list of unprotected players

How come the Galaxy only left FOUR players unprotected? Do they only have 16 players on their roster or something?

 

I would only want 2 of the above...but I should explain why. We will be playing the next 2 years (at least) on the fake stuff, so one thing we really need is team speed (ask a Dallas fan about 2003). Therefore, many on your list don't work for me...

So far, I am thinking:

Whitfield - 5 years of experience, and if I remember correctly, a burner. Not much touch.

Testo - young forward from a team that has too many of them. I didn't see him a ton this year, but he can't be that expensive.

Taylor - Again, a young forward from a team with too many. He seemed to get himself into dangerous positions often. Also cheap.

Saragosa - this is the gem for me. I love his bite in the midfield with enough skill to transition the team quickly. Problem, getting him signed. My thought is, break the bank to get him. Skilled d-mids do not grow on trees and this league has a dearth of them; with him we can afford to find a true #10.

Franchino - Speaking of bite...this is the player you love to have on your team and hate to play against. He is also a team leader. Put youth around him, let him lead, and you also get a potent left foot for dead balls. He will be moderately expensive.

Walker - Speed to burn and inexpensive. This would give us 3 young forwards (hopefully with speed) to pair with Mr. Kreis (should the rumors prove to be true).

Ring - Why not? Third year player so not too expensive, but made expendible by Thorton's return to Chi-town. Obviously knows the league and is competent. (If Keller is coming, don't do it)

On my maybe list:

Trembly - I really didn't see enough of him to know about his speed.
Scott - another young forward from columbus. Any good?

With these players, we take care of the outside backs, keeper, and the forwards. We also only get one international, and a TI at that. We can look internationally for a true #10, rt and lt mid, and the center backs. Worse case scenario, we can get Agood for the central D, even though this will not be his best surface. If he has some speed around him, it could work.

comments?

 

If you're looking for a strong outside back, you'd be crazy not to take Alex Zotinca from my Wizards. Frankly most of us at KC were surprised he's not protected. MLS Cup own goal notwithstanding, he's 27, strong, and can also play midfield and get into the attack. I'd be sad to see him gone.

 

Amazing the quality of goalkeepers in this list. I'm almost thinking screw Keller, grab Meola (Walker or Brown), and spend our allocation elsewhere. Keller is great, but if we could get another player almost as great and have a more than serviceable GK, I am for it.

As for the rest:

I'd like to see Selolwane, he impressed me in the fire matches I saw.

We don't want Taylor. I watched enough Wizards games this year to know this. The kid is big and found himself in the right spot a few times, but the Wizards were not exactly an offensive juggernaut and he struggled to find minutes at all.

Besides Nelsen we don't want anyone from DC, unless its strictly from a development standpoint. But I have the feeling Nelsen won't be in MLS next year. No way they woulda left him unprotected otherwise.

Zotinca was a serviceable outside back, but got beaten for speed numerous times on the flank (watch any game vs Beasley or Mapp)

Besides Dipsy, the only other fire player I might take is Countess as a backup (if we grab one of the other goalkeepers early). Colorado didn't provide any help at all, but Colombus offered a couple strikers in Testo and Washington that are interesting. Testo is young, got no minutes and purportedly has a high upside. Washington is old, got Buddle's minutes in the playoffs, and could provide a late game spark. Lagos is also a possibility for a wide midfield spot.

Neither the Galaxy nor Dallas left anybody I would really want.

Rusty Peirce, Carlos LLamosa, and Craig Zaidie could give us some defensive help, but Zaidie is a senior international, which means I'd rather abstain, and probably why NY left him unprotected. I would love to see Vaca in a Real uniform next year, his play is truly underrated in this league. However, I have a feeling that he is predestined for Chivas.

I also wouldn't mind seeing Agoos, Brown or Jamil Walker from the Quakes.

This is going to be some fun for Ellinger. I wish I could be there to see that powow.

 

Two players are retiring --

http://www.ussocceruk.com/news/?CatTypeId=2&ContentId=1999

Plus Saragosa has his rights owned by a Brazilian club. Other clubs are doing similar things to reduce the chance they wil have players taken from them. DC for example has Ernie Stewart (going to Holland) and Ryan Nelsen (going to england). I'm surprised the Quakes didn't put LD on the list for the same reason.

But there is still a lot of quality on there for an expansion draft, some that come to mind:
Jamil Walker
Carlos Llamosa
Jonny Walker
Thiago Martins (he looked good when he wasn't injured and as I remember his wages are next to nothing)
Igor Simutenkov
Toni Nhleko
Erick Scott (never got a chance to prove himself, very young raw talent, might be worth a shot but I think he is still owned by his Costa Rican club so...)
Andy Williams

 

Real should serious consider Jamil Walker, Rusty Piece, and Henry Ring. Those are all players with some upside potential. Ekelund and Agoos don't have much pace, but they are telephatic. More useful skills in the small Spartan field, and less useful on artificial turf at high elevation.

