Saturday, January 30, 2016

Sarvas To DC

Stevben Goff is reporting and I've heard the same from other sources that Marcelo Sarvas has been traded to DC United for allocation money.  Expect an announcement today or tomorrow it sounds like.

This leaves Powers, Cronin, and Powers to power (no pun intended) the center of the midfield.  That's not a bad center of the park but that assume's Pappa will be available (not suspended) and there's no depth.  If we put Serna and Pfeffer(?) on the wings that leaves Azira and Watts as our only midfielders on the bench.

You would assume that will all the allocation money we're gathering we've got a couple of signings in mind but those need to happen NOW.  Right now in camp we have 18 players (of a possible 28) under contract and with Pappa and Serna recovering only 16 available to train (that's assuming St. Ledger has arrived).  We need to have our whole team in camp right now and learning how to work together.  We can't find a couple of high priced signing in three weeks and expect to be ready by the season that starts five weeks from tomorrow.

Current roster:

GK John Berner
GK Zac MacMath
D March Burch
D Bobby Burling
D Marlon Hairston
D Axel Sjoberg
D Sean St. Ledger
M Michael Azira
M Sam Cronin
M Marco Pappa
M Zach Pfeffer
M Dillon Powers
M Dillon Serna
M Jared Watts
F Dominque Badji
F Caleb Calvert
F Kevin Doyle
F Luis Solignac

Unsigned draftees:

GK Chris Froschauer
D Dennis Castillo
D Bradley Kamdem
D Javan Torre
M Emmanuel Appiah
F John Manga

Trialists:

D Stephen Keel
M Yann Ekra - Charlotte
M Brian Ownby - Richmond

Friday, January 29, 2016

Weekly Recap

After a bout with whatever bug is going around I'm back.  Let's recap what's happened since Monday.
Nice job by the FO on this one.  I figured when we declined his option that he just waled away.  Getting allocation money for him means we made a real offer to bring him back and he declined it.  Unless we found out he took $125K from Dallas or something this was the right move by the FO.
Again another good move by the Front Office.  If Ramirez is having problems adjusting as reported then this is probably the best way to get value for him.  There's no way a team like Almeria is going to pay the reported $2 million that we paid for Ramirez right now.  This gives him 6 months to earn that kind of transfer fee from Spain and if it doesn't work then we get him back with another chance to make it work for us.
Can't say this is at all unfair.  Its up to the FO to do something soon to turn it around.
That appeared to be a passing rumor.  Its since been replaced with...
Well, at least we're targeting the right position, though I don't think we can rely on a guy struggling to get playing time in Central America to be a starter in 5 weeks.
There was even a tweet that Pulido himself had turned down the offer from the Rapids though that's not "in print" anywhere.  Regardless its starting to look like our third major attacking strikeout this offseason (Vela, Bedoya).
Not strictly Rapids related but fairly interesting.  Good to see some non-EPL teams in the state.  I'd be more interested if they were playing each other or the Rapids though, I'm not real interested in seeing Liga MX teams.
This is of course the big news this week.  All sources (including some of my own) are pointing to Howard coming to Colorado.  As we saw in the guest post there are positives to this signing but they come with a number of "ifs" and "maybes".  I have no real faith in the Rapids pulling those contingencies off and Howard isn't going to fix anything on the field for us.  This is screaming marketing move with now game upside to me.
The notable detail in this is that the stabbing occurred on Dec. 17th, two days after he was traded to the Rapids.  Its always tricky to judge some of this without the details but the reports of him being intoxicated and changing his story aren't what you want to hear from a guy who was only 4 months removed from the league's substance abuse program.  If accurate I can't imagine that will play well in the league Front Office.
  • Finally (no link on this one), former Rapid Stephen Keel spotted at Rapids camp
Keel didn't have his option picked up by Dallas.  He's a local boy so it makes sense he'd come here first.  He's at best a depth signing this year.

So you'll notice the great big absence of something in all that news.  Not a single player signing.  That's a problem more than a week after the players reported, all 19 of them.

Current roster:

GK John Berner
GK Zac MacMath
D March Burch
D Bobby Burling
D Marlon Hairston
D Axel Sjoberg
D Sean St. Ledger
M Michael Azira
M Sam Cronin
M Marco Pappa
M Zach Pfeffer
M Dillon Powers
M Dillon Serna
M Marcelo Sarvas
M Jared Watts
F Dominque Badji
F Caleb Calvert
F Kevin Doyle
F Luis Solignac

Unsigned draftees:

GK Chris Froschauer
D Dennis Castillo
D Bradley Kamdem
D Javan Torre
M Emmanuel Appiah
F John Manga

Trialists:

D Stephen Keel
M Yann Ekra - Charlotte
M Brian Ownby - Richmond

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Why Tim Howard?

This is a guest piece by Dave Wegner, C38 board member, Fulham fan, and generally good guy.  Its long but worth your time to read.  I'll have  more tomorrow about the various rumors floating around and the Ramirez loan.


The recent rumors about the Colorado Rapids signing American and Everton goal keeper Tim Howard have certainly evoked substantial response from the fan base. Seems a lot on the negative side fueled by the teams glaring needs.  The main criticisms of the move are that’s just a money grab and we already had a good keeper and it doesn’t solve our lack of goal scoring or make the team better.  What I contend is that those arguments are quick, understandable, but knee jerk reactions to a team that had such a rough year last campaign.  What if those reactions are wrong?

Let’s be crystal clear here, this rumor was born from a single, unnamed source. Anyone that has watched Newsroom or taken a Journalism 101 course knows that stories need to be verified and confirmed from at least two separate sources.  Right now, Walter Cronkite is paternally waving his finger at all of us on this one.  That being said, it’s the offseason, so why not hypothesize right? 

