2016-17 Roster Movement Thread

Discussion in 'Sporting Kansas City' started by vividox, Oct 28, 2016.

  1. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    I love what Medranda brings. My son every couple weeks launches into a case for Medranda being one of the two players we have to have on the field.
    But among the things he does not bring are goals. And he does not appear to be on the verge of bringing them. He studied all of Kei's worst techniques, but ignored the better ones.
    I don't think Nemeth makes sense because he left wanting a chunk of change we were not willing to spend, saying that was a third of what he was offered where he landed ($1m is the guess, right?). And I have no idea if in the end it was just business or got personal.
    But if he is making noise about wanting to return, I would assume we'd look into how it would work. Aside from the departure, there wasn't much to dislike in his time here.
     
  2. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I don't think money was the whole problem. I think he wanted a very long time off for the world cup. And I think he also probably wanted a move to the center instead of the wing. Don't know how Sporting couldn't afford a player worth a mill...
     
  3. kcscsupporter

    kcscsupporter Member+

    Apr 17, 2002
    D17
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    trade medranda and cash/allocation money if needed to move up and bring him in. a front 3 of nemeth-dwyer-gerso would be absolutely filthy in this league. i'd reckon he would sign a contract for somewhere in between what he was at before and what he was asking for when he left. surely that's doable. i'd love it.

    hell, i think i'd even trade zusi if that's what it took.
     
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  4. Sachsen

    Sachsen Member+

    Aug 8, 2003
    Broken Arrow, Okla.
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    So let's see. SKC is 3rd in the league on ppg. Medranda is developing well. Zusi is a revelation at right back. The chemistry is fantastic by all observations. The offense is clicking. The defense is historically good. Medranda makes $130k in salary.

    And you want to blow all that up to bring back a player who left on bad terms?

    No thanks. This isn't FIFA or FM on your video game system. This is real life, and in real life, we do not need Nemeth back. Especially at the cost you're proposing.
     
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  5. kcscsupporter

    kcscsupporter Member+

    Apr 17, 2002
    D17
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    zusi is on the decline, regardless of how well he's adapted to being a right back (not to mention that he's grossly expensive for a rb). medranda brings absolutely nothing that nemeth doesn't bring better, some things exponentially so. i'll admit that chemistry might be a question mark, but i think all that was overblown.. and that appears only to be an issue with management, not with the other players. they already know him and he won't be unfamiliar with the system. i think it's a chance to go from being good in the league with optimism to being great in the league. there's always gonna be risk. i'd like to see us go for it.
     
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  6. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Zusi is the best RB we've had in a loooooooooooooong time. And he offers options across the entire field. And we'd absolutely be seeing Juliao at some point if we made that kind of a move. So yeah, there is no way I'm on board with trading Zusi at this point.
     
  7. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    This.
     
  8. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    You two are pretty much nailing the pro/con on Nemeth. I've had both arguments going on in my head.
    Nemeth is still young, he was a baller in the Emirates and he was a baller in MLS. He was a mediocrity in Euro 16. He was a washout with Liverpool.
    He may well be in the MLS Goldilocks zone, players who can excite and raise the level, but aren't quite prime time.
    All that means is his value should not be sky high. And if he's talking about an MLS return, that means his options in Europe (the real reason he made the move IMO) aren't as lucrative as he'd hoped, while he wants out.
    He should be affordable.
    I would note that at the level he played at with us, he's a no-brainer. He got on well with the team. And yeah, Nemeth- Dom - Gerso could be a crazy dangerous, fluid, difficult and maybe impossible to defend front line.
    But we have no way of knowing he will return at that level.
    And rule number one: Don't mess with success.
     
  9. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    I really think people need to take off the rose-colored glasses with regard to Nemeth. He had a great singular season with us, he had a goal of the year with us, but that doesn't mean blowing up our team to squeeze him into a position he clearly didn't want to play at is anywhere close to a good move. Right now, without any moving, we are a MLS Cup quality team. It doesn't make any sense to me to talk about trading integral parts of this team to bring back a guy who left on bad terms just because he's suddenly discovered life isn't greener on the other side.
     
