ESPN piece on the combine: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=355419&root=mls&cc=5901 Differs a bit with Buzz on some points i think, but good read. BTW, for any MLS newbie’s out there I personally take the combine with a grain of salt. Last year’s ROTY and arguably one of the top 5 center back in MLS, Parkhurt was only rated has the 3 or 4 best defenders much less player. Other may disagree though.
01/17 - Houston Chronicle: Soccer team aims to improve team at Superdraft Bernardo Fallas has a piece in today's soccer page in the Chron about the upcoming MLS SuperDraft and what Dominic Kinnear and Oliver Luck have to say about it: Looking for a side dish, not a main entree The sidebar also has some information about how the SuperDraft works.
More from MLSnet: Players' stock fluctuates with combine http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20060116&content_id=50494&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp Combine notes: A diamond from Sierra Leone http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20060116&content_id=50479&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
Will Ballouchy be around at eight, I think is the question for Houston in this draft. Wynne and Sturgis will go one two, imo. At three, if it is Columbus I am not sure what Sigi will do and they have a lot of areas to fill. This pick and the KC pick are where Ballouchy will go if he is off the board at eight. Metros at five don't need MF help, FC Dallas could go MF but I think Plotkin or McCarty are more their style and they may be opting for a forward depending on the Ruiz situation. I don't see Ballouchy as a great fit for DC at six. What if Ballouchy is gone, I think McCarty is a better pickup then Plotkin. He could slide into Chung's role. Altidore is interesting and Dominic did say they were looking longer term. Kamara is a reach at seven and will not be around in the third. Later rounds still need speed at forward if drafting Ballouchy, so I would see Oduro, Carr or Hashimoto as possible in the third round. Also a central defender in the third or fourth, could be Wahl (they have a history of drafting Cali College kids) or maybe Pat Scott from UCSB (not at combine) in the supplemental draft. GK is a need but I don't see them selecting one in the draft. GKs are pretty inexpensive in the MLS trade/FA marketplace and the draft is poor for them this year.
Glenn's column from today's Chron: MLS draft day produces as many hits as misses Glenn also has an audio blub on the Chron's online soccer page.
I have played, coached and still play against local men in Houston that are better than 90% of what is offered up by NCAA soccer and our MLS Draft process. Beyond drafting for depth to replace our losses in Ching and Calif. I must stress the need for Team Houston and Oliver Luck to conduct very "Open" and "Techincally Oriented" tryouts here in Houston. Off the top of my head I can think of one MF from Hilcroft, one F from Westheimer and one GK from Hiram Clarke that are all under the age of 21 and can flat out play! It is a simple dual fold, win-win set up. O sea, what is the very common understanding in the rest of hte footballing world...It is the local club's desire and focus to see if talent is available from the local boys. Then in return the local boys grow up knowing that only a few of them out of thousands will get a chance at even the Reserve Team. Yet IMHO as an old book states--"Iron sharpeth Iron". The end result is young men that desire very badly to wear Team Houston's colors and jersey. Not all, but many will then have "a sense of being" and passion for those colors and jersey. Finally a sense of collective pride is felt that one young man knows how well he can play and yet he didn't make the cuts. Yet he is proud that a dude he battles growing up DID make it and in a sense he is better from those battles. The one Iron sharpened the other Iron. When MLS clubs decide to turn this corner in understanding the true nature of association football, that's when this MLS Draft stuff becomes even more serious to these NCAA College lads. Their ability is solid but they are also competing against local tryout prospects that didn't go to UCLA, SMU or Duke. I like the Chris Rolfe story outta Dayton cuz that lad plays with grit and pace. That is exactly what can be found in "Open" tryouts. Gritty young men, that have pace and urban flair. That is what breaks down a back four and that is what sells tickets to a very soccer savvy market like ours in Clutch City. IMHO MLS Draft=No Street Smart Picadilla Boyz
Buzz's mock draft is posted. Carr fits in with the California college player mold and does fill a need. Interesting that Buzz has Houston taking him in the first, I thought there was an okay shot he could slip to Houston's first pick in the third, #30, but maybe not. Nice to see Ballouchy still on the board for Houston if they want to go that direction, probably depends on DeRosario's future status and if Houston even thinks it is a factor.
Here are a couple more mock draft predictions for Houston from MLSnet.com: Marc Connolly: Allen Hopkins:
Carlisle has Houston grabbing Plotkin with a lot of the picks mentioned here (Ballouchy, Sturgis, McCarty) gone. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=355661&root=mls&cc=5901 Personally, with the depth that seems to exist at D in the draft this year, and the loss of Califf, I'd like to see Houston draft one but it sounds like Dom is looking at other areas. I guess he's got a lot of faith in Cochrane.
More good coverage from the Chron Really good piece from Bernardo Fallas in today's Chron: Houston may try to enhance MLS draft spot Bernardo also provides a sidebox with his player rankings.