Let’s slide tackle the first piece of the less than gleeful reactions to the move: it’s a money grab.  Yes, it absolutely is. All signings, by any team, in any sport are a money grab. Professional sports teams are all business endeavors. Any money you spend is done so with the goal of providing returns. This isn’t a bad thing, not in the slightest. If a move like this provides the return on investment that it should, then it’s that much easier to get ownership to keep filling the war chest to get more players. 

So, Tim Howard comes to Denver. All of sudden our Rapids are the front of the sports page, people are talking about the club, people are coming to the games. There is a buzz that even the 2010 MLS Cup didn’t provide.  Add a couple of thousand soccer fans to DSGP and the stadium starts to gain energy. The experience goes up, people come back, and the seeds of a soccer culture and deeper fan experience are fostered.  I love the idea of signing Bedoya. He’s a fantastic, young US national that would directly impact our offensive limitations. Here’s the reality though:  ask 10 people on the street who Tim Howard is and you will get most or all knowing the name. Ask the same of Bedoya and you are lucky to get half. 

Howard is the face of US soccer. He had one of the greatest performances in goal most of will ever see against one of the best young teams in the world in the 2014 World Cup. A performance in a loss that was so stunning it warranted a call from the President of the United States.  15 total saves that allowed our Yanks to stay in and compete in a game that we’d have lost 6-1 had it not been for Tim Howard.  That gravitas has a real value to a team that is in desperate need of an identity that transcends beyond the confines of DSGP.  He puts us on a local and national stage. All of this leads to the club being able to generate more marketing and sponsorship revenue.

Filling more seats, selling more nachos, beer, jerseys and scarves means something important. It allows this team to pursue players that demand larger salaries, it allows us to give raises and keep players we already have and want, it allows additions to support staff and scouting. These are all things that can make this team better and it is an impact that is something that other rumored signings, Bedoya included, don’t carry with them.  Being better on the pitch is immensely important, but it doesn’t carry the weight of growing awareness of the team on its own.

The next issue though. Sure, Tim Howard will get people to the stadium, but if we continue to lose, don’t score goals or entertain those coming out, it won’t mean a damned thing. Exactly, this is exactly true, but it’s thinking in the single or second dimension. The reality is we’ve added some important pieces that will help us be more competitive.  Azira is a good midfielder, Pfeffer can really play and would have likely been a top 5 pick if he were in the 2016 draft, and Marco Pappa is a real player. Resigning Burling solidifies the center of our back four with St. Ledger in the middle.  There is also the addition of John Spencer on the coaching staff which adds some real, needed experience. He had an expansion team competing for the playoffs in their first season, he was on the coaching staff of the Houston Dynamo when they won back to back MLS Cups, and also was the head coach that took their reserve team to a championship.

These are solid moves, but there is more needed. We need to make sure we have the answer at left back and we still need more for the teams attack.  Assessing this move with just this information certainly still deserves a raised eyebrow, but it ignores the fact that players are still being pursued and looking to be brought in.  The MLS window hasn’t even opened yet, so a little patience is fair isn’t it?

Ok, I know what you are saying, they always promise us this and never deliver.  Sure, sure, but let’s roll back the clock a second. Gaby Torres didn’t pan out here, but they got him when anyone and everyone in the league wanted him. His form in the Gold Cup was massive and he ended up in Burgundy. Now consider this: Kevin Doyle.  The “Rapids never spend money” argument should be put deeply in the bottom of the complaint drawer. Doyle can play, although he needs support (we’ll get to that later) and ownership is paying 7 figures for him (a first for us). Until 2 years ago, the Rapids didn’t spend or try and spend money. That simply isn’t the case anymore. There is money in the coffers.  The war chest is healthy.

These points should not be white washed with all the skepticism that is out there. Sure, we’ve missed on some players, but that’s the nature of the business.  Everybody misses, ask Man United who can’t sign anyone these days and they bathe in cash.  Also, and more importantly and if we sign Howard, did anyone actually think we could ever sign him away from the Premier League?  Maybe a little benefit of the doubt is warranted if that happens. At least for a couple weeks.

Tim Howard doesn’t score goals. Well, actually, there was that one time, but I get the point. No, Tim Howard isn’t a goal scorer that we need, but that doesn’t mean that his presence doesn’t impact the offense. First off, revisit the point(s) above, the team is still looking to add those players. Secondly though, don’t ignore the symbiotic connection of the 3 lines of a starting 11. 

Tim Howard brings an ability to solidify our back line beyond what we’ve seen before at DSGP.  I, we, loved Clint Irwin. He is a really good MLS keeper and he should do well in Toronto, but I am sure even Clint would acknowledge the difference in skill between himself and Tim Howard.  Being the general in the box is so important to a team’s defensive integrity. Irwin was improving on that, but Howard brings that skill at a higher level and years of intense, international experience. 

Remember that Belgium game?  Imagine playing right, center or left back with that kind of shot stopper behind you.  The confidence that comes with that will make any back better. Irwin was a good keeper, but let’s put some things in perspective of what you get with Howard. Know that keeper in Utah that has been a huge thorn in our sides for years?  He’s the back up to the guy that back’s up Tim Howard on the national team.   Rimando is arguably the best keeper in the league and we are getting the guy that is ahead of him in the lineup two times.

All this means a better defense, but still no goals dammit. Well, not exactly. Symbiotic relationships of the 3 lines of a starting 11, remember? Let’s talk about that. A more tactically sound defense enhanced by a player like Howard reduces the sag that a midfield suffers when a defense is tactically weak. It allows the midfield to play a higher line which then allows for a much stronger transition into the final, attacking third.  With Kevin Doyle we now have a player who knows how to find the back of the net.  Another player or two is needed, we’ve discussed that, but a new acquisition like Marco Pappa and playing Powers at the #8 (which is where he going to be playing this year) will make a huge impact in this. 

