Final Bow On 2025, Reviewing My Predictions

Ok, the last thing we need to do before moving on to the offseason decisions and 2026 is looking back at my predictions for this year.  This...will be painful.

• Its one series and done in the CCC.  Our track record at LAFC is very bad and I don't see that changing this early in the season.

Off to a good start, full points!

• Likewise the new Leagues Cup format puts us at a disadvantage and we don't progress.  In fact our chances are so unlikely that going into our final game against Cruz Azul in LA Armas pulls the rip cord and uses a heavily rotated roster to save legs for the run-in to the playoffs.

Wathuta, Sam Bassett, Alex Harris, Fredrick, and Travis started the Cruz Azul game.  Plus Nico Hansen.  I'm giving myself full credit here. 

• The Rapids do make the playoffs, but they host the wild-card game (8th overall).  They actually win the wild-card game before bowing out in the next round.

Missed the playoffs on the tiebreaker, missed 8th by 3 points.  I'm giving myself 0 for this one, much like the Rapids this year.

• Sadly they end up in the wild-card because the curse of Sandy bites us again and we lose the Rocky Mountain Cup in the next-to-last regular-season match (I'm half tempted to say we retain it after points & goals are tied, but I've seen this story too many times before).

I'm giving myself half a point for my dead-on accurate half temptation.

• At some point, either just before the window closes in May or when the window opens this summer, the Rapids make a move for a short-term backup striker.

Nope, Yapi came good this year and made this (somewhat) unnecessary.  That's going to burn me two ways.

• Mihailovic is once again named Player of the Year and makes a run at Valderrama's record of 16 assists in a season

Ah...no.  He still lead the team in assists with 7 despite being sold during Leagues Cup.  No points.

• Navarro is the Golden Boot but will not get to 16 to tie Rubio and Casey.

Got to 12, 3 more than Mihailovic and 4 more than Yapi.  Full point.

• Steffen, Mihailovic, and Bassett all get call-ups this year

We now know Mihailovic got a call-up in January but had to turn it down due to recovering from his injury.  And Steffen was called up in the summer.  I'm claiming half a point.

• This is the last year Yapi really features for this team.  He may still be on the roster in 2026 but as a deep bench option only.

The exact opposite, for the first time really Yapi showed he can be at least a solid bench option in MLS.  He will be back and will feature as a seconday striker.

• Atencio will be seen as the sneaky-good acquisition of this offseason, justifying the expense.

Nope.  I'm not sure there was a sneaky good acquisition this offseason.  Signing Santos midseason looks like the closest.

4 points out of 10.  That's an all-star batting average but not great for predictions.  Still a step up from 3.5 out of 11 last year, which itself was a slight step up from the year before.

Unless we get some player or coach rumors or news the blog will be fairly quiet for the next couple of weeks.  Once roster decisions are formally announced and we hot the Superdraft there will be something to talk about.

MVP And Season Summary

Ok, now that we've had a couple of weeks to decompress from the season we have to ask the question.  Was it successful?

I think you have to say it was.  Yeah, it ended on a sour note with the team in a tailspin but in March if somebody had told you we'd win the Rocky Mountain Cup, finish 3rd in the Leagues Cup, claim a CCC spot, and clinch a playoff spot with 6 weeks to play you'd take that every time.

That's not to say there isn't room for improvement.  When we lost we lost bad far too often.  And the reason we crashed and burned late was a lack of depth forcing us to play our top guys way too many minutes this season.

The main thing we need to work on though is our defense.  We actually gave up 6 more goals this season than we did last season.  No team that made it past the play-in round gave up more goals than we did.  The reason we were successful this year was scoring a full goal a game more than we did in 2023.  Whatever Armas' defensive strategy is, it doesn't work.  

Early in the season the manager gave an interview to one of the blogs (Burgundy Wave?) where he mentioned his tactical belief that that outside edges of the penalty box were the key areas where goals were created.  On the offense he seems to have created something that works, as we scored the second most goals in a season in our history (1998, 64 goals in only 32 games).  However defensively it appears the instructions to the outside backs were to pinch in and defend that space in the box.  But that let oppositions wingers stand off and whip crosses into the box without pressure which killed us.

Negatives aside though, having the best offensive season in our "modern" MLS history is a huge step forward.  There are plenty of positives to build on going into 2025.  We've got a good spine of Navarro, Maihailovic, Bassett, Larraz, Maxso, and if he can be more consistent, Steffen to build around.  More on the specifics of what we need in a later post but this is a team that should expect to make the playoffs again in 2025, and hopefully this time win a series.

Now on to the MVP of the season.

That's right, I'm going with Cole Bassett as the MVP.  I know that Mihailovic had the best offensive season in terms of goal contributions in team history.  If you want to name him the MVP I will not argue with that.  To me though what allowed Mihailovic to do what he did was having Bassett sitting in behind him.  We saw that when Cole was out to finish the season that the offense dried up.  Navarro had 1 goal and Mihailovic had 1 assist in the 6 games Bassett missed to finish the season.

This was a year that Cole could have mailed in after the disappointment of missing out on the Olympic Team (especially after he was told he was on the team and then had his spot taken away).  He put a lot into the making the team in the first half of the season and he could have let the mistake made by the coaching staff (IMO) send him into a spiral.  Instead he put all the frustration into the team and led them to the Rocky Mountain Cup (scoring the winning PK) and drove the team on their Leagues Cup run.

Bassett was in the talk for the leagues best XI and guys like Doyle and Bogert had him, if not in their first team, in their honorable mentions.  In a league with midfielder like Puig and Acosta and of course the GOAT to stand out like that is impressive.  Again, I won't argue against Mihailovic but I think Bassett was the most valuable player for the Rapids this season.

