Just to clarify, if Chivas drafts Saragosa, and the Galaxy aren't willing to give them something for him, he goes back to Brazil. And he was, what, their second or third best player last year? If you think Chivas is above drafting a guy to screw the Galaxy, well, best of luck.
Best player on the team, and it is still up in the air if he stays with the Galaxy and MLS, because Sao Paulo is facing injuries, and having players leave to better teams. I won't go any further but aside from what I said, him leaving Galaxy would cost alot of g's, and with all the signings Vergara has, they don't intend on giving any of it to LA and Sao Paulo.
Hahaha...bastard!! You just picked mine cause it looked better. Ok I admit it..I really have no damn clue how this will turn out.
Metrostars picks look mighty interesting to Chivas. Walker: Spanish speaking goalie, known in Chile. A must. Sergio Galvan Rey: A bust for NJ but has a good history and only one bad year is well known in Colombia. Joselito Vaca: Not so well known, but has been in the US a long time and has a leg up in getting a green card. Has been talking with Chivas. The other ones aren't bad either. It will be interesting to see which ones Chivas picks from here and if Real ruins Chivas' party by picking from NJ
I really like your group for RSL, add a couple of draft choices and allocations and they should be competitive. The Chivas group probably wouldn't win a game all year.
worth drafting: Fire -- Alexandre Boucicaut -- FW -- 1 -- TI Fire -- Scott Buete -- MF -- 1 Fire -- Henry Ring -- GK -- 3 Fire -- Evan Whitfield -- DF -- 5 Rapids -- Antonio de la Torre -- DF -- 1 Rapids -- Seth Trembly -- MF -- 5 Crew -- Nelson Akwari -- DF -- 3 Crew -- David Testo -- FW -- 1 Crew -- Erick Scott -- FW -- 1 -- TI Crew -- Stephen Herdsman -- DF -- 4 Crew -- Matt Jordan -- GK -- 6 Dallas -- Matt Behncke -- DF -- 3 Wizards -- Matt Taylor -- FW -- 1 Wizards -- Alex Zotinca -- DF -- 2 United -- Troy Perkins -- GK -- 1 Galaxy -- Paul Broome -- DF -- 6 MetroStars -- Pablo Brenes -- MF -- 1 -- TI Earthquakes -- Jamil Walker -- FW -- 2 MetroStars -- Tim Regan -- DF -- 2 MetroStars -- Jonny Walker -- GK -- 2 Revolution -- Rusty Pierce -- DF -- 5 worth having but overpriced (or would be if re-signed): Fire -- D.J. Countess -- GK -- 3 Fire -- Andy Williams -- MF -- 7 Rapids -- Darryl Powell -- MF -- 2 -- SI Crew -- Manny Lagos -- MF -- 6 Wizards -- Tony Meola -- GK -- 9 Wizards -- Preki -- FW -- 9 Wizards -- Igor Simutenkov -- M/F -- 3 -- SI United -- Ezra Hendrickson -- DF -- 8 United -- Earnie Stewart -- MF -- 2 Revolution -- Adin Brown -- GK -- 5 MetroStars -- Craig Ziadie -- DF -- 4 Revolution -- Carlos Llamosa -- DF -- 8 Revolution -- Joe-Max Moore -- FW -- 6 Earthquakes -- Jeff Agoos -- DF -- 9 MetroStars -- Joselito Vaca -- MF -- 4 -- TI Revolution -- Joey Franchino -- M/D -- 7 Revolution -- Brian Kamler -- M/D -- 9 limited playing time unknown (to me at least): Rapids -- Jeff Stewart -- DF -- 2 Rapids -- Scott Vallow -- GK -- 3 Dallas -- Ty Maurin -- MF -- 1 Dallas -- Philip Salyer -- DF -- 2 United -- Kevin Ara -- DF -- 1 United -- Tim Lawson -- DF -- 1 United -- Thiago Martins -- FW -- 2 United -- Eliseo Quintanilla -- FW -- 3 -- TI Galaxy -- Dan Popik -- GK -- 2 Galaxy -- Arturo Torres -- FW -- 2 MetroStars -- Zach Wells -- GK -- 1 Earthquakes -- Jon Conway -- GK -- 5 Earthquakes -- Chris Roner -- MF -- 3 some reason not to draft: United -- Ryan Nelsen -- DF -- 4 -- SI (going to Europe) Galaxy -- Marcelo Saragosa -- MF -- 1 -- TI (won't be loaned to non-LA) saying this, I might still take Nelsen and Saragosa now based on this breakdown, I'll create two lists. Top 40 available (since 20 can be "drawn back") and a prediction of how it will go
according toa quote I read from Doug Hamilton the reason they left Saragosa unprotected was.... IF he is picked up the team picking him up will have ahefty payment thye have to pay Sao Paulo. DH doesn't think anyone will want to make that additional payment. Its a gamble but it makes sense. Chivas could always pick him up and trade back to the Galaxy for Ryan Suarez. I heard Ryan is not going to be MLS next year also, we'll see. FYI he is rumored to be playing in South America next season.
