MLS Flavors of the week, 2013 style

Discussion in 'USA Men: News & Analysis' started by RalleeMonkey, Feb 14, 2013.

  1. Gamecock14

    Gamecock14 Member+

    May 27, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I thought it was because Porter wanted to create the Portland Zips.
     
  2. INKRO

    INKRO Member+

    Jul 28, 2011
    Portland U-23s! :p
     
  3. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Will Bryan Gallego be joining soon? They didn't trade for him homegrown rights for no reason....................
     
  4. Gamecock14

    Gamecock14 Member+

    May 27, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    Honestly at this point, I expect to blink and then see Zarek Valentin, Perry Kitchen, and Kofi Sardokie playing for Portland.
     
  5. Bob Morocco

    Bob Morocco Member+

    Aug 11, 2003
    Billings, MT
    I think he's slightly better than Futty and will improve, also clear he has an ego. Needs to turn that into a Dempsey like drive.
     
  6. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    so some relevant moves for our 2014 flavor cycle;

    Eddie Johnson to DC, thats a good move for him and Seattle. Popular flavor Lamar Neagle will get more looks as a result.

    Sean Franklin to DC, via re-entry draft

    Justin Morrow to TFC. Defying all science and logic San Jose jettisons their bright young left back to Toronto. TFC got away with highway robbery with that one and their left side just got shored up in a big way. Justin will have a chance to re-establish the profile he grew in 2011 that fizzled out in 2012.

    more to follow im sure, but those are the notable ones.
     
    Sandon Mibut repped this.
  7. Gamecock14

    Gamecock14 Member+

    May 27, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    What happened to the DC United American Youth movement.
     
  8. Hararea

    Hararea Member+

    Jan 21, 2005
    Take a look at the players they've dumped, courtesy of @chapka
    Out:
    Syamsir Alam (option declined)
    Dwayne DeRosario (option declined)
    Lionard Pajoy (option declined)
    Carlos Ruiz (option declined)
    Marcelo Saragosa (option declined)
    James Riley (option declined)
    John Thorrington (option declined)
    Daniel Woolard (option declined)

    DC's incoming transactions are mostly replacing these veterans, and because they've sunk a lot of money into Franklin/Boswell/Arnaud/EJ, they're gonna be relying on the youngsters to fill some of their other roles.

    Plus, what better role model for their young players could there be than Eddie Johnson? :ROFLMAO:
     
  9. Real Corona

    Real Corona Member+

    Jan 19, 2008
    Colorado
    Club:
    FC Metalist Kharkiv
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Eddie Johnson sure....

    but the other two. Not to be rude but I think they are about as flavorful as iceberg lettuce with no dressing.
     
  10. Clint Eastwood

    Clint Eastwood Member+

    Dec 23, 2003
    Somerville, MA
    Club:
    FC Dallas
    Another capped USMNT player that's kinda in the wilderness right now is Zach Loyd. [3 caps all since 2011]

    http://www.bigdsoccer.com/2013/12/18/5221568/fc-dallas-new-contracts-zach-loyd-peter-luccin

    Loyd is out of contract, and turned down contract offers before the 2013 season. His form dipped a little in 2013 (injuries played a part in that), and now FCD is probably offering a contract that's not as good as the one offered earlier in the year!

    So we'll see. Kellyn Acosta was playing right back in the 2nd half of the season, but I get the feeling he considers himself a central mid.
     
  11. 6 ft. Leprechaun

    Dec 9, 2003
    Baltimore, MD
    Club:
    DC United
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Agreed. If Gil keeps progressing like he has been, he's going to be special for the USMNT. I think the most special thing he has right now is his soccer brain. He thinks fast and 3-4 steps beyond the current play. Not to delve too far into hyperbole, but I see Gil as kind of a hybrid Reyna/JOB (not as skilled yet, obviously). He has the vision and patience of Reyna and the agression and athleticism of JOB.
     
