Roster Churn Prior To Re-Entry Draft

A ton of roster news in the last couple of days.  Knocking it down 1 by 1.

• The Rapids have declined the option on Steward Ceus

Not to be harsh, but that's a good move.  Ceus obviously lost something this year.  He was one of the last eight players on the roster from the Cup winning team.  Ceus will be in the Re-Entry Draft on Thursday.

• Mullan's, Smith's options declined making them eligible for the Re-Entry Draft

No surprise here, both these guys (another 2 from the Cup winning team) are approaching retirement.  In the Ceus article Bravo said he expects everyone but Ceus to opt out of the Re-Entry Draft, so he mush have some feeling that Mullan and Smith will sign new contracts, leave the league, or retire.  I wouldn't mind keeping them around as coaches but their time to help on the field is basically over.

• Wallace and Armstrong are out of contract.

Sounds like Armstrong is being kept on until he's healthy, then probably let go.  Wallace is wanted back but will probably go somewhere where he can get more playing time, which I can't blame him for.  These are another two of the Cup winning players.  The only 3 with no news this week are Moor, Pickens, and Wynne.

• Griffiths and Kindle are extended new deals.

This one surprises me I figured the team might move on from both players.  Particularly Griffiths since he takes an international spot.  The coaches must see enough in practice to keep them on.  The article does say they're being offered their same minimum contracts they had this year.

• The Rapids want German Mera back next season.

Makes sense, especially after Calderon was let go.  I can understand not wanting to go through an expensive buyout for Mera and bringing him back on loan.  Smart way to go about it.

• Colorado wants to bring back Danny Mwanga.

Meh, from an age perspective he makes the most sense out of the Cascio/Hill/Mwanga trio, but from a play and cost perspective I like Cascio better.  Still it was a safe bet that at least 1 of those 3 would be back.  Maybe they can get him cheaper.

Next major even is the Re-Entry Draft on Thursday afternoon, though we may hear news about some of these players signing new contracts before that.

Wallace Out For The Season

Bad news out of Commerce City today as Anthony Wallace ripped his Achilles in training yesterday and he'll miss 6-9 months.  That means if he takes exactly 6 months and no longer he can get back for the final 7 games.  Realistically he'll be back closer to the final 2 games, at which point hopefully the Rapids will be in their playoff push.  If that's the case odds are they aren't going to want to upset the apple cart re-integrating Wallace into the team.  I think the only way we see Wallace on the field for Colorado this year is if the Rapids are out of the playoff hunt and he gets some time in the last few games to get some minutes in.

That segues into my planned topic for tonight, the first half of the season preview.  I was going to go over the roster by position tonight then do a wrap-up and prediction post midweek before my game preview on Friday.

Goalkeeper:
No changes at all this offesason between the pipes.  Pickens is still the #1, Ceus is the #2, and Joyce is the #3.  The real question will be which Pickens do we get.  The one from the first half of 2011 and earlier or the one from the second half of 2011.  The latter part of the year Pickens seemed to lose a step in his positioning and reaction time.  Maybe it was just the number of games or maybe he's on the backside of his career.  Even with that he was still a solid MLS keeper but he was less likely to "stand on his head" to win us a game we were unlikely to win.  Ceus has shown himself to be a capable keeper but nothing special so far.  Joyce is unlikely to see the field in anything outside a friendly or reserve game.

Defense:
We lost 3 defenders (Comminges, Earls, Holody) and signed two (Freeman, Zapata).
Right Back: Kimura, Ababio
Center Back: Moor, Wynne, Marshall, Palguta
Left Back: Zapata, Freeman, Wallace

Its pretty obvious that left back was an area of concern this offseason as both new players play that position.  As we see with the Wallace news its good that we added that depth as we're going to need it.  We saw last year that Palguta, Moor, and Wynne can also play outside and Ababio has gotten time in the center this preseason so there's some real flexibility in this group which will come in handy if injuries mount up.  Kimura, Moor, and Wynne have been the starting group along the backline for a couple of seasons and they play well when they're in their natural positions with a solid left back.  They struggled when Moor was moved around last year and they lost the familiarity with the lineup.  Hopefully with Zapata and Freeman this group can stay in their natual positions and play to their strengths.

Midfield:
We lost 2 midfielders (Kandji, Nyassi) and signed 4 (Cascio, Castrillon, Rivero, Yamada).
Left Mid:  Cascio, Smith, Thompson
Center Mid: Castrillon, Larentowicz, Mastroeni, Rivero, Armstrong, Emory, Janniere, Nane, Yamada
Right Mid: Mullan, LaBauex

Its kind of hard slotting the midfielders into specific spots.  That's roughly where they would have ended up in last year's 4-4-2 but in this year's 4-3-3 you'll probably see players like Mullan, Smith, and Cascio playing in the front line even though they're listed as midfielders.  This was the area of biggest change this offseason and probably the critical area for success in Colorado this year.  From what we're seeing in preseason we're going to play 3 central midfielders in Larentowicz, Castrillon, and Mastroeni and expect the outside forwards to handle the wings.  How these 3 are able to link up with the front line is going to decide this season.  If the Rapids are forced to go back to playing long ball it will be a long summer, but if this new passing attack can create chances up front we'll see excitement never seen before at the Dick.

