Talking Philadelphia Union, expansion drafts and history lessons

Was anyone outside the City of Brotherly Love overwhelmed? Nah. But that's OK. A well executed expansion draft makes the astute observer raise a cautious-but-curious brow and go "hmmm." The roster of names culled from Major League Soccer's unprotected lists was never going to make anyone fall over backward into the Delaware River. It's not supposed to.

Here's are the athletes acquired from the other 15 teams' unprotected lists: GK Brad Knighton (NE); DFs Dave Myrie (CHI), Shavar Thomas (CHV) and Jordan Harvey (COL); MFs Shea Salinas (SJ), Stefani Miglioranzi (LA) and Andrew Jacobson (DC). FWs Nick Zimmerman (NY), Alejandro Moreno (CLB), Sebastien Le Toux (SEA).

Quick review: I love the Knighton pick, although it doesn't make as much sense with the acquisition via trade of well-regarded RSL backup Chris Seitz. Still, Knighton did a terrific job spelling Matt Reis in spots this year for New England, and his presence means that Seitz must work for his spot, so the situation in goal around suburban Chester looks solid.

Zimmerman is a guy who showed me something in his spotty appearances for Red Bull New York. And anybody who could manage to look good on that team must have a little going for him.

Salinas is a young winger who can probably benefit from manager Peter Nowak's tutelage and his emphasis on defense. Salinas is a talent, but still a little raw and often a bit naïve to the nuance of the game, I think. LeToux is a worker extraordinaire, and his professional approach could prove beneficial to a young team.

I was talking to one MLS personnel type over the weekend, and I think he's got it right in terms of how to use expansion drafts: they should be all about stocking places Nos. 8-16 on your roster, or somewhere thereabouts. They aren't going to be you’re A-list stars, the guys you plaster on billboards around town, perhaps. But you need for a few of them to be ready to start. Otherwise, well, you might just be … Toronto.

TFC finished dead last as an expansion side that year, with the fewest points in MLS and a minus-24 goal difference. Surely it was no coincidence that TFC had handcuffed itself immediately in the personnel department with an outrageously unproductive expansion draft.

Consider that the 10 players selected in the 2006 expansion draft participated in a total of four matches in the 2007 season. Four! (TFC used 32 players that year, as the personnel drifted in and out like it was free doughnut day at the Krispy Kreme.)

Only one player ever got on the field, Paulo Nagamura. Everyone else was either traded away (most almost immediately) or released, begging the question about how much real homework management was doing up there?

Now compare that to the job Sigi Schmid and Chris Henderson did last year in Seattle, where talent extracted from last year's expansion draft contributed 127 starts. I'm not great at match … but that's a little better than 4, right?

Nate Jaqua, James Riley and Brad Evans were starters all year. Tyson Wahl and Pete Vagenas were solid part-time starters. Nate Sturgis and Stephen King are young players who may yet add some value or play a role at Qwest. All came from the expansion draft process 12 months ago.

Oh, Seattle made the playoffs and just barely missed on beating Houston in the playoffs (the same Houston side that just barely missed on upending Los Angeles. In other words, there really wasn't much distance between Seattle and MLS runner-up L.A. -- and it started with smart selections in last year's expansion draft. We'll have to wait and see if Philly did as well.