MLS Combine List Released (DCU Discussion)

shiniest turd in a pile of shit...

 

Does anyone have any thoughts on making this easier to read? I'm pasting from an excel worksheet.

 

It would help if you limited the width of the spreadsheet. Did you try wrapping text in the comment column? This should allow you to limit width and have the row heights automatically adjust to suit the quantity of text/coomments. This might get lost in translation when you cut and paste, but it's what I would try.

Thanks for all the info!

 

Hey Joe,

Do you have any sort of ranking here? Like who are likely first rounders, second rounders, what you predict the pick will be, etc? We need some serious Mel Kiper, Jr action going on!

Thx,

Jay!

 

next week - started, but need to see the GA that get signed. Took a quick cut by position for the guy in the combine or could have been (Gonsalves, Seitz, Edu). Then, I need to do an overall. That's a little harder.

Again, some of the west coast guys, I've only seen at the combine (Findley, Evans, etc.) or just on TV (Harden, Daniels, etc.).

 

cut/paste loses it. Someone said that they'd host on a website. That might be better.

 

Joe if you can save to a pdf, you can attach it to a post. Same goes if you can make a .zip file.

 

TDS's report of Day 2:

http://www.topdrawersoccer.com/articles.aspx?article=2073

 

Combine - Day2

A sunny day with slight breeze with temperatures that were in the upper 80's. Can you say sun burn? Overall, disappointing the skill level of these players.

Game 1 -
Tricolor and Tango tie 1-1. It seems that everyone is getting a chance to play in the back. In the first game, John Cunliffe got the opportunity. And while he didn't embarrass himself, it's obvious he doesn't get this far back (and stay there) very much. Harrington has a beauty swerving cross that Moojen bumped into for Tango's goal in the 1st H. In the 2nd Half, Tricolor evened it up with good combo play from Tudela with a flick by Sinisa over the top to an onrushing Elcock who pocketed the goal past a defenseless Noble.

Tricolor Player Assessments:

Code:

Charles	Altcheck	Tricolor	too static
Corey	Ashe	Tricolor	has talent just doesn't get it done; nice crosses
Greg	Dalby	Tricolor	still good; just not as dominant as yesterday; solid
Andrew	Daniels	Tricolor	raw; very raw; seemed confused; bigtime project; may not see 1st team for 2 yrs
John	DiRaimondo	Tricolor	1st H, too slow mentally to play AM; ok as RB matched up with a dimunitive LM with speed
Edson	Elcock	Tricolor	1st H; as LM did not go to the end line enough taking on defenders; in 2nd H scored the goal; not able to stand physical challenge; relies on others service
Brad	Evans	Tricolor	DNP - think he is ailing from yesterday's charley horse
Tally	Hall	Tricolor	ok
Aaron	Hohlhein	Tricolor	DNP - living off the laurels of his goal yesterday?
Nigel	Marples	Tricolor	GOAT - absolutely horrible.  May have severly hurt his chances today.  Beaten like a small child time-n-time again
Jerson	Monteiro	Tricolor	flash here-n-there; not willing to take on players; 
Steve 	Purdy	Tricolor	DNP?  Hasn't played 1st two games.
Josh	Tudela	Tricolor	too slow for RB; Harrington blew by him;  willing to stick his nose in where possible.
Sinisa 	Ubiparipovic	Tricolor	2h only; classy;  understands the game well.
Erik	Ustruck	Tricolor	1h looked slow as RB; didn't do too much in 2h
Chris	Konopka		ok

Tango Player Assessments:

Code:

