I’m thinking freeze rumors will get more and more as our ownership shows the cash. $7M for Zelarayan and every agent in the world took notice. It sounds like a few of these are just agents bumping up the price with other clubs.
This article claims that Valenzuela is fit and cleared to fully take part in our pre-season camp that opens this week: https://www.dispatch.com/sports/202...20-season-after-missing-2019-with-knee-injury Great news. I'm still wondering how he'll do in an intense pre-season camp; if he might suffer any set-backs. Still, this is what I've been wanting to hear. We desperately need him as an every week presence at right back.
Didnt see you post it anywhere here unless I missed it. REPORT: @ColumbusCrewSC are looking to sign 27-year-old defensive midfielder Jacek Góralski. He plays for Bulgarian club Ludogorets. He also plays for the Poland national team. His contract with his current club expires in the summer. #Crew96 pic.twitter.com/mH2IMMaFPh— Christian Pereira ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@CrewSoccer96) January 18, 2020 The guy has played for the Poland national team and Ludogorets is a powerhouse team in eastern Europe (Bulgaria) but hes also not a consistent starter there (looks like he plays alot in cup/CL/EL games but not as much in regular season games). Not sure how I would value him. Transfermarkt thinks hes worth 3.4 mil. I'm not sure I see spending that much for a 27 year old with this profile because regardless of the cash outlay, I don't see him benching Trapp. His contract with Ludogorets does expire this summer though, so the move would be much more palatable then if we get him for free. If we know we're going to lose Trapp soon though, and the Crew are high on this guy, maybe it makes sense to throw down the cash now (could easily be attainable for way less than 3.4 mil) to secure him and have him integrated into our team before Wil is gone.
Goralski’s market value is recorded at €2.50 million as of February 2018,. Presently, he gets paid £4000 as his weekly salary which is around £208,000 per annum from his native club Ludogorets Razgrad.
Goralski passed on Sounders offer and is headed to Kackalackystan. Several sources shared this. Must have a great farmers market militia.
🇰🇿 El #KairatAlmaty ha fichado al mediocentro polaco Jacek Goralski (27 | #Ludogorets) por 1.000.000 €. Firma por cuatro temporadas. pic.twitter.com/GQfO49OxMu— Mercatosphera (@mercatosphera) January 19, 2020
To call that an "article" is an insult to anyone who has ever had a byline. It's just a series of questions. And then the author asks for someone else to answer his questions. Ryan, Crewfighter, Bro - You want to be a journalist, why don't you do the investigation?
https://www.10tv.com/article/video-...season-acquisitions-what-lies-ahead-team-2020 Trapp could possibly be moved confirma what we all thought . Was surprised when Bez said even a domestic move is possible
Well, kind of. What he said is that almost anything is possible and if someone makes an offer or if the player is interested in a move to someplace that he's willing to talk about it. He then emphasized that no such situation currently obtains with regard to Trapp.
OK, post Seb Berhalter signing. Post lower rounds of Superdraft edition. Again, lots of players could be on different rosters. Vet min players (Lampson & Kempin?) could be Senior or Supp. Cadden was Reserve last year but is probably Senior this. The HG guys (Morris, Berhalter, Keita) coukd be Supp, Reserve, or HG Reserve. And a draftee making the team could be anywhere, though likely Supp or Reserve. Best guesses as always. I have moved Cadden to Senior. I put all the draftees together in a seperate section. Kept Mentzingen & Ryo there for now. 25/30 filled. 1 (or 2 if Cadden is not Senior) SR spots open. Likely 1 Supp spot. The other 3 are Reserve. 1 INT spot open. Santos would seem most likely to get a Green Card next. If anyone gets a list of our training camp roster, fire away. 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 $$ and DP rules can reduce a player's budget charge below their listed salary number. E) Off-Budget: Supplemental (21-24) and Reserve (25-30) Rosters do not count towards the salary cap. F) Salary info is from September 2019. Have to wait for the Union to post new info, usually they do 2 per year, March & September. II. Estimated Roster Compositions 1. Senior Roster: 18/18-20 Players: A) 20 Player max on Senior Roster, subject to Season Ending Injury List, Disabled List, and Loan exceptions. B) Generally, this is the highest 20 paid players, though HG players and GA players can be on other rosters. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 1. Zelarayan, M, 27, 6/20/92, 5'8", 154, Argentina, DP, INT#1, $1.5 mil+/$1.5 mil+ 2. Zardes, F, 28, 9/2/91, 6'1", 187, USA, DP, $1,421,667/$1,471,667 3. Mensah, D, 29, 7/13/90, 6'2", 183, Ghana, GC: $800,004/$894,004 4. Santos, M, 31, 4/22/88, 5'6", 139, Portugal, DP, Int#2: $817,560/$864,560 5. Nagbe, CM, 29, 7/19/90, 5'9", 165, USA/Liberia, $665,500/$665,500. 6. Trapp, M, 26, 1/15/93, 5'8", 150, USA, $549,996/$593,746 7. Mokhtar, M, 28, 8/29/91, 5'9", 159, Morocco, Int#3, $459,996/$533,845. 8. de Lima (Artur), M, 23, 3/11/96, 5'11", 154, Brazil, GC: $360,000/$411,633 9. Afful, D, 33, 7/24/86, 5'6", 135, Ghana, GC, $288,100/$363,800 10. Room, GK, 30, 2/6/89, 6'3", 179, Curacao & NED, Int#4, $300k/$354,694. 11. Diaz, M, 20, 12/6/98, 5'11", 159, Costa Rica, Int#5, YDP, $300k/$333,900. 12. Valenzuela, D, 21, 8/13/98, 5'6", 145, Argentina, GC, Int#6: $290,000/$321,300 13. Wormgoor, D, 31, 11/16/88, 6'2", 179, Netherlands, INT#7, $???/$???. 14. J. Williams, D, 31, 4/18/88, 6'2", 185, USA: $215,000/$215,000 15. Jimenez, D/M, 30, 11/3/88, 5'9", 145, USA: $200,000/$200,000 16. Sjoberg, D, 28, 3/8/91, 6'7", 210, Sweden, GC, $174,996/$179,996. 17. W. Francis, D, 29, 9/20/90, 5'9", 160, Costa Rica, GC, $160,000/$199,167 18. Hamilton, F, 23, 3/17/96, 6'0", 176, Canada, HGI, $124,992/$137,659 19. Cadden, D/M, 23, 9/19/96, 6'0", 168, Scotland, INT#8, $56,250/same (2019) 20. Open (or Kempin/Lampson) Cadden was Reserve last year. ----------- 2. Supplemental Roster: 3 of 4 Players (21-24) A) Up to 4 players. Do not count vs. salary cap. Subject to SE Injury Replacement, Disabled List, and Loan exceptions. B) May include Senior Minimum Budget Players ($70,250), Generation Adidas players (who may earn more), and Homegrown Players (who may earn more). Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 21. JJ Williams, F, 21, 1/4/98, 6'3", 200, USA, GA, $95,000/$149,750 22. Kempin, GK, 26, 4/8/93, 6'1", 175, USA: $71,664/$71,664. 23. Lampson, GK, 30, 9/6/89, 6'3", 190, USA, $70,250/$70,250 24. Open Kempin signed a new deal. He could be above the vet min now. He or Lampson could also be Senior. --------------- 3. Reserve Roster (25-28). 1 of 4. A) Players must be either earning the Reserve Minimum Salary ($56,250) or be Homegrown Players earning more via the HG Subsidy. B) Players must be 24 or younger during the League YEAR. As determined by Year of birth, not date (I am not sure what this means exactly, is someone who turns 25 during the season eligible or not?). C) Senior Min Players & GA Players cannot occupy these spots. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 25. Berhalter, CM, 18, 5/10/01, 5'9", 155, USA, HG, $???/$???. 26. Open 27. Open 28. Open ----------------------------------------- 4. HomeGrown Reserve Roster (29-30). 1 of 2. A) Must be Homegrown Players. B) Same Budget & Age rules as Reserve Roster 25-28 players. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 29. Keita, D, 19, 4/6/00, 6'2, 180, USA, HG, $90,000/$110,000 30. Morris, M, 18, 11/16/01, 5'10", 158, USA, HG, $???/$???. --------------- 7. Designated Players: 3 of 3 Zardes, Santos, Zelarayan. Zardes & Santos both could be bought down with TAM. --------------------------- 8. International Roster Spots: 7 of 8 (lost one in Nagbe deal, got one in Abubakar deal). Santos, Diaz, Room, Mokhtar, Cadden, Zelarayan, Wormgoor. Hamilton DOES NOT count as an International. Home Grown International Rule. https://www.mlssoccer.com/league/official-rules/mls-roster-rules-and-regulations ------------ 9. Green Card Holders = 6. Mensah, W. Francis, de Lima (Artur), Afful, Sjoberg, Valenzuela. 10. Homegrown Players = 2. Keita, Morris. Formerly Trapp. 11. Drafted/Competing for a spot = 4. 1. Berry, F, 22, 9/16/97, 6'3", 180, Spain/USA?, San Diego State. 2. Prieur, GK, 22, 4/17/97, 6'2", ???, USA/France, St. Mary's. 3. Griffin, M, 21, 7/14/98, 5'9", 165, USA, Providence. 4. Mentzingen, M, 23, 5/2/96, 5'8", 170, Brazil, Valpo/Lansing. 5. Shimazaki, D, 22, 4/19/97, 5'9", 150, Japan, VCU/NEII. Unsure on some of the nationalities/GC status for Berry & Mentzinger & Shimazaki. I think we established Berry had US parents so no INT spot for him if he makes the team. ----------------------------------------- Any corrections, comments, etc are always welcome.
