University of California Graduate Heads To France...

Andrew Jacobson has decided to sign with FC Lorient of the French football league instead of MLS and DC United who drafted him. So far as I know, he is the first drafted player to sign outside of MLS, however I expect a few more to announce their intentions to spurn MLS.

To me, this isn't a huge loss. On the one hand you are losing a player with a lot of potential, on the other it will give someone else trying to get noticed by DC United a chance. Truthfully, there was little chance for Jacobson to feature in the heavily South American DC United roster. Of all MLS teams, DC probably has the most crowded roster. Jacobson is chasing a dream, good luck to him.

Above I said it will give another guy a chance. I really do believe for the young American's trying to play professional soccer when one door closes another opens. Here's a great interview with Colorado Rapids player Stephen Keel. While many people have trashed the Rapids 2008 draft, the Rapids have a wider approach to signing players. After two years with the reserve team it looks like Keel should be getting more playing time in 2008...and they didn't even draft him.

Looking Back at The Drafts...With Colorado Rapids Assistant Coach Murphy...

This weekend the Rapids posted a write up of the off-season by assistant coach John Murphy. I'd like to highlight his comments on the draft. Specifically the following:

I feel that people still tend to look at the MLS Draft as they do in football and other sports, but that is a misconception. The player pool is not deep enough to dictate that type of philosophy. They see that we have drafted players who play in a certain position and feel that we are stockpiling defenders or midfielders and that is not the case: we are stockpiling good players. Individuals who are functional, can play more than one position, and are comfortable on the ball. To keep a depth chart of strikers, midfielders and defenders is a good organizational practice, but the philosophy of choosing the best player available is often the rule of thumb.

When you look at the players taken by the Rapids you can really see Murphy and Co. practicing what they preach. While Ciaran O'Brien is listed as a midfielder, I believe the Rapids selected him 5th overall because he was the best player available, in the coach's minds, at that time. He has played centrally through his career but in MLS it will be up to him to excel at whatever position the coaches want to see him play. For the Rapids a huge hole has existed on the left side of midfield. If O'Brien can challenge the new left sided players and Colin Clark, the youngster will have a better chance of staying in MLS.

The same can be said for the rest of the Rapids' picks in the SuperDraft and Supplemental Draft.

I particularly like this quote from Coach Murphy:

The internet is certainly the place for the press and fans to discuss the college player pool. I think it is great that we are starting to develop a “buzz” about certain players as the draft approaches, but even our harshest critics would be shocked if we allowed that to dictate our decision making on draft day. Bottom line is, there are many reasons why certain players are picked, and some of them the general public cannot be privy to.

I hear ya Murphy. I actually had a similar conversation with the coach the day before the draft and I'm sure my text message to him moments before the draft, requesting he select Patrick Nyarko if available, was in the back of his mind when he wrote the above. He's right too. While my colleagues and I no doubt watch way more college soccer then the average fan, we are arm chair coaches. People like me think our experience in Football Manager 2008 makes us uniquely qualified to select players for a team. Thanks for the wakeup call, Murph.

I really look forward to seeing how the young guys come along for the Rapids this season. Every season I love the build up to the draft...I love watching and commenting on the draft but I really love following the youngsters come into the league and try to make their way. Not all of the players drafted will make the opening day team. In fact, only a fraction will, but we're rooting for you guys. Work hard and impress us. Be the next Colin Clark, Danny Wasson and Bouna Condoul. The sky is the limit, especially in a league like MLS where rosters are only so deep and players need to cover for their injured teammates.

Players reported for duty here in Colorado this weekend. I can't wait for opening day!

What Is With The Combine...

It sounds like the combine needs to change. Allen Hopkins recently reported on espn.com that MLS coaches were unanimous that the level of play is slipping and the event doesn't provide coaches with what they want to see.

Combine needs boost

A survey of all the MLS coaches regarding the scouting combine produced the same overall analysis: The level of play at the combine has declined the past three years and has to improve. As one Western Conference coach told me, "The first 15 minutes was all I needed to see and I didn't see much." Another coach, this from the Eastern Conference, echoed the same sentiments, "It's getting harder and harder every year to find quality during the chaos of the combine." The combine isn't going anywhere anytime soon but it's clear it needs some tweaking moving forward.

In my opinion, the event is set up to fail. How are that many college kids expected to come in and play as a team when they have just met their new team mates and haven't played a competitive match in over a month? Other sports use this combine idea for coaches to see players technical abilities. As an example, the NFL combine puts players through the 40 yard dash and other feats of agility and football skills. Why doesn't MLS come up with some metrics and events that coaches want to see, as opposed to a few games that are terrible?

Some events off the top of my head? The 40 yards dash. Or 60 if that is more applicable to soccer. Toss in one of those beep tests we see on ussoccer.com a few times a year and you've got some real metrics coaches can use to evaluate soccer fitness levels and speed. There you go, day one of the combine is dedicated to putting players through their athletic paces.

Then move the event indoors. Come up with some kind of soccer IQ test. Let the coaches learn how players understand the game. Michael Parkhurst has shown us that a high soccer IQ can make up for some other areas. We all know that smart players succeed in certain situations, so help MLS coaches figure out where the players stand.

Combine the IQ test day with a chance for coaches to sit down with 10 or more players one on one. Give the coaches some time to get to know the person. Garth Lagerway, RSL GM, was recently quoted saying that Nyarko slipped past their draft pick because of his personality. RSL did their homework, did Chicago? Was that an unfair knock on the player? Let coaches figure that out during the combine for all players. It is obviously important to them.

On the third day take the combine back outside, but let the coaches work directly with the players as opposed to just watching from the stands. Come up with some sort of rotation where all the players go through a training session with each coaching staff. 30 minutes of soccer tennis will tell some coaches a lot about a player's ability.

Day four, take it back to the basics and have some scrimmages. Give coaches a chance to see the players on the field. This will be different in that they've already gotten a sense of who they want on their team. Now they can really look how the whole player plays.

Naturally this all needs to be in addition to scouting during the regular season. I believe the league should hire some full time scouts to travel the country taking in games and writing scouting reports on the different players. Make the reports available to all clubs. That way, there is a base amount of knowledge teams have on each player. Allow teams to do more on their own, but help them get the ball rolling. MLS, as an aside, I will apply for one of those national scouting positions when created. I've already got the player database.

There you have it, my ideas on how to improve the combine. MLS, take them or leave them...however, you can see that the current set up isn't working. Figure out something better.

2008 Supplemental Draft In The Books....

Here are the selections in the 2008 MLS Supplemental Draft. How do you grade this one?

Chicago Fire : M – Kai Kasiguran (Messiah College), F – Adrian Bumbut (Liberty University), M – Zach Pope (Duke University), D – Steve Bode (Univ. of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), M – Timothy Conway (Nyack College), GK - Melford James Jr. (University of Montevallo)

Chivas USA: F – Kraig Chiles (San Diego State University), F – Javier Ayala-Hill (California State), M – El Hadj-Cisse (North Carolina State University), D – Andre Sherard (University of North Carolina)

Colorado Rapids: F – Kevin Forrest (University of Washington), M – Cesar Zambrano (Univ. of Illinois-Chicago), GK – Mike Graczyk (University of New Mexico), M – Daniel Antunez (University of Hartford),

Columbus Crew: GK – Billy Chiles (Towson State), M – Corey Elenio (Evansville), F – Lukasz Tumicz (University of Rhode Island), F/D – Zola Short (University of Virginia)

D.C. United: D – Brandon Owens (UCLA), M – Dan Stratford (West Virginia University), GK – James Thorpe (Franklin Pierce)

FC Dallas: F – Yannick Reyering (University of Virginia), M/D – Ben Shuleva (Southern Methodist University)

Houston Dynamo: M – Johnny Alcaraz (Westmont College), F – Craig Thompson (Colorado School of Mines), M – Kieran Hall (Fort Lewis College), F – James Georgeff (University of Central Florida)

Kansas City Wizards: M – Pat Healey (Towson University), M – Vicente Arze (Mercer University), M – Tom Gray (Monmouth University), GK – Andrew Kartunen (Stanford University)

Los Angeles Galaxy: D – Michael Gavin (Portland University), GK – Charles Alamo (Univ. of California-Riverside), D – Greg Folk (UCLA), F/M – Daniel De Geer (University of San Francisco)

New England Revolution: F – Mkokheli Dube (Coastal Carolina University), D – Chris Tierney (University of Virginia), M – Kyle Altman (Trinity University), F – Saidi Isaac (Winthrop University),

New York Red Bulls: M – Danleigh Borman (University of Rhode Island), M – Michael Palacio (Stonybrook University), D – John Gilkerson (Winthrop University), D/M – Manuel Laurent (Brown University)

Real Salt Lake: F – Tino Nunez (Univ. of California-Santa Barbara), M – Kevin Reiman (Michigan State University), F – Kenny Anaba (Cincinnati University),

San Jose Earthquakes: F – Adam Smarte (Univ. of California-Santa Cruz), F – Tim Bohnenkamp (Creighton University), D – Greg Curry (Univ. of California-Santa Barbara), D – Tim Jepsen (Duke University)

Toronto FC: F – Xavier Balc (Ohio State University)

2008 Supplemental Draft Preview

The Supplemental Draft exists as a procedural oddity to most MLS fans. Most of those interested in the SuperDraft for one week a year start to lose their steam by the middle of the second round, much less make it through to the conference call of rounds 5-8 a week later. But I've always had a soft spot for this second draft, ever since we got to listen to the call way back in 2005, hearing John Ellinger and Sigi Schmid sounding like they had just woken up. The Supplemental Draft may never determine the ultimate fortunes of teams, but it is another chance for the smart teams to gain a little ground on the less smart ones.

