Union Off-Season Player Rumors & Movement 2013/14

I like this. Call out the bullshit in the rules and retain the top pick.

 

IDK, if I'm my company's main guy and they hire someone else w/similar specialized skills, I'm a bit alarmed and going to find out if I have to worry about losing the position I was led to believe was mine for the foreseeable future.

Who knows if his agent called him back 5 min later and told him to chill out, no worries....or STFU and stay off Twitter while I work it out.

 

, is there something more at work here? I’ve been told in the past by people I trust that Philadelphia sometimes struggles to meet the league’s cash calls, something I’ve never confirmed on the record. So perhaps this is the league’s of reminding Philadelphia that it takes money to sit at the big boys table "
http://wp.me/p2g4vo-14pU

 

So is the Nogueira thing independent of Edu or is he the backup plan in case Edu doesn't happen? Does anyone see the Union bringing them both in?

 

Yup

 

I'm hearing nothing but good things about Blake [both on-field and off], if he plays like people say he will, he'll be starting by a few months in.

Of course anything can happen, but there's definitely hope and I appreciate the ambition by the Union here. One or two signings away from shutting me up.

 

Sorry to bring this up again and I promise - this is the last time but this by Dan Walsh....

http://www.phillysoccerpage.net/2014/01/16/the-monkey-wrench-signing/

There ARE no rules in MLS. It's fixed. Toronto are in trouble and so MLS rescued them. The SOB are rabid fans who will fill the stadium no matter what so for now - we are the 'designated losers'. F5*ck me!

 

So the swap of picks with DCU literally happened at the last minute, so why tell MacMath you're taking a player that might not be there? Second, competition is good, if MacMath can't tAke the heat maybe he should rethink his career choice. Third all of the experts are saying Blake's strength's include commanding his box (lol), picking off crosses, organizing and communicating with his defense......which are the major flaws in Zac Mac's game that holds him back. He's also 4" taller then MacMath.

The draft was a fun experience. Overall the Union did well today. They got the most talented player available in Blake (already training with Jamaican National Team, and is 6'4"). They got an attacking MF in Pedro Ribeiro who's huge and talented. Also according to Hackworth he played hurt this season and still put up great numbers. In the second round they addressed another need in a CB and also drafted a defender who can play LB.

So IF we sign Edu and the Socheax MF we've definitely improved on paper. Will it be enough to get us to playoffs or finish near the top of the east? That's difficult to say, but match days at PPL should be a lot more fun again this season.

 

Nogueira appears to have been the plan prior to Edu's availability, however, that doesn't mean that they are mutually exclusive. Maidana is a DP and is on the books. Edu would be a DP. It would be hard for Nogueira not to be a DP. So if both transactions go through, we would already have to purchase a 3rd DP slot with allocation money, but you also have to start looking at the salary cap. I recognize that that was part of the positive of the Parke - White swap.

Maybe that's where this MacMath and Blake move came from. Reports indicate that Hackworth was not high on Dean and most scouts were higher on Dean than on Cochran and Lowe, meaning there was no Omar Gonzalez (GA CB who can step in and convincingly start with no budget hit) to create some cap space where Parke vacated. I don't think you accomplish much by cleaning house on your front line where Jack, SLT, and Casey are all on reasonable contracts for game-changing attackers. The only big contract left in your midfield belongs to your captain, Brian Carroll. Carroll probably survives in the midfield if only one of Nogueira or Edu are signed but I don't see them keeping him if they sign both. (I am just imagining Edu running in Daniel's spot in the bucket next to Carroll).

Needing another potential outlet for salary relief, the Union turn to the now GA-graduated and much less budget friendly number on Zac MacMath's deal. Still looking to acquire a starting caliber left back (presumably with some of the war chest of allocation they've been stock-piling) the Union missed the boat on Justin Morrow and now are likely spending allocation to purchase someone with a much higher cap hit. Heath Pearce could still be a free agent option, in theory, but would again raise a lot of questions about salary cap issues.

It may come down the Union "not being able to have it all".

 

Much agreed. The more I think about it, the more the Blake pick makes some sense to me (I cautiously say this, though). The Union will see how MacMath plays this year with true competition pushing him. MLS teams typically lack the kind of intra-squad competition seen in many European leagues which result in players pushing each other, so I see this as a good thing for Zac and the club. The staff must really like the prospects of having the likely future Jamaican national team 'keeper on their roster. If things turn out that Blake progresses to the same level as MacMath (or better), then it will mean MacMath becomes a prime option for a trade before he is due a salary hike.

There is, however, inherent risk to using the 1st overall pick on a goalkeeper. On one side, Blake is unproven in MLS while Zac has shown growth in competency already; if MacMath is traded in the future, the team will be back at square one with a raw 'keeper who will undoubtedly experience growing pains similar to what we saw with MacMath. On the other side, if Blake becomes the future goalkeeper and really progresses, it could turn into a Guzan type of draft pick where he has a few very productive seasons before getting transferred to Europe (leaving the club at square one once again).

I hope Hack 'N Sak are serious about a guy like Nogueira. Overpaying for Edu would make some sense if they bring in a quality left side attacking player to play in front of him. If they only bring in a defensive-mid like Edu (especially for the money that has been talked about), then I would remain skeptical on the wisdom of that scenario given the current makeup of the club. But, saying all that may be academic anyway because there could be critical cap issues preventing them from signing two more DPs. And if that were the case, I would not favor signing the holding midfielder as your second DP.

When all is said and done at this moment in time, I still believe, even after a DP signing and the draft, that the club's biggest question marks remain unsettled regarding its backline (central and left), and midfield (again, central and left). Maidana is an unknown wildcard, we really don't know what to expect from him given his recent track record; and it's typically unnerving (with a couple of notable exceptions) to insert college draft picks right into the starting back four.

 

I think the Union have gotten the message about upgrading the midfield. They are working the phones and hopefully another player or two lands with us.

I'm curious what the answer is going to be at left back. Hackworth identified it as a need for the coming season and though Derschang may be an option on the left side (LM converted in college to LB) if he makes the team, our best answers at the moment are still Gaddis and Fabinho. Maybe they didn't rate Ben Sweat (which only draws into greater relief not taking a solid LB in last year's draft) but there aren't a lot of upgrades out there yet that are domestic and/or cap friendly.

Posters and bloggers have said that Gaddis is a trade candidate this offseason. With Gaddis' cap hit and ability to play at both outside back positions, I think Fabinho is more likely to be cut or traded if we purchase or sign a new LB. Gaddis is probably more likely to be included in a trade though if it yields a starting left back.

Does Damani Richards make another appearance in pre-season (now healed from his apparent injuries last year)?

 

I'm probably the happiest member of this board, at the moment in terms of what went down today. Elated, actually.

Wondering: how much of Zac's twitter escapade with Soumare & Okugo contributed to pulling the trigger?
No matter, because the Union landed the best player in the draft by a good margin imo.

Unabashed Ribeiro fan here. Watched him Sunday........was amazed to learn today he was playing with a hernia and did as well as he did. Ives told me his conditioning was a bit in question. Now I understand why. He was honest with the staff about his health. I think this kid is going to end up being what we all HOPED Keon would be in time.

Cope is a bit shorter than I prefer in a CB-but the kid is a bulldog and really handled himself well in the 2nd game I watched. Media voted him MVP of it. Solid pedigree. Will help CB depth. Derschang a nice Left footed FB option.

We don't really know what Chaco will bring at this point, but at one time-prior to injury-he was a solid player.
Just hope his pace returns at least to some extent........but the rest of the skill look to be there-and I reiterate I want Hernandez to get a fair shot anyway.

My chief concern this off-season was finding a left side for this team. We all want bigger names, but Philly now has 2 options at LB, 3 at LM GK & CB depth, allocation $ and a few more weeks to fill in the blanks. (CM/AM/W)

Hate this FO............but have to be fair about it.
Given the budget restraints, I think they killed it today gentlemen.

 

Thanks Rob.

 

Success compared to others. Or thats how I look at it.

 

Indeed, this is not the NBA.

 

The idea of the Union having 3 DP players definitely doesn't square with the FO's reputation for being short on cash, especially if they take on a huge salary for Edu.

I imagine that the Noguiera/Edu is an either/or unless they take Edu on as a loan. The other thing they might do, if you are allowed to pay down your salary budget with allocation money ( in other words, I think you can pay a smaller salary # during the league's cash call by cashing in your allocation money): deal MacMath and/or the allocation spot for more allocation $ in order to put the money they normally put toward their contribution to the salary budget toward their DP's. That's the way the Blake selection makes most sense to me.

If they can do that *and* the players they bring in wind up being worth it (we know Edu is capable of starring in MLS, less so with Noguiera and even less so with Maidana)...I'll be impressed with the FO's roster management in a way I've never been.

 

We're beginning to see a shell of a team on our roster. Gotta like that! Hack said this draft was about depth and by that small measure he delivered. Good on him. If getting Blake was really their plan from the start of the offseason, so far, so good, but Zac did come on strong towards the end of last season. I kinda feel bad for Big Orange.

Hope Chaco Maidana can give us an attacking threat on the left and Seba stays healthy. We still need some additional midfield steel and I was really into Okugo starting at DM, but no way that happens with the lack of experienced CBs on our roster now. Could we trade Zac for a starter at either DM or CB?

If I'm seeing things correctly, this is beginning to look like a MLS team with an idea of how to build a half-decent roster. Somebody slap me.

 

i dont really think we have any precedent to base the "cheap FO" assumption on. This is only year 5. Building a franchise takes time

YO WHERE THE ******** AM I GONNA PARK?

 

I'm cautiously optimistic with the potential signings, the draft picks and the potential trade value. I don't think we deal either GK preseason, since we would then have to go find a backup. I'd expect Zac to start and then Blake to get his feet wet enough the FO can either feel comfortable he could take over, or find out they need to keep Zac. If Blake is ready for 2015, then they deal Zac for picks, god forbid a player, or the more likely AM to pay for Edu year Two.

 

I'm pretty sure he isn't.