The consolidated next year thread

Discussion in 'Colorado Rapids' started by scheck, Sep 2, 2007.

  1. scheck

    scheck Member

    Mar 13, 2007
    Denver
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Lots to think about for next year. With an expansion draft coming up, the salary cap rumored to do the same, and players retiring, what's your outlook?

    Who are the players to get rid of? Who do we protect in the draft? Where is our main focus when we look at our starting xi? How does the extra salary cap room affect our situation? Will we be a better team? or will the FO not use the extra allowance and cause the rapids to be left behind?
     
  2. cintree

    cintree Member

    Sep 2, 2007
    Hello, First posting here and also new to the Colorado Rapids experience.

    Wife and I have attended a few games (for the first time) this year and we've really enjoyed it. Having never seen an MLS game in person before, we were pleasantly surprised by the overall speed and action of the game - surprised because the MLS games we had seen on TV were fairly subdued affairs.

    So, fwiw from a newbie:
    We like Cookey, Ugo (as a defender only), Erpin, Petke, Pablo and Casey.

    Sanneh seems a bit out of shape, slow and lacking chemistry with the others ... Jovan seems a bit pricey for the production we get and we need help with our entire left side (not sure if I'm referencing it correctly here, but the side opposite to Cookey) in terms of being able to push the ball up and in ...
     
  3. prk166

    prk166 BigSoccer Supporter

    Aug 8, 2000
    Med City
    So many questions and so long before the season is over. It's hard to say what Clavijo is thinking. It's harder to guess how things would change if a new coach is brought in this winter to replace him.

    2 players that I question being around next year are Gargan and Keel. Neither will be eligible to be dev players. They'll need to do that much more to earn their roster spots. Worse for Gargan is that he'll be coming off a serious injury.

    I suspect Sanneh won't be around. The price is right for him but I think he has his heart elsewhere.

    I'm not sure about Thorton. It depends on what he really wants. If he's happy being a backup I'd imagine he'll stay. But if he was hoping to earn a starting spot, he's probably frustrated that he didn't get a chance when Bouna was making blunders. There are good GKs in the US. But ones with loads of experience aren't as easy to find. I'd imagine San Jose would snag him if they can.

    I hope Kirovski won't be around. I suspect he will and at that still making $200,000. But with the derth (is that a word?) of talent up front, I don't think Niko will be back. We don't need a $120,000 striker with Herc, Jacob, Kiro, Cummings and Casey around. And yes, I think they'll all be back. Well, maybe except for Jacob depending on his generation adidas status. That and his repeated refusals to sing the 70s duet Lover and a Friend with Clavijo at the local karoke bar. Come on Jacob, don't you know that's the key to making the team?

    I hope Colin Clarke latches on to a La Segunda team and really gets to learn how to play the game and show off his talents.

    Daniel Osorno? Well, at least the Rapids helped him get into shape for a move to a new team in Mexico.

    I'm not sure if Cooke will want to be hear if Clavijo isn't gone. Pablo will be back. I'd assume baring trades that we'll see Ugo and Brandon back. Erpen and Petke seem to be working well together; I'm not sure if any coach would want to risk changing that.

    I can't see Cancela sticking around, not at his $156,000 price tag. I think if he's going to be here again either it means Ballouchy is gone or he's taken a big pay cut a la Andy Williams.

    Then again, some of that depends on how the expansion draft goes down. I can see guys like Prideaux, Ugo and Cancela being available for it. I'm not sure if they'd be taken though.
     
  4. baldZidane

    baldZidane New Member

    Aug 10, 2007
    Denver, Colorado
    Club:
    Tottenham Hotspur FC
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    people i hope will stay: herc, jacob, cooke, pablo, clark, petke, ugo (left out a few probably, but as for all others, indifferent)

    people who i dream about playing for the rapids: davids, giggs, scholes, ole gunnar, cudicini, makalele, ballack, van persie:rolleyes:, van nistelrooy, guti ... list goes on and on. I'd be happy with one dp player though, lol.
     
  5. scheck

    scheck Member

    Mar 13, 2007
    Denver
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Just what I expect. I don't know if niko will be traded or if he'll just leave the league altogether. If him and kirovski can be lumped together in a deal, we might pick up a real quality defender.

    I really hope he's gone too, for his own sake.


