Today is the expansion draft y'all. Today we will find out which MLS rejects will be stocked on the Chivas roster. I made a prediction on the mock expansion draft thread, here are picks I guessed for Chivas USA 1-Antonio de la Torre, D (Colorado) Mexico 2-Pablo Brenes, M (Metrostars) Costa Rica 3-Craig Ziadie, M (Metrostars) USA/Jamaica 4-Eliseo Quintanilla, M (DC United) El Salvador 5-Joey Franchino, D (New England) USA 6-Jonny Walker, GK (Metrostars) USA 7-Thiago Martins, F (DC United) Brazil 8-Brian Kamler, M (New England) USA 9-Joey DiGiamarino, M (Columbus) USA 10-Carlos Llamosa, D (New England) USA/Colombia Now it will probably not at all end up like this. We will find out today amigos!
The lack of forwards drafted is because I think the team will look to Mexico to fill those positions. The gringos selected are MLS veterans Tomas Rongen is familiar with. Some of the guys I see picked are players who used to play with Rongen (Llamosa, Ziadie, Kamler, etc). Don't worry about Walker, he is a good goalie, he played in Libertadores for Universidad Catolica. Franchino, because he is a physical player. Quintanilla, to fill the El Salvador vacuum in LA.
I don't think de la Torre will go first, but I wouldn't be surprised. I do think Jonny Walker would be a good pickup. Aside from the fact he's bilingual, his experience in Chile is valuable. He's used to playing with Spanish-speakers on the field and the Libertadores experience is also good. Bruce Arena thought enough of him to include him on the national team a few times. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised to see him go first. After all, that's the one position the US has a clear advantage over Mexico.
Please tale de la Torre. Anybody wonder why he didn't play the last couple games for the Rapids? Does ACL mean anything?
You would think, since he did score goals once upon a time and is Hispanic. I didn't see him enough to know what kind of player he is, so I wonder if he and Palencia would play well together, and if so, then what kind of third striker would they get to complement the two.
At Metro, Galvan Rey did show that he obviously is a talented player, but he could never turn that into goals. I think maybe a 2nd season in the league will be better, especially if he doesn't have to compete with Fabian Taylor, Cornell Glen, John Wolyniec, and Mike Magee, a very nice list of forwards. I kind of hope for Rey's sake that Chivas takes him, but his contract is probably an eye sore when you can't guarantee that he will become productive next year.
Perez can have his moments, his 30 yard blast to beat Meol a in 2003 most notable. Does not pass well and can easily be beaten. Chicago fans are not sorry to see him go.
Bwaaa haaa haaaa haaa - sorry. On the Fire threads we're lamenting the loss of Williams and cheering the departure of Orlando Perez (aka; Captain Headband). Honestly, he makes decent serves in from the left and occasionally surprises with a long-distance drive on frame. Could actually be serviceable if used as a d-mid. Fire used him as a left side defender and the guy was a disaster.
Thus far: Antonio de la Torre - D (from Rapids) Ezra Hendrickson - D (from United) Jeff Stewart - D (from Rapids) Craig Zaidie - D (from MetroStars) Orlando Perez - M/D (from Fire) Francisco Gomez - M (from Wizards) Arturo Torres M/F (from Galaxy) Thiago Martins - F (from United) Matt Taylor - F (from Wizards) Jamil Walker - F (from Quakes)
HELL NO He is a horrible defender, with very minimal marking skills. IE our season allowing so many goals. He has a decent shot though.
I'll try and give short scouting report on each guy. Antonio de la Torre - D (from Rapids) - Right sided player can play in midfield or defense. Accurate service with the right foot, good on set pieces. Lacks speed and is not a real good defensive player. Looks like an oompa loompa. Ezra Hendrickson - D (from United) - Big dude from St. Vincent & Grenadines. Has played as a right back, central defender and occassionally in attacking roles. Was a lot better a few years ago. Jeff Stewart - D (from Rapids) - Don't know he's been injured all year. Played a little last year and didn't really impress from what I remember. Craig Zaidie - D (from MetroStars) - Fullback/winger can play on either side. Decent speed and skill, but not a particularly effective player. As the leagues gotten better he's kind of fallen behind a bit. Orlando Perez - M/D (from Fire) - Was my pick for the worst starting player in MLS the last two years. I thought Brian Mullan had burned him as bad as a player could be burned until Clint Dempsey had his way with him. Good size and a cannon left foot (not particularly accurate with it though) and virtually nothing else going for him. Francisco Gomez - M (from Wizards) - Was supposed to be an up and coming possible USMNT player but has never really panned out. This could be a good pick if he gets the playing time as the change of scenery and style of play might really do him a lot of good. Creative left footed midfielder. Arturo Torres M/F (from Galaxy) - Right footer who can play forward or on the wings and was even tried at fullback a little. Not a real flashy player, likes to run up and down the wings often to no useful effect. Can improve though. Longshot to be real good, but won't embarass himself either. Thiago Martins - F (from United) - Big strong athletic Brazillian forward who was the A-league's leading goalscorer in 2003. I believe he is green carded. Been injured all year. Not a typical Brazillian as power is his game instead of finesse. Matt Taylor - F (from Wizards) - An All-American and high 2004 draft pick. A bit of the prototype of the problems in American youth soccer in that he got by on being fast and having good size until he suddenly found himself in a league where everybody fits that bill. Had a disappointing appearance as a sub in MLS Cup. Not a real big fan of his. Jamil Walker - F (from Quakes) - On the other hand I really do like Jamil. Jamil's very fast and has decent size and is a decent finisher as well. Was one of the surpirse players in 2003 and had an excellent run with the Quakes in the playoffs. Started in the 2003 MLS Cup. His 1st touch is just awful, I don't know why he never had a coach address it. Could turn out to be a good player in MLS. De La Torre, Hendrickson, Gomez and possibly Walker or Torres are the only players with a shot to be useful starters immediately, particularly with the influx of foreign players coming in and the amateur superdraft yet to come.