Barco, Esco, and Remedi get permanent residency, per atlutd.com Three international spots available now. https://www.atlutd.com/post/2020/01..._medium=&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign= Yeah, even Barco, who may not be here next season, so maybe this is a sign of something reasonably big in the next few days.
So I guess Arzamendia is out. We just signed over the hill, Edgar Castillo. Let’s all pray that George Bello can Tyler Adams is way into 2020.
I’ve got to say, I know we all want to rah, rah, rah, our team is the best, but this team looks BAD going into 2020. I was more confident going into 2017 than now. In truth, my prediction is we either barely make the playoffs or we don’t make it all this year. I’m sure we’ll rebound, but we’re in for a long and sucky year.
It's a playoiff league. I think we'll be okay if we can gel. I'm gonna wait until we either have the level of talent we should have, or until we absolutely do not. Basically, I can't imagine Eales and Boca posing at the swordtable in the AMB boardroom with goblets of water during the Draft if they're just going to flip old players afterward. With that kind of posturing, somebody of consequence is probably on the way.
My guess is that we make a splash in the summer window and hope to gelll and make the playoffs from there.
Galaxatives just signed Chicharito. How do we continue to compete when the other troo contendas are still out there throwing money at aging players? Are we going to be the only good club that does it the right way? Zlatan, Schweinsteiger, Henry, Villa, Ruidiaz, Nani, BWP, Kaka, Lodeiro, Giovinco, Valeri, Vela, Rooney... Now, some of those guys aren't as known or as good as the others, but if they're beating us, there's a problem. At some point, we're going to have to follow the pattern or be reduced to playing the games not to win, but to showcase/shop our developed talent. Like NYRB with all their Shields, lol.
Actually, most of 'em were South Americans. We need more than one at this point. I hope you're right that we find them.
A. Chicharito is an overpriced poacher, I say. I'm sure he'll thrive in MLS but he's hardly Zlatan or Carlos Vela. B. Atlanta seems, bleasedly, to be immune from the need for a name-brand player. I'm sure if such a player came along he'd be welcomed but thus far everyone seems more concerned about the team performance than star appeal. Give us another Gressel than a Chicharito, as it were. C. Castillo is a cheap stop gap to allow Bello and Co. time to settle in. When he's healthy he should prove a better match for FdB's system than Brek Shea. He also won't eat an international slot.
For my money if Bello is anything close to what we all hope the defense is poised to at least match last season's performance. You still have Escobar, Miles and Guzan, and I'd be surprised if Meza and Walkes can't contribute. The offense remains what it is. Martinez, Pity, Barco, Hyndman, Gressel... The issue is the replacement for Nagbe, either directly or indirectly. We've seen that a Larentowicz & Remedi partnership can't function in the desired way so someone will have to assume the central distributor role. Gressel? Hydnman? Someone new? If the team stays relatively healthy they're already an Eastern contender, the catch now is finding the missing piece that makes them a true Cup contender. I feel, anyway.
But he poached for one of the finest clubs on earth. I'm of the opinion that he can hurt us. He's probably better than anyone we could find to back up Josef. It's interesting, tho, that the Galaxy haven't even scored on us, let alone take any points. I'm glad we're doing things the right way, and we need Gressel. But the stars of football are that because they've helped great teams win matches. I don't think LAG are starstruck so much as willing to embarrass the league by bringing them in and winning things. IIRC, Zlatan played for the league minimum or something crazy like that. I could be wrong. I'd welcome a player who could help us --it has nothing to do with the player at all-- but I think we as a league could maybe quiet the detractors by buying young. Folks come out of the woodwork to bash MLS instead of just not watching. I never understood it. We're not the only league without a single table, and I'm not sure we're the only FA without pro/rel. We may be the only league without either... No, I never thought Castillo was going to be much of a factor in anything. He's depth when it's all said/done.
