How are we looking and what positions are we looking for? I know that we are supposed to have a "very good pick" coming from the Metros and everything else I guess will be lower levels since we did so well this year. I hypothesize that we will be looking for a Defender and probably another backup keeper. What does everyone else think?
Since we will probably lose Bocanegra to europe if not beasley and armas we will need to replace him, a big hole to replace. I still say a big need is an attacking midfielder who can dribble up the middle of the field and make a great pass to ralph and razov.If Bolanos is not this guy we have to find someone who is.
We are also going to lose a high pick to NE for the Nowak deal as well, due to the "conditional" nature of things. At least we don't have to deal with Bob, who traded away next year's picks to get this year's team to go out of the playoffs early.
From watching the game yesterday, it looks like that Ralph might actually play well in that position as well.
Re: Re: 2004 MLS Superdraft Zach Wells maybe? Senior, UCLA http://uclabruins.ocsn.com/sports/m-soccer/mtt/wells_zach00.html
Well if Beasley doesn't get bought, I think this may be a good spot for Justin Mapp. Maybe something like a 3-5-2 (which I liked better) such as: Code: ----------Thornton---------- Brown------Curtin-------Gray -------Marsch---Pause------- Whitfield------------Beasley ------------Mapp------------ -------Ralph----Razov------- Then there's Carlos Elliot. As far as the draft, I suppose Grabavoy having played for the Fire Reserves both fits your description and makes sense. If he comes out, he may be the guy. And obviously it remains to be seen with Bolanos. If precedent holds, Bocangera should net the Fire an allocation as well.
Gray seems to play better in the middle of defense so he may provide cover for Boca leaving. We need a better left back.
Look for a defender to nuture and grow to replace Boca. Bolanos, from what I've seen (IMHO) will do well with the Fire. Mapp will step up into Beasleys spot when DMB leaves. A replacement for Armas might be something tougher to come by (I've like Mastro since his pre-WC days. I still think Armas is a better overall Dmid, but Pablo can hang with the best of em...but he's most likely too pricy). Gonna be another interesting offseason.
It sounds to me like the Colorado fans all agree that Pablo has a really poor attitude when it comes to playing for his club. I don't think he bring as much to the table as Chris does.
That Danny Szetela kid really impressed me earlier this year. If he is available and we can get him, I'd grab him in a second (well, based on what I've seen and not knowing much about others who are available). Anybody know his status and if other teams are gunning for him?
If Armas, DMB and Boca all left and the fire acquired no replacements, we'd have: Razov, Ralph Mapp, Marsch, Pause, Bolanos Perez, Brown, Curtin, Whitfield Thornton
Yeah, and the league hooked us up with Mike Magee... Whoops, I forgot this IS MLS, and they are the Metros. Gotta make sure to give them as much welfare as possible.
Hmm. This madness will have to stop somewhere. I understand Adu because he is a young kid but some of these guys are out of high school. They don't need to be "protected" at all. They should enter the draft the same as High Schoolers in the NBA. I guess the thought is they will lose the young talent if they don't bend over backward for them or something but MLS quality continues to grow. I think the league needs to grow in it's thinking as well, especially when it comes to the draft. Teams should have to build themselves up. Or you would think.
Actually, I had heard that some English clubs were interested in Szetela because there's something about his Polish heritage that would alleviate the work permit issues. Also, I had read something about said heritage leading to some sort of relationship with Peter Nowak, which could bode well for seeing him in red. I'm not going to think about who we need until I know who we've lost. Having Pause, Gray and Mapp on the bench certainly helps soften the blow of any offseason departures. As good as Mapp was, I think he'll be that much better if we get him back to the left side (i.e., if and when DMB leaves). A couple of times on Sunday, that extra couple of touches he took to cut the ball back to his left foot cost us a scoring chance, but I still really, really like having him out there. Later, COZ
That Danny Szetela kid really impressed me earlier this year. If he is available and we can get him, I'd grab him in a second (well, based on what I've seen and not knowing much about others who are available). Anybody know his status and if other teams are gunning for him? Being pursued by Everton, Arsenal, and Manchester United, having been on trial with the latter in October. He qualifies for an EU work permit through his parents. The Magpie
Madness? It's madness that Szetela would like to have some say where he works and lives? If Szetela doesn't like MLS, he can just play in New York for another 1st division professional soccer team in the city, right?
Yup. And if he signs with MLS he'd probably be one of the 4 picks in the draft after Freddy unless Chad Marshall also chooses MLS.
Indeed, read Wahl's article: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/grant_wahl/news/2003/08/14/adu_worlds/
If you have a "draft" then yes, I think it's madness to constantly circumvent the "rules" and let players "choose" where they can and can not go. If there was no draft, I would have no problem with a player being able to decide where he can and can not go. But there is a draft, therefor the rules should be honored. Makes sense to me at least. Maybe I'm missing something.
At least you have Pause, Gray, and Mapp who can all serve as adequate replacements. I know that Marsch is a fan favorite, and maybe it was an anomaly (because, having seen him play several times this year, he is by no means a bad player) but he had an absolute howler of a game on Sunday. If Armas doesn't leave, could we see Pause and Chris in the center of midfield next season?
Well then I think that calls into question the wisdom of having a draft for MLS, given the amount of competitive opportunities for players outside of the league (it works in other sports because the players have almost no other choice, see: Clarett, Maurice). Potential MLSers have College, A-League, Europe and even occassionally South America to choose from other than MLS, so if the player doesn't like where MLS is going to put him, he doesn't sign. You can't force Freddy Adu to play for the Dallas Burn, it's against the law. Since players sign their contracts with MLS first before the draft, they may often stipulate that the signing is dependent on that player playing for a specific team. MLS could tell them to get lost, but the fear would be that they may very well do just that. MLS has to compete with other entities for the services of these kids, and playing at home is one of the few weapons MLS has in it's arsenal to compete for their signatures. I'd be much in favor of a geographically based system or maybe a preference based system (players can list their top three preference choices). I wouldn't worry about parity since there's already plenty in place for that (salary caps, limited roster spaces, etc.) plus parity is overrated anyway. I wouldn't have a draft just because the other sports have them, since it's a fairly recent system in the other sports. The draft exists in other sports for no other reason than to restrict competitive bidding between teams for players, something that wouldn't happen in MLS anyway.