Columbus Crew SC (2008, 2020, 2023 MLS Champions)

[BuckTwenty]

The MLS SuperDraft starts here at 2:00pm today. For anyone that's interested in watching, the first round will be televised on ESPN2.

The Crew have picks #8 and 12 in the 1st round, picks #60, 61, & 64 in the 4th round. Pretty much guaranteed to be a better draft for the Crew than last year's draft. I'll provide links of the guys once I hear who we got. Look for a striker with the 1st pick and a midfielder with the 2nd. I'd be shocked if both guys weren't Generation Adidas players, which are elite players in the draft that have signed MLS contracts already and don't count against the Crew's salary cap.

 

[BuckTwenty]

The newly expansioned Philadelphia Union has been hard making trades and was able to aquire the #6 and #7 picks in the draft, tabbing not one but BOTH players the Crew were hoping to get with the #8 and #12 picks.:( Frustrating to say the least.

1st Round, Pick #8:
M Dilly Duka Age 20 Montville, NJ Rutgers/Red Bull Youth Academy US U-20
Played two seasons at Rutgers University, earning second-team All-BIG EAST honors in 2008 before forgoing his junior season to join the U.S. U-20 squad for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Appeared in all three matches, starting two, for the U.S. in World Cup play.

1st Round, Pick #12:
F Bright Dike Age 22 Notre Dame University
6'1", 223 lbs, led the Big East in scoring and points with 12 goals and 29 points in 21 matches last year. BIG forward that will wear a defense down. High risk, high reward player, which the Crew can afford to take a chance on.

Both guys are 1st team All-Name Team in MLS, for sure. Dilly is a Generation Adidas player.

 

[jlb1705]

The newly expansioned Philadelphia Union has been hard making trades and was able to aquire the #6 and #7 picks in the draft, tabbing not one but BOTH players the Crew were hoping to get with the #8 and #12 picks.:( Frustrating to say the least.

1st Round, Pick #8:
M Dilly Duka Age 20 Montville, NJ Rutgers/Red Bull Youth Academy US U-20
Played two seasons at Rutgers University, earning second-team All-BIG EAST honors in 2008 before forgoing his junior season to join the U.S. U-20 squad for the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup. Appeared in all three matches, starting two, for the U.S. in World Cup play.

1st Round, Pick #12:
F Bright Dike Age 22 Notre Dame University
6'1", 223 lbs, led the Big East in scoring and points with 12 goals and 29 points in 21 matches last year. BIG forward that will wear a defense down. High risk, high reward player, which the Crew can afford to take a chance on.

Both guys are 1st team All-Name Team in MLS, for sure. Dilly is a Generation Adidas player.

I had been thinking that what this team needs is a smart lesbian. Good pick.

 

[BuckTwenty]

I had been thinking that what this team needs is a smart lesbian. Good pick.

I'm pretty sure Bright Dike is related to Golden Tate.

If he isn't, he should be.

 

[BuckTwenty]

The more video I watch of Dilly, the more I can't believe he fell to us at #8. Easy to see why some European teams had so much interest in him. I think we got a steal. Us drafting him had to be a sad moment for NYRB fans.

Creative midfielder all the way in my opinion, but can be dangerous out wide as well (particularly on the left side). He has GREAT handle of the ball and really good vision. Always seems to find the open man making a run while having 1-2 guys defending him. Does a really nice job winning 50/50 balls, and though not a goalscorer per se, puts a great percentage of his shots in the net. He was definetly on a different talent level playing college ball at Rutgers and it was a great decision to forego his final years of college eligibilty. With him on the field, it looked like everybody around him got better because he was able to distribute the ball so well to them... all you had to do was get open. And to add to that, he performed even better when the competition got tougher, which is a great sign of things to come. He was the #10 for the U-20 national team, which shows what his coaches and fellow players thought about him.

It looks like Dilly takes a lot of time making his moves and jukes, which he'll have to get faster at for the next level. Pretty obvious that he's going to get fouled a lot, so I hope he's a tough kid. He took a lot of restarts and corner kicks for his teams, but I was underwhelmed with his ability to get the ball to a dangerous player in those situations. With "Bob The Freekick Specialist" coaching him up, he could definetly change that though. Reminds me a lot of a young Claudio Reyna. BIG kudos to the staff for finding our future creative midfielder, considering this is very likely Guille's final year with the Crew. I think Dilly can learn a lot under the tutiledge of GBS. He also played quite a bit as a left mid, so we can use him as an insurance policy if Robbie Rodgers decides to take his trade overseas. Perfect fit for this team, in my opinion, and he's got the potential to be a really good one in MLS.

