After one of the later games this season, Mokhtar gave an interview in English. So I don’t think it’s a language barrier issue. Maybe cultural adjustment. He seems to have experience, but he played conservatively that’s for sure.
I will also miss Pipa. Hes not "legendary" to me like GBS, but hes one of the "greats" or what have you. He hasnt been good enough for a while though and the writings been on the wall. Time to move forward. I would love to see him find his way back into the organization though. Maybe with the academy, then eventually up into the head coaches assistants (for whoever happens to be our coach). He could also be very useful for scouting and recruitment purposes in South America. Have him give that young dude in Argentina a call and persuade him to come to us. Afful - I would probably try to bring him back but at a lesser salary, if Bez thinks that's essential. Hell be 34 next summer and while being serviceable, isnt the answer for his position if were looking to be ambitious in 2020. With that said, Cadden looks promising over in England, but we dont know how fast hell settle in and thrive here. It will be good to have Afful around to hold down the position and let Cadden prove himself to take it from him. Maloney - We all wrote him off a long time ago, but he showed his worth at the end of the season. Hes pretty much a league minimum guy and he can handle both wings on the defense. I think you keep him around to eventually take over for Jimenez. Francis - Serviceable depth at LB but as long as Jimenez is here, I think hes surplus to our needs. I would go into 2020 with Valenzuela, Afful, Cadden, Jimenez, and Maloney. Josh Williams - I can take him or leave him. Hes serviceable depth, and a good locker room/off the field guy. Sauro left and if we drop Crognale, it makes sense to keep him. I dont care about the sentimentality aspect too much, but having tenured players that fans (especially moms and kids) connect with probably has some relevance to our front office. Trapp/Artur - These guys have been a major let down for at least the last year. I think only one of these guys will probably remain a lockdown starter and you already know which one. With that understanding, I think one of our big acquisitions this offseason should be an 8 who can actually contribute to the attack. Should probably be a TAM level guy but would be delighted to see us get a really big talent, even if they're a DP. Mokhtar - I think he deserves some more time to prove something and see if he can be a solution and produce for us. If Santos stays as our 10 for the immediate future, Mokhtar should be the starter on the wing. If Porter wants Santos on the wing, then I think we see a new #10 join us, but I suspect that may wait til the summer window. We didnt pay a transfer for Mokhtar so theres little risk on the investment (none) for the club. He should get more of a chance to prove himself, but he wont get nearly the time and chance that Pedro got. Argudo - I'm for keeping him. Hes serviceable depth for pretty much any attack oriented position in midfield. League minimum. Has a little bit of potential. I wont be surprised if Rafa Mentizgen makes the team and becomes competition for him which is a good thing. Williams x 2 /Hamilton - I dont really care what happens with our depth. I dont see any of them as somebody who would someday ever be the starter. I also recognize that you need somebody on the bench though. I suspect we will drop at least one of them though. Romario and Hamilton have both bounced up and down from MLS to USL for 4 or 5 seasons. We need somebody to relieve or support Gyasi occasionally. I'm inclined to go with Romario. I would keep JJ Williams around for one more season to see if he can hack it.
List recall is standard is it not ? Although the finical part of loans vary so would the cost of a recall although I’m sure we did not give them a option to buy . It all depends on the terms in the loan agreement.
I think he might be solid but I do not think he will be better than J9 in his prime . I also don’t think he should start as Santos and Diaz should get the bulk of minutes on the wing. Now if he can play another position than Ill like him much more. I agree it’s a tough transition but he has a low ceiling so it seems me his stay here will not be long.
Thanks for remembering that, Bill. It allowed me to find it in some of the initial reporting: https://www.oxfordmail.co.uk/sport/17789438.oxford-united-complete-loan-move-chris-cadden/
From Major League Soccer Soccer: “Fans come out to watch players like [Higuain],” Bezbatchenko said. “Can we find a new version and the version that Caleb wants to play in Europe or in South or Central America? And that's what we're going to try this offseason.”
My guess has always been that we would not need to protect him. Bez is just that good. We will see. Goosebumps.
Good post , I’ll add the following Afful- a one year deal or with a option for us to end after one year is ideal. If he wants more than we can offer in any capacity then i would prefer to get a starting caliber RB rather than relying on players currently on the roster. Maloney - just comes down to what kind of roster spot he takes and how many outsideback a we want. Francis- I prefer a left footed back up at this position over a Jimenez or Maloney. Should bring Valenzuela back carefully and not overwork him Trapp/Artur - i think Artur would be a great 3 option and I think we get a Nagbe but a DP or a younger player would be even better. But Nagbe is a instant upgrade and is on a free transfer and I will be surprised if we didn’t get him unless Atlanta plans to keep starting him. Which is very possible maybe we will know more on that soon. Trapp - if he were to find a home in Europe it would be best for us and for him. I think he needs to make the move before his window of opportunity closes Argudo- what position does Porter see him ? I think he could possibly play better centrally but even at winger he is a great value as a back up with potential. ST- the only thing i disagree with . JJ Williams needs to stay on loan . You must have 3 strikers and one of them preferably should be left footed. Unless we are adding a better back up we should keep both guys. To decline Hamilton and keep JJ would be insane. I think roster spots and cap economics are why we are waiting to decide.
“ Bezbatchenko said the decision to move on from Higuain was primarily made because the team is moving from a possession-based offense to a style with a high dosage of pressing and counter-pressing to win the ball higher up the field and playing in transition. The new player would have to fit that vision. Porter said the age of the club's eventual replacement doesn't matter. He wants the team to get younger, but won't sacrifice quality just to have a younger player.