Karim	Boukhemis	Tango	has a future as a gym teacher
John	Cunliffe	Tango	1H played LB! yikes with harrington playing LM; wanted to go fwd (no kidding); good passing - risky having him in the back; he'd be a big project as a back, maybe in a 4 back setup;  he didn't have a really fast central defender (harden) behind him either.  2H sweet move beating daniels, shot with power but not well placed (gk saved)
Steven	Curfman	Tango	too slow; his FK was lacking (given that's his specialty).  He may make a steady reserve player.
Eric	Ebert	Tango	works hard; did well because the opponent gave him too much space; at end of game, blew easy goal opp from lack of quality.
Luis	Faz	Azteca	first player traded?  Showed up for warmups late - which to me is inexcusable.  I'd avoid him like the plague.  He's not that good to begin with.  Predict that he'll be the last GA selected - sticking the team that requested him.  2H - he would be spectacular except for the opponent's defense steal his passes
Robbie	Findlay	Tango	1H - played AM not as effective, just not creative enough to run the o.  Best shot of the 1st half mind you;  just class, player on the team
Ty	Harden	Tango	Got beat with speed by Monterio; IDTS - I don't think so.  Don't like his skill/athletism, he's tall and wide, but so am I (well I'm wide).
Michael	Harrington	Tango	1H - not tactically comfortable playing MF, not sure when to make runs, seemed concerned (justifiably with Cunliffe playing LB).  However at times, was unaware or unconcerned during opp. transition to cover for Cunliffe when he had gone to touch.  2H - looked better as LB.  Got a assist on a beautiful curling shot that deflected off moojen's head.
John	Hayden	Tango	missed goal scoring opps with lack of quality; solid in 2H
Abdus	Ibrahim	Tango	DNP - 2nd game?  Haven't seen a young child wandering around the bench either.
Jared	Kent	Tango	Came back from inj yesterday, in 2H, dangerous with ball at his feet, ability to accelerate past defenders and was fearless taking on defenders, accurate passing - I liked this kid before today, nothing has changed my mind.  24 yo for tiny outside mf, maybe late pick.
Zach	Kirby	Tango	shaky in the back, big head but just not very good.
Frederico	Moojen	Tango	makes me nauseous watching him play; has skill just inconsistent and tries to be too clever; just say no.
Nick	Noble	Tango	solid in 2h
Nate	Norman	Tango	not too impressed (only 2h)
Jarrod	Smith	Tango	2H - big target strong on ball (very hard to knock off); he can play in MLS, don't know about his shot yet.

Game 2 -
TeamGeist beat Azteca 1-0. Chase Wileman drove the ball down the left side until forced to make a square pass to Ryan Guy 30 yards out. Guy took a touch, then fake a shot (making Labrocca freeze), went by him than placed a shot in the lower corner for the only goal in the game.

Azteca attacked feverishly but could not put the ball in the net.

Teamgeist player assessments:

Code:

Gerardo	Alvarez	TeamGeist	2H - didn't show anything
Rich	Asante	TeamGeist	better but still lacking; 2H my notes show constinency bad pass/head/touch - just bad, no thank you.
Aaron	Chandler	TeamGeist	played RB - which is a stretch for a prima-donna player (my opinion).  However, he was outstanding on 1 tackle on Simon O and showed effort and was adequate.  In 1H, on a def CK transition, blew a 2v1 because he couldn't get the ball in a passing position to Wells thompson lumbering up the middle.  wound up passing to the defender - ugh.
Nico	Colaluca	TeamGeist	didn't do much, beat Sambrusky on the dribble (which requires strength).
Alex	Cunliffe	TeamGeist	solid in back in 2H - more aggressive, had a good run through the o and mids
Ryan	Guy	TeamGeist	goal was a thing of beauty, taking a pass from Wileman, fakes a shot that freezes defender (labrocca) than shoots with composure and accuracy.
Justin	Hughes	TeamGeist	still horrible after all these years.  Oh, still horrible…
Scott	Jones	TeamGeist	Must be paying Loftus to stay on the field.  Otherwise, would be wearing goat horns.  Was absolutely the worst player on the field for the 1st half, playing LB was torched continuously.  Was exposed for not having the foot speed and defensive positioning to slow anybody including Richards, Patterson (hey spartan (uncg)), Sambrusky...Should have put a toll booth in the way guys were running by him.  End the experiment, Jones can't play LB.   
Chris	Loftus	TeamGeist	Goat Horns extraordinare.  Wasted piece of humanity.  He's terrific if you want a guy to stand around waiting to head the ball a couple of times.  The only thing he did was show that Soumare can handle a big strong guy too.
Hugh	MacDonald	TeamGeist	not bad; slow
Billy 	Meier	TeamGeist	slow, late 2H sub, still slow
Jay	Needham	TeamGeist	best player, played mostly DM, reads the game very well.
Wells	Thompson	TeamGeist	hustles, just can't get his ass where he needs to get it.  Played RM (which is what I've seen him play frequently at WF) so no excuses.  
Josh	Trott	TeamGeist	just not good enough
Chase	Wileman	TeamGeist	assist, runs well, good hookup with Needham.  Confident on the ball.  Not sure that he can make a big impact in MLS

Azteca player assessments:

Code:

