Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Lopez to Colorado?

Steven Goff is reporting that former Wizard Claudio Lopez is in talks with the Rapids. I think its not a bad as a backup attacking player. I don't see him working his way into the starting lineup, unless he can play right mid and Jamie Smith isn't available. The key to this being good or bad is going to be $$$ and what (if anything) we have to send to KC. Though considering how desperate we are for depth in the attack it might be worth it.

Lopez is also notable to having the biggest reaction to the Class VI heckling in the last couple of years, at one point turning to the section and yelling back.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Marvellous Wynne for the Rapids!

For the first time in team history the Rapids won a season opening game on the road. In the first half both teams looked much like this was their first game of the season, with numerous players who weren't on the same page with their teammates. The Rapids were the better of the two teams, with Omar Cummings being particularly dangerous. The Rapids came out hot in the second half. In the 55th minute a deflected Colin Clark pass came to Cummings and in one move he spun and shot from the top of the box, curing it past the keeper and off the post for a 1-0 lead. Chivas wouldn't go away quietly though and pressed the attack. Their best chance however was actually an almost own goal from Danny Earls, who headed the ball back to goalkeeper Matt Pickens when Pickens was running up to it. Matt was able to dive back and grab the ball to prevent the goal. Chivas wouldn't quit though and the Rapids were dodging bullets until the very end, but pulled off the shutout for their first season-opening road win.

I thought teamwork was going to be the key to the game, but both teams were suffering from too many new players and not enough time together. Still though, on the winning goal the Rapids put together a 9 pass sequence before the 10th pass from Clark was deflected to Cummings. The Rapids were able to put together more of those type of sequences in this game.

Other Observations:
  • Pickens did not look good in this game, punching many balls that most keepers would have caught. Hopefully its just a matter of shaking the rust off.
  • Earls and Kimura had unspectacular nights. Earls was just average. No real mistakes but never really stood out. Kimura had a couple of bad plays that he had to make up for, but was also more involved with the offense than Earls.
  • Ballouchy was Ballouchy, never did anything particularly good but at least avoid doing anything too horrible. In the last moments of the game he was more concerned with trying to score the second goal than taking time off the clock, but it didn't cost us. I'm still not thrilled with the idea of him starting but if he can play like this then he'd be a decent sub.
  • Great to see Colin Clark start and get 80 minutes. He obviously wasn't 100%, but he was doing well enough to be dangerous.
  • Casey was quiet this game, but that was partially because Chivas was keeping him under wraps. Just the threat of what he could do was enough to free up other players. He'll have to back up that threat with actions this season, but just having somebody who can be that dangerous is a great help for the likes of Cummings and Clark.
  • I have to say something good about Drew Moor. Not only because he played a solid game at center back, but also because I won his autographed jersey in the Supporter's Club raffle at the Kick-Off Party!
  • Great to see the Rapids in HD and Marc Stout back doing the pbp!
Player of the Game: Marvell Wynne. This was a tough choice between Wynne and Cummings, who were the best two players on the pitch Friday night. Even though Cummings got the goal I gave the nod to Wynne because of his solid work for a defensive line that he only met 24 hours earlier. His only real mistake was on his first touch of the game, where a ref could have easily called, possibly incorrectly, a PK. After that though he didn't really put a foot wrong and while a bit out of position at times his speed allowed him to compensate. A great start for the newest Rapid.

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Rapids Who Stare At Goats

The season is here and its about time! The Rapids are in LA-LA land to face the Under-a-Chivas. Kickoff is at 8:30pm Denver time. The Supporters Groups are having their kickoff party at Katie Mullins on the 16th St. Mall. Party starts at 6:30pm and is open to everyone!