top 40 available (some consideration to salary, a lot to age; only left with ~37): http://www.socceramerica.com/article.asp?Art_ID=562134198 (salaries 2004) 1. Nelsen (but going to Europe) 2. Behncke (cap value, hitting prime) 3. Jonny Walker (I think he'll bounce back) 4. Pierce (big mistake by NE, unsteady on ball, but solid starter, unlikely to go overseas) 5. Saragosa (not likely to have long MLS career) 6. Zotinca (Loney wants him on the nat team once naturalized) 7. Akwari 8. Brenes 9. Jamil Walker (speed?) 10. Broome (improving) 11. Matt Taylor (that's right, first round pick that hasn't played much yet) 12. Perkins (cheap, can get job done) 13. A Brown (could pay off big or be huge cap waste) 14. Preki (one or two years left?, haven't seen him play in years) 15. Williams (all depends on salary, don't know it) 16. Hendrickson (solid contributer but salary due to balloon?) 17. Simutenkov 18. Testo (disappointing year, but played for GA) 19. J-M Moore (need a medical evalution pronto) 20. Agoos 21. Ziade (looking for raise or else overseas?) 22. Whitfield (I'm biased, but low cap cost, maybe not a starter) 23. Boucicaut 24. Kamler 25. Llamosa (deman allocation on retiring?) 26. Powell (medical eval needed) 27. Buete (unfair to him my memory is of late game collapse replacing Mapp) 28. Franchino 29. Vaca 30. Regan 31. Herdsman (wheels) 32. Jordan (salary?) 33. Scott (limited PT) 34. Ring (did Kirovski kill career?) 35. Countess (willing to take pay cut for extension?) 36. Meola 37. Lagos 38. de la Torre 39. E Stewart (sorry, had to, was one short of 40 so inserted him in) 40. Trembly (both a compliment and an insult to be last) leaving off the 13 I've barely if ever seen play (ranked by second-hand knowledge), some definitely would make the top 40 but I find it unfair to try and compare them to above: United -- Thiago Martins -- FW -- 2 MetroStars -- Zach Wells -- GK -- 1 United -- Eliseo Quintanilla -- FW -- 3 -- TI Galaxy -- Arturo Torres -- FW -- 2 United -- Kevin Ara -- DF -- 1 United -- Tim Lawson -- DF -- 1 Dallas -- Philip Salyer -- DF -- 2 Earthquakes -- Jon Conway -- GK -- 5 Earthquakes -- Chris Roner -- MF -- 3 Dallas -- Ty Maurin -- MF -- 1 Rapids -- Scott Vallow -- GK -- 3 Galaxy -- Dan Popik -- GK -- 2 Rapids -- Jeff Stewart -- DF -- 2 wish I had a little more time before Friday, but gave it a quick go
