Matt Besler and Graham Zusi both moved past Peter Vermes and Mo Johnston and into 8th and 9th place for playoff minutes played for KC, Besler finished the game with 1,260 minutes played while Zusi finished with 1,259.
Besler and Zusi also made their 13th playoff appearance for KC, tying them with Peter Vermes for 10th all time on that list.
It was their 13th playoff start as well which tied them with Vermes for 8th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic moved past both Jimmy Conrad and Aurelien Collin and into 12th place for playoff minutes played, reaching 1,134 minutes played.
In the 6th minute, Sinovic moved past Tony Meola and into 12th place for minutes played for KC in all competitions, he finished the game with 14,289 minutes played.
Sinovic made his 166th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Josh Wolff for 15th all time on that list.
Sinovic made his 12th playoff appearance for KC, tying him with Jimmy Conrad for 13th on that list.
It was his 12th playoff start as well, tying him with Conrad for 11th on that list.
Roger Espinoza made his 184th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Matt McKeon for 10th all time on that list.
Sinovic and Espinoza started their 160th game in all competitions for KC, breaking their tie with McKeon for 10th on that list.
Paulo Nagamura moved into 20th place for playoff minutes played, finishing the game with 696 minutes played.
Dom Dwyer made his 9th playoff appearance for KC, tying him with Jack Jewsbury and Francisco Gomez for 20th on that list.
Showing posts with label Seth Sinovic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Seth Sinovic. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2016
Monday, October 24, 2016
S.A.S. Monday After Stats
Matt Besler made his 200th league appearance for KC, he's the 7th player to hit that mark.
Besler also tied Chris Klein for 6th all time in league appearances with his 200th appearance.
Besler made his 230th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Preki for 4th all time on that list.
At 33 years, 235 days, Paulo Nagamura passed Josh Wolff and became the 16th oldest player to start a game for KC in both league and all competitions.
Graham Zusi's goal was his 18th in all competitions at home for KC, breaking his tie with CJ Sapong for 9th on that list. It also broke his tie with Digital Takawira for 9th all time for home league goals scored.
Benny Feilhaber's goal was his 28th in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with CJ Sapong for 11th on that list.
Feilhaber's assist was his 50th for KC in all competitions, he's the fourth player to hit that mark.
Feilhaber's goal was his 17th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Sapong for 10th all time on that list. It was Feilhaber's 15th goal in league play for KC, tying him with Takawira for 10th on that list.
At 31 years, 278 days, Feilhaber moved past Santiago Hirsig and Birahim Diop to become the 17th oldest goal scorer for KC in league play. In all competitions he moved past those two, and Mike Burns to move into 17th on that list.
Feilhaber made his 120th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez and Uche Okafor for 20th on that list.
Feilhaber started his 110th league game for KC, tying him with Jose Burciaga for 19th on that list.
Roger Espinoza made his 183rd appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon for 10th all time on that list.
In the 73rd minute, Seth Sinovic moved past Mo Johnston and into 13th place for minutes played in all competitions, finishing the game with 14,200 minutes played.
Sinovic made his 165th appearance in all competitions, tying him with Josh Wolff for 15th all time on that list.
Sinovic started his 128th league game for KC, tying him with Wolff, Michael Harrington and Jimmy Nielsen for 12th on that list.
Sinovic and Espinoza made their 159th start in all competitions for KC, tying them with McKeon for 10th all time on that list.
Tim Melia and Soni Mustivar made their 50th league appearances for KC, they're the 57th and 58th players to hit that mark.
Melia made his 50th league start for KC, he's the 50th player to hit that mark.
Besler also tied Chris Klein for 6th all time in league appearances with his 200th appearance.
Besler made his 230th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Preki for 4th all time on that list.
At 33 years, 235 days, Paulo Nagamura passed Josh Wolff and became the 16th oldest player to start a game for KC in both league and all competitions.
Graham Zusi's goal was his 18th in all competitions at home for KC, breaking his tie with CJ Sapong for 9th on that list. It also broke his tie with Digital Takawira for 9th all time for home league goals scored.
Benny Feilhaber's goal was his 28th in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with CJ Sapong for 11th on that list.
Feilhaber's assist was his 50th for KC in all competitions, he's the fourth player to hit that mark.
Feilhaber's goal was his 17th in all competitions for KC, tying him with Sapong for 10th all time on that list. It was Feilhaber's 15th goal in league play for KC, tying him with Takawira for 10th on that list.
At 31 years, 278 days, Feilhaber moved past Santiago Hirsig and Birahim Diop to become the 17th oldest goal scorer for KC in league play. In all competitions he moved past those two, and Mike Burns to move into 17th on that list.
Feilhaber made his 120th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez and Uche Okafor for 20th on that list.
Feilhaber started his 110th league game for KC, tying him with Jose Burciaga for 19th on that list.
Roger Espinoza made his 183rd appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon for 10th all time on that list.
In the 73rd minute, Seth Sinovic moved past Mo Johnston and into 13th place for minutes played in all competitions, finishing the game with 14,200 minutes played.
Sinovic made his 165th appearance in all competitions, tying him with Josh Wolff for 15th all time on that list.
Sinovic started his 128th league game for KC, tying him with Wolff, Michael Harrington and Jimmy Nielsen for 12th on that list.
Sinovic and Espinoza made their 159th start in all competitions for KC, tying them with McKeon for 10th all time on that list.
Tim Melia and Soni Mustivar made their 50th league appearances for KC, they're the 57th and 58th players to hit that mark.
Melia made his 50th league start for KC, he's the 50th player to hit that mark.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Sunday Of Stats
Paulo Nagamura started his 100th game across all competitiosn for KC, he's the 31st player to hit that mark.
Matt Besler made his 229th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Conrad for 5th place on that list and tying him with Preki for 4th place on that list.
In the 18th minute, Benny Feilhaber moved past Uche Okafor and into 20th place for minutes played in league play, he finished the game with 9,585 minutes played.
Feilhaber made his 143rd appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Nielsen and CJ Sapong for 20th on that list.
Feilhaber started his 109th game in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez for 20th on that list.
In the 29th minute Roger Espinoza moved past Mo Johnston and into 11th place for minutes played across all competitions. Then in the 52nd minute, Espinoza moved past Tony Meola and into 11th place on that same list, he finished the game with 14,244 minutes played.
Espinoza and Seth Sinovic made their 158th start in all competitions for KC, breaking their tie with Mo Johnston for 11th all time on that list.
Sinovic started his 127th league game for KC, breaking his tie with Matt McKeon for 15th on that list.
Matt Besler made his 229th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Conrad for 5th place on that list and tying him with Preki for 4th place on that list.
In the 18th minute, Benny Feilhaber moved past Uche Okafor and into 20th place for minutes played in league play, he finished the game with 9,585 minutes played.
Feilhaber made his 143rd appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Nielsen and CJ Sapong for 20th on that list.
Feilhaber started his 109th game in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Diego Gutierrez for 20th on that list.
In the 29th minute Roger Espinoza moved past Mo Johnston and into 11th place for minutes played across all competitions. Then in the 52nd minute, Espinoza moved past Tony Meola and into 11th place on that same list, he finished the game with 14,244 minutes played.
Espinoza and Seth Sinovic made their 158th start in all competitions for KC, breaking their tie with Mo Johnston for 11th all time on that list.
Sinovic started his 127th league game for KC, breaking his tie with Matt McKeon for 15th on that list.
Wednesday, September 14, 2016
S.A.S. Wednesday After Stats
The loss was the first home loss in CONCACAF international competitions for Sporting KC.
By the end of the night, Seth Sinovic had moved into 5th place for Sporting KC for minutes played in international competitions, finishing the game with 937 minutes played.
In the 45th minute, Sinovic moved back ahead of Roger Espinoza and into 13th place for minutes played in all competitions, finishing the game with 14,020 minutes played in all competitions.
Sinovic made his 11th appearance in international competitions for KC, tying him wtih Mike Burns and Chris Brown for 5th all time on that list.
Paulo Nagamura by the end of the night had moved into 13th place for minutes played in international competitions for KC, finishing the game with 660 minutes played.
Ike Opara moved into a tie with Aurelien Collin, Oriol Rosell, and Kevin Ellis for 16th place on the list of minutes played in international competitions with 540 minutes played.
Tyler Pasher made his first appearance and first start for Sporting KC.
Kris Tyrpak made his first appearance for Sporting KC.
By the end of the night, Seth Sinovic had moved into 5th place for Sporting KC for minutes played in international competitions, finishing the game with 937 minutes played.
In the 45th minute, Sinovic moved back ahead of Roger Espinoza and into 13th place for minutes played in all competitions, finishing the game with 14,020 minutes played in all competitions.
Sinovic made his 11th appearance in international competitions for KC, tying him wtih Mike Burns and Chris Brown for 5th all time on that list.
Paulo Nagamura by the end of the night had moved into 13th place for minutes played in international competitions for KC, finishing the game with 660 minutes played.
Ike Opara moved into a tie with Aurelien Collin, Oriol Rosell, and Kevin Ellis for 16th place on the list of minutes played in international competitions with 540 minutes played.
Tyler Pasher made his first appearance and first start for Sporting KC.
Kris Tyrpak made his first appearance for Sporting KC.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
S.A.S. Wednesday After Stats
Amer Didic and Ever Alvarado made their debuts for Sporting KC.
At 33 years, 167 days, Paulo Nagamura moved past Mark Santel and became the 17th oldest player to start a game for Kansas City in all competitions.
Kevin Ellis' goal was his second in international competitions for KC, tying him with Claudio Bieler, Dom Dwyer, Soony Saad, and Onandi Lower for 4th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 157th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Mo Johnston for 11th all time on that list.
Sinovic has now played the seventh most minutes for Kansas City in international competitions with 876 minutes played.
It was Sinovic's 10th international appearance for KC, tying him with Matt Besler and Tony Meola for 7th all time on that list.
It was his 10th start in international play for KC, tying him with Besler and Meola for 5th all time on that list.
At 33 years, 167 days, Paulo Nagamura moved past Mark Santel and became the 17th oldest player to start a game for Kansas City in all competitions.