  12. Sandon Mibut

    Sandon Mibut Member+

    Feb 13, 2001
    Sorry it's taken me so long to respond to this.
    e
    Here are my general thoughts on the draft in terms of US national team prospects. For attacking players, I don't think the upside of the senior attackers is very high. Players like Pat Mullins, Steve Neumann and Harrison Shipp (who will likely miss the draft when the Fire sign him to a homegrown deal) are very unlikely to make an impact for the US national team.

    That doesn't mean they won't be good pros because I think they will, but realistically we're looking at players who will be like Chris Pontius, Lamar Neagle or Ryan Johnson. If we get lucky, someone might blossom into a Graham Zusi-type.

    For the defenders, there is more likelihood of impact for USNT though I can't tell you if it will be some of the bigger name seniors on the board like Steve Birnbaum, Kevin Cope or Kyle Venter or someone who is more unknown or slips a little.

    As it usually is, the draft's stars - in terms of future national team potential - will most likely come from kids who sign early, especially with attackers. However, more and more the draft is being thinned out as so many of the top players signed are like Shipp, being signed as HG players. Maybe this is MLS-colored glasses doing the talking but I think you're more likely to see USNT futures in the likes of Zack Steffen and Darius Madison (Philly), Jordan Allen and Ricardo Velazco (Salt Lake), Brandon Allen and Dan Metzger (New York), Jalen Robinson and Pat Foss (DC) or Jordan Morris and Sean Okoli (Seattle) than some of the GA candidates.

    That isn't to suggest to there won't be future national team players in this year's GA class but it depends who is signed. (Several of the GA candidates, like UConn's Andre Blake and UCLA's Leo Stoltz, are foreign, which also reduces the odds of them playing for the US. Ask Steve Zakuani.) I don't know whether or not they will be signing GA deals this winter, but the likes of Christian Dean (could be the next Chad Marshall; could also be the next Ryan Cochrane), AJ Cochrane, Cristian Roldan, Patrick Hodan certainly have big upsides.

    (Note that the names I'm using are all just examples and not the only seniors, GA candidates and academy players I think will be in the mix.)

    I know that's a whole lot of caveats to answer the question and thus didn't give much insight. But, the evaluation process, especially with the various methods to make an MLS roster, is pretty muddled.
     
  13. Excellency

    Excellency Member+

    LA Galaxy
    United States
    Nov 4, 2011
    Club:
    Los Angeles Galaxy
    Harrison Shipp will make it if he can deal with higher athleticism of the international game. One thing I have noticed with JK's teams is that they lack required minimum level of creativity when Donovan is not playing. Shipp would likely bring that creativity in the attacking end. As an aside, I read that he has a 3.9 GPA at Notre Dame :geek:

    It would be fun to see Bradley, Powers and Shipp on the pitch together in Concacaf for starters next cycle.
     
  14. OWN(yewu)ED

    OWN(yewu)ED Member+

    Club: Venezia F.C.
    May 26, 2006
    chico, CA
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Fantastic post, and i agree completely. While i dont see the attackers doing much, we could get a breath of fresh air on defense. Im currently mocking Steve Birnbaum to Vancouver, Kyle Venter to Columbus, and Kevin Cope to RBNY. Every single one of them will be step in to a position to succeed immediately. Whitecaps are always rotating defenders and i swear to christ Birnbaum is a Jay Demerit clone from what ive seen, so why not pair him up with.....Jay Demerit? Venter would get plugged in straight away after Columbus lost Marshall. And Cope would have a good chance at RBNY after ditching Pearce and Barkladge. If Dean gets a deal it shakes up the board completely, but its a fantastic central defensive class and they will fly off the board early I think. Its alllll about how they handle the jump, making sure they stay consistent and avoid the AJ Soares and Austin Berry slumps.
     