    So much is pending on clavijo's decision making. Will Casey turn out to be our star forward? I know he has the potential for it, we've seen a lot of good stuff from him lately. Also, he's got 30 some odd goals in
    2. bundesliga.

    But will we ever see anything from omar? Why doesn't he ever get a chance? Could he very well be the man to start up top next year? What about herculez? He's not been so hot lately, but we certainly know he can score goals. Will osorno ever live up to the team saving goal-scorer that he was hyped to be?

    Cooke will be back, he's said he wants to stay in denver even when he retires.

    Cancela frustrates me as well, anyone as good as he is, and as expensive as he is, should not be on the bench. Either use him, or get rid of him.

    I'm willing to bet that prideaux won't leave the team unless he's waived. Ugo, he's good some days, but overall VERY inconsistent and makes stupid fouls. Cancela would be much happier playing on a first team somewhere, he wouldn't take up so much salary, and he'd be an asset to san jose if they wanted him.

    But then again, this all could be very different if the salary cap is indeed raised by a couple million. that's about 3-4 new players that are 500k worthy. Think what we'd be if we had that quality in our back line, or 2 more strikers. This is all contingent on KSE willing to shell out the dough. Who's to say that they wouldn't just keep the payroll exactly the same?
     
  6. teddy_montoya

    teddy_montoya RapidsThugLife

    Nov 9, 2006
    Supporters Terrace
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    WOW-were talking about this and the season isnt even over yet...
     
  7. denver_mugwamp

    denver_mugwamp New Member

    Feb 9, 2003
    Denver, Colorado
    Well, I'm assuming that Clavijo will be gone and there will be somebody new in charge. (I know that cheap-ass KSE might possibly keep FC around another year to save money, but the fact that they've cut him off from making any more trades seems to indicate they're ready for a change.) The new guy is coming into a lot better situation than when FC took over three seasons ago. There's some talent on this team. I'm guessing that a number of the Rapids veterans will be finding themselves playing for other teams. Kirovski, Prideaux, Cancela, and Sanneh will be trade bait. Osorno and Hernandez will probably be cut loose. Players like Colaluca, Keel, Labrocca, and Cummings, who have been outstanding in the Reserves, will finally get their chance to show if they're ready. Hopefully the Rapids will be finally shopping for a DP, perhaps a proven goal scorer from somewhere in South America. I know Plush was talking about getting some moldy European, but I think the organization would be better off to look in Argentina or Columbia. In short, next year could be really interesting if the team finally gets rid of the idiot coach.
     
  8. jimmyco

    jimmyco Member

    Jan 17, 2003
    Aurora, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Never too early for a wish list...
     
  9. askum33

    askum33 New Member

    Jun 2, 2004
    San Antonio, TX

    Why a South American?
    Besides $$$ why not an African?
    I mean, Plush could sell it as a player coming over for better weather and Skiing for the first time... And Bouna is from there, originally, so even he could sell it.
     
  10. denver_mugwamp

    denver_mugwamp New Member

    Feb 9, 2003
    Denver, Colorado
    An African who can score goals would be great. But I've always thought that the clubs in France and Italy keep pretty good tabs on up-and-coming African players and it's hard to find bargains. I would, however, like to be there to hear Plush sell skiing to a kid from Nigeria or Senegal. That would be very entertaining. (Especially when it is prohibited in most sports contracts...)
     
  11. askum33

    askum33 New Member

    Jun 2, 2004
    San Antonio, TX
    I love it when people think about the post and don't want all the humor just given to them.... :)
     
  12. teddy_montoya

    teddy_montoya RapidsThugLife

    Nov 9, 2006
    Supporters Terrace
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I think we just need someone who can put it into the net, and has a attacking mind. The players we have, seem to take one too many EXTRA touches. And dont shot when er need them too.
     
  13. scheck

    scheck Member

    Mar 13, 2007
    Denver
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I want to see people who take shots from outside the box. (preferably good shots, on target)

    But then again, is it sport or entertainment? ;)
     
  14. area815

    area815 Member

    Jan 29, 2007
    Denver, CO
    Club:
    AC Siena
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Fire Clavijo, hire Spenny, have an intelligent, well thought-out draft, bring Greg Dalby back to the states, sign Edgar Castillo, cut ties with Kirovski, Nico Hernandez, Prideaux (I'm not a fan of him playing the left side), Pepe Cancela and Sanneh (sorry, el gato), give Cookie a raise, get a true '10' on the pitch, sign a good, experienced (but not too seasoned) DP with no history of injuries that may not be a household name but is known to people in soccer circles and plays center mid or striker, play the kids more, and win some freaking hardware!
     