Here's a very wrong prediction. I have no idea how "Latin" Chivas will tilt. Some players I dropped early from consideration may be of interest to them to fill out the roster. If there are rules about drafting a limited # of GK's or SI's I'm not considering them. With 3 allocations, don't expect too many SI's to be taken. a=Chivas b=RSL 1a. Jonny Walker (MET draw back Brenes) 1b. Pierce (NE draw back Kamler) 2a. A Torres (LA draw back Broome) 2b. Behncke (DAL draw back Maurin) 3a. de la Torre (COL draw back nobody, just kidding J Stewart) 4a. M Taylor (KC draw back Zotinca) 5a. Quintanilla (DC draw back Hendrickson) 5b. Akwari (CLB offer GA, kidding draw back Herdsman) 6a. Scott (CLB draw back Testo) 6b. A Williams (CHI draw back Buete) 7a. Boucicaut (CHI draw back Whitfield) 7b. J Walker (SJ draw back C Brown) 8a. Vaca (MET draw back Wells) 8b. Perkins (DC draw back Ara) 9a. Francisco Gomez (not on my list, KC draw back Preki) 9b. Regan (MET at 3) 10a. Martins (DC at 3) 10b. Salyer who's left (that I think actually might get picked): Lawson, Conway, Vallow, Popik, Trembly, Lagos (if salary reasonable, may take in place of Boucicaut), Jordan (all salary dependent), Franchino (leadership?, toughness, but overpriced), Ziade, Countess all medical eval list J-M Moore A Brown Agoos all SI's need not apply: Simuntekov Powell Moore and Agoos may help RSL sell tickets may have overlooked a player or two
Missed a round, swedcrip, you've only got 9 there. Martins' Green Card should be a significant incentive to Chivas, although he's Brazilian, so it's unlikely he speaks Spanish. Llamosa may be old, but he's Colombian and he's a US citizen - that in itself is pretty valuable to a Chivas team that's going to be drowning in TI's. I'd be real surprised if Trembly wasn't picked before Regan - he's a year older, he's played more the last two years, and he's played under Ellinger before (not to mention his stellar +/- ). Chris Roner is 1. LDS and 2. started at right back all 2003 for the Quakes before his injury.
shouldn't be allowed to guess if i can't count to 10! I seriously considered having both Trembly and Roner getting "pulled back" after Chivas takes dlT and SLC with Walker. Maybe then SLC will take Roner first and Walker would be pulled back. I need help to find out if J Stewart is "done" 2ndary to injuries. last round Chivas-Lagos RSL-Trembly
Part of the reason I like Brenes is that he's not particularly distinguished. Arriving at age 21 from a small Costa Rican club, he'll be significantly cheaper than the likes of Scott or a re-signed Vaca. What's more, he was awfully impressive in Athens. The kid has real potential. Couple more thoughts ... -- Brenes and Scott were both targeted after their performances in Olympic qualifying. Considering that Thomas Rongen attended that event, he may view both of them quite favorably. -- I haven't seen any reports of Chivas Martínez going to Chivas, but it's reasonable to think that he wants to. Unfortunately, he and Brenes play the same position.
