CCL Ends Not With A Bang, But A Wimper

As expected nothing much came out of last night's CCL game.  We saw a few different players, had a good run out, and went home with our CCL campaign complete.

The Rapids looked better this week, having some good chances and really controlling the game for all but about the last 20 minutes when they tired.  That said, TFC had a 2 goal lead coming in and never really seemed to get out of third gear.  Maybe an early goal by the Rapids puts the pressure on TFC and they break, but its equally possible an early goal wakes them up and they go on to beat us.

Now we have a week and a half break before league play starts in New England on the 10th.  Consider this, in 4 games against MLS opposition this season we've scored 1 goal.  Not good.

(Oh, and for all the talk about how TFC is an all time great MLS team, they've beaten Colorado once in the 4 times they've faced them going back to 2016.  I'm not impressed.)

CCL Round 2

Last week I did a full game preview for what amounted to a preseason game.  Fool me once and all that so just a quick write up this week.  From the talk it appears will swap out most, if not all, of the starting XI tomorrow night and play them all a full 90 again.  We know Boateng and Aigner are out of the country and Azira's wife gave birth this weekend so I'm assuming he's not available.  Gashi and Colvey are still listed as probable with injuries.

Kickoff is 6pm MST and it looks like streaming is your only option, either through Univision Deportes or go90.

Prediction: 1-0 loss.

Rapids Sign Youngest Homegrown Player In Team History

Big news out of Commerce City today as the Rapids signed 18 year old Sam Vines as their newest Homegrown Player.  Vines is an outside defender that has played at every level of the U.S. youth teams other than the U-23s and was named to the National Development Academy Best XI last year.  He is expected to play wingback in Hudson's system, adding some extra depth at that position.  At 18 he's also the youngest Homegrown Signing in team history.

Also today it was reported that Nana Boateng and Stefan Aigner have returned home (to Ghana and Germany respectively) to complete the process of gaining their green cards.  This is a big move for the club in two ways.  First of all for 2018 this immediately puts us into roster compliance once the process is complete as the team is two over on internationals.  That means the team has the option to not loan Wynne out if they want.  If Badji is also able to get his it would give us an open spot.  In the past MLS has shown some willingness to bend the rules around roster compliance and internationals as well if a chance in status is imminent.  That means that even if these cards aren't complete by mid-next week when the roster compliance date is hit the Rapids will likely not be forced to make any move to become compliant.  The one downside is that with them out of the country they won't be available for Leg 2 of the CCL in Toronto on Tuesday.

The other reason this is a big move for the club is that Aigner has been here barely 6 months and Boateng a little over a year.  We've seen other teams, notably Seattle, move quickly in getting green cards for players but these would be the fastest green cards in club history I believe.  The green card process does not require a minimum amount of time but it does take several months to process and, in the case of applying for one through employment and not family, support from the employer.  This quickness of these two applications is another indicator of the change in the Front Office.  I wonder if the addition of Ena Patel has helped with this as this seems to fall into her sphere as Director of Player Personnel (obviously to be at this point already the process had to have started before her hiring but I'm sure her presences has helped).  Regardless its a positive sign that the club is taking this step now, especially compared to the past when there were cases (such as Ballouchy) where we'd see paperwork issues never prioritized for fixing/completing.

The roster list below has been updated with both pieces of news today.  We now have 29 of 30 roster spots filled (not counting Da Fonte) and all 8 international slots filled.  We do have an open DP slot.

