RSL Final Report Card (regular season)

Player

Min

G

A

1^st Qtr

2^nd Qtr

3^rd Qtr

Final

Reason For Grade

Andy Williams

780

2

6

B+

B

B+

A-

Andy shows moments of pure brilliance on the pitch, he still makes some passes that end up too long or too short and in possession of the other team. Nobody shows more heart on the pitch and given all the issues off the pitch for the Williams family he simply has been a man among men.

Chris Wingert

2432

0

3

B-

C

B-

B-

Chris is solid on defense but his efforts in the attack have been hit and miss. Chris has to stop trying so hard to score a goal, his shots often are wide and rarely on target. I expected Chris to work harder to improve the quality of his crosses. He also has to watch his defensive positioning when moving forward, he often puts added pressure on his back line teammates by getting out of postion.

Clint Mathis

1926

2

7

B+

B+

C-

C

Early in the year I would have picked Clint as the MVP of the team, but first the move to the 4-3-3 which Clint never seemed to adapt to, then when we moved back to the 4-4-2 Andy found the fountain of youth and stepped up his form both on offense and on defense. In the end Clint failed to take advantage of his chances.

David Horst

86

0

0

B-

I

I

I

David has worked hard all season long, in practices on loans and anytime he can get playing time, and I still believe he has all the tools to become a backline force for RSL.

Fabian Espindola

1511

3

3

I

C

B-

B

Fabi’s work rate has been amazing and he has fought his way back into the starting lineup and his ability to create chances and get balls into dangerous spots has paid dividends for RSL. While he isn’t goal scoring machine he was in 2008, he has been a solid team player since coming back to the squad.

Jamison Olave

2039

3

0

B+

C-

C+

B-

Olave has the potential to be the very best defender in MLS, size, speed, toughness and knowledge of the game. He has to get his emotions under control, as long as he has blow ups it will be easy for officials to think he has done something wrong even when he hasn’t. Jamison has done well to make himself a target on set pieces, and his 3 goals all have been big ones for RSL

Javier Morales

2076

1

5

C-

C+

C

C-

After being a legit MVP level player last year, Javi simply failed to take his game to the next level. I know that teams have played him differently this year, but that didn’t stop GBS from being a top contributor on his team, it didn’t hold back Joseph, Donovan, or many others. Javi must step up his productivity and quality of passes and set pieces or he will become just another role player in MLS.

Jean Alexandre

99

0

0

I

I

I

I

Jean has the tools to be a very solid player in the future, his loan time with Austin has allowed him to get quality playing time. I will look to see him get some minutes next year as he continues to develop as a player

Kyle Beckerman

2218

3

2

C-

C-

C-

C

I miss the old Kyle, you know the one that made him a hated player by every team he faced, it was the bulldog attitude that made him feared by everyone in the league. I don’t think he has played that way most of the year but I must say that over the last few matches of the year Kyle began to show the leadership that is expected of a Captain.

Nat Borchers

2679

1

0

B+

B

B

B+

Nat is simply solid, not flashy but without his leadership and rock steadiness on the backline RSL would not be in the playoffs. I think in the last months of the season Nat did something to really improve his value, he became a target on set pieces as defenses adapted to Olave, Nat stepped up to fill the void and played some quality balls on offense.

Ned Grabavoy

765

0

2

B

B

B

B

I would call Ned the RSL 6^th man (to borrow a NBA term) he was a go to guy off the bench. Defense, offense it didn’t matter what you asked of him when you gave him a chance he played as hard as anyone.

Pablo Campos

400

2

3

NWT

NWT

B

B

Pablo got off to a hot start, but when his commitment to defense was lacking he quickly was relegated to the bench and part of the reason for the move back to the 4-4-2. I think when we figure out how to use Pablo as a target player that he has the potential to be a very dangerous attacking force. With Yura leaving Pablo should see more playing time next year.

Rachid El Khalifi

178

0

0

NWT

NWT

I

I

RSL fans have seen flashes of what the staff saw in the winter and spring camps, but with so many big matches down the stretch it was hard to go with an unknown player. I expect that if RSL moves back to the 4-3-3 in the off season that Rachid could find his place in the starting lineup

Raphael Cox

208

1

0

B

I

I

I

Another young player with a ton of potential and heart that can’t be questioned. I do expect that his hard work and willingness to learn will earn him more chances to play but don’t be surprised if he spends some time on loan early in 2010.

Robbie Findley

1751

12

4

A-

B+

B+

A-

Robbie did just about everything right this year, as he became just the second player in RSL history to score more than 10 goals in a season. Robbie impacted almost half of all RSL wins with 3 game winning goals, and 2 game winning assists. I would call Robbie my MVP of the team and while his brief call up with the USMNT didn’t see him find the pitch during a match, one has to believe if RSL weren’t in the playoffs that he may have been called in to replace the injured Charlie Davies. All I can say is Bravo, Robbie, Bravo

Robbie Russell

1552

0

2

B+

B-

C-

C

The other Robbie filled in when needed, he was there when suspensions, injuries, or whatever reason RSL needed a defensive player. Robbie brings a spark to the offensive attack of the backline and he is capable of providing great quality balls into dangerous places. Robbie does on occasion get out of position or make a defensive mistake and that keeps this veteran from getting a higher grade.

Tino Nunez

18

0

0

I

I

I

I

Tino spent more time on loans this year but I still am always impressed with his work rate in practices and scrimmages. Tino is another player with all the tools to become a regular member of the matchday 18.

Tony Beltran

1860

0

0

B

B+

B+

B+

I have to consider Tony to be RSL’s most improved player of the year. Tony took on the very best offensive players this year and shut them down. He also became a huge part of starting the RSL attack and rarely failed to get back into his defensive position. Plus he is the team’s best dancer, so how can we not give him a good grade.

Will Johnson

2305

1

3

C

B-

B-

B

Will has been very willing to take on a more defensive role this year and over the last couple months of the season I think he picked it up and made the RSL midfield one of the toughest to move the ball through in the whole league. I love the work rate of Will who is all over the pitch attacking every 50-50 ball he can find.

Yura Movsisyan

1731

8

2

D

B

C-

B

After a slow start this year, Yura caught fire, then he signed a deal with Randers and went missing for a while(damm agents), but over the last quarter of the season Yura stepped up and became a force both in the starting lineup and then off the bench. Whatever happens in Yura’s future I hope he knows that he will be missed.

Nelson Gonzalez

0

0

0

I

I

I

I

If there is a RSL wildcard heading into 2010 it is Nelson, everything I have seen says that this young man could be a breakout star in MLS over the next couple years.

Keepers

Minutes

GAA

SHO

Nick Rimando

2285

1.14

9

B

A-

B

A-

Well the banner says it all “Rimando Saves”. Nick improved his GAA to 1.14 and had 9 clean sheets this year. I think Nick is a vocal leader on the pitch and his hard work inspires others to do their very best. I can’t think of many other keepers at 5′9″ who can make the saves that Nick can make. He is simply impressive.

Chris Seitz

360

1.25

1

B-

C+

C+

B-

I don’t know what the future holds for Chris, but I know that many people point to the RSL road victory in KC, when down a man and protecting a 1 goal lead that would eventually lead our 2^nd road win of the season as a coming out party for Chris. This was really the first year that Chris was able to spend a majority of the year with RSL and his advances as a keeper have been easy to see.

Kyle Reynish

55

1.64

0

B+

B+

I

I

Kyle would probably be a #2 keeper with most MLS teams but RSL has been lucky to hold onto him. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for Kyle.