Each of the three layers impact the others.  I assume we all know this. Last year, the defense was markedly improved from 2014, but it came at a cost.  Until the signings of St. Ledger and Figueroa, our defense was improved by a “team” approach. The team collapsed back to overcome some shortcomings in individual skills. This sag just destroyed our attack. Once we signed these 2 players, the offense got better, not great, but better because of their individual, tactical skill. St. Ledger is back, Figueroa went all Jerry Maguire on us and is gone, but Howard will definitely help.  Again, still need to see what happens, but Burling and St. Ledger in the middle with Howard behind them is a really, really good core.  It will help support the transition to the attack.

Boy, but he’s going to be 37 at the start of the season. Sure, he sure is. In 2 months Tim Howard will be 37.  So, for the past 10 months he has been 36 years old. All he has done at the age of 36 is win the CONCACAF player of the year award, for what that is worth. He’s also still a starter in the Premier League at his ripe old age.  At the ancient age of 35 he did that little thing in Brazil against Belgium. No one is ageless, but show me where Tim Howard is getting older. The man is in great shape. Seriously, Google some pics of the guy and tell me he looks old.  He’s 36 and one of the top goalkeepers in arguably the top league in the world.

Let’s talk about age and keepers. Keepers play into their 40’s.  Look at Gianluigi Buffon for Italy, one of the best keepers in the world (still) and is older than Howard.   Age is different for keepers. Sure, we wouldn’t have him for the next 5-10 years, but I’ll take a couple years of service any day of the week.

It’s not a perfect answer, there are still holes in this roster, but we are talking about an American soccer legend here.  Look, if nothing else, you get the chance for the next couple seasons to see Timmy Friggin Howard play in your stadium 17 times or more a season.  Strip it all down and think about it, it’s Timmy Friggin Howard, American soccer hero.  One of the best players to ever come out of this country and play on the international stage and he’d be wearing our colors and our badge.  You get the chance to stand behind him (literally in the north or south stands) and cheer him on as one of yours.  On top of that, regardless of the name we are talking about here, you are filling a position on your roster with one of the better players from the best league in the world. How often does that opportunity present itself to us in Rapid land and what team wouldn’t jump on that opportunity?  If these last two points don’t excite you, I just don’t know what else to say. 

But, again, all of this is based on some nameless person saying something that no one else has corroborated. 

Monday, January 25, 2016

World Soccer Talk Drops The Hammer

World Soccer Talk did a much better version of what I wrote last night.  Some excerpts:
Still, compared with the rest of this Rapids offseason, the Spencer hire looks like a stroke of genius.
And remember, this was the offseason in which the Rapids were going to turn things around by spending and thinking big. Instead, this offseason has been a rambling sideshow. With the Western Conference continuing to get better, Colorado remains rooted to the foot of the division. This organization has no clue. They’ve recommitted to Mastroeni for reasons beyond understanding yet continue to undercut him by with the likes of Director of Soccer Claudio Lopez and now Spencer. It’s been Chivas USA-esque.
Since the midway point of the 2014 season, Colorado has systematically and ruthlessly driven away the core of that 2013 playoff team. They’ve made an obsession of acquiring mediocre veterans who they deem to be “leaders,” resulting in a team that looks readier to battle Premier League relegation than contend for MLS Cup.
Soccer clubs need direction and intelligence at the top. Colorado has none of that, and as a result, the Rapids are on the verge becoming MLS’s laughingstock.
I would say that with the positive moves Chicago and Philly have made we're already the laughingstock at this point.  Combined with the MLS Extratime podcast last week this shows that its not just Rapids fans wondering what we're doing, the rest of the league feels the same way.

In other news today we found out that as expect, Greenspan's Navy duties will make him unavailable to the Rapids for the foreseeable future.  That leaves us with just 19 players under contract and available for this season as camp opened today with only 5 true defenders on the roster.

Current roster:

GK John Berner
GK Zac MacMath
D March Burch
D Bobby Burling
D Marlon Hairston
D Axel Sjoberg
D Sean St. Ledger
M Michael Azira
M Sam Cronin
M Marco Pappa
M Zach Pfeffer
M Dillon Powers
M Dillon Serna
M Marcelo Sarvas
M Jared Watts
F Dominque Badji
F Caleb Calvert
F Kevin Doyle
F Luis Solignac

Unsigned draftees:

GK Chris Froschauer
D Dennis Castillo
D Bradley Kamdem
D Javan Torre
M Emmanuel Appiah
F John Manga

Trialists:

M Yann Ekra - Charlotte
M Brian Ownby - Richmond

Sunday, January 24, 2016

What The H@!! Are We Doing?!?!?!

About 3 weeks ago I wrote an post saying that time was ticking and we hadn't done anything yet to prepare for the season. in 3 weeks we've acquired a single new player under contract (Zach Pfeffer) and re-signed Bobby Burling while trading away Clint Irwin, selling Juan Ramirez, and trading down in the draft multiple times.  The roster is objectively worse shape than it was 3 weeks ago and horribly worse than it was when we ended the season.

Camp "opened" on Friday with the first training tomorrow.  We have a total of 20 players under contract out of a possible 28.  Guess this quote from Paul Bravo:
"Our goal is to have our team together for the start of training camp, to have all the pieces together for Pablo to start the season," Bravo told Goal USA. "Our ownership has committed to really improving our team and we have a plan in motion we feel very good about."
was meaningless. We have less than 75% of our roster in place.  I guess you could consider it accomplished as we have 6 draft picks and two trialists in camp but I can't believe that's the actual plan.  While this FO has shown itself to be clueless in the past that would be so far beyond a realistic plan that not even they could consider it.