Okay, it will probably not at all go down like this, but here are mine: 1-Chivas--Antonio de la Torre, D COL (protects Seth Trembly) 1-Real-----Nelson Akwari, D CLB (protects Eric Scott) 2-Chivas--Pablo Brenes, M MET (protects Joselito Vaca) 2-Real-----Jamil Walker, F SJ (protects Chris Roner) 3-Chivas--Craig Ziadie, M MET (protects Sergio Galvan Rey) 3-Real-----Phil Salyer, D DAL (protects Matt Behncke) 4-Chivas--Eliseo Quintanilla, M DC (protects Troy Perkins) 4-Real-----Andy Williams, M CHI (protects Scott Buete) 5-Chivas--Joey Franchino, D NE (protects Rusty Pierce) 5-Real-----Paul Broome, M LA (protects Arturo Torres) 6-Chivas--Jonny Walker, G MET 6-Real-----David Testo, F CLB (protects Eric Denton) 7-Chivas--Thiago Martins, F DC (protects Kevin Ara) 7-Real-----Henry Ring, G CHI (protects Evan Whitfield) 8-Chivas--Brian Kamler, M NE (protects Adin Brown) 8-Real-----Francisco Gomez, M KC (protects Matt Taylor) 9-Chivas--Joey DiGiamarino, M COL (protects Jeff Stewart) 9-Real-----Alex Zotinca, D KC (protects Igor Simutenkov) 10-Chivas--Carlos Llamosa, D NE 10-Real-----Brian Maisenneuve, M CLB
Wow. You really think so? When healthy, he was one of the best midfielders in the league. But it's been so long since he's been healthy, and he contributed so little this season... I fully expect Maisonneuve to retire, especially if somebody picks him in the draft.
Swed, Great analysis on previous posts, leading to a good draft by you. I would say that Rongen grabs Perkins over Quintinilla in the 5a round. In 2000/01, Rongen's last two seasons with DCUnited, he went through GK problems, Tom Presthaus and Mark Simpson revolving door in 2000, and Mike Ammann's injury in 2001. As DCUnited's TV analyst for games, Rongen has seen Perkins as a starter throughout 2004. As important as having a "latino" team might be to Vegara and CHIVAS, I'm guessing that having a winning team is more important. I think Perkins is on both team's radar because he's a very inexpensive, now experienced, and very young GK. He won't wins games for teams, but he won't lose them.
Chivas: Joselito Vaca Antonio de la Torre Francisco Gomez Eliseo Quintanilla (Rongen has seen him due to his DC United access) Johnny Walker Manny Lagos Tim Lawson (Rongen has seen him due to his DC United access) Joe Max Moore (Rognen has a soft spot there and makes another one of his personell mistakes) Arturo Torres Orlando Perez Salt Lake: Henry Ring Nelson Akwari David Testo Alex Zontica Phillip Salyer Ronnie Ekelund (Someone has to feed Kries) Jamil Walker Toni Nhleko Paul Broome Scott Beute Of course we are all wet. These teams are going to pick nothing but low price young players after taking one or two named players. Probably Meola and Agoos. Who knows......................
An overview the goalkeeping options available ... Adin Brown - Behemoth who had a terrific run in late 2002 but has generally been plagued by injuries. He's expensive, his contract expires next year, and he's indicated that he wants to play abroad. Jon Conway - Was twice pegged to become the Quakes starter but lost out due to injury both times. DJ Countess - Is a sometimes spectacular Mexican-American who started for youth national teams under both Rongen (as asst.) and Ellinger. There is no way he'll cost $100K, either. Scott Garlick - A long-time mediocre starter; if he isn't ready to call it quits, he might be willing to take a massive paycut and move to the bench somewhere. Matt Jordan - Was a mediocre starter in Dallas for several seasons; he'd certainly be a valuable back-up if he doesn't cost a lot. Tony Meola - Rumored to be headed to New York ... will this be a draft-and-trade? Troy Perkins - Young keeper who held up reasonably well while Nick Rimando was out of form, then went back to the bench once Rimando was ready. Dan Popik - Every time Max Bretos gets a chance, he praises the guy. Are they drinking buddies, or does this ex-A-Leaguer really have some skills? Henry Ring - Started the 2004 MLS All-Star Game ... now, he'll be looking for a pay increase, although it's also possible that he'll be the odd man out. Scott Vallow - Started ahead of Pat Onstad in Rochester, IIRC ... now, he's surely itching to escape Joe Cannon's shadow. Johnny Walker - Fluent Spanish-speaker who has started for top teams in Chile and impressed Bruce Arena ... he wasn't liked by the Quakes, though, and he quickly wore out his welcome with the Metros. Unless a team is very enthusiastic about one particular keeper (as may be the case with Chivas and Walker), there's no reason to select a back-up early. There are several well-qualified, experienced, affordable options.
