News: 2022/2023 Off-Season Catch-All Thread

And it's not an MLM!

 

Nice to have a local sponsor - if it pans out. Wonder how much they will be paying each season and if it will help with signings this winter.

 

In the press release, the UC Health logo will be displayed on both training & first-team jerseys, plus the MLS NEXT/academy teams (would also guess R2 as well).

As part of the partnership, the two orgs will launch a health-focused initiative called “Ready. Set. CO”.

— Brendan Ploen (@BrendanPloen) November 13, 2022

 

Congratulations 🎉🍾 @LALASABUBAKAR1 ! Happy marriage bro ! #Rapids96 #MLS pic.twitter.com/VgM81pTqbs

— majid hanson (@majid_hanson) November 13, 2022

 

The days of a blank Colorado Rapids jersey will soon be over.

via @BrendanPloen #Rapids96 https://t.co/h6XybDQkNi

— Denver Post Rapids (@rapidsnews) November 14, 2022

 

More than a jersey. A mission for Colorado.#Rapids96 x #ReadySetCO pic.twitter.com/0cVFteBp7f

— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) November 14, 2022

 

The jersey sponsor is the best. We love UCHealth. I always told my family that if anyone is going to commit malpractice on me, I want it to be a Buff.

 

I'm hearing from sources on both sides of the pond that Cole Bassett has not hit the minutes threshold stipulated in his loan to Fortuna Sittard.

I'd say he's most likely returning to Colorado Rapids in January.

— Matt Pollard (@LWOSMattPollard) November 16, 2022

 

Well, yeah

 

Cole Bassett is returning to the Colorado Rapids, effective immediately. The 21-year-old midfielder was on loan at Eredivisie side Fortuna Sittard, where he scored one goal in 11 appearances. He will return to Colorado and play for the Rapids in 2023. #Rapids96 #MLS pic.twitter.com/UqVqphlMBw

— MLS NETWORK (@mlsnetwork) November 18, 2022

 

All but confirmed by the club when they posted a cryptic tweet that was just the coordinates to Bassett Ave. downtown.

 

I hope Cole has a good support network. For a young dude this has to be a rather crushing turn of events. Not at all what he wanted to happen. I'm sure that he intellectually understands that his best chance of getting back to Europe is to absolutely ball out with the Rapids next year, but emotionally it's gotta be challenging to just bounce back.

 

Yeah I can’t imagine how hard this has to be for Cole.

But if we know anything about the kid - he’s an immensely hard worker. Not gonna lie, after last years mess of a midfield I was actually pretty stoked when I saw the Rapids’ Bassett Ave tweet yesterday. He was a much missed piece.

I doubt it’ll be long until Europe (or LAFC) comes calling again

 

It's official. Glad that Bassett went on a loan and not a sell as he would have been stuck in lower divisions or just not getting playing time. With the Rapids he has the chance to be ea difference maker.
https://www.coloradorapids.com/news/colorado-rapids-recall-cole-bassett-from-fortuna-sittard-loan

 

"I'm hungry to be back."@colebassett19 is feeling motivated for 2023 and beyond!#Rapids96 pic.twitter.com/HU0Sljo3rL

— Colorado Rapids (@ColoradoRapids) November 18, 2022

 

Looks like USMNT is following multiple MLS teams footsteps with their lineup today:

Here we go. 🇺🇸

Full Lineup Notes » https://t.co/DvhSXPvqRy#USMNT x @Visa pic.twitter.com/V8VpU1oBMG

— U.S. Soccer Men's National Team (@USMNT) November 21, 2022

Imagine - it's the BIGGEST sporting event in the entire world. You've got an opportunity to massively grow your follower base and get new people involved in the US team like never before. Especially considering we missed the last world cup, and all the controversy surrounding Qatar.

There will be more eyes on the USMNT than normal today.

So what do they do? They post a numerical order lineup - which is SO helpful.....

I can't for the life of me figure out why teams do this. It doesn't do anything beneficial for the team - and it only makes life more difficult for the casual observers to grow an attachment to the team.

 

1594783006492921864 is not a valid tweet id

 

Fleming not getting the job really sucks, but I can't say I'm surprised. If the MLS announcers next year all suck maybe I'll just watch all the games with music on.

 

There's still the option for teams to do local radio broadcasts that will be synced with the Apple broadcasts through the service. I'm not a big fan of Connor Cape myself, personally I'd like to see the Rapids give Fleming the role. But we know the Rapids aren't that creative.

 

Per @WeAreAustinTV, 31-year-old American striker Gyasi Zardes is expected to sign with Austin FC as a free agent this week. Zardes was traded to the Colorado Rapids last season, where he scored 9 goals in 26 matches for the club. #AustinFC #Rapids96 #MLS pic.twitter.com/oW7A09FVVZ

— MLS NETWORK (@mlsnetwork) November 22, 2022

 

I don't normally put a lot of faith into these accounts on Twitter....however, Richard Fleming (still heartbroken about him not being selected by MLS!) did also retweet this notice, so maybe there's something to it!

Either way, if this is in fact true, we will only have two strikers on the team - Yapi and Rubio.

That's not exactly a lot of depth at the #9 position, especially when you consider how often we played Rubio as a false #9 or even almost a 10 at times.

I'm not one for doom and gloom as I'm sure y'all have noticed, but this offseason certainly seems to be shaping up to be a make or break for Smith. Even with Bassett's return, we have big holes up and down the roster and it's pretty hard to come back as a team from 2 back to back seasons without success in the transfer windows - especially with how many moves other teams are making....

 

Do I mind not re-signing Zardes? Not at all. He's a bit of a round peg in a square hole for this team and at his price it would only be worth it if we knew we could get 10+ goals out of him along with a handful of assists.

Am I worried that we don't have another attacker now? Absolutely. The pressure on Smith to deliver a significant attacking move just went way up.