Soehn presents Expansion Draft dilemma for DC

WASHINGTON— This week’s MLS Expansion Draft for the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps FC will present conundrums for most every team in the league, butD.C. Unitedmay occupy the most unenviable position of the 16 other clubs.

After all, it’s hard enough to rebuild your own team without the prospect of an old coach swooping in to claim one or two of his favorite players.

Former United head coach Tom Soehn is now director of soccer operations for the Vancouver Whitecaps, and his thorough knowledge of much of the DC roster leaves the Black-and-Red feeling somewhat exposed as they consider how to hang on to as many assets as possible.

“Everybody knows Tommy has his guys that he likes – I can’t say that I’m one of them, I don’t have any idea,” DC defenderMarc Burchsaid.“But I know Tommy has his guys that he likes, people with the attitudes and the {style of} play and everything, his style of people. So I think there will be some guys that played for Tommy that he’ll be definitely looking at if they don’t get protected.”

With DC’s young talentsAndy Najar(right),Bill Hamidand Conor Shanosky already protected by the league’s homegrown player policies, it might seem strange for the league’s last-placed team to fear being plundered by an expansion side. But coaches and players who spend time together “in the trenches” through long MLS campaigns develop a familiarity that cannot be easily replicated with trials and scouting reports.

Tony Quinn/Major League Soccer

“A big thing with coaching is knowing guys intimately and knowing exactly what you get, because the unknown factor is a tough one,” United technical director Chad Ashton said last week. “Because you don’t know their personality, you don’t know at crunch time what kind of guy you’re going to get. And when you’ve coached guys ... you know what kind of guys you’re getting. You know their strengths, you know their weaknesses.

“I’m sure {Soehn’s} got an idea who he’s going to be going after,” he added. “It’s a tough situation for us, but it is what it is.”

Ashton was Soehn’s second-in-command during Soehn's three-year stint at the helm in Washington, and the two men still keep in touch, though Ashton says soccer matters are rarely broached.

Their clubs have already shown a mutual interest in one of this year’s top young prospects, United States youth international Omar Salgado, aGeneration adidassigning who has trained with Vancouver, Portland and most recently DC. The rangy striker is likely to be one of the top picks in January’s SuperDraft.

Meanwhile, Ashton and United general manager Dave Kasper will try to minimize the interest of the league’s newcomers in Wednesday’s expansion draft, even as they accept the likelihood of losing at least one player. 

“You definitely want to protect your best guys, but at the same time, you may leave guys unprotected that you think they don’t want or won’t pick,” Ashton said. “I know one time we had nobody picked, and everybody looked at it like we were just a bad team. But to me, you’ve made somereally good decisions if nobody gets picked. You’ve figured out what they’re looking for and what positions they’re trying to fill and that sort of thing.

"You’re probably going to lose at least one guy but if you don’t lose anyone, it’s a real positive.”

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