) - Jason Johnson [Jamaica] – F (Virginia Commonwealth)*
12. Real Salt Lake - Erik Hurtado – F (Santa Clara)
13. Houston (New York) – Blake Smith – LM (New Mexico)
14. Kansas City – Emery Welshman [Canada] – LM/F (Oregon State)
15. San Jose – Dylan Tucker Gangnes – CB (Washington)
16. Seattle – Ryan Finley – S (Notre Dame)
17. DC United – Taylor Kemp – LB (Maryland)
18. Montreal (Houston) - Ashton Bennett [Jamaica/Canada] – F (Coastal Carolina)
19. Los Angeles – Kory Kindle – LB (Cal State Bakersfield)

2nd Round
20. Dallas (Toronto) – Will Bates – S (Virginia)
21. New England (Chivas USA) – Jimmy Nealis – LB (Georgetown)
22. New York (Portland) – Donnie Smith – LM (North Carolina Charlotte)
23. New England – Devon Sandoval – S (New Mexico)
24. Los Angeles (Philadelphia) – Eric Schoenle – CB (West Virginia)
25. Colorado – Jose Gomez [Mexico] – AM (Creighton)
26. Philadelphia (Dallas) – Greg Cochrane – LB (Louisville)
27. Montreal – Kofi Opare [Canada/USA] – CB (Michigan)
28. Columbus – John Gallagher – LB (Penn State)
29. Philadelphia (Vancouver) – Tommy Muller – CB (Georgetown)
30. Chicago – Chris Thomas – F (Elon)
31. Real Salt Lake - Ryan Clark – LB/LM (Monmouth)
32. Montreal (New York) – Machael David (Nigeria/USA) – DM (UCSB)
33. San Jose (Kansas City) – Dan Delgado (Mexico/USA) – AM (San Diego State)
34. Portland (San Jose) – Paulo Del Piccolo – DM (Louisville)
35. Seattle – Anthony Arena – CB (Wake Forest)
36. New England (DC United) – Mike Bustamante – AM (Boston University)
37. Houston – Dylan Remick – LB (Brown)
38. Los Angeles – Todd Hollingshead – RM (UCLA)

3rd Round
39. Toronto – Ian Christianson – DM (Georgetown)
40. Chivas USA - Jose Diaz – CB (California Riverside)
41. Portland – Reed Matte – RB (Alabama – Birmingham)
42. New England – Joe Franco – RB (Cal State Northridge)
43. Seattle (Philadelphia) – Evan Raynr – RM (UCLA)
44. Los Angeles (Colorado) – Marc Cintron – RM (Providence)
45. Dallas - Andy Riemer – RM (Georgetown)
46. Montreal – Dan Anding – LM (Northeastern)
47. Columbus – Jordan Gafa – RB (North Carolina)
48. Vancouver – Drew Beckie [Canada] – RB (Denver)
49. Vancouver (Chicago) – Fernando Monge – CM (UCLA)
50. Real Salt Lake – Charlie Rugg – S (Boston College)
51. New York – Jacob Barron – DM (Penn State)
52. Kansas City – Yazid Atouba [Cameroon]- LM**
53. San Jose - Trevor Newquist – CB (St. Marys)
54. Seattle - Andrew Quintana – RB (Central Florida)
55. Real Salt Lake (DC United) – Eric Robertson – CB (Brown)
56. Houston – Dan Wenzel – CB (Wake Forest)
57. Chivas USA (Los Angeles) – Jossimar Sanchez – DM (Connecticut)

4th Round
58. Toronto – Uwen Etuk – LM (West Virginia)
59. Chivas USA – Paul Islas – F (Fresno Pacific)
60. Portland – Antonio Aguilar – AM (DePaul)
61. New England – James Belshaw [England] – G (Duke)
62. Philadelphia - Stephen Okai [Ghana] – CM (Mobile)
63. Colorado – Andrew Ribeiro – CB/DM (Creighton)
64. Dallas – T.J. Nelson – DM (SMU)
65. Montreal – Luke Spencer – S (Xavier)
66. Montreal – Max Wasserman – RB (Connecticut)
67. Vancouver – Leonardo Fernandes – AM (Stony Brook)
68. Chicago – Mladen Lemez [Bosnia] – CB (Alabama – Birmingham)
69. Real Salt Lake – Stephane Pinho [Brazil] – F**
70. New York – Caleb Konstanski – CB - Indiana
71. Kansas City – Mitchell Cardenas – AM (Campbell)
72. San Jose - Jack Bennett [England] – LB/LM – St. Johns
73. Seattle – Coleton Henning – F (Furman)
74. DC United - Ben Newman – RB (Wake Forest)
75. Colorado (Houston) – Brenton Griffiths [Jamaica] – CB (South Florida)
76. Los Angeles – Adam Jahn – S (Stanford)