Adam	Christman	Azteca	starting to play to my extremely low expections (i.e., parks and recs terror).
Omar	Cummings	Azteca	didn't see him get on the field, but I think he came off in the 2H - can't comment much since I didn't see him do anything, except sit on the bench.  Sigh
Justin	Douglass	Azteca	did ok
Willy	Guadarrama	Azteca	creative just not good enough.  Not as bad as yesterday
Kyle	Helton	Azteca	1H didn't get involved; 2H had a lot of defending - so/so.
Tom	Krizanovi	Azteca	ok in 1st; came on late in 2h no impact
Nick	LaBrocca	Azteca	got beat for goal, lots of notes (mostly neg), tries to make the low percentage perfect pass, frustrating watching him play
Phil	Marfuggi	Azteca	ok
Justin	McGrane	Azteca	feet of stone - pass
Simon	Omekanda	Azteca	jesus h christ.  I've seen this kid play a lot; and he's just not showing.  He's not taking on ppl - when he tries he gets thumped by chandler, chandler, chandler?  Good gawd.   What's up dude?  Take the bull by the horns.  You look like crap.  Did have a few glimmers almost like a tease.  Not having a good combine.
Randi	Patterson	Azteca	shooting leaving a lot to be desired.  Not attacking defenders; frustrating seeing this talent wasting.  
Dane	Richards	Azteca	make jones look like a punk.  He owned jones.  Why would he not give himself room to receive the ball (run back 10-15 yards).  He persisted playing near Jones tight - why?  To take the pass behind him.  Dumb, go back receive the ball, run by him, cross the ball.   2h - didn't demand the ball to continue the beating... dang did you just learn the game?  
Mike	Sambursky	Azteca	makes a lot of mistakes - for a defender that worries me.  I think this guy could play RB in MLS, gonna take some time.  He's not this years bornestein.
Ryan	Solle	Azteca	quality.  Understands the game very well.
Boukary	Soumare	Azteca	terror in the back.  Strong in the air, sometimes looks a little lost on the ball.  Good foot skills.  I'd take him.

 

Thanks for taking the time on these assessments Joe, I really look forward to reading through them.

So, are you waiting on the combine to end before you give us your rankings?

Any shot in the dark as to who DC might be on the board for DC's to take with its first pick?

 

JoeSoccerFan's Combine Reports can now be found at The DCenters for easier reading.
Remeber to rep him here though.

Day 1

Day 2

 

couple ideas - but I'm waiting for the combine to end.

 

kind of hard to assess when Abdus isn't playing at the combine (on the roster) and I'm not sure why.

I can't recommend a player that I haven't seen play.

 

C'mon. 5'5" is striker material for DC United

Thx,

Jay!

 

From these evaluations, it seems that DCU's best course of action is to trade their draft picks rather than pick any of these donkeys. Is this the worst set of players ever in an MLS draft?

 

I think it looks pretty grim after the first round. I tried coming up with a top ten based on the combine and GA's and wound up with only 8. I'm convinced most, if not all, of the "ready to play" draftees will have already been taken by the time we get to pick. Add the fact that two teams (LA and Colorado) have 7 of the first 20 picks, and it looks hard for good players to slip through the cracks. I think everything else will be a project, and this team doesn't look like it wants project players anymore, but picks who are ready to make an impact.

 

Buzz's Day 2 report:

http://www.3rddegree.net/thirdindex.cfm?page=article&show=20238

 

And another one from From College to the Pros:

http://collegetopros.blogspot.com/2007/01/2007-mls-combineday-2.html

 

I will be going to the combine tomorrow. However, I'm flying back tomorrow night and won't have internet access until I get home. I will try and post my final impressions tomorrow evening contingent upon no delays or unexpected airplane problems when I get home.

I'll send an email to DCenters with a file for him to post on his site - that looks pretty good.

Hopefully Tuesday evening, I'll be ready to post my DCU draft summary. I won't give my deep sleepers (these are guys, I'll mention to Dave K.). There are 2 guys that probably aren't on anyone's radar that could potentially help DCU in 2008. I see these as supp picks, so no urgency for this Friday.

 

Wow, this guys sounds like the second coming of...

Wait for it...


David Stokes!

 

ok, I'm beat. I'm home but I'm beat. Maybe I should be posting this in the drunk thread....

The airplane waitress couldn't get my card to work so she gave me free JD....yummy...



I'm sure someone has posted scores and overall impressions...

