2020 Season Catch All Thread

If Bassett continues his rise in the league, and Vines continues to be a solid option at LB .... we may see more USMNT callups. We've already seen them get called up in the U-20 levels etc., but at the rate they are going we may see them get more time with the national team.

As far as our first playoff game goes, I think we can safely say (unless something happens that keeps Diego in the US - highly unlikely) that we will be missing Rubio for at least the Minnesota game.

If he leaves from the Chilean team on the 18th (the day after their game) then he would not be available until after he completes his mandatory 10 day quarantine on the 28th. Which, depending on the timing of the 2nd game of playoffs (and whether we beat MNUFC as well), means he may also be unavailable for the 2nd match as well.

So, we will need Shinyashiki to really step up his game as our CF in the coming weeks.

I would imagine the lineup would look something like:

Lewis/Benezet - Shinyashiki - Namli
Bassett
Acosta - Price
Vines - Abubakar - Trusty/Wilson - Rosenberry
Yarbrough

While we will definitely miss Rubio's presence, that's not actually a bad lineup. Shinyashiki has the vision and the awareness to play in that dropping 9 role that Rubio plays so well, it's just a matter of his touch and pass accuracy not letting him down.

Even with our starting CF going out on international duty, I still like our chances against Minnesota on the 21st. Which, if you sit down and think about the Rapids and our history, is kind of a crazy thought that we can still be super competitive even while missing a key positional starter.

 

The other silver lining in all of this would be Minnesota's international callups:

• Romain Metanire - Right Back - 20 starts, 4 assists
• Jan Gregus - DP Deep-Lying Midfielder - 18 starts, 1g/6a
• Robin Lod - Attacking Mid / Left Wing - 18 starts (20 apps total), 7g/5a (and scored against us in our last match with MNUFC)
• Kei Kamara - Striker whom we all know too well - 6 starts (7 games), 1g1a

That's a lot of starting firepower missing for MNUFC.

If we beat MNUFC, then we play the winner of the Sporting KC and SJ Earthquakes game. That match will be scheduled on November 29th, December 1st or December 2nd. We should have Rubio available by then, but just in case:

SKC has 0....that's right, zero....international callups

San Jose has 1 - a Peruvian defender.

 

We've got some Rapids representation in League Leaders this year too!

From: https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/09/21/2020-mls-advanced-stats-leaders

2nd most dribbles completed - Younes Namli with 66
"This is an attempt by a player to beat an opponent in possession of the ball. A successful dribble means the player beats the defender while retaining possession."

2nd most blocks in the league - Lalas Abubakar with 24
"An action which involves a player blocking a shot by an opponent."

From: https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020...joao-paulo-among-best-passers-2020-mls-season

3rd highest completion percentage - Jack Price - with 88.89%


From: https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020...s-overachieving-and-underachieving-teams-2020

Colorado Rapids 2nd in the league with 7.08 more "Goals against Expected Goals"

From: https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020...d-team-2020-atlanta-united-fc-biggest-dropoff

Colorado Rapids 6th in the league in PPG difference from 2019 - 2020 with +.32 PPG year to year.


All of this is definitely a huge plus for the team - especially when you consider we played a decent number fewer games than everyone else as well.

Interestingly enough, Nico Lodeiro of the Seattle Sounders showed up in the following categories:
#1 in Completion % above expectation
T-#1 in Big Chances created
T-#1 in Total Assists
#2 in Touches per 90min
#2 in Distance run per 90min
#3 in Expected Assists


I honestly believe Namli has the skill, awareness, and vision to grow into our own version of Nico Lodeiro - that player that is always involved, pulling strings, creating opportunities, etc. I would love to see Namli continue to rise and grow in this team like he already is.

Congrats to the Rapids who were league leaders in their respective categories!

 

Season in Review
Well, now the Rapids 2020 season has officially come to a close - and in a less than glorious manner with that 3-0 loss to MNUFC in the first round of the playoffs.

HOWEVER, there are a lot of positives we can pull from this year.

In 2019, the average age of the team was 26.48. In 2020, we finished the season with an average age of 25.2. And that includes signings of players such as Drew Moor (36) and Steven Beitashour (33) and Collen Warner (32) who would pull the average higher. Take those three out, and the average age drops to 24.26. If you remove Yarbrough and Irwin to only look at the outfield players, and the average drops even lower to 23.72. That's a very young outfield

We also sent out the youngest lineup in the MLS this year with an average age of 23.6 against Houston in the final game of the regular season. If you take out Yarbrough and only look at the outfield players, the average age was only 22.9.

With a young core of the team, they showed tremendous promise AND resilience. Having to come back after a month long COVID break when everyone else is still playing is...well, nothing less than mentally challenging. Especially when you are prepping for games only to have them canceled right before kickoff - not once, but twice in that month long stretch. This was already after the first COVID shutdown of the league that the players had to bounce back from.

Many young players would probably have folded under the pressure, but the Rapids fought hard - and even ended the season on a 3 game win streak.

