Ballouchy and Johnson!

[SoccerPrime]

Thats good to hear BetterThanChivas.
I haven't heard much of Johnson, or as I call him, RJ, but it seems that RSL likes those Caribbean players.
I hope he works out.
He is older than most of the rookies last year, so hopefully that means he can contribute faster and not just set in the "development" bench.

BTW this is what RJ looks like:




Plus some more on him:
http://www.pac-10.org/sports/m-soccer/spec-rel/111505aaa.html

http://barometer.orst.edu/vnews/display.v/ART/2005/10/10/434a0f0b32006

http://3rddegree.matchnight.com/thirdindex.cfm?page=article&show=1101

I noticed that although he is listed as a Midfielder for the draft he often plays forward. A new back-up attacking mid?

[Jose Luis Luviano]

My advice to you is to start drinking heavily.

Soccer America calls Ballouchy "remarkably gifted".

[ReAl]

Originally Posted by Stucki

I get the feeling everyone will like Tarly much better when he is playing with a midfielder who will deliver the ball to him where he can do something with it.

Like right at his feet in front of the goal. 🙄

[prk166]

Originally Posted by Stucki

I get the feeling everyone will like Tarly much better when he is playing with a midfielder who will deliver the ball to him where he can do something with it.

I hope so but I think his problem was that he wasn't putting away the chances that he did get. The other part of the problem is that he needs some passes that he can run onto and no one seemed intereted in providing him with those. He tore the Rapids apart in the USOC with those type of balls. I'm not sure there are many in the league that have the accelration and pace that Tarley does.

[Loyal1]

To read the local papers, I think we drafted Claudio Reyna, part 2.

[AreliusIII]

Best pick: Real Salt Lake selecting Mehdi Ballouchy at No. 2. After taking Nikolas Besagno with the top selection last year, the RSL brass had to know that they needed an impact player in '06 out of this draft. They got that in Ballouchy. The Moroccan native will have the luxury of having two of Major League Soccer's most proven scorers -- all-time leading goal-scorer Jason Kreis and Jeff Cunningham (7th on the all-time list) -- as beneficiaries of his passes. In short, this is a player that John Ellinger can definitely build around.
http://www.mlsnet.com/MLS/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20060122&content_id=50879&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp

[AreliusIII]

1. Mehdi Ballouchy will be a flop -- It is amazing how much opinions vary on the second pick in the MLS Draft, but perhaps more shocking is how some observers are convinced that Ballouchy will be an impact player. Is he skilled? Certainly. Is he a great passer? Sure. Is he physically capable of handling the rigors of life as a central midfielder in MLS? The answer is no. Some coaches questioned his work rate and ability to handle the step up from college to MLS. Will he be able to make an impact as an attacking midfielder playing in a league where referees allow a liberal amount of rough tackling and defensive midfielder is one of the more underrated positions?


What's worse is Real Salt Lake officials have suggested that Ballouchy will see considerable time next season. If anything, he should be brought along slowly. Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger is surely going to feel the pressure to win and the pressure to prove that he made the right call with the No. 2 pick in the draft, which could lead to Ballouchy being thrown to the wolves much earlier than he should.


What will it take for Ballouchy to flourish and live up to the billing some have placed on him? Upping his fitness and working on his non-existent defense will go a long way toward helping him adjust to life as a professional. The real question is whether Ellinger will still be around to reap the rewards of drafting Ballouchy so high. There may come a day when Ellinger can take credit for drafting an all-star central midfield tandem of Ballouchy and Nik Besagno (last year's No. 1 overall MLS draft pick), but it seems unlikely that he'll be around in three or four years, when that scenario would play out.

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=356163&root=mls&cc=5901

[bordelais7]

So he's either the best pick of the draft, or an enormous flop. Well, at least we know what we're getting.

[prk166]

Originally Posted by AreliusIII

What's worse is Real Salt Lake officials have suggested that Ballouchy will see considerable time next season. If anything, he should be brought along slowly. Real Salt Lake coach John Ellinger is surely going to feel the pressure to win and the pressure to prove that he made the right call with the No. 2 pick in the draft, which could lead to Ballouchy being thrown to the wolves much earlier than he should.


http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=356163&root=mls&cc=5901

I disagree with the writer. I do think Coach E will have more pressure to win this year. But I don't see him needing to show that Ballouchy himself was the right pick. And in fact, throwing him to the wolves is in conflict with the pressure to win. Which is it going to be? That is, if Ballouchy isn't performing, why would coach E play him? Surely the pressure to win is greater than to prove some draft pick. Come on Ives. You know Coach E wasn't pressured to prove that Besagno was a good pick last year. Why this time around when Williams can fill that role with someone like Brown, Novak, and mother ****ing Kris Klien!

Sorry..... I just went to browse over the rost again to refresh my memory again.

WOOOO-HOOO!

[SoccerPrime]

Excellent article on Ballouchy on ESPNsoccernet

http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=356432&root=mls&cc=5901