Most of the players selected today won't even make it to opening day rosters, but you might be surprised by the number that actually do something. A quick look at the 2007 draft shows a quite a few have already done something: Aaron Hohlbein, Gary Flood, Guy-Roland Kpene, and Tyler Hemming have seen decent minutes; Anthony Hamilton, Kosuke Kimura, Dustin Kirby, Osei Telesford, Danny Cepero, Ryan Junge, and Sal Caccavale have seen a little time or are tipped to be possible future contributors; and Chris Konopka and especially Daryl Roberts have made some impression overseas, Roberts by becoming a big goalscorer at Sparta Rotterdam. That's fully 25% of the draft who have done enough to stick in my mind in just one year.

If even five players out of this draft become big-minute role players in MLS, it makes it worth a look. Better to be one of the teams that finds one or two contributors in that 10% than one that wastes their time. Building a strong reserve program has its own benefits as well, improving practices and helping the development of serious youth prospects. Best of all, the Supplemental Draft, despite its humble nature, is a moment for deserving players to bask in the exciting fatalism of being drafted into pro sports, before the severity of professional life and small developmental salary become all too real.

So, here's my mock. There is really no point to try and guess this - this is largely for my own enjoyment, to see if I can get any picks right at all. To make this draft, I took my existing player database and threw in a random element to match up with the seeming randomness of the Draft itself. This is not my list of the next best 56 players - many of my favorite remaining prospects did not make this mock. What I'm hoping is to replicate my greatest achievement in my many years of charting MLS drafts - the time in 2002 when my mock correctly nailed the 70th and final pick of the SuperDraft - Lars Lyssand.

Mock Supplementary Draft

Round 1

1. San Jose – Kenny Cook D 6.5 180 UMass (Fairport, NY)
2. Toronto – John Gilkerson D 6.0 175 Winthrop (Winchester, VA)
3. Colorado – Jason Landers G 6.7 205 Saint John’s (Lower Gwynedd, PA)
4. Los Angeles – Ryan Maduro M 5.10 170 Providence (Bristol, RI)
5. Colorado – Murphy Wiredu F 5.7 160 Saint Peter’s (Brampton, ON)
6. Columbus – El Hadj Cisse M 5.11 172 North Carolina State (New York, NY)
7. New York – Scott Bolkan D 6.2 180 Stanford (Salem, OR)
8. New England – Kenny Anaba F 6.2 195 Cincinnati (Westerville, OH)
9. Chivas USA – Andre Sherard D 5.10 170 North Carolina (Greenville, NC)
10. DC United – Billy Chiles G 6.3 195 Towson (Silver Spring, MD)
11. Kansas City – Xavier Balc M/F 6.0 185 Ohio State (Hudson, OH)
12. Chicago – Lukasz Tumicz F 5.10 175 Rhode Island (Bisztynek, Poland)
13. New England – Simon Schoendorf F/M 6.1 175 South Florida (Karlsruhe, Germany)
14. Houston – Sherron Manswell F 6.1 180 Boston College (Maracas, Trinidad)

Round 2

15. San Jose – Michael Gavin D 5.10 Portland (Scottsdale, AZ)
16. Toronto – Kai Kasiguran M 5.11 165 Messiah (Oakwood Village, OH)
17. Salt Lake – Ben Shuleva M 5.11 175 SMU (Dublin, OH)
18. Los Angeles – Matt Tracy D 6.2 200 Cal State Northridge (Newport Beach, CA)
19. Colorado – Zola Short D 5.10 160 Virginia (Arlington, VA)
20. Columbus – Cesar Zambrano M 6.1 162 Illinois-Chicago (Chicago, IL)
21. New York – Chris Rodd D 6.3 190 San Francisco (Danville, CA)
22. Dallas – Matt Hoff M 5.10 155 Harvard (Saint Louis, MO)
23. Chivas USA – Kevin Forrest F 5.11 170 Washington (Edmonds, WA)
24. DC United – Pat Healy M 5.11 160 Towson (Bel Air, MD)
25. Kansas City – Adrian Bumbut F 5.7 140 Liberty (Zalau, Romania)
26. Chicago – Adam Chavez D 6.1 190 Binghamton (Endicott, NY)
27. New England – Tim Jepson D 6.0 175 Duke (Yorba Linda, CA)
28. Houston – Brandon Owens D 6.1 170 UCLA (Murrieta, CA)

Round 3

29. San Jose – Drew DeGurian M 6.0 170 Bradley (Naperville, IL)
30. Toronto – Frank Jonke F 6.3 180 Louisville (Pickering, ON)
31. Salt Lake – Greg Folk D 5.9 165 UCLA (Woodland Hills, CA)
32. Los Angeles – Daniel Brown M 5.9 155 Midwestern State (Arlington, TX)
33. Colorado – Kyle Altman D 6.1 170 Trinity (TX) (Albuquerque, NM)
34. Columbus – Corey Sipos D 6.2 175 Akron (Tucson, AZ)
35. New York – Steve Kalan M 5.10 165 Akron (Highland Heights, OH)
36. Dallas – Andrew Wheeler F 6.3 180 York (PA) (Baltimore, MD)
37. Chivas USA – Kraig Chiles M 5.11 185 San Diego State (San Diego, CA)
38. DC United – Kenzo Webster F 5.9 Michigan State (Monroe, MI)
39. Kansas City – Paul Dudley F 6.7 220 Duke (Warminster, PA)
40. Chicago – Adam Montgomery M 5.9 150 Memphis (Morristown, TN)
41. New England – Spencer Allen M 5.8 145 Maryland (Washington, DC)
42. Houston – Chukwudi Chijindu F 5.10 175 UConn (Fontana, CA)

Round 4

43. San Jose – K.J. Lenehan D 6.0 175 Cal Poly (Escondido, CA)
44. Toronto – Brad Peetoom D 6.1 180 Syracuse (Abbotsford, BC)
45. Salt Lake – Mkhokheli Dube F 6.0 155 Coastal Carolina (Bulawayo, Zimbabwe)
46. Los Angeles – Travis MacKenzie M 5.10 175 Duquesne (Carnegie, PA)
47. Colorado – Jeff Lenix D/M 5.7 163 Marshall (Westerville, OH)
48. Chicago – Ismael Ibarra F 6.0 San Jose State (Salinas, CA)
49. New York – Tanner Wolfe F 5.7 145 Stetson (Hudson, FL)
50. Dallas – Nelson Pizarro M 5.10 Lincoln Memorial (Pembroke Pines, FL)
51. Chivas USA – Jay Ayres D 6.1 Belmont (Valrico, FL)
52. DC United – Chris Tierney D/M 6.0 180 Virgina (Wellesley, MA)
53. Kansas City – Dan Stratford M 5.11 155 West Virginia (London, England)
54. Chicago – Jeff Stepan D 5.9 170 D Saint John’s (Fremont, CA)
55. New England – Javier Ayala-Hil F 5.8 160 California (East Palo Alto, CA)
56. Houston – Jason Cascio F/M 5.10 170 Seattle U. (Gilbert, AZ)

2008 MLS SuperDraft Grades...Part II...

Hello friends, Emile here. Here's the second half of our draft ratings. For the most part, our grades tended to mostly fall in a middle area around a B (grade inflation, you know). I'm personally not confident trying to proclaim which players will be successes or failures. There's not really much danger in doing so, since nobody will remember my words in a year's time, but I think there is too much guesswork in which players will get the best opportunities to succeed. Instead, we look more to trying to see how well each team formulated a plan and effectuated that plan.

In midst of the post-draft anticlimax, I want to make sure to give credit to two people who deserve it. Out of all the MLS blogs and columns, only one person correctly identified that Tony Beltran would be a high pick, and that was this blog's founder Bonji. We ended up putting him in the fifth position, but we had a suspicion he might go even higher. Remember Bonji's prognostication skills next year when you're looking for a hot tip.

Also, an anonymous poster on one of my earlier entries (players under the radar) suggested that I should have included more of the West Coast defensive crop. I didn't dismiss his ideas, but assured him that those players were more supplementary quality than SuperDraft quality. And then, almost all of them got drafted - Brennan Tennelle, Brandon McDonald, Austin Washington, Matt Hatzke. Whoever you were, I bow to your knowledge. Maybe you should be writing a draft blog instead of me.


New England
#13 Rob Valentino - D
#18 Michael Videira - M
#27 Joe Germanese - M
#41 Matt Britner - D
#55 Spencer Wadsworth - F

Bonji: C+ Valentino hasn't played much in the past year due to injury. I think he is a risky first overall pick and that is why NE drops to the C range for me. While Emile sees the upside to Valentino fully recovering, I see the downside. Additionally, Videira has made it known he plans to take a look at what kind of offers he can get in Europe. Greg Dalby all over again. Germanese did show well at the combine, but the combine can be a luck of the day type thing where performances vary player to player. Britner and Wadsworth may make the team's development squad but neither are a lock. This draft could backfire on NE.

