No Fan Alone Colorado Rapids Podcast

The Rapids have announced the first ever MLS Charity Shield Game March 19th vs the Seattle Sounders. Proceeds from the match this year will be donated to UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) to aid relief efforts in Haiti.

There will be a collection of medical items that will help the poor people in Haiti who’s lives have been ripped apart in such a massive disaster. For more information about the game visit the Rapids Charity Shield Webpage.

In addition to the game, Class VI and Centennial Firm are working on putting together our preseason kickoff party that is open to anyone interested in coming. This annual event is a fantastic way to meet other supporters, have a good time, and gather any information about sitting with Class VI or standing with Centennial Firm in the new North Terraces.

More details will come, but this important annual party is also a fundraiser for the season where we will be auctioning off game signed jerseys and other wonderful memorialize donated to us from the Colorado Rapids and this year Seattle Sounders to raise funds for our upcoming season of tailgates, Rapids victories, and other things we need money to run our clubs.

We are also working on bringing in a guest speaker or two for perhaps a meet and greet or Q&A. It’s a party not to be missed!

We’ll get more details out there as they become available.

The first signs appeared at 1:15 ET on Galarcep’s blog, the Rapids were making a deal with New England.  One minute later the rumor was corroborated by Steven Goff via Twitter.  Then there was a lot of copying, followed by silence.  Was there a trade?  Did it fall through?

Then suddenly the Rapids traded Jacob Peterson to Toronto F.C. for some money.  Who’d have predicted that!  Whatever else might be said for or against Jake, he is recovering from injury.  That’s the sort of trade that makes you wonder if Bravo also offered Preki a nice bottle of wine with the comment, “Good as new!  Once I put the cork back in it.”

Then, once again, the trade with New England was on.  Yesterday,  confirmation, followed confirmation, followed Twitter leak, but no confirmation came from the horses’ mouths until today.  The Rapids let season ticket holders know first, which was nice, but in the age of blogging everyone’s a potential leak.  The story was out before the official press release was, released.

That’s how a news story develops, particularly in a niche sport that gets ignored by large media outlets.

So what have the Rapids done?

• To begin with, – not playing favorites, just picking the best – Class VI’s Bonji says, “I’m a big fan of the Rapids signing Jeff Larentowicz.  In 2009 he emerged as one of the top midfielder players in the league and central midfield was an area that needed improvement.”
• Jacob Peterson says, “I wish these guys the best of luck, but not when they’re playing us in Toronto. I’d like to see the Rapids do something in the Western Conference. The fans probably deserve that after putting up with some mediocre teams.”
• T.F.C.’s fans say their atmosphere rocks and ours, “up in the hills,” is well……listen here
• Preki says, “We’re looking forward to bringing him into camp and getting him working with the rest of the players.”  This makes me wonder if the rest of the players will be on crutches too?
• The Revs are saying, “Preston has tremendous game experience and has proven to be a very capable goalkeeping option when called upon,” Burns continued. “Cory is a very experienced, versatile defender who will help anchor our backline. We look forward to bringing both Preston and Cory into camp and getting them acclimated to the team.”
• Bravo says, .. watch the video.   Key adjectives for Wells, “willingness,” “bravery”.  For Jeff, “experience”, “the driving force through all their (Revs) injuries.”

Everyone’s happy!  Everyone wins!

In my mind the Rapids’ roster was stale at the end of the 2009 season.  The off-season was ripe for some moves to liven things up.  Up until this week not much has happened other than losing Jordan Harvey to the Philly Union and picking a few college kids in the draft.  Overall a negative impact on the team.

On draft day rumors of a big deal came and went, but more on that later.  Now the first player move by the Rapids sees Jacob Peterson moving to Toronto in exchange for some allocation money.  How much allocation money wasn’t disclosed.

I like this move because it gives Peterson a chance to make a fresh start with a new club while getting the Rapids cash to bring in new blood.  If the Rapids are going to go out in the international market allocation money can be very valuable.  By missing the 2009 playoffs we got a “you suck” allocation from the league and this cash will add buying power to that.  It also opens up a roster spot for either one of the new draftees, a trialist the coaches like, or a foreign signing.

However, if the long rumored trade between the Rapids and New England is in fact done, as reported by Ives last night, then the new allocation money we got from Toronto is likely going back east.   I’m a big fan of the Rapids signing Jeff Larentowicz.  In 2009 he emerged as one of the top midfielder players in the league and central midfield was an area that needed improvement.

If you read bigsoccer.com most people are putting a defensive midfielder tag on Larentowicz.  However, I’ll encourage you to expand your definition of player positions and just call him a central midfield.  For some reason American soccer fans like to label players either an attacking midfielder or a defensive midfielder.  I believe Larentowicz will be a nice improvement over Nick LaBrocca when paired with Pablo.  Pablo will be free to crush opposing players, winning the ball and then start the attack by passing to Larentowicz who has good passing abilities and vision of the field.  Larentowicz can also tackle and win the ball but I’m not going to say we’ll see him in a limited defensive capacity.  At least I don’t think so.  Jeff Larentowicz can grow into the true box-to-box midfielder all teams need.  He can grow into the Kyle Beckerman who helped Salt Lake win the 2009 MLS Cup.

