2012-13 Crew Offseason Roster Thread

Discussion in 'Columbus Crew' started by POdinCowtown, Oct 29, 2012.

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  1. POdinCowtown

    POdinCowtown Member+

    Jan 15, 2002
    Columbus
    Now that the season is over, is there a list anywhere of who is out of contract, who the team has options on, and who is under contract for 2013?

    My list of who should go starts with RW but more reasonably will have mid to high priced non-starters. Vukovich, Hesmer, Vargas, maybe Renteria, Mirosevic, or Tchani. I'd let the first 3 leave and try to keep the second 3.

    Which players raised the consensus view of themselves the most? I'd say Gruenebaum and Williams. Which lowered the general opinion of themselves? Marshall.

    What positions do we need to fill for next year? I'd say left back, left mid, and 3rd forward.

    With no expansion draft we should be able to keep some of our depth. We'll have midround picks in the superdraft so shouldn't expect any help there. We should have some money to spend and plenty to trade with.

    Our depth chart looks something like this:

    Goalkeeper: Gruenebaum, Lampson, perhaps Luthy. A strength, and good value.

    Centerbacks: Marshall, Williams, James, ?. Perhaps Mendes is back or Gehrig gets better. O'Rourke and Balchan can cover here too. I'd re-sign Mendes.

    Fullbacks: Miranda, ?,O'Rourke, Anor, Findlay, Balchan. I'd bring in a starter at LB and move Wiliams to the middle.

    D-Mids: O'Rourke, Mirosevic, Birchall, Grossman, Balchan, Tchani.

    Wide Mids: Gaven, Speas, Meram, Duka, Renteria, Findlay. Speas looked good in limited minutes but TFC was tired and depressed, missing their best players and not very good. Will Duka be back?

    Central mids: Higuain, Mirosevic, Tchani, Gaven, Duka

    Forwards: Arrieta, Higuain, Renteria, Vargas, Heinemann, Schoenfeld, Horton. I'd keep the first 3 and look for better depth.
     
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  2. crewfan_in_columbus

    Feb 25, 2001
    Columbus is home
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    You'll see Hesmer, Mendes, Vukovic, Renteria, Schoenfeld for sure. I would bet also on Gehrig, Meram, maybe Duka and Mirosevic too. I think Tchani is also probably done.

    I'm also hoping they work a deal for Marshall to offload him. He's at, or just past his expiration date.
     
  3. Smithsoccer1721

    Smithsoccer1721 Member+

    Feb 16, 2007
    Middle of the Table
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Disagree with Marshall. I want to keep him around. Solid player still, a good veteran player and been with the Crew since the beginning. I don't want to see him in another teams uniform.

    Who I would be ok with seeing leave (No idea about contracts), Tchani, Vargas, Gehrig, Anor, Heinamann, Schonefeld.
     
  4. BG13

    BG13 Member+

    Jun 25, 2007
    For the first time in a long time, we don't need to add a striker but rather central defenders. Much easier to fill than striker. We always--ALWAYS--need a good left back. But, who the F doesn't?
     
  5. cam5fc

    cam5fc Member+

    Sep 23, 2008
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States

    10 players? shit, dude, last thing we need is another massive roster turnover excuse to finishing last place in the east.

    Vuko, Vargas and Renteria are gone, I'd say. Miro? Doubt it, personally. Good chemistry with the locker room, 3rd captain. He'll probably stay. Hesmer is probably gone too with his salary and Andy cementing the starting role. Tchani may stay. I think the club will likely pick up his option.

    Why left back? That's a platoon spot for all takers. RW's point of view shows that we have at least 23 players deep there.

    See the scary thing here is that I honestly can see RW thinking that with Williams there, we're fine, along with Anor healthy. I can't say that he would think of Williams as a CB anymore. And if that's the case, we need some serious work at CB.

    I say we could also use a target forward to pair up with Jairo Loompa up top and use Higs as a ACM.

