Back in 2002 Ray Hudson was asked to comment on Taylor Twellman before DC United hosted the Revolution at RFK. “He’s a poacher,” Hudson replied. “I’m not too worried about him to be honest. I don’t have too high a regard for Twellman. I think he’s a poacher and that’s it … I don’t see him as a special player at all.” United prevailed in the game, but they had to fight from behind after Taylor Twellman put the Revs up with two goals in two minutes.

Now, after years of struggle at the international level, Twellman finally tore it up against Norway. Problem is it’s simply too easy to discount the game. It wasn’t just that it was the Norwegian u-23 team with a few older guys evidently along for vacation, it’s that the Norwegian team was just plain awful. Sure, the US fielded a bunch of third-stringers, but even our third-stringers were light years ahead of Norway.

Was Ray Hudson right about Taylor Twellman? Let’s just say, for now, I remain firmly unconvinced about Twellman on the international stage. He’s a great MLS player, but is he, as Hudson put it, a special player? It’s pretty hard for me to take the hat-trick against Norway too seriously. It certainly didn’t qualify him as a special player in my eyes.

Don’t get me wrong. I’d love to have a guy on the national team that’s capable of putting up numbers the way Twellman does in MLS. And if Twellman turns into that player then it’s fine with me. But nothing says he’s that player yet - that includes last weekend’s hat-trick.

A distinction without a difference. That seems to describe the effective indifference between the SuperDraft and the Supplemental Draft. Yes, it’s certainly more prestigious to be chosen in the Superdraft, but, in the end, your future contract possibilities aren’t dependent upon or restricted by the draft in which you were chosen. Now that I think about it, you don’t even need to be drafted. Just ask Bobby Boswell.

Major League Soccer invited Drew Helm to the combine, but they didn’t allow him on the list of those available for the SuperDraft. As I understand it, Helm had lost his college eligibility during his junior year following some sort of trial in Europe. With nowhere else to go he turned to MLS. Apparently, he was on the short list for a Generation Adidas contract, but for some reason he never signed or was never officially offered one.

However, MLS seems to have a rule that underclassmen cannot participate in the SuperDraft without such a contract. The rule, I take it, is in place to prevent underclassmen from abandoning college en masse in hope of joining MLS. If that’s the case then college coaches across the country better hope none of their players noticed Drew Helm’s participation in yesterday’s Supplemental Draft.

As soon as I saw that Helm would be available in the Supplemental Draft I knew Bob Bradley would take him with the opening pick. No question about it; every single MLS coach would have made the same decision. Drew Helm, by all rights, was at least worthy of a second round SuperDraft pick. He is that promising of a player. However this all happened, those lucky bastards, Bob Bradley and Chivas USA, were the happy beneficiaries. Bradley had, in effect, a second round SuperDraft pick handed to him in the Supplemental Draft.

It’s not that it was unfair. The draft order was what it was. The point is the regulations and decisions governing this matter seem completely asinine. If MLS doesn’t want underclassmen to enter the league without a Generation Adidas contract then they should prohibit them from signing otherwise. But if that’s really the rule, or at least the intention, then MLS made a mockery of itself by denying Helm participation in the SuperDraft only to turn around subsequently and allow him participation in the Supplemental Draft.

The guy was still drafted. It doesn’t contractually matter whether you got taken with the first pick or the last pick; it doesn’t matter whether you were taken in the SuperDraft or the Supplemental Draft. If MLS was going to let him in the Supplemental Draft then they should have let him participate in the SuperDraft. There seems no reason not to have made him eligible.

Maybe I’m missing something. Perhaps this was just an exceptional circumstance. Most underclassmen don’t lose their eligibility this way. That could be, and if it is I could live with that very easily. I just wish MLS would clear the air here. I wish they would divulge how and why this all went down as it did. Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time MLS has suffered from a lack of daylight. And I doubt it’ll be the last.

That Major League Soccer so often screws up even the simplest of things is an ongoing theme of this blog. But if I’m going to continue to criticize and rant about the league’s faults (as I surely intend) then perhaps I also bear some responsibility to offer the league the occasional bit of positive advice.

