MLS: A Soccer Story

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
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I know it's spread through the positional analysis you did, but if you had time could you throw up an MLS primer, listing each team and guys to watch for 2018?
 

Titans Bastard

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DrewDawg said:
I know it's spread through the positional analysis you did, but if you had time could you throw up an MLS primer, listing each team and guys to watch for 2018?
 
Sure.  I'll use birth years as shorthand for age.
 
Chicago
 
GK Sean Johnson '89
CM Benji Joya '93
AM Harry Shipp '91
FW Quincy Amarikwa '87
 
Shipp is the run-away rookie of the year in 2014.  He will be capped by winter.  He's showed passing, vision, and finishing.  He's not much for speed, though.
 
Amarikwa is a late-blooming athletic forward...he's a little fringy for this list perhaps, but I included him so that everyone can root for him and the potentially awesome "AMARIKWA! FUCK YEAH!" cheer.
 
Based on past callups Johnson has been Klinsmann's #4 goalkeeper.
 
Chivas To Be Named Later
 
CB Andrew Jean-Baptiste '92
CM Marco Delgado '95
AM Tommy McNamara '91
 
AJB is an athletic freak with technical skills and a lack of focus problem.  Caleb Porter dealt him away from Portland out of frustration.  There's time for him to figure it out; if he does, he has big upside.
 
McNamara looked dangerous early in the season (he's a rookie) but then tore his ACL.
 
Colorado
 
GK Clint Irwin '89
LB Chris Klute '90
CB Shane O'Neill '93
AM Dillon Powers '91
AM Dillon Serna '94
 
The Rapids are turning into one of the teams to watch for young Americans.
 
Irwin came out of nowhere to be one of the better keepers in MLS.  He's not challenging Guzan any time soon, but look for him to start appearing on rosters.
 
Klute is one of the few LBs in the league that I have hope for.  He's a really athletic 1v1 defender and is a good crosser on his day.  It's not always his day, though, which is the problem.
 
O'Neill is a player I am very enthusiastic about.  I think he's one of our real top CB prospects.  Maybe better than Brooks -- he does everything well.
 
Powers was last year's rookie of the year.  Central attacking midfielder in an old school sense -- he's technical, good passing and vision, but slow and doesn't defend well.
 
Serna is a small tricky winger who's improved this year.  He's farther away than the other four here.
 
Columbus
 
RB Josh Williams '88
CM Wil Trapp '93
 
Trapp is a big prospect, one of the best of his age cohort.  He's the Crew's vice-captain already.  He's more of a cerebral d-mid like Beckerman than a physical beast like Edu.  However, his passing is way better than Beckerman.  The question is whether he can mimic Beckerman's defensive anticipation and tenacity.
 
D.C.
 
GK Bill Hamid '90
CB Steve Birnbaum '91
CM Perry Kitchen '92
AM Collin Martin '94
 
Kitchen will likely get chances at DM for the US this cycle.
 
Hamid is a fairly well-known GK prospect who hasn't put it all together yet.
 
Birnbaum hasn't played much yet, but he was the #1 overall pick in the draft so I thought I'd mention him.
 
Martin is younger and still has a ways to go, but is a #10 type
 
Dallas
 
GK Chris Seitz '87
CB Matt Hedges '90
CB Walker Zimmerman '93
CM Kellyn Acosta '95
AM Danny Garcia '93
 
Acosta is the best prospect here.  He's consistently been a top player of his age cohort, capable of playing not just in the midfield, but also both fullback positions.  He's out with a patella injury right now, but should be back in the lineup in a month or so.  Long-term he's a midfielder.
 
Hedges is a top performer at CB in the league and will likely get a look at the NT level at some point soon.
 
Seitz is a former golden boy GK prospect who spent some years in the wilderness.  He backed up Rimando in Salt Lake for a while and then botched his big chance during Philadelphia's expansion season in 2010.  He's been paying his dues as the backup in Dallas ever since, but he's beaten out Peru's top keeper Raul Fernandez for the #1 spot this season.
 
Zimmerman is a touted CB prospect who can't stay healthy.
 
Houston
 
RB Kofi Sarkodie '91
FW Will Bruin '89
FW Mark Sherrod '90
 
Sarkodie is a poor man's Yedlin.  Very similar stylistically, but not as strong is just about every respect.
 
Sherrod is a huge hulking target forward who did very well this season as a rookie before going down (ACL)
 
Hopes are fading that Bruin can be an NT player, but you never know.  Probably will never be a good enough finisher.
 
KC
 
CB Matt Besler '87
CB Erik Palmer-Brown '97
AM Graham Zusi '86
 
Obviously we know Besler and Zusi well.
 