    Another key player here is Duka. Is he gone? What is his value to the team? Will RW put some over-stock in Speas' corner after his solid single performance as a justification to jettison Duka? Plus Gaven can play anywhere, so maybe left wing isn't as huge a need?

    Okay, back on my ground here. LB is a huge need because we NEED Williams at CB. Key here is the spine. Pair him up with Marshall to further help our Andy "I've been left on an island again" Gruenebaum.

    Next, Make sure DCM is wholly Birchall's. O'Red is not the starter of the two.

    Going forward, unless the FO is stupid, we're actually looking alright. Another year of working together, and they may be very potent. But the defense needs the most help right now.
     
  6. BG13

    BG13 Member+

    Jun 25, 2007
    Honestly, O'Rourke needs to be cut.
     
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  7. crewfan_in_columbus

    Feb 25, 2001
    Columbus is home
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    The first five on my list are for sure in my mind. Hesmer has already insinuated as such on his FB status. Mendes is out of contract. Vuko, well, he's Vuko, and Robert hates him. Schoenfeld has flopped. #nowonderMontrealcuthim. Renteria is also out of contract I believe. Unless these guys agree to much smaller contracts, they're moving to the Ex-Crew thread. Add Vargas to this list.

    I thought O'Red would be on the "for sure" list, but it looks like he's gonna stick around. Gehrig and Meram are guesses on my part. Duka and Mirosevic are speculative on my part as well. I'm ok with Gehrig and Meram MUCH, MUCH more so than Duka and Mirosevic.

    I have great pause for great concern for this massive offseason.
     
  8. Smithsoccer1721

    Smithsoccer1721 Member+

    Feb 16, 2007
    Middle of the Table
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Isn't Tchani in the last year of his Gen AD contract or did that expire already?
     
  9. eclipse02

    eclipse02 Member

    Sep 20, 2009
    I think Vuko is gone because Robert is an idoit and doesn't know that He is a LB. Vargas, Hesmer, Mendes, Schoenfield, and Tchani seem to make sense on the leaving part.

    I really Disagree on Meram. He has a low salary and is a serviceable Offensive option of the bench. Plus our Idoit coach seems to think that everyone plays Midfield. I'm surprised he hasn't put Lampson or Hesmer there.

    If you ask the person who really needs to go is RW.
     
  10. Jim Bach

    Jim Bach Member+

    Bradford City Association Football Club
    May 11, 1999
    Land of the Lizard People, or so I'm told
    Club:
    --other--
    Nat'l Team:
    Palestine
    If I had my choice:

    Stays
    Higuain
    Arrieta
    Gaven
    Mirosevic
    Birchall
    Miranda
    Vukovic
    Gruenebaum

    Goes
    As far as I'm concerned, everyone else.
     
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  11. DGA57

    DGA57 Member

    Jun 17, 2002
    Dublin, OH
    Gone:
    75-100%: Hesmer, Vuko, Duka, Vargas, Danny
    50%: Gehrig, Heinemann, Renteria
    25%: Tchani, Miro, James
     
  12. chr1st

    chr1st Member+

    Jan 19, 2011
    Dayton
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I know Vargas doesn't get much love around here, but I'd like to give him a chance up top with Arrieta and Higgy as the CAM. I think his height could be useful, especially with Mr. Magic Socks dishing it out.

    At the very least, we need him to keep our Reserve side rampant. Gunning for that triple title, y'all.
     
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  13. eclipse02

    eclipse02 Member

    Sep 20, 2009
    It's not so much i want him gone. It has more to do with our idiot coach. Vargas is in his dog house like Vuko.
     
  14. CrewV Man

    CrewV Man Member+

    Aug 18, 2011
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I like to look at cost to rank (ranking IMHO). Every FO is looking at value and I am sure this type of work is being looked at before the SuperDraft. I am not sure who is out of contract so I am just going with the theory that they all are. It seems the best way to see which players are worth their salary.

    GK =
    Gruenebaum - $79k
    Hesmer - $181k
    Lampson - $44k
    Gruenebaum looks like he has the starting job for now. If Hesmer is okay, is an experienced back up worth $181k?

