Remember when we thought that Hankinson had an eye for talent? (well, most of us thought this) Quick look around the league at the young, first-year (MLS) players that have made a real impact for their teams: Galaxy: Carlos Ruiz Fire: Kelly Gray and Billy Sleeth Metros: Brad Davis Revs: Taylor Twellman Quakes: Luchi Gonzalez DC United: Milton Reyes Crew: Kyle Martino DC: Ronnie O'Brien The only first-year player the Rapids have managed to bring in this year and have any kind of impact is Jeff Stewart -- who after a solid string of performances in the first half of the season is apparently not in the good graces of Messr. Hankinson. Kingsley has impressed, but only done so because the performances surrounding him have been so flat and inconsistent. I'd love to see a lot more of the kid but don't have lofty expectations for a midseason A-League callup. Where is the future of this team? The only young player of note that Hankinson has brought into this club is Beckerman, whose usefulness remains severely limited so long as the Mop runs the midfield. We're without significant draft picks for at least one more year, and don't appear to be able to be too good at locating solid young talent. Perhaps I'll just have to keep holding onto my dream that Conor Casey will come play in MLS and for his hometown club.
While I agree that Kingsley prob isn't going to set the world on fire, he can be a good solid starter in MLS given the time and training. He's better than a lot of the players we've seen before him.
You can cross off the Quakes' Luchi Gonzalez from that list. He has done jack and ************ for the Quakes. And he barely gets PT in the first place.
Milton Reyes can't exactly be put into the same category as the other people on your list......he plays for the Honduran national team for #%# sake. Ronnie O'Brien plays for Dallas not DC, and his Doctor Evil celebration yesterday was lame.
Greenie, it seems like you answered your own question. Stewart, Kinglsey, Beckerman, all young players, all making contributions over the course of the season. Not all that bad...
(my bad on Luchi, he has hardly made an "impact" -- also my error with O'Brien) Where's Stewart been lately? For all the good he did in the first half of the season, Hankinson doesn't seem interested in using him in a 3-back system. Kingsley has done well, but for an attacking wing with this team I'd like to see a bit more out of the kid. He gets into space a lot but only produces so much -- not unlike previous young, "hard working" players like Jason Moore. Beckerman is not a first-year player, so he doesn't fit into my question, nor should Carrieri who has been a young, outstanding player. Hopefully Kingsley steps it up a bit more, it really would be great to see more players who were overlooked on draft day come out of the A-League in the middle of their first season. Still I question the Rapids' ability to identify and develop young players that can instantly make a difference. They haven't shown this ability in the past and if Kingsley and Stewart are their best examples now, they've still got a way to go.
I've missed Stewart lately, but I have been very impressed by Hersdman's play. I think Herdsman is more dangerous on his runs into the offense third than Stewart is. I still don't understand why Hankinson has flipped them midway through the season. Does anyone know what Stewart did to get on his bad side? I really like Kingsley and think he has a good future in the league. His crossing has been great. He also seems to put himself into space well. I just wish he was more accurate with his shot placement. He seems to hit it right at the keeper most of the time.
Kingsley at 3 points in 458 minutes has 0.59 points per game. This compares favorably with other "young" wide midfielders such as Antonio Martines (8 pts, 0.55 per game), Stephen Armstrong (12 pts, 0.78 per game), Ramiro Corrales (11 pts, 0.58 per game), DaMarcus Beasley (8 pts, 0.50 per game), and Bobby Convey (6 pts, 0.34 per game). I have like Kingsley's game and he should have more points but for a lack of a good target man. Kingsley does a good job mixing up the crosses and doesn't overstrike them to the far sideline or deliver too many easy catches for the opposition GK. The Amokachi insident was the obvious off-season disaster. Simutenkov would have been the better selection. Kinglsey affirms the Rapids ability to identify players in the middle-range of players; reliable MLSers. The big surprise, in this year of contraction, is that a player like Kingsley is able to make good contributions. One would have thought that the quality league-wide would have increased enough (when was the last time that we saw Trembly or Shak?) that an A-Leaguer couldn't penetrate the lineup.
