Christmas Wish List for the Rapids

What form?

 

Oh, sweet Jaysus, a player as proficient as Anders in the Midfield again... that would be something...

Spot, the form in which I believe Ricardo is referring to, is the form that allowed ZiZi to score just about everytime he got on the pitch. As far as Powell is concerned, the man has never been 100% since the day he stepped off the plane, so no one knows what he could be capable of...

I like the list Ricardo, and I don't think it's asking too much, in fact, most of it is way overdue.

 

Well if we're asking for stuff ... what about cheap beer? :-D

 

Served by the Rapids cheerleaders so they wouldn't be on the field.

 

Booya!

 

How about we just get someone who can pick some good looking women for the cheerleaders instead of 15 year old girls. It wouldn't make me feel so dirty when I look at them. GET WITH IT FRONT OFFICE.

 

Please explain why you consider a player like Limpar a "real #10."

 

I'll assume that you're simply asking "what players should they get." Hard to be sure if that's what you were saying amidst that mess.

Regardless of Rapids' history, the bottom line is that the team needs to hire a coach that shares Balboa's vision (assuming that as reported he will be significantly involved in player management), that CoachTBD and Balboa stay committed to that vision and most importantly, that the vision is not flawed to begin with.

A "real #10" won't mean squat if he's not surrounded with capable midfielders, just as an MVP goalie can't carry them through the playoffs without competent defenders.

What kind of players should they go after? Without knowing who will be the coach and what his strategy will be, all I can say is players that are consistent in their production, understand and respect the system, and can remain free of injuries.

 

With Pablo behind him, a #10 could do well in Colorado. I've always been a little fuzzy about what people define a "real #10" as. I think of them as great passers, leaders and scorers. Would Valderrama be considered a great #10 while with CO? He only had one goal for the Rapids and he's tied in Rapids points with DiGiamarino. I would love to see league MVP Guevara end up here. Is he a #10? I'm sure that is debatable. However, he'd be able to really excite the offense. Mulrooney is supposedly on the trading block, maybe he'd fit in there. I'm not sure if he's more of a winger or not. Joselito Vaca seems like he is going to break out one of these seasons. He's only 22 and can be a youth international for another 2 years. Too young to run the offense but could add depth. Kyle Martino is starting to come out of his shell in this role. Maybe a new club would inspire him to greatness.

Looking through the current MLS players list it is really hard to find attacking minded midfielders who would do well running the central midfield. Maybe one could be found down south somewhere. It seems like next year's Rapids are going to need to allow Pablo to run the midfield with an attacking midfielder running right behind the forwards. I don't think we're going to dig up a "real #10" too soon.

 

Why is Balboa so important for the process of coach and player selection for next year? Perhaps because of the fact that he stumbled on that job within the Kronke organization.

But what I am really asking: Why are BSers so confident on "Balboa's vision" for the team? What Balboa is is a TV commentator and a former player. What are you hoping from the Balboa vision? What is the Balboa vision?

I am not saying that Balboa has a great idea for the team or does not. It seems that BSers have a lot of unwarranted faith in him. I see him as a bit of a crap shoot, but maybe it'll work.

 

Since he is basically the GM now (as far as we know) we have to hope Balboa can do some good work in bringing in players. As a former player I think he has the ability to scout talent. I know this is not a given for all players, but since he played in this league I think he knows what it needs.

 

I agree with Riccardo55's summation. One thing I hate in MLS (well, really, all professional sports) is this dogged enthusiasm in which teams snap up coaches and leadership who was just fired - retreads.

We burned ourselves with one in just the last few years. Hankinson had one decent year with Tampa, but his overall record was 39-38-4 record in 2 1/2 seasons and 0-4 in the postseason. 2 1/2 seasons and he's .500 in Tampa. I bet his record in Colorado isn't much of (if at all) an improvement.

Surprise surprise, we got EXACTLY the same type of mediocrity and postseason failure with Hankinson in Colorado as MLS got with Tampa with Hanki as their coach.

Teams in all sports do this. Like some guy who was fired after an under .500 season is some sort of find. "whoah, we'd better snap HIM up before someone else jumps all over him."

With Balboa, we are going outside the mold and bringing in new blood to the system.

Maybe Balboa will fail. I obviously hope he does not fail, but maybe he will. But if he fails, we will not be able to sit around and mope about how "well, we should have known he would suck based on his previous record with..."

 

Goal, of course. But defensemen? If you can't recognize that the Rapids' defense in 2004 was average at best, you must have had your head in the ground and have only paid attention to statistics.

Borhcers and Kotschau are solid, yet Borchers is still prone to significant mistakes in the middle, and Kotschau is much better wide as compared to his converted role in the center. And beyond these two, just who do we have that is a capable, "more than OK" defender? It certainly isn't Ricky Lewis, and while Crawford is a talented kid, he's not exactly a rock on defense and appears much more suited to midfield.

Just how is Hankinson's coaching decsions responsible for Chung's one-footed play, or anything else you listed? Zizi wasn't in the box because he wasn't on the damn field, and there's nothing wrong with Spenny heading the ball. And why is it you cling to the notion that nobody under 6'3" scores on headers?

For the instances you describe, the only thing you can blame Hankinson for in his decision to keep all three in the squad. Chung's peg leg, Zizi's injuries and Spencer's dimunitive stature weren't exactly tightly held secrets.

Back to the point -- and that is what a "real #10" would be capable of bringing to the Rapids. "Quirky" midfielders will do neither the team any good nor will they allow a "#10" to do what his moniker suggests. With the amount that Chung comes into the middle of the park, any "real #10" would be driven mad trying to play alongside him.

Similarly, these same magicians you hearken to aren't exactly defensive, and the Rapids will need more than just Pablo staying home to keep opponents at bay -- that means Chung and Hendo not just tracking back, but actually challenging and winning the ball in their own half.

