2010 MLS SuperDraft

By most accounts, the Philadelphia Union cleaned up with their first ever MLS SuperDraft. In the first round alone, the expansion side managed to pick up three highly-regarded players in Danny Mwanga (1st overall), Amobi Okugo (6th overall) and Jack McInerney (seventh overall).


Between them, the Philadelphia first rounders have an average age less than eighteen years old. In a draft that saw only four teenagers selected, the Union tapped three of them for their inaugural squad. Coincidence? Or carefully crafted draft strategy?


Despite the "win now" attitude that will pervade thanks both to the Soudners' first year success and the rabid fans that will inhabit Chester Stadium, Piotr Nowak is giving every indication that he's looking towards the future. Although I expect that Mwanga and Okugo could both see solid minutes in 2010, neither will be relied on to lead the team, and McInerney might best be termed a "project", a player with the talent to turn into something special but needs seasoning and coaching to get there.


Philly's first round picks have, respectively, two years of college soccer (Mwanga-Oregon State), one year of college soccer (Okugo-UCLA), and zero years of college soccer (U-17er McInerney). Does that make them inherently more "mold-able" having not been overly exposed to the traditionally physical and direct college game? Does Nowak want players as "unspoiled" as possible?


Amobi Okugo


The MLS SuperDraft is a bit of a crap shoot. Many of the players selected have brief or middling pro careers of no real consequence, no matter where they were chosen in the draft order. Top picks, as with any sport, often flame out or fail to live up to expectations. Because the draft is a mandatory part of putting together a club in Major League Soccer thanks to the lack of an established professional development system, the Union and Nowak made a conscience choice to go after promising players as young as they could get them; short of developing Mwanga, Okugo, and McInerney themselves, the next best thing for the Union is to get them now, while there's still a shot of directing their growth in a positive professional direction.


There's no realistic or allowable way for MLS clubs to "stockpile" talent the way big clubs around the world do. While clubs from England, Spain, Italy, etc. can bring in fresh-faced kids with natural ability and turn them into senior players, top-flight American sides must take what they can get out of the draft. In a way, Nowak and the Union have managed to "stockpile" a group of young, talented players in a uniquely MLS way; the kids in question might not be fourteen, blank slates on which to impress the values of the club and the way they like to play, but they are young by the standards of the league and the soccer culture.


I'm willing to bet that Nowak was unconvinced any player in this year's draft could significantly contribute immediately to his squad, and that bringing in a highly-touted 22 year-old with little beyond a nice college résumé would ultimately be an inefficient use of his early picks. Besides, those players take up roster spots and salary cap space in restriction-laden MLS, meaning that Generation Adidas contracts (which all three first rounds picks have) are preferable. GA player salaries don't hit the cap, and the players are part of the club's Developmental Roster rather than its Senior one. That gives Nowak just that much more flexibility while having control over a phase of his youngsters development that might otherwise happen, or be stagnated, in college.


John McInerney



It's possible that Mwanga, Okugo, and McInerney were just the best players available in the Union staff's minds, and that their young ages are simply a coincidence. But Piotr Nowak, while doing the difficult work of building a new club from scratch, doesn't strike me as the type of coach who would simply happen upon three of the youngest players available with his first round picks.


Danny Mwanga, 18 years old, two seasons of college soccer. Amobi Okugo, 18 years old, one season of college soccer. Jack McInerney, 17 years old, zero seasons of college soccer.


Three raw players, each with big potential and zero to few "wasted years" in college soccer, ready to become pros under the tutelage of Piotr Nowak and the Philadelphia Union staff. Add it all up, and it appears that Philly had a clear draft strategy and executed it to perfection.


Now for the hard part; turning their young starlets into big time soccer players.
blog comments powered by Disqus
    KKTC Bahis Siteleri, Online Bahis

    Archive

    Legal


    Privacy Policy