Monday, December 7, 2009
2009 Plus/Minus Data
Thanks to ScaryIce we have plus/minus data available for 2009. Here are the RSL nums with only the players who logged 500 or more minutes…
| PLAYER | MINS | GF | GA | +/- | Per 90 |
| Andy Williams | 736 | 19 | 8 | 11 | 1.345 |
| Ned Grabavoy | 701 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 0.77 |
| Jamison Olave | 1890 | 35 | 20 | 15 | 0.714 |
| Fabian Espindola | 1377 | 24 | 15 | 9 | 0.588 |
| Nick Rimando | 2070 | 38 | 26 | 12 | 0.522 |
| Tony Beltran | 1728 | 30 | 20 | 10 | 0.521 |
| Will Johnson | 2054 | 36 | 26 | 10 | 0.438 |
| Nat Borchers | 2367 | 40 | 29 | 11 | 0.418 |
| Yura Movsisyan | 1548 | 25 | 18 | 7 | 0.407 |
| Chris Wingert | 2169 | 40 | 31 | 9 | 0.373 |
| Clint Mathis | 1767 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 0.357 |
| Kyle Beckerman | 1928 | 31 | 24 | 7 | 0.327 |
| Robbie Findley | 1559 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 0.231 |
| Javier Morales | 1833 | 25 | 22 | 3 | 0.147 |
| Robbie Russell | 1286 | 17 | 22 | -5 | -0.35 |
As I think we already knew, Andy Williams had quite the impact – much of it down the stretch. His was the highest number (by far) of anyone in the league playing 500 minutes or more, and Olave and Espindola ranked in the top 10 for players playing 1,000 minutes or more.
This is interesting information, but it almost begs more questions than it does provide answers. For instance, which combination of forwards fared better? Findley/Yura? Findley/Espy? Which combo of outside backs was better? Beltran/Wingert? Wingert/Russell? Beltran/Russell? What was Russell’s plus/minus at center back versus outside? How effective was Espindola in the 4-4-2 versus 4-3-3?
Friday, December 4, 2009
CBA Negotiations/Chris Seitz Trade Details
Ridge Mahoney from Soccer America’s MLS Confidential brings up the “S-word”, regarding the Collective Bargaining Agreement discussions. Let’s hope this doesn’t turn out to be the case.
The S-word is "strike," which could result if no agreement is reached by Jan. 31, when the current CBA expires. Discussions began early this year and haven't gone anywhere, from what I've heard, and the dynamics may have slid backward two weeks ago when MLS Commissioner Don Garber decried the involvement of FIFPro, an international players agency, which had petitioned FIFA on behalf of the MLS Players' Union regarding certain strictures utilized by the league in its contracts.
Keepin’ It Real was able to learn specific details regarding the Chris Seitz trade to the Philadelphia Union. Michael C. Lewis from the Salt Lake Tribune reported that RSL “received north of $200,000 in allocation money” in the deal. KIR has discovered that the deal included the following:
- $175,000 in allocation money (from Philadelphia Union’s pool of $1.2M received as an expansion club)
- agreement that the Union would not select an RSL player in the expansion draft
- a “sell-on” agreement, giving RSL a percentage of any transfer fee should the Union sell the rights to Seitz to another team in the future.
2010 World Cup Draw
I attended the gathering at Rio Tinto for the 2010 World Cup group drawings. However, to be honest my main reason for attending was the potential of winning a raffle for an official 2010 World Cup game ball. Unfortunately, luck is rarely on my side in these sorts of things. I blame Nick Rimando who was drawing out the raffle tickets. I didn’t count, but they probably gave away 3 or 4 #5 soccer balls, and maybe 10 mini-balls.