  10. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    Zusi is on the decline in the sense that he is aging. So, in that sense, everyone is on the decline. But right now, he's playing better every week. His value to SCK, IMO, is increasing every week. And, again IMO, he's more valuable as a RB than a front line player. We may be overpaying for MLS rbs, but he offers us an advantage over everyone we play because of that, and his role is vital to this system.
    I'd agree that he's the best right back we've had, I'd say ever. And he's improving every week.
    Every player can be traded, but I'd want a hell of a high price for him. Not just the rights to Nemeth, but TAM and int slots and on and on.
     
  11. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Exactly. Zusi is so much more than a RB. No other RB in this league can get forward and make the offensive plays that Zusi can. See the third goal against Seattle to see exactly what our RB is giving us. His passing awareness, ability to get up and down the line, ability to pass and create, and ability to track back and defend, plus the ability to switch to midfield/forward in a pinch... I don't think we're overpaying for a RB at all. He's a big reason why we're sitting at 0.58 GAA and he's a big reason why our offense has come back to life. The only other player on this team with as much two-way impact is Espinoza, and Zusi is even pushing him.
     
  12. lukeD

    lukeD Member+

    Jul 7, 2011
    Olathe
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I agree with your post that he's the best RB we've had in basically forever. IMO what he brings to the position that others don't is passing ability. He simply just connects passes. That is a critically important in the possession game that PV wants them to play. He's also great at crossing (very important for an outside back), unselfish (which helps our goal scorers get going), and a JP like work horse.

    PV got a lot of things right during the off season. The position change with Zusi is one of the most important changes he made to the team. In doing that, he significantly improved two positions by switching him to right back and opening up a wing spot to Gerso/Medranda.
     
  13. Formulaic

    Formulaic Member

    Jul 6, 2011
    Kansas City
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    Yeah zusi and Gerso are becoming as exciting as chance and kei were in their heyday on the right side. I was ready to give up on him on the wing, but he's been a lot better than I expected on the back line.

    If we could get nemo and only offload, say, Igor and sooni again, then I'm all for it. But just about everyone else on the roster deserves to be there at this point (well, there's Rubio but who can possibly say what will happen with him).
     
  14. Sachsen

    Sachsen Member+

    Aug 8, 2003
    Broken Arrow, Okla.
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    We are only overpaying for Zusi compared to what other right backs in MLS are paid. We are not overpaying him in relation to his performance or his importance to the team. I would also note that most MLS teams are usually begging for decent outside backs. It is not an easy position to fill with quality without "overpaying".

    Was Philipp Lahm overpaid when he was a right back and captain of Bayern Munich and the German national team?
     
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  15. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Call me unloyal or whatever, but it was Dom's great form that pushed Nemeth wide. We're all talking about kicking a winger to the bench... why not upgrade striker instead? Haha.
     
  16. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    well, yeah. I mean, if we could offload them that would be a great deal even if it didn't get us Nemeth.
    I have whined, a lot, about letting Nemeth go. But the case I've made is that we let him go without a replacement who gives us what he does.
    We still don't have that, but we have in Gerso someone who gives us a different set of advantages, and in Medranda someone who seems to create a nice balance to the front line. I do wish he could score, and Nemeth might be a huge ungrade in that area, but benching medranda would be an issue. I guess he could become a utility starter, but our consistency is a big deal these days
     
  17. kcscsupporter

    kcscsupporter Member+

    Apr 17, 2002
    D17
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    well, i'm not surprised my comment about zusi triggered such a response. i'd rather not trade him away, but i think it'd be worth it. we're just gonna disagree on that. i'd far rather trade away medranda... but then, honestly, i'd be willing to give him away for very little anyway. i also think some of you are going a bit overboard about how good zusi's been on defense this year. i'm not saying he's been bad back there, but i do think opara is lifting his stock with his stellar play.

    and inca, yeah, that'd certainly be an option. it'd be nice to have the lone striker have actual finishing/ball control skills.
     