Palmer-Brown is considered a blue-chip prospect at CB.  He was forced into duty this season when a whole bunch of veterans were away or injured and had a spectacular debut (gave away a penalty and was sent off with two yellows), but Vermes stuck with him and has been rewarded.  EPB has been really good over the last few games for a 17 year old CB in MLS.  It's rare that we've seen anyone this young get on the field at this position.  He has all the tools.
 
KC actually has a good group of solid American talent, but the rest aren't NT caliber, I don't think.
 
LA
 
CB Omar Gonzalez '88
FW Gyasi Zardes '91
FW Bradford Jamieson IV '96
 
Zardes is extremely athletic and looks outstanding at times, but is also prone to some of the most idiotic decision-making you'll ever see.  Very frustrating player.
 
Jamieson is a youngster playing well for "Los Dos", LA's full reserve team franchise in the third-division USL Pro league.  He's a good ways off the NT, but is one to keep an eye on.
 
Montreal
 
RB Eric Miller '93
FW Jack McInerney '92
 
McInerney is the next great MLS poacher.  He's not blazingly fast and he's fairly small.  He's a decent passer, but I wouldn't describe him as a creative force.  But he's always in great spots and is a lethal finisher.  Will he be the next Twellman or Wondolowski or can he translate his play to the NT level?  Dude always scores against New England, by the way.
 
Miller is a rookie who left Creighton early and went into the draft who has done well for himself so far.  More of a solid defender than a marauding right back, though.
 
New England
 
RB/CB Andrew Farrell '92
CM Lee Nguyen '86
AM Teal Bunbury '90
AM Kelyn Rowe '91
*AM Diego Fagundez '95
FW Patrick Mullins '92
 
Some good prospects here.
 
Farrell was the #1 pick in the draft in 2013.  He's built like a brick shithouse -- a physical freak -- who has succeeded at both RB and CB.  While he has decent speed and pretty good technique for a defender, he's not comfortable ranging forward on the flanks, so I see him as a CB long-term.  However, he can be a shutdown defender on the flanks as well.  We will definitely be seeing him for the US at some point.
 
Rowe is a smooth attacking midfielder.  Great technique, passing, vision, and an outstanding shot from distance.  What's holding him back is that he can be sloppy in possession.  He needs to cut down on giveaways a little bit to take it to the next level.
 
Bunbury is a name people may recognize as a former USMNT prospect who has been off the radar for a while.  He's fast and athletic, but was ultimately a mediocre forward because his technique is only okay and tactically he never meshed with any system as a forward -- he was basically only comfortable with running onto balls over the top.  Despite the fact that he has the physique to be a target forward, he sucked at it.  Well, he's been a revelation since Heaps moved him to the wing a month or two ago.  It's too soon to make any proclamations and he hasn't had time to be scouted at that position by the opposition, but worth keeping an eye on.
 
Fagundez would be a top prospect for the US, but he likely won't be a citizen until around 2018 and we could lose him to Uruguay.  Quick winger with top-notch technical skill.
 
Mullins is the reigning two-time college player of the year who has had a strong rookie year.  Not sure that he has NT upside though.  The knock on him was that he was a tweener (too small for center forward, too slow for the wing) although he's done surprisingly well as a lone forward.  The question is whether he can succeed there at the international level and I have my doubts.
 
Nguyen is fringy from a USMNT perspective given his age, but he has been tremendous since being moved to CM at New England, so I wanted to mention him.
 
New York
 
GK Luis Robles '84
CB Matt Miazga '95
 
New York has a reputation for prizing ultimately mediocre foreigners over American talent and has historically been a bad place for development.  This will have to change because their academy is loaded with talent and a lot of that is going to start hitting the pro ranks soon.  The first notable figure of the current academy generation is Miazga, who is likely to be Palmer-Brown's partner for the U-20 national team.  He's got the physique for the position; I haven't seen enough of him to have an opinion on the rest of his game.
 
Robles is not a youngster, but has been good for NY.  He could contend for the #3 spot for the US.
 
Philadelphia
 
GK Zac MacMath '91
CB/CM Amobi Okugo '91
CB/CM Maurice Edu '86
FW Andrew Wenger '90
 
MacMath is a long-time well-known GK prospect.  He was thrust into action probably a year too soon; he and his reputation took their lumps.  He's improved, though.
 
Okugo is a midfielder who was converted to CB in 2012 and has just been moved back to CM by Philly's new coach.  He'll get looks this cycle at one of those two positions.
 
When Okugo went to DM, Edu was the player who replaced him at CB in a role reversal.  I think it's an interesting experiment.
 
Wenger is a pretty shitty forward who can't finish if his life depended on it.  But if a manager is able to get through to him that he needs to take his head out of his ass and move to CB, he could be a player.  Let's hope it doesn't happen too late - the clock is ticking.
 
