MLS Tourist Guide, Calendar Week 2: "Super"Draft, Signings and Sayonara

My relationship to MLS, a visual.

Another week, another round-up, in which I put my hand on MLS like I’m guarding the bucket. (Is it March 2^nd yet? For the love of GOD, can somebody please kick something?)

I’ll start with the big events, then talk about the U.S. Men’s National Team (FC Cincinnati’s fault for picking Frankie Amaya; I’ll explain), then my two favorite children (Cincinnati and the Portland Timbers), and I’ll wrap up with whatever team-specific activities interested me over the week just past.

MLS CaveatedDraft 2019

The week’s marquee event was the MLS Superdraft, and I won’t be the kind to put on airs and pretend I didn’t peek at the results through the first round, because I did. I will, however, say the same thing I say every Superdraft: it’s a veritable "who’s that" of American soccer (and it's “who will never be” for too many of those players). The few details I know come from the Mothership (MLS’s main site), which handed out for grades for each team’s draft. On that, what does an “A+” at an event most cognoscenti dismiss do for a team, really? On one level, this is ping pong at The Olympics, only the Chinese don’t always win.

All the same, it’s the first event of the annual MLS calendar and I love it, and I’ll go for the eyes of the first person to cast aspersions at it. (Who knows? Maybe the vestigial panic about the league going under never left?) From what I read, this year’s edition had moments of real beauty (even if I can’t find them), like FC Cincy’s Logan Gdula’s choking back tears as he took his first step toward his dream (wishing you many more steps, kid, and why not start early!). Getting excited about a player whose 2019 ceiling projects to starting for your MLS team’s USL team doesn’t come easy, but it’s not a terrible system. Call it a good way for your late-bloomers to reach the other side of puberty – your Davy Arnauds and Chris Wondolowskis – players who want it bad enough to figure out a way to get there. They can be better captains than players sometimes, but it takes a village, yeah?

Notes on Portland’s and Cincy’s draft are in their respective sections, but I want to flag one thing (that everyone else has): the Philadelphia Union cashing in all its picks out of faith in its own academy was a total baller move. Then again, if everyone starts doing that and the Superdraft dies, I gotta take out everybody’s eyes…

January (Day) Camp

Learning that Amaya played for the U.S. U-20s last November led me to U.S. Soccer’s website, where the bright, shiny object of January camp call-ups caught my eye. I hadn’t looked at who got called up till now, but it’s great to see Gregg Berhalter continue the tradition of trying out new players (not that this was seriously discussed. anywhere). Of the players called, I’m most keen to see what the following can do: Jeremy Ebobisse, Justen Glad, Sebastian Lletget (torch still in hand), Reggie Cannon, Aaron Long, Djordje Mihailovic, with extra-special keenness on Corey Baird and, new today, Mark McKenzie. It’s the first camp for the latter three (Ebobisse’s too), but for anyone asking about the hang-up on McKenzie, welcome to the rabbit hole!

It turns out McKenzie played on that U.S. U-20 team, along with Amaya, but also along with FC Dallas’ Paxton Pomykal. Given Pomykal’s high-profile performance in November's glorious, victorious final (sorry, just watched Mary Poppins), plus the time or two I saw him play for Dallas, I’m left wondering what happened with his invitation to January camp. I also noted that Amaya didn’t get mentioned in the write-up to that final, but at least he provided a deft segue.

FC Cincinnati; Progress Report

Philadelphia’s trash was Cincinnati’s treasure (wrote no one ever). Whatever I didn’t see of Amaya in discussions of U-20s final, I do see his age (18!) and the wunderkind thing holds real promise. Having yet another right back – even with Mathieu Deplagne slated to start at centerback…it’s less that I’m opposed to them picking up Gdula than I’m more worried about other things – e.g., depth/development at centerback. Still, I like the kid (hearts show well on one’s sleeve), haven’t heard a bad word about him from any source, and I’m going to trust FC Cincy’s staff to better understand the team’s needs than I do (for now). The few places I checked seem high on the two late-second-round goalkeepers, or at least willing to call it a good decision, but, with Cincinnati now four-deep in that position, I’m left wondering whether there wasn’t another Tommy McCabe floating around out there – i.e., a project in one of the other positions I’m worried about. That could follow from a long-held belief that MLS teams can always find a good goalkeeper without looking too hard (#TheLegendofTimMelia).

At any rate, all five are probably projects for 2019 – though I’d love to see either of the first-rounders push for minutes. (And I’ll look on fondly if/when Alvas Powell plays mentor to Gdula.) Until the team gets an academy (good news, they have “started to build the foundation”!) having young prospects at key positions – two of them impressionably young (Amaya and McCabe) – feels like the best available foot forward. Yes, I still want more reinforcements.

Portland Timbers, Subtraction Report

I don’t have much to say about the Timbers’ draft, but it never hurts to have a spare left foot on the roster (and the kid hits a solid diagonal). I have one note on Portland’s first round pick, Ryan Sierakowski, and it lurks in this “scouting phrase” on him from the Superdraft grades: “if he can improve his consistency in front of goal.”

Uh, the Timbers already have forwards who fit the same description, so…

Obviously, the biggest development of Portland’s past week came with the decision to consciously uncouple from (with?) Liam Ridgewell. It’s a hard departure for me, and for the stupid reason that I feel guilty about it. Or like I owe him an acknowledgement.

