Kamler to RSL. Great guy, sorry to see him go. Hope he gets more playing time. Does anyone else find it strange that Arturo Torres was the first pick?
Draft is final. Real Salt Lake selected Brian Kamler and Rusty Pierce from New England. Brian will provide them with a real leader and mentor to younger players, and a proven defender in Pierce when healthy. Anyone notice who was pulled back? The Magpie
Again, my only surprise here is that Pierce wasn't picked first. I had figured when the open list first came out that it would be any two of Pierce, Kamler, and Franchino. My matchday attire? Still valid...for now. And man, MLSNet should've ordered load-balancing servers.
Big time message here. Obviously the Revs think Carlos will be back and has a few good years left in the tank. Llamosa and John in the middle--hummm ???
another strange move was the metros leaving johnny walker unprotected the whole time...maybe they want him out? llamosa getting protected? i dont like this move. pierce not getting protected after kamler is selected - i dont like this either torres the first pick? hasnt proven anything in mls. RSL choosing pablo brenes before CDCUSA can get to him. haha any other surprises to anyone else?
So let me get this straight -- Franchino, with a higher salary cap number -- gets pulled off of the board before "the best defender on the team." I guess the experts in Foxboro don't agree with the 'experts' on this board who was a better defender between Franchino and Pierce. Or at least who is more valuable to the Revos under the current set up. So all those who were so adamant that Pierce was so much better than Franchino and everyone else on the back line, please be my guest and explain how management got this one all wrong. Maybe Rusty's "surprise" at being left unprotected was legit, after all. Now, protecting Llamosa? Are the Revos planning on entering a team in a senior league anytime soon?
Pierce is injury prone and has expressed interest in leavin MLS (also giving me the idea that Pierce is not happy here). Because of Franchino's high valued contract (said by BigFrank), Chivas and RSL are less likely to take him because of the contract.
So let me get this straight Frank, you are now holding up the team management's view as confirmation of your assessment of Pierce/Franchino. I feel like I just stepped into the wrong room... [I guess you must be all wrong about Howey then...]
Sure, I can explain this decision. It's an attempt to erase the sins of the past. To right the wrongs and steady the ship defensively. They see a seasoned veteran with incredible experience who brings leadership and a steely determination in defense. A skilled player with an uncompromising understanding of the positioning needed to keep the defensive structure in tact. Someone who can adapt to a variety of defensive tactics that occur in different formations such as a 4-4-2 or a 5-3-2. Unfortunately, they spelled his name wrong and are 6 years too late in realizing their mistake.....Francis Okaroh.
I am pissed. I have never been a Franchino fan, why we kept him instead of Pierce doesnt make sense to me. When healthy, which is apparently the key word, it is clear that Rusty is far and away a better player than Franchino. It seems like his health (which comapred to Franchino isnt so bad) and his contract situation? is what lead the Revs to make this decision.
Not high, slightly higher. And it was the Revos that chose to keep Franchino, and his slightly higher number, over Pierce. So they must have thought that Franchino was a better defender and worth what they were paying for him than what they were paying Pierce, or what they'd have to pay for Pierce in the future. For one day at least, we live in a Parallel Universe. In this particular case management followed the views I espoused in advance of their decision. So they agreed with me. No, they're still all wrong about Howey. Maybe they're finally learning.
The picks: Chivas Arturo Torres m/f Orlando Perez m/d Ezra Hendrickson d Francisco Gomez m Antonio De la Torre d Matt Taylor f Craig Zaidie d Jamil Walker f Thiago Martins f Jeff Stewart d Which creates a team of (assuming 3-4-3): Walker-----Martins-----Taylor Perez ---Gomez ----Torres ----Ziadie Hendrickson----De la Torre----Stewart Goalkeeper B Really Salty Lake Andy Williams m DJ Countess g Pablo Brenes m Brian Kamler m Nelson Akwari d Chris Brown m/f Matt Behncke d Kevin Ara m Erick Scott f Rusty Pierce d Kreis ---- Scott ( Mathis?) Brenes ---Williams---Ara---Brown Akwari----Behncke ---- Kamler-----Pierce Countess RSL looks better on paper. Plenty of time to fill in the gaps.
We all know how quiet the Revs are about rumors and moves, so moves like this stirs up a lot of controversey. So this move may mean the Revs have someone in mind overseas.
Go check out the Metro boards and you'll get a pretty good reason why he was left unprotected, and not pulled back. From the sound of things "Tricky Nick" made him a scapegoat, then hung him out to dry. He's marginally quicker than Howey, which isn't saying a whole lot, but he has a wealth of experience, something the Revs lost a bit of when Kamler and Pierce were lost. With the Revs having lost one center back in Pierce, a weak option in Howey (who'll probably be back in the U.K. when all is said and done), and with Chivas clearly looking for players of Hispanic heritage, Nicol and Co. probably hedged their bets in pulling him back. Call it an immediate tactical move. If they don't, Llamosa gets picked up, and Howey departs the Revs defense is pretty much Heaps, Leonard, Franchino, and John... and that's not a comforting state of affairs. It's a tough call. If they don't protect Franchino and he gets picked up, the Revs are left with one... ONE true left-side player in Leonard. If they protect Pierce, then it would suggest the Revs might possibly be willing to considering a new contract and higher salary. He'll be a project, but with the midfield CD Chivas USA is likely to get (featuring some very good, experienced players from Chivas), he's likely to get better service than he's recently enjoyed for the Galaxy. As Stone said, he's a local kid, fits the profile CD Chivas is looking for, and will probably be a good contributor to the club. He's a bit of a gamble as well, and really hasn'y been given a chance to show much in MLS. Erik Scott actually getting picked up.
Things won't start to get interesting until after the waiver draft takes place, but I'm sure some work is already being done behind the scenes. FWIW, I'm sure that Nicol and Mariner will be busy the next few weeks scouting some college games.
Is EZ hispanic? He's got a background in LA though. He's a solid pick. I think the picks were quite good for the most part. A little surprised at Andy Williams, other than that...not so much. I was very surprised to hear about these ten players coming up to CDCU from CDCMex. What the hell is that about?
MLSnet.com draft tracker: 12 RSL Chris Brown Revolution M-F 5-11 170 10-Mar-1977 5 years Hmm, i guess we lost Chris Brown too... wait a minute? In the pierce debate i am actually sad to see him go, I thought he was a great player, and Lamosa kind of scares me. I mean will he play? He's just one of those character i can see going down and not coming back up any time soon. This team needs youth, needs strong bodies that can withstand hard hits, i don't to see our season slip again due to injury and thus an inconsistant line up. So I hope we get another defender that also has some good healthy years in him, because defence wins championships, and young healthy, enduring guys (cough...clint dempsey..cough) builds a team.