Kevin Ellis' goal was his second in international competitions for KC, tying him with Claudio Bieler, Dom Dwyer, Soony Saad, and Onandi Lower for 4th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 157th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Mo Johnston for 11th all time on that list.
Sinovic has now played the seventh most minutes for Kansas City in international competitions with 876 minutes played.
It was Sinovic's 10th international appearance for KC, tying him with Matt Besler and Tony Meola for 7th all time on that list.
It was his 10th start in international play for KC, tying him with Besler and Meola for 5th all time on that list.
Tuesday, August 16, 2016
Sporting's Defenders Help KC Rescue a Point in Trinidad
Sporting Kansas City's defenders had their scoring boots on in Trinidad tonight and helped Sporting kick off their CONCACAF Champions League campaign with a 2-2 draw against Trinidad side, Central FC. Fielding a team that featured just one player who started on the weekend against FC Dallas and no Benny Feilhaber and Dom Dwyer in the 18, it was Seth Sinovic and Kevin Ellis who helped fill the scoring gap for Kansas City.
The first half was a straight even match up between the two teams with both sides have some decent chances but both goalkeepers making some saves. Just four minutes in Jon Kempin was called into his first action for Sporting as some miscommunication between Kevin Ellis and Amer Didic allowed Kenwyne Jones to get some space to fire a shot from the top of the box, but it was on the ground and easily saved by Kempin. From there Kansas City started to control the game finding a lot of freedom down the wings against Central FC. Sinovic and Saad Abdul-Salaam were able to get forward often and combine with Connor Hallisey and Brad Davis to create space on the wing. Hallisey was involved in both of KC's best chances, first being played in by Roger Espinoza, but his shot hit the side netting and minutes later he returned the favor to Espinoza, but Sporting's captain saw his shot tipped away by Central's Javon Sample. Late in the half it was Central that started to create opportunities of their own and in the 41st thought they'd taken the lead when Jones headed in a free kick while going into Kempin. The Costa Rican referee called the goal back for a foul on Jones there for running into Kempin. Minutes later Jones had another header, getting over Ellis, but his downward header was easily handled by Kempin.
Just six minutes into the second half Kansas City were able to get themselves on the scoreboard. On a free kick about 25 yards from goal, Davis put his initial kick right into the wall. Davis collected the rebound off the wall and floated a cross to the back post for Sinovic who took a touch that got a little away from him. The ball ended up pinging off the trailing defender as he tried to knock the ball away, it then hit off Sinovic and past Sample and into the net to put KC on top 1-0. The lead only lasted three minutes though as KC had their own defensive issues. After the ball landed in the box Abdul-Salaam shielded a ball for Kempin to come grab but the KC goalkeeper was too slow to react to it while Abdul-Salaam didn't just get rid of the ball. As Kempin came for it, Central's Sean De Silva got a foot in before him knocking the ball to Marcus Joseph who fired past Kempin to tie the game at 1-1. KC's defense, still reeling from the first goal immediately gave up a second as Joseph played in a streaking Jones who'd left Didic well in the dust as he raced on goal and beat Kempin to make it 2-1 Central. After giving up the second goal KC seemed to settle down and put Central on the back foot for the rest of the game. KC pushed for the equalizer but some good goalkeeping by Sample kept Central in front as he made a good save on Davis after some work down the left. The equalizer did come for Kansas City in the 71st when Davis played a nice through ball into the box for Ellis who'd come forward on the play. Ellis rounded Sample as he went to ground and fired the ball into the net showing off some of his old skills as a forward to tie the game at 2-2. With the game level Kansas City went looking for a winner and certainly had the better of the chances and Diego Rubio and Nuno Coelho both had good efforts saved by the Central goalkeeper. Cameron Porter had a good header on goal but couldn't get enough power on it and very late on Abdul-Salaam beat his man to the ball and had a cross go all the way through the box without anyone touching it. Moments later the final whistle blew. Kansas City now sit tied with Central for second place in the group with one point. Next week they travel to Vancouver who currently lead the group with three points.
Wizards Man of the Match - Kevin Ellis - Did a decent job of keeping Kenwyne Jones in check for much of the game, limiting his chances on goal and then showed the skill and patience of a forward to beat Sample to tie the game at 2-2.
Player Ratings - Kempin 4, Abdul-Salaam 5, Didic 5, Ellis 6, Sinovic 5, Mustivar 4, Espinoza 6, Nagamura 4, Hallisey 5, Rubio 4, Davis 5. Subs Alvarado 5, Coelho 5, Porter NR.
The first half was a straight even match up between the two teams with both sides have some decent chances but both goalkeepers making some saves. Just four minutes in Jon Kempin was called into his first action for Sporting as some miscommunication between Kevin Ellis and Amer Didic allowed Kenwyne Jones to get some space to fire a shot from the top of the box, but it was on the ground and easily saved by Kempin. From there Kansas City started to control the game finding a lot of freedom down the wings against Central FC. Sinovic and Saad Abdul-Salaam were able to get forward often and combine with Connor Hallisey and Brad Davis to create space on the wing. Hallisey was involved in both of KC's best chances, first being played in by Roger Espinoza, but his shot hit the side netting and minutes later he returned the favor to Espinoza, but Sporting's captain saw his shot tipped away by Central's Javon Sample. Late in the half it was Central that started to create opportunities of their own and in the 41st thought they'd taken the lead when Jones headed in a free kick while going into Kempin. The Costa Rican referee called the goal back for a foul on Jones there for running into Kempin. Minutes later Jones had another header, getting over Ellis, but his downward header was easily handled by Kempin.
Just six minutes into the second half Kansas City were able to get themselves on the scoreboard. On a free kick about 25 yards from goal, Davis put his initial kick right into the wall. Davis collected the rebound off the wall and floated a cross to the back post for Sinovic who took a touch that got a little away from him. The ball ended up pinging off the trailing defender as he tried to knock the ball away, it then hit off Sinovic and past Sample and into the net to put KC on top 1-0. The lead only lasted three minutes though as KC had their own defensive issues. After the ball landed in the box Abdul-Salaam shielded a ball for Kempin to come grab but the KC goalkeeper was too slow to react to it while Abdul-Salaam didn't just get rid of the ball. As Kempin came for it, Central's Sean De Silva got a foot in before him knocking the ball to Marcus Joseph who fired past Kempin to tie the game at 1-1. KC's defense, still reeling from the first goal immediately gave up a second as Joseph played in a streaking Jones who'd left Didic well in the dust as he raced on goal and beat Kempin to make it 2-1 Central. After giving up the second goal KC seemed to settle down and put Central on the back foot for the rest of the game. KC pushed for the equalizer but some good goalkeeping by Sample kept Central in front as he made a good save on Davis after some work down the left. The equalizer did come for Kansas City in the 71st when Davis played a nice through ball into the box for Ellis who'd come forward on the play. Ellis rounded Sample as he went to ground and fired the ball into the net showing off some of his old skills as a forward to tie the game at 2-2. With the game level Kansas City went looking for a winner and certainly had the better of the chances and Diego Rubio and Nuno Coelho both had good efforts saved by the Central goalkeeper. Cameron Porter had a good header on goal but couldn't get enough power on it and very late on Abdul-Salaam beat his man to the ball and had a cross go all the way through the box without anyone touching it. Moments later the final whistle blew. Kansas City now sit tied with Central for second place in the group with one point. Next week they travel to Vancouver who currently lead the group with three points.
Wizards Man of the Match - Kevin Ellis - Did a decent job of keeping Kenwyne Jones in check for much of the game, limiting his chances on goal and then showed the skill and patience of a forward to beat Sample to tie the game at 2-2.
Player Ratings - Kempin 4, Abdul-Salaam 5, Didic 5, Ellis 6, Sinovic 5, Mustivar 4, Espinoza 6, Nagamura 4, Hallisey 5, Rubio 4, Davis 5. Subs Alvarado 5, Coelho 5, Porter NR.
Monday, August 08, 2016
S.A.S. Monday After Stats
Seth Sinovic made his 150th MLS appearance of his career.
Sinovic started his 126th in league play for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon for 15th all time on that list.
It was his 156th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 12th all time on that list.
Saad Abdul-Salaam and Soni Mustivar both made their 50th appearance for KC in all competitions, they are the 66th and 67th players to hit that mark for KC.
Sinovic started his 126th in league play for KC, tying him with Matt McKeon for 15th all time on that list.
It was his 156th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 12th all time on that list.
Saad Abdul-Salaam and Soni Mustivar both made their 50th appearance for KC in all competitions, they are the 66th and 67th players to hit that mark for KC.
Monday, July 25, 2016
S.A.S. Monday After Stats
Dom Dwyer's first goal was his 14th game winner for KC in all competitions, tying him with Preki for the most game winners for KC in all competitions.
It was his 11th game winner for KC in league playing, tying him with Kei Kamara and Josh Wolff for third all time on that list.
Dwyer's two goals gave him 29 in league play for KC at home in his career, breaking his tie with Davy Arnaud and Kamara for second on that list.
The two goals gave him 36 at home in all competitions, breaking his tie with Arnaud for second on that list.
Jacob Peterson's goal was the 200th in all competitions for Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park.
Roger Espinoza's assist was his 19th in league play for KC, tying him with Sasha Victorine and Digital Takawira for 12th all time on that list.
It was his 21st in all competitions for KC, tying him with Kamara and Jack Jewsbury for 10th all time on that list.
In the 59th minute, Espinoza moved past Matt McKeon and into 12th place for league minutes played for KC, he finished the game with 11,616 minutes played.
Espinoza made his 173rd appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Chance Myers for 11th all time on that list.
Graham Zusi started his 150th league game for KC, he's the 8th player to hit that mark.
Zusi made his 219th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jack Jewsbury for 8th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 129th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Nielsen for 16th all time on that list.
It was his 11th game winner for KC in league playing, tying him with Kei Kamara and Josh Wolff for third all time on that list.
Dwyer's two goals gave him 29 in league play for KC at home in his career, breaking his tie with Davy Arnaud and Kamara for second on that list.
The two goals gave him 36 at home in all competitions, breaking his tie with Arnaud for second on that list.
Jacob Peterson's goal was the 200th in all competitions for Kansas City at Children's Mercy Park.