I think Castillo won't be depth. He will be more of a starter similar to what Shea was last year. Bello isn't ready and he wasn't that good or outstanding with the US U17 or in USL. I really wish there is a plan to bring in a LB and hopefully it is Arzamendia and that the deal hasn't dropped off for him.
Zlatan playing for the league minimum? Not sure what gave you that idea. He played for an MLS record breaking $7.2 million last year.
Yeah, I don’t see any scenario where Castillo is not considered the de facto starter or at least rotational starter. Meanwhile, only way we get Arzamendia now is if we have absolutely NO faith in Bello.
Reports coming out Gressel is off to DCU. Team better damn well deliver after this off-season or questions about Carlos and Darren will come fast and furious.
Sickened and disgusted. But this is my club, so I'll always support it. The FO and FdB surely have a plan that'll result in us taking our MLS Cup back, after all that chess it makes no sense to just pick up a rook and take it off the board. This damn cap is ruining the league and ruining us.
Trading away arguably your second most popular player on the club...I feel sorry for whoever they bring in to replace him. He's gonna get no benefit of the doubt at all. This mean Tito stays?
I can't agree with this because I'll always favor a league with rules encouraging parity. More importantly, though, I'm not sure how much of this was a cap issue. Lest I'm mistaken the net change in team wages between last season and this season is within $800k, and Atlanta has never had more than the 5th most expensive roster. So it sure feels to me like they had at least enough wiggle room to pay him what DCU will allegedly pay him ($700k). There has to be something more at work here. I agree, though, this move will blow back in the faces of AUFC unless they come good this season. Nagbe was an understandable loss outside their control, but letting LGP and Gressel go on top of that (plus releasing the squad players they let go early on) means the management better have a plan since they obviously are not reliant on last season's roster. Put another way: FdB will either earn his money this season or Carlos will begin to warrant serious questioning.
Full roster? Yes. Good enough? Unknown. At the moment I'd happily write off the Champions League in exchange for concentrating on the league and USOC. I don't think this roster is strong enough to beat the likes of America or Monterrey so don't risk injury or fatigue chasing that dream. Worse yet, don't falter in the league chasing the CL such that Atlanta misses the postseason. MLS' other superclub (Seattle) has never missed the playoffs, and that's the standard Atlanta is chasing.
Ugh, I just heard the news on 92.9 The Game. I hate to see Julian go as he was probably my favorite player and I am going to miss Mike Conti screaming "GRESSELMANIA IS RUNNING WILD!" after a goal, but in this league, with its salary constraints, players are going to come and go. Obviously it was as simple as the "just pay the man" crowd makes it out to be. If that were the case Uncle Arthur would have simply opened up the check book. Anyway, thanks for the memories Julian. It is going to be interesting to see what the new CBA contract allows as far as player salaries goes.
Our team's looking less like a football club and more like a brokerage firm... The world's game is set up so that teams that can spend to win spend to win and the teams that can't spend to win aren't a factor. And fans of shit teams don't seem to mind- Chelsea fans went 50 seasons between championships, and Man City went 44, but they kept filling their stadia and buying shirts. Then one day they were bought by someone who cared, and now they're both relevant. Traditional finance freedom would have eliminated 70% of our competition longterm. I rather like a system where we win stuff and most of the rest of the league's fans live to see their team beat us in one match someday. That's the point of being a big team in any given league. I do understand that I'd hate it very much if my team were poor or cheap... Who is assembling this team, tho? I mean, of course Darren and Carlos have the right of refusal or whatever, but surely they are listening to the man who's going to manage the players. The variable that's changed is the manager. They took Tata's suggestions into account and we won the championship. We were unfortunate not to reach the final again, but now we're definitely headed in the wrong direction.
I tend never to get excited about the CCL, because everybody but MLS is in midseason form and we're like "ready, set, assembleyourteamtrainfora fornightandGO!". This year is another one we won't win it. I just hope we don't do a TFC and go deep only to come away empty handed.