Portland
 
AM Darlington Nagbe '90
 
Not yet a citizen.  Nagbe is a Liberian immigrant expected to receive citizenship next year and I expect he'll go immediately into the USMNT.  He'll slot somewhere in the attacking midfield.  I don't think he's evolved into a total game-changer, but he's better on the ball than Bedoya or Zusi and like them he's showed a willingness to defend.  He's quick, too.
 
That's pretty much it.  Portland is a very boring team from an American-watching perspective.  Porter brings in a lot of foreigners.
 
Salt Lake
 
CB Chris Schuler '87
AM Luis Gil '93
 
Schuler is one of the better CBs in the league, although he isn't a young pup any more.  He'll have to step up his game one last notch to get attention because he's the same age as Besler.
 
Gil has been one of our top prospects for a long time.  He's a good MLS player at this point, but isn't the #10 playmaker that we hoped for yet.  He plays as a carillero in a midfield diamond ahead of Beckerman and behind the Argentine Javier Morales.  Morales is getting old, so how his role will evolve with time remains to be seen.
 
San Jose
 
Some teams play champagne football.  San Jose's football is more like Colt 45.
 
Seattle
 
RB DeAndre Yedlin '93
LB Dylan Remick '91
FW Clint Dempsey '83
FW Lamar Neagle '87
 
You know Dempsey and Yedlin.  Remick and Neagle are both fringy, but hey -- keep saying your nightly LB prayers.  Remick looked good this season so far.   I like Neagle at forward, too, but I'm not optimistic he'll ever get over the hump.
 
Toronto
 
CB Nick Hagglund '92
CM Michael Bradley '87
 
Hagglund has been solid as a rookie, but generally Canadian teams don't have as many Americans to look out for.
 
Vancouver
 
CB Christian Dean '93
*AM Kekuta Manneh '94
FW Erik Hurtado '90
FW Omar Salgado '93
 
Dean hasn't done much but was a very high draft pick this year.  He is the soccer equivalent of Billy Beane's "we're not selling jeans here" complaint.  Physical specimen, but everything else about his game is TBD.
 
Hurtado is a speed merchant who is having something of a breakout year and could be interesting if he keeps it up.
 
Salgado's career has been seriously slowed by injuries and his star is fading.  Great feet for a big man, though.
 
Manneh might be the most explosive player in the league and could potentially be a terrifying winger.  He is a Gambian citizen and I hear conflicting things about how close he is to US citizenship.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
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Thanks a lot, this is exactly what I was looking for. This will give me something to refer to when I watch. I'll probably catch more MLS games than usual on the account of how bad the Sox seem to be.
 

theapportioner

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TB, ever consider writing this stuff for a sports media site? You're a huge repository of soccer information for us.
 

steeplechase3k

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Titans Bastard said:
Portland
 
AM Darlington Nagbe '90
 
Not yet a citizen.  Nagbe is a Liberian immigrant expected to receive citizenship next year and I expect he'll go immediately into the USMNT.  He'll slot somewhere in the attacking midfield.  I don't think he's evolved into a total game-changer, but he's better on the ball than Bedoya or Zusi and like them he's showed a willingness to defend.  He's quick, too.
 
That's pretty much it.  Portland is a very boring team from an American-watching perspective.  Porter brings in a lot of foreigners.
I'd add one to this:
RB/LB Michael Harrington '86

Harrington is an outside back that can play on either side of the field. Comfortable joining the attack. Was called into USMNT Camp leading up to the 2014 World Cup. Won't be a star, but is serviceable.

And to add to Nagbe.... his biggest weakness is his lack of a left foot.
Watch the first goal here: http://www.timbers.com/video/2013/06/26/usoc-highlights-timbers-3-fc-dallas-2
He made maybe one touch with his left foot.
 

Titans Bastard

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theapportioner said:
TB, ever consider writing this stuff for a sports media site? You're a huge repository of soccer information for us.
 
I've done so at times in the past, actually, but I haven't bothered lately.  I'd rather be a big fish in a small pond here.  I'm the Landon Donovan of SOSH.
 

americantrotter

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I want to get into MLS. But the Revs play on turf in a cavern. When my sons older well go, but I just can't catch the spirit at Gillette.
 

Spacemans Bong

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americantrotter said:
I want to get into MLS. But the Revs play on turf in a cavern. When my sons older well go, but I just can't catch the spirit at Gillette.
 
I don't think TB or anybody who follows MLS would blame you. TB's written a lot about his disappointment over Bob Kraft, who was one of the first NFL owners to buy into soccer, going absentee on the Revs.
 

