2023 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread

[mgarbowski]

If my records are correct, 24 players have made an appearance and played at least 1 minute in a league, USOC or LC game for NYCFC this year.
Of those, 16 have last names that begin with the letters A-M (13 letters) and just 8 beginning N-Z (also 13).
New guys are 3 A-M and 2 N-Z.
Where else can you get this analysis.

 

[413Blue]

If my records are correct, 24 players have made an appearance and played at least 1 minute in a league, USOC or LC game for NYCFC this year.
Of those, 16 have last names that begin with the letters A-M (13 letters) and just 8 beginning N-Z (also 13).
New guys are 3 A-M and 2 N-Z.
Where else can you get this analysis.

This is meaningless. What matters is how many players were born in January through June vs July through December.

 

[FootyLovin]

This is meaningless. What matters is how many players were born in January through June vs July through December.

I can't tell if you are kidding or if you know how substantial the research is on this question.

Spoiler

Professional athletes skew at ridiculous rates toward January-March babies because of the way recruiting and age cutoffs preference more developed kids (e.g., 59 month old vs 50 month old) at young ages.

 

[Seth]

I can't tell if you are kidding or if you know how substantial the research is on this question.

Spoiler

Professional athletes skew at ridiculous rates toward January-March babies because of the way recruiting and age cutoffs preference more developed kids (e.g., 59 month old vs 50 month old) at young ages.

If it's statistical he's not kidding.

 

[JayH]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1693935162210299989

 

[mgarbowski]

the most notable [items in a Crooks/Abramowitz podcast interview with David Lee about 2 weeks ago] were (a) the absolute surprise of Maxi opting to leave and how much that threw everything into disarray and (b) the intent to replace Taty but the unwillingness to do so at the cost of bad contracts, particularly in a salary capped league.

So I just listened. Besides what footy mentioned, I had a few other takeaways.

• Though Maxi was a surprise, they expected to lose veteran players this year.
• Talles played most of his youth career as a 9 and only shifted to the wing when he reached a senior club. Lee said that is a common pattern and many such players shift back to 9 when older. Talles is still just 20. But when they could not get a 9 who fit, they decided to give Talles at 9 a go. It has not gone as well as either the club or Talles hoped but again, he's only 20.
• When Talles previously played 9 he often did so in a 4-4-2 as a second striker.
• Fernandez is almost 3 years younger than Pereira and 1.5 years younger than Pereira when he arrived. Fernandez was in the group of players they looked at when they signed Gaby and they continued to monitor him in the interim.
• It is easier to replace a U22 player because, like DPs, they all have the same fixed salary cap cost. When a regular roster player becomes too good for their available salary space, you have to get someone who does fit and probably is not as good, at least not yet. [Though I'm not sure how that's different from replacing a U22 with a much younger and developing U22]
• Maxi returning was unexpected. He is at an age where it makes sense for the club to go year to year with him, with 2023-24 treated as if one year because how little time is left in 23.
• He's very happy with how Bakrar has started. Everyone else is TBD with a short season and some of them barely showed up in time for the Minnesota game.

This next bit is entirely my gloss. Maybe on target, maybe not:
They expected this year to be a bit of a rebuild and had modest expectations. Losing Maxi and not being able to get a striker in the winter really turned this into a mulligan year, and then even more so with Pereira's departure. They have no expectations that anyone besides Maxi and maybe Bakrar does much to change the trajectory of this season. I don't think Cushing is on the hot seat. Next year is the real test.

This was also the interview where Lee explained how the Pereira transfer happened and said Neymar was currently impossible because the window was closed. Lee also commented that he liked how MLS tries to keep what he called competitive balance, which he thinks is important, but not full parity. Teams can spend extra within certain categories (DP, U22) but kept within a limited framework.

 

[moogoo]

So I just listened. Besides what footy mentioned, I had a few other takeaways.

• Though Maxi was a surprise, they expected to lose veteran players this year.
• Talles played most of his youth career as a 9 and only shifted to the wing when he reached a senior club. Lee said that is a common pattern and many such players shift back to 9 when older. Talles is still just 20. But when they could not get a 9 who fit, they decided to give Talles at 9 a go. It has not gone as well as either the club or Talles hoped but again, he's only 20.
• When Talles previously played 9 he often did so in a 4-4-2 as a second striker.
• Fernandez is almost 3 years younger than Pereira and 1.5 years younger than Pereira when he arrived. Fernandez was in the group of players they looked at when they signed Gaby and they continued to monitor him in the interim.
• It is easier to replace a U22 player because, like DPs, they all have the same fixed salary cap cost. When a regular roster player becomes too good for their available salary space, you have to get someone who does fit and probably is not as good, at least not yet. [Though I'm not sure how that's different from replacing a U22 with a much younger and developing U22]
• Maxi returning was unexpected. He is at an age where it makes sense for the club to go year to year with him, with 2023-24 treated as if one year because how little time is left in 23.
• He's very happy with how Bakrar has started. Everyone else is TBD with a short season and some of them barely showed up in time for the Minnesota game.

This next bit is entirely my gloss. Maybe on target, maybe not:
They expected this year to be a bit of a rebuild and had modest expectations. Losing Maxi and not being able to get a striker in the winter really turned this into a mulligan year, and then even more so with Pereira's departure. They have no expectations that anyone besides Maxi and maybe Bakrar does much to change the trajectory of this season. I don't think Cushing is on the hot seat. Next year is the real test.

This was also the interview where Lee explained how the Pereira transfer happened and said Neymar was currently impossible because the window was closed. Lee also commented that he liked how MLS tries to keep what he called competitive balance, which he thinks is important, but not full parity. Teams can spend extra within certain categories (DP, U22) but kept within a limited framework.

nice summary. i read the MLS interview but didn't have a listen here so thanks for this.

