2024 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread
- Thread starter JayH
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Up until Talles left we had a full roster with no room for additions. Feels like a DP signing takes too long for it to happen this window under such a short timeline.
jasson's supplemental roster spot was open for longer. we could have tried to find some depth pieces.
Agreed. Just tired of our roster construction consistently being on the back foot. Multiple mainstays leave during 2022 or soon after it ends and almost nobody is replaced for 9-12 months. Even then, the first move in summer 2023 was Pereira's departure. This year, the Talles loan cannot have been a surprise. I'll grant it was uncertain until completed, but not unexpected. There just never seems to be a plan to be ready for contingencies any more.
That's a very fair and legitimate criticism. You're absolutely right that they could have had a plan -- especially when this window seems to be one where it's easier to poach guys from Europe.
This is especially frustrating because the team consistently uses the "it's hard to get players outside of the summer window" excuse during every other window. The team is showing some promise, we are in the middle of an impressive league cup run that is putting a lot of miles on our guys even a couple of depth signings on defense or in the midfield could prove invaluable come playoff time.
The Club quite literally filled the roster before the season started. That's why we aren't doing any mid-season signings. I suppose we should give them some credit for getting a good roster put together on time.
Cincinnati, already with a good roster and more points than NYC, opened a DP slot last week by terminating Boupendza's contract and yesterday added USMNT striker Nicholas Gioacchini as a new DP. Imagine that. You drop a DP and acquire his replacement in the same window, just days later!
Other teams with good rosters and ahead of NYCFC on the table include Shield leaders Miami, who added defensive depth, which we need; West leaders the Galaxy adding Reus; LAFC getting Giroud, RSL added DP striker Diogo Gonçalves, defending champs Columbus Crew made 3 moves, RB added Felipe Carballo, Colorado added striker Rafael Navarro, and Vancouver added a fullback. Also Houston is behind on points but just ahead on PPG and signed forwards Ponce and Ennali.
You can have better roster than NYCFC and still leave yourself the opportunity to add pieces. Maybe not every one of those teams have a better roster than NYCFC, but most do.
Lee's 2 moves seem to be either carry a skeletal team into the summer, or to leave no room for flexibility. Then when a roster spot opens, wait at least several months or possibly a full year to do anything.
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Two things can be true:
1. We are too slow to react and make moves when moves are necessary.
2. We did all our shopping in the winter and left ourselves with little salary cap/roster space to do anything of value in the summer.
Personally for me, I'm not too upset about the lack of replacement for Talles because he wasn't playing anyway, and our attack is already pretty sharp at this point in the season. I'm OK with waiting until the winter, waiting to see who leaves, and make the signing then.
Doyle ranks our summer transfer window a “C” on the strength of the Talles loan which he thinks can raise his transfer value and clarify the depth chart.
Grading every MLS team's 2024 Secondary Transfer Window | MLSSoccer.com
His conclusion: “But there’s still a gap between this team and the true contenders, and the front office did nothing tangible this summer to close it.”
Grading every MLS team's 2024 Secondary Transfer Window | MLSSoccer.com
His conclusion: “But there’s still a gap between this team and the true contenders, and the front office did nothing tangible this summer to close it.”
Bakrar has been here for 35 games now, slightly more than a full season.
Lee waited a full year for him. He was brought in to lead the scoring. He has 6 MLS goals and no longer gets regular minutes.
It’s not inconceivable he comes good eventually but given the circumstances I think this is a Mix level failure by the club, at least. You don’t play 3/4 of a season without a striker so you can finally land a 6-goal scorer who loses his job to a winger who himself doesn’t play full time.
Lee waited a full year for him. He was brought in to lead the scoring. He has 6 MLS goals and no longer gets regular minutes.
It’s not inconceivable he comes good eventually but given the circumstances I think this is a Mix level failure by the club, at least. You don’t play 3/4 of a season without a striker so you can finally land a 6-goal scorer who loses his job to a winger who himself doesn’t play full time.
In the same window in which NYCFC signed Bakrar, RSL acquired Cristian Arango, who has 23 goals to Bakrar’s 6.
arango is a DP isn't he? no way we were going for a DP #9... though that is what we should have done. we also didn't have any DP slots open.. thanks martins and benchwarming magno.
Yes, he's a DP and we could not have gotten him that summer without other major roster changes. But the current Sporting Director signed all 3 DPs so I think it is fair to use Arango to contrast. We spent 70% of 2023 with a depleted roster that earned 1.08 PPG before the break and yet had no open DP slots.
And you excluded Santi from your list of DP disappointments, which I agree is fair as he has grown into a solid enough DP, but he's still not at the heights. I don't think I would rate him a Best 5 #10 in MLS, though he's probably Best 10 level. But I'm not sure he's among the best 15 DPs in the league at any position which if I'm right means half the league has at least 1 DP better than our best.