Titans Bastard

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The Krafts Are The Worst Owners In The League
 
 
Boston is in the stone age in MLS and honestly I think it's a significant factor as to why many on this board turn up their nose at MLS.  The team is decent quality if a bit uneven this year, but off the field the franchise lags far behind many other franchises at this point.  Seattle has more than twice as many season ticket holders as the Revs have average attendance.  It's not just the Sounders, who are only the most prominent example.
 
 
The Boston market poses a set of challenges, but most of our problems stem from the fact that the Krafts are apathetic and suck at owning a soccer team.  They are poisoning the well and salting the fields for pro soccer here.
 

Titans Bastard

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DLew On Roids said:
Worse than the Chang group in DC?  Wow.
 
I guess at least Chang is making progress on a stadium.
 
It's debatable whether Krafts are really the worst ownership group.  The DC group has been bad -- RFK is falling apart, the team has been pretty poor for a while now.  However, if they get the stadium done it will remove them from the conversation.
 
Chicago fans aren't happy with Hauptman but at least the franchise has its own stadium.
 
Jorge Vergara was the easy choice, but he's out of the league now.
 

Drocca

darrell foster wallace
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Dlew, did you ever go to Carolina Railhawks games when you lived here.

Everyone else: if my local is NASL is the quality terrible? Will I see any guys with even MLS futures?
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Titans Bastard

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MLS is doing a "Homegrown Game" before the All Star Game to showcase academy products in the league.  The homegrown team is scheduled to play the Portland Timbers U23s, which is a bit underwhelming and boring. (sorry steeplechase)
 
The roster:
 
GK: Jon Kempin (KC), Matt Lampson (Columbus)
DF: Connor Lade (NY), Ashtone Morgan (Toronto), Shane O'Neill (Colorado), Karl Ouimette (Montreal), Erik Palmer-Brown (KC), DeAndre Yedlin (Seattle)
MF: Steven Evans (Portland), Wandrille Lefevre (Montreal), Chris Ritter (Chicago), Harry Shipp (Chicago), Russell Teibert (Vancouver), Wil Trapp (Columbus)
FW: Caleb Calvert (Chivas USA), Bradford Jamieson IV (LA), Sean Okoli (Seattle), Dillon Serna (Colorado), Tommy Thompson (SJ), Gyasi Zardes (LA)
 
 
Not the strongest HG lineup imaginable, but I suppose many of them have better things to do.  My all-HG team would be:
 
GK Bill Hamid
RB DeAndre Yedlin
CB Shane O'Neill
CB Matt Miazga
LB Kellyn Acosta
CM Wil Trapp
CM Marco Delgado
AM Dillon Serna
AM Diego Fagundez
FW Gyasi Zardes
FW Harry Shipp
 
Edit: Honorable mention to ex-MLSers Juan Agudelo and Andy Najar, who would be shoe-ins if still here.
 

Titans Bastard

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US Open Cup quarterfinals are over.
 
New England fell to the Union 2-0 in a lightning-interrupted game.  A real wasted opportunity at silverware for a team that doesn't get many of them.  Philly are beatable and then you'd just be two wins away.
 
Chicago and Dallas comfortably put an end to the last NASL teams, beating Atlanta and Carolina comfortably.  And Seattle beat the Timbers in a rivalry grudge match that will be repeated when the two meet in league play on Sunday night.
 
Semifinals:
 
FC Dallas vs. Philadelphia Union
Seattle Sounders vs. Chicago Fire
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Titans Bastard said:
US Open Cup quarterfinals are over.
 
 And Seattle beat the Timbers in a rivalry grudge match that will be repeated when the two meet in league play on Sunday night.
 
I saw the highlights of this one. Portland scored in stoppage time (Nagbe) to even the score, but then he got a red card in extra time and Seattle scored twice.
 

steeplechase3k

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Nagbe didn't get the red. Diego Chara did. I think Nagbe only has one or two yellow cards since he joined MLS.

I was at the match with 100+ of my closest friends. Getting home at 2:30am on a weekday sucks, particularly after a loss.
 

DJnVa

Dorito Dawg
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Dec 16, 2010
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Bah, my bad. I was watching the highlights at work on a small screen. How was the atmosphere at that small field--what was it, like 4500 capacity?
 
As an aside, I just sold Chara in my Football Manager 2014 game :)
 

steeplechase3k

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DrewDawg said:
How was the atmosphere at that small field--what was it, like 4500 capacity?
My opinion of the Sounders atmosphere is heavily jaded. I hate that fucking team more than the Yankees and Jets combined.

They had a section of a few hundred supporters who chanted all match, the rest of the crowd didn't do anything except when the Sounders scored.

They also tuned off one bank of lights, and the scoreboard in the 90th minute. The entire extra time was played with those lights and the scoreboard off.