Here are the player assessments:

Code:

Fname	Lname	Team	Comment
Adam	Christman	Azteca	came on when Guadarrama got hurt in 1H for a few minutes.  Lost the ball a few times but really didn't suck as much as usual.  2nd half playing central defender was physical (er, very physical) - perhaps this is his calling.  I still don't think he's good enough to play MLS but maybe someone else will.
Omar	Cummings	Azteca	DNP - perhaps I was mistaken about seeing him, yesterday.  Won't be the first time.
Justin	Douglass	Azteca	Big + Played very well - breaking up plays.  Still made mistakes.  Not sure if he's got enough quality - willing to consider.
Willy	Guadarrama	Azteca	better - but the difference is between projectile diarrhea and running stools.  Has skills just doesn't know what to do with them.
Kyle	Helton	Azteca	DNP?
Nick	LaBrocca	Azteca	horrible - no clue (2H) - 1H - not horrible ----- average out to be partly horrible?
Phil	Marfuggi	Azteca	4th best GK here - should buy Justin Hughes dinner.
Justin	McGrane	Azteca	ok - nothing special
Simon	Omekanda	Azteca	finally showing something - beats Dalby on dribble forces Diramondo to foul him.
Randi	Patterson	Azteca	speed, power, strength and balance.  I had this kid going #1 coming into the combine, but I like a few others more - since the Combine roster was announced.  He's got a lot of qualities of Davies - except doesn't really create space or beat players with dribbling skills (instead of speed).
Dane	Richards	Azteca	He continues to impress doing the things that he's good at - running at players with speed and beating them around the edge.  His crosses could be better - if he wasn't a YI with 2 yrs to go.
Mike	Sambursky	Azteca	Ty Domi (sp).  He's a physical defender.  He gets beat way too much.  I'm not sure that he will be more than a project.  He looks awfully raw out there.  He's getting beat pretty regularly.
Ryan	Solle	Azteca	Just a solid soccer player.  He's top notch.  Not sure where he would fit in with DCU.  
Boukary	Soumare	Azteca	Solid play
Karim	Boukhemis	Tango	If not a gym teacher, maybe he should consider U13 coach.  He understands the game, he just doesn't have enough skill - thank you, sir - may I have another
John	Cunliffe	Tango	Looks tired - not as good in 1H - 2H much better.  Capitalized on mistake for his goal which was well struch and placed. 
Steven	Curfman	Tango	ok, just doesn't have a lot of game.
Eric	Ebert	Tango	not enough skill - as a DM he plows along in the defensive midfield not adding much to his team.  There are better DM options.
Robbie	Findlay	Tango	top class.  Didn't have his best day (which was his first).  Just does more; puts himself and his teammates in dangerous positions.
Ty	Harden	Tango	Watched him a little bit more today.  He looked a lot better.  Still don't think he's athletic, his passing is his biggest challenge.  MLS Defenders need to pass (more than to gk).  Think he looks better because the other team has anemic forwards.
Michael	Harrington	Tango	explosive out of the back
John	Hayden	Tango	at time dangerous - reserve (maybe).  Can play the game which doesn't surprise me coming from Indiana
Abdus	Ibrahim	Tango	Spent considerable time watching him.  Tall and thin - he's a legit 6'.  Athletic and willing to work with his teammates.  His first touch fails him.  He puts himself in bad positions.  If you watch Dalby, he puts the ball where he can either give himself time or where he wants to go for his second touch.  Abdus doesn't do this.  Either he doesn't know where to put the ball or isn't able to.  He won't have as much time on the ball in the MLS where defenders will close quickly.  Also, his shot is lacking from the outside.  He's is 15!  Wow.
Jared	Kent	Tango	Scored 2 goals - he can play in MLS - not because of the 2 goals.  His quickness and ball holding ability along with his brashness.  I was thinking a 3rd - Revs coaches seemed impressed.
Zach	Kirby	Tango	Much better - more dynamic.  See Harden (poor opponents) perhaps
Frederico	Moojen	Tango	touch horrible - tries to make the flashy pass.  I don't want him.  1 year YI not worth my time
Nick	Noble	Tango	Like him - best GK that's here.  3rd/4th Round
Nate	Norman	Tango	so-so - looked better on TV.
Jarrod	Smith	Tango	hurty hammy honest defender as a forward.  Like him.  2 yr as YI.
Gerardo	Alvarez	TeamGeist	Doesn't react to to other - lack of anticipation.  I'm not impressed - pass
Rich	Asante	TeamGeist	Hard to score a goal and still be the worst player - but he is.  I stopped writing bad pass and started using tally marks.  Forget about him
Aaron	Chandler	TeamGeist	don't like.  Just doesn't do anything.
Nico	Colaluca	TeamGeist	Best player for his team - his goal was absolutely amazing tremendously struck with accuracy and precision.
Alex	Cunliffe	TeamGeist	mixed feelings - you can see his athletism - but he makes lots of mistakes.
Ryan	Guy	TeamGeist	2H battling with skill, he's quick he's worth a mid-round maybe 4th.
