In the case of Sands, perhaps the plan is to wait until summer when we should know whether this will be a permanent transfer and it will also be easier to find a replacement.
2025 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread
- Thread starter LionNYC
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ezbeezy214
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I just would love to know which way he’s leaning. Where does he think teams need strength and where they need numbers.
On the other hand, my anticipation grows ever more.
On the other hand, my anticipation grows ever more.
The transfer window goes until April 23rd. The fact that he's using "by the end of the window" as his timeline paired with an excuse that Pascal needs time to get to know this group makes me think he's not planning to do anything til April.
how do we only have 3 open roster spots? did we sign players that weren't announced?
Let's just write off the season then. Pascal needs time to get to know the group, it's already March. We sign a player, it's April. They slowly integrate into the team, it's July. They are "tired" and have reduced minutes, it's October.
ZYanksRule
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I haven't had a chance to listen to the press conference yet, but I think his point is that we only lost three contributors from last year's team (Sands, McFarlane, and Jovan), so those are the only spots he has open. They can also only have 20 guys on the senior roster making six figures, so it does limit how many non-homegrowns/draft picks we can bring in.
ZYanksRule
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Pascal just got here a week ago. It doesn't have to be April, it can be February or March. I'm really not worried about this yet; it's very reasonable to give Pascal a chance to have some input on what additions we need.
So this is all reasonable on the surface.
But they knew Jovan was young, and should have known he was immature. And he says Jovan wouldn’t play this year because Martinez turned into a 9 as if that was something that just randomly happened, so the loan is a way to get Jovan playing time. But Nick tried Alonso at 9 because Bakrar failed and if Bakrar worked out Jovan still has nowhere play so what was the plan exactly?
And then he goes on about how well Talles’s loan is going and it just reminds me that our 2 most expensive players are not here contributing but are tying up roster resources.
But they knew Jovan was young, and should have known he was immature. And he says Jovan wouldn’t play this year because Martinez turned into a 9 as if that was something that just randomly happened, so the loan is a way to get Jovan playing time. But Nick tried Alonso at 9 because Bakrar failed and if Bakrar worked out Jovan still has nowhere play so what was the plan exactly?
And then he goes on about how well Talles’s loan is going and it just reminds me that our 2 most expensive players are not here contributing but are tying up roster resources.
He's still evaluating, and preseason games can only tell you so much. He'll need a couple live fire games to get a firm handle on the squad, and we're looking at logging some serious miles over those first two matches, which can skew things a little.
ZYanksRule
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I don't think they'll wait four games before deciding what moves to make. I think by the end of the month he'll have enough of a sense of things to know what he wants.
if he's a good coach, he will have already seen most of what he needs to see in training and preseason. talent and ability doesn't just appear after preseason. it's pretty obvious to a keen eye. what needs to be determined is who is going to put in the work on the field the way he wants (something you can't judge in preseason too much since everyone's getting back in shape) and who has the soccer IQ to understand what he wants from them, when he wants it, and can execute.
a game or two into league play will solidify his decisions if he was on the fence about anything, but i imagine our depth needs are pretty glaring and replacing sands is probably top of the list.
a game or two into league play will solidify his decisions if he was on the fence about anything, but i imagine our depth needs are pretty glaring and replacing sands is probably top of the list.
Oh, I think he already knows. He came into camp knowing. But it takes a couple live games to see how the team gels when faced with a live opponent. If we didn't have to fly out to L.A. and back right after locking horns with Inter Messi, two games would have been enough, but as it is, that's a heck of a lot of travel to start the season.
Side note: I saw a graphic recently which showed the longest travel in the Prem was (I think) Newcastle to Brighton, which was about the same as Boston to Atlantic City. Players who come to MLS from Europe routinely cite the long trips as a challenge, so I'm assuming it's a challenge from a coaching and assessment perspective, too.
I'm here as well. We don't have a lot of mysteries to solve, and if Justin slides into the Sands role and is just as effective, or close to it, that only leaves some depth pieces to fill in the gaps. Even then, we may have the solutions in house already in Prince and Max and some a couple of the guys on the Deuce. I'm pretty sure Pascal is going to want to shake it out a little before going to David with a shopping list.
Put me down for McFarlane replacement top of the list. Can't go into the season with zero backup at LB, and I trust Haak is the natural replacement for Sands.
I don't expect much of anything. When Lee made his "the roster is in a good place" comment at the end of last season he already knew Sands and McFarlane were leaving and he had to have a good idea that Jovan wouldn't be back. So he was talking about our roster as it currently stands today. We likely get some depth signings to backfill the departures but I'd be shocked if we get anything more.
Agreed. The real question is the formation and the depth chart. Lee made some pointed (at least for him) comments in his interview the other day:
That's pretty straightforward. I'm more convinced than ever, Nick was canned for not playing Ojeda and Fernandez enough (let's call Jovan a bust and leave it at that). Lee expects Pascal to handle it differently.
He also hinted he expects some of the holes to be filled in-house:
That last quote about emerging players is interesting. I wonder which players the club sees as ready enough to ensure they aren’t blocked. Is he referring to a more experienced player like Haak, who’s just stepped out from behind Sands? Do they believe some of the young academy guys are close? Or is the focus on getting more minutes for Ojeda and Fernandez? It’s probably a mix of all these possibilities, but it would be fascinating to know which players are at the forefront of his mind when he thinks about who’s ready to break through.
On a related note, it’s amusing how GMs tailor their messaging to fit the situation. If they’re not looking to sign players, it’s “We don’t want to block opportunities for our emerging talent.” But when they do sign—or want to sign—someone, the message shifts to “Competition for spots is healthy, it pushes players to be their best, and we have a deep roster where everyone needs to earn their opportunities.”
