January 12th, 2008 . 4:47 pm . By: Buzz Carrick

It’s one of my favorite events of the year, the MLS Combine.  We’re back in Ft Lauderdale at Lockhart Stadium for the second year.  It’s wonderful today- about 80 degrees with lots of clouds to provide shade.  The coaches side is in the sun so most of them sit on the open side for the first game and then migrate up top on the sunny side when more clouds come out.

Usually the first day of the combine is the worst set of games, and this one it’s wonderful.  I happen to think this year is better that last year’s combine though.  Last year there were maybe ten player who didn’t belong here and this year I only see one or two.  Plus we’ll get the U23 players in tomorrow, which will raise the level of play even more.  Patrick Nyarko also isn’t here today; he went to the Hermann Presentation and will be back ready to play tomorrow. Sherron Manswell is also missing for some unannounced reason.  Tony Beltran is apparently injured.

A quick note for day one. For the first set of games I use a process that may be overblown but I enjoy.  I watch the first two games without looking at the roster or trying to figure out who players are.  Obviously there are some players I recognize and I can hear their names shouted so it’s not a flawless system.  But the idea is to get a clean first impression here and then look up their names afterward and see how it matches my preconceptions.  In theory my comments today are unbiased thoughts, although I am sure I fail at that. To follow through on the exercise I’ll list the player’s number, add my comments, then at the very end write out their name so you can get a feel for how it goes.  Some of them may surprise you; they did me.

Another quick note- if you are a family member, friend, or significant other of a player you might want to stop reading now.  I am looking at these players as professionals.  There is no more “it’s little Johnny’s turn to play.”  These comments can be brutal and even unkind as not all these players will get drafted and even fewer will make it.  If a player is crap I will say they are crap.  So if there’s a chance you could be upset, I suggest you don’t read any further.

Game One: Predator PowerServe vs. adiTunit

Predator is in solid green head to toe, adiTunit is in yellow tops and shorts with white socks.  Both teams play diamond 4-4-2 formations.  I’ll give you the starting formations and the subs in each half, although I may miss one or two since they use a lot of them.  Green in particular is annoying with all the 2nd half changes.  I prefer the combine when everyone plays either the entire game or an entire half.

Predator PowerServe (Green)

First half.

Second half.

adiTunit (Yellow)

First half.

Second half.

Game One Comments and Thoughts

Predator PowerServe (Green)

9 – A powerful keeper with command of the box, good shot stopper.  He’s impressive today and it looks like he’s the best keeper here.  (Dominic Cervi, Tulsa)

21 – Good defender, but nothing special.  Stayed home way to much in the 1st half.  Hit some nice crosses in the second half when he played midfield. (Mike Zaher, UCLA)

22 – Hit a couple bad crosses. Overall hesitant, is he not used to playing wide mid? ‘Cause he seems a touch lost tactically.  (Eric Burkholder, Tulsa)

25 – A bad day for him, beat multiple times for pace by the tall wide mid in the middle section of the game.  Gave the ball away too much.  (Adrian Chevannes, SMU)

26 – A rangy up and down defender we like for the modern game. His passes are not great, needs to work on that.  Don’t forget to defend kid, seriously.  (Lucas Fernandez, Argentina)

27 – Works real hard, but no class in his game.  He has a nice first touch but has no tools to separate from defenders. (Kevin Forrest, Washington)

28 – Plays good defense covering back.  Great cross is the best chance of day for his team in the second half.  Can beat players on the dribble, has the speed to get to the end, and plays composed and in combination.  His team’s best player today. (Joe Germanese, Duke)

29 – Showed little in the short 1st half appearance.  Better vision in the second, moved away from danger, but too much side or back passing.  Showing range late in the game as others tired. (Brian Grazier, St Louis)

30 – Confident on the ball. Real smooth feet and touch, nice player.  Would get possession and have to wait for teammates. Nice impression but he shouldn’t be a pure a-mid. (Pat Healey, Towson)

31 – Tends to drift about or back into midfield then make a burst run forward.  Plays very deep, he wants to be a mid. Gets to play mid in the second and can’t get enough of the ball. (Kai Kasiguran, Messiah)

32- Defends very deep, much too deep.  Needs to get much tighter so it’s hard to know if he can really defend or not.  He’s too slow with the ball in possession. (Corey Sipos, Akron)

