Like most of the league and well the entire world, I too have passed on stage 2 of the re-entry draft.
Memory problems again, Bill? Keita will start at LCB. I do not know of anyone who had Williams penciled in as the starter (though I could be suffering from memory issues), though he is just fine as a spot starter/reserve. Abubakar is far from useless, but he is/was clearly not rated as highly by Porter. Warshaw's rank was due to the fact that Colorado's GAA went from 2.7 to 1.5 after he started playing for them. FWIW, our GAA last year was 1.38. With Keita on the pitch (801 min) we gave up 11 goals = 1.24 GAA. When he was off (2,559 min), we gave up 36 = 1.43 GAA. Anywho, the general point is that our defense was generally alright, despite losing Steffen mid-season, Valenzuela pre-season, and going long stretches without Jimenez, Francis, and Afful. Our problem was more on offense. So, if we can jettison a potentially unhappy camper (if he isn't starting) and snag some TAM (though it ended up being less than rumored), and augment our offense with that $$$, I am fine with that. We are going to need 1/2 more CBs, and I think it likely we spend a draft pick on one.
Some speculation that the mystery player for whom TFC held the negotiating rights which Bez got in return for I cant remember who is Nicolas Benezet, who has been playing for Toronto on loan from, I think, Montpelier. His loan agreement just expired.
I could see it. Matt Doyle just wrote about us: My Suggestion: It doesn't seem like Nicolas Benezet is returning to Toronto FC after a productive loan spell in the second half of the season. The man had his moments. Acquire his MLS rights from the Reds, then hit his buy-out number (he's into the last six months of his contract) and suddenly you've got a front three of Benezet – Gyasi Zardes – Luis Diaz from left to right, with Santos and Nagbe underneath plus two of the best overlapping fullbacks in the league. I'm not sure what room that would leave for a big signing though in the attack (winger or 10) unless we brought on Benezet as a rotational piece, but it seems to me we kinda already have that in Mokhtar, and Benezet is a similarly salaried player. Who knows what Bez and Porter actually have planned though.
Fits neatly into the scenario doesnt it? Doyle's only miss is that he doesnt know about the rights deal. But then nobody much does. I think it's a perfect setup for a ten shirt in a 4 4 2. Rabbits on the edges, power down the middle, midfielders who can defend and midfielders who can get behind your back line. Yeah you've got some spare parts and competition for starting but isnt that what you want?
I think Bill could be on to something here. I have not seen this guy play much/at all. Winger? Second forward? Both? He ain't no striker at 5'5". I think Doyle's big miss is he envisions Santos as our CAM next year. While he could be right, everything we've heard from the FO signals the opposite, yes? Or did I miss/forget something obvious?
Sjoberg has his green card so he won't be an international player. CB needed depth and that's what this signing is. I would consider him CB 2B/3 (backup but will get starts occasionally), the first man off the bench when someone has International Duty or picks up a knock. At 6'7", may also be a late sub to hold a lead. Interestingly enough, Sjoberg was drafted by the Rapids after they traded Draft Spots with the Crew in 2015 and was made expendable on the Rapids roster by the Lalas Abubakar acquisition (plus signing Drew Moor and trading for Auston Trusty but those don't fit the Rapids/Crew connection I was making). It's a meh signing but I don't know that I would have considered any CB depth signing highlight worthy. Questionable that Rapids worked pretty hard to move away from him but at least it gives the Crew another piece to place in the backline instead of Josh Williams that I'll appreciate for at least the first few minutes of his Crew playing career until I can more accurately build my opinion of him.
So I know nothing of the guy but just a couple of years ago was one of the top prospects in the league but has been hampered by injuries and only played 7 games last year. Looks like a depth signing. Probably a low cost/high reward type signing.
Good post. Was MLS best XI in 2016. Not too long ago. Only played 435 min last year. I guess he will excel in the air and on set pieces and struggle in space. https://www.columbuscrewsc.com/post/2019/12/04/columbus-crew-sc-signs-defender-axel-sj-berg Could see him as late game, hold the lead sub (we need help there). Could also see him as a late game Fellani style CF type. Good news about him having a Green Card. He made $179,996 in guaranteed compensation according to the MLS Player's Union site. Looks to me like he is a Senior Roster player, though his salary could be less, it seems probable he is above league min. Got to go back and find the roster page to do the update. Also think this confirms Keita as the starter, though a CB draft pick is still possible.
Perhaps. Perhaps, not. https://t.co/hHOaQcHsQY (h/t @KOTAstewart)Translation of the report."Wormgoor is on his way to American football.After what TV 2 experiences, only details remain before Wormgoor gets ready for the Columbus #Crew96"— Keith Naas, xpeaker of the houxe (@knaas) December 4, 2019 Add a few umlauts and such, and Wormgoor sounds like a bad Scandinavian death metal band.