Behind the starting 3 there's plenty of depth but most of it is untested.  Only Thompson has significant minutes in MLS and those haven't been particularly impressive.  Rivero is expected to have somewhat of an impact this year but primarily I think they're grooming him to take over Mastroeni's role next season.  Yamada had some good ball movement in Hawaii but he's going to have to work to get playing time.  The rest of the group got limited minutes last year and that probably won't change much this season.  One question that we won't see answered until midyear is where Smith fits into the system.  with his ACL tear I expect it will be June before he's ready to get significant playing time.

Forwards:
We lost 1 forward (Folan) and signed none.
Forwards: Casey, Cummings, Akpan, Amarikwa

On paper both the strongest and weakest group on the team.  There may not be a better strike duo in MLS when Casey and Cummings are healthy, but if their not there isn't much  backing them up.  Akpan and Amarikwa have yet to show they can carry a team's offensive needs.  In the new 4-3-3 we'll probably see a wide midfielder like Mullan or Cascio (or possibly Smith) take the third spot next to the C + C Goal Factory.

Casey won't be healthy until April though, so I wouldn't be shocked to see the rookie Cascio starting on opening day alongside Mullan and Cummings.  Without a holding forward like Casey they're going to be depending on the midfield to get them the ball in a dangerous location.  If Casey can return to form though, look out, this formation could really play to his strength as he holds the ball in the box and is able to either pass to an oncoming forward on either side or turn and shoot if those forwards draw off defenders.

If Casey and Cummings aren't healthy or suffer significant injury the team will have to make a move IMO.  Last year showed that the AA Battery isn't ready to power the offense and I don't think pushing midfielders forward will do it either.

Rapids News 12/21/2010

I was going to do the final part of the season review tonight, but a few pieces of Rapids news have pushed that to tomorrow (hopefully).

• Larentowicz, Pickens, Wallace, and Wynne have all received invites to the annual January National Team camp in LA.

This will be the 4th of the last 5 January camps that Pickens has attended, but he has not yet been capped. Let's hope he gets at least that honor as with the depth at goalkeeper he's not looking at getting any serious playing time. Wallace will get a shot at the left back spot as there's nobody who's really claimed it yet. Wynne will probably be a sub somewhere on the back line at best but I don't see him as a starter yet. Larentowicz has the best chance of really making an impact as the team has been looking for somebody to partner Michael Bradley in the empty bucket formation, and Ginger Ninja partners Pablo in a similar formation in Colorado.

• Jeff Plush talks about a likely jersey sponsor and a possible friendly against a German club.

I'm glad to hear that a sponsor sounds close. I'm hoping its the long-rumored Chipotle deal. I would love to see a German club in the Dick for a friendly. I much prefer watching the Bundesliga to La Liga or Serie A but I'm limited to what I can find on ESPN3.com. My sister and brother-in-law spent some time in Heidelberg this summer and brought me a TSG 1899 Hoffenheim scarf back so I've been following them this season. I'm crossing my fingers that we get a German friendly and I'm hoping it might be Hoffenheim. ;)

• Rapids in talks with Ulrik Lindkvist

This report is from Tribal Football, so take it for what it's worth. If true I'm guessing he'll fill the need for depth at center back that Gary Smith has talked about. Think of him as this year's Julian Baudet.

And on a final note, Happy Birthday to my wife Hope. :)

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.

Rapids Dealing With The Draft

As expected in today's expansion draft the Rapids lost Anthony Wallace as he was selected by Portland. What wasn't expected is what happened next. The Rapids sent allocation money to Portland and got Wallace back. Great move by the club. We're not exactly known for going out and spending allocation money to sign big international players, so this is just as good of a use of the money. Now out starting XI from MLS Cup is intact going into next season.

Colorado wasn't done though, as they traded an international player slot to Vancouver for Sanna Nyassi, who Vancouver had just taken from Seattle in the expansion draft. With the green cards for Cummings, Kandji, and Kimura and the trade of Baudet and Earls the Rapids only had two internationals on the roster, so we had a surplus of international slots. In Nyassi we get a young (21) attacking midfielder. Nyassi is Gambian and has played for the Gambian U-20 team. Mac Kandji last week declared that he would represent Gambia as well (he could have also chosen Senegal) so we've got a small Gambian influence on the team now.

This was another good move by the Rapids. Kandji blew out his ACL scoring the winning goal in MLS Cup, so anything we get out of him in 2011 will be a bonus. Nyassi plays the wing but can also push up, he scored both goals in Seattle's Open Cup Final win this season. That is similar to how we used Kandji this year.

Rapids Acquire Wallace From Dallas

The Rapids have just announced a trade with Dallas for Anthony Wallace. In return Dallas gets our natural 4th round draft pick next year and a conditional pick in 2012. Wallace has played in 15 games in 4 seasons for Dallas.

Yeah, the phrase "rearranging the deck chairs" comes to mind on this one. 2 draft picks for a defender who couldn't get on the field for a pretty bad Dallas team in the last 4 years? On a team that doesn't really need defensive help since we have 5-6 MLS-level defenders already (Moor, Wynne, Baudet, Earls, Palguta, and Kimura). Not sure what the goal on this move is, other taht to do something for the sake of doing something.