2023 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread

[Shwafta]

Now that the season is over, we can start speculation on next season!
I know we all have a lot of grievances with positions not filled this summer, and now's the time to talk about what we think is necessary for 2023.

Fill out the poll, too, if you have a moment!

ALSO PLEASE USE "re-sign" AND NOT "resign" thank you

 

[SoupInNYC]

Voted left back, right back, and striker. Thoughts on each position:

• Keeper - I think Sean resigns as well as Barraza. Barraza takes over for SJ after this next contract
• Left Back - It's clear that Amundsen isn't trusted and while what O'Toole brought was great and I think he can build on that, someone other than Gloster would be very welcome
• Center Back - Callens very well may be gone and Chanot doesn't have much more time either, but I don't think it's a position of need at the moment. Haak can play CB as well as Gray, and with Benalcazar and Owusu in the wings, lets let the young guys provide depth and gain some experience. Hopefully our CB tandem of the future is in the homegrowns.
• Right Back - I think Tinnerholm is gone and while I love what Tayvon can provide defensively, we need a better option getting forward, as well as depth. Benalcazar could factor in here as well, but we need more.
• Defensive Midfield - Cacha was a revelation in the playoffs and I feel a lot more confident in him now going forward. Combine him with Haak and Alfredo, we should be good here.
• Midfield - There could be a signing here maybe, depends on how Cushing looks to adjust schematics longer term. But Keaton is rock solid here and while Maxi is more AM, he also can play here too.
• Attacking Midfield - I think Santi returns and Maxi is here for one more year, should be good here, but I wouldn't be surprised with a summer signing from South America with another youngster here.
• Both wings - GP, Santi, Talles, Thiago, with youth behind, nothing needed.
• Striker - Heber is solid, but nothing too exciting. I do think he can get back to top 7-12ish in the league status, but we need someone else and a DP here would be most ideal.

 

[ZYanksRule]

I voted:

Center-back: Just needs more depth. Chanot is getting old and a little injury-prone, and even if we re-sign Callens we'll need more depth there.

Left back: Amundsen clearly fell out of favor and O'Toole isn't good enough going forward, which forced us to be too right-side dependent. Look at how frequently the players all-but refused to pass it to O'Toole. That says all I need to know. This position is a major one of need.

Striker: I love Heber, but he's not a star in that position -- and teams without stars at striker usually don't win in the playoffs.

 

[moogoo]

I voted:

Center-back: Just needs more depth. Chanot is getting old and a little injury-prone, and even if we re-sign Callens we'll need more depth there.

Left back: Amundsen clearly fell out of favor and O'Toole isn't good enough going forward, which forced us to be too right-side dependent. Look at how frequently the players all-but refused to pass it to O'Toole. That says all I need to know. This position is a major one of need.

Striker: I love Heber, but he's not a star in that position -- and teams without stars at striker usually don't win in the playoffs.

re: otoole.

He is perfectly fine going forward. better than amundsen. how does one game where he didn't stand out as an attacking threat all of a sudden erase his ability to go forward and create chances since campeones cup? we didn't use the left side much because philly also focused on our left side knowing that (1) otoole was pushing forward. (2) callens was also pushing way forward (3) the cover was an inexperienced out of position Haak. Otoole was the one who served the callens attempt on goal.

that being said, we do need a left back though because we aren't deep there. amundsen is a good backup and otoole has shown to be better than amundsen even, but having a strong, pure left back would be great. gloster isn't good enough. and we can't keep trying to convert players and hope they learn how to defend.

agree we need another solid CB for depth and definitely need a physical striker who can hold up the ball. heber just can't do it. he's either physically outmatched or his touch is horrendous and ends up giving the ball away. love the guy's attitude and he's played his part, but he isn't 2019 heber anymore.

another dmid would be nice too. morales is getting older and haak, love him, he hasn't shown he is truly up to the level of first team MLS just yet. He needs to 1) hit the gym and 2) work on his scanning to be more aware.

i chose cb, striker, left back, left wing, dmid in the poll above.

we either need more depth or we need more gamechangers.

i THINK we'll have 1 open DP slot even if maxi takes the extension option? Or at least he can be bought down.

 

[LIexpat]

Time to restart the Ronaldo conversation do we want him if he becomes available in Jan ?

Personally I say you have to do it. Especially if it’s off the back of a stadium announcement, It sure would put bums in seats

It goes against our ethos of building a team with youth but for a year or 2 while we are rebuilding, I don’t mind it.

 

[Shwafta]

Time to restart the Ronaldo conversation do we want him if he becomes available in Jan ?

