This is our second of four posts in review of the moves DC United has made since the end of last season. Last week we looked at their acquisitions, today we'll look at the players who departed, and then later we'll look at their trades.
1. It's hard to imagine how different DC United's season would be had they retained Marcelo Gallardo in 2009. My guess? He would have spent most of the season in Argentina recovering from a sprained pinkie or RLS or something. When on the field, he did some nice things, scoring 4 goals and adding 3 assists in 15 appearances (yes, just half the season). But the problem was the amount of time he spent off the field, and a seeming lack of desire to return. He's looked like his old self since returning to River Plate, which makes you wonder what could have been if his heart was with DC.
2. Ah, los Gonzalos. This pair of South Americans was brought here to start in central defense, but that didn't last long. Gonzalo Martinez was quickly moved to left back, where he eventually lost his starting job to Marc Burch. Other teammates complained that they never knew what to expect from Martinez. While being slightly more consistent, Gonzalo Peralta struggled with injuries, and never really emerged as anything more than an average central defender by MLS standards. Peralta has returned to the Argentine second division and Martinez to Columbia.
3. A departure that seemed kind of serious at the time was that of Zach Wells, who started 17 games in goal for us in 2008. Had he decided to return to DC this year instead of leaving soccer altogether, the team may never have traded for Josh Wicks, and now we'd be stuck with Crayton and Wells again. Thanks Zach!
4. Everyone's favorite scapegoat last year was Rod Dyachenko, a guy who showed a lot of potential initially, but dropped off in '08. Not only did we trade a first round draft choice to Toronto to retain Dyachenko in 2006, but we also chose to protect him over Brian Carroll in the 2007 Expansion Draft. It's not Rod's fault that we overvalued him. I mean no disrespect to him when I say that he's better off in the USL, which is more to his skill level. I caught a half of a Minnesota/Portland match a couple weeks back and Dyachenko looked like one of the best players on the Thunder.
5. I was truly disappointed when the club decided to part ways with Francis Doe shortly into the 2009 season. But apparently I did not forget Doe's incredible performance against New England last year as quickly as the front office did. I guess I should trust Soehn's opinion more than my own when it comes to weighing players' fitness levels, but right now I would prefer to still have Doe on the roster over N'Silu.
6. Clearly two victims of the new MLS roster constraints were Joe Vide and Domenic Mediate. And while I can't find any recent information on Vide to know if he's playing anywhere, Mediate has been an important player for the first place Puerto Rico Islanders. With MLS adding three more teams in the next two years, these guys might get their chances again.
7. Quavas Kirk is another in the endless line of IMG Academy players and Generation Adidas players who haven't panned out. Never the most technically skilled soccer player, Q-Nasty was probably our most physically gifted player on roster last year. Kirk will now try to develop his skills in the USL with Minnesota.
8. More victims of the roster changes were Ryan Cordeiro and Craig Thompson. Cordeiro brought lots of energy to the field in his 8 appearances, and was often the star of the reserve team. Thompson was consistent, if unimpressive, while serving as decent depth during the team's struggles with injuries last year. After both were surprisingly not invited to traning camp, Cordeiro decided to stay local, signing on with Real Maryland, while Thompson is apparently without a team.
9. DC United cut ties with the entire Carroll family when failing to renew the contracts of Jeff and Pat, ending a run of three consecutive years with two Carrolls on the roster. Jeff Carroll suffered from numerous unfortunate injuries during his time in DC, and after showing some potential early on, wound up sitting out the entire 2008 season. Pat Carroll was inconsistent in three starts for United, sometimes playing steady in defense, but more often failing to provide the coverage we needed for him to earn a permanent spot. Both are now with Real Maryland.
Showing posts with label Gonzalo Peralta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Gonzalo Peralta. Show all posts
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sunday, December 28, 2008
Roster reset
What better way to end 2008 than to post one of my patented roster resets. Things have changed dramatically around here with the new roster rules for 2009, but I think it's important to take a look at where United stands at the moment, if only just to highlight how many question marks there are going into next season. Since the MLS hasn't yet posted the official roster regulations for 2009, we're going to operate under the temporary assumptions that teams will still have 8 international player slots, and that 25 will still be the cutoff age for the Developmental roster.
Here's what we think we know:
Senior roster (now 20 slots): 1 Emilio, 2 Moreno, 3 Gallardo, 4 Fred, 5 Quaranta, 6 Khumalo, 7 Guerrero, 8 Simms, 9 Vide, 10 Burch, 11 McTavish, 12 Janicki, 13 Crayton, 14 Wells. 6 slots remaining.
Developmental roster (now 4 slots): 1 Cordeiro, 2 Thompson, 3 Carroll, 4 Zaher, 5 Thorpe. 1 player over the limit - No room for draft picks.