Official 2010 World Cup South Africa “Jabulani” Game Ball
2010 World Cup Groupings
(including most recent FIFA/Coca-Cola World Rankings)
Group A: South Africa(86), Mexico(15), Uruguay(19), France(7)
Group B: Argentina(8), Nigeria(22), Korea Republic(52), Greece(12)
Group C: England(9), USA(14), Algeria(28), Slovenia(33)
Group D: Germany(6), Australia(21), Serbia(20), Ghana(37)
Group E: Netherlands(3), Denmark(26), Japan(43), Cameroon(11)
Group F: Italy(4), Paraguay(30), New Zealand(77), Slovakia(34)
Group G: Brazil(2), Korea DPR(84), Côte d'Ivoire(16), Portugal(5)
Group H: Spain(1), Switzerland(18), Honduras(38), Chile(17)
As it turns out, the US ended up with a very good group drawing. Aside from South Africa, England was the lowest ranked seeded team. And the US is ranked higher than the other two teams in the group. Opening against England may also be a benefit to the US as seeded teams will often struggle in their opening match. The US team ended up in one of only a couple of groups in which they would likely have been considered a favorite.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Open Letter from Jason Kreis
To the RSL Nation:
The smile hasn’t left my face in a week, but I have a message for our fans, all of you, whether you have been there since day one over five years ago, or whether you put us on your radar on that fateful Sunday, Nov. 22, 2009.
We have no more time to bask in the glory of our first title – our early February report date for training camp is mere weeks away, and our March 27 opener at San Jose kicks off our title defense. I personally cannot wait to see you all at Rio Tinto Stadium when we host Seattle on April 10!
As I write this, I am assembling my itinerary to travel both domestically and internationally in the coming weeks to bolster the depth, breadth and quality of our roster as we prepare for meaningful international competition, something we will enjoy as a club for the first time ever in 2010. Long-term, we look to build Real Salt Lake into the dynasty that our ownership and fans deserve.
But I wanted to take a quick moment to thank you, the fans, our lifeblood, for your faith and belief in us as we captured MLS Cup 2009. As you have been for five years, you were our heartbeat in Seattle – you were felt, seen and heard all over the city. The sea of RSL claret-and-cobalt evident in the video and pictures from the match (and SLC Int’l Airport, and the Utah State Capitol, and State Street, and Rio Tinto Stadium last week) made it clear to the world that our declarations about the best fans in Major League Soccer calling Utah home were not hyperbole, were not bluster – they are the truth.
As I communicated to our players in the Qwest Field locker room two Sundays ago: Be confident, be bold, be aggressive.
Now I want to let all of you know, my message to the players, the staff, and the entire organization, of which you are an integral part, is that now is not the time to be complacent – efforts by all of us who love RSL and are responsible for both its short-term and long-term prosperity must be redoubled and rededicated.
Be confident as a fan of RSL. Wear your Championship colors with pride, with boldness. Be aggressive in helping us educate our city, our state, our region about not only what we have accomplished in 2009, but our long-term goals for 2010 and beyond.
I implore you to renew your season tickets, if you haven’t already. I ask you to take advantage of our Christmas ticket specials in order to expose your friends and family to the magic of our sport, and help us continue to establish Rio Tinto Stadium as the most dominant home-field advantage in MLS, and hopefully CONCACAF.
As I told our players again at halftime and throughout the game: It is our time.
We want to prove that our first title is the first step of many, as we pursue additional hardware. Throughout our scintillating run through the postseason, we were empowered by belief – in ourselves, shared by few outside the locker room, and even fewer outside Utah.
But you believed, and because of that, we are Champions.
It is our time.