Roger Espinoza's assist was his 19th in league play for KC, tying him with Sasha Victorine and Digital Takawira for 12th all time on that list.
It was his 21st in all competitions for KC, tying him with Kamara and Jack Jewsbury for 10th all time on that list.
In the 59th minute, Espinoza moved past Matt McKeon and into 12th place for league minutes played for KC, he finished the game with 11,616 minutes played.
Espinoza made his 173rd appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Chance Myers for 11th all time on that list.
Graham Zusi started his 150th league game for KC, he's the 8th player to hit that mark.
Zusi made his 219th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jack Jewsbury for 8th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 129th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Jimmy Nielsen for 16th all time on that list.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
S.A.S. Thursday After Stats
Not much from last night, but here are a couple stats from last night.
Seth Sinovic made his 128th league appearance for KC, tying him with Jimmy Nielsen for 16th all time on that list.
Sinovic made his 125th league start for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 15th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 128th league appearance for KC, tying him with Jimmy Nielsen for 16th all time on that list.
Sinovic made his 125th league start for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 15th all time on that list.
Sunday, May 08, 2016
Sunday After Stats
Peter Vermes coached his 223rd MLS game for KC, becoming the all time leader for games managed for the club.
Benny Feilhaber made his 150th MLS league appearance in his career.
In the 89th minute, Roger Espinoza passed Diego Gutierrez and into 18th place for minutes played across all competitions, he finished the game with 12,248 minutes played.
Espinoza made his 136th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Gutierrez for 18th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 157th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Tony Meola for 16th all time on that list.
Benny Feilhaber made his 150th MLS league appearance in his career.
In the 89th minute, Roger Espinoza passed Diego Gutierrez and into 18th place for minutes played across all competitions, he finished the game with 12,248 minutes played.
Espinoza made his 136th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Gutierrez for 18th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 157th appearance in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Tony Meola for 16th all time on that list.
Monday, May 02, 2016
S.A.S. Monday After Stats
Last night was Peter Vermes' 222nd league game in charge for KC, tying him with Bob Gansler for the most games coached in team history.
Justin Mapp became the 200th different player to play in a competitive game for Kansas City.
Mapp at 31 years, 196 days, he is the 19th oldest player to debut for Kansas City in both league play and in all competitions.
Matt Besler started his 184th game in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Chris Klein for 6th place on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 126th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Tony Meola for 17th all time on that list.
Sinovic made his 156th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Meola for 16th on that list.
Roger Espinoza started his 135th game in all competitions for KC, tying him with Diego Gutierrez for 18th all time on that list.
Justin Mapp became the 200th different player to play in a competitive game for Kansas City.
Mapp at 31 years, 196 days, he is the 19th oldest player to debut for Kansas City in both league play and in all competitions.
Matt Besler started his 184th game in league play for KC, breaking his tie with Chris Klein for 6th place on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 126th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Tony Meola for 17th all time on that list.
Sinovic made his 156th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Meola for 16th on that list.
Roger Espinoza started his 135th game in all competitions for KC, tying him with Diego Gutierrez for 18th all time on that list.
Monday, April 18, 2016
SAS Monday After Stats
Brad Davis made his 400th appearance in all MLS competitions (league and playoff) in his career.
Matt Besler made his 216th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Chris Klein for 6th all time on that list.
At 31 years, 282 days, Lawrence Olum became the 16th oldest player to score a goal for KC in all competitions, knocking Benny Feilhaber out of the top 20.
He also became the 16th oldest goal scorer in all competitions for KC, knocking Frank Klopas out of the top 20.
Benny Feilhaber's assist was his 26th in league play for KC, tying him with Josh Wolff for 6th all time on that list for KC.
Roger Espinoza made his 156th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 15th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 125th league appearance for KC, tying him with Meola for 17th all time on that list.
Matt Besler made his 216th start in all competitions for KC, tying him with Chris Klein for 6th all time on that list.
At 31 years, 282 days, Lawrence Olum became the 16th oldest player to score a goal for KC in all competitions, knocking Benny Feilhaber out of the top 20.
He also became the 16th oldest goal scorer in all competitions for KC, knocking Frank Klopas out of the top 20.
Benny Feilhaber's assist was his 26th in league play for KC, tying him with Josh Wolff for 6th all time on that list for KC.
Roger Espinoza made his 156th appearance in all competitions for KC, tying him with Tony Meola for 15th all time on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 125th league appearance for KC, tying him with Meola for 17th all time on that list.
Tuesday, March 01, 2016
Sporting KC Season Preview - Defenders
Today on the preview of Sporting KC's roster ahead of the 2016 MLS season we'll take a look at the defenders. With today's announcement about the mutual termination of Marcel de Jong's contract there is one fewer defender on the roster for Sporting KC. The loss of de Jong though doesn't appear to be too big as the team is still two deep at each position along the back line at this time.
The defense overall isn't seeing much of a shake up from the unit that allowed 43 goals in the 2015 season, the fourth most in the Western Conference in 2015. The big thing for them is probably the overall health of the lineup this season. Of the eight players on the roster, seven were on Sporting KC's roster last year, and pretty much all of them missed time with injuries, the biggest of those being Chance Myers, Ike Opara, and Seth Sinovic. Those three were expected starters on the 2015 Sporting KC team. Instead they started just 26 of an available 102 games in league play. In their place came the likes of Saad Abdul-Salaam, Amadou Dia, and Kevin Ellis. And while all three of those players were able to get valuable playing experience last year the loss of Myers, Opara, and Sinovic were certainly felt.
Saad Abdul-Salaam - The second year wingback had a good 2015 season after starting on loan with Jon Kempin at the San Antonio Scorpions. He was recalled around the same time Kempin was when injuries started to take their toll on Sporting's back line. Abdul-Salaam did well, replacing Myers who struggled in his return from an Achilles injury. He even got a bar at Providence Park named after his penalty kick against the Portland Timbers.
Matt Besler - Sporting KC's captain and the leader of the back line, Besler continues to be solid for Kansas City in the middle of defense. Without a World Cup, and not being called into the Gold Cup, Besler was able to more games for KC in 2015 than he has since breaking into the US national team, starting 32 games. With the Copa America this summer Besler could potentially miss time if he's once again named to the US team. Last year he did a better job of transitioning between the composed, stay at home defender that he always got to be when he partnered with Aurelien Collin and being the more aggressive of the two center backs defensively. It was an area he'd previously struggled with but in 2015 he did better about holding his own when he had to take on the later role.
Nuno Andre Coelho - The Portuguese center back, the only new member to the back line, appears to have won probably the biggest position battle in preseason camp this year, the spot next to Besler as the right center back. Throughout the Desert Diamond Cup, Coelho was the one that was mainly partnering Besler in the middle of KC's back line when the KC captain was out there. In the preseason games I've seen Coelho has performed well and looks like he's acclimating well to his position and working with Besler. He'll also provide a threat on set pieces with his height, an area KC probably needed to improve on, they couldn't rely on 5'9" Ellis equaling his four goal total of last year.
Amadou Dia - Like Abdul-Salaam, Dia had himself a solid 2015 rookie season. He got plenty of time at left back after the concussion for Sinovic and he basically made Marcel de Jong expendable for Kansas City with his level of development in 2015. In 2016 he'll be expected to mainly back up Sinovic, but if he struggles this year Dia is more than capable of replacing him.
Kevin Ellis - Possibly the most polarizing player on Sporting KC's roster (only maybe equaled by Jacob Peterson). Some people thought he performed well enough last year when put in a difficult situation having to start for Opara at center back for over 80% of the season after he went down with an injury. Others never want him near the field again, felt he was a liability and doesn't have the size to play center back. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle, if he had done as good as some think, KC wouldn't have made upgrading center back as much of a priority as they did in the offseason and if he was as bad as some think, he still wouldn't be with the club. Ellis will get his chances at center back this season with spot starts in the league or in other competitions he needs to prove he can continue to develop at that position as he appears to have fully made the switch from outside back.
Chance Myers - After three seasons of remaining fairly healthy, Myers suffered a torn Achilles in the 2014 season. The injury kept him out for the start of the 2015 season, not returning to action until late June. He started only 10 league games in the entire season and missed out on the playoff game against the Timbers due to injury as well. With him getting a full preseason with the team this year the hope is that he'll return to the form of the last few years when he was healthy and help solidify the back line.
Ike Opara - Opara was dominating in defense over Kansas City's first six games of the 2015 season. Then another injury happened, his fourth season ending injury in six professional seasons. He's strong in the air and is a good defender but the questions of his health continue to be answered negatively each time he gets the opportunity as a regular starter. The injury issue force Peter Vermes' hand into bringing in Coelho in the hopes that he'll be more reliable. Opara will be very helpful to KC though as a spot starter and appearing in other competitions in 2016. He'll also potentially be needed this summer if Besler is called up for Copa America. Hopefully he can remain healthy.
Seth Sinovic - The third of KC's three 2015 starters who missed significant time in 2015, Sinovic suffered a concussion in a 1-1 draw with DC United in May. That left him out of action until August. When he returned though Sinovic didn't seem to be the same player, he was a step slower and he just didn't appear to be fully recovered at the time. Like Myers he missed the playoff game, instead Vermes favored the rookie Dia in his spot. Hopefully with an offseason to fully heal and get some down time he comes back closer to where he was when he got the concussion, if not Dia will be likely to get a lot of time at left back.
There are also players elsewhere on the field that can be pushed into defensive positions if the situation calls on it. Jimmy Medranda had one decent game at left back against Toronto, and one horrid half at left back against San Jose. In a pinch he could fill in as an outside back for Kansas City. Meanwhile Lawrence Olum has spent time at center back for both Kansas City and for his country, Kenya. He played the 2013 US Open Cup final at center back in place of the suspended Collin. So while he seems set to mainly play in the midfield a spot on the back line shouldn't be out of the question, especially if KC starts to get hit with more injuries.
