The only thing that kind of surprises me is the choice in goal. They couldn't keep 2 real starters. But to choose Thornton over Ring after naming Ring MVP a month ago kind of threw me. Of course, just because players are unprotected doesn't mean they'll get picked up. Could it be that Ring wants to go? Could it be they worked a trade deal with one of the expansion teams and some other existing team that will be executed on Friday? Is that even legal? These are the questions we answer on As The Soccer Ball Spins.
One would hope. And man, how would it feel to be one of the unprotected players who was NOT chosen in the expansion draft and THEN let go by your current team.
I'm guessing that RSL will select Countess and then Chicago will protect Ring. Smart move to protect a player (Thornton) with trade value.
I had a sneaking suspicion that Zach was goinig to be held on to. The real question is do the Fire actually keep him? Could Wilt be driving up his trade value? The surprises, at least to me, are Williams and Boucicout. Williams is a risk because of his hot-cold playing, but with a green card, maybe he's worth the risk. Does this signify that the Fire might have an attacking midfielder lined up? Boucicout...well, I guess he doesn't surprise me all that much. Whitfield...he'll get picked up. I can see Chivas taking Perez at the end (please God let them).
The only big suprise to me is leaving Williams unprotected. We knew it would be either or on Zach and Henry. Could have gone either way.
Let's hope so. It will be nice to play against him, because that means he'll finally successfully pass the ball to a Fire player.
I was pretty close...Kelly Gray over Williams surprised me -- but with Whitfield unprotected, keeping another guy who can play both D and M might be smart -- and I admitted it was a tossup between Pause and Beute, I just guessed wrong. EDIT: And I had Jaqua off, but Capano as unprotected, so that could be a wash, too. Later, COZ
I am shocked about the gk decision. I really thought we would protect them both and to basically say ZT has the job a month after Henry wins team MVP...well it's a very bold move. I dont really disagree with it. But it's bold. The full roster -- PROTECTED MF Chris Armas DF C.J. Brown DF Jim Curtin DF/MF Kelly Gray FW Andy Herron SI FW/MF Nate Jaqua MF Justin Mapp MF Jesse Marsch MF/DF Logan Pause FW Damani Ralph SI FW Ante Razov GK Zach Thornton AUTOPROTECTED MF Craig Capano P40 DF Denny Clanton DV DF Leonard Griffin DV GK Matt Pickens DV UNPROTECTED MF Alexandre Boucicaut TI MF Scott Buete GK D.J. Countess MF/DF Orlando Perez GK Henry Ring FW Dipsy Selolwane SI DF/MF Evan Whitfield MF Andy Williams SI
So assuming DJ or Henry goes first, who do we protect next? I'd think Williams or Bucky, but who knows. I could also see protecting the remaining keeper if the Zach trade is still a possibility, but PWs comments suggest Zach's our guy for 05.
Metro sacrificed any trade leverage they have by not protecting either keeper, so I think we pull back Ring if Countess gets picked, and vice versa. If Walker doesn't get picked, he's not going to be a happy camper. Williams is probably expendable if Aja comes through (yes, I'm going to keep going with the Steely Dan joke, even though nobody thought it was funny), so it's almost got to be Bucky, because he can contest Jaqua to start at right mid and spell Mapp at left. Later, COZ
Gawd I hope so. If we had to have a crappy season, at least we have an uber-active offseason to get us Fired up again...
I don't think that is a safe assumption. The word out of both RSL and Chivas is that they already have Keepers in mind.
Sawyer from UND is graduating, I believe. Also.......maybe native son Brad Guzan is ready to go pro? Either one would be a nice fit.
Based upon nothing, I predict Ring and Armas get traded to NY for Pope and Clark after Walker and Countess get taken in the expansion draft.
