On New Year's Eve, before we ring in the New Year, here's a look back at my 2016 wants and wishes and how each one turned out.
1. Silverware - I'm not counting the Swope Park Rangers' Western Conference championship unfortunately (more on that later), so this wasn't a wish that was met this year by any of KC's four teams. Three of the four made the playoffs, but none of them were able to come home with a championship in 2016.
2. Sorting KC address center back issues - This is an area that overall was probably addressed, but at the same time probably wasn't. Sporting KC was in the top half of the table in terms of fewest goals allowed, finishing sixth in that category allowing 41 goals. So on that stat alone it would seem that KC addressed their center back issues. But the issue for the center back situation was the inability to have a consistent starting pairing at center back whether it be form, injuries, or national team call ups, KC started five different players at center back in seven different combinations over the 34 game season. Nuno Coelho and Matt Besler started the season as the number one center back pairing and looked to be pretty good for KC in that situation, raising hopes for the season. Then Coelho got hurt in mid-May and made just one 90 minute appearance the entire rest of the season for KC, with his high salary Sporting passed on retaining the Portuguese center back. For a stretch in the middle of the season, Peter Vermes favorite pairing was Ike Opara and the returning Lawrence Olum as Besler was with the national team and struggling with his club form. Besler eventually won his spot back with Opara for a stretch before injuries brought down Opara again this season, although not long term like prior years). This allowed Kevin Ellis to step up and take the job next to Besler, which he didn't relinquish the rest of the season. The Besler/Ellis pairing KC through the end of the season and into the playoffs in 2016. Hopefully a more consistent pairing can work in 2017.
3. Keep Krisztian Nemeth in Sporting blue - This one went out the window in late January as Sporting KC sold Nemeth to Al Gharafa SC in Qatar. Much has been made about how the move came about, whether Nemeth forced it, or whether KC did. KC reportedly went to Nemeth in good faith to offer him a new contract because of his performance in the 2015 season, but a deal couldn't be worked out. Nemeth (or his agent) posted a Facebook message saying that he wanted to stay but that the contract he was offered still wouldn't have made him one of the club's highest paid players. At the same times there were comments that Nemeth wanted to be released early to join the Hungarian team for camp ahead of the Euros. We never got the full story and likely never will, what we know for sure is that Nemeth left and his departure left a big hole in KC's right wing that the club never successfully filled in 2016.
4. Sporting advance from their CCL group - Another one that didn't come true, Sporting got off to a poor start with their two road games, drawing 2-2 in Trinidad and then were taken apart 3-0 in Vancouver to put themselves firmly behind the eight ball. Needing a result at home against Vancouver to keep their faint hopes of advancing alive. Falling behind, clawing back to equalize, Sporting gave up a very late winner to Alphonso Davies to put the Whitecaps through. KC won their final group game, a meaningless encounter between Sporting and Central FC 3-1, playing a number of Swope Park Rangers.
5. Jon Kempin and Erik Palmer-Brown both play 15 plus games - Almost, but not quite on this one, and certainly not in the way I expected with Palmer-Brown going on loan to Porto in 2016. Kempin started the season as the Rangers' starting goalkeeper, lost the job, won it back, then lost it again and never gained it back after an injury to Tim Melia forced him to be recalled from his loan. Combined between the Rangers and a couple of appearances for Sporting KC in the CCL, Kempin made 14 appearances in 2016, going 5-6-3 (5-4-3 for SPR, 0-2 for Sporting) and allowing 18 goals in those 14 games.
Palmer-Brown made 17 league appearances across two seasons for Porto's reserve team in the Portuguese second division, becoming a regular at center back for the club in their run to the Portuguese second division championship in the 2015-2016 season. After recovering from an injury early in the 2016-2017 season, Palmer-Brown again took his place in the center of defense and even earned a call up to the first team.
6. Swope Park Rangers have successful first season - I'd say a trip to the USL championship was a successful season, even if it didn't end in a trophy there was a lot of good that came out of the first season. For me, SPR's success had more to do with the players than the results on the field. SPR made a priority of getting a younger roster and really did, with only a handful of players over the age of 25 on the team. It also was able to shine the light on a number of players who could produce for Sporting KC in the years to come. From the likes of Tyler Pasher and Adrian Zendejas, who have both already signed with the first team to the likes of Amer Didic, Ualefi, and Nansel Selbol who all made appearances for the first team in the Champions League. Arguably the player I'm most excited about didn't even play for the first team though, Kevin Oliveira, tore his ACL near the midpoint of the season and missed out on the second half of the season. If he'd been healthy I have no doubts he'd have also appeared for Sporting KC this past season. Hopefully a swift return from his ACL tear will see him getting time with Sporting in 2017.
7. US national team has a respectable performance in the Copa America Centenario - I'd classify a fourth place finish as respectable, at least from looking at it from the outside it certainly was. Advancing to the semifinals before losing to world power Argentina is certainly a good run. Arguments can be made about the USA's performance in that 4-0 loss to Argentina as well as the two losses to Colombia (2-0 in group play and 1-0 in third place game), and how they were some of the final moments of Jurgen Klinsmann's time in charge of the US team, but in the end even someone anti-Klinsmann like myself, has to admit fourth was respectable, especially given the draw.
8. Missouri Comets get past Baltimore Blast - Unfortunately another Comets season ended with a loss to the Baltimore Blast. The Missouri (now Kansas City) Comets won the Central Division last year with a 17-3 record, four games ahead of second and third place Chicago and Milwaukee. After the Milwaukee Wave topped the Chicago Mustangs in a three game series, the Comets swept the Wave aside 2-0 winning 10-5 on the road and 8-2 at home to set up a match up with the Baltimore Blast for the fourth straight season. Unfortunately just like two of the previous three, the Blast topped the Comets, this time with a pair of overtime victories both by a 4-3 score line for the Blast.
9. FCKC recover from losing four regulars - Unfortunately the Blues couldn't overcome the loss of so many important pieces. FC Kansas City even lost a fifth likely regular as the club acquired Sydney Leroux in January last year, from the Western New York Flash, to replace Amy Rodriguez, but later in January she too announced that she would miss the 2016 season as she was pregnant. They also lost midfielder, Jen Buczkowski, who retired five games into the season to return to school. The Blues finished outside the playoffs for the first time in their history, finishing in sixth place with 26 points, six points behind fourth place Western New York. In the absence of both Rodriguez and Leroux, Shea Groom stepped up, scoring eight of FCKC's 18 goals on the season to lead the Blues in scoring. The return of Desiree Scott helped to ease some of the defensive losses in the offseason, as the Blues' defense allowed the second fewest goals in the league in 2016. Unfortunately the loss of Rodriguez, Leroux, and Lauren Holiday couldn't be overcome on the offensive end.
Overall, it wasn't a great year for my wants and wishes with only one, the Swope Park Rangers having a successful first season being my one real win out of all of them.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Comets Close Out 2016 with Win
The Kansas City Comets ended 2016 on a high note, one night after a disappointing loss at home to the Florida Tropics, the Comets went on the road and defeated the St. Louis Ambush in an afternoon affair 8-5.
The Comets jumped all over the Ambush in the first quarter, similar to what they did against the Tropics, shutting out the Ambush while finding the back of the net multiple times. Ignacio Flores scored less than three minutes in on a shot that pinged in off the wood work, and the Comets were off. Before the halfway point, Leo Gibson doubled the lead with a shot from distance. Before the quarter was over the Comets made it 3-0 with just over a minute left as Vahid Assadpour fired one in. KC continued the pressure in the second quarter, scoring two more goals in the first four minutes as Ramone Palmer and Brian Harris both scored to push the Comets lead to 5-0 and the Comets appeared to be cruising. Two minutes after Harris made it 5-0 though the Ambush finally got on the board to cut the lead to four goals. Before half time the Ambush pulled another goal back to cut the half time lead to 5-2.
The Comets restored their four goal lead just 11 seconds into the third quarter as Gibson scored his second goal of the game to extend the lead to 6-2. The third quarter from there though spiraled out of control a bit for the Comets as the Ambush pulled a goal back less than three minutes in to make it 6-. The Comets also had discipline issues as they picked up five cards over the rest of the quarter, three yellows and two blue cards. One of the blue cards led to a penalty kick for the Ambush that Richard Schmermund buried to cut the lead to 6-4. The Comets defense held strong though with the limited roster during the penalties and kept the Ambush from closing the gap to one.
The fourth quarter saw the Comets extend their lead further as Lucas Rodriguez got on the board with a goal just over six minutes in. After that the Ambush went to their sixth attacker to try to cut into the three goal lead. The Comets though pushed the sixth attacker Guerrero Pino scored to extend the Comets lead to 8-4. The Ambush pulled one more goal back to make it 8-5 with their sixth attacker on the field but it wasn't enough to complete a comeback against the Comets.
The Comets jumped all over the Ambush in the first quarter, similar to what they did against the Tropics, shutting out the Ambush while finding the back of the net multiple times. Ignacio Flores scored less than three minutes in on a shot that pinged in off the wood work, and the Comets were off. Before the halfway point, Leo Gibson doubled the lead with a shot from distance. Before the quarter was over the Comets made it 3-0 with just over a minute left as Vahid Assadpour fired one in. KC continued the pressure in the second quarter, scoring two more goals in the first four minutes as Ramone Palmer and Brian Harris both scored to push the Comets lead to 5-0 and the Comets appeared to be cruising. Two minutes after Harris made it 5-0 though the Ambush finally got on the board to cut the lead to four goals. Before half time the Ambush pulled another goal back to cut the half time lead to 5-2.
The Comets restored their four goal lead just 11 seconds into the third quarter as Gibson scored his second goal of the game to extend the lead to 6-2. The third quarter from there though spiraled out of control a bit for the Comets as the Ambush pulled a goal back less than three minutes in to make it 6-. The Comets also had discipline issues as they picked up five cards over the rest of the quarter, three yellows and two blue cards. One of the blue cards led to a penalty kick for the Ambush that Richard Schmermund buried to cut the lead to 6-4. The Comets defense held strong though with the limited roster during the penalties and kept the Ambush from closing the gap to one.
The fourth quarter saw the Comets extend their lead further as Lucas Rodriguez got on the board with a goal just over six minutes in. After that the Ambush went to their sixth attacker to try to cut into the three goal lead. The Comets though pushed the sixth attacker Guerrero Pino scored to extend the Comets lead to 8-4. The Ambush pulled one more goal back to make it 8-5 with their sixth attacker on the field but it wasn't enough to complete a comeback against the Comets.
Defensive Mistake Cost Comets in Loss to Tropics
The Kansas City Comets' defense has been extremely stout as of late at the Silverstein Eye Centers Arena, allowing just one goal in their last two games on their home field. Unfortunately that all changed as the Comets welcomed the expansion Florida Tropics to Kansas City tonight, the Comets defense fell to pieces with a number of poor giveaways leading to goals, including two short handed goals for the Tropics as the Comets fell 8-7 to the Tropics to fall to 5-4 on the season.
The Comets jumped out to an early lead with two goals in the first quarter thanks to Ramone Palmer just two minutes in as he fired home a shot after Guerrero Pino beat goalkeeper Piotr Sliwa to the ball knocking it off the wall into Palmer's path. Near the midpoint of the half the Comets doubled the lead as Lucas Rodriguez fired home a shot from a tight angle after a John Sosa restart. While the Comets had the lead, it was the Tropics that controlled the quarter, pressuring the Comets in their own end, and forcing the Comets defense to be busy.
The second quarter saw the Comets begin to pressure the Tropics more but couldn't add to their lead. Eventually the Comets got caught up as Ricardo Diegues beat Stephen Patterson to put the Tropics on the board just under nine minutes in. The Comets answered just over a minute later though as Ramone Palmer scored his second goal of the game, toe-poking a shot past Sliwa and into the net to make it 3-1. Before half time though the Tropics struck back again as Victor Parreiras found the back of the net with less than a minute left to put the Tropics within one heading into half time.
The third quarter things got out of hand for the Comets as Diegues tied the game just over three minutes in off a restart. The Tropics then took the lead close to the mid point of the period as Diegues finished off his hattrick as he jumped on a poor pass by Alain Matingou and scored to make it 4-3. The Comets tied the game about two minutes later on the power play as the Comets spread the field and eventually Rodriguez found Leo Gibson in the middle who one timed a shot into the corner to tie the game at 4-4. KC pushed to try to retake the lead and got caught on the counter as Freddy Moojen finished off the counter with his first goal of the game to put the Tropics up 5-4 after three quarters.
Early in the fourth quarter the Comets found themselves on the power play after a tripping penalty, but got caught up field and another counter by the Tropics allowed Raphael Nascimento to easily beat Patterson to make it 6-4 after Sliwa quickly fed Parreiras, who fed Nascimento. Seconds later the Tropics looked liked they'd do it again short handed but called for too many men on the field. The Comets had just over 30 seconds with a two man advantage but couldn't find the net. As the first penalty expired, Anthony Arico raced out of the box and pressured Patterson in his own defensive third. Patterson lost the ball and Arico scored to make it 7-4 to the Tropics. With just over six minutes left the Comets got one goal back as Rodriguez scored on another power play for the Comets to cut the lead to 7-5. The Comets almost immediately went to the sixth attacker, inserting Sosa as the sixth attacker. But the Tropics again quickly countered off a Sliwa save as the Comets didn't get back, Arico fed Nascimento, who scored his second goal of the game to make it 8-5. The Comets got another opportunity on the power play after a boarding penalty and took advantage as Robert Palmer headed in a ball on the goal line with just over two minutes left to cut the lead to two goals at 8-6. The Comets continued to pressure and with 12 seconds left found a goal to cut the lead to one as Sosa scored from the top of the box to make it 8-7. With only 12 seconds left the Comets immediately went on the offensive off the kick off and had two efforts by Palmer and Brian Harris cleared off the line before the final horn blew.
The Comets won't get to dwell on the loss long though as they are off to St. Louis tomorrow for an afternoon game against the St. Louis Ambush to try to keep themselves ahead of the Milwaukee Wave in the Central division playoff race.
The Comets jumped out to an early lead with two goals in the first quarter thanks to Ramone Palmer just two minutes in as he fired home a shot after Guerrero Pino beat goalkeeper Piotr Sliwa to the ball knocking it off the wall into Palmer's path. Near the midpoint of the half the Comets doubled the lead as Lucas Rodriguez fired home a shot from a tight angle after a John Sosa restart. While the Comets had the lead, it was the Tropics that controlled the quarter, pressuring the Comets in their own end, and forcing the Comets defense to be busy.
The second quarter saw the Comets begin to pressure the Tropics more but couldn't add to their lead. Eventually the Comets got caught up as Ricardo Diegues beat Stephen Patterson to put the Tropics on the board just under nine minutes in. The Comets answered just over a minute later though as Ramone Palmer scored his second goal of the game, toe-poking a shot past Sliwa and into the net to make it 3-1. Before half time though the Tropics struck back again as Victor Parreiras found the back of the net with less than a minute left to put the Tropics within one heading into half time.
The third quarter things got out of hand for the Comets as Diegues tied the game just over three minutes in off a restart. The Tropics then took the lead close to the mid point of the period as Diegues finished off his hattrick as he jumped on a poor pass by Alain Matingou and scored to make it 4-3. The Comets tied the game about two minutes later on the power play as the Comets spread the field and eventually Rodriguez found Leo Gibson in the middle who one timed a shot into the corner to tie the game at 4-4. KC pushed to try to retake the lead and got caught on the counter as Freddy Moojen finished off the counter with his first goal of the game to put the Tropics up 5-4 after three quarters.