If you assume that the average performance of players that were on both the 2015 and 2016 roster will be about equal (younger players will improve, older players with regress as age catches them) then here's the extent of the changes we've made going into camp (trying to compare like to like as much as possible)

Zac MacMath (back) in, Clint Irwin out - Probably pretty even, don't expect an improvement

Michael Azira in, Lucas Pittinari out - Not expecting much here, Azira only played 11 times last season

Zack Pfeffer in, Charles Eloundou out - This looks like a wash for 2016, time will tell which one had a better upside

Marco Pappa in, Vicente Sanchez out - This might be an improvement just due to age and maybe a better fit for the team's mentality but its not a big enough one to see us jumping into a playoff spot

Nobody in, Drew Moor, Gabriel Torres, Juan Ramirez, James Riley, Michael Harrington, Maynor Figueroa, Nick LaBrocca, Carlos Alvarez out - Having bodies that can play is a lot better than having options

Let's look back at what Tim Hinchey and Paul Bravo set as the goals for the offseason from their post-season interview with the Denver Post.

TH:
I don't like that our industry is so quick to make different decisions. And a lot of that to me is about securing stability within a club. I think if you go back the last two years, we were working toward stability, then we had the whole change with Oscar (Pareja) that created instability -- I think we're still paying for it to some degree. To me there's no reason why to change. 
"We're all going to be held accountable at the end of the day, but for this group right now, stability is the right course for action." 
PB:
"We're aligned in this. The consistency piece is a big component. " 
Clearly the word of the day for this interview was "consistency".  So how consistent is this team now?  Out of the 10 field players with the most minutes last year, 5 of them are gone (Pittinari, Moor, Torres, Ramirez, Riley).  Also our starting GK all season is gone (Irwin).  Overall 15 of the 31 players that logged minutes last year are gone.  So we've replaced half our team inclusing half our starting XI.  How is that consistency?


TH:
We never really hired a really experienced, top assistant after Wilmer (Cabrera) and the whole group left. That's something you've heard and as Woody (Paige) reported, we're interested in doing.  
"An experienced coach that can help the entire club and specifically help Pablo is a good thing."
Well they did manage to hire John Spencer, so they accomplished this goal at least.

PB:
"He's got 60 percent of the field sorted out. If you take from our goalline to the first ten yards of the opponents' half, we're as good as any team in the league.
Can he grow and flourish and get to where we need (to be) in the other half of the field? And that's what we're banking on and we believe we've been able to add some pieces and moving forward, being able to add more pieces to surround the current group will put him in a good position to be successful next year."
If Pablo had 60% of the field figured out and only needed help in the attack, what changes did we make to accomplish that?  Going back to the 6 regulars who are no longer here we moved a GK, a great defender, a right back, a defensive mid, and an attacking mid/striker.  Meanwhile we brought in a goalkeeper and three midfielders who have a variety of different offensive focuses.

How does this add more pieces in the other half of the field?  We scored 33 goals last season.  Right now this roster combined scored 24 goals last season.  We've going backwards in attacking options.

How does any of this make sense to anyone?  Its great that we have a ton of allocation money and the #1 allocation spot but that's what, 1-2 players?  Maybe 3 if we're lucky?  We're going to have to hit home runs on all 3 of them and then still sign up to 5 draftees/trialists just to have something resembling a professional roster.

From here on the couch as training starts in a little over 12 hours, this looks utterly ridiculous.

Ramirez Transferred to UD Almeria

Looks like that rumor of Juan Ramirez to Almeria is official.
Juan Ramírez firma como nuevo jugador de la UD Almería
Ramirez was our second-ever Designated Player signing, coming in as a youth DP.  27 appearances, 15 starts, 1459 minutes, 3 assists, and 1 Rocky Mountain Cup winning goal.  We better have sold him for more than we paid because otherwise that's a waste.

Our first-ever DP signing was Gabriel Torres who was released on a free this offseason after 3 seasons, 55 appearances, 35 starts, 3192 minutes, 5 assists, and 10 goals.

Our only remaining DP is Kevin Doyle who in less than a season has 20 appearances,, 16 starts, 1489 minutes, 2 assists, and 5 goals.

I'm getting the impression we're not very good at this DP thing...

Current roster:

GK John Berner
GK Zac MacMath
D March Burch
D Bobby Burling
D Joseph Greenspan (when on leave from the U.S. Navy)
D Marlon Hairston
D Axel Sjoberg
D Sean St. Ledger
M Michael Azira
M Sam Cronin
M Marco Pappa
M Zach Pfeffer
M Dillon Powers
M Dillon Serna
M Marcelo Sarvas
M Jared Watts
F Dominque Badji
F Caleb Calvert
F Kevin Doyle
F Luis Solignac

Unsigned draftees:

GK Chris Froschauer
D Dennis Castillo
D Bradley Kamdem
D Javan Torre
M Emmanuel Appiah
F John Manga

Trialists:

M Yann Ekra - Charlotte
M Brian Ownby - Richmond

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Welcome Back Spencer!

Today the Rapids announced that the long discussed "offensive coordinator" will be Rapids legend and Gallery of Honor member John Spencer.  Spencer has been advising the team at least since the combine earlier this month and will be the primary assistant to Pablo going forward, presumably taking over Lopez's role.

For the newer Rapids fans, the wee Scotsman played for the Rapids between 2001 and 2004, becoming the 2nd highest scorer (at the time) in Rapids history, finishing just 2 goals short of Bravo's record in 47 less games.  After retirement he was an assistant coach with the Dynamo for 5 seasons before getting his first head coaching job with the expansion Timbers.  He was fired midway through his second year in Portland (2012) and since then has not been coaching.

Spencer would appear to be the coach-in-waiting if Pablo gets off to a bad start.  Spencer is a Rapids legend but I'm not sure he would be willing to return to assistant coaching without some path back to being  a head coach, either by helping turn around the current train wreck as an assistant or taking over the reins if the train wreck continues.

I loved John Spencer as a player but I have concerns about this move.  His track record in Portland wasn't good but they were an expansion team so its not really a fair measure.  Players have been positive about his work as an assistant in Houston which is a positive sign.  A real concern is this article about his time in Portland.  It appears that he was unhappy with the hands-on approach Merritt Paulson had with the Timbers.  We all know that Paul Bravo and Tim Hinchey are hands on with the Rapids, could that be another friction point?