International players (assumed 8 slots): 1 Emilio, 2 Gallardo, 3 Fred, 4 Guerrero, 5 Crayton. 3 slots remaining.
It's hard to do this kind of analysis at this point in the year, because I've made a lot of assumptions in the info above. Joe Vide was relegated to the Developmental roster for some strange reason last year, but he seems to be a likely candidate to move up to the Senior roster in 2009. The same should be true for at least two of Cordeiro, Thompson, Carroll, and Zaher, to make room for our 2009 draft picks. James Thorpe is the only guy who I think should definitely stay on the D-roster. Ryan Miller and Ibrahim Koroma might be the most likely casualties of the reduction to the Developmental roster. Also, it's hard to say whether or not Khumalo is here on a green card and therefore exempt from international player status (similar to Moreno), but I'm assuming he's got a green card since he went to college in the US and has been playing here ever since.
So where does that leave us? What jumps out at me the most is that we've got 3 available international player slots. That's bound to get Kasper and Payne pretty excited. One of those slots could get used up pretty quick if Peralta chooses to re-sign (which I think he will), but we've certainly got the roster space and salary cap available for Kasper and Payne to do their usual and take a gamble on some other foreign players too. We certainly hope they do a better job at talent evaluation than last year. Because there's much less room for error this year with the smaller rosters.
Just because you see 6 available senior roster slots available, doesn't mean that we've got room to spare for unproven South Americans. Keep in mind that we've also got the question marks of Bryan Namoff and Quavas Kirk, who are out of contract, and Ben Olsen and Dominic Mediate, who may or may not return from injuries. If, conservatively speaking, 2 out of those 4 guys return, and Peralta returns, and say Cordeiro, Thompson, and Pat Carroll are promoted, our 6 available senior roster slots has suddenly diminished to 1.
This offseason is starting to look a bit bleak.
With 2008 being a year that most United fans would like to forget, this will probably be my final post of the year. Next time we'll look forward to 2009 and focus on what the team needs to do to improve its chances in the new year.
Here's what we think we know:
Senior roster (now 20 slots): 1 Emilio, 2 Moreno, 3 Gallardo, 4 Fred, 5 Quaranta, 6 Khumalo, 7 Guerrero, 8 Simms, 9 Vide, 10 Burch, 11 McTavish, 12 Janicki, 13 Crayton, 14 Wells. 6 slots remaining.
Developmental roster (now 4 slots): 1 Cordeiro, 2 Thompson, 3 Carroll, 4 Zaher, 5 Thorpe. 1 player over the limit - No room for draft picks.
International players (assumed 8 slots): 1 Emilio, 2 Gallardo, 3 Fred, 4 Guerrero, 5 Crayton. 3 slots remaining.
It's hard to do this kind of analysis at this point in the year, because I've made a lot of assumptions in the info above. Joe Vide was relegated to the Developmental roster for some strange reason last year, but he seems to be a likely candidate to move up to the Senior roster in 2009. The same should be true for at least two of Cordeiro, Thompson, Carroll, and Zaher, to make room for our 2009 draft picks. James Thorpe is the only guy who I think should definitely stay on the D-roster. Ryan Miller and Ibrahim Koroma might be the most likely casualties of the reduction to the Developmental roster. Also, it's hard to say whether or not Khumalo is here on a green card and therefore exempt from international player status (similar to Moreno), but I'm assuming he's got a green card since he went to college in the US and has been playing here ever since.
So where does that leave us? What jumps out at me the most is that we've got 3 available international player slots. That's bound to get Kasper and Payne pretty excited. One of those slots could get used up pretty quick if Peralta chooses to re-sign (which I think he will), but we've certainly got the roster space and salary cap available for Kasper and Payne to do their usual and take a gamble on some other foreign players too. We certainly hope they do a better job at talent evaluation than last year. Because there's much less room for error this year with the smaller rosters.
Just because you see 6 available senior roster slots available, doesn't mean that we've got room to spare for unproven South Americans. Keep in mind that we've also got the question marks of Bryan Namoff and Quavas Kirk, who are out of contract, and Ben Olsen and Dominic Mediate, who may or may not return from injuries. If, conservatively speaking, 2 out of those 4 guys return, and Peralta returns, and say Cordeiro, Thompson, and Pat Carroll are promoted, our 6 available senior roster slots has suddenly diminished to 1.
This offseason is starting to look a bit bleak.
With 2008 being a year that most United fans would like to forget, this will probably be my final post of the year. Next time we'll look forward to 2009 and focus on what the team needs to do to improve its chances in the new year.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
The offseason to date
I feel like a disgrace for neglecting my wonderful but few readers during this time of year when there is so little else to read in MLS circles. With this blog's constant focus on United roster developments, this should be my Super Bowl! But instead I've been wasting away on the pine. A few life changes have revised my priorities slightly (I'm a new father! Well not really - we got a toy poodle, but it's damn good practice for kids.)