Early in the fourth quarter the Comets found themselves on the power play after a tripping penalty, but got caught up field and another counter by the Tropics allowed Raphael Nascimento to easily beat Patterson to make it 6-4 after Sliwa quickly fed Parreiras, who fed Nascimento. Seconds later the Tropics looked liked they'd do it again short handed but called for too many men on the field. The Comets had just over 30 seconds with a two man advantage but couldn't find the net. As the first penalty expired, Anthony Arico raced out of the box and pressured Patterson in his own defensive third. Patterson lost the ball and Arico scored to make it 7-4 to the Tropics. With just over six minutes left the Comets got one goal back as Rodriguez scored on another power play for the Comets to cut the lead to 7-5. The Comets almost immediately went to the sixth attacker, inserting Sosa as the sixth attacker. But the Tropics again quickly countered off a Sliwa save as the Comets didn't get back, Arico fed Nascimento, who scored his second goal of the game to make it 8-5. The Comets got another opportunity on the power play after a boarding penalty and took advantage as Robert Palmer headed in a ball on the goal line with just over two minutes left to cut the lead to two goals at 8-6. The Comets continued to pressure and with 12 seconds left found a goal to cut the lead to one as Sosa scored from the top of the box to make it 8-7. With only 12 seconds left the Comets immediately went on the offensive off the kick off and had two efforts by Palmer and Brian Harris cleared off the line before the final horn blew.
The Comets won't get to dwell on the loss long though as they are off to St. Louis tomorrow for an afternoon game against the St. Louis Ambush to try to keep themselves ahead of the Milwaukee Wave in the Central division playoff race.
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Carrasco Gets New Deal in Orlando - Former SKC Wizards Update
Former Kansas City midfielder, Servando Carrasco will be staying in Orlando City next season. Reports in Orlando this past week were that the out of contract player would be re-signing with the club. There'd been questions about his return as his wife, Orlando Pride forward, Alex Morgan had signed to go on loan to Lyon in France. Carraso will be returning to Orlando though where he played in 31 games in 2016, starting 21 of them.
I've also updated the list of players currently without a club to include all MLS players that are out of contract with their club, or had their options declined. The list will obviously shrink as players sign new contracts with clubs for the 2017 season.
Here's the rest of this week's limited update due to a lack of games with the holidays.
Active without a club or unknown
Ever Alvarado
Emmanuel Appiah
Vicente Arze
Nuno Coelho
Aurelien Collin
Amadou Dia
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Connor Hallisey
Jeferson
Jon Kempin
Mechack Jerome
Chris Konopka
Eric Kronberg
Justin Mapp
Neven Markovic
Rauwshan McKenzie
Victor Munoz
Chance Myers
Amobi Okugo
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz
MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - New England - Offseason.
Alec Kann - Atlanta - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Jacob Peterson - Atlanta - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.
NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Offseason.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Offseason.
USL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Offseason.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Tomas Granitto - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ryan James - Rochester - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Alex Molano - Swope Park - Offseason.
Nansel Selbol - Swope Park - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Kris Tyrpak - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.
PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - No game this week.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - No game this week.
Mike Jones - Dallas - No game this week.
Boris Pardo - San Diego - No game this week.
International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC Eskilstuna City- Sweden - No game until 4/1.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Game against San Lorenzo postponed.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - No game until 1/7.
Sunil Chhetri - Mumbai City - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - No game until 1/7.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Did not play in Trinidad's 2-1 loss to Nicaragua.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Leganes' 2-1 Copa del Rey loss to Valencia.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - No game until 1/6.
Faik Hajderovic - Vinograder - Croatia - No game until 2/25.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - No game until 1/28.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Offseason.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - No game until 2/4.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - No game until 1/28.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Started and played 90 minutes in Al Gharafa's 2-0 loss to Al Kharitiyath.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in Porto B's 3-0 loss to Vitoria Guimaraes II.
Akeem Priestley - Metapan - El Salvador - No game until 1/13.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - No game until 1/14.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in Belenenses' 1-0 loss to Sporting.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/18.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - England - Started and played 120 minutes in Plymouth's 1-0 extra time win over Newport County. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Plymouth's 3-3 draw with Wycombe Wanderers.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Did not play in Deveronvale's 2-1 loss to Turriff United.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - No game until 2/20.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - No game until 1/4.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - No game until 2/18.
I've also updated the list of players currently without a club to include all MLS players that are out of contract with their club, or had their options declined. The list will obviously shrink as players sign new contracts with clubs for the 2017 season.
Here's the rest of this week's limited update due to a lack of games with the holidays.
Active without a club or unknown
Ever Alvarado
Emmanuel Appiah
Vicente Arze
Nuno Coelho
Aurelien Collin
Amadou Dia
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Connor Hallisey
Jeferson
Jon Kempin
Mechack Jerome
Chris Konopka
Eric Kronberg
Justin Mapp
Neven Markovic
Rauwshan McKenzie
Victor Munoz
Chance Myers
Amobi Okugo
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz
MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - New England - Offseason.
Alec Kann - Atlanta - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Jacob Peterson - Atlanta - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.
NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Offseason.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Offseason.
USL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Offseason.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Tomas Granitto - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ryan James - Rochester - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Alex Molano - Swope Park - Offseason.
Nansel Selbol - Swope Park - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Kris Tyrpak - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.
PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - No game this week.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - No game this week.
Mike Jones - Dallas - No game this week.
Boris Pardo - San Diego - No game this week.
International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC Eskilstuna City- Sweden - No game until 4/1.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Game against San Lorenzo postponed.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - No game until 1/7.
Sunil Chhetri - Mumbai City - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - No game until 1/7.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Did not play in Trinidad's 2-1 loss to Nicaragua.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Came off the bench and played 21 minutes in Leganes' 2-1 Copa del Rey loss to Valencia.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - No game until 1/6.
Faik Hajderovic - Vinograder - Croatia - No game until 2/25.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - No game until 1/28.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Offseason.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - No game until 2/4.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - No game until 1/28.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Started and played 90 minutes in Al Gharafa's 2-0 loss to Al Kharitiyath.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in Porto B's 3-0 loss to Vitoria Guimaraes II.
Akeem Priestley - Metapan - El Salvador - No game until 1/13.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - No game until 1/14.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in Belenenses' 1-0 loss to Sporting.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/18.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - England - Started and played 120 minutes in Plymouth's 1-0 extra time win over Newport County. Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Plymouth's 3-3 draw with Wycombe Wanderers.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Did not play in Deveronvale's 2-1 loss to Turriff United.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - No game until 2/20.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - No game until 1/4.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - No game until 2/18.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Local Media Reporting Blessing Deal to KC Done
Similar to a few days ago when Portuguese media reported that Gerso Fernandes' move to Sporting KC was basically done, reports in Ghana are that Latif Blessing's move to Sporting KC is a done deal. Blessing, the golden boot winner and MVP for the Ghanaian Premier League will reportedly be turning down a move to Ajax Cape Town in South Africa to sign with Sporting KC.
The reports in Ghana are that Blessing has signed a three year deal with Sporting KC, with an option on a fourth year pending his passing of a medical. Blessing scored 17 goals for Liberty Professionals this past season and has reportedly been named to the provisional squad for Ghana ahead of January's African Cup of Nations.
Blessing, a winger looks to have some decent speed and still not being 20 continues Peter Vermes' strategy of getting younger and faster on the wings for KC. He'll hopefully be able to convert his game to MLS, but I'm still hesitant to say he's the answer to the secondary goal scorer question that KC fans have been asking of KC since the club sold Krisztian Nemeth.
The news internationally about Blessing and Fernandes being signed would seem to go hand and hand with the news that Robb Heineman tweeted out earlier tonight about two other players being done. Until shown otherwise I'm assuming Heineman is referring to Blessing and Fernandes.
The reports in Ghana are that Blessing has signed a three year deal with Sporting KC, with an option on a fourth year pending his passing of a medical. Blessing scored 17 goals for Liberty Professionals this past season and has reportedly been named to the provisional squad for Ghana ahead of January's African Cup of Nations.
Blessing, a winger looks to have some decent speed and still not being 20 continues Peter Vermes' strategy of getting younger and faster on the wings for KC. He'll hopefully be able to convert his game to MLS, but I'm still hesitant to say he's the answer to the secondary goal scorer question that KC fans have been asking of KC since the club sold Krisztian Nemeth.
The news internationally about Blessing and Fernandes being signed would seem to go hand and hand with the news that Robb Heineman tweeted out earlier tonight about two other players being done. Until shown otherwise I'm assuming Heineman is referring to Blessing and Fernandes.
Sporting's Homegrown Player Loans
Two of Sporting KC's four homegrown players spent all or part of the year 2016 on loan in Europe, Erik Palmer-Brown and Daniel Salloi spent 2016 in Portugal and Hungary playing with club's there instead of with Sporting KC. With 2016 close to coming to an end let's take a look at both players' time in Europe.
Palmer-Brown's loan to Porto in Portugal took place first, Sporting agreed to a loan move for Palmer-Brown during preseason for Sporting ahead of the 2016 MLS season. At the time he'd been expected to play a role for Sporting's USL side, the Swope Park Rangers in 2016, instead he got a move to Europe. It look Palmer-Brown about a month or so to get up to speed in Portugal, but once he did he became a regular starter for Porto B in the Portuguese second division. Palmer-Brown started 11 games for Porto B in the league as they won the Portuguese second division.
Plamer-Brown missed the start of the 2016-2017 season for Porto B as he suffered a foot injury that kept him out of action until the middle of October. Upon his return though Palmer-Brown again took his place in the starting lineup for Porto B. He started six games for Porto B in their league season as well as playing in cup competitions.
The biggest news for Palmer-Brown in the second half of 2016 came when he was called up on multiple occasions to train with Porto's first team. Late in his loan Palmer-Brown even made the bench for Porto's first time in a Cup game between Porto and Belenenses. Unfortunately Palmer-Brown didn't get on the field, but it showed the faith that Porto has in him as a player. Porto had their last game of 2016 on Thursday, but a hamstring injury has kept Palmer-Brown out for the last couple weeks.
The question now becomes whether Palmer-Brown will make the move to Porto permanent. The club has obviously been impressed enough with Palmer-Brown's work if he's getting called up to work with the first team and as a consistent starter for their reserve side. From reading some fan reactions, the fans are impressed with Palmer-Brown and are wanting Porto to make the move permanent as well.
It he doesn't go though Palmer-Brown's time in KC may still be short as other clubs could come in with an offer. The other thing is that he's likely to feature a whole lot for KC in the first half of the season. If he returns Palmer-Brown is likely to miss a good portion of preseason as U20 World Cup qualifying takes place in February and early March and the assumption is that Palmer-Brown would be on the roster for that tournament. Then if the US finishes as one of the top four teams in qualifying, they'll qualify for this summer's World Cup in late May and early June in South Korea. So if Palmer-Brown does return, don't expect him to jump right into Sporting's starting 11 either.
With Salloi, his loan didn't take place until about half way through 2016. Originally Salloi had been the only other striker on the team along with Dom Dwyer and ended up dressing for Sporting's first few games of the 2016 season until Diego Rubio took that spot over. With Rubio in the 18 for Sporting, Salloi went on loan to the Swope Park Rangers for the beginning of the USL season. He played in 10 games for the Rangers, starting six of them and leading the team in goals with four before his loan. Salloi's loan reportedly was because of his hopes of getting back into the youth national team picture for his country by playing in the local league.
Originally when the loan was announced back in June, Salloi was on his way to Vasas, a traditional power in Hungary. When the league kicked off in mid-July though there was no sign of Salloi on the field or on the bench for Vasas in Hungary. A few days after the league started it was reported that Salloi's loan had been switched from Vasas to Gyirmot for the rest of 2016. Gyirmot, a recently promoted side from the Hungarian second division, is coached by Istvan Urbanyi, a former Sporting Kansas City academy coach from around the time Salloi would have been in the academy. The move in that regard made sense for Sporting and Salloi, and going to a newly promoted club had a better chance of better playing time for Salloi.
Unfortunately the play hasn't gone Gyirmot's way all that much, they're currently rooted to the foot of the table in Hungary in 12th, seven points behind 11th place and seven points from safety right now, with by far the worst goal difference in the league at -23.
Salloi for his part has appeared in 13 of Gyirmot's 19 games before the winter break, starting 12 of them. He's also leading the team in scoring with two goals, but the club has only scored eight goals in their 19 games, less than a goal every other game.
The Hungarian league is on break until February now, so Salloi's loan is effectively finished for the time being. With Rubio out for the first half of 2017 at least, Salloi is once again the only other striker on the roster other than Dwyer. Unlike Palmer-Brown, a permanent move to Hungary doesn't seem likely given Gyirmot's position in the table, it'd seem unlikely that they would want to pick up Salloi permanently with relegation back to the second division looking highly likely at this point.
If I had to make a guess on who is back and who isn't in 2017, I think Palmer-Brown is likely gone, whether it be to Porto, or another team that saw him play while he was with Porto, I think Palmer-Brown makes the move to Europe in January. As for Salloi, I could see his loan extended through the end of the Hungarian season if Gyirmot and Urbanyi really want it, but I could just as easily see Salloi in KC for preseason looking to push for time or back with the Rangers battling Mark Anthony Gonzalez and Kharlton Belmar.
Palmer-Brown's loan to Porto in Portugal took place first, Sporting agreed to a loan move for Palmer-Brown during preseason for Sporting ahead of the 2016 MLS season. At the time he'd been expected to play a role for Sporting's USL side, the Swope Park Rangers in 2016, instead he got a move to Europe. It look Palmer-Brown about a month or so to get up to speed in Portugal, but once he did he became a regular starter for Porto B in the Portuguese second division. Palmer-Brown started 11 games for Porto B in the league as they won the Portuguese second division.
Plamer-Brown missed the start of the 2016-2017 season for Porto B as he suffered a foot injury that kept him out of action until the middle of October. Upon his return though Palmer-Brown again took his place in the starting lineup for Porto B. He started six games for Porto B in their league season as well as playing in cup competitions.
The biggest news for Palmer-Brown in the second half of 2016 came when he was called up on multiple occasions to train with Porto's first team. Late in his loan Palmer-Brown even made the bench for Porto's first time in a Cup game between Porto and Belenenses. Unfortunately Palmer-Brown didn't get on the field, but it showed the faith that Porto has in him as a player. Porto had their last game of 2016 on Thursday, but a hamstring injury has kept Palmer-Brown out for the last couple weeks.
The question now becomes whether Palmer-Brown will make the move to Porto permanent. The club has obviously been impressed enough with Palmer-Brown's work if he's getting called up to work with the first team and as a consistent starter for their reserve side. From reading some fan reactions, the fans are impressed with Palmer-Brown and are wanting Porto to make the move permanent as well.
It he doesn't go though Palmer-Brown's time in KC may still be short as other clubs could come in with an offer. The other thing is that he's likely to feature a whole lot for KC in the first half of the season. If he returns Palmer-Brown is likely to miss a good portion of preseason as U20 World Cup qualifying takes place in February and early March and the assumption is that Palmer-Brown would be on the roster for that tournament. Then if the US finishes as one of the top four teams in qualifying, they'll qualify for this summer's World Cup in late May and early June in South Korea. So if Palmer-Brown does return, don't expect him to jump right into Sporting's starting 11 either.
With Salloi, his loan didn't take place until about half way through 2016. Originally Salloi had been the only other striker on the team along with Dom Dwyer and ended up dressing for Sporting's first few games of the 2016 season until Diego Rubio took that spot over. With Rubio in the 18 for Sporting, Salloi went on loan to the Swope Park Rangers for the beginning of the USL season. He played in 10 games for the Rangers, starting six of them and leading the team in goals with four before his loan. Salloi's loan reportedly was because of his hopes of getting back into the youth national team picture for his country by playing in the local league.