Signed Players:
* = international
HG = homegrown
DP = designated player

GK Andrew Dykstra
GK Tm Howard - DP
GK Zac MacMath
D Edgar Castillo
D Kip Colvey
D Kortne Ford - HG
D Marlon Hairston
D Eric Miller
D Axel Sjoberg
D Tommy Smith*
D Sam Vines - HG
D Jared Watts
D Danny Wilson*
D Deklan Wynne*
M Bismark Adjei-Boateng
M Stefan Aigner
M Michael Azira
M Johan Blomberg*
M Shkelzen Gashi* - DP
M Sam Hamilton
M Enzo Martinez
M Ricardo Perez - HG
M Jack Price*
M Dillon Serna - HG
F Dominique Badji*
F Caleb Calvert - HG
F Niki Jackson
F Joe Mason*
F Jack McBean

FC Denver Needs Your Help

Local amateur side FC Denver qualified for the 2018 U.S. Open Cup.  This will almost certainly require them to travel out of state if they advance at all.  To help with those costs they've started a fundraiser here.  Hopefully they can put everything they need together.

Colorado Offense As Frozen As The Fans

Wow, that was cold.  An official kickoff temperature of 3 degrees set a new MLS record, one that won't be broken any time soon.

As we expected from the pre-game comments the Rapids treated this like a preseason plus game while TFC came in looking to make this the first step on their run to the CCL title.  Not surprisingly, TFC won 2-0.  The first half was actually fairly even, with some positive things to build on in 2018.  The second half was 2017-level dreck and TFC took advantage for both goals.  Colorado used no subs and after the game Hudson said that was intentional to build fitness (and probably, to minimize the risk of injury).

Because the goal of this game was largely not on winning its hard to draw many conclusions from it.  Jack Price looked good, he's quickly going to become a favorite I think.  Tommy Smith seems to be a good organizer on the back line.  Jack McBean brought nothing to the game and a front line of Badji & McBean is not going to get the job done in league play.  Finally I had carried the torch for a renewed Howard this offseason.  After his performance last night I regret it.  I hope it was just the cold because he looked slow and barely reacted on either TFC goal.  If its not just the cold and he really is struggling, Hudson is going to have his first big decision of his Rapids career as MacMath waits in the wings.

We've got TFC again in Toronto next Tuesday but it will take a miracle to advance.  After that its a bye the following weekend, a trip to New England on the 10th, another bye, and then the home opener on the 24th.  Kind of a start-stop month ahead, it will be important to stay focused.

2 Bits Of Pregame News

Two bits of news before tonight's match.  As expected the Rapdis have signed draftee Niki Jackson.  Roster has been updated below.  The real game changer though is this:

Yep, that's GB's Fish n' Chips at the stadium.  They took over the window on the side of Eighteen76 that used to be a Famous Dave's.   The best fish n' chips in Denver and meat pies now at the stadium?  Take my money now!  And yes, they will be open tonight.

Signed Players:
* = international
HG = homegrown
DP = designated player

GK Andrew Dykstra
GK Tm Howard - DP
GK Zac MacMath
D Edgar Castillo
D Kip Colvey
D Kortne Ford - HG
D Marlon Hairston
D Eric Miller
D Axel Sjoberg
D Tommy Smith*
D Jared Watts
D Danny Wilson*
D Deklan Wynne*
M Bismark Adjei-Boateng*
M Stefan Aigner*
M Michael Azira
M Johan Blomberg*
M Shkelzen Gashi* - DP
M Sam Hamilton
M Enzo Martinez
M Ricardo Perez - HG
M Jack Price*
M Dillon Serna - HG
F Dominique Badji*
F Caleb Calvert - HG
F Niki Jackson
F Joe Mason*
F Jack McBean

Game On!

Well the season is finally here.  On what will be a very cold night with temperatures with wind chill in the single digits the Rapids face Toronto in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League.  Kickoff tomorrow night is at 8pm and I expect me and about 100 of my closest C38 comrades will be about the only fans in the stadium.  Those of you smart enough to stay out of the cold can find the game on Univision Deportes at 11pm, streamed live from the Univision Deportes website, or supposedly streamed live with English commentary on go90.

New coach, new players, and no injury report means I'm not going to try to predict a starting XI.  We'll be playing our new 3-5-2 and our lack of strikers means its likely guys like Hairston, Badji, Castillo, and McBean will start but outside of that its really up in the air.