  15. Denvercal

    Denvercal New Member

    Feb 1, 2007
    Northglenn
    Did you say playoffs? Are we talking about playoffs!@!!
     
  16. fortcollins

    fortcollins Member+

    St. Louis City SC
    Apr 12, 2006
    Fort Collins
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yes they are still playing, but this season is long over. It was over when FC announced he had "my team" and then started acquiring leftovers and making stupid trades.

    Offseason moves:

    #1. Fire Clavijo.

    The rest will work itself out.
     
  17. teddy_montoya

    teddy_montoya RapidsThugLife

    Nov 9, 2006
    Supporters Terrace
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    AGREE 100%, we need someone who wants to win games, and provide a good meal for their children with those wins.

    Hey maybe even a championship....
     
  18. nowar99

    nowar99 Member

    Apr 14, 2003
    Boulder
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Next year - and what happens with it - will be highly dependent on the coach that is running this team. Caution...in Nowar99 style, this is a long post.

    If Clavijo...and I think that if we make the playoffs, I'd give at LEAST a 50-50 chance that he stays (and closer to 90% if we make it to the second round), then I can not envision a lot of changes. Really. As far as I can tell, Niko is one of the few players in the doghouse - and inexplicably so (in that, he was terrible most of the season, with little reprocussion - so why NOW?). Cancella, also never able to crack this lineup, would seem likely to be gone. Perhaps, with a season of sitting on his butt under his belt, Osorno will finally be ready to work his way up to being a sub next year (to be fair, the last time I recall him coming on at DSG, near the end of the game, he looked out of shape and not very good...I know, rusty, hasn't had time to play with the team all season...I guess that's why teams don't sign important pieces at the end of the season, huh?). I can see FC keeping Kirovski. Sanneh is a questionmark. I think that there is a decent chance Herculez Gomez is gone. Just a hunch.

    If not Clavijo...and I think that we'd almost certainly have to miss the playoffs for this to be a strong bet...then I think that a house cleaning is in order - not that we have a crappy roster that totally needs to be gutted, but we have a fair amount of players that would be gone. Niko, Kirovski, Cancella, Prideaux, and Big Mac Snack, fries and a shake Thornton. Thornton being gone would be a budgetary move, to save money on the team's food bill. Sanneh is probably gone here too.

    Regardless of the coach, I think that it is likely that Gargan is gone (I say 60% chance he's gone if FC stays, and 90% he's gone with FC gone), and added to the long string of young defenders who departed after injury. Lance Key, Stewart, Crawford (well, he played both mid and defense), and now Gargan. Gargan has improved, but is Gargan good enough to be a solid reliable starter? After an injury? And now that he may no longer be a dev. player? I doubt it. Lets not confuse his remarkable improvement as a player this year with a fair evaluation of his talent vis-a-vis the rest of the league. So he'd have to come back from injury next year, and be an even better defender than before the injury, and have no residual problems. Doesn't seem likely.

    Also, I think that Pablo's window has passed. I can't see him leaving the team now.

    Finally, Osorno comes to camp (if he's even signed beyond this season) 30 pounds overweight, and is a goner.

    Here is what I'd like to see happen...and I realize that there is an expansion draft coming up, and I am not 100% sure as to how many players we need to dangle, how many we need to protect, and overall, the rules (somebody will post them, I'm sure, so why make them up? :)...the reality is, there are not THAT many players on our roster that are going to illicit bites from San Jose....

    After replacing FC, I think the one of the first moves HAS to be to figure out what we do about a backup keeper (and I say next because this is easy, and we should dispose of it right away). Zach Thornton is neither good nor the future. It is obvious that we have committed to Bouna Condoul, and he is the present, unless we plan on using our DP to bring in a Tim Howard or Keller or someone of that stature. Also, given his age, the present is the future as well. Unless this year was a fluke for Bouna time, this team doesn't need to bring on a keeper to develop for the future, since we already have another young keeper. What we need is someone competent who could step in and get the job done for a few games....that's it. Nothing more. We do not need to commit to a bloated salary and have a Nick Rimando as our backup. The US develops a lot of good keepers. This isn't and shouldn't be a hard task for us, unless Bouna goes down for a long time.