I also wonder if this is another case of the Rapids not looking very hard to fill a hole.  This Front Office has suffered recently by doing the same thing over and over and now we're filling another coaching spot and we get an ex-player (Lopez, Mullan, Smith) and Gallery of Honor member (Pablo, Bravo).   We may have been better served finding someone with no ties to the organization to get an outsider's look at the team.

In the end I think this move is more positive than negative.  Its not a home run hire but its a solid double.  Now the key is getting the offensive players for Spencer to coach.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

Bobby Burling Re-Signed

Today the Rapids re-signed center back Bobby Burling.  Not a real surprise but not real exciting.  If he were just a depth signing I'd be ok with it but right now I expect him to start alongside St. Ledger.  Burling is a card waiting to happen and that's not something I like to see in a center back.

The other "news" today was the president of Tigres stating that he expected Pulido to be suspended for 2-6 months due to his contract disputer with the club.  A number of Rapids fans took this as a statement of what will happen and not a wish of what he hast to happen.  Google Translate may be failing me but I see nothing in the article that lends any weight to the comments beyond one party trying to make their case in the media.  Still tis not a great spot for Pulido to be in.

Current roster:

GK John Berner
GK Zac MacMath
D March Burch
D Bobby Burling
D Joseph Greenspan (when on leave from the U.S. Navy)
D Marlon Hairston
D Axel Sjoberg
D Sean St. Ledger
M Michael Azira
M Sam Cronin
M Marco Pappa
M Zach Pfeffer
M Dillon Powers
M Dillon Serna
M Juan Ramirez
M Marcelo Sarvas
M Jared Watts
F Dominque Badji
F Caleb Calvert
F Kevin Doyle
F Luis Solignac

Unsigned draftees:

GK Chris Froschauer
D Dennis Castillo
D Bradley Kamdem
D Javan Torre
M Emmanuel Appiah
F John Manga

Trialists:

M Brian Ownby

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Twellman Rips The Front Office

I'll recap the draft below but I wanted to start with this.  On today's ExtraTime podcast Taylor Twellman rips into the Front Office for not having a plan (fast-forward to 13:45 to get to the Rapids discussion.   He essentially calls Bravo a liar over his statement that they acquired the #1 allocation spot knowing that Bedoya wasn't in play.  Taylor says that Bedoya himself was expecting to move to MLS on that morning (notably it was Twellman who essentially "broke the news" that the Rapids were going after Bedoya when he announced the allocation spot trade on the Superdraft coverage) so he asks how its possible that Bravo knew Bedoay wasn't coming when Bedoya didn't know.

He also questions who's in charge right now as sometimes he thinks its Pablo, sometimes Bravo, and at the combine it was apparently Lopez who was taking the lead.  Its harsh criticism but its all accurate.  If I remember correctly Twellman was one of the members of the media that Hinchey tweeted when the lengthy coaching search was going on tow years ago, so that might be coloring his opinion (not that I would know anything about that...).

Going back to the main event of the day, the rest of the draft.  Our four selections:

GK Chris Froschauer - Ohio State
D Javan Torre - UCLA
D Bradley Kamdem - UNLV
F John Manga - U. of Cinci

Just a couple of comments on our picks.  By taking a GK I would tend to think the Howard rumors are just that, rumors.  We now have MacMath, Berner, and Froschauer.  Not a move you would make if you were expecting to bring in Howard.

Kamdem is French, so would probably require an international slot.  He apparently trained with the team a bit last summer so he's probably going to get a good chance to make the team.

The last two players to be drafted out of Cincinnati were Appiah last week by the Rapids and Omar Cummings by the Rapids in 2007.

Current roster:

GK John Berner
GK Zac MacMath
D March Burch
D Joseph Greenspan (when on leave from the U.S. Navy)
D Marlon Hairston
D Axel Sjoberg
D Sean St. Ledger
M Michael Azira
M Sam Cronin
M Marco Pappa
M Zach Pfeffer
M Dillon Powers
M Dillon Serna
M Juan Ramirez
M Marcelo Sarvas
M Jared Watts
F Dominque Badji
F Caleb Calvert
F Kevin Doyle
F Luis Solignac

Unsigned draftees:

GK Chris Froschauer

D Dennis Castillo
D Bradley Kamdem
D Javan Torre
M Emmanuel Appiah
F John Manga

Trialists:

M Brian Ownby

Superdraft Rounds 3 and 4

With the 2nd pick in the 3rd round the Rapids took GK Chris Froschauer out of Ohio State

(Yes, a GK.  The FO is just screwing with us now ;) )

At #15 we either missed our pick or MLSSoccer.com doesn't know who we picked as the pick is blank.

At #17 we took Bradley Kamdem out of UNLV (presumably).  MLSSoccer.com lists him as a forward but UNLV lists him as a defender.

With the #2 pick on the 4th round and our final pick the Rapids selected forward John Manga out of the U. of Cincinnati

More tonight, especially if I figure out what happened with the #15 3rd round pick 

The #15 pick was for Javan Torre, wingback out of UCLA.



Monday, January 18, 2016

So Long Clint!

That really says it all.  Today the Rapids traded away one of the great players of the last few years.  He was the Player of the Year last year in my opinion and the last place we needed to spend time, effort, or money improving.  In exchange we got Targeted Allocation Money, Toronto's highest 3rd round pick tomorrow, and a conditional 1st round pick next year.  Unless that's a big allocation number (and I heard a rumor its not) we undersold badly.  Not surprising given that with MacMath and the rumor of Howard the league knew we'd be looking to move a keeper.

I don't think this move says anything one way or the other about Howard.  I've heard rumors that Irwin was going to be traded from the day MacMath was traded for.  I think Howard or no this was always the plan.

Really though, that's just more work on an area that was the least necessary spot for improvement.  We  had the 5th best defense last year led by Irwin and Moor while having the worst offense.  Since then we've lost both guys to Toronto and our only notable offseason sighting is a midfielder who's recovering from a stab wound.  So of course we should be spending time on the keeper position.

