Roster Reset #8

Could this Kiwi have clipped United's Canuck quotient?

Between trips to sunnier climes, United did a little trialist-pruning, releasing journeyman veterans Zayner and Svard along with the Suppie pickup Charles Rodriguez (conveniently just after the last Roster Reset…sigh). Kasper promises more trialists for the Arizona jaunt, but what I really want to see are (a) game time for Salihi against the MLS opposition on offer there and (b) a left back, any left back.

Discussion of said gaping void and other tea-leaf reading after your updated lists…

Salary Budget Players (minimum 18 required)

  1. D (I) Jakovic, Dejan
  2. D Woolard, Daniel - Is he really a starting-quality MLS fullback?
  3. D Korb, Chris[1]
  4. D McDonald, Brandon
  5. D Russell, Robbie - Past it or the second coming of Namoff?
  6. D (I) Dudar, Emiliano - Can he supplant Jakovic or McDonald to start?
  7. D/M Kitchen, Perry - The anchor-elect
  8. M Morsink, Kurt - Under threat from trialists? Please, soccer gods, let it be so…
  9. M King, Stephen[2] - Ditto
  10. M (I, DP) Boskovic, Branko - Ready to make a statement?
  11. M Cruz, Danny
  12. M/F De Rosario, Dwayne
  13. M/F Pontius, Chris
  14. F Brettschneider, Blake - Wonder how safe his spot is. Can he be re-classified as off-budget?
  15. F Wolff, Josh
  16. F (I) Santos, Maicon
  17. F (I, DP) Salihi, Hamdi
  18. -

Optional Salary Budget Players (maximum 2 allowed)

  1. -
  2. -

Off-Budget Players (maximum 10 allowed)

  1. GK (HG) Hamid, Bill
  2. GK Willis, Joe
  3. D (HG) White, Ethan
  4. D/M (HG) Shanosky, Conor - Ready to play with the big boys?
  5. M (HG) Najar, Andy
  6. M/F DeLeon, Nick [3]
  7. -
  8. -
  9. -
  10. -

Trialists

  1. GK Dykstra, Andrew - MLS experience, excellent competition for the largely unproven Willis if the price is right
  2. GK Lambo, Josh - Under consideration, but no longer training with the team. Methinks Dykstra gets the #3 spot if the price is right.
  3. M C’deBaca, Seth - Trained with the big boys last year and played with U–23’s so we should have a firm handle on his qualities
  4. M Rozeboom, Lance - Suppie pickup. D-mid depth?
  5. M Saragosa, Marcelo - possible d-mid depth with MLS experience, but is he still MLS-level?
  6. M/F Richter, Ryan - Union washout, college goalscorer (for what it’s worth)
  7. F Jerome, Stefan - US youth nat has been toiling in lower-tier Euro-obscurity, but used to have some pretty smooth skills if memory serves.

Zayner and Rodriguez were both candidates for left back depth, and at the moment we’re reduced to Korb backing up both flanks. I’m tempted to think the worst here and assume that Woolard has been deemed “the answer” and that some of the incoming trialists for the Arizona stage of pre-season will be auditioning for the backup spot, but the swift pace of (and surprising spending on) recent acquisitions leaves me with somewhat elevated expectations.

Speaking of recent acquisitions…

If we take it as read that the player/coach opportunity in the US for Ryan Nelsen (quotes from his former boss here) was with United (not guaranteed, but somewhat likely, right?) and that Dudar was already on the United roster before Nelsen got the late call from Tottenham, thus scuppering his US move, what hay can we make?

Given that both Nelsen and Dudar command starter’s wages (and spots), what are the chances that United was looking to shop one of its incumbent starting center backs? I’m thinking, given his injury history, likelihood of international call-ups, lack of progression vis-a-vis the brain-farts, and the availability of three Canadian-club suitors, Jakovic might have been bound for the trading block. Raw speculation, and it depends upon a number of factors (Dudar adapting quickly, Nelsen actually being headed to us and fully fit, etc.), but still…

  1. Korb turns 25 this year, making him (to my understanding under previous year’s rules) ineligible for Off-Budget status.  ↩

  2. Listed as Off-Budget on dcunited.com, but turned 25 last year. Wouldn’t that have made him ineligible for Off-Budget status in 2011? That’s what the rules say anyway.  ↩

  3. Listed as Off-Budget on the roster. Isn’t GenAd, but qualifies for status anyway by virtue of age if United lists him as such. Of course, they still list Kitchen as Off-Budget by virtue of GenAd status, and he graduated from GenAd months ago…  ↩

posted 2/03/2012 0 comments

Roster Reset #7

Does this man have your goals?

