2009 MLS Generation Adidas Class Thoughts...

We've all had a day to digest the Generation Adidas class. I've had some thoughts and I've corresponded with an MLS insider who gave me their thoughts. My thoughts aren't as insightful as my MLS insider, so we'll go there first.

on Alston...

I like Kevin Alston - D - University of Indiana very much - he is ready to go now

Alston is listed as 5' 8" so it would seem if he is in fact ready to go now it will be as a full back or perhaps some kind of winger. He's been a defender most of his career but maybe he can adapt like Jonathan Bornstein.

on Frei...

GK- University of California: probably the best GK candidate to come out of college since Adin Brown...excellent

This is high praise in my book. Looking back over his career he started well winning Athlete of the Year in 2005 at De La Salle High School. If you know anything about high school football you know De La Salle is one of the football factories in the US. They have kids going on to the biggest college programs and then the NFL. And a soccer goalie won Athlete of the Year there three years ago. What? He's got good size and had a commanding season in net as a junior at Cal (0.77 GAA, 9 SO).

This next one threw me. To this point all I've seen in the media is Zakuani #1, top forward prospect, a lock...not in the opinion of my insider...

F - University of Akron: overrated - mark my words / another Patrick Nyarko

That got me thinking...is comparing a draft candidate to Patrick Nyarko that bad of a thing? In 2008 he played in nine games and scored two goals. Some might say that is a decent start for a rookie forward. Others might look at Nyarko's 22 years of age and say Altidore was out scoring him at 17. I'd say the verdict is still out on Nyarko and the comparison says to me that Zakuani has as much of a chance to score a couple goals in his rookie year and to have the jury still out on him in 2010. We'll see.

on Husidic...

M - University of Illinois – Chicago - skillful, playmaker - not sure if he can go wide or not

I take the above comment to say that most kids coming out of school aren't ready to play in the center of the park as rookies. They take time to develop. Without the reserve league will someone like Husidic get that chance unless he can adapt to a wider position?

That's all I've got from the insider. The knock on Zakuani makes me think twice about putting him #1 overall. Perhaps Seattle would do better picking Omar Gonzalez. Seattle already has a skilled forward in Sebastien Le Toux and a good target in Nate Jaqua. Why not add a skillful 6' 5" center back to the mix?

This GA class is going to go quickly I think. The consensus on the draft class seems to be that it is shallow. My source is of the opinion that it future rookie classes will continue to deteriorate until young players developed by the MLS clubs start to enter the league in a few years. With this latest rule change by MLS where the spots for youngsters was reduced and the reserve league axed I have to agree. Picking the upcoming MLS talent is an art, not a science and the past has shown that you need to work with these kids over time, not expect excellence right out of school.

One interesting thing I realized this morning is that none of this year's GA class is direct from the U-17 residency program, they all have some college experience. Perhaps MLS is learning that Altidore is the exception, not the rule.