We now have 8 players to sign before camp opens Friday in order to meet Bravo's stated goal:
"Our goal is to have our team together for the start of training camp, to have all the pieces together for Pablo to start the season,"
The Rapids have  just 2 players left from Pareja's 2013 team, Dillon Powers and Dillon Serna.  From Pablo's first year you can add John Berner, Marc Burch, Marlon Hairston, and Jared Watts.  That's some significant turnover in a short amount of time.  Make no mistake, this is Pablo's roster now.

In other news Brian Ownby is apparently going to be in camp on trial to start preseason.  Ownby is an outside midfielder who has also played forward.  He played 10 time for the U-20s and was drafted by Houston, making 29 appearances in 3 seasons before spending last year with his hometown Richmond Kickers.

Current roster:

GK John Berner
GK Zac MacMath
D March Burch
D Joseph Greenspan (when on leave from the U.S. Navy)
D Marlon Hairston
D Axel Sjoberg
D Sean St. Ledger
M Michael Azira
M Sam Cronin
M Marco Pappa
M Zach Pfeffer
M Dillon Powers
M Dillon Serna
M Juan Ramirez
M Marcelo Sarvas
M Jared Watts
F Dominque Badji
F Caleb Calvert
F Kevin Doyle
F Luis Solignac

Unsigned draftees:

D Dennis Castillo
M Emmanuel Appiah

Trialists:

M Brian Ownby

Irwin Traded

More details tonight but Irwin was just traded to Toronto for draft pics and allocation money.

Saturday, January 16, 2016

The Rapids Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

A couple of pieces of news and then a wrap-up of one of the more eventful weeks in Rapids history.

First, the player to be named later in the Philly trade for the #2 pick is midfielder Zach Pfeffer.  He's a homegrown player that's gotten minimal playing time with the Union.  Some of their fans say its due to the Union not doing a good enough job of finding a spot for him, others say its because while he has some skills he's still raw and undeveloped.  Either way not a big name player we should expect to get a lot out of this season.  We better have gotten a truckload of allocation money in that deal.

Second, sources report to ESPN that we're targeting Tim Howard after being rebuffed in our pursuit of Bedoya by Nantes....

This would be a ridiculous move by Colorado.  I can't think of another player that would do less for us on the field with that #1 allocation spot than Howard.  Don't get em wrong, I'm a huge fan of Howard but we had a top 5 defense last season with an All-Star goalkeeper and we've already traded for a MLS-starting quality keeper as a backup this offseason.

To me this is one of two things, neither of which is good but one is much worse that the other.
  • This is our response to Nantes playing hardball on Bedoya.  We;re trying to show them that if they don't want to negotiate we have other options with the hope that it brings them back to the table.  If that's the case I can't understand why we're using Howard.  Nantes can do the same analysis I did above.  We should have "targeted" Cameron or Johannsson or somebody that appears to fill one of our holes if we want it to be believable as a negotiating ploy.
  • Bedoya was the play, in blew up, and now the Rapids are scrambling for any sort of Plan B to justify the deals they made on draft day.  Howard ticks all the off-the-field boxes as he'd get people paying attention (maybe like people pay attention to a train wreck) and probably sell tickets.  He would do very little on the field though.
The former is the better option but in either case I no longer believe Bravo's statement that they acquired the #1 spot knowing that Bedoya wasn't in the picture.  That statement is clearly spin based on this news.

So, to sum up. This week has seen us trade away Brandon Vincent (essentially) and fail to get Bedoya in exchange while extremely overreaching for our actual 1st round pick by most draft analysis. The Pulido rumors point to somebody who doesn’t actually want to be here and is planning on returning to Europe after a season. The FO is now scrambling and throwing out Tim Howard as red meat for the fan base to get excited about but he’s probably the single allocation level player we need the least on the field. Our only significant offseason signing so far was just revealed to be recovering from a stab wound to the gut administered (apparently) by Miss Washington within a few days on either side of the Rapids trading for him.

Now there are ways to make this better but needless to say this has been a pretty awful week for the Rapids 2016 hopes.  Training camp opens Friday and there's a ton of work for Bravo and the Front Office to do to put together a competitive team.  As of right now we have 21 players under contract (assuming we count Greenspan) and 2 draftees.  To meet the goal of "having the team together for the start of training camp" means we need to sign 7 players including at least 3-4 "difference makers" this week.

Current roster:

GK John Berner
GK Clint Irwin
GK Zac MacMath
D March Burch
D Joseph Greenspan (when on leave from the U.S. Navy)
D Marlon Hairston
D Axel Sjoberg
D Sean St. Ledger
M Michael Azira
M Sam Cronin
M Marco Pappa
M Zach Pfeffer
M Dillon Powers
M Dillon Serna
M Juan Ramirez
M Marcelo Sarvas
M Jared Watts
F Dominque Badji
F Caleb Calvert
F Kevin Doyle
F Luis Solignac

Unsigned draftees:

D Dennis Castillo
M Emmanuel Appiah

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Rapids Go All In On Outside Signings

A wild and crazy day at the Superdraft ended with the Rapids positioned to make some big signings from outside the league and not much else.  First to recap the day.

1. Rapids send Targeted Allocation Money to LA for the #12 pick
2. Rapids send the #2 pick to Philly for General Allocation Money and a player yet to be named
3. Rapids send the #12 pick, the #2 pick in the second round, and the #2 spot in the allocation order to Chicago for the #15 pick, the #13 pick in the 2nd round, and the #1 spot in the allocation order
4. With the #15 pick the Rapids select defensive mid Emmanuel Appiah out of Cincinnati
5. Rapids send the #13 pick in the 2nd round to Dallas for the #17 pick in the second round and the #17 pick in the third round
6. With the #17 pick in the 2nd round the Rapids select defender Dennis Castillo out of VCU

So the final result:
#1 allocation ranking
General allocation money
Player to be named later from Philly
Emmanuel Appiah
Dennis Castillo
#2 and #17 picks in the 3rd round and the #2 pick in the 4th round on Wednesday

That's a far cry from my prediction of Brandon Vincent and somebody else.

