Alex Ring Traded to Austin FC

[moogoo]

i mean...reyna was still in charge when maxi was given a new contract. also maxi was still moving upward. only this year he did bad and age caught up to him.

EDIT: also...wont maxi salary not really affect cap as much as ring? since he is a DP isint it only like 450K that gets counted? rings salary will have more of an impact no?

Even so, everyone knew Maxi was getting older. 1 year would have been more reasonable but I guess we got too excited from his super assist season last year and expected more.

Yes - as a DP maxi would have only given us around $500K back, but I would take that over giving up Ring. I feel like Ring still has a solid 3 years left in him.

ANyway, no use in beating a dead horse. It's done and we have to move on. The club better make some big signings or the fanbase are going to get hostile...

 

[Rimil]

Ring had a green card so he didn't take an international spot. Maxi, Gudi, Cacha, and Heber are our four international players.

Ring's budget charge in 2019 was like 950k, so this generated a whole bunch of cap/allocation room.

oh you are correct. What a farce this "international spot" thing is that it could be circumvented with a little documentation. I thought the point was to reserve some spaces to prevent US youth development from being crowed out, but i guess you could theoretically have a full domestic squad of internationals if you grease the right homeland director's palms. Its not like any of these "domestic" talents are going to be playing for the national team anytime soon. But i guess it makes for some more trading tokens to make garberbucks relevant.

 

[mgarbowski]

Correct me if I'm wrong...

If the club were looking ahead, knowing that Medina would no longer be a DP, knowing that Maxi is getting older and they'll need a new #10, why didn't they just renew Maxi for ONE year instead of two? Out of the two of them, I would rather have Ring than Maxi. Take maxi off the payroll and there's lots of money to spend and a DP slot open on a possible game changing player. Now we are stuck with a slower, not as hard working, frequently injured player for big bucks while we let a pillar of our club, who bled for the badge, go to frickin austin.

I was worried about maxi's 2-year extension when it was done. But playing Devil's advocate:

• we have no way of knowing whether Maxi would have signed for 1 year, for any amount of money.
• knowing that Medina is coming off DP status this year, IMO, is an argument for NOT timing Maxi's spot to open as well. Ideally, I think clubs should try to arrange it for a DP slot to open every 1-2 years. This allows regular refreshing of the roster.
• as it happens, Mitrita left, and we have 2 slots open this year anyway. While having 3 open would certainly allow for an enormous amount of rebuilding at once this winter (or winter plus summer), it makes it hard to structure the contracts so they end on the staggered basis I just described.
• nobody in the FO anticipated [and most of these are defensible] (1) an 0-5-1 start, (2) Heber scoring one league goal before getting hurt (3) Shradi scoring just 3, (4) Mitrita leaving (5) Medina being our second highest goal scorer (6) GMS never breaking out (7) Sands maybe/likely staying into 2021-- all followed by yet another early playoff exit and poor CCL tournament showing, all of which combined created both a need and an opportunity for a roster blow-up that I think was expected to come at least one year later than it did.

As soon as we signed Maxi's extension midsummer 2019, and looking at all the other contracts, I concluded the team had set course on a 3-year (2019-2021) run with a team Reyna put together with Torrent's input. But then both Reyna and Torrent left, the pandemic hit, and everything else blew up. There's a wide consensus that the team needs some shake-up. I think RIng is in that special position of being valuable, without a no-trade guarantee, probably on his downswing (though still very good), and you have to give players up sometimes in those situations.

 

[ZYanksRule]

I was worried about maxi's 2-year extension when it was done. But playing Devil's advocate:

• we have no way of knowing whether Maxi would have signed for 1 year, for any amount of money.
• knowing that Medina is coming off DP status this year, IMO, is an argument for NOT timing Maxi's spot to open as well. Ideally, I think clubs should try to arrange it for a DP slot to open every 1-2 years. This allows regular refreshing of the roster.
• as it happens, Mitrita left, and we have 2 slots open this year anyway. While having 3 open would certainly allow for an enormous amount of rebuilding at once this winter (or winter plus summer), it makes it hard to structure the contracts so they end on the staggered basis I just described.
• nobody in the FO anticipated [and most of these are defensible] (1) an 0-5-1 start, (2) Heber scoring one league goal before getting hurt (3) Shradi scoring just 3, (4) Mitrita leaving (5) Medina being our second highest goal scorer (6) GMS never breaking out (7) Sands maybe/likely staying into 2021-- all followed by yet another early playoff exit and poor CCL tournament showing, all of which combined created both a need and an opportunity for a roster blow-up that I think was expected to come at least one year later than it did.

As soon as we signed Maxi's extension midsummer 2019, and looking at all the other contracts, I concluded the team had set course on a 3-year (2019-2021) run with a team Reyna put together with Torrent's input. But then both Reyna and Torrent left, the pandemic hit, and everything else blew up. There's a wide consensus that the team needs some shake-up. I think RIng is in that special position of being valuable, without a no-trade guarantee, probably on his downswing (though still very good), and you have to give players up sometimes in those situations.

I also don't think this means we're entering a rebuild. I suppose we have to wait to see what happens with the DP spots, but if we bring in a DP striker and a DP winger or No. 10 -- and if both are good -- this team is still right there. We'll miss Alex Ring, but James Sands is ready to step into that role, and he serves it so well it forced Ring to play out of position for half the season. I think this is about opening room to add one or two TAM players in the attack. I think the replacement for Ring is already on the roster and this is about improving an attack that was not good enough in 2020.

 

[adam]

I was worried about maxi's 2-year extension when it was done. But playing Devil's advocate:

• we have no way of knowing whether Maxi would have signed for 1 year, for any amount of money.
• knowing that Medina is coming off DP status this year, IMO, is an argument for NOT timing Maxi's spot to open as well. Ideally, I think clubs should try to arrange it for a DP slot to open every 1-2 years. This allows regular refreshing of the roster.
• as it happens, Mitrita left, and we have 2 slots open this year anyway. While having 3 open would certainly allow for an enormous amount of rebuilding at once this winter (or winter plus summer), it makes it hard to structure the contracts so they end on the staggered basis I just described.
• nobody in the FO anticipated [and most of these are defensible] (1) an 0-5-1 start, (2) Heber scoring one league goal before getting hurt (3) Shradi scoring just 3, (4) Mitrita leaving (5) Medina being our second highest goal scorer (6) GMS never breaking out (7) Sands maybe/likely staying into 2021-- all followed by yet another early playoff exit and poor CCL tournament showing, all of which combined created both a need and an opportunity for a roster blow-up that I think was expected to come at least one year later than it did.

As soon as we signed Maxi's extension midsummer 2019, and looking at all the other contracts, I concluded the team had set course on a 3-year (2019-2021) run with a team Reyna put together with Torrent's input. But then both Reyna and Torrent left, the pandemic hit, and everything else blew up. There's a wide consensus that the team needs some shake-up. I think RIng is in that special position of being valuable, without a no-trade guarantee, probably on his downswing (though still very good), and you have to give players up sometimes in those situations.

you made a lot of valid points sir. But i cannot in good conscience concede #6 to you. If that’s what the FO was banking on, that’s professional malpractice.

 

[canchon]

I read somewhere today that the amount of allocation NYCFC received for Ring was the most ever for a non-US national team player. Ring is an excellent player, but it looks like NYCFC did some good business here.

 

[Davo15]

My first reaction was if not shock , significant surprise but, It sounds like the consensus on here is that he went downhill a bit this year? I'll admit I really didn't watch enough games closely enough in this odd duck of a year to have observed that. If it's true, and we got a decent haul for him, then maybe I shouldn't have been so shocked.

 

[sabertooth36]

My first reaction was if not shock , significant surprise but, It sounds like the consensus on here is that he went downhill a bit this year? I'll admit I really didn't watch enough games closely enough in this odd duck of a year to have observed that. If it's true, and we got a decent haul for him, then maybe I shouldn't have been so shocked.

To me it was Ronny playing him at LW instead of DM, where he preferred a pairing of Parks and Sands sitting behind Maxi. I don't think Ring really went downhill, but clearly the club sees Sands as the longer-term DM.

Question amidst all this: are we swimming in Garberbucks right now? $500k GAM from this deal this year plus the $2 million+ from the Scally transfer that we don't have to give the league any cut of and for which we should get another $1 million GAM. Unless I'm misreading the rules, which is entirely possible. That's $1.5 million in GAM right there, plus another million from the Scally transfer. Hoping we can use these resources wisely.

 

[ZYanksRule]

My first reaction was if not shock , significant surprise but, It sounds like the consensus on here is that he went downhill a bit this year? I'll admit I really didn't watch enough games closely enough in this odd duck of a year to have observed that. If it's true, and we got a decent haul for him, then maybe I shouldn't have been so shocked.

It's not so much that he played poorly, it's that Ronny rated James Sands ahead of Ring, so Ring didn't have a position anymore.

 

[Kjbert]

Really sad about the move. Guy was th heart and soul of the club and the locker room from the day he arrived. Was our first real captain. First guy that earned it and wore it proudly.

I said a couple times throughout the year that I thought his play dropped off this season. So at the end of the day., a good club makes a move like this. We acquired a significant amount of money for a guy that was our 4th best midfielder. It’s not all about what we see on the field, but when you’re offered that type of deal for a guy who shouldn’t be in your starting 11, you have to take it.

This allows us flexibility to start Sands and Parks in a double pivot.

I think Johnson is our next captain. And I wouldn’t be surprised to see us spend this money on a CB.

 

[Annagram]

We acquired a significant amount of money for a guy that was our 4th best midfielder. It’s not all about what we see on the field, but when you’re offered that type of deal for a guy who shouldn’t be in your starting 11, you have to take it.

Wait! Alexander Ring shouldn’t have been in NYCFC’s starting 11? 4th best midfielder?
I don’t know what you smoke but I wouldn’t dare to try it.

 

[BxLio91]

After Ring, it's Maxi, then Chanot and Callens in terms of captaincy?

 

[EganSoccerWords]

Wait! Alexander Ring shouldn’t have been in NYCFC’s starting 11? 4th best midfielder?
I don’t know what you smoke but I wouldn’t dare to try it.

We can debate whether he is the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th best midfielder, but I think its safe to say the generally consensus is that James Sands is the better 6. You can't have the guy that is taking the biggest salary cap hit on your team be the second best player at his position.

 

[SoupInNYC]

you made a lot of valid points sir. But i cannot in good conscience concede #6 to you. If that’s what the FO was banking on, that’s professional malpractice.

I disagree (even though I end up being wrong in this scenario). Yeah, GMS never worked out, but I think its reasonable to assume he could score 5-7 goals a season with the off-ball movement he has. Even after a rough first half-season, perhaps you can chalk up poor finishing to joining the team late from another continent, shit happens, etc. But I think expecting him to end up as a serviceable goal-scorer (nothing crazy) wasn't too much.

Again, they were wrong on it, and so was I, so perhaps its a bit difficult for me to argue this.

 

[SoupInNYC]

After Ring, it's Maxi, then Chanot and Callens in terms of captaincy?

I think this sounds about right.

FWIW, in the two regular season games where Ring was subbed off, the armband went to Chanot, however, Maxi was not on the field.

Ring was subbed off in the playoff match at Orlando, but I can't remember who it went to and wasn't able to find it going back to look for it.

In the latest CCL match, Maxi was the captain while Chanot was also on the field.

 

[Gotham Gator]

I am really saddened by this move, as Ring was my favorite players; intensely competitive, really gritty; there is a reason he was made captain. I hate seeing him go.

That said, it's also a move that makes complete sense and is in the best interest of all 3 parties.

We are very deep at the 6. I disagree with those who say Ring was not the best CDM on the roster. However, he was the one guy of the three that could easily play other positions, so he was the one that was moved.

If, with our roster makeup, the best we can do to put Ring on the pitch is make him a winger, then we need to rethink things. This move benefits everyone.

- We get rid of a logjam in central midfield and receive a ton of GAM in the process.
- Austin gets a proven MLS player to anchor its spine and a leader in the clubhouse.
- Ring gets a chance to lead a new team from his preferred position.

 

[Gotham Gator]

This starts to drift into the other thread, but we now have 2 DP slots and a ton of GAM to go out and improve the roster. Instead of playing Ring at LW, we can get a DP left winger.

 

[Kjbert]

Wait! Alexander Ring shouldn’t have been in NYCFC’s starting 11? 4th best midfielder?
I don’t know what you smoke but I wouldn’t dare to try it.

Sands
Parks
Maxi
Ring

The manager seems to agree as he has him playing LW

 

[ALBNYfan]

Sands
Parks
Maxi
Ring

The manager seems to agree as he has him playing LW

I think that says a bunch more about the manager then it does about Ring.

 

[Annagram]

Sands
Parks
Maxi
Ring

The manager seems to agree as he has him playing LW

It's of course a matter of opinion. Mine is that Parks is way too erratic compared to Ring, Sands is a big talent but lacks Ring's leadership, and Maxi was the weakest of the lot this season. That had a lot to do with his injuries. What baffles me is that this gone season a few people found it very hard to admit that Ring did many things very well, because they had decided that he's not as good as he used to be. Which was total bollocks. Over the last four seasons, he has been the most consistent player in the team.
Ring being played on the left wing doesn't tell so much about him as it tells about the gaffer. IMO Ronny Deila is the biggest liability in the whole team.
But now Ring is gone, and all this has become irrelevant.