Injury Report:
OUT: MID Ciaran O'Brien (L hip sprain), FWD Ross Schunk (R ACL tear)
DOUBTFUL: None
QUESTIONABLE: DEF Julien Baudet (R calf strain)
PROBABLE: FWD Conor Casey (R foot sprain), FWD Omar Cummings (R knee sprain), MID Jeff Larentowicz (L knee scope)

Wow, now that's an ugly injury report. There are 4 likely starters on that list. Chivas only has 3 players on their whole injury report. Obviously the Rapids will be in a bit of a hole. Its hard to guess at the first lineup of the season anyway, and with that many injuries its really tough, but I'll give it a shot:

Pickens
Kimura - Moor - Palguta - Earls
Pablo
Smith - Ballouchy - Clark
Cummings - Casey

I'm only confident with about 50% of this lineup. We could easily see Baudet, Larentowicz, Wynne, LaBauex, or even Akpan in the starting lineup. I'm hoping that I'm pretty accurate though, as that's pretty close to our best 11.

Key To Look For:
Teamwork. There could be anywhere from 1 to 4 new players in the starting lineup. We could see new arrival Marvell Wynne thrust right into the first XI, depending on Clark and Baudet's health.


Prediction: 1-1 draw, goal by Conor Casey. With all the injuries and probable shuffled lineups I don't see a great game form the Rapids. Chivas is facing many of the same issues though and it will be hard to separate the teams. Casey opens his account early, but the probably unfamiliar back line will make a mistake and allow a goal.

LaBrrocca for Wynne

As soon as I posted that the Final Roster was set, the Rapids made a trade. Out goes Nick LaBrocca, in comes Marvell Wynne from Toronto. TFC also gets an unspecified draft pick in the trade. No official confirmation yet, but multiple reports are leaking about it.

I am cautiously optimistic about this trade. LaBrocca was somewhat redundant as a defensive/holding mid with both Pablo and Larentowicz. Wynne is a strong speedy guy that needs work on his technical skills. The one down side is that Wynne can pretty much only play right back, which makes me wonder what the plans aare for personal favorite Kosuke Kimura. Is Wynne being brought in for depth or will he be expected to start at RB? If so, I think Kimura turns into a super sub that can come in at RB, RM, DM, and even LB in a pinch.

UPDATE: Trade confirmed by Rapids press release. We sent a 3rd round pick along with LaBrocca.

Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Final Roster Set

The Roster Deadline was at 3pm today and the Rapids have released their season opening roster:

Under Senior Contract:
Goalkeepers:
Ian Joyce
Matt Pickens

Defenders:
Julian Baudet
Danny Earls
Kosuke Kimura
Drew Moor
Oscar Murillo
Scott Palguta

Midfielders:
Mehdi Ballouchy
Colin Clark
Ross LaBauex
Nick LaBrocca
Jeff Larentowicz
Pablo Mastroeni
Jamie Smith
Wells Thompson

Forwards:
Andre Akpan
Conor Casey
Omar Cummings
Ross Schunk - On DL most if not all the season with ACL tear

Under Supplemental (formerly Developmental) Contract:
Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus - On loan to Charlotte

Defenders:
Michael Holody
Rob Valentino - GA

Midfielders:
Ciaran O'Brien - GA

Ross Schunk being upgraded to a senior roster spot is a surprise. I wonder if that was done after he tore his ACL in order to free up a Supplemental spot. Either way, assuming the IR and season-long loan rules stay the same Schunk's roster spot can be filled while he's on the DL and Ceus' spot can be filled since he's on loan this season.

2010 Season Preview


On a 3-year run of missing the playoffs the Rapids enter 2010 needing to turn things around. The team itself, however, has not changed much. If you were to look at the best 11 when healthy last year and compare it to the probable best 11 when healthy this year, there's really only 2 changes. Earls takes over the slot vacated by Harvey's loss in the expansion draft, and Larentowicz will probably supplant LaBrocca as a midfield partner for Pablo. Other than that the same players that I would have wanted to see starting at the end of last year are the same players I'd want to start this year. For a team with a mediocre history, I'm not sure that's a good thing.