It's great if you have a non-DP like Castellanos as your leading scorer. I'm concerned Martinez is more like Heber: capable of great bursts but not really sustainable. Heber never played 1600 minutes for us. Even in 2019, and ignoring the first 6 before he became a starter, Heber averaged only 55 minutes per game, largely because he had 5 DNPs late due to injury. At least in the games he played he averaged 72 minutes. Martinez averages just 52 minutes when he plays. I want to see Martinez give us 15-25 goals in 2,200 minutes next year, but I have little confidence he can.
One last DP, as in Data Point, NYCFC acquired 3 forwards in the summer of 2023: Bakrar, Martinez and Fernandez, and together they have 3 fewer goals than Arango.
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Also, shout out to Cucho Hernandez and the Crew, who signed him at age 22 after 5 seasons in Spain and the UK. He decided he would rather play in his home hemisphere. There are no transfer rumors swirling. There's no reason to think the Crew will lose him to a bigger league.
The whole mantra that you have to develop teenagers and sell them at their prime so you can convince more teenagers to sign with you only to have the best leave while the rest disappoint is way, way oversold in MLS and especially within NYCFC. There is something to it. But it is counterproductive as a whole. At best it is a treadmill that requires constant acquisition home runs and patience and offers very uncertain returns.* Taty was wonderful, but he's gone. Also when we got him we had Villa in 2018, and then Heber in 2019 plus Mitrita plus Shradi.** 2020 was chaotic and Taty became the accidental goal leader (with 6) but we did not ask that of him really until his 4th year in 2021. Now we just have way too much youth, and as noted in my preceding post, I'm afraid Martinez - certainly not by himself - cannot be the bridge consistently until one of the kids steps up. And maybe none of them ever do. The track record is poor.
Beyond Taty, this approach gave us Medina, Talles, Thiago Andrade, Jovan, Fernandez and Ojeda. Maybe one or two of the last three develop, but if they do they probably leave also. Meanwhile the Crew are on or approaching possibly the best multi-year stretch in MLS history with a lot of roster stability and a total stud who is 25 and bought a house in Columbus.
* Ask Atlanta United fans how much joy is sparked by the transfer fees for Almiron and Almeda. ETA or Pity Martinez.
** Most of us would kill for a second and third best scorer like Mitra and Shradi right now.
The whole mantra that you have to develop teenagers and sell them at their prime so you can convince more teenagers to sign with you only to have the best leave while the rest disappoint is way, way oversold in MLS and especially within NYCFC. There is something to it. But it is counterproductive as a whole. At best it is a treadmill that requires constant acquisition home runs and patience and offers very uncertain returns.* Taty was wonderful, but he's gone. Also when we got him we had Villa in 2018, and then Heber in 2019 plus Mitrita plus Shradi.** 2020 was chaotic and Taty became the accidental goal leader (with 6) but we did not ask that of him really until his 4th year in 2021. Now we just have way too much youth, and as noted in my preceding post, I'm afraid Martinez - certainly not by himself - cannot be the bridge consistently until one of the kids steps up. And maybe none of them ever do. The track record is poor.
Beyond Taty, this approach gave us Medina, Talles, Thiago Andrade, Jovan, Fernandez and Ojeda. Maybe one or two of the last three develop, but if they do they probably leave also. Meanwhile the Crew are on or approaching possibly the best multi-year stretch in MLS history with a lot of roster stability and a total stud who is 25 and bought a house in Columbus.
* Ask Atlanta United fans how much joy is sparked by the transfer fees for Almiron and Almeda. ETA or Pity Martinez.
** Most of us would kill for a second and third best scorer like Mitra and Shradi right now.
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yea true. i really like santi as a player, but you're probably right that he probably wasn't worth a DP position to sign and bring back. At least not when we signed him. he has grown for sure and if he signed him to a DP contract now, i think it would be ok. DPs are hit and miss for all teams and I think santi has been mostly good for us. Of course, as you said, if he were simply a highly paid non-DP instead, that would be the best.
I am not sure why the club hasn't paid down Martins yet to open up that DP spot. wasting Magno's spot on someone cushing wasn't playing was a travesty. with the loan, his spot is open and still, we stayed quiet this summer and didn't even try to bring in a depth piece to take Jasson's spot.
it really seems like the club would rather sign players to develop than game changers right now. unfortunately for us, we have a coach that isn't really known and hasn't really proven to be a good youth development coach.
I still think both the club and Santi overestimated his appeal outside MLS, so he became our accidental DP. To be clear I think he’s a solid DP, but we should be aiming for a minimum of 2 solid DPs or at least 1 great DP. We fail that test.
The “Santi situation” tm I think was a failure on the side of the club. When Santi left I think he assumed he was going to Europe but didn’t have any buyers. The club let him go and were planning on bringing in a DP #10 but waited to the last minute and were boxed out of the market. So they looked back at Santi who was presumably pouting about his lack of interest and said no I wanna go to Europe. Then the club had to dangle a big bag of money in front of him for him to finally say, alright I’ll come back.
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There’s a fair chance Santi finishes this season with 20 goal contributions across all competitions. He’s 24 and growing into his prime. He has had a very good season. He’s probably not a 1A DP but he’s playing at whatever the level just underneath that is.
No argument from me. There are times when he is a 1A DP. He just needs to work on his consistency.