Emile: B+ Seems like a return to the quality drafting New England is know for, after their disastrous 2006 and unusual 2007 (although so far Wells Thompson is proving me wrong). The Revs haven't gotten returns yet on their last forays into West Coast players (Willie Sims and Amaechi Igwe), which is why the Valentino pick surprised me. But it's a great choice that may have New England looking like geniuses again. When Valentino recovers from his knee injury, I think he has the talent to step right into the Parkhurst sized hole that will coming soon. The rest of the draft was more the typical Revs - take local players or players from the ACC, all from the same team if possible. The problem with loading up on so many Dookies is that they were part of discouragingly underperforming college team, unlike the past Wake players. But they were drafted in appropriate spots, and if Videira signs at some point, he could be a help (although the Revs may need too much help now to take a flier on a tough sign that early). Wadsworth was perhaps my favorite non-combine sleeper and Britner was a good value for where he was taken.

New York
#16 Eric Brunner - D
#32 Luke Sassano - D/M
#44 David Roth - M

Bonji: C Let's face it, NY wasn't going to get anyone who could save the team in this draft. We all know the talent pool was shallow. While I agree that Roth was a steal at #44, he's still got to prove he can make the jump. If Brunner does turn into a rookie starter, I'll regrade NY and give them a B. Sassano may be able to make the team, but if NY starts promoting players from the youth ranks, and signs some foreign talent, I can see him getting cut. Emile is right NY fans, if Osorio can't fix the issues in NY, then you'll be pissed you missed taking a player.

Emile: B The Red Bull draft will end up being rated based on whether or not Osorio proves to have been worth their top pick. Since that pick ended up being Nyarko, it could end up looking really bad if Osorio is another in a long line of failed New York bosses and Nyarko becomes a star. But New York made sure to get the most of their next best pick, as Brunner has a good shot at cracking their competent but unspectacular central defense pairing in a year or two. Roth was a steal at #44, fitting into a left-midfield need, but Sassano seems like a big reach at #32, even without considering his previous interest in going abroad.

Salt Lake:
#3 Tony Beltran - D/M
#14 David Horst - D
#17 Alex Nimo - M
#37 Brennan Tennelle - M

Bonji: B- RSL improved greatly this year drafting. I imagine that has all to do with the change of management. While Nimo is a long term project, they didn't take him first...or worse, first overall like Besagno a couple years ago. However, I still can't give them huge props for this class. Beltran and Horst are the two who can make an impact in '08, however many people out there don't see what made Beltran the #3 pick. MLS coaches believe the talented player will be able to make the jump to the pros, however he needed to improve greatly over his U-20 WC performance for that to happen. Horst has great size but I think he would have been available at #17 and RSL could have taken Eric Brunner who is a little younger, and I like better. We'll see.

Emile: B+ Lots of people probably thought Salt Lake's eccentric brain-trust would do something screwy, but I think Kreis and Lagerwey came out looking pretty good. Three high picks were turned into two Generation Adidas players, and two additions to their beleaguered back line. Sure, none of the pundits but Bonji thought Beltran would be a high pick, but he was apparently coveted by a number of MLS teams and should see time quickly at right back. I rated Horst above Brunner as a pure defender - he has excelled at every level he's played and gives them a physical presence on the back line that they sorely need. Nimo seems like a good gamble to me at the #17 pick, and Tennelle is a late-bloomer who might have been picked a little high, but has interesting potential at a number of positions. Overall the draft was a nice combo of long-term patience and the immediate help they need to try and sniff the playoffs in 2008.

San Jose
#15 Shea Salinas - M

Bonji: D I know San Jose wanted to get a veteran on the books but they gave up the #1 pick for Nick Garcia. Garcia is quality, but it seems like some future considerations would have gotten him since I hear KC was out shopping him hard. So SJ gets a demerit for that trade. Further, you need to stock up an expansion team with quality youth who may break out. SJ got one. Who is going to play on the reserve team? Where did all the other picks go, San Jose? In Salinas they get a talented field player who should be able to adapt to a number of positions. I'm just saying they needed to find more like him.

Emile: C- San Jose's approach to expansion is certainly a lot different than Toronto's, but given how poorly the Canadians did in 2007, that's probably a good thing. Still, coming away from the draft with only one player seems like a poor hedge for the future. I'll give them less grief for the Nick Garcia trade than I did originally, since the top of the draft ended up being unsettled. But I think it's possible that Chance Myers will be contributing almost as much as Nick Garcia by 2009 or 2010 - Kansas City fans are saying Garcia has already lost a step. The other picks they traded off were for Frank Yallop and Preston Burpo - a coach who was probably being fired anyway and a veteran goalie no longer needed. And then Salinas was taken a round too high for my tastes. Salinas did not have the type of consistent college production to suggest he can become a star MLS player. He no doubt has the physical gifts and youth to develop into a credible starter, but Quakes fans hoping for another Brian Mullan should remember that Mullan was an absolute star college player who still took several years to find his niche on the right wing. Given the other talents who were available, I think Salinas was given too much credit for looking good at the combine.

Toronto
# 9 Julius James - D
#10 Pat Phelan - D/M
#28 Brian Edwards - GK
#30 Michael Zaher - D
#35 Joe Lapira - F

Bonji: A+ For a team that needed defensive help they certainly got it. James should never have slipped this far as I still think he's one of the players who will be able to start in the first exhibition match of the pre-season. Phelan should be able to work in the back or move into the midfield while Maurice Edu plays in the Olympics. Edwards looks like he'll turn into a find keeper with some time and Michael Zaher is a steal at #30. RSL should have taken Zaher instead of Horst. Lapira will probably never play in MLS but with the #35 pick it is worth making sure the goal machine plays for you. I don't totally understand all the roster rules for Toronto FC, so it will be interesting to see how all these guys fit into their roster. That being said, I think they had the most successful draft of 2008. Add that to selecting Rookie of the Year Edu last year, and it looks like Toronto FC knows what they're doing on draft day.

Emile: A- I like every one of Toronto's picks, but I would have given them a lower grade because their Richard Mulrooney folly knocked them out of the #2 spot. However, they ended up with Julius James being available at #9 anyway - the best senior player in the draft and one of the top three overall, in my opinion. Phelan should also help, since he can slot into the defensive midfield if needed or potentially pair with James in a future central pairing that could develop into something great with TFC's young and talented outside backs. Edwards and Zaher are big-school, productive additions and Lapira was a worthwhile gamble at #35. What I don't understand with Toronto is their reluctance to take Canadian college players. Matt Britner would have made sense - given the success they had with Tyler Hemming last year, you'd think they'd make more of an effort to get the few Canadian developmental projects worth picking.

FCTP Goes To The Airwaves...

From The Pitch w/ Marcelo Balboa


presented by Soccer Stop and adidas


Tuesday Jan 22, 2008, 6-8 PM (MST)

Tuesday night's guests include:

* John Harkes: ESPN Broadcaster and former National Team player
* Joe Machnik: Major League Soccer's Assistant to the Deputy Commissioner for On-Field Competition
* Bonji: Writer and Contributor to From College to the Pros

What's on Tap for Discussion?

* Landon Donovan's Historic Milestone
* MLS Trades and Signings
* MLS Draft Roundup
* MLS Rumors

Be part of the Radio Colorado Network, call us on the air. Or call us at:

* 800-531-3815 -on air
* 303-485-2152 -on air

Listen On:

* AM-1060 in Denver
* AM-1580 in Colorado Springs
* AM-610 in Vail
* AM-1450 in Buena Vista
* www.radiocoloradonetwork.com

2008 MLS SuperDraft Grades...Part I...

The draft wrapped up last Friday and all anyone can talk about is the fact that Patrick Nyarko slipped to #7 overall and teams in need of offensive fire power, cough Colorado cough cough, passed on him. Maybe everyone had a good reason to pass on him. One thing is clear when looking at the outcome of the draft, Bloggers and Talking Heads shouldn't be doing the drafting.

With that in mind, take a read over how Emile and I rate team's performances in the 2008 SuperDraft. Part 1 today...Part 2 tomorrow or something.

Chicago:
#7 Patrick Nyarko - F
#12 Dominic Cervi - GK
#26 Peter Lowry - M
#38 Dwight Barnett - F
#40 Stephen King - M
#54 Austin Washington - D

Bonji: A- Many people out there think Chicago had the best draft this year. Nyarko was a consensus #1 pick until the morning of the draft. Cervi is a solid keeper who increased his stock at the combine. Both of these players should be able to earn starting spots with the Fire over the next few seasons with some hard work. I don't hold the view that Nyarko is a guaranteed star as some feel. At the combine he had moments of greatness in addition to longer times of seeming laziness. Lowry and King are two solid midfield prospects and the Fire did well to get both of them.

