Well, here we go. Mods, if you would prefer this in the general off-season thread, feel free to move. I just thought there will be a lot of non-roster specific off-season stuff coming down the pike and a roster-specific thread was due with today's news. https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post...es-options-contracts-eight-players-ahead-2019 Upshot on roster: 1) Options excercised on 8 players: Kempin, Lungaard; Sauro, Williams, Crognale, Maloney; Hansen, Argudo. 2) New contract for Abubakar. 3) Options declined on 5: Ketterer; Clark, Grella, Martinez; Jahn. Team remains in talks with Rico Clark. 4) Team in talks with Newell's Old Boys on Valenzuela. 5) Had 13 under contract prior to today. Leaving us 22 in the fold, including Steffen. With taljs ongoing on Valenzuela & Clark. Current roster breakdown: GK = 3. Steffen, Kempin, Lungaard. D = 8. Afful, Mensah, Sauro, Jimenez (M); Williams, Abubakar, Crognale, Maloney. M = 9. Trapp, Artur, Higuain, Santos, Hansen; Meram, Sosa, Argudo, Opoku. F = 2. Zardes; Mullins. --------- In talks: Valenzuela, Clark Likely gone: Steffen ------- I do not know how much pre-Steffen sale Garber bucks we have to pay down 2019 salaries, but I know there was some. We had a full 3 DPs last year: Pipa, Santos, & Valenzuela (young). The DP budget charge was $504k, so I assume anyone making more than that would have to be paid down with Garber bucks. Anywho, here is our list of guys who made more than the DP charge last year. 1. Pipa (DP) = $1,100,000. 2. Mensah (former DP) = $774,996 3. Santos (DP) = $747,600 4. Zardes = $630,000 5. Meram = $550,008 6. Valenzuela (young DP) = $282,000 We can pay everyone but Pipa down to under DP wages for less than $700k using last year's numbers. Assuming Valenzuela is re-signed for less than that, we should have the $$ from Steffen sale to get 2 DPs. Hopefully both attackers. Will try to do full roster thread soon. Peace. Have at with my mistakes, there will be plenty.
Quick look at the designatons on our roster, beyond the DPs. Internationals = 4/8. Mensah, Santos, Artur, Sosa. Valenzuela would be 5. Green cards = 4. Higuain, Afful, Sauro, Abubakar. HGs: Trapp (Senior roster), Crognale. Gen Adidas: Opoku. Current needs: 1) Starting GK 2) 2 DP level wings 3) Get Valenzuela signed 4) CM/CAM depth 5) Fwd depth Will attempt a full roster guess using last year's rules & numbers later today.
Can Young DPs be paid down to enable the DP slot to be opened? I'd think that wouldn't be allowed because there is already an advantage of the cap hit being lessened. Anyway, I'm hopeful we can be rid of Santos in some way (why can't he get homesick like a couple other never-were's we've had in the past). I wouldn't be too upset with parting ways with Pipa if that can happen too. Freeing up 2 DP slots for the new coach to fill with the help of the Steffen money goes a long way towards setting us up for success. I tend to think of pro sports teams with 3 year windows. Hire a new coach, give them tools to succeed by the end of that 3 year window and either move on or re-up for another 3 based on the results. I don't think we can build a team around Pipa for a 3 year run to a championship. We could build a team around Trapp, Valenzuela, Mensah, Crognale, Artur, Zardes and 2 new DPs. I'm hopeful the new coach gets the chance to start on that process from day one rather than being tied to Pipa and Santos for the first year then having to start again the next year.
Good question on Valenzuela. Frankly, I do not think we have to buy him down at all. If we get a deal done with Newell's, he will likely get a raise. But as long as it isn't over $504k (DP threshold), I think we can just elect to not designate him a young DP and thereby open up the third DP spot. As of this moment, it certainly is open.The only advantages I could have seen for such a designation are either salary cap (some portion of his actual salary not counting) or PR (look! we have the 3 DPs). I will attempt a roster dive right now & do some salary cap stuff. But have to use last year's numbers/roster rules, as that is all we have to go on. I. Rules & Regs (2018) A. Link: https://www.mlssoccer.com/league/official-rules/mls-roster-rules-and-regulations B. General Stuff: 1. Salary Cap = $4,035,000. A) On Budget: Only Senior Roster Spots count against the Cap. B) Up to 20 Senior Roster spots. 18 must be filled. Min budget charge is made if spots 19 & 20 are not filled. C) Max budget charge is $504,375. Allocation $$ and DP rules can reduce a player's budget charge below their listed salary number. D) Off-Budget: Supplemental (21-24) and Reserve (25-30) Rosters do not count towards the salary cap. II. Estimated Roster Compositions 1. Senior Roster: 18-20 Players: A) 20 Player max on Senior Roster, subject to Season Ending Injury List, Disabled List, and Loan exceptions. B) Generally, this is the highest 20 paid players, though HG players and GA players can be on other rosters. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 1. Higuain, M, 34, 10/25/84, 5'8", 165, Argentina, DP, GC: $1.1 mil/$1.1 mil 2. Mensah, D, 28, 7/13/90, 6'2", 183, Ghana, Int#1: $774,996/$868,996 3. Santos, M, 30, 4/22/88, 5'6", 139, Portugal, DP, Int#2: $747,600/$794,600 4. Zardes, F, 27, 9/2/91, 6'1", 187, USA: $630,000/$630,000 5. Meram, M, 29, 12/4/88, 6'1", 165, USA/Iraq: $550,008/$578,758 6. Trapp, M, 25, 1/15/93, 5'8", 150, USA, HG: $500,004/$550,004 7. Afful, D, 32, 7/24/86, 5'6", 135, Ghana, GC: $288,100/$363,800 8. Mullins, F, 26, 2/5/92, 6'1", 176, USA: $249,996/$249,996 9. de Lima, M, 22, 3/11/96,5'11", 154, Brazil, Int#3: $210,000/$244,167 10. Williams, D, 30, 4/18/88, 6'2", 185, USA: $200,000/$200,000 11. Jimenez, D/M, 30, 11/3/88, 5'9", 145, USA: $159,996/$159,996 12. Steffen, GK, 23, 4/2/95, 6'3", 190, USA: $145,000/$145,000 13. Sosa, M, 22, 6/20.96, 5'7", 165, Venezuela, Int#4: $100,000/$120,200 14. Kempin, GK, 25, 4/8/93, 6'1", 175, USA: $80,256/$80,256 15. Hansen, M, 24, 9/14/94, 5'10", 170, USA, $68,250/$75,750 16. Abubakar, D, 23, 12/25/94, 6'0", 180, Ghana, GC, $68,250/$75,750 17. Open (Valenzuenla?) 