5th Round
77. Toronto – Yannick Smith RM/F (Old Dominion)
78. Chivas USA – Jose Altamarino – CM (San Diego State)
79. Portland – Roberto Farfan – LM (Oregon State)
80. New England – Austin Savage – F (Clemson)
81. Philadelphia – Larry Jackson – G (Santa Clara)
82. Colorado – Kevin Durr – CM (Air Force)
83. Dallas – Jonathan Mendoza – AM (Stetson)
84. Montreal – Luis Soffner – G (Indiana)
85. Columbus - Brad Stuver – G (Cleveland State)
86. Vancouver – Louis Clark [England] – LM (Syracuse)
87. Chicago - Tony Salciccia – LM (California)
88. Real Salt Lake – Shawn Sloan - AM (High Point)
89. New York - Sean Peckham – CM (Lafayette)
90. Kansas City – Alex Isern [Spain] - DM (Winthrop)
91. San Jose – Jesus Sanchez – AM (Cal State Bakersfield)
92. Seattle – Leston Paul [Trinidad] - CM (South Florida)
93. DC United – Everett Pitts – CB (California Irvine)
94. Houston – Shaun Foster [England] – CB (Hofstra)
95. Los Angeles – Ben Fisk – DM (Washington)

6th Round
96. Toronto – Ryan Smith – RM (Loisville)
97. Chivas USA – Max Alvarez – LM (Sacramento State)
98. Portland - Austin McAnena – LB (Ohio State)
99. New England – Jesse Menzies – RB (Central Connecticut State)
100. Philadelphia - Cody Calafiore – RM (Temple)
101. Toronto (Colorado) – Nik Robson [New Zealand] - LM (New Mexico]
102. Dallas - Nico Clavijo – LB/LM (Unattached)
103. Montreal - Luciano DelBono – LM (Wake Forest)
104. Columbus – Colin Murphy [New Zealand] – DM (Boston College)
105. Vancouver – Daniel Winthrow – G (Marshall)
106. Chicago – David Meves – G (Akron)
107. Real Salt Lake – Kevin Mercado [Ecuador] – RM**
108. New York – Kyle Soroka – F (Villanova)
109. Kansas City – Luke Norman – RB (Michigan State)
110. San Jose – Michael Abalos – G (Cal State Northridge)
111. Seattle - Latif Alashe – CM (Michigan)
112. DC United – Taylor Morgan [England] – F (George Mason)
113. Houston – Paul Wyatt [England] – AM (James Madison)
114. Los Angeles – Brock Granger – RB (Louisville)

Notes
* - Generation Adidas
** - International Player

 

SuperDraft off to a rousing start. Alexi Lalas drinking water and Fire fans heckling the coach from Wofford.

Edit: Loving Garber's "state of the league" speech. It's a big eff-you to Sepp Blatter.

"Every game is broadcast in HD, and receives tremendous local support, which is something that ANY club in the world would be happy to get."

"It is our goal to make MLS a top league in the world by 2022, a destination for the top players and for that we need laser focus."

 

Can't edit that post any more, but it should be noted that Dills favorite player, Dillon Powers went to Colorado. The late GA signing, Eriq Zavaleta went to Seattle. No LBs off the board as of Pick #16.

Sharting KC unveils their new home shirt just before their pick, with a sponsor. Looks pretty similar to their old one. Maybe a little more light blue piping.

CB (Tommy Muller) that Zman had Philly taking at #29 off the board at #15 to San Jose.

 

Other than missing on Muller, I have gotten 15 of the other 16 1st round picks so far. GA players stock is dropping - those big contracts that they have when they graduate are turning off plenty of GMs.

 

Kemp is the first left back off the board, to DC United. ESPN draft tracker has him as a CB, though.

 

Your ambition is not welcome here.

 

insert in tag line thread....

 

1st round in the books - looking good for the Union to get a decent LB (Cochrane - ex-Reading, Kindle, Nealis still on the board) as well as CB (Schoenle - ex-Reading, Tucker-Gangnes, Opare) or LM (D. Smith) or even another target forward (Bates - ex-Reading).

 

Smith off the board.

 

your feed must be ahead of mine, I was reading this as he was announced to NE off MLS feed.

 

A lot of good options still available for Philly with both picks...

I'm hoping for Greg Cochrane with one of those picks.

 

C'mon! The Crapids just took a timeout. Here's where the run on left backs is coming!