Sunday, January 31, 2016

Comets Win Showdown with Baltimore

The Missouri Comets came back from a three week break to welcome the Baltimore Blast to the Silverstein Eye Centers for the first of three games in the final six for the Comets against the MASL finalist. For the first time since the infamous headbutting situation in last year's playoffs the two teams met. This time there was no physical altercation, just a good indoor soccer game. The Comets and the Blast fought in a back and forth intense game.

The first quarter was tight between the two teams with both goalkeepers being called upon to make big saves to keep the game scoreless. Under a minute left in the quarter though the scoring started. First Lucas Roque scored with 43 seconds left in the quarter to give the Blast the lead. The Comets though responded before the end of the quarter as Lucas Rodriguez scored off a restart with less than a second remaining to end the quarter with the two teams tied at 1-1.

Early in the second quarter Adriano Dos Santos took advantage of a power play opportunity and restored the Blast's lead before two minutes of the second quarter had been played. Once again though the Comets responded before five minutes had been played as Keil Willams jumped on a rebound after he and Leo Gibson had a few efforts in front of goal. With William Vanzela a little out of position, Williams was able to knock the ball into the net to make it 2-2. With less than five minutes left in the quarter the Comets grabbed their first lead of the game as Ramone Palmer set up the club's captain, Vahid Assadpour who made it 3-2.

The third quarter kept the game tight as the Blast tied the game with just over five minutes played as Roque scored his second goal of the game to knot the game at three all. Just under three minutes later, near the midpoint of the half the Comets retook the lead as Gibson scored to put the Comets back on top 4-3. The Blast once again fought back though and tied the game as Onua Obasi fired a shot off the inside of the far post and into the net to level the game at 4-4.

Into the fourth the Comets found themselves having to kill another penalty after a boarding penalty on John Sosa. The Comets were able to kill the penalty and shortly after had a power play of their own. The Comets took advantage of the man advantage as Lucas Rodriguez set up Bryan Perez with a nice pass to put the Comets up 5-4. The Blast pushed the game trying to once again find an equalizer but couldn't, after puling their goalkeeper and going with the sixth attacker. With under a minute left the Comets were able to extend the lead to 6-4 as Rodriguez found the back of the net to give the Comets the win.

Palmer-Brown Could be on the Way to Portugal

Reports came out today that Sporting KC could see another player depart from the team as defender Erik Palmer-Brown has been linked with a move to Portuguese club, FC Porto. First reported by Brian Sciaretta and then clarified by Sporting KC beat writer, Sam McDowell.

According to the reports, Palmer-Brown has left camp with KC in Arizona and is flying to Portugal to negotiate with the 27 time champions. McDowell is reporting that the move would be a loan for Palmer-Brown, not a transfer, at least not to start.

The US youth international has been a European transfer target since before the club signed him. Mainly the interest had been coming from Italian giant, Juventus, but now it looks like he'll head to Portugal, and you can bet that any loan deal for Palmer-Brown will likely have the option for Porto to make the loan permanent.

Palmer-Brown, Kansas City's third homegrown player signing has been with the club for three seasons appearing in 10 league games, starting six. Seven of those appearances and four of those starts came in the 2015 season for KC. In 2016 most people seemed to think that Palmer-Brown was a prime candidate to spend the season on loan to the club's USL team, the Swope Park Rangers. Instead, it would see that Palmer-Brown is set to go abroad for a loan. The question is how much playing time Palmer-Brown would actually get with Porto. Starting with the first team seems extremely unlikely at Porto, but Palmer-Brown could get more time with Porto B which plays in the Portuguese second division.

This potential move while not as big as the transfer of Krisztian Nemeth to Qatar won't be taken well by many KC fans in the aftermath of the Nemeth move. A number of KC fans will see Palmer-Brown's departure as just another move by the club to sell talented players to make money instead of building a winner. While Robb Heineman and Peter Vermes have always stated that they're not going to stand in the way of a player going to Europe if they want to, but fans on social media are starting to get frustrated with the perceived lack of ambition from the club with these recent moves.

Saturday, January 30, 2016

Dwyer Trolls KC Fans With More Moves

Yesterday Sporting KC forward, Dom Dwyer started the freak out among Sporting KC fans on Twitter when he tweeted his goodbye to forward Krisztian Nemeth and quickly deleting the tweet hours before Nemeth's move to Qatar was confirmed. Today, Dwyer was back on his game, this time in a much more "trolling" fashion. After Kansas City's 4-0 preseason win over FC Tucson, Dwyer tweeted out a photo from Instgram of him and Benny Feilhaber celebrating a goal. With the photograph, Dwyer said "These goodbyes just keep getting harder @b_feilhaber22."

After his tweet yesterday ahead of KC's departure a portion of the Sporting KC fan base that was already vulnerable due to the news about Nementh took Dwyer at his word and assumed a full on housecleaning was on at the Sporting KC front office. Dwyer followed it up by deleting the tweet in the same manner he had done the day before in regards to the Nemeth news.

This time though Sporting KC responded quickly to Dwyer's tweet squashing those rumors and trying to put out fires that raged back up again, if only for a short time after last night's news.


Sporting Win Preseason Opener

Sporting Kansas City stepped onto the field for the first time in 2016 to face off against an opponent today in Tucson when they played PDL side FC Tucson in a 60 minute scrimmage. Playing two separate lineups that saw the first 30 minutes played by the predominately first team (save Lawrence Olum starting instead of Soni Mustivar and Jordi Quintilla instead of Benny Feilhaber) KC jumped out to a 2-0 lead as Brad Davis and Dom Dwyer traded playing set up man and finisher. First Dwyer set up Davis to put KC up 1-0 before he returned the favor to Dwyer to make it 2-0.

Full scale changes after 30 minutes didn't keep Kansas City from adding two more on the PDL side. Second year man, Connor Hallisey scored both for Sporting off assists from Benny Feilhaber and Justin Mapp. KC will face the same team again on Wednesday before closing out the first phase of preseason in Tucson next Sunday February 7th against South Korean side, Seongnam FC.

Friday, January 29, 2016

Nemeth Sold to Qatari Club Al-Gharafa SC

It didn't take long for the rumors today to be confirmed as Sporting KC announced today that they had agreed to transfer forward Krisztian Nemeth to Al-Gharafa SC of Qatar. No fee was announced per MLS rules, but Sporting KC will get two-thirds of the fee and considering the money involved in the game in Qatar at the moment brought a reported fee of just under $3 million for Kansas City and MLS, plus an apparent sell on clause. So KC will get just under $2 million with their two-thirds share of the fee. On top of that Nemeth is probably going to get a very big pay raise that KC wouldn't have been able to afford without seriously overpaying for Nemeth. KC could have paid Nemeth a designated player contract, but there becomes a question of when you are overpaying for a player.

The loss though is a big blow for Kansas City on the field, replacing his production will not be easy. KC picked up Brad Davis and Justin Mapp in the offseason and the pair will likely be relied on to replace Nemeth's left wing position. Neither is known for their goal scoring skills, so replacing Nemeth's six assists in league play isn't a problem. The team though will likely have to rely on goal scoring by committee to replace Nemeth's 10 league goals and 16 in all competitions as Davis' career high for goals is eight and he's scored four in each of the last three seasons. Meanwhile Mapp has never scored more than three in his career. KC will also be hoping that Graham Zusi can improve on his two goals that he scored last season. The three will likely be the main ones called upon to pick up the slack that will be left from Nemeth's departure.

It also leaves KC with a lack of depth at the center forward position. Just days after fans were talking about the depth that the team had in numerous positions, KC is one injury to Dom Dwyer away from having their center forward be one of Zusi, Jacob Peterson, or 19 year old Daniel Salloi. And while Dwyer's injury issues from very early in his career are behind him relying on him game in and game out over the course of a season that will have at least 39 games across all competitions is asking quite a bit from the Englishman.

As for potential replacements the only mention we've heard in recent days was Robb Heineman mentioning that a young central midfielder that they were looking at as a loan was now looking like an acquisition. The problem though when it comes to replacing key players is that KC doesn't have the best track record of finding immediate replacements for high profile departures. After the 2012 season, Roger Espinoza left Kansas City on a free transfer, moving to England. Here is about the best KC has done with a replacement as Paulo Nagamura stepped up and was able to fill that gap that Espinoza left. KC tried to get Jorge Claros in but had to wait until the summer of 2014 to bring him in and that was less than successful. In 2013 the club lost Kei Kamara when the Sierra Leone forward first was loaned to Norwich and then moved permanently to Middlesbrough. KC didn't find a forward on the wing opposite of Zusi until they brought in Nemeth this past season. Then early in 2014 KC sold Oriol Rosell to Sporting Club de Portugal and once again struggled to replace him in that season. It wasn't until the emergence of Soni Mustivar this past season that KC really started to move past Rosell's departure. At the end of 2014 KC traded away defender Aurelien Collin believing that Ike Opara would be able to take his spot, and he certainly did, until the oft-injured center back got injured again. Hopefully KC is able to find an able replacement for Nemeth, whether it is someone currently on the roster or someone they bring in, but finding replacements immediately for key departing players has not been a strong point over the last few seasons.

Rumors of Nemeth's Exit Grow

The rumors about Sporting KC forward Krisztian Nemeth's departure from the club are continuing to grow and now his exit is starting to look more and more likely. Earlier this month rumors of Nemeth leaving for Poland came out, but now it looks like he won't be heading to Europe, but to the Middle East. Reports today are that the Hungarian striker will be leaving Kansas City for a club in 2022 World Cup hosts, Qatar.

The whole whirl wind of news stated with a now deleted tweet by Dom Dwyer where he said "some goodbyes are harder than others @KNemeth_Nemo." From there Thad from The Blue Testament was able to get from some sources that Nemeth did appear to be on his way out and that Qatar was the player's likely destination. His potential departure was also confirmed by Sam McDowell with the KC Star who said that a move was gaining momentum.

In 2015 Nemeth was the club's second leading scorer in league play and in all competitions with 10 and 16 respectively. He also assisted on six more goals. The 16 goals was 33% of Sporting KC's production last season.

Nemeth's direct replacement on KC's left wing will likely be a combination of newcomers Brad Davis and Justin Mapp. Between the two of them I think they could cover the production overall, but the question overall is can they specifically cover the goals that KC would lose with Nemeth? Davis has scored four goals in league play each of the last three seasons after a career high of eight in 2012, while Mapp has never scored more than three goals in a season. Sporting will have to hope that Graham Zusi picks up his goal production on the other wing where he only scored twice in 2015. Barring an addition of another forward coming into camp KC is likely going to have to rely on a committee to replace Nemeth in terms of goal production.

The other problem this poses for Kansas City is that it once again leaves them with only two center forwards on the team, Dom Dwyer, the team's leading scorer the last two seasons, and 19 year old homegrown player, Daniel Salloi. And while Salloi has experience in the Hungarian first division there has to be some concern about a him being the only other forward on the team when most expected him to spend quite a bit of time with the Swope Park Rangers in 2016. The team's other center forward options were emergency options in 2015 when KC played Jacob Peterson and Graham Zusi at the center forward position on separate occasions.

