A-League Draft

How long are the draft rights in the A-League. A few of those names are players whom I assume are going to be drafted by MLS teams (although not in the higher rounds with maybe 2 or 3 exceptions). If these college players washout in spring training or are cut at the end of the year, which would account for about half the guys about to be drafted by MLS teams (does anyone else think 6 rounds is to many. How many 6th round picks stick around?) can the A-League team still keep their rights to that player.
What is the logic behind the move of the A-League draft to a date prior to the MLS draft? It seems you chance it, especially with only two rounds.

DB

This letter is very meandering. Read slowly. Sorry.

 

Well, all I know is Montreal didn't take a chance with their pick, as they selected a Canadian goalkeeper! Fat chance he'll ever play in MLS!! But I'm happy he got drafted because he played for my local PDL team. Good luck to you, Andrew Olivieri.

 

A couple of thoughts/answers about the A-League Draft....

1. Rights: In the past, A-League clubs have only retained a players draft rights for 15 days. After that he has been free to deal with any USL club (I don't know if this is still the case)

2. Timing: In the past, the A-League has held their college draft right after the MLS draft. The current USL-MLS agreement expires as of December 31, 2002 (This defines the current MLS & A-League team affiliates and loan stipulations).

Since it has expired, and no new agreement seems to be in sight, the A-League now seems to going more "head-to-head" with the MLS for young players coming out of college.

This is not as far-fetched as some people may think. With the MLS salary cap and roster limitations, very few players coming out of school will actually end up on an MLS roster. The USL, and especially the A-League teams, view themselves as viable alternatives for talented players looking to continue their soccer careers.

(Note - don't think that most of these young players will have viable opportunities either. Unless they have National Team Caps and Olympic experience, few foreign clubs will consider them for a trial - and in some countries it will be clsoe to impossible to get a work permit/visa!)

3. Length Of Draft - the A-League used to be 3 rounds, with the initial round designated as a "Territorial Selection". But that has been dropped. The MLS, at 6 rounds, is just too long!

 

Many A-league clubs have agreements in place so their players can train with a foreign clubs.

Calgary is planning to develop players not only for the Canadian National team but also Europe, its part of their buisness plan. So far the only player I know of that they have sold to European clubs is Lars Hitchfield (spelling?), currently he's the backup keeper for the Spurs.

 

And had he been picked by Syracuse he would have had a better chance at MLS? I don't really get what you're saying.

 

That makes 2 of us.

 

Yeah, but that's not ALWAYS the point (some Americans seem to think so). Canada places most of its top talent in Europe.

 

Timbers

sounds like matt napolean is leaving if we drafted another keeper...
not good news for timber fans...

 

Well, having been called a guy twice as people tried to interpret my "mysterious" comment about Canadian goalkeeper Andrew Olivieri not being likely to play in MLS anytime soon, I'll respond myself. Basically, myshap is correct (about all except my gender).

MLS' restrictions on international players are biased heavily against Canadian players because most of the few spots that are available get used for Latin American players, for the crowd appeal. There aren't too many Canadian soccer fans in the MLS cities who would bump the attendance for a given team because a Canadian player signed on (same with the New Zealanders). So a Canadian player has to be head and shoulders above the best American available to sign with MLS.

(On the other hand, being citizens of the British Commonwealth, decent Canadian players have an easier time catching on with British teams because they don't have the tough work visa restrictions to fight through that American players do).

As for goalkeepers, a Canadian - or any foreign keeper - has even LESS of a chance of being signed by an MLS team. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the charismatic Zenga, Ravelli, and Campos are the only foreign keepers ever in MLS.

So that's two huge strikes against Olivieri ever playing in MLS (unless he gets a green card someday) - and two huge reasons - along with him being a Montreal native - for the Impact to sign him.

