For information on the newest members of the Philadelphia Union, check out this piece on the Union’s picks. Check out PSP’s pre-draft coverage examining possible Union selections and local players in this year’s SuperDraft.
- 11:57 – SoccerByIves reports that Juan Agudelo is likely on his way out of MLS now that the Red Bulls have acquired Kenny Cooper.
- 12:10 – #1 pick Andrew Wenger has Philly-area roots. PSP’s Dan Walsh has the details.
- 12:19 – How wild will the Mwanga-trade-rumor-mill go now? Mwanga to Revs for Rowe + money? Other random guesses?
- 12:22 – Silva’s stock shot up during the combine. Will this be the year the combine proves useful? Also: FC Dallas confirms they are in talks to send defender Jackson to a Brazilian first division side. Will this impact their SuperDraft selection?
- 12:41 – First 7 picks (Wenger possibly excluded) are for offense. Aside from Wenger/Garza, how many make big 2012 contributions?
- 12:44 – Berry played in the Fire’s youth system. He’s strong in the air on O and D. Union would have taken a long look at him if he’d lasted.
- 1:05 – On the Fox Soccer live chat of the draft, Ives Galarcep continues to say Danny Mwanga is “on the trading block.” Galarcep says additionally, “Also think Philly would rather play LeToux on the right wing.”
- 1:11 – Jonathan Tannenwald tweets from KC, “John Hackworth just strongly knocked down the Danny Mwanga trade rumor.”
- 1:16pm – Hoffman was projected to be a top-3 pick by many. His slip to the Union is a surprise. Could be another Michael Farfan for the Union? Drawback: He’s a poacher. So is Jack McInerney. Are they the same player? Could be. There’s a sudden logjam of young forwards. Somebody will go, unless Nowak tries again to move Le Toux to midfield. Still, value-wise, good pick. Best player available.
- 1:24pm – A Q & A with Hoffman from before the draft at MLSsoccer.com.
- 1:25pm – Tweet from Kerith Gabriel: “Union assistant John Hackworth on Mwanga trade rumor: ‘unless a team offered us $1M and their first rd. pick Danny isn’t going anywhere.'”
- 1:26pm – Chris Vito tweets, “Hoffman said his freshman year at UCLA was the freshman year of Amobi Okugo & the senior year of Kyle Nakazawa”
- 1:27pm – Vito tweets: “Chandler Hoffman: “I have some buddies on the team and I’m very excited to be coming to Philadelphia.”
- 1:28pm – Fake Peter Nowak tweets, “I’d like to congratulate
#RBNY, who have somehow used draft day to get older, slower and less skilled.” - 1:32pm – Vito tweets, “Chandler Hoffman: ‘Some of the top young players in league are on this Union team. It’s only going to make me better being challenged daily'”
- 1:38pm – In reply to a tweet from PSP asking if he has any Hoffman nicknames he’d like to share, Amobi Okugo tweets, “
@phillysoccerpg um not ones he’d like me to use haha” - 2:08pm – Dave Zeitlin tweets, “According to Hoffman, Vartughian and Hackworth told him they were shocked he was available and knew within seconds he was the pick.”
- 2:12pm – Video of Hoffman talking about being selected by the Union here.
- 2:14pm – Union tweets photos of Hoffman being greeted by coaching staff.
- 2:23pm – Union fan Al Kemery may be the first to have his photo taken with Hoffman.
- 2:29pm – John Hackworth on Hoffman: “We’re surprised he was still available. A player of his quality, especially with him being a Generation adidas player, he was too good to pass up. We watched him, scouted him, have known him for quite some time. He’s a great person as well and willing to work really hard.”
- 2:32pm – Galarcep on the Union selecting midfielder Greg Jordan: “Union select Greg Jordan. Very solid option, a pick for the future, because let’s face it, Brian Carroll isn’t getting any younger (and no, nobody gets younger except Benjamin Button)…Lots of coaches liked Jordan’s game. There are some questions about him being athletic enough, but he is a very sharp player. Good passer, reads the game well. “
- 2:36pm – The general reaction on Twitter to Jordan pick is: “Another midfielder?!?”
- 2:41pm – Chandler Hoffman’s twitter handle:
@chandala. Greg Jordan’s: @gnike11. - 2:46pm – Union third pick defender Raymon Gaddis is a Reading United alumni.
- 2:47pm – Galarcep on Gaddis: “Great pick, the one player on my Top 50 Big Board who did NOT get invited to the Combine. A speedy right back who, for my money, was better than several of the players invited to the Combine…Gaddis was actually part of my college pre-season Top 25 players to watch. Love that pick. “
- 2:59pm – Tweet from Reading United AC: “
@readingunited alumni still on the board for the Supplemental Draft: Brian Ownby, Evans Frimpong, Christian Barreiro and Eric Schoenle.”