The defense overall isn't seeing much of a shake up from the unit that allowed 43 goals in the 2015 season, the fourth most in the Western Conference in 2015. The big thing for them is probably the overall health of the lineup this season. Of the eight players on the roster, seven were on Sporting KC's roster last year, and pretty much all of them missed time with injuries, the biggest of those being Chance Myers, Ike Opara, and Seth Sinovic. Those three were expected starters on the 2015 Sporting KC team. Instead they started just 26 of an available 102 games in league play. In their place came the likes of Saad Abdul-Salaam, Amadou Dia, and Kevin Ellis. And while all three of those players were able to get valuable playing experience last year the loss of Myers, Opara, and Sinovic were certainly felt.
Saad Abdul-Salaam - The second year wingback had a good 2015 season after starting on loan with Jon Kempin at the San Antonio Scorpions. He was recalled around the same time Kempin was when injuries started to take their toll on Sporting's back line. Abdul-Salaam did well, replacing Myers who struggled in his return from an Achilles injury. He even got a bar at Providence Park named after his penalty kick against the Portland Timbers.
Matt Besler - Sporting KC's captain and the leader of the back line, Besler continues to be solid for Kansas City in the middle of defense. Without a World Cup, and not being called into the Gold Cup, Besler was able to more games for KC in 2015 than he has since breaking into the US national team, starting 32 games. With the Copa America this summer Besler could potentially miss time if he's once again named to the US team. Last year he did a better job of transitioning between the composed, stay at home defender that he always got to be when he partnered with Aurelien Collin and being the more aggressive of the two center backs defensively. It was an area he'd previously struggled with but in 2015 he did better about holding his own when he had to take on the later role.
Nuno Andre Coelho - The Portuguese center back, the only new member to the back line, appears to have won probably the biggest position battle in preseason camp this year, the spot next to Besler as the right center back. Throughout the Desert Diamond Cup, Coelho was the one that was mainly partnering Besler in the middle of KC's back line when the KC captain was out there. In the preseason games I've seen Coelho has performed well and looks like he's acclimating well to his position and working with Besler. He'll also provide a threat on set pieces with his height, an area KC probably needed to improve on, they couldn't rely on 5'9" Ellis equaling his four goal total of last year.
Amadou Dia - Like Abdul-Salaam, Dia had himself a solid 2015 rookie season. He got plenty of time at left back after the concussion for Sinovic and he basically made Marcel de Jong expendable for Kansas City with his level of development in 2015. In 2016 he'll be expected to mainly back up Sinovic, but if he struggles this year Dia is more than capable of replacing him.
Kevin Ellis - Possibly the most polarizing player on Sporting KC's roster (only maybe equaled by Jacob Peterson). Some people thought he performed well enough last year when put in a difficult situation having to start for Opara at center back for over 80% of the season after he went down with an injury. Others never want him near the field again, felt he was a liability and doesn't have the size to play center back. The truth, as always, lies somewhere in the middle, if he had done as good as some think, KC wouldn't have made upgrading center back as much of a priority as they did in the offseason and if he was as bad as some think, he still wouldn't be with the club. Ellis will get his chances at center back this season with spot starts in the league or in other competitions he needs to prove he can continue to develop at that position as he appears to have fully made the switch from outside back.
Chance Myers - After three seasons of remaining fairly healthy, Myers suffered a torn Achilles in the 2014 season. The injury kept him out for the start of the 2015 season, not returning to action until late June. He started only 10 league games in the entire season and missed out on the playoff game against the Timbers due to injury as well. With him getting a full preseason with the team this year the hope is that he'll return to the form of the last few years when he was healthy and help solidify the back line.
Ike Opara - Opara was dominating in defense over Kansas City's first six games of the 2015 season. Then another injury happened, his fourth season ending injury in six professional seasons. He's strong in the air and is a good defender but the questions of his health continue to be answered negatively each time he gets the opportunity as a regular starter. The injury issue force Peter Vermes' hand into bringing in Coelho in the hopes that he'll be more reliable. Opara will be very helpful to KC though as a spot starter and appearing in other competitions in 2016. He'll also potentially be needed this summer if Besler is called up for Copa America. Hopefully he can remain healthy.
Seth Sinovic - The third of KC's three 2015 starters who missed significant time in 2015, Sinovic suffered a concussion in a 1-1 draw with DC United in May. That left him out of action until August. When he returned though Sinovic didn't seem to be the same player, he was a step slower and he just didn't appear to be fully recovered at the time. Like Myers he missed the playoff game, instead Vermes favored the rookie Dia in his spot. Hopefully with an offseason to fully heal and get some down time he comes back closer to where he was when he got the concussion, if not Dia will be likely to get a lot of time at left back.
There are also players elsewhere on the field that can be pushed into defensive positions if the situation calls on it. Jimmy Medranda had one decent game at left back against Toronto, and one horrid half at left back against San Jose. In a pinch he could fill in as an outside back for Kansas City. Meanwhile Lawrence Olum has spent time at center back for both Kansas City and for his country, Kenya. He played the 2013 US Open Cup final at center back in place of the suspended Collin. So while he seems set to mainly play in the midfield a spot on the back line shouldn't be out of the question, especially if KC starts to get hit with more injuries.
Wednesday, February 24, 2016
Sporting Full Backs Beat Colorado, Rangers Get Late Draw
Both Sporting Kansas City and the Swope Park Rangers have continued their undefeated run in the Desert Diamond Cup as Sporting defeated the Colorado Rapids 4-1 while the Rangers got a goal in the 90th minute to get a 2-2 draw with the Columbus Crew.
The Rangers were the first of the field on the night, taking on the MLS Cup finalists, the Crew. The Rangers though held their own in the early going creating some chances of their own, but the Crew took the lead in the 35th minute when Federico Higuain put away a rebound after a save by Jon Kempin. The Rangers though quickly responded with Tomas Granitto finding the back of the net. The Rangers were able to keep the Crew's starting lineup at bay.
In the second half the Crew retook the lead on a goal by Ethan Finlay. The Rangers had their chances to tie again, but it wasn't until second half stoppage time. Off a corner by Alex Molano, the ball ended up in the net. Original reports gave the goal to Oumar Ballo, but later was given to Mark Anthony Gonzalez. The Rangers will close out play at the Desert Diamond Cup against FC Tucson on Saturday.
After the Rangers were done, Sporting took the field against the Rapids, a team the Rangers had defeated 3-1 last week in the competition. The Rapids came out and were the stronger side to start the game, putting pressure one what would be considered Sporting's second team for the most part. On KC's first real push forward into the Rapids' end though Sporting won a penalty kick as Saad Abdul-Salaam was knocked over in the box by Dominique Badji. Paulo Nagamura stepped up and sent Zac MacMath the wrong way to put Sporting up 1-0 in the 16th minute. Only three minutes later, KC had won themselves a second penalty. This time it was on the opposite side of the box and KC's left back, Amadou Dia that was brought down, leading to another penalty. This time MacMath guessed right, but like Nagamura has regularly done in shootouts, he put the ball into the side netting putting KC up 2-0. Shortly after that the Rapids started to gain control back and pressure Alec Kann in the KC net. Kann though was up to the task making some fine saves. The first half wasn't all good news for KC though as defender Ike Opara went down with another injury in his own box. This time he was clutching his hamstring and had to be helped off the field and was immediately replaced. An unfortunate injury in a long string of unfortunate injuries for the defender.
KC started the second half the same way they finished it except for Benny Feilhaber entering the game for Kenny Cooper. Sporting was the stronger side as the second half rolled on. Just after the hour mark KC made more changes, bringing on what would be considered more of the first team lineup. Shortly after the changes, KC won their third penalty kick of the game as this time it was Chance Myers getting fouled in the box. Dom Dwyer stepped up this time and fired his penalty into the roof of the net to make it 3-0. Sporting wasn't done there, and neither were their full backs as four minutes after Dwyer's goal, Myers played a cross to the back post where Seth Sinovic was unmarked and he calmly one timed a shot back across the goal and just inside the far post to make it 4-0 Kansas City. Colorado was able to find themselves one goal as Dennis Castillo got around Sinovic and laid a ball back to Zach Pfeffer who slotted a ball inside Tim Melia's near post as he was shuffling back towards the middle of the goal. Sporting will close out the Desert Diamond Cup against Houston on Saturday, the first time Brad Davis will meet up against his former team.
The Rangers were the first of the field on the night, taking on the MLS Cup finalists, the Crew. The Rangers though held their own in the early going creating some chances of their own, but the Crew took the lead in the 35th minute when Federico Higuain put away a rebound after a save by Jon Kempin. The Rangers though quickly responded with Tomas Granitto finding the back of the net. The Rangers were able to keep the Crew's starting lineup at bay.
In the second half the Crew retook the lead on a goal by Ethan Finlay. The Rangers had their chances to tie again, but it wasn't until second half stoppage time. Off a corner by Alex Molano, the ball ended up in the net. Original reports gave the goal to Oumar Ballo, but later was given to Mark Anthony Gonzalez. The Rangers will close out play at the Desert Diamond Cup against FC Tucson on Saturday.
After the Rangers were done, Sporting took the field against the Rapids, a team the Rangers had defeated 3-1 last week in the competition. The Rapids came out and were the stronger side to start the game, putting pressure one what would be considered Sporting's second team for the most part. On KC's first real push forward into the Rapids' end though Sporting won a penalty kick as Saad Abdul-Salaam was knocked over in the box by Dominique Badji. Paulo Nagamura stepped up and sent Zac MacMath the wrong way to put Sporting up 1-0 in the 16th minute. Only three minutes later, KC had won themselves a second penalty. This time it was on the opposite side of the box and KC's left back, Amadou Dia that was brought down, leading to another penalty. This time MacMath guessed right, but like Nagamura has regularly done in shootouts, he put the ball into the side netting putting KC up 2-0. Shortly after that the Rapids started to gain control back and pressure Alec Kann in the KC net. Kann though was up to the task making some fine saves. The first half wasn't all good news for KC though as defender Ike Opara went down with another injury in his own box. This time he was clutching his hamstring and had to be helped off the field and was immediately replaced. An unfortunate injury in a long string of unfortunate injuries for the defender.
