I don't think it is bad for him to get settled with the team and get a feel for what mls play is like. It also lets them set a fitness regime to follow.
I believe the Irish international we were linked to last week was McClean (now headed to RBNY?), but I think this Stokes rumor falls firmly under the same category of "UK press sees MLS teams sign one Irish international, now believes all Irish internationals linked to MLS team". Welcome to silly season.
Though with Doyle, Stokes, O'Neill, and possibly McClean we could have one hell of a Irish Heritage Night.
Stokes has never passed up a night on the town. He's well known and has been very visible in the Glasgow club scene. There have been more than a few run ins because of his alleged love of the night life. It's rubbed supporters, managers, and teammates alike as many feel it's contributed to him never hitting full potential. However, make no bones about it, when's he's interested, when he's engaged, Stoke is an exciting and talented player. He's more comfortable up top, running off a #9 but has been deployed wide left for the past year. The acquisition and emergence of Leigh Griffiths pushed him wide. I have no earthy idea if there are legs to this rumor but acquiring Stokes comes with the understanding that he can be a little bit of a troublemaker off the pitch. Still, a MLS caliber player with butt loads of European experience. Stokes could be a useful addition to numerous MLS clubs but where he'd fit in with the Rapids given the two recent acquisitions of Doyle and Solignac is anyone's guess.
Spoke a bit with Pádraig Smith at the Doyle event this evening. He stated that Doyle's movement is unlike what teams in the MLS are used to seeing. (I assume this means his movement off the ball.) Additionally, he believes Doyle will win a lot off balls in the air. In a related note, he says the Rapids won't sign a player unless they've seen him play in matches as well as how they practice. He's very easygoing and pleasant to talk with.
I think he's "available" in that he's registered, ITC in hand, added to the roster, etc. I doubt we'll see him start at altitude but I wouldn't be shocked if he takes Eloundou's spot on the bench.
According to my conversation with Richard Fleming last night, the answer is yes. I would be surprised if he's not in the 18. I do think it's a safe bet that he probably will not play 90 minutes in his first outing though.
Personally I'm looking forward to a forward (or 2) who understand off the ball movement. Ability to control the ball and distribute and participate with combination passing with his teammates.
So this is not to knock the signings we've made but reading this article: http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/artic...national-scouting-pays-capture-new-dp-kevin-d Makes me wonder what happened to that "building Arsenal relationship" Hinchey was so excited to talk about last fall. One of the big things he mentioned was having access to all their scouting resources. Yet it seems that our signings are coming from the work Lopez and Smith are doing, not from Arsenal's scouting network. (Of course one of the other big things Arsenal was doing was hosting Pablo to work with Wenger, something that didn't actually end up happening)
A naysayer on the Doyle signing - from Pro Soccer Talk, written by Nicolas Mendola. http://prosoccertalk.nbcsports.com/...the-next-mls-star-or-a-dicey-big-dollar-risk/ Basically his argument is that in recent seasons in England, Doyle hadn't proven a consistent ability to score and thus he's not going to be a consistent goal scorer for the Rapids.
Yeah, I think that's a fair concern. My expectations are pretty modest. I'm hoping finally having a true professional forward on the field will be the key top unlocking the offense.
My favorite part of the article, is when Hinchey says we all have our roledex open...Haha. Would love to see what's inside Tim's roledex...
This has been making the rounds on Twitter today: 601067479780225024 is not a valid tweet id Some of the people I follow have been foaming at the mouth about how "we the fans deserve better" and that "the Rapids should be embarrassed"... blah, blah, blah. I have plenty of complaints about the Rapids and the Front Office, but I just don't see why this particular piece of information is getting people riled up. I think if anything this shows that you don't have to spend a lot of money to be a successful team. The teams immediately above the Rapids, who have spent only $600k to $800k more than us*, are all teams that I admire in terms of their on and off the field success (and painfully, that includes FSL). Simply throwing money around doesn't guarantee success (look at TFC). It's much more important in MLS to have a smart FO that makes quality acquisitions and knows how to build a roster. Anyway, that's my rant for the day regarding some of the dummies I follow on Twitter. *It's unclear if these numbers even include Doyle's salary, meaning we could be even closer in payroll to DC, SKC, FSL, etc.
Toronto, Chicago, the Union, NYCFC and Impact should be embarrassed, the Rapids have the same amount of points (or better) at a fraction of the cost.
I'm a little concerned about being in last place when our holes (striker, right back) are so obvious. But I don't think we need to be where Seattle is either. If this doesn't include Doyle and Doyle + Solignac fixes our striker issue then its hard to get upset about this. If we're in last place and we still have those holes though, its a good indicator of the FO (and KSE) just not giving a damn.
When your owner is a multi-billionaire that list is a giant middle finger to the whole (sucker) fanbase. The fact that it doesn't "guarantee" championships is no reason not to give it a go if for no other reason than to give the fans something exciting to watch every game. Lots of upside. IMHO <endofrant>
The comparison with Sporting Kansas City is interesting. Similarities: Average age of roster players: Colorado 25.7, Sporting Kansas City 25.6* Current average player salary: Colorado $128,571, Sporting Kansas City $162,963* Both teams play in small to mid-size markets. Both teams compete for revenue with older and better established professional teams in other sports. Both are founding teams, and Colorado has played 604 games all-time, Sporting Kansas City 605. Each team has had changes of ownership through the years. Each team has won the MLS Cup in relatively recent years. *Note: Colorado shows 28 players on the roster, Sporting Kansas City 27. Figures reflect the roster differences. Despite these similarities, look at the key differences: Counting shootout era wins and losses, here are the all-time records to date: Colorado Record: 226-257-122 Scoring: 805 GF, 892 GA Standings: one 4th place finish Hardware: 1 MLS Cup, 0 Supporters Shields, 0 US Open Cups Sporting Kansas City Record: 246-231-128 Scoring: 845 GF, 819 GA Standings: one 1st place, four 2nd place, one 4th place Hardward: 2 MLS Cups, 1 Supporters Shield, 2 US Open Cups The differences can't adequately be explained by money, location, or length of history. That leaves three key variables over time: ownership, coaching, and talent. Selection of coaches and scouting and developing talent ultimately trace to ownership or people hired by ownership.
I agree that KC, and to a lesser extent Dallas, are the best comparison teams for the Rapids. They're all original teams who have fought with attendance issues and had moments of success scattered between long runs of meh. Dallas can at least blame being a league-owned team for the first 6 years, which got that market stated on the wrong foot. The interesting thing about those numbers is that KC is essentially averaging 1 more win and 2 more goals a season while letting in about 3-4 goals less a season. So the two teams are really similar over their lifetimes, but KC has translated those slight advantages into an additional MLS Cup and Shield.
But how much better might the rapids have looked if playing in the east. Maybe a couple of extra wins?