Time To Face The Music

End of the season means looking back to what we thought was going to happen.  Specifically going back through my preseason predictions.  I have a feeling I had a bad year:

• The Rapids make the playoffs without too much sweat, but in 5th place so they don't host a playoff game 

• Because of that they're one and done again

Um, no.  Very, very no.  10th place finish, 4 points out of a playoff spot.  Zero and done.

• Colorado beats Comunicaciones in the first round of the CCL, marking the first time they've ever advanced in that competition, but then gets knocked out by NYCFC in the next round

Again, no.  Crashed and burned in the first round losing a PK shootout at home.

• Because they get a bye to the 4th round of USOC play, to allow for CCL play, they end up facing off against another MLS team and do not advance from their first game

Nailed this one, not that it was that hard.  1 point.

• We win the Rocky Mountain Cup, somehow

*sigh*

• We will not make a significant signing before the season starts in 12 days

 Well, that was correct.  1 point.

• This summer we sign what is a notable #9 for the Rapids, but he does not have a significant impact on the 2022 season (but looks like a good signing for the future)

I going to give myself a half-point for this one because we did get Zardes and he didn't have a significant impact on the season, but it wasn't in summer and its not a good signing for the future.

• Barrios wins the Golden Boot again

Nope

• Rubio does not finish the season in Colorado

Nope, Rubio stayed and won the Golden Boot

• Max shows us what the Rapids saw in him, but it takes a bit before we see it

If I wanted to stretch for a half-point I could here, since he did start showing something in the last few games, but not enough to legitimately make that claim.

• Bassett has a quiet end of the 2021-22 season for Feyenoord, but comes out on fire in the fall

Half a point.  He did have a quiet end to the season, but at the moment he looks more likely to be playing in Colorado after the winter window than the Netherlands.

• Trusty leaving hurts the team in the last third of the season as Keita won't really be starter ready until after he takes his lumps this year.

Trusty staying hurt the team as much as him going, but it wasn't good either way.  1 point.

• Trusty becomes a late scratch from the WC roster.  Kellyn Acosta goes to Qatar (yes, we qualify) as does Sam Vines

Unknown at this time but still possible, if unlikely.

 

Well out of a possible 12 points with 1 outstanding I got 4 and that a being a bit generous.  Compared to 5.5 of 11 last year and 8 of 11 in 2020 I'm going the wrong way.  Much like the Rapids.

Prediction Recap 2020

As always at the end of the season its time for me to own up to my predictions and see how I did.  Even with the craziness of 2020, I still have to take my medicine.

• Rapids finish in 5th or 6th, but lose their first playoff game on the road

Ding, ding, ding, nailed it.  5th place finish, loss to Minnesota in our first playoff game, in Minnesota.

• Colorado looks like they re finally taking the USOC seriously, but don't make a deep run

I'm taking a N/A on this one, since the USOC didn't get played this year due to COVID

• We bring the Rocky Mountain Cup home

We pulled this off.  I can't say I saw a 3 goal deficit being overcome by a 5 goal win on the road, but we did get it back

• Kamara fades at the end of the season but still finishes with the Golden Boot

Well I missed on this, though not as badly as you would think.  Kei had 3 goals, our co-Golden Boots had 5

• Namli is the team MVP

Close, I think he was second.  Bassett was the MVP though

• Vines is the defensive player of the year

Yep

• The Rapids make an unexpected major move in the summer window, either a notable player leaves or a significant signing (or both)

I'd call trading away last year's Golden Boot counts

• Galvan arrives in the summer and doesn't contribute immediately but shows why we invested in him with promise for 2021 and beyond

I'm calling this correct.  While Galvan did have a couple of good appearances he's not a starter.  But he toes have talent

• Yarborough is signed after his loan and is expected to be the starter going into 2021

This is incomplete so far, but the Denver Post reported yesterday that we are pursuing buying him

• Nicholson doesn't finish the season in Colorado

Told ya ;)

• At least one Rapids home game is played behind closed doors or postponed due to coronavirus

The only miss here is that I significantly underestimated the impact of COVID-19.  When I wrote this on March 6th Colorado had just confirmed its 8th case and the country had a total of 282 cases.  At that time I was still thinking that things were going to get bad but maybe not to the point of full life disruption.  If only we knew what was coming.

11 predictions.  7 right, 2 wrong, 1 incomplete, and 1 N/A.  That's notably better than I normally do. 

Roster Analysis 2019

As usual I'm going to break down the roster by player and what I think the team should do with each player/position.  Now the rules have changed from when I first started doing this, back then you could cut players in the offseason with no penalty.  Now any contracts extending into next season can't be cut without taking the cap hot (each team is allowed one buyout without penalty).  So I'll try to take that into account.

Keep:
Kellyn Acosta - Obviously.
Sebastian Anderson - U-17 World Cup member and an HG.
Cole Bassett - HG.
Kortne Ford - HG, have to see how he comes back.
Kei Kamara - Duh.
Jonathan Lewis - Again, obvious.
Sam Nicholson - Yet another obvious choice (I'm not used to this).
Jack Price - Player of the Year!
Keegan Rosenberry - One of 6 field players in the league to play every minute.
Diego Rubio - Second highest scorer and rumored interest makes him a strong asset.
Andre Shinyashiki - MLS Rookie of the Year!
Sam Vines - Looks like the LB of the future.

Sign, for the right price:
Lalas Abubakar - Up to $500K of xAM, no problem.  Up to $750K, questionable.  Above that?  Hard to justify.

Upgrade if possible, if not stand pat:
Clint Irwin - We can do better but we don't need to.  If we find somebody better then go for it (Clint was on an option year in 2019 so we should be able to release him if we want) if not then Clint being in goal in 2020 should be fine.
Niki Jackson - I'm not sure there's a future in Colorado with Hundley and Shinyashiki ahead of him as young strikers but there's nothing wrong with him being on the roster either.