Emile: B+ Chicago is always a fun team to watch, because they always have the deepest scouting of any MLS team. This has led them to overthink and blow many early picks, only to come back and make great choices in later rounds, and then waste late picks on non-prospects. Assistant Coach Daryl Shore seems to be a scouting specialist and has been a consistent figure through their coaching changes, and the Fire did not disappoint me again. Getting Nyarko, Lowry, and King was simply great work by the Fire. All three were superbly productive college players and perfectly fit team needs. especially if Nyarko can play the right wing and as forward. But I hate the Cervi and Barnett picks. Barnett was a low pick, no big deal, but he'll be 26 next season, so unless he can come in and contribute immediately the pick was wasted. Cervi, on the other hand is the pick that's going to make me feel smart or stupid in two years. Cervi had a good 2004 NCAA tournament, a mediocre 2005, a terrible 2006, and an excellent 2007, which was the first year he was Tulsa's full-time starter. I just don't think it's enough of a record to base the #12 pick on, no matter how good he looked at the combine, and I don't think any Fire fans should hope he will step in and replace Pickens off the bat. In fact, he doesn't have any better resume than last year's dev goalie pick Nick Noble. This is not to say that he can't become really good. He's only 21 and has great size, but it's a gamble - and if the Fire want a young keeper who may be able to provide immediate help at the position, they should look to USL keepers like Ryan McIntosh, Josh Wicks, or Eric Reed, who were more decorated college players than Cervi and have performed well already as pros. Cervi is, to me, too big of a gamble to take that high - for me, the only first-round goalies selected should be premium prospects because the positional development is so long-term and unpredictable. The Fire also failed to address needs on their back line, other than Austin Washington, who is an interesting, but long-term, project.

Chivas USA
#43 Keith Savage - M

Bonji: N/A Chivas participated in the draft? I don't think it is fair to grade an effort based on one player taken so late. Savage will have good teachers in LA, hopefully he can contribute to the team.

Emile: C Not for the Savage pick really, which I think was a decent gamble at #43. Savage has good size, and was very productive at the D2 level. Since he also excelled in the PDL, there is reason to think he can hang with the big-school players, and we'll have to wait to see how well. Chivas traded their first three picks for Paulo Nagamura, Alex Zotinca, and Atiba Harris, and the first two were big minute players during Chivas' breakthrough season. Fortunately, that breakthrough season meant that the traded picks were fairly low, but I still wonder if Chivas could not have gotten similar players more cheaply, and if they will regret the lack of 2008 picks in a few years.

Colorado:
#5 Ciaran O'Brien - M
#36 Adrian Chevannes - D
#47 Brian Grazier - M
#49 Scott Campbell - M

Bonji: C+ A lot of people, including most Rapids fans, were left scratching their heads after the Rapids #5 selection of O'Brien. For them this pick was another reason for the Enigma nickname for coach Clavijo. "Why not Nyarko?" was the question coming out of a lot of Rapids Fans mouths after the consensus #1 slipped down the draft board. However, I'm going to give the Rapids the benefit of the doubt with this one. I think O'Brien will have a long career in MLS and when we look back at the 2008 draft we'll commend the selection. The Rapids seemed to pick very well in the final two rounds as Chevannes and Grazier are solid players with US youth national team experience and Bradenton Residency on their resumes. They are versatile players who should be able to step up in a number of different positions when needed. Campbell is a creative midfielder who will have to work hard to make the roster. For more detail into how I feel about this one, check out my post from last Friday over at the Class VI website.

Emile: C+ Taking O'Brien over Nyarko may prove to be a future headache for the goal-starved Rapids, but I liked O'Brien more than most before the draft, and I think it was a defensible gamble. The Rapids midfield is arguably as needy as their front line, and O'Brien can potentially play a number of positions. He has a rocket of a right-foot, and seems to like to play centrally, so he may be able to replace some of what they lost when they traded Beckerman. O'Brien adapted immediately to a new team in 2007, so look for him to contribute more quickly than you might think in 2008. The rest of Colorado's draft was pretty questionable. Chevannes may be prove to be a good value, but you have to wonder how good he can be when teams that had him in for training during his college hiatus had no interest. Grazier and Campbell are both young, workmanlike midfield role-player prospects who didn't stand out in college - taking one of them and then going for something different with the other late pick would have made more sense.

Columbus:
#6 Andy Iro - D
#20 George Josten - F
#22 Ricardo Pierre-Louis - F
#31 Ryan Miller - D/M
#48 Steven Lenhart - F

Bonji: B+ When I first saw Iro's name pop up I thought Columbus was crazy because Iro had made public comments about how he was still thinking of going back to his home country of England and he would leave faster if the wrong team selected him. For the kid who went to College in Santa Barbara many of us assumed he wanted to stay in southern California. However, during the draft he made a positive comment about being drafted by Columbus, to many people's surprise. If he does stay Iro should compliment Chad Marshall well in the back. That is, if Marshall can get his career back on track after many injuries. Iro's footwork has been called into question, so if he wants to play he'll have to work hard. His size won't get him on the field alone. In Josten and Pierre-Louis Columbus adds to the young attacking minded players already on the team. Pierre-Louis is already a senior national player for his home country of Haiti and Josten had a strong combine showing. While I don't think this class will turn Columbus around alone, it should provide Sigi with some interesting options off the bench in 2008.

Emile: C- Columbus gets my lowest draft grade. Although I don't think it was terrible, it seemed to be an unplanned, messy collection of picks with perhaps too much emphasis again on Sigi's Southern California connections. I assume we will see Iro in blinding yellow next year, and while I definitely prefer Julius James, I haven't seen Iro enough to quibble over personal preferences. Iro fits a clear need and gives them an exciting prospect the size of an OSU defensive end. In total however, the Crew draft has problems. Three of their picks are at least 23 (Pierre-Louis is listed as 23 by MLSnet, but I have seen him as 24 in other places), which has to be accounted for when considering their college production and potential upside. They also picked three forwards, which seems like a "throw stuff on the wall and see if anything sticks" approach. That hasn't worked so far for the Crew at that position, and I'm not sure it will again. I like the Josten pick, and I wouldn't mind the Pierre-Louis pick if they hadn't already taken Josten and another older international player. The Lenhart pick was just nonsensical, especially considering local talent like Balc and Kasiguran was on the board. They may have a positional change in mind for Lenhart, but everything suggests he is the longest of long-shots coming off of one big season at the NAIA level. I will give the Crew some credit for getting two mid-round picks basically at cost from Dallas.

DC United
#24 Andrew Jacobson - M
#33 Ryan Cordeiro - M
#52 Tony Schmitz - D/M

Bonji: C+ DC didn't have any early picks and I suppose they did in drafting Jacobson at #24. Many thought he'd be gone earlier. I for one don't see what all the hype is about. In the NCAA tournament against lowly UC Daivs he was largely ineffectual aside from his goal. We'll see if he can push his way into a crowded DC lineup. Cordeiro is a left sided midfielder who may have an easier time earning a contract due to the difficulty American clubs have finding left sided players. However, do you think any rookies are going to earn starting time over Fred or Christian Gomez?

Emile: B- In the end, I liked all three of DC's picks a lot. The Jacobson pick is dependent on his signing with MLS, but he is a productive midfielder with great size that may at least replace Brian Carroll, and perhaps do even more. I liked Cordeiro more than most because he can fill a particular role on the left wing which is not east to fill, and I thought Schmitz was a solid non-combine sleeper which proved DC was doing their homework. However, it's impossible to rate the DC draft too highly because of them losing their first-round pick in the Dyachenko swap with Toronto, which has so far proven to be a botched move. If Jacobson doesn't sign, drop them by another grade.

FC Dallas
#2 Brek Shea - D/M
#8 Josh Lambo - GK
#19 Eric Avila - M
#45 Jamil Roberts - D
#50 Ben Nason - M

Bonji: B The only reason I give Dallas a - on this grade is Shea going #2. Yes, he is a talented youngster but #2 overall seems high to me. Afterall, this could be another Nik Besagno type selection. There is a lot of upside there but we can't be so excited to overlook the downside. Lambo also went too early in my opinion. It seems to me Dallas could have taken someone who would have more impact in their rookie season at #2, and either Shea or Lambo would have still been there at #8. The Hoops did lock up three of the Generation Adidas players in this draft, so I guess that is some sort of Coup. It certainly gives them a lot of youth for little money. Avila soured a bunch of coaches in this draft somehow. Remember when we thought he would go #2 overall? I knew FCD liked little creative midfielders (Nunez). Roberts and Nason will have to work hard to get a roster spot, especially since three of their classmates are salary cap exempt.

Emile: A Shea may be a questionable #2 pick, and Dallas has a good young goalie prospect already. So why give Dallas an A? Because they can afford to take these chances, because they keep a tight roster and constantly accumulate extra picks. Dallas leads the league in acquiring domestic and international talent, and are always in position to continue accumulating assets which will pay off or can be traded for additional picks or players at a later date. It's unlikely that any draft pick would break their starting 11, so taking Shea and Lambo is an affordable investment in the future. Shea is a 6'3 lefty with some electricity in his game, and some say Lambo is the next in line of great American keepers. Dallas now has the building blocks of the first real youth reserve team in MLS with Shea, Lambo, Wallace, Wagner, and Ibrahim, and if half of them meet their potential, Dallas will be in great shape. I love everything else Dallas did too. I thought Avila was overrated coming into the draft, but at #19 he was a steal and gave them three Generation Adidias picks. They didn't get much return for the two traded picks (especially since they don't pay back until 2010), but they knew they couldn't use them and so correctly deferred their value. And the last two picks are mature, productive, and underrated college players from big programs who were ideal late picks that can start on the developmental roster and maybe fill needs in 2009. Whether they go to a 3-5-2 or not, Dallas does need central defender depth and Roberts was the best one on the board - and Nason might be able to more cheaply replace Pitchkolan as a utility midfielder in a year or so. They have this part down - the real challenge for the Hoops is to figure out how to turn their acquisition skills into a cohesive 11 that can actually challenge for MLS Cup.