Goalkeeper:
Matt Pickens returns as the starter in the nets. He was solid when healthy last season, but I feel like he didn't really win us any games. On the flip side he didn't lose us any game either. I don't expect him to stand out this year either, but he should provide confidence to the back line that he'll be able to do his job. Pickens faced a number of injuries last year and if that continues his backups become a concern. Colorado loaned second-year player Steward Ceus to Charlotte for more seasoning, and brought in Ian Joyce as a backup. Joyce is a young player that's bounced around the lower leagues of England but has never gotten much playing time at a level close to MLS. At this point he's as much of a question mark as a keeper in the draft would be. We need to hope that Pickens stays healthy this year.

Defense:
The Rapids have completely remade their backline since this point last year. Moor and Baudet were brought in mid-season last year. The biggest change in the off-season was the strategic decision to leave Jordan Harvey unprotected in the expansion draft, leading to his selection and departure to Philadelphia. Danny Earls from Rochester was signed to replace him at left back. The closest thing we have to a constant is Kosuke Kimura. In this group we have two young guys that have shown potential (Moor, Kimura), a wizened vet (Baudet), and a question mark (Earls). There's also a good amount of depth with Palguta getting significant playing time last season, Holody got some late-game time, Valentino has gotten significant work this preseason, and newcomer Oscar Murillo form Colombia. The key will be how well the starting 4 gel and can cover for each other, but I feel fairly comfortable with our defense.

Midfield:
The biggest off-season addition for Colorado was in midfield. We sent away Cory Gibbs and Preston Burpo to acquire center mid Jeff Larentowicz and backup winger Wells Thompson. This gives the Rapids a solid 1-2 combo of Mastroeni and Larentowicz in the center of the park, with LaBrocca as a solid backup or utility man. Unfortunately our greatest weakness last season was depth on the wings and we aren't in much better shape this year. Jamie Smith and Colin Clark are returning from season-ending injuries and Wells Thompson is really the only natural winger we have as a backup. Ciaran O'Brien would be a possible sub, but he seems to be out of favor with Gary Smith. One of our two draft signings, Ross LaBauex may be able to help, as well as trialist Andy Lorei if he signs, but we're really banking on not repeating the injuries of last year. The less said about our last midfielder, Ballouchy, the better. If Clark and Smith can come back to their form and stay healthy we have the possibility of having one of the better midfield groups in MLS with Clark, Larentowicz, Mastroeni, and Smith. Any long term absences though and we'll be hurting.

Forward:
Clearly our best two players last season were our Dynamic Duo of Conor Casey and Omar Cummings up front. If we're going to make some noise this season that will probably have to happen again. Omar and Conor are a legitimate contender for the best forward tandem in the league. After that though our depth amounts to new draftee Andre Akpan. This is a disaster waiting to happen. There's still a decent chance that Casey will miss significant time by joining the World Cup team, and even if he doesn't any sort of injury to our top 2 leaves us relying on a MLS rookie with nobody behind him. Should Casey and Cummings continue their form from the first 75% of last year we shouldn't have to worry too much about scoring but that's putting most of our eggs in that basket.

Coaching:
In his first full year Gary Smith didn't make any big mistakes wen it comes to his game time coaching. His roster construction leaves much to be desired however, something we've seen continue into this off-season. We go into the 2010 campaign with only 1 backup forward and really only 1 backup winger, while we have 3 defensive midfielders and a couple of general midfielders seemingly without an obvious natural position. Given the natural wear and tear of a season I expect this will come back to hurt us. Other than that Smith has not impressed me, but he hasn't really screwed anything up. Still, with a 3-year run of missing the playoffs he has to be feeling the pressure this season.