Depends on contract:
Nicolas Mezquida - I'm not sure what his contract situation is.  I'm also not sure how he's going to fit in 2020.  A lot depends on where we make big signings.  If we bring in a #10 Mezquida is no more than a backup, but if we go for a striker and winger then he has a role to play.
Tommy Smith - He's on an option year, an option we should not pick up.  However if we could bring him back at like half the price or so, that would still be a solid move.

Young kids - Most of these guys are probably worth keeping but limited playing time makes judgement hard:
Matt Hundley
Sam Raben
Andre Rawls
Abdul Rwatubyaye

Cut:
Kofi Opare - Couldn't help a bad defense, won't have a role on a hopefully better one.
Dillon Serna - Yeah, this hurts, but he needs to go somewhere else and see if he can become a starter either at MLS or USL level.
Axel Sjoberg - Another fan favorite, but clearly has no remaining role here.
Deklan Wynne - See Opare.

Buyout:
Danny Wilson - He's on a large guaranteed contract, that he hasn't justified.  Time to bite the bullet and let him restart somewhere else.

Its a shocking number of players to keep given how the season started.  A real credit to the roster building over the last 12 months, and a real indictment of Hudson's coaching abilities.

Checking My Predictions

Back in March I made 10 predictions for the season.  Well, now its time to face the music and see how I did:

The Rapids finish in 8th place, missing the playoffs by 3 points or less, fans see this as progress but not enough progress and call for heads

I'm taking half credit for nailing the 8th place prediction.  We missed the playoffs by 6, not 3, points, but I wasn't far off.  If somehow Hudson were still in charge we would be calling for his head.

Despite that Hudson does well enough in the FO's eyes to be retained for 2020 but does not get a contract extension

Yeah, total miss on this one.

Kamara is our Golden Boot winner with 13 goals, Rubio is second with 9

I'm counting this one as correct.  Kamara won the golden Boot with 14 goals (missed it by that much) and Rubio was second with 11.

Shinyashiki has a good year but is not in the Rookie of the Year conversation, Kamara's and Rubio's good play doesn't give him enough playing time

Missed on this as well, as we saw today, Shinyashiki was named Rookie of the Year.

Vines has ups and downs but proves that he is the long-term answer at LB, this leaves Serna with nowhere to play and he's released after the season

Nailed it.  I do expect Serna to be released here at the end of the season.

Rosenberry but not Acosta is chosen for the Gold Cup roster, largely due to the numerous options in midfield while there's a lack of options at RB

We did have a Rapid on the Gold Cup squad, but it was Lewis.  Miss.

Feilhaber plays well but is a one year and done contract while Kamara is brought back next year

Counting this one.  Feilhaber did play well, but clearly won't be back next season.

The Rapids bow out early in the USOC, winning at most one game against their USL opponent but falling to any MLS side the might face

Sadly correct on this one.

Colorado reclaims the Rocky Mountain Cup with a win at home and a draw in Sandy

Miss, damn it.

The Rapids sign a young DP during the summer window, not a huge name but someone that excites the fans

Also a miss.

4.5 out of 10.  Not my best year.  But then this was an odd season.

2019 Most Valuable Player

Normally when I choose my MVP I go back through my game reviews and count up the number of Man of the Match awards I gave out to get some kind of indicator of who should be in the running.  This year though I didn't need to do that, and I'm willing to bet that this player wouldn't have shown up with that many MOTM awards.

The 2019 MVP is Jack Price

This was really obvious to me as the season drew to a close.  Price set a MLS record for assists in a season from free kicks with 10, beating out the likes of former free kick specialists like Claudio Lopez and David Beckham.  Now to be fair, some of those guys not only totaled a number of assists but they also scored from dead ball situations, which Price didn't do, but as far as putting a set piece into a dangerous area nobody has ever been as dangerous in MLS as Price was this season.

I was planning to write this column today anyway, but some stats tweeted out by OptaPro reinforces my decision that Price was our most valuable player this year:

That's Jack Price there in the middle just below 30% of team's chances created, better than players like Vela, Barco, and Rooney.  And then this reiterates the value of his free kicks:

That's the Rapids in the upper right, way ahead of the rest of the league.

In a year where we set post-Shootout team records for goals scored a significant part of those records were due to Price.  He did the small things, the quiet things, but the important things.  He was rarely flashy, which is why he didn't win many MOTM awards, but he was consistently the second best Rapid in most games which means over the season he was the best Rapid out there.

Also in unrelated news defender today Sebastian Anderson was named to the squad for the U-17 World Cup in Brazil next month!

Taking Stock And Moving On

Yes, after 3 months I'm back.  I needed the break from the blog with how bad this season was, I don't think I would have made it if I were doing game previews/reviews and news analysis on a regular basis.  That would have been far too much negativity to handle.

We're moving forward now though, hopefully I still have some readers at this point.  Unlike most years I'm not going to do a player of the year, a season recap, or a keep/trade/cut roster analysis.  The focus going forward will be looking at the steps the Rapids take to improve, not looking back at this disaster of a season.

Before we do that though, this one statistical post of how bad this season was.  I'm going to list all the ways this team sucked, then wrap it up, put it away, and never look at it again.

One note, pretty much all of these statistics ignore the first four years of the league when the shootout was used to break ties.  The further away we get from that time period the less those stats are going to be relevant anyway.

2018 Statistics:

• Second worst point total ever (23 in 2001)

• Second worst points per game ever - 0.912 (.88 in 2001)*

* - I've spent the latter half of the season saying this is likely our worst season ever.  It turns out the list I've been working from had the wrong pts/game total listed for 2001, and has had it wrong since it was first posted in 2014.  This turned out to only be the second worst season.

