Rapids Offseason – What’s the plan?

The Colorado Rapids have had one of the busiest off seasons for any MLS team so far. There have been several fan favorites shipped away and a slew of new names have come in. When you finish dead last in the Western Conference a make-over is expected, but some of the moves Colorado has made have left Rapids fans scratching their heads. With the Rapids stock-piling general allocation money and rumors swirling around concerning a few big-name targets, fans are wondering: what’s the plan?

Let’s take a quick peek back at the Rapids off-season so far:

12/9/15 – Defender Sean St. Ledger agrees to new contract with the Rapids.

12/11/15 – The Rapids acquire goalkeeper Zac MacMath from Philadelphia Union in exchange for a natural second-round pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.

12/15/15 – Rapids acquire midfielder Marco Pappa from Seattle Sounders FC in exchange for general allocation money.

12/16/15 – Long time defender, 2015 MLS All-Star, captain and fan favorite Drew Moor leaves the Rapids to sign with Toronto FC.

1/14/16 – Rapids select midfielder Emmanuel Appiah 15th and defender Dennis Castillo 37th in the first round of the MLS SuperDraft. While also trading the 2nd overall pick to Philadelphia Union for general allocation money and 21 year old attacking midfielder Zach Pfeffer.

Early in the draft day they acquired the 12th overall pick from LA Galaxy in exchange for general allocation money. Colorado also acquired the #1 allocation ranking from the Chicago Fire as well as the 15th and 33rd picks in the draft in exchange for the #2 allocation ranking and the 12th and 22nd picks. The Rapid’s also sent their 33rd pick to FC Dallas in exchange for the 37th and 57th picks in the draft.

1/18/16 – Rapids send #1 goalkeeper and MLS All-Star Clint Irwin to Toranto FC in exchange for targeted allocation money and a conditional pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft.

1/20/16 – Rapids re-sign defender Bobby Burling, a player whose contract they declined at the end of the 2015 season.

1/21/16 – Rapids announce that former striker and team captain John Spencer has joined the club’s technical staff as a first team Assistant Coach.

1/26/16 – Rapids trade defender and Honduran international Maynor Figueroa to FC Dallas in exchange for general allocation money. Midfielder Juan Ramirez is also loaned the Spanish second division side U.D. Almeria for 6 months.

That’s quite a few important changes to a club that needed them. So the concern then is whether or not these changes will improve the team . Looking back at the 2015 Rapids, it’s fairly easy to highlight the areas that needed improving in the squad.

First and foremost, Colorado needs to get better at scoring goals and creating goal scoring opportunities. In 2015, the Rapids scored just 33 goals, the least out of all teams in Major League Soccer and 5 less than Real Salt Lake, the second least-proficient scorers. The Rapids managed 127 shots on goal in 2015, that’s 18th out of 20 teams in MLS. The odd thing about those stats is that the Rapids have two decent strikers in Kevin Doyle and Dominique Badji. The problem for the Rapid’s was lack of service to the strikers.

If the Rapids could strengthen their midfield with a few quality attacking players and fortify it with a strong holding presence, they could be a solid squad. Has Colorado addressed those needs during the offseason? Sorta, maybe? While Colorado has brought in Marco Pappa from Seattle, Zach Pfeffer from Philadelphia Union and drafted Emmanuel Appiah 15th in the MLS SuperDraft, that may not be nearly enough to push the team forward. Pappa is certainly a talent, but he may not be consistent enough to drive the Rapids offense on a week-in week-out basis

Zach Pfeffer has shown some upside for Philadelphia, but only played in 30 matches for the Union from 2011 through 2015. He’s also a Philadelphia native and it remains to be seen if he’ll flourish away from home in a system he’s unfamiliar with. When the Rapids acquired Pfeffer as part of the draft-day deal that send the #2 overall pick to the Union, Rapids Vice President of Soccer Operations Paul Bravo said about Pfeffer, “He is the same age as a lot of these players at the SuperDraft and, had he been involved this year, he would have been a top pick.” And maybe that’s the way to view the signing. Pfeffer is a raw talent and it’s difficult to see him slotting into the starting lineup on opening day.

As for Emmanuel Appiah, he’s an exciting prospect, but at this point that’s about it. Historically it’s been very difficult to pick out talent in the MLS SuperDraft and a high draft number doesn’t translate to success on the pitch. He’ll need to be developed and like Pfeffer, it’s hard to see him starting for Colorado, at least not early in the season.

