MLS Combine: Day 1 Reviews

[jloome]

http://www.mlsdraft.net/?q=node/149


http://www.soccerbyives.net/ (http://www.mlsdraft.net/?q=node/149)

Both have day one reviews of the MLS combine up and are pretty much diametrically opposed on who was effective and who sucked.

Now consider that these are both guys who actually work in sports media and it becomes obvious how easy it is to see a game from a different perspective.


Ives says Omar Gonzalez was terrible. Sean says he was great.
Ives loved Zakuania. Sean thought he was an ineffective ball hog.

The only two players they seemed to agree on were Jeremy Hall stinking up the joint (he's a left winger, if I recall correctly) and George John looking like a heck of a defender.

[Nuvinho]

I was just about to comment about the same thing. It seems they both had opposing views.

I was suprised they both were so different.

[jloome]

It seems they concentrated on different things; Ives and Gianfranco concentrated A LOT on the speed and mobility of the players; Sean concentrated more on the strength and technique.

It's interesting because both approaches are important; you can't play in MLS unless your reading of the game and subsequent later movement can adapt quickly, and you can't expect a draft prospect to shine later on unless he comes in fit and with good technique to build on.

It'll be interesting to do an avergage of both sites' final proposed draft rankings.

[Razcle]

Link for http://www.soccerbyives.net/ (http://www.mlsdraft.net/?q=node/149) brings me to mlsdraft.net

[Damien]

I was just about to comment about the same thing. It seems they both had opposing views.

I was suprised they both were so different.

one says Gonzalez is a slow poke, the other (mlsdraft) said he was phenom.
:noidea:

[professor]

Few do it better than Buzz,
http://www.3rddegree.net/2009/01/combine-report/

or Joe Mauceri
http://proplayerpipeline.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/2009-mls-combine-day-1-game-1/
http://proplayerpipeline.wordpress.com/2009/01/10/2009-mls-combine-day-1-game-2/

then comes Ives; then the Ives' clones

At the bottom are the Goffs and McCarthys

here are 2 from Kyle McCarthy of MLS
http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20090110&content_id=211505&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

http://www.goal.com/en-us/news/1110/major-league-soccer/2009/01/11/1054845/mccarthys-musings-first-day-jitters

[ChrisLav]

Note that it's not Ives Galarcep that made that post on his site, but one of the occasional other writers Gianfranco Panizo.

[Flipityflu]

honestly, do you put any stock in having a bunch of guys from different teams suddenly playing together and expect to get a reliable read on them?

[Mark in Ottawa]

honestly, do you put any stock in having a bunch of guys from different teams suddenly playing together and expect to get a reliable read on them?
That is exactly the point... they don't know each other very well so:

- can they mesh quickly to whatever style they are asked to adapt to?

- Have they got the "field vision" required to pick up a player where he is and not just where they expect him to be?

- can they share... space, the ball, opportunities... or are they the type to just be trying to hard to impress?

- Do they make the players around them look better?

[redrocket08]

seems that mlsnet.com has videos on some of the players at the combine. Gonzalez looks huge!

[CoachGT]

The combine is great if you consider that the NCAA is the feeder system for MLS, but I'm not 100% convinced that it should be.

[ensco]

Buzz Carrick thinks Zakuani didn't look so hot, and Gonzalez has been great. He wonders if Seattle may now shop it's first pick overall to whomever wants Gonzalez the most - if so, there goes the "Serioux to TFC for the pick to take Gonzalez" trade

http://www.3rddegree.net/2009/01/mls-combine-report-day-one/

The other clear star, in his opinion, is Sam Cronin. So dealing our first pick may depend on the level of interest in Cronin.

http://www.3rddegree.net/2009/01/mls-combine-report-day-two/


(http://www.3rddegree.net/2009/01/mls-combine-report-day-two/)

[Beach_Red]

The combine is great if you consider that the NCAA is the feeder system for MLS, but I'm not 100% convinced that it should be.

It will likely never be 100% - as long as the rest of the world continues to produce soccer players - but it will be the #1 feeder system for American players. And MLS will never have 100% American rosters will they?

[flatpicker]

It would be nice if they just did away with the current draft system.
Let teams develop and scout their own players, I say.

[arbogast]

I was just about to comment about the same thing. It seems they both had opposing views.

I was suprised they both were so different.

i'm not surprised. opinions are like arseholes...everyone's got'em and everyone's are different thna others. just b/c someone works in media doesn't necessarily mean they are an expert, yes they see more than non media people do, but as an example, would Morgan Campbell's opinion on a player really mean that much (considering he's admitted to be just learning about the game)?

[rocker]

i think the combine is a good idea. college play varies from region to region... guys get to know their teammates well and the opposition, so they have too much familiarity -- they can depend on that. But it's much more interesting to see them in an environment where they can't rely on that... they have to dig deeper.
it also is a higher level of play (since these are the best of the college players) .. can they keep up with that or were they just standouts on lower quality teams?

But the fact is, many of these guys will contribute very little to MLS.

[Nuvinho]

TFC eyeing #1 pick

http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2009/01/toronto-fc-eyeing-no-1-pick.html