There's certainly a chance that Nemeth could be staying, but at this point I probably wouldn't hold my breath.

Youngest/Oldest to Appear for Kansas City

More stats for you, this time it's the youngest and oldest players to play or start a game for Kansas City in league or in all competitions.

In 2015 unfortnately there was no movement on any list as no player that debuted for Kansas City jumped on the list for the youngest player to appear in a game. In 2016 there's only one player currently on KC's roster who could make the list, homegrown player, Daniel Salloi at 19 could make his way onto any of the lists with an appearance or a start this season.

Ten youngest to appear in a league game for KC.
1. Erik Palmer-Brown - 17 years, 24 days - 5/18/2014 - Chicago
2. Nino da Silva - 18 years, 158 days - 8/31/1997 - DC United
3. Yura Movsisyan - 18 years, 311 days - 5/13/2006 - DC United
4. Soony Saad - 19 years, 0 days - 8/17/2011 - Portland
5. Jake Dancy - 19 years, 137 days - 8/24/1997 - San Jose
6. Jose Burciaga - 19 years, 184 days - 5/19/2001 - Chicago
7. Jimmy Medranda - 19 years, 212 days - 9/7/2013 - Columbus
8. Igor Julião - 19 years, 264 days - 5/14/2014 - Philadelphia
9. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 28 days - 3/27/2011 - DC United
10. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 35 days - 8/11/2012 - DC United
11. Chance Myers - 20 years, 124 days - 4/9/2008 - New England
12. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 132 days - 6/6/1999 - Los Angeles
13. Daneil Cyrus - 20 years, 220 days - 7/23/2011 - Toronto
14. Peter Byaruhanga - 20 years, 325 days - 7/8/2000 - New York
15. Nick Garcia - 20 years, 351 days - 3/25/2000 - Chicago
16. Michael Harrington - 21 years, 80 days - 4/14/2007 - DC United
17. Will John - 21 years, 81 days - 9/2/2006 - Los Angeles
18. Jon Kempin - 21 years, 124 days - 8/10/2014 - Vancouver
19. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 144 days - 5/16/1998 - New England
20. Mikey Lopez - 21 years, 146 days - 7/16/2014 - Columbus

Ten youngest to appear in a competitive game for KC.
1. Erik Palmer-Brown - 17 years, 24 days - 5/18/2014 - Chicago
2. Nino da Silva - 18 years, 158 days - 8/31/1997 - DC United
3. Yura Movsisyan - 18 years, 311 days - 5/13/2006 - DC United
4. Soony Saad - 19 years, 0 days - 8/17/2011 - Portland
5. Jon Kempin - 19 years, 51 days - 5/29/2012 - Orlando
6. Jake Dancy - 19 years, 137 days - 8/24/1997 - San Jose
7. Jose Burciaga - 19 years, 184 days - 5/19/2001 - Chicago
8. Jimmy Medranda - 19 years, 212 days - 9/7/2013 - Columbus
9. Igor Julião - 19 years, 264 days - 5/14/2014 - Philadelphia
10. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 28 days - 3/27/2011 - DC United
11. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 35 days - 8/11/2012 - DC United
12. Mikey Lopez - 20 years, 97 days - 5/28/2013 - Des Moines
13. Chance Myers - 20 years, 124 days - 4/9/2008 - New England
14. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 132 days - 6/6/1999 - Los Angeles
15. Daneil Cyrus - 20 years, 220 days - 7/23/2011 - Toronto
16. Peter Byaruhanga - 20 years, 325 days - 7/8/2000 - New York
17. Nick Garcia - 20 years, 351 days - 3/25/2000 - Chicago
18. Kevin Ellis - 20 years, 363 days - 6/28/2011 - Chicago PDL
19. Will John - 21 years, 29 days - 7/12/2006 - Des Moines
20. Michael Harrington - 21 years, 80 days - 4/14/2007 - DC United

Ten youngest players to START a league match.
1. Erik Palmer-Brown - 17 years, 24 days - 5/18/2014 - Chicago
2. Yura Movsisyan - 18 years, 357 days - 6/28/2006 - DC United
3. Jose Burciaga - 19 years, 184 days - 5/19/2001 - Chicago
4. Igor Julião - 19 years, 264 days - 5/14/2014 - Philadelphia
5. Soony Saad - 19 years, 308 days - 6/20/2012 - Seattle
6. Nino da Silva - 20 years, 11 days - 6/6/1999 - Los Angeles
7. Jimmy Medranda - 20 years, 37 days - 3/16/2014 - Dallas
8. Jake Dancy - 20 years, 52 days - 5/31/1998 - Colorado
9. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 77 days - 9/22/2012 - Montreal
10. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 85 days - 5/23/2010 - Columbus
11. Chance Myers - 20 years, 127 days - 4/12/2008 - Houston
12. Daneil Cyrus - 20 years ,227 days - 7/30/2011 - New England
13. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 228 days - 9/10/1999 - Colorado
14. Nick Garcia - 20 years, 351 days - 3/25/2000 - Chicago
15. Peter Byaruhanga - 20 years, 364 days - 8/16/2000 - San Jose
16. Michael Harrington - 21 years, 80 days - 4/14/2007 - DC United
17. Jon Kempin - 21 years, 130 days - 8/16/2014 - Toronto
18. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 144 days - 5/16/1998 - New England
19. Mikey Lopez - 21 years, 146 days - 7/16/2014 - Columbus
20T. Vicente Figueroa - 21 years, 170 days - 4/10/1999 - San Jose
20T. Roger Espinoza - 21 years, 170 days - 4/12/2008 - Houston

Ten youngest players to START a competitive game for KC.
1. Erik Palmer-Brown - 17 years, 24 days - 5/18/2014 - Chicago
2. Yura Movsisyan - 18 years, 357 days - 6/28/2006 - DC United
3. Jon Kempin - 19 years, 51 days - 5/29/2012 - Orlando
4. Jose Burciaga - 19 years, 184 days - 5/19/2001 - Chicago
5. Igor Julião - 19 years, 264 days - 5/14/2014 - Philadelphia
6. Soony Saad - 19 years, 286 days - 5/29/2012 - Orlando
7. Nino da Silva - 20 years, 11 days - 6/6/1999 - Los Angeles
8. Jimmy Medranda - 20 years, 37 days - 3/16/2014 - Dallas
9. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 45 days - 4/13/2010 - Colorado
10. Jake Dancy - 20 years, 52 days - 5/31/1998 - Colorado
11. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 77 days - 9/22/2012 - Montreal
12. Mikey Lopez - 20 years, 97 days - 5/28/2013 - Des Moines
13. Chance Myers - 20 years, 127 days - 4/12/2008 - Houston
14. Daneil Cyrus - 20 years ,227 days - 7/30/2011 - New England
15. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 228 days - 9/10/1999 - Colorado
16. Nick Garcia - 20 years, 351 days - 3/25/2000 - Chicago
17. Peter Byaruhanga - 20 years, 364 days - 8/16/2000 - San Jose
18. Will John - 21 years, 62 days - 8/14/2006 - Chicago
19. Michael Harrington - 21 years, 80 days - 4/14/2007 - DC United
20. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 144 days - 5/16/1998 - New England

As with the youngest players, no player joined the list for the oldest player to appear or start a game for Kansas City. Two players should make their way on to these lists in 2016 though. Paulo Nagamura was close to the list in 2015, but should make the list with his first appearance of the 2016 season. The same is true for Brad Davis, who will find himself on the list and by the end of the season should find himself in the top 10 in club history as well.

Ten oldest players to appear in a league game for KC.
1. Preki - 42 years, 113 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 121 days - 8/12/2001 - Colorado
3. Jimmy Nielsen - 36 years, 81 days - 10/26/2013 - Philadelphia
4. Peter Vermes - 35 years, 303 days - 9/20/2002 - Colorado
5. Tony Meola - 35 years, 179 days - 8/18/2004 - Columbus
6. Richard Gough - 35 years, 174 days - 9/26/1997 - Colorado
7. Kevin Hartman - 35 years, 152 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
8. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
9. Bo Oshoniyi - 34 years, 345 days - 10/14/2006 - New York
10. Kerry Zavagnin - 34 years, 115 days - 10/25/2008 - New England
11. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 44 days - 9/27/1998 - San Jose
12. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 341 days - 10/24/2012 - Philadelphia
13. Refik Sabanadzovic - 33 years, 279 days - 5/8/1999 - Los Angeles
14. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 242 days - 10/12/2010 - Chicago
15. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 240 days -  10/23/2010 - San Jose
16. Mark Santel - 33 years, 65 days - 9/8/2001 - San Jose
17. Roy Lassiter - 33 years, 63 days - 5/11/2002 - Colorado
18. Uche Okafor - 33 years, 32 days - 9/9/2000 - Tampa Bay
19. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 352 days - 6/4/2000 - Chicago
20. Diego Gutierrez - 32 years, 346 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas

Ten oldest players in all competitions for KC.
1. Preki - 42 years, 113 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 222 days - 11/21/2001 - Santos Laguna
3. Jimmy Nielsen - 36 years, 123 days - 12/7/2013 - Salt Lake
4. Peter Vermes - 35 years, 315 days - 10/2/2002 - Los Angeles
5. Tony Meola - 35 years, 214 days - 9/22/2004 - Chicago
6. Richard Gough - 35 years, 186 days - 10/8/1997 - Colorado
7. Kevin Hartman - 35 years, 152 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
8. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
9. Bo Oshoniyi - 34 years, 345 days - 10/14/2006 - New York
10. Kerry Zavagnin - 34 years, 115 days - 10/25/2008 - New England
11. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 44 days - 9/27/1998 - San Jose
12. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 352 days - 11/4/2012 - Houston
13. Refik Sabanadzovic - 33 years, 279 days - 5/8/1999 - Los Angeles
14. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 242 days - 10/12/2010 - Chicago
15. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 240 days -  10/23/2010 - San Jose
16. Mark Santel - 33 years, 104 days - 10/17/2001 - Barcelona
17. Uche Okafor - 33 years, 68 days - 10/15/2000 - Chicago
18. Roy Lassiter - 33 years, 63 days - 5/11/2002 - Colorado
19. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 362 days - 6/14/2000 - Chicago Sockers
20. Diego Gutierrez - 32 years, 346 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas

Ten oldest players to START a league game.
1. Preki - 42 years, 99 days - 10/1/2005 - Chicago
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 113 days - 8/4/2001 - Columbus
3. Jimmy Nielsen - 36 years, 81 days - 10/26/2013 - Philadelphia
4. Peter Vermes - 35 years, 303 days - 9/20/2002 - Colorado
5. Tony Meola - 35 years, 179 days - 8/18/2004 - Columbus
6. Richard Gough - 35 years, 174 days - 9/26/1997 - Colorado
7. Kevin Hartman - 35 years, 152 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
8. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
9. Bo Oshoniyi - 34 years, 345 days - 10/14/2006 - New York
10. Kerry Zavagnin - 34 years, 67 days - 9/7/2008 - Houston
11. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 44 days - 9/27/1998 - San Jose
12. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 341 days - 10/24/2012 - Philadelphia
13. Refik Sabanadzovic - 33 years, 279 days - 5/8/1999 - Los Angeles
14. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 242 days - 10/12/2010 - Chicago
15. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 233 days - 10/16/2010 - New England
16. Mark Santel - 33 years, 38 days - 8/12/2001 - Colorado
17. Roy Lassiter - 33 years, 14 days - 3/23/2002 - Colorado
18. Uche Okafor - 32 years, 346 days - 7/19/2000 - New England
19. Diego Gutierrez - 32 years, 346 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas
20. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 337 days - 5/20/2000 - San Jose

Ten oldest players to START a competitive game for KC.
1. Preki - 42 years, 99 days - 10/1/2005 - Chicago
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 222 days - 11/21/2001 - Santos Laguna
3. Jimmy Nielsen - 36 years, 123 days - 12/7/2013 - Salt Lake
4. Peter Vermes - 35 years, 315 days - 10/2/2002 - Los Angeles
5. Tony Meola - 35 years, 214 days - 9/22/2004 - Chicago
6. Richard Gough - 35 years, 186 days - 10/8/1997 - Colorado
7. Kevin Hartman - 35 years, 152 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
8. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 - DC United
9. Bo Oshoniyi - 34 years, 345 days - 10/14/2006 - New York
10. Kerry Zavagnin - 34 years, 67 days - 9/7/2008 - Houston
11. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 44 days - 9/27/1998 - San Jose
12. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 352 days - 11/4/2012 - Houston
13. Refik Sabanadzovic - 33 years, 279 days - 5/8/1999 - Los Angeles
14. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 242 days - 10/12/2010 - Chicago
15. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 233 days - 10/16/2010 - New England
16. Mark Santel - 33 years, 104 days - 10/17/2001 - Barcelona
17. Roy Lassiter - 33 years, 46 days - 4/24/2002 - Santos Laguna
18. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 362 days - 6/14/2000 - Chicago Sockers
19. Uche Okafor - 32 years, 346 days - 7/19/2000 - New England
20. Diego Gutierrez - 32 years, 346 days - 10/15/2005 - Dallas

Thursday, January 28, 2016

Youngest and Oldest Goal Scorers for Kansas City

Another statistical update, this time the youngest and oldest goal scorers

In league play, no new players joined the list in 2015. With the addition of Daniel Salloi this season if he can find the net he'll make his way onto the list. Other than him there are still a few others who could make the list, including Erik Palmer-Brown, Jimmy Medranda, Amadou Dia, Connor Hallisey, and Jordi Quintilla. Salloi though as a forward would seem to be the prime candidate to make the list if he can get time for the first team.

1. Soony Saad - 19 years, 0 days - 8/17/2011 vs Portland
2. Yura Movsisyan - 19 years, 293 days - 4/25/2007 vs Toronto
3. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 56 days - 9/1/2012 vs Toronto
4. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 137 days - 7/14/2010 vs Columbus
5. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 146 days - 6/20/1999 vs New York
6. Michael Harrington - 21 years,  80 days - 4/14/2007 vs DC
7. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 243 days - 8/23/1998 vs Miami
8. Roger Espinoza - 21 years, 266 days - 7/17/2008 vs Columbus
9. Ryan Pore - 21 years, 344 days - 9/3/2005 vs New York
10. Eddie Johnson - 22 years, 1 day - 4/1/2006 vs Columbus
11. Chris Brown - 22 years, 31 days - 4/10/1999 vs San Jose
12. CJ Sapong - 22 years, 82 days - 3/19/2011 vs Chivas
13. Jose Burciaga - 22 years, 223 days - 6/26/2004 vs San Jose
14. Matt McKeon - 22 years, 240 days - 5/22/1997 vs Columbus
15. Matt Taylor - 22 years, 246 days - 6/19/2004 vs New England
16. Vicente Figueroa - 22 years, 299 days - 8/16/2000 vs San Jose
17. Davy Arnaud - 22 years, 350 days - 6/7/2003 vs New York
18. Dom Dwyer - 23 years, 4 days - 8/3/2013 vs New York
19. Jack Jewsbury - 23 years, 39 days - 5/22/2004 vs Dallas
20. Chris Klein - 23 years, 124 days - 5/8/1999 vs LA

In all competitions, KC had no one join the list in 2015 as well, but like above there are plenty of candidates that could join the list in 2016.

1. Soony Saad - 19 years, 0 days - 8/17/2011 vs Portland
2. Yura Movsisyan - 19 years, 293 days - 4/25/2007 vs Toronto
3. Teal Bunbury - 20 years, 45 days - 4/13/2010 vs Colorado
4. Oriol Rosell - 20 years, 56 days - 9/1/2012 vs Toronto
5. Francisco Gomez - 20 years, 146 days - 6/20/1999 vs New York
6. Michael Harrington - 21 years,  80 days - 4/14/2007 vs DC
7. Scott Vermillion - 21 years, 243 days - 8/23/1998 vs Miami
8. Roger Espinoza - 21 years, 266 days - 7/17/2008 vs Columbus
9. Ryan Pore - 21 years, 344 days - 9/3/2005 vs New York
10. Justin Detter - 21 years, 363 days - 8/4/2004 vs Dallas
11. Eddie Johnson - 22 years, 1 day - 4/1/2006 vs Columbus
12. Matt McKeon - 22 years, 2 days - 9/26/1996 vs Dallas
13. Chris Brown - 22 years, 31 days - 4/10/1999 vs San Jose
14. CJ Sapong - 22 years, 82 days - 3/19/2011 vs Chivas
15T. Jose Burciaga - 22 years, 223 days - 6/26/2004 vs San Jose
15T. Rauwshan McKenzie - 22 years, 223 days - 6/30/2009 vs Minnesota
17. Matt Taylor - 22 years, 246 days - 6/19/2004 vs New England
18. Kevin Ellis - 22 years, 255 days - 3/12/2014 vs Cruz Azul
19. Alex Martinez - 22 years, 297 days - 6/18/2014
20. Vicente Figueroa - 22 years, 299 days - 8/16/2000 vs San Jose

For the oldest scorers in league play for Kansas City, there was one addition to the list as Benny Feilhaber knocked Sasha Victorine off the list and moved into the top 20. Elsewhere, Paulo Nagamura jumped from 16th on the list up to 12th in the 2015 season. This year could see a few players join the list as Brad Davis, Justin Mapp, and Lawrence Olum could all land in the top 20 in the 2016 season.

1. Preki - 42 years, 113 days - 10/15/2005 vs Dallas
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 5 days - 4/18/2001 vs Miami
3. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 vs DC
4. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 2 days - 8/16/1998 vs Columbus
5. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 211 days - 6/16/2012 vs Toronto
6. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 209 days - 9/22/2010 vs Houston
7. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 197 days - 8/28/2010 vs LA
8. Peter Vermes - 33 years, 188 days - 5/27/2000 vs Tampa
9. Kerry Zavagnin - 33 years, 27 days - 7/29/2007 vs Chivas USA
10. Mark Santel - 33  years, 24 days - 7/29/2001 vs New England
11. Roy Lassiter - 33 years, 183 days - 9/8/2001 vs San Jose
12. Paulo Nagamura - 32 years, 166 days - 8/15/2015 vs Vancouver
13. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 57 days - 8/14/1999 vs New York
14. Diego Gutierrez - 31 years, 320 days - 9/18/2004 vs San Jose
15. Birahim Diop - 31 years, 258 days - 10/23/2010 vs San Jose
16. Santiago Hirsig - 31 years, 247 days - 9/16/2009 vs Dallas
17. Omar Bravo - 31 years, 204 days - 9/23/2011 vs Philadelphia
18. Frank Klopas - 31 years, 5 days - 9/6/1997 vs Colorado
19. Benny Feilhaber - 30 years, 242 days - 9/18/2015 vs Dallas
20. Claudio Bieler - 30 years, 195 days - 9/12/2014 vs Chivas USA

In all competitions, Feilhaber knocked Claudio Bieler out of the top 20 for oldest goal scorers while Nagamura jumped from 17th up to 12th.

1. Preki - 42 years, 113 days - 10/15/2005 vs Dallas
2. Mo Johnston - 38 years, 5 days - 4/18/2001 vs Miami
3. Claudio Lopez - 35 years, 99 days - 10/24/2009 vs DC
4. Paul Rideout - 34 years, 2 days - 8/16/1998 vs Columbus
5. Julio Cesar - 33 years, 211 days - 6/16/2012 vs Toronto
6. Josh Wolff - 33 years, 209 days - 9/22/2010 vs Houston
7. Jimmy Conrad - 33 years, 197 days - 8/28/2010 vs LA
8. Peter Vermes - 33 years, 188 days - 5/27/2000 vs Tampa
9. Kerry Zavagnin - 33 years, 27 days - 7/29/2007 vs Chivas USA
10. Mark Santel - 33  years, 24 days - 7/29/2001 vs New England
11. Roy Lassiter - 32 years, 222 days - 10/17/2001 vs Barcelona
12. Paulo Nagamura - 32 years, 166 days - 8/15/2015 vs Vancouver
13. Alex Bunbury - 32 years, 57 days - 8/14/1999 vs New York
14. Diego Gutierrez - 31 years, 320 days - 9/18/2004 vs San Jose
15. Birahim Diop - 31 years, 258 days - 10/23/2010 vs San Jose
16. Santiago Hirsig - 31 years, 247 days - 9/16/2009 vs Dallas
17. Mike Burns - 31 years, 245 days - 3/16/2001 vs W Connection
18. Omar Bravo - 31 years, 204 days - 9/23/2011 vs Philadelphia
19. Frank Klopas - 31 years, 5 days - 9/6/1997 vs Colorado
20. Benny Feilhaber - 30 years, 242 days - 9/18/2015 vs Dallas

Wednesday, January 27, 2016

Lopez Joins NYCFC - Former SKC Wizards Update

Mikey Lopez's time in Kansas City didn't go the way that most people thought it would. Over three seasons with KC the former first round pick played just 14 league games, making only 10 starts for Sporting KC. With a crowded midfield in KC and Lopez's Generation Adidas cap relief expired the writing appeared to be on the wall for the UNC product. Earlier this week he said goodbye to the fans in a post on Instagram and a day later news broke that Lopez had been claimed off waivers by second year club, New York City FC. Lopez will now head into camp with NYCFC looking to claim a spot in a midfield that has Mix Diskerud, Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard, and Poku.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Brian Fekete
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Chris Konopka
Jonathan Leathers
Kyle Miller
Michal Mravec
Nelson Pizarro
Yann Songo'o
Khari Stephenson

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Mikey Lopez - NYCFC - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Offseason.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Tacoma - Did not play in Tacoma's 7-5 win over Cedar Rapids.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Did not play in St. Louis 3-2 shootout loss to Syracuse.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Played in Baltimore's 3-2 loss to Syracuse.
Mike Jones - Dallas - No game this week.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - No game this week.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - No game until 2/2.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - No game until 2/6.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Did not play in Chivas' 1-0 loss to Juarez. Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 2-2 draw with Tigres.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Did not play in Belen's 1-0 win over Cartagines.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 3-0 win over Shillong Lajong.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Came off the bench and played 14 minutes in Alajuelense's 2-1 win over Municipal Liberia.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Tied Central 1-1.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Leganes' 2-1 win over Almeria.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Season over.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Queretaro's 3-0 win over Dorados.
Jeferson - Vasco da Gama - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Macaé - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game until 3/6.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 1-1 draw with Union Espanola.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - No game until 2/13.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal  Portugal - Did not dress in either of Sporting's games.
Soony Saad - BEC Tero Sasana - Thailand - Offseason.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/28.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Started and played 90 minutes in Deveronvale's 3-2 loss to Clachnacuddin.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Did not dress in Atromitos' 2-0 loss to PAS Giannina.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/27.

