Supplemental Draft is Done
The Supplemental Draft was today. This can be an important draft as some nice players can be found in these rounds. Last year's pick of Devon McTavish is probably the most recent example of this occuring for D.C. United. However, I am a bit confused with United's picks this year. They picked up another goalkeeper and an international forward.
The goalkeeper is Shawn Crowe who isn't on Buzz's radar. DC took him with the 11th pick in the Supplemental Draft. He is from Florida International, which is the same school that Bobby Boswell hails from. Apparently DC has decided to let Crowe, McIntosh, and Robles fight it out for the 2nd and 3rd goalkeeper spots. I think this is an idication that the powers that be at DCU do not think that Nolly will be coming back to the States.
The forward is Guy-Roland Kpene of Division II champions Dowling College. He was taken with the 37th pick of the Supplemental Draft. If anyone has seen this guy play, please tell us about him in the comments section. He didn't even make Buzz's Top 56 Forwards. All I have is that he got Division II Second Team All-American honors and scored 25 goals with 10 assists in just 24 games. I think this is another Ssejemba type move by United. They have the Y-I spots for him, he can obviously score at a lower level, they are taking a gamble that his skills will apply at a higher level. It didn't work out for Ssejemba and I doubt that it will work out here, but it is better than drafting somebody who will be a solid reserve that will never see the game day roster.
Labels: 2007 Superdraft, Analysis, Guy-Roland Kpene, Roster Moves, Shawn Crowe
posted by Kinney @ 10:12 PM
7 Comments:
Boy, it is hard to find out too much about Division II players online. I did see that Kpene played for Brooklyn in the PDL in 2006. In nine games he scored 6 goals, had 2 assists and let loose 23 shots. (At least he seems active.)
I actually saw some discussion online from folks who were pissed off that Dowling college was bringing kids in from overseas to pump up their program. (But oddly they didn't have a problem with Cunliffe...I guess African foreigners are MORE foreign than European foreigners....[insert eye roll here.]
There was this discussion on BigSoccer:
"Not for nothing, Cunliffe is a terrific player, no doubt but he got totally outplayed by the #6 from Dowling yesterday in the final. He had one chance that was cleard off the line by a dowling player (not sure who) but that was it. He was totally dominated all over the field.
He should have won Player of the Yea honors last season but this year, the 2 forwards from Dowling should share that award if not outright to Kpene.
Jensen and Kpene (Dowling) and Cunliffe are the 3 best forwards in the country hands down but Jensen scored another goal to win the championship for Dowling and Kpene was terrific in both games. The 2 assists he had in the semi's were insane and he also had a goal in that game and sunk his penalty.
i believe he scored the game winner in their Quarterfinal and had the assist on the game winner in the championship game. He was double and triple teamed and still dominated in the run of play. I have never seen a forward that good before at this level and i have seen some good ones.
My prediction: Guy Roland-Kpene, Dowling College, for player of the year in DII."
Sounds like as good a thing to do with a supplemental pick as anything else.
Waiving Ssejemba was a big dissapointment. We never got a good chance to see what he could do. He never played a minute and was only with the team for a little over a month, yet when he was given a chance to capitalize on his time with DC he scored a hat trick in a reserve game when he was on loan from Richmond. Had he not been called up for the the Ugandan national team, I really feel he might have gotten some time in one of the late season games and possibly done somthing good with it. I guess we'll never know, sorry I ranted on that small point, but I feel it's not fair to say that he was a lost gamble. Simply for the sake of numbers I would take the guy back, DC certainly is not overloaded with strikers at the moment, and I could not see him carrying much baggage on the salary cap. I mean realistically we only have three true starting/substitute quality forwards at the moment. That being said one is probably in his last season (Jaime), another has promise and skill but is unreliable (Walker), and the third albeit new and exciting has never set foot onto a field yet wearing a United kit to this point (Emillio). I know I am ranting here but these issues coupled with the fact that we also only have three starting quality defenders and a shakey midfield on the wings is nerve wracking this close to the CCC.
We need to start praying for Troy Perkins' health.
Man...we have nothing at backup GK...
Then again...i'm sure the 5 Columbus Crew backups are all looking for work. They...at least...have all played in the MLS!!!!
i saw that kid at the usl showcase, he is terrific. can't wait to see him in mls, he is gonna play for sure
Hi, I have palyed with and against Guy and there is no doubt in my mind that he is more than good enough for the MLS. My guess is that he will end up in England, the home of football!
Hello, I have had the privilege of playing with Guy... He is a 1st class player and a 1st class person. There is no doubt in my mind that the powers that be at DC United will be more than pleased with the return on the investment with Guy. Guy has the ability to create and finish like no other player that has played college soccer in the US. Unfortunately he is labeled as a DII player and we have this ignorance as a soccer culture to not recognize that DII is in fact extremely difficult to complete at. In years to come we will all have stories about how Guy took on this player and megged this defender to lead DC United to another Championship… Take care all and God Bless
Hello, I first want to say that this kid can play. I saw this kid play here in Arizona and he stood out on the pitch like no other. I have no thought that DC will be the winners at the end. This was a great pick for the organization. Guy-Roland Kpene will be a big supprise this year.
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