Originally when the loan was announced back in June, Salloi was on his way to Vasas, a traditional power in Hungary. When the league kicked off in mid-July though there was no sign of Salloi on the field or on the bench for Vasas in Hungary. A few days after the league started it was reported that Salloi's loan had been switched from Vasas to Gyirmot for the rest of 2016. Gyirmot, a recently promoted side from the Hungarian second division, is coached by Istvan Urbanyi, a former Sporting Kansas City academy coach from around the time Salloi would have been in the academy. The move in that regard made sense for Sporting and Salloi, and going to a newly promoted club had a better chance of better playing time for Salloi.
Unfortunately the play hasn't gone Gyirmot's way all that much, they're currently rooted to the foot of the table in Hungary in 12th, seven points behind 11th place and seven points from safety right now, with by far the worst goal difference in the league at -23.
Salloi for his part has appeared in 13 of Gyirmot's 19 games before the winter break, starting 12 of them. He's also leading the team in scoring with two goals, but the club has only scored eight goals in their 19 games, less than a goal every other game.
The Hungarian league is on break until February now, so Salloi's loan is effectively finished for the time being. With Rubio out for the first half of 2017 at least, Salloi is once again the only other striker on the roster other than Dwyer. Unlike Palmer-Brown, a permanent move to Hungary doesn't seem likely given Gyirmot's position in the table, it'd seem unlikely that they would want to pick up Salloi permanently with relegation back to the second division looking highly likely at this point.
If I had to make a guess on who is back and who isn't in 2017, I think Palmer-Brown is likely gone, whether it be to Porto, or another team that saw him play while he was with Porto, I think Palmer-Brown makes the move to Europe in January. As for Salloi, I could see his loan extended through the end of the Hungarian season if Gyirmot and Urbanyi really want it, but I could just as easily see Salloi in KC for preseason looking to push for time or back with the Rangers battling Mark Anthony Gonzalez and Kharlton Belmar.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Sporting Confirm Juliao Return
Sporting Kansas City confirmed this morning that former Kansas City outside back, Igor Juliao is returning to the club in 2017. Juliao confirmed the move himself with a Twitter post last night announcing that he was back. Juliao will be on loan to Sporting KC again in 2017 from his parent club, Fluminense, his fifth loan in three years.
Juliao would be expected to to provide depth and competition at the right back slot with Saad Abdul-Salaam. What his acquisition also likely means is that Sporting won't be pushing to re-sign free agent Chance Myers with the club. Myers' another right back would probably be overkill at the position at this point, meaning his return looks very unlikely.
I still have concerns about Juliao's defense with his return, hopefully in the two years he's been gone that's an area that he has improved in, or else KC's right center back is going to have his hands full when Juliao is on the field.
The signing though does begin to get Kansas City younger and faster though, which is something that KC has lacked the last few years.
Juliao would be expected to to provide depth and competition at the right back slot with Saad Abdul-Salaam. What his acquisition also likely means is that Sporting won't be pushing to re-sign free agent Chance Myers with the club. Myers' another right back would probably be overkill at the position at this point, meaning his return looks very unlikely.
I still have concerns about Juliao's defense with his return, hopefully in the two years he's been gone that's an area that he has improved in, or else KC's right center back is going to have his hands full when Juliao is on the field.
The signing though does begin to get Kansas City younger and faster though, which is something that KC has lacked the last few years.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Portuguese Media Reporting Gerso Fernandes Deal to KC Basically Done
After the confirmation locally today that Sporting KC was indeed negotiating with Guinea-Bissau winger, Gerso Fernandes, reports out of Portugal tonight are reporting that it is a done deal. Zero Zero in Portugal, reporting on Fernandes' club's 1-0 loss to Sporting Club de Portugal today, reported that Belenenses coach, Quim Machado said that Fernandes is heading out on a transfer.
Also after the game, Machado confirmed that Fernandes would be going to the US in a deal that had been agreed to in principal for Fernandes to leave the club.
Rui Pedro Soares, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Belenenses is also mentioned in the post, he states that the deal is basically done, that the only thing that needed to be done to finalize the deal was for the contract to be signed.
Zero Zero reports that the deal for Fernandes will cost Sporting KC $1.566 million dollars (1.5 million Euros). Not a bad piece of business for Belenenses who picked Fernandes up on a free transfer this summer from Estoril. The move would presumably make Fernandes a designated player for Sporting KC, requiring them to use TAM (Targeted Allocation Money) to pay down one of their existing DPs (Roger Espinoza, Diego Rubio, and Graham Zusi), or use a larger amount of TAM To pay down the cost for Fernandes. The transfer fee would be a deviation from Sporting KC's prior strategy of trying to find players available without a transfer fee, but the team has mentioned that they'd be willing to wade into the transfer market this winter.
If true, it'd appear that Sporting KC have their new starting winger to likely play opposite of Zusi, next to Dom Dwyer.
Also after the game, Machado confirmed that Fernandes would be going to the US in a deal that had been agreed to in principal for Fernandes to leave the club.
Rui Pedro Soares, the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Belenenses is also mentioned in the post, he states that the deal is basically done, that the only thing that needed to be done to finalize the deal was for the contract to be signed.
Zero Zero reports that the deal for Fernandes will cost Sporting KC $1.566 million dollars (1.5 million Euros). Not a bad piece of business for Belenenses who picked Fernandes up on a free transfer this summer from Estoril. The move would presumably make Fernandes a designated player for Sporting KC, requiring them to use TAM (Targeted Allocation Money) to pay down one of their existing DPs (Roger Espinoza, Diego Rubio, and Graham Zusi), or use a larger amount of TAM To pay down the cost for Fernandes. The transfer fee would be a deviation from Sporting KC's prior strategy of trying to find players available without a transfer fee, but the team has mentioned that they'd be willing to wade into the transfer market this winter.
If true, it'd appear that Sporting KC have their new starting winger to likely play opposite of Zusi, next to Dom Dwyer.
Sporting Select Dykstra in Re-Entry Draft
Sporting KC made a single move in Thursday's second stage of the re-entry draft, selecting goalkeeper Andrew Dykstra formerly of DC United. Sporting KC will now has the rights to make a bona fide offer to Dykstra over the next seven days.
Dykstra is a eight year MLS veteran having played with the Chicago Fire and DC United in career along with stints on loan to the Charleston Battery and Richmond Kickers. His predominately been a back up goalkeeper during his MLS career, his longest stretch as a starter was in 2010 when he started 17 games for the Chicago Fire. Last year he played just one league game for DC United, their season opening loss to the LA Galaxy 4-1. After that he lost the starting job to Travis Worra who played in goal until starter, Bill Hamid was ready to play. In 2015, Dykstra had started nine games for United.
If Sporting ends up signing Dykstra, he'd likely become Sporting KC's second choice goalkeeper after starter Tim Melia. This would allow new signing Adrian Zendejas to go on loan to the Swope Park Rangers for the season and allow him to get playing time, which is key for him at this point in his career. This would mean that Dykstra would get field time this year in the US Open Cup and the odd league start.
Dykstra is a eight year MLS veteran having played with the Chicago Fire and DC United in career along with stints on loan to the Charleston Battery and Richmond Kickers. His predominately been a back up goalkeeper during his MLS career, his longest stretch as a starter was in 2010 when he started 17 games for the Chicago Fire. Last year he played just one league game for DC United, their season opening loss to the LA Galaxy 4-1. After that he lost the starting job to Travis Worra who played in goal until starter, Bill Hamid was ready to play. In 2015, Dykstra had started nine games for United.
If Sporting ends up signing Dykstra, he'd likely become Sporting KC's second choice goalkeeper after starter Tim Melia. This would allow new signing Adrian Zendejas to go on loan to the Swope Park Rangers for the season and allow him to get playing time, which is key for him at this point in his career. This would mean that Dykstra would get field time this year in the US Open Cup and the odd league start.
Sporting Negotiating with Three Players, Including Former KC Defender, Juliao
Sporting KC could potentially have a familiar face return to the team in 2017, Sam McDowell had news today on a trio of players that Sporting KC is chasing, one of which is former Sporting KC defender, Igor Juliao. The Brazilian outside back spent the 2014 season on loan with Sporting KC from Brazilian side Fluminense as really the only tangible part of the partnership the two clubs agreed to just before the loan.
Juliao, at the time just 19 was forced into a starting job for Sporting KC early in the season as Sporting went through a major injury crisis on the back line that included losing starter, Chance Myers for the season to a ruptured Achilles. Taking over for Myers, Juliao made 23 appearances for KC in league play and added another three appearances in the CONCACAF Champions League. Since returning to Fluminense, Juliao has spent time on loan with three other Brazilian sides but has recently been making the bench for them since returning from a loan with Ferroviaria. Reports out of Brazil are saying that the deal is done, and the move will be a one year loan for Juliao who is still under contract to Fluminense through 2018.
For me, Juliao was a good attacking outside back, something that is needed in KC's system, but defensively he caused a number of issues for KC's back line. With Aurelien Collin as the right center back next to Juliao, Collin got pulled out wide to help cover for the hole Juliao left when he pushed forward many times. Doing so left a gap between Collin and Matt Besler, or Besler and Seth Sinovic that often got exploited by opposing teams. Coming back to KC though and with Saad Abdul-Salaam seemingly having established himself as KC's starting right back, Juliao would seem to be set to be his back up as the Chance Myers' era in KC looks done.
The other two players that Sporting is reportedly negotiating with are two players who have been previously linked in foreign media with a move to KC, Gerso Fernandes and Latif Blessing. Both players are wingers, Fernandes currently plays in Portugal with Belenenses, the same club as Oriol Rosell currently, a pacey winger would seem to be the highest profile of the three players that KC is currently talking to at this time. With Blessing, KC gets a younger player, about to turn 20, who I'd figured would have been a good fit for the Swope Park Rangers. There's still a chance he does spend some time there, but the golden boot winner and MVP of the Ghanaian league will provide more pace up top for Kansas City.
More than anything what these three players represent is exactly what Peter Vermes has talked about doing with the team this offseason, getting them younger and faster. It's been a long time since KC had real speed on the wings, something that would actually allow Sporting to be dangerous on the counter. Speed is also something that KC could use to break down teams. The question still will be finishing, and someone that can complement Dom Dwyer in the goals department. Fernandes has never really been a goal scorer in his career, and while Blessing is, there are certainly fair questions to ask about his ability to step up from the Ghanaian league to MLS.
Juliao, at the time just 19 was forced into a starting job for Sporting KC early in the season as Sporting went through a major injury crisis on the back line that included losing starter, Chance Myers for the season to a ruptured Achilles. Taking over for Myers, Juliao made 23 appearances for KC in league play and added another three appearances in the CONCACAF Champions League. Since returning to Fluminense, Juliao has spent time on loan with three other Brazilian sides but has recently been making the bench for them since returning from a loan with Ferroviaria. Reports out of Brazil are saying that the deal is done, and the move will be a one year loan for Juliao who is still under contract to Fluminense through 2018.
For me, Juliao was a good attacking outside back, something that is needed in KC's system, but defensively he caused a number of issues for KC's back line. With Aurelien Collin as the right center back next to Juliao, Collin got pulled out wide to help cover for the hole Juliao left when he pushed forward many times. Doing so left a gap between Collin and Matt Besler, or Besler and Seth Sinovic that often got exploited by opposing teams. Coming back to KC though and with Saad Abdul-Salaam seemingly having established himself as KC's starting right back, Juliao would seem to be set to be his back up as the Chance Myers' era in KC looks done.
The other two players that Sporting is reportedly negotiating with are two players who have been previously linked in foreign media with a move to KC, Gerso Fernandes and Latif Blessing. Both players are wingers, Fernandes currently plays in Portugal with Belenenses, the same club as Oriol Rosell currently, a pacey winger would seem to be the highest profile of the three players that KC is currently talking to at this time. With Blessing, KC gets a younger player, about to turn 20, who I'd figured would have been a good fit for the Swope Park Rangers. There's still a chance he does spend some time there, but the golden boot winner and MVP of the Ghanaian league will provide more pace up top for Kansas City.
More than anything what these three players represent is exactly what Peter Vermes has talked about doing with the team this offseason, getting them younger and faster. It's been a long time since KC had real speed on the wings, something that would actually allow Sporting to be dangerous on the counter. Speed is also something that KC could use to break down teams. The question still will be finishing, and someone that can complement Dom Dwyer in the goals department. Fernandes has never really been a goal scorer in his career, and while Blessing is, there are certainly fair questions to ask about his ability to step up from the Ghanaian league to MLS.
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Anor Move to Minnesota Looks Close - Former SKC Wizards Update
The long rumored permanent move of Bernardo Anor to Minnesota United looks to be almost done. Reports out of Minnesota today are that Minnesota United is set to bring Anor from their NASL side to the MLS side for the 2017 season. Anor had been on loan to Minnesota in 2016 but only played nine games due to injury. There's no specifics on what if anything KC would get for Anor's rights or what exactly his status with the team is, but if KC gets nothing it's doubtful the team would care that much.
Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Mechack Jerome
Neven Markovic
Rauwshan McKenzie
Victor Munoz
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz
MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Offseason.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - New England - Offseason.
Alec Kann - Atlanta - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Portland - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Offseason.
Jacob Peterson - Atlanta - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.
NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Offseason.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Offseason.
USL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Offseason.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Tomas Granitto - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ryan James - Rochester - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Alex Molano - Swope Park - Offseason.
Nansel Selbol - Swope Park - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Kris Tyrpak - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.
PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Played and scored a goal in Cedar Rapids' 6-3 win over St. Louis.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Didnot play in Baltimore's 8-4 win over Dallas.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in Dallas' 8-4 loss to Baltimore.
Boris Pardo - San Diego - Played in San Diego's 8-7 loss to Tacoma.
International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United- Sweden - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Did not dress in Belgrano's 2-0 loss to Rosario Central.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - No game until 1/7.
Sunil Chhetri - Mumbai City - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 90 minutes in Alajuelense's 3-2 loss to Santos de Guapiles.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in W Connection's 3-1 win over Police and their 4-0 win over Point Fortin.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 1-1 draw with Eibar.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Fall season over.
Faik Hajderovic - Vinograder - Croatia - No game until 2/25.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - No game until 1/24.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Offseason.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - No game until 2/4.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Started and played 67 minutes, scoring a goal in Al Gharafa's 2-1 win over El Jaish.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in either of Porto B's games.
Akeem Priestley - Metapan - El Salvador - Season over.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in Belnenses' 1-0 loss to Pacos de Ferreira.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Offseason.
Daniel Salloi - Gyirmot FC Gyor (loan) - Hungary - No game until 2/11.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/18.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 1-0 win over Accrington Stanley.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Dressed but did not play in Deveronvale's 5-0 win over Rothes.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Started and played 90 minutes in Atrmoitos' 3-0 cup win over Panthrakikos. Dressed but did not play in Atromitos' 3-0 loss to Platanias.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - No game until 2/18.
Here's the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Mechack Jerome
Neven Markovic
Rauwshan McKenzie
Victor Munoz
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz
MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Offseason.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - New England - Offseason.
Alec Kann - Atlanta - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Portland - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Offseason.
Jacob Peterson - Atlanta - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.
NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Offseason.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Offseason.
USL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Offseason.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Tomas Granitto - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ryan James - Rochester - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Alex Molano - Swope Park - Offseason.
