Marc Burch & Clyde Simms Selected In MLS Re-Entry Draft While D.C. United Passes
by Martin Shatzer on Dec 12, 2011 8:55 PM EST
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The second round of the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft was this afternoon, and D.C. United is closing the day -2. They passed once again, standing firm on their commitment to not rearrange the deck chairs this offseason. In the mean time, United saw Marc Burch and Clyde Simms, two of the three longest standing members of the team, depart for other MLS cities.
Burch was taken first overall in the draft by the Seattle Sounders, who thought so highly of the defender that they actually moved up to get him. The Sounders sent a future draft pick to the Vancouver Whitecaps for the right to lock up the former University of Maryland forward who has been a starter on-and-off for United at left back the past five seasons.
Simms was the second player drafted today by the New England Revolution, and should start immediately for them in central defensive midfield behind Shalrie Joseph. Simms has started no fewer than 20 games for D.C. each of the past seven seasons, which is quite an accomplishment in MLS, and surely leaves the team with a heavy heart.
We knew this day would come for both players. For Simms, the writing has been on the wall since Perry Kitchen moved to the CDM role that he played so well in college. His concussion suffered in the final game of the season against Sporting Kansas City was an unfortunate end to his fabulously consistent United career. Similarly for Burch, when Ben Olsen inserted him at halftime for Daniel Woolard in that game, it just felt like Olsen was giving the veteran a final chance to say goodbye. Both players will be missed.
With eight players officially dropping off United's roster today (Devon McTavish, Kurt Morsink, Joseph Ngwenya, Brandon Barklage, Steve Cronin, and Jed Zayner were not taken, and are therefore free agents), we felt pretty confident that United would start the process of shaping their 2012 roster today. They didn't. One player that we identified earlier as a potential target for United, Nate Jaqua, was taken by the Revolution before D.C. had a chance to grab him. But, given what we saw from the team today, its unlikely that they would have taken the target forward anyway. Or anyone else.
The other players selected in the 2011 MLS Re-Entry Draft Round 2 were Kheli Dube by the Chicago Fire, Baggio Husidic and Hunter Freeman by the Colorado Rapids, and a huge collection of players who were decent MLS starters in 2007 by the Los Angeles Galaxy (Andrew Boyens, Chris Leitch, Pat Noonan, Jon Conway, Frankie Hejduk, and Dasan Robinson).
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so now what?
I’m pretty surprised that DCU didn’t take anyone in the second round. Wolfe was a great pickup last year. I’m worried that the team will rely on foreign pickups… what is the plan?
Are we really that far from being ready?
DC has 18 players on the roster right now. Assuming they’re all healthy, the lineup would probably be Hamid; Russell, Jakovic, McDonald, Woolard; Kitchen; Najar, Boskovic, Pontius; De Rosario, Wolff/Brettschneider. That’s really not a bad first 11, especially if Boskovic delivers on the flashes of top-notch ability he showed before his ACL tear.
It also leaves a bench of Willis, White, Korb, Shanosky, King, Da Luz, and either Brettschneider or Wolff. That’s not ideal – there’s no evidence that Shanosky is ready to make the bench on a regular basis – but it’s not 2010 bad either.
How will we fill out the rest of our roster? Well, we’ve drafted well over the past few years, and we currently hold the #7 pick. That should become a contributor of some sort. At the moment, we only have 2 international players; by my count (noting our traded international slots), that means we can bring in 5 more players. I wouldn’t imagine we’ll use all of those spots, but 2-3 is probably reasonable.
The above moves would put us on 22 players, plus any Supplemental players that make the team (we have 3 picks). Usually 1 per season does that, so let’s call it 23. We obviously love Homegrown signings, so don’t be surprised if we add another player that way. That could also be a contributor now that we can take Academy players that are currently playing college ball.
All the sudden, we’re at 24 players without having to step into the world of obscure preseason trialists and washed-up MLSers trying to latch on anywhere (a.k.a. the guys we didn’t pick today, who were they to earn a deal in preseason would sign for less than they would if selected in the RED).
None of what I’m spelling out here is crazy talk. I don’t find myself worrying right now at all, because there is a lot of time for us to put together a team and because there are numerous avenues for a player to arrive here. I haven’t even brought up the prospect of trading within MLS, something we’ve done very well at over the past year.
