I’m at a D. Going into the offseason I said an A+ for me would be upgrades at Striker, LW, RW, CAM, LB, and CB.... obviously was never going to happen... but if they did say 4/6 of those I’d be happy and maybe give them an A. Instead we get 2 and I can’t overlook Dockal potentially being one and done because it makes building off of this year really tough if we are back again looking for a 10 next season.... so 2/4 players that would have been acceptable and one of them I’m not so sure makes sense in a grander context. I can’t outright fail them because Accam is such a good move and I don’t hate the Blake extension so D.
I gave it a C. Here's what would have made it an A for me: 1. Bring in Dockal in January. 2. Buy out Jay Simpson like Minnesota did with Demidov and sign a young DP striker. 3. Sign another starting caliber RW to compete with Picault instead of bringing back the trio of Ilsinho, Herbers, and Ayuk. Honestly I can stand making no upgrades on defense. At some point guys like Trusty and Real have to be given a legitimate chance.
I gave it a B The shed most of the dead weight from last season (Alberg, Edu) Signed promising Home Grown Players Resigned Ilsinho to (hopefully) a more cap friendly deal to be a reserve CM Signed Burke as a back up striker to help push Simpson and CJ Traded for a proven MLS talent in Accam, who was an MVP canidate in the early half of last season before the Fire reverted back to their form from the past several seasons. Finally signed a CAM in Dockel. Sure, it would have been nice if they had finished that deal earlier, but sometimes those deals take more time. Plus they have two bye weeks in March anyways to get him up to fitness and integrated. And they've finally committed to playing their young players. Now this will quickly go to a D if Trusty isn't starting Saturday and for most of the season.....
I said "C." Got quality at CAM and LM. Which were flat out requirements. Resigned Blake. That was a pleasant surprise. But they failed to get a true MLS difference-making starter at LB or an experienced CB to guide the young back line. They aren't terrible..they are just average. Which is really all the team is shooting for, so I suppose I should take my gold and stop expecting platinum. They probably did about as good as they could given Jay's tiny wallet size.
Can't get above a "C" when it took 18 months to get a 10 and Curtin is still head coach. I like the other moves and that Curtin seems to want to play youth and try multiple formations but I haven't seen a line up or actual meaningful game yet. Things have looked good in pre season before and then quickly turned so I'll be cranky until made to feel otherwise. Who am I kidding...can't hardly wait until Saturday.
I gave them a "C" which I guess is considered average. They didn't do anything amazing, but they at least filled some of the gaps.
C. Accam was a pleasant surprise. But I'm indifferent towards the new guy until he shows us something.
C. We got a nice bell curve developing. Jay makes a good point about them finally walking the walk with youth. Trusty, Real and Fontana getting serious preseason minutes. Dockal may be the big difference maker vs. last season but the loan deal concerns me.
Agreed. It's the loan deal - without an option to buy - which really concerns me. I thought all MLS loan deals were required to have that caveat.
No details were released other than it's a loan. They've leaned towards being more transparent with player signings, so I'm just assuming without this option noted, it's not a thing.
Only information I could find comes from a 2016 article. Who the crap knows, though? This is MLS we're talking about "As a part of MLS rules, each team is allowed two players on loan with no option to buy, meaning that it is a loan and only a loan and that the player will return back to the original club at the end of the deal." ... "So they want as many loan options as possible to become permanent. But they allow for two loans each year, per team, that are loans in the purest meaning of the word." https://www.metro.us/new-york/red-b...ng-through-mls-rulebook/zsJphi---03ivUxVflpYs
Maybe it goes without saying, but a loan only is a lose-lose. If he plays poorly, gets hurt, etc., the Union overpaid for this season and he won't be back next year. If he plays well, his transfer fee increases and may be out of the Union's price range. Let's hope he plays well for the one season that he is here.
Dočkal on a loan is a D. Accam is a great signing, cause the U aren’t doing anything with MLS magic beans. But waaaayyyy too much is made of Fontana. I feel like for 9 years I’ve been hearing about the young kid who will only get better/why aren’t they playing him/we suck at development/shame his NASL team folded player arc. I don’t believe. Honestly shocked anyone does. They’re half asking a youth movement or not committed to winning now. Either way it’s tough to point to a coherent youth strategy when you have three over 30 starters.
No, Fontana as the Union Youth “Everyman”. Pfeffer / Mwanga / Okugo / Jack / Yaro / DJones / etc etc ad nauseum. They point to the hope of the unproven to divert your attention from the dreck on the field. Those guys are all magic beans and I want the beanstalk. I’m tired of listening to the snake oil sales pitch of how amazing these kids will one day be when 1/20 pans out. Just buy a player who can ball today. Not five years from now. The year to year lack of continuity of this roster is amazing. We turn the roster over like 70% every two seasons. Why point to the youth if this year’s Corey Burke fades like Levi Houpeau next season?
I agree I want to see more out of Fontana than we have, I haven’t been overly impressed... Trusty seems like he has a high enough ceiling and I think may be the Union’s first sell... Jones and Real I think could definitely be serviceable MLS players, but need to develop more.
Adam Cann has an interesting article on PSP comparing Najem to Fontana. He gets into why he thinks Curtin is leaning towards Fontana over Najem until Dockal is up to speed...some things I hadn't really considered.
Honestly I think Fontana being touted as 10 is the biggest issue with how he is being perceived... seems like he may have more success at the 8 imo. I’d rather have him shadowing Bedoya than Dockal this year.