This rationale for moving on from Pipa is one I certainly get. It has validity. But I do like to be able to play multiple styles. And having Pipa in reserve would have allowed us to do that (though another player could as well). Part of my disappointment is my fantasy for the year involved ys having a huge pile of TAM/GAM, buying down Mensah, Trapp, Pipa, & Santos, and bringing in two DPs. And having Pipa have a last glorious run (USOC & MLS). Hopefully we still have a huge pile of TAM/GAM, and I may have to settle for Nagbe + one DP. Hope the DP is a winter signing, not summer.
Just for fun: GK: Room (Senior); Kempin (Senior or Supplemental). FB: Valenzuela (Sen), Jimenez (Senior), Francis (Senior), Cadden (Reserve/Sup/Sen). CB: Mensah (Sen), Keita (Reserve-HG), Abubakar (Sen), J. Williams (Sen). CM: Trapp (Sen), Artur (Sen) AM/WM: Santos (Sen), Diaz (Sen), Mokhtar (Sen), Argudo (Reserve/Supp/Sen). ST: Zardes (Sen), JJ Williams (Supp). ------------------ Totals: Senior (20 max): 13 Supplemental (4 max): 1 (JJ) Reserve (4 max): 0 Reserve-HG (2 max): 1 (Keita) Supp/Senior: 1 (Kempin) Reserve/Supp/Sen: 2 (Argudo, Cadden) ------------ Maybe backs: Afful (Senior); Hamilton (Senior), R. Williams (Senior), Maloney (Supp/Senior). ----------- A new DP will take a senior slot Another CM likely will (or two) We have a high pick that could take a Supp or Senior Spot.
The infamous Dempsey situation springs to mind. As cynical as I am about the league, I don’t know if that’s a thing anymore. Teams now seem willing to pay their own fees, and the league has rules that define what teams get back when they sell a player. So that’s an improvement. But I think mls has other ways of putting its thumb on the scale and influencing which teams even have a shot at signing certain players.
Man you guys are harsh on your contracts. If you are going to keep a guy keep him and pay him. If you don't think the player is a solution then let him go. This one year contracts, 1 year extensions. Not what's gonna motivate a player to give his best. Afful - I'd keep him. 3 year contract, if the concern of his age, perhaps have a mutual termination after year 2. He is a quality person first, creative winger, has been lacking on D the last year. Get that fixed, or allow him to go to a sub position. Maloney - Ehh, he upped his game to serviceable, but I would pass on him and try to bring in a better player. Francis - I would keep him over Maloney, (and prolly Williams) but again we are talking about a sub level spot. If we can bring in a quality Defender (or 2) I'd be ok with letting him move on. J. Williams - Another quality person, good to have in the locker, and branding for the team. Personally I like Francis Defensive play a little more. If you can bring a quality person and player... The order I would keep these Defenders in is: Afful, Francis, Williams and finally Maloney. Trapp - off year for one of my favorite players. Decision time for this guy, and maybe the decision has already been made with a trade not happening last year. Does he stay and become a lifer hero for the Crew, or go somewhere to hopefully up his game. I would watch him for periods of time and he would just be watching the game himself (ugg.) I sat JV bench in High school, and played 4 years of intramural in college. What I was know for being a motor guy, always bust it back on defense, and keep myself in good passing lanes at midfield. The position I played on offense is what the Crew uses it Goalie for, that safe outlet pass, and that's how I envisioned Trapp should play. Why knock it back to the goalie, when we could have a strong defense midfielder always be that outlet pass. I think he is a smart player and with some tweaks to how this teams plays, I think he is a great fit. I would sign him to a bigger long term contract, but I prolly have biased glasses on for him. Artur - I feel he a Trapp play the same, and neither one did it well this year. I'd keep one and shop the other. I prefer Trapp, but not against Artur if he can return to to previous form. Argudo - I like this kid. I would keep him and work on developing into something special. Midfield order preference - Argudo, Trapp, Artur.
I'll get over you... I know I will I'll pretend my ship's not sinking I'll get over you... I know I will 'cause I'm the King of Wishful Thinking We all waited an entire season for Artur to return to his previous form. Can anyone name for me even one game where he did so? One half? One ten minute stretch? I was sky high on this guy at one time. I thought he was the cat's ass. Then he broke his wrist, was out half a season and has been more or less worthless ever since. I have no idea why breaking your wrist destroys your ability to play soccer. And I guess it doesn't matter. Bottom line, I agree that I'd love to keep him around if he was the player he was pre-injury. But we've seen pretty much zero evidence of this happening. Beulah the Buzzer says "Time's Up"
Just a guess, but I'm guessing the book went out on him, and it just happened to coincide with his wrist injury. Very good right foot. Absolutely zero left foot. I also suspect that's why he didn't go further in Brazil.
Honestly, I would like to see a DP level player as a replacement for Artur. Not a lot of teams would spend for this type of guy but it’s an important role that transitions from the back to the front. We’ve lacked a player with some bite in the middle and can open up the attackers we have.
There are plenty of good 6s in MLS who aren't DP level players. Brian Carroll in the old days. Then Dax McCarty, Diego Chara, etc.
Well, for me, CM and CAM are our two weakest spots. I think we could stand an upgrade virtually anywhere (we do not have all-star level players), CM and CAM are where we need the most help/upgrades.
I would say that Santon and Zardes were all-star level players this season. Not Best 11 perhaps. But they were good enough for an All-Star team.
REPORT: @ColumbusCrewSC are one of four teams looking to sign 28-year-old winger Romell Quioto. He plays for the Houston Dynamo, but he recently announced that he will leave the team. #Crew96 pic.twitter.com/mUFUAfqJgb— Christian Pereira ⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@CrewSoccer96) October 25, 2019