New Year MLS transactions

January transactions

Chivas USA - Named Stephen Hamilton Vice President of Soccer Operations.

Colorado - Acquired defender Jose Burciaga Jr. from the Kansas City Wizards for a second-round pick in the 2009 SuperDraft.

FC Dallas - Re-signed midfielder Arturo Alvarez.

Los Angeles - Acquired Carlos Ruiz F from FC Dallas for Allocation and Draft Pick; re-signed defender Chris Albright, goalkeeper Steve Cronin and forward Alan Gordon

New York - Signed goalkeeper Zach Thornton; re-signed goalkeeper Jon Conway

San Jose - Acquired defender Nick Garcia from Kansas City Wizards for first pick in 2008 SuperDraft

Comments:
Ruiz's return to Los Angeles could be a significant move for L.A. who struggled to score last season. LD led scorers with just eight goals, followed by Edson Buddle who had five.

San Jose's decision to trade away the number one pick in today's Superdraft for Nick Garcia indicates one of two things: Either San Jose believe that there is no significant value in this year's draft or they have overvalued Nick Garcia. Garcia is a terrific defender. But is he someone you trade a potential star for? Probably not, which leads me to believe that SJ doesn't believe there are any stars in this year's draft.

Not exactly the Cohen brothers

I just watched the MLS "highlight video" for Patrick Nyarko. Wow, he sure stands around well.

See all the lowlights for this year's SuperDraft candidates, complete with bad techno music here. Seriously, are these Michael Scott Joints? C'mon, Garber. This is so Bush league.

You want to see a soccer video, check this out:

The not-so-Superdraft

The MLS Superdraft is tomorrow and I haven’t written anything about it. No mock drafts. No rundown of the top prospects. No trade scenarios. Why? Because it doesn’t really matter, that’s why.

As much as the MLS execs try to convince fans otherwise, with mock drafts, combine reports and scouting videos, the MLS Superdraft isn’t comparable to the NFL draft as much as it is comparable to (yuck) the MLB draft. Occasionally, you get undiscovered gems of sparkling talent, but more often than not, you get semi-serviceable guys ruined by college soccer coaches or pathetic practice fillers.

Need more convincing. Ok, let me put on my Mel Kiper hairdo hat and give you a rundown of Superdraft successes and failures in the past seven years:

2000
With the number one overall pick in the 2000 MLS Superdraft, the MetroStars select … Steve Shak. Shak played exactly 38 games in his MLS career. He was traded halfway through his second season with the MetroStars. He recorded only a single minute in 2002 for Colorado. Despite the obvious bust that was Shak-fu, 2000 also included four standouts: Nick Garcia (recently traded by Kansas City for the number one pick in this year’s draft), Adin Brown, Carlos Bocanegra and Bobby Convey (who was actually taken with the last pick of the first round). Glancing at rounds 2-6, I counted only seven guys who made any impact for their teams, the majority of the names never saw significant minutes, if they played at all. DC and Columbus actually passed in round six, rather than taking some mediocre collegiate.

2001
With the number one overall pick in the 2001 MLS Superdraft, San Jose select … Chris Carrieri. Huh? This UNC grad got a lot of press in the build up to the Superdraft, similar to what they have been doing with Patrick Nyarko this year. He was supposed to be the second coming of Eric Wynalda (yes, someone actually suggested this; I didn’t make it up). After vowing to lead San Jose to MLS Cup glory, Carrieri was traded five games into the season to Colorado (note: San Jose did win it, just not with him). After playing three unproductive seasons, he was dropped from MLS. He currently plays for the Carolina Railhawks in USL, where he continues to suck. The only standouts in this draft were defensive (which is actually the case in most Superdrafts): Ryan Nelsen (DC-pk.4), Ryan Suarez (Dal-pk.7), and Jose Burciaga, Jr. (KC-pk.12). Bryan Namoff and Craig Waibel also were selected in later rounds. There were a couple of offensive sparks added to MLS in Brian Ching and Eddie Johnson, although their value in terms of national team productivity is debatable. And, hey New York fans, remember Rodrigo Faria? He was selected at the top of round two, before both Ching and Johnson. Ouch!