Good luck in the draft and in the next season. RSL could pick up some very strong talent.

 

We are going to have a great team, guaranteed. It's almost impossible for the front office to mess this up, because there are so many good players in that pool. I sure hope that Chivas actually does limit themselves to Latinos, because there aren't all that many in there and only a few are the cream of this nice crop. Seriously guys, this is awesome. I can only count 13 players that I think they should not even cast a glance at picking. We are going to be solid. No wonder the Fire won the Cup in their first season.

RSL, please pick up some of these players:
Andy Williams
Craig Ziadie
Joselito Vaca
Ryan Nelsen (may head to Europe?)
Pablo Brenes
Scott Buete
Tim Regan
Jamil Walker
Brian Kamler
Dipsy Selolwane
Eliseo Quintanilla
Evan Whitfield
Joey DiGimarino
Toni Nhleko
David Testo
Jeff Agoos
Ronnie Ekelund
Alex Zotinca
Joe-Max Moore
Nelson Akwari
Brian Maisonneuve
Igor Simutenkov

Chivas can have de la Torre and Llamosa if they really want them. Of the keepers, we should pick 1 or 2 of these 5 and I will be very confident.
Tony Meola
Jonny Walker
Adin Brown
DJ Countess
Henry Ring

 

I would love to see them give Boucicaut a shot. This guy is small but he's VERY fast. I don't think the Fire ever really gave him enough playing time to see what he could do. He's most likely very cheap too.

 

Nelsen is gone, so picking him would be a waste:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A57427-2004Nov17.html

 

I think Rusty Pierce would be an excellent pick up for a bunch of reasons:

1) These sorts of drafts tend to be low on athleticism because coaches will wait around a little longer for the good athletes.

2) He's till quite young.

3) He's a pretty good player.

Here' who I'd look at:

Rusty Pierce, D.J. Countess, Henry Ring, Evan Whitfield, Nelson Akwari, Philip Salyer, Igor Simutenkov, Kevin Ara, Ezra Hendrickson, Thiago Martins, Troy Perkins, Paul Broome, Jonny Walker, Zach Wells, Jamil Walker.

And then fill in the rest the best you can with youngsters and filling needs.

I think my top choices would be Pierce, Akwari, Salyer, Simutenkov, Wells, Jamil Walker.

 

Damn, he was the best defender in the league.

 

Weird picks man, really weird. I hope your not some advisor to the front office. You're telling me you'd take Zach Wells instead of Adin Brown, Johnny Walker, Tony Meola, Henry Ring, Jon Conway, Troy Perkins, or DJ Countess? That sounds kind of ridiculous my friend.

 

Which also explains why he wasn't protected. We already knew he was gone (we've known for the last three or four months actually).

 

Man, I'm trying to predict the way the draft goes and it's getting really complicated just to figure it out with my own logic much less predicting the front office's logic. First you have to consider the fact that once a team has lost a player to draft, they get to protect another, so you have to guess who they would protect next. You also have to try to figure out if Chivas is going to stick to their Latino guns, which will limit them a lot in this draft if they do. You also have to remember that there is a normal draft coming up, so this draft doesn't have to be focused too much on distribution by position, because they may have their eye on certain draftees to fill certain positions too. It's gonna get crazy.
I have to also say again that we will have a very good looking team after this expansion draft, no matter what.

 

I wonder if we will RSL pick up some players so they can be traded to other teams . . . aka Charlotte Bobcats.

I can't believe everyone on here stating the need to jump on these goalkeepers. Does anyone think that there's a reason that they are unprotected, besides contracts expiring . . . ..

It's easier to find gk because the pool is larger than say for quality midfielders. Don't get hung up on the gk position, that would be the least of the concern.

I also wonder if there will be any other trades for cap relief for teams; oh, all those except the galaxy and metrostars--they seem to have their own cap and can buy players when it sees fit.

 

Brown might not ever play again. Too risky of a pick though he'd be an excellent addition otherwise.

I don't think Meola is leaving KC, he could always retire and you'd have blown a pick.

Walker's hurt and would be a lot of money toward the salary cap, and he frankly played like crap this year.

Among the rest, I think Wells is the best long term player. Was an excellent player at UCLA, good frame. Countess has really struggled, Perkins was never much of a prospect and sort of lucked into some playing time, Conway doesn't do much for me. Ring I think is overrated and doesn't have nearly as much potential as Wells.

Going young in these drafts is usually the way to go. Fire did well with that strategy in 1998.