Houston
#42 Geoff Cameron - M
#56 Jeremy Barlow - M

Bonji: N/A Similar to Chivas USA, Houston didn't have a lot to work with and I don't feel like I need to give them a grade. The defending champs don't have a lot of needs, however they may want to start thinking about the day Brian Ching, DeRo and Onstad hang up the boots. Maybe next year they'll have some earlier picks...or at least trade for one.

Emile: B- It's pretty hard to knock Houston's lack of picks even if Jaqua moves to Europe and Mulrooney starts to decline this season, since those two helped them win another MLS Cup. Any MLS team would gladly give up the chance for a good young player to lift the Cup, and the Dynamo's 2007 additions continued their reign as the league's current dynasty. I found both Houston picks to be underwhelming though, especially considering their needs at forward and goalkeeper. It's true that filling a positional need is tricky late in the draft, but Houston needs to find some gold nuggets if they're going to maintain their success. Cameron is the type of big midfielder who comes along every year and usually doesn't pay off. A player with that size should dominate college ball if they have the technical and athletic gifts needed for MLS - at best I think he could be a Pitchkolan or Chris Roner type. Barlow had a decent career at Virginia, and might transition well to the back, but I don't see much upside in either pick. I would have liked to see at least one of the picks take a gamble at addressing their big positional needs.

Kansas City:
#1 Chance Myers - D
#11 Roger Espinoza - M/F
#23 Yomby William - D
#25 Jonathan Leathers - D
#39 Matt Marquess - D/M
#53 Rauwshan McKenzie - D

Bonji: B+ I'm not sure, but the number of defenders traded away and then selected in the draft makes me think KC sees someone from the above list as a rookie year contributor. They got one last year in Michael Harrington, did they win again with Chance Myers? The morning of the draft I was shocked to hear Myers was going to be #1. I was on the same bus with everyone else being obsessed with Nyarko. KC surprised us and I hope it works out for them. They ended up with two GA players who will have plenty of time to develop. The rest of their picks should yield defensive help although I think they're not close to starting in MLS. Hard work and good coaching should bring one or two of those last four to the development squad and maybe someday the first team.

Emile: B In round 4 of the MLSNet webcast, Allen Hopkins mentioned that Kansas City felt like they had the best scouting analysis of any team in MLS. And this seems like a Chicago Fire draft - one of a team out-thinking themselves in some spots and making great value picks in others. The quality of their draft will ultimately be decided by how well Chance Myers pans out, but he has many admirers, despite only having one good college season under his belt. I liked the San Jose trade from the beginning, but it seems unlikely that Myers will do much to make up for the loss of Garcia in 2008. I thought Espinoza was picked a bit high - and if they go to a 3-5-2, as has been rumored, I don't see how he fits in with Harrington, who would be playing the same position. In a 4-4-2 though, they could complement each other nicely - but Espinoza doesn't have enough of a college track record for me to feel completely confident in his being picked that high. Leathers and McKenzie were both solid picks where they were selected, but I question the picks of William and Marquess. William is either 23 or 26, and at either age, an international center back labeled as 'raw' and a 'prospect' was picked too high. Marquess was never more than a role player at Santa Clara, so I think Kansas City's futuristic analysis tools let them down there. Maybe too many defenders, but they are the positional pick most likely to pay off late in the draft.

Los Angeles:
#4 Sean Franklin - D/M
#21 Ely Allen - F
#29 Julian Valentin - D
#34 Matt Allen - G
#46 Brandon McDonald - D/M
#51 Matt Hatzke - D

Bonji: B LA got some good defensive talent and added a solid goal keeping prospect in this draft. We all know the Gals are out trying to bring Sexy football to LA, and this draft class looks like it is supposed to do the dirty work. It looks like Lalas and Cobi were in charge of the picks since head coach Ruud was in Holland working out some visa issues, reportedly. The biggest surprise for me is that knowing what kind of salary cap issues the Gals must have, they selected the first senior, non-GA player of the day. They could have done equally well with their first pick and saved the salary cap space. Sometimes there are a lot of questions surrounding Lalas and Co. and this time is no different. Ely Allen should be able to earn a developmental spot and may be able to work into the starting 11 if the Little Fishy gets injured or flops around too much.

Emile: B+ It's always too easy to assume that the current LA regime will botch everything they do with their grandiose visions, but I think they did very, very well with this draft. The only real knock I have is that they didn't get any Generation Adidas players, to lighten the load on their overburdened salary cap. They reportedly wanted Chance Myers, but Franklin should keep them feeling happy for years with his athletic runs from the right wing. In fact, I thought their first four picks were all good values. For a team that needs very cheap soldiers to fill in the spaces between the sexy-stars, they got some good candidates. Ely Allen is versatile, productive, and hard-working and Valentin is tough and intelligent. I rate Matt Allen as a better developmental keeper prospect than Brian Edwards, and McDonald is an interesting gamble because he is just beginning a conversion from mediocre athletic forward to defender. They also picked up allocation money for the 28th pick.

Draft Thoughts...By Steven Goff...

You're supposed to read the above as if you're that Saturday Night Live announcer introducing Jack Handy...



FCTP will have some of our own draft thoughts later today...maybe tomorrow.

FCTP Draft Day Rolling Blog...

3:45 pm mst - It is all over folks. The annual excitement of the MLS SuperDraft is behind us and we're all left waiting to see our teams in pre-season action before we know who can play...and who can't.

We'll get some summary type analysis up over the coming days. Thanks for checking in. Have a nice weekend.

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2:54 pm mst - Sorry to have dropped off so much but I've got a load to work on in the job that actually pays the bills. 3rd round just wrapped up. Biggest surprise for me was Stephen King dropping to #40 and Chicago. Most if not all of the top talent if off the table by this point.

I will say that I like my Rapids' pick at #36. They took Adrian Chevannes from SMU. The kid has wheels and can play multiple wing positions. He grew up in the Bradenton Residency program with the likes of Freddy Adu, Michael Bradley, new Rapids teammates John DiRaimondo and Jacob Peterson, Eddie Gaven, Michael Harrington, Robbie Rogers, Jonathan Spector, Daniel Szetela and Julian Valentin...to name a few. I'm calling it now, this will be the 2008 Jonathan Bornstein selection.

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2:07 pm mst - Second round just wrapped up. Nothing too surprising with the picks. Now there is a break...I'll post the players later...work calls.

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1:44 pm mst - We've got a few picks here.

#19 Dallas - Eric Avila from UCSB.

Most of us saw him going second to FCD, so I guess there isn't much difference. Right?

Honors: 2004 ESP All*Star, 2005 StudentSportsSoccer.com #6 top prospect, 2005 2nd All-Freshman Team, US U-17 Team, 2006 CSN 3rd Team All-American, 2006 NSCAA/adidas All-America Team 2nd Team, 2006 First Team All-Big West, 2006 All-College Cup, 2006 First Team All-Far West, 2007 CSN 1st Pre-Season 1st Team All-American, 2007 Preseason All-American (MajorLeagueSoccer Magazine), 2007 Preseason All-American (Soccer America), H8292007 MAC pre-season Hermann Trophy watch, 2008 US U-23

#20 Columbus - George Josten

Honors: 2007 CSN Pre-Season 2nd Team All-American, 2007 MAC pre-season Hermann Trophy watch, 2007 CSN Playmaker, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 3rd Team

#21 LA - Ely Allen

Honors: 2003 ESP, 2004 3rd All-Freshman Team, 2007 TDS 1st Team TOS, 2007 CSN 2nd Team All-American

#22 Columbus - Richardo Pierre-Louis

Honors: 29 goals and 11 assists in 2007. Wow. Haitian senior national team member. I like this pick.

#23 Kansas City - Yomby William.

#34 DC United - Andrew Jacobson.

Honors: 2007 TDS 1st Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 1st Team, 2007 CSN 3rd Team All-American

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1:24 pm mst - Alex Nimo goes to RSL #17.

Honors: 2005 ESP, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2006 ESP All*Star, 2007 US U-17 Spring Residency, 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup South Korea, 2007 US U-18

Michael Videira to NE #18.

Honors: 2003 Parade and McDonald’s All-America teams, 2003 U.S. U-18 and U-20 National Teams, 2004 1st All-Freshman Team, 2005 semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, 2006 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All American, 2006 pre-season Herman Watch, 2006 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2006 ACC All-Conference, 2006 CSN 1st Team All-American, 2006 NSCAA/adidas All-America Team 3rd Team, 2006 SA MVP, 2007 CSN 1st Pre-Season 1st Team All-American, 2007 MAC pre-season Hermann Trophy watch, 2007 TDS 2nd Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 3rd Team


Videira is a surprise because he made it public that he wanted to go abroad and test his skills.

Of course, as soon as I send you folks to Ives, he slows down too...or something.

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1:18 pm mst - Ok, folks. Since I'm not on site and the regular feed of information is gone with the ESPN feed going away, I'm going to pull back on the updates. I'll try to get things up ever 15 minutes or so through the rest of the event. Ives has a good thing going for those who want to keep going on a more regular basis....

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1:13 pm mst - SJ takes Shea Salinas out of Furman #15. Remember another unheralded kid out of Furman...Clint Dempsey. I know SJ is hoping for the same.