2002
With the number one overall pick in the 2002 MLS Superdraft, Dallas select … Chris Gbandi. Defense, defense, defense. Teams had more success drafting defensively, in part, because defensive skill develops faster than goal scoring. Putting aside the occasional phenom (i.e. Jozy Altidore), most young strikers struggle in their first year, especially coming out of college where the defenses they face aren’t anywhere near the caliber of the pros in MLS (see Chris Carrieri or Ali Curtis). You may have scored 100 goals at Lehigh University, but that means squat at the next level. Of course, if you draft someone who has already played overseas in a professional environment that changes things, as it did in 2002 when New England selected Taylor Twellman with the second pick. Double-T wasn’t getting significant PT in Germany prior to joining MLS, but he was training with professionals and playing with reserves, which battle-tested him and allowed him to develop a lot more quickly. Subsequently, after getting Twellman and Shalrie Joseph (pk.14), New England, along with DC, passed in Round 6 and 7.

2003
With the number one overall pick in the 2003 MLS Superdraft, DC United select … Alecko Eskandarian. United violated the young striker maxim the very next year, hoping that pedigree would matter more than experience…it didn’t. Esky has been passed around more than herpes at a free clinic. The talent his father demonstrated in the NASL never materialized in the son (although he does have a great sense of humor). In the entire 2003 draft, only two players significantly impacted the league: Ricardo Clark (NY, pk.2) and Pat Noonan (NE, pk.9). Don’t talk to me about Todd Dunivant or Nate Jaqua. They are role players and trade bait, not stars. Again, New England and DC made their annual passes in Round 6.

2004
With the number one overall pick in the 2004 MLS Superdraft, DC United select … Freddy Adu. After drafting Esky in the previous draft, the selection of Adu was United’s do-over and there was absolutely no way they could screw it up, especially since the fix was in. Adu wanted to play in DC, and guess who magically gets the first pick? Pat Noonan was taken again by Chicago. It must be the first time a player was drafted in consecutive drafts. Oh wait, I’m being told that this Noonan was just Chicago’s way of trying to jinx the other teams (“NOO-nan”). Along with Adu, national team star and poor-man’s Eminem, Clint Dempsey was taken by the Revs with the eighth pick. Other than that, there were a few current starters taken, but none of note. Although I do find it funny that 2004’s Mr. Irrevelent, Jeff Parke (pk.60), started 26 games for the Red Bulls last season.

2005
With the number one overall pick in the 2005 MLS Superdraft, Real Stupid Names (Salt Lake) select … Freddy Adu-lite -- aka Nikolas Besagno. Besagno was 16 when he was selected, and has averaged just fewer than three games a season. The jury’s out on the kid, so I won’t dog RSL for making him their first-ever selection. Plus, it isn’t a bad idea to consider youth club additions through the draft, rather than looking at it as a place to improve the present state of your club. Other notable names in 2005 were Brad Guzan (Chv, pk.2), Chad Barrett (Chi, pk.3) and Michael Parkhurst (NE, pk.9). Chris Rolfe was taken in Round 3, but he’s terribly overrated so I wouldn’t exactly call him a steal.

2006
With the number one overall pick in the 2006 MLS Superdraft, the MetroStars select … Marvell Wynne. Wynne (a player whom Bruce Arena inexplicably traded away) is a solid defender, but he hasn’t materialized into the kind of player that deserved to be picked first. Only two notable names in the first round: Sasha Kljestan (Chv, pk.5) -- regular readers will know him as a fixture on TYH’s MLS Best 11 -- and Dax McCarty (Dal, pk.6). One of the biggest steals in draft history came in Round 2 of 2006, when the MetroStars selected Jozy Altidore with the 17th overall pick. Chivas got a steal as well in defender Jonathan Bornstein in Round 4 (Chv, pk.37). Other than that, it was bench warmers and terrible players galore.

2007
With the number one overall pick in the 2007 MLS Superdraft, Toronto FC select … Maurice Edu. It is tough to gauge last year’s draft after only a season, but Edu certainly seems like a smart pick so far, as does Michael Harrington (KC, pk.3). Dane Richards, Adam Cristman, Ty Harden and Corey Ashe all showed some sparks but only time will tell for this draft class.

So taking trip down Superdraft memory lane, I’ve hoped you’ve learned a few things. First, the Superdraft yields only a handful of talent for the league, so therefore most teams leave without any significant improvement. Second, when in doubt, draft for defense and/or experience. And finally, most of the players selected will soon fall off the face of the earth.