I just now was able to watch this clip. Some thoughts: - I'm sure that before Bez went on the air, he knew what questions were going to be asked. If he didn't want to talk about it, he easily could have killed that part of the segment. However, he / the club didn't. One way to look at this is that he / the club is being transparent; however, the other way to look at it is that the seeds of doubt are being sown about Trapp being here this season. - Trapp purposely got an European passport, one doesn't do that without the intent of making potential future employment in Europe easier to obtain. So the fact that he's interested in going abroad at some point isn't earth-shattering. - If Porter / Bez really wanted Trapp to stay, either could come out, literally at any time, and say '100% Trapp is staying, the end'. At no point has that happened. At the end of the day, I just can't see how this part of the interview was allowed to happen without Bez planning on saying that Trapp is free to leave for fair compensation. And this isn't just the 'everyone has a price argument', he's THE local guy and blah blah blah we all know the rest. The fact that Bez didn't dump a gallon of cold water all over this makes me think a move is certainly possible, and throwing in the domestic bit might be softening the blow for a transfer within the league. As far as where Trapp could go domestically, who knows.... As long as it's not Austin, I don't give a shit. Though Thierry Henry just took over at Montreal this winter, and he praised Trapp up to the heavens after that game vs Red Bulls in.... 2015? Maybe a 4-3-3 in Montreal of Piette, Trapp, and Taider? Or the first two in a midfield pivot in a 4-2-3-1? Trapp could use his long passing ability to quickly get the ball to Piatti, Bojan, Taider, Quioto, Tabla, Uruitti, etc. Piette is a big physical presence next to him. Would make sense, just saying.
There is no doubt that Trapp has made himself expendable with his play in 2019. He captained our team to an historic win-less streak. Was directly responsible form some shocking turnovers that lead to goals. He also played himself off the national team with a couple of really poor performances where he looked like the worst player on the field for the nats. He certainly can play better than he showed far too often last year. He is absolutely no longer a "written in ink" starter for this team. He's paid too much to be a bench guy, especially at a spot where you're not often looking to make a change in the 60th minute. That Montreal/Henry comment by @Kyle Crew above is interesting. I just don't see too many places where he walks in as a starter. Trapp and Mokhtar making $1.15M between them and neither being lock starters is something that I think needs to be figured out for us to be making the most out of our roster/cap.
I think y'all are crazy thinking Trapp goes elsewhere in MLS. He got a EU passport in hopes of making a move across the pond. That requires a team to want/pay for him, which may or may not happen. If it doesn't happen, he plays the year in Columbus. His stock has fallen over the last season. A good start to the season would help him make a move overseas, but then we likely want to keep him.
Hard to impress scouts if you’re riding the bench potentially. If I have to choose between starting Nagbe and one of Artur or Trapp, I choose Artur. He’s more mobile and physical, which our midfield desperately needs. Also, Trapp’s main asset is that he can move the ball with his passing. Well, if we have Nagbe and a much more mobile Zelarayán (compared to Pipa) moving the ball forward with both passing and dribbling, what is the justification for starting Trapp?
While Trapp was not stellar, I'd note that a chunk of that winless streak happened while he and Zardes were at Gold Cup. Yes? Trapp is the starter at DM. The new reality in the league is that some players who are not starters still make good money. Get used to it. We have 20 guys making $100k+ guaranteed (not counting Cadden). 13 making $300k+. Yeah, moving Trapp is possible. But only if he wants to go or it does not work with Nagbe. I think that is a summer decision. Be very surprised if he moves this window. Plus, the idea he is going to be a mainstay with the Nats is done. Squad player is best case now.
Loss of Zardes was 100x more important than the loss of Trapp. Not even the same ballpark. Nagbe only wanted to go to Cbus or Cincy. He’s not leaving anytime soon, probably ever honestly. Nagbe and Trapp are different positions anyway, so that point is moot.
I have a hard time believing that Bez would entertain that question if it were out of realm of the possibility. And, based on his response - he's very open to moving the team's Franchise player - it may already be in the works. Or, it could be a motivational ploy: saying it in the press sends a message to Wil to get his act together and the others that his job is potentially open. Not to mention to recent rumors of bringing in a Polish player in the same position. This is all too cute to be just random answers to random questions. Something is up and Wil won't be in Columbus at the end of the year, maybe not the All Star Break.
Someday after Trapp's career is done he's gonna wonder what might have been, and he'll look back and acknowledge the rigidity of Berhalter's system as stunting his development and he'll be extremely sad. And if he's extremely masochistic he'll read the posts here of amateur bloggers and posters who predicted a revival under....Caleb Porter, of all people. It's a local tragedy. 2015 is a long time ago (but not 2013, or whenever Akron's last NCAA title was), but Henry was right to see something in Trapp. It just was never developed. We had a parade of jabronis come through our coaching staff and it didn't serve his career. I will say though if we move on, kudos to Bez and Porter for making a decision that will be unpopular with a large segment of our small fanbase. At least we still have Josh Williams to make those people happy.