Days away from the 2013 SuperDraft, and with TFC clearly in the hands of Kevin Payne, let’s have a look at the drafting record of the man responsible for finally putting TFC in the right direction.
To do that we will look at his time with DC United from 2004 until last year. Payne was not with United alone in the early part of the 2000s (he was an executive with AEG and thus worked with several teams in MLS) and in the 1990s the draft was set-up differently. Thus, the 2004-2012 results are closer to a direct comparison to what he is doing for TFC this week.
We looked at all of DC United’s first round selections, or the club’s first pick in years without a first rounder.
Below the jump, the selections:
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2004 – Freddy Adu (1st), 87 appearances, left in 2006 for allocation
2005 - Nick Van Sicklen (19th), 0 appearances
2006 -- Justin Moose (7th), 8 appearances, released in 2007
2007 -- Bryan Arguez (11th), 0 appearances, never signed
2008 -- Andrew Jacobson (24th), 17 appearances, lost in expansion draft in 2010
2009 -- Rodney Wallace (6th), 35 appearances, traded for a Dax McCarty in 2011
2009 -- Chris Pontius (7th), 101 appearances, still with club
2010 -- Jordan Graye (55th), 20 appearances, lost in expansion draft in 2011
2011 – Perry Kitchen (3rd), 63 appearances, still with club
2012 -- Nick DeLeon (7th), 28 appearances, still with club
It’s worth pointing out that Payne’s influence at DC United started to slip in the final years, especially after Ben Olsen took over the managers role in 2010. It’s widely felt that Payne left United because he wanted to move to a club where he had more direct influence in decisions than he had in the final few years.
Still, we’ll give him some credit for two solid picks in each of the last two years.
Additionally, the Pontius pick-up in 2009 has been a key component to the club’s turn around from four losing seasons.
However, it would be disingenuous to ignore the role Payne’s selections from 2005 to 2008, when he only managed to find 25 total appearances from the draft, played in that four-year playoff draught.
Like many things with Payne, the results are mixed. TFC fans will be hoping that his role in 2011 and 2012 was greater than many think it was and that he can replicate it (and that the 2005-2008 stretch was just bad luck).
With rumours flying that Payne is set to move one of the No 1 or No 3 picks we should take a moment to reflect on his record of trading first round picks.
Three times Payne has traded his first rounder. Below, the results:
2005 -- 12th pick as final part of compensation for 2004 trade for Jamie Moreno
2008 -- 10th pick for Rod Dyachenko
2010 -- 7th pick for Fred
The 2005 trade was a blockbuster and a lot of other assets were dealt as part of it. However, Moreno was a United legend that ended his career as the all-time leading scorer in MLS.
The other two trades were less successful.
Dyachenko was already with DC United when TFC grabbed him in the expansion draft. He was off the team a year later, with most of his contribution to United taking place prior to the trade. In hindsight, it would have been better for DC to let him come north.
The Fred trade was pretty much a disaster.
So, once again, Payne’s record is mixed.