    D =
    Miranda - $140k
    Marshall - $341k
    Williams - $42k
    Mendes - $102k
    James - $100k
    Vukovic - $126k
    This is a solid group, when they work well together and a pretty good value. It is arguable if Marshall is too high. 4 CB, two with the ability to play wing back is fair. The clear need is a strong left back.

    D/M =
    O'Rourke – $146k
    Balchan – $69k
    Gehrig – $44k
    George – $34k
    There are some good versatile options and at reasonable prices. Balchan could be a huge steal if he is healthy. Are O’Rourke’s injury days behind him?

    CM =
    Mirosevic – $223k
    Birchall – $109k
    Tchani – $209k
    Grossman – $44k
    The FO has shown they will pay a bit more for this position. There are good things and bad things about each of these players so are these the right players?

    M =
    Gaven – $195k
    Duka – $243k
    Speas – $58k
    Meram – $71k
    Anor – $44k
    Finlay – $60k
    Gaven is a lock. There is young depth here at a good cost. If Duka is not seen as a constant starter here, is his salary too high to keep?

    F =
    Higuain – $324k
    Arrieta – $225k
    Renteria – $134k
    Heinemann – $47k
    Vargas – $175k
    Schoenfeld – $38k
    Horton – $71k
    Higuain and Arrieta look to be a good value. Renteria has shown a versatility that will probably keep him around. Heienemann and Schoenfeld seem cheap enough to keep around. Vargas and Horton look to be too expensive compared to their time.
     
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  15. BrickStreetBoy

    Oct 3, 2012
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    What's the deal with Duka? I'd like to keep him as I think he's got great potential, but he and Warzycha seem like they are unable to work together.

    Next year I think I'd like the lineup to look like/will be

    -----------Hammer-----------
    Seba----Chad---Josh----New
    ---------Milo-----Birchall-----
    ------------Higuain------------
    Gaven------Target------Arrieta

    The target is either Vargas or someone we can pick up in the offseason.
    Left back could be williams if we pick up a bona fide CB to pair with Marshall.
    I think Marshall's biggest concern is his lack of a stable partner.

    Other needs include: backup right back
     
  16. KCbus

    KCbus Moderator
    Staff Member

    United States
    Nov 26, 2000
    Reynoldsburg, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well... as the founder, President, Vice-President, Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, Security Guard, Executive Officer and Social Secretary In Charge Of Event Planning of the Chad Marshall Fan Club...

    Chad Marshall should absolutely be back next season.

    In 2009, I was the first one to call Frankie Hejduk's demise. The team kept him around, despite signs that he was done. And in 2010, he was downright dreadful, and it was painful to see. I questioned whether or not he should have still been there, and people said to me, after it was all over, that Frankie Hejduk meant so much for this club and had done so much for this team that he deserved to have 2010 as a chance to pull out of the skid. And I actually agree with that.

    Well, if Frankie Hejduk deserved that chance, Chad Marshall SURE AS ALL HELL DESERVES it.

    Chad Marshall is the all time club leader in matches played. He's scored 15 regular season goals, which I'm sure (despite there not really being a convenient way to check this) makes him the club leader among defenders. (And more than Robbie Rogers.) He scored two of the biggest goals in club history in 2008, to draw us level against Chicago and the match-winner in the Cup. And with the exception of the 2002 Open Cup, he's been a part of every trophy this team has won in its history.

    Is he what he once was? Perhaps not. But let's not discount the effects of being older, the concussion, and the many many MANY lineups he was a part of this season. Many players struggle to keep up physically at this point in their career, because they can't physically do what they used to be able to do. So they have an off season, and then they change the way they train and stay in shape to get around it. Chad's kind of reaching that point now, but let's also not forget -- he's only 28. It doesn't feel like it, because he's been here forever, but he's just entering his prime. If this season was just a blip because of some lingering concussion issues and nagging injuries, he could wind up being as good as ever for a few more years still. It's certainly too early to give up on the guy.