Anyway, let's catch up on the roster changes so far this offseason, then we'll turn our eyes towards the future in an upcoming post:
Clyde Simms was inked by the club to a long term extension. Simmsy was the only player to start all 30 regular season games and led the team in minutes. He's a vital part of the midfield and we're glad to have him back.
Bryan Namoff is our other out-of-contract Ironman, but unfortunately the team doesn't seem to have made much progress with him. That's a bad sign for the only consistent piece of our defense in 2008.
Los Gonzalos both had their options declined by the club for next season. United supposedly still wants to bring back Peralta at a lower salary, but Martinez's playing days in the US are likely over.
Rod Dyachenko and Quavas Kirk similarly had their options declined. Kirk could still return next year, but it certainly won't be at his inflated Genaration Adidas salary. With Dyachenko's departure, the United blogging community will be on the search for a new scapegoat.
Marc Burch and Devon McTavish, who might never get away from always being mentioned together, were both signed to contract extensions. This is a positive step towards establishing some defensive consistency after the abomination that was the 2007-2008 offseason. These two young Americans have a lot of potential and should contribute to the organization for years to come.
Ben Olsen appears more and more likely to be heading towards retirement. It would be a sad end to a legendary career, but we're all pulling for Benny to ride his white horse on back here and return some respectability to the club.
Francis Doe has seemingly returned to his Ghanian club because DC United could not afford to purchase his contract, but are still hoping to extend his loan for another season. If an MLS team can't afford to purchase a player from a team from Ghana, then the league really is in worse financial shape than I thought. I assume that I needn't remind the front office again that Doe's performance just two months ago against New England single-handedly kept our team alive for one more week.
Jeff Carroll became the first casualty of the Developmental roster reduction, and was waived. I feel bad for the guy because I really thought 2008 would be his year to finally earn some time on the first team, but injuries kept him out the entire season and essentially ended his career. United may have to go searching for one of his cousins to fulfill the annual "Two Carroll Quota".
I'll be back later in the week with some thoughts for the future, as we actively await a new WIWFC thread.
Anyway, let's catch up on the roster changes so far this offseason, then we'll turn our eyes towards the future in an upcoming post:
Clyde Simms was inked by the club to a long term extension. Simmsy was the only player to start all 30 regular season games and led the team in minutes. He's a vital part of the midfield and we're glad to have him back.
Bryan Namoff is our other out-of-contract Ironman, but unfortunately the team doesn't seem to have made much progress with him. That's a bad sign for the only consistent piece of our defense in 2008.
Los Gonzalos both had their options declined by the club for next season. United supposedly still wants to bring back Peralta at a lower salary, but Martinez's playing days in the US are likely over.
Rod Dyachenko and Quavas Kirk similarly had their options declined. Kirk could still return next year, but it certainly won't be at his inflated Genaration Adidas salary. With Dyachenko's departure, the United blogging community will be on the search for a new scapegoat.
Marc Burch and Devon McTavish, who might never get away from always being mentioned together, were both signed to contract extensions. This is a positive step towards establishing some defensive consistency after the abomination that was the 2007-2008 offseason. These two young Americans have a lot of potential and should contribute to the organization for years to come.
Ben Olsen appears more and more likely to be heading towards retirement. It would be a sad end to a legendary career, but we're all pulling for Benny to ride his white horse on back here and return some respectability to the club.
Francis Doe has seemingly returned to his Ghanian club because DC United could not afford to purchase his contract, but are still hoping to extend his loan for another season. If an MLS team can't afford to purchase a player from a team from Ghana, then the league really is in worse financial shape than I thought. I assume that I needn't remind the front office again that Doe's performance just two months ago against New England single-handedly kept our team alive for one more week.Jeff Carroll became the first casualty of the Developmental roster reduction, and was waived. I feel bad for the guy because I really thought 2008 would be his year to finally earn some time on the first team, but injuries kept him out the entire season and essentially ended his career. United may have to go searching for one of his cousins to fulfill the annual "Two Carroll Quota".
I'll be back later in the week with some thoughts for the future, as we actively await a new WIWFC thread.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Protection List
I meant to do this before the official protection list was revealed yesterday for the upcoming Expansion Draft. Anyway, here is the list of players I would have protected had I received a promotion from "Irrelevant Blogger" to "General Manager":
A couple of obvious differences... I definitely, firmly disagree with the inclusion of Khumalo over Doe, and I don't think I'm alone on this one. Doe is a proven goalscorer, and singlehandedly kept us in the playoff hunt with his two goals against New England last month. How quickly does the front office forget such things? Khumalo is a fine player as your 13th man, but I don't know that I ever see him being a regular starter in this league. Doe will be. (Unless maybe there is a possibility that Doe is seeking a move overseas?)