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Sporting KC Announce Signing of Center Back Nuno Andre Coelho

Sporting KC today announced the long waited signing that Robb Heineman alluded to back in December announcing the club had signed Portuguese center back Nuno Andre Coelho. The 30 year old comes to Kansas City from Turkish club Balıkesirspor where he spent the 2014-2015 season as the club was relegated to the Turkish second division. After terminating his contract with Balıkesirspor it had looked like Coelho was going to return to Portugal, but instead he'll head further west and join the MLS side.
Coelho has played for some of the best clubs in Portugal including Porto and Sporting CP and has appeared in the Champions League for the later. His last stop in Portugal before his move to Turkey was with Braga, that's where he had his most success in terms of playing time over his three seasons, but his time there was also marred by injuries, specifically between 2010 and 2011. Since then it appears he suffered a ligament injury and hasn't played a game since around Thanksgiving of 2014 according to Soccerway. That certainly raises some red flags immediately about the signing. Especially with the club already having a player in central defense who has his fair share of injuries in Ike Opara.

Already being in camp with the team is a major plus as he'll be able to integrate more with the team which should see him be able to be inserted into the lineup with less strain when it comes to that point. In better news, Coelho won't count as a designated player for Sporting, leaving them with one open DP slot on the team as they head towards 2016. On the other side it does jump KC's roster numbers to 30, two over the league's roster limit, so there will be some more movement to come either in permanent moves or long term loans to get players off the roster.

Overall I do like this move, Coelho addresses a big need that Kansas City had in bringing in another center back that can start. With that though I am concerned that KC now has Opara who has shown to be injury prone and Coelho who hasn't played in over 14 months at this point. On that alone KC could quickly find themselves relying on Kevin Ellis to again help pick up the pieces in 2016.

Swope Park Rangers Schedule Released

The Swope Park Rangers will kick off their inaugural season at home in 2016, hosting the Portland Timbers 2 at Children's Mercy Park on Saturday, March 26th. The game is one of two that will be hosted at CM Park for the Rangers in their first season, the second will be on August 21st when KC hosts Saint Louis FC in the fourth of four games against the Rangers cross state rival. The rest of the club's games will take place at the Swope Soccer Village on the Championship Field at Swope Park.

The Rangers will play four each against Saint Louis, the Tulsa Roughnecks, and Oklahoma City Energy in 2016 along with three (two home and one away) against both Rio Grande Valley FC and the expansion San Antonio team. Swope Park will also play the three Pacific Northwest teams (Portland Timbers 2, Seattle Sounders FC 2, and Vancouver Whitecaps 2) twice, once home and once away. The other six Western Conference teams once each, hosting the LA Galaxy 2 and Orange County Blues FC while traveling to face Arizona United SC, Colorado Spring Switchbacks FC, Real Monarchs SLC and Sacramento Republic FC to complete their 30 game schedule. The Rangers won't face off against any of the Eastern Conference teams this season.

It's a rough start to the season for the Rangers as they'll play nine of their first 14 games on the road, including all three of their trips to the Pacific Northwest as well as Sacramento. They'll end the season home heavy though only going on the road once after August 13th, finishing with six of their last seven games at either Swope Park or Children's Mercy Park.

For conflicts with the parent club, the Rangers and Sporting KC play on the same day nine times during the season, but none of those dates see both teams at home at the same time. Two of the games actually see Sporting KC at home on the same night as the Rangers are playing a game on the road at a very drivable location, April 2nd KC plays Real Salt Lake while the Rangers travel to Tulsa and September 18th when KC plays the LA Galaxy and the Rangers travel to take on the Energy. Another interesting one is on April 27th when KC is in Vancouver the Rangers are actually scheduled to host the Whitecaps USL team.
Here's the club's full schedule.

Saturday, March 26 - PORTLAND TIMBERS 2 - 7:30 PM 
Saturday, April 2 - at Tulsa Roughnecks FC - 7:00 PM 
Saturday, April 9 - at San Antonio - 7:30 PM 
Saturday, April 23 - at OKC Energy FC - 7:00 PM 
Wednesday, April 27 - VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC 2 - 7:00 PM 
Saturday, May 7 - at Saint Louis FC - 7:30 PM
Saturday, May 14 - TULSA ROUGHNECKS FC - 7:30 PM 
Saturday, May 21 - at Rio Grande Valley FC - 7:30 PM 
Saturday, May 28 - at Sacramento Republic - 9:30 PM 
Saturday, June 4 - at Portland Timbers 2 - TBD 
Wednesday, June 8 - RIO GRANDE VALLEY FC - 7:30 PM 
Sunday, June 12 - at Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 - 4:00 PM 
Saturday, June 18 - OKC ENERGY FC - 7:30 PM 
Sunday, June 26 - at Seattle Sounders FC 2 - 7:00 PM 
Saturday, July 2 - SAINT LOUIS FC - 7:30 PM 
Saturday, July 9 - at Arizona United SC - 9:30 PM 
Tuesday, July 12 - OKC ENERGY FC - 7:30 PM 
Wednesday, July 20 - at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC - 8:00 PM 
Saturday, July 23 - ORANGE COUNTY BLUES FC - 7:30 PM 
Saturday, July 30 - SAN ANTONIO - 7:30 PM 
Wednesday, August 3 - at Saint Louis FC - 7:00 PM 
Saturday, August 6 - at Tulsa Roughnecks FC - 7:30 PM 
Saturday, August 13 - at Real Monarchs SLC - 8:00 PM 
Sunday, August 21 - SAINT LOUIS FC - 6:00 PM 
Saturday, August 27 - LA GALAXY II - 7:30 PM 
Wednesday, August 31 - SAN ANTONIO - 7:30 PM 
Saturday, September 3 - RIO GRANDE VALLEY FC - 7:30 PM 
Saturday, September 10 - TULSA ROUGHNECKS FC - 7:30 PM 
Sunday, September 18 - at OKC Energy FC - 6:00 PM 
Saturday, September 24 - SEATTLE SOUNDERS FC 2 - 7:00 PM

Monday, January 25, 2016

Lopez Says Good-Bye, Rangers Sign Defender, and Dwyers Hear Pitter Patter

Busy night in terms of news for all three of Kansas City's professional outdoor teams.

Lopez says good-bye

Most people could probably guess the likely outcome when Sporting Kansas City put out their preseason roster this weekend and it didn't include Mikey Lopez. Today Lopez's departure from Kansas City was confirmed by the player himself as he posted his good-bye to his teammates and fans in a post on Instagram.

Lopez was Kansas City's first round draft pick in the 2012 Superdraft, the 14th overall pick. A Generation Adidas player he only appeared in one game his rookie season, a US Open Cup game against the Des Moines Menace. Over his final two season with Kansas City Lopez spent time on loan with both of KC's USL affiliates, Orlando City and Oklahoma City. Each year though Lopez ended up getting recalled by Sporting because of the club's injury issues. In the end Lopez made 14 league appearances, starting 10, playing 964 minutes over that stretch. He'll certainly find a spot to catch on whether it is in MLS, the NASL, USL, or abroad, he'll be playing professionally next year.

Rangers Add Experienced MLS Vet

The Swope Park Rangers continue to build their roster ahead of their first season and today added an MLS veteran to their roster signing defender Tommy Meyer. Meyer, a St. Louis native has spent the last four seasons with the LA Galaxy winning two MLS Cups and gaining international experience playing in the CONCACAF Champions League. Over his our seasons Meyer played 33 times for the Galaxy starting 26 of those games playing both as a center back and an outside back. The 25 year old gives the Rangers more experience along the back line.

Meyer right now is in camp with Sporting KC along with new teammate Zac Lubin as SKC's camp kicked off this weekend.

Dwyers' Announce New Edition Coming

Sydney Leroux and Dom Dwyer announced today that the couple is expecting their first child in September of this year. The couple got married in January of 2015 and since then Leroux had been trying to get a trade to FC Kansas City so that she live with her husband. That trade happened on January 13th of this year when FCKC worked out deals with the Houston Dash and Western New York Flash to bring Leroux to Kansas City.


The announcement today coming just two weeks after being traded to Kansas City has led some people already to question if this was already known to Leroux when the trade was made. With how far along she would need to be at this point to have a September baby it is a little hard to see how that fact wouldn't have come up.

For FCKC it likely sends the two time defending NWSL champions scrambling a bit. The club traded forward Sarah Hagen to the expansion Orlando Pride, then found out that forward Amy Rodriguez was going to miss the 2016 season as she's pregnant with her second child, the club then traded to get Leroux to help fill the gap but are now looking for a forward again with the announcement by Leroux. It's certainly a completely different dynamic for Vlatko Andonovski to deal with.

Friday, January 22, 2016

Top Goal Scorers in All Competitions Through 2015

Another update on stats, this the top goal scorers in all competitions for Kansas City. First here are the years past.