Nansel Selbol - Swope Park - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Kris Tyrpak - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.
PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Played and scored a goal in Cedar Rapids' 6-3 win over St. Louis.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Didnot play in Baltimore's 8-4 win over Dallas.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in Dallas' 8-4 loss to Baltimore.
Boris Pardo - San Diego - Played in San Diego's 8-7 loss to Tacoma.
International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United- Sweden - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Did not dress in Belgrano's 2-0 loss to Rosario Central.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - No game until 1/7.
Sunil Chhetri - Mumbai City - India - Offseason.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 90 minutes in Alajuelense's 3-2 loss to Santos de Guapiles.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in W Connection's 3-1 win over Police and their 4-0 win over Point Fortin.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 1-1 draw with Eibar.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Fall season over.
Faik Hajderovic - Vinograder - Croatia - No game until 2/25.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - No game until 1/24.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Offseason.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - No game until 2/4.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Started and played 67 minutes, scoring a goal in Al Gharafa's 2-1 win over El Jaish.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in either of Porto B's games.
Akeem Priestley - Metapan - El Salvador - Season over.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in Belnenses' 1-0 loss to Pacos de Ferreira.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Offseason.
Daniel Salloi - Gyirmot FC Gyor (loan) - Hungary - No game until 2/11.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/18.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 1-0 win over Accrington Stanley.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Dressed but did not play in Deveronvale's 5-0 win over Rothes.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Started and played 90 minutes in Atrmoitos' 3-0 cup win over Panthrakikos. Dressed but did not play in Atromitos' 3-0 loss to Platanias.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - No game until 2/18.
Sporting Gaming the Homegrown Player Process Again
Sporting Kansas City may be trying to make use of a loop hole in Major League Soccer's homegrown player rules again with reports (since confirmed by the team) that the club has homegrown player rights on US youth international Josh Sargent.
Last year Sporting Kansas City signed Daniel Salloi to a homegrown player contract with the club. Salloi, who had previously been in the youth system of Ujpest FC, had spent a year in the United States as a foreign exchange student in Kansas City. During that time Salloi played with Sporting KC's academy team. Upon his return to Hungary, Salloi signed an amateur contract with Ujpest and appeared in 12 games for them. Then this past winter, Sporting was able to sign him to a homegrown contract because it was his first "professional" contract. It was a move that got little mention at the time, but the fact that KC was able to sign a player who had made professional appearances in Hungary to a homegrown player contract was a stretch of the homegrown player rule.
Peter Vermes looks to have stretched the rules a different way acquiring the rights of Sargent, who has never played in Sporting's academy. Vermes is taking a page out of the LA Galaxy's book, which acquired Jose Villarreal's homegrown rights the same way. Sporting KC can place claims on players that are in their geographic territory, which is Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. In Sargent's case, Sporting filed the claim last summer after he trained with the team before Sargent really emerged, including a stellar performance at this year's Nike Friendlies.
Before Sargent could play with Sporting's first team though, Sargent would need to fulfill the required training hours with the club, basically one year of time with the club. So Sargent could join the Sporting academy or play with the Swope Park Rangers to fulfill the requirement.
Of course that is assuming that Sargent wants to join an MLS team, Sargent is reportedly getting interest from clubs in Europe and turns 18 in 2018, he could bide his time for the next year, splitting time with his club, St. Louis Scott Gallagher and the US U17 national team before jumping to Europe.
While it makes sense for MLS teams to have regions that they can pull homegrown players from and I can't fault Vermes and Kansas City for taking advantage of the rules that MLS has set forward, I still find it crazy that KC can get homegrown player rights on a player that isn't "homegrown" in the sense that he wasn't developed in KC's system. In fact, in Sargent's case he was developed by a rival in the US Soccer Developmental Academy. But you can't blame Sporting KC for using the rules as they're currently laid out to their advantage when they can.
Last year Sporting Kansas City signed Daniel Salloi to a homegrown player contract with the club. Salloi, who had previously been in the youth system of Ujpest FC, had spent a year in the United States as a foreign exchange student in Kansas City. During that time Salloi played with Sporting KC's academy team. Upon his return to Hungary, Salloi signed an amateur contract with Ujpest and appeared in 12 games for them. Then this past winter, Sporting was able to sign him to a homegrown contract because it was his first "professional" contract. It was a move that got little mention at the time, but the fact that KC was able to sign a player who had made professional appearances in Hungary to a homegrown player contract was a stretch of the homegrown player rule.
Peter Vermes looks to have stretched the rules a different way acquiring the rights of Sargent, who has never played in Sporting's academy. Vermes is taking a page out of the LA Galaxy's book, which acquired Jose Villarreal's homegrown rights the same way. Sporting KC can place claims on players that are in their geographic territory, which is Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. In Sargent's case, Sporting filed the claim last summer after he trained with the team before Sargent really emerged, including a stellar performance at this year's Nike Friendlies.
Before Sargent could play with Sporting's first team though, Sargent would need to fulfill the required training hours with the club, basically one year of time with the club. So Sargent could join the Sporting academy or play with the Swope Park Rangers to fulfill the requirement.
Of course that is assuming that Sargent wants to join an MLS team, Sargent is reportedly getting interest from clubs in Europe and turns 18 in 2018, he could bide his time for the next year, splitting time with his club, St. Louis Scott Gallagher and the US U17 national team before jumping to Europe.
While it makes sense for MLS teams to have regions that they can pull homegrown players from and I can't fault Vermes and Kansas City for taking advantage of the rules that MLS has set forward, I still find it crazy that KC can get homegrown player rights on a player that isn't "homegrown" in the sense that he wasn't developed in KC's system. In fact, in Sargent's case he was developed by a rival in the US Soccer Developmental Academy. But you can't blame Sporting KC for using the rules as they're currently laid out to their advantage when they can.
MLS Release Home Openers, Sporting Have Three Games Announced
MLS today announced the home openers for all 22 MLS teams, and with that we know three of Sporting KC's games to start the season.
Sporting will have their home opener just one week later, on March 11th they'll welcome the defending Supporters' Shield winners, FC Dallas to Children's Mercy Park. Kansas City has one of the best records in home openers in all of MLS, with a 13-2-6 record in the first home game of the season. The game will hopefully be a sign of things to come for many Sporting KC fans this season, Saturday night games, as the game kicks off at 7:30 Central time. One of the big complaints I saw last season from a number of fans was the schedule that saw Kansas City have numerous different start times and a lack of Saturday games. Sporting obviously had little to do with this due to their being on national television so much. Hopefully KC will have a few more Saturday night games than the four they had in 2016.
The third game that is already on the schedule for Sporting KC is the fifth week of the season when Sporting KC will travel to BMO Field for Toronto FC's home opener. This will be the second time that KC will play Toronto in their home opener, the last time was when the stadium opened back in 2007, when Kansas City pulled out a 1-0 win on a goal by Eddie Johnson. Playing two Eastern Conference teams on the road so early in the season means that KC will have gotten two of their five or six East Coast road trips out of the way early in the season. This year Sporting is supposed to play DC, Toronto, Columbus, New York City, and Orlando on the road for sure, and could possibly play Atlanta as well, depending on how MLS breaks the schedule down. With getting two out of the way early it'll mean fewer road trips East later in the season.
The rest of the schedule is still scheduled to come out in January, when we'll see the club's first trip to Minnesota and the first time they play Atlanta.
Sporting Lose Peterson to Atlanta
Sporting Kansas City continued the makeover of their wings today as 2016's second leading scorer, Jacob Peterson is leaving the club to join expansion side, Atlanta United. Peterson was a free agent in MLS terms being over 28 with eight years of experience in the league, meaning he was free to sign with any club in the league. He chose the expansion Atlanta side who is putting together a fairly strong attacking front. Peterson will likely be a utility player for the club slotting in where needed to provide a spark and energy.
This is actually probably the best move for both Kansas City and Peterson. While Peterson is a "Vermes' guy" with his hustle and his willingness to play anywhere on the field, he's also set to turn 31 early in 2017 and should predominately be a backup. While he had a career high 18 starts for Kansas City in 2017, his hustle and work ethic really shouldn't make him a starter any more for KC. Kansas City should be to the point where if they need a Peterson it's as a bench player. KC has shown that they're ready to get younger on the wings, with four of the six to seven wingers from last season (six if you don't count Jimmy Medranda as one, seven if you do) already gone, and an eighth (Anor) also not coming back in 2017, KC is going to be doing a lot of rebuilding on the wing over the winter. For Peterson it gives him a chance to go somewhere and continue to contribute. I'm one of those that has grown to respect Peterson more over the course of his time in Kansas City for his style of play and how he seemed to leave it all on the field, while I'm happy for him, if the role here had been right I would have liked him to stay.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Silly Season Rumors: Sporting Chasing Ghanaian Golden Boot Winner
More rumors of Sporting Kansas City interest in attacking players, this time from Africa, where Sporting is reportedly interested in forward/winger Latif Blessing. Blessing, currently a member of Liberty Professionals FC in Ghana won the Ghanaian Premier League's golden boot and the league's MVP award this last season, scoring 17 goals for the Professionals.
Sporting is reportedly set to leap in front of Ajax Cape Town of South Africa who seemed set to sign the forward, even to the point of the club reportedly scheduling a medical for the player. Supposedly though Blessing is interested in moving out of Africa to continue playing.
The soon to be 20 year old appears to play on the wing, a position that Sporting Kansas City could certainly use some help in, but for me I have to wonder if Blessing is truly a Sporting KC target, or if he is instead a target for the Swope Park Rangers. If the reported $200,000 transfer fee being mentioned is true one would have to assume Sporting, but jumping straight into the Sporting team would seem a little surprising.
If KC is really interested in Blessing though there could be some complications in a move as a scout reportedly has Blessing's passport and doesn't seem to keen on handing it over to the player after what looks like a move to Tunisian club, CS Sfaxien didn't take place.
I'm still not sure what to make if this rumor, I still tend to lean towards this being a move for the Rangers if KC is really interested, but I also can't see KC interested in a transfer fee for a player that would be going to the club's USL affiliate.
Sporting is reportedly set to leap in front of Ajax Cape Town of South Africa who seemed set to sign the forward, even to the point of the club reportedly scheduling a medical for the player. Supposedly though Blessing is interested in moving out of Africa to continue playing.
The soon to be 20 year old appears to play on the wing, a position that Sporting Kansas City could certainly use some help in, but for me I have to wonder if Blessing is truly a Sporting KC target, or if he is instead a target for the Swope Park Rangers. If the reported $200,000 transfer fee being mentioned is true one would have to assume Sporting, but jumping straight into the Sporting team would seem a little surprising.
If KC is really interested in Blessing though there could be some complications in a move as a scout reportedly has Blessing's passport and doesn't seem to keen on handing it over to the player after what looks like a move to Tunisian club, CS Sfaxien didn't take place.
I'm still not sure what to make if this rumor, I still tend to lean towards this being a move for the Rangers if KC is really interested, but I also can't see KC interested in a transfer fee for a player that would be going to the club's USL affiliate.
Monday, December 19, 2016
Sporting Sign New TV Deal
After spending the last three years showing games on KMCI-TV, Sporting Kansas City will have a new broadcast home in 2017. The KC Star is reporting that Sporting is on the verge of signing a multi-year partnership with Fox Sports Kansas City to broadcast non-national Sporting KC games.
The new deal will have it's pluses and minuses for the club and it's fans. On the plus side, Sporting will now be working with a station that specializes in broadcasting sports, and as part of the deal, SKC will have access to some of FSKC's on-air production elements, which should increase the level of the broadcast going forward. It will also allow SKC to have a more centralized regional TV deal as some of KC's games will be on Fox Sports Midwest, broadcasting to all of MO, parts of Iowa and Nebraska as well. Sporting will also be able to have all games available on the Fox Sports Go app, another benefit of the move. While Sporting will still produce their own shows, hopefully the club will take advantage of the on-air production elements and return to having their announcers travel to the away games. That's something the club got away from late in the 2016 season and the production value of the games dropped dramatically because Nate Bukaty, Andy Gruenebaum, and Jake Yadrich would be calling the game from a screen in a studio in Kansas City.
There are some initial draw backs that come to mind though regarding the switch. While FSKC is used to broadcasting sports, the primary tenant on the channel will be the Kansas City Royals, who will obviously get top billing over Sporting KC. When there is an overlap, Sporting games would be moved to FSKC Plus. This is something that will certainly cause some ire among Sporting fans who won't want to go searching to try to find FSKC Plus when the Royals are playing (For those that had never even heard of FSKC Plus like me, here's a handy link to look at to see if you have it.). At least the club won't be in a situation of having tap delayed games like New York City FC have had with YES.
Another draw back of the move, at least in some fans' eyes is the move from broadcast TV. The argument many are making is that there are a growing number of younger Sporting fans who are "cord-cutters" and don't have any cable television, which will keep them from being able to watch the games at home.
There are certainly both benefits of the move and legitimate concerns that fans are right to have heading into the season.
Sporting's broadcast home isn't the only thing changing either, the Star reported that Bukaty will be the only on-air personality returning for games in 2017. Both Gruenebaum and Yadrich will no longer be part of the broadcast team on air. Yadrich for me will be the biggest loss from the team simply because of the knowledge and information that he would share during the entire broadcast (pre-game, game, and post game). Sporting is still struggling in many fans eyes to properly replace Callum Williams on calls for games.
Hopefully this ends up being a really good move for KC all around, making them look more professional and win over new fans on a channel specifically for sports.
The new deal will have it's pluses and minuses for the club and it's fans. On the plus side, Sporting will now be working with a station that specializes in broadcasting sports, and as part of the deal, SKC will have access to some of FSKC's on-air production elements, which should increase the level of the broadcast going forward. It will also allow SKC to have a more centralized regional TV deal as some of KC's games will be on Fox Sports Midwest, broadcasting to all of MO, parts of Iowa and Nebraska as well. Sporting will also be able to have all games available on the Fox Sports Go app, another benefit of the move. While Sporting will still produce their own shows, hopefully the club will take advantage of the on-air production elements and return to having their announcers travel to the away games. That's something the club got away from late in the 2016 season and the production value of the games dropped dramatically because Nate Bukaty, Andy Gruenebaum, and Jake Yadrich would be calling the game from a screen in a studio in Kansas City.
There are some initial draw backs that come to mind though regarding the switch. While FSKC is used to broadcasting sports, the primary tenant on the channel will be the Kansas City Royals, who will obviously get top billing over Sporting KC. When there is an overlap, Sporting games would be moved to FSKC Plus. This is something that will certainly cause some ire among Sporting fans who won't want to go searching to try to find FSKC Plus when the Royals are playing (For those that had never even heard of FSKC Plus like me, here's a handy link to look at to see if you have it.). At least the club won't be in a situation of having tap delayed games like New York City FC have had with YES.
Another draw back of the move, at least in some fans' eyes is the move from broadcast TV. The argument many are making is that there are a growing number of younger Sporting fans who are "cord-cutters" and don't have any cable television, which will keep them from being able to watch the games at home.
There are certainly both benefits of the move and legitimate concerns that fans are right to have heading into the season.
Sporting's broadcast home isn't the only thing changing either, the Star reported that Bukaty will be the only on-air personality returning for games in 2017. Both Gruenebaum and Yadrich will no longer be part of the broadcast team on air. Yadrich for me will be the biggest loss from the team simply because of the knowledge and information that he would share during the entire broadcast (pre-game, game, and post game). Sporting is still struggling in many fans eyes to properly replace Callum Williams on calls for games.
Hopefully this ends up being a really good move for KC all around, making them look more professional and win over new fans on a channel specifically for sports.
