Jordan Harvey Philadelphia Bound

A bit odd to see the only player who played in all 30 games for the Rapids last season to be leaving, no? Scott Palguta and Drew Moor are going to be busy at left back next season.

Press release from the Colorado Rapids:

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (Wednesday, November 25, 2009) – The Colorado Rapids announced today that defender Jordan Harvey was selected by the Philadelphia Union with one of their 10 selections in the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft.
Each of the League’s 15 teams was allowed to protect 11 players, leaving all others unprotected and available for selection by the Union.
Harvey was originally selected with Colorado's first pick, ninth overall, in the 2006 MLS Supplemental Draft. In five seasons with the Rapids, he appeared in 45 games with 42 starts for 3,793 minutes and recorded four assists. Harvey is coming off a career season in 2009 where he was the only Rapids player to appear in all 30 games, while also registering a career-high three assists. His 2,613 minutes played last season were 8th most in MLS.

Rapids Announce Protected List Ahead of Draft

Press release today from the Colorado Rapids re the Philadelphia expansion draft. A few notable players not included in the protected list such as Jordan Harvey, Mehdi Ballouchy and Pat Noonan. Scott Palguta was another first team regular this season but his exclusion is more understandable given it was his rookie season. Only one player can be drafted by Philadelphia from each club.

COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (Monday, November 23, 2009) – The Colorado Rapids announced their list of 11 protected players for the 2009 MLS Expansion Draft, which takes place this Wednesday, November 25 at 11 a.m. MT.

With the Philadelphia Union, the league’s 16th club, entering the league for next season, each team in MLS must make a certain amount of their players available for the draft.

Philadelphia may not claim more than one player from any given team in MLS, and will select 10 players, meaning that five teams will not have a player taken in the Expansion Draft.

COLORADO RAPIDS PROTECTED PLAYERS

Goalkeeper: Matt Pickens
Defenders: Julien Baudet, Cory Gibbs, Kosuke Kimura, Drew Moor
Midfielders: Colin Clark, Nick LaBrocca, Pablo Mastroeni, Jamie Smith
Forwards: Conor Casey, Omar Cummings

In addition to this list, Rapids midfielder Ciaran O’Brien and defender Rob Valentino are automatically protected by the Rapids due to their Generation adidas status.

COLORADO RAPIDS PLAYERS AVAILABLE FOR SELECTION

Goalkeepers: Preston Burpo, Steward Ceus
Defenders: Ty Harden, Jordan Harvey, Scott Palguta, Michael Holody
Midfielders: Mehdi Ballouchy, Greg Dalby, Jacob Peterson
Forwards: Facundo Diz, Pat Noonan, Ross Schunk

A Win And We're In

Even if Real Salt Lake win in Toronto (unlikely, but you never know), the Colorado Rapids can still clinch a playoff position tonight with a win in Dallas if New England fail to win their game. The beauty is that Gary Smith will know the results of both the Salt Lake and New England games before the kickoff tonight against FC Dallas. The team would know exactly what it has to do and their destiny would be in their hands. Even if they can't clinch it tonight, they will still know that a win almost guarantees them a place in the postseason. Smith said a win will mean he is smoking cigars and drinking brandy tonight in some Dallas hotel. The team is almost there but it will be a very tough game against a streaking Dallas who still have an outside chance at reaching the playoffs after a great run in recent weeks.
A draw would still be a good result. Perhaps as important would be some goals from open play. Offensively, the Rapids have been ineffective in recent weeks, relying on Conor Casey's penalty kicks to scrounge points here and there. Tonight, they will rely on service from the wings in the form of regular fullbacks, Jordan Harvey and Kosuke Kimura. I think you are going to see a back three (Gibbs, Moor and Palguta) with Pablo Mastroeni playing just in front of them. With Kimura and Harvey in midfield will be Nick LaBrocca and Pat Noonan (a huge game for Noonan tonight) as the team will miss Mehdi Ballouchy through suspension. Omar Cummings and Casey will be upfront. So, it won't be a 3-5-2 that Smith really doesn't like all that much, more of a 3-1-4-2. Width in attack but less vulnerability for the defense. Despite the dilemmas posed by a returning to fitness Matt Pickens, I think Preston Burpo will be in goal. Put it this way. It was Burpo training yesterday with the first team while Pickens worked separately with goalkeeping coach, David Kramer, and the other reserve goalies.
A huge, huge game. Let's hope the team gives the best possible account of itself and we gain something from the trip.