1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 - 2013 - 2014 

1. Preki - 81 (71 league, 8 playoff, 1 open cup, 1 international) (-)

2. Davy Arnaud - 52 (43 league, 4 playoff, 5 open cup) (-)

3. Josh Wolff - 46 (43 league, 1 playoff, 2 open cup) (-)

4. Dom Dwyer - 45 - (36 league, 2 playoff, 5 open cup, 2 international) (+5)

5. Chris Klein - 43 (39 league, 3 playoff, 1 open cup) (-1)

6. Kei Kamara - 41 (38 league 3 open cup) (-1)

7. Mo Johnston - 32 (31 league, 1 playoff) (-1)

8. Vitalis "Digital" Takawira - 31 (28 league, 2 playoff, 1 open cup) (-1)

9. Scott Sealy - 30 (28 league, 2 open cup) (-1)

10T. CJ Sapong - 27 (20 league, 2 playoff, 5 open cup) (-)

10T. Graham Zusi - 27 (24 league, 3 open cup) (+1)

12. Teal Bunbury - 24 (19 league, 2 playoff, 3 open cup) (-1)

13T. Mark Chung - 21 (20 league, 1 playoff) (-)

13T. Chris Brown - 21 (15 league, 1 playoff, 1 open cup, 4 international) (-)

15T. Igor Simutenkov - 20 (12 league, 3 playoff, 5 open cup) (-)

15T. Benny Feilhaber - 20 (17 league, 2 open cup, 1 international) (N/A) - As with the league play list, Benny Feilhaber makes his way into the top 20 for Kansas City in all competitions. In 2015 he had 10 league goals and two goals in the Open Cup to see him come in on the top 20 in a tie for 15th with Igor Simutenkov.

17. Matt McKeon - 18 (13 league, 3 playoff, 1 open cup, 1 international) (-1)

18T. Miklos Molnar - 17 (12 league, 5 playoff) (-1)

18T. Eddie Johnson - 17 (17 league) (-1)

18T. Jimmy Conrad - 17 (17 league) (-1)

Dom Dwyer should again end the 2016 season in second place and will likely become only the third player in team history to score 50 goals for Kansas City over his entire career. Elsewhere Graham Zusi will hopefully round into better form in 2016 and move up the list further and Feilhaber making a run at the top 10 shouldn't be ruled out. As for players that could make the list in 2016, Krisztian Nemeth again has to be considered very likely as he is only one goal away from joining the list. Here's the list of other active players and their goals in all competitions.

Krisztian Nemeth - 16
Jacob Peterson - 9
Paulo Nagamura - 7
Ike Opara - 6
Kevin Ellis - 6
Chance Myers - 4
Lawrence Olum - 3
Roger Espinoza - 3
Matt Besler - 2
Seth Sinovic - 2
Soni Mustivar - 1
Marcel de Jong - 1

De Jong Called up by Canada

Another Sporting Kansas City player has been called up by his national team ahead of January friendlies. Marcel de Jong has been called up by the Canadian national team for a camp ahead of a friendly against the United States on February 5th. The call up means that de Jong will join Matt Besler and potentially Roger Espinoza in missing the first portion of preseason camp for the 2016 MLS season. Canada are using the match up as a chance to test new players and prepare for World Cup qualifying to restart for them in March when they'll play a pair of games against Mexico.

Thursday, January 21, 2016

Top League Scorers Through 2015

More updated stats for you, this time it is KC's top 20 goal scorers in league play. First is the list for prior years.


1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005 - 2006 - 2007 - 2008 - 2009 - 2010 - 2011 - 2012  - 2013 - 2014

1. Preki - 71 (-)

2T. Josh Wolff - 43 (-)

2T. Davy Arnaud - 43 (-)

4. Chris Klein - 39 (-)

5. Kei Kamara  - 38 (-)

6. Dom Dwyer - 36 (+3)

7. Mo Johnston - 31 (-1)

8T. Digital Takawira - 28 (-1)

8T. Scott Sealy - 28 (-1)

10. Graham Zusi - 24 (-)

11T. Mark Chung - 20 (-)

11T. CJ Sapong - 20 (-)

13. Teal Bunbury - 19 (-)

14T. Eddie Johnson - 17 (-)

14T. Jimmy Conrad - 17 (-)

14T. Benny Feilhaber - 17 (N/A) - Aided by becoming Kansas City's penalty kick taker in 2015, Benny Feilhaber scored 10 league goals in 2015 to make his way onto the list. Feilhaber scored five goals from the spot in the regular season and added another five from the run of play to help him reach the total and see him land on the list.

17. Chris Brown - 15 (-1)

18. Jack Jewsbury - 14 (-1)

19T. Matt McKeon - 13 (-1)

19T. Jose Burciaga Jr. - 13 (-1)

19T. Sasha Victorine - 13 (-1)

19T. Claudio Lopez - 13 (-1)

Dom Dwyer jumped to sixth place in 2015 and should become the team's second leading scorer in league play by the end of the 2016 season. He is just seven goals behind second place Josh Wolff and Davy Arnaud. In 2016 KC's Krisztian Nemeth should make his way onto the list, needing just three goals to find his way into KC's top 20 in league play. Other than that another player appearing on the list in 2016 seems unlikely.

Here are the remaining players currently on KC that have scored goals.

Krisztian Nemeth - 10
Jacob Peterson - 7
Paulo Nagamura - 6
Ike Opara - 5
Kevin Ellis - 4
Lawrence Olum - 3
Roger Espinoza - 3
Matt Besler - 2
Chance Myers - 2
Marcel de Jong - 1

Espinoza Returning to Honduran National Team

Since returning to Kansas City, Roger Espinoza has not been a figure with the Honduran national team. He was part of only one friendly in the first half of 2015, sat out the 2015 Gold Cup to be with Sporting KC, and missed the later half of the year because of his injury.

Now it appears that Espinoza will be returning to the Honduran national team. Reports out of Honduras are that Espinoza will be called up by head coach Jorge Luis Pinto for upcoming friendlies at the end of January and early February against Guatemala and Nicaragua. That means that Espinoza will join Matt Besler in missing a portion of preseason training with Sporting KC while with the Honduran team.

The friendlies are set up in preparation for World Cup qualifying to kick back off. Currently Honduras sits at the bottom of Group A with 0 points having lost their first two games to Mexico and Canada. Honduras will next play El Salvador in two games potentially with their hopes of making a third straight World Cup hanging in the balance.

Wednesday, January 20, 2016

More New Clubs for Former Players - Former SKC Wizards Update

Player movement continues for former Sporting KC players as MLS clubs head to preseason and other clubs have their secondary window open. Four former players have made moves official in just the last week. Jorge Claros has moved from the Chinese second division back to Central America. Instead of joining Honduran club, Olimpia as was rumored, he instead joined Costa Rican side Alajuelense. Meanwhile Rauwshan McKenzie became one of the first players to sign for expansion NASL side, Rayo OKC. Rayo, sharing a name and owners with Spanish side Rayo Vallecano, may have been the last club in the USA's top three tiers to sign a player, less than two months to the start of the season. Two players joined MLS squads as well as Michael Harrington signed a free agent contract with the Chicago Fire and Yura Movsisyan has returned to the league, signing on with Real Salt Lake on a loan deal from Spartak Moscow.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Brian Fekete
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Chris Konopka
Jonathan Leathers
Kyle Miller
Michal Mravec
Nelson Pizarro
Soony Saad
Yann Songo'o
Khari Stephenson

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Offseason.
Michael Harrington - Chicago - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
Yura Movsisyan - Salt Lake - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Offseason.
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.
Rauwshan McKenzie - Oklahoma City - Offseason.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Tacoma - Did not play in Tacoma's 3-2 win over Dallas.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Did not play in St. Louis' 5-3 win over Syracuse.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - No game this week.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Played in both Dallas' 3-2 loss to Tacoma and their 9-7 loss to Dallas.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - No game this week.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - No game until 2/2.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - No game until 2/6.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 1-1 draw with Cruz Azul.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - Did not dress in Belen's 2-1 loss to Saprissa.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes in Bengaluru's 1-0 win over Aizawl.
Jorge Claros - Alajuelense - Costa Rica - Did not dress in Costa Rica's 1-0 loss to Uruguay.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Did not play in W Connection's 4-2 win over Police or their 7-1 win over Point Fortin
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Came off the bench and played 18 minutes in Leganes' 4-0 win over Mirandes.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Season over.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in Queretaro's 1-0 loss to Pachuca.
Jeferson - Vasco da Gama - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Macaé - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game until 3/6.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - Started and played 90 minutes in Palestino's 2-1 win over Audax Italiano.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - No game until 2/13.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal  Portugal - Did not dress in either of Sporting's games.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/28.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Game against Inverurie Locos was canceled.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Came off the bench and played 1 minute in Atromitos' 2-2 draw with Xanthi.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/27.

Rangers Make Another Signing, Put in Western Conference

The Swope Park Rangers season inches closer, and the club continues to make additions. Today the club announced that they had signed Canadian forward Mark Anthony Gonzalez. Gonzalez comes to Kansas City after a four year career at Evansville where he scored 27 goals and added six assists while appearing in 71 games while playing with Sporting KC fourth round draft pick Faik Hajderovic. The 21 year old played for Sigma FC in the League1 Ontario division in 2014, at the same time fellow Ranger, Johnny Grant was playing with the club. He also spent time playing with Toronto FC's academy team in the PDL. It would appear that Marc Dos Santos' work in Canada is paying early dividends for the club ahead of their first USL season.

Also today in regards to the Rangers the USL announced the conference make up for their 29 teams for the 2016 season. The Rangers will be grouped in the Western Conference with 14 other teams including last year's finalist, the LA Galaxy II and the 2014 champions, the Sacramento Republic, and cross state rival, St. Louis FC. The Rangers will play 30 games with the top eight teams in each conference making the playoffs with the team's full schedule being released next Tuesday, the 26th.

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Polish Club Interested in Nemeth?

If you pressed most Sporting Kansas City fans they would probably tell you they expect a number of rumors this offseason about the potential departure of Hungarian forward Krisztian Nemeth. After one season that saw him score 16 goals in all competitions in 33 appearances fans had to expect that there would be interest for Nemeth with his European passport. With the January window over half over it has been a bit of a surprise there hasn't been more talk about him being linked abroad.

There has been one rumor that has come up in the last few days, and that's linking Nemeth with a move to Poland. Reports out of Poland are that MKS Cracovia Krakow, currently in third place in the Polish league are interested in acquiring the striker to help them push in the second half of the season.

Those rumors were followed shortly after by reports from Hungary that Nemeth was potentially on the way out of Kansas City due to wage demands by the Hungarian. Last season Nemeth was on a $250,000 salary according to the players union, but would seem set for a raise after his performance in 2015. With all the Targeted Allocation Money and General Allocation Money available to them, along with an open designated player spot, one would think that if KC really wanted to keep Nemeth in Sporting blue next season they have more than enough methods to keep him if they really want to.

To go along with that, KC may not want to get rid of Nemeth now simply because his stock could be higher this summer. With a likely call up to the Hungarian national team for this summer's Euros in France, KC may want to try to hold onto him at least until the summer for a potential bigger pay day.

Sporting Add Two More in Draft

Today MLS held the third and fourth rounds of this year's Superdraft via conference call. Sporting Kansas City had two selections in the draft, the 11th pick in both rounds, the 52nd and 72nd picks overall. With Kansas City currently has 29 players under contract for 2016, other players on the way, and only 28 available spots, one could easily assume that any player that KC took here was more likely to be a member of the Swope Park Rangers than Sporting KC.