18. Open (Clark?) 19. Open (Attacking help/DP) 20. Open (Attacking help/DP) --------------------------------------------------- 2. Supplemental Roster: 4 Players (21-24) A) Up to 4 players. Do not count vs. salary cap. Subject to SE Injury Replacement, Disabled List, and Loan exceptions. B) May include Senior Minimum Budget Players ($67,500), Generation Adidas players (who may earn more), and Homegrown Players (who may earn more). Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 21. Opoku, M/F, 22, 8/1/96, 5'7", 140, USA, GA: $75,000/$96,000 22. Sauro, D, 28, 2/23/90, 6'3", 185, Argentina, GC: $67,500/$67,500 23. Open (draft pick or Crognale?) 24. Open (draft pick?) --------------------------------------------- 3. Reserve Roster (25-28) A) Players must be either earning the Reserve Minimum Salary ($54,500) or by Homegrown Players earning more via the HG Subsidy. B) Players must be 24 or younger during the League YEAR. As determined by Year of birth, not date (I am not sure what this means exactly, is someone who turns 25 during the season eligible or not?). C) Senior Min Players & GA Players cannot occupy these spots. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 25. Maloney, D, 23, 5/18/95, 5'6", 145, USA: $55,654/$55,654 26. Argudo, M, 22, 12/13/95, 5'9", 150, USA: $54,500/$54,500 27. Lundgaard, GK, 23, 9/25/95, 6'5", 205, USA: $54,500/$54,500 28. Open ----------------------------------------- 4. HomeGrown Reserve Roster (29-30) A) Must be Homegrown Players. B) Same Budget & Age rules as Reserve Roster 25-28 players. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 29. Crognale, D, 24, 8/27/94, 6'5", 205, USA, HG: $95,004/$95,004 30. Open ----------------------------------- If Crognale is age ineligible, he would occupy one of the open Supplemental slots. ----------------------------------------- Best guess for now.
Would there be interest in the fancy roster chart this early? I am definitely planning to do one once the season begins (and hopefully for training camp), but can start working on one sooner if there is interest in an offseason edition.
Absolutely. Yours are so much prettier than mine. But take your time, we are early stages yet. But with all the option decisions last week I at least wanted to get something down.
Sorry for not doing the fancy roster this past season. It was the result of a mix of ill health (spent better part of five days in the hospital in August due to what turned out to be a manageable heart condition) and some apathy on my part due to the potential move.
Thanks! I'm fine now. The management isn't that hard (a few pills and staying below 2000 mg of sodium a day).
Looks like hes 23....primarily a right winger but can play both sides. We were connected to a young player named Robinho a while back. Not sure if this is that same guy or not because I've seen multiple guys named this (and not just the Robinho)
Francisco Wellington Barbosa de Lisboa. That is going to be hard to shout during the lineup call at the beginning of games.
Hah. I think we'd survive. We already have Pedro Miguel Martins Santos and Jose Artur de Lima Junior.
This is the Twitter post I found. I havent seen anything else personally. 1071778662998073344 is not a valid tweet id
Obviously this Robinho guy could just be a bulls*** rumor....but if it is true...or we acquire a player of a similar profile....do you think this is a good route to take? Signing a young-ish player that hasn't played much top flight soccer? I'm sure he wont be too expensive so it would be safe enough to gamble and see if he can stake his claim on a starting spot on this team. I just keep thinking that we really need to specifically sign another DP winger. Somebody who's got a proven track record of being productive in his most recent seasons. I'm absolutely fine with us signing a young guy that is believed to be super talented with a high ceiling.....but that isnt a reliable fix to our immediate issue. Could be, but it would be foolish to bank on it. I would take a 23 year old if they had been playing in the Brazilian Serie A and shown promise for a season or two. This Robinho dude has belonged to Ceara, a Serie B team just promoted to Serie A, for a while now...but has mostly been loaned out to teams that hover around the Serie B to Serie C relegation zone. Doesnt mean he cant light it up here. I just think we need a more immediate proven solution. And if a guy like him is considered a potential future starter...then we already have a full stable of young wingers of varying degrees with mild potential (Hansen, Opoku, etc) who still deserve more opportunity to prove themselves too. I guess I just dont know what is reasonable to expect...even if our new ownership is willing to spend....considering we have 2 sub-par starting wingers who are both already on several hundred thousand dollar salaries, on contract. It's hard to see them bringing in a comparable or even more expensive player for the same position. I guess well find out
Robinho's CV doesn't impress. Twenty three isn't especially young for a Brazilian professional. He's probably gotten as good as he ever will by now. We can do better than a guy who scores every 5th game in the C league.