• Second worst total number of wins - 8 (5 wins in 2001 with only 26 games)

• Longest losing streaks in Rapids history - 8 and 7 games (not including the USOC loss)

• Worst loss in team history - 6-0 to FSL (this ties the infamous Joe Nasco game in LA but I'd argue that losing at home to your rival is wore than losing to the league's premier team on the road)

• Most goals allowed - 63 (62 in 2014)

• Worst goal differential - -27 (-20 in 2017)

• Lowest ever goal total for Golden Boot winner - 4 by Tommy Smith (Jovan Kirovski, 6, 2007)

I'll stop there.  Needless to say it was a horrible season.  Time to look to 2019.  I expect things to be quiet for a couple of weeks but if there's news I'll post.  Otherwise when we start getting information about contract options and such we'll get into roster planning for next season.

2015 Prediction Review

In my season preview in March I made a few predictions for the season.  Lets see how I did.

• We're not really a playoff threat this season but we improve from last year's disaster.

Well we certainly weren't a playoff threat.  Technically we improved by .15 pts/game so I guess I got this one right but certainly not the improvement I was hoping for.

• The winless streak reaches 17 games before being broken on Jameson Night

Missed it by that much!  The streak went 18 games before the 4-0 win in Dallas.

• Pablo makes it through 2015 as coach and is not immediately fired after the season

Sadly I nailed this one.

• We do win back the Rocky Mountain Cup in an upset, its a large part of why Pablo keeps his job

Not sure it was an upset and I don't think it made that much a difference in Pablo's job but we did win the Cup!

• We host a USOC game but we still go losing a game we were favored in

We hosted the Switchbacks but I don't think we were favored in Houston, half right,

• Doyle joins in July and proves to be a great, but too late, signing

May actually and I'm not sure he was great, but he was good.  He was also too late.  I'll take half credit.

• Torres wins the team Golden Boot

Tied for second, one goal behind Doyle.  Close but no cigar.

• Irwin or MacMath leaves at the end of the year if not before

I hope MacMath is out at this point  but its still an open question for now.

• Ramirez turns out to be worth the young DP slot, but Pittinari returns to Argentina after his loan

Pittinari does need to go home but I'm not sure Ramirez proved he earned the DP slot.  He's worth more time though.

• We go most of the season without a jersey sponsor, again

Missed on this one, I did not see Transamerica coming.  Kudos to the FO on that one.

Out of 10 predictions I think I got more than half right.  Not too bad overall.

Season Review - Forwards

Finally getting to the final part of the season review, the forwards.

Andre Akpan - Akpan only had one appearance this year but got some good experience while on loan to Tampa in the USSF Division II. He'll probably feature in the reserve division next year, and push Amarikwa for the forward spot on the bench until Kandji returns.

Quincy Amarikwa - Quincy was acquired early in the season from San Jose, and became the go-to option off the bench up front until Kandji was acquired. Unfortunately he appeared to be speed with no ball control. While he was great to run at defenses it was quickly obvious that he needed more time to become any type of threat, something borne out by his stats (1 goal and no assists in 13 appearances). Amarikwa will partner with Akpan in the reserve league, but probably not be a real threat for the first team unless his play increases greatly. I would expect the Rapids to either bring in another striker or draft one to challenge Akpan and Amarikwa next season.

Conor Casey - One half of Colorado's C+C Goal Factory, Casey had another great season, finishing with 14 total goals and 6 assists, the best combined total on the team. Despite the disappointment of not making the squad for South Africa Casey kept his head up and made 29 appearances, missing one game due to yellow card accumulation. He capped the season off with a goal and set up Kandji's attack for the own goal in MLS Cup, earning MLS Cup MVP honors.

We've seen that when Casey stays healthy all he does is score goals. At 29 he's probably at the peak of his career, but I don't expect a huge drop-off next season, especially is he's paired with Cummings again. Conor is never going to be the creative force in the team, he's your typical back-to-gal striker who can dish the ball to an onrushing Cummings or turn and shoot.

Omar Cummings - Omar was the team MVP IMO this year. 14 goals and 5 assists were second to Casey, but Cummings stepped up in a big way in the final third of the season when the team needed a spark to make their playoff run. He suffered through being played out of position in Smith's 4-5-1 experiment without complaint, but it was the move back to the 4-4-2 that sparked his resurgence. He had assists on both goals in the Columbus playoff series to push the Rapids through to the conference finals, and it was his run to the near post that allowed Koz's goal to sneak through for the winning goal in the Eastern Conference Final.

Cummings is the biggest question mark on the team going into next year. Currently training with Aston Villa, there's a real chance that he will be sold in the winter transfer window. The Rapids already turned down a mid-season offer for him from Necaxa, and reportedly they had an offer recently from another Mexican club. If Cummings returns I expect another successful season from the C+C Goal Factory, and I hope Smith has figured out that he has to play both of them up front.

Macoumba Kandji - Acquired before the trading deadline for the inconsistent and ineffectual Mehdi Ballouchy, Kandji didn't show much in his limited playing time, but was an immediate improvement over Akpan and Amarikwa. In 7 regular season appearances he had 3 assists and 0 goals. Of course he'll always be remembered for his attack in overtime of MLS Cup where he crossed the ball that George John knocked in his own goal for the winning score int he Rapids championship. In the collision with Ugo Ihemelu that happened as he was making the cross Kandji blew out his ACL.

Due to the blown ACL anything we get out of Kandji in 2011 should be seen as a bonus. He won't even be close to 100% until the very end of the season.

Ross Schunk - Ross was the victim of ripping his ACL near the end of training camp this year. After losing a season of development and the additions of Akpan, Amarikwa, and Kandji there just wasn't room for him.

Season Review - Wide Midfielders

I'm hoping to finish these player reviews before Christmas, but with the schedule I have this up-coming week, we'll see if I get to the forwards or not.