Front Office:
The decision to leave Jordan Harvey unprotected was a bad one, there's no away around it. Protecting him of Cory Gibbs made no sense, and while we were later able to trade Gibbs for Larentowicz, I think Gibbs would have been passed over by Philly anyway. The FO did a good job trading the dead weight of Gibbs and Burpo for Larentowica and Thompson, but the team still seems to have no interest in using its DP slot. Combined with the lack of backups in vital positions I wonder what the Front Office spent most of the off-season doing. Out of the four draft picks only the two signed by the league pre-draft made the roster, and we went out and signed Danny Earls and a backup defender and GK. Not hat much going on. I expect we'll need the Front Office to step up and make some mid-season moves if we're going to contend.

Intangibles:
Once again the Rapids failed to win much more than 50% of their home games. We dropped 16 out of 45 points at home and missed the playoff by a point. That has to change in order to be competitive. I think breaking 30 points at home should be the minimum expectation for a place with the best natural advantage in the league.

The flip side to not making many changes in the off-season is that the team should be fairly comfortable with each other from the start. There shouldn't be that much "ramp up" time as the team figures out how to play as a unit.

Prediction:
This off-season the Rapids made one major improvement (Larentowicz) and one major decline (Harvey). Everything else was pretty much neutral. Our lack of depth is still a very big concern to me. For us to be a real threat we need to have all the breaks go our way. We need to have no major injuries, Casey and Cummings need to repeat their 2009 seasons, and our young players need to prove that they're up to MLS standards right away. If that happens I can see us making the playoffs with a few games to spare and being a threat to make a run. I don't see good odds for all that happening though, so I'm expecting that for yet another season the Rapids playoff chances will come right down to the wire. In the end I think we come up short for the 4th season in a row.

Rapids On KWGN

The Rapids have just announced their TV contract. 25 of the 26 non-nationally televised games will be on KWGN and in HD! The only game that will not be on KWGN or Fox Soccer Channel is the home game against LA in mid-May, which will only be available through Direct Kick or MLSLive.tv.

A strange departure from Altitude, KSE's in-house network. I wonder if Altitude rejected the Rapids or KWGN actually paid money to get the rights.

Now we just need Comcast in Denver to add FOX Soccer Channel in HD!

Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Noonan Waived

The Rapids waived Pat Noonan today. My guess is that he was a casualty of the new guaranteed contract language in the new CBA. The Rapids didn't want to be locked into a 6 figure contract for a guy who appears to be on the quick downside of his career. An update on our roster situation:

Goalkeepers:
Ian Joyce
Matt Pickens

Defenders:
Julian Baudet
Danny Earls
Kosuke Kimura
Drew Moor
Oscar Murillo
Scott Palguta

Midfielders:
Mehdi Ballouchy
Colin Clark
Nick LaBrocca
Jeff Larentowicz
Pablo Mastroeni
Jamie Smith
Wells Thompson

Forwards:
Conor Casey
Omar Cummings

Under Contract (type unknown):
Midfielders:
Ross LaBauex

Forwards:

Andre Akpan

Under Development Contract:
Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus - On loan to Charlotte

Defenders:
Michael Holody
Rob Valentino - GA

Midfielders:
Ciaran O'Brien - GA

Forwards:
Ross Schunk - On DL most if not all the season with ACL tear

On Trial:
Midfielders:
Andy Lorei

That's 17-19 senior contracts (depending on the nature of Akpan and LaBauex's contracts) and 3 developmental contracts + 2 that don't count towards the roster cap. The announced limits of 20 senior and 4 developmental contracts seem to be changing every time a reporter/blogger talks to the league but its probably a good baseline to work with. Based on that the Rapids have one senior contract and one developmental contract to give out. Given the time that Andy Lorei has been getting in this preseason i think that he'll get the developmental contract.

Assuming he signs, here's how we stack up by position:

Goalkeepers: 2 + 1 on loan that can be recalled
Defenders: 8
Midfielders: 10
Forwards: 3 + 1 on DL that probably won't e available this season

Yeah, you read that right, 3 forwards. I really hope the senior roster spot that's been opened up by Noonan leaving is already being offered to a forward with some decent top-level experience. Going into the season with our Dynamic Duo of Casey and Cummings only being backed up by a rookie is a really bad idea.

