Okay, so we need to think about next year. We've got a turd and we need some polish. I don't think anyone is going to disagree with the fact that we need a complete freakin' overhaul from the ground up. Where do we start? What are the biggest changes that need to be made? Code: [FONT=Courier New][B][U]2009 Roster 2010 Roster[/U][/B] Davy Arnaud [color=blue]Olukorede Aiyegbusi[/color] Matt Besler [color=blue]Stephane Auvray[/color] Jimmy Conrad Davy Arnaud [color=red]Adam Cristman[/color] Matt Besler Roger Espinoza [color=blue]Teal Bunbury[/color] [color=red]Herculez Gomez[/color] Jimmy Conrad Michael Harrington [color=blue]Birahim Diop[/color] [color=red]Kevin Hartman[/color] [color=blue]Pablo Escobar[/color] Zoltan Hercegfalvi Roger Espinoza Santiago Hirsig Michael Harrington Aaron Holhbein Zoltan Hercegfalvi Jack Jewsbury Santiago Hirsig Kei Kamara Aaron Holhbein [color=red]Michael Kraus[/color] Jack Jewsbury Eric Kronberg Kei Kamara Jonathan Leathers Eric Kronberg [color=red]Claudio Lopez[/color] [color=blue]Igor Kostrov[/color] [color=red]Matt Marquess[/color] Jonathan Leathers [color=red]Rauwshan McKenzie[/color] Chance Myers [color=red]Kurt Morsink[/color] [color=blue]Jimmy Nielson[/color] Chance Myers [color=blue]Craig Rocastle[/color] [color=red]Boris Pardo[/color] [color=blue]Ryan Smith[/color] [color=red]Kevin Souter[/color] Josh Wolff [color=red]Lance Watson[/color] Graham Zusi Josh Wolff Graham Zusi [COLOR=Red]Will not be with team in 2010[/COLOR] [COLOR=Blue]New acquisition for 2010[/COLOR] [COLOR=Blue]* - Still has to make team try outs[/COLOr] [color=grey]Currently Out of Contract[/color] [B]BY POSITION[/B] [color=blue]F - Teal Bunbury[/color] F - Zoltan Hercegfalvi F - Kei Kamara F - Josh Wolff [color=blue]M/F - Birahim Diop[/color] [color=blue]M/F - Ryan Smith[/color] M/F - Graham Zusi M - Davy Arnaud M - Roger Espinoza M - Santiago Hirsig M - Jack Jewsbury [color=blue]M - Igor Kostrov[/color] [color=blue]M - Craig Rocastle[/color] [color=blue]D/M - Stephane Auvray[/color] D/M - Michael Harrington D/M - Chance Myers [color=blue]D - Olukorede Aiyegbusi[/color] D - Matt Besler D - Jimmy Conrad [color=blue]D - Pablo Escobar[/color] D - Aaron Holhbein D - Jonathan Leathers GK - Eric Kronberg [color=blue]GK - Jimmy Nielson[/color] [B]SPECIAL STATUS[/B] [color=blue]GA - Teal Bunbury[/color] GA - Roger Espinoza GA - Chance Myers [color=blue]SI - Olukorede Aiyegbusi[/color] [color=blue]SI - Stephane Auvray[/color] [color=blue]SI - Birahim Diop[/color] [color=blue]SI - Pablo Escobar[/color] SI - Zoltan Hercegfalvi SI - Santiago Hirsig [color=blue]SI - Igor Kostrov[/color] [color=blue]SI - Jimmy Nielson[/color] [color=blue]SI - Craig Rocastle[/color] [color=blue]SI - Ryan Smith[/color] [B]EVENT LOG:[/B] 00.00.00 - [color=red]Matt Marquess retired[/color] 01.02.10 - [COLOR=Red]Herculez Gomez to Puebla FC[/color] 01.14.10 - [color=blue]Teal Bunbury acquired in SuperDraft - 4th Pick[/color] 01.14.10 - [color=blue]Olukorede Aiyegbusi* acquired in SuperDraft - 20th pick[/color] 01.14.10 - [color=blue]Nick Cardenas* acquired in SuperDraft - 36th pick[/color] 01.14.10 - [color=blue]Mauro Fuzetti* aquired in SuperDraft - 41st pick[/color] 01.14.10 - [color=blue]Ofori Sarkodie* acquired in SuperDraft - 52nd pick[/color] 01.19.10 - [color=blue]Stephane Auvray, formerly of Nimes Olympique in French Ligue 2[/color] 01.19.10 - [color=blue]Pablo Escobar signed[/color] 01.22.10 - US U-20 member Vincenzo Bernardo begins training with Wizards 02.01.10 - Kei Kamara re-signs 02.03.10 - [color=red]Adam Cristman to DC United for an international roster spot[/color] 02.08.10 - [color=red]Rauwshan McKenzie waived[/color] 02.08.10 - [color=red]Ofori Sarkodie* waived[/color] 02.11.10 - [color=blue]Jimmy Nielson acquired from Vejle Boldklub[/color] 02.15.10 - [color=red]Nick Cardenas* waived[/color] 02.16.10 - [color=blue]Igor Kostrov (Moldovan trialist) signed[/color] 02.16.10 - Olukorede Aiyegbusi* signed 02.16.10 - [color=red]Kevin Hartman does not re-sign[/color] 02.17.10 - Eric Kronberg re-signs 02.20.10 - [color=red]Claudio Lopez does not re-sign[/color] 02.22.10 - [color=red]Kurt Morsink waived[/color] 02.22.10 - [color=red]Kevin Souter waived[/color] 02.22.10 - [color=blue]Luis Gil won in a weighted lottery allocation[/color] 02.23.10 - [color=red]Luis Gil traded to RSL for portion of transfer fee, 2nd round draft pick, and an international spot[/color] 02.26.10 - [color=blue]Ryan Smith signed[/color] 03.02.10 - [color=red]Lance Watson waived[/color] 03.15.10 - [color=blue]Craig Rocastle signed[/color] 03.15.10 - [color=red]Boris Pardo waived[/color] 03.17.10 - [color=blue]Birahim Diop signed[/color] 03.23.10 - [color=red]Michael Kraus waived[/color] 03.23.10 - [color=red]Mauro Fuzetti* waived[/color] [/FONT]
