OK, we are getting ready for preseason. Where do we stand in building the 2007 roster? ~The Draft is over and if Nicol’s glee isn’t misplaced, he picked up four players, any of which could compete for major playing time this year. Looks like we have added kids with lots of speed. ~We’ve lost Pepe and Duce and the window is still open on Twellman, John and Joseph P. Arco. Team is saying they expect Joseph and Twellman will be on the 1007 roster ~Team has resigned all those out of contract (or picked up options) and moved Larentowicz up to senior roster. ~Team has both SI and YI spots open ~Team has in excess of $2,000,000 to bring in a player(s) So we currently have----- **Senior Roster** (limit 18)---currently 17 #25 Andy Dorman (GC) # 8 Joe Franchino #21 Shalrie Joseph (GC) # 6 Jay Heaps # 3 Daniel Hernandez #22 Marshall Leonard #11 Pat Noonan #15 Michael Parkhurst #14 Steve Ralston #16 James Riley # 1 Matt Reis #18 Khano Smith (GC) #20 Taylor Twellman #12 Doug Warren # 4 Avery John (GC) #19 Tony Lochhead -#31 Jeff Larentowicz - **Developmental Roster** limit 10 ----currently 3 with 9 unsigned draftees #23 Miguel Gonzalez - 20 #32 Arsene Oka - 24 # 5 Willie Sims (Generation adidas) ~Obviously we will need to make roster moves to balance the numbers. ~Not all the drafted players may be signed ~We may lose John Lewis ~We may waive Lochhead to sign an DP ~We may loose Twellman and use the DP and our Duce transfer money to replace him with another forward Any other realistic conjectures?
Waive Lochead for a DP?!?!?! Are you mad? Give him $70m a year AS our DP silly Anyways, all fro-loving aside, I think we're not in that bad of shape for the 07 season, but I do think we need ONE dynamic player that can come in now and help out. Perhaps we could go after someone who's been in the league for a few years and is consistent. Not necessarily a star, just someone who can fill a role for a year
Ooops. Avery John. I sure hope John Lewis hangs around and posts more often. I understand Byrne may need to be on the regular roster---if he signs and makes the team. At this moment it's hard to predict which of the draftees will rate a regular roster slot, if any.
Here are the 2007 Rev draft picks that will be competing for the last regular roster slot(s) and the open DV roster slots Sure bets to be signed Wells Thompson M/F 23 Ryan Solle M 21 Phil Marfuggi G 20 Likely to be signed Adam Christman F 22 Bryan Byrne M 24 Fighting for spots Gary Flood D 21 Chris Loftus F 22 Kype Helton D 20
Amaechi Igwae, isn't he a forward? revolutionsoccer.com and revsnet.com had listed him as a forward, and thought he played in that position for the US U20 team?
He plays anywhere on the left side. Until Coach Nicol/Mariner has a chance to work with him we won't have any clear idea what's his best position. Watching him in the recent U-20 games he looks real comfortable with the ball at his feet and has a great game sense. FWIW, he comes from a family with good soccer genes.
The foundation they are laying all looks pretty good to me but I still believe to compete this year, we need to land a major international player. It seems all the teams serious about winning the cup are bringing in some big guns. The Revs have tons of money. What are they gonna do about this? Be incredibly frugal as usual, or decide to make a bold move?
Other than Beckham to LA and a lot of pure rumor and speculation what big guns have teams signed? At this point we don't (as usual) have any idea what the Revs are doing about signing a "Big Gun" or even if they do or don't think they need one. We have quotes from Nicol, Mariner and Burns that indicate they have established criteria for what they think such a signing should embody and that they are scouting but we have no indication as to where they stand in the process. Do you really think the Rev coaching staff or the ownership is not interested in fielding a winning team?
We have a decent roster but I don't think we'll compete again for a cup without addressing several major issues: 1. Ralston can't be counted on to play at his traditional high level for 90 minutes. Dorman may be the answer on the right. 2. Left midfield remains a problem unless one of the draft choices steps up. Khano has talent but his value seems greater as a sub than as a starter. 3. Mariner notwithstanding (what does he know!), the Twellman-Noonan pairing isn't overwhelming. Both are slow, though Noonan has excellent ball skills and Twellman is fearless. Neither is explosive or unpredictable. I like Noonan as an offensive mid, especially with Dempsey gone. We need another striker, maybe 2 if Twellman leaves. We haven't seen much of Sims but we can't count on him being the answer. 4. If we stay in a 3-5-2, only Parkhurst in the back is still improving, yet I don't see replacements for Heaps or John (or Frenchy or Leonard) with real upside. We also lack size. 5. It looks like we're screwed if anything happens to Reis.