So are they done?

United ticked one of the two big “need” boxes by acquiring Albanian international striker Hamdi Salihi as a designated player (wait, I thought Uncle Will wasn’t going to splash the cash?). Given his impressive rate of return wherever he’s played, he certainly seems to fit the poacher’s bill, though he also has decent size. Additionally, he was being pursued by Celtic in the winter transfer window and is under 30.

Intriguing. Presumably his former teammate Boskovic had something to do with this a la the De Rosario-vets-Santos move. Now the question becomes: does anybody else on the roster know a good left back?

Resetting the roster leaves us with…

Salary Budget Players (minimum 18 required)

  1. D (I) Jakovic, Dejan
  2. D Woolard, Daniel - Is he really a starting-quality MLS fullback?
  3. D Korb, Chris[1]
  4. D McDonald, Brandon
  5. D Russell, Robbie - Past it or the second coming of Namoff?
  6. D (I) Dudar, Emiliano
  7. D/M Kitchen, Perry
  8. M Morsink, Kurt - Under threat from trialists? Svard inclusion says maybe…
  9. M King, Stephen[2] - Ditto
  10. M (I, DP) Boskovic, Branko - Ready to make a statement?
  11. M Cruz, Danny
  12. M/F De Rosario, Dwayne
  13. M/F Pontius, Chris
  14. F Brettschneider, Blake - Wonder how safe his spot is. Can he be re-classified as off-budget?
  15. F Wolff, Josh
  16. F (I) Santos, Maicon
  17. F (I, DP) Salihi, Hamdi
  18. -

Optional Salary Budget Players (maximum 2 allowed)

  1. -
  2. -

Off-Budget Players (maximum 10 allowed)

  1. GK (HG) Hamid, Bill
  2. GK Willis, Joe
  3. D (HG) White, Ethan
  4. D/M (HG) Shanosky, Conor - Ready to play with the big boys?
  5. M (HG) Najar, Andy
  6. M/F DeLeon, Nick [3]
  7. -
  8. -
  9. -
  10. -

Trialists

  1. GK Dykstra, Andrew - MLS experience, excellent competition for the largely unproven Willis if the price is right
  2. GK Lambo, Josh - ex-GenAd and youth nat; has pedigree but has yet to live up to it
  3. D Rodriguez, Charles - Suppie pickup. Projects as left/center back depth?
  4. D Zayner, Jed - Versatile back-line veteran, but is he healthy?
  5. M C’deBaca, Seth - Trained with the big boys last year and played with U–23’s so we should have a firm handle on his qualities
  6. M Richter, Ryan - Union washout, college goalscorer (for what it’s worth)
  7. M Rozeboom, Lance - Suppie pickup. D-mid depth?
  8. M Svard, Sebastian - journeyman Danish d-mid
  9. M Saragosa, Marcelo - possible d-mid depth with MLS experience, but is he still MLS-level?
  10. F Jerome, Stefan - US youth nat has been toiling in lower-tier Euro-obscurity, but used to have some pretty smooth skills if memory serves.

We’re pretty close to a fully fleshed-out roster here, though there are some big, lingering question marks. How quickly can the new boys from the Central European leagues adapt to MLS? Presumably the incumbent McDonald/Jakovic pairing at the back and the acquisition of Maicon Santos provide cover while they do so.

But what I really wonder (and worry) most about is what effect signing a second DP has on De Rosario’s ongoing contract negotiations.