Honors: 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 3rd Team

#16 - Red Bull NY takes defender Eric Brunner out of Ohio State.

Honors: 2003 ESP, 2006 Big Ten All-Conference, 2007 CSN Pre-Season 3rd Team All-American, 2007 MAC pre-season Hermann Trophy watch, 2007 1st Team All Big Ten, 2007 TDS 3rd Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA 1st team All-American, 2007 CSN 2nd Team All-American, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 1st Team



1:06 pm mst - 1st round is in the books. Biggest shocker aside from the first 8 picks? Eric Avila is still on the board. People must be scared by his size and the fact that #10 type attacking midfielders struggle in this league. San Jose is on the clock...

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1:03 pm mst - Salt Lake takes defender David Horst from Old Dominion. RSL has needs all over the field and this seems like a solid pick. However, they certainly would have been able to get him at #17.

Honors: 2005 Big Ten Freshman Honors (before transfering), 2006 PDL TOTW (2), 2006 All PDL Team, 2007 All PDL Team, 2007 CSN Pre-Season 2nd Team All-American, 2007 MAC pre-season Hermann Trophy watch, 2007 TDS 2nd Team TOS, 2007 CSN 2nd Team All-American

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1:00 pm mst - NE takes Rob Valentino from San Francisco with the 13th pick. I imagine they see a day without Michael Parkhurst and like the GA status of Valentino.

Honors: 2004 2nd All-Freshman Team, 2006 CSN 2nd Team Pre-Season All American, 2007 US U-23, 2007 CSN Pre-Season 2nd Team All-American, 2007 MAC pre-season Hermann Trophy watch

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12:57 pm mst - Chicago pick Dominic Cervi from Tulsa. Keeper Matt Pickens may be on the way out of Chicago and many expected the Fire to select a keeper at some point. I feel like he could have been available later.

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12:54 pm mst - Kansas City takes Roger Espinoza from Ohio State #11. It looks like KC is intent on Harrington playing left back with Espinoza getting a shot at left midfield, showing why they were willing to deal Burciaga to Colorado.

Honors: 2007 1st Team All Big Ten

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12:49 pm mst - Toronto makes Pat Phelan the tenth pick of the draft. So far Toronto is having the best draft. They needed defensive help and they should get it with those two.

Honors: 2002 - 2003 ESP, 2004 2nd All-Freshman Team, 2007 NSCAA 1st team All-American, 2007 CSN 2nd Team All-American, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 1st Team, 2008 US U-23

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12:44 pm mst - Toronto does set the world right and selects Julius James #9. I know he didn't expect to fall that far.

Honors: Trinidad and Tobago U-17, 2005 2nd Team All-American, 2004 1st All-Freshman Team, 2006 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All American, 2006 pre-season Herman Watch, 2006 Hermann Trophy Semifinalist, 2006 Big East All-Conference, 2006 Big East Defensive POTY, 2006 CSN 1st Team All-American, 2006 NSCAA/adidas All-America Team 1st Team, 2007 CSN 1st Pre-Season 1st Team All-American, 2007 MAC pre-season Hermann Trophy watch, 2007 TDS 1st Team TOS, 2007 NSCAA 1st team All-American, 2007 CSN 1st Team All-American, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 1st Team

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12:43 pm mst - Conventional wisdom says James and Avila go 9 & 10 to TFC here. But, this draft has not been conventional!

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12:39 pm mst - FC Dallas take young GK Josh Lambo. Kind of a shocker considering James is on the board and Dallas always seems to need defensive help. Also, I thought Dallas had a young keeper they like in Burse.

Honors: 2006 ESP All*Star, 2006 U-17 Toyota International Championship, 2006 US U-17 Residency, 2007 US U-17 Spring Residency, 2007 FIFA Under-17 World Cup South Korea, 2007 US U-17 Fall Residency, 2007 US U-18, 2007 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team

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12:34 pm mst - Chicago takes Patrick Nyarko. The consensus #1 drops to #7. That shows what all us "draft experts" know. Avila is also dropping...maybe Dallas will take him here since we thought they'd take him at #2. Nyarko did not impress at the combine, maybe that had its consequences.

Honors: 2005 1st All-Freshman Team, 2006 CSN 2nd Team Pre-Season All American, 2006 ACC All-Conference, 2007 CSN 1st Pre-Season 1st Team All-American, 2007 MAC pre-season Hermann Trophy watch, 2006 Big East All-Conference, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 1st Team, 2007 CSN 1st Team All-American


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12:29 pm mst - Columbus take Andy Iro #6. I thought Iro would slide a lot further after he publicly said he was considering offers abroad if he didn't get the club he liked in MLS. I don't think Columbus will qualify as a club he likes. Maybe C-Bus is counting on those England discussions being false. Either way, how are Avila and Nyarko still on the board?

Honors: 2005 3rd Team All-American, 2004 1st All-Freshman Team, 2006 CSN 1st Team Pre-Season All American, 2006 pre-season Herman Watch, 2006 CSN 1st Team All-American, 2006 NSCAA/adidas All-America Team 2nd Team, 2006 SA MVP, 2007 CSN 1st Pre-Season 1st Team All-American, 2007 MAC pre-season Hermann Trophy watch, 2007 TDS 2nd Team TOS, 2007 CSN 1st Team All-American, 2007 NSCAA/adidas All-America 2nd Team


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12:26 pm mst - Colorado selects Ciaran O'Brien #5.

Honors: 2004 - 2005 ESP, 2005 ESP All*Star, 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2006 CSN 2nd All-Freshman Team, 2006 SA Freshman of the year 2nd team, 2006 NSCAA Freshman All-America, 2007 All PDL Team, 2006 Big East All-Conference, 2007 CSN 3rd Team All-American


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12:24 pm mst - Top four picks defensive minded players. Tell you anything about the perceived quality of attacking players in this draft???

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12:20 pm mst - LA takes Sean Franklin D/M out of Cal State Northridge. The first senior to be selected.

Honors: 2007 US U-23, 2007 All PDL Team, 2008 US U-23


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12:16 pm mst - And who told you Beltran's stock was going up, up and away...

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12:14 pm mst - Salt Lake takes Tony Beltran #3. Another UCLA player.

Honors: 2004 ESP All*Star, 2004 NSCAA/adidas high school All-American, 2005 StudentSportsSoccer.com #2 top prospect, 2006 U-20 Milk Cup, 2007 US U-20 World Cup, 2007 TDS 2nd Team TOS, 2007 1st team all Pac-10,

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12:10 pm mst - Dallas takes defender Brek Shea #2. The highschooler impressed at the combine and is rewarded.

Honors: 2007 US U-17 Fall Residency, 2007 US U-18, 2007 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team


12:05 pm mst - KC selects #1 - Chance Myers from UCLA.

Honors: 2005 NSCAA/adidas Boys Youth All-America Team, 2005 ESP All*Star, 2006 U-20 Milk Cup, 2006 CSN 100 Freshman to Watch, 2006 TDS 2nd all-Freshman team, 2007 1st team all Pac-10, 2007 TDS Team Of The Season Honorable Mention, 2007 U-18 Pan Am Games, 2008 US U-23


11:50 am mst - First thing to say, both Steve Goff and Ives now think Chance Myers will be Kansas City's #1 pick. We'll find out soon enough.

Today Is The Day...

That's right folks. In under five hours we'll know the #1 pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft. Exciting stuff. I figured I'd post a few helpful links for those following the draft on their computer. As the draft progresses I'll post links to players and their honors records as I've posted in the past.

One interesting thing to take a look at is to see how all the mock drafts added up in one "averaged" mock draft. Thanks to Zman Gunner over at Big Soccer for putting that one together.

ESPN.com gives us their Top 20 draft prospects.

3rd Degree wraps up how he feels the class of 2008 shaped up.

Pro Player Pipeline has their overall rankings posted.

Remember to set the DVR...the First Round of the draft will be live on ESPN2 from 2:00 p.m. est – 3:00 p.m. est.

Beltran To Be Surprise #1???

I know a lot of readers are surprised to see me with Tony Beltran at #5 in the below mock draft. However, the rumors won't stop swirling and now I hear KC may have had Beltran in mind when they traded up. I know, you're all picking your jaws up off the floor! Who knows, I may be part of some pre-draft poker game manipulation, but my sources are very interested in Beltran and thinks many MLS coaches are too.

A lot of fans are knocking the Beltran hype but let's remember, he was a starter on the U.S. squad that advanced to the quarterfinals at the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup, he was a starter for the U-18 team that won the 2005 Milk Cup and he was a starter in all 21 games in 2007, playing in all but four minutes. In 2004 he was an adidas ESP All*Star and a NSCAA/adidas high school All-American. This kid has the pedigree and he is Generation Adidas. He's also versatile in that he can play RB and central midfield.

This would be an exciting dark horse pick, right?

In 24 Hours The 2008 SuperDraft will be over...

That's right folks, the event I've been waiting 364 days for is just about here, and before you know it, will be gone. It kicks off at 2 pm est tomorrow, 1/18/08 and will wrap up by 5:30 pm est.

Tomorrow we'll have a live blog post updated with each pick and my thoughts. I'll also try to get some comments out of my fellow FCTP contributors. So check back early and often.