  15. USAMEX10

    USAMEX10 Member+

    Sep 24, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    http://www.soccerbyives.net/2013/12/sbi-under-best.html
    IVES best u23 MLS players:

    —–Darlington Nagbe-(23)—–Diego Fagundez-(18)—–—Luis Gil (20)– Dillon Powers-(22)—Kelyn Rowe-(22)————————Uri Rosell (21)————————-Chris Klute (23)——————–Sheanon Williams (23)——–Matt Hedges (23)———Amobi Okugo (22)—————————-Zac MacMath (22)———
    Bench: Bill Hamid (23); DeAndre Yedlin (20), Kofi Sarkodie (22), Andrew Farrell (22), Shane O’Neill (20), Andrew Jean-Baptiste (21), Ethan White (22), Kellyn Acosta (18); Perry Kitchen (21), Gershon Koffie (22), Jonathan Osorio (21), Wil Trapp (20); Deshorn Brown (23), Juan Agudelo (20), Jack McInerney (21), Gyasi Zardes (22), Kekuta Manneh (18).

    I think Yedlin should be a starter over Williams and maybe Agudelo over Fagundez.

    Definitely think JK should give some of these guys a look for Jan. Camp. Especially Yedlin and Williams at RB. Lot of good prospects
     
    Tom Collingsworth repped this.
  16. Dirt McGirt

    Dirt McGirt Member+

    Jun 20, 2005
    Phoenix, AZ
    Club:
    Seattle Sounders
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    What? Uri Rosell looks like he's 33.
     
  17. dwsmith1972

    dwsmith1972 BigSoccer Supporter

    May 11, 2007
    Club:
    New York Red Bulls
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I don't know a whole lot about Cope but isn't he projected as a 1st rounder? RBNY just traded their first round pick as part of Convey deal. Plus, I am not sure that the departures of Barklage and Pearce really open things up in terms of opportunities. They have Kimura/Holguerson/Lade [reportedly healthy] at Right back. Olave/Holguerson/Sekagya/Miazga [promising academy product age 19]; Miller/Lade and reportedly Convey as left back. Also they just gave a trial to French vet Damien Perinelle. Anyway, though I like the idea of having more young US products on the team, I think the mostly "win now" approach will continue until Henry retires.
     
  18. pichichi2010

    pichichi2010 Member+

    Oct 24, 2010
    In your nets
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    #6618 pichichi2010, Dec 20, 2013
    Last edited: Dec 20, 2013
    True about EJ. But seriously, sometimes a player needs to be given responsibility, be put up for others to follow, before they are ready to be exemplary.
     
    Hararea repped this.
  19. USAMEX10

    USAMEX10 Member+

    Sep 24, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
  20. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    I'm sorry, but I don't see moving from MLS to Liga MX as a step up. Its a completely lateral move.
     
  21. USAMEX10

    USAMEX10 Member+

    Sep 24, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    I'm not going to try to convince the blinded but ill respond to you once, a move to the best league in Concacaf is a good one. Until MLS wins the Concacaf Champs. League it's silly to say different. Liga MX still has more depth, tactical awareness, and quality. But MLS is closing the gap each year..still think its a 2 or 3 years away from that though
     
    Sandon Mibut and Tom Collingsworth repped this.
  22. ussoccer97531

    ussoccer97531 Member+

    Oct 12, 2012
    Club:
    --other--
    Its like moving from Spain to England. More money, more depth on teams and more recognition but I don't think its a step up. Its a lateral move that has its benefits, but its hard to consider it a step up.
     
  23. COMtnGuy

    COMtnGuy Member+

    Apr 5, 2012
    Higher than you
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    In Regards to MLS and CCL, its all about the salary cap. Effects both high end talent as well as team depth. I bet once we can get it to $5M range we will suddenly be much more competitive.
     
    USAMEX10 repped this.
  24. USAMEX10

    USAMEX10 Member+

    Sep 24, 2010
    Club:
    Chicago Fire
    This is also a big factor, very true thats a main reason Liga MX has a lot of quality it can attract some of the best talents S.A. where is the cap at now? Wonder when we can expect to be that high..
     
  25. COMtnGuy

    COMtnGuy Member+

    Apr 5, 2012
    Higher than you
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Basically $3M and I hope soon but we will see. If they don't than they will need to flex their rules to allow the "Haves" (Sea, LAG, NY teams..Maybe Portland?) to go higher.
     

Share This Page