I see your eyes rolling now. “Not this crap again.” But, no, I swear I’m not going to say anything about going single table, disbanding the playoff system, or instituting promotion and relegation. I agree with you, my sensible readers. The people who constantly whine about talk passionately in favor of such things are completely detached from the realities of soccer in the United States. They are the American soccer equivalent of the Flat Earth Society.

Nor am I going to suggest that MLS write some big checks for big name players in the misguided tradition of the NASL. As far as I’m concerned this proposed Beckham rule and this guy’s column over at the usually top-notch ussoccerplayers.com are both a bunch of baloney. And by baloney I mean hooey.

Nope, I’m going in an entirely different direction with my advice. Two principles guide me here. First, MLS is cheap. I will consider MLS cheap, indeed profoundly cheap, as long as MLS teams still find themselves out-bid for blue-collar players by the USL First Division. The second principle, in keeping with my favorite theme, is that one should never underestimate the league’s aptitude for screwing up the simple things. They couldn’t even manage to hide the Houston 1836 logo from the guys at BigSoccer. That’s why you’ve gotta keep it simple and cheap when giving advice to MLS.

Here’s my first bit of simple and cheap advice: Set up an away supporters section at every single game.

I’ve attended a number of away games in my life, sometimes with a large group and sometimes with just one or two other like-minded fans. In a group we’re loud and boisterous; some would call us downright obnoxious. Either way we have a blast and we certainly bring some atmosphere to the stadium.

In Major League Soccer it’s not every game that you get a good, large and vocal group of opposition supporters in your home stadium. But when you do people genuinely enjoy the atmosphere they bring.

With small groups the effect is more muted. Much, much more muted. And it’s not as much fun.

Pain in the keister. That’s what it is to organize large groups of away supporters. I know. I have done it several times for DC United fans living in exile on the West Coast. It would be much easier if MLS teams had pre-established away sections at all the games.

When you call up the ticket office the first thing they should ask is if you’re a home or away supporter. Then, if you say you’re an away supporter, they should ask if you’d like to sit in the away supporter’s section. It wouldn’t matter if you’re a lone ex-pat looking to make the most of your one chance all year to support your team in person, or if you’re a big, organized supporters club looking to purchase a whole block of tickets. If you’re an away supporter, and if you so desire, MLS teams should do everything possible to seat you with other away supporters.

Want atmosphere at MLS stadiums? Want to sell the game in the United States? Then make it easier for away fans to sit together. No matter whether they antagonize them or inspire them, nothing makes home supporters better than visible and vocal away supporters. Their presence improves the entire game day experience.

Away supporters sections. It’s simple and it’s cheap. MLS will never do it.

I don’t remember much of those days long past when it seemed like the only source of timely soccer information in the United States were those old guys of ambiguous ethnic extraction who hung out down at the corner.

Yes, I’m sure they had great information, and I’m sure those “when I was a boy we didn’t have old guys to tell us about soccer” stories were really first rate. But the development of my appetite for soccer news happily coincided with the development of the internet. Let’s face it, the internet is a big improvement over a bunch of creepy old guys.

While I don’t remember much from the “dark ages” when US soccer fans had to scrape together information from whatever irregular sources they could manage, I do remember those early days when the growth of the internet sparked something of a soccer enlightenment in this country. Email lists. Can you imagine!

Today I think we’re quite used to seeing the USMNT on television. But back in the day national team telecasts were a rarity. Until the internet there often wasn’t any way to follow the game in real time. I can remember “watching” matches on the internet even before MatchTracker. You had to hit refresh manually! And all you got was the score.

Streaming audio was a major breakthrough, and I can remember listening to World Cup qualifiers on the internet. Often the broadcasts weren’t even in English. Today fans would be up in arms about such a thing. And they were certainly up in arms back then too. (Some things never change.) But, at least after we sobered up and calmed down, we could admit it was something of a miracle that we could follow a game on the internet in real time at all.