Sporting Miss Out on Social Media Campaign for Oduro
Today Sporting Kansas City got some disappointing news about a free agent that they had publicly been chasing on social media. Robb Heineman had been courting Montreal Impact forward, Dominic Oduro as a free agent singing in a string of four Tweets this past Friday night, Benny Feilhaber even got in on the recruiting campaign posting a tweet of his own. Heineman used a similar strategy last year with free agents Justin Mapp and Mike Magee and ending up attracting one of those two (Mapp) to Kansas City. While Heineman was recuriting him, Oduro gave ever indication that he didn't want to leave the Montreal Impact, stating that he wanted to stay with the club
Today though the Ghanian, who has played for seven different MLS clubs signed a new deal with the Impact, keeping him in Montreal for the next two years. And with the announcement, Impact fans have gone to gloating in Heineman's Twitter mentions. It's one of those situations that has made many fans just shake their heads now when Heineman tweets. I've said for a while now to take his tweets with a grain of salt, but many fans still take everyone serious and it has frustrated and upset a number of fans when tweets about potential player signings or rumors don't end up happening.
While I was certainly a fan of the idea of Sporting signing Oduro, I'm not surprised it didn't come off. Oduro seemed perfectly happy in Montreal, and was well liked by the fans there. KC though certainly do need speed on the wing, it's something that the club has lacked for years in multiple positions, a lack of speed leads to a lack of countering, putting KC in the position of having to break down a much more organized defense instead of hitting on the counter. The big questions for me had always been there though, how much it would cost to bring Oduro in and if he actually even wanted to move from Montreal. In the end the first question didn't matter because the answer to the second question was 100% no.
Today though the Ghanian, who has played for seven different MLS clubs signed a new deal with the Impact, keeping him in Montreal for the next two years. And with the announcement, Impact fans have gone to gloating in Heineman's Twitter mentions. It's one of those situations that has made many fans just shake their heads now when Heineman tweets. I've said for a while now to take his tweets with a grain of salt, but many fans still take everyone serious and it has frustrated and upset a number of fans when tweets about potential player signings or rumors don't end up happening.
While I was certainly a fan of the idea of Sporting signing Oduro, I'm not surprised it didn't come off. Oduro seemed perfectly happy in Montreal, and was well liked by the fans there. KC though certainly do need speed on the wing, it's something that the club has lacked for years in multiple positions, a lack of speed leads to a lack of countering, putting KC in the position of having to break down a much more organized defense instead of hitting on the counter. The big questions for me had always been there though, how much it would cost to bring Oduro in and if he actually even wanted to move from Montreal. In the end the first question didn't matter because the answer to the second question was 100% no.
Hi Robb! Sorry, not sorry! ¯\_(ć)_/¯ #IMFC https://t.co/o3pnKKJWyi— Impact de MontrĆ©al (@impactmontreal) December 19, 2016
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Silly Season Rumors: Sporting Chasing Honduran Forward Elis of Monterrey
Honduran international Alberth Elis announced today on his Instagram page that he was leaving Mexican club Monterrey. The 20 year old Elis, a member of Honduras' 2016 Olympic team had only joined Monterrey this past year and had featured four times for the club since joining in August from Olimpia in Honduras. Reports out of Mexico and Honduras tonight are reporting that the 20 year old is heading to MLS.
Honduras reports are suggesting that one of those MLS teams interested is Sporting KC, Diez is reporting that the MLS club would pay a portion of the salary while Monterrey would pay the rest. On the surface that sounds like it would be a loan move for the forward. Reportedly another MLS team interested is the Houston Dynamo, both clubs mentioned as rumored landing sports for Elis have Honduran internationals currently on the roster, Roger Espinoza in KC and Boniek Garcia in Houston. The report also states that the decision on where Elis will play could be made as early as Wednesday of this week, which could potentially go with this Robb Heineman's tweet from a few days ago about (Brian) Bliss "zero-ing in."
The 20 year old is a forward who scored four goals in Olympic qualifying for Honduras ahead of the 2016 games, and then scored twice for Honduras in Brazil, including once in a quarterfinal win over South Korea. Looking at some highlights from his time with the Olympic team it appears that Elis can play both in the middle and the wide positions in a three forward system, which is something that KC could certainly use on the roster right now. With the great winger purge happening in KC this offseason and Diego Rubio out until at least the summer recovering from an ACL tear KC needs players that can play on the wing as well as a center forward back up for Dom Dwyer if he gets hurt or needs a break. On the surface, Elis would seem to fill both of those needs.
While young, Elis' talent is quite apparent from what I've been watching of him and would certainly be an interesting signing if KC can pull it off.
Honduras reports are suggesting that one of those MLS teams interested is Sporting KC, Diez is reporting that the MLS club would pay a portion of the salary while Monterrey would pay the rest. On the surface that sounds like it would be a loan move for the forward. Reportedly another MLS team interested is the Houston Dynamo, both clubs mentioned as rumored landing sports for Elis have Honduran internationals currently on the roster, Roger Espinoza in KC and Boniek Garcia in Houston. The report also states that the decision on where Elis will play could be made as early as Wednesday of this week, which could potentially go with this Robb Heineman's tweet from a few days ago about (Brian) Bliss "zero-ing in."
The 20 year old is a forward who scored four goals in Olympic qualifying for Honduras ahead of the 2016 games, and then scored twice for Honduras in Brazil, including once in a quarterfinal win over South Korea. Looking at some highlights from his time with the Olympic team it appears that Elis can play both in the middle and the wide positions in a three forward system, which is something that KC could certainly use on the roster right now. With the great winger purge happening in KC this offseason and Diego Rubio out until at least the summer recovering from an ACL tear KC needs players that can play on the wing as well as a center forward back up for Dom Dwyer if he gets hurt or needs a break. On the surface, Elis would seem to fill both of those needs.
While young, Elis' talent is quite apparent from what I've been watching of him and would certainly be an interesting signing if KC can pull it off.
Comets Get First Road Win
The Kansas City Comets earned their first road win of the season on the third time of asking last night in Florida where the Comets took down the expansion Florida Tropics.
The Comets started the game with a very high press, keeping the Tropics pinned in their own end for much of the early going. KC was rewarded for the pressure with a goal off a set piece less than four minutes in as John Sosa laid the ball off the Leo Gibson who fired home from the corner of the box. The Comets continued the pressure but were unable to add to their lead until late in the quarter off another set piece. Off a corner Sosa played a ball through the middle of the box where Bryan Perez had made a run and just had to tap the ball into the net to put the Comets on top 2-0 as the quarter came to an end. The second quarter saw the Comets extend their lead to three goals six minutes in as Brian Harris raced down the wing to receive a pass, Harris' shot was saved but Ramone Palmer had continued his run to the top of the box where he fired the loose ball into the net to make it 3-0 to the Comets. Florida finally got themselves on the board in the final minute of the quarter on a counter attack as the Comets were searching to extend their lead. In a two on one situation Ricardo De Queiroz Diegues and Marco Rodriguez played a give and go to get Stephan Paterson to commit before Diegues finished to send the teams into the break with the Comets up 3-1.
Early in the third quarter the Tropics again cut into the lead, making it a single goal as Victor Rojas capitalized on a turnover by the Comets in their own end to make it 3-2. The Tropics continued to pressure trying to find an equalizer throughout the quarter. Late in the quarter though the Comets capitalized on a mistake by the Tropics defense to push their lead back to two goals as Perez jumped a pass by the Tropics goalkeeper. Racing in on goal, Perez fired a shot off the glass that went right to Stefan Stokic, who just had to tap the ball into the empty net to make it 4-2 heading into the final quarter.
The Comets were able to extend their lead to three goals less than four minutes into the fourth quarter as Gibson picked up a ball at midfield before playing it wide to Perez, who in turn fired the ball off the wall to Gibson at the top of the box. Gibson fired his shot on goal but it was blocked, Gibson reacted first to the rebound and slotted it home to put the Comets up 5-2. The three goal lead lasted less than two minutes before Diegues scored his second of the game off a beautiful back heel on a long ball into the box to make it 5-3. The Tropics pressed for another goal and after inserting the sixth attacker scored a fourth with just over three minutes left on a blast from long range by sixth attacker Victor Parreiras that hit off the underside of the cross bar and into the net. The Tropics continued pushing with the sixth attacker looking for an equalizer that they thought they had with just over a minute left after a shot and scramble in front of goal, but Paterson came away with it and the referees ruled it wasn't a goal. The Comets immediately countered and Stokic was brought down in the corner by Anthony Arico on a tackle born out of frustration for not getting the goal at the other end. A blue card was handed out and the Comets looked to see the game out. With the man advantage the Comets played keep away and eventually pulled the Tropics four defenders up field enough that Perez was sprung in behind the defense. He fed the ball into the middle for Gibson who got the Tropics goalkeeper to commit to him before sliding a pass back across goal for Perez who had set up at the far post to tap home to make it 6-4 to the Comets.
With the win KC move to 5-3 on the season and will host the same Tropics team on December 30th in their next game.
The Comets started the game with a very high press, keeping the Tropics pinned in their own end for much of the early going. KC was rewarded for the pressure with a goal off a set piece less than four minutes in as John Sosa laid the ball off the Leo Gibson who fired home from the corner of the box. The Comets continued the pressure but were unable to add to their lead until late in the quarter off another set piece. Off a corner Sosa played a ball through the middle of the box where Bryan Perez had made a run and just had to tap the ball into the net to put the Comets on top 2-0 as the quarter came to an end. The second quarter saw the Comets extend their lead to three goals six minutes in as Brian Harris raced down the wing to receive a pass, Harris' shot was saved but Ramone Palmer had continued his run to the top of the box where he fired the loose ball into the net to make it 3-0 to the Comets. Florida finally got themselves on the board in the final minute of the quarter on a counter attack as the Comets were searching to extend their lead. In a two on one situation Ricardo De Queiroz Diegues and Marco Rodriguez played a give and go to get Stephan Paterson to commit before Diegues finished to send the teams into the break with the Comets up 3-1.
Early in the third quarter the Tropics again cut into the lead, making it a single goal as Victor Rojas capitalized on a turnover by the Comets in their own end to make it 3-2. The Tropics continued to pressure trying to find an equalizer throughout the quarter. Late in the quarter though the Comets capitalized on a mistake by the Tropics defense to push their lead back to two goals as Perez jumped a pass by the Tropics goalkeeper. Racing in on goal, Perez fired a shot off the glass that went right to Stefan Stokic, who just had to tap the ball into the empty net to make it 4-2 heading into the final quarter.
The Comets were able to extend their lead to three goals less than four minutes into the fourth quarter as Gibson picked up a ball at midfield before playing it wide to Perez, who in turn fired the ball off the wall to Gibson at the top of the box. Gibson fired his shot on goal but it was blocked, Gibson reacted first to the rebound and slotted it home to put the Comets up 5-2. The three goal lead lasted less than two minutes before Diegues scored his second of the game off a beautiful back heel on a long ball into the box to make it 5-3. The Tropics pressed for another goal and after inserting the sixth attacker scored a fourth with just over three minutes left on a blast from long range by sixth attacker Victor Parreiras that hit off the underside of the cross bar and into the net. The Tropics continued pushing with the sixth attacker looking for an equalizer that they thought they had with just over a minute left after a shot and scramble in front of goal, but Paterson came away with it and the referees ruled it wasn't a goal. The Comets immediately countered and Stokic was brought down in the corner by Anthony Arico on a tackle born out of frustration for not getting the goal at the other end. A blue card was handed out and the Comets looked to see the game out. With the man advantage the Comets played keep away and eventually pulled the Tropics four defenders up field enough that Perez was sprung in behind the defense. He fed the ball into the middle for Gibson who got the Tropics goalkeeper to commit to him before sliding a pass back across goal for Perez who had set up at the far post to tap home to make it 6-4 to the Comets.
With the win KC move to 5-3 on the season and will host the same Tropics team on December 30th in their next game.
Wednesday, December 14, 2016
Onalfo Takes Over in LA - Former SKC Wizards Update
Sporting KC's last head coach before Peter Vermes now has a new head coaching position. After coaching "Los Dos," Los Angeles Galaxy 2, Curt Onalfo has been given the reigns of the first team after Bruce Arena's departure for the US men's national team recently. This will be Onalfo's third head coaching job in MLS, having previously coached the Wizards and DC United. In an odd twist both coaches who replaced Onalfo (Vermes in KC and Ben Olsen in DC) are still coaching there and are now the two longest tenured coaches in MLS after Arena's departure.
Elsewhere the news doesn't appear as good for another former KC player. The Jacksonville Armada have reportedly released all players on their roster from their contracts. The club, a member of the NASL currently is reportedly cutting salary ahead of a switch to the USL. Of the players who had their contracts terminated would be former defender Mechack Jerome.
Here is the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Neven Markovic
Victor Munoz
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz
MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Offseason.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 0-0 (5-4) shootout win over Toronto.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - New England - Offseason.
Alec Kann - Atlanta - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Portland - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.
NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
USL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Offseason.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Tomas Granitto - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ryan James - Rochester - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Alex Molano - Swope Park - Offseason.
Nansel Selbol - Swope Park - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Kris Tyrpak - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.
PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Did not play in Cedar Rapids' 8-7 win over KC.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Did not play in either of Baltimore's games.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in Dallas' 8-2 win over St. Louis.
Boris Pardo - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 9-3 win over Turlock.
International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United- Sweden - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Belgrano's 1-1 draw with Gimnasia La Plata.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - Fall season over.
Sunil Chhetri - Mumbai City - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Mumbai's 3-2 loss to Atletico de Kolkata. Started and played 90 minutes in Mumbai's 0-0 draw with Atletico de Kolkata.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 81 minutes in Alajuelense's 1-1 draw with Saprissa. Started and played 63 minutes in Alajuelense's 5-1 loss to Herediano.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in W Connection's 2-1 loss to Central.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 1-1 draw with Las Palmas.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Fall season over.
Faik Hajderovic - Vinograder - Croatia - No game until 2/25.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Dressed but did not play in Fluminense's 1-1 draw with Internacional.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Offseason.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Temuco's 2-0 loss to Universidad Catolica.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Did not dress in either of Al Gharafa's games.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Started and played 32 minutes in Porto B's 2-1 win over Sporting B.
Akeem Priestley - Metapan - El Salvador - Season over.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in Belenenses' 1-0 win over Maritimo.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Offseason.
Daniel Salloi - Gyirmot FC Gyor (loan) - Hungary - Started and played 90 minutes in Gyirmot's 1-0 loss to Diosgyor.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Did not dress in Wuppertaler's 1-0 loss to Rot-Weiss Essen.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 2-0 win over Doncaster.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Deveronvale's 2-0 loss to Cove Rangers.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Atromitos' 1-0 loss to Panathinaikos.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - Dressed but did not play in Kickers' 3-0 win over Teutonia.
Elsewhere the news doesn't appear as good for another former KC player. The Jacksonville Armada have reportedly released all players on their roster from their contracts. The club, a member of the NASL currently is reportedly cutting salary ahead of a switch to the USL. Of the players who had their contracts terminated would be former defender Mechack Jerome.
Here is the rest of this week's update.
Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Pablo Escobar
Brian Fekete
Jeferson
Neven Markovic
Victor Munoz
Jordi Quintilla
Brendan Ruiz
MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - New York - Offseason.
Marcel de Jong - Vancouver - Offseason.
Amadou Dia - Montreal - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Seattle - Dressed but did not play in Seattle's 0-0 (5-4) shootout win over Toronto.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - New England - Offseason.
Alec Kann - Atlanta - Offseason.