LA signed Beckham. Chivas USA acquired Amado Guevara. D.C. United signed that Emilio guy from Brazil. New York signed Reyna and Wattereus. Columbus traded a draft pick for Andy Herron. Colorado traded for Greg Vanney, Herculez Gomez, and Ugo Ihemelu. Kansas City got Kevin Hartman. Real Salt Lake traded for Freddy Adu and signed Luis Tejada. Toronto traded for Ronnie O'Brien, Edson Buddle, and Alecko Eskandarian.
I suspect our coaching staff is aware of the issues you raise. FWIW, Nicol is on record as believeing that some of our draftees will be able to compete for starting spots right from the get go but obviously, only time will tell. You speak of need for an infusion of talent. They come from the draft, trades or as SI's. For better or worse, by far the way most players enter the league is through the draft. Trades work well because the players are known and have shown they can play in MLS---but you have to give up something to get something. While teams do often strike it rich signing players from outside the country is a crap-shoot with the success rate likely being 25% (thats a SWAG). It seems to me that the Revs are more comfortable with building the team through the draft. Five Conferance Finals and three MLS Cup appearances in five years says they are doing something right and will likely have picked a few winners in the draft as well.
I'm not sure what to think. At times it seems they are interested in a winner but maybe not at any price. I feel secure about the Krafts owning the team but also frustrated that they are so closed lipped about the operation. Although I'm a huge, huge fan, I still need convincing that the team is not really The New England Tax Write-offs at the present moment, and that the Krafts are still hedging, waiting to see if it all doesn't fail before they put the full force of their resoures behind this endeavor.
I think Dorman is already better on the right then Ralston. On the right, dorman is able to run at people with space and make things happen, something that Ralston just does not seem able to do as much now. Put me down for rather seeing Dorman on the right with Ralston in the AM then the other way around. This way Ralston can use his vision and skills to run the offense without having to run the line on the right. Khano is the offensive threat with nice speed, but his defense is sub-par. Thus, I think Nicol will continue to look at him as more of a sub, but Khano is improving. Franchino lacks the speed to be an offensive threat, but his defensive possitioning makes him a decent defensive left mid. Leonard is in between the two and coming off a injury. It will be interesting to see if any of them or someone else can step up and firmly grab this spot. I like speed up front and Sims was looking like he might make it before his injury. Twellman is a given and if Sims or someone else can step up it would allow us to move Noonan to the midfield which he showed he can play, like the left for the Nats. I like our starting back three, but there is not much bench depth. Hernandez then Joseph backing up Parkhurst with options to replace them at DM. Larentowicz or Ralston to backup Heaps. Franchino or Leonard to backup John. Of these, only Larentowicz looks like he may be a long term solution if he is willing to transition to right back. Hernandez may move back to central defense in a couple of years as well. Going from one of the best to a standard backup is a big hit. After Reis' below average game for the Nats, we may get to keep him for the tornaments this summer. Just do not get injured Reis.
I'm sure this is true--at least I hope it is. The issues have been apparent for a while now and I claim no originality. The question is whether the 2007 roster addresses the issues. So far, except for the draft picks, the answer seems to be no. Obviously there's still a lot of time before the new season starts, we have the Dempsey money, and so on, but one wonders what the plan is. As others have noted, it's frustrating to see the competition making progress while little seems to be going on with the Revs. Relying on draft choices to address the major challenges also has risks, as last year's draft illustrates. An impressive DP signing, a new SI, or a trade or two would help. Otherwise, I see us falling behind DC, Chicago, and (gasp!) New York.
The issue of LM has been brought up the last couple of years, and nothing was done about it. And while I like Khano, I don't know if he's the full time answer there. That's assuming they have a plan. Great post.
Looking at the senior roster, I find it hard to believe that all three of John, Lochhead and Leonard will be on it come April.
It appears as though SN & PM will evaluate the incoming talent. I'm sure a parallel focus on a DP will be ongoing, with THAT possiblility probably coming in July or August. Really, when you look at things for what they are - we lost Clint...and that's it. We played much of last year without him - and STILL made the Final. Yes, a few moves have been made within the conference. But, really, are we THAT far behind? I don't think so. Now, would I like an impact DP to come in and help us possibly get off to a BETTER start? You bet I would. However, with the realistic look at rival rosters, plus, with 4 in each conference getting in the playoffs, I am not that worried. ...Yet. Uhhhh, ask me next week, though!
We lost John Lewis a couple of years ago, and honestly I miss his contributions to our community more than any player we've lost in the same time period. Don't forget, we traded away "a portion" of the Dempsey allocation money to get a relatively unknown player in the 1st round of the draft, how big a portion is anyone's guess.