Yup. I'm too lazy to toot my own horn and find the post, but I was surprised by that too, and after the Stuver signing figured we'd draft a keeper because why have all these keepers the same age on the bench. I guess I did kind of toot without the quote, oh well.
2018 Roster Discussion
- Thread starter The Toe
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Yup. I'm too lazy to toot my own horn and find the post, but I was surprised by that too, and after the Stuver signing figured we'd draft a keeper because why have all these keepers the same age on the bench. I guess I did kind of toot without the quote, oh well.
We still have the 1-time ability to cut a player, unless they secretly used it on somebody else???
If they don’t use it, it’s not like they can carry it forward to the next year as a 2nd cut. They either trade him, the 3rd guy, or this new draft pick, or they have to cut somebody with this mechanism. It’d be comical to go into the season with 4GK.
Reading about Berget and fans of his are saying he's actually best on the wing because of his incredible work rate. I'm predicting this for an opening day lineup:
F | Berget, Villa, Harrison
M | Maxi, Herrera, Ring
D | Matarrita, Callens, Chanot, Tinnerholm
I think Berget may end up starting at LW while Medina competes with Maxi for the #10 spot and backs up LW. Because Vieira likes to motivate his youngsters by withholding playing time, Maxi probably starts opening day.
Tajouri primarily backs up Harrison, and Lewis and Wallace round out the attackers. Medina is first off the bench if Villa sits, when Berget plays up top. But in general, everyone rotates pretty frequently.
In the midfield, we are still missing the player that competes with Herrera/Ring and provides depth.
On defense, I assume Hountondji is the third CB until he proves otherwise.
F | Berget, Villa, Harrison
M | Maxi, Herrera, Ring
D | Matarrita, Callens, Chanot, Tinnerholm
I think Berget may end up starting at LW while Medina competes with Maxi for the #10 spot and backs up LW. Because Vieira likes to motivate his youngsters by withholding playing time, Maxi probably starts opening day.
Tajouri primarily backs up Harrison, and Lewis and Wallace round out the attackers. Medina is first off the bench if Villa sits, when Berget plays up top. But in general, everyone rotates pretty frequently.
In the midfield, we are still missing the player that competes with Herrera/Ring and provides depth.
On defense, I assume Hountondji is the third CB until he proves otherwise.
Preseason going to be exciting. Some real battles for spots. Villa, Ring, and Callens are really the only three outfield players that don't have intense competition for their spot.
Doubt we have our third GK on a fully guaranteed contract. We can just waive him.
I'd be absolutely shocked if Medina wasn't in the XI on Opening Day. I think Berget is a backup, and someone that comes in when other guys are unavailable.
I was agreeing with
adam (and seemingly you as well) that we need to pick up a starting-caliber 6 for rotation purposes and press-heavy matchups. It's the only spot we haven't improved. And not improving is "to halt and catch fire", to quote the title of a TV show I have yet to watch.
I mean, that's essentially a 4-3-3 when we have the ball in the opposition half, with a slight inversion of the front 3.
I agree that with the signings we have picked up it seems plausible that we will utterly dominate some teams. But we have been fast out of the blocks, and there's a decent amount of time left for teams to catch up.
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I expect a lot of really strong signings are on the way for many teams. We are improved, but mostly at depth positions. Other teams are going to improve their Starting XI. It’s going to be interesting to see how that shakes out.
If the opponent has good wide play, then the wingbacks make it a 433. If they don't, and only plod through the middle, then we should look a lot more like a 2-6-2 or 2-5-3 with our CB's man-marking their forwards and Ring sweeping. If reports are true about Tinnerholm being able to run relentlessly, then he should be able to stay forward in those situations and track only when there's a runner. And we already know Mata likes to stay forward and attack if given the green light.
I was agreeing with
It's the only spot we haven't improved. And not improving is "to halt and catch fire", to quote the title of a TV show I have yet to watch.
Sands 2018 is going to be an improvement over the barely available Sands 2017. He looked really good in the Emelec game in front of 40,000 people and we didn't have a chance to use him most of the season when we needed him because he either was unsigned or with the U17s.
I agree about another backup 6, though. We really need more domestic players for US Open -- our tournament roster is going to be thin. Rico Clark would be a solid backup pick from the available US pool. He would be fine for spot starts and a solid final addition.
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