With the 52nd pick Sporting grabbed Ryan James from Bowling Green University. The Canadian midfielder scored nine goals and had 15 assists in his college career appearing in 79 games for the Falcons, including five goals and four assists in 19 games his senior year. Based on his highlight video it appears that James mainly plays on the right hand side of midfield, which would be the right wing in KC's 4-3-3 system.

With their 72nd pick Kansas City selected Faik Hajderovic, a forward from St. Louis University. The St. Louis native played his first three years of college at Evansville before transferring for his senior year. At Evansville he played in 44 games with 10 goals and 24 assists. In his senior year at SLU, Hajderovic played in 15 games, scoring two goals and adding two assists. Hajderovic seems to have played all over the forward line based on highlights, but with his size one would expect he'd see his time out wide in KC's three man forward line.

With KC's roster size at the moment and the addition of the Rangers, either making an appearance for the first team in 2016 would be a surprise.

Monday, January 18, 2016

Single Season Minutes Played

As I continue to update states, here are the top 10 in single season minutes for Kansas City.

In league play there was no change to the top 10 in 2015, the closest was Matt Besler who finished the season with 2,830 minutes played for Sporting KC in 2015.

Jimmy Nielsen - 2012 - 3060
Jimmy Nielsen - 2013 - 3060
Nick Garcia - 2000 - 2916
Peter Vermes - 2000 - 2916
Preki - 1996 - 2880
Bo Oshoniyi - 2005 - 2880
Matt Besler - 2011 - 2880
Mark Chung - 1997 - 2871
Kei Kamara - 2012 - 2871
Mark Chung - 1996 - 2847

In all competitions, no one again made the top 10 for their play in 2015, and again it was Besler that finished the closest, finishing with 3,430 minutes played.

Seth Sinovic - 2013 - 3733
Nick Garcia - 2000 - 3695
Peter Vermes - 2000 - 3695
Jimmy Nielsen - 2012 - 3630
Kerry Zavagnin - 2002 - 3606
Jimmy Nielsen - 2013 - 3570
Oriol Rosell - 2013 - 3553
Nick Garcia - 2002 - 3531
Aurelien Collin - 2013 - 3525
Kerry Zavagnin - 2000 - 3522

Sunday, January 17, 2016

Single Season Appearances/Starts

This time we're looking at the most appearances and starts in a single season for Kansas City.

In league play for KC in 2015 the top two on KC were Benny Feilhaber and Matt Besler who both played 32 games in 2015. The two games both players missed came due to red cards (Besler vs New York in the season opener, and Feilhaber in the 5-0 loss to San Jose) and due to the club's resting players ahead of the US Open Cup final.

CJ Sapong - 2011 - 34
Jimmy Nielsen - 2012 - 34
Jimmy Nielsen - 2013 - 34
Kei Kamara - 2012 - 33
Dom Dwyer - 2014 - 33
Preki - 1996 - 32
Mark Chung - 1996 - 32
Mark Chung - 1997 - 32
Nick Garcia - 2000 - 32
Peter Vermes - 2000 - 32
Bo Oshoniyi - 2005 - 32
Davy Arnaud    2006 - 32
Matt Besler - 2011 - 32
Graham Zusi - 2011 - 32
Graham Zusi - 2012 - 32
Seth Sinovic - 2013 - 32
Benny Feilhaber - 2015 - 32
Matt Besler - 2015 - 32

In all competitions no player made it into the top group in 2015, the closest was Besler and Feilhaber who both played in 38 games.

Oriol Rosell - 2013 - 42
Seth Sinovic - 2013 - 42
Dom Dwyer - 2014 - 41
Nick Garcia - 2000 - 40
Peter Vermes - 2000 - 40
Chris Brown - 2002 - 40
CJ Sapong - 2011 - 40
Jimmy Nielsen - 2012 - 40
Kerry Zavagnin - 2000 - 39
Preki - 2000 - 39
Chris Henderson - 2000 - 39
Kerry Zavagnin - 2002 - 39
Matt Besler - 2011 - 39
Graham Zusi - 2012 - 39
Jimmy Nielsen - 2013 - 39
Aurelien Collin - 2013 - 39
Seth Sinovic - 2014 - 39

In league starts for KC, Besler started all 32 games that he played in for Kansas City in 2015 seeing him join the list this season. After him it was Feilhaber starting 30 matches for KC in league play.,

Jimmy Nielsen - 2012 - 34
Jimmy Nielsen - 2013 - 34
Preki - 1996 - 32
Mark Chung - 1996 - 32
Mark Chung - 1997 - 32
Nick Garcia - 2000 - 32
Peter Vermes - 2000 - 32
Bo Oshoniyi - 2005 - 32
Matt Besler - 2011 - 32
Kei Kamara - 2012 - 32
Matt Besler - 2015 - 32

In all competitions, Besler again just missed out on the list, starting 38 games for Kansas City in the 2015. After him it was Benny Feilhaber starting 36.

Oriol Rosell - 2013 - 41
Seth Sinovic - 2013 - 41
Nick Garcia - 2000 - 40
Peter Vermes - 2000 - 40
Jimmy Nielsen - 2012 - 40
Kerry Zavagnin - 2000 - 39
Kerry Zavagnin - 2002 - 39
Jimmy Nielsen - 2013 - 39
Aurelien Collin - 2013 - 39
Seth Sinovic - 2014 - 39

Saturday, January 16, 2016

Most Starts

More stats heading into the 2016 season, this time it's the most starts.

In league play only one new player hit the 100 start mark, and that was Chance Myers who finished the season with 108 starts for KC. Heading into 2016 KC should have at least one if not more people joining the list. Benny Feilhaber is 18 starts away from 100 so he should be able to make it. Other players are close but may be unlikely, Paulo Nagamura sits on 74 currently, but I'm not sure that he'll have 26 starts for Kansas City in 2016 to reach the century mark. The other possibility is Dom Dwyer who sits on 66 currently. Dwyer would have to start all 34 games this season to reach the century mark. Certainly possible, but with the Champions League this year as well I don't see it happening for Dwyer. Eslewhere, Matt Besler should join the 200 start club, needing just 22 starts to get there. Graham Zusi should reach the 150 start mark in 2016 as well.

Here's the full list.

Kerry Zavagnin - 228
Nick Garcia - 224
Davy Arnaud - 213
Jimmy Conrad - 203
Preki - 199
Chris Klein - 183
Matt Besler - 177
Jack Jewsbury - 142
Mo Johnston - 142
Graham Zusi - 137
Jimmy Nielsen - 128
Michael Harrington - 128
Josh Wolff - 128  
Matt McKeon - 126
Tony Meola - 125
Seth Sinovic - 122
Roger Espinoza - 110
Jose Burciaga - 110
Chance Myers - 108
Diego Gutierrez - 108
Uche Okafor - 107
Sean Bowers - 104
Aurelein Collin - 103
Benny Feilhaber - 82
Paulo Nagamura - 74
Dom Dwyer - 66
Jacob Peterson - 47
Kevin Ellis - 43
Krisztian Nemeth - 23
Tim Melia - 23
Ike Opara - 23
Soni Mustivar - 20
Amadou Dia - 13
Marcel de Jong - 11
Saad Abdul-Salaam - 10
Jimmy Medranda - 8
Connor Hallisey - 6
Erik Palmer-Brown - 6
Jon Kempin - 5
Bernardo Anor - 4
Jordi Quintilla - 3
Amobi Okugo - 1

In all competitions KC again had one player join the list as Benny Feilhaber jumped into the century club as he finished the 2015 season having started 103 games across all competitions. Joining the list in 2016 should be two players. While I don't expect Nagamura to start a ton of games for KC next year, with him just needing eight starts in all competitions to get to 100 he should easily make it. Dwyer needs just 19 starts to reach 100 which he too should be able to reach. Elsewhere, Chance Myers could get to the 150 start mark with 18 starts across all competitions in 2016.

Here's the full list.

Kerry Zavagnin - 281
Nick Garcia - 272
Davy Arnaud - 234
Preki - 229
Jimmy Conrad - 228
Chris Klein - 216
Matt Besler - 212
Graham Zusi - 166
Jack Jewsbury - 162
Matt McKeon - 159
Mo Johnston - 157
Tony Meola - 156
Seth Sinovic - 152
Josh Wolff - 144
Michael Harrington - 143
Jimmy Nielsen - 142
Diego Gutierrez - 135
Chance Myers - 132
Aurelien Collin - 129
Roger Espinoza - 126
Jose Burciaga - 123
Uche Okafor - 116
Sean Bowers - 113
Kei Kamara - 108
Bo Oshoniyi - 105
Benny Feilhaber - 103
Mark Chung - 103
Sasha Victorine - 102
Kevin Hartman - 100
Paulo Nagamura - 92
Dom Dwyer - 81
Jacob Peterson - 61
Kevin Ellis - 57
Ike Opara - 30
Tim Melia - 29
Krisztian Nemeth - 28
Soni Mustivar - 26
Amadou Dia - 18
Saad Abdul-Salaam - 12
Marcel de Jong - 11
Erik Palmer-Brown - 9
Connor Hallisey - 8
Jimmy Medranda - 8
Jon Kempin - 8
Bernardo Anor - 4
Jordi Quintilla - 3
Amobi Okugo - 1

Friday, January 15, 2016

Most Appearances

Continuing to update stats for Sporting KC, here's a look at the most appearances in Sporting KC history.

In league play no new players joined the list for Sporting KC in 2015. In the upcoming season though KC could potentially have four players make the century mark. Benny Feilhaber is just 10 appearances from 100, behind him is Jacob Peterson who needs just 13 and Paulo Nagamura needs just 14. Both players played over that number in 2015. The fourth is Dom Dwyer who currently sits 20 away from the century mark. Matt Besler should become the seventh player to reach 200 league appearances and Graham Zusi could easily become number eight this season as well. Here's the list of players over 100 plus all other currently active players.

Davy Arnaud - 240
Kerry Zavagnin - 237
Nick Garcia - 224
Preki - 218
Jimmy Conrad - 204
Chris Klein - 200
Jack Jewsbury - 195
Matt Besler - 182
Graham Zusi - 173
Michael Harrington - 149
Mo Johnston - 149
Josh Wolff - 144
Matt McKeon - 144
Chance Myers - 136
Roger Espinoza - 130
Jimmy Nielsen - 128
Tony Meola - 125
Seth Sinovic - 124
Chris Brown - 123
Diego Gutierrez - 119
Uche Okafor - 119
Jose Burciaga - 115
Francisco Gomez - 114
Kei Kamara - 113
Sean Bowers - 111
CJ Sapong - 110
Aurelien Collin - 107
Sasha Victorine - 106
Digital Takawira - 103
Benny Feilhaber - 90
Jacob Peterson - 87
Paulo Nagamura - 86
Dom Dwyer - 80
Kevin Ellis - 48
Krisztian Nemeth - 28
Ike Opara - 27
Soni Mustivar - 25
Tim Melia - 23
Amadou Dia - 22
Saad Abdul-Salaam - 22
Marcel de Jong - 13
Connor Hallisey - 13
Bernardo Anor - 13
Jimmy Medranda - 13
Erik Palmer-Brown - 10
Jordi Quintilla - 8
Jon Kempin - 7
Amobi Okugo - 3

In all competitions all four of the players that would appear set to make the league list in 2016 made the list in 2015 in all competitions. Feilhaber, Peterson, Nagamura, and Dwyer all made their 100th league appearance. What that means is that it becomes extremely unlikely that anyone joins the list in 2016. The closest active player for KC is Kevin Ellis, who has currently played 64, he'd have to set another career high for games played to join the list in 2016. Higher up the list both Besler and Zusi hit the 200 appearance mark in all competitions for Kansas City. Here's all the players over 100 and the rest of KC's active roster.

