2023 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread
- Thread starter Shwafta
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both together wont make up for callens. sands can play in CB but did his best in a back three with callens helping out. haak is placed there but im not even sure he can be a CB. feels like another morales at CB all over again. if anything put Grey in CB to cover.
If Callens leaves, they're going to have to sign another CB. Haak, Sands, or Gray won't be good enough for that role. Chanot and Martins would be your only two real centerbacks on the roster.
Also, even if Rangers don't bring Sands back over the summer odds are he doesn't play another game for us and we quickly find him another loan. I imagine he'll be somewhere else in Europe.
Woah, just in time to win hottest take of the year
The only thing I remember about him was the idiotic own goal at Citi Field against Cincinnati that we tied 1-1.
Honestly that was a Top 5 memorable moment for the year.
Didn't we have 2 runs last year when we went 400+ minutes without conceding?
We did. Our defense was very hot and cold last year, but we had two long shutout streaks. I would argue Callens was the driving force between those, but I also think Martins got better as the season went on, and while our first impression of him was poor he was fine last season. I would expect him to be better in 2023.
I don't really want to make Callens a DP because I'm not a huge fan of using that slot on a defender, but hopefully we can find a way to satisfy his salary demands because he really is one of the most important players in the team.
Good thing we don’t look at Sean Johnson in the same regard to his idiotic own goal at Minnesota
I thought that Martins had a terrible start in CCL and early in the season but was very good after that. Our worst defensive performances (in my eyes) were driven more by reserves (Chanot and Luk), poor play by our midfield defensively, and the infamous Toronto game where we needed Morales to cover as a CB and was paired with Callens.
From May on though , I wouldn't be surprised if the Martins/Callens CB pairing gave up fewer than a goal per 90 and I think it's unfair to Martins (and the rest of the team) to pin the success solely on Callens.
I think that has merit, but when Callens was out our defense was horrific. He had that knee injury, and I think we were either winless or almost winless during that stretch. Callens was enormously important.
Callens is our rock, but personally I think Martins was outstanding after his adjustment period. And once he got settled in (it took about four games) and got in sync with Callens, I'd argue they were the best CB pairing in the league. When they were together, fit and in form, you literally couldn't score on us.
Which brings up one heck of a question: is it worth it to use up two DPs on two veteran, experienced, lock-down center backs to backstop a young midfield and attack? I suspect that's the exact question the front office is working through. The math is tricky. But there's a certain logic to it after the performance they put in last year, especially given how much the squad is in flux.
Then there's the tactical issue. Nick has said he's a 4-3-3 man. I have little doubt he'd want Callens and Martins in the middle of that back line.
Honestly, if you really look at it, the outgoings have been mostly a net positive for the club.
If you go through this list, it's mostly players that were either past it, were about to be past it, or are simply depth pieces (and not even great ones at that a la Seb Ibeagha). Had we lost players like Pereira, Magno, or Alfredo, I'd be worried. The only guys who I think are substantial are Callens and Johnson. And even when you look at those two closely, I think Callens is really the only one you can't live without if you want to be a contender. SeanJohn is the team captain and I love the guy. And when he's on, he's great. But he's also been historically inconsistent and tends to go through multiple 3-game stints where he just isn't locked in.
The issue here is just the sheer amount of players (an amount that looks way smaller if Callens and Johnson find their way back). However, given the CFG scouting network, this is hardly a list of irreplaceable players. Hell, I can see maybe one, maybe two of our SuperDraft picks supplanting some of these guys and doing a comparable job at it.
Am I being too optimistic?
- Heber: Had one really great season, then fell off the face of the map. Even pre-injury, Heber didn't look good under Deila outside of the hat trick against a cupcake AD San Carlos in CCL. When he finally came back after the ACL injury, he was serviceable off the bench but seemed like he was out of his depth when he was given back the starting position after Taty's departure. On top of that, $900k is a lot for a player of his age and injury history.
- Maxi: Probably the most important player in team history, but age was gonna catch up eventually. He'll be 36 next year. At a certain point, it becomes a matter of letting the man leave while he's on top rather than watching him fade away and fall victim to Father Time.
- Tinnerholm: Similar to Heber, there was a time when he could do no wrong. But he's coming off a major injury and is on the wrong side of 30. When he finally did get back on the pitch last season, he literally got hurt immediately. And when he came back from that one, he was solid but obviously not "Anton Tinnerholm is good at soccer" level anymore.
- Cacha: A lot of people love him. I just never rated him. Whenever he was on the ball, he seemed indecisive almost as if he was reacting to the play instead of thinking 1-2 plays ahead. Valuable depth for sure, but far from a gamechanger.
- Zelalem: I forgot he was even there.
- Santi: Very good player with a potentially bright future. However, maybe it's just me, but he seemed to regress a bit in 2022. That killer instinct he had in 2021 seemed to only be there in spurts. While I would've liked to keep him, I wouldn't have been comfortable with it costing us a lot of money.
- Vuk: Yikes.
- Haak: Honestly, he's just a depth piece. Not trying to clown the kid or anything, but I just don't see him being a huge piece for this club at any point in the future.
- Callens: Yeah, losing this man would be bad. But there's still hope he returns.
- Johnson: Would love to see him come back. But if it's either him or Callens, I'll gladly take Callens.
If you go through this list, it's mostly players that were either past it, were about to be past it, or are simply depth pieces (and not even great ones at that a la Seb Ibeagha). Had we lost players like Pereira, Magno, or Alfredo, I'd be worried. The only guys who I think are substantial are Callens and Johnson. And even when you look at those two closely, I think Callens is really the only one you can't live without if you want to be a contender. SeanJohn is the team captain and I love the guy. And when he's on, he's great. But he's also been historically inconsistent and tends to go through multiple 3-game stints where he just isn't locked in.
The issue here is just the sheer amount of players (an amount that looks way smaller if Callens and Johnson find their way back). However, given the CFG scouting network, this is hardly a list of irreplaceable players. Hell, I can see maybe one, maybe two of our SuperDraft picks supplanting some of these guys and doing a comparable job at it.
Am I being too optimistic?
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Wait, haak is not on the team anymore? he's still on the roster? Where is "outgoing?
He's out of contract. Rumor is that he'll re-sign. But who knows?
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