Too bad it probably won't be us.
2025 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread
- Thread starter LionNYC
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Too bad it probably won't be us.
I thought about that, of course. But something about the way he phrased it struck me as different: the word begin. What does that mean? Has David's plan (if there was one) gone out the window? Are we starting over?
If that's the case, the transition was indeed badly handled.
Speed was never his thing. But a somewhat counterintuitive truth is that often athletes who don't possess or rely on elite speed suffer most when their speed declines, because they still need to be above a certain baseline and since they start closer to that baseline they hit it earlier and abruptly. I have no idea where KDB stands on this scale.
I also remember Pirlo. When he came to MLS he started gangbusters for a few games until the league figured out he had lost some steps and if you got to him quick and defended tightly you could disrupt him. A few games of that and he adjusted using his elite anticipation and residual burst quickness, and he was great again. But in 2017 he fell below that baseline I mentioned above and contributed little.
Every player ages on his own schedule and it's hard to predict. Some guys are super fit but are useless after 33 or so, while others who are kind of slow and big carry on to almost 40.
I would not give anyone older than 33 a contract that lasts more than 2 years. Not even 2.5. Club options beyond that are fine. But a lot of GMs seem to disagree with me.
KDBs ability to extend his career in MLS will largely depend on how well a team defines his role to limit his defensive responsibilities and if he can fully embrace that shift. He does have an advantage over Pirlo in that he already plays further up the pitch and charges forward where as Pirlo liked to play deeper in a position where it was harder to hide him defensively.
Crooks on pregame said NYCFC started looking at him in February when the January window closed. Standard is in tough financial shape after the collapse of 777 Partners. Part of the transfer strategy seems to be to wait until the European windows end, and target teams in need of money. The O'Neill move looks great on paper right now in huge part because he's not a DP. Not really surprising it went to the deadline with Standard having no incentive to get a deal done early.
ZYanksRule
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So we pigeonhole ourselves only into a small subset of teams and situations, then wait at that team's behest until we finally get it done on the last possible day? Surely there are comparable players available from teams who would have been willing to make a move earlier in the window.
Sometimes I think we fall in love with players and the front office doesn't comprehend the idea of living without that player, so they get tunnel vision and won't settle for anything else.
What a bad way to do business.
So we’re targeting financially difficult clubs for transfers?
ZYanksRule
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We're trying to prove to the rest of the league how smart we are.
(The front office isn't nearly as smart as they think they are).
“I have this signed jersey of Pulisic he’s the LeBron James of soccer - give me $1000”
“I’ll give you $150”
Not only that, but Charlotte had no problem getting business done with the same club, announcing the loan of Souleyman Doumbia from Standard Liège on 3/12/25. Granted, a loan is different, but it’s still the same team, and Charlotte secured the player they needed to fill a hole a month and a half earlier than we did. Doumbia has already played five games for Charlotte.
It’s just another example of how painfully slow the Lee front office is compared to other MLS clubs. In 2023, the roster was a mess, and by their own admission at the end of the season, the club had fallen short of expectations. Yet when the secondary transfer window opened, multiple MLS teams made moves immediately, while Lee’s front office took weeks to bring in most of their signings.
If we miss the playoffs this season and they roll out another "we are disappointed and committed to winning" email, it’s going to be infuriating. Fans have heard enough hollow words. It's time for action, because right now, the front office has lost all credibility.
This is (painfully) true.
I wonder if this is less about cleverness and more about playing chicken. Deal making is essentially a game of chicken. Maybe Charlotte’s deal speed was about their greater skill. Or maybe it was their willingness to hit a bid earlier in the process. Maybe Lee/CFG believe in playing more hardball and thus extending the process to get their preferred price. Even if it risks missing the chance. I could even imagine a bifurcated strategy in which they move fast on grabbing young prospects with big resale potential and slow on standard players who simply fill a need.
I agree they're using the window deadline as a negotiation tactic. Based on past reporting, we also know they're willing to walk away from deals and start a long, drawn-out pursuit of the next player on their list. I understand the strategy, but I can't see how they justify the half- or full-season of poor on-field performance it often causes. Put simply: is the slight improvement in deal terms really worth the cost of playing with major roster gaps for extended periods? Moves like this make it hard to believe they care about on-field results as much as they claim.
How much of the slowness is due to the front office and how much is due to the Club being part of a big, transcontinental bureaucracy that is not quick to make decisions? I don't know, but I can't eliminate the second half of that as a cause.
ZYanksRule
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Does it matter? Whatever the reason and whoever is to blame, the team is not making signings at a pace that improves the roster quickly.
And given that it's been going on for years and they do nothing to address it, even when it is costing the team results, how can we not infer from their actions that they care less about on-field performance than they say? They are the owners of their processes not the victims of them.
How much of it is due to City Football Group's perhaps having a "one size fits all" mentality when it comes to negotiations?
What player doesn't want the payday plus the prestige of playing for MCFC? A chance to play in the EPL as well UCL? With City, CFG can play hardball.
Pull those same tactics with NYCFC/MLS (and the other clubs under the umbrella) and more than likely players are going to say "who the fuck are you" and look elsewhere.
meh. Just spitballin'.
What player doesn't want the payday plus the prestige of playing for MCFC? A chance to play in the EPL as well UCL? With City, CFG can play hardball.
Pull those same tactics with NYCFC/MLS (and the other clubs under the umbrella) and more than likely players are going to say "who the fuck are you" and look elsewhere.
meh. Just spitballin'.
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Adding to this, I’ll offer a rare defense of NYCFC: negotiating prices is harder for us than most MLS clubs. When a team like Charlotte calls Europe, they're seen as a small club from a lower-tier league with limited resources. But when NYCFC calls, we're viewed as part of CFG, with supposedly unlimited money, and as one of MLS’s biggest clubs because of our New York location. Most overseas teams likely don’t understand MLS’s parity rules; they assume it works like their leagues, where big clubs have far more money, and with CFG behind us, they think we have the deepest pockets of all.
Maybe you're right, but I think everything is relative. Is the payday and prestige at MCFC really that much greater than at Real Madrid, Barca, Liverpool, Bayern Munich? I think players (and agents) who get to sign with MCFC can play hardball there too if they want.
I'd be inclined toward the bureaucracy argument more than anything. Which goes along with a general lack of caring about team success. Except they clearly do care about team success at MCFC. That is the one ray of hope that makes me think maybe we are just going through a bad stretch driven by (A) a bunch of legit spending on bad choices and (B) hesitation to overspend ahead of big signings to inaugurate the stadium.
This is a little off the beaten path, but I found this interview to be fascinating, especially when Hellman gets into how he structured the sporting department for fast decision making on player acquisitions. I couldn't help but wonder how our sporting department is organized. Enjoy!
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