    Also, here are the back-lines of all the matches Marshall played in this season. The number is the team matchdate, and red indicates a new combination not yet seen at that point in the season.

    1. Francis, O'Rourke, Marshall, Miranda
    2. Francis, O'Rourke, Marshall, Miranda
    3. Francis, Marshall, Gehrig, Miranda
    4. Francis, Marshall, Gehrig, Miranda
    5. Francis, Gehrig, Marshall, Miranda
    6. Vukovic, Marshall, Williams, Miranda
    7. Vukovic, Williams, Marshall, Miranda
    16. Vukovic, Marshall, Williams, Miranda
    17. Anor, Marshall, Gehrig, Williams
    18. Williams, Mendes, Marshall, Miranda
    19. Miranda, Mendes, Marshall, Williams
    20. Williams, Mendes, Marshall, Miranda
    21. Williams, Mendes, Marshall, Miranda
    22. Williams, Mendes, Marshall, Miranda
    23. Williams, Mendes, Marshall, Miranda
    24. Williams, Mendes, Marshall, Miranda
    25. Williams, O'Rourke, Marshall, Miranda
    26. Vukovic, O'Rourke, Marshall, Miranda
    27. Vukovic, O'Rourke, Marshall, Miranda
    28. Williams, James, Marshall, Miranda
    29. Williams, James, Marshall, Miranda
    30. Williams, James, Marshall, Miranda
    31. Williams, James, Marshall, Miranda
    32. Williams, James, Marshall, Miranda

    24 matches played, 8 different lineups. And that's not even counting the countless shifting of the d-mids in front of him, and the fact that he was playing in front of Gruenebaum instead of Hesmer for the first time in a long time. All of those changes affect chemistry and communication and general comfort.

    Now... there were more than a handful of plays where he was just plain inexplicably bad. Mistakes that we're not used to seeing from him. But I firmly believe that CM14 could get back to being a complete beast if we can get some consistancy around him, (knock on wood) keep him healthy, and perhaps put the armband on someone else and take some pressure off of him.
     
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  17. KCbus

    KCbus Moderator
    Staff Member

    United States
    Nov 26, 2000
    Reynoldsburg, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Hesmer's probably done.

    Vuko's probably dependent on what happens with Bob. I don't know if Bob just hates him, or if he was struggling with some kind of injury that we just didn't know about. I'd really like to know what's going on behind the scenes there. My gut says he stays, simply because our depth is nil at LB if he leaves.

    Heinemann: Stays. Could have been Lenhart 2.0, but was just de-railed due to injury. Still want to see what he can do.

    Vargas: Probably gone. I thought he was a complete bust. Although there's still a part of me that wants to see what he and Arrieta can do together.

    Renteria: Coin flip.

    Mirosevic: My gut tells me he'll stick around, but I would cut him. I think he's got game, but he just never seemed to put it together and just doesn't seem to be a good fit here.

    Gehrig: Buh bye.

    O'Rourke: Dude is like the phoenix -- you can't get rid of him. But I think he's gone. In addition to being injury-prone, this was the first time I also thought he was just plain bad as well.

    Duka: I hope he stays. The early season injury just totally derailed our plans for him, and things seemed to spiral from there. But we can all tell he's got talent.

    What we really need is to get some more wide players so Gaven doesn't have to play 3,000 minutes and so our forwards like Meram and Renteria can actually play forward.
     
  18. mmradio13

    mmradio13 Member+

    Apr 13, 2008
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Who to let go:

    GK: William Hesmer. Jardy has said William isn't retiring, but he has already said his goodbye to the fans. We can't have a backup keeper making 170k. Andy is an absolute steal at 78k and with Lampson making the minimum, we'll be able to bring in another young keeper to battle for the #2 spot (Luthy maybe?) and save a bunch of cash.

