Dillon Powers at Dundee United (Scotland)

IIRC, the Italian connection is through his grandfather on his mother's side. It's been rumored for a while, throughout the Rapids community, that the passport was an option though many weren't sure if the lineage enough to secure it. Nonetheless, I think it's a given that at some point Powers was going to have to make a step up especially if he had national team aspirations.

 

There is an exodus of sorts. As there should given their absolute collapse the 2nd half last season. That collapse was brutal and were a myriad of things that contributed. If I had 4 hours you'd hear about even single issue. Nonetheless, what is going on, as we speak, is more of Pablo having his imprint; his say the roster. We came onboard 8 days before the season started. He had zero say in how the team looked. He was dealt a cruel hand. Pablo hasn't made many correct decisions. It's part of the learning curve with an inexperienced manager. The flurry of activity is just Pablo shaping his roster into his vision.

 

Atalanta would be a good low pressure team to join. Palermo wouldn't be bad, but it can be a pretty unstable team at times. Their owner is insane.

 

You'll get my honest opinion here. I have seen every single one of Dillon's professional matches live and in the flesh -- well home matches that is. The kid is super talented but he is not ready for the international game. For all the intangibles he brings to the table --- good vision, movement, close ball control, and a wicked shot -- Dillon has flaws he needs to address in order to progress to the next level.

In spite of his good vision in the attacking third, he has a tendency to be a turnover machine in his own half. Granted, he does have the athleticism and defensive wherewithal to recover and usually those balls are not so troubling but on the international level you get punished. Dillon's decision making, when there are multiple options, gets him a little antsy and instead of taking a systemic approach he'll get rushed and will attempt the high risk option. Sometimes it works; some it doesn't but on the international level you consistently need to make the right decision. Dillon also needs to be commanding and demanding. Too often, as most young players do, he doesn't demand the ball enough in dangerous spots. He defers to others. Dillon needs to own those situations. Likewise, Dillon isn't commanding enough in the middle of the field. He has trouble, again as many young players do, dictating what goes on -- offensively and defensively -- in that area. In other words, he lets the game come to him instead of taking control of game and forcing his will upon it.

With all that said, these are very correctable facets on his game. I have no doubt that 6-months down the road he will have these ironed out. Dillon, from everything you hear, read, and see, is very adaptable and coachable and works his butt off. He sort of went through a mini Sophomore slump early last season mostly due to MLS defenders having seen his game. He became predictable but as the season wore on he made adjustments and improved over his Rookie season. He was one of the few bright spots in a crappy Rapids team. I expect another leap this season. That will interest teams abroad and most importantly Klinsmann.

 

I, too, would have liked to have seen Dillon in camp. However, I do understand getting a jump start on the Olympics. Dillon's just caught in a numbers games -- if you will. Too old for the Olympics but not among the best in MLS to warrant a call up. He will be eventually, though.

Not the right forum to discuss this topic but I will just say this: I get frustrated at times that Klinsmann calls up this guy over [/that] guy but it's not always down to one is better than the other. It's about if he fits into his system. If he does then he will be called up. If he doesn't, no call will be made. It took me a while to wrap my head around that concept --- JK is a "system" manager.

 

And part of that mess your Crew took off our hands --- looking at you Klute.