Hey, anybody remember when United drafted this dude? Between the #2 keeper for a team currently sitting second in Bundesliga 2, a big (6'2") bench-warming midfielder for an equipe de Ligue Une, and a guy that became a fixture (and captain towards the end of the season) in central defense for a newly promoted side that managed to keep itself in the Norwegian top flight, United might have had a little of that depth that we were so sorely lacking this season.
Food for thought.
And in US National Team news, we've lost another big defender. In the wake of Soumare choosing to represent Mali, that robs us of what could have been both valuable depth in the center of defense and the potential next generation as well. Hell, as well as Subotic has reportedly been playing lately, he probably would have been pushing Gooch and Bocanegra for playing time. Or maybe Gooch-Subotic in the middle with Bocanegra on the left? Ah well. Alas for what might have been. Time to move on and try to look on the bright side of life.
(1) No Subotic means that Chad Marshall should be seeing some time at the back for the US come January. That's got to be more encouraging that seeing Califf trotting his tatted hide out there, right?
(2) The success abroad of some of our former draftees proves that United are not entirely incompetent when it comes to scouting the collegiate ranks. Now, given our strong hand for the 2009 SuperDraft, let's see if we can shore up a side that already looks pretty decent (when healthy).
Wishful thinking? We shall see.
We can still pick them..we just don't seem to want to pay them. It seems that the good draft picks, these days, require pay commensurate with a senior roster slot and United isn't ready to take that risk unless the player comes with an established reputation or pedigree and most of those guys are Addidas Gen players anyway. Do we still have rights to Needham, Jabobsen and Robbles?
ReplyDeletePer the musty old tome of MLS rules:
ReplyDelete"A player who was drafted by a particular team through the SuperDraft or Supplemental Draft and did not sign with the League, is placed on that team's 'College Protected List' until the second December 31 immediately following the draft in question, after which the team loses the rights to the player."
Robles and Needham were drafted in 2007, so we lose our MLS rights to them this December, while we've got Jacobson's rights until December 2009.