By moving Gibbs we’ve traded away an overpriced defender.  Odds are most of his salary will go to Larentowicz because the Rapids need to convince him to stay in MLS as opposed to going to Europe, so I’m not sure there will be much economic change.  We’re also getting Wells Thompson who proved to be an adequate M/F backup for New England.  Honestly, he’s a cheaper Jacob Peterson.

Preston Burpo will no longer be the Rapids’ back-up keeper and I’m happy about that.  Who was in the nets for a majority of the seven games we lost/tied at the end of the season?  Yeah, the guy who is going to New England to serve as Matt Reis’ backup.  Was it 100% his fault we lost those games?  Absolutely not.  But, he’s no longer the guy I trust to backup Matt Pickens.  Does this mean Steward Ceus is ready to be the #2?  We’ll see if the Rapids bring anyone else in to compete with him, but last year the coaches gushed about his physical ability and presence in goal.  If he get’s the chance he’ll certainly be tested and I hope he can rise to the occasion and outplay Burpo.

So there you have it Rapids Fans.  The Rapids made two moves that will really put a new stamp on this club.  In summary, we shipped off an expensive backup M/F (Peterson $94K 2009 salary), we shipped off an expensive, aging defender (Gibbs $103K 2009 salary), we shipped off a backup keeper I don’t have faith in (Burpo $55k 2009 salary) in exchange for cash money, one of the best midfield prospects in the league (Larentowicz) and a cheaper backup M/F (Thompson).

The Rapids coaches will need to look long and hard at the remaining defenders to determine if we need additional backup.  A healthy Julien Baudet and Drew Moor will certainly be a solid starting combo.  Left back?  Right back?  Both need improvement.

Those are my thoughts for now.

The Rapids are crowing all over Facebook about their success at yesterday’s draft.  I think it’s great that they tried to draft for success on the field, but they did nothing for my success at spelling names.

You may have thought I was referring to Akpan.  Akpan’s actually pretty easy.  You just remember that the order of “k” and “p” sounds are opposite of what they are in napkin.  The hardest part with Akpan is remembering whether or not you need to go find an accent in order to get “Andre” correct.

No the difficult one is LaBauex, which looks a lot like it ought to be LaBeaux.

I’m not making fun of their names just my learning curve.  Borak on the  other hand, must train to make benefit glorious soccer program of C-SUN.  Sorry, couldn’t resist. Bet he gets that all the time.

It was sometime before I realized that the Rapids didn’t go to Philadelphia looking for a left-back.  That’s alright, but it would have been easier to watch had I started with that conclusion.  Reality is, the draft is a roll of the dice very few players…. and so on with the sports cliche.

You know what else is crap-shoot?  Mock drafts.  Mock drafts were created for people who are very comfortable with being wrong.  Many people were.  The Rapids never had the chance to draft a local boy, the way several commentators thought we should.  It was the locals who did the best with their draft mockery, as the F.C. Denver blog picked LaBauex at 23.

What have the Rapids acquired with their picks? Dunno, yet!  Here’s a few opinions from the fastest bloggers on the net:

• Greg Seltzer with soccer365 gave the Rapids a thumbs down.  Why?  For passing up defenders and, this is what kills me, play-makers.  College play-makers?  Oy!
• The Hillbilly Hooligan gave the Rapids a grade of C for going with, “the best player available.. and not for needs.”  Look at the record, the player who can have a career in MLS is always the best choice.  I just wish the Rapids thought the best available was a left back.  I miss Jordan Harvey.
• Joe Mauceri with Pro Player Pipeline, gave the Rapids a “C” as well. He did give up some valuable insights on our third and fourth round picks predicting in regards to Cutshaw, “I think the Colorado fans are really going to like him.”
• Local blog, FC Denver, awarded the Rapids the highest grade, a “B”.
• Who did the best in the draft?  The bloggers gave the highest marks to Chicago and San Jose.  Everyone’s been congratulating Chicago for picking Corben Bone at number 13.

Everyone likes the Akpan pick, which bodes well for him and the team.  One advantage is that Akpan is already familiar with the teams colors.

The biggest news of the day is drifting off into the realm of unfounded rumor.  That bit, is the news that the Rapids and the Revs did a deal, swapping Gibb and Burpo for Larry-in-toe-wits and Wells Thompson.

Time will tell.  Last  year Rapids fans learned that rumor-to- reality takes the long road in Rapids-land – see: Guppy, Palguta, Baudet, Smith…

The Ticket Horse link for the 2010 Season Package for the north end is now live. If you’re a first-timer, this is the easiest way to set it up. If you’re renewing, give your ticket rep a call. Stay tuned for more info about the north end.