Toronto plays a 5-3-2 (really the main difference between a 5-3-2 and a 3-5-2 is how aggressive the wing backs get) so the midfield is going to be really crowded.  Expect a lot of playing to the outside to find space.  They'll be missing a couple of bigger players due to injury and impending fatherhood so we might see an odd set of lineups from both teams.

Prediction: 0-0 draw.  I think Colorado is going to play conservatively, knowing they don't yet have all the pieces to get into a shootout.  The cold weather will only add to that as nobody is going to want to risk injury.  TFC will be fairly happy to go home without a deficit so this may not be the most exciting soccer tomorrow night.

Rapids Announce Two Signings

In today's CCL press conference Anthony Hudson confirmed two signings that after this past weekend were no surprise.  Joe Mason and Wolves have agreed to terms with the Rapids and he will be joining the team pending receipt of his paperwork (so not in time for tomorrow's match, probably not in time for the second leg next week).  No details have been released (the team hasn't even sent out the official press announcement yet) but based on rumors I'm assuming its a loan with an option to buy.

The Rapids are also signing Charlotte's Enzo Martinez, which was expected based on his play in training camp.  It was confirmed today he holds a green card and will not need an international slot (Martinez is Uruguayan but grew up in South Carolina).  As part of the signing the Rapids are sending their 4th round pick in 2021 to FSL as they own Martinez's rights, having drafted him originally in 2012.

With that the roster looks like this so far.  It sounds like draftee Niki Jackson came back to Denver with the team so he might be signed soon as well.  We have 4 open roster slots and we're 2 over on internationals.

Signed Players:
* = international
HG = homegrown
DP = designated player

GK Andrew Dykstra
GK Tm Howard - DP
GK Zac MacMath
D Edgar Castillo
D Kip Colvey
D Kortne Ford - HG
D Marlon Hairston
D Eric Miller
D Axel Sjoberg
D Tommy Smith*
D Jared Watts
D Danny Wilson*
D Deklan Wynne*
M Bismark Adjei-Boateng*
M Stefan Aigner*
M Michael Azira
M Johan Blomberg*
M Shkelzen Gashi* - DP
M Sam Hamilton
M Enzo Martinez
M Ricardo Perez - HG
M Jack Price*
M Dillon Serna - HG
F Dominique Badji*
F Caleb Calvert - HG
F Joe Mason*
F Jack McBean

New Rumor And Final Preseason Game Wrap-Up

Interesting rumor reported by Steven Goff tonight:

. @Wolves forward Joe Mason, 26, close to reaching deal to join @ColoradoRapids on loan. 42 goals in English Championship since 2009. Former teammate Jack Price signed at Colorado last month. #wwfc #mls

— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) February 18, 2018

Mason is under contract with Wolves through 2018 so any loan with an option to buy would have to buy him out of his final year.  He's a serial loanee, having spent time on multiple loans to Bolton when signed with Cardiff and most recently he just got back from Burton Albion while signed for Wolves.  That said, those are all Championship (or better) teams, so the quality is there.  I'm not sure this is a the "big striker" signing we need but he would be a good signing as a secondary striker to push Badji.  Regardless we need some sort of striker signing so its good to see something on that front.

Catching up from earlier in the week the Rapids played Phoenix Rising FC in Arizona for their final preseason game before coming home to prep for Tuesday's Champions League match.  The lineup for the game:

Apparently no subs for this one, at least for the Rapids.  Phoenix subbed out the whole lineup after about 60 minutes.  Both Rapids goals came after that, both headers, one by Badji and one by Smith off a corner from Price.  Trialist Enzo Martinez looked really good in this one and I wouldn't be shocked to hear he's been signed before the CCL match.  Somebody will need to tell him the 38 he's wearing in camp has special meaning though.  Jack Price bossed the game around but did had a nasty tackle that probably could have been red.  Regardless he's already on his way to being a fan favorite.

