Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." I forgot to mention this post by Ives on Eskandarian a few weeks ago and the possibility of him being traded; he hasn't left for Chivas yet so I'm guessing he's on the market. http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2008/01/eskandarian-poi.html Would he be a viable option for KC? I never got a chance to see him at his best in 04 and just like Noonan he has been injury prone but for a later round he might be worth the chance; although Noonan is bigger and I think that would be what we want.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." Does he have a first touch? If he has Eddie's wheels, better positional sense, and a better feel for space. Then all we need is a better first touch and we will have upgraded over Eddie. EJ's first touch is his downfall in my opinion. It's terrible.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." NO! Mr. Head Gear is probably one of if not the only player I NEVER want to see playing for KC.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." 1) Jack Jewsbury is not a right back, last year notwithstanding. 2) I wasn't at Tuesday's games and Nyarko missed Saturday's games flying in from the MAC Hermann awards. Nyarko was invisible in his Sunday game, but his team was crushed by the other team and he never got any service. Ives saying Nyarko had a bad combine is a bit simple-minded (again, I missed Tuesday). A forward without service is always going to look bad, and the team Nyarko was on at the combine never gave him any help. Julius James is, in fact, a stud - but we have defenders. The only reason I'd see us taking James over Nyarko is that Onalfo is bringing in firepower from outside the league. If Sean Franklin is available at our second pick, he is a bit of a no brainer. The kid rocked at the combine.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." Yeah, Eddie's touch is awful. Patrick's isn't worse. It's still a work in progress. The impact Eddie's first step has can't be underestimated.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." I partially disagree with the Noonan part since I think with the amount of picks a 2nd for Aleko or Noonan (if someone actually went for it) would be worth it, but you are right on with Nyarko, I got to watch 2 of his games last year while in Virginia and the kid is something else. He carried the team on his shoulders, but to throw him in as a starter right away might have the EJ-Dallas effect the first year; a halftime sub coming in 50 minutes into the game with a tired D might be the best option starting off..
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." I don't remember ever seeing him play. Ives mentioned he was only at the combine for one day. Did you see other games of his this year?
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." There's a link on the MLS board where Lagerway was saying on Salt Lake radio that the deal with Chivas would be finalized today. Even then, I'm not sure I'd want Esky. Sure, we'd win back the few Armenian fans we lost when we traded Yura, but I'm not sure that'd be worth it. Esky is going to spend the rest of his career one bad collision away from being Ross Paule. Sports isn't fair, but I wouldn't want to be the team left holding the bag when he has to retire midseason - whether that's 2008 or 2015. Esky has talent, but he's not a member of the chorus, who is still paid like a headliner. Alecko is one of the most stand-up characters in the league. I'm surprised he hasn't won the Humanitarian of the Year award yet. But the competitive reality of the business makes he shy away from him at his current going price.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." Well, let's not forget Nyarko is 22. Eddie Johnson is only 23 going on 24. Hopefully he's not too far behind if that is who the team is relying on in 2008.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." How would you compare the attitude/laziness factor of EJ and Nyarko?
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." isn't that the freakin' truth... i was thinking about that today...
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." http://www.mlsnet.com/mls/events/su...16&content_id=135570&vkey=draft2008&fext=.jsp More draft talk
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." If we trade away the top pick we better get some quality.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2008/01/post-7.html#more Something to chew on until tomorrow.....here is Ives' list of the best players available. Maybe he can stand in as Mel Kiper, Jr. for this draft's purposes.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." I like Ives reporting, but I have never thought he was very good at evaluating talent and understanding the game. There are plenty of other blogs out there that track these players through their college carrer and not just follow them at the combine. Ives' best input comes from what he hears from the coaches.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." That's where all the best pre-draft analysis comes from in any sport. Someone like Ives with good connections should do better than he does, but I don't think he puts in the hours asking the questions to the people who matter and relies on the hype he reads and his own opinions. The guys that just try and use their own analysis of team needs and the best players in their minds are never close. It only matters if a GM or coach likes them. We don't have anyone as good as Chad Ford or Mel Kiper because they use their access better, and they're still wrong a lot.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." See your point....maybe we should insert Buzz Carrick (aka 3rd Degree) as our Mel Kiper. He seems to be all over the combine and upcoming draft. I'm not sure if he has put together one list like Ives did (he had lists broken down by position), so I just plugged that in as something to look at while the draft is going on.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." It's draft day today ladies and germs. Thread stickied for the occasion. and with the first pick in the 2008 MLS draft The Kansas City Wizards select...
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." I'm on pins and needles with anticipation....goosebumps already! I haven't been this excited about a draft since the Chiefs traded up to get Tony G.
Re: "The Kansas City Wizards are on the clock..." Draft starts at 1:00 central time. Draft Tracker here: http://www.mlsnet.com/mls/events/superdraft/2008/search.jsp According to the banner ad, you can watch all the "excitement" live on ESPN2 and/or MLSNet.com. (edit - the email I got says ESPN2 is only showing the first hour.)
http://blog.washingtonpost.com/soccerinsider/2008/01/live_from_baltimore.html Here's Goff's latest rumor on who we will pick. 1:00 can't get here soon enough.