Justin	Hughes	TeamGeist	dnp - best he's shown this combine
Scott	Jones	TeamGeist	2H strugged on LM; seems that he needs to be in the middle
Chris	Loftus	TeamGeist	much better - actually saw him run.  Perhaps he's a morning person.  If MLS would play at 0900, he could be an all-star.  Not really.  
Hugh	MacDonald	TeamGeist	Struggled not MLS quality
Billy 	Meier	TeamGeist	painful to watch.  Gets himself in good pos.
Jay	Needham	TeamGeist	a rock in the back.  When he came out - (slight hammy) - D was like a sieve.
Wells	Thompson	TeamGeist	hustled - just not able to turn the corner on avg speed players.
Josh	Trott	TeamGeist	not very good
Chase	Wileman	TeamGeist	active and intelligent.  Good skills - plays well - just so damn short - maybe.
Charles	Altcheck	Tricolor	go to law school.  The best thing that he did today was run over solle - providing a little entertainment for the sadist amongst the fans
Corey	Ashe	Tricolor	he can play.  He had his hands full marking richards.  Impressed with how he got back to cover richards - unfortunately, richards recovered beat ashe then got an assist
Greg	Dalby	Tricolor	DNP in 1st H; 2nd Half steady nothing to good-bad; got beat once by Omekanda; question marks - quickness; like his passing and presence and leadership.  Did try a 40 yard chip of the gk - nice try.
Andrew	Daniels	Tricolor	looking more comfortable in the back.  He's got a modicum of athletic ability and he's tall and rangy.  However, he's not skillful on the ball.  He runs like Eddie Pope - that gait.  I'm not convinced either way.
John	DiRaimondo	Tricolor	he provides an interesting option in the back - I am not impressed with his midfield play even though this is where he typically plays.  I don't think he'd be that effective.  However as a defender (if he can defend sufficiently,) he might be an option.  Just doesn't wow me.
Edson	Elcock	Tricolor	active and aggressive; used his quickness to score the first goal in the 2nd minute.  I can see him being like that little annoying gnat that keeps popping up and being a pest.  He is easily shoved off the ball - not strong enough.  Has some promise.
Brad	Evans	Tricolor	I have him starting in 1H as AM but can't find any notes nor can I recall him playing - could be a numerical error.  DNP in 2H.
Luis	Faz	Tricolor	just a bad player - stick him with whoever signed him as a GA!
Tally	Hall	Tricolor	don't want - had an atrocious goal kick that Christman was not able to convert (should have - but it's Christman).
Aaron	Hohlhein	Tricolor	didn't impress
Nigel	Marples	Tricolor	had a terrible time trying to cover Patterson - he is much too slow to not have defensive coverage.  I like his play..  He's just not athletic enough (quick) to stay with fast fwds.  
Jerson	Monteiro	Tricolor	best player on the team - he was aggressive and confident dribbling atr people and not afraid to shoot - this doesn't mean that he can shoot.  Erratic would be kind.  Let me say the FAA put out a small plane advisory at the airfield behind his goal.  Had the assist on a very calm play.
Steve 	Purdy	Tricolor	DNP
Josh	Tudela	Tricolor	Much better from the previous 2 days, demanding the ball; there's a difference between assertive and pressing.  Josh went to pressing.  Taking bad shots when he should pass. I think he was trying to showcase his skills.
Sinisa 	Ubiparipovic	Tricolor	terrific play today.  Spraying the ball onto his teammates path for shooting.  He's very field cognizant.  Not sure if he can play AM in MLS - maybe.  He's got the skills - wonder about his speed.  He's not the fastest player out there.  
Erik	Ustruck	Tricolor	2h only - so-so; beaten on the dribble several times.  Hmmm. Playing RM shouldn't be too much of a stretch.  Concerns.  
Chris	Konopka		ok - nothing special
Tom	Krizanovi		Spoke to his father before the match, they are fans of dynamo Zagreb (which is a plus for Srdan) - understands what he's doing but isn't tricky enough or quick enough to be effective here (let alone MLS)

I'll send these to DCenters forswith.

 

I think you are expecting a bit much from them. There wont be many players who come out and make an immediate impact, it would be up to us to pick a rough rock and turn him into something.

Someone I like is Greg Dalby, becuase he can play defense and midfield. He is composed, reads the game well, and tackles very well. Already has the physical size.

His downside is his lack of speed. He's not slow as hell, but he's not fast either. I wouldnt mind seeing him play behind Gomez and besides Olsen if I had to choose one.

 

Spam alert!

Day 3
http://www.3rddegree.net/thirdindex.cfm?page=article&show=20241

 

Thanks Buzz!

I think this is a good time to close the Combine thread and move on to a Draft thread...

and of course, thanks to our very own charter member of the Chris Corcoran fanclub...

JoeSoccerFan, Draft Expert™*

*and I mean that in all sincerity! Good work Joe.
​