KC started the second half the same way they finished it except for Benny Feilhaber entering the game for Kenny Cooper. Sporting was the stronger side as the second half rolled on. Just after the hour mark KC made more changes, bringing on what would be considered more of the first team lineup. Shortly after the changes, KC won their third penalty kick of the game as this time it was Chance Myers getting fouled in the box. Dom Dwyer stepped up this time and fired his penalty into the roof of the net to make it 3-0. Sporting wasn't done there, and neither were their full backs as four minutes after Dwyer's goal, Myers played a cross to the back post where Seth Sinovic was unmarked and he calmly one timed a shot back across the goal and just inside the far post to make it 4-0 Kansas City. Colorado was able to find themselves one goal as Dennis Castillo got around Sinovic and laid a ball back to Zach Pfeffer who slotted a ball inside Tim Melia's near post as he was shuffling back towards the middle of the goal. Sporting will close out the Desert Diamond Cup against Houston on Saturday, the first time Brad Davis will meet up against his former team.
Friday, January 08, 2016
10,000 Minute Club
With the calendar switching to 2016 it's time to once again update all of my stats. We'll start with the 10,000 minute club, players that have played 10,000 or more minutes in both league play and in all competitions.
In league play Sporting KC added one player to the club this year as Seth Sinovic easily jumped onto the list even though his season was shortened by injury this year as he comes in at 16th on the list. Matt Besler moved past Jack Jewsbury this past season and with good health in 2016 could jump all the way to fourth by the end of the season. Graham Zusi moved himself all the way into the top 10 this season, jumping from 15th to 9th place. In the coming season there are two players that should make the club as Chance Myers is only 40 minutes away from making it and Roger Espinoza is just over 250 minutes away from making his way onto the list.
1. Kerry Zavagnin - 20,516
2. Nick Garcia - 20,158
3. Davy Arnaud - 19,399
4. Jimmy Conrad - 18,194
5. Preki - 17,818
6. Chris Klein - 16,381
7. Matt Besler - 15,946
8. Jack Jewsbury - 13,275
9. Graham Zusi - 12,676
10. Mo Johnston - 12,600
11. Michael Harrington - 11,633
12. Matt McKeon - 11,584
13. Jimmy Nielsen - 11,497
14. Josh Wolff - 11,467
15. Tony Meola - 11,331
16. Seth Sinovic - 10,788
In all competitions just one player joined that list as well as Espinoza became the 22nd player to hit the 10,000 minute mark in all competitions. Further up the list, Besler should become the sixth player in club history to hit the 20,000 minute mark this season as he is less than 750 minutes away from that mark. He could also very easily be in third place all time in terms of minutes played by the end of next season as he is less than 2,400 minutes away from third place Davy Arnaud. It'd get him one step closer to one of the goals he had set after the World Cup before he signed a new contract with KC, stating he wanted to own every record for appearance and minutes played for the team. As for who could join the list in 2016, Benny Feilhaber is less than 1,100 minutes away from making the list, so he'd be a good candidate to make it. If KC were to re-sign Paulo Nagamura, playing just under 2,000 minutes would get him onto the list and Dom Dwyer playing just over 2,500 minutes would get him onto the list as well, so there could be a number of players joining the list during this coming season.
1. Kerry Zavagnin - 25,290
2. Nick Garcia - 24,650
3. Davy Arnaud - 21,607
4. Preki - 20,647
5. Jimmy Conrad - 20,551
6. Chris Klein - 19,437
7. Matt Besler - 19,252
8. Graham Zusi - 15,413
9. Jack Jewsbury - 14,973
10. Matt McKeon - 14,602
11. Tony Meola - 14,205
12. Mo Johnston - 14,182
13. Seth Sinovic - 13,541
14. Michael Harrington - 13,276
15. Josh Wolff - 12,939
16. Jimmy Nielsen - 12,847
17. Diego Gutierrez - 12,246
18. Chance Myers - 12,186
19. Aurelien Collin - 11,464
20. Roger Espinoza - 11,355
21. Jose Burciaga - 10,624
22. Uche Okafor - 10,281
In league play Sporting KC added one player to the club this year as Seth Sinovic easily jumped onto the list even though his season was shortened by injury this year as he comes in at 16th on the list. Matt Besler moved past Jack Jewsbury this past season and with good health in 2016 could jump all the way to fourth by the end of the season. Graham Zusi moved himself all the way into the top 10 this season, jumping from 15th to 9th place. In the coming season there are two players that should make the club as Chance Myers is only 40 minutes away from making it and Roger Espinoza is just over 250 minutes away from making his way onto the list.
1. Kerry Zavagnin - 20,516
2. Nick Garcia - 20,158
3. Davy Arnaud - 19,399
4. Jimmy Conrad - 18,194
5. Preki - 17,818
6. Chris Klein - 16,381
7. Matt Besler - 15,946
8. Jack Jewsbury - 13,275
9. Graham Zusi - 12,676
10. Mo Johnston - 12,600
11. Michael Harrington - 11,633
12. Matt McKeon - 11,584
13. Jimmy Nielsen - 11,497
14. Josh Wolff - 11,467
15. Tony Meola - 11,331
16. Seth Sinovic - 10,788
In all competitions just one player joined that list as well as Espinoza became the 22nd player to hit the 10,000 minute mark in all competitions. Further up the list, Besler should become the sixth player in club history to hit the 20,000 minute mark this season as he is less than 750 minutes away from that mark. He could also very easily be in third place all time in terms of minutes played by the end of next season as he is less than 2,400 minutes away from third place Davy Arnaud. It'd get him one step closer to one of the goals he had set after the World Cup before he signed a new contract with KC, stating he wanted to own every record for appearance and minutes played for the team. As for who could join the list in 2016, Benny Feilhaber is less than 1,100 minutes away from making the list, so he'd be a good candidate to make it. If KC were to re-sign Paulo Nagamura, playing just under 2,000 minutes would get him onto the list and Dom Dwyer playing just over 2,500 minutes would get him onto the list as well, so there could be a number of players joining the list during this coming season.
1. Kerry Zavagnin - 25,290
2. Nick Garcia - 24,650
3. Davy Arnaud - 21,607
4. Preki - 20,647
5. Jimmy Conrad - 20,551
6. Chris Klein - 19,437
7. Matt Besler - 19,252
8. Graham Zusi - 15,413
9. Jack Jewsbury - 14,973
10. Matt McKeon - 14,602
11. Tony Meola - 14,205
12. Mo Johnston - 14,182
13. Seth Sinovic - 13,541
14. Michael Harrington - 13,276
15. Josh Wolff - 12,939
16. Jimmy Nielsen - 12,847
17. Diego Gutierrez - 12,246
18. Chance Myers - 12,186
19. Aurelien Collin - 11,464
20. Roger Espinoza - 11,355
21. Jose Burciaga - 10,624
22. Uche Okafor - 10,281
Wednesday, December 09, 2015
Sporting Re-Sign Kempin and Sinovic, Bring Back Olum
Sporting KC announced the return of two players that were out of contract from the 2015 season as the team announced today that they'd re-signed goalkeeper Jon Kempin and defender Seth Sinovic. The club also announced that they'd reacquired defender/midfielder Lawrence Olum. The Kenyan international had played for KC from 2012 to 2014 leaving KC after the season and joining Kedah FA in the Malaysian Premier League.
Sinovic's return will also give KC a veteran presence on the left wing of KC's defense to go along with the younger Amadou Dia. Sinovic has been as steady as they come at left back for Kansas City for the past few years. Unfortunately his 2015 season was marred by injuries and a concussion that limited him to just 11 games all season. Hopefully a full offseason will allow him to fully recover as he looked to still be carrying some knocks late in the 2015 season. Sinovic's re-signing always seemed the likely path for him, based on his comments after being selected by Montreal in the expansion draft, he had made comments about retiring if he'd been unable to return to KC, so his going through the re-entry draft always seemed to be a stretch. His re-signing will also create an interesting question with Marcel de Jong. With Sinovic and Dia emerging last year, the Canadian international struggled to get time and could find himself on the trade block.
Olum returns to Kansas City from Malaysia, where he spent the last year playing with Kedah FA. He'd played in 83 games across all competitions from 2011 through 2014, including the club's 2012 US Open Cup final and 2013 MLS Cup final. He provides depth for Kansas City at both the defensive midfield position and the center back position. His return is not overly surprising based on the fact that he had been training with the team earlier this fall, was out of contract, and likely comes to KC without a big contract. On the other side though KC has Amobi Okugo who plays pretty much the exact same position as Olum, and he's already under contract for 2016. Combine that with the fact that KC now have six players (Olum, Okugo, Matt Besler, Kevin Ellis, Ike Opara, and Erik Palmer-Brown) who can all play center back and one has to assume that there will be some movement happening among those six some time before the 2016 season starts.
Monday, December 07, 2015
Free Agent and Re-Entry Draft List Released
MLS today released the lists for the league's first ever free agency along with the list of players that will be available for Friday's first stage of the re-entry draft.
Twenty-six players are eligible for free agency and are free to negotiate with any team. Players must be at least 28 years old and have played in the league for at least eight seasons to be eligible for free agency, one Sporting KC player is included in that list this year, midfielder Paulo Nagamura. In 2015, Nagamura made $230,000 according to the players union numbers released this year, which is $10,000 more than he'd made in 2014, but still below his $265,000 he made back in 2013. Nagamura though turns 33 next season, and while he's played at least 17 games in all four seasons he's played with KC, questions certainly have to start creeping in about how much longer he can play at the level he has played at, and if he's worth $230,000. For me I'd love to keep Nagamura, but I'd like to see him take a bit of a pay cut to help build the team up further.
If KC wanted to be active in the free agency market, there are some different paths that KC could go to address some needs this offseason. One area that KC needs to address in goalkeeper, where KC only has two at the moment, and one, Jon Kempin, is out of contract and may not be back. Even if Kempin is back most people want him to spend the season on loan with the Swope Park Rangers getting regular playing time. That would still leave a spot for a back up for Tim Melia. There are a couple experienced goalkeepers KC could look at on the free agent market if they wanted to, Jon Busch and Troy Perkins. Busch would likely be the cheaper of the two options, as he made just $85,000 last year according to the union numbers, but his issue is that he turns 40 during the 2016 MLS season. As for Perkins, he'll turn 35 in 2016 and made $130,000, not an amount I'd want to see Kansas City paying on a back up goalkeeper even if the goalie will be getting time next season in the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League. Both would be able to fill the back up role for Kansas City if this was a route KC wanted to go, Busch has played over 300 MLS games and recorded 83 shutouts in that time frame. Meanwhile Perkins has played about 100 fewer games, but has recorded over 50 shutouts himself.