  18. Inca Roads

    Inca Roads Member+

    Nov 22, 2012
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Also bear in mind that no team is going to take Zusi with the salary he's on. He doesn't produce enough from the wing to get a wing spot at a different club, so that's still a lot for a midfielder or fullback. He's here till he gets a new contract, and probably past then as well. Hell, he continues like he has been playing, I won't mind a bit if he retires here in five years or whatever.
     
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  19. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    I don't believe any player on any club is untouchable. I would love a striker who could outrun even some center backs.
    But on a practical basis, shipping Dom doesn't give us much. He's on a pace to pick up his 15 goals. Nemeth is more the style of striker I prefer, but 15 is about his range, as well. Meanwhile, if we assume Gerso remains Gerso and Medranda remains Medranda, what have we gained?
    Some speed and a niftier passer, and it's interesting to have three forwards who are great on the dribble. But we lose the physical presence Dom brings, and Nemeth isn't as good in the air. I've only been able to watch even extended highlights of Nemeth a couple times since the move, but he appears to be the same player who left, though a richer version having made, what, $4.5m or so for his 1 1/2 seasons apart.
    Adding him to a DD and Gerso line is kind of cool, though.
    One point: Hungary is not going to make the 2018 WCup, and even if they have a heavy sched, Nemeth is out of favor right now. If Arena becomes a Dom believer, he could miss time this summer and next summer. Blessing is interesting cover, but adding Nemeth to the mix...
     
  20. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    for those that still actually held out any hope of Sargent...

     
  21. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    SKC just signed Didic from SPR
     
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  22. mschofield

    mschofield Member+

    May 16, 2000
    Berlin
    Club:
    Union Berlin
    Nat'l Team:
    Germany
    #497 mschofield, May 31, 2017
    Last edited: May 31, 2017
    This is the ultimate goal for SPR, to get players to the point of helping out SKC. So props.
    But does this mean there's an injury that might be a problem? Or that EPB is not seen as a viable option? Or is it simply a sign that PV has decided that Ellis is not a center back?
    Edit to add, okay, just realized Ellis is injured. so maybe this is a temporary move for cover?
     
  23. vividox

    vividox Moderator
    Staff Member

    Aug 10, 2005
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    Well, it's not a temporary move. Didic's contract is good through 2017 with options for 2018, 2019, and 2020. So this is a real deal move, not just a 4 day "call up" to fill out a roster like we've seen before. That being said, the timing certainly seems to be prompted by current lack of CB options.
     
  24. drhoades00

    drhoades00 Member

    Aug 13, 2010
    Club:
    Sporting Kansas City
    In the short term this probably helps quite a bit. In the long term once everyone is healthy and if EPB comes back from the national team stuff then I'd worry about him and Didic not getting regular games.

    Also I wonder if this increases the likelihood that one of the other defenders on the bench gets traded. If we have Didic as a backup CB and SAS as a backup outside back, then why hang on to Ellis or vice versa (swapping Ellis and SAS).
     
  25. Buzz Killington

    Buzz Killington Member+

    Oct 6, 2002
    Lee's Summit
    Club:
    Kansas City Wizards
    Nat'l Team:
    United States
    I expected Didic to eventually sign with SKC, I just expected it after this season, so in those terms it was a long term signing because he is still young (22), have been playing well for SPR (all league in 2016, finalist for defender of the year), and has been getting youth national team looks for Canada. But the injuries and call ups for our center backs have left us thin and without the ability for an emergency call up the Didic signing was made faster than the team originally planned to. So the timing of the signing is a short term thing, but was in the plans long term.

    Big thing with Ellis is being off budget due to his HGP tag.
     
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