Ya' gotta love it anytime you can paraphrase the great philosopher John Riggins. I'm not actually burned, though I am as tan as I ever have been in my life. I'm not actually broke, either, but I have managed to spend a hell of a lot more money than I thought I would being on a boat for so long. And, I'm not actually back, as in home. but my wife got a little tired of sleeping in a hatch or under the stars on the deck of our boat, so we (well, she) decided to check into a swanky hotel for the final couple of nights of our trip. So, greetings from the boyhood home of David Regis, the island of Martinique. We've had a great trip and I'm looking forward to being on land for a couple of days before we go back home. But, I'm also enjoying having some modern ammenities like a freezer, TV and the Internet. So, after a dinner at a nice restaurant here, my wife is sacked out and I decided to check on e-mails and try and get caught up on the world of soccer. It doesn't look like I missed that much other than the big DCU trades, which thankfully makes this relevant to the topic of the boards since they traded Justin Mapp. I'll comment on this elsewhere but it sure seems like a head-scratching move in what has been a very strange saga for what is supposed to be a very talented young player. I thought United screwed up last year when they took Mapp over Martino and Gray, among others, since those 2 could contribute right away and MLS is, if nothing else, a win-now league and teams that have missed the playoffs 2 straight years don't have the luxury of waitng on players to develop. But, once they took him, I accepted the party line about developing him and how he'll be so good, and yada, yada. But to then turn around and trade him seems awfully strange, like they just gave up, especially since reports from the P40 Euro tour were that he played quite well. That said, I think United getting Kovalenko is a good move as DCU has had a bunch of wusses and guys who have accepted too much losing the past couple of years and Kovalenko will bring a 'tude along with more skill than most DC fans realize and a hell of a lot of versatility. And, he's just 25. Back to Mapp. For an 18-year old left mid to get traded to a team that has a 20-year old LM who is a World Cup veteran, well, I just don't see where that's gonna help his chances for getting the regular playing time he so desperately needs. The big winner in this deal seems to be Boro Sucevic, the coach of the Milwaukee Rampage, who would appear to be in-line to get a talented young player made available to them from the Fire. Here's hoping it works out for the best, though I'm a bit skeptical. What else have I missed? Besides Eskandarian, what other underclassmen are leaving early? Has the Karabassiyon kid accepted the Arsenal offer? What about the Spector kid and ManU? Whatever happened with that mysterious Welsh kid that Chris Bergin was pimping? Does Freddy have US citizenship yet? Have any new U-whatever youth national team rosters been announced recently? And, have any other youth national teamers been on the trade block of late? Look forward to hearing the answers. It's good to be back and I'll try to log-on a couple more times before we leave for home Wednesday afternoon. Hope everyone had a safe ane enjoyable holiday and Happy New Year?
Sandon, Beas is going to be gone with the nats to the Confederations Cup and also to the Gold Cup. I've heard from sources that he's got at best two more MLS seasons left anyways. Karbassiyoon(sp) is waiting to graduate high school first. No new news on Spector, supposedly MLS has come back with a very competitive offer that is delaying the ManUre deal. Rumors abound about Lewis, Clark, Cochrane, Marshall, Jason Thompson, and Stokes turning pro. I'm hoping to hear that Grabavoy, Klaas, Pause, Wingert, Gregorio and a few others are on the cusp.
welcome back sandon. i also think that mapp will get quite a bit of playing time in chicago - if he practices hard. the knock on him in dc, it turns out, was that he was too much of an easygoing practice player, which annoyed hudson no end. mapp is going to have to go to great lengths to change that rep.
U-18 NT Roster for Chula Vista Camp in January. Goalkeepers (2): Ryan Burke (Southern Maine Premier), Andrew Kartunen, (Irvine Strikers); Defenders (8): Sam Brill (FC Greater Boston Bolts), Greg Dalby (San Diego Surf), Hunter Freeman (University of Virginia), William Hall (Eastmeadow Hawks), Adbul Kargbo (D.C. United U-18s), Patrick Phelan (Oakwood SC), Kareem Smith (Beaver Country Day H.S.), Michael Zaher (Premiere 86); Midfielders (7): Craig Capano (Chicago Fire – MLS), Isaac Collings (Syracuse Blitz Blizzard), Paul Johnson (University of Virginia), Peter Lowry (Irvine Strikers), David Roman (Pittsgrove Phantoms), Danny Vasquez (Miami, Fla.), Joe Vide (University of Virginia); Forwards (5): Arturo Alvarez (Bear Creek United), Chad Barrett (West Side Metro Rangers), Adam Cristman (Richmond Strikers), Danny Karbassiyoon (Roanoke Stars), Nate Norman (Vardar III).
davide, thanks for the info. It certainly seems like a conflict of interest for Big Game George to call in some 84s for the U18 team who just happen to play for him at UVa. I mean, I can see calling a few 84s up who haven't gotten a look from Rongen and had good college or HS/club performances to warrant a callup like Danny Karabassyon. But, to call up a couple of guys who were only part-time starters on an average college team like Vide and Paul Johnson seems to be a little too cozy. And, I say this as dyed in the wool Wahoo.
That's the consensus thought, but also, Mapp can play central attacking midfielder or right winger. So he's a potential candidate to groom for the future in the center by playing either wing. While I definitely see his future as a left winger, his dribbling skills alone merit consideration in the center. Combined with his physical size and strength on the ball, and he can contribute some minutes there even next season, though it's not his best position. As for Mapp playing right wing, it's quite possible, as he likes to drift inside a lot anyway. If Sarachan does as I expect him to do, he'll keep his wing midfielders fairly central and use his fullbacks for width from box to box. I expect a 442 with one true Dmid. I've heard many things, but I'll leave it at that for now. -Tron
Re: Re: I'm burned, I'm broke and I'm back... With respect to the thread below discussing how ODP sometimes misses players, Sam Brill has a similar story. He tried out for the MA ODP '85 team 3 times (U-13 through U-15) and never made it. Finally, last year he decided to not try out again. It turns out the team was short defenders so a couple of his friends on the team said he should contact the coach. He did and was added as a "walk-on". He went to regional camp, got picked in the pool and is now on the National team. I guess this story may be a little inspirational for those late bloomers out there but it also says something about the state's ability to select players when they were turning down a National caliber player all these years. Sam is big and fast and has very good ball skills for a big guy. From what I've seen, his best position is dmid but could play central d as well. He will be going to BC next year. PS - Brill's club team FC Greater Boston won the U-17 group at Disney Showcase last week.
84's at 85 camp The 84 keeper, Burke is a UVA signee who didn't impress with Region 1 84's. Yet due to his signing with UVA, he gets 50% of the playing time at the 85 camp. There had to be another 85 keeper in the USA who could have gone to CA. 5 spots at 85 camp were taken by 84's. Who approves the coaches' choices?