I think it's time: 673871425548218368 is not a valid tweet id MLS lists of free agents and re-entry draft candidates coming around 5 pm ET today. Expect clubs to announce trades throughout day
Well, this should prove interesting. I thought contracts were through 31 December, meaning they wouldn't be out of contract until after the new year. Biggest hopes for position upgrades, folks?
In sum: our backups in general could use upgrades and some of our backups could go elsewhere to get a shot at real playing time. Clark & Meram are my prime targets for starting XI upgrades. Props to Berhalter for building a good squad, that could benefit with more time together (especially our back line, as Afful & Sauro are relative newcomers.) I like our depth, in general. I think GK could use an upgrade. I actually like our CB pairing with Sauro and Wahl as a backup. I think we're fine at FB, although we could probably upgrade our backups. In the midfield, I think Trapp/Tchani are top class for MLS. George seems like a good backup at DM, but he's sure been riding pine for a long time. I wonder if, for development's sake (and since we're not in CCL), if he should go elsewhere for a better shot at real playing time. I'm torn at CAM. I like Higuain and I think people here have given him a harder time than he deserves. Speas clearly needs to move on, but Saeid is a great backup here. If we could upgrade Higuain to a new DP, fine. I'm happy to have him another season. I would love to see Meram upgraded. He's got talent, but I think it's time for him to move on and for us to move on. I think Cedrick could fight for his spot, but we could bring someone else in. If we can re-sign Jack Mac at a reasonable price, we're great at striker.
I would like to see an upgrade at Tchani's position. Yes, he has gotten better and better as the seