2025 Roster and Transfer Discussion Thread
- Thread starter LionNYC
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Marito
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That is crazy! From a 34th super draft pick to be called by a senior side that is, maybe, marginally worse than the USMNT. Super Kevin!
Stock up!!! It shows that the super draft still has merit.
RunningWise
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I feel bad that I made fun of him saying that he would be honored to be called up by the national team. Honestly thought it was laughable when he said it but he proved me wrong.
Credit to the club and David Lee or whoever has been making our super draft picks, NYCFC has generally overperformed in selecting players that end up filling roles in the squad.
Harrison
Shelton
Lewis
Barrazza
KOT
Jones
Cavallo
Academy players, Super draft picks, and long-time core players like Maxi and Parks are the foundation that has kept this team competitive through an era of shaky higher-profile/cost player acquisitions.
And Bakrar called up by Algeria.
ezbeezy214
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Zaha is on one.
ZYanksRule
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How about some love for the Club: Another trip to the conference semifinals.
That's our fourth conference semifinal appearance in the last five seasons. We've been to this round in 8 of the last 10 seasons. It's remarkable consistency in a system that makes consistency virtually impossible.
The only years since 2016 we've missed the conference semifinals are 2020 (lost that insane shootout in Orlando) and 2023, when we missed the playoffs.
For all the roster BS, all the stadium crap we deal with, all the complaints we have about this organization -- some of them fair, some of them harsh -- our consistency is pretty incredible. I don't know if any other teams have been to the conference semifinals in 8 of the last 10 years, but I can't imagine there are many.
That's our fourth conference semifinal appearance in the last five seasons. We've been to this round in 8 of the last 10 seasons. It's remarkable consistency in a system that makes consistency virtually impossible.
The only years since 2016 we've missed the conference semifinals are 2020 (lost that insane shootout in Orlando) and 2023, when we missed the playoffs.
For all the roster BS, all the stadium crap we deal with, all the complaints we have about this organization -- some of them fair, some of them harsh -- our consistency is pretty incredible. I don't know if any other teams have been to the conference semifinals in 8 of the last 10 years, but I can't imagine there are many.
I know there is a long way to go, but we really need to make the most of this run this season. If you consider that we have a reasonable probability of losing at least Haak, Maxi and Freese by the summer window, plus the usual 1 or 2 other departures (Alonso in demand?) it's going to be tough to field another complete roster next year.
3 wins. That’s all we need to lift the cup. We could and should do it.
ZYanksRule
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Should is extreme. It's really hard to win MLS Cup and we have to go through the Supporters' Shield winners in the next round. We absolutely have a chance -- we've been one of the hottest teams in the league since July and we play a style that would seem to be successful in postseason soccer. But the Union have every chance of beating us. Miami, Nashville, Cincy, and Columbus are all very good. To say nothing of our opponent in MLS Cup if we were to get there.
I agree that there will be changes, and with the lack of a sporting director and the chance we lose some players it will be hard to go on another run, but we also have a bunch of players in their prime who won't be leaving and we are still a team on the upswing. Our window to win MLS Cup is wide open, and should remain open for a few years even if we lose some key pieces.
What I find striking is that from 2016-2019 we made the conference semi-finals and no further, and fans generally deemed that consistent failure. Now I'm reading that's it's part of a positive.
How did we get here? In 2020-23 we ran the gamut from a Cup win to no playoffs .
Then in 2024 we returned to the semifinals and are doing so again this year, with final progress TBD. Yet it seems that people now think last year was reasonably fine and this year is a success even if we lose against the Union. So I'm wondering why losing in the conf semis was hated from 16-19 and sort of acceptable now. Possible reasons include:
- winning the Cup in 21 takes off the edge
- in 2016-18 losing in the semis meant we won zero playoff rounds
- 2019 we won a playoff round to reach the semis by winning 1 home game while in 2024-25 we had to win a 3 game series which maybe seems more substantial
- from 2023-25 we've been worse in the regular season than 2016-19 so playoff expectations are lower and winning 1 round seems like an achievement.
- also I could be misreading the mood and nobody thinks we're doing fine, but I think I'm right.
Having the second most home losses in club history behind only 2015 is a poor product for STHs.
In 2016-19 we averaged finishing 4th in the combined league table. In 2023-25 we've averaged 10th.
The 2015-22 teams averaged +11.5 GD. In 2023-25 it has been +2.3.
From 2015-22 we had the 3rd highest PPG in the league. From 2023-25 we rank 12th.
There has been a big falloff. We pay a lot of money for 17 games and eking out a win in one playoff in an expanded playoff field round seems like very little in comparison. We didn't even win our 1 home playoff game this year.
tldr: Randomly losing every playoff round in the early years and winning at least 1 playoff round recently shouldn't disguise that the team has fallen from being consistently S Tier to consistently B Tier (maybe C Tier) over 34 games. Yes, being mostly consistently sort of good is nice. Can we reverse the trend and make it to excellent again?
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ZYanksRule
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I think making the league's Elite 8 qualifies as a successful season. Maybe it didn't in 2015 when there were only 20 teams but now that there's 30, winning a round and making the conference semifinals is a pretty successful year. After tomorrow, there are 22 teams on vacation in MLS. Being in the final 8 means a little more now than it did 10 years ago.
I would say 16-18 were less acceptable because the way the team flamed out in the playoffs those yr. While those teams were partially the Vieira, Pirlo, Lampard and David Villa teams. 16 Toronto throttled the team at home, 17 Columbus, game one was a 4-1 a disappointing start but game 2 the team played well. 18 vs Atlanta it was a non competitive series. Add 19 when the team lost again in semi again to Toronto. I think the fans just expected it more from that group
I don't think making the conf semis is a successful season. Yes, it's better than most but it's not where I want this team to be. Conf finals should be a bare minimum expectation for this team with this ownership and supposed scouting benefits. Maybe I am asking too much?
It just feels like a success this year because I think many of us (myself included) had basically no hope for this team through the first half of the season. After a couple years of dreadful and boring cushing ball seasons, we have somewhat returned to a more flowing attack with lightning quick transition. While we are still inconsistent, it is head and shoulders better than cushing's conservative style. I think all of that is putting extra shine on the season thus far. I know it's not gonna be easy to get through Philly, but I think it's bare minimum to consider this season a success.
I have higher hopes for next year though, as we hopefully get more players back and maybe sign more difference makers. But this year is not a success by just making the conf semis. It is, however, a season that will have ended on positive vibes and potential for a strong 2026.
ZYanksRule
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I want this team to win every year, don't get me wrong. But I think asking for a conference finals appearance every season is asking for a lot. Especially in this lottery of a playoff system. I look at the rest of the league, no one is that consistently good. The most prominent teams in the league have had struggles. The Galaxy went first to worst. Atlanta has turned into a disaster. Seattle just lost, Portland is the 8 seed, Sporting KC has gone down the tubes. I think we are the most consistently good (not great, but good) team in MLS.
We have a chance to win the Cup every year, and most teams can't say that.
After we got our reinforcements in the summer, we became one of the hottest teams in MLS for the second half of the season, so I have high hopes for our next game, but I'm not expecting a win.
I think you might be saying this but: there is some consistency in getting to this stage of the playoffs year over year. It needs to be paired with finishing higher up the league table. Those earlier teams finished higher up the table, created expectations and the crashed out. Last few years we have forgone regular season success but still ended up at the same place in the playoffs as those earlier teams.
Winning in 2021 definitely takes the edge off. I wish this team would put the best team possible on the field for all 34 games and the playoffs.
That's fair if it's your priority. IMO winning 1 playoff round is too random to be a measure of success, and 2 weeks cannot redeem a 10 month season.
I think this point in your second post sharpens the issue. I don't expect regular conf final appearances either.
My definition of a successful season requires both high quality in the regular season season plus minimal playoff success, or massive playoff success.* It is precisely because I believe the playoffs are exceedingly random that I demand actual long form excellence in the regular season and only limited playoff advancement.
IMO basing my season ranking solely on playoff results is like ranking slot machine or Lotto players. It's possible. It's measurable. Some people do win more than others. I just do not believe it is a good measure of anything meaningful.
* If we win MLS cup I'm not going to mope because the regular season was so-so.
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It's not that all (or most) of the seasons are considered a success over that stretch, it's the fact that we haven't had an absolute catastrophic season(s) like so many other clubs have had.
That's hard to do, even for the big spending clubs.
I'm not going around bantering with other MLS club supporters bragging about "8 out of 10 conference semis b!tches" and I don't consider that the barometer of a successful season. I do respect the organization for the consistent competitiveness though. Other than 2015, have we ever not been alive for the playoffs on decision day?
That's hard to do, even for the big spending clubs.
I'm not going around bantering with other MLS club supporters bragging about "8 out of 10 conference semis b!tches" and I don't consider that the barometer of a successful season. I do respect the organization for the consistent competitiveness though. Other than 2015, have we ever not been alive for the playoffs on decision day?
I think part of the challenge of this discussion is that it is calibrating a spectrum into a binary.
For me
- Great - Trophy. Some will down play the SS or the open cup or the conference championship. But a trophy in the case puts a shine on any year. Though I'll also be one of those saying the conference championship trophy is a meager consolation prize for losing MLS Cup.
- Very good - Top 3 conference regular season and/or conference finals. Yes, that means we could be #2 in the conference and get bounced in the first round of the playoffs. That would be a disappointment. I wouldn't be ecstatic. But I would have had a great 8 months of footy in that year.
- Good - Conference semis from the 5-9 seeds. Feels great in the moment, but on the heels of a season that wasn't great fun.
- Fine - Conference semis from the 4 seed. Expected playoff result. Season that failed to get to elite level.
- Disappointing - Bounced in first round from 4-9 seed.
- Very disappointing - Missed the playoffs.
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