36 – A real strong defender, shoulders people off the ball all game long. Showed some pace and covered up well.  (Rauwshan McKenzie, Michigan State)

37 – Plays head up, composed, reads game well.  Controlled midfield, his team fell to pieces in middle when he subbed out.  Fantastic influence as a holding midfielder.  (Andrew Jacobson, California)

38 – Big, good long passer, and great in air.  All the raw tools, needs some coaching to refine his tactical positioning.  Clearly the best green defender and leader back there.  (David Horst, Old Dominion)

adiTunit (Yellow)

11 – Solid keeper with good communication.  He makes a couple saves including a real nice point blank one.  Is he quick enough? (Andrew Kartunen, Stanford)

42 – Good field sense, good ball skill. Works hard on defense too.  Players around him couldn’t read him.  Closest thing to a pure #10 here today.  (Jonathan Sabbatini, Uruguay)

45 – Real good energy. Has a quick step, first touch wasn’t good early but improved in the second half.  Not enough result.  (Jeremy Barlow, Virginia)

46 – Good pro size, didn’t want much of the ball. Played solid defense but I have no idea if he can pass or dribble from today’s game. (Matthew Britner, Brown)

47 – Seems intelligent, but not athletic.  Didn’t do much other than cut out passes. Not sure he can handle pace or physical game.  (Hugh Cronin, NC State)

48 – Not fast but really smart.  Plays with his head up, has nice touch and ball skill, plus he knows how the game works.  He needs to be fitter. Likes to drift central a lot.  (Pavle Dundjer, UIC)

49 – Runs by his defender immediately after sub.  Tall and lanky, great touch, beats everyone he wants to and reads the game well.  Gets several nice crosses in.  Best yellow player and arguably most dangerous player in this first game. (Brek Shea, US U17)

50 – Solid stay-at-home wide defender, but is that enough in the pro game?  Looks like a good athlete and has pace and strength for next level.  Can he find the modern outside back game? (Andre Sherard, UNC)

51 – Looking pedestrian.  Not a great ball winner, no great passing vision.  Just an average player. (Cesar Zambrano, UIC)

55 – Can’t outrun his defender on long run, but fairly quick first step.  Doesn’t play a lot of combinations with his partner, but he’s looking to when he comes back to midfield.  Hits some nice driven crosses.  I think he should be a wide mid and not a forward. (El-Hadj Cisse, NC State)

56 – Not great with the passing, he needs to get his head up playing out of the back. Great athletic defender when pressed, but was never really tested and was almost lackadaisical as a result. Directing traffic in the back and reacts well.  (Julius James, UConn)

58 -  Shut down both the wide mid and forward he faced.  He’s quicker than the player he replaced and deals better with the outside mid.  Good athlete- he should be an able pro.  (Brandon Owens, UCLA)

59 – Works really hard, but he’s not a smart player.  That’s a bad combo.  Finally has the best shot of the day when 42 does all the work and drops ball off to him.   (Keith Savage, West Florida)

Game Two: adiPure vs. adidas Trofeo

adiPure is in all white, Trofeo is in solid red.  Again both teams play a diamond 4-4-2.  That’s unusual to have all four teams play the same formation. Usually at the combine the teams run out various shapes.  This is a much better game than the first as it not only has a goal, but in general there is more energy, excitement, entertainment, and danger.  Red, like green in the previous game, makes way too many subs.

adiPure (White)

First half.

Second half.

adidas Trofeo (Red)

First half.

Second half.

Game Two Comments and Thoughts

adiPure (White)

17 – Didn’t do a lot as most shots went wide.  Good positioning. (Brian Edwards, Wake Forest)

61 – Poor early, didn’t get much better.  (Matt Hatzke, Santa Clara)

62 – Good runner with real range, not afraid of contact.  Works hard to overlap and is an above average outside back. An aggressive defender, he takes chances. Can beat players on dribble.  (Jonathan Leathers, Furman)

63 – Tiny, but strong.  Really quick feet and touch.  Plays some very nice through balls, wants to cut inside and penetrate instead of getting to end for cross. (Alex Nimo, US U17)

64 – Runs very well with the ball, very quick.  Got into danger spots.  Good ball technique.  (Shea Salinas, Furman)

