Interview from the MLS SuperDraft Combine

by Dave Clark on Jan 13, 2009 9:43 AM PST in Sounders: MLS Regular Season

The MLS Combine has a few media members at it, sometimes giving conflicting reports. One has Zakuani being a wing player that shows promise and the other says that he only showed flashes and looked tired.

With some conflicting media reports, and some foresight I managed to corral a North American professional soccer coach who is in attendance at the Combine. Our short conversation yesterday about the players there follows, hopefully granting you the reader another opinion about the talents available, as well as why rumors are that Seattle is shopping its number one pick. Seattle also has the #16, #31, and #46 at this time.

Dave Clark : There's a lot of talk that this year is a pretty deep draft with a lot of talent. Are you finding that to be accurate?

Coach:

Compared to 2007 this one is not as deep, not as much talent here. It appears that a lot of players aren't fit and they show a surprising lack of bite to their game. So, no, I do not agree that there is a deep pool this year.

Generation Adidas has been largely disappointing, there might be a sense of entitlement here.

It is always nice when your interview subject to answer your next question before you ask it.

DC: Is there one player that has most impressed you so far?

Yohance Marshall the Central Defense out of South Florida

DC: Are there certain types of players or positions that are more likely to contribute in their first year?

In MLS experience is particularly important in Central Defense, and you often see teams rely on international players and Designated Player at Striker/Forward, so you would probably have the best chance of a Midfielder making an impact in year one.

DC: I'm going to ask for some brief comments on a few players.
George John

Very good player, appropriate size for center defense and good speed. Good touch, but not necessarily pacey when reacting. Holding mid is where he's played most and that might be best for him in the future.

Steve Zakuani

Would be a shock if he goes number one.

Raphael Cox

Unimpressive so far

O'Brian White

He's not here, but he's got the talent to be a number one.

What about his injury history?

Every time you have an injury like that you must be concerned with it and trust your medical staff to judge the injury and the recovery time.

DC: Do you have any last words about the Combine and draft, a story that I'm missing?

Its going to be difficult for a lot of players to make an impact in year particularly with the rule changes concerning the Reserve Teams and number of Developmental Players. Overall the Combine has been a disappointment again, many of the players aren't in the greatest shape right now.

It should be noted that there is another day of matches at the combine today, as well as possible workouts on Wednesday before the SuperDraft on Thursday at 11 AM PST. This is just also one coach's opinion, but one that deserves respect. I would like to thank him as publicly as I can, while respecting his organization's desire to be frank, but private.

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Comments

Be careful of anonymous analysis. Just because it is off the record, does not mean the anonymous coach is disnterested in his comments. He may be trying to mislead his competitors. These are well known tactics, esp. in the political world. Journalist beware!

by Don on Jan 13, 2009 6:45 PM PST reply actions

I agree Don. All anonymous comments such as these should be taken with a grain of salt.

But if you read my own analysis of past drafts you will notice that most high draft picks don’t make an impact in year one anyway.

Many MLS oriented sites are gaga over this draft, but let’s be honets, the MLS best XI only had four draftees on it.

You might also note that only 3 (Carroll, Evans, Iro) of the Crew who appeared in more than half their games were draftees by the Crew.

by Dave Clark on Jan 13, 2009 7:24 PM PST reply actions

Dave, I am curious how much stock do the teams put into the combine. In the last few weeks, Steve Zakuani seemed to be the unanamous choice as the number 1 pick. Now, supposedly after an average showing at the combine, he is not.

It seems odd that more weight is given to what a player does at the combine playing with players that they are unfamiliar with versus all the scouting that was previously done watching a player through college.

In American football, players are not usually moved down because of the combine, but player do move up based on the combine. I would think it would be the same, but based on the above analysis, it doesn’t appear to be so.

by Daniel L on Jan 13, 2009 7:55 PM PST reply actions

In some cases the Combine might be considered the highest pressure situation these players have ever been in, if they can’t perform then, when will they?

If you get the impression that a player is half-assing it when their very career is on the line, would you want that player?

Recall that for MLS there is not a huge bevy of scouting like there is for the NFL. So not all of these players have been scouted by 100% of the teams yet, whereas in the NFL every player at the Combine has been scouted. The difference is in the budgets of the teams/leagues.

This is my impression of the situation. I’m going to try and get an update tomorrow to see what may have changed in the last day, as well as to ask about Omar Gonzalez (I had read that he left the Combine to go back to class so forgot to ask).

by Dave Clark on Jan 13, 2009 8:25 PM PST reply actions

It still seems strange to me. I do understand that the NFL has taken scouting to another level in regards to how much money is spent. However, soccer is a lot like American football and basketball in that it does mean something that you understand what your teammate is going to do before he does it. When you have to think about it, it often is too late and makes you play slower than you normally would. Oh well, I do trust in the Sounder brain trust at this time.

by Daniel L on Jan 14, 2009 12:09 PM PST reply actions