I guess I'll get the ball rolling on this one since I have some thoughts after yesterday's game that are probably better served in this thread over the game thread. It was a good season overall and they absolutely exceeded my expectations on where they ended up, though the quick exit from the playoffs is pretty disappointing. The reason we were one-and-done in the playoffs is basically the result of something I’ve been griping about all season. The team lacks those top-quality difference makers. The playbook to beat us is pretty simple; just turtle the whole game and put lots of bodies in the middle, because we don’t have the attacking weapons to unlock a competent deference. We struggle any time we're forced to chance games. I'll go ahead and point out the two most obvious orders of business that should be addressed immediately since I don't think there's probably a whole lot of disagreement here on these two points: 1) We have to sign a top-class striker this offseason. Not having a talisman killed us this year, and I'd be willing to bet having a guy that can score 10-15 goals a season consistently is the difference between us possibly willing the shield, and definitely beating Portland versus what we ended up with. Padraig has been promising this guy for years, and his continual failure to get one is inexcusable. He has to deliver this offseason. Period. 2) Namli doesn't have a place on this team and we should not pickup his loan option. His chunky salary can be much better spent elsewhere, especially if it goes towards getting a serious striker. I think the discussion on who should stay or go on the rest of the roster is a lot more debatable since we have a lot of good pieces there. I do think we need an upgrade at CB to pair with Trusty. Wilson needs to be pushed out of a regular starting position and Abubakar isn't as consistent as we need him to be. One thing I am concerned about is how the organization handles things after having a relatively successful season. They have a really bad record when it comes to sustaining competitive team. Gary Smith's team was burned to the ground after he got shoved out the door, and 2017 was basically “Remember all those great pieces we had in 2016, lets totally not add/replace anyone important and just auction off everything else for peanuts.” I don't think it's a stretch to picture a scenario where the club fails is address obvious weaknesses in the roster, and also sells off good players in exchange "prospects". This team can win now if they're actually willing to add the right pieces, but the FO has to actually be committed, and I'm still not convinced they are. I'll end on a positive note since that was pretty negative. Frasier has conclusively proven himself this year as a good coach. While I don't like some of his tendency to tinker, it's hard to argue with the results he's achieved with the resources at his disposal. I was very skeptical of him at the start of year, and I'm glad to say the head coach is a position where no adjustments need to be made. Extremely refreshing after spending essentially a decade with people that were always somewhere in between out of their depth and/or woefully incompetent.
Agreed, and what's a little concerning about this for me is that getting this type of player is not where Padraig shines. When it comes to intra-league deals, I think we'd agree that Padraig is well above average and possibly the best GM in the league at this. However, MLS teams that have this kind of talismanic striker just don't let them go in the kinds of deals that Padraig likes to make. Seattle's not just gonna let Raul Ruidiaz go for a depth piece and some Garber bucks. So that leaves the International market, where Padraig's track record is so much poorer. I don't know if that's due to his failing in reading that market, or just not having the cash he needs to play the market well.
So with Salt Lake’s playoff victories under *Pablo* in both Seattle and Kansas City and now completely stealing the “everyone against us / no one believes we can” underdog story, I guess we really did live up to the “little brother gonna do little brother things” digs earlier this season. They are certainly looking like a team that may make it to the cup….especially with Blanco’s injury for Portland. I guess we can take some solace in the loss to Portland as if we had won we would be facing Salt Lake - and as much of a gut punch the last minute loss to Portland was, imagine how nervous we would be feeling going into a Western Conference Final against our bogeyman FSL. And then imagine how bad it would be were we to lose to them in the conference finals. At least that’s the silver line I’m looking for in this.
That actually rubbed salt into my wounds. My gosh, we would have been favored to beat Salt Lake. My gosh, it was sitting there on a platter.
The good news is that this all but ensures that Pablo will get the job in Salt Lake, and we know what happens when Pablo gets a long contract.