Jason Kreis
Head Coach
Real Salt Lake
2009 MLS Cup Champions
Espindola Contract Extended Through 2013
REAL SALT LAKE EXTENDS CONTRACT OF FORWARD FABIAN ESPÍNDOLA
Argentine Forward Inks Deal to Stay with MLS Cup Champs through 2013 Season;
South American Trio of Espíndola, Morales and Olave all Undergo Successful Knee Operations
SANDY, Utah (Wednesday, December 2, 2009) – Real Salt Lake announced today that FW Fabian Espíndola will continue to wear Claret-and-Cobalt for the next four years, as the club and Argentine striker agreed to a contract extension that will keep him with the reigning MLS Cup champions through the end of the 2013 Major League Soccer season. Per club policy, financial terms of the deal will not be announced. Today’s extension follows similar four-year pacts inked with MF Javier Morales, DF Jamison Olave, and DF Chris Wingert over the course of the last 14 months as the squad continues its attempts to lock down the talented core members of its roster.
“We are excited to reach a long-term agreement with Fabian and are looking forward to seeing him in a Real Salt Lake uniform for the foreseeable future,” said RSL General Manager Garth Lagerwey. “Fabian’s talent and determination have been clearly evident over the last three seasons, and we are thrilled that he’ll be a cornerstone of our attack as he enters the prime years of his career.”
Espíndola has spent portions of the last three MLS seasons with Real Salt Lake, making 46 regular season appearances, including 33 starts, since joining the Utah side in August of 2007 alongside fellow Argentine Javier Morales. The 24-year old attacker has posted 10 goals and five assists in MLS play, including a career high five goals during his lone full season with RSL in 2008. Outside the MLS ranks, Espíndola has played with a myriad of clubs in South America, including Boca Juniors (2005) and Talleres de Córdoba (2006) in his native Argentina, Sociedad Deportivo Aucas (2006) and Sociedad Deportivo Quito (2007) of Ecuador, and Venezuelan club Deportivo Anzoátegui (2009).
Espíndola joined Deportivo Anzoátegui following Real Salt Lake’s 2008 campaign, only to return to the Utah side on his 24th birthday this past May 4. After reacquainting himself with his former squad, Espíndola’s lighting speed, boundless energy, and striking ability would not be denied, as he appeared in 22 games (17 starts) during the 2009 regular season, recording three goals and three assists along the way. Espíndola was also an integral part of RSL’s championship run, starting both wins against the defending champion Columbus Crew in the Eastern Conference Semifinals while also playing key minutes against the Chicago Fire and LA Galaxy in the Eastern Conference Championship and MLS Cup 2009, respectively.
South American Trio of Espíndola, Morales and Olave all Undergo Successful Knee Operations
Real Salt Lake also announced today that FW Fabian Espíndola, MF Javier Morales, and DF Jamison Olave all underwent successful knee operations performed by team doctor Andrew Cooper, M.D., Tuesday at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center. Morales underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus and strained LCL in his left knee suffered after David Beckham’s challenge in the beginning stages of the Utah side’s MLS Cup 2009 victory over Los Angeles on Nov. 22, while Olave (loose cartilage and bone spurs in right knee), and Espíndola (torn meniscus in right knee) had procedures to shore up nagging injuries suffered during the course of the 2009 campaign. All three players are expected to be back at full strength in time for the beginning of RSL’s preseason in early February.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
RSL related news
Three RSL players go under the knife. Did they have a Tuesday 3-for-1 discount at Salt Lake Regional?
“That's what RSL is facing today, as three of its starters are expected to have knee surgery at the Salt Lake Regional Medical Center. Midfielder Javier Morales, defender Jamison Olave and forward Fabian Espindola all are scheduled for repairs on their injuries — though a team spokesman said all are expected to be ready for the start of next season.” SL Trib Blog/Michael C. Lewis
RSL working on contract renewals for 2 of their top players.
“Two of the best players on the team, Findley and Beckerman are entering the final year of their contracts, and will be able to negotiate with other teams starting in June if they do not sign extensions or new deals. That's what forward Yura Movsisyan did last season, ultimately leaving to join Randers FC in Denmark.” Salt Lake Tribune/Michael C. Lewis
RSL assistant coach in demand.
“Add RSL assistant Robin Fraser and at least two Europeans to long list of #DCU coaching candidates” Soccer Insider (Steven Goff) Twitter
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