Next up is the CCL match on Tuesday against Toronto.  With the forecast though (high of 12, low of 2, and snow showers) I wouldn't be shocked if they reschedule it for Wednesday when its supposed to be sunny and not threat-of-frostbite cold.  We'll see what Monday brings.

Rapids Trade General Allocation Money For International Slot

Today Colorado sent $100K of GAM to KC for an international slot for the 2018 season.  An expected move as we were two over our total of slots.  Now if Wynne goes on loan to Charlotte or somebody like Badji gets a green card we'll be in compliance on the international front.

Some fans thought this might be a precursor to finally signing a striker, but no, this was just something that needed to happen based on our existing signings.  I've pretty much resigned myself to the fact we won't sign a significant striker until the summer window.  The one possibility is that the EFL season (everything under the EPL in England) ends 2 days before the window closes so if we're targeting somebody who doesn't make the promotion playoffs they could come over in May.

Preseason Results and Players Heading Out

Time to catch up on the last couple of preseason games, but first a couple of pieces of player news.  Draftee Alan Winn was signed yesterday by Nashville SC of the USL.  Nashville is coached by former Rapids manager (and MLS Cup winner) Gary Smith and also features two members of that Cup winning team, Kosuke Kimura and Matt Pickens.  The Rapids now have only two draft picks in camp, GK Thomas Olsen (who's path to a roster spot was presumably blocked with the acquisition of Dykstra) and F Niki Jackson, who will feature later in this post.

Today the Rapids announced they had loaned Miked Da Fonte to Phoenix Rising FC of the USL.  The Rapids announced when they made their year-end roster moves that Da Fonte would be loaned out for 2018, the last year of his contract, so I'm going to remove him from the roster list now as while on loan he doesn't count against roster or salary caps.  Its safe to say we've seen the last of him in Colorado.

Now, on to the games.  I actually never got around to writing up last weekend's scrimmage with the KC, so lets start there.  These lineups are my best guesses at formation based on the box scores:

The starting XI:

KC scored twice on this lineup in the first half.  The second half lineup looked like:

Winn would get the last 15 minutes of the game.  This lineup played a scoreless half.

After a quick trip back to Colorado to pick up some new players and do laundry the team was back in Arizona for a game against UPSL side Sporting AZ yesterday.  The starting group:

Good to see signings Price and Smith with the team now.  This group would go 60 minutes and score twice, first from Castillo in the opening 2 minutes and then McBean got one 25 minutes in.  At the 60th minute mark the whole lineup swapped out for this group:

This group would also play 60 minutes (for a total of 120) and they ran rampant over the lower league side, as you would expect.  Calvert, Aigner, and Perez all got goals and Blomberg and Jackson each got 2, for a final score of 9-0.  Hard to draw a whole lot from a game against that level of competition but the team did what it was expected to do, so that's a good thing.

The next match is Wednesday against Phoenix Rising FC (now featuring Mike Da Fonte!) at 6pm and it will be streamed online, if you don't have Valentines Day plans and you're not watching the Olympics.

Signed Players:
* = international
HG = homegrown
DP = designated player

GK Andrew Dykstra
GK Tm Howard - DP
GK Zac MacMath
D Edgar Castillo
D Kip Colvey
D Kortne Ford - HG
D Marlon Hairston
D Eric Miller
D Axel Sjoberg
D Tommy Smith*
D Jared Watts
D Danny Wilson*
D Deklan Wynne*
M Bismark Adjei-Boateng*
M Stefan Aigner*
M Michael Azira
M Johan Blomberg*
M Shkelzen Gashi* - DP
M Sam Hamilton
M Ricardo Perez - HG
M Jack Price*
M Dillon Serna - HG
F Dominique Badji*
F Caleb Calvert - HG
F Jack McBean

Unsigned Draftees:
GK Thomas Olsen
F Niki Jackson

Trialists:
D Joel Johnson
M Enzo Martinez

New Shirt, New Player, But Still No Striker

Two announcements from the Rapids today.  First the 2018 home jersey was unveiled:

Pretty straight forward.  Paired with light blue shorts and the burgundy socks it will look good on the field.  If I needed a new jersey I'd be happy to pick this one up but right now I've got a few others in the queue, namely Blackburn's road jersey and a Swedish National Team jersey before the World Cup.