Brian Mullan - Many people see the acquisition of Mullan as the turning point of the season. I'm not sure I'd go that far but it was critical. Not only did it exchange a injured player that wouldn't help us in 2010 for a player who could go straight into the starting XI, but it also allowed us to trade Ballouchy for Kandji, which became VERY critical in the overtime of MLS Cup. Biran had 4 rings and a wealth of experience when he returned to his hometown, and I was quite happy to see him get "one for the thumb". Mullan only played in 7 regular season games for the Rapids, picking up 2 assists, but the threat of his play allowed Jamie Smith more freedom on the left and gave Koz cover to make overlapping runs.

Mullan is the second oldest player on the roster right now, behind Pablo. Its a question mark how long he can be effective on the right. I don't see any reason to expect a fall-off next year based on his play for us in the latter part of the season. Its a safe bet though that he can't be expected to play in the league, Open Cup, and Champion's League games we have next year though, so we should expect to see him rotated out pretty frequently so that he's available for the home stretch. While he's in I just expect him to do more of the same.

Sanna Nyassi - An expansion draft day pick-up from Seattle (by way of Vancouver), Nyassi can be the relief a player like Mullan needs. He's young and raw, but has speed to spare. He started about half the games for Seattle in his second pro season last year, as well as being a regular in the lineup for their victorious U.S. Open Cup run. The highlight of the season was Scoring both goals in the Open Cup final. While I don't see Sanna being a regular starter for the Rapids, he'll probably be the first sub int he midfield if the team needs more attacking power.

Jamie Smith - In 2010 we finally got to see what a healthy Jamie Smith looks like and now we understand why Gary Smith signed him. He led the team with 8 assists. Combined with his one game-winning goal he was involved in more goals than anyone but the C+C Goal Factory upfront. While injuries were still an issue, they had less of an effect on him once he was on the field and kept him off the field for less time than in 2009. Jamie is the third member of the Rapids 30 and older club though, so we can't expect those injury concerns to go away, if anything they'll become a bigger problem.

The biggest thing for Smith in 2010 will be working with the young Wallace behind him. Anthony is still struggling with his positioning, especially after going forward to overlap Smith, so Jamie will have to make sure he covers for Wallace and holds up his end of the defensive duties. On the attacking side I hope he's able to establish himself as a threat to score goals as well as set him up. The more threats in the midfield we have the more space Casey and Cummings get to work with in front of them.

Wells Thompson - Wells came over in the trade with Larentowicz and everybody regarded him as the throw away player to balance out the trade. There weren't many expectations for him this season. I think that Thompson actually contributed more than was expected though. He was the "utility infielder" of the midfield, being plugged in when necessary to cover for injuries or to give people some rest but never really being a starter. I think he filled that role quite well without particularly standing out.

I think Thompson's role in 2011 will be very similar to 2010. Not a top 11 player but called to start on a regular basis, especially with the expanded schedule. I think he's a better defensive player than Smith, but not nearly the offensive player. I can see Nyassi and Thompson being regular subs depending on the game situation, Thompson when we're happy with the current scoreline and Nyassi when we feel like we need another goal.

Ciaran O'Brien - In 3 years he had 19 minutes, 1 red card, and 1 championship ring. One of the odder career stat lines. He clearly was never in Gary Smith's plans and the team isn't going to be hurt by losing him.

Season Review - Central Midfielders

With the dozen midfielders currently or recently departed from the Rapids roster I've split the review in two parts. Tonight we'll cover the more central players and save the wide players for next time.

Davy Armstrong - There's not much that can be said about Davy yet. Signed as our first homegrown player late in the season he didn't get any first-team time. The coaches and staff say great things about him though, and I'm looking forward to seeing him in the reserves and even maybe some first team action next year.

Ross LaBaeux - Ross was one of two draft picks to make the team this year and appeared in 5 games, making one start. His start didn't go well, clearly being overwhelmed with the pace and level of MLS play. His spot appearances late in games were much better, mainly because the game was rarely in doubt by the time he got in.

LaBaeux is going to face competition as a backup to Pablo and Ginger Ninja. Colorado just acquired Nane and Thompson can move centrally if needed. with the expanded rosters he probably doesn't have to worry about being cut, but we can expect to see most of his time spent in the reserve league next year.

Jeff Larentowicz - Better known to the fans as Ginger Ninja, acquiring Jeff made a big difference to the level and style of play this year. His addition allowed the team to play an "empty bucket" 4-4-2 with both Larentowicz and Pablo playing as holding midfielders, something the team tried to do in 2009 but largely failed to accomplish due to Ballouchy's inability to play the position. At the beginning of the season it was expected that Mastroeni's focus on being a defensive midfielder would allow Jeff to venture forward and help the attack, but it turned out the reverse was true. Pablo, feeling confident in the support from his new partner, was the one to push forward. Ninja focused on breaking up the opponent's attacks and being a free kick specialist. He scored 4 goals this year, but looking back it seemed like more because of how close he came on a number of free kicks.

Next season will be, hopefully, more of the same. At 27 years old he's just now reaching the peak of his career so we shouldn't expect any drop-off. I don't know if Pablo can keep his offensive contributions up, so you may see Jeff push forward more next season, but other than that I expect that the Rapids will build the team and their style around having Larentowicz in midfield for the next few years.

Pablo Mastroeni - He had his best year of his career in Colorado by far. He was named team MVP yesterday. I gave the nod on that award to Cummings, but I have no complaints about it going to Pablo. Getting a solid partner in Ginger Ninja allowed Mastroeni to open up his game and venture forward like never before. He had 3 goals this year which was 1 more than he had had in his 8 year Colorado career combined. He had 2 goals here and 2 goals in Miami before this season. With the exception of a momentary lapse in the home game against Columbus that earned him a red card (and should have earned the Crew player a red card as well) he was under control and was a leader on the field. Of course he capped the season off with his first ring, leading the team to the championship. A long overdue honor for one of the all-time MLS greats.