I understand that Chivas would like Latin players. But why in every mock draft or analysis, is it assumed that RSL does not. If all things are equal, RSL should choose the latin player just to make it more difficult for Chivas to complete their squad of all latin players. RSL might then be able to trade player during the Superdraft.
I thought about this some more. I think that Chivas's (assumed) devotion to Latin players makes them less valuable in the draft. Assuming that the Latin player group and Gringo group were initially of the same talent level, Chivas is selecting all the good Latins, but none of the good gringos. So, every time Chivas takes a Latin player, the gringo pool (also larger) gets a little bit better by comparison.
Hey, didn't you get the memo? The 11 other teams are allowed to lose to eachother but no one is allowed to lose to Chivas! Here's to 0-32 - Down with the goats, viva ReAL!
Chivas- Vaca RSL-Williams Chivas- De La Torre RSL- Countess Chivas- Pareja RSL- Zotinca Chivas- Walker RSL- Jamil Walker Chivas- Franchino RSL-Trembly Chivas- Nelsen RSL- Chris Roner . Chivas-Llamosa RSL-Simutenkov Chivas-Kamler RSL-Akwari CLBS Chivas-Torres LA RSL-Trembly Chivas-Whitfield RSL-Broome Roner is LDS, Ellinger said he wants Countess, There's a trade rumor involving Meola and Metros, Nelsen leaving to Europe would give an allocation right? Same with Saragosa. If that's wrong then my whole list goes to hell.
Here is some of my hot picks, or players that can contribute quickly: 1) Andy Williams. Honestly I am surprised the Fire aren't protecting him. I think any team is lucky to have this guy on their team. He reminds me alot of M. Cienfuegos. And if Chivas doesn't get him, ReAL would be smart to pick him asap. 2) Ronnie Ekelund. Has great crossing abilities, the only reason I think SJ didn't protect him is based on salaries. I.E. Donovan comes back, SJ wants to offer him as much as possible, Adu Possible? 3) DJ Countess. As long as he has a good defense in front of him, this kid could be one of the top goalies, certainly has age on his side. 4) Joselito Vaca. Had a moderate year, but when you are playing behind Amado Guevarra, and Eddie Gaven, you can't be the playmaker. 5) Rusty Pierce. He is tenacious, and certainly can run good, but he can control his emotions, that's a sign of a good defender. 6) Jeff Agoos & Tony Meola. The only reason they weren't protected is salary cap and age. But that's not to say they still can't give you 90 min a game. 7) Paul Broome. A mistake made by Sampson and Co. He is certainly getting better all the time. A lb is not easy to find, and RSL and CDC would be smart to get him. 8) Orlando Perez. He isn't that old, and was pretty good in 03', had injuries this yr, still worthy of starting 11. 9) Dipsy Selolwane. Another player that is about to reach his prime. Certainly got big goals in 04' for the Fire. 10) Eliseo Quintanilla. He was pretty good in DC when he was healthy i.e. 02'-03', the numbers he had were better than Convey's, certainly somebody that can make a name for himself. 11) Jonny Walker. This keeper hasn't been great, but a change of scenary, and he might get better.
Here are mock drafts from a couple of "experts:" MLSNET .com Staff Beau knows expansion drafts They both have Jonny Walker as the overall #1 pick for Chivas USA. That makes sense given Walker's experience in Chile.
I did sway toward the "hispanic" orgin players being picked by Chivas vice picking the best players (IMHO) available. This is interesting exercise in speculation. Will be fun to see the real picks. Comments on MLS site by RSL GM very telling about significance of this event. Both teams should get several players that see many minutes of playing time next season. Matt Taylor for example could see a second season similar to Esky with the right coach, mentor, and playing time. I think this is a much better pool than I recall for prior expansion draft.