2017 Roster Discussion

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

Ulrich - I am not arguing for Pro-Rel. I'm just saying the Krafts can't cry poverty on this one anymore.



Disagree. NFL has parity. Outside of a couple of franchises, they all spend a lot of money. How is it parity when Frank Lampard makes more money than the entire squad from Vancouver, San Jose, New England, Real Salt Lake, NJRB, Philly, Houston, Chicago, Columbus, DC and Dallas?

New England was willing to spend when Jermaine Jones fell into their lap. Id say it's not an unwillingness to spend on players, as much as not having the scouting network for it. The smart teams in MLS will be making partnerships with teams overseas for that reason, I suspect

 

[Falastur]

New England was willing to weekend when Jermaine Jones fell into their lap. Id say it's not an unwillingness to spend on players, as much as not having the scouting network for it. The smart teams in MLS will be making partnerships with teams overseas for that reason, I suspect

I take it you mean the type of partnership where you partner a European club and hope for some fringe players on loan? The link with MCFC carries the chance of some exciting youngsters on loan, which I'm all for, but I don't quite feel confident that every European club would view such a link in the same terms, especially since the majority wouldn't have mutual ownership to bring a certain level of equal understanding. Rather, I fear many of these partnerships would be more along the lines of a convenient place to outcast players who turn up for pre-season training overweight etc. I'm not sure if that's something that would help MLS' reputation or harm it.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

I take it you mean the type of partnership where you partner a European club and hope for some fringe players on loan? The link with MCFC carries the chance of some exciting youngsters on loan, which I'm all for, but I don't quite feel confident that every European club would view such a link in the same terms, especially since the majority wouldn't have mutual ownership to bring a certain level of equal understanding. Rather, I fear many of these partnerships would be more along the lines of a convenient place to outcast players who turn up for pre-season training overweight etc. I'm not sure if that's something that would help MLS' reputation or harm it.

I mean team from top 4 leagues buys ownership stake in MLS team and MLS team gets scouting resources. Trying to ramp up a global scouting network from zero, which is what MLS teams must do, is near impossible.

 

[LionNYC]

Samir Nasri confirmed! Where will Vieira go next to sign up the newest NYCFC player? #VieiraOnTour

https://twitter.com/x/status/802316357203329024

 

[FootyLovin]

The difference in your example is that Newcastle is a perennial EPL club and typically spends like it because they are the only show in town - their drop was against the norm and they inherently have more value than another Championship team that is the equivalent of Edmonton/Cosmos/whomever that has invested so much less, by multiple magnitudes, than any Upper tier team.

You are kind of making my point. If (and again, I'm really not arguing that we should or could do this - certainly not now) we instituted pro/rel, I'd expect current MLS teams to be exactly like Newcastle and Swansea, perennial flippers from Championship to EPL and back again. And even if they dropped to mid or bottom table Div 2, they are still within striking distance of Div 1.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

You are kind of making my point. If (and again, I'm really not arguing that we should or could do this - certainly not now) we instituted pro/rel, I'd expect current MLS teams to be exactly like Newcastle and Swansea, perennial flippers from Championship to EPL and back again. And even if they dropped to mid or bottom table Div 2, they are still within striking distance of Div 1.

Apropos of nothing, Newcastle is really freaking good now. I think they have gotten things right this time around. It speaks to their incredible support base that they managed to keep a manager like Rafa with them through the drop. Then, they kept most of their players together, only selling those whose quality commanded a competitive market thereby avoiding the fire sale a la Aston Villa.

I think they'll be a really sticky PL club going forward into the next 5-10 years, assuming the wheels don't come off and buck this season for them. They have (shockingly given their history) been the model of how to handle a relegation so far.

Again, this has nothing to do with any of this other than I find them nice to watch now, and I'd be curious which MLS team would me most capable of handling a hypothetical relegation similarly.

Without thinking too much about it, I'd say OC and RSL would be the best candidates to use a reorganization opportunity to their advantage. Heck, aside from the new stadium and the larger relative gulf from division 1 to 2, I think OC would actually benefit from a drop right now.

 

[Ulrich]

Apropos of nothing, Newcastle is really freaking good now. I think they have gotten things right this time around. It speaks to their incredible support base that they managed to keep a manager like Rafa with them through the drop. Then, they kept most of their players together, only selling those whose quality commanded a competitive market thereby avoiding the fire sale a la Aston Villa.