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason We have depth on the left, which normally we might be able to parlay for an honest to God playmaker, except that our depth takes the form of 'a bunch of kids who have upside, but no one has ever heard of'. I'd like to have a left back, a playmaker, a target forward (Kamara is out of contract and who knows if Cristman will ever be fit for more than half a season). We might take a wait and see on who Nowak drafts, and see if he's interested in dealing something for Wolff? Looking at that list, the only names I see that will be under contract and should be immune from transfer are Zoltan and Hartman. If we can get good value for anyone else, I say give it a try. Then again, we might see what a new coach (Preki?) can do with what we've got. When is the CBA supposed to be negotiated? They might have to wait for that to run its course first.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason CBA ends in like January. Any player out of contract would be stupid to renegotiate until after the new CBA is done.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason Blech. So expansion drafts, CBA (which could drag on for who knows how long), etc. and we could be looking at March before we sign anyone. Yeah that housecleaning is not happening this year.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason With NE's injury problems with Twellman and Ralston, I'd like to see if we could dangle Arnaud or Wolff out there to get Mansally or Nyassi. We need to get get some speed. Keeping Kamara would be my first move of the offseason though.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason He's still GA, so no. We'll likely see him get the start next week I think. Leathers was poor Saturday... course that could have more to do with Zakuani.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason What happened to Hirsig? Did he hit the fitness wall or do something to piss off PV? I find it hard to believe that two veterans like Gomez and Hirsig have done something bad enough to deserve not even dressing for several games in a row. I also find it hard to believe Zusi is that good to move ahead of both of them in the lineup. There are other guys who deserve to be benched.....
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason Taking this in a slightly different direction, I don't think you'll find much disagreement that Kamara is a solid addition. My question is, how much is it going to cost us to keep him? Pure specualtion, obviously, but how much do you guys think it'll take to keep Kamara here?
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason Hirsig was out of the country for about a week. He got back for friday's practice but leftthe scrimmage at one point with a minor limp. He may have been hurt enough to be left out of the 18. Not sure about Herculez. He has been practicing, scrimmaging like normal. He does not appear to have a bad attitude or anything like it. I think it may just be that Peter wants to get other people on the field.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason I have mixed feelings about this/him. He is still our youngest player on our roster despite being drafted two seasons ago. If he can stay healthy (which is one of those difficult 'is it his fault' questions) then I do think he can contribute to the team. At least, I've been happy with some of the things I've seen him do on the field. We did have quite a few players that were unable to play good portions of the season: Myers, Souter, Cristman, Kronberg (Whether or not that would've mattered)... Seems like we'd keep these 4 (though maybe leave the non-GA unprotected, possibly). Other than that - Zoltan is obviously (to me) a keep, Besler/Hohlbein/Harrington seem pretty safe, even if one or more are relegated to reserve status. I'm thinking we're keeping Conrad until his playing retirement... Espinoza is a keep... Arnaud/Wolff/Jewsbury - I definitely think Arnaud can do better than what he's doing now. Jewsbury is probably worth keeping based on his versatility alone... How long does Wolff have on his current contract? He is our leading goal scorer... though it could be argued we'd had more if someone else were there. I'm not sure what will/should happen with him.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason For many reasons. A chance to evaluate players in real games. A chance to put players out there for other teams to see (for trade value). Etc...
