Can't remember when. Protect Spenny, he'll retire and we'll get an allocation. Dump Powell and Zizi. First things first get a new coach so these decisions can be made by someone competent to make them.
I'm surprised no one found this article yet today. From the Post In it Counce gives Hanki and the staff his backing: It also talks about how Hanki is scouting players via the internet and setting up off-season scouting trips. This gives the apearance of his contract being re-signed.
I read this ... what complete BULLSHAT!!! I get the feeling that Counce is now in the mode of trying to save his job ... he sounds just like Hankison. They both need to be fired. Excuses for where we are now are complete crap.
Let's forget that the team signed players who were already injured. Just what excuse does this twit have in mind when he claims this team had "no forwards?" Throughout the course of the year the Rapids had FIVE pure forwards on the roster: Spenny, Pedro, ZiZi, Delgado, Rey-Rey. Well, referring to the last two as "forwards" may be pushing it, but Counce makes it sound like the team has no responsibility in getting them. Sounds a little like picking up the clap and blaming the crack whore you slept with for not being clean.
Nor the post-2003 disappearances of forwards Alex Blake and Casey Schmidt, both of whom in retrospect seemed more capable than either Delgado or Rey-Rey. At worst they were even. But since you bring up more details, a full analogy is warranted. 1. During the 03-04 offseason, the Rapids meet a Caribbean crack whore who promises them an explosion of finishing. 2. Feeling invulnerable, the Rapids decide to toss aside their condom, thinking that it's reliability is trumped by it's pain-in-the-ass factor. And thus Carrieri is sent to the curb. 3. Realizing too late what all HBO viewers know about crack whores -- that you get what you pay for -- the Rapids return home from the crack whore with Pedro Peguerro in tow and a burning sensation down below. 4. A few weeks into the season, the Rapids run into some INS trouble when their welfare baby, Zizi Roberts, returns from Liberia with an aggravated injujry. 5. The disease spreads rapidly as Pedro becomes injured as well. 6. The pain from the Clap becomes so intense that the Rapids resort to using defender Gary Sullivan as a forward. 7. The Rapids return to the crack whore to complain about picking up the clap. This time the crack whore promises them an Angel, and the Rapids return to Colorado with Rey-Rey in tow... And his so-called brother, Alberto "don't call me" Delgado. 8. Within mintues, Rey-Rey and Delgago are both diganosed with a strange illness. Turns out that the reason they're injured is because they were born with a hereditary anomaly, a part of their DNA that prevents them from ever being fully healthy. The Rapids learn that the broken bones in Rey-Rey's feet will never heal, just as Delgado's retardation will never go away. 9. Spencer too falls victim to this strange contagion, and after playing alongside Delgado picks up an injury that rules him out for the remainder of the season. 10. Ultimately, the Rapids point back to that fateful night and an evil crack whore as the source of their woe. 11. Guvnah Charlie shoves some penicillin into Hankinson and Counce, gives them a new lease on life and advises them to be more careful. Not wanting to risk physical contact, the two begin searching on the Internet for new players. MORAL OF THE STORY If you're going to get players from a whore, at least do it in Amsterdam or Rio de Janeiro.
Wow Greenie, you have out done yourself. This might be the best post of the year right here. It should be framed. Do you mind if I quote you?
Just a couple of thoughts: Hanki just can't stay. I love soccer and my life ebbs and flows weekly on what happens with the Rapids. That being said, I won't renew my season tickets if they give us more of that garbage about Hanki doing well with what he had. He had what he had because He and Duddy Dan chose the players. Either that, or the league intervened secretly and decided to give us no offense. That IS a possibility. In regards to ZiZi, I gave up on him the day I saw him driving away from practice in a black Lexus with tinted windows, and a license plate that said ZiZi 1. I have to think that such behavior cannot inspire comraderie with your team when your car costs more than 2 or 3 of the players make in a year, and yet you can't find time to play or even make an appearance. No one would leave the EPL and come to the MLS unless they were slowed by injury or age. I don't begrudge them for coming, I think Spenny was the best leader the team has ever had, but to expect someone in that situation to come over and be your team leader physically and emotionally is unrealistic. If they thought that ZiZi or Powell were going to do that, then I will sell them my condo for 3 mill, it would be a great deal!!! even without a garage. I think the benefit of the doubt must be given to some of our younger players. Crawford and Nat were excellent. Beckerman is slow and still passes too often to ghosts. DLT has really great skills, but his super lack of speed and poor marking skills make him a liability. He probably fits in great with Chivas. Mark and Chris are the prototypic team guys, always hustling. While I have the greatest admiration for them, they did not have productive years. That being said, I think we must go back to what all of us know, under the Hanki\Counce regime, there couldn't have been great team confidence. I think back to the day on the hill at DU before the season started, when I heard friends of players telling me that there was little professional respect for Hanki as a coach, not as a person, he is a good guy, just as a coach. Hearing that before the season began, it is a miracle we did so well. That miracle was Joe Cannon. By the way, that was the day Carrieri was released. Not a good day for the Rapids. Having seen his inability to get along with his other team this season, I wouldn't necessarily expect him to have been a world beater for us, but we didn't try, and we didn't get anything for him. That is not good leadership!! Please clean house and start over KSE!!!!!
yeah Counce supporting Hanki is disturbing. It really seems like they are circling the wagons. First Hanki comes out and says Blah, Blah, Blah, no players, but we played hard. Then his buddy Counce comes out witht he same thing. Both trying to show what a good job they did under the circumstances, but they created the circumstances. How dumb do they think we all are? How dumb will KSE be if it takes this line and believes it. I love this team but supporting them next year is going to be very difficult without some major changes.