Kerry Zavagnin - 291
Davy Arnaud - 273
Nick Garcia - 273
Preki - 254
Chris Klein - 235
Jimmy Conrad - 230
Matt Besler - 219
Jack Jewsbury - 218
Graham Zusi - 204
Matt McKeon - 183
Michael Harrington - 170
Mo Johnston - 169
Josh Wolff -165
Chance Myers - 162
Tony Meola - 156
Seth Sinovic - 154
Roger Espinoza - 150
Chris Brown - 150
Diego Gutierrez - 147
CJ Sapong - 142
Jimmy Nielsen - 142
Francisco Gomez - 141
Aurelien Collin - 133
Jose Burciaga - 130
Uche Okafor - 130
Kei Kamara - 126
Sean Bowers - 120
Sasha Victorine - 114
Benny Feilhaber - 112
Jacob Peterson - 112
Digital Takawira - 111
Bo Oshoniyi - 110
Paulo Nagamura - 106
Dom Dwyer - 105
Teal Bunbury - 105
Mark Chung - 104
Shavar Thomas - 101
Kevin Hartman - 100
Kevin Ellis - 64
Ike Opara - 36
Krisztian Nemeth - 33
Soni Mustivar - 31
Tim Melia - 29
Saad Abdul-Salaam - 28
Amadou Dia - 27
Connor Hallisey - 17
Marcel de Jong - 15
Jimmy Medranda14
Bernardo Anor - 13
Erik Palmer-Brown - 13
Jon Kempin - 10
Jordi Quintilla - 9
Amobi Okugo - 3

Thursday, January 14, 2016

Sporting KC Trade First Round Pick

Sporting Kansas City had just one pick in the first two rounds of today's MLS Superdraft, the 11th overall selection, and with that pick Sporting decided to trade the pick. Kansas City ended up trading the 11th overall selection to DC United in exchange for targeted allocation money, which can be used to buy down a designated player down below the designated player threshold.

The reason for KC making the trade was because they only had one player they had targeted with that 11th pick according to Taylor Twellman. That one target was confirmed by both Robb Heineman and Twellman and that was goalkeeper Andrew Tarbell. Tarbell, a Generation Adidas goalkeeper from Clemson had played at Sporting Park in December as part of the College Cup. Heineman mentioned that the club saw Tarbell as a 10 year goalkeeper for KC. Tarbell though was taken with the eighth pick by the San Jose Earthquakes, leading to KC making the trade.

That comment is an interesting one from Sporting considering that the club just re-signed their homegrown goalkeeper, Jon Kempin to a new contract a little over a month ago. Kempin, the club's first homegrown player had been out of contract after the season and there were questions on whether he'd come back or whether he'd leave looking to get more time. And with his re-signing there has been some talk from Peter Vermes about Kempin challenging Tim Melia for the starting spot. So with the comments about Tarbell from Heineman and the team to Twellman, Kempin certainly has to be asking some questions about where his spot is in the team and where he's seen going forward.

Dwyer and Leroux Finally Together, Rangers Fill Out Coaching Staff

A couple bits of news from yesterday that I didn't get to.

First, the Dwyer family is officially together. Since Dom Dwyer and Sydney Leroux got married both have talked about wanting to play in the same city so that they could actually be together. Last year Leroux tried to get herself traded to FC Kansas City from the Seattle Reign so that she could be with her husband. At the time there was a rumor that a deal was done but the Reign went shopping further and ended up trading Leroux to the Western New York Flash instead.

The inability to get Leroux to KC last season combined with the announcement that Orlando City would be adding a women's team in 2016, the Orlando Pride, brought back the rumors of Dwyer to Orlando as the expansion side would try to get Leroux to help with a trade for Dwyer. Instead it was announced yesterday that FC Kansas City had worked out a three team trade with the Houston Dash and the Flash to bring the Dwyer family together. Kansas City. First Kansas City sent their first round pick, the eighth pick and an international spot to Houston in exchange for forwards Tiffany McCarty and Jessica McDonald. FCKC then turned around and sent McDonald and a second round pick in 2017 to Western New York for Leroux.

This trade is big for FCKC as it gives the club a marquee forward who can hopefully replace the goal production that KC is losing with Amy Rodriguez sitting out the 2016 season. Just leaving the big hole in midfield where Lauren Holiday played. It's also big for Sporting KC fans as it should put an end for the time being to rumors of Dwyer's departure from Kansas City. With Leroux in town with him the two should be set, at least for a little bit.

Rangers Fill Out Coaching Staff

In news from the USL, the Swope Park Rangers filled out the rest of their coaching staff yesterday as well. The Rangers announced the addition of Nikola Popovic as an assistant coach and Alec Dufty as the club's goalkeeping coach. Popovic comes to Kansas City from Portugal where he was an assistant coach with the Benfica B side. He's spent most of his coaching career in Portugal with one side trip to Bulgaria in between stops.

Dufty joins the club not only as a goalkeeping coach for the Rangers, but also as a goalkeeping coach for the academy team as well. Dufty has plenty of experience in the US lower divisions playing for Toronto FC II and AC St. Louis. Dufty has also had a cup of tea with multiple MLS teams, New York, Houston, and Chicago. Dufty also has experience coaching as an assistant at Florida Gulf Coast University. 

Wednesday, January 13, 2016

Anibaba Signs with Houston - Former SKC Wizards Update

MLS teams are continuing to build their roster for the 2016 MLS season. The Houston Dynamo have continued this process by signing former Sporting KC defender, Jalil Anibaba this week. Anibaba played just one season in KC and will likely be best remembered for his goal in stoppage time that tied the game 2-2 against the Philadelphia Union in a game KC would win 3-2.

Elsewhere other players are now looking for a new team, specifically in Atlanta, where the NASL's Silverbacks announced this week that they were ceasing operations. Two former Kansas City players, Rauwshan McKenzie and Michal Mravec were members of the team last year and are now looking for new clubs.

Here's the rest of this week's update.

Active without a club or unknown
Vicente Arze
Jorge Claros
Brian Fekete
Michael Harrington
Michael Kafari
Neal Kitson
Chris Konopka
Jonathan Leathers
Rauwshan McKenzie
Kyle Miller
Michal Mravec
Nelson Pizarro
Soony Saad
Yann Songo'o
Khari Stephenson

MLS
Jalil Anibaba - Houston - Offseason.
Davy Arnaud - DC - Offseason.
Teal Bunbury - New England - Offseason.
Servando Carrasco - Orlando City - Offseason.
Aurelien Collin - Orlando City - Offseason.
Herculez Gomez - Toronto - Offseason.
Jack Jewsbury - Portland - Offseason.
Kei Kamara - Columbus - Offseason.
Eric Kronberg - Montreal - Offseason.
CJ Sapong - Philadelphia - Offseason.
Tyson Wahl - Columbus - Offseason.
Sal Zizzo - New York - Offseason.

NASL
Stefan Antonijevic - Tampa Bay - Offseason.
Mechack Jerome - Jacksonville - Started and played 90 minutes in Haiti's 1-0 win over Trinidad.   
James Marcelin - Fort Lauderdale - Offseason.

US
Christian Duke - Swope Park - Offseason.
Adnan Gabeljic - Sacramento - Offseason.
Cyprian Hedrick - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Alex Martinez - Charlotte - Offseason.
Victor Munoz - Arizona - Offseason.
Tony Rocha - Orlando - Offseason.
Michael Thomas - Oklahoma City - Offseason.
Yomby William - Richmond - Offseason.

Indoor
Jamar Beasley - Tacoma - No game this week.
Adnan Gabeljic - St. Louis - Did not play in St. Louis' 5-3 loss to Milwaukee.
Pat Healey - Baltimore - Played in Baltimore's 9-3 win over Detroit. Had a goal and two assists in Baltimore's 6-4 win over Harrisburg.
Mike Jones - Dallas - Had a goal and an assist in Dallas' 7-6 loss to Saltillo. Played in Dallas' 5-3 win over Brownsville. Played in Dallas' 7-5 win over Brownsville.
Boris Pardo - Missouri - Started in Missouri's 10-3 loss to Chicago.

International
Korede Aiyegbusi - Siah Jamegan - Iran - No game until 2/2.
Scott Angevine - KPV - Finland - Offseason.
Claudio Bieler - Belgrano - Argentina - No game until 2/6.
Omar Bravo - Chivas - Mexico - Started and played 90 minutes in Chivas' 2-2 draw wtih Veracruz.
Reinaldo Brenes - AD Belen Siglo XXI - Costa Rica - No game until 1/16.
Sunil Chhetri - Bengaluru - India - Started and played 90 minutes, scoring a goal in Bengaluru's 2-1 win over Salgaocar.
Eloy Colombano - AD Berazategui - Offseason.
Daneil Cyrus - W Connection - Started and played 90 minutes in Trinidad's 1-0 loss to Haiti.
Toni Dovale - CD Leganes - Spain - Did not dress in Leganes' 1-0 win over Llagostera.
Pablo Escobar - Cúcuta Deportivo - Colombia - Season over.
Luis Gil - Queretaro - Mexico - Did not dress in Queretaro's 3-1 loss to Atlas.
Jeferson - Vasco da Gama - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Will John - RoPS - Finland - Offseason.
Igor Juliao - Macaé - Brazil - No game until 1/29.
Igor Kostrov - Dinamo-Auto - Moldova - No game until 3/6.
Luis Marin - CD Palestino - Chile - No game until 1/18.
Neven Markovic - KS Lechia Gdansk - Poland - No game until 2/13.
Yura Movsisyan - Spartak Moscow - Russia - No game until 2/29.
Akeem Priestley - Sheikh Russel KC - Bangladesh - Offseason.
Pablo Punyed - IBV - Iceland - Offseason.
Oriol Rosell - Sporting Club de Portugal  Portugal - Did not dress in either of Sporting's games.
Peter Schmetz - Wuppertaler SV - Germany - No game until 2/28.
Kevin Souter - Deveronvale FC - Scotland - Game against Forres Mechanics postponed.
Martin Steuble - Ceres-La Salle - Philippines - Offseason.
Milos Stojcev - Atromitos - Greece - Did not dress in Atrmoitos 0-0 draw with Platanias. Came off the bench and played 16 minutes in Atromitos 2-1 cup win over Platanias.
Matt Taylor - Saarbrücken - Germany - No game until 2/27.