Robb Heineman has had fun with free agency starting, throwing out two names on Twitter as recruiting targets, naming Montreal Impact midfielder Justin Mapp and Chicago Fire forward Mike Magee. Mapp didn't play much in 2015 for the Impact, fracturing his elbow in the season opener against DC United, he was limited to just five games in 2015. In his career Mapp has recorded 65 assists, just over four a season for his career. He'd provide some attack down the wing and some further creativity. His salary, just over $185,000 isn't that bad either and he'd provide an upgrade over the likes of Bernardo Anor, Connor Hallisey, and Jacob Peterson on the wing. The issue is does he bring enough to the team.
As for Magee, if KC wanted to target him, I'd assume he'd need to take a pay cut as he made $400,000 in the 2015 season. Like Mapp, Magee is coming off an injury shortened 2015 season where he only contributed two assists to the Fire attack. This is two seasons after being the league MVP in 2013, scoring 21 goals while splitting time with the Fire and LA Galaxy. Right now I'd prefer Dom Dwyer in that starting forward spot, so unless the price is right for Magee salary wise a move for him doesn't make a lot of sense.
The thought of Magee that I do like in terms of free agency is getting a reserve striker. This was an area that KC really struggled with last year, a spark off the bench. There are a few guys that KC could at least look at, all have been regular goal scorers in the league, but may be a little expensive. The likes of Edson Buddle, 300 games played, 100 goals scored, made $100,000 in 2015, but turns 35 next year is available. Another forward that could be an option that's a little younger is Chad Barrett. Barrett turns 31 next season, he's scored 56 goals in just over 250 games played in his career. He scored five goals for Seattle last year, making $95,000 starting just nine games. So there are some options there for KC to go after if they wanted to find some striker depth.
Re-Entry Draft
As for the re-entry draft, that's an area that KC has never really used under Peter Vermes, in the five previous re-entry drafts, KC has taken a total of one player, none since the first draft in 2010 and none in the first phase of the draft. If there's a player that Vermes has wanted in the draft he has usually worked out a deal with the players current club to acquire him via trade before the draft. And while the 2015 re-entry draft probably has the most talent of any draft so far it wouldn't surprise me again if Vermes either does his business early or does no business at all.
The first decision that Vermes will have to make is on one of KC's players in this year's re-entry draft as Seth Sinovic is out of contract and available for the draft. After suffering through a concussion in the middle of the season Sinovic came back and regained his starting spot last season, but didn't seem to be fully back from the injury. The questions is whether a full offseason would see him come back at the level he was. Sinovic and KC have until late afternoon on Thursday to make a decision. Based on past experience where Sinovic was ready to retire instead of going to KC that could turn teams off of looking at taking Sinovic in the draft.
While there are some interesting choices available in the first phase of the re-entry draft; Tommy Meyer for some center back depth, Matt Lampson as a back up goalkeeper option, and Marco Pappa as an attacking option, I think that Vermes and Kansas City are going to stick to their regular process during the first phase of the re-entry draft. If there's a player they want they'll make an early trade and not wait to see if he falls to KC at the 11th spot.
Twenty-six players are eligible for free agency and are free to negotiate with any team. Players must be at least 28 years old and have played in the league for at least eight seasons to be eligible for free agency, one Sporting KC player is included in that list this year, midfielder Paulo Nagamura. In 2015, Nagamura made $230,000 according to the players union numbers released this year, which is $10,000 more than he'd made in 2014, but still below his $265,000 he made back in 2013. Nagamura though turns 33 next season, and while he's played at least 17 games in all four seasons he's played with KC, questions certainly have to start creeping in about how much longer he can play at the level he has played at, and if he's worth $230,000. For me I'd love to keep Nagamura, but I'd like to see him take a bit of a pay cut to help build the team up further.
If KC wanted to be active in the free agency market, there are some different paths that KC could go to address some needs this offseason. One area that KC needs to address in goalkeeper, where KC only has two at the moment, and one, Jon Kempin, is out of contract and may not be back. Even if Kempin is back most people want him to spend the season on loan with the Swope Park Rangers getting regular playing time. That would still leave a spot for a back up for Tim Melia. There are a couple experienced goalkeepers KC could look at on the free agent market if they wanted to, Jon Busch and Troy Perkins. Busch would likely be the cheaper of the two options, as he made just $85,000 last year according to the union numbers, but his issue is that he turns 40 during the 2016 MLS season. As for Perkins, he'll turn 35 in 2016 and made $130,000, not an amount I'd want to see Kansas City paying on a back up goalkeeper even if the goalie will be getting time next season in the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League. Both would be able to fill the back up role for Kansas City if this was a route KC wanted to go, Busch has played over 300 MLS games and recorded 83 shutouts in that time frame. Meanwhile Perkins has played about 100 fewer games, but has recorded over 50 shutouts himself.
Robb Heineman has had fun with free agency starting, throwing out two names on Twitter as recruiting targets, naming Montreal Impact midfielder Justin Mapp and Chicago Fire forward Mike Magee. Mapp didn't play much in 2015 for the Impact, fracturing his elbow in the season opener against DC United, he was limited to just five games in 2015. In his career Mapp has recorded 65 assists, just over four a season for his career. He'd provide some attack down the wing and some further creativity. His salary, just over $185,000 isn't that bad either and he'd provide an upgrade over the likes of Bernardo Anor, Connor Hallisey, and Jacob Peterson on the wing. The issue is does he bring enough to the team.
As for Magee, if KC wanted to target him, I'd assume he'd need to take a pay cut as he made $400,000 in the 2015 season. Like Mapp, Magee is coming off an injury shortened 2015 season where he only contributed two assists to the Fire attack. This is two seasons after being the league MVP in 2013, scoring 21 goals while splitting time with the Fire and LA Galaxy. Right now I'd prefer Dom Dwyer in that starting forward spot, so unless the price is right for Magee salary wise a move for him doesn't make a lot of sense.
The thought of Magee that I do like in terms of free agency is getting a reserve striker. This was an area that KC really struggled with last year, a spark off the bench. There are a few guys that KC could at least look at, all have been regular goal scorers in the league, but may be a little expensive. The likes of Edson Buddle, 300 games played, 100 goals scored, made $100,000 in 2015, but turns 35 next year is available. Another forward that could be an option that's a little younger is Chad Barrett. Barrett turns 31 next season, he's scored 56 goals in just over 250 games played in his career. He scored five goals for Seattle last year, making $95,000 starting just nine games. So there are some options there for KC to go after if they wanted to find some striker depth.
Re-Entry Draft
As for the re-entry draft, that's an area that KC has never really used under Peter Vermes, in the five previous re-entry drafts, KC has taken a total of one player, none since the first draft in 2010 and none in the first phase of the draft. If there's a player that Vermes has wanted in the draft he has usually worked out a deal with the players current club to acquire him via trade before the draft. And while the 2015 re-entry draft probably has the most talent of any draft so far it wouldn't surprise me again if Vermes either does his business early or does no business at all.
The first decision that Vermes will have to make is on one of KC's players in this year's re-entry draft as Seth Sinovic is out of contract and available for the draft. After suffering through a concussion in the middle of the season Sinovic came back and regained his starting spot last season, but didn't seem to be fully back from the injury. The questions is whether a full offseason would see him come back at the level he was. Sinovic and KC have until late afternoon on Thursday to make a decision. Based on past experience where Sinovic was ready to retire instead of going to KC that could turn teams off of looking at taking Sinovic in the draft.
While there are some interesting choices available in the first phase of the re-entry draft; Tommy Meyer for some center back depth, Matt Lampson as a back up goalkeeper option, and Marco Pappa as an attacking option, I think that Vermes and Kansas City are going to stick to their regular process during the first phase of the re-entry draft. If there's a player they want they'll make an early trade and not wait to see if he falls to KC at the 11th spot.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Sporting KC Make Roster Moves
Sporting Kansas City today announced roster moves for the end of the 2015 season. The team announced that they had declined the club option on defender Jalil Anibaba. Anibaba, who was acquired by Kansas City in the offseason in a deal with Orlando City that sent Aurelien Collin to the expansion club, played in 16 games for KC in 2015, starting 14 of them. He became a starter three games into the 2015 season after KC's defensive issues in a 3-1 loss to Dallas. Anibaba proceeded to start the next 13 games for Kansas City at right back. Unfortunately after that Anibaba got hurt in training and missed all of July and August. When he returned in September he made just three more appearances, only one start, the club's 1-1 draw with Seattle when starters were rested in preparation for the US Open Cup final. Anibaba could play both right back and center back, but never lined up in the middle of defense for Kansas City. Even when both Ike Opara and Kevin Ellis were down, teenager Erik Palmer-Brown was preferred to Anibaba at center back. Anibaba will now go into the re-entry draft in December.
KC also announced that there were five players out of contract, goalkeeper Jon Kempin, midfielders Mikey Lopez, Soni Mustivar, and Paulo Nagamura, and defender Seth Sinovic. Sporting announced that they were extend offers to all five of those players in the hopes that they would return in 2016. Re-signing Mustivar has to be the priority of the five with his standing as a starter at this point. Kempin as the perceived future starter in goal also should probably be a priority. The other three it becomes a question of what the players are wanting and where the club stands depth wise. Lopez will graduate from the Generation Adidas program that means his salary next year would count against the cap. The question is whether he's contributed enough to justify it. On Nagamura it likely will come down to salary demands. Nagamura will turn 33 next season and while he's been great for the club, making $230,000 or more may not be the best way to spend cap space. But it's hard to argue with what he's done for the team. As for Sinovic, it depends on his recovery from his concussion to me. I've said many times how I feel he wasn't the same player after the concussion. It becomes about where he's at and how he's doing for me on whether you bring him back as well.
