NYCFC Sign Maxime Chanot

NYCFC haven't said a thing about the roster spot.

And to be fair RJ was thrown into the derby start against BWP in NJ after one game. Then again that was under Kreis and we didn't really have too many other good options out there. So it's anyone's guess. He hasn't spent anytime with the team yet, so it would be pretty rushed if that was the case, and would likely rely on his (limited) familiarity with Brillant.
And RJ, who has turned it to a pretty good player, got torched for the first goal. Shocked if we seen Chanot starting on Sunday.
We played 3 in the back that game (Iraola, Hernandez, Mena) in our 3-4-3 alignment. He's technically a CB there. Martinez subbed on for him. There were no other defenders on the field.

When he got pulled, believe Bravo dropped back and we played four at the back due to having trouble with NE's width in the first 30. Either way, great to see Mena resurface. Key to wins against NYRB and yesterday.
 
There is nobody we can pick up that would replace Villa in a meaningful way, nor do I think we could realistically get anybody that is much better than our current backups. Villa is the League MVP for the first half of the year. Losing him would be a disaster, and there is not much we could do about it. Better to pick up help where the starters are falling short.
agreed. but part of preventing Villa injury is to have someone decent enough we can rotate to against weak clubs so we play Villa less than we need to
 
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NYCFC haven't said a thing about the roster spot.

And to be fair RJ was thrown into the derby start against BWP in NJ after one game. Then again that was under Kreis and we didn't really have too many other good options out there. So it's anyone's guess. He hasn't spent anytime with the team yet, so it would be pretty rushed if that was the case, and would likely rely on his (limited) familiarity with Brillant.
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agreed. but part of preventing Villa injury is to have someone decent enough we can rotate to against weak clubs so we play Villa less than we need to

I don't really see any MLS teams as "weak". There is so much parity in this league that each week our games will be a dogfight. Unfortunately, I believe that if your best players are healthy, you play them until they can't play anymore (exception is the weeks leading up to the playoffs if playoff seeding isn't much in effect).

Look at what happened with Dallas-Seattle. Dallas rested some of their star players and lost 5-0.
 
I'm just saying the thought of relying on Mullins when Murphy's Law kicks us in the ass going into the post season frightens me. We have a grand total of zero reliable backups for Villa right now. Sure, we could probably get by with TMac/Lamp/Jack scoring, but starting 2016 Mullins basically puts you a man down from the whistle. He hasn't shown a single shred of the form he showed last season.
 
I don't really see any MLS teams as "weak". There is so much parity in this league that each week our games will be a dogfight. Unfortunately, I believe that if your best players are healthy, you play them until they can't play anymore (exception is the weeks leading up to the playoffs if playoff seeding isn't much in effect).

Look at what happened with Dallas-Seattle. Dallas rested some of their star players and lost 5-0.


Great post. Something that is discussed, but not enough, in MLS circles is squad depth. It's the reason we underperform in CCL and the reason teams like LAG are usually so strong at the end of the year. Squad rotation is an issue in this league and with our salary cap structure, it won't change any time soon.
 
Great post. Something that is discussed, but not enough, in MLS circles is squad depth. It's the reason we underperform in CCL and the reason teams like LAG are usually so strong at the end of the year. Squad rotation is an issue in this league and with our salary cap structure, it won't change any time soon.
How to put in a commissioner that is pro NYC and pro free market? We need to work on the political side as well. We need to form alliance with like minded owners and try to bring in more owners with the same needs as we do, working as one block of voting power. If that means having to bring in Russian, Chinese and Middle East deep pocket buyers, so be it. Meanwhile we need to work on putting our guys in NY city hall and Albany. When De Blassio is gone, the next mayor needs to work hand in hand with the governor to make sure there is no political hurdle to secure our stadium and crush any opposing voices. Somebody starts a Non profit org to coordinate and raise funds to advance our interest. If we can convince the likes of Murdoch and others there is huge profit down the line and get their big checks it will be cool. Ahhhh...that was a nice day dream :)
 
You are already starting to see the tide change in MLS. The last handful of owners are all in.
 
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How to put in a commissioner that is pro NYC and pro free market? We need to work on the political side as well. We need to form alliance with like minded owners and try to bring in more owners with the same needs as we do, working as one block of voting power. If that means having to bring in Russian, Chinese and Middle East deep pocket buyers, so be it. Meanwhile we need to work on putting our guys in NY city hall and Albany. When De Blassio is gone, the next mayor needs to work hand in hand with the governor to make sure there is no political hurdle to secure our stadium and crush any opposing voices. Somebody starts a Non profit org to coordinate and raise funds to advance our interest. If we can convince the likes of Murdoch and others there is huge profit down the line and get their big checks it will be cool. Ahhhh...that was a nice day dream :)
I never want to see Chinese or Russian owners in MLS. Never.
 
