Montreal Impact Passes On D.C. United Players In 2011 MLS Expansion Draft
by Martin Shatzer on Nov 23, 2011 3:55 PM EST
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Leading up to the 2011 MLS Expansion Draft, we were worried that DC United might wind up losing either a veteran proven player like Clyde Simms or Santino Quaranta, or a young developing player like Blake Brettschneider or Austin da Luz.
In the end though, the likeliest of scenarios was the one to occur. United left the expansion draft unscathed, as the Montreal Impact selected 10 players from different MLS teams.
In the biggest news of the day, Jesse Marsch of the Impact selected veteran forward Brian Ching with his first pick, daring the Houston Dynamo to either make a trade to get their leader back, or maybe even force Ching to retire.
The Impact also managed to decimate the roster of Chivas USA, selecting high potential rookie defender Zarek Valentin and also trading recently selected defender James Riley to Chivas for Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen.
To round out the selections of the expansion draft, the Impact added Seth Sinovic of Sporting Kansas City, Justin Mapp of the Philadelphia Union, Bobby Burling of the San Jose Earthquakes, Jeb Brovsky of the Vancouver Whitecaps, Collen Warner of Real Salt Lake, Josh Gardner of the Columbus Crew, and Sanna Nyassi of the Colorado Rapids.
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Quick reactions to everything thus far
Obviously there will be more deals to come, but given the lull, here are some thoughts on the players taken:
Brian Ching
I get the whole “take the unprotected club icon and hold him for ransom” strategy; my protection lists are, if anything, overly concerned with teams doing that to us. However, there are few outs here for Montreal. The best-case scenario if Houston doesn’t offer much to keep Ching is that the Impact have an expensive, injury-prone player who will not be around for long. The worst case is that he retires, which would be cruel and would also give players around the league a reason to think that the Impact is not a team that treats players well. No one wants to be thought of as being similar to the Revs.
Zarek Valentin
Everyone thought he’d end up being picked. Good defender, very young, lots of potential, can play multiple positions…it makes sense. However, Kyle McCarthy pointed out that without GA protection, Valentin’s contract is a big one (he makes over $100K) for a guy who hasn’t proven he can play in MLS.
Justin Mapp
Mapp gets a chance to ultimately underwhelm somewhere else. Sure he has skill, but he also has no desire and never comes up big when his team needs it. Not a guy I’d want, especially when you throw in the likelihood of Montreal being outplayed more often than not.
Bobby Burling
Nothing special, but not bad. It’s hard to get by in MLS without a big, physical center back. He’s not useless with his feet either. On the other hand, we are talking about a San Jose defender not named Jason Hernandez or Steve Beitashour.
Jeb Brovsky
Puzzled by this one. Brovsky’s not terrible, but he’s nothing special even amongst MLS utility defender/midfielders. Meanwhile, no Galaxy players were taken. Taking Brovsky in a vacuum isn’t that silly, but taking him over Cardozo or Michael Stephenson is.
Collen Warner
Inconsistent, but he’s still young and can play several midfield positions. He’s not the RSL player I’d have taken, but you can make a reasonable argument in his favor.
Josh Gardner
Not convinced about this pick. Gardner’s defensive shortcomings were covered in Columbus by the Crew’s dour style. If Montreal wants to possess and open things up, Gardner can’t be trusted at left back, and he’s too one-dimensional at left midfield.
Sanna Nyassi
Good pick. Nyassi can be maddening, but his speed and audacity are worth the risk. If Montreal can assemble a team where Nyassi is only a part-time starter but appears off the bench regularly, they’ll have done it right.
James Riley
By itself, this was a solid pick. Riley’s career is full of playoff teams, and you don’t keep ending up in places like that without being good.
Now, turning this pick (plus some cash) into Justin Braun and Gerson Mayen? Stroke of genius. Braun will be a terror if Marsch can improve his consistency, and Mayen is hugely underrated. As long as that allocation amount wasn’t enormous, this is one of the great expansion draft day deals of all time.
Seth Sinovic
Decent player, but nothing particularly special. KC will miss him more than Montreal will treasure him (KC needs a left back that can stay home due to Myers going forward so often). Physical without being dirty, which probably fits Marsch’s ideal.
Trading cash for Wahl
Makes you wonder if Sinovic won’t be traded elsewhere (or back to KC). They’re two very evenly-matched players. I wouldn’t mind at all if DC made a call inquiring about these two.
Writer on SBN's DC United blog Black and Red United | @ChestRockwell14 | KEEP UNITED IN DC
Wahl would be a good option for attacking FB
He’s puts in a good cross and does well on set pieces from the left side of the field. Not the best shut down defender on the wing due to a lack of pace, but an upgrade over current DCU options. He’s also a better than average CB. Just my two cents.
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Positives and negatives on Wahl playing here
Wahl’s lack of pace would be a potential problem with how high up the field our wingers tend to play. At this point, DC is likely to play a midfield diamond with 3 very attack-minded players ahead of Perry Kitchen. Contrast that with Seattle, who usually use a less attacking central player (Evans or Friberg) ahead of Alonso, who by himself allows the Sounders to do more proactive defending.
By virtue of having a superior group in terms of anticipation, Seattle could better hide Wahl’s lack of speed for a left back than United will be able to (barring numerous significant changes). Playing here on team that will still be young in the back and will still commit plenty of numbers forward, Wahl would likely have to defend facing his own goal or chasing the play far more often, which would not play to his strengths.