Chris Konopka - Portland - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
Amobi Okugo - Portland - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.
NASL
Bernardo Anor - Minnesota (loan) - Offseason.
Omar Bravo - Carolina - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
Michael Kafari - Puerto Rico - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Carolina - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
USL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Amer Didic - Swope Park - Offseason.
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Tomas Granitto - Swope Park - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ryan James - Rochester - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Alex Molano - Swope Park - Offseason.
Nansel Selbol - Swope Park - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Kris Tyrpak - San Antonio - Offseason.
Ualefi - Swope Park - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.
PDL
Adnan Gabeljic - San Francisco - Offseason.
Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Cedar Rapids - Did not play in Cedar Rapids' 8-7 win over KC.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Did not play in either of Baltimore's games.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in Dallas' 8-2 win over St. Louis.
Boris Pardo - San Diego - Did not play in San Diego's 9-3 win over Turlock.
International
Korede Aiyegbusi - AFC United- Sweden - Offseason.
Scott Angevine - YPA - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - Started and played 90 minutes in Belgrano's 1-1 draw with Gimnasia La Plata.
Reinaldo Brenes - Belen Siglo XXI - Fall season over.
Sunil Chhetri - Mumbai City - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Mumbai's 3-2 loss to Atletico de Kolkata. Started and played 90 minutes in Mumbai's 0-0 draw with Atletico de Kolkata.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Started and played 81 minutes in Alajuelense's 1-1 draw with Saprissa. Started and played 63 minutes in Alajuelense's 5-1 loss to Herediano.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Trinidad - Started and played 90 minutes in W Connection's 2-1 loss to Central.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 1-1 draw with Las Palmas.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Fall season over.
Faik Hajderovic - Vinograder - Croatia - No game until 2/25.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Fluminense - Brazil - Dressed but did not play in Fluminense's 1-1 draw with Internacional.
Igor Kostrov - Slavia-Mozyr - Belarus - Offseason.
Luis Marin - CD Temuco - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Temuco's 2-0 loss to Universidad Catolica.
Michal Mravec - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Krisztian Nemeth - Al-Gharafa - Qatar - Did not dress in either of Al Gharafa's games.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Porto (loan) - Portugal - Started and played 32 minutes in Porto B's 2-1 win over Sporting B.
Akeem Priestley - Metapan - El Salvador - Season over.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Belenenses (Sporting Club de Portugal)(loan) - Portugal - Did not dress in Belenenses' 1-0 win over Maritimo.
Soony Saad - Pattaya United (BEC Tero Sasana) - Offseason.
Daniel Salloi - Gyirmot FC Gyor (loan) - Hungary - Started and played 90 minutes in Gyirmot's 1-0 loss to Diosgyor.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - Did not dress in Wuppertaler's 1-0 loss to Rot-Weiss Essen.
Yann Songo'o - Plymouth Argyle - England - Started and played 90 minutes in Plymouth's 2-0 win over Doncaster.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Came off the bench and played 4 minutes in Deveronvale's 2-0 loss to Cove Rangers.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Came off the bench and played 27 minutes in Atromitos' 1-0 loss to Panathinaikos.
Matt Taylor - Kickers Offenbach - Dressed but did not play in Kickers' 3-0 win over Teutonia.
A Look at the Failure that Was the First MLS Free Agent Signing
During the most recent collective bargaining between the MLS players union and the league, one of the big points that the players were fighting for was free agency within the league as when players contracts expire the team they were with could make them a "bona fide" offer and retain their MLS rights. In the end, the players got some of what they wanted, they got a little bit of free agency, players that were 28 years or older and had at least eight years of experience in the league now earned themselves free agency when they were out of contract or had their options declined. Last offseason was the first time players were free agents within MLS as 27 players met the requirements for free agency within MLS.
Along with re-signing their lone free agent, Paulo Nagamura, Sporting Kansas City also became the first team to actually utilize MLS free agency, signing Justin Mapp from the Montreal Impact as the league's first free agent. Mapp was signed to be a depth piece on the wing and start some while Krisztian Nemeth was on international duty. With the addition later of Brad Davis, Sporting looked set on the wings for the season. Then came the Nemeth transfer which turned the wing position into what looked like a platoon between Davis and Mapp. Then Mapp got hurt, got hurt again, played a game, got hurt again, played a couple more games, then got hurt and missed the rest of the season leaving Kansas City in the position of having to play an aging Brad Davis more early on or rely on Connor Hallisey to try to help with the offense. Eventually KC got a career year from Jacob Peterson to sort of help fill the gap, but the string of all those events made the Mapp signing look worse and worse with each passing day and each passing game. Mapp finished the 2016 season making just six appearances for Kansas City, playing 43 minutes. How bad was Mapp's free agent signing for Kansas City? Here's a look at the 27 players that were free agents ahead of the 2016 season and how they ended up (all stats are their stats in league play only).
GK Jon Busch (Chicago Fire) - Signed with NASL's Indy XI.
GK Troy Perkins (Seattle Sounders) - Did not sign with anyone.
GK Kyle Reynish (New York Red Bulls) - Re-signed with New York played 0 games. Salary: $62,500 base and guaranteed compensation.
GK Andrew Weber (Portland Timbers) - Did not sign with anyone.
DF Corey Ashe (Orlando City SC) Signed with Columbus played 18 games, starting 14 of them, playing 1,214 minutes and recording four assists. Salary $95,000 base, $105,500 guaranteed compensation.
DF Bobby Burling (Colorado Rapids) - Re-signed with Colorado, played 16 games, starting all of them, playing 1,415 minutes and scoring one goal. Salary, $110,000 base, $116,000 guaranteed compensation.
DF Ty Harden (Chicago Fire) - Did not sign with anyone.
DF Michael Harrington (Colorado Rapids) - Signed with Chicago, playing in 19 games, starting 16 of them, totally 1,291 minutes and recording 1 assist. Salary $125,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
DF Stephen Keel (FC Dallas) - Did not sign with anyone.
DF Drew Moor (Colorado Rapids) - Signed with Toronto and played 32 games starting all of them, playing 2,880 minutes and scoring 3 goals. Salary was $235,000 base, $250,000 guaranteed compensation.
DF James Riley (Colorado Rapids) - Did not sign with anyone.
MF Eric Avila (Orlando City SC) - Signed with the NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies.
MF Brian Carroll (Philadelphia Union) - Re-signed with Philadelphia playing 26 games, starting 23 of them, while playing 2,094 minutes and scoring one goal. Salary $120,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo) - Re-signed with Houston, playing 32 games, starting 29 of them, while playing 2,551 minutes, scoring four goals and adding four assists. Salary $319,200 base, $356,700 guaranteed compensation.
MF Ned Grabavoy (New York City FC) - Signed with Portland, playing 22 games while starting five, playing 632 minutes. Salary $150,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Nick LaBrocca (Colorado Rapids) - Signed with Chicago, playing 12 games, starting five of them totaling 514 minutes and one assist. Salary $110,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Jeff Larentowicz (Chicago Fire) - Signed with LA and played 23 games, starting 17 of them playing 1,501 minutes, scoring one goal and one assist. Salary $175,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Justin Mapp (Montreal Impact) - Signed with KC, playing in six games for 43 minutes. Salary $224,070 base, $239,070 guaranteed compensation.
MF Paulo Nagamura (Sporting Kansas City) - Re-signed with KC, playing in nine games, starting six of them totaling 526 minutes recording one assist. Salary $225,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Khari Stephenson (San Jose Earthquakes) - Did not sign with anyone.
MF Nathan Sturgis (Houston Dynamo) - Signed with Seattle but played no games. Salary $62,508 base and guaranteed compensation.
FW Chad Barrett (Seattle Sounders) - Signed with San Jose playing in 20 games, starting three of them while totaling 531 minutes played, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Salary $90,000 base, $95,500 guaranteed compensation.
FW Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy) - Did not sign with anyone.
FW Conor Casey (Philadelphia Union) - Signed with Columbus making four appearances for 35 minutes. Salary $105,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
FW Kenny Cooper (Montreal Impact) - Did not sign with anyone.
FW Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy) - Re-signed with LA playing in 22 games, starting seven of them for 710 minutes, scoring three goals and adding an assist. Salary $170,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
FW Mike Magee (Chicago Fire) - Signed with LA, playing 30 games, starting 16 of them while playing 1,467 minutes, scoring six goals and adding four assists. Salary $250,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
Looking at the performance of all the other free agents last year, Mapp's performance stands out, especially in comparison with his salary. Mapp ended up with the fifth highest salary of free agents in terms of base salary (behind Clark, Magee, Moor, and Nagamura) and the fourth highest in guaranteed compensation (in front of Nagamura). The salary combined with the performance by Mapp is one of the lead causes to the frustration with his performance (along with the circumstances I mentioned about regarding player movement), if Mapp had been making close to the amount that Conor Casey was making for Columbus last season, I doubt the complaining would be at the level it is among fans. Casey made less than half of what Mapp made ($105,000), so even though he actually made fewer appearances and played fewer minutes he doesn't seem to be looked at by Crew fans in the same sense as Mapp does here. Mapp's inability to even make the bench because of his string of injuries combined with his $224,070 base salary puts a sour taste in a lot of peoples' mouths. He made over $37,000 per appearance for Kansas City on the field and over $5,200 per minute played. The only players to play fewer minutes than Mapp did are the aforementioned Casey and two players that made no league appearances, Kyle Reynish and Nathan Sturgis and both of those players were making the senior roster minimum of $62,500, they were end of the bench players not expected to contribute much at all. So while there are players that have played fewer minutes than Mapp, no one comes close in terms of that combined with salary.
In fact, the only player that comes even a little close is his teammate, Nagamura. While I appreciate everything he has done for the club, Nagamura has been one of those players the last couple years where you look at the salary he's making, look at his contribution on the field and ask yourself if he should be making that much. Nagamura though is a little easier to justify when he does actually get on the field. The other thing working in Nagamura's favor is while he only played in nine games, he was available for more on the bench but was not subbed into the game, unlike Mapp.
While Nagamura was a better contribution to the team than Mapp this season, KC still used almost $450,000 of cap space on a pair of players that made just 15 league appearances, started six games, played 569 minutes and contributed to a grand total of one goal for KC. The only team that spent more on free agents in 2016 in terms of cap space is the LA Galaxy who used just under $600,000 to sign two new players (Jeff Larentowicz and Mike Magee) and re-sign one (Alan Gordon), but even with that much money spent they at least got production from those three players as they made 75 appearances, 3,678 minutes played and contributed to 16 goals for the Galaxy. That's not good enough for Sporting KC, especially for a team that isn't going to draw in the big name players, or likely spend $7 million on a transfer fee for a player, KC has to get more out of those players in the upper-middle range of salaries on the team. The pair certainly aren't the only reason for KC's struggles in 2016, the club had a number of players in 2016 not play to their abilities or to their perceived value based on their salaries, but it certainly didn't help having that much cap space tied up in those two players. Mapp for his part is already the worst free agent signing in the young history of MLS having free agency amongst its clubs, and given his salary and performance on the field likely has to be considered one of the worst signings in KC Wizards/Sporting KC history.
Along with re-signing their lone free agent, Paulo Nagamura, Sporting Kansas City also became the first team to actually utilize MLS free agency, signing Justin Mapp from the Montreal Impact as the league's first free agent. Mapp was signed to be a depth piece on the wing and start some while Krisztian Nemeth was on international duty. With the addition later of Brad Davis, Sporting looked set on the wings for the season. Then came the Nemeth transfer which turned the wing position into what looked like a platoon between Davis and Mapp. Then Mapp got hurt, got hurt again, played a game, got hurt again, played a couple more games, then got hurt and missed the rest of the season leaving Kansas City in the position of having to play an aging Brad Davis more early on or rely on Connor Hallisey to try to help with the offense. Eventually KC got a career year from Jacob Peterson to sort of help fill the gap, but the string of all those events made the Mapp signing look worse and worse with each passing day and each passing game. Mapp finished the 2016 season making just six appearances for Kansas City, playing 43 minutes. How bad was Mapp's free agent signing for Kansas City? Here's a look at the 27 players that were free agents ahead of the 2016 season and how they ended up (all stats are their stats in league play only).
GK Jon Busch (Chicago Fire) - Signed with NASL's Indy XI.
GK Troy Perkins (Seattle Sounders) - Did not sign with anyone.
GK Kyle Reynish (New York Red Bulls) - Re-signed with New York played 0 games. Salary: $62,500 base and guaranteed compensation.
GK Andrew Weber (Portland Timbers) - Did not sign with anyone.
DF Corey Ashe (Orlando City SC) Signed with Columbus played 18 games, starting 14 of them, playing 1,214 minutes and recording four assists. Salary $95,000 base, $105,500 guaranteed compensation.
DF Bobby Burling (Colorado Rapids) - Re-signed with Colorado, played 16 games, starting all of them, playing 1,415 minutes and scoring one goal. Salary, $110,000 base, $116,000 guaranteed compensation.
DF Ty Harden (Chicago Fire) - Did not sign with anyone.
DF Michael Harrington (Colorado Rapids) - Signed with Chicago, playing in 19 games, starting 16 of them, totally 1,291 minutes and recording 1 assist. Salary $125,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
DF Stephen Keel (FC Dallas) - Did not sign with anyone.
DF Drew Moor (Colorado Rapids) - Signed with Toronto and played 32 games starting all of them, playing 2,880 minutes and scoring 3 goals. Salary was $235,000 base, $250,000 guaranteed compensation.
DF James Riley (Colorado Rapids) - Did not sign with anyone.
MF Eric Avila (Orlando City SC) - Signed with the NASL's Tampa Bay Rowdies.
MF Brian Carroll (Philadelphia Union) - Re-signed with Philadelphia playing 26 games, starting 23 of them, while playing 2,094 minutes and scoring one goal. Salary $120,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Ricardo Clark (Houston Dynamo) - Re-signed with Houston, playing 32 games, starting 29 of them, while playing 2,551 minutes, scoring four goals and adding four assists. Salary $319,200 base, $356,700 guaranteed compensation.
MF Ned Grabavoy (New York City FC) - Signed with Portland, playing 22 games while starting five, playing 632 minutes. Salary $150,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Nick LaBrocca (Colorado Rapids) - Signed with Chicago, playing 12 games, starting five of them totaling 514 minutes and one assist. Salary $110,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Jeff Larentowicz (Chicago Fire) - Signed with LA and played 23 games, starting 17 of them playing 1,501 minutes, scoring one goal and one assist. Salary $175,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Justin Mapp (Montreal Impact) - Signed with KC, playing in six games for 43 minutes. Salary $224,070 base, $239,070 guaranteed compensation.
MF Paulo Nagamura (Sporting Kansas City) - Re-signed with KC, playing in nine games, starting six of them totaling 526 minutes recording one assist. Salary $225,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
MF Khari Stephenson (San Jose Earthquakes) - Did not sign with anyone.
MF Nathan Sturgis (Houston Dynamo) - Signed with Seattle but played no games. Salary $62,508 base and guaranteed compensation.
FW Chad Barrett (Seattle Sounders) - Signed with San Jose playing in 20 games, starting three of them while totaling 531 minutes played, scoring two goals and adding an assist. Salary $90,000 base, $95,500 guaranteed compensation.
FW Edson Buddle (LA Galaxy) - Did not sign with anyone.
FW Conor Casey (Philadelphia Union) - Signed with Columbus making four appearances for 35 minutes. Salary $105,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
FW Kenny Cooper (Montreal Impact) - Did not sign with anyone.