 

I agree with you. They should use their very last pick on one of those good goalkeepers. No matter what there will be a good one left by then, even with the 3 player limit loss/team and the extra protection after each loss. They shouldn't consider picking two GKs I realize now. Here's what I've come up with:

1. Vaca Chivas MET
2. Williams RSL CHI
3. Brenes Chivas MET
4. Ziadie RSL MET
5. de la Torre Chivas COL
6. Jamil Walker RSL SJ
7. Eliseo Quintanilla Chivas DC
8. Alex Zotinca RSL KC
9. Carlos Llamosa Chivas NE
10. Dipsy Selolwane RSL CHI
11. Arturo Torres Chivas LA
12. Tony Meola RSL KC
13. Manny Lagos Chivas CLB
14. Jeff Agoos RSL SJ
15. Francisco Gomez Chivas KC
16. Scott Buete RSL CHI
17. Marcelo Saragosa Chivas LA
18. Rusty Pierce RSL NE
19. Oscar Pareja Chivas DAL
20. Brian Kamler RSL NE

If I'm RSL however, I would take the 2nd and 3rd best hispanic players as my first 2 picks, because they are the only other really good ones besides Vaca. They should take Brenes and Quintanilla before Chivas gets a chance. Then they can bump Pierce and Kamler out of the picture. I think Chivas will take de la Torre early though, because he's a true Mexicano bad ass.

I also didn't consider the extra protections in this prediction, because it's just too complicated. This is all in hopes that they don't protect the extra players that we want (or at least I want).

PS: This is wishful thinking combined with trying to predict FO's thinking. I wouldn't pick Meola, I'd rather have Countess, Walker, or Ring.

 

Galvan Rey? He was a bust in NYC. (probably heading back to Colombia)
Moore was good when Steve Sampson was good. (ah, the 1990s)
Same w/ Llamosa and Lagos. (Hey, hasn't Lagos played w/ almost every MLS team? Ah, the red card king...)

Here is what I see:
Trembly (Hi, coach)
Meola (if RSL can't work something out w/ Keller, and because Walker will probably head to Chi. if Thornton deal works out)
Williams
Agoos
Selolwane
Washington (Yo, coach)
Behncke (Ay, coach)
DiGiamarino
Llamosa (for his experience, much as I hate to say it)
Whitfield

Trade possibilities:
Kirovski (Hey, coach)
Quaranta (Hello, coach)
Mathis (Park City is not too far away)

Others:
Worthen (Um, coach)
Flores (Yay, coach)

Get the picture? The squad will probably look like the U-17's of yore mixed in w/ a few seasoned vets. That's not a bad thing at all.

 

If I were a betting man, I'd say Chivas takes either Vaca or Brenes, and then the Metros protect the other. That would still leave Ziadie.

I'd take Williams with the first no question. If they don't Chivas will take him and trade him. I think he'd be a huge help to our team, especially playing with Kreis and possibly Mathis. But even if Ellinger doesn't want him, he's worth a big trade. If Chivas decides to get tricky and take him first, we get JE's choice of Brenes or Vaca, both great players who many teams, including Chivas, would be willing to trade for.

It gets real tricky after the first 2 rounds though because of the extra protection. Here's how I look at it:

Team players I want
Fire Williams, either GK
Rapids Daryl Powell, maybe Trembly
Crew Testo
Dallas Pareja
KC Zotinca, Simutenkov
DC Quintinilla
LA Broome, Saragosa
Metros Brenes, Ziadie, Vaca, Walker
Revs Pierce
SJ Walker

We're unlikely to get more than 1 player from any team except the Fire and the Metros. KC is a possibility, if they are dumb enough to protect Preki or Meola over Zotinca/Simutenkov. Actually I would be thrilled of we got both those guys. Williams and Simutenkov are the 2 best SI's in the draft IMO. The first few times I saw Daryl Powell I was very impressed, but then I saw him play a real stinker not too long ago. If he weren't an SI I'd want him without a second thought. As it is, I think we might be better off only taking 2 or 3 SIs and finding 1 or 2 more on our own. Same deal with Pareja, but I doubt we'll have the chance to get him.

The GK question is kind of tricky. If RSL really thinks they're getting Keller, they can just take a real cheap one from the draft. If not, there's not a clearly better choice. Walker has a big salary IIRC ad hasn't really earned it. Then there's a bunch of washed-ups or young guys who aren't starting. If they can't get Keller, go for Ring or Brown. If they can, take Countess.

So here's my prediction/hope (in no particular order)
Williams
Ziadie
Simutenkov
Zotinca
Countess
Broome
Pierce
Walker from SJ
Testo
Sembly

 

Just noticed something on Dallas' stats for the year. Toni Nhleko, who is unprotected, had 6 goals and 2 assists in 1186 minutes. Kreis had 5 goals and 2 assists in 1703 minutes. Anyone think that either Kreis will recommend that RSL picks him because he knows he's good, or maybe he'll recommend that they don't pick him because he won't want to compete with the same forwards as last year for PT?

 

I would take (but this is based on personal preference, probably not the good of the team )
Ekelund
Agoos
Vaca
Galvan-Ray
Lagos
Stewart
Perez
after that, all's good