Moved this over from the response in the 2021 thread... Also... One voice of dissent on Namli (since most here seem to consider him long gone)... Tough situation. The dude clearly has skills and can be a very good catalyst for play/scoring development by springing attacks. We've seen that at times, but it's been very inconsistent and/or scattered. But having said that, I personally don't think we've seen enough of him to know either way. In 2021, he was out most of the first third of the season with injury. He was out all of the second third of the season with surgery recovery (June-Sept). He only played in very limited engagements in the final third of season presumably due to gradual surgery recovery (a start here or there with a small handful of late game appearances). And in those scattered returns this fall, he was played around in different roles/positions that didn't always showcase his strengths. In sum, hardly a pathway for building a clear picture of the guy in 2021. And, of course, 2020 was a hellish Covid year full of starts and stops and just plain weirdness. I know he had some chances to shine then, but didn't for a variety of reasons (out of position, little/no flow in team form, etc.). Same could be said for MANY (or most?) players last year... which may be why PS didn't mess with the roster last winter. In sum, we got the guy for a 2 year loan, but NEITHER of the two years allowed for anything even remotely close to a good run of starts/play to judge. It's been quite a nightmare, frankly (Covid year + injury year). So I haven't thrown in the towel on him (though I realize many of you and PS may already have). I honestly still think there's solid potential there... particularly if it's a normal season, he's beyond the injury, and especially if the likes of Bassett move on to Europe. Like Benezet, I can see Namli shining and tallying up assists/goals the second he leaves Denver... and unlike Benezet, it'll be because I don't think we were ever able to see him or use him in his best form or position. Of course, with the loan from Krasnodar formally ending on 12/31 apparently, PS will need to make the decision on Namli without full information (if he hasn't already).
I think the real issue with Namli is where do you play him? He doesn't defend, really, so either you have to use him as a 10 which our system doesn't really use, or play him on the wing where that means benching a decent option in order to get him on the field. The money used on Namli to improve a winger or force a system change could better be used on a striker. The difference between Rubio and a DP striker is larger than the difference between Barrios or Lewis and Namli.
I think there's the rub. When Namli was brought in, he was brought in to be the 10. Is Namli a 10? No. Could he become one? Possibly. He's got shifty feet - often taking 2 or 3 guys to get the ball off of him. He's got good vision and can hit a switch of play with the best of them. But what he doesn't do is boss the field with his presence like you need a 10 to do. Carles Gil. Nico Lodeiro. Ale Pozuelo. Hany Mukhtar. Seba Blanco. These guys provide a difference in how the game feels. Namli is super talented. He's shown immense flashes of that. But he's not the guy that when he steps on the field he dramatically changes things. Rubio did a better job as a string puller in his 66min against Portland than Namli did in his 30min. So, with Namli's loan expiration on 12/31, the question is really whether or not Namli is worth the club option to buy, and the $1.2mil DP salary for what he brings to the table.
Agree with the points raised here ... the Rapids exceeded all expectations but relying on goals by committee and set pieces isn't going to get an MLS Cup now. The Rapids need a legit striker. I'm also worried that if KSE doesn't show a willingness to spend money, Fraser will go to a team that will.
Yea, over the past several days I've been soothing my post-loss angst with the countering fact that this will be the shortest off-season in MLS history (if I did my factcheck math correctly). In recent years, MLS has typically ended (final) in early December. It ended much earlier than that in prior MLS years, as you know. This year sticks with the early December end despite the late start due to Covid (unfortunately, it didn't run quite as late as it could/should have for the Rapids). And, the 2022 MLS season starts earlier than normal in late February, presumably to finish before the World Cup begins in November. It has typically kicked off in early March in recent years... and much later in March in prior MLS years. Plus, we (Rapids) have the CCL even earlier in Feb., as noted above. In sum, the Rapids 2022 season will be here faster than it took Robin to sub in Barrios last Thursday!
Kuemper alum, Colorado Rapids’ youth coach, engineers Carroll soccer donation https://www.carrollspaper.com/news/...cle_a9a345fa-5129-11ec-b329-d31dd1c61456.html
I hope to see you all in Central America (at least, I hope we draw one of the Central American/Caribbean teams - I don't want to travel to Canada in February).