  1. Korb turns 25 this year, making him (to my understanding under previous year’s rules) ineligible for Off-Budget status.  ↩

  2. Listed as Off-Budget on dcunited.com, but turned 25 last year. Wouldn’t that have made him ineligible for Off-Budget status in 2011? That’s what the rules say anyway.  ↩

  3. Listed as Off-Budget on the roster. Isn’t GenAd, but qualifies for status anyway by virtue of age if United lists him as such. Of course, they still list Kitchen as Off-Budget by virtue of GenAd status, and he graduated from GenAd months ago…  ↩

posted 2/02/2012 7 comments

Roster Reset #6

The boxes are being ticked, slowly but surely. With the addition of central defender Emiliano Dudar, the depth acquisition project seems all but complete. Still, the two biggest needs, left back and finisher – the ones we’ve been pointing to all offseason, remain frustratingly unfilled. Stefan Jerome, recently arrived on trial, would be a nice project up top (can’t believe he’s only 19 – my memories of him as a U–17 seem distant), but isn’t the finished product.

Resetting the roster leaves us with…

Salary Budget Players (minimum 18 required)

  1. D (I) Jakovic, Dejan
  2. D Woolard, Daniel - Is he really a starting-quality MLS fullback?
  3. D Korb, Chris[1]
  4. D McDonald, Brandon
  5. D Russell, Robbie - Past it or the second coming of Namoff?
  6. D (I) Dudar, Emiliano
  7. D/M Kitchen, Perry
  8. M Morsink, Kurt - Under threat from trialists? Svard inclusion says maybe…
  9. M King, Stephen[2] - Ditto
  10. M (I, DP) Boskovic, Branko - Ready to make a statement?
  11. M Cruz, Danny
  12. M/F De Rosario, Dwayne
  13. M/F Pontius, Chris
  14. F Brettschneider, Blake - Wonder how safe his spot is. Can he be re-classified as off-budget?
  15. F Wolff, Josh
  16. F Santos, Maicon
  17. -
  18. -

Optional Salary Budget Players (maximum 2 allowed)

  1. -
  2. -

Off-Budget Players (maximum 10 allowed)

  1. GK (HG) Hamid, Bill
  2. GK Willis, Joe
  3. D (HG) White, Ethan
  4. D/M (HG) Shanosky, Conor - Ready to play with the big boys?
  5. M (HG) Najar, Andy
  6. M/F DeLeon, Nick [3]
  7. -
  8. -
  9. -
  10. -

Trialists

  1. GK Dykstra, Andrew - MLS experience, excellent competition for the largely unproven Willis if the price is right
  2. GK Lambo, Josh - ex-GenAd and youth nat; has pedigree but has yet to live up to it
  3. D Rodriguez, Charles - Suppie pickup. Projects as left/center back depth?
  4. D Zayner, Jed - Versatile back-line veteran, but is he healthy?
  5. M C’deBaca, Seth - Trained with the big boys last year and played with U–23’s so we should have a firm handle on his qualities
  6. M Richter, Ryan - Union washout, college goalscorer (for what it’s worth)
  7. M Rozeboom, Lance - Suppie pickup. D-mid depth?
  8. M Svard, Sebastian - journeyman Danish d-mid
  9. F Adlam, Alanzo - 22 year-old Jamaican domestic-leaguer and youth nat. Hope this isn’t the solution at striker or that FO have concluded Santos is.
  10. F Jerome, Stefan - US youth nat has been toiling in lower-tier Euro-obscurity, but used to have some pretty smooth skills if memory serves.

Just some final food for thought. If we’re entertaining d-mids on trial and the acquisition of Dudar frees McDonald to serve as cover for Kitchen as well, what exactly is Morsink still doing on the roster? Making sure we have enough salary budget players to fulfill MLS regs? Or is Benny just preserving tactical flexibility (assuming he’s more willing to experiment this time around)?

  1. Korb turns 25 this year, making him (to my understanding under previous year’s rules) ineligible for Off-Budget status.  ↩

  2. Listed as Off-Budget on dcunited.com, but turned 25 last year. Wouldn’t that have made him ineligible for Off-Budget status in 2011? That’s what the rules say anyway.  ↩

  3. Listed as Off-Budget on the roster. Isn’t GenAd, but qualifies for status anyway by virtue of age if United lists him as such. Of course, they still list Kitchen as Off-Budget by virtue of GenAd status, and he graduated from GenAd months ago…  ↩

posted 1/25/2012 4 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)