65 – Great energy and range, creates lots of chaos and danger as a deeper forward.  I love his work rate and tenacity… but he’s not a pure striker I don’t think.  (Ely Allen, Washington)

66 – Tall, great in the air. Quick out to track forwards.  Lost his mark once early, but rarely in error after that.  Great looking pro potential.  (Eric Brunner, Ohio State)

67 – Scores the goal with a very well-struck ball, but it was a gift from 68. He’s strong to win ball in forward third, but doesn’t have a ton to offer today other than the goal.  (George Josten, Gonzaga)

68 – He likes to pick balls off players, not physical for a large player. Class game, real clean and refined with ball and passing. I really like him, elegant. Terrific player. Did all the work on the goal beating 3 or 4 players.  Best player for white. (Peter Lowry, Santa Clara)

70 – Needs to get head up, but creates danger.  Not great on the dribble, but the raw athleticism and game are intriguing.  (Ricardo Pierre-Louis, Lee University)

72 – Nice long passer, composed on the ball.  Solid looking linking-type midfielder  Will need to tackle and win more balls if he’s going to be an MLS holding mid.  (Dan Stratford, West Virginia)

75 – After a disappointing first half, he was much better once he got into the game flow in the second.  He shows great range late getting down the line and into the box.  (Geoff Cameron, Rhode Island)

76 – A big target forward that moves well for a large guy.  Got in a few dangerous spots. I want to see more.  (Maximiliano Damiano, Argentina)

77 – Very physical raw skill set for a defender. Doesn’t read the game well and will need lots of coaching.  (Yomby William, Old Dominion)

adidas Trofeo (Red)

3 – Made a poor decision coming out early in the game but recovered.  Great shot stopper, stones 70 at least twice.   Impressive athleticism and tools, second best keeper today.  (Josh Lambo, US U17)

81 – Average defender.  I didn’t see much to excite me.  (AJ Kulp, Old Dominion)

82 – Good passer, lefty. Real nice touch.  Willing to go into tight space.  (David Roth, Northwestern)

83 – Likes to combine and get forward out of midfield.  Not a bad player, but does he have any upside?  I don’t see any real creative spark for a #10. (Ciaran O’Brien, UCSB)

84 – Not a great defender, tries to do flash moves and nothing happens.  Very nervous when he enters. Better as a midfielder, but still no positive contribution to the game. (Roger Espinoza, Ohio State)

85 – Too casual, not finding the game, just not involved enough. Looks a bit on the slow side.  (Xavier Balc, Ohio State)

86 – Solid player. He tries to get forward, and does so a few times to effect.  Got caught ball-watching late.  (Ryan Cordeiro, UConn)

87 – Rangy player, and wants badly to get up and down.  Doesn’t have a wonderful result in this game, but better than average skills.  (Ryan Miller, Notre Dame)

89 – Gangly, with heavy touch, and too slow in possession.  One of the worst players in this second game today.  (Luke Sassano, California)

90 – Tidy simple player, no errors, he plays a clean game.  Much better in midfield than up top.  Influential in the second half.  (Scott Campbell, UNC)

91 – Solid ball-winner who isn’t bad with ball at feet.  Hurt midway through first half and doesn’t return. Way too short an appearance to judge anything. (Ben Shuleva, SMU)

92 – Dangerous player, perhaps the most dangerous in this game.  Strong and effective, he combines well.  Fast enough to take players over the top.  A complete forward today.  (Lukasz Tumicz, Rhode Island)

94 – Made a couple bad choices passing out of back.  Outside of that good defender, reads the game fairly well. He at least tries to get forward.  Has no left foot.  (David Worthen, UNC-G)

95 – Looks solid in defense, good in air.  Tries to be too ambitious on long passes.  Play simple and he’ll be fine. Big and strong, but a touch slow. Cut out some good passes.  (Scott Bolkan, Stanford)

96 – Immense physical presence, quick enough to man mark.  Feet aren’t great.  Dominating in the air.  Leads the back line.  (Andy Iro, UCSB)

Forwards

Some of you may be wondering where the forward draft pool rankings are.  I had to give them some space after running on ESPN, which would have meant yesterday.  Unfortunately I was traveling and today is combine day.  So I’ll run them on the combine off day, Monday.

See you tomorrow for some more combine coverage.

Categories: Features.

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