Silly Season 2017-2018 (rumors)

AUFC officially signed Greg Garza.

Big win IYAM. He was a MLS all-star, got called into the USMNT, he's a perfect fit for our system given his combo of speed, physicality, and offensive skill, he's a domestic player that doesn't eat up one of our international slots, he's multi-lingual (English, Spanish, and Portuguese) having lived in South America and played for 5 years in Liga MX, which is a big asset given the makeup of our roster and coaches, and, unlike some of our defenders, he's in his prime at only 26.

Of all the guys we had on loan (Asad, Walkes, and Garza), he was the most important for us to sign. He'll be a mainstay in our starting 11 for the next few years.

 

Buying Asad doesn't make much sense unless we think he's worthy of a DP spot because, as a non-DP, his transfer fee would eat up a huge chunk of the salary budget and TAM. If we can convert Tito to non-DP status, that frees-up a DP slot, but I don't think we'd use it on Asad. Rather, we'd go big, thus the Ezequiel Barco rumors.

We can't know for sure if we will get Barco, but it seems like we're hoping to convert Tito and sign him as a replacement/upgrade for Asad. He even plays the exact same position (left wing/attacking midfielder).

Meanwhile, if Miggy leaves on a summer transfer, we exercise the option to sign Lucas Rodriquez as his DP replacement.

 

We're keeping Carmona for another season, looks like (per DirtySouth). Colo can't afford him.

 

Walkes still on team website. So do we have him on loan for the season?? Hope so.

 

Good catch. The club website still shows Yamil Asad as well, most likely because the Barco deal isn't 100% final yet. So, I don't know what to make of Walkes being listed. Would be great if we got him on loan again as we could break Escobar in gradually and it would add a lot of depth.

That said, we're already short on international slots and not sure if Walkes would take up another one. He was listed on our reserve roster last year, presumably because the Spurs were still paying part of his salary and our portion was so small. Therefore, he didn't count against the cap.

Definitely a story to follow.

 

Ya after I posted that I noticed Asad still listed as well. And didn't we trade away an international slot too?

 

I think we traded away 2.

 

Yes, we traded away an international slot to Portland as part of the Nagbe deal. I believe we traded away a slot last year two. But I think each trade affects only one season and we are therefore limited to 7 international players on the senior roster for 2018.

That said, Walkes didn't count against that number last year because he was technically on the "reserve" roster, not the senior roster. Our portion of his salary was just $53,004 as I presume he was still getting paid by the Spurs. So, he didn't take up an international slot on the senior roster. Likewise, Julian Gressel was making only $75,000 and was listed on the "supplemental" roster, so he didn't count against the cap either. Any chance we plan or hope to replicate the loan situation with Walkes in 2018? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

 

I think we traded one to Portland in the Nagbe deal and we traded one to LAFC for a draft pick.

 

Opening day will feature Nagbe and Larry as the deep mids. Goslin still needs time to strengthen and Tata already stated Goslin would be spending the year in the USL. The more I thought about this, the more I believe that Nagbe was brought in as a replacement for Carmona and the resigning of Larry is to give Goslin a year to prepare physically. Next year, Larry moves on and Goslin moves into his role.

 

I'd concur. Yes Carmona was a good player for us last year, but Larry was just as good. With Nagbe here as well this is not even a concern for me. Nor do they have to go find a replacement.

 

Are we going to get a damn defender? Seems stupid to expect old man Parkhurst to play every single game. That’s my one complaint about Tata, let’s give the defense SOME priority.

IMO, i’d put up Jacob Peterson, and Andrew Wheeler-Ominiu. (I still want to hold on to Romario one more season at least and see what he can do with A2.) And see if we can a decent CB back up option; especially, if we can’t trust Miles.

I could see Peterson fitting in well at a club like Colorado; pie in the sky, I’d see if we could throw in Peterson, AWO, and a draft pick for one of Ford, Sjoberg, or Watts.

 

First of all, Atlanta ranked 4th in MLS in goals conceded last year and that should only get better this year with Guzan in goal all season.

Guzan is among the best GKs in the league, Garza made the all-star game last year, and LPG is a rising star. Meanwhile, it was Tata that insisted on getting another holding midfielder last year which turned out to be Carmona, and he's the guy that scouted Escobar. Plus, the $1.05+ million Nagbe deal was more about maintaining possession and servicing the attacking players. We're certainly not expecting big goal or assist numbers out of him.

Granted, our 3 DPs (essentially 4 since Tito was bought-down) are all attacking players, as you would expect given the MLS salary cap structure. But we've made meaningful investments to strengthen the defense too. In fact, Bocanegra hinted that there would be at least one more deal, and that was before we learned that Carmona would be leaving. My guess is we'll now seek a Carmona replacement, plus add some depth at RB.

 

We still need back up in defense. We’re an injury away from a nightmare.

 

Walkes is gone.

 

We got Escobar and Hernandez in the offeason, and we still have Ambrose and McCann on the roster. So we have bodies, but it would be nice if Robinson takes a step forward this year. I'd have to think they have some money to play with from the transfer of Carmona, and wouldn't be surprised if they've already made some inquiries.

I have heard an interesting theory however that Tata may be thinking of moving to a 3-5-2. If that's the case you don't need quite so many defenders on the roster, and the replacement options in the midfield increase as well.

 

Wondering if there's anything outthere about us loking into Gordillo. I like the options we have as of now, but there's a reason Carmona started ahead of JL. We should be looking to get a better player than the one we let go, until we hit the ceiling of MLS' popularity.

 

Where does Garza play in a 352? That LCB or LM?

 

LM. He's effective enough going forward that it wouldn't be a problem. The question would be a RM. I assume Tito would play there, and I'm not 100% on how much cover he'd provide on defense.

Sounds like we picked up Sal Zizzo for fullback cover. Doesn't make much sense if Tata was planning on a 3-5-2, so we'll probably see last year's formation again.

 

Didn't we play a 3-5-2 against Toronto?

 

We'll probably see it used at some point, but I wouldn't bet on it being the primary formation we use.