Win In Texas For Playoff Position?

It may have been a quiet week for the Rapids but all the noise from the other MLS games has left their task very clear. A win in Dallas and they could be in the playoffs. Such a scenario will take place for sure if the Rapids win in Texas and Real Salt Lake fail to beat New York tomorrow night, something they haven't done in the past 10 games against the Red Bulls apparently. But then New York has failed to pick up a victory all season on the road so that might be asking a bit too much. There are other scenarios even if Salt Lake do win tomorrow night but, suffice it to say, the Rapids will almost definitely be in and could for sure be in after Saturday if they notch a victory.
In injury news, Matt Pickens is looking to be fit for selection for the first time in some weeks, posing a dilemma for Gary Smith as to who to put in the net. Check out this story on www.mlsnet.com for the latest on the goalkeeping situation http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20091013&content_id=7449308&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp
According to the Rapids' website, Cory Gibbs will be in the starting line-up in a back line of three defenders with Pablo Mastroeni just in front. Gibbs will be replacing suspended Julien Baudet. Mehdi Ballouchy is also suspended and there could be some shifts in the midfield to allow regular fullbacks, Kosuke Kimura and Jordan Harvey, to play more wide midfield positions.
Conor Casey should be back from his World Cup heroics to partner Omar Cummings upfront although what kind of condition he will be in after two games in a few days remains unclear. Fellow US MNT forward, Charlie Davies, was today seriously injured in a car accident, meaning Casey will surely be starting tomorrow against Costa Rica. The injuries to Davies are, thankfully, not said to be life-threatening.

Do We Know The Way to (Beat) San Jose?

The Colorado Rapids traveled to California yesterday to prepare for tonight's game against San Jose before, bizarrely, playing the same team again next Wednesday at DSG Park. What an important game tonight's game is. After losing at Toronto to record their fourth straight away defeat, the Rapids know that a point tonight against a struggling team will be the least they can come away with before, hopefully, picking up three points at home next week. If they can manage all three tonight plus a win next week, that would take them to 42 points, a figure that Gary Smith thinks now is the benchmark for reaching the playoffs.
If, if, if. The trouble with the MLS is that you can never tell what the results are going to be. If a contending team in the Premier League played a basement team, you are pretty much going to know the result, Burnley v Man U gloriously excepted. In the MLS, who knows? Yes, San Jose may be poor but they did beat Seattle 4-0 at home this season and I seem to remember the Rapids losing 2-0 to them at DSG Park last year. A point would be good, a win even better and a loss very disappointing. Point to me for stating the bleeding obvious.
My best guess on the line-up would be pretty similar to how the second half against Toronto started. Scott Palguta, who came on for a poor Pat Noonan after 45 minutes last week, is fully recovered from injury and illness and looks likely to start at left back. That would mean Jordan Harvey moving up more to left midfield as he did in the second half in Canada. Mehdi Ballouchy is back and will take a central midfield role with Greg Dalby whom Smith has praised on www.mlsnet.com for last week's performance. I think Noonan will pay the price for his form last week and drop to the bench. That's my guess, anyway. All I know is that Smith wasn't happy with Noonan's form and he doesn't have all that much patience with poor performances. Matt Pickens and Cory Gibbs continue to rehab from their injuries and will be out for at least the next two weeks.
The key to tonight may be how clinical the strike pairing is upfront. Conor Casey has been incredibly consistent all season and, if he can be at his bullish best, he could give a fragile San Jose back four all sorts of problems. So could speedster, Omar Cummings. We just need Omar to be on the type of finishing form he showed in Chicago rather than last week. I don't know how Omar gets into some positions to score. He is one of the best in the league at doing that. The downside is that he can still miss seemingly certain goals once he gets in those positions. He is so close to being a complete player. Let's hope he bangs them in tonight if he gets himself into scoring positions.
Kickoff is at 9pm Mountain Time with the official viewing party at Fado's.

