I have a bad feeling that Pause will be left unprotected, if so there is no doubt in my head that he will be snapped up. As for Pickens, he has looked good when the defense has been good and looked like crap when the defense was crap soo I really don't know what to make about Pickens future, hes been solid but he has not had some of those OMG games like Rimando and Cannon have had from time to time, the only thing that Pickens does have is that hes a very consistent player. I'm excited to see what Noble can bring to the table in the next year or 2.
No way. Pause is our Armas for next year. Armas will probably retire, and even if he stays for one more year, there is a good chance his game time will be limited.
Carr is not a GA. But GAs are auto-protected, if the draft will be run as it was for FCT. OTOH, I'm not sure about DPs, since this will be the first expansion draft with them in the mix. Since not every team has a DP, I can't imagine MLS giving some teams one or two extra autor-protected players. I agree with protecting both of these. Though, with Blanco in the team, I don't see Mapp having a role with the team in the First XI. Rolfe picked up the role of a MF faster in 5 weeks than Mapp has in 5 years. I'd trade Mapp, after protecting him if possible. I believe his contract is up, so I'm not sure what his plans are. I'd prefer that his contract situation is cleared up before the team decides to protect him. http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/soccer_redcard/2007/05/the_rundown.html I can't envision another team picking him up, so I'd expose him in the draft. He only has one more season as a YI, and the team hasn't missed him during his injury. But I like his potential. I disagree. He's had exactly zero minutes of first-team time, and hasn't gone off on loan for seasoning. I can't envision San Jose taking him, so expose him to the draft. Agreed. Wanchope is the wrong forward for a team with no wide midfielder who can cross the ball to him. [Though he was a worthwhile gamble at the time he was signed, IMO.] I think he'll be back, however, as I can't see SJ taking him. Ivan Guerrero is 29, and won't turn 30 until November 30th. Personally, I wouldn't expose him to the expansion draft, anyway. Agreed on Armas and Curtin. Brown played in the Bay Area before he came to Chicago, so he might want to go back there. But he's playing well right now, he's on the right side of the "Ralston Line," [good MLS player, but not an international], and not too expensive for a starter. My Protect List [as of right now]: 1. Blanco: The best Mexican import in the history of MLS. He's been everything he should be. 2. Conde: Get him citizenship NOW, and cap him! 3. Slim Pickens, IF a contract can be written to keep him here beyond 2008. If [as I suspect] he's not under contract, then Busch is protected. 4. Rolfe: He's really good, and the best American player in the roster, IMO. 5. Guerrero: He's got a GC, is relatively cheap, and is versatile. [Though increasingly injury-prone]. 6. Mapp [Then trade him for a 2-way forward; Other players need to carry the piano for Blanco to play.] 7. Calen Carr: He's not spectacular, and he hasn't progressed as many have thought he would. But maybe we can work out a trade to send him back to his hometown team after the draft. 8. Dasan Robinson: He's young [23], cheap [~$30K/YR], and good. 9. Gonzalo Segares: See Robinson. Hopefully, he'll have a GC sometime soon. Pick one of the following; IMO, one of the other two will likely be lost in the draft: 10a. Logan Pause: As a RMF, he's not very good. But as a DMF or defender, he's a serviceable MLS player, and cheap. 10b. CJ Brown: Although he's getting up there, he's still pretty good, and not too expensive. 10c. "Golden Goal" John Thorrington: He's injury-prone, and in Sunday's match, he was clearly not match-fit. But he still had pretty good touch, and was able to finish the most important goal of the season. Auto-Protected GAs: 1. Chad Barrett: He still can't finish on an open net, but at least he's cap/roster protected. If he graduates to the senior roster, then expose him to the draft. 2. Soumare: The only positive attribute that I've seen is that he's tall. He's not good enough on the ball to play in MF, and I've seen U10 girls with more bite in their tackles than he. But at least he's cap/roster protected. Expose: 1. Armas: Old and expensive; San Jose won't take him. 2. Jim Curtin: Old and expensive; San Jose won't take him. 3. Wanchope: Old and expensive; San Jose won't take him. 4. Gutierrez: Old and expensive; San Jose won't take him. 5. Plotkin: He's on the senior roster, and I don't think Osorio rates him. 6. Banner: He probably doesn't have a future at this level, but San Jose won't take him. 7. Jeff Curtin: He will graduate to the senior roster next season. Unfortunately, he isn't very good IMO, and even if he is, Osorio doesn't rate him. 8. Floyd Franks: San Jose won't take him. 9. Jordan Russolillo: San Jose won't take him. 10. Daniel Woolard: San Jose won't take him. 11. Nick Noble: San Jose won't take him. 12: Bruno Menezes: San Jose won't take him. 13: Osei Telesford: San Jose won't take him, and he'll be a YI for only one more season, even if they DO take him. 14: Pickens, if he won't re-sign; Busch if Pickens is under contract.
