As the MLS season winds towards the end, the excitement continues to build in Philadelphia. On November 25, the Union will continue to take shape as the expansion draft takes place. The first players in Philadelphia Union history will come off the books of ten other clubs.
MLS released the specific rules that the other MLS clubs must follow when they make players available for Peter Nowak and his staff to select. Here's a look at some of the basics:
- Teams get to protect 11 players, both senior and developmental
- Generation adidas players do not need to be protected
- Designated players only need to be protected if they have a no trade clause
- Teams can only lose one player — after a team has a player selected, they are out
- The expansion draft will last ten rounds
For the 15 other teams in MLS, a November 23, 3pm deadline is in place for the list of players they wish to protect. Five teams will emerge from the draft unaffected due to the ten-round limit.
Who do you think your team will protect? What players will Philadelphia end up with?
Share your thoughts below.
Burling over Wondo?
They should take James Riley from Seattle!!!!!!
Why can designated players only be protected if they have a no-trade clause? Isn’t that an oxy-moron. I really don’t know how all the background politics work…..
I can’t believe no one has commented yet about Bobby Convey. He is a LOCK to go back home. Hopefully it can be a rejuvenation.
Tough call between Mapp and say Carr or Dimitrov. Do we lose Sega for sure?
Sorry I didn’t make my point clear. The expnsion draft is important,but to have a successful year they will need to make good signings from other places. Of the starts or main players only 2 or 3 were from the expansion draft.
I had forgotten that Ianni was from a trade.
The best part of te expansion draft was knowing there was more than just 3 guys on the team.
via DuNord, rogers will be left unprotected.
AJ will definitely be protected. If they leave defenders unprotected, it will be the old guys like Sanneh and possibly Berhalter. Eskandarian and Magee are probably unprotected, especially since Alecko’s career is still in the balance if he can’t get over the concussion after effects.
I have a feeling the Union will draft Opara at #1 and also Get Jeremiah White as one of their wingers.
“Home Grown” players are automatically protected. What exactly is the definition of “home grown?”
My thoughts are that that list is brutal. Not to nitpick, but firstly, you only have 10 players listed. Next, Cruz is a GA, and is exempt. Third, they just signed Ching to a new contract, so I’m pretty sure they want to keep him around. Fourth, you don’t think they will want to protect their DP?
Neither Moreno or Rogers are under contract with the Crew, so I think they keep Gaven this year.
I’d like the Earthquakes to leave John Doyle unprotected…
Similar to NY, do we HAVE to protect 11 players? For San Jose, I’ll predict we protect the following:
Amarikwa
Alvarez
Burling
Glen
Hernandez
Johnson
McDonald
Pitchkolan
Salinas
Sanchez
Weber
Houston guesses:
Corey Ashe
Bobby Boswell
Geoff Cameron
Mike Chabala
Danny Cruz
Brad Davis
Andrew Hainault
Tally Hall
Dominic Oduro
Cam Weaver
There’s a few quality guys that I think will go unprotected due to their age (Barrett, Mullan, Mulrooney, Waibel, Onstad) and I don’t think are the sort of players that Philly would go after. I think. Thoughts?
Fire (by next year we’re not going to have many players left to protect). We lose Rolfe and Segares. I imagine Blanco will have to be protected because I imagine he has a no trade clause, but then I don’t think he’ll be back next year. Nyarko and Husidic are Gen Adidas. So (I think)…
1.Jon Busch
2.Wilman Conde
3.Marco Pappa
4.Brian McBride
5.Logan Pause
6.John Thorrington
7.Tim Ward
8.Mike Banner
Last three I’m not so sure about, but I’ll go with
9.Justin Mapp (although I don’t think they’ll want to keep him around anymore with his salary and lack of contribution. Used to be my favorite player, too…)
10.Calen Carr
11.C.J. Brown
I am concerned how this draft will be conducted for 2011, when two (2) teams are being added to the league instead of only one. To avoid Portland and Vancouver cutting drastically into each others recruitment quality, existing teams will have to be able to protect fewer players, which will make it harder on those teams to maintain quality.
Ives – 1) Do you get to interview Nowak either before or after the picks? Do you think he would want Razov? (I say he does.) Any guesses as to who / what he wants?
2) – I know this is a year early,I have so many questions about the Portland / Vancouver expansion draft. By the numbers, some teams could lose 2 players. To have twice the # of draftees will translate into more than twice the shake up. What will the double expansion draft/ College draft / DP recruitment look in one year’s time? Which USL players might get called up? Its going to be really interesting 1 year from now.
if nothing else you have some of the coolest jerseys in the league at this point.
the seattle situation was a little different. just be patient. I remember chomping at the bit and waiting day after day for any updates this time last year. After this draft and the general draft the team will come together pretty quickly and you’ll have a pretty solid idea of what it will look like. At least thats my 2 cents.
I’m right there with you too. I’ve read in the Times the Ljungberg won’t have to be protected. If not then I’d add Le Toux to the list leaving Marshall and the sole regular exposed. My best guess is Wahl or King being taken.
Union is taking 10 players- hence 10 rounds. They have the first, and only, pick in each round. They can take whomever they want,m but only one from each team. So in round 2, the team that lost a player in round 1 will be dropped from the pool.
Which DPs have no trade clauses (and therefore need to be protected)?
My list for LA:
Here is a list of Players automatically protected under the rules:
Beckham
Gonzalez
Bowen
My list of 11 to protect:
1. Berhalter
2. Birchall
3. DeLaGarza
4. Franklin
5. Kovalenko
6. Lewis
7. Donovan
8. Ricketts
9. Klein
10. Dunivant
11. Eskandarian
I guess alot depends on contracts and which players are looking to move in another direction after the season. Eskandarian is my wild card on the list, I guess I hope he pans out for next season and shows the spark he did in his few games with us this season (my guess is he won’t be protected and Buddle will). I haven’t been too impressed with the movement or production of our forwards most of this season.