FW Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy) - Re-signed with LA playing in 22 games, starting seven of them for 710 minutes, scoring three goals and adding an assist. Salary $170,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
FW Mike Magee (Chicago Fire) - Signed with LA, playing 30 games, starting 16 of them while playing 1,467 minutes, scoring six goals and adding four assists. Salary $250,000 base and guaranteed compensation.
Looking at the performance of all the other free agents last year, Mapp's performance stands out, especially in comparison with his salary. Mapp ended up with the fifth highest salary of free agents in terms of base salary (behind Clark, Magee, Moor, and Nagamura) and the fourth highest in guaranteed compensation (in front of Nagamura). The salary combined with the performance by Mapp is one of the lead causes to the frustration with his performance (along with the circumstances I mentioned about regarding player movement), if Mapp had been making close to the amount that Conor Casey was making for Columbus last season, I doubt the complaining would be at the level it is among fans. Casey made less than half of what Mapp made ($105,000), so even though he actually made fewer appearances and played fewer minutes he doesn't seem to be looked at by Crew fans in the same sense as Mapp does here. Mapp's inability to even make the bench because of his string of injuries combined with his $224,070 base salary puts a sour taste in a lot of peoples' mouths. He made over $37,000 per appearance for Kansas City on the field and over $5,200 per minute played. The only players to play fewer minutes than Mapp did are the aforementioned Casey and two players that made no league appearances, Kyle Reynish and Nathan Sturgis and both of those players were making the senior roster minimum of $62,500, they were end of the bench players not expected to contribute much at all. So while there are players that have played fewer minutes than Mapp, no one comes close in terms of that combined with salary.
In fact, the only player that comes even a little close is his teammate, Nagamura. While I appreciate everything he has done for the club, Nagamura has been one of those players the last couple years where you look at the salary he's making, look at his contribution on the field and ask yourself if he should be making that much. Nagamura though is a little easier to justify when he does actually get on the field. The other thing working in Nagamura's favor is while he only played in nine games, he was available for more on the bench but was not subbed into the game, unlike Mapp.
While Nagamura was a better contribution to the team than Mapp this season, KC still used almost $450,000 of cap space on a pair of players that made just 15 league appearances, started six games, played 569 minutes and contributed to a grand total of one goal for KC. The only team that spent more on free agents in 2016 in terms of cap space is the LA Galaxy who used just under $600,000 to sign two new players (Jeff Larentowicz and Mike Magee) and re-sign one (Alan Gordon), but even with that much money spent they at least got production from those three players as they made 75 appearances, 3,678 minutes played and contributed to 16 goals for the Galaxy. That's not good enough for Sporting KC, especially for a team that isn't going to draw in the big name players, or likely spend $7 million on a transfer fee for a player, KC has to get more out of those players in the upper-middle range of salaries on the team. The pair certainly aren't the only reason for KC's struggles in 2016, the club had a number of players in 2016 not play to their abilities or to their perceived value based on their salaries, but it certainly didn't help having that much cap space tied up in those two players. Mapp for his part is already the worst free agent signing in the young history of MLS having free agency amongst its clubs, and given his salary and performance on the field likely has to be considered one of the worst signings in KC Wizards/Sporting KC history.
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Sporting Sign Three to New Contracts, Lose One in Expansion Draft
Sporting Kansas City continued their work with their roster ahead of the 2017 MLS season. Today the club announced that they had signed three players to new contracts, but then lost one of those three players in the expansion draft.
First today the club announced that they had agreed to new contracts with homegrown defender Kevin Ellis, back up goalkeeper Alec Kann, and midfielder/defender Jimmy Medranda. Ellis, KC's second ever homegrown player, has enjoyed a good run with the team over the past couple years, becoming a regular at center back for Kansas City in the 2015 season after an injury to Ike Opara. This past season, Ellis became a spot starter for Sporting KC, but by the end of the season was Peter Vermes' preferred partner to Matt Besler in KC's back line. He certainly has his share of detractors among fans, but seems to have established himself in Vermes' system as a guy that Vermes feels he can rely on.
Medranda enjoyed a break out season for Kansas City after a position change. In 2015 Medranda had played a couple games at left back, to varying degrees of success, and eventually the idea was scraped. In 2016 though Medranda again found time at left back and seemed to make the position his own becoming a consistent starter, playing in 29 games and starting 22 of them for KC. He did surprisingly well on the defensive side of the ball providing KC with an attack from the left back position as well. The club has said they see his future further up the field, but his ability to play left back is something that Vermes is certain to use from time to time.
The last of the three signed also had the most interesting day as Kann signed his new deal with KC and then was promptly selected by Atlanta United with their final pick of today's expansion draft. Kann had appeared in 10 games for Sporting last season across all competitions, appearing in the league, the Open Cup, and the CCL for Kansas City spelling Tim Melia. He'd shown some good ability in goal and looked to be a decent back up goalkeeper that KC picked up in the re-entry draft last year. His new contract didn't last long in Kansas City though as shortly after KC announced the three signings, the expansion draft started and Kann was selected by Atlanta United with their fifth and final pick, the second goalkeeper they'd taken after Clint Irwin of Toronto. Irwin though has already been traded back to Toronto leaving Kann, as one of two goalkeepers on the roster. The Decatur, Georgia native would right now appear to be the club's starter, but with the rumors of Brad Guzan coming in, Kann looks like a good local product to have as a backup goalkeeper in MLS.
Monday, December 12, 2016
A Look at Who Sporting KC Exposed in the Expansion Draft
All MLS teams today announced their 11 protected players ahead of tomorrow's expansion draft where Minnesota United and Atlanta United will each select five players to help make up their roster. Sporting can only lose one player of those that they have made available, if any player from KC is selected, no other player can be taken from Kansas City.
Starting with who Sporting KC protected, you can take a look at my thoughts originally on who KC should protect and why, because I got KC's 11 100% correct there. Kansas City protected: Saad Abdul-Salaam, Matt Besler, Dom Dwyer, Roger Espinoza, Benny Feilhaber, Jimmy Medranda, Tim Melia, Soni Mustivar, Ike Opara, Diego Rubio, and Graham Zusi. The club will also be automatically protecting their four homegrown players: Kevin Ellis, Jon Kempin, Erik Palmer-Brown, and Daniel Salloi. So KC will have 15 players protected from being taken tomorrow, a group that is the core of the team at this moment.
With those players protected, there are 14 players available to be taken from Kansas City in tomorrow's draft: Ever Alvarado, Emmanuel Appiah, Nuno Coelho, Brad Davis, Connor Hallisey, Benji Joya, Alec Kann, Justin Mapp, Chance Myers, Paulo Nagamura, Lawrence Olum, Jacob Peterson, Cameron Porter, and Seth Sinovic. Of those players, four have contracts currently with MLS in 2017, Joya, Olum, Porter, and Sinovic, while the rest of the group is out of contract or had options declined.
What are the chances that a KC player could be taken tomorrow? I think the chances are kind of low, while there are players from KC that could be taken, I think there is other talent available in the draft that will see 10 players taken before a KC player goes. Here's a look at my thoughts on the players available and their chances to be taken.
The retirees
This is the easy one, Brad Davis and the newly retired Paulo Nagamura aren't going to be taken tomorrow, and both have announced their retirement from professional soccer, Davis to work with his brother, Nagamura to take a job as an assistant coach with the Swope Park Rangers. Neither of those two are being selected.
The free agents
KC has three free agents on the roster after removing the previously mentioned retiring Nagamura: Justin Mapp, Chance Myers, and Jacob Peterson. Originally I wanted to say that there wasn't a chance that Atlanta and Minnesota would select a player eligible for free agency within MLS, when they could just sign with any club later in the day when teams can start negotiating with free agents. But as was pointed out to me, having initial bargaining rights to a player means that if you do sign them they don't count against the two free agents MLS teams are allowed to sign each offseason. Also working in the favor of drafting a free agent would be $50,000 in allocation money if you don't end up signing the player that KC would lose if any of the three are taken.
While that makes me re-think it a little bit it still doesn't make me change my mind though. With only five picks each in this year's draft I don't think either team will be that interested in taking a flyer on a player who may leave hours later or they'll get nothing for him. If either team were to select one of KC's free agents, it would have to be Myers or Peterson. Mapp showed nothing this year that would make a team want to use a spot on him, making just six appearances. Myers would be a good candidate to start at an outside back position for an expansion team and Peterson would be good as a guy that will give 100% each time he steps on the field. Both things that would help out expansion teams. But with only five spots and the lack of a guarantee of keeping him, it doesn't make sense to me for either team to risk taking one of KC's free agents.
The internationals
Kansas City had to protect at least three of their five internationals that were available for the draft, Sporting protected the minimum choosing to protect Jimmy Medranda, Soni Mustivar, and Diego Rubio, leaving Honduran Ever Alvarado and Portuguese center back Nuno Coelho available. While Alvarado may seem like an appealing option, his lack of play at the MLS level would certainly be something that would cause pause, especially with players like Chris Duvall and Michael Harrington available for selection that can both play outside back. With Coelho, his big drawback would be his salary and his injury history, which was on display this season. The other thing that may cause pause for both teams is the international roster spot both players would take up. Atlanta has just two spots left after trading for one yesterday, and while Minnesota hasn't used one they may be more inclined to find their own.
Those already under contract
Four of the players that Kansas City exposed are actually already under contract for the 2017 season: Benji Joya, Lawrence Olum, Cameron Porter, and Seth Sinovic. If there's an area that I could see Atlanta or Minnesota taking a player from it is probably here. At the same time though I'm still not sure that any of these players are taken. First you have Joya and Porter who are both cheap options, but are both likely on the reserve roster at this time. Expansion draft rules state that if a player selected is on a team's reserve roster they have to be offered a senior roster spot by the team that drafted them. While Joya showed flashes in the final CCL game and Porter has scored twice in the CCL, neither has shown enough in my opinion over their playing career to warrant grabbing them and giving them a senior roster spot.
The other two though is where things could get interesting. You have Olum, who was injured in the latter half of 2016, he still made 19 appearance and started half of KC's league games this year. He also scored two goals and can play both center back and defensive midfielder. Olum also has a history in Minnesota, playing for the Minnesota Thunder in the USL in 2009. A return back to Minnesota is certainly something that could be possible, especially with a salary of only $105,000, although his age (32) is certainly something both Minnesota and Atlanta would question.
Sinovic on the surface would seem like a prime candidate to be taken because while he turns 30 in January, he's still proven to be a regular starter for Kansas City. And like Olum, he's only making $105,000. The down side though is that he's already once threatened to retire when taken in an expansion draft, back in 2011 when Montreal selected him. KC ended up traded Davy Arnaud to the Impact to get Sinovic back. Would Kansas City do something similar this time around if Sinovic is taken? He seems to be the best left back to work with Matt Besler, but he has never seemed to be the same since the concussion issues he had last year.
The rest
That leaves just three other players that could be available to be taken in the draft, Emmanuel Appiah, Connor Hallisey, and Alec Kann. Like with Joya and Porter above, Appiah is technically on the reserve roster and would have to jump to the senior roster if they're selected. Appiah didn't show a whole lot in his minimal appearances to think he'd be worth the jump to the senior roster. As for Kann, while he showed some flashes in net for Kansas City, I'm not sure it's an area of concern for KC that he'll be taken. Atlanta already has one goalkeeper and is reported set to get Brad Guzan, so their likelihood of taking Kann seems low. For Minnesota, if they're wanting a starting goalkeeper, there are players available for selection, like Clint Irwin, Steven Clark, and Chris Seitz, three goalkeepers who were regular starters for their clubs this past season, with Irwin especially not being extremely expensive I'd expect one of them to go before Kann. I'd also expect that Minnesota wouldn't take two goalkeepers in their five picks, meaning that Kann is likely safe as well. That leaves Hallisey, who is still young at just 23, but will be 24 before the next season starts. He at times looked like he was just about ready to really put things together, but then minutes later would look like a player that had no business being on the field at this level. He's probably the only one from this list that really seems like one who could be chosen. He could be one of those players who just isn't going to work out in Vermes' system and could become a solid squad player in a different system.
When it comes down to it, I think there are two, maybe three, players that you could really look at for selection by Minnesota or Atlanta tomorrow, and that'd be Olum, Sinovic, and Hallisey. Both Olum and Sinovic are under contract for the 2017 season and have shown themselves quite capable in the league. Both are getting a little older, but would provide some veteran presence for an expansion team if they were selected. With Hallisey you have a player who is still relatively young player who is not going to take a lot of cap space. A player that shows some flashes and has experience in the league. I'm still not sure any of those three or anyone from KC for that matter are taken, but those in my mind seem the three most likely.
Starting with who Sporting KC protected, you can take a look at my thoughts originally on who KC should protect and why, because I got KC's 11 100% correct there. Kansas City protected: Saad Abdul-Salaam, Matt Besler, Dom Dwyer, Roger Espinoza, Benny Feilhaber, Jimmy Medranda, Tim Melia, Soni Mustivar, Ike Opara, Diego Rubio, and Graham Zusi. The club will also be automatically protecting their four homegrown players: Kevin Ellis, Jon Kempin, Erik Palmer-Brown, and Daniel Salloi. So KC will have 15 players protected from being taken tomorrow, a group that is the core of the team at this moment.
With those players protected, there are 14 players available to be taken from Kansas City in tomorrow's draft: Ever Alvarado, Emmanuel Appiah, Nuno Coelho, Brad Davis, Connor Hallisey, Benji Joya, Alec Kann, Justin Mapp, Chance Myers, Paulo Nagamura, Lawrence Olum, Jacob Peterson, Cameron Porter, and Seth Sinovic. Of those players, four have contracts currently with MLS in 2017, Joya, Olum, Porter, and Sinovic, while the rest of the group is out of contract or had options declined.
What are the chances that a KC player could be taken tomorrow? I think the chances are kind of low, while there are players from KC that could be taken, I think there is other talent available in the draft that will see 10 players taken before a KC player goes. Here's a look at my thoughts on the players available and their chances to be taken.
The retirees
This is the easy one, Brad Davis and the newly retired Paulo Nagamura aren't going to be taken tomorrow, and both have announced their retirement from professional soccer, Davis to work with his brother, Nagamura to take a job as an assistant coach with the Swope Park Rangers. Neither of those two are being selected.
The free agents
KC has three free agents on the roster after removing the previously mentioned retiring Nagamura: Justin Mapp, Chance Myers, and Jacob Peterson. Originally I wanted to say that there wasn't a chance that Atlanta and Minnesota would select a player eligible for free agency within MLS, when they could just sign with any club later in the day when teams can start negotiating with free agents. But as was pointed out to me, having initial bargaining rights to a player means that if you do sign them they don't count against the two free agents MLS teams are allowed to sign each offseason. Also working in the favor of drafting a free agent would be $50,000 in allocation money if you don't end up signing the player that KC would lose if any of the three are taken.
While that makes me re-think it a little bit it still doesn't make me change my mind though. With only five picks each in this year's draft I don't think either team will be that interested in taking a flyer on a player who may leave hours later or they'll get nothing for him. If either team were to select one of KC's free agents, it would have to be Myers or Peterson. Mapp showed nothing this year that would make a team want to use a spot on him, making just six appearances. Myers would be a good candidate to start at an outside back position for an expansion team and Peterson would be good as a guy that will give 100% each time he steps on the field. Both things that would help out expansion teams. But with only five spots and the lack of a guarantee of keeping him, it doesn't make sense to me for either team to risk taking one of KC's free agents.