Personally I say you have to do it. Especially if it’s off the back of a stadium announcement, It sure would put bums in seats

It goes against our ethos of building a team with youth but for a year or 2 while we are rebuilding, I don’t mind it.

nope. not at all. 0%. Also he wants CL, he's not coming to the US. And either way, I do not want Ronaldo. Not at all. 0%.

 

[moogoo]

nope. not at all. 0%. Also he wants CL, he's not coming to the US. And either way, I do not want Ronaldo. Not at all. 0%.

i would take joao felix. simeone doesn't seem to rate him at all. wonder how much atleti would try to rip us off if we wanted him and he actually wanted to play in NYC...

 

[gbservis]

nope. not at all. 0%. Also he wants CL, he's not coming to the US. And either way, I do not want Ronaldo. Not at all. 0%.

Yeah, I want no part of Ronaldo, he's acting like a giant prick that thinks he's too good for ManU can you imagine how he'd carry himself in the MLS. I have no interest in seeing how his ego would affect the rest of the team.

 

[gbservis]

i would take joao felix. simeone doesn't seem to rate him at all. wonder how much atleti would try to rip us off if we wanted him and he actually wanted to play in NYC...

Would be amazing but if CFG can get Felix they aren't sending him to us. Maybe CFG can buy Felix for Ginola and send us one of the Ginola forwards, maybe someone there on loan right now?

 

[sbrylski]

Y'all are crazy. Central midfield is the o-line of soccer. Maxi is old, Parks has health issues, and Morales is good not great. I like my team's best players to be down the middle -- we should add a top-5 central mid and striker.

 

[mgarbowski]

The Amundsen situation puzzles me. I've never been either a super fan or detractor of him. I did not notice a clear fall-off this year. He seemed to be pretty much what we got since he arrived. So I'm puzzled at what happened. The club thought well enough of him to let Gudi leave and not acquire a new LB. He starts 23 of the first 31 games and plays 75% of the minutes. Then he doesn't see the field again for the final 7 games across 3 competitions. Did Cushing always rate him less than Deila did? If so, did it take O'Toole until mid-September to show in practice, or did it take that long for Nick to trust his judgment? Did Amundsen fall off and I just did not notice? Or was it just something random, that Cushing tried O'Toole in the Campeones Cup game to give Amundsen a rest, or because he thought O'Toole would work better with the 3 CB set, and he just kept playing him through the 6 game win streak like a lucky talisman?

 

[moogoo]

The Amundsen situation puzzles me. I've never been a super fan or detractor of him. I did not notice a clear fall-off this year. He seemed to be pretty much what we got since he arrived. So I'm puzzled at what happened. The club thought well enough of him to let Gudi leave and not acquire a new LB. He starts 23 of the first 31 games and plays 75% of the minutes. Then he doesn't see the field again for the final 7 games across 3 competitions. Did Cushing always rate him less than Deila did? If so, did it take O'Toole until mid-September to show in practice, or did it take that long for Nick to trust his judgment? Did Amundsen fall off and I just did not notice? Or was it just something random, that Cushing tried O'Toole in the Campeones Cup game to give Amundsen a rest, or because he thought O'Toole would work better with the 3 CB set, and he just kept playing him through the 6 game win streak like a lucky talisman?

I think Cushing gave Otoole a shot in campeones cup and liked what he saw and couldn't find a reason to drop him from the XI. he remained consistent and didn't seem to drop off in form. It's hard to drop him from the XI even if Amundsen is healthy considering you aren't gaining that much more by playing Amundsen I think that's the biggest thing.

I do like what Otoole gives us though. He seems more attack minded and, to me, is a better dribbler than malte based solely on these last bunch of games. He also picks his passes out a bit more and when he does cross, I can't seem to remember ever thinking "WTF WAS THAT!" whereas I think that pretty often with amundsen.

 

[FredMertz]

i would take joao felix. simeone doesn't seem to rate him at all. wonder how much atleti would try to rip us off if we wanted him and he actually wanted to play in NYC...

I'll have what Moogoo is having.

They just turned down a 100 million Euro offer from Bayern for Felix.

 

[Davo15]

Would be amazing but if CFG can get Felix they aren't sending him to us. Maybe CFG can buy Felix for Ginola and send us one of the Ginola forwards, maybe someone there on loan right now?

I don't know Ginola was damn exciting to watch in his day but he's 55 and has had a heart attack !

 

[Brooklyn Blue]

Voted striker and right back based on assumptions:

1) Cushing becomes manager and maintains the 3-4-3 used at the end of the season.
2) Only two of the three major free agents are retained - Callens and Johnson.
3) Santi is acquired permanently.
4) Maxi plays for one more year.

