Jimmy Conrad and Josh Wolff will be called to lead in 2010 for KC. (WVH Photo Correspondent Brian Stevens)

We’re continuing on today with our look at each Major League Soccer club’s pre-season outlook of what players they have on board and where they need to go next before the new season kicks off. So far we’ve covered nearly half of the league with Chicago, Colorado, Chivas, Columbus, DC, Dallas, Houston and Philadelphia all already looked at here.

Today we go to the middle of the country to take a look at the Kansas City Wizards and what coach/technical director Peter Vermes is doing with his club.

The Wizards had a shaky season in 2009 but they hope a few changes around their roster will be enough to stay with the top of the pack in an already tough eastern conference.

So let’s see what the Wizards have done with their winter and where they need to go from here. Continue Reading…

Its about that time of the month again to update the rookie watch list. Since our last update a couple rookies have emerged a little more, while some are still taking a back seat as the summer months roll on.

I think now that we are halfway through the season we can have a better understanding of who is in this race and who is not. Some guys have floated on that bubble, while others are starting to place themselves in the true discussion for this award. A lot has to do with playing time, how their clubs are doing and what impact they are actually making on the field.

Still no true order to this list though, that will still come later on. Feel free as always to post your short list or discuss mine. Continue Reading…

I realize it’s been well over a month since I last updated this watch list. For good reason too, there was no need early on to update this kind of a list from week to week. That will come more in handy once we hit late August and September here. But since summer is starting up its a good time to revisit this list and give it a swift update.

A few more rookies are really starting to make an impact on their clubs here as we move forward and approach that half-way line of the season (believe it or not we are only a couple weeks from that). More rookies are starting to get playing time as the US Open Cup rolls around and even more so in league play. They are either earning their spots in practice or are filling in for injured veterans. Either way, some are starting to make the most of their chances here.

Again, this is a watch list, so for now there isn’t a real order here on the players. Though before long expect the order to be one of a ranking-style, but that won’t come until later this summer I would assume. I know I said before I would need a few weeks to truly get a top five, well it looks like I need more time on that. Mainly I want more time on that.

Here we go… Continue Reading…

It has been a couple weeks since I posted anything on Major League Soccer’s rookie class for 2008. I decided to go away from the week-by-week account of the rookies and do this once or twice a month because this season, unlike many in previous years, is harder to judge the rookie talent due to the influx of foreign talent in the league.

The amount of young talent in the league right now is probably at an all-time high. But in terms of rookie play, it is probably near the low levels that it has ever been at in the league’s history. But rest assured the home grown talent is still in the league thanks to the rookie class. We are just having to wait a little longer this year for rookies to step up and emerge as top players in this league.

I saw this because right now only one rookie has scored a goal here this season. Houston’s Geoff Cameron scored in week two against FC Dallas for the rookie class’s lone goal of the year. Yup, this time last year we had a couple rookies in the score books. Kansas City’s Michael Harrington scored just three minutes into his debut, and by month’s end, then-Los Angeles forward Robbie Findley also tallied a goal.

EDIT: Completely forgot about Chicago’s rookie Stephen King’s goal this past week…so there has been two rookies with goals.

The rookie play early last season was talked about more to keep people interested while they were waiting on the likes of David Beckham and Blanco to join the league.

But as tough as things have been, six weeks into the year there are a few guys that are breaking through the cracks in my eyes. Injuries may have played a part and still are for some guys here this season but I think before long some of those top picks will break out and really justify their pick in the draft.

Continue Reading…