Writer on SBN's DC United blog Black and Red United | @ChestRockwell14 | KEEP UNITED IN DC
by ChestRockwell on Dec 12, 2011 11:38 PM EST up reply actions
Just tossing it out there, but perhaps the lack of selection may be due to finances? It’s not like the team’s coffers are loaded for bear as is, but the money they were paying Perkins last year after the trade not comes back to make up for DeRo’s salary which they weren’t largely responsible for last year.
"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 Dec 13, 2011 7:41 AM EST up reply actions
Doubt it was cap-related
The only player DC United is paying right now is Boskovic, and that’s only $190,366 ($525,366 salary minus the $335,000 that goes on our salary cap & as such is covered by MLS). As much as the club is hard up for cash until the lease is changed, I don’t think $200k over the next 6 months – Boskovic’s deal ends mid-season – is going to break the bank.
Sure, De Ro will be asking for a raise, and we’d be crazy or truly broke if we can’t give it to him, even considering his age. I still don’t think we will be that close to the cap ceiling, especially with guys like Najar and White still getting paid off the books, so to speak.
What I’m getting at is that we don’t appear to have avoided picking players in the RED because of the cap or the pocketbook. I think it was down to a lack of truly interesting options. Other than Jaqua, even the guys I talked about were going to be cheap depth; failing to sign Jason Garey yesterday will not be the move that sinks us in 2012.
Writer on SBN's DC United blog Black and Red United | @ChestRockwell14 | KEEP UNITED IN DC
by ChestRockwell on Dec 13, 2011 7:40 PM EST up reply actions
The plan is...
…foreign players. Lets not BS, with all the restrictions on who can and who can’t get picked up (protection of homegrown players and such), there isn’t a heck of a lot of available talent in MLS. Tino would’ve been picked up somewhere if he hadn’t decided to hang it up. I have no doubt foreign players can do well in MLS, but alot of foreign players take a year to adjust to the physicality of the MLS. I suspect DCU will try to grab 1 player abroad that they’ll expect to have some impact this season (like a Luke Rodgers) to play up front, and then a few young players (cheaper than experienced) that they can develop over the next couple of years. If you look at what DCU kept since last season,and if everyone stays healthy, we protected 10 starters, a backup goalie and 3-4 protected academy players. That’s not a bad starting point.
Sad to see Clyde Simms go, but he deserves to keep playing. He really is a solid DM. Burch? I see flashes of what might be, but the injuries have really taken a toll on him.
by Eric David Ruenes on Dec 12, 2011 10:11 PM EST reply actions
At last check he’s still committed to Wake Forest, with strong encouragement by his mother.
"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 Dec 13, 2011 7:38 AM EST up reply actions
Best wishes, Clyde and Marc
It will be interesting to see where Seattle play Burch. It’s hard to imagine he’s penciled in as their left back.
Foreign players? If money is a problem for DCU, Europe is not the easy answer. Wage scales in the larger nations are higher than MLS. Searching out cheap, young talent in Latin America and the Caribbean might be the budget alternative. To do this properly, the club needs a new scout or two for that region.
He won't be close to their starting lineup
Seattle might actually see Burch more as a defensive substitution at LM when they’re leading than a LB. I really think that’s his best role in MLS. He can help slow down the opposition, and then just spray in crosses in transition.
Managing Editor for BlackAndRedUnited.com. Weekly Columnist for SB Nation D.C..
by Martin Shatzer on Dec 13, 2011 8:30 PM EST up reply actions
With our luck...
…Seattle will play Burch at his natural forward position, and he’ll bag a hat trick against us.
I, too, am not excessively worried at this juncture. It was a bold move to jettison so many players at once, but considering what Chest mentioned as well as the fact that 6 of the 8 had negligible impact, it’s not as crazy as it sounds at first.
it'll be interesting to see how Burch and Simms do on their new teams
Simms will probably be his usual good but not great self. I really want to see how Burch is used in Seattle. If he still plays on the back line, I’d like to see if the Seattle coaching staff has any luck at teaching him to defend.
by madavis on Dec 13, 2011 4:01 PM EST via iPhone app reply actions
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