I had the same list except I couldn’t decide between Jaqua or Marshall. I’d hate to give up either. Could depend on whether Seattle thinks it can get an upgrade at striker. I’d also add Le Toux to the candidates for selection. Parke would be a win-win though.
Not quite. Sounders’ expansion picks were:
1. Nate Jaqua (Houston Dynamo)
2. Nathan Sturgis (Real Salt Lake)
3. Jeff Parke (New York Red Bulls)
4. Jarrod Smith (Toronto FC)
5. Khano Smith (New England Revolution)
6. Peter Vagenas (Los Angeles Galaxy)
7. Tyson Wahl (Kansas City Wizards)
8. James Riley (San Jose Earthquakes)
9. Stephen King (Chicago Fire)
10. Brad Evans (Columbus Crew)
Jaqua should have an asterisk because he likely had a deal with Houston to leave him unprotected. Marshall and Ianni were trades; Nyassi signed from the USL team. Point is that Sounders were pleased to have 3 major contributors (Jaqua, Evans and Riley) out of their ten picks, and Philly would be tickled to do as well.
My guess for Seattle: Ljungberg, Alonso, Hurtado, Evans, Gonzalez, Zakuani, Riley, Ianni, Montero, Jaqua, and Keller.
Top candidates for Philly: Hopefully Jeff Parke wants to come back to MLS and they can just take him. If not; Tyrone Marshall, Sana Nyassi, Tyson Wahl, Stephen King and Nathan Sturgis.
Please take Vagenas
a crack at DCU:
Kocics
Namoff
Jakovic
James
Szetela
Simms
Quaranta
Pontius
Jacobsen
Shipalane
Kumalo
Olsen
I’m tempted to expose Namoff, since he just had his bell rung good like and who knows if Nowak would take a chance, but I think he’s got too much upside and Peter would. Gomez and Moreno are both 40 minute players at this point, and too expensive at that, Nowak would be doing the club a favor, and his own a disservice, by taking them. I protect Olsen because, even at his price, a Philly club would take the local boy. the thing everyone else has in common on this list (save Olsen and Namoff) is that they are under 25 and see regular time. you can’t teach speed or youth.
What dumb annoucement that was and look how it turned out. If someone was that valuable as a keeper they would have selected them and traded them to a team that needed a keeper.
The key for Philly isn’t the expansion draft, but how they do signing players from other leagues.
From the expansion draft the players that started in the playoffs for the Sounders was
Jaqua, Riley, Marshall (1 game), Ianni (1 game). Even off the bench only Nyassi was an expansion pick.
Sounders FC also had the ability to loan the players out to the Seattle Sounders USL team. It helps when the same person is acting as GM for both teams. I believe they do have some right to sign MLS players before other teams, similiar to what the Sounders did with Alonso.
heard that as well
My guess for Colorado:
* = International, of which we must protect at least 3
Casey, Cummings*, Clark, Smith*, LaBrocca, Mastroeni, Harvey, Baudet*, Moor, Kimura*, Pickens
Plus Valentino and O’Brien will be protected automatically since they are GA.
😀
i heard they are not going to protect rogers.
I think so but i could be wrong. Like I said Chavez and VDB are not 100% in my mind but what i think they will protect.
I think Pearce may try and get back over to Europe. Although they could keep him and he play VDB’s spot. I think Seattle exposed some of his weekness on the right side in the last game.
Red Bulls protect:
Juan Pablo Angel (if he has a no trade clause)
Mac Kandji
That’s all I can think off. Take em all Philly…
The reason Philly hasn’t announced any players signed yet is because they are smarter then a Seattle when they sign a goalie before the expansion draft, teams know they don’t have to protect they top goalies then, so they are waiting until after the expansion draft to sign their players so they dont give any hints to teams on who they might select from their teams. oh and go UUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNION
i hope philly gets rojas. he’ll be great **********
I believe Jorge Rojas is still on the RBNY roster. Here’s to hoping he’s in Philly next season.
Chavez over Pearce?
well seattle had a unique agreement with their USL team. not sure philly has that same opportunity. for instance, someone like osvaldo alonso who was on charleston didnt get signed until later even though he was USL.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOO! I saw in another thread a post was deleted…SBI needs to delete all the “first!”‘s that we see here.
My 2c on who Columbus protects (off the top of my head, without looking at contract status):
Hesmer
Marshall
Padula
O’Rourke
Brunner
Carroll
Moffatt
Rogers
Lenhart
Moreno or Frankie
They left Gaven unprotected last time, GBS hasn’t re-signed, Garey’s coming up on contract, and they’d be willing to lose 1 between Iro, Renteria, Grendl, or Burns if it came to that. You won’t see much of the defense, or Hesmer or Carroll exposed at all.
Ives,
Who do you think LA will protect? Will De La Garza be protected? I think he’s a player to look out for in the future and would be a nice pick-up for Philly.
Which forwards would you guess will be protected (since they have so many: Eskadarian(sp?), Buddle, Magee, Gordon)?
can the red bulls trade the rights to protecting a player to another team?
Why only ten rounds? I think they should have the option of taking a player from all 15 teams.
As a Union fan I don’t understand why they have not signed any players from USL yet. Seattle had signed Le Toux by now and I thought a couple others as well. Am I being impatient or are the Union behind Seattle this place last year.
FC DALLAS protects
McCarty, Cunninham, Ihmelou, John, Harris, Ferreira, Chavez, Van Den Berg, Benitez, Sala, Hernandez
That is my thought. May be wrong on Chavez or Van Den Berg but i think everybody else will be correct.
lets see how New York f’s this one up again…