 

The Montreal native is one of the most important aspects as A-League teams usually draft from their area and the Impact have a policy to promote young local players. He'll probably end up replacing Pieter Meuleman as the 3rd keeper (Meuleman, who didn't set foot on the pitch last season, has trials in Scandinavia and will most likely catch on).

I think a lot of confusion stems from the fact that Canadian fans really don't look at MLS in terms of player destinations (for many reasons, including those you touched upon).

 

Does anyone have a link to a list of the players drafted?

 

http://www.soccer365.com/_365_Features/page_121_44244.shtml

Here's my personal take on the winners and losers in the last A-league draft.

 

houndguy,

I'm curious what exposure you have had to all the different players in the draft to be able to comment on all of them. Have you actually seen most all of these players? Quite impressive, if you have.

What makes you describe Charlotte's first pick, Hayden Woodworth, as solid yet predictable? What do you mean by predictable? I guess having seen him play, predictable isn't a description that would ever come to my mind, but it's hard to know what you meant by that. (BTW, it's Woodworth, not Woolworth.)

 

Oops my bad with the misspelled name.

Your right, I've not seen most of these players play. However I based my article on stats from the College or PDL team websites. The few games where I did see the player play, either live or on ESPN and from talking to other soccer fans.

As far as calling Woodworth predictable, nothing was meant by that. I took a look at his stats (http://www.messiah.edu/athletics/) and my own experience with the Eagles. I lived in Charlotte for nearly 10 years and followed the Eagles during that whole time.
IMHO, the Eagles are a blue - collar team. Meaning that they take players that are solid and well rounded.

The article was just one man's opinion and we all know what opinion's are worth.

 

Houndguy,

I applaud your effort in trying to bring analysis to a draft that is impossible to analyze. I can only speak about the Timbers picks which were probably more strategic than you think.

First, they took Coiner because McKinley Tennyson has left for MLS glory leaving a huge hole up front. A young, big forward to play alongside Fadi Afash is a definite need.

Second, they selected Spiteri because in all likelihood Matt Napoleon will not be back in net this season. Spiteri is a local college product so they have seen him a lot and think highly of his skills.

The team still has gaps in the back line and needs a holding midfielder, but overall the draft - on paper - makes sense.

 

I considered both those things when I did my rankings. Orgininally I had placed the Timbers higher, but then considered the following.

Portland's D has gaps and Spiteri, despite being a very good goaltender, is still green about the gills. If Napoleon does leaves it's likely that he will start. Meaning that you will have a young inexperienced goaltender and a porus defence.

Coiner makes sense when you consider Tennyson's departure but once again comes down to experience and immediate needs. Will he make an impression on the team. Yes - but like I said in the article - in 3 to 4 years.

That said I hope he proves me wrong.

The problem with writing an article like this is that I don't get to see the indivial players or teams. As such you base your work on the internet, stats, and the opinions of others.

I invite everyone to either send me an e-mail, or to soccer365 with their opinion. If your up to it, send me your rankings and reasoning and I'll publish it on my website, www.soccerwriter.com (Don't you hate spammers? )

 

houndguy,

I also applaud your effort. My earlier post wasn't meant as criticism. I just wanted to know what information fed into your analysis.

BTW, to follow up a bit on my previous post, Charlotte Eagle's first pick Hayden Woodworth (Messiah College) is one of the two D-III players that was invited to this year's MLS Player Combine which started yesterday. He scored a goal yesterday and was described as "enterprising" by MLSnet.com. Through the grapevine I've heard that Woodworth also set-up several other excellent scoring opportunities and so far has acquitted himself and D-III very well.

 

Well I might as well add my 2 cents.

You say that the Whitecaps decision to draft two Canadians may backfire on them. Do you mean the two they drafted or Canadians in general? I mean who else are the Canadian team supposed to draft?

Doesn't matter either way. The Whitecaps always seem to end up with the same lineup every year, usually without anyone they drafted.

 

Calgary did draft a Yank from a uni in Alabama (UAB I think). So it's not unheard of to draft non-Canadians...