2017/18 Offseason Player Movement & Rumors

Let me make a checklist of the players I think should be cut/traded/sold/retired/loaned and we'll check back in March to see what went wrong:

Tribbett
Edu
Carroll (yes)
Davies (yes)
Alberg
Pontius
A. Jones
Ilsinho
Simpson
Winjnaldum

This would result in freeing up 5 internal spots and $2.8 million. Holy shit.

 

I would not be shocked if one of ilsinho or Alberg is back. That’s not suggesting they will not bring in better players at the roles they filled, just wouldn’t shock me. I don’t know how you can Simpson, should be 2+1 deal.

 

Add Ayuk Pele to the list

 

Yeah, but how are they going to spend it?

Side note: people need to stop acting like the TAM influx is going to make a hurt difference... it’s good for the league sure, but from a Union standpoint it changes nothing... everyone gets it.

My wishlist for next year’s depth chart for a 4-2-3-1 system:

GK
1. Blake
2. Helmet
3. some off the books academy kid that plays in Bethlehem most of the time

LB:
1. Someone new, idk, seems like lost cause
2. Fabinho

CB:
1. Elliot
2. New MLS vet
3. Yaro
4. Marquez
5. Trusty

RB:
1. Keegan
2. Gaddis

DM:
1. Bedoya
2. Haris
3. Jones

LM:
1. TAM signing
2. Fafa
3. New signing

RM:
1. TAM signing
2. Herbers
3. Epps

CAM:
1. DP, big time $$$$, big time talent.. no on the money ball.
2. Najem
3. Fontana

FW:
1. DP lone striker
2. CJ

 

I think Simpson is back next year. He's under contract and I think the Union would have to pay some of that down to move him. They should do whatever they have to do to get him off the salary cap even if it means a full buyout but I have a feeling they won't.

 

Well if Sorber is leaving Coach Local is definitely staying put.

 

I think the only "big" signings (outside a GK that played in a little tournament you may have heard of) the Union have made have been Edu and Bedoya were probably dictated by US Soccer and the league.

Everything else was moneyball with some successes (Barnetta, Nogs, Medujinin) and plenty of failures.

Considering Coach Local is here next year, I'm not expecting anything different but the status quo.

Jay Simpson made $1000/minute this year. Not too shabby. Keegan would have made $3 million at that rate last year ...

 

Good point. We just lost our top candidate from our global coaching search.

 

I think Ilsinho on a reasonable contract (100-150k) would be a good signing for next year as long as it's in the context that he's a role player supplementing other more significant additions.

Given Alberg's age, I don't see how they do the same for him.

 

Alberg, but you have to give him 30+ minutes

 

We also have the expansion draft to consider...

My list:

1. Blake
2. Rosenberry
3. Sapong
4. Picault
5. Elliot
6. Bedoya
7. Medunjanin
8. Epps
9. Najem (I don’t think he gets an HGP exemption does he?)
10. Marquez
11. Fabinihio

... I guess? Yaro and Hebers aren’t graduating GA are they?

 

I don’t think Fabinho is on contract. Pretty sure he triggered his option last off season, which I think surprised the team trying to bring Wijnaldum in.

Najem’s HGP carried over from RB. While Yaro an Herbers didn’t play much this year, they can age out of GA too I believe. If they do and are suddenly on budget, ugh.

I’m struggling to think of 11guys to protect. I’d expose Bedoya and hope LA bites. $1M on the glue guy is misspent.

 

This is a good protection list. And if Najem is HGP exempt, I guess I'd lean towards protecting Yaro if only because he's only 23 which is baby years for a defender, and we know he can be better than the futile boneheadedness that was his 2017. I think Marquez is under-appreciated, and I would absolutely hate to lose him to LAFC for nothing in an expansion draft, or really flat out to anyone else in the league.

 

We didn't lose anyone last year with TWO teams coming in, one of them a low budgeter like us. What makes anyone think the deep pockets of LAFC are coveting Richie Marquez? There'll be more TAM or GAM or whatever. If we can find a Richie Marquez in the 4th round from Tumbleweed Univ, wouldn't LA just buy a starter from LigaMX or make some TAM deal for an actual player? A guy on the bench of the 16thplace team wouldn't fill me with excitement. Honestly, short of Blake, expose them all. Yeah, Haris had a good year but he rolls 33 at $470k and is already the same speed of a traffic cone. Bedoya and his 1 goal for $1.1M ? If Earnie was smart he'd be offering Bedoya up for international spots, magic beans, TAM and a 5th rounder in 2020. If all we aspire to is 6th place anyway, bring Diskerud in at $750k to not be effective, at least we save money.

 

This is all may be true (perhaps... to be honest I stopped reading it halfway through), but the real risk here is not what LAFC wants, but it's what a Colorado, or NE, or DCU wants and will trade allocation $ to LAFC for them to select off our roster. If LAFC flipped most/all of their picks for $, I'm sure they'd be thrilled.

 

Admittedly, I got a little ranty, but can you blame me?

 

Eh....LAFC will take Pontius, no need to protect anyone other then Blake really.

Remember when many of y'all freaked the F out over losing Pedro Ribiero in the expansion draft??? Good Times!

 

I think Pontius now qualifies as FA, completed his 8th MLS season, out of contract, over 28. He can just drive by the fam homestead in Yorba Linda, drop his bags and go sign direct

 

Still not really sure why the Union turned him into a lone striker in the first place.

 

Yeah...ironic...so did Orlando...

Probably because he was 6'4" and over 200LBS, with good feet................

While true, I believe the expansion draft takes place before he'll officially become a FA.

 

Good feet doesn't you can suddenly finish or position well.

And even at the striker position, I would kept him for more than a year.

 

I dunno...Fabinho turned into a serviceable LB...Pedro turned into a former MLS player.....I'd say Curtin and Albright made the correct call on this one