Once we got down to the very bottom of the draft, maybe the team figured they could still bring these guys into training without having to waste a draft pick on them.
I think we would have been better off grabbing a second midfielder at #12, and there were GA players with potential as well. I agree with the comment that it could have upgraded some of our Dev. roster players and added depth, not just thrown a body into the preseason fray and see if they stick. At least the GA guys have contracts already and are cap exempt. Unless Dike signs Dev. he's going to count on the cap, and we don't even know he's going to sign a deal. I also feel it isn't that difficult to find a warm body to sit at the end of the bench for F depth/insurance. Really feel like we wasted a chance to find another future stud midfielder for the team with what we left on the board.
Could you imagine a late-game corner kick with Marshall, Lenhart, Dike, and Brunner all in there trying to win the ball? Any defense in the league should be scared.
Bone or Stahl or even Da Luz seem like they would have been good picks, but remember, this may not be the end of our offseason transactions. You never know if Bliss and Co are planning to bring anyone else in or not.
Nothing saying we can't bring them in to camp as undrafted free agents to try and make the team, is there?
Here is Shaun Francis playing with PDL team Thunder Bay Chill. [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fOu2OnVMfYA&feature=related"]YouTube- Shaun Francis #21[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xF8LVVf9gcM&feature=channel"]YouTube- Shaun Francis #21[/ame] [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=955HNi5muPM&feature=channel"]YouTube- Shaun Francis #21[/ame]
He may have had a nice goal, but judging by the recap of his college years he was good for shooting the ball, not scoring, and was injured almost every season for some decent duration. But don't take my word for it, its in a book
Talked to Mark after our last pick (we were yelling for Two Boys!) and he said that we're looking internationally for a striker and two-way mid. "We've still got some money to play with."
thats great news Also, everyone complaining about Rice and Verhoff shouldn't worry too much. Verhoff had trained with the Crew during his time at Ohio State, and I would be surprised if the Crew don't invite at least one of them to our spring camp. Why draft them when we can draft 2 other guys and bring them into camp and bring Verhoff and Rice also.
They must be planning on signing Dike to a developmental contract then. That or there are MAJOR roster changes in the works.
Because other teams could have taken them? The fact that we didn't draft them sort of shows their intentions.
Nice I really like what I hear. A box-to-box mid will be gold for us. It sounds like they are getting ready for big things this year. Thanks for the news update. I hope Blades can prove all his critics wrong.
Talked to McCullers more at the reception for the Ohio Coaches Association. But before we get to that, there are perks to attending the draft. And since we're in Pennsylvania, the perks at the reception included three words: FREE DRAFT YUENGLING. Awe... -wait for it- ...some. Now that you're sorry you didn't make the trip, more news. Mark actually sat at the bar with DD and myself and answered our questions for a long time. Duka over Gavin due to Dilly's versatility. He can play on the left or in the attacking mid spot, possibly even up top. The reason for the time out at 12 was because the Crew had 6 offers on the table for trades for the pick and had to sort it out. I guess that Bliss wanted to take a trade that San Jose had offered, but Bobby wanted to take the pick. I guess that Bobby won out on that. No details of what the whole offer from San Jose included, but it did have both allocation position and allocation $ in the deal. At this point, DD and I decided to head back to the hotel and then get a cheese steak. I can't tell you what happened between the end of the first round and the start of the fourth, but it seems that Bruce Arena thinks that it's 1998 all over again and our guys really don't know what to make of that. Not a lot of info on the last 3 picks. We were pretty much the only fans left in the hall at the end of the draft, so everyone in the hall got a good laugh out of us yelling for Blades, Two-Boys, and Verhoff. I will say that we were sitting right next to the Philadelphia table when those picks were made and Nowak's face had "Who??" written all over it as all three of those names were read.