Still watching film of Bright, but I've found out his last name is pronounced DEE-kay (which isn't quite as fun).

 

[BuckTwenty]

MLSnet

This has to be one of the lopsided trades I've EVER seen on paper for any sport.

New England gets:
D Cory Gibbs
GK Preston Burpo
Allocation money
3rd round pick in 2011 Superdraft

Colorado gets:
DM Jeff Larentowitz
M Wells Thompson

If I'm Colorado, all I'm giving up for those guys is Gibbs. Is it April Fools day today or are the Rapids smoking some hash?

Here's hoping the Crew do some bidness with Colorado while the iron is hot and their scales aren't balanced!

 

[BuckTwenty]

Lots going on with the Crew here in the offseason.

- Jed Zayner started his own blog. He's not quite Mark Titus (few people can be), but the blog has been extremely insightful into the goings-on with the team and is really entertaining. A lot of Crew players also routinely "celebrity post" on there as well. Lots of awesome pics you won't find anywhere else too. One thing to take from the blog: this team has NO trouble in the locker room. That much I can assure you.

- Andy Iro wrote this on Jed Zayner's blog:

I will leave you with this: I would be shocked if we were not playing for the MLS Cup 2010. Heard it right here.

- Crew picked up Columbian National Team F Sergio Herrera to replace the departed Alejandro Moreno on Feb 5th. Supposed to be a good one and at 28 years old, should be in the prime of his career. It's supposedly a lucretive contract for him, so much will be expected of him. Also supposedly, it's one of the 2 big reasons they didn't offer Guille as much money this year. The other was to secure some of the younger players to new contracts that had certainly earned their raises.

- Chad Marshall, Robbie Rodgers, & Eddie Gaven are playing with the U.S Mens National Team right now. They had a game not too long ago and they lost. Hoping these guys can rebound.

- The Crew is 3-0 in preseason games, beating DC United 1-0 in a scrimmage most recently. Lots of new players & role players impressing. Dilly Duka sounds like he's the real deal, though he's a little banged up at the moment.

- Crew is currently in Bradenton, Florida doing their annual preseason stuff down there. 2 trialists made the trip with them: F Jose Carlos Dias and Yevhen Brudun. Dias just joined up with them and Brudun is one of the folks that has stood out during the preseason.

- MLS released the schedules for the 2010 season not too long ago. First match of the season will be at home against Toronto FC on March 27th. Due to the CONCACAF Champions League, the Crew will have only 3 MLS games in the first 2 months of the season, but makes up for it by playing 6 games in the months of May and July. This is gonna be a busy team this coming year.

- Speaking of the CONCACAF Champions League, the first game will be at home at 8:00pm on March 9th against Mexican side Toluca. Gonna be a HELL of a game. Be there. You can buy tickets through the link above.


Lots to be excited about with this team this year. Big expectations and big games. Go Crew.

 

[TDG]

If I may be the negative Nancy to your Sally sunshine, something to not be excited about is the inability for the players and owners to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. The deadline has been extended several times, and after some progress the talks have turned sour, with Pat Onstad saying today that the players are "definitely preparing for a work stoppage," and that none of the major cba issues are close to being resolved.

All I know is, I'm going to call my ticket rep a bit later than usual this year.

 

[BuckTwenty]

If I may be the negative Nancy to your Sally sunshine, something to not be excited about is the inability for the players and owners to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. The deadline has been extended several times, and after some progress the talks have turned sour, with Pat Onstad saying today that the players are "definitely preparing for a work stoppage," and that none of the major cba issues are close to being resolved.

All I know is, I'm going to call my ticket rep a bit later than usual this year.

Ooooooo. I knew the CBA was extended a second time recently, but hadn't heard that stuff was going south. That's upsetting. I was just assuming that MLS wouldn't let it go to a work stoppage.

MLS has been low-balling their players for years. Eric Brunner couldn't physically live in New York on the salary he was being paid when he was making the league minimum over there (I believe it was like $14,000), which led to his being traded to his hometown Columbus Crew. With the league's expansion, the league is finally making money. It's time they start helping the little guys that help make the league what it is.

 

[TDG]

The Crew had a spirited comeback tonight in the home leg of the Champions League tie with Toluca. Down 2-0 at the break and without Schelotto, Hejduk, Zayner or Marshall, they came back thanks to 2 Steven Lenhart goals to draw two apiece.