You are already starting to see the tide change in MLS. The last handful of owners are all in.

I agree it's happening, just very slowly. Best case scenario would be the league jumps a bit in popularity driving franchise values to a level where the cheap owners start selling and cashing in. Forget about the salary cap, this is the league where the bottom level owners are so cheap they limit charter flights. We still have a long way to go.
 
Would you have said the same about Middle Eastern owners prior to the Sheik?
Typically no, but he's proven to be very hands-on and has history with do-gooding in Manchester. Look at all of the mega-real state that Chinese and Russians own in NYC and never live in - it just a way to park money. Or the Russian owner of the Nets - how's that team doing? Frankly, I don't trust money from either of those two countries when it comes to owning infrastructure or corporations in the US.
 
I agree it's happening, just very slowly. Best case scenario would be the league jumps a bit in popularity driving franchise values to a level where the cheap owners start selling and cashing in. Forget about the salary cap, this is the league where the bottom level owners are so cheap they limit charter flights. We still have a long way to go.


I don't see people like the Krafts ever selling. It's not a passion project of theirs but there are rationales to keeping the franchise and especially keeping them at Gillette.

Seattle, Portland, NYCFC, Orlando, Atlanta and LAFC all bring owners who will spend money and move the dial. That's good for us and bad for the bottom of the league. We are stuck with this CBA for 3 more years I think. I don't expect any drastic changes (4 DPs, etc.) in the rules until the new CBA is over.

But if you believe the reporting from last March, NYCFC and Orlando were all in to blow up the league structure and open up the rules somewhat. LAFC will be on board with that. Atlanta is TBD.
 
I don't see people like the Krafts ever selling. It's not a passion project of theirs but there are rationales to keeping the franchise and especially keeping them at Gillette.

Seattle, Portland, NYCFC, Orlando, Atlanta and LAFC all bring owners who will spend money and move the dial. That's good for us and bad for the bottom of the league. We are stuck with this CBA for 3 more years I think. I don't expect any drastic changes (4 DPs, etc.) in the rules until the new CBA is over.

But if you believe the reporting from last March, NYCFC and Orlando were all in to blow up the league structure and open up the rules somewhat. LAFC will be on board with that. Atlanta is TBD.

I don't agree with others that the Krafts are the biggest problem. To me the serious bottom feeders are guys like Hauptman in Chicago, doesn't invest in the team, doesn't invest in the academy, could care less about the fans.
 
I don't agree with others that the Krafts are the biggest problem. To me the serious bottom feeders are guys like Hauptman in Chicago, doesn't invest in the team, doesn't invest in the academy, could care less about the fans.


Sorry. Krafts are an easy target. But you are right that MLS has issues with ownership in Chicago, New Jersey and DC that are worse.
 
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When you take into account the experience of the NASL (and other failed pro leagues), there is a logic to a gradual approach. I agree that it is hard to grow the fanbase without top players, but it is hard to pay the top players without a large fanbase.

Given this chicken-and-egg problem, the right approach has been and continues to be an incrementalism in which modest payroll growth accompanies modest fan growth. Given that the league almost didn't get off the ground and then almost folded 5 years later before thriving today - it seems like this course has been successful. The innovation of the DP rule and Beckham signing have helped. This brings high profile players without an across the board payroll increase. I think we will see a decent salary cap jump with the next round, but we won't be on par with the Europe for another decade or two and even then will be behind EPL, Spain, etc.
 
It's also worth keeping in mind that people support teams and leagues for a variety of reasons, often only incidental to the quality of play. The NFL is the colossus of the U.S. sporting world, but college football is arguably bigger, and the top teams in college football have larger stadiums than their NFL brethren.

So, why is that the case when the quality of the athletes is clearly inferior? Because people become fans of these teams while they are young, and that allegiance is reinforced by strong cultural ties (the college campus, alumni clubs, etc.). MLS is now 20 years old, so people who went to the early games as kids are now in their 20s and maybe just around teh corner from bringing their own kids. My 8-year-old goes to Yankee games and NYCFC games. That's what he will look back upon as the big family sports event in 20 years and seek to replicate for his own kids.

This is what is going to grow the league into a colossus of its own, but it takes time. MLS is a long play.