Over the weekend I'll digest the picks to see who made out like a bandit and who struggled. I can tell you now, if Chivas USA doesn't trade up or make something happen, they're going to struggle having only one pick at the start of the fourth and final round. Houston is also on their back heel with two total picks, the first being right before Chivas USA's.

Kansas City made a big move to relieve salary cap space and move into the #1 spot after the trade with San Jose. However, there are already rumors that KC will make a trade to the highest bidder. Interesting.

Draft day typically does involve some moves. Last year we saw Colorado trade for Greg Vanney before they moved him mid-season. Interestingly, Dallas used the pick received in this move to draft Andrew Daniels, who didn't play for the Hoops in 2007. However, Dallas could have picked Dane Richards or Ty Harden or Adam Cristman or...you get my point. Ives says he is going to play that game for an upcoming post, that should be fun.

So get ready folks. Get plenty of sleep tonight. Be ready to sit in front of the TV, the computer or at the actual draft if you made the trip. This one should be exciting!

Post Combine SuperMockDraft

Here it is folks. My co-contributor Emile and I have been poring over the combine write-ups all weekend. Yesterday we sat on GoogleChat for hours to hash out this mock draft. So this isn't just my nuttery...this is the product of two crazy draft nerds (What? Nerd?). Bonji mostly takes the Evens while Emile mostly takes the Odds.


Without further ado....


-First Round-

#1 - Kansas City - Patrick Nyarko: I wouldn't be surprised at all if the top of the draft board ends up being volatile, and players other than Nyarko and Avila go 1 and 2. But Nyarko does seem like the most logical choice for KC, with Sealy and Pore the only true forwards on the roster (and Trujillo as well, apparently, which doesn't change much). Nyarko is not a slam-dunk success, given the difficult jump from college to pros for forwards. but he has bags of skill and a record of amazing goal-scoring consistency at Virginia Tech.


#2 - Dallas - Eric Avila: Dallas has gone for the young, creative type in the past (Ramon Nunez) but now they don't have that type of spark. Buzz is telling people over at 3rd Degree that the Hoops could come out in a 3-5-2 formation which would require crafty players in the middle with 2007 stand out Toja.


#3 - Salt Lake - Julius James: James being available at #3 would be a boon for the Salt Kings, since defense is a big, big need. If JuJay (tm Emile) can deliver on his promise immediately, Salt Lake can perhaps use the versatile Nathan Sturgis to shore up the wing. UConn coach Ray Reid said James was more athletic than Chris Gbandi was when he was at UConn, and we know he's smart and composed. Sounds like a possible young Eddie Pope to me.


#4 - Los Angeles - Chance Myers: LA has so many salary cap issues it is not even funny. Ok, as a Rapids fan, it is funny. Last season we saw that Becks alone does not a team make. Myers should be known in LA circles since he attended UCLA. His GA status means LA can get a solid player without salary cap impact. LA needs help defensively and here it is.


#5 - Colorado - Tony Beltran: Beltran is a bit of a mystery in the draftosphere after sitting out of the combine with an injury. But whispers are saying not to sleep on him, and that he could end up being the surprise of this draft. Colorado's biggest need is not defense, but the versatile Beltran projects to right back or defensive or right midfield, and the Rapids midfield is less than ideal at this point.


#6 - Columbus - Pat Phelan: Columbus is king of the young, inexperienced roster. Phelan is the type of player who can step in and stabilize with his defensive skills. He can play in the midfield or the back line and Sigi will need someone like him to keep his keeper safe from harm.


#7 - Chicago - Ciaran O'Brien: Personally, I rate O'Brien above Avila, since he came in and outperformed Avila in just his first year with UCSB. They're both a little small, but Avila seems to be the overwhelming pundits' favorite for some reason. O'Brien plays centrally, but has experience on the left, and is (I'm fairly sure) right-footed. The Fire has had a long-term hole on the right side of midfield, so O'Brien could potentially slot in there or find another home in the center. His GA status is a positive for Chicago, putting him above Lowry on our board.


#8 - Dallas - Brek Shea: Shea was one of the most unknown quantities coming into the combine and after it concluded he was a consensus first rounder. Helped by GA status and a great work rate, this kid should be able to hold down a starting MLS spot in a couple years. With good coaching and continued hard work he could make the US national team some day. I got to see him running up and down the left flank on the last day of the combine, and he put a decent ball into the box on a long run down the left. MLS teams are always looking for left sided defenders and Shea looks like he could work out at left back or left mid in a 3-5-2.


#9 - Toronto - Andy Iro: Iro has a few things working against him - his signability is unclear, he has a nagging knee problem, and he didn't improve as much as I would have liked after dominating as a freshman at UCSB. That said, the man is 6-6 and athletic. Toronto has plenty of playing time available for a quality center-half, and Iro has the make of a fan favorite and a good name for creative chants and songs.


#10 - Toronto - Peter Lowry: Sure, Toronto has Edu, the #1 pick in 2007...but for how long. Lowry is another skillful midfielder who should be able to fill in when Edu is away with the national team or sold to Europe.


#11 - Kansas City - Sean Franklin: Franklin has been a great prospect for years, but apparently didn't cement his draft status until he wowed people for a day at the combine. Forget that noise - Franklin was outstanding at CSUN for four years, earning youth nat call-ups and dishing assists until a broken wrist sidelined him in 2007. The athletic, attack-minded right back fits a real need on the under-construction KC back-line.


#12 - Chicago - Josh Lambo: Chicago's keeper situation isn't all that great. Why not take a GA kid and let him develop on your reserve team? While I'm sure Lambo isn't ready for prime time, by the time Pickens is sold/leaves and Jon Busch retires he should be...if not sooner.


#13 - New England - Xavier Balc: True, Balc didn't look that good in the College Cup, but he is still a good value pick based on his total Ohio State career. The Revs, when they pick well, take successful college players that slide in the draft, and Balc could be just that type of player. His cultured left-foot will look all the better when compared side-by-side with Khano Smith's, and the Revs will desperately need offensive-minded midfield help if Noonan goes away.


#14 - Salt Lake - Michael Videira: Videira missed the combine with an injury and this probably helped him slip. Some love his skills and say he's ready to start in MLS, others think he's overrated. However, SLC needs help all over and who better then a kid who should be ready to at least come off the bench to contribute in the last ten minutes.


-Second Round-


#15 - San Jose - Ely Allen: Allen brings a resume better than Calen Carr's was when Carr was picked 10th in 2006. The reigning Pac-10 Player of the Year and former U-18 nat improved his output every season at Washington and is the sort of hard-working, versatile talent that San Jose was known for before their relocation.


#16 - New York - Stephen King: King is an iron man midfielder who goes and goes. He didn't miss a college game at Maryland. What a contrast to Reyna. King should benefit from having such a great mentor in Reyna. Hopefully he can continue to develop and keep that iron quality that Reyna is lacking.


#17 - Salt Lake - Roger Espinoza: RSL could probably use more defensive help, but we've addressed their central need and there aren't any good options at wide defender to pick here. Espinoza would be a sensible project, given their lack of quality left-sided players. Espinoza is also a Colorado native who would probably be happy to head back to the mountains.


#18 - New England - Eric Brunner: Sure, Parkhurst is solid but what else do the Revs have going on defense? If they lose Joeseph their team all of a sudden gives up a lot more goals. Brunner should be able to help add depth.


#19 - Dallas - Rob Valentino: Valentino has first-round talent, but is coming off of a serious left-knee injury that robbed him of the 2007 college season. This could be a benefit for already talent-rich Dallas, which needs a long-term center-back replacement for Goodson to understudy under Davino. The Hoops can wait for Valentino to get back to where he once was.


#20 - Columbus - Alex Nimo: Nimo is too small for the pro game. Sure, he has ball skills and offensive awareness but so did Freddy Adu....and I'm not saying Nimo is another Adu. Hopefully Nimo can work the reserve angle for a couple years since his salary won't count against Columbus' cap. He needs to develop physically before playing in MLS.


#21 - Los Angeles - Andrew Jacobson: Jacobson might be a tough signing for MLS, since he has Cal connections in Europe and has already reportedly had overseas training and interest. If MLS does get him, the Galaxy would no doubt be happy with a 6-2 central midfielder who can pass the ball. Just the thing to take some pressure off of their sexy-stars.


#22 - Dallas - Ricardo Pierre-Louis: Pierre-Louis went to a small school playing in the NAIA (or whatever that lower division is). He knows how to score goals and has national team experience for his native Haiti. Another Jean-Phillipe Peguero? Maybe. He did very well at the combine moving him up the board.


#23 - Kansas City - Julian Valentin: Valentin doesn't deserve such harsh criticisms of his game. He admits himself that he isn't the fastest or biggest or most skillful defender, but heart goes a long way in MLS, as does international experience, and only being 20 years old at the time of the draft. A smallish, big-hearted central defender who lead his team to college glory? Sounds a lot like Nick Garcia, doesn't it?


#24 - DC - David Horst: Horst is listed as a 6'-4" defender. That kind of size in MLS can't be ignored. DC lost Bobby B and is about to lose Bryan Arguez. They need depth in the back.


#25 - Kansas City - David Roth: Let's assume that Michael Harrington will be moving full-time to left back after the Wizards traded Jose Burciaga to Colorado. If so, there are openings in the left midfield, and Roth, while undersized, was an extremely productive playmaker at Northwestern and is a Missouri native.


