http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/sports/10200070.htm KC Wizards: Preki Tony Meola Alex Zotinca Matt Taylor Igor Simutenkov Francisco Gomez
more than a little surprised by Zotinca and shocked by Igor. Igor over Walsh? I mean really! That's a friggin travesty. And Jewsbury over Zotinca is odd as well.
I think you have to keep Jewsbury. He had a great season considering the amount of responsiblity he shouldered as a young player. We all knew this was going to suck. Igor is fantastic, but he makes quite a bit more than Diego. He is older, and still unable to go 90 at this point. Do you think he will be back there ever? I think he could, but it makes it a little easier to understand if you weigh the risks. If we could get Wolff's soccer head in Diego, we'd have one hell of a player. They might feel that's a more likely scenario than Igor being a consistent healthy contributor.
Just as important, Simutenkov isn't exactly a desirable commodity for either of thees teams. He's an SI, he's relatively old, he's got a pretty big contract, and he was injured for most of the year. Diego Walsh has youth, salary, and the fact that he's Latin, if not talent on his side; I'd be pretty surprised if either team took Igor.
Who do you think the team's first call back to protect if someone else is taken off this list? I'd go with Zotinca probably. He's pretty versatile, cheap, and has his green card. He's only 27 as well.
I think both you and szazzy are correct on Igor, he's an older player, but I think the main point is his salary, I don't think either of the two teams is gonna want to pick him up. I think the same goes for Tony, who was making the max this season. Not overly shocked at any of the protected players. I don't know if protecting Bo was the greatest idea unless bob is planning on him starting next year, because we are protecting him over one of other starters, Zotinca. If he's not going to be the starter next season, he is a good back up, but the league is full of good backups, and I don't know if I'd protect the guy that would be my back up keeper over a starting defender.
Not a lot to pick from if you are RSL or Chivas... I guess I'd expect Zotinca to be taken. Then I'd pull back Taylor, I guess. I'd love to see Igor and Tony back, and with their current salaries and impending contract situations, I think they'll be around one way or another.
I wondered on that too. Zotinca I think will be the first to pull back if he isn't picked...if I am guessing that we'll be resigning Kerry and Nick now and that is good. I think that Gomez and Taylor will be picked.
That's a great list! With the exception of Gomez - Chivas bait - it basically looks like our injured list! My only question about is...who will wear number 10 next season??
I wish we had protected Zotinca instead of Bo. I doubt either team is looking for a goalkeeper so there would have been no danger of Bo being picked. Zotinca on the other hand might get picked up and I'd hate to see him go.
I'm really hoping the fact that we don't get any national attention works in our favor here. I think Zotinca will probably go, and I guess we'll pull back Taylor then. Walsh being protected instead of Igor didn't make a lot of sense either, but Igor is more likely to be passed over, and he did not seem all that interested or fit during the final. On the Zotinca issue, does anyone know how he would react to being drafted? I know he was with the Comets, but does his wife have deep ties to the area that would make him less likely to accept a move elsewhere?
Matt Taylor is a Los Angeles kind of kid. Igor Simutenkov speaks fluent Spanish. Preki would retire if selected - may retire anyway. Meola is out of contract, injured, highly paid, and has said he wants to go to Europe. Cisco has been on his way out the door since Preki came back in 2002. I'm guessing that Zotinca, Gomez, or Taylor will get taken first - then one of those three will be pulled back. I can also see Simutenkov getting taken depending on how Chivas and RSL are doing with caps and SIs. I would be a bit shocked to see either Preki or Meola taken, so I don't see the Wizards ever protecting them.
A couple of us that made the trip out were on the flight with her. I think she and Alex would prefer to stay in town. She said this is always a nervous time of year for them.
I think you also keep Jack because he's a "local" and pretty popular with the fans. I think Alex was exposed because we've got Big Tiny to step in at RB, just in case someone takes him. (Still doesn't make much sense though - he EARNED his starting spot. It's not like he got the spot due to injury or something.) Not surprised to see Taylor on there. Who'd take him after the way he acquitted himself on Sunday? Igor was a surprise to be kept off. If Preki comes back, who knows how effective he'll be. And how many seasons does he have left in him? Will he even be back for the CONCACAF games in the spring? (He was on our flight back from LA and pre-boarded because he's still limping around in like a full leg cast . . .) Protecting a backup goalkeeper is a waste of a spot, in my opinion. Prediction: We can only lose a max of 2, right? Gomez to Chivas. Zotinca to Salt Lake. (I haven't seen the other team's lists but I doubt there will be many starting defenders exposed. Especially ones that have a decent shot and better-than-average crosses.)
we can lose up to three, but for each one picked, we can protect a new player. Say Chivas pick Gomez (they might) we can protect Zotinca if RSL haven't already picked him.
Why does everyone on here seem to think that Zotinca will be taken no matter what? I haven't heard anything about RSL wanting him, and although he played a key role in our defense, he's not that great of a player. I just want to know where you guys are all coming from on this one, because I don't know if I feel he would be drafted by RSL. And for those who think we should pull back Taylor after Zotinca gets drafted...WHY? Taylor getting drafted would be a blessing, I'd thank my lucky stars. I would pull back Igor, regardless of the feeling that he wouldn't be drafted, just to be on the safe side. But that's just my opinion.
So Matt Taylor had a crappy game on Sunday. A lot of players did. Matt Taylor is a rookie. Rookies make mistakes. If you look at his production based on minutes played he was better than either Arnaud or Wolff. Scapegoat him all you want, I suspect he'll be in MLS for many years to come.
This list looks spot on to me. One of the head studs from Real Salt Lake asked Andy, "Which player are you guys giving to us?" When I piped up with, "You guys can have Tony." his response was, "Naw. Tony is too expensive."
With Zavagnin and Garcia out of contract, and Arnaud's contract likely to be renegotiated, I expect that you're right. Agreed, and if Gansler is planning on starting Oshoniyi, well, I don't know if that's the greatest idea, either.
i wanna know why everyone is saying that they want zotinca to go or that they don't care? i personally think that zotinca is an excellent player and he makes good pass to arnaud and wolff. even if they aren't always there to get them and play them. and the times that he's had to take a shot on the goal. i think he's been good at it , he just needs to hit the ball a bit harder. and he's a good defender, he works his butt off for us. i'd hate to see him go , i really want to stay with the wizards.
Wow. Looking over the other teams' unprotected players lists, we would have been much better off protecting Zotinca and leaving Bo unprotected. -Given the other options out there, I don't think there is any chance of Bo getting taken before we had a chance to protect him. http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20041117&content_id=19264&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
I don't know that anybody wants him to go. I think the consensus is that he will likely be the first player taken from our team because of all of the reasons you mentioned. If I had to pick a player to build my team from this list (given the constraints of the dispersal draft), it would certainly be Zotinca. Here's hoping to Chivas taking Gomez or Simu first... I don't think I'd be gutted to lose any of these players though. Realistically, we aren't going to lose Tony or Preki. Igor probably won't get picked, and if we can protect Zotinca or Taylor I'd be pleased. The real danger is that they protect Tony after the first pick, leaving Taylor and/or Zotinca exposed... FWIW, I'm pretty much over Taylor's performance on Sunday. Somebody pointed out that for all of his mistakes, he was always in the right place. I take some comfort that - given a few more opportunities next year - he'll have a cooler head next time he's thrown on with 30 minutes and 2 goals to go in a cup final. I still, however, would like to sever Eskandarian's arm from his body.