One interesting note, with this burgundy kit the Rapids will have played in burgundy for 12 seasons.  They played in the original green for 7 seasons and the black and blue for 4 seasons, which means as of this year we've played in burgundy for a majority of our existence.

The other announcement was a bit of surprise, we traded our 2020 2nd round draft pick to KC for goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra.  He's 32 year old journeyman keeper that's spent time with Chicago, DC, and KC, as well as some USL teams, with 34 MLS starts in his career.

I'm a little surprised at this move as I expected that draftee Thomas Olsen had the inside track on the 3rd keeper spot.  This means that either Olsen isn't working out, or that this is the first move in a plan to trade MacMath.  Dykstra could be a backup keeper, he's done that successfully in his career, and MacMath is a nice trading chip for a team looking for a big upgrade at striker.  I kind of hope that's the plan because if we're keeping both Howard and MacMath I'd rather we take a shot on Olsen or another young keeper that might develop over Dykstra, who will probably never play a game this season barring simultaneous injuries to MacMath and Howard.

Signed Players:
* = international
HG = homegrown
DP = designated player

GK Andrew Dykstra
GK Tm Howard - DP
GK Zac MacMath
D Edgar Castillo
D Kip Colvey
D Mike da Fonte
D Kortne Ford - HG
D Marlon Hairston
D Eric Miller
D Axel Sjoberg
D Tommy Smith*
D Jared Watts
D Danny Wilson*
D Deklan Wynne*
M Bismark Adjei-Boateng*
M Stefan Aigner*
M Michael Azira
M Johan Blomberg*
M Shkelzen Gashi* - DP
M Sam Hamilton
M Ricardo Perez - HG
M Jack Price*
M Dillon Serna - HG
F Dominique Badji*
F Caleb Calvert - HG
F Jack McBean

Unsigned Draftees:
GK Thomas Olsen
F Niki Jackson
F Alan Winn

Trialists:
D Joel Johnson
M Enzo Martinez

Recap Of First Scrimmage Under Hdson

Yesterday the Rapids held their first scrimmage under new coach Anthony Hudson, a 2-1 loss to Columbus.  Here's how they lined up at kickoff:

After 60 minutes the lineup shifted to:

Note, these formations are a best guess based on the lineups.

Zardes scored two minutes in but Ford leveled in the 26th by heading in a corner kick.  The Crew would get the winner in the 58th minute.

Gashi was held out as a precaution due to a tight calf, players like Price, Smith, and Wilson haven't yet arrived in camp though they were expected in the latter half of this week.  The next game is Saturday against KC.

Also today we found out the Charlotte Independence's Joel Johnson is also in camp.  Johnson is a 25 year old Liberian/Spanish right back who was born and raised in Spain, spending time with Valencia B and Real Madrid C before coming toe the States and joining Charlotte last season.  The camp list has been updated below.

Signed Players:
* = international
HG = homegrown
DP = designated player

GK Tm Howard - DP
GK Zac MacMath
D Edgar Castillo
D Kip Colvey
D Mike da Fonte
D Kortne Ford - HG
D Marlon Hairston
D Eric Miller
D Axel Sjoberg
D Tommy Smith*
D Jared Watts
D Danny Wilson*
D Deklan Wynne*
M Bismark Adjei-Boateng*
M Stefan Aigner*
M Michael Azira
M Johan Blomberg*
M Shkelzen Gashi* - DP
M Sam Hamilton
M Ricardo Perez - HG
M Jack Price*
M Dillon Serna - HG
F Dominique Badji*
F Caleb Calvert - HG
F Jack McBean

Unsigned Draftees:
GK Thomas Olsen
F Niki Jackson
F Alan Winn

Trialists:
D Joel Johnson
M Enzo Martinez