 

[LionNYC]

They expected this year to be a bit of a rebuild and had modest expectations. Losing Maxi and not being able to get a striker in the winter really turned this into a mulligan year, and then even more so with Pereira's departure. They have no expectations that anyone besides Maxi and maybe Bakrar does much to change the trajectory of this season. I don't think Cushing is on the hot seat. Next year is the real test.

And yet, they increased prices for season tickets for a worse product, lol...

The expectation should always be to qualify for the playoffs, even if this is a mulligan year.

 

[moogoo]

And yet, they increased prices for season tickets for a worse product, lol...

The expectation should always be to qualify for the playoffs, even if this is a mulligan year.

inflation

 

[Shwafta]

Maxi out, needs knee surgery. I'm putting my money on he will retire now.

 

[LionNYC]

Maxi out, needs knee surgery. I'm putting my money on he will retire now.

Yup. Doubtful he comes back to anywhere near his best self even at his age, at his age.

 

[Gene]

So much for his injury being nothing serious. It's almost like the past two years being the vig owed to Satan for 2021.

 

[mgarbowski]

 

[moogoo]

So much for his injury being nothing serious. It's almost like the past two years being the vig owed to Satan for 2021.

yea i was shocked when someone said his injury wasn't serious considering he couldn't walk off on his own.

that kills the season even more if it wasn't very dead already. hope he can return next year to play his final season before retiring.

 

[ZYanksRule]

yea i was shocked when someone said his injury wasn't serious considering he couldn't walk off on his own.

that kills the season even more if it wasn't very dead already. hope he can return next year to play his final season before retiring.

I hope so, too. Considering what good shape he's in and how good he looked in his few games this season, I would think he'll come back next year. Players of his stature don't want their last game to be injury-marred. He'll work hard to come back. Hopefully this doesn't carry over into next year; we have just under 6 months to Opening Day next season.

 

[Fantazma]

I hope so, too. Considering what good shape he's in and how good he looked in his few games this season, I would think he'll come back next year. Players of his stature don't want their last game to be injury-marred. He'll work hard to come back. Hopefully this doesn't carry over into next year; we have just under 6 months to Opening Day next season.

he mentioned torn ligaments in his post. that sounds 6-9 month recovery time

 

[mgarbowski]

Five games since we added new players to a team that was starved for goals:

1. The new player with the most minutes is the Center Back with 430.
2. Next is the loanee non-attacking Midfielder we cannot buy from a conference rival at 389.
3. The Center Forward who replaced the lack of a center forward with 383.
4. The 36 year old attacking Midfielder out for the rest of the season after 4 appearances (316)
5. The probably not quite ready 19 year old Forward Winger - 160.
6. The 24 year old who should be entering his prime Forward Winger - 6 minutes.

The final 2 were presumably brought in to replace the production lost by selling the team's (still) high scorer.

 

[KevinJRogers]

Five games since we added new players to a team that was starved for goals:

1. The new player with the most minutes is the Center Back with 430.
2. Next is the loanee non-attacking Midfielder we cannot buy from a conference rival at 389.
3. The Center Forward who replaced the lack of a center forward with 383.
4. The 36 year old attacking Midfielder out for the rest of the season after 4 appearances (316)
5. The probably not quite ready 19 year old Forward Winger - 160.
6. The 24 year old who should be entering his prime Forward Winger - 6 minutes.

The final 2 were presumably brought in to replace the production lost by selling the team's (still) high scorer.

I missed a lot, so I have a lot of questions. One in particular is really bugging me -- what is the story with Talles Magno? All along we were saying he needed to be on the wing with a bona fide striker at center-forward to work with. Now we have a bona fide striker at center-forward (I think Bakrar will do just fine) and Talles Magno isn't playing. He's clearly in the doghouse. What the heck happened?

[Side note: Today's fun irrelevant fact -- Mounsef Bakrar and I share the same birth date, Jan. 13.]

 

[413Blue]

I missed a lot, so I have a lot of questions. One in particular is really bugging me -- what is the story with Talles Magno? All along we were saying he needed to be on the wing with a bona fide striker at center-forward to work with. Now we have a bona fide striker at center-forward (I think Bakrar will do just fine) and Talles Magno isn't playing. He's clearly in the doghouse. What the heck happened?

[Side note: Today's fun irrelevant fact -- Mounsef Bakrar and I share the same birth date, Jan. 13.]

I believe that is the lingering question on everyone's mind, but nobody knows the answer.

 

[moogoo]

Five games since we added new players to a team that was starved for goals:

1. The new player with the most minutes is the Center Back with 430.
2. Next is the loanee non-attacking Midfielder we cannot buy from a conference rival at 389.
3. The Center Forward who replaced the lack of a center forward with 383.
4. The 36 year old attacking Midfielder out for the rest of the season after 4 appearances (316)
5. The probably not quite ready 19 year old Forward Winger - 160.
6. The 24 year old who should be entering his prime Forward Winger - 6 minutes.

The final 2 were presumably brought in to replace the production lost by selling the team's (still) high scorer.

Cushing explained Martinez is not playing because he last played in May and has not had an actual pre season and it's probably better if he didn't play cause he's not ready. Guess he's in the 18 taking up a spot simply for emergency sub? Probably why he doesn't play Fernandez that much either, but then again, he has baffled us all and started him one game where he was completely gassed 5 minutes in and had his worst performance.

Perea getting minutes is baffling when both parks and sands are healthy. Yeah, he gives us a slightly different look. he's more mobile and athletic than Sands (who is not having his best season) but as you said, 2024, he's gone. what's the point at this point in the season?