The team is set at wing, but needs a true striker. Magno has all the promise in the world, but Heber opened up the offense with his movement, running channels and pulling the defense. Unfortunately, Heber is on the wrong side of 30 and is best used in a rotation - 35% in a 65%/35% split. Thiago/Magno?Gaby at wings, Heber/???? at striker, Santi/Maxi at the 10 (moving to wing as the situation requires).

With respect to RB, I have a feeling Tinnerholm is the most likely not to be re-signed. Even if he is, right wingback is the weakest position with respect to depth (sorry, Jasson). At LWB O'Toole and Pellegrini (with a full off season) should be fine, or even good. RWB, though, is thin.

At CB I expect Callens to re-sign. Callens, Chanot, and Martins can be the primary CB. Haak and Gray can start the season preparing to replace Chanot when he retires. Gray is more of a CB than a RB, and Haak can spend the off season lifting weights - between the two of them, it is a fair bet that one can improve to become a key starter.

A midfield option is needed for depth unless Zelalem is trusted. However, the need isn't as pressing as the above. Morales should have one more year, Parks will hopefully be healthy, and Acevedo blossomed at the end of the year when he was the only option. If Santi is retained, he becomes the natural heir to Maxi. Haak and Zelalem might be rostered options, but I could see a Rocha level replacement signed. Spend the big money on striker and RWB.

Of course, if we lose more free agents, Santi leaves, or Maxi retires this plan is a wash..

 

[KevinJRogers]

The team is set at wing, but needs a true striker.

Yeah, it's pretty clear neither Héber nor Talles Magno is "that guy." It's the one hole we can be sure needs to be filled regardless of how the rest of the current roster shakes out.

 

[ZYanksRule]

Yeah, it's pretty clear neither Héber nor Talles Magno is "that guy." It's the one hole we can be sure needs to be filled regardless of how the rest of the current roster shakes out.

Talles might actually be that guy. He had a brutal second half, but he had 11 goals and 10 assists in all comps this season, while playing in every game before getting hurt in Atlanta. The guy played in 45 of our 47 games this season, only missing out on two playoff games.

Obviously he needs to be more consistent, but I'll take 11 and 10 from any forward.

 

[moogoo]

Talles might actually be that guy. He had a brutal second half, but he had 11 goals and 10 assists in all comps this season, while playing in every game before getting hurt in Atlanta. The guy played in 45 of our 47 games this season, only missing out on two playoff games.

Obviously he needs to be more consistent, but I'll take 11 and 10 from any forward.

i think he meant he's not a #9. he could be. it took taty a couple years of developing in that position before he became the player we loaned off.

most of talles goals/assists were while playing on the wing. he lost a lot of his mojo when they forced him into the #9 and he looked lost.

Heber CAN return to form, but he needs to be stronger and work on that touch. my guy is constantly giving the ball away with his back to goal when we NEED him to hold it up so we can get out of our end.

 

[gbservis]

Talles might actually be that guy. He had a brutal second half, but he had 11 goals and 10 assists in all comps this season, while playing in every game before getting hurt in Atlanta. The guy played in 45 of our 47 games this season, only missing out on two playoff games.

Obviously he needs to be more consistent, but I'll take 11 and 10 from any forward.

Only 3 of those goals came after Taty left. Talles looked much more comfortable playing LW next to Taty as opposed to playing in the middle once Taty left. In this case if "that guy" we are talking about is our striker in the middle of the attack I agree with KevinJRogers that Talles is not that guy. Let him go back out wide where he had the majority of his success and bring in a Taty replacement that can help make the space Talles needs to do his thing and take guys on 1 v 1.

Edit: M moogoo beat me to it by 2 min

 

[adam]

i think he meant he's not a #9. he could be. it took taty a couple years of developing in that position before he became the player we loaned off.

most of talles goals/assists were while playing on the wing. he lost a lot of his mojo when they forced him into the #9 and he looked lost.

Heber CAN return to form, but he needs to be stronger and work on that touch. my guy is constantly giving the ball away with his back to goal when we NEED him to hold it up so we can get out of our end.

Only 3 of those goals came after Taty left. Talles looked much more comfortable playing LW next to Taty as opposed to playing in the middle once Taty left. In this case if "that guy" we are talking about is our striker in the middle of the attack I agree with KevinJRogers that Talles is not that guy. Let him go back out wide where he had the majority of his success and bring in a Taty replacement that can help make the space Talles needs to do his thing and take guys on 1 v 1.

Edit: M moogoo beat me to it by 2 min

Yup. Taty was forced into the wing when he first got here. Then although he showed flashes of being a 9, he was never given a chance there till injury forced it. Talles hasn’t shown there like tatty did. We need a true 9.