Obviously, even with us getting some guys back, the chances of us going to Mexico and getting a win are very slim, but hey, you never know!

Regardless, the Crew look about ready for the MLS season.

 

[BuckTwenty]

The Crew had a spirited comeback tonight in the home leg of the Champions League tie with Toluca. Down 2-0 at the break and without Schelotto, Hejduk, Zayner or Marshall, they came back thanks to 2 Steven Lenhart goals to draw two apiece.

Obviously, even with us getting some guys back, the chances of us going to Mexico and getting a win are very slim, but hey, you never know!

Regardless, the Crew look about ready for the MLS season.

'Twas a great comeback. I thought the Crew looked like the better team last night, despite being without 3 of their 6 best defenders and their best offensive player. The team chemistry looks outstanding for still being so early in the season!

Crew's gotta take the momentum they had at the end of this game and take it into their return game to Mexico. Got my fingers crossed, but the odds are stacked pretty firmly against 'em with giving up 2 away goals.

By the way, Lenhart plays TERRIBLY when he's posting up stationary outside the box. Gives the ball up every single time. Man did he look deadly on the run, though! If there's one man that can hit him in stride, it's Guille.

 

[IronBuckI]

I'm ashamed to say that I let the woman take over the TV at halftime. The Crew dominated possession, but didn't seem to have anyone that could finish. Like BuckTwenty mentioned, Lenhart lost the ball twice within a couple of minutes, one of them on a long throw that hit him right in the chest.

I actually thought that Toluca looked like they could score whenever they felt like it. Looks like that assumption was off-base...

I'm glad they pulled off the draw. Playing a team that's already played alot of games is a pretty tall order for a team that's playing their first real game.

 

[TDG]

So, a few days ago the Crew suffered a disappointing 3-2 defeat @ Toluca, knocking them from the Champions League.

The good news is, MLS and the players' union agreed to a new 5-year CBA deal, so no strike. We are now less than a week from the season opener.

 

[BuckTwenty]

So, a few days ago the Crew suffered a disappointing 3-2 defeat @ Toluca, knocking them from the Champions League.

The good news is, MLS and the players' union agreed to a new 5-year CBA deal, so no strike. We are now less than a week from the season opener.

The game was disappointing because all 3 of those goals were on restarts; none were during the run of play. Can't foul outside of the box, especially when you're facing a team that has a guy that can take a free kick with surgical precision. We have a few guys that still are playing sloppy footy right now, but I'll say it again... the chemistry this team looks to have at this point in the season is pretty amazing.

Big sigh of relief on the CBA though. If there was to be a strike, it would have been announced tomorrow. Glad they got things worked out. The lowest guys on the totem pole will get a much deserved raise and the league still doesn't have internal bidding on players. Win-win.

 

[Merih]

The crew won their season opener this past March 28th, 2-0 against Toronto FC in a great showing where they dominated from opening kick. Should have been 3 or 4 nil.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIh8prUXMo"]YouTube - Toronto FC: Toronto FC @ Columbus Crew. 2010 SEASON OPENER [March 28, 2010][/ame]

This guy Steve Sirk is hilarious and an avid Crew Supporter who posts articles on the Crew's site. Here was his latest masterpiece:

http://staging.thecrew.com/news/2010/03/sirk%E2%80%99s-notebook-crew-2-toronto-0

The league calls it First Kick. The supporters call it Crewsmas. Both of those monikers are more catchy and efficient than the more literal Annual Make Toronto FC Come Down and Stand Around and Watch the Crew Unveil More League Honors Before Outplaying the Hosers As Usual Day.

Outclassing Toronto enough to win by four or more goals, the Crew played sloppily and imprecise enough in the offensive end of the field to win merely 2-0. It’s all three points in the end. The win gave the Crew an early leg up in the 2010 Trillium Cup competition and also ran their all-time unbeaten streak against Toronto to 10 games and counting.

“I didn’t think the result was fair at all,” said Toronto FC coach Preki, sending the assembled media scrambling for their stat sheets to see if the numbers told a different story than the one observed by the eyes. Let’s see… the Crew took two-and-a-half times as many shots as Toronto, had twice as many shots on goal, earned a 10-1 edge in corner kicks, had two clear breakaways, and committed only half as many fouls. Nope. Sounds about right.

There's more good stuff in the link, check it out.