Also today KC announced they'd picked up the option on 13 other players; Saad Abdul-Salaam, Amadou Dia, Kevin Ellis, Benny Feilhaber, Connor Hallisey, Jimmy Medranda, Tim Melia, Chance Myers, Krisztian Nemeth, Ike Opara, Erik Palmer-Brown, and Jordi Quintilla. That list combined with the list of players KC currently have under contract; Bernardo Anor, Matt Besler, Marcel de Jong, Dom Dwyer, Roger Espinoza, Amobi Okugo, Jacob Peterson, and Graham Zusi puts KC at 20 players under contract for 2016. Add in the five players that the team is said to be making offers to that were on the team last year and you're up to 25 of 28 roster already filled. That's not to say that players who had their option picked up won't be waived during preseason, or that trades won't be made. But at the moment it appears that plenty of the team will be back for the start of the 2016 season.
KC also announced that there were five players out of contract, goalkeeper Jon Kempin, midfielders Mikey Lopez, Soni Mustivar, and Paulo Nagamura, and defender Seth Sinovic. Sporting announced that they were extend offers to all five of those players in the hopes that they would return in 2016. Re-signing Mustivar has to be the priority of the five with his standing as a starter at this point. Kempin as the perceived future starter in goal also should probably be a priority. The other three it becomes a question of what the players are wanting and where the club stands depth wise. Lopez will graduate from the Generation Adidas program that means his salary next year would count against the cap. The question is whether he's contributed enough to justify it. On Nagamura it likely will come down to salary demands. Nagamura will turn 33 next season and while he's been great for the club, making $230,000 or more may not be the best way to spend cap space. But it's hard to argue with what he's done for the team. As for Sinovic, it depends on his recovery from his concussion to me. I've said many times how I feel he wasn't the same player after the concussion. It becomes about where he's at and how he's doing for me on whether you bring him back as well.
Also today KC announced they'd picked up the option on 13 other players; Saad Abdul-Salaam, Amadou Dia, Kevin Ellis, Benny Feilhaber, Connor Hallisey, Jimmy Medranda, Tim Melia, Chance Myers, Krisztian Nemeth, Ike Opara, Erik Palmer-Brown, and Jordi Quintilla. That list combined with the list of players KC currently have under contract; Bernardo Anor, Matt Besler, Marcel de Jong, Dom Dwyer, Roger Espinoza, Amobi Okugo, Jacob Peterson, and Graham Zusi puts KC at 20 players under contract for 2016. Add in the five players that the team is said to be making offers to that were on the team last year and you're up to 25 of 28 roster already filled. That's not to say that players who had their option picked up won't be waived during preseason, or that trades won't be made. But at the moment it appears that plenty of the team will be back for the start of the 2016 season.
Friday, November 20, 2015
Season Review - Defenders - Once Again Injuries Plague the Back Line
Continuing to work up from the back on our review of the Sporting Kansas City season, we reach the defense. You can read my review of the goalkeeper position here. Sporting's defense in 2015 suffered one of the main issues that plagued the team during their 2014 run. Injuries were a big issue for the team with Chance Myers, Ike Opara, and Seth Sinovic, all three considered starters, missed considerable time due to different injuries. At one point in the season, KC had the best defensive record in the league, allowing the fewest goals in the league. Unfortunately after the 5-0 drubbing by San Jose, KC started leaking goals the rest of the season, allowing 20 over their last 12 games to finish the season with 45 goals against, the fourth most in the Western Conference.
The Players
Saad Abdul-Salaam - KC's second of three first round picks in the 2015 Superdraft, Abdul-Salaam started the season on loan with Jon Kempin at San Antonio, before being recalled in mid-May after starting five games for the NASL club. With injuries and squad rotation, Abdul-Salaam was able to get plenty of time over the course of the season at both left and right back as well as some time at winger to kill time late in some games. Abdul-Salaam improved so much over the course of the season that he displaced Jalil Anibaba who had started the 2015 season at right back with Chance Myers still recovering from injury. He finished second among KC's three rookies with 1,074 minutes played in league play, but down the stretch seemed at times to be preferred over his counterpart, Amadou Dia, even at left back.
Jalil Anibaba - Anibaba started the season as KC's starting right back after coming to the club as part of the Aurelien Collin trade with Orlando City. Anibaba did well enough for KC defensively and gave KC a big body for set pieces that helped in KC's 3-2 win over Philadelphia early in the season. He picked up a quadricep injury in early July that limited him the rest of the season. He only made one start after KC's 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on 6/21, and that was against Seattle at home when KC rested the majority of their starters for the US Open Cup final. He made just two other appearances after his injury, both substitution appearances. His injury combined with the emergence of Abdul-Salaam to play right back made him a bit expendable.
Matt Besler - Despite the number of goals that KC allowed this year, Besler, Sporting KC's captain, may have had his best season with the club. He didn't get a ton of credit, but Besler took on a much larger role defensively this year. With Collin traded in the offseason, Ike Opara going down injured again, along with Chance Myers and Seth Sinovic, Besler at times had a lot more recovery work to do in settling the defense and keeping it organized, sometimes with two rookies and a converted wing back, and some times with a pair of rookies and a teenager with him. He did so playing the most league games he has since 2011. He also set a career high for assists this year, with only one coming from one of his long throws.
Marcel de Jong - 2015 probably wasn't the year that de Jong envisioned when he came to MLS. The Canadian international played in just 13 games for KC, starting 11 of them. Similar to Anibaba, de Jong saw his time late in the season really shrink. He made just three appearances for KC after the beginning of August, starting two games and coming on as a substitute in the 5-0 thrashing by San Jose. Like Anibaba with the emergence of Abdul-Salaam and Dia, de Jong could become expendable, but that may also depend on the long term health of Sinovic.
Amadou Dia - KC's other defensive rookie played the most minutes of any of KC's three first round picks, playing 1,317 minutes. Like his rookie counterpart, Abdul-Salaam, Dia kept more experienced wingbacks on the bench as the season went on with his play. Dia's minutes actually fell late in the season, like de Jong and Anibaba, as he lost minutes to Sinovic and Abdul-Salaam, but in the playoffs with both Sinovic and Myers hurt, Peter Vermes went with his two rookie outside backs. It speaks well of the strides that both players made in their rookie season.
Kevin Ellis - Speaking of strides, there's probably not one player on this list that made as big of strides this year as Ellis. KC's second homegrown player was once again thrust into a large number of minutes in 2015 due to injury. Once Opara went down, Ellis became Kansas City's starting center back next to Besler. Ellis played in a career high, 30 games, starting 28 of them, and played the fourth most minutes on the team, 2,335, behind only Besler, Benny Feilhaber, and Dom Dwyer. And despite being listed at only 5'9", he was a major threat on set pieces, scoring four league goals this past year, good for fourth on the team, and added another in the playoffs, all with his head off of set pieces. For all the good work he did though he was also a point of contention with his play as he had poor play during the season which were really apparent because of the way KC played out of the back, either with poor passing or some poor choices when he would make runs forward. I think a lot of the anger though came from the fact that he was a converted wingback and KC didn't bring in another true central defender when Opara went down.
Chance Myers - Missed the first few months of the 2015 season still recovering from his Achillies tear that he suffered in 2014. When he did return, Myers was solid, but still struggled with some other injuries. He was limited to just 10 starts and 13 appears for KC. At times he still looked to be a step slower than his top speed before the injury, which isn't incredibly surprising given the nature of it. Next season is going to be big for Myers with a full preseason to continue to work back fully from his lingering injuries, and with the likes of Abdul-Salaam coming along last year he'll certainly be pushed for minutes.
Ike Opara - Looked set for a monster break out season in 2015, and fulfilling the potential that saw him go third overall in the 2010 MLS Superdraft. He was KC's leading goalscorer early in the season was a massive threat on set pieces and was a solid partner for Besler in defense. Unfortunately he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in the sixth game of the season and his year was done. It's the four time in his five pro seasons that Opara has missed significant time with an injury. He's certainly a strong, very capable defender, but his inability to keep healthy is a risk that KC has to be running low on patience for. It's what made acquiring him from San Jose so cheap. I don't doubt that Opara will be back in 2016, but I think he's going to have a lot of competitions for the starting spot next to Besler next year. And if he does win it, he's going to be on a short leash. Another long term injury and he'll be gone.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Sporting KC's youngest player had a career high in games played (7), started (4), and minutes (376). He missed time in 2015 while with the US U20 team at the U20 World Cup as well as other tournaments. when KC was struggling though Palmer-Brown had been unable to displace Ellis next to Besler in central defense. A bit of a concern, but the kid is still just 18. The hope at this point has to be that he either has a Matt Miazga break out season for Sporting or that he is loaned to the Swope Park Rangers to get regular playing time like will hopefully happen to Jon Kempin.
Seth Sinovic - Like his partner on the other wing, Myers, Sinovic missed quite a bit of time this year with injury. A concussion against DC United in early May caused him to miss the majority of the season as he didn't return until late August. When he did return though Sinovic didn't seem to be at the same level that he'd been at pre-injury. Judgment and speed just seemed a little off for him after the injury. Hopefully a full offseason and preseason will see him get back to his old level. But like Myers, he has a young player behind him in Dia that looks ready to step up.
Looking towards 2016
Robb Heineman stole a bit of my thunder yesterday when he mentioned how the team needed to find a high-quality center back. With Opara's injury history I'm not sure how much you can rely on him to be able to go in 2016. I'd like to have higher hopes for him, but he hasn't given much of a reason to with his injuries. He's a good player and would help out KC a lot if he was healthy. But that if has gotten a lot bigger as the years have gone on. And while Ellis didn't do a horrible job at center back, his position is one that Sporting really needs to look to upgrade in the offseason if they're wanting to compete for more trophies in 2016.
I'd like to see Palmer-Brown get more time next year, everyone from the club to the national team coaches talk up his ability and his high ceiling, in 2016 I'd hope we'd get to see more of it. He's shown flashes at times, but needs more game play to really step up. That seems more likely to happen at the USL level with the Rangers at this point though.