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Game On!!!

The league and player's union have announced that they have reached a deal on a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, avoiding the strike deadline of tomorrow night that the union set. The new deal is for 5 years, which means the season will start as planned on Thursday night with the expansion Philadelphia Union at the Seattle Sounders. The next night the Rapids will kick off in LA against Chivas.

I've been holding off on season previews and such until I knew the season would actually start, so look for a few posts this week.

Friday, March 19, 2010

Roster Talk

The Rapids announced today that Greg Dalby, as predicted, has been waived. They also confirmed that Ceus' loan will be for the full season, with the ability to recall him at any time. The FC Denver blog reported that Jure Travner did not return to the States with the team after his trial in England. Its also been reported by one comment on my last roster post that Akpan's and LaBauex's contracts are senior contracts. They both signed prior to the draft, which leads me to believe this is the case. So, the roster currently looks like this:

Under Senior Contract:
Goalkeepers:
Ian Joyce
Matt Pickens

Defenders:
Julian Baudet
Danny Earls
Kosuke Kimura
Drew Moor
Oscar Murillo
Scott Palguta

Midfielders:
Mehdi Ballouchy
Colin Clark
Nick LaBrocca
Jeff Larentowicz
Pablo Mastroeni
Jamie Smith
Wells Thompson

Forwards:
Conor Casey
Omar Cummings
Pat Noonan

Under Contract (type unknown):
Midfielders:
Ross LaBauex

Forwards:

Andre Akpan

Under Development Contract:
Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus - On loan to Charlotte

Defenders:
Michael Holody
Rob Valentino - GA

Midfielders:
Ciaran O'Brien - GA

Forwards:
Ross Schunk - On DL most if not all the season with ACL tear

On Trial:
Midfielders:
Andy Lorei

That's 18-20 senior contracts and 3 developmental contracts + 2 that don't count towards the roster cap. Based on last year's limits of 20 senior and 4 developmental contracts the Rapids have one developmental contract to give out. Given the time that Any Lorei has been getting in this preseason i think that's his for the taking.

Assuming he signs, here's how we stack up by position:

Goalkeepers: 2 + 1 on loan that can be recalled
Defenders: 8
Midfielders: 10
Forwards: 4 + 1 on DL that probably won't e available this season

Its concerning to me that we have 10 midfielders yet I feel like we have no real depth at the wings. Honestly having Pablo, Larentowicz, and LaBrocca is probably too deep at the holding midfield position. The real question marks are the younger guys, LaBauex, Lorei, O'Brien, and Thompson. At some point this season we're going to have to rely on them to fill gaps at the wings and attacking mid, and will any of them be able to step into those roles?

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Charity Shield Match Canceled

The Rapids have announced that tomorrow's Charity Shield match at the Dick against Seattle is canceled due to the expected storm. The Supporter's Groups kickoff party is also canceled.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Steward Ceus On Loan Again

Rapids GK Steward Ceus has tweeted that he'll be returning to the USL-2 Charlotte Eagles on loan again this year. Ceus joined Charlotte in June last year for the remaining part of their season, playing 10 times for them and helped to lead the Eagles to a 4th place finish and runners-up in the Championship game.