I think they'll be a really sticky PL club going forward into the next 5-10 years, assuming the wheels don't come off and buck this season for them. They have (shockingly given their history) been the model of how to handle a relegation so far.

Again, this has nothing to do with any of this other than I find them nice to watch now, and I'd be curious which MLS team would me most capable of handling a hypothetical relegation similarly.

Without thinking too much about it, I'd say OC and RSL would be the best candidates to use a reorganization opportunity to their advantage. Heck, aside from the new stadium and the larger relative gulf from division 1 to 2, I think OC would actually benefit from a drop right now.

I personally think RB would benefit from a drop...

 

[CCMore]

I personally think RB would benefit from a drop...

I personally think I would benefit from a RB drop...

 

[sbrylski]

Random prediction because I'm board: Mena gets traded to Houston for TAM/GAM and an international spot after the expansion draft.

I'm not sure what we do with this guy. Decent player, decent wage, poor system fit.

He would fit better in Houston, and they have extra international spots, and they also don't seem to be super active on the international market so they can piggyback off our scouting efforts to bring Mena to the states.

 

[Kjbert]

He would be better on A LOT of teams. He can clean up a mess and he's physical. Decent one on one defender and ok in the air. Not sure he's quite the bargain that S sbrylski thinks he is, but I do agree he has a place in this league. But he has no business having the ball at his feet.

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Random prediction because I'm board: Mena gets traded to Houston for TAM/GAM and an international spot after the expansion draft.

I'm not sure what we do with this guy. Decent player, decent wage, poor system fit.

He would fit better in Houston, and they have extra international spots, and they also don't seem to be super active on the international market so they can piggyback off our scouting efforts to bring Mena to the states.

I think he'll be a standout somewhere else, too. He's really one of the best defenders I've seen in MLS when you isolate simply the defending portion.

 

[sbrylski]

I think he'll be a standout somewhere else, too. He's really one of the best defenders I've seen in MLS when you isolate simply the defending portion.

Idk I'd call him top tier, but he's a starter in the right system that doesn't ask him to do more than mark, be physical, and clear the ball.

 

[Tom in Fairfield CT]

There is a reason that defenders peak later than other players. It's a hard position requiring a lot of work to get right. Why get rid of him? Keep training with him, he is not a finished product.

 

[sbrylski]

There is a reason that defenders peak later than other players. It's a hard position requiring a lot of work to get right. Why get rid of him? Keep training with him, he is not a finished product.

I understand the logic, but at the same time, he's not a cheap 23 year old. He's being paid starters wages and is 28 next year. Why not swap him out for GAM and an international spot and bring in *two* players that fit his profile.

 

[Kjbert]

He's Aurellion Collin with a better attitude

 

[adam]

Interesting. But our grade is total BS, since the writer forgot to account for Brilliant and Chanot. Do these guys do any research, or do the just parrot whatever Lalas says about us?

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/...referral&utm_content=News&utm_campaign=Unpaid

 

[LionNYC]

Interesting. But our grade is total BS, since the writer forgot to account for Brilliant and Chanot. Do these guys do any research, or do the just parrot whatever Lalas says about us?

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/...referral&utm_content=News&utm_campaign=Unpaid

Not convinced! Not convinced!

 

[Midas Mulligan]

Interesting. But our grade is total BS, since the writer forgot to account for Brilliant and Chanot. Do these guys do any research, or do the just parrot whatever Lalas says about us?

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/...referral&utm_content=News&utm_campaign=Unpaid

He also talks us up and then awards a B. What a douche.

 

[Christopher Jee]

Interesting. But our grade is total BS, since the writer forgot to account for Brilliant and Chanot. Do these guys do any research, or do the just parrot whatever Lalas says about us?

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/...referral&utm_content=News&utm_campaign=Unpaid

LOL "skillful Federico Bravo"

 

[FootyLovin]

Interesting. But our grade is total BS, since the writer forgot to account for Brilliant and Chanot. Do these guys do any research, or do the just parrot whatever Lalas says about us?

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2016/...referral&utm_content=News&utm_campaign=Unpaid

He's also working with a 100 word limit, had 7 players to review, and pointing to our defense is not exactly a strategy to earn us a grade better than a B. I think more noteworthy is that only 1 team cracked the A ranks and that was a team (SEA) that had the freedom to sign a DP. Comparing teams with and without DP options is comparing apples and soccer balls, just makes no sense.