The other area that I think KC needs to address a little bit in the offseason is their depth at outside back. Not necessarily needing to add more to it, but actually to reduce some of the players the team currently has. At this time KC has six players currently whose primary position with the team is outside back. With Abdul Salaam, Anibaba, de Jong, Dia, Myers, and Sinovic all predominately outside backs, there's probably some space to cut some fat and cap space there. Outside Abdul-Salaam and Dia, they're all making over $100,000, ranging from Anibaba's $120,000 to de Jong's $180,000. Myers and Sinovic both have tenure with the team on their side, but Myers' injury issues again coming up and Sinovic's play post concussion have to give at least a little pause. Anibaba meanwhile is the least expensive of the experienced outside backs and did good, but not exceptional at that position early in the season. With de Jong, if he provides a lot more to the attack than the other five do, and is also able to play the wing position as he did against Columbus this year. At the same time, de Jong's Canadian citizenship may make him the most appealing trade, specifically for the Canadian clubs.
In the end, heading into 2016, KC needs to look to add a center back who can at the least be a replacement for Ellis and at best push and potentially beat out Opara for the starting job. Out wide it becomes a matter of needing to probably shed at least one of their outside backs.
The Players
Saad Abdul-Salaam - KC's second of three first round picks in the 2015 Superdraft, Abdul-Salaam started the season on loan with Jon Kempin at San Antonio, before being recalled in mid-May after starting five games for the NASL club. With injuries and squad rotation, Abdul-Salaam was able to get plenty of time over the course of the season at both left and right back as well as some time at winger to kill time late in some games. Abdul-Salaam improved so much over the course of the season that he displaced Jalil Anibaba who had started the 2015 season at right back with Chance Myers still recovering from injury. He finished second among KC's three rookies with 1,074 minutes played in league play, but down the stretch seemed at times to be preferred over his counterpart, Amadou Dia, even at left back.
Jalil Anibaba - Anibaba started the season as KC's starting right back after coming to the club as part of the Aurelien Collin trade with Orlando City. Anibaba did well enough for KC defensively and gave KC a big body for set pieces that helped in KC's 3-2 win over Philadelphia early in the season. He picked up a quadricep injury in early July that limited him the rest of the season. He only made one start after KC's 2-1 loss to Real Salt Lake on 6/21, and that was against Seattle at home when KC rested the majority of their starters for the US Open Cup final. He made just two other appearances after his injury, both substitution appearances. His injury combined with the emergence of Abdul-Salaam to play right back made him a bit expendable.
Matt Besler - Despite the number of goals that KC allowed this year, Besler, Sporting KC's captain, may have had his best season with the club. He didn't get a ton of credit, but Besler took on a much larger role defensively this year. With Collin traded in the offseason, Ike Opara going down injured again, along with Chance Myers and Seth Sinovic, Besler at times had a lot more recovery work to do in settling the defense and keeping it organized, sometimes with two rookies and a converted wing back, and some times with a pair of rookies and a teenager with him. He did so playing the most league games he has since 2011. He also set a career high for assists this year, with only one coming from one of his long throws.
Marcel de Jong - 2015 probably wasn't the year that de Jong envisioned when he came to MLS. The Canadian international played in just 13 games for KC, starting 11 of them. Similar to Anibaba, de Jong saw his time late in the season really shrink. He made just three appearances for KC after the beginning of August, starting two games and coming on as a substitute in the 5-0 thrashing by San Jose. Like Anibaba with the emergence of Abdul-Salaam and Dia, de Jong could become expendable, but that may also depend on the long term health of Sinovic.
Amadou Dia - KC's other defensive rookie played the most minutes of any of KC's three first round picks, playing 1,317 minutes. Like his rookie counterpart, Abdul-Salaam, Dia kept more experienced wingbacks on the bench as the season went on with his play. Dia's minutes actually fell late in the season, like de Jong and Anibaba, as he lost minutes to Sinovic and Abdul-Salaam, but in the playoffs with both Sinovic and Myers hurt, Peter Vermes went with his two rookie outside backs. It speaks well of the strides that both players made in their rookie season.
Kevin Ellis - Speaking of strides, there's probably not one player on this list that made as big of strides this year as Ellis. KC's second homegrown player was once again thrust into a large number of minutes in 2015 due to injury. Once Opara went down, Ellis became Kansas City's starting center back next to Besler. Ellis played in a career high, 30 games, starting 28 of them, and played the fourth most minutes on the team, 2,335, behind only Besler, Benny Feilhaber, and Dom Dwyer. And despite being listed at only 5'9", he was a major threat on set pieces, scoring four league goals this past year, good for fourth on the team, and added another in the playoffs, all with his head off of set pieces. For all the good work he did though he was also a point of contention with his play as he had poor play during the season which were really apparent because of the way KC played out of the back, either with poor passing or some poor choices when he would make runs forward. I think a lot of the anger though came from the fact that he was a converted wingback and KC didn't bring in another true central defender when Opara went down.
Chance Myers - Missed the first few months of the 2015 season still recovering from his Achillies tear that he suffered in 2014. When he did return, Myers was solid, but still struggled with some other injuries. He was limited to just 10 starts and 13 appears for KC. At times he still looked to be a step slower than his top speed before the injury, which isn't incredibly surprising given the nature of it. Next season is going to be big for Myers with a full preseason to continue to work back fully from his lingering injuries, and with the likes of Abdul-Salaam coming along last year he'll certainly be pushed for minutes.
Ike Opara - Looked set for a monster break out season in 2015, and fulfilling the potential that saw him go third overall in the 2010 MLS Superdraft. He was KC's leading goalscorer early in the season was a massive threat on set pieces and was a solid partner for Besler in defense. Unfortunately he suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in the sixth game of the season and his year was done. It's the four time in his five pro seasons that Opara has missed significant time with an injury. He's certainly a strong, very capable defender, but his inability to keep healthy is a risk that KC has to be running low on patience for. It's what made acquiring him from San Jose so cheap. I don't doubt that Opara will be back in 2016, but I think he's going to have a lot of competitions for the starting spot next to Besler next year. And if he does win it, he's going to be on a short leash. Another long term injury and he'll be gone.
Erik Palmer-Brown - Sporting KC's youngest player had a career high in games played (7), started (4), and minutes (376). He missed time in 2015 while with the US U20 team at the U20 World Cup as well as other tournaments. when KC was struggling though Palmer-Brown had been unable to displace Ellis next to Besler in central defense. A bit of a concern, but the kid is still just 18. The hope at this point has to be that he either has a Matt Miazga break out season for Sporting or that he is loaned to the Swope Park Rangers to get regular playing time like will hopefully happen to Jon Kempin.
Seth Sinovic - Like his partner on the other wing, Myers, Sinovic missed quite a bit of time this year with injury. A concussion against DC United in early May caused him to miss the majority of the season as he didn't return until late August. When he did return though Sinovic didn't seem to be at the same level that he'd been at pre-injury. Judgment and speed just seemed a little off for him after the injury. Hopefully a full offseason and preseason will see him get back to his old level. But like Myers, he has a young player behind him in Dia that looks ready to step up.
Looking towards 2016
Robb Heineman stole a bit of my thunder yesterday when he mentioned how the team needed to find a high-quality center back. With Opara's injury history I'm not sure how much you can rely on him to be able to go in 2016. I'd like to have higher hopes for him, but he hasn't given much of a reason to with his injuries. He's a good player and would help out KC a lot if he was healthy. But that if has gotten a lot bigger as the years have gone on. And while Ellis didn't do a horrible job at center back, his position is one that Sporting really needs to look to upgrade in the offseason if they're wanting to compete for more trophies in 2016.
I'd like to see Palmer-Brown get more time next year, everyone from the club to the national team coaches talk up his ability and his high ceiling, in 2016 I'd hope we'd get to see more of it. He's shown flashes at times, but needs more game play to really step up. That seems more likely to happen at the USL level with the Rangers at this point though.
The other area that I think KC needs to address a little bit in the offseason is their depth at outside back. Not necessarily needing to add more to it, but actually to reduce some of the players the team currently has. At this time KC has six players currently whose primary position with the team is outside back. With Abdul Salaam, Anibaba, de Jong, Dia, Myers, and Sinovic all predominately outside backs, there's probably some space to cut some fat and cap space there. Outside Abdul-Salaam and Dia, they're all making over $100,000, ranging from Anibaba's $120,000 to de Jong's $180,000. Myers and Sinovic both have tenure with the team on their side, but Myers' injury issues again coming up and Sinovic's play post concussion have to give at least a little pause. Anibaba meanwhile is the least expensive of the experienced outside backs and did good, but not exceptional at that position early in the season. With de Jong, if he provides a lot more to the attack than the other five do, and is also able to play the wing position as he did against Columbus this year. At the same time, de Jong's Canadian citizenship may make him the most appealing trade, specifically for the Canadian clubs.
In the end, heading into 2016, KC needs to look to add a center back who can at the least be a replacement for Ellis and at best push and potentially beat out Opara for the starting job. Out wide it becomes a matter of needing to probably shed at least one of their outside backs.
Saturday, October 17, 2015
S.A.S. Saturday After Stats
The game was Peter Vermes' 250th in charge of Sporting KC in all competitions.
Paulo Nagamura made his 250th start in all competitions in his MLS career last night.
In the 45th minute, Chance Myers moved past Roger Espinoza and into 18th place for league minutes played for KC. He finished the game with 9,780 minutes played. In the 74th minute, Myers moved past Diego Gutierrez and into 17th place for minutes played in league play for KC.
Myers' made his 130th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Aurelien Collin for 18th on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 124th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Chris Brown for 18th on that list.
Graham Zusi made his 163rd start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jack Jewsbury for 8th all time on that list.
Paulo Nagamura made his 250th start in all competitions in his MLS career last night.
In the 45th minute, Chance Myers moved past Roger Espinoza and into 18th place for league minutes played for KC. He finished the game with 9,780 minutes played. In the 74th minute, Myers moved past Diego Gutierrez and into 17th place for minutes played in league play for KC.
Myers' made his 130th start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Aurelien Collin for 18th on that list.
Seth Sinovic made his 124th league appearance for KC, breaking his tie with Chris Brown for 18th on that list.
Graham Zusi made his 163rd start in all competitions for KC, breaking his tie with Jack Jewsbury for 8th all time on that list.
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