So here I am following the USA play Canada in a friendly down in San Diego. It’s not on TV. But I’ve got my streaming audio – in English, no less! And I’ve got my BigSocer in one window, and I’ve got my AIM chat in another.

It’s just like old times.

My expectations for the draft have diminished over the years. I used to think a successful draft meant you got an impact player, a solid MLS player and a couple of projects. Perhaps, in the year’s past, that was possible. But MLS has improved today, and these days if you get one solid MLS player and one project out of the draft then you’re doing alright. If you get more that one solid player or one impact player then you’re doing exceptionally well. Even a solid player and a couple of projects is pretty good.

Schematically I’d say it arrays something like this:

Four Types of Drafted Players

Impact Player: A difference maker within his first season. Very rare.
Solid MLS Player: Starter or important sub within his first season.
Project: A reserve league player with hope of becoming a solid MLS player.
Reserve league player: A reserve league player with no real hope of becoming a solid MLS player.

Grading Criteria

A: One impact player plus either:

1) One solid MLS player
2) More than one project

B: Either:

1) Two solid MLS players
2) One solid MLS player plus more than one project
3) One impact player

C: One solid MLS player plus one project (the “average” grade)

D: Either:

1) More than one project
2) One solid player

F: Either

1) One project
2) Nothing but reserve league players (really an F-)

The Grades

- CD Chivas USA - D

This was a pretty disastrous draft for Bradley. Kljesten should turn into an admirable MLS player, but that’s all they really got here. (I’m not really considering trades, but even if I did my conclusion wouldn’t change. I am not a fan of Hernandez.) Trading the number one pick, in retrospect, was terribly foolish. They clearly got the raw end of the deal. It’s no discredit to Kljestan, but if all you got was one solid player and someone to sacrifice to the reserve league then you’re gonna get a ‘D’ for the day. Indeed, considering what they squandered the case could be made for an even lower grade.

- Chicago Fire - D

I’ve got my doubts about Calen Carr contributing much in MLS. I’ve got even stronger doubts about Jeff Curtin and Brian Plotkin. I would venture to say they didn’t get one obviously solid MLS player here. There are some projects, to be sure, but if I’m gonna put a grade here it has to be a ‘D’.

- Colorado Rapids – D

I am not sold on Jacob Peterson. The fact that he dropped to the 21st pick after 10 of 12 teams requested him for the combine suggests I’m not alone in that assessment. I do not believe Colorado got a solid MLS player here; they got a project if anything. Even if you’re generous and say Brown’s also a project that’s still a pretty poor draft. A couple of projects gets you a ‘D’ for a grade.

- Columbus Crew - B

Between Garey, Kamara and Zayner Sigi’s all but assured himself a couple of solid MLS players. Hashimoto, I think, is an interesting late round project. All totaled that’s a couple solid pickups and a couple projects. But there isn’t an obvious immediate impact player here, and so Sigi gets a very respectable ‘B’ for his efforts.

- DC United - C

Now here’s a case for grade inflation! See, DC United is my team and if you’ve been reading my posts here you’d know that I was very high on both Justin Moose and Jeff Carroll. Had I my druthers those were clearly the guys I wanted DC United to pick. I even engaged in a little (perhaps ultimately well founded) wishful thinking when I suggested that Nowak and Company seemed to be watching those two players.

Well, it turns out I got exactly what I wanted. Moose should become a solid MLS player very soon. Jeff Carroll is a great project, in my view the second best project available behind Altidore. He was the steal of the draft in the fourth round. That said, I strongly suspect it was basically agreed to beforehand that Carroll would join his brother at DC United. Not saying the draft is rigged, but it is interesting how often things like that work out.

On the other hand, I do think the Bertz selection was uninspired because I don’t believe in drafting reserve league fodder. You’re better off taking a gamble with that last pick. And I don’t know anything about Dyachenko so I just can’t factor him in here. But knowing what I do know DC United picked up at least one solid player and at least one project. That’s a clear ‘C’ grade, and that’d go up to a ‘B’ if Dyachenko turns out to be a project.