    D: Nobody really sticks out as having a horrible contract. I wouldn't complain if Mendes left because he is making 100k, is getting up there in age, and isn't great. But he is a solid backup. I don't like Julius James, but 100k for him isn't bad. Like Mendes, 100k for a backup isn't a terrible deal. The problem will be that we could keep 1 of them, sign some younger defenders to be backups (We offered a HG deal to Matt Wiet (UCLA) last year but he declined to finish up school, but now that he is done, I'm almost positive we'll bring him in along with Chad Barson (Akron).) and let the other one go in order to save some $$.

    M: Tony Tchani has to be gone. Over 100k for someone who really doesn't offer anything to the team is just wasteful. No reason to keep him around. 2 other guys that could be on their way out are George and Anor. Anor really has a lot to prove in the off-season. He is coming off a major knee injury and really hasn't impressed me in his time with a team that has a fair share of wingers (Gaven, Meram, Duka, Speas, Finlay). George just seems to be at the bottom of the totem pole in the center of the park. Especially if we bring in Trapp, I wouldn't be surprised if George is done with the Crew.

    F: The most obvious guy to let go is Aaron Horton. He isn't mature enough for this level, doesn't bring anything to the team, and is making more than we should be paying the worst player on our roster. Schoenfeld, Heineman, and Vargas could all be let go and I wouldn't lose a second of sleep. Vargas hasn't really impressed and is making 170k, but if he got healthy and had a whole season he could turn out to be ok. Schoenfeld really isn't good, but he is making the league minimum. Heineman isn't much better than Schoenfeld, but he is ok and is making a fairly low salary (47k). Overall, I'd let Vargas and Heineman go and keep Schoenfeld. We should be looking at strikers in the draft.

    In summation-

    Release Hesmer, James, Mendes, Tchani, George, Horton, Vargas, and Heinemann.

    Sign Luthy, Wiet, and Barson to HomeGrown contracts. Offer Trapp a HomeGrown contract.

    Bring in Andy Lubahn (forward from Wake Forest) and Miguel Ibarra (attacking midfielder for the Minnesota Stars of NASL) and whoever else we can for trials.

    Draft the best strikers available. Unless Jared Watts (center mid for Wake Forest) is available.
     
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  19. cam5fc

    cam5fc Member+

    Sep 23, 2008
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    If there was a way to make the text sparkle, dance and since on this part of your quote, we would need to do it.
     
  20. cam5fc

    cam5fc Member+

    Sep 23, 2008
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Doesn't matter who we bring in. The dumbmotherf****r in charge of this team at the moment will run him dead because that same dumbmotherf****r in charge is dead between the ears.

    (Mod note: OK, seriously people -- and I'm not picking on you specifically -- can we lay off the f-bombs here?)
     
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  21. NUFC Fan

    NUFC Fan Member+

    Apr 8, 2007
    Cbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Wish Duka and Tchani were paid less to keep them around to develop, but they aren't on development salaries. Making around/more than Arrieta and Gaven isn't acceptable for their production this year. Crew could recover +500k of salary between those 2 and Hesmer.

    Interesting with the roster expansion from last year that high player turnover really doesn't have to impact the 18.
     
  22. patricksp

    patricksp 91.9 Crew Fan Rating

    Nov 4, 2007
    Columbus
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Do homegrown contracts count against the salary cap?
     
  23. KCbus

    KCbus Moderator
    Staff Member

    United States
    Nov 26, 2000
    Reynoldsburg, OH
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Well, I pretty much agree. I'm in the Fire the Rifle camp now. But it's almost hard to even have this conversation right now, because what we need on a Bob-run team would be a lot different from what we need on a team run by someone else.
     
  24. THOMA GOL

    THOMA GOL BigSoccer Supporter

    Jul 16, 1999
    Frontier
    Club:
    Columbus Crew
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Who knows, maybe Duka might consider pulling out his kinfolk's EU card and become a Yank Abroad. Bittersweet, considering his sister's importance to the club:geek:
     
  25. eclipse02

    eclipse02 Member

    Sep 20, 2009
    Pic
     

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