The draft is almost here and that means that a lot of young men will be making some big decisions about where their soccer future lies. A lot of college players out there that are at the top of that particular level, need to keep a few things in mind through the last few cold months of winter. First of all, there is a huge difference between the U-20 levels, the college level, and Europe. Is there a step to help them make that jump? You bet, and it's called MLS and the USL. Why? Simply put, take a look around at the number of top notch college kids who have seen their possibilities dwindle when they were misguided by agents who saw more money in Europe, whereas there was infinitely more eventual career advancement available domestically. In the next few weeks players such as Luchi Gonzalez, Alex Yi, Nelson Akwari, and Oguchi Onyewu will make their initial decisions which will indicate where they'll play professionally. Now, I don't mean to knock any of these players' skills but the fact remains that if they want to become some of the best players they can possibly be, then European benches are not where they want to wind up. Some names to consider: Marcus Hahnemann, Taylor Twellman (who will return to the domestic game this season), Eddie Lewis, Frankie Hejduk, and several others. Do any of the next crop of up and coming kids want to wind up in this same position? Well, for their own sake let's hope not because all of these young men had a chance to become shining lights among U.S. soccer but have lost their way on the reserve roads of Europe.
Aside from this presumably useless bleating on my part as an attempt to get some of these young men to realize that the bigger payday overseas is not worth their while, if they want a career in this game we may as well have a look at a few names that might wind up gracing the A-League playing fields. Some names that we might hear more from after the drafts include Nicholas McCreath, Bryn Ritchie, Daniel Jackson, Ilkkaa Jantti, and MLS castoffs such as Andrew Lewis, David Vaudreuil, and Jason Moore. These guys all figure to make an appearance on a professional field sometime in the near future but exactly who will be paying them remains to be seen.
There are many intriguing situations that will play out over the next couple of weeks, as many new players will be fighting for jobs alongside men who have become accustomed to playing professionally over the past few seasons. There are teams such as Cincinnati, Toronto, and Indiana who will be hoping to put a few more of the puzzle pieces together this year in order to be more competitive. Then there are the clubs who will be trying to make that leap into contention this year such as Seattle, Minnesota, El Paso, Montreal, Atlanta, and Charlotte with some useful personnel pickups. Meanwhile clubs such as Charleston, Vancouver, Milwaukee, Portland, Richmond, and Pittsburgh will be trying to reinforce their squads to provide an even tougher test for the reloading Rhinos. Of course the wildcards here will be Hampton Roads and Calgary who will try to stun many of their new opponents by picking up quality players or improving on those they already have to contend for a playoff spot.
Regardless, there will be a lot of uncertainty in the days ahead as far as who will be wearing what uniform this year and just how this new cast of characters will fit in with those already in place. There will be some turnover around the league and the ensuing chaos will be fun for many of us who have been starved for news about our favorite clubs over the winter. Regardless, it will be an interesting couple of weeks with some clubs jumping ahead of others in the news-making race.
One thing we know for certain coming into the draft is that Vancouver, once one of the league's brightest lights, sees itself in the kind of turmoil usually reserved for last place sides. It's hard to predict just what they'll be looking to do in the draft with a new coach and general manager moving in shortly before the start of preseason practices. The timing of this latest capitulation in Vancouver could not have been worse considering there were already important personnel decisions looming on the horizon without the need to hire a new person to make those decisions. Either way, it will be very interesting to see what action the fans at Swangard decide to take since there seems to be a feeling of betrayal hanging over the Whitecaps hardcore supporters.
The draft is on its way with a fair share of subplots going on around it. In a couple of weeks we will all be speculating on how and why certain players got where they are and we will all be excited about the prospect of another season of footy. You can expect a lot of post draft coverage from all corners in the coming days and a succession of decisions to be made that will have an impact on the early portion of the season. Everyone knows that a season is never made in these initial few weeks when practices are beginning and early personnel decisions are being made, but the foundation for so many clubs will be laid and it will be very interesting watching these things unfold.
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