Post Axel Sjoberg edition. 19/30 roster spits filled. Between 15-17 on the Senior, depending on where Kempin & Cadden end up. A. Rules & Regs (2019) Link: https://www.mlssoccer.com/league/official-rules/mls-roster-rules-and-regulations B. General Stuff: 1. Salary Cap = $4,240,000 (2019) A) On Budget: Only Senior Roster Spots count against the Cap B) Players on Season Ending Injury list also count vs. the Cap, though one replacement player may be off cap under certain circumstances. C) Up to 20 Senior Roster spots. 18 must be filled. Min budget charge is made if spots 19 & 20 are not filled. D) Max budget charge is $530,000. Allocation $$ and DP rules can reduce a player's budget charge below their listed salary number. E) Off-Budget: Supplemental (21-24) and Reserve (25-30) Rosters do not count towards the salary cap. II. Estimated Roster Compositions 1. Senior Roster: 14/18-20 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, Zardes, F, 28, 9/2/91, 6'1", 187, USA, DP, $1,421,667/$1,471,667 2. Mensah, D, 29, 7/13/90, 6'2", 183, Ghana, GC: $800,004/$894,004 3. Santos, M, 31, 4/22/88, 5'6", 139, Portugal, DP, Int#1: $817,560/$864,560 4. Nagbe, CM, 29, 7/19/90, 5'9", 165, USA/Liberia, $665,500/$665,500. 5. Trapp, M, 26, 1/15/93, 5'8", 150, USA, $549,996/$593,746 6. Mokhtar, M, 28, 8/29/91, 5'9", 159, Morocco, Int#2, $459,996/$533,845. 7. de Lima (Artur), M, 23, 3/11/96, 5'11", 154, Brazil, GC: $360,000/$411,633 8. Afful, D, 33, 7/24/86, 5'6", 135, Ghana, GC, $288,100/$363,800 9. Room, GK, 30, 2/6/89, 6'3", 179, Curacao & Netherlands, Int#3, $300k/$354,694. 10. Diaz, M, 20, 12/6/98, 5'11", 159, Costa Rica, Int#4, YDP, $300k/$333,900. 11. Valenzuela, D, 21, 8/13/98, 5'6", 145, Argentina, GC, Int#5: $290,000/$321,300 12. J. Williams, D, 31, 4/18/88, 6'2", 185, USA: $215,000/$215,000 13. Jimenez, D/M, 30, 11/3/88, 5'9", 145, USA: $200,000/$200,000 14. Sjoberg, D, 28, 3/8/91, 6'7", 210, Sweden, GC, $174,996/$179,996. 15. W. Francis, D, 29, 9/20/90, 5'9", 160, Costa Rica, GC, $160,000/$199,167 16. Open (Cadden?) 17. Open (Kempin?) 18. Open 19. Open 20. Open --------------------------------------------------- 2. Supplemental Roster: 2 of 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 ($70,250), 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. JJ Williams, F, 21, 1/4/98, 6'3", 200, USA, GA, $95,000/$149,750 22. Kempin, GK, 26, 4/8/93, 6'1", 175, USA: $71,664/$71,664. 23. Open 24. Open Kempin signed a new deal. He could be above the vet min now. --------------- 3. Reserve Roster (25-28). 1 of 4. A) Players must be either earning the Reserve Minimum Salary ($56,250) or be 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. Cadden, D/M, 23, 9/19/96, 6'0", 168, Scotland, Int#7, $56,250/$56,250 26. Open 27. Open 28. Open Cadden could be on the senior or supplemental roster. ----------------------------------------- 4. HomeGrown Reserve Roster (29-30). 1 of 2. 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. Keita, D, 19, 4/6/00, 6'2, 180, USA, HG, $90,000/$110,000 30. Open --------------- 7. Designated Players: 2 of 3 Zardes, Santos. Though both could be bought down with TAM. --------------------------- 8. International Roster Spots: 6 of 8 (lost one in Nagbe deal, got one in Abubakar deal). Santos, Valenzuela, Diaz, Room, Mokhtar, Cadden. ------------ 9. Green Card Holders = 5. Mensah, W. Francis, de Lima (Artur), Afful, Sjoberg. ----------------------------------------- Any corrections, comments, etc are always welcome.
Or a bizzare Scandanavian porn/gore flick. I am not sure Norweigan 1st division > MLS (it isn't). But that is not to say a good player cannot be plucked from there (Ola). Seems like another experienced guy (31), not an auto-starter.
I have no recollection of seeing Wormgoor play, so it's hard to express an opinion but he was picked up off theMLS waiver wire, which is not normally considered a gold mine of talent. Rubbish heap might be too strong a term but not by much. And to be fair, he isnt exactly guaranteed to actually make the roster.
Sjoberg - Great in the air on defending and attacking set pieces, and defending high balls in general. Injury prone with little to no speed. Pretty good at taking on runners but god help you if he gets beat. If he has to defend while looking at the goal watch out. I'd be surprised if he's going to be your primary backup, I see him more as a CB4 than a 2/3. Great person, a long time fan favorite in Colorado.