#26 - Chicago - Joe Germanese: Germanese impressed a bunch of people at the combine and I think I saw him use a nifty little move in the box to create a shot for himself. His combine performance helped him move up the board for sure. Chicago can always use another goal scoring threat...I guess that is true for all teams.


#27 - New England - Dominic Cervi: The Cervi hype train has gotten a little crazy lately. Let's make something clear - he had basically one good college season at Tulsa. His 2007 was really outstanding, grabbing a near 80% save percentage on an offensive-minded team. In the three prior years he split time, and was statistically outplayed in two of them by his teammates. That said, goalies develop late, and he's 6-6 and just 21 years old. The Revs have a lot of holes to fill, but this is a nice, potential long-term answer at one position anyway.


#28 - Los Angeles - Michael Zaher: Another UCLA product who can help add depth to a team that is very shallow after the big names. Zaher has a good pedigree having player for the US U-18 team and he had a good senior season on an disappointingly unremarkable team.


-Third Round-


#29 - Los Angeles - Joe Lapira: Someone should draft Lapira, just in case. Los Angeles has a history of making this type of pick, and they have enough picks in this draft to take a flyer and grab Lapira's MLS rights for two years.

#30 - Toronto - Yannick Reyering: The tall German is out of college eligibility and should be able to catch on with a team like Toronto that is looking for help at all positions.

#31 - Dallas - Jon Leathers: The star Furman defender is not just an odd name that should sell loads of jerseys to the crossover MLS/motorcyclist community . Leathers was just called into U-23 camp and had a solid combine, sending him rocketing up people's draft lists. The problem - he's a 5'8 center-back who had just one goal and two assists in four college seasons. He'll probably need to move outside and develop some attacking verve, or get in just the right system. Dallas' possible new three-back defense might suit him well.

#32 - New York - Ryan Cordeiro: I've been boostering UConn's Cordeiro for a while as an underrated commodity in this draft, as a pure left-sided attacking talent. But he fell in our draft anyway. The Red Bulls have the right side locked down pretty well, but there are definitely openings for left-sided prospects, especially with Dave van den Bergh probably not long for MLS.

#33 - DC - Scott Campbell: Campbell is a bit of a mystery for some adventurous team. He came into the ACC like a house on fire in 2005, but didn't come close to matching his offensive production the last two seasons at UNC. DC will need a long-term replacement for Josh Gros, and Campbell might be able to provide similar positional versatility and is only 21.

#34 - Los Angeles - Brian Edwards: LA traded away Joe Cannon to put their backup in the starting spot. It worked for Colorado and Bouna Time when Joe left Denver, LA is hoping the same will happen there. So they need a new reliable back up and Edwards should provide that. There are questions about his long term ability to get a starting job in the league.

#35 - Toronto - Matt Britner: Britner had to overcome a lot of injuries in his college career, and the fifth-year senior from Brown did well to be named Ivy Player of the Year in 2007 ahead of Andre Akpan. It isn't clear how much of an athletic toll the injuries have taken on the Halifax native, but the former Canadian U-20 captain has decent size and is the only Canadian player in the draft worth taking this high.

#36 - Colorado - Shea Salinas: Salinas had a strong senior season and was named to the NSCAA/adidas All-American 3rd team. The athletic midfielder showed well at the combine after running by many defenders almost at will. Another Dane Richards perhaps? Terry Cooke is not getting any younger and the left side of midfield is a gaping hole in the Rapids lineup, if he can run on the left. Sure, there is Colin Clark but he hasn't shown he is a dependable option game in and game out.

#37 - Salt Lake - George Josten: Josten was a terrifically productive college scorer at Gonzaga with 34 career goals, which will no doubt earn some comparisons to Brian Ching. Like Ching, Josten has good size - but sadly unlike Ching, he's not from Hawai'i, creating a potential ESPN talking point crisis. Salt Lake probably has bigger needs at this point, but, in a forward-poor draft, Josten is the best prospect left on this draft board.

#38 - Chicago - Rauwshan McKenzie: The Michigan State man impressed at the combine and probably pulled himself up from the Supplemental Draft. He's athletic and should be able to earn a developmental spot in the Windy City.

#39 - Kansas City - Joe Donoho: Despite not being chosen for the combine, Donoho charts as a definite SuperDraft prospect. The 6-3 sweeper from Bradley is fast and can score (6 goals in 2007), but will have to make a positional change in MLS and prove that his boffo 2007 was not an aberration, as he had been a middling college player up until this fall. The Wizards gutted defense can use some more new developmental blood.

#40 - Chicago - Adrian Chevannes: Another defensive option for Chicago to help solidify the wings. Some think he could make a move to midfield or even outside AM/F. He has serious pace and learned a thing or two in the U-17 residency program.

#41 - New England - Andre Sherard: Sherard may have had a bad combine, but he excelled at UNC as a solid and stable presence in the center of the defense. Unfortunately for him, I doubt that he's his listed 5-10, and he showed no ability or inclination to attack in college. He is probably at best a poor man's Parkhurst, so why not learn from the genuine article?

#42 - Houston - Lukasz Tumicz: This young Polishman flew under the radar on the east coast playing for Rhode Island. However, the forward has experience with the Polish U-15 & U-16 teams and could be the diamond in the rough foreign player MLS teams covet.


-Fourth Round-


#43 - Chivas USA - Kevin Forrest: Forrest had a terrific 2006 season at Washington, scoring 16 goals. But 2007 saw his season end early with a stress fracture in his arch. He's also had problems with plantar fasciitis and a gimpy knee, so his future partly depends on getting his injury problems behind him. Chivas has only one pick in the Superdraft and plenty of needs, and Forrest could yet end up being a nice value pick.

#44 - New York - Matt Allen: New York is another team that needs to look for keeper help with the retirement of Ronald Waterreus. Somehow he missed the initial combine invite list, but was eventually added and played well...he's quality and will be a good second or third option for New York.

#45 - Dallas - Ryan Maduro: The Providence midfielder was pulled out of the MLS combine for reasons that are still not clear. Maduro was a second-round value before this on my board, so unless he was kidnapped by Achilles tendon pirates, he would be a good value for Dallas here. It's likely he holds a Portuguese passport, so expect to see him as a Yank Abroad. Maduro is a two-time all-Big East midfielder who had 12 goals and 16 assists over the last two seasons.

#46 - Los Angeles - Cesar Zambrano: Zambrano fell down the big board after a poor combine performance. However, he showed skill in college and should get selected. LA will certainly be looking for midfield help when Becks is off with the national team or Vagenas is limping around on his walker (ok he isn't that old...but he seems frail sometimes).

#47 - Colorado - Saidi Isaac: The forward from Kenya has shown some athletic skills and great ball control. Should he be able to secure a contract he'll undoubtedly help the Rapids to a third straight reserve league championship.

#48 - Columbus - Kai Kasiguran: Kasiguran helped lead Messiah to the NCAA D3 title in three of his four seasons there, earning D3 Player of the Year in 2007 and the golden ticket to the MLS Combine. Apparently, he didn't blow anyone away there, but the Cleveland-area native was ultra-productive in college and would be a popular hometown pick for the Crew, where he would project as an attacking midfield or forward prospect.


#49 - Colorado - Sherron Manswell: Manswell has good size and ability on the ball. The Rapids may be able to craft him into a useful player with the right amount of time to teach. He is from Trinidad and will count as an international player. But hey, Dwight Yorke was from Trinidad too, right?

#50 - Dallas - Spencer Wadsworth: Wadsworth calls Dallas his home, and is a favorite sleeper after having his 2007 season ruined by a pre-season injury. Before that, the diminutive forward from Duke terrorized the ACC with darting, incisive runs and a massive work-rate.

#51 - Los Angeles - Jamil Roberts: The younger Roberts brother could join the same MLS family as Troy should he earn a contract.


#52 - DC - Ryan Miller: We suspect this draft is going to be all about replacing the Big B in DC. Bobby B took his MLS playboy act to Houston and DC needs to stock up. The more they have in camp to choose from, the more likely they find a defender who can play in MLS. Miller had a solid college career and should be able to hold it down...at least in the reserves.

#53 - Kansas City - Ben Shuleva: The Wizards could use a developmental prospect in the defensive midfield, and Shuleva is a tough-minded destroyer who battled back from a 2006 ACL tear to have a strong 2007 season with SMU.

#54 - Chicago - Ben Nason: The 2003 Big East Rookie Of The Year had a good career on a solid VT team. The midfielder should be able to get a serious look. Maybe Blanco will be asking him 'Que Paso' someday soon.

#55 - New England - Brandon Owens: Owens has good defensive size and ability. He's played with many levels of the US Youth National Team and knows how to play the game. Injuries have derailed his college career somewhat. However, in his senior season he did win all Pac-10 honors, a first at UCLA since 2002.

#56 - Houston - Billy Chiles: I really hope the Towson Tigers keeper makes it in MLS, because imagine Max Bretos yelling 'BILLY CHILES!' every time he stones someone. I can almost taste it. Houston has one keeper and he's been around since before penicillin. Chiles' recent call-up to U-23 camp underscores his qualifications - he's 6-3 and was named CAA keeper of the year in 2007, a conference with a lot of strong goalies.



In case you didn't figure it out. Emile's comments are in italics and Bonji's are not.