With this move the Rapids are now at the roster limits from last season. The roster as of right now:

Under Senior Contract:
Goalkeepers:
Ian Joyce
Matt Pickens

Defenders:
Julian Baudet
Danny Earls
Kosuke Kimura
Drew Moor
Oscar Murillo
Scott Palguta

Midfielders:
Mehdi Ballouchy
Colin Clark
Greg Dalby
Nick LaBrocca
Jeff Larentowicz
Pablo Mastroeni
Jamie Smith
Wells Thompson

Forwards:
Conor Casey
Omar Cummings
Pat Noonan

Under Contract (type unknown):
Midfielders:
Ross LaBauex

Forwards:

Andre Akpan

Under Development Contract:
Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus - On loan to Charlotte

Defenders:
Michael Holody
Rob Valentino - GA

Midfielders:
Ciaran O'Brien - GA

Forwards:
Ross Schunk - On DL most if not all the season with ACL tear

On Trial:
Defenders:
Jure Travner

Midfielders:
Andy Lorei

So we have 19 Senior Players, 5 Developmental Players, 2 Unknown contract types, and 2 trialists. With Ceus on loan and Schunk on the DL they don't count against the roster cap leaving us at 19 senior players and 3 developmental players. Given that Akpan signed before the draft and was drafted higher I wouldn't be shocked if he's the 20th senior player while LaBauex is the 4th developmental player.

There's been no word on Travner since he spent time with the team in England last week, I don't even know if he came back to Colorado with the team. Lorei played, and scored, in today's friendly against Air Force.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Down to 24?

Crossposted from No Fan Alone. The Class VI Grand Poobah asked that I post some of my on-field analysis there, but I wanted to make sure those of you that started reading me here saw it as well.

Today the Rapids Undercurrent had some notes from Gary Smith. One in particular stood out to me:
The fact that we have a settled 24 at the moment doesn’t necessarily mean that that will be the same 24 that starts the season
Based on the announcements from the team, the Rapids have 26, not 24 on the roster. Ross Schunk's torn ACL means he'll be able to stay on the roster above the expected 24 limit. It sounds like Smith already has an idea of who the odd man out is at this point.

Given that Dalby has played two 45 minute halves in the first two preseason games and nothing since then, I'm still putting my money on him being the odd man out.

The other option is that Palguta's injury is worse than expected and he'll start on the DL as well, leaving the 24 signed healthy players as the 24.

(This all assumes that neither of the trialists are signed)

Saturday, March 13, 2010

Final London Result

Sorry for the delayed update. I spent yesterday in Boulder finishing with the Great Big Sea concert at the Boulder Theater. Great time and I was tempted to buy tickets for tonight's show.

The Rapids finished their London trip with a match against San Jose at Tottenham Hotspur's training grounds. The Earthquakes have a partner arrangement with Tottenham similar to the Rapids' relationship with Arsenal. Unfortunately the Rapids were beaten 2-0. The starting lineup:

Pickens
Kimura - Moor - Baudet - Travner
Thompson - Mastroeni - LaBrocca - Earls
Casey - Cummings

Subs used: Valentino, Murillo, Holody, Clark, Larentowicz, Noonan, Lorei, Akpan, O'Brien

I think the starting 11 is once again fairly clear form this lineup. There may be a question mark at left back between Earls and Travner and Larentowicz's and Clark's health is still up in the air. Other than that I think the rest of the lineup is fairly set.

One concern is that the Rapids have played 5 preseason matches and have been outscored 2-5. They got a PK against Columbus and a goal against the Arsenal Reserves when Cummings; cross took a lucky deflection to Casey's feet. On the bright side the Rapids only had Casey for two of those matches. Still our lack of offense when Clark is missing is very concerning.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

More Roster Notes

The Rapids had a few more roster announcements today:
  • While trialist Andy Lorei traveled with the team to England, on Wednesday morning the Rapids were joined by another trialist: Jure Travner, a defender currently with Watford FC.
  • Scott Palguta has Achilles tendinitis and is rehabbing at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
  • Ross Schunk had surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in his right knee. Schunk suffered the injury in the Rapids’ preseason game against Real Salt Lake on Feb. 26 in Arizona.
  • 2010 third-round MLS SuperDraft pick defender Chad Borak and Colombian midfield trialist Rolan De La Cruz have not been extended contracts and are no longer with the team.
So where does that leave us? Here's the roster setup right now:

Under Senior Contract:
Goalkeepers:
Ian Joyce
Matt Pickens

Defenders:
Julian Baudet
Danny Earls
Kosuke Kimura
Drew Moor
Oscar Murillo
Scott Palguta

Midfielders:
Mehdi Ballouchy
Colin Clark
Greg Dalby
Nick LaBrocca
Jeff Larentowicz
Pablo Mastroeni
Jamie Smith
Wells Thompson

Forwards:
Conor Casey
Omar Cummings
Pat Noonan

Under Contract (type unknown):
Midfielders:
Ross LaBauex

Forwards:

Andre Akpan

Under Development Contract:
Goalkeepers:
Steward Ceus

Defenders:
Michael Holody
Rob Valentino - GA

Midfielders:
Ciaran O'Brien - GA

Forwards:
Ross Schunk

On Trial:
Defenders:
Jure Travner

Midfielders:
Andy Lorei

So we have 19 Senior Players, 5 Developmental Players, 2 Unknown contract types, and 2 trialists. The expectation is that the roster size will be the same as last year, 20 senior players and 4 developmental players. Ross Schunk will start, and probably spend most of the year, on the DL and won't count. So the Rapids have one cut to make without signing anyone else. To me, the most likely cut based on performance and lack of pre-season playing time is Greg Dalby.

After that, if the Rapids want to sign Travner or Lorei they'll have to cut somebody else.

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Results and Roster Moves

Lots of news from the Rapids today. First the game result, then the roster moves.

This morning (early this morning Colorado time) the Rapids played the Arsenal Reserves. According to Arsenal fans it was closer to a mix of reserves and youth team players. The Rapids won 1-0 on a Casey goal with a Cummings assist in the 52nd minute. Colorado started pretty close to a full lineup:

Pickens
Kimura - Moor - Baudet - Earls
Smith - Mastroeni - LaBrocca - Thompson
Casey - Cummings

The following players all got subbed in in the second half:
Ceus, Valentino, Murillo, Holody, Clark, Larentowicz, LaBauex, Lorie, Noonan, Akpan

Notable is that this was the first preseason action for Clark, Earls, and Larentowicz. I think this starting 11 is almost the expected starters of everyone was healthy. If Clark and Larentowicz were healthy I think they would start over Thompson and LaBrocca.

Later in the day Colorado made three roster announcements and slipped a fourth in without an announcement.
  • Facundo Diz has been released
  • Draftee Chad Borak will not be offered a contract
  • Ian Joyce has been signed
  • Finally Ross LaBauex now appears on the roster page of the Rapids website, along with the other new Rapids
Joyce is an American GK who's been bouncing around the lower English leagues on an Italian passport since graduating from Seton Hall in 2007. He hasn't gotten any consistent playing time and is clearly a competitor for Steward Ceus in the backup GK role.

This leaves us with 26 rostered players and two trialists (Lorei and de la Cruz). The rumor is that the roster limit will be the same as last year, 24. This leaves the Rapids with 4 extra players, assuming no other surprises like Joyce. The 4 players who are going to be cut are most likely not going to be players who were just offered contracts. So my guesses:

Ross Schunk - Andre Akpan appears to have taken his slot.
Greg Dalby - Jeff Larentowicz, Nick LaBrocca, and Pablo Mastroeni give us plenty of d-mid depth
Rolan de la Cruz - Won't be offered a contract

The 4th player is a little more tricky. There seems to be numerous options. I could see it being Lorei, Palguta, Noonan, Ceus, or O'Brien (depending on the GA status). Right now my odds would be on Noonan or O'Brien being cut.

Thursday, March 4, 2010

Casey Signs For 3 More Years

Conor Casey has signed a contract that will keep him with the Rapids for 3 more years. This will keep Casey in MLS (barring a transfer) through the 2012 season when Casey will be 31 years old. Casey is coming off a 16-goal season, a record for both him and the Rapids.