I wouldn't expect Chivas or RSL to make GK selections early, especially with so many GK's out there. So I'd expect Williams to go if they want central midfield skills (which are more rare among the unprotected) and are willing to take the salary hit. Otherwise, I'd see Buete going first as a high-potential player. In either case, I'd protect the other when the first one goes. Then just project a keeper after the first one goes. The GK game is really interesting. Both Ring and Countess will have some trade value if we keep them. Since it seems Ring's value would be greater, you'd expect them to take him, even if they have to trade him away later on. If RSL want Countess, we'd probably trade him for Ring and give a little with it. then we complete the Metro trade. Alternatively, Chivas could trade Ring to Metro for Walker after the fact, and get a little with that. Everyone seems to think that Walker will eventually get to Chivas and Countess eventually to RSL. Then you're left with Ring or even Thornton getting to Metro. The strategizing among the four GM's will dictate who gets that little bit extra on the side through all the positioning. Go Peter!
At moments like these, do you think we should expect full independence among the AEG teams, or maybe a little collusion?
At this point I think Peter probably had to bargain to get one of his GKs taken with all the talent out there. Thats my best guess as to why Williams is unprotected. I personally think Williams should go, but based on the lack of CM players with any sort of pedigree out there I'd think Williams would have had a market, especially if Dallas could get something for a declining Kreis. My hypothesis is something like "We'll leave Williams unprotected if you promise to take Countess". Ring/Thorton will be easy to dump, and we might even be able to get a little bit of value in return (although I think the Clark/Pope trade is wishful thinking). There are simply a ton of quality keepers unprotected: Countess, Ring, Meola, Garlick, Brown, and Walker to name a few. I think the Fire had to make a concession to get one of them off our hands, because there is NO way we could handle the salary of all three of them going into next season. I guess we'll see, but it seems we needed to dump some salary (don't we always) and this looks like an effective way of doing so.
This is an ongoing theme on BigSoccer: Confusing "highly regarded" with "highly accomplished." Confusing a player's press clippings for his actualized value on the pitch. Countess has accomplished more on paper than he has on the pitch. Until he can beat out a career backup for a spot, let's reserve the "quality keeper" line for those who have, you know, earned the moniker (sp.) somewhat... I have resolved to work with the terminally dumb here on BS to help cure them of their worship of the infinitely ordinary. [Convey, et al] Alas, I fear my work will be in vain, and The Church of The Golden God will be filled by the worshipper of the mediocre.
article about all teams unprotected players http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20041117&content_id=19274&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
As I understand it, after each player taken off our list, we get to pull another back and protect them - yes? So two questions - If Ring isn't taken, why would we pull him back off the list? I read that his contract is up, and assuming he wants first-eleven money, he will either be an unattractive trade bait ($$$) or an albatross on our bench. Why would an interested club waste a draft pick to take Perez if he's almost certain to be kicked to the curb at the end of the shuffle anyway? I could see Chivas taking the gamble that he'll be "available" when the dust clears. - actually less of a gamble than starting him in defense IMHO. ...please correct me if I have the concept and mechanics of this thing all wrong.
I agree that GK's are too plentiful. Still, that will put pressure on Ring to sign at a reasonable salary or take is business elsewhere. Unless you feel that three better keepers are coming into the league, or stepping out from back-up spots AND that Ring was the worst of the starters, it seems he should be one of the starting GK's in the league next year. Apparently Zach is one stepping in. Perhaps Chivas will bring in a Mexican. Keller is a vague rumor. Still, I think Ring is above other starters in the league so he should get the job as long as he doesn't demand money beyond his value. Yes, he could go to the A-league. Honestly, is Bo/Meola better?, Rimando? You could go with "don't spend money on GK, as it's clearly not needed to get to the CUP." But I'd sooner expect the market dynamic to kick-in and the league to get increasingly stingey with GK salaries. Henry's timing may make him the leading example. I think a bigger problem for the Fire is what happens if we can't get rid of Countess. I'm praying they take him, as I don't think we can unload him at all. For that reason, we may protect Ring if we lose two players before either GK is taken. Seems to me that Buete, Whitfield and Williams all have potential to go before either GK. We'll protect one of those three when the first is taken.
Given the opportunity, I'd pull them back off the list in this order: Andy Williams Alex Boucicaut Scott Buete Henry Ring Dipsy Selolwane Evan Whitfield D.J. Countess Sparky Orlando Perez