Really this means the Rapids have put all their chips on outside signings.  There are basically 3 ways to acquire players.

A. Draftees/college kids - The Rapids just past on their best chances to improve in this group by trading down all day
B. Internal league trades - The Rapids have to have something to offer.  At best they have Irwin and maybe Powers but that's a zero sum game
C. Outside the league signings - This is where the Rapids have put their money

With the #1 allocation spot and allocation money while passing up a top draft pick the Rapids are clearly going with the outside signing strategy.  For a while today the rumors were that they would be signing Alejandro Bedoya but that was shot down officially tonight by Goal.com.

Allocation ranking is only used for returning U.S. National Team players (both full team and youth) and players who were sold by MLS for at least $500K and are returning.  Here's the list as of mid-summer.  We would not use our allocation ranking on Pulido who would not require that (more on that later).

I wanted to highlight a couple of quotes from the Goal.com story:
"We tried to make it happen but Nantes is not selling" Bravo said on Thursday of the club's interest in Bedoya. "We still feel securing the top spot in the Player Allocation Order is a very significant step for our organization."
According to Bravo, the Rapids still plan to use the top allocation spot to sign someone this winter, though he would not say who the Rapids are targeting
and
"Our goal is to have our team together for the start of training camp, to have all the pieces together for Pablo to start the season," Bravo told Goal USA. "Our ownership has committed to really improving our team and we have a plan in motion we feel very good about."
So clearly the Rapids new Bedoya wasn't the plan when making the moves today and they have someone else in mind.  They also expect to move quickly on this plan since camp opens (probably) in a week.

On to Pulido.  ESPN had an article today (in Spanish) saying that, if Google Translate didn't fail me, states that Olympiacos and the Rapids are very close to a deal and it was originally Pulido who didn't want to come.  It also states that this would be a one year loan with the plan that Pulido will return to Europe after one season in MLS.  Now standard operating procedure for a loan into MLS is to include an option for MLS to buy the player but its not a requirement.  I;m really hesitant to go after a player that only plans to be here a year.  That's not the long-term plan we need to rebuild this team.

If they pull this off and get a significant player alongside Pulido with a long-term plan then then will be a day of great moves.  Make no mistake though this is a must deliver move for Hinchey, Bravo, and Mastroeni.  Even with their apparent job security if they can't being in Pulido and an allocation-level player before the season starts then that's the end of the road.  Today they bet everything on this plan and they better not bust.

Marco Pappa Gets Stabbed By Miss Washington

No, that's not an Onion headline.  Apparently sometime in December Seattle police were called to a South Lake Union apartment (not too far from where I used to live in college on Queen Anne Hill) where they found Miss Washington and Marco Pappa, the latter of whom was bleeding from a stab wound to the abdomen.  Both parties offered changing explanations for what happened.  This is also not the first run in with the law for either one as they both had separate DUI arrests last year.  There's no date on the stabbing incident so its unknown if it happened before or after Pappa was traded to Colorado.

Those are the facts.  Any opinions I'm going to leave until more information is released as there are way too many ways this story could go to offer any insights at this point.

Crazy Superdraft recap coming later.

Ongoing Superdraft Updates

I'll update this pot as I'm able as the day goes along.

First move of the day is made.

Colorado sends Targeted Allocation Money to LA for the #12 overall pick.  Interesting move, I wonder who we have our eye on.

The Rapids have just traded the #2 pick to Philly for allocation money.  That's a waste given our track record.

Another trade: We send the #12 pick in the 1st round, the #2 pick in the second round, and the #2 spot in the allocation ranking to Chicago.  In exchange we get the #15 pick in the first round, the #13 pick in the second round, and the #1 spot in the allocation order.

Unrelated but in the Philly trade for the #2 pick we also got a player to be named later.

This sets us up with allocation money and the top spot.  Heavy rumor is that it could be Bedoya which would be a big get.

With the #15 pick the Rapids selected Emmanuel Appiah, a defensive midfielder out of Cincinnati.
Born in Ghana, so he'll probably require an international spot.  Can't say I'm loving this pick, the last thing we needed was an international d-mid.

Update: Appiah grew up in Ohio so he;s probably a citizen or green card holder and if so would not require an international slot.

Rapids trade the #13 pick in the 2nd round to Dallas for the #17 pick in the 2nd round and the #17 pick in the 3rd round.

With the #17 pick in the 2nd round the Rapids (finally) take Dennis Castillo, a defender out of VCU.

Castillo is a wing back that can apparently also play centrally.

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Rapids Have 2 Picks In Tomorrow's Superdraft

The Superdraft starts tomorrow at 11am Denver time with Rounds 1 and 2.  The Rapids currently hold the #2 and #22 picks (Rounds 3 and 4 are next Wednesday via conference call).  Draft day is always a busy day of trades and deals so what we hold now may not be what we actually pick with.  There's already talk about Colorado shopping the #2 pick.  That would be a very poor decision IMO short of a "you'd be crazy to pass it up" level deal.

My top 2 choices in the draft:
  • #1 LB Brandon Vincent - Stanford
Vincent has already been called into this month's combined U-23/Nats camp and he's expected to be able to start on day one of the 2016 season for whomever picks him.  The Rapids need a LB and this is a no-brainer pick if Chicago doesn't take him IMO.  All reports have Colorado leaning towards Vincent.

  • #2 MF Jack Harrison - Wake Forest (GA)
Harrison has signed a GA deal after his freshman year so that gives you an idea of his talent.  He can play inside or on the wing.  His age and the fact that he's GA (so he doesn't count against the cap) had him as my early pick going into this month but the more I found out about Vincent I had to move Harrison to #2.  He would be a great pick if the Fire go with the LB.