    Next move has to be to fix the easy hole on our defense. I am content to keep Petke and Erpen and Ugo. Ugo may be a mess at times, but he's young, has shown some very bright spots, and I suspect (hope) just needs a little more time to put it together. I am not content to keep Prideaux. Prideaux has overall helped improve our backline, but his spot is one spot where we can DEFINITELY improve our lot and save a few goals in the process. I think that this is what happens either way, with FC or without.

    As for the midfield, I think that Pablo and Clark stay. If Cooke is durable, he stays. Kirovski is gone, and so is Sanneh. Ballouchy obviously stays (if only because we have a lot invested in him, trading one of our best players and fan favorites to get him). This may or may not leave us some spots to fill, depending on Cooke and Pablo.

    As for the forwards, we have a problem of talent without production. Gomez has talent, when he's not diving (which, by the way, he does a LOT). Peterson has talent. Casey has talent. What this team needs (and some of you may be sick of my cheering him on) is its own version of Miklos Molnar...a guy who, to me, came in to this league and busted his butt constantly and was able to put the ball in the net (great, Nowar99 - what team can't benefit from a guy who can put the ball in the net?).

    I don't think that this team needs or should want a Beckham (sure, Kaka would be nice, but that seems really, well, unlikely). This team would benefit greatly from a single striker who can shoulder the load AND create space for whoever is paired with him, be it Casey, Gomez, or Peterson, to also score some goals. A guy who takes the field and works every play, doesn't give up, and scores goals. We kind of had that with Spencer, although he wasn't durable. With Spencer creating space, Chris Carrieri was able to develop into an MLS threat...and, I don't think there were too many times were people sat back and said "you know, Spencer and CC just don't look like they are trying very hard out there...and Carrieri lacks passion." A carefully used DP would go much further than an aging superstar. We don't need LA style splash. We just need goals and victories.

    Get this team some leadership and a coach that doesn't think ties are acceptable, and a GOOD quality striker who scores, and I think we are much more competetive next year for MLS Cup and the US Open Cup.
     
  19. deron

    deron New Member

    Jul 25, 2006
    Centennial, CO
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    That and the fuzzy headed guy passing the ball to them.
     
  20. GoRapids

    GoRapids Member

    Sep 1, 1999
    Boulder CO
    wow nowar ....

    Just when you think BigSoccer is useless - you gotta come along and dot that! ;)

    Very nice.
     
  21. fhnkeeper03

    fhnkeeper03 Member

    Jan 27, 2006
    Denver
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I would buy 18,051 season tickets if Kaka would play for the Rapids!!



    ohh i would also have to win the lottery, but hey, someones gotta win it right?! lol
     
  22. scheck

    scheck Member

    Mar 13, 2007
    Denver
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Kaka would sell the 3,000 or so average empty seats for the rest of the season, sell tons of shirts, bring instant credibility to the league, and in general, bring in a bunch of money.

    However, I do not see him bringing in more money than was spent. He's about as expensive as they come these days.
     
  23. teddy_montoya

    teddy_montoya RapidsThugLife

    Nov 9, 2006
    Supporters Terrace
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yea KSE might have to spend some money, but hey thats what owners do to sell tickets and win games/championships. You NEVER see Pat Bowlen crying on how the NFL salary cap keeps rising-nor see him begging for Broncos fans to come watch his team play. Point is, Pat's a winner. WINNERS don't cry, they spend the $$$.

    IF KSE don't want to spend that kind of money, than I have a hard time beleiving they will buy more into my Gunners. Bring me Kaka, or C. Ronaldo-call me crazy, but if I was Stan----I would have already made thet Rapids a contender....
     
  24. fhnkeeper03

    fhnkeeper03 Member

    Jan 27, 2006
    Denver
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    so then the best bet would be for me to win the lottery and just buy him... screw the Rapids!
     
  25. teddy_montoya

    teddy_montoya RapidsThugLife

    Nov 9, 2006
    Supporters Terrace
    Club:
    Colorado Rapids
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You would....:D
     

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