Pablo quickly squashed a rumor that he was considering retirement, publicly stating he had more soccer to play. He will return as team captain and I expect another great season from him. As I said above when discussing Larentowicz, the Rapids team and style will be build around this duo in midfield for the next couple of years. At 34 I'm guessing that the last two years of Mastroeni's current contract will be his last as a primary starter, but I saw nothing this season that leads me to believe he'll fall off a cliff next season. The team needs to start thinking about life after Pablo, but there's no need to make a move to replace him yet.

Joseph Nane - Nane was just acquired from Toronto in the last month. He's a young player that won't take a starting job from Larentowicz or Mastroeni, but i can see him being the first option off the bench to sub in for one of them. He played in 11 games, starting 8, for Toronto in his rookie season so its early to figure out exactly what type of player he's going to be. He'll be a regular starter in reserve games though, and should get some good experience there.

Claudio Lopez - Lopez was never the player we were hoping he would be. It was clear that while he still had the mind and the touch that's led to his storied career, his fitness has started to suffer with age. Reportedly he was a very positive presence int he locker room, working with the young players and bringing his vast experience (He's now won Cups in 4 different leagues) to the team. I would love to see the Rapids approach him about some sort of player/coach role, but I don't know if Claudio is ready to take that next step in his career.

Pete Vagenas - Passback Pete was acquired only as an excuse to move Baudet and Earls before the expansion draft. I don't think there was ever any intention of making him a member of the team.

Season Review - Defenders

Continuing our review with the guys in the back.

Kosuke Kimura - A contender for the most improved player in 2010 and the clear winner for the most passionate player on the team. Koz did not get off to a good start this season, almost immediately being replaced in the starting xI when Wynne was acquired and having a string of average-to-poor games that really kept him from reclaiming the starting spot. Kimura didn't let this get him down though, and he continued to work and improve. When Baudet started having serious injury issues and Danny Earls was proving not to be the answer at left back, the door was open for Kimura to return to the starting lineup and he stepped through it. He had the biggest goal of his career (and one of the biggest in the team's history) in the Eastern Conference Final when cross turned into a shot and the only goal in the 1-0 win.

At this point Koz has the right back spot locked down. He can get up the line and into the attack when called on, but doesn't let his defensive assignments lapse. He might be the most pesky defender we have, as he'll challenge again and again until he wins the ball or is completely beaten. His biggest weakness is his distribution, even on a good day his passing is only average and he's not one that's likely to jump start an attack. Koz is the visible soul of the team on the field, pumping the crowd up and giving 100% every minute of every game.

Drew Moor - My vote for defensive MVP this year, Moor played every minute of every regular season game, every minute of every playoff game, and all but one half of the 2 USOC qualifiers. That's right, in 3300 minutes of competitive soccer for the Rapids this season, Drew Moor played 3255 minutes of it. He deserves every minute of his vacation. He had one goal, but it was a big one, scoring late in the home game against Columbus while the Rapids were playing down a man to give Colorado a 1-0 win.

Moor is a solid, quiet, center back. He doesn't make big plays very often because he doesn't need to. He knows his position and where he needs to be, and he simply does it. One thing I'd like him to do next year is become the leader of the backline. Our backline's ages right now are 26-24-26-21, so we need a calm organizer back there. Moor seems like the logical choice.

Scott Palguta - Palguta spent much of 2009 as the fill in starter, and probably expected to have that role coming into 2010. up until the day before the season started it looked like that would be the case, but the trade for Wynne just before the opening game changed the hierarchy. Palguta was now the 6th defender instead of the 5th. Scott only started 5 games and only appeared in about half the games and didn't play in the playoffs. Still he was there when called on, and with our recent moves he's moved back to that 5th spot. As long as he's satisfied being the first defender off the bench instead of starting, the Rapids should be happy to have him.

Anthony Wallace - One of the numerous late-season additions to the squad, once Wallace was up to speed he immediately found his place at left back. As the youngest player on the squad other than homegrown player Davy Armstrong he had to learn on the fly, and while he was inconsistent at times you could tell he was getting good lessons. His biggest difficulty seemed to be regaining his position after his forward runs. There were multiple times where players were able to get in behind him or were left without pressure to serve a ball into a box. The most dramatic example of this was the Dallas goal in MLS Cup.

The Rapids showed their commitment to Wallace on the day of the expansion draft, having already arranged a deal with Portland to have Anthony selected and traded back to Colorado in exchange for allocation money. I think it safe to say that he's expected to be the starting left back come March. In order to keep that spot he's going to need to improve his positioning and awareness to force the opposition back inside into the waiting arms of Drew Moor. He'll also be expected to contribute more to the offense, but that goal should be secondary to locking down the defense.

Marvell Wynne - Certainly the biggest surprise of the season, both his acquisition and subsequent play. Nobody saw Nick LaBrocca being traded for Marvell on the day before the season started, and the reaction form the Toronto fans was that he was a fast guy without a real good soccer brain. Well apparently Gary smith saw something they didn't. expected to be our right back he moved to center defender early on and excelled. He easily took Julian Baudet's starting job from him when Baudet was nicked up, and suddenly the Rapids had a central player who could push forward to support the attack while also being able to cover his defensive assignments. combined with Drew Moor they became one of the better central duos in the league.

Wynne just signed a new multi-year contract with the Rapids, so we should expect to see him starting for a long time. At 24 he still has things to learn, and right now his speed makes up for his lack of experience. sooner or later Wynne will need to improve his positioning and stop relying on his speed to get him out of trouble. For now though, he might be the fastest player int he league in a flat-out sprint and attackers are still surprised to find out that they don't really have him beat. That should keep things interesting for the near future.