The internationals
Kansas City had to protect at least three of their five internationals that were available for the draft, Sporting protected the minimum choosing to protect Jimmy Medranda, Soni Mustivar, and Diego Rubio, leaving Honduran Ever Alvarado and Portuguese center back Nuno Coelho available. While Alvarado may seem like an appealing option, his lack of play at the MLS level would certainly be something that would cause pause, especially with players like Chris Duvall and Michael Harrington available for selection that can both play outside back. With Coelho, his big drawback would be his salary and his injury history, which was on display this season. The other thing that may cause pause for both teams is the international roster spot both players would take up. Atlanta has just two spots left after trading for one yesterday, and while Minnesota hasn't used one they may be more inclined to find their own.
Those already under contract
Four of the players that Kansas City exposed are actually already under contract for the 2017 season: Benji Joya, Lawrence Olum, Cameron Porter, and Seth Sinovic. If there's an area that I could see Atlanta or Minnesota taking a player from it is probably here. At the same time though I'm still not sure that any of these players are taken. First you have Joya and Porter who are both cheap options, but are both likely on the reserve roster at this time. Expansion draft rules state that if a player selected is on a team's reserve roster they have to be offered a senior roster spot by the team that drafted them. While Joya showed flashes in the final CCL game and Porter has scored twice in the CCL, neither has shown enough in my opinion over their playing career to warrant grabbing them and giving them a senior roster spot.
The other two though is where things could get interesting. You have Olum, who was injured in the latter half of 2016, he still made 19 appearance and started half of KC's league games this year. He also scored two goals and can play both center back and defensive midfielder. Olum also has a history in Minnesota, playing for the Minnesota Thunder in the USL in 2009. A return back to Minnesota is certainly something that could be possible, especially with a salary of only $105,000, although his age (32) is certainly something both Minnesota and Atlanta would question.
Sinovic on the surface would seem like a prime candidate to be taken because while he turns 30 in January, he's still proven to be a regular starter for Kansas City. And like Olum, he's only making $105,000. The down side though is that he's already once threatened to retire when taken in an expansion draft, back in 2011 when Montreal selected him. KC ended up traded Davy Arnaud to the Impact to get Sinovic back. Would Kansas City do something similar this time around if Sinovic is taken? He seems to be the best left back to work with Matt Besler, but he has never seemed to be the same since the concussion issues he had last year.
The rest
That leaves just three other players that could be available to be taken in the draft, Emmanuel Appiah, Connor Hallisey, and Alec Kann. Like with Joya and Porter above, Appiah is technically on the reserve roster and would have to jump to the senior roster if they're selected. Appiah didn't show a whole lot in his minimal appearances to think he'd be worth the jump to the senior roster. As for Kann, while he showed some flashes in net for Kansas City, I'm not sure it's an area of concern for KC that he'll be taken. Atlanta already has one goalkeeper and is reported set to get Brad Guzan, so their likelihood of taking Kann seems low. For Minnesota, if they're wanting a starting goalkeeper, there are players available for selection, like Clint Irwin, Steven Clark, and Chris Seitz, three goalkeepers who were regular starters for their clubs this past season, with Irwin especially not being extremely expensive I'd expect one of them to go before Kann. I'd also expect that Minnesota wouldn't take two goalkeepers in their five picks, meaning that Kann is likely safe as well. That leaves Hallisey, who is still young at just 23, but will be 24 before the next season starts. He at times looked like he was just about ready to really put things together, but then minutes later would look like a player that had no business being on the field at this level. He's probably the only one from this list that really seems like one who could be chosen. He could be one of those players who just isn't going to work out in Vermes' system and could become a solid squad player in a different system.
When it comes down to it, I think there are two, maybe three, players that you could really look at for selection by Minnesota or Atlanta tomorrow, and that'd be Olum, Sinovic, and Hallisey. Both Olum and Sinovic are under contract for the 2017 season and have shown themselves quite capable in the league. Both are getting a little older, but would provide some veteran presence for an expansion team if they were selected. With Hallisey you have a player who is still relatively young player who is not going to take a lot of cap space. A player that shows some flashes and has experience in the league. I'm still not sure any of those three or anyone from KC for that matter are taken, but those in my mind seem the three most likely.
Final Look at Sporting Academy in College
The college soccer season finished up over the weekend with the NCAA Division 1 finals. Sporting KC had two former academy players in the final four, Andy Lopez and Zach Wright for UNC. Both players played a part in the semifinal against Stanford. After a scoreless 90 minutes the game went into overtime where it remained scoreless ending in penalty kicks. Wright played 98 minutes for the Tar Heels in the game. In the penalty shootout, Lopez, who didn't play in the game stepped up and buried his penalty kick, but in the 10th round, Stanford made their attempt while UNC's went over the cross bar giving Stanford the 10-9 win.
Class of 2012
Derek Schrick (Rockhurst) - M - RSr - Played in 22 games, starting 19, scoring one goal and recording four assists as Rockhurst went 18-3-3.
Class of 2013
Joe Amico (Jacksonville) - D - Sr - Played in 18 games, starting 13, recording one assist as Jacksonville went 8-10.
Matt Bernard (Cal Baptist) - MF - RJr - Played in 18 games, starting zero and scored four goals as Cal Baptist went 12-6.
Paul Dean (Rockhurst University) - D - Sr - Played in eight games, starting all of them, recording two assists as Rockhurst went 18-3-3.
Seo-In Kim (UCSB) - MF - Sr - Red shirted due to injury as UCSB went 10-7-3.
Adam Lightner (Northern Illinois University) - D - Sr - Played in 16 games, starting 15 recording one assist as Northern Illinois went 2-10-4.
Clay Stewart - (University of Missouri Kansas City) - MF/D - Sr - Played in three games, starting all of them as UMKC went 2-12-2.
Wes White (Coastal Carolina) - F - RJr - Played in 19 games, starting 10 scoring three goals and adding two assists as Coastal Carolina went 10-7-3.
Drew Wilson (Fort Hays State University) - D - Sr - Played in 20 games, starting all of them, recording five assists as Fort Hays went 14-5-1.
Class of 2014
Darby Cronin (Missouri State)- MF - Jr - Did not play in any games as Missouri State went 9-8-3.
Heath Honold (West Virginia) - F - Jr - Played in 16 games as West Virginia went 8-7-1.
Mason Leonard (Drake) - D - Jr - Played in nine games, starting seven, scoring one goal as Drake went 6-12-1.
Blake Levine (Baker) - F - Jr - Played in 20 games, scoring eight goals and adding four assists as Baker went 13-5-2.
Matthew Lewis (Fordham) - D - Jr - Started and played in 21 games, scoring three goals as Fordham went 10-7-4.
Andy Lopez (North Carolina) - MF - RSo - Played in 12 games, recording two assists as UNC went 14-3-4.
Noah Mudd (Trevecca) - D - Jr - Played in 16 games as Trevecca went 7-10-1.
Joey Piatczyc (West Virginia) - MF - Jr - Played in 16 games, scoring two goals and adding four assists as West Virginia went 8-7-1.
Cole Stevenson (Fordham) - F - Jr - Played in 21 games, starting 20, scoring four goals and adding four assists as Fordham went 10-7-4
Zach Wright (North Carolina) - F - Jr - Started 21 games for UNC, scoring five goals and adding seven assists as UNC went 14-3-4.
2015
Andrew Blalock (Drake) - GK - RFr - Did not play in any games as Drake went 6-12-1.
Robert DeWitt III (Xavier) - MF - So - Played in two games as Xavier went 8-8-3.
Jack Freeman (Furman) - D - RFr - Did not play as Furman went 6-9-3.
Bryce Gibson (Creighton) - D - So - Played in 15 games as Creighton went 13-7-3.
Nic Jaimes (Drake) - MF - So - Played in 18 games, starting 13, scoring two goals and adding two assists as Drake went 6-12-1.
Ryan Krutz (Notre Dame) - GK - So - Played in one game as Notre Dame went 12-7-2.
Zane Moxley (Air Force) - D - So - Played in 10 games as Air Force went 14-7-1.
Alexis Quevedo (UNLV) - MF - So - Played in five games, starting one as UNLV went 10-11-2.
Hector Solorio (Niagara) - MF - So - Played in 13 games, recording one assist as Niagara went 4-11-2.
Tucker Stephenson (West Virginia) - F - So - Played in 12 games, scoring two goals as West Virginia went 8-7-1.
Andy Velez (JCCC) - MF - So - Did not play as JCCC went 11-5-1.
Bailey Weeks (Northeastern State University) - D - So - Did not play as Northeastern State went 7-9-1.
2016
Dakota Karns (Missouri State) - MF - Fr - Did not play in any games as Missouri State went 9-8-3.
Ryan Kellogg (West Virginia) - D - Fr - Played in 16 games as West Virginia went 8-7-1.
John Leisman (Yale) - F - Fr - Played in 16 games, starting 10, scoring three goals and adding an assist as Yale went 3-10-3.
Logan Lucas (West Virginia) - D - Fr - Played in 16 games, scoring one goal and adding one assist was West Virginia went 8-7-1.
Andrew McLeod (Northwestern) - D - Fr - Played in 11 games, starting nine as Northwestern went 6-11-1.
Absalom Solorio (Niagara) - MF - Fr - Played in 16 games, scoring one goal and adding one assist as Niagara went 4-11-2.
Paul Whitener (Marshall) - MF - Fr - Played in 13 games, starting 10 scoring one goal and adding four assists as Marshall went 6-11-1.
Class of 2012
Derek Schrick (Rockhurst) - M - RSr - Played in 22 games, starting 19, scoring one goal and recording four assists as Rockhurst went 18-3-3.
Class of 2013
Joe Amico (Jacksonville) - D - Sr - Played in 18 games, starting 13, recording one assist as Jacksonville went 8-10.
Matt Bernard (Cal Baptist) - MF - RJr - Played in 18 games, starting zero and scored four goals as Cal Baptist went 12-6.
Paul Dean (Rockhurst University) - D - Sr - Played in eight games, starting all of them, recording two assists as Rockhurst went 18-3-3.
Seo-In Kim (UCSB) - MF - Sr - Red shirted due to injury as UCSB went 10-7-3.
Adam Lightner (Northern Illinois University) - D - Sr - Played in 16 games, starting 15 recording one assist as Northern Illinois went 2-10-4.
Clay Stewart - (University of Missouri Kansas City) - MF/D - Sr - Played in three games, starting all of them as UMKC went 2-12-2.
Wes White (Coastal Carolina) - F - RJr - Played in 19 games, starting 10 scoring three goals and adding two assists as Coastal Carolina went 10-7-3.
Drew Wilson (Fort Hays State University) - D - Sr - Played in 20 games, starting all of them, recording five assists as Fort Hays went 14-5-1.
Class of 2014
Darby Cronin (Missouri State)- MF - Jr - Did not play in any games as Missouri State went 9-8-3.
Heath Honold (West Virginia) - F - Jr - Played in 16 games as West Virginia went 8-7-1.
Mason Leonard (Drake) - D - Jr - Played in nine games, starting seven, scoring one goal as Drake went 6-12-1.
Blake Levine (Baker) - F - Jr - Played in 20 games, scoring eight goals and adding four assists as Baker went 13-5-2.
Matthew Lewis (Fordham) - D - Jr - Started and played in 21 games, scoring three goals as Fordham went 10-7-4.
Andy Lopez (North Carolina) - MF - RSo - Played in 12 games, recording two assists as UNC went 14-3-4.
Noah Mudd (Trevecca) - D - Jr - Played in 16 games as Trevecca went 7-10-1.
Joey Piatczyc (West Virginia) - MF - Jr - Played in 16 games, scoring two goals and adding four assists as West Virginia went 8-7-1.
Cole Stevenson (Fordham) - F - Jr - Played in 21 games, starting 20, scoring four goals and adding four assists as Fordham went 10-7-4
Zach Wright (North Carolina) - F - Jr - Started 21 games for UNC, scoring five goals and adding seven assists as UNC went 14-3-4.
2015
Andrew Blalock (Drake) - GK - RFr - Did not play in any games as Drake went 6-12-1.
Robert DeWitt III (Xavier) - MF - So - Played in two games as Xavier went 8-8-3.
Jack Freeman (Furman) - D - RFr - Did not play as Furman went 6-9-3.
Bryce Gibson (Creighton) - D - So - Played in 15 games as Creighton went 13-7-3.
Nic Jaimes (Drake) - MF - So - Played in 18 games, starting 13, scoring two goals and adding two assists as Drake went 6-12-1.
Ryan Krutz (Notre Dame) - GK - So - Played in one game as Notre Dame went 12-7-2.
Zane Moxley (Air Force) - D - So - Played in 10 games as Air Force went 14-7-1.
Alexis Quevedo (UNLV) - MF - So - Played in five games, starting one as UNLV went 10-11-2.
Hector Solorio (Niagara) - MF - So - Played in 13 games, recording one assist as Niagara went 4-11-2.
Tucker Stephenson (West Virginia) - F - So - Played in 12 games, scoring two goals as West Virginia went 8-7-1.
Andy Velez (JCCC) - MF - So - Did not play as JCCC went 11-5-1.
Bailey Weeks (Northeastern State University) - D - So - Did not play as Northeastern State went 7-9-1.
2016
Dakota Karns (Missouri State) - MF - Fr - Did not play in any games as Missouri State went 9-8-3.
Ryan Kellogg (West Virginia) - D - Fr - Played in 16 games as West Virginia went 8-7-1.
John Leisman (Yale) - F - Fr - Played in 16 games, starting 10, scoring three goals and adding an assist as Yale went 3-10-3.
Logan Lucas (West Virginia) - D - Fr - Played in 16 games, scoring one goal and adding one assist was West Virginia went 8-7-1.
Andrew McLeod (Northwestern) - D - Fr - Played in 11 games, starting nine as Northwestern went 6-11-1.
Absalom Solorio (Niagara) - MF - Fr - Played in 16 games, scoring one goal and adding one assist as Niagara went 4-11-2.
Paul Whitener (Marshall) - MF - Fr - Played in 13 games, starting 10 scoring one goal and adding four assists as Marshall went 6-11-1.
Nagamura Retires and Takes Coaching Role with Rangers
A Sporting KC legend retired today, Paulo Nagamura called it a career today, retiring at the age of 33 to take an assistant coaching position with the Swope Park Rangers. Whether he will eventually become a Sporting Legend at Children's Mercy Park is a discussion for another day, but he will certainly be remembered as a legend among fans of the club for his style of play, his passion, and the ice that ran through his veins when it came to penalty kick shootouts.
Sporting KC acquired Nagamura ahead of the 2012 MLS season from Chivas USA, where Nagamura had played just 11 games for the club in the 2011 season. Nagamura proceeded to then play 95 league games for KC over the next five years, scoring six goals and adding seven assists. He was a big part of all three trophies that Kansas City won during his time at the club, making his penalty kick in all three penalty kick shootouts where KC won their trophies.
He captained the club on a number of occasions in different competitions and was a leader on the field. Over his last two seasons though injuries started to really catch up with him, and it seemed that Peter Vermes would save Nagamura's legs early in the season to bring him on later in the season. In 2015 his returned provided a spark to the team evident in the team's come from behind win against the Vancouver Whitecaps where Nagamura scored twice late to give them a 4-3 win.
Then there are the PKs that I've previously mentioned, the man was ice cold in the pressure situation of a penalty shootout, scoring in all three finals. The pressure just didn't seem to faze him as he calmly placed each one into a corner or side netting. It's that clam demeanor in those situations along with his fire when he's on the field that will be hard for KC to replace, that combination of both that made him such a valuable member of the team.
His experience on the field will be great in his new role as an assistant coach for the Swope Park Rangers, it's a position that most fans were hoping for for him when he retired, and taking a position that kept him in Kansas City and allow him to work with future players.
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