Sporting Sign Salloi to Homegrown Contract

Sporting KC continued to add pieces to their team this offseason as today the club announced that they'd signed their fourth homegrown player in club history. The club announced that they'd signed Daniel Salloi to a homegrown player contract. The Hungarian moved to the United States in August of 2014 as an AFS exchange student. He spent the 2014-2015 season with the Sporting KC academy before moving back to Hungary where he signed an amateur contract with Ujpest FC in the Hungarian top flight. During his run with Ujpest, Salloi scored seven goals and added four assists in 16 games across all competitions.

Right away he would appear to become forward depth behind the team's starter, Dom Dwyer and countryman, Krisztian Nemeth, but at 19 he could also see time with the Swope Park Rangers this season as well. For those that thought that KC was going to take a forward in the Superdraft tomorrow this would certainly appear to change that likelihood now that KC takes a forward tomorrow.

This signing as a whole is very interesting to me, not only because I'm excited about the prospect of Salloi, as he appears to have the tools to become a good player for KC, but because of how KC acquired him. Up until this signing only three teams had signed fewer homegrown players than the number that KC had signed, three. And very few teams in the league hadn't signed a homegrown player in the over two years since Kansas City signed Erik Palmer-Brown as their third homegrown player. The lack of signings and the rumors of Eric De Julio not being offered a homegrown player contract were beginning to get me to doubt KC's ability to use the system to bring in players. Not that I wanted KC to sign a player just to sign one, plenty of MLS teams seem to have done that over the years as plenty of homegrown players have made few to no appearances for the clubs that signed them.

The signing may cause some grumbling among other teams and fans regarding how KC was able to get Salloi on a homegrown contract considering he was playing in the Hungarian first division in the fall, but the key is the amateur contract Salloi was under at Ujpest. Basically it would be similar, but not exactly like current college players playing in the PDL during the summer. The difference being that Salloi was doing it at a higher level for the most part than what the PDL is. Another issue would be the fact that he's "homegrown" when he was only in KC for a short time. Overall Sporting may have well found a couple loopholes in the homegrown player rule that they were able to exploit to get themselves a very talented, young player who could be a big steal for KC.

Tuesday, January 12, 2016

Looking at Sporting KC's Draft Picks

We're less than two days away from the 2016 MLS Superdraft. Sporting KC has three picks, just one of them in the first two rounds, the 11th overall pick. The club also has the 52nd and 72nd picks as well. To look at what Kansas City could be getting with those picks, below is a list of players who were taken at each spot in every MLS draft so far.


11th
1996 - Scott Lamphear - NY
1997 - Ross Paule - COL
1998 - Tyrone Marshall - COL
1999 - Evan Whitfield - CHI
2000 - Sasha Victorine - LA
2001 - Isaias Bardales - LA
2002 - Daouda Kanté - DC
2003 - Brian Carroll - DC
2004 - Leonard Griffin - CHI
2005 - Scott Sealy - KC
2006 - Leandro de Oliveira - NE
2007 - Bryan Arguez - DC
2008 - Roger Espinoza - KC
2009 - Jeremy Hall - NY
2010 - David Estrada - SEA
2011 - Will Bruin - HOU
2012 - Matt Hedges - DAL
2013 - Dillon Powers - COL
2014 - Patrick Mullins - NE
2015 - Skylar Thomas - TOR



Up and down the 11th pick there has been plenty of talent through the years, from the likes of Tyrone Marshall and Sasha Victorine to more recent successes like Will Bruin, Matt Hedges and Dillion Powers, with the likes of Roger Espinoza and Scott Sealy sprinkled in between. So there is certainly the chance to find some good talent with this pick. Certainly the more recent history has been good with four of the last five (Skylar Thomas being the lone exception still being consistent contributors to their MLS club. Unlike Houston, Dallas, and Colorado when they made their selections though I don't think KC is looking for an immediate high impact guy in the team for 2016.

52nd
2000 - Ian Russell - SJ
2001 - Teofilo Cubillas Jr. - MIA
2002 - PASS - NE
2003 - Andy Rosenband - DAL
2004 - Matthew Haefner - CLB
2005 - Kevin Wilson - DAL
2006 - Anthony Noriega - KC
2007 - Eric Ebert - HOU
2008 - Tony Schmitz - DC
2009 - Jokull Elisabetarson - CHI
2010 - Ofori Sarkodie - KC
2011 - Jarad Van Schaik - RSL
2012 - Nick Blake - TOR
2013 - Christian Duke - KC
2014 - Aohdan Quinn - PHI
2015 - Anthony Manning - POR


Top to bottom there is really only one player on this list that made any real contribution at the MLS level, and that's Ian Russell who appeared over 130 times for the San Jose Earthquakes. Other than that the rest of these picks combined are full of players who didn't make much of an impact at the top level, but the selection of Christian Duke points out that the player could be useful at the USL level.

72nd
2000 - PASS - DC
2001 - Matthew Cross - KC
2005 - Drew Cavanagh - DAL
2006 - Daniel Paladini - LA
2007 - Erasmo Solorzano - CHV
2008 - PASS - TOR
2011 - Brayan Martinez - DAL
2012 - Jason Banton - SEA
2013 - Marc Cintron - NY
2014 - PASS - LA
2015 - Craig Nitti - VAN

If you thought the 52nd pick was bad, the 72nd gets worse. Again there is only one real contributor from this group, Daniel Paladini, who played close to 70 MLS games in his career. And spent just as much time in the USA's lower divisions. Like the 52nd pick, whoever KC selects here would be a prime candidate to go to the Swope Park Rangers.

Monday, January 11, 2016

Landmark Goals

 Continuing to update stats, here's a look at the landmark goals in Sporting KC's history. In the 2015 season KC hit three landmark goals, 1,000 goals in all competitions, 500 league goals at home, and 600 goals in all competitions at home. All of the record goals in 2015 were scored by the same person as Krisztian Nemeth scored all three of those landmark goals.

In the 2016 season KC should hit at least one mark, possibly two. KC should easily reach 900 goals in league play next season, needing just 19 goals to reach that mark. Sporting could also hit the 1,100 goal mark next season, needing just 42 goals to reach that mark.


League play - currently 881 goals
1. Digital Takawira - 4/13/1996 - 71st - Colorado Rapids
100. Mark Chung - 7/19/1997 - 15th - DC United
200. Preki - 3/25/2000 - 63rd - Chicago Fire
300. Chris Klein - 7/13/2002 - 64th - New England Revolution
400. Josh Wolff - 4/2/2005 - 34th - Colorado Rapids
500. Eddie Johnson - 4/25/2007 - 5th - Toronto FC
600. Josh Wolff - 9/5/2009 - 91st+ - New England Revolution
700. Aurelien Collin - 3/25/2012 - 49th+ - FC Dallas
800. Dom Dwyer - 5/18/2014 - 68th - Chicago Fire

League play home - currently 522
1. Digital Takawira - 4/13/1996 - 71st - Colorado Rapids
100. Paul Wright - 9/5/1998 - 59th - San Jose Clash
200. Eric Quill - 5/3/2003 - 89th - Columbus Crew
300. Dave van den Bergh - 10/7/2006 - 50th - Chivas USA
400. Teal Bunbury - 8/3/2011 - 34th - Real Salt Lake
500. Krisztian Nemeth - 5/20/2015 - 39th - New England Revolution

League play away - currently 359
1. Uche Okafor - 4/21/1996 - 16th - San Jose Clash
100. Roy Lassiter - 6/2/2001 - 52nd - Tampa Bay Mutiny
200. Davy Arnaud - 5/19/2007 - 58th - Colorado Rapids
300. Oriol Rosell - 3/2/2013 - 66th - Philadelphia Union


Competitive play - currently 1058
1. Digital Takawira - 4/13/1996 - 71st - Colorado Rapids
100. Edmundo Rodriguez - 6/21/1997 - 87th - DC United
200. Preki - 7/31/1999 - 35th - San Jose Clash
300. Roy Lassister - 8/12/2001 - 90th - Colorado Rapids
400. Stephen Armstrong - 7/4/2003 - 90th - Colorado Rapids
500. own goal - 5/21/2005 - 62th - DC United
600. Jose Burciaga Jr. - 5/5/2007 - 90th - Columbus Crew
700. own goal - 6/24/2009 - 85th - New England Revolution
800. Kei Kamara - 8/21/2011 - 19th - DC United
900. Graham Zusi - 7/7/2013 - 8th - Chicago Fire
1000. Krisztian Nemeth - 4/5/2015 - 94+ - Philadelphia Union

Competitive home - currently 631
1. Digital Takawira - 4/13/1996 - 71st - Colorado Rapids
100. Preki - 8/26/1998 - 21th - DC United
200. Preki - 5/4/2002 - 29th - LA Galaxy
300. Davy Arnaud - 6/25/2005 - 70th - Chivas USA
400. Herculez Gomez - 10/18/2008 - 93rd+ - San Jose
500. CJ Sapong - 6/17/2012 - 18th - Toronto
600. Krisztian Nemeth - 5/29/2015 - 19th FC Dallas

Competitive away - currently 423
 1. Uche Okafor - 4/21/1996 - 16th - San Jose Clash
100. Matt McKeon - 10/3/2000 - 29th - LA Galaxy
200. Josh Wolff - 5/14/2005 - 89th - Columbus Crew
300. Davy Arnaud - 8/28/2010 - 12th - LA Galaxy
400. Dom Dwyer - 10/18/2014 -  54th - Philadelphia Union

Sporting Re-Sign Mustivar and Nagamura

Sporting Kansas City welcomed back to important pieces of the 2015 season today as the club announced that they had re-signed both Soni Mustivar and Paulo Nagamura to new contracts. The pair of defensive midfielders played key roles for Kansas City in their run to the US Open Cup.
Mustivar appeared in 25 games in 2015 for Sporting KC in MLS play and started all five Open Cup games as well as the club's playoff game against Portland. Once he became the club's regular starter at the defensive midfield position after the 4-4 draw with Houston he made the position his own and proved that he needed to be on the field every game to the point that he was named Co-Defensive Player of the Year in 2015.

Nagamura may not ever be a Sporting Legend, but he'll be well remembered throughout club history for his intensity and the ice in his veins on penalty kicks. In 2015 Nagamura stepped up again and scored perfect penalty kicks twice in shootouts for Kansas City. He appeared in 21 league games for Kansas City, the majority of them coming after Roger Espinoza went down with injury for Kansas City. He was the big hero in the club's 4-3 comeback win over the Vancouver Whitecaps, scoring twice after the 80th minute to take Kansas City from defeat to a big win.
The moves actually mean that Kansas City currently has all 28 of their roster spots filled at this time. While this isn't an issue right now since roster compliance isn't until March, you can certainly expect more roster moves to come between now and the beginning of March.