News: MLS Superdraft / Houston Dynamo

That's too bad.

On the draft, new regime but I still think they go with the "whichever Gen Adidas guy is left" option at #8 to get the salary off the budget. However, with only 5 GA players signed, there might not be any left and I do wonder if we take the keeper if he is the only GA remaining.

 

I've never seen any of these college kids play, but I will pretend to be an expert when the selection is made.

 

I know one thing---If they are playing ball for a college, and not for a club in their twenties, they are behind to begin with, in the sport of football.

 

Leo Stotlz the Mid Fielder from UCLA has gotten a lot of publicity for being the most talented, but not projected to go number one or top 5 mainly because the needs of those teams

 

He actually did not sign with MLS and is in Germany trying to catch on with other teams. Someone will draft him in the 3rd 4th just to hold his rights though.

 

now with our more global reach these drafts will become less important.*

*yes i understand the salary cap and that you need filler, but isn't a guy from CAI or Espanyol more interesting and hopefully less flawed than 4-year NCAA player?

 

If your talking about "world class players", then yes. However, how many of those gas the US produced?? Good serviceable players, quite a few a year come out of the draft. Then, with some luck you get a Cameron, gonzo, Dwyer, etc... If you look at every good team in MLS they have a couple of good draft picks playing for chump change. This is the best way to best the system. To just say these guys suck, they are behind the curve, and screw the draft is throwing away a great opportunity for cheap young players.

Coyle is supposed to have a good eye for young talent. I for one am excited at what we may land from the draft.

 

College draft is where you get value and depth. This is where you get a super sub and if you get lucky you can get a guy that can log some good minutes for the team while costing next to nothing for the next few years.

 

very true BUT for every Geoff Cameron there's 10 ___ ____s. best you can hope for in a draft is a player that can contribute off the bench in years 1-3 then spot start in year 4-?. see: Warren Creavalle. our problem with our bench last year is we were short on Camerons and Creavalles but had a surplus of ____ _____.

international scouting for cheap dates is part of the modern football landscape. look at the # of African players in the Premiership and France in 1990 comared to 2015 or the # of Ecuadorians in La Liga Mx in the same time period.

 

Agreed, but you still need to try and get one player or contributor out of the draft each year to give you some cheap depth. A Sherrod, a Creavealle, etc.

Flaws and all, we did get Sarkodie and Bruin out of the draft.

But in general the draft pool gets weaker every year due to guys trying Europe or Mexico, the foreigners in NCAA soccer going back to their home leagues, and more MLS teams.

Agreed. Some team that doesn't need or can't afford another player on the roster drafts him in case he comes back - although I think those draft rights only last a few years (like we did with Marcus Tracy)

 

yup, yup. i agree.

in the Dom era (and MLS 1.0 - 2.0), the draft was very important.

with looser purse strings and global scouting it becomes less important.

the future is plastics and the Mighty Houston Dynamo Academy.

 

Just because a player is under contract with a foreign team doesn't make him better than somebody in the US system. We may have had our shares of ____ _____ but we've also had some Franco Carracios when trying to bring in foreign players.

The academy will also be important but for every Deric we've also had Ciscos and Salazars.

Not every player has reached their full potential at 18 and a few more years to develop isn't the end of the world. Some guys don't hit their stride until their mid 20's.

At the end of the day every mechanism to add players should be taken seriously. They'll all supply players that can help the team and they'll all supply busts. Turning your nose up at one will only hurt you in the long run.

 

LOL, the present is the Mighty Houston Dynamo Academy. They just seem to be a few years behind their counterparts for a myriad of reasons.

 

You're right. This is MLS, and you have to scout the college players, and attempt to draft who you may want. My opinion of the USA soccer system is not an indictment of the players, but of the system itself. There are good serviceable players like Cameron, and Dwyer in the draft, but they are the exception at this point. If you want to be a footballer, and have the skills, you are at a disadvantage waiting until you are 22-23 to join a pro team to sit on the bench while you develop. Workhorse players (not world class) in England, or Italy like Flanagan, Shelvey, Insigne, Marquinos etc are starting for their clubs in their teens while many American players can barely get a game while in college.

 

I always like the draft. Its fun.

 

Dang. Some of you are still stuck in MLS 2002.

Mark my words. Soon the Greg Garza, Gringo Torres, Jozy Altidore route will be the norm for the better US players not the exception.

You guys are trying to say that I think US players suck, I'm saying the route will be different.

 

The question for MLS - a big one - Is where do you get you guys on the roster from say 8-14 in the most cost effective way? Is it college? academies? Jamaicans who just want to not have their pay checks bounce?

The elite US talent is likely not coming thru MLS unless they change the academy rules and rights to Homegrown players and NCAA rules (BTW Oliver Luck is going to be like the #2 guy at the NCAA) and even then the best players are going to get signed by the foreign squads. That ship sailed long ago

 

Rey, I agree with you in that sense.

I don't have to name all of the great players we have drafted and turned up king for us, but then again the busts have out weighed them by a ton. I am all for the draft until every team gets a youth system going that can teach and train players like clubs all over Europe and South America do. Getting a kid out of college at 21 isn't beneficial to any team. They are already set in a certain style of play or have picked up bad technical habits from someone in the schools coaching staff or else where. I believe the Union have a school like that now and I want that all over. because it ingrains a footballing lifestyle into them and the ones who stay with the club breath the club and know the ends and outs.

 

Yup, yup.

Rafa Marquez left to Monaco at age 20, but by then he had already was a 3 year pro at Atlas with 100 La Liga Mx appearances. By 24, he was starting at Barcelona.

Geoff Cameron arrived a raw CB in Houston at age 22 and four years later was in the Premiership at age 26. He got to Europe a full 6 years later than Marquez did in comparison.

It behooves the US to accelerate the maturation process for their national teamers. Locally it's important to find the Geoff Cameron's and Rafa Marquez's in Houston at age 14-15ish. Beat the habits out of them while they're in the Academy. Promote them at age 18. Have them play USOC/sub minutes ages 18-21 and have a full time starter at age 22 that has spent the last 8 years playing in your formation.

 

Agreed, but it's not just the system. It's the mentality of the average to upper middle class white folks, the usual players involved in the US. Go to school for a degree and soccer is second. Kids with foreign roots see soccer as more of a profession or a way out. The same as most other US sports, over seas soccer is a blue collar sport.

I'm sure with the shift in popularity that will change. Also, academies with school curriculum and daily training would go a long way to changing perception of the soccer as a viable profession.

My whole original point was take advantage all systems at your disposal to add players. I do agree the draft is get less and less relevant as time goes on, but I enjoy it.

Always great conversations and opinions on big soccer. Love it !!!

 

If that your opinion then I would BEHOOVE(Sorry Rey lol) us to target low income unprivileged(poor) White,Black and Hispanic children. Most find college out of the question due to the "system" or financial constraints. Having an academy that will nurture these talents at young age will only grow US talent. We lose prospects to European(Green, Zelalem, Subotic) Central American(Najar, countless to Mexico), and South America(Fegundez) and have struggle to lure them back the national team. Subotic being our biggest fail to date. Getting them ingrained our culture of play can help keep them here, but no for sure things with that either.

 

Not everyone likes BigSoccer ya' know. Many Dynamo fans and former posters on twitter like to mock it - of course these are also mostly overly optimistic liberals