After watching Kante play against Chicago last night, I'm just reminded of what might have been. I know Hudson and Kasper took a lot of grief for drafting him. It turns out he just might be the defender in the draft with the biggest up side (granted, Gray showed well for Chicago earlier in the season and Gbandi has yet to get on the field). Big, physical presence, good technical ability, quick, fine range--the question now isn't why he was drafted in the first round but why other teams didn't choose him earlier. What a shame Kante and DCU couldn't come to terms. He'd have been a fine addition to the team. Imagine a backline of Pope, Reyes and Kante--how fast they'd be, the ground they'd cover, how difficult to beat in the air. Geez--what a force that would have been. Oh well.
Yes he did look good as did the Revs in general. I wonder if other teams new that he wanted to stay in chool to finish his degree and had his eyes on a potential move to Europe, which I think were 2 of the reasons he didn't come to terms with DC, the last being the offered salary was low. If these were known issues then it makes sense why other teams didn't pick him. Chicago was limited to 1 shot on goal !! I hope Ray rates Twellman now, that kid has had an incredible season. Also it's nice to see that Nicols has finally got the team performing and playing together. The Revs are the darkhorse fo MLS Cup.
sigh Seems like everything is roses for the Revs right now. Amazing how they can just whip the Fire like they did last night. Destiny? Will they be the team that gets to beat the Gals?
Kante looked very strong last night, as did NE in general. Good luck to them on the naperville postage stamp.
Yeah, Kante was a rock. He saved the Revs time and again. We can't fault Ray's selection of him (though I used to, but I was wrong). It's just unfortunate that DC United couldn't get the cash together to get him to sign.
I'm not so sure about this. Shouldn't Ray or Kasper done some more homework and talked with the player about being drafted by the team? Find out salary requirements, was he going to stay in school, what were the offers from Europe like? Maybe they find out that he wanted to stay in school and finish his degree before joining any team, that the offers from Europe weren't very serious and just what kind of money it would take to get him to sign. Then they can make a more informed decision about whether or not to draft him in the first round as they did, or maybe wait a round or two and see if he's still available. We can't fault Ray on drafting him based purely on talent, but we can still criticize the pick since it seems they didn't do the homework that needed to be done.
You know what, I've seen this all season...the pining for Kante... Since he never played for DC United nor apparently wanted to play for DC United - I don't care about the wanker. Why wanker? Because he plays for New England Revolution! A divisional rival that did what DC United couldn't do - make a run for the playoffs! I hate him and while personally I don't wish him any will. I hope he scores many many own goals! Screw him and his team! Another word about him is too much! *Feel free to continue this discussion but I personally think there is a limit to talking about players that are only remotely related to DC United. Even Hayes and Burke spent more time here at United and I don't want to talk about them anymore either!*
Or even better? I love Pope, but we could have unloaded his salary and still played a three man back line with Kante. I know, I know... blasphemy... Pope is the best but we need some people to score.
Perhaps the point is that Hudson's preference is for experienced players. He seems to think that the only way to improve the team is to bring in proven players. In addition, he seems to have difficulty evaluating and valuing potential. A coach with an eye for the long term might have valued Kante higher and been willing to pay more, take more of an interest, and so on. These are not minor failings in MLS where the most likely source of high quality players is the draft. You may have to wait a season or two for drafted players to reach their potential, but, in the long run, they could be better than anyone you can get from overseas.
I think they knew he was a gamble when they drafted him. The same was true about Armstrong and Beach. One we eventually signed, the other we didn't. The order you're drafted is certainly dependent on whether you've signed a contract with the league.
It would have been good to have the kid. But defense isn't really where we needed the most help. It would have been even better if we could have gotten something out of the Revolution in trade for the guy rather than just releasing him and watching them get him for free.