So, I think another potential "wrench" in the mix for this offseason is what happens with Bassett. Namli staying or going is a big financial / tactical decision for sure. But say Bassett's sale doesn't go through as expected this offseason - that could potentially make a lot of other decisions happen / not happen and when they do happen. From a tactical and development perspective, you don't want Bassett riding the bench, nor do you want him in USL. An intra-league loan is no bueno either. You either sell him this offseason, you play him in '22. If he's sticking around next season it's hard to go out and find that star midfielder that we would want to play because our midfield is already cramped for guys that should be playing (Price, Kaye, Acosta, etc). From a financial perspective his sale/non sale also makes things interesting. We all know that Kroenke isn't exactly the most generous with cash. We got a cool $2mil or so (minus whatever percentage and fees the league takes and whether he hits the "add-ons" in the purchase clause). If I remember correctly, there was a fee of $1mil or so to get the loan of Namli as well. So, that's a +$1mil deal in the books for Padraig and co if my numbers are right. Anyways. Whether it's $1mil in transfer profits or not, Namli also cost $1.2mil in salary. If Bassett doesn't move in the offseason, there may (this is speculation obviously) not be much Kroenke approved cash available. I have absolutely no idea how much available Garber bucks (TAM, GAM, etc) the Rapids have in the bank, but anything beyond that for a DP has to be covered by the club - and as such, by Kroenke's wallet. Bassett's sale could potentially open a bigger spending window for Padraig and co to work with, but by him not being sold there could be a smaller chunk of cash available for Padraig to work with on any big transfer targets. Just a thought anyways. Maybe Bassett still moves to Benfica. Who knows. Benfica is 12 weeks into their 34 week season and have already transferred in five midfielders (according to https://www.betinf.com/portugal_transfer.htm) All I know is the Rapids media team has been.....really silent....since Portland. Not surprising, but nothing really team related since the "Rapids close out 2021" post. Their last three tweets for example? Retweets of MLS's twitter promoting the SKC RSL game, the PHI NSH game, and the Cyber Monday sale. I imagine there's some big stuff in the works in the next two months that's been going on behind the scenes that we will start to get wind of in the coming days. Excited to see what happens - because good or bad, it's gonna be a "Rapids" thing for sure
Holy... 1465718130702000133 is not a valid tweet id Previous record for MLS viewership was 3.1mil for the '96 MLS Cup That's huge! I know it was a heartbreaking loss for us, but I'm still proud of the team that earned the right to host the first ever MLS Thanksgiving game, and host the game that absolutely smashed the viewership records.
One thing we know for sure is that the club will wait until the last possible second to release their EOY contract decisions (as has been the case for the last handful of seasons). Players have already begun leaving the area. Just from what I've seen on Instagram: Shinyashiki's back in Brazil, Lewis/Mezquida are traveling elsewhere for a couple of weeks, etc. I would guess that the decisions have already been made, but they'll likely wait for a late Friday afternoon in the coming weeks to let us know.
Grant Wahl is tweeting that the 7.2 million number is wrong-- it was actually 1.89. Which is still good for MLS (2nd most all time) but not mind blowing like 7.2 would be.
I think in order for Rapids to spend "big" they have to have the Jersey sponsorship figured out/ inked.
Yeah, I see that now. Its a shame, I saw both Tom Bogert and Sam Stejskal tweeting about it and assumed - given their reporting history - that the number was ok.
The MLS playoff game between Colorado and Portland on Thanksgiving averaged 1.894 million viewers on FOX and Fox Deportes, not 7.2 million. It's the 2nd-most viewed MLS game of all time other than MLS Cup finals and All-Star Games (behind only Freddy Adu's debut in 2004).— Subscribe to GrantWahl.com (@GrantWahl) November 30, 2021
One thing to consider, both for a jersey sponsorship and money out of KSE, is how the stadium looked on Thanksgiving. We don't know how much money was made from ticket sales but its a great selling point to show that "if we build it, they will come". We also saw it in 2016 after Howard was signed. Give Denver fans a reason to care about the Rapids and they'll show up. Of course the big drawback to getting a jersey sponsor still remains, and will through 2022, limited local TV. But if the FO has an idea of what MLS plans to do with local TV rights in 2023 and beyond they might be able to sell a sponsor this offseason with the promise of what's to come.
Just as a follow-up to this, it looks like SBD (the original source for the 7m+ figure) might not have accounted for the Bears/Lions postgame on FOX immediately following the NFL game. Just did a little digging on this and I think our spy in El Paso is correct.Nielsen listed the start of air time as 4 p.m. ET. The game kicked off at 4:30, and IIRC the Bears-Lions game went down to the last play and past 4 p.m.https://t.co/zIToE1ClwH— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) November 30, 2021
And in order for a company to be willing to splash cash to be on the shirt, they need assurance there will be eyeballs watching and seeing those shirts. Color me surprised if it turns out sponsors are a lot less generous with their money when KSE locks themselves out of a huge chunk of the local TV market for several years with the Comcast/Dish fiasco. A real genius bit of business from Josh on that one. Pretty much. People take notice and will show up when the team is competitive and actually worth watching. When the team is embarrassingly bad, people will find less painful things to do on Saturday...like putting their hand in scalding water or dropping a cinder block on their foot.
Speaking of KSE's brilliance in shooting themselves in the foot (re: blackout), I recall seeing this court case update article amongst the Thanksgiving game hype and forgot about it till now... Altitude's flimsy case against Comcast is perhaps nearing an end, as both sides have a court date looming | by @dantjacobslaw https://t.co/33gevGac64— Denver Sports (@DenverSportsCom) November 24, 2021