Julian Baudet & Danny Earls - Both players put in good efforts for the Rapids this year. Earls was clearly surplus though once Wallace was acquired. Baudet would be nice to have for depth. The drawback to both of them, being international players, was too great to carry into the expansion draft though and they needed to be moved. This hurt us though, now we only have 5 defenders on the roster. There will be work to be done in the off-season to rebuild or depth in the back.

Season Review

Yeah, I know I said I'd post this last week. I'll live up to my promises once I get paid for them. ;)

We're a month past the end of the Rapids season, 2 days past the end of the MLS season. Seems like a good time to review how we did.

Goalkeeping: Matt Pickens was a solid yet unspectacular starter in goal for Colorado. He didn't lose us any games but he didn't really win us any games. Preston Burpo was a decent backup, maybe better than average, but the decision to stick with him over a healthy Pickens is puzzling. Going into next season I think we can stand pat with Pickens as the starter, but I think its time to give a younger player like Ceus a shot at the backup role.
Grade: B-

Defense: The best word to describe the defense this season was inconsistent. Most games the defense was good for a blunder a game, but at the same time we saw some good play from young players like Harvey and Palguta. The addition of Baudet at midseason seemed to give the group the veteran leadership it was missing up to that point. Gibbs failed in that role, but we can expect him back next year base don his protected status in the expansion draft. The swap of Ihemelu for Moor was a upgrade IMO, but possibly losing Harvey or Palguta in the expansion draft would be a downgrade. Going into next season we could have 5-6 MLS-level starters on the roster, not counting Gibbs, so our depth is decent. More time working as a unit and more stability is what's needed here, we don't really need to look for new players.
Grade: C

Midfield: For the first 75% of the season we had a solid midfield with an emerging star in Colin Clark. Then every one's knees gave out and our midfield became a black hole. Clark, Peterson, and Smith were all lost for the season and Peterson and Clark, with ACL injuries, probably won't be back at 100% until the middle of next season at the earliest. The injuries exposed our criminal lack of depth at the wing, and nobody on the roster was able to step up and fill the holes. Pablo played his typical solid defensive midfield all year, though his head-hunting against Houston shows that he still has his impulsive side. He needs to lock that away and become more of a "lead by example" leader to help this team. Smith spent all season swapping Ballouchy, LaBrocca, and Noonan in the central midfield position in front of Pablo without ever finding somebody who worked. LaBrocca came the closest but as we saw when the wingers went down none of them were able to spark the offense on their own. We need to be looking for somebody who can do that this off-season, as well as MLS-level wingers that can provide competition for those spots. The grade for this position is a B+ for most of the season and a D for the last quarter.
Grade: C+

Attack: Casey and Cummings had career years, Casey was second in the league in goals and set a team record while Cummings led the league in assists. What we saw when the wingers went down though was an inability for them to generate goals on their own without support from the midfield. Its hard to fault them too much for that though, given what else they brought to the team. After those two though our forwards fell off a cliff. Diz, Schunk, and the waived Richardson combined for 1 shot in 118 minutes played. Noonan, the only other forward on the roster, played a majority of his 843 minutes in midfield and generated 2 goals and 0 assists. Obviously our starters up top are already set for next season, but the Rapids should look for a quality forward that can push them for minutes, especially one that can generate his own chances if the midfield isn't providing them.
Grade: A-

Bench: With the exception of the defense, when our bench was called on to perform they didn't deliver. Noonan, Diz, Dalby, Smoth, etc. really didn't have much (positive) effect on the outcomes of games this year. There is a good deal of house cleaning that can be done here. We do have some young players like Ceus and Holody that may turn into solid MLS players. We'll have to see what the draft brings us for bench players next year.
Grade: C-

Coaching: Clearly the crash and burn of the end of the season is not what the coaching staff was looking for. Somehow they turned an almost sure playoff spot into an early end of the season. Obviously losing 3 wingers in a short time frame is hard to overcome, but thee was still time after Smith and Clark went down to sign somebody. The bigger problem was the idea that we could play all season without a backup for Colin Clark and the fact that once the 4-4-2 with wingers wasn't working the coaching staff couldn't get the team to play any other way. Throw in some of the off-season tension we've heard about and Gary smith's first full season has come to a crashing end. If he can get the team re-focused, find some wingers to give us some depth, and move past these difficulties by starting hot next season we could be in good shape. If we start off inconsistent again though I'm not sure Smith should last the year.
Grade: D-

Intangibles: I'd say that Paul Bravo and Jeff Plush did an average job this year helping Smith on the field. For every good move like Ihemelu for Moor or signing Baudet there were bad moves like trading for Noonan or cutting Cooke. This will be the first full offseason with Smith as the official head coach and Bravo as the Technical Director, and they will need to come up with some solid moves to fill the holes on this team. Reportedly Burpo is the only player out of contract so getting players re-signed won't be a large part of their work. The expansion draft protected list is pretty solid IMO, with only the decison of Gibbs over Harvey standing out as a poor one, unless Gibbs has a no-trade clause.
Grade: C

Overall: In 2007 the Rapids lost their last game against FSL and missed the playoffs after having a 10 game winless streak that season. In 2008 the Rapids drew their last game against FSL and FSL took the final playoff spot from them after the Rapids had a 4 game losing streak that season. In 2009 the Rapids lost their last game against FSL and FSL took the final playoff spot from them (and went on to win MLS Cup) after the Rapids had a 7 game winless streak this season. I'm not seeing much improvement there, we're essentially just treading water. Things only get harder every year with more teams in the league, so treading water isn't good enough.
Grade: C-

Season Review

So now that the season is over, where do we stand? Earlier this week I took a look at the roster and the coaching search, but what worked and didn't work team-wide this season?