Rapids May Sign Back-up Defender from Rhinos

An interesting piece of news out of Rochester, NY. It looks as if the Colorado Rapids may be signing another left-footed defender as a back-up to Jordan Harvey. Scott Palguta of the Rochester Rhinos is currently on trial with the Rapids. The Steve Guppy connection with Rochester is obviously alive and well. Looks like this guy is pretty highly rated. Look for some news from the Rapids in next few days.
Here's the link to a Rochester paper. The Rapids travel to Seattle today for a preseason friendly against the new Sounders team tomorrow.
http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090310/SPORTS05/903100318/1007/SPORTS

Smith Reaching For Stars With Feet on the Ground

Well, it was Wednesday rather than Monday but I did eventually manage to talk with Gary Smith, the head coach of the Colorado Rapids. Here are some of his thoughts less than a month away from the start of the season.

Gary Smith, head coach of the Colorado Rapids, wants 40 points to make the playoffs. That is the first priority of the team. If the Rapids do make the postseason, then aims can be modified and priorities reset. For some, aiming for just 40 points may seem a little light on ambition but Smith is realistic enough to know that he is still working with a relatively inexperienced core of players and that it is vital for the team to make that stage first having missed out in the past two seasons. "I am excited but realistic and we have to make sure both inside and outside the club that we don’t get too carried away," Smith said. For Smith, there is now a core group of players recently signed to multi-year contracts that are the future of the club. Aside from veteran club captain, Pablo Mastroeni, Smith sees the likes of Nick LaBrocca, Colin Clark, Ugo Ihemelu, Omar Cummings, Jordan Harvey and Kosuke Kimura, as the mainstay of the club in the coming years. But many of those players still have not typically played much more than a dozen games a season and are still developing their talents. Clearly, Smith is not just thinking about this season but the next few too.
The opening six games of the season will have a big say on the probability of reaching that target of 40 points. The Rapids will play four of those six games away, two of those being at Houston and Columbus. "Any away game is tough in this league and to have games against the current champions and the champions of the previous two seasons makes it even tougher," Smith said. His aim is for the team to get something out of both of those games. "If we can come out of the pack from these opening games, we are going to be in a good spot," he added. There then follows a long stint with a majority of games at DSG Park before more road games towards the end of the season.
The team is now just one or two players away from finalizing the 24-man roster which has to be in place March 2. Smith has been very public about bringing in one or two extra forwards to back up Conor Casey and Cummings. One of those could be a big name forward from Europe, probably in the summer once the seasons finish there. It may also be possible to bring in a player of good caliber from either South America or Africa in time for the season opener. Smith said he had been working on this for the past six weeks and admitted to some frustrations with the players he is targeting. One of those is the much-discussed English striker currently with Southampton, Jason Euell, whom Smith is talking with on a regular basis. There are problems with financial discussions, he said. Clearly, this is a problem with European players used to much higher salaries. The Rapids do have their Designated Player spot available again after trading Christian Gomez but I wouldn't hold your breath they will be able to fill that slot with a big name player based on what Smith is saying.
If strikers are added, clearly one or two more players would have to go. Only one triallist remains at the club, Ivorian Serge Wawa. Expect one of the developmental players to be moving on in the next week or so as the March 2 deadline approaches. The team heads to California to play San Jose on Friday followed by more preseason training and a game next week in Los Angeles.