Round 1
Pick # | MLS team | Player | Position | College |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Montreal Impact | Andrew Wenger | D/M/F | Duke University |
2 | Vancouver Whitecaps FC | Darren Mattocks | Striker | Akron University |
3 | New England Revolution | Kelyn Rowe | Attacking CM | UCLA |
4 | Toronto FC | Luis Silva | Center Mid | UC-Santa Barbara |
5 | Chivas USA | Casey Townsend | Striker | Maryland |
6 | San Jose Earthquakes | Sam Garza | Wide Mid/Striker | UC-Santa Barbara |
7 | D.C. United | Nick DeLeon | Center Mid | Louisville |
8 | Portland Timbers | Andrew Jean-Baptiste | Defender | UConn |
9 | Chicago Fire | Austin Berry | Defender | Louisville |
10 | Columbus Crew | Ethan Finlay | Striker/Wide mid | Creighton |
11 | FC Dallas | Matt Hedges | Central Defender | UNC |
12 | Toronto FC1 | Aaron Maund | Defender | Notre Dame |
13 | Philadelphia Union | Chandler Hoffman | Striker | UCLA/GA |
14 | Colorado Rapids | Tony Cascio | Wide Mid | UConn |
15 | Seattle Sounders FC | Andrew Duran | Defender | Creighton |
16 | Sporting Kansas City | Dom Dwyer | Forward | South Florida |
17 | Real Salt Lake | Enzo Martinez | Midfielder | UNC/GA |
18 | Houston Dynamo | Colin Rolfe | Forward | Louisville |
19 | Los Angeles Galaxy | Tommy Meyer | Defender | Indiana |
1. New York Red Bulls → Toronto FC. 1 April 2011: Toronto FC acquired this first-round selection, midfielder Tony Tchani, and defender Danleigh Borman from New York Red Bulls in exchange for Dwayne “Tiny Dancer” De Rosario.
Round 2
2. Toronto FC → Chicago Fire. 28 July 2011: Chicago Fire acquired this second-round selection and defender Dan Gargan from Toronto FC in exchange for defender Dasan Robinson.
3. Chivas USA → Real Salt Lake. 6 April 2010: Real Salt Lake acquired a conditional 2012 SuperDraft pick, which became this pick, from Chivas USA in exchange for the rights to defender Dario Delgado.
4. D.C. United → Columbus Crew. 6 August 2010: Columbus Crew acquired this second-round selection from D.C. United in exchange for defender Jed Zayner and a fourth-round selection in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft (which was converted to a first-round selection in the 2011 MLS Supplemental Draft).
5. FC Dallas → Sporting Kansas City. 9 March 2010: Sporting Kansas City acquired this second-round selection from FC Dallas in exchange for goalkeeper Kevin Hartman.
6. Colorado Rapids → San Jose Earthquakes. 7 April 2010: San Jose Earthquakes acquired this second-round selection from Colorado Rapids in exchange for forward Quincy Amarikwa.
7. Sporting Kansas City → Philadelphia Union. 30 June 2010: Philadelphia Union acquired this second-round selection, a second-round selection in the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, and allocation money from Kansas City Wizards in exchange for defender Shavar Thomas
Portland trade Kenny Cooper to New York ahead of the opening of the draft http://msn.foxsports.com/foxsoccer/mls/story/kenny-cooper-trade-portland-timbers-new-york-red-bulls-2012-mls-draft-011212
No defenders taken (save maybe Wenger), seven picks in. If they’re aiming for center back depth, that bodes well for the Union. Hedges and Jean-Baptiste are still on the board. If Chandler Hoffman (or even Finlay) slips that far, don’t be surprised if the Union grab him.
… and there goes Jean-Baptiste, a minute later…
And there they go. The Union just grabbed a guy at No. 13 that some projected to go in the top 3. Surprised Hoffman slipped that far. Marfan, the sequel? And he’s GA. League picks up much of the tab. Downside: Same skill set as Jack McInerney? (More on this later today.)
We suddenly have a glut of young striking talent. I’m telling you, Union, don’t shunt Le Toux out wide, it’s not worth it.
le toux has got to be up top. we now have 4 talented younger guys up top in le toux, martinez, mwanga, and jack mac. we also have pauno. time to make a run in the us open cup?
When I read Galarcep’s comment about Le Toux, that “Philly would rather play LeToux on the right wing,” I had several thoughts. First, he mustn’t see a huge number of Union games. Second, has he talked to Le Toux? Third, if by “Philly” he means “Nowak” well, maybe so. But if by “Philly” he means “Union fans,” he’s out of his mind.