Good news for those of you who wanted Clark back, looks like it's happening. Per source: #crewsc has re-upped with veteran central midfielder Ricardo Clark, 35. Clark was brought in last year to provide depth and experience to a young team. It seems that new team pres. Tim Bezbatchenko and coach Caleb Porter still see merit in that idea.— Michael Arace (@MichaelArace1) January 17, 2019
Arace somehow beat Steven Goff to a scoop about our roster!!! Ricardo Clark re-ups with the Crew. Treble incoming! edit: and much like Arace beating Goff, Big Stern beat me. Damnit.
At least we have a modicum of CM depth now. Roster wise, pending Trapp's situation, we can at keast tread water while Porter hires a staff, Bezbatchenko hires a staff, and the owners/FO begin to do the many things PSV left us in the lurch on (TV deal, stadium deals, tickets sales, Obetz lease, Mapfre maintenance/upkeep, corporate sponsorships, community outreach, SG relations, promotions, marketing, Academy/Crew Jrs, USL decision, etc). Long list. Time to get cracking.
He’s returning to #Crew96 for a 15th @MLS season!Good to have you back in 🖤&💛, @RicoC13!➡️ https://t.co/5HuqIVdT2K pic.twitter.com/EDJfZJx8EL— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) January 17, 2019
Best guess roster after JJ Williams pick and Clark signing. By my count we have 27 on the books, with one opening on the Supplemental, Reserve, and HG rosters. Though there is some wriggle room & guesswork there. Salary numbers & roster rules will get updated to 2019 when available. 2 INT spots open as well. I. Rules & Regs (2018) A. Link: https://www.mlssoccer.com/league/official-rules/mls-roster-rules-and-regulations B. General Stuff: 1. Salary Cap = $4,035,000. A) On Budget: Only Senior Roster Spots count against the Cap. B) Up to 20 Senior Roster spots. 18 must be filled. Min budget charge is made if spots 19 & 20 are not filled. C) Max budget charge is $504,375. Allocation $$ and DP rules can reduce a player's budget charge below their listed salary number. D) Off-Budget: Supplemental (21-24) and Reserve (25-30) Rosters do not count towards the salary cap. II. Estimated Roster Compositions 1. Senior Roster: 18-20 Players: A) 20 Player max on Senior Roster, subject to Season Ending Injury List, Disabled List, and Loan exceptions. B) Generally, this is the highest 20 paid players, though HG players and GA players can be on other rosters. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 1. Higuain, M, 34, 10/25/84, 5'8", 165, Argentina, DP, GC: $1.1 mil/$1.1 mil 2. Mensah, D, 28, 7/13/90, 6'2", 183, Ghana, Int#1: $774,996/$868,996 3. Santos, M, 30, 4/22/88, 5'6", 139, Portugal, DP, Int#2: $747,600/$794,600 4. Zardes, F, 27, 9/2/91, 6'1", 187, USA: $630,000/$630,000 5. Meram, M, 29, 12/4/88, 6'1", 165, USA/Iraq: $550,008/$578,758 6. Trapp, M, 25, 1/15/93, 5'8", 150, USA, HG: $500,004/$550,004 7. Afful, D, 32, 7/24/86, 5'6", 135, Ghana, GC: $288,100/$363,800 8. Mullins, F, 26, 2/5/92, 6'1", 176, USA: $249,996/$249,996 9. de Lima, M, 22, 3/11/96, 5'11", 154, Brazil, Int#3: $210,000/$244,167 10. Valenzuela, D, 20, 8/13/98, 5'6", 145, Argentina, YDP, Int#4: 200k?? 11. Williams, D, 30, 4/18/88, 6'2", 185, USA: $200,000/$200,000 12. Clark, M, 35, 2/10/83, 5'10", 165, USA, $???. 13. Bendik, GK, 29, 4/25/89, 6'2", 217, USA, $180,000/$189,083. 14. Jimenez, D/M, 30, 11/3/88, 5'9", 145, USA: $159,996/$159,996 15. Steffen, GK, 23, 4/2/95, 6'3", 190, USA: $145,000/$145,000 16. Sosa, M, 22, 6/20.96, 5'7", 165, Venezuela, Int#5: $100,000/$120,200 17. Barbosa, M, 23, 1/19/95, 5'5", 137, Brazil, Int #6, ??? 18. Kempin, GK, 25, 4/8/93, 6'1", 175, USA: $80,256/$80,256 19. Hansen, M, 24, 9/14/94, 5'10", 170, USA, $68,250/$75,750 20. Abubakar, D, 23, 12/25/94, 6'0", 180, Ghana, GC, $68,250/$75,750 --------------------------------------------------- 2. Supplemental Roster: 4 Players (21-24) A) Up to 4 players. Do not count vs. salary cap. Subject to SE Injury Replacement, Disabled List, and Loan exceptions. B) May include Senior Minimum Budget Players ($67,500), Generation Adidas players (who may earn more), and Homegrown Players (who may earn more). Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 21. Opoku, M/F, 22, 8/1/96, 5'7", 140, USA, GA, $75,000/$96,000 22. Williams, F, 21, 1/4/98, 6'3", 200, USA, GA, $????. 23. Sauro, D, 28, 2/23/90, 6'3", 185, Argentina, GC: $67,500/$67,500 24. Open (senior min/Crognale?) --------------------------------------------- 3. Reserve Roster (25-28) A) Players must be either earning the Reserve Minimum Salary ($54,500) or by Homegrown Players earning more via the HG Subsidy. B) Players must be 24 or younger during the League YEAR. As determined by Year of birth, not date (I am not sure what this means exactly, is someone who turns 25 during the season eligible or not?). C) Senior Min Players & GA Players cannot occupy these spots. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 25. Maloney, D, 23, 5/18/95, 5'6", 145, USA: $55,654/$55,654 26. Argudo, M, 22, 12/13/95, 5'9", 150, USA: $54,500/$54,500 27. Lundgaard, GK, 23, 9/25/95, 6'5", 205, USA: $54,500/$54,500 28. Open ----------------------------------------- 4. HomeGrown Reserve Roster (29-30) A) Must be Homegrown Players. B) Same Budget & Age rules as Reserve Roster 25-28 players. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 29. Crognale, D, 24, 8/27/94, 6'5", 205, USA, HG: $95,004/$95,004 30. Open ----------------------------------- If Crognale is age ineligible, he would occupy one of the open Supplemental slots. ----------------------------------------- 5. Designated Players: 3 of 3 Higuain (Int), Santos (Int), Valenzuela (Int, Young DP). --------------------------- 6. International Roster Spots: 6 of 8 Mensah, Santos, Valenzuela, Artur, Sosa, Barbosa ------------ 7. Green Card Holders = 4. Higuain, Afful, Sauro, Abubakar. -----------------------------------
Note that Donawa (but not the other guy) *is* listed on the official Crew roster, albeit as "unsigned". JJ Williams is, of course on the rosters being a GA player and thus signed.
Revisiting this, the Crew and Mentzingen worked out a plan to draft him and have him play in USL for a season. According to Massive Report: "In an exclusive interview with Massive Report, the 22-year-old Mentzingen explained that his decision to sign with the Ignite for the 2019 season was agreed upon with the Crew, which had its eyes set on the Brazilian prospect for a while after he trained with the team for the first time last May and returned to Columbus for a few more sessions in December. 'I spoke with Crew assistant coaches and my agent and we decided that the best path for me would be to spend the 2019 season in USL,' he said." Not a bad strategy to grab his rights and let another club carry his salary for 2019. Now if we just had our own USL side where we could develop players...
How long does a team get to keep draft rights? I know that, in other sports, there is a time limit (which varies according to sport and college status).
Carlisle, Bez, & Porter seem to throw cold water on Trapp or Zardes leaving. http://www.espn.com/soccer/major-le...to-barca-whats-next-for-gio-dos-santos-and-la
I would love to know who asked for the trade. I would bet good money that Trapp was one of them. Josh Williams was probably another.
Umm, Sosa had both a goal and an assist last year. I agree that he is best as a #10, but I think that he could potentially fill in as an #8.
And Robinho (Barbosa) hasnt been officially signed yet. At least not that any of us know to be certain...even if hes been reported to be in town.
Here's specifically what Bez said about Wil: "We don't have any plans on selling Wil," he said via telephone. "I've never seen a firm offer from any team. I've never had a conversation about selling Wil and no one has reached out to me. He's our captain, he's a homegrown player and he comes from Columbus. Caleb [Porter] and I have spoken and we intend to keep Wil here." Here's what Porter said about Zardes: "In Gyasi, I probably couldn't pick a profile [for a No. 9] that's any better for my system," Porter said. "Verticality, ability to stretch the game ... he had the best year in his career last year. He'll be perfect on both side of the ball in the system that I want to play. He's not one I'm planning on losing." Based on these statements, I think it's safe to say they are both here for at least one more year. The only way I see Trapp leaving is if he demands to leave. I don't think Bez and Porter would willingly want to sell him any time soon. He's too valuable both from a playing standpoint and a marketing standpoint.
Welcome to the 🖤&💛, @RobShow95!#Crew96 has acquired the midfielder from @CearaSC 🇧🇷➡️ https://t.co/yHOKA6uTcQ pic.twitter.com/R5eFZjnrqe— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) January 18, 2019 Official. The Crew acquires Robinho. "Columbus Crew SC today announced that the club has acquired Brazilian 23-year-old midfielder Francisco Wellington Barbosa de Lisboa, better known as Robinho (pronounced: roh-BEAN-yo), from Ceara SC of Brazil’s First Division for an undisclosed transfer fee. The midfielder has made 119 appearances across all competitions in Brazil, scoring 14 goals. He will officially be added to the Black & Gold roster pending receipt of his International Transfer Certificate and P-1 Visa and will occupy an international roster slot on Crew SC’s roster." Now announce Dos Higuaíns.