This is a good move by the Rapids, keeping possibly the best striker in team history wrapped up through his best remaining years. On average strikers drop off in their 30's so at the end of this contract the Rapids will have a decision to make but until then they've got a top MLS striker and possible World Cup player locked up.

I also like the fact that the Rapids made the announcement at Denver South, Casey's old high school. A little hokey, but its nice to see the connection back to the community and it gives the current generation a good example of what's possible in soccer in this country.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

U.S. Open Cup Qualifiers Announced

The USSF announced the MLS qualifiers for the U.S. Open Cup today. Dates and times to be announced later.

New York hosts Philadelphia: Winner Hosts New England
Vs.
Kansas City hosts Colorado

San Jose hosts Real Salt Lake
Vs.
DC United hosts FC Dallas

Now according to the Rapids FO the hosts for the qualifiers is determined by coin flip. But yet again, for the 3rd year running, the Rapids lost a coin flip for a USOC qualifier. By my quick math the odds of that happening 5 times in a row is 3.125% (1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2 x 1/2).

So either the Rapids are just about the unluckiest team in USOC history, or there's more than just a coin flip involved. I know which one I'm going with.

UPDATE:

OK, we have some bad juju. MLS posted video of this year's coin flip.

http://web.mlsnet.com/media/video.jsp?content_id=7176795

To the best of my knowledge this is the first time there's been a recording of the flips made public. I wonder if its a coincidence this happens the year after Gary Smith publicly questioned the way the sites were determined?

Monday, March 1, 2010

Not Roster Compliance Day

Today was scheduled to be the roster compliance day for MLS teams, but due to the ongoing CBA negotiations the league has delayed the date to sometime in the upcoming few weeks. Besides that being a rather disappointing take on the status of the talks it happens to correspond to some comments by Gary Smith where he said he'd like to take about 24 players to London next week. I figured that with these two events it would be a good idea to evaluate our camp and who's likely to make the cut for the London trip.

Now Smith could decide to take a couple of fringe guys, especially if there are guys who are locks for a roster spot that won't make the trip due to injury (Colin Clark and Jeff Larentowicz being obvious examples). I'm going to work form the premise of picking a final 24 though and see where that leaves us.

Locks:
Conor Casey
Colin Clark
Omar Cummings
Jeff Larentowicz
Pablo Mastroeni
Matt Pickens

I can't conceive of a situation that results in any of these guys getting cut, or even traded.

Feeling Comfortable:
Andre Akpan
Julian Baudet
Steward Ceus
Danny Earls
Koskuke Kimura
Nick LaBrocca
Drew Moor
Oscar Murillo
Jamie Smith

If one of these guys is having a really bad training camp or the right offer landed in the Rapids lap they might be moved, but barring that they should feel pretty confident.

Filling The Gaps:
Mehdi Ballouchy
Devon Hodges - Unsigned
Michael Holody
Ross LaBeaux - Unsigned
Andy Lorei - Unsigned
Scott Palguta
Wells Thompson
Rob Valentino

These guys will probably make the team, but could be beat out by somebody having a really good showing, or could easily be traded. Of the unsigned guys i think Hodges is close to moving up to the next category, while Lorei might be a stretch to be in this category.

Fighting For The Remaining Spot:
Chad Borak - Unsigned
Greg Dalby
Rolan de la Cruz - Unsigned
Facundo Diz
Pat Noonan
Ciaran O'Brien
Ross Schunk

These guys are really on the outside looking in. The signed guys have shown very little in their time in Colorado, and the unsigned guys really have an uphill battle. The prior groups only have 23 players in them, so there's one spot open. Right now, based on his experience. I would bet Pat Noonan has the lead for that spot but I think its up for grabs. The other possibility, especially for a player like O'Brien who has a GA contract, is to be signed and then loaned out for the whole season so he doesn't count against the roster limit.

So 30 players, 24 spots. 6 of these players are either going to be cut or not get offered a contract.