Hannes was a free and Perea was already on the roster that Lee promised to substantially improve "particularly in the attack" based on the lessons learned from an "unacceptable season". As the saying goes put your money where your mouth is.
Jovan Mijatović [Forward]
- Thread starter LionNYC
- Start date
Hannes was a free and Perea was already on the roster that Lee promised to substantially improve "particularly in the attack" based on the lessons learned from an "unacceptable season". As the saying goes put your money where your mouth is.
When your most expensive acquisition in a roster restricted league plays <270 minutes and wasn’t injured that’s a failure.
I don't think a 19 year old gets to pick how he plays within a system. You'd best bust your tail trying to fit in to whatever system the gaffer sets up. Even Erling Haaland has had to adjust his playing style to Pep's system.
Not every signing hits. Perea has been a good one. So has Martinez. I still have faith in Bakrar. Wolf was good and that's true whether or not we had to pay for him. Jury is out on some others. They brought in a lot of new guys since the start of last season.
My uneducated opinion is also this is going to be hard to figure out because there are too many people fighting for spots and playing time. While that’s good for development it probably is more difficult if we don’t make sure the new signings are okay with not being starters while they develop.
I like Jovan’s confidence even if he hasn’t shown yet that he can be as good as he thinks he is.
Not every singing hits but also when every player you spent over $3M on is barely contributing that's a failure. Martinez had never played ST in his career and was signed as a backup winger. Lee lucking out with Martinez saving the season and grabbing Wolf and Perea does not cover for the $23M he blew on transfer fees for guys that can't get on the field right now. Lee is the worst GM in the league by a long shot.
Find another GM who has wasted more money and gotten less on feild production from the spend than Lee:
2023/24
Mijatovic - $8.7M
Ojeda - $7M
Perea - $600K
Tanasijevic - $400K
2022/23
Illenic - $1M
Freese - $400K
Fernandez - $5M
Bakrar - $3M
Risa - $1M
Santi- ?
2021/22
Pereira - $5M (sold for $10M)
Thiago Martins - $3.8M (takes up a DP spot)
2020/21
Talles Magno - $7.5M
Thiago Andrade - $1.60M (no transfer fee out, total loss)
Malte Amundsen - $1.4M (transferred out for $400K GAM so a $1M loss)
Acevado - $2.3M (Likely no transferfee when loan ends due to injury total loss)
Edit: these are not an example of bad signings these are every signing Lee has made that involved a transfer fee
There's also a long history of players needing a year to adjust to MLS before they start playing well. I'm willing to give these new guys until next year to see what they really have. This year was always going to be building up towards next year when I think the front office expects to be good again, so I think we shouldn't give up on these young kids until we get through this offseason and we see what they look like next year.
I think there is a good chance Ojeda will make a leap next year, he's got the talent he just needs a little more time to adjust to the speed of the MLS.
Fernedez looks lost regarding off-ball movement and interlinking play within the offense. He could be an impact sub but I think he will always be a hindrance to the flow of our offense. He would do a lot better on a team that plays more direct and I wouldn't be surprised to see him thrive elsewhere if he eventually moves to a team that's a better fit.
Jovan we will know what we are getting from the first preseason game next season. If he's in shape and looks motivated we could see a breakout season from him. If he looks disinterested and out of shape just like he does this year he's a bust and its time to move on.
I hold slightly more confidence in Julian, but I completely agree with you on Ojeda and Jovan.