I don't think hankinson did bad getting beckerman. There just are way too many midfielders on this team now...4 midfield all-stars and a former chilean national team player! It might as well be beckerman's first year. First year he went to miami mid season. Last year broke his leg and when he came back Miami was in first with 7 all stars, 5 were all league and 1 mvp!! Maybe if another team would of picked him up he would be playing more.
I don't think Stewart is in the dog house with Hankinson. I just think Hankinson wants to use Herdsman in a three back system over Stewart. Both are solid players. He may just be giving each one a fair shot, which is great in my opinion. I just wonder if they have to eat PB & J before the matches? Kingsley and Beckerman have each done a stellar job so far and should do well in future seasons to come.
All good, valid points, and it seems our youth is not as bleak as I thought it to be. That said, in seven years the Rapids have yet to have a young, first-year player that really explodes and makes a mark. Either they've never picked up a player of this caliber or they've had them and wasted their talent. Look at most championship sides -- or simply the ones that perform consistently well -- and you generally find at least one young, truly outstanding player. I say again, if the best we can boast is Kingsley or Carrieri, there's more work that needs to be done. Next question -- have the Rapids gotten any better at developing young players? While neither Carrieri nor Kingsley (nor Hart nor Beckerman) have been ruthlessly dominant, they have nevertheless put out very solid, effective play that has helped their club to obtaining points. How many of you have faith that Hankinson will let these kids ride their success? When Spenny is available again, will Hankinson pair him up with Carrieri or relegate young Chris to the bench? The latter has been his pattern, even when Spenny is coming right off injury. And if Spenny and Chris are paired together, who gets dropped from the midfield? Likely bet would be Kingsley, as Hankinson would slot Henderson back over to the right wing. Wonder how Jeff Stewart is doing these days. Some time ago one of the CyberSoccerNews guys said we'd be getting some more information on the kid and maybe learning why he's picking splinters out of his ass. Still waiting. All I know is that we had a player that was widely considered one of the leading candidates for rookie of the year, now he's lucky if he gets a few minutes as a sub. For all the talent and potential (gasp) that Beckerman possesses, what good is it if he's only used as a sub in the defensive midfield? If indeed Valderrama is put to pasture following this season, is Beckerman getting enough experience this year to run our midfield in 2003? Finally with Wes Hart the team has taken a dynamo of speed, effort and a nose for goal and turned him into Richie Williams. Maybe it's just me, but I'd love to see the team actually develop these kids into top players.
I strongly question whether Hankinson will let them continue on in their glory. It still doesn't make sense to me that when we have had opportunities to go with Carrieri & Spencer up top (which there haven't really been that many) we still go with the lone forward and bench a proven goal scorer. If they are paired up, it would be hard to drop anybody else from the midfield other than Kingsley. As much as I'm enjoying his play, Carrieri has still proven to do a better job of producing results and you must have Chung & Henderson in the game. I really would like to see Beckerman subbed in for Valderama somewhere between the 60' and 70' mark. But with his current amount of playing time, I doubt he will be in a position to be a playmaking midfielder next season. He just doesn't look totally comfortable and in control when he is out there. You can see the obvious talent, but he needs to have the confidence to take the game to the opposition instead of vice versa. Where would you like to see Hart play? Do you think there is room for him up front? Would you rather see Hart or Beckerman as an offensive/playmaking mid? So, to answer your question...I don't think Hankinson is doing a better job with the young talent up until this point, but he still has an opportunity to do so by keeping Carrieri in and getting Beckerman in the middle more.
in the pros beckerman has had to learn a new position. that is hard getting used to a new position and to playing in the pros as a youngster. all his life and on 17's he has played an offensive roll and was good at scoring. I think he would be great as an offensive center mid but he needs to start getting some time there. There are alot of midfielders on this team . To develop he might need to go to a team that will allow him some time in an offensive roll.
What Kyle Beckerman needs is league expansion by about 6 teams. Then he has a chance to break the lineup.