-coast- I think we have 11 we can save. If so save thorrington if he plays well in the playoffs, and then pause. I love CJ but he's just too old to protect.
That's the way I read the rules as well - you can only leave one SI exposed. So, if we want to leave Wanchope exposed (which I agree is the right move) Blanco, Conde, and Segares must be protected. Now, can someone clarify what the difference between a Senior Youth International and a Developmental Youth International is, and how it impacts Menezes and Telesford's expansion draft status?
If the Fire have to choose between protecting Noble or Busch I think you almost have to protect Noble. Busch is a decent backup and well traveled vet but I just cant imagine the fire not holding on to Noble who is 6'4 and with a pretty good college resume.
Exempt Barrett, Soumare Protected Blanco Brown or Pause Carr Conde Guerrero Mapp Pickens Robinson Rolfe Segares Thorrington Unprotected w/ large bars of gold, a coupon for a free new stadium, and a puppy thrown in. Paulo Wanchope
Terrible, terrible idea. In a salary cap league, you DO NOT spend a large part of the $$$ on goalkeeping. Ever.
Getting Cabanas would be so sick. I would trade Mapp+whatever else to get a 2nd DP slot for that guy. I thought with Blanco's service absent, that he would take a scoring hit this year, but I just checked his stats and he's got 9 goals in 10 starts for America this season.
Yeah, Sutton had a pretty good college resume, and was a big guy, too. As far as I know, Pickens is not under contract for next season. If this is in fact the case, I would be adverse to losing BOTH experienced GK at the same time. In addition, there is no freakin' way San Jose takes Nick Noble. No way at all. Again, he has ZERO first team appearances, and has not gone on loan to a USL team. I assure you, there wil be another 6'4" GK with a nice college resume available in this year's superdraft, in next year's draft, in 2010, in 2011, in 2012, and probably in 2013, too. I'd guess that there will be one available in 2014, too, and probably for the rest of our lives, as long as there is a Superdraft, there will be another GK that has all the attributes that Nick Noble has. So why protect a guy that wouldn't be taken by anyone smarter than Dave Sarachan or John Elinger? It would be beyond stupid to do so, IMO. There will be other guys that have everything that Nick Noble has in his game, so even if SJ were dumb enough to waste one of their precious expansion draft picks on a player as iminently ordinary as Nick Noble, I'm guessing that he could be replaced pretty easily. In addition, there will be many GK available in the superdraft that will have as many 1st team minutes as Noble has in MLS.
Here is the list that was developed today at The Highbury in Milwaukee. The list is in no particular order and the list assumes 11 players will be able to be protected, just like in 2006. 1. Pickens (regardless of his contract status) 2. Robinson 3. Segares 4. Conde 5. Brown 6. Guerrero 7. Mapp 8. Blanco 9. Rolfe 10. Barrett (assumes that he's not a GA exemption player) 11. Pause The assumption was that Soumare would not graduate from the GA list and would thus be exempted. The following players would be exposed: Armas Banner Busch Carr (who was also exposed in 2006) Jim Curtin Jeff Curtin Franks Gutierrez Menezes Noble Plotkin Russolillo Telesford Thorrington Wanchope- SI Woolard Here are the rules that were in effect for the 2006 expansion draft (TFC): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_MLS_Expansion_Draft
If you're asking whether a team has to protect their DP, I'd assume that a team won't be forced to protect their DP. But unless you are Dallas or NY with Reyna, why wouldn't you protect them?
As of today he's still a GA player. I'm doubting that they graduate him after this season. If he is graduated, then he would have to be protected or left unprotected.