On the other hand, he’d be, at worst, in a battle with Ethan White to be our #3 center back, and even with what I just said, he’d be no worse than equal with Woolard at left back in our set-up. Plus, he doesn’t make that much money. The worst-case scenario in this hypothetical would be that a clear upgrade over Burch at both positions, and a cheaper player to boot.
Wahl would be a reasonable acquisition, but also nothing to get too excited about. In an ideal world, United would have the ability to go out and find two excellent fullbacks, because our team’s youth and overall attacking approach means our defenders have to be fast, really good 1v1, and also good enough to succeed when faced with unfavorable numbers (anything even or worse, basically; 4v4 is not a good situation for defenses) when teams break forward. This is not an ideal world, so a player like Wahl is not someone to ignore. However, he should also not be at the top of our list at left back.
Writer on SBN's DC United blog Black and Red United | @ChestRockwell14 | KEEP UNITED IN DC
by ChestRockwell on Nov 26, 2011 6:09 PM EST up reply actions
If this segues into a “poaching” subthread, any of the waivees(?) today make any sense here?
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2011/11/23/players-waived-teams-begin-shape-rosters-2012
"My favorite fan base in D.C. Is United's. Period. The end." - Steinberg
Keep United in DC. A Fair Deal at RFK, and a Pathway to a Stadium for a team loyal to the city.
by Bald Pollack on Nov 23, 2011 10:02 PM EST up reply actions
I'm just happy that Alan Koger got waived
Eff that guy
Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekly Columnist for SB Nation D.C..
by Martin Shatzer on Nov 24, 2011 12:38 PM EST up reply actions
No one jumps out
It’s not a terrible list, but there’s no one that made me say “we have to sign that guy.” If I were handing out preseason camp invites, I might get in touch with the following:
Craig Rocastle – Can play defensive midfield or box-to-box. Plays with a chip on his shoulder, which on a young team could be an issue. Decent with the ball. He’d need to accept a hefty pay cut (made $110K this past season). Signing him or someone like him would allow us to trade Simms, though.
Milos Stojcev – Very skillful with his left foot, but didn’t adapt to KC’s hyperaggressive pace or team personality. He might fit in better in a different system, though that might not mean us either. Made $90K this season, so he’d probably have to take a pay cut as well.
Francisco Navas Cobo – Houston being willing to cut an academy product less than a year after signing him is a red flag. Promising winger, prefers to play on the right if I’m not mistaken.
John Rooney – Barely made more than the senior minimum, and at his age already has played professionally in England’s League 2. My instincts tell me that he’s better than Backe gave him credit for being. We don’t necessarily need him (he’s a lesser version of King as of right now), but I wouldn’t mind having him in camp for a look.
Writer on SBN's DC United blog Black and Red United | @ChestRockwell14 | KEEP UNITED IN DC
by ChestRockwell on Nov 26, 2011 6:41 PM EST up reply actions
2011 salaries
Guaranteed compensation 2011 (from the May 1, 2011 MLS Players Union release):
Ching: $412,500
Valentin: $132,000
Mapp: $183,333
Burling: $42,000
Brovsky: $42,000
Warner: $55,750
Gardner: $49,200
Nyassi: $42,000
Riley: $97,962.50
Braun: $87,500
Mayen: $32,604
Sinovic: not posted (he signed with Sporks just after the filing; likely minimum)
Observations: 1) The LA options Chest likes over Brovsky would have been more expensive (Cardozo, $53,250; Stephens, $79,000). 2) Mapp has a good agent.
Worth it, though
Especially Cardozo, who could turn into a special attacking player. Brovsky doesn’t appear to have a very high ceiling, and he’s a classic “jack of all trades, master of none.” There’s nothing wrong with him, but you can find another Brovsky in the draft or the USL. Cardozo is a young, versatile attacker who developed in a real professional environment rather than NCAA ball, and he’s younger than most graduating seniors will be in this year’s draft. It’s a gamble, but it’s worth making (especially for just $13,250 extra).
Maybe the Impact already have some young attacking players from abroad lined up, though. For example, by this point in their expansion process Seattle had likely scouted and began talks with Fredy Montero. Portland were probably well on their way to signing Jorge Perlaza. It happens.
It’s also possible that Cardozo wants to leave MLS, or that LA already has some kind of deal with Montreal in place that hasn’t been finalized. There’s so much that goes on in these things that we don’t know; all I can say is that based on the info that’s out there, Montreal made a mistake with that particular selection.
I didn’t think Stephens was making that much at this point. Still, if he were somewhere other than LA, he’d be playing a lot more often. He’s a younger Ned Grabavoy in a lot of ways. If a team values possession and wants to play a narrow midfield (or a 451/433 of some kind), Stephens would do well and play often. Plenty of teams should be sniffing around, but then LA should be trying to hang onto him in the event that Beckham leaves. Stephens can’t replace Beckham straight up, but he is the player most similar to him in approach. Stephens would allow LA to maintain the long ball/crossfield pass option that was so vital for them this season.
Writer on SBN's DC United blog Black and Red United | @ChestRockwell14 | KEEP UNITED IN DC
by ChestRockwell on Nov 26, 2011 6:21 PM EST up reply actions
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