Mullins to DCU
- Thread starter EganSoccerWords
- Start date
So this creates the international roster spot we needed for Chanot, or did we already have that?
I agree it's not sustainable but ideally its a temporary stop gap until we have the academy pipeline up and running. It's essentially what we have to do as an expansion team. Without free agency decent domestic players on reasonable contracts are very hard to come by.
Who said we weren't shopping for a new domestic striker?
Yes this should be the spot. We didn't have any extra and the only other route was dumping Mendoza. In theory though that could still happen if we have another intl lined up and Mendozas loan terms allow for it.
I agree that it's not sustainable, but I think it's fairly easy to acquire international slots. We still got a good number of domestic talent on our team (Lopez, Allen, Hernandez, Khiry) and I think we'll acquire more. This move does scream "win now" though.
Eh, even tho it's a capped league, the rules grow with us. But the time our roster construction strategy starts to blow up on us (E.g. expiring international spots and nothing left to trade for them), the rulebook will probably look significantly different. I think being on the leading edge may be sustainable because the edge will be moving with us.
Sure, and we can add Tommy Mac to that list.
It's just very important to cultivate some of that MLS lifer talent to keep continuity and cheap contracts. Mullins wasn't a special player, but with another couple years and some good coaching, he could have been a Will Bruin-level guy.
This is logical, but I think CFG expected a little more movement early on with the salary cap. The MLS instinct is and always has been slow growth. While we'll see some changes, it's hard to imagine it changing that much in the next two or three years (when we lose the 3 DPs and are looking to replace them -- requiring the roster rebuild).
You guys are missing the strategy here. This club isn't "win now." This club is WIN ALWAYS.
Mullins wasn't part of the long term plan or the short term plan. He was an asset they didn't need. They will turn him into an asset they do want/need.
This isn't sacrificing the future to win today. Mullins had no future with the club.
Mullins wasn't part of the long term plan or the short term plan. He was an asset they didn't need. They will turn him into an asset they do want/need.
This isn't sacrificing the future to win today. Mullins had no future with the club.
That's a nice catchphrase, but it's not a real plan. Sustainable growth of the roster through a strong academy and savvy use of undervalued contracts is the proven way to "win always" in this league, and that's not what we've done to date.
I don't agree that Mullins didn't have a future here. Not every player is going to be a starter for you, but he was quality depth on a reasonable deal. That's an important role on the roster, particularly when you're depending on a really old player for 90% of your goalscoring.
Edit: It's not to say that they can't find a guy to replace him. He was roughly replacement level. But the track record so far is that they're replacing MLS guys with international players (sometimes better than what they had, and sometimes worse), and it's not a strategy you can keep going year after year.
Mullins hasn't run a step on the field this season - he literally walked when he didn't have the ball. That's not a player that was interested in being coached-up since PV's system is all about movement and passing lanes and pushing the ball forward. It may fly with DC, but not showing effort off the ball won't win any accolades from PV.
Guess what. We don't have an academy right now that can provide talent cheaply. We won't see a player come through for years. But they are investing tons of money into the Academy to ensure that they reap benefits there.
For the time being, they want to win. There is a strategy in place for both sustainable growth (Academy investments) and to win now. We're not Houston or Chicago. This isn't an "either - or" decision for the club. They have a strategy to win today. And they have a strategy to win over the next decade. Be proud of the club.
I'm sorry if people are hurt by Mullins being sent away. He's a fantastic guy and I loved supporting him. But he wasn't part of the plan here. And we were able to turn him into an asset (or assets) that we can use TODAY. Brilliant move by the club and a good piece of business.
Guys we are in first place in the Eastern Conference. The time is now. Like Kjbert said, we are not mortgaging our future by getting rid of Mullins because it was obvious he does not fit in PV's system. If this was T-Mac or Shelton, this would be a different story.
I really don't think that the long term plan is to keep using international roster spots. Once our academy is in full order, we are going to have a pipeline of cheap homegrown talent to fill out the roster, but we aren't there yet.
Let's also not pretend that we are giving up the farm in order to get an international roster slot. By my count there are only three other teams (Impact, Whitecaps, Union) that have zero free spots. These spots are worthless to a team not using them, so we are probably getting them cheap.
I really don't think that the long term plan is to keep using international roster spots. Once our academy is in full order, we are going to have a pipeline of cheap homegrown talent to fill out the roster, but we aren't there yet.
Let's also not pretend that we are giving up the farm in order to get an international roster slot. By my count there are only three other teams (Impact, Whitecaps, Union) that have zero free spots. These spots are worthless to a team not using them, so we are probably getting them cheap.
By 2022, our academy will be churning out two homegrowns a year, and the fake salary cap will be x2 what it is today. Probably more TAM or even a 4th DP. As long as DPs round two are successful, we'll be fine to bridge the gap to full service academy.
Btw, the cap is largely for domestic players. Domestic players aren't great. I don't support these massive cap increase proposals because they won't improve the quality of play as *targeted* as TAM does. 100% of TAM goes to bringing in better players almost exclusively from abroad. If you raise the salary cap, half of that increase will go towards players like Mikey Lopez and justifying Hernandezs $200k as acceptable. Much smaller impact on the leagues quality, in other words.
Btw, the cap is largely for domestic players. Domestic players aren't great. I don't support these massive cap increase proposals because they won't improve the quality of play as *targeted* as TAM does. 100% of TAM goes to bringing in better players almost exclusively from abroad. If you raise the salary cap, half of that increase will go towards players like Mikey Lopez and justifying Hernandezs $200k as acceptable. Much smaller impact on the leagues quality, in other words.
Exactly. The US players are rarely worth what we pay them in this league. They deserve a good wage that is commensurate with their work. But considering the rules around non EU players in Europe, American players are practically worthless unless they are full National Team members.
Salary Cap changes help to improve their quality of life and bring up the minimum salaries. Nowhere else in the world is a Josh Saunders worth $100,000 per season. The bulk of the salary cap raises are going to increase crappy MLS domestic salaries. Doesn't improve the league - but it's still the right thing to do by these guys. They should be paid as full professionals.
Agreed, hopefully I didn't come across too Libertarian there. MLS should treat it's employees well, so I absolutely support increasing the minimum salaries and adjusting the salary cap to do so. E.g. A minimim of $100k with a corresponding increase in the cap of a couple hundred thousand to absorb those raises at the bottom of the rosters. This should definitely happen. Also to send message to academy players that if they make it, they will be taken care of.
We agree. And that's a great post. This league is amateurish if you have guys making $60,000 on the field. That's not a full professional. There does need to be a higher minimum salary floor allocated across the league.
I think the league has done a good job of trying to help around the margin. Correct me if I am wrong, but they offer housing allowances now?