He wasn't protected last time. But, I could see a scenario where SJ takes him for the "hometown" marketing ploy, in addition to the fact that they would be able to get 1-2 years of service and mentoring out of him. At the end of the day, it comes down to Brown, Pause and/or Carr for 1-2 spots. Maybe you put Wanchope in that mix too if you're feeling crazy.
Not a bad list. I could be convinced to protect Pickens, but I'd hate to have lost Busch, and to have protected a guy who may very well be playing in Scandinavia next summer. Also, I think that Barrett may very well be "graduated" from GA, given the number of minutes he's played in this and last seasons. Of course, whether or not you think he's good enough for the team to invest a protection spot is subject to conjecture. If indeed Barrett is graduated, I'm not sure that I'd want to keep him, given his form this season. I can agree with this list. I'd look for Busch to be lost in the draft, given that decent, experienced GK, at an affordable salary in MLS are hard to find. If not Busch, then perhaps Jimmaugh or Carr. My assumption is that SJ will need to find starters for their own team, or in trade to other teams. In looking at the unprotected lists [both yours and others], the only players that are: 1. MLS Starter Quality [or relatively close to being so], 2. Relatively Cheap, and 3. Young enough to play beyond 2008, only Busch and/or Jimmaugh fit these criteria. Carr is included as a possible loss, in that he's local to the Bay Area, and may want to play at home.
I agree with all of this. And would just like to state that I'm of the opinion that it is worth it to lock down Pickens for at least the next three years. I'd also like to add that before the game on Thursday myself and two friends (one of whom was a goalkeeper in college) watched Busch and Noble work out before the game. Take this with a grain of salt, because it was just a workout, but Busch looks to be the far better keeper. Noble let the same shots that Busch was stopping get past him. He gave up more rebounds, couldn't get to the ground as fast, and his reflexes were noticeably slower. Busch also seems to have a much better work ethic. I don't think we'd be missing out on much if Noble was taken. If there is something consistent about college ranks, it is that they're producing a lot of big, tall keepers. I wouldn't be too worried about this position. On a related note: Daryl Shore can place the ball anywhere he wants with power and frightening accuracy.
I'm pretty sure that GA doesn't "graduate" like project 40 did. His GA contract runs through December 2008
Well, The Legend of Craig Capano was GA in 2K6. When the expansion draft of 2K6 came out, he "graduated" from GA, and was thus exposed to the expansion draft. [Actually, he ran out of eligibility, having been given 1 or 2 medical redshirt seasons..] But since he wasn't any damn good, he's probably welcoming folks to Taco Bell right now.
As a former college GK, that's the same thing I've noticed all season about Noble. Even before the 2 reserve games that I've seen, I've noticed that same thing, and it bothered me even more then because Noble had to know that he would be playing at some point in those games. As far as I'm concerned, and since we really don't know better, Nick Noble is a dime a dozen sort of GK.
bump. I think I remember reading that the expansion draft is this Wednesday, 11/21. Any word on when the official protected roster is released?
San Jose is unlikely to take Bsuch. He is more the small athletic shot stopper type, whereas Yallop/San Jose have preferred bigger, positional goal keepers. Also remember when San Jose was looking for a GK in 2003, they elected to go with the USL player in Onstad. I wouldnt be suprised if they go that route this year as well.
The official lists: Chicago's lists: The following is the full list of the Fire’s 11 protected players: Goalkeepers: Matt Pickens Defenders: Wilman Conde, C.J. Brown, Dasan Robinson, and Gonzalo Segares Midfielders: Cuauhtémoc Blanco, Justin Mapp, and Logan Pause Forwards: Chad Barrett, Calen Carr, and Chris Rolfe ** Midfielder Bakary Soumare is protected automatically as a Generation adidas player The following are the Fire’s unprotected players available for selection by San Jose in Wednesday’s expansion draft: Goalkeepers: Jon Busch and Nick Noble Defenders: Jim Curtin, Jeff Curtin, Diego Gutierrez , Jordan Russolillo, Mike Banner, Osei Telesford, and Daniel Woolard Midfielders: Ivan Guerrero, Brian Plotkin, John Thorrington, and Bruno Menezes Forwards: Floyd Franks