They both need to go. Counce might have been a good player but his instincts with players stink. You're right, Hanki's his boy for some reason and he can't fire him. Wright needs to can the two of them.
Awesome post Greenie. Same to you Smudgey. And before we give up on a player like Beckerman, I think we need to see him under a new gaffer first. Being unsettled and instructed to play sucky cannot inspire good play or teach good lessons. Let's see what he has under a new coach first.
GREENIE : What are your thoughts on this strategy ? Protect the following twelve, add 2 new SI's (attacking mid & physical forward), a GK from the A-League (backup for Cannon), along with the players we pick in the draft. Nat Borchers Joe Cannon Mark Chung Jordan Cila Matt Crawford Michael Erush Chris Henderson Ritchie Kotschau Ricky Lewis Pablo Mastroeni Jean Philippe Peguero Gary Sullivan
I don't think we need to add an A-league keeper. Both Vallow and Foss are strong keepers who I am excited to see develop. If we're going to raid the A-league it should be for a forward and midfielder. Maybe a defender to make sure we stay strong back there. Lewis is P-40. I'm not exactly sure when they will 'graduate' and if they will be automatically protected in this waiver draft. With his play in the LA game, and what LA fans say, maybe we leave him unprotected and see if anyone takes him. If ofcourse he isn't already protected from p-40 status.
I don't see any reason to keep Erush or Sullivan, at least not so long as Hankinson is staying at the helm. He never plays Erush (although I think he's shown well in training, better than many who have gotten minutes ahead of him) and Sullivan has never been used in defense, his actual position -- only on offense, where despite coming "so close every time he's on the field" (Hanki's words) he's never scored nor set up a goal. Lewis is fine to keep, so long as he's not a projected full-time starter for this team in 2005. We already have a backup from the A-League for Cannon: his name is Scott Vallow and he's been with the team for 2 years. That said, I've always argued that your 2nd and 3rd goalkeepers don't need to amount to much when you have a premier keeper in front of them -- and if Cannon does miss games due to callups or injury, then you've got two hungry kids wanting to impress. See what DC had this season. I'd like to see the Rapids protect DLT so they can trade him to Chivas, who will likely be willing to give up a decent draft pick (or expansion pick, for that matter) in exchange. It's not easy to get a kid out of the draft with Mexican heritage. Otherwise, I think what the Rapids severely need is three quality players in addition to your list: 2 forwards and an attacking midfielder. I'd like to see Hendo and Chung (if he's interested enough) return for 2005 but only if they play on the wings -- neither is any good up the middle of the park. Whether they are SIs or whatever doesn't matter.
I hope that KSE is watching the playoffs minus us. Tonight I watched Kansas City dominate LA even though they are missing key players. How did they do it? With great coaching and an excellent system that the players believe in. Colorado is the antithesis of KC. We have a mediocre coach\general manager and a system that no one on the team believed in from before the season started. I am not so sure that tonight we would not have been watching the Rapids in the Western Conference finals if KSE would have cleaned house at the beginning and brought in a coach that inspired the players to play, instead of inspiring them to be injured. I am usually that mild mannered reporter from the Daily Planet, but I am mildly hot when I read Tim and DC kissing each other's lower lower backs and saying everything will be alright if everybody has a good night's sleep and we get up smiling. Come on! At least we have a chance to clean house and start fresh. Please KSE, make this an off season that fans can get excited about for the first time since Mooch bought Dr. Hankinson's book on offensive soccer for fun and profit, Bunker Ball and the 21st Century, or was that, 19th Century. Please do something!!!!
I want to point out, the man of the match for the Wiz last night was Davy Arnaud, the 5th round pick of the Wiz in 2002. The Rapids need to keep their drafted guys around to see what they develop into, they might become the key to a win in the conference finals. Bringing them into camp just to cut them later in the season in exchange for a lame duck Cuban is silly. These guys need more than 6 months to evaluate their development. My rant is over.
I totally agree, Bonji. Considering that Hankinson and Counce didn't seem to be threatened job wise even in the worst of times, it didn't make much sense to get rid of young players too soon. I get very tired of hearing of players we have let go making an impact somewhere else. While we often talk about Carrieri, I have strong feelings about Steven Herdsman. He is a great guy with a great attitude, an attitude that was crushed in his time here at Colorado. He went somehwere else and began to bloom. At the very least, we could have certainly used his speed. Even the young guys that have stayed haven't always gotten a fair shake. Hanki almost killed Crawford by throwing him to the wolves against Beasley in his first start. I really bear no ill will towards Tim or Dan, since I know neither of them personally. I just feel strongly that if KSE really wants to have an admirable club here, and I am assuming that they do considering the stadium project, they need to start over. Many gave them the opportunity to wait until the season was over to learn the ropes and get ready to move forward. Now we will see what they are really made of. Wouldn't it be awesome to move into the new facility with a team everyone could be proud of!!!
I'm going to get a heart attack here," Storm coach Frank Klopas said. "Chris can't hide anything. What you see is what he's all about. He's a competitor, a winner." It was the second match in a row in which Carrieri was responsible for late heroics. In Friday's 9-8 overtime win at Milwaukee, Carrieri tied up the game with 10 seconds left on a bicycle kick from the top of the circle. This is the same intensity he brought to Colorado..The problem was Hanki couldn't find a way to keep him on the bench - because he HAD to play the SI's like Zizi and Peguero and high $$$ players even though they don't produce or haven't produced the same numbers CC did in CO. So Hamki would look like a fool--so instead he waive him so he doesn't have to face the injustice
I found this on the 3rd Degree site: Expansion Draft is Nov 19, 3 PM CT is on ESPNEWS. Anyone else heard that it is going to be televised?