In reality, any player packing significant talent will be of benefit to the club. To apply that benefit requires a strategy that will take proper advantage of that talent and a roster that can support it.

To put it in simpler terms: it's going to take a lot more than a "true #10" to make the Rapids a contender.

 

I agree with most of your post Greenie. I think one of the things that I found most horrifying was Mark Chung's play, there were more than 3 or 4 games where he looked like he just didn't want it. I can think of no more a unforgivable sin as a professional athlete. I have no worries about Henderson actually playing both ways, there were games last year, were he was the only one on the pitch... Having spoken with players about this since Pibe's departure, the consensus is that they truely miss that playmaking midfielder. I naturally think the players have a better grasp when it comes to the on the field problems. Obviously, Hankinson displayed his retardation through his subs and starting line-ups, there were numerous occasions where all but 1 or 2 players on the pitch were exactly the players that should be there, but only in the wrong position. For instance, Hendo playing as a third/withdrawn/quasi-forward, that's done. Sullivan and other players with minimal offensive capability being subbed in late for a goal, that's done. Seth Trembly, that pecker better not even sniff the pitch.

I truly think we are going to see an upgrade in on the field production because Hankinson himself, was such a roadblock for just about every player on the team. I don't think it gets worse than Hankinson, unless you hire Sampson.

 

But our defense rocks if you put Pablo in the middle with Borchers with Kotschau outside ... crawford on the other side and hopefully have two guys that can challange both outside backs for playing time. That's the defense that made us formidable defensively in the league.

Then we we can focus on rebuilding our midfield finding a couple central midfielders that can actually create opportunities with the ball through both dribbling and passing. We're probably going to have to stick with Chung and Henderson on the outside since we have so many major holes to fill. One being finding two more strikers.

 

I disagree for the following reasons:

Mastroeni is all but refusing to play central defense. The guy's future with the National team -- and hell, future as a pro -- is in the midfield, and in all honesty I didn't see the Rapids being any better defensively with Pablo in the backline than with him in midfield. Is the backline iteslf better with Pablo? Absolutely. But is the team better? Not really. Borchers/Kotchau in the back and Pablo in the middle is a much stronger defensive core than Borchers/Pablo in the back and Beckerman (or Trembly or anyone) in the middle.

Crawford and Borchers are still learning their positions. When half of the back line is still learning, it's hard to claim that the defense is fine and doesn't need work. They both did well when playing in the back, but both made a significant number of mitakes at crucial times. They've got the potential be solid, but they've still got a long way to go before they can be considered "rock solid." Additionally, where Borchers look like he's well on his way to that level, and just might achieve it in 2005, I'm not convinced that Crawford is best suited as an outside back. I feel that Crawford's best play in 2004 came as a midfielder.


That said, how well these individuals all played in 2004 means little with regards to my initial statement -- and that is that a "real #10" will only benefit if he's playing in a system that's designed to accomodate him, and that has players capable of working with that system. We haven't yet seen Borchers or Crawford involved in this sort of system yet, and thus it's hard to say they will definitely succeed under it.

 

Just because I write a few extra paragraphs to back up my point, this somehow means I need to "calm down?" Please.

I never compared the Rapids' defense to the EPL -- in fact, my comparisons are based purely against those of other teams in MLS, many of whom played better defense in the Rapids in 2004 (and/or scored at will against us).

I disagreed with your original summation that the Rapids' defense was "more than OK by MLS standards." So now you say we are OK, which certainly sounds like "average" to me. So which is it?

Huh? Please put your answer in the form of a sentence...

 

No, seriously, greenie. You need to calm down. You're endangering your life, man. You mean alot to all of us, greenie. We only want what's best for you.

 

Thank you for rephrasing your point about salary:

I disagree. Kansas City has long managed to field an exceptionally good back line with low-salaried players. And if you believe the Rapids' defense is "above average," then the same can be said about our four; the only one making more than a pittance is Kotschau.

It's difficult to compare MLS to other sports that carry salary restrictions (and in truth, only a small number of leagues have caps) simply because it's not so much a low ceiling as it is a crawlspace. As such, MLS and Open Cup titles are generally won by teams that (a) recognize talent in young and/or affordable players, (b) acquire complementary talent and (c) install a system that takes advantage of that talent.

Simply put, a common thread among successful MLS clubs are those which can regularly start young, minimum-wage (and/or "developmental status") players and not get punished on the field for doing so. Comparatively, successful NBA teams are rarely forced to even play their lowest-salaried talent, let alone start them.

I will agree that our overall defense in 2004 was above average -- but that's not an indication that our back four is above average. Significant credit needs to go to Cannon, who regularly earned the Rapids points by himself, but we also can't forget that the team pretty much played with 2 defensive mids on the field at all times.

Now, if you've got 6 players on the field that are primarily defensive and the league's best GK... what does it say when the the team as a whole can only be considered to have "above average" defense?


You ask what the Rapids need, and again I will point out that aside from the obvious need -- a prolific finisher -- this question is extremely difficult without knowing what kind of strategy the new coach is looking to bring, and moreover what kind of performance the coach feels he can bring out of the existing players.

Without knowing what Coach TBA wants to do with the team, I think what the Rapids need is a dominant, experienced central defender. Think Eddie Pope. Better yet, if Daryl Powell looks to remain injury-free in 2005 (ha!) then I would love to see the Rapids pair him with Borchers and concentrate their efforts on a strong midfielder.

Moreover, if Coach TBA can get Chung back on form, then I don't think the priority is for a dominant attacking midfielder. And if Coach TBA doesn't believe he can get Chung back on form -- and keep Hendo at a high level -- then we've got more holes in midfield than we think.