I've gone back and looked at the the last 3 seasons. I chose 2005 as a starting point because it was the first year of the Clavijo era and because the only player remaining with the team from prior to that is Pablo Mastroeni. Since in 2005 and 2006 MLS played a 32 game season I've added columns for points, goals, and goals against per game.



The Rapids finished right in the middle of the pack in the Clavijo era in points. They had a better offense than ever before, but the second worst defense. Overall the Rapids had their 5th worst season, ahead of 1997, 2007, 1996, and 2001 at .88 points/game being the worst. Out of those 5 years only in 1997 did the Rapids make the playoffs.

Looking at the team position by position:

Goalkeepers: Bouna finished the season as the #1 keeper, a position he never should have lost. Burpo was a serviceable backup for a mid-season pickup that was forced on us when Justin Hughes went down with a season ending injury right before Bouna left for Senegal. He should have never been named the starter though, and our defense suffered in the last third of the season because of it.

If Hughes can come back from injury we should cut Burpo loose. Bouna is out of contract and is rumored to be heading to Europe. The Rapids should do everything they can to re-sign him, and if they are unsuccessful they'll need to find a new keeper either to start or to back up Hughes if the coaches have enough faith in him.

Defenders: The back line was constantly shuffled under Clavijo, but came together under Smith. The back 4 of Kimura, Petke, Gibbs, and Harvey did fairly well with the exception of a run of 3 games where 10 goals were conceded. I think Kimura and Harvey are locks to start out wide next season, but the Rapids need to look for help int he center of defense. Petke implied to fans after the last game that this was it for him as a player, plus he's out of contract. Gibbs was inconsistent at times, and will head for Europe if any team gives him a chance. Ihemelu and Erpen are good for at least one mistake a game each, and while that might be OK if you have strong veteran presence in your back line, counting on them to be the veterans will just lead to disaster.

In a best case scenario the Rapids keep Gibbs and pick of a solid central defender with Ugo as a back up. If Gibbs leaves we'll have to do some serious scouting for defenders or consider switching to a 3-man backline.

Midfield: The big question mark in midfield is Christian Gomez. The Rapids can't afford to not play their highest priced player that cost them a DP slot, but Smith didn't seem particularly interested in using him. Gomez has expressed his displeasure in interviews as well, so there's some work to be done there if Gomez is going to play for the Rapids again. Pablo is also expected to leave for Europe after possibly his best season as a Rapid. Losing him will be a blow to the team. A good season from Nick LaBrocca softens the blow somewhat, but LaBrocca is at best a decent MLS player, he's not a top level National Team player like Pablo is. Cooke and Clark seem locked in on the wings, Clark will need to work on being more consistent next season, at times he seemed to disappear from games this season.

If Gomez works out his issues with Smith and/or a new coach and Pablo doesn't move to Europe our midfield is set. If we lose both of them LaBrocca will slide in to Pablo's spot and we'll have to go looking for another playmaker. The Rapids currently have nobody on the roster that can run the offense from the center other than Gomez. The Rapids did so well in the late half of the season by using the wings but with no real threat in the center that won't sustain the Rapids for a whole season.

Forwards: Conor Casey exploded over the last 5 games of the season, notching 6 goals. He's clearly become the best forward on the team, but I think he's actually over-rated after his late season run. That's not to say he couldn't be the centerpoint of our offense in 2009, but I think the Rapids should try to strike while the iron is hot and see if we can get a steal in a trade. If we can't though, the offense in 2009 should be geared towards Casey. McManus and Cummings spend the season trying to claim the starting spot next to Casey. They both bring different skills to the table. McManus brings the grit and passion, along with being a threat from anywhere within 35 yards. Cummings brings speed and determination, but needs to work on his finishing.

I think that either Cummings or McManus could start next season, with the other being a super sub off the bench. It just depends on what kind of style the coach wants to play. Casey would be the other starter if not traded. The Rapids need to look for depth at striker, the only other forward on the roster is Jacob Peterson. They would do best by finding somebody that has a good chance of being a MLS starter to put pressure on McManus and Cummings to step up to the next level. If Casey is traded they'll need another guaranteed starting striker as well.

Bench/Reserves: The Rapids have a very experienced set of bench players and reserves to draw from. Jacob Peterson, Ugo Ihemelu, Facundo Erpen, Stephen Keel, John DiRaimondo, Mehdi Ballouchy, and Jose Burciaga all got significant playing time this season. While I think some of those players are best to let go, it still gives the Rapids some maneuvering room.

Ihemelu, Keel, and DiRaimondo all look like they are ready to take the next step and become starters/regular subs either for the Rapids or another MLS team through a trade. The Rapids need to look for depth at keeper and forward in the offseason. Midfield and defensive depth appears to be covered.

Coaching: Well, Clavijo is gone and the team played better under Smith. Then again I'm pretty sure a pet rock could have gotten the team to play better than they did under Clavijo. Most of the decisions the Rapids have to make that I've discussed already hinge on who the coach will be and what kind of soccer he wants the team to play. If its Smith then the Rapids should probably plan on not having Bouna or Gomez and focus on playing a defensive game to rack up 1 goal wins. If its John Spencer the Rapids will probably open up more and try to dominate other teams (Based on Spencer's attitude and Houston's style of play). Until a decision is made though, the rest of the offseason is just a big mystery.

Overall the Rapids had another mediocre year where they finished no better than 3rd, just like every other season in their history. When the Rapids replaced Mooch Myrick with Tim Hankinson after the 1999 season the reason given was that AEG didn't think Mooch could take the team to the next level and win a championship. As history as shown, only Mooch Myrick has been able to get the Rapids to a championship game, and nobody has been able to finish in the top 2 in the conference. Picking the right coach is the biggest decision the Rapids organization has had to make since KSE took over. They failed the first time with Clavijo, if they fail again they may not recover for years.