What position would you have wanted to see upgraded? Considering how long it took Borek this season and Haris last season to get acclimated and integrated, do you think it would have made a difference?
I'm not convinced that adding a new striker or winger in the summer would have improved this team. The summer transfer window closed on August 8. Since August 8, the team is 8-2-2 in all competitions, 8-1-2 in MLS.
That's a different issue. The Union were not going to pay to get someone like Rooney. I thought we were talking about a hypothetical, yet realistic, summer signing that that Union could have made and whether that would have improved the team.
Whether it's being cheap or a "philosophy" it is what it is. I think you're supporting the wrong team. "My experience is it has never been sustainable if you do a one-time, initial investment, and then you are not focused on keeping on working. Most of the time, you need to do a second investment and even a third investment to keep that level you have. I think it is dangerous in a way for a league, and it could be increasing the level of wages, which even harms the normal level of the league." Ernst Tanner, last night
I don't get the required defeatism in some Union fans. Why shouldn't a soccer fan want good soccer players on their team?
Accam paid down with TAM is not a DP. You can still have the philosophy and supplement with spending. I keep saying it, but if a couple million bucks breaks the bank than the ownership can’t afford to run a pro team in this city.
I want good players, but I also support a team with a different philosophy. I would love to have Wayne Rooney on the Union but that's apparently inconsistent with the team's philosophy/limitations. It's up to you to determine whether to support a team that has such a philosophy/limitations. I note the face value of my seats at TES are $69 while the face value of identical tickets at Audi Field are $155. Good soccer players cost a lot of money. That cost is passed along to the fans. I can't afford $155 tickets.
We should demand both philosophy and spending... “not spending money” is not a philosophy. Tanner had a lot of success identifying talent and getting great value for players at hoffenheim but they still required a baseline investment that we have never seen with the Union... many of the names tied to Ernst that get people starry eyed required 1-5 million dollar transfer fees to get them to Hoffenheim.
Salaries came out again. I apologize for the crappy formatting. David Accam Philadelphia Union F-M $1,250,000.04 $1,250,000.04 Fabinho Alves Macedo Philadelphia Union D $153,000.00 $153,000.00 Andre Blake Philadelphia Union GK $450,000.00 $500,000.00 Alejandro Bedoya Philadelphia Union M $1,200,000.00 $1,266,250.00 Cory Burke Philadelphia Union F $67,500.00 $71,223.75 Warren Creavalle Philadelphia Union M $140,000.00 $153,000.00 Borek Dockal Philadelphia Union M $1,714,285.68 $1,714,285.68 Ilson Dias Philadelphia Union M $300,000.00 $327,000.00 Marcus Epps Philadelphia Union M $55,654.20 $55,654.20 Jack Elliott Philadelphia Union D $59,629.50 $59,629.50 Raymon Gaddis Philadelphia Union D $180,000.00 $182,500.00 Anthony Fontana Philadelphia Union M $65,004.00 $73,421.60 Fabian Herbers Philadelphia Union F-M $100,008.00 $100,008.00 Derrick Jones Philadelphia Union M $70,000.00 $75,900.00 Richie Marquez Philadelphia Union D $145,000.00 $151,430.00 Haris Medunjanin Philadelphia Union M $500,004.00 $545,004.00 Mark McKenzie Philadelphia Union D $54,500.04 $64,500.04 Jake McGuire Philadelphia Union GK $55,654.20 $55,654.20 John McCarthy Philadelphia Union GK $95,000.00 $104,250.00 Olivier Mbaizo Philadelphia Union D $67,500.00 $67,500.00 Adam Najem Philadelphia Union M $71,500.04 $71,500.04 Kacper Przybylko Philadelphia Union F $67,500.00 $67,500.00 Fafa Picault Philadelphia Union F $135,000.00 $148,666.67 Matthew Real Philadelphia Union D $54,500.04 $54,500.04 Keegan Rosenberry Philadelphia Union D $114,950.00 $120,762.50 CJ Sapong Philadelphia Union F $525,000.00 $525,000.00 Jay Simpson Philadelphia Union F $580,008.00 $623,341.33 Auston Trusty Philadelphia Union D $80,000.00 $109,100.00 Joshua Yaro Philadelphia Union D $140,000.00 $224,000.00 ----------------------- Overperforming their salary Picault Nogueira. Burke McKenzie Elliott Trusty Rosenberry Yaro almost gets paid as much as Elliott, McKenzie, and Trusty combined. What a great value those three youngsters are. Underperforming their salary Marquez Accam Sapong Simpson Yaro They have damn near $2.5 million tied up in Simpson, Accam, and Sapong. Yeesh.
For what we're getting out of Haris for that price, the argument could be made that either: A) Haris is overperforming his salary B) Bedoya is underperforming his salary. I know it's not the popular opinion, but I believe there is a pretty good case that "B" is correct.
It's great for them to have whatever philosophy they want for getting the best for their money out of the other 9 or 10 guys on the pitch but don't tell me any of the soccer guys in management wouldn't say yes to a Rooney or Zlatan in heart beat because they don't 'fit' our philosophy.
$2.7 this season. A total of $13M over 3 1/2 years guaranteed (average of $3,700,000 per year). On top of that, DC paid Everton an "undisclosed compensation package" (not a public transfer fee) to get his rights. The Union cannot afford committing $13M+ to a single player. Further, while it looks like a good deal now, DC will be paying a 36 year old Rooney $3.7M for the 2021 season. I'm not sure that will be a good deal in 3 years.
But the thing is, there's no salary cap, so who cares? Obviously they have ownership who can afford it, so if they can afford it, it's not really a bad deal. I never get why people are so worried about what other teams are paying. Atlanta/LA/Seattle etc have unlimited money so I'm sure they aren't too concerned. It's not like the NFL where bad deals can kill your team.
You're illustrating my point. I should have clarified by saying "kill your team because of a terrible cap situation". That only killed us because we're poor, not because of a cap situation or anything.
Is it time to start pondering what players won't be back next season? Almost certainly won't be back: Jay Simpson - I mean, c'mon. Richie Marquez - cheaper, younger CB back-ups that don't play can be found at USL Josh Yaro - GA contract surely expires. He should be more worried about CTE than MLS at this point. Probably won't be back: Adam Najem - Fontana passed him by in Philly, and Aaronson passed him by in Bethlehem. However, he's still on the young side, and is still on an HGP contract. If that carries over, it's plausible he'd be back. Marcus Epps - He's cheap, but this year was his opportunity to claim a spot. Instead he can't even make the 18. Would rather see Moar or Ngalina get moved up. Borek Dockal - The fatalist in me thinks that if the team was going to make a deal for him, they would have already done so. A loan extension could be possible, but every year he ages, he loses transfer value for Henan. Fabinho - He's slowing down, and has a high salary. Matt Real should be ready to challenge Gaddis next year. Maybe won't be back: David Accam - no one knows his contract status for sure, but I'd bet the team would love to move on if they could. Fabian Herbers - Another injury plagued season. Depends on how is contract is worked, but he could be done. Warren Creavalle - Drew Skundrich has been excellent in the "Creavalle role" at Bethlehem, and he'd command a lot less dollars. I like Warren, but could see them moving on.
The Union bought him and signed him through 2020. If anything it's the one contract we actually know about.