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason In the bigger picture, KC is unlikely to lead the offseason in free agent spending. As KC's record is abysmal, their players are unlikely to receive great interest or demand. That creates a situation where almost every KC player will be undervalued and unlikely to command great trade value on balance. All of that matters less if there is a name coach brought in who is successful or the right offer comes in for the right player. Very few of us will have any input on any of those things. Add in that KC is at CAB next season at least and that the track record is to go to battle with this group of players, there doesn't seem to be much to indicate KC's willingness to change much of anything. Obviously KC needs to sign new players and cut the string on others. I maintain Lopez is a team killer most nights despite his obvious skill. Can't have that at an SI slot, period. Arnaud didn't earn his check. From my view he gets into dangerous situations and that can't be replaced within KC's budget limitations. Off-season finishing drills for the entire roster should be added to the schedule in place of a team meal if necessary...and it is. Wolff by all accounts is slower, but yet he still scores. The finishing level is decreasing as is his value. That should be obvious to every GM so unless you cut him, he stays and KC lives with what they get. I don't believe KC can afford to cut youth nor should they want to. Hartman is solid still. Jimmy is still good enough to get called up. I wouldn't have any issue with replacing any other back if better can be found at the price. Jewsbury seems tradable for value and his season this year has been both good and poor. Other players have their value. This is tough for KC as there isn't money to throw at at the problem, if there was money it still wouldn't be thrown, and values of players are not at peak. It's one thing to deal a Burciaga after a career year (KC didn't, they waited a year to long). It's another to deal a player with a low value after an underwhelming year. In many cases that is what KC would be doing and it's almost always a poor tactic. Throughout history defense is cheaper than offense and it's more available...amazing how those two things roll together. Anyway, KC needs defense everywhere and the major glaring hole outside Lopez inconsistency at set pieces is the shooting. Finishing doesn't seem like something that should be purchased when it has existed on this current roster in previous years. THe history of MLS is that a good core can rebound from nothing to take a title. Those around here should have a memory or two of exactly that. KC found a Molnar, added two players and had a good draft, while finding value in undervalued guys. It could happen again with the right skill and a little luck. KC has been here before. Even the best diamond mine requires laborious mining. What should be clear is the answer isn't in Agrentina. I maintain KC isn't that far off on margin. A little shooting and a little defense radically changes results. For me, a player or two on the backline, a quality coach - obviously I'd like to see Preki run the show as his personality is plenty strong enough to both command respect and necessisarilly offset PV - that can direct traffic, growth of young players who still have not learned what it means to prepare to win, and a concentration on finishing improvement which starts with delivery of the chance, change the uniforms back to what they should be, and KC is plenty good enough to win consistently on any field. KC makes chances against everyone anywhere. They also allow them, but KC's finishing percentage is vastly lower. It isn't rocket science. The ratios have to be changed. That starts by allowing less. Not coincidently it's also the cheapest fix. Curing the defense adds to offense in any 2-way game. That pressure will allow KC to dominate most nights just on its' own. KC needs some speed at the back but requisite speed (if not extreme speed) can be obtained through both work and signings. If KC finishes even at an average rate, they are in business every night and playing entertaining multi-goal games; which always and forever will sell tickets home and away. It's a big ask. That's the formula KC must follow. There really isn't anything else they can really do under current limits. The other obvious area for me is the evaluation of talent. The only person left in the decision department is PV. He's failed to date on almost every conceivable level. He isn't a rookie TD anymore so that's something. My point is PV still might eventually be a quality evaluator of talent leading to a competitive advantage on the field. The best engineers in the world still have their work checked in house for a varity of reasons. It shouldn't be done alone. Today PV isn't a quality evaluator of talent and probably needs at least one more pair of decision making eyes beyond whoever comes in as coach. All of the above will happen if KCW is about winning instead of the real estate. I'm not exactly holding my breath in anticipation. The 2000 team was special, was aided by the best uniforms ever to feature KANSAS CITY on the chest, and did also feature the brain of one Peter Vermes. It will be a high bar. Higher still with owners that have divided goals and therefore attentions.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason there is something we have to look forward to this offseason. we'll be getting new uniforms for next season. actually, they can keep the away jerseys. those home ones have got to go though... and good riddance. keep the yellow and navy blue away from the pure blue and white on the primaries. if you want yellow on the secondary uniform, fine, but go with a less mustardy shade of yellow and then make the entire uniform that yellow.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason I agree with pretty much everything Dave especially the part about stopping the Argentine pipeline PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE no more players from Argentina. The thought of trading some players specifically Jack sound intriguing and may be what needs to be done to wake up some of the other veterans on this team. Although your points in the first two paragraphs explain why little will change next year. The poor results this year give us very little leverage with other teams to move out some players who we see as having value. Those players will then either have to be waived or kept. On top of that, we're still going to be at CAB, as you said. CAB itself hurts us with regards to drawing new players in. The facility IS minor league and it hurts the image of the team. Players don't want to play in a minor league park, and despite comments from Lopez that he likes it here in KC, most players are going to look at where we play and immediately be on the phone with their agent looking somewhere else. I'm also not ready to believe that if we don't make all those changes the team that the ownership is more about the retail, but I'll be closer. If the team doesn't show marked improvement next season, then I'll likely be in that camp. How has our on the field team changed for the better since the 04 Cup run? 05 and 06 just missed the playoffs, 07 and 08 just make the playoffs, 09 barely miss despite our best efforts, we're basically the same mediocre team.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason I just don't get this. You can't write off an entire country just because you did a poor job of scouting the last guy. I also don't put much stock in nationalistic ideas like "the US always creates good goalkeepers".