MLS to PNE: Jog on! (updated)

In another sign that the American league is headed in the right direction, Major League Soccer has twice denied English club Preston North End’s attempts to secure New England striker Taylor Twellman, according to Yanks Abroad.

According to YA, PNE, cellar dwellers in England’s Championship division (second-tier), offered a $1.5 million for Double-T, and then upped the offer to $2 million.

This is the right move for MLS. The league cannot allow itself to become the farm system for lower divisions in Europe. As one of MLS’s stars, it would be a ridiculous decision to allow Twellman to move to English obscurity.

It would hurt the league, in terms of removing both consistent scorer and a recognizable face, and it would hurt the national team because the no matter what some pale-faced, peanut-brittle-toothed Brit says, the quality of MLS is far superior to England’s Championship and it’s not as far away from the EPL as one might think.

But according to Washington Post uber-blogger Steve Goff, Twellman's not happy and claims the offer rose to $2.5 million. He quotes Double-T in a recent post:

"I want to go. It's perfect timing. It's the right club and, being 27, it's the right time to go to Europe."

"When I ask MLS, they say the Revs rejected it. When I ask the Revs, they said it was MLS. Look, you're not going to get more than that for a guy like me, who is not always with the national team. It's a good offer. Anytime a team wants you that bad, of course you want to go."

Tex-Mex: Dallas eye Davino

FC Dallas are reportedly close to a deal with Mexico defender Duilio Davino, 31, formerly of Club America.

Davino has 84 caps with the Mexican national team, including earning a spot on Mexico's 1998 World Cup roster, in addition to making over 300 appearances for Club America. He was released last season. He is the son of the former Argentine footballer Jorge Davino.

MLS brass are trying call this a high profile move, second only to Blanco, but something tells me that he will have less of an impact than his former Club America teammate had last year in Chicago. "Mexican defender" is a bit of an oxymoron.

Happy New Year!

Just a short note to say the holidays and a lack of US soccer news have kept TYH from posting a lot recently. But expect a lot of new content in the New Year, including a TYH podcast and numerous post detailing the United States quest for Olympic gold. Stay tuned!

Happy New Year!

TYH

Bradley's first call-ups for '08

Call-ups for the first US national team camp in 2008 are in and Bradley appears to be in the market for a No. 3 keeper. With the Euro season still going strong, the roster is heavy on MLSers, including a few names from the Copa America nightmare squad. Mo Edu is back for another camp, as is Jozy Altidore. Wake Forrest-grad Jeremiah White also made the roster. White, like most college grads who haven't a clue, has been backpacking around Europe. Since 2004, White has played for clubs in Serbia, Greece, France, Denmark, and Holland, preferring to be a beer-league journeyman rather than sign with the New England Revolution (who drafted him in 2004).

Here's the complete call-up list:

GOALKEEPERS(4) – Brad Guzan (Chivas USA), Will Hesmer (Columbus Crew), Matt Pickens (Chicago Fire), Zach Wells (D.C. United)
DEFENDERS (9) –Dan Califf (Aalborg BK), Jimmy Conrad (Kansas City Wizards), Ramiro Corrales (SK Brann), Todd Dunivant (Toronto FC), Clarence Goodson (San Jose Earthquakes), Drew Moor (FC Dallas), Michael Parkhurst (New England Revolution), Eddie Robinson (Houston Dynamo), Marvell Wynne (Toronto FC)
MIDFIELDERS (7) –Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake), Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo), Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo), Maurice Edu (Toronto FC), Sacha Kljestan (Chivas USA), Justin Mapp (Chicago Fire), Pat Noonan (New England Revolution)
FORWARDS (6) –Josmer Altidore (New York Red Bulls), Landon Donovan (Los Angeles Galaxy), Eddie Johnson (Kansas Cit y Wizards), Chris Rolfe (Chicago Fire), Taylor Twellman (New England Revolution), Jeremiah White (AGF Aarhus)

Beas' knee to keep him out six months

Beasley's solid season for Scotland's Rangers is over, as the injury he sustained in the Nov. 27 Champions League contest against Stuttgart will sideline him for four-to-six months.

He will likely return in time for the U.S.'s World Cup qualifying campaign, but will likely miss all of Rangers regular season. Beasley had four goals in 19 matches and was a regular started for Rangers.

Click here for ESPNnet article