- FC Dallas – B+

Dax McCarty and Justin Moore will probably both become solid MLS players. Wagner may develop into one too, but for now I consider him a project. I’m not sold on the rest of their picks though. Still, between those three guys Dallas has certainly done enough to merit at least a ‘B’.I’d prefer not to give plusses and minuses, but if there was ever a case for a “B+” this is it.

- Houston “Doe” - D

It must be strange to be drafted onto a team with no name. Ianni will probably be a solid MLS player, but other than that Houston’s got nothing but reserve league players. That’s a ‘D’ if there ever was one.

- Kansas City Wizards - D

Rumor on BigSoccer says Gansler wasn’t supposed to take Movsisyan with the number four pick. Apparently Bradley wanted him. Whether or not that’s true, I’m giving Gansler a worse grade for taking him and I gave Bradley a better grade for taking Kljestan instead. I was impressed as anybody with Movsisyan, but let’s be honest here and admit this guy was the biggest gamble at the draft. He may be great or he may be terrible. Nobody really knows; he remains a project.

I don’t think there’s anyone in MLS who doesn’t want a guy like Movsisyan to exceed all expectations. If it works then it’ll be a great story, the kind of story we’d all like to see more of in MLS. But right now it’s just a hope and a dream. The rest of Gansler’s draftees aren’t any better. A good lot of them look like nothing more than reserve league fodder to my eye. So right now it appears that Gansler didn’t get his team a single obviously solid MLS player. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt though and say he has more than one project. With that he gets a ‘D’ for his effort.

- Los Angeles Galaxy – B+

Sampson didn’t pull any stunts this year (and I was disappointed about that), but he did draft two very solid defenders in Sturgis and Veris. Those are guys who can contribute this year. They’re not difference making impact players, but they were probably the second and third best defensive players at the combine. That’s at least one solid MLS player there, and he’s picked up a couple of projects too. Another case for a ‘B+’ grade.

- MetroStars – A

The MetroStars nabbed the only obvious impact player available at the draft in Marvelle Wynne. And they also got the greatest project player available at the draft in Josmer Altidore. The fact that Blake Camp may also develop into a solid MLS player is almost a bonus. That’s an ‘A’ grade right there.

- New England Revolution - C

He who questions Nicol’s draft is apt to look a fool. I know. I’ve questioned it before and I’ve always come out looking foolish. I can’t speak about Leandro de Oliveira. For all I know Nicol’s got a gem with that guy. But I was not impressed by Willie Sims and Kyle Brown. Of course a couple years ago I was not impressed with Clint Dempsey. That’s what I’m talking about; you’re apt to look a fool when questioning Nicol’s drafts. I will give Nicol the benefit of the doubt, however, and assume de Oliveira is a fine player with solid MLS prospects. If that’s the case then he gets a ‘C’ for the draft: one solid player and maybe a potential project.

- Real Salt Lake - D (arguable F)

At least Ballouchy is honest with himself. At the draft he admitted he’ll have to speed up his game to survive in Major League Soccer. But there’s a deeper problem with Ballouchy. For MLS the days of the slow and methodical number 10 have passed. In its place is the fast, physical and congested midfield. That transition had already begun in Valderrama, and Etcheverry’s last years in the league, and in those years their games suffered not only because they were aging, but also because MLS was no longer suited to their style of play.

Ballouchy is a number 10 in the classical mold. And it should go without saying that he’s no Valderrama or Etcheverry. If those two couldn’t hack it in the modern MLS then neither can Ballouchy. As I’ve said before, he’s either going to have to change his game (and change it quite radically) or he’s going to be slaughtered. That means he’s a project. I do not believe he’ll be able to step onto the field as a solid MLS player anytime soon. In fact, he may never make the changes necessary to complete that transition.

I saw a flash or two from Ryan Johnson, and I’d classify him as a project as well. But Real Salt Lake needs players who can hang in MLS right now and with their two picks they failed to get one. Instead they got a couple of projects and with that they get a ‘D’. And if you don’t believe me about Johnson then the grade would drop to an ‘F’.