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason I was thinking the same ..... you cant blame poor scouting for poor hires. With the Argentine league just flat out struggling financially right now it might be a good time to start looking. ..... Escape to Victory, wasnt the Yank (stallone) the Goalkeeper??
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason I think the issue is more "Kansas City" than "CAB". Frankly, as time goes on you see as much resistance to playing on artificial surfaces than in modern "minor league" stadiums. Kansas City isn't a "sexy" place to start one's professional career. Sure, once you get to know it, it works out great. And the older players with families all love it, but it's hard to get some 18-22 year-old hotshot interested. The again, most of our free agent signings aren't those players. They're the second/third/fourth chance never-was type players and downside of the career has-beens (Molnar, Johnston, Marinelli, etc...) For those players Kansas City is either neutral (any team willing to give them a shot) or a positive (great place to raise a family without death threats).
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason I guess I might as well just put my off-season tracker in here. Code: [FONT=Courier New][B][U]2009 Roster 2010 Roster[/U][/B] Davy Arnaud Davy Arnaud Matt Besler Matt Besler Jimmy Conrad Jimmy Conrad Adam Cristman Adam Cristman Roger Espinoza Roger Espinoza Herculez Gomez Herculez Gomez Michael Harrington Michael Harrington Kevin Hartman Kevin Hartman Zoltan Hercegfalvi Zoltan Hercegfalvi Santiago Hirsig Santiago Hirsig Aaron Holhbein Aaron Holhbein Jack Jewsbury Jack Jewsbury Kei Kamara Kei Kamara Michael Kraus Michael Kraus Eric Kronberg Eric Kronberg Jonathan Leathers Jonathan Leathers Claudio Lopez Claudio Lopez Matt Marquess Matt Marquess Rauwshan McKensie Rauwshan McKensie Kurt Morsink Kurt Morsink Chance Myers Chance Myers Boris Pardo Boris Pardo Kevin Souter Kevin Souter Lance Watson Lance Watson Josh Wolff Josh Wolff Graham Zusi Graham Zusi [I][COLOR=Red]Will not be with team in 2010[/COLOR] [COLOR=Blue]New acquisition for 2010[/COLOR] [COLOR=Blue]* - Still has to make team try outs[/COLOr][/I] [B]BY POSITION[/B] F - Adam Cristman F - Zoltan Hercegfalvi F - Kei Kamara F - Claudio Lopez F - Josh Wolff M/F - Herculez Gomez M/F - Michael Kraus M/F - Graham Zusi M - Davy Arnaud M - Roger Espinoza M - Santiago Hirsig M - Jack Jewsbury M - Kurt Morsink M - Kevin Souter D/M - Michael Harrington D/M - Chance Myers D - Matt Besler D - Jimmy Conrad D - Aaron Holhbein D - Jonathan Leathers D - Matt Marquess D - Rauwshan McKenzie D - Lance Watson GK - Kevin Hartman GK - Eric Kronberg GK - Boris Pardo [B]SPECIAL STATUS[/B] GA - Roger Espinoza GA - Chance Myers SI - Zoltan Hercegfalvi SI - Santiago Hirsig SI - Claudio Lopez SI - Kevin Souter [B]EVENT LOG:[/B] [/FONT]
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason Kamara is not GA. He graduated last year and for some reason the MLS site hasn't updated it yet.
Re: 2009-2010 Offseason Oh duh, I knew that. I just wasn't even thinking when I going through the list on mlsnet.com. Thanks.