If you’re a Rapids fan you can’t be too encouraged about the teams attacking options at this point. However, the best offensive signing the Rapids may have made may be in bringing former player John Spencer to the Club as Assistant Coach. Spencer spent four seasons playing as a striker for the Rapids scoring 37 goals in 88 matches. In 2009, Spencer was the fourth player inducted into the Rapid’s Gallery of Honor, preceding current Rapids head coach and Spencer’s former teammate Pablo Mastroeni who was inducted a few years later.

Without the use of a crystal ball, it appears that the club hopes that Spencer’s influence and coaching history, (he actually coached the Portland Timbers in their first season in MLS) will help raise the attacking quality of the squad. Rapid’s head coach Pablo Mastroeni echoed the sentiment saying, “He’ll [Spencer] bring determination, steel and a striker’s eye to our preparations for the new season.” Hopefully Spencer will be able to develop young talent like Pfeffer and Appiah and bring them into the line-up later in the season or in years to come. Coach Mastroeni has done a solid job on with Colorado’s defense, maybe bringing in Spencer will help spark the Rapid offense.

In 2015, the Rapids played some very sound defense. When you think about the fact that Colorado finished last in the Western Conference you would assume that the defense must have given up a lot of goals. In fact it’s the opposite. Fourteen of 20 MLS teams let in more goals than the Rapids did and if they kept their defense the same, most fans would be content.

Instead, the defense has been dismantled and there’s now uncertainty about what the back four will look like this season, as well as who will be stopping shots between the sticks. Letting Moor go was puzzling, but the decision to let him go seemed to be contractual. Moor was a free agent at the end of the season and it seems that the Rapids didn’t want to pay him as much as he could make elsewhere. That’s forgivable if the Rapids spend wisely in other areas. Letting a defensive stalwart go to spruce up the attack is justifiable, but that hasn’t happened yet.

The Rapids did well in re-signing defenders Sean St. Ledger and Bobby Burling so it’s easy to see either of those players, if not both starting at the back in 2016.

The decision to trade all-star keeper Clint Irwin to Toronto FC is the real head-scratcher. Irwin may have been the Rapid’s most valuable player last season and his leadership on the pitch has grown since he was signed in 2013. Though the Rapids signed Zac MacMath to a permanent deal after he spent 2015 in Colorado on loan from Philadelphia, he’s largely inexperienced. He may be able to do a solid job in goal for Colorado, but Irwin’s leadership and assistance in ordering the back four will be missed.

Why did the Rapids trade away their number one keeper? The rumor is to make way for U.S. Men’s National Team and Everton keeper Tim Howard. Getting rid of Irwin and the stock-piling of allocation money suggest that the Rapids are gearing up for a big name signing to come to the club, which seems like the last thing the Rapids, at least on the pitch, need right now.

The club doesn’t have just one need, it has several, and at the end of 2015, goalkeeping certainly wasn’t one of them. The Rapids aren’t a club on the verge of making a run for the MLS cup, where one major signing could push them over the edge, the Rapids are as far away from that as possible.

The grab for Howard seems to be a move by the Rapids front office to try and increase attendance at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park: to put butts in seats. If that is the plan, it’s unfortunate. It’s difficult not to be a Tim Howard fan, everyone remembers his stunning performance in the 2014 World Cup against Belgium, and his years at clubs like Manchester United and especially Everton, but bringing in a 36-year old goalkeeper doesn’t make sense.

Earlier this offseason it was rumored that the Rapids tried to bring Howard’s fellow national team player Alejandro Bedoya to the team, but were rebuffed by the Nantes midfielder. It was also rumored that Colorado tried to bring in Mexican star Alan Pulido, but the move didn’t materialize. Colorado would also have the first shot at landing Mexican International Carlos Vela if the player were to decide to leave Spanish side Real Sociedad.

There seems to be a lack of a cohesive plan for the future of the team. Instead of addressing the true needs of the team like adding offense and depth, the front office seems focused on bringing in a name that will sell tickets. For a fan-base that has had to put up with disastrous seasons, mystifying signings and near apathy from their teams front office the past few seasons, this offseason may have further compounded those frustrations. There is still plenty of time for things to change and players to come in before March brings the beginning of the 2016 season. Rapids fans will have fingers crossed for some positive change before the Rapids regular season begins, on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes on March 6th.