Who should the Executioner's Axe fall for?

So Tweed did this article and wanted me to do a follow up. "You're full of hatred and black heartedness why don't you take a stab at who should be cut." He says to me over the Gchats. I pause wondering if to take his comments as a compliment or just a statement of truth. "Hmmm that has to be a compliment" I think to myself. I reply "Do I get to rip into Baggio Husidic again?". Tweed "No, he doesn't play for us anymore and didn't you get this out of your system on Twitter the other day?". Me: "I might be addicted to bashing Baggio. It is going to be hard to quit cold turkey, but I'll try with this article thing you want me to write. It can't hurt anyways."

And with that I present to you "Players who should be cut that are still somehow on the roster"

1. Mike Videira: Somehow Mike is still on the roster. There is a strong possibility that Mike Videira is the main reason Carlos de los Cobos lost his job last season. See at the beginning of the season he decided to start Mike instead of some guy named Daniel and this DID NOT WORK. Videira proceeded to be a turnover machine. His lack of passing ability stalled ball control and killed offensive flow. He did work hard and had solid cardio (+2 on the BH) but unfortunately these things don't make up for a complete lack of ability. The problems in the midfield led to issues with the rest of the team. He did get hurt (concussion) and was replaced by Paladini. Thankfully Mike rarely saw the field after that. Yet the early season damage had been done and nothing could save DLC after all those draws. If I were the coach I'd probably cut Mike just so he doesn't cost me my job. Wouldn't want to give myself the chance to fall for a hard working practice player and decide he is then worthy of minutes.

2. Pari Pantazapoulos: Pari, the winner of the Fire open try out, was around last season. He was around in the way that Steven Kinney and Mike Banner were around except that he wasn't hurt. I kept wondering to myself why this kid was worth a roster spot. Even if it was just a developmental slot it was still a slot. He clearly was not going to get any meaningful minutes. He dressed a few times on game day but we all knew he wasn't going to see the field. It just meant our bench was shorter, like there was a late scratch in the lineup. I don't even like being this hard on the kid. Seems like a good guy, works hard in practice and is good with the fans. Yet due to his position, Left back, his lack of ability was glaring. Gonzalo Segares essentially had no backup last season and this was a huge problem as Sega logged an ungodly amount of minutes last season. If Pari was 17 there would be little issue with him in that slot. But the guy is 23 years old and if he can't give you 500 minutes a season by now there is no reason to keep him.

3. Kwame Watson-Sirboe: Kwame was sent on loan to Tampa Bay for the season. I really have no idea if he played well there or not. Honestly there is no reason to care as he shouldn't be kept. Look at the depth at center back. You have Cory Gibbs, Jalil Anibaba, Josip Mikulic and Yamith Cuesta. All of whom have proven to be more talented at the MLS level then Kwame. "Yeah but Kwame is younger than all of them except for Cuesta" you decide to foolishly say to me. Um sorry to break this to you but Kwame is 25. He is older than both Anibaba and Cuesta and only younger than Mikulic by 7 months. Sorry but I don't see any reason to hang on to him considering that information. Also he occupies a senior roster spot and is now too old for developmental anyways. It would be better for Kwame if he was cut now so he had a legitimate chance to catch on with another squad. I see little chance he makes the team this year unless he shows considerable improvement at the MLS level during camp.

4. Diego Chaves: If you believe the scuttlebut then Diego is already long gone. With the Re-Entry draft selection of Kheli Dube a strong message was sent that Diego will be gone this season. I wouldn't mind keeping him but his lack of domestic status is killing him here. His hot start and finish kind of obscure his complete lack of contributions during the season. He was a victim of the posts far too often. Still he can contribute in the league and I'd like to see him stay in MLS instead of returning to relative obscurity.

5. Mike Banner: No lies I frankly love Mike Banner. He can play in the midfield, will sacrifice himself to the right back position when necessary, doesn't complain much, and if he grows a goatee he becomes Evil Mike Banner from another dimension and that is AWESOME. Yet one has to worry about his injury issues from this past season where he didn't play a single league game. Mike is 27 going into this season and I'd like to see him in form and healthy during training camp. His domestic status and position flexibility make him valuable going forward as long as he has his injury situation sorted out. Yet he could be a late camp victim which would be too bad.

So there you go. I don't really expect any other players currently on the roster to be potential cut victims. Trade options should be explored on a few players. Packaging a solid player along with the rights to Willman Conde could net a significant return at a position of need.

I'll be back with more vitriol soon.

Gregg can be reached on twitter @merwin_6