Because he arrived with a big contract and a “DP” label slapped on his back, I expected more from Ridgewell, even if I didn’t really know what. I took giant, long-winded shits on him every time he failed to deliver; that DP magnified his faults (e.g., lack of foot speed, a tendency to be more reactive, etc.) to where they swallowed all the things Ridgewell did well (“Liam Didwell.” Crap, it was always there). When the Timbers defense looked great, I’d credit the players around Ridgewell more than I credited him – though, honestly, only Nat Borchers and Larrys Mabiala ever ranked higher in the personal pantheon. To call a spade, a spade, I was kind of a shit about Ridgewell. Maybe even an asshole.

For reasons I should probably consult someone about, I don’t seek personality/puff pieces about soccer players. The farewell piece Richard Farley posted on the parting contains elements of that – good ones, too (also, more guilt) – but it also has hard (but not dispositive) data that shows the Timbers had better results on the defensive side with Ridgewell on the field (that said, the “three trophies” thing is bullshit; conference titles? c’mon). And, better still, Ridgewell put in 2018 for all seasons, a gripping narrative of adversity, redemption, even a little bravery. It was a year that knocked the asshole clean out of me, and Ridgewell deserves all the credit for that. At 34, he doesn’t have much playing time left, but he’ll have memories of boating on Lake Oswego, of that time he and Jake Gleeson crossed the law…good times. It was a full experience if nothing else.

The Timbers are a young franchise, if only in MLS terms. Those whose memories go back far enough might recall debating the quality of Brent Sancho or if Fadi Afash was good enough for the USL (and yet, little did we know), but Ridgewell truly does feel like the first big departure for any iteration of the Portland Timbers. At least two players will eclipse him, and sooner than feels fair, but this really is the biggest loss, retirement – whatever – I can name. Cheers, Liam, and best of luck, sir.

That’s enough sappy shit (I’m not crying, bro! you are!), and moving on to the practical, Ridgewell departure leaves the Timbers defense thin on head-count alone. In the best of all possible worlds, Portland will replace him with an upgrade – and, for all the kind words and mea culpas above, I've always believed an upgrade was entirely possible. There’s talk of the New England Revolution’s Claude Dielna coming over, but I haven’t watched him enough to make a responsible comparison. What I can say is that Dielna played as one piece of a glass-jaw defensive unit…which means I won’t relax till he shows up and comes good, or till Portland throws more bodies at the problem, and they come good.

.I’ll close out the post by ticking through items of interest, team-by-team, that caught my interest in my very, very lazy meandering through MLS news. Until MLSSoccer.com lifts sanctions and allows me to receive The Daily Kickoff, the extent of my reading might start and end with this new-model transfer tracker article. st week. And I’m done talking Superdraft….

Colorado Rapids -Recent intra-league signings like Kei Kamara and, now, Benny Feilhaber (age 33) hint at the Rapids building (or grasping) to win right now, and with little thought for tomorrow. Those two could make a team that leaned into possession a little more incisive…for a year or two.

FC Dallas – They did wind up landing Bryan Acosta, a midfielder good enough to fall short of making it in “Spain.” (Tenerife is on The Canary Islands.) Still, Spain’s a big stage (even the 2^nd division), Acosta’s in his prime, and Dallas paid like they believe.

Houston Dynamo – Up, down and flailing as he could be, talk of Alberth Elis leaving should give Houston fans butterflies. Matias Vera could clean up their defensive frailty.

Minnesota United FC – Watch this video and judge for yourself, but bringing over Ozzie Alonso from Seattle feels short-term and short of a solution. It has an air of grasping about it.

New England Revolution – Missed that the Revs had signed themselves a sexy forward, which means they’re working on the right problem.

Real Salt Lake – The big question mark hanging over RSL was what happens when Kyle Beckerman finally craps out. Everton Luiz answers the need on paper, and with a good pedigree.

San Jose Earthquakes – They’re threatening to become interesting with signings like Cristian Espinoza (23, winger) and Marcos Lopez (19, left back). Is the “Tommy Thompson era/experiment/mental prison” finally over?

Seattle Sounders –Alonso leaving takes a major known quantity out of their line-up, and they’re standing surprisingly pat at the moment (Jonathan Campbell?). At least one big question: do you buy Jordan Morris, health-wise or otherwise?

Vancouver Whitecaps – Speaking of standing pat (as in doing nothing) this is insane:

“Vancouver really freed up roster spots, international slots and cap space amid moves that saw Kei Kamara, Kendall Waston, Brek Shea, Nicolas Mezquida, Cristian Techera and Aly Ghazal exit the club, not to mention Alphonso Davies' record-breaking transfer to Bayern Munich.”

Sporting Kansas City – I totally missed that they signed (recent) Hungarian international/Bond villain, Botond Barath. Related(?), they saw Ike Opara is open to offers…

…and, to wrap this up and return to the Timbers, yes, I would be happy if Portland made Opara an offer. Also, Cascadia aside, all the activity in the Western Conference has me a little more anxious about what the Timbers are and are not doing, so...I guess that's a call to do more(?). That’s all for this week. I’ll be happier when I’ve got games to talk about. And more interesting, dammit. Hang in there, boys and girls, we’ll feast on methadone (pre-season) in February!