I had Peralta on my list over Janicki because I wasn't clear on the rules of the expansion draft. Since Janicki was previously just on loan, it didn't seem like we had a right to protect him, but now it appears that he has been formally acquired, so I'm ok with this. It's still a bit strange to see Peralta exposed though since the front office has announced that they are building the defense around him next year.
Some other observations... Ivan Guerrero was last on my list because he is basically just a role player, and not someone who I'm sure is in our long term plans. I could have gone either way between Guerrero, Vide, and Khumalo, but I would leave any of them behind in favor of Doe. Marc Burch has received a lot of flack since being named to the protected list, and I don't think it's deserved. Burch showed a lot of potential this year, and also showed progress late (he earned Top Shelf status in his final four ratings of the year). With Martinez likely on his way out, Burch should return to his normal left back position. I don't have a problem with the team leaving Olsen exposed, and in fact, I bet he would personally request it. Benny didn't contribute on the field this year and could be on the verge of retirement, so any team would be crazy to try to steal and ransom him.
The players most likely to depart are clearly Joe Vide, Francis Doe, and Gonzalo Peralta. Vide is a quality hard working role player, the type of which every team needs. Peralta comes with a hefty salary that will have to be renegotiated, but he's a guy who can lead a young defense. Doe will probably be one of the most talented attacking players available, but might not be an immediate starter for the Sounders, where as the other two probably would.
Personally, I think Vide is the most likely to go, but I also think a lot of people are discounting Peralta's safety just because of his price tag. I'll be glad if Doe returns to DC next season, and I think he might stay just because the Sounders already have some good attacking options (Nyassi, Le Toux) and have other good young forwards available for selection (Carr, Jacqua, Barrett). I'll do some work on my list if I worked for the Sounders later today if I get some time.
| My List | Actual List |
|---|---|
| Luciano Emilio Jaime Moreno Francis Doe Santino Quaranta Fred Clyde Simms Bryan Namoff Marc Burch Devon McTavish Gonzalo Peralta Ivan Guerrero | Luciano Emilio Jaime Moreno Thabiso Khumalo Santino Quaranta Fred Clyde Simms Bryan Namoff Marc Burch Devon McTavish Greg Janicki Ivan Guerrero |
A couple of obvious differences... I definitely, firmly disagree with the inclusion of Khumalo over Doe, and I don't think I'm alone on this one. Doe is a proven goalscorer, and singlehandedly kept us in the playoff hunt with his two goals against New England last month. How quickly does the front office forget such things? Khumalo is a fine player as your 13th man, but I don't know that I ever see him being a regular starter in this league. Doe will be. (Unless maybe there is a possibility that Doe is seeking a move overseas?)
I had Peralta on my list over Janicki because I wasn't clear on the rules of the expansion draft. Since Janicki was previously just on loan, it didn't seem like we had a right to protect him, but now it appears that he has been formally acquired, so I'm ok with this. It's still a bit strange to see Peralta exposed though since the front office has announced that they are building the defense around him next year.
Some other observations... Ivan Guerrero was last on my list because he is basically just a role player, and not someone who I'm sure is in our long term plans. I could have gone either way between Guerrero, Vide, and Khumalo, but I would leave any of them behind in favor of Doe. Marc Burch has received a lot of flack since being named to the protected list, and I don't think it's deserved. Burch showed a lot of potential this year, and also showed progress late (he earned Top Shelf status in his final four ratings of the year). With Martinez likely on his way out, Burch should return to his normal left back position. I don't have a problem with the team leaving Olsen exposed, and in fact, I bet he would personally request it. Benny didn't contribute on the field this year and could be on the verge of retirement, so any team would be crazy to try to steal and ransom him.
The players most likely to depart are clearly Joe Vide, Francis Doe, and Gonzalo Peralta. Vide is a quality hard working role player, the type of which every team needs. Peralta comes with a hefty salary that will have to be renegotiated, but he's a guy who can lead a young defense. Doe will probably be one of the most talented attacking players available, but might not be an immediate starter for the Sounders, where as the other two probably would.
Personally, I think Vide is the most likely to go, but I also think a lot of people are discounting Peralta's safety just because of his price tag. I'll be glad if Doe returns to DC next season, and I think he might stay just because the Sounders already have some good attacking options (Nyassi, Le Toux) and have other good young forwards available for selection (Carr, Jacqua, Barrett). I'll do some work on my list if I worked for the Sounders later today if I get some time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Follow me on Twitter:
