Draft/Allocation Situationq

Discussion in 'New England Revolution' started by soren_k, Sep 30, 2003.

  1. soren_k

    soren_k New Member

    Oct 28, 2001
    Could anyone post a rundown of where we stand for the upcoming offseason?

    As far as I know we have one or two picks coming from Chicago in the Nowak deal, one or two from LA for Serna, plus all of our own picks. Plus one allocation for DH.

    Is that it? Do we have any idea what the picks we traded for will be?
     
  2. Jon Martin

    Jon Martin Member+

    Apr 25, 2000
    SE Mass
    What positions do we need serious help in anyway? Who knows what players will be available?

    There was a recent thread about the expansion draft. It seems that at this point nobody knows whether we need to consider dumping a big salary or two, nor whether we are going to lose C. Brown, Jason, the Kantes, Leo, or Reis. So even if we knew what the draft picks were and how much the allocation was worth, it would be hard to guess what to do with them.

    The 2004 hot stove league will be great, but I'm guessing it will not heat up until February.
     
  3. Jon Martin

    Jon Martin Member+

    Apr 25, 2000
    SE Mass
    Sorry, soren k. That came over sounding way too harsh. I'd like to know the answers to your questions as well.
     
  4. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    DEFENSE.

    Left, right and center.
     
  5. Jon Martin

    Jon Martin Member+

    Apr 25, 2000
    SE Mass
    Heaps/Pierce/Llamosa/Kante/Franchino - Keep or lump?

    This would have been a good place for a table - if only I had the skills. Please excuse and fix the numerous errors. The point of this exercise is to address Rkupp's point that our D needs a complete overhaul. Here is the competition:

    Chicago
    L - Orlando Perez
    C - Curtin
    C - Bocanegra
    R - CJ Brown/Gray

    Cowlumbus
    L - Denton
    C - Williams
    C - Clark
    R - Hejduk

    DCU
    L - Prideaux
    C - Petke
    R - Ivanov/Reyes

    Mutts
    L - Bartolomeu
    C - Pope
    C - Jolley
    R - Ziadie

    Vapids
    L - Kotschau
    C - Fraser
    C - Borchers
    R - Stewart/Hart

    Burn
    L - Gbandi
    C - Morrow
    C - Dunseth/Thomas
    R - EZ Hendricksen

    Wiz
    L - Talley
    C - Conrad
    R - Garcia
    ? - Zotinca

    LAG
    L - Marshall/Broome
    C - Lalas/Hong
    R - Suarez/Califf

    Quakes
    L - Dunivant
    C - Robinson
    C - Agoos
    R - Dayak/Waibel

    So, the question is: How do we stack up against the competition? If we start with the assumption that we want to be champions, where in the back line are we not championship caliber? What is the likelihood of any existing player improving to that level?
     
  6. NateP

    NateP Member

    Mar 28, 2001
    Plainfield, NH, USA
    Club:
    New England Revolution
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Re: Heaps/Pierce/Llamosa/Kante/Franchino - Keep or lump?

    Interesting question. On the left I'd take Dunivant over Franchino and maybe Gbandi on potential/value down the road. On the right I'd take Reyes, EZ, and possibly Suarez over Heaps. In the center I'd take Boca or Pope over Llamosa, and Petke, Conrad, Robinson, and probably Borchers and Thomas over Kante for the 3rd center back slot.

    Perhaps more importantly I think other teams have a better bench and prospects on D than we do. Taking a quick look at the P-40's and Developmental players on other teams bench I'd take the following over Downing: Stokes, Salyer, Ricky Lewis, and Burciaga.

    Of course roster and salary cap limits make many of these moves impossible. I do think though that a quality P-40 defender or two would be worthwhile picks in the draft if they are available. Having out of position midfielders like Cullen and Kamler as our first option to cover on defense is not to my liking.

    Pierce and Franchino are solid players for the next few years, and hopefully Kante will rediscover last years form, but Heaps is scary on the right and the year the wheels come off for Llamosa is coming sooner rather than later. Better we start preparing now.
     
  7. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    I'd trade our starting back 4 for just about any of those other groups mentioned, except for DC and maybe NJ.

    I don't think I'd trade our front 6 for anybody's, so to me, the defense needs serious work.

    Every one of our starting back 4 has serious weaknesses - and none of them is an elite player. The only defender that I think has the potential to be great is Kante - I think he's got a lot more ability than he's been showing this year.
     
  8. Fred Woods

    Fred Woods New Member

    Sep 27, 2001
    Cambridge, MA
    Agree about Kante. Now, the question is, what do you do with a guy like this during the Revs off-season to help him develop? I'd ask the same question about Shalrie Joseph. He looks like a dangerous outside shooter. Where does he go to actually become one?
     
  9. rkupp

    rkupp Member+

    Jan 3, 2001
    MLS has a particularly long offseason, compared to leagues around the world, but it does come at a time when most other leagues are still active.

    In the past, some players have been loaned to Ecuadoran clubs during the offseason (I forget, who it was; didn't Joe-Max or Lalas or someone go to Emelec one year?). Perhaps something like that could be arranged for Kante and Joseph, and also guys like Jason Moore, Downing, Noonan and Leonard.

    Maybe there's an opportunity for both Kantes to play in Mali, or somewhere else in Africa. One way or another, Daouda needs to come into camp lighter and quicker next season.
     
  10. RSwenson

    RSwenson Member

    Feb 1, 2000
    our starting defense is OK, although they all have weaknesses:

    Kante: speed, tendency to get caught out of position and foul
    Llamosa: speed
    Pierce: questionable distribution, hot-head and sometimes getting caught out
    Heaps: tendency to get caught out of position, inexperience (versus lack of understanding)
    Franchino: hot head, not great in the air, not the fastest (though we are not talking Llamosa or Kante)

    any of these defenders can play well on their day and against the right opponent... however, we match up poorly against speed even when everyone is healthy and we lack an organizer (outside Llamosa)... even then, you can't go through a season with 5 defenders without sacrificing 4-5 games that you should have otherwise won (see this year)...

    we need a defender, but one with speed and savvy... I think that is why they didn't use the allocation yet... there was no one on the radar screen with those qualities...

    rand
     
  11. soccertim

    soccertim Member

    Mar 29, 2001
    Mass
    Unless Kante plays very well for the rest of the year, I'd think long and hard about bringing him back. Is our 5th defender, who's been a liability for much of the year, a good use of an SI slot? If Nicol expects better things from him next year, fine. But then, Nicol's left Douda off the travel roster at least a few times. How much of an upgrade is he over what we could get out of the draft? If we actually get a decent foreigner with our allocation, we should look at what kind of an SI we could get with a discovery before we take the chance that Kante will be much improved next year.

    Also, if Rusty's distribution is questionable, where does that leave Llamosa and Kante? I've got to admit, I don't find those long, aimless balls into the other team's box (whether our players are near there or not) particularly impressive...
     

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