I fully expect the core of this team to learn and grow from this year, and to be a low to midtable player in the playoffs again next year - and that's not taking into consideration any signings/trades/etc this offseason. The Rapids in 2020 showed that they have what it takes to compete, and showed that more often than not they show up to the ring and put up a good fight.


This young team performed well, and the 2020 Rocky Mountain Cup winners will make it to the playoffs next year. I'm calling it now.

The Rapids finished the regular season with 8w-4d-6l, a +4GD, and 1.56PPG. We actually performed decently on the road, with a 5w-1d-5l record, an even GD, and 1.45PPG on the road.


2020 Key Players:
Bassett, at 19, also became the youngest player in MLS history to lead his team in both Goals and Assists with a respectable 5g/5a in 982min. Sasha Kljestan was the youngest before him when he did it at age 23 with 5g/7a in 1941min.

Sam Vines (21) was the ironman for the team this year, playing every minute of every regular season game. We also saw what the team looks like when he's on the sidelines, and it's not exactly a great look.

Both Vines and Bassett appear to be poised to play HUGE roles for the Rapids next season - unless either are transferred out. I'm not sure of any rumors surrounding Vines attracting offers, but FC Dallas sold Reggie Cannon (RB) for a reported $3mil + future transfer percentage. Wingbacks are hard to come by, so I highly doubt the Rapids are willing to shop Vines around.

With Bassett, however, we are all familiar with the rumors surrounding him - and I would not be surprised to see him transferred on for a fairly decent fee during the 2021 campaign. For comparison, Philadelphia's Aaronson brought in $6mil, and up to $9mil depending on future performance metrics

Younes Namli finished with 2g/4a in 1272min, but his fancy footwork and impact on the game was definitely felt outside of "sheer numbers" on the scoresheet. Only Diego Rubio was fouled more than Namli this year. Rubio officially suffered 29 fouls (and a whole lot more that weren't called as well), and Namli suffered 22 fouls.

Interestingly enough, Rubio suffered a foul (defined as a play whistled dead and called a foul by the head ref) once every 35min played. However, he was not the most frequently fouled player based on a per minute basis. Benezet clocked in at foul suffered once every 33min, and Galvan with a WHOPPING once every 27min.

Yarbrough averaged 3.4 saves per game, and finished the year with 4 shutouts in 14 games. Irwin, by comparison, averaged 2 saves per game, and 0 shutouts in 4 games.

As far as shots/goals go, the attacking and scoring was pretty well spread out. Shinyashiki led the team in shots with 33, followed by Lewis and Acosta tied at 27. Rubio finished the regular season with 24 shots, and Namli rounded out the top five with 23.

We had 13 players score at least one goal this season, as compared with 14 players last season with a goal tally. However, we did play 16 fewer games. Bassett and Lewis tied with 5 goals apiece, followed by Shinyashiki with 4, and Rubio with 3 goals.

Bassett and Price were tied for the team lead with 5 assists, followed by Namli and Rubio with 4 assists, and Benezet rounding out the top five with 3. In total, we had 14 players register an assist this season.


2021 Roster Build + DP signings??
Price, Rosenberry, Acosta, and Rubio are all signed through the 2022 season, and will likely also play similar roles, or at least have the very real opportunity to compete next year for roles they played this year.

Benezet, Galvan, Shinyashiki, and Lewis will all be competing for spots on the wings.

However, depending on where Fraser utilizes Namli, one of the wing spots may be locked down entirely by him - as we saw Namli starting on the wing A LOT this year. If Fraser uses Namli in a more central attacking role, then Bassett and Acosta will be competing for the other midfielder job next to Price.

That said, this doesn't take into account any DP's or other signings.

The Rapids are currently using all of their international slots. This leaves no room to sign an international DP. Currently, the internationals on the roster are:

1. Nicolas Benezet
2. Braian Galvan
3. Nicolas Mezquida
4. Younes Namli - DP
5. Jack Price
6. Andre Shinyashiki
7. Danny Wilson

Of all of those, the one most on the outside looking in would be Wilson. Danny Wilson was in the final guaranteed year of his contract with us. I highly expect us to not resign him and slot Trusty in as the starting CB alongside Abubakar. I could be wrong, but for his salary and International Slot designation, I don't think (and hope) that the RFO will view Danny's role in the team as a long term investment and we can move forward with different options in our back line. The Rapids have a club option for the 4th year of his contract, and I expect them to not pick it up.

If they release Danny Wilson, that will free up one of our International Slots - with which we could sign another international DP this offseason, unless my understanding of MLS roster rules is incorrect.

Other potential international slot moves would be to trade Shinyashiki or Mezquida. Mezquida had 2 starts in 17 appearances, and finished with 1g/1a. Shinyashiki had 13 starts in 15 appearances, and finished with 4g/1a. I don't see either of these players being moved this coming offseason, unless the Rapids already had another player signing in the pipeline that would force either of these two out of the roster rotation. Even if the Rapids sign a DP striker or another midfielder, I would highly expect these two to at the very least be good roster rotation players even if they don't start / play as much moving forward.


All in all, I'm excited with what the Rapids were able to do this year, and I'm looking forward to see what they can do next year!