I'm not going to project our second round pick.  There's too much that can happen between here and there.

I'll update the blog after each pick and any deals if I'm able to, with a full recap tomorrow night.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Pulido Coming, Maybe?

Two articles about Pulido today point to him joining the Rapids but the deal isn't done yet.

This, from a Mexican news site, says (assuming Google Translate didn't fail me) that Pulido is interested in MLS and the Rapids but he might also be interested in a Turkish team.

Then ESPN FC reported on the issues around Pulido's ITC and the on-going saga with Tigres.  The tl;dr version is that Pulido and Tigres disagree that Pulido's contract expired before he moved to Greece and while provisionally FIFA has backed Pulido there's a chance that Tigres may win the case.  If that happens the loan of Pulido to the Rapids would be immediately cancelled, though the Rapids would not be on the hook for any wrongdoing.

The article also says that MLS's lawyers met with FIFA yesterday about Puldio's status so that's a pretty good sign that a deal is done as long as this ITC status issue gets resolved.

I think bringing in Pulido on loan with (presumably given MLS's standard policy) an option to buy is the right move for acquiring him.  The question mark around his status means we don't want to invest in a asset that may be taken away from us at a moment's notice.  Also given some reports about Pulido's attitude this gives us a chance to see if he's going to work out ehre before being on the hook.

Overall though I'm concerned that we are going for the high-risk/high-reward move over finding a more solid target that we can build around.  If Pulido works out its probably the best non-draft move since we got Casey from Toronto.  If he doesn't work out though we'll be right back here next year trying to figure out who we're going to build our team around in 2017.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Odds And Ends To Start Draft Week

A couple of news stories/rumors from the weekend to get draft week started.

According to this tweet, Juan Ramirez is set to be transferred to Spanish Second Division (same league as CD Tenerife) side Almeria.

  • So far nobody else has picked up this story but if its accurate I just shake my head.  The Rapids track records with DPs would be three forgetful seasons of Torres and then cutting him for nothing, one season for Ramirez and then selling him for hopefully as much as we paid, and a half season of Doyle with more to come.  Not exactly stunning work there.
John Spencer seen at the combine hotel in a Rapids shirt, says he's a temporary adivsor
  • Of course Pablo was only leading the team in preseason temporarily as well.  Our new "offensive coordinator" perhaps?  Hard to get real excited about it given the lack of firepower his Timbers teams showed but to be fair, they were an expansion side.
After running through Google Translate, Pulido doesn't want to come to MLS?
  • I'm thinking bad translation or a negotiating tactic.  If Paul Bravo (or Paul Pravo) actually flew to Greece to seal the deal I'm sure they've already talked with him and determined he's interested in MLS.  Of course given this team's track record of getting ahead of itself (Rivero, Torres) I can't rule out that Pulido doesn't want to come.
Look for a Superdraft preview Wednesday night and coverage of our picks on Thursday.

Thursday, January 7, 2016

2016 Schedule Announcement

MLS released the 2016 schedule today.  A quick rundown of our course through the season.

*We start, as previously announced, on the road in SJ on March 6th.  We then have the home opener on March 12th against LA.

*Our bye weekends are March 26th and 27th (which is a FIFA International weekend) and June 25th and 26th (though we do play on the 22nd).  Our only other game in June is the 18th due to the Copa Centenario break the league is taking in early June.

*We have 1 Wednesday night home game in May, one Thursday night game in October, and the home finale is on Sunday.  All other home games are Saturday night except for the 4th of July game (which is a Monday this year).  All games except the home opener (5pm) and home finale (2pm) are at 7pm.

*FSL will be in town on May 7th.  We'll be in Sandy on April 9th and August 26th.  That later date is a Friday night UniMas game as part of the second league-wide Rivalry Week of the season.

*A quick return to Colorado for Drew Moor, Toronto will be at the Dick on April 2nd.

*No more than 2 home games in a row.  3 road games in a row on the weekends on either side and including Labor Day.

*We have three weeks where we play three games.  Two of them keep the travel to a minimum.  April 9th-16th we play in Sandy and KC (our two shortest road trips), then RBNY at home.  May 7th-14th we play FSL and KC at home, then go to Columbus.  Our toughest part of the season is in early October.  From the 8th to the 16th we play in Houston and San Jose before facing Portland at home.

*Other than the RMC game on UniMas our only other nationally televised game is the match in DC in week 3 which will be on ESPN2.

*We play everyone in the East once and everyone in the West twice.  We play 6 teams in the West a third time, Portland, San Jose, and KC at home, FSL, Vancouver, and LA on the road.

*Our Eastern road trips are to DC, Montreal, Columbus, NYCFC, and New England.

*Really tough start to the season.  In the first two months our only games against non-playoff teams are the opener in SJ and the home and home against FSL.

*Three of our last four games are against non-playoff teams so if we're in the hunt we have a good run-in.

Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Newest Target, Alan Pulido?

Another day, another rumor:
Colorado Rapids intent on signing Mexican forward Alan Pulido; TD Paul Pravo travelling to Olympiakos tomorrow to get a deal done
(I'm pretty sure Paul Pravo is the guy who signed Casey Conor)

Pulido is playing for Olympiacos in Greece currently after forcing his way out of Tigres earlier this year.  He total first team time has been 15 minutes in a cup match though and reportedly he's unhappy about his lack of game action.  At Tigres he scored 23 times in 101 games from 2010-2015 though at age 19 when he was signed most of those appearances and goals came later in that run.  Pulido is also a member of the Mexican National team, being an unused reserve in Brazil i 2014 and scoring 4 goals in 6 appearances in the last two years (including against the U.S.).

Obviously the big concern with Pulido is his somewhat questionable past with his attempt to leave Meixoc.  Goal.com has a writeup here.  If he wants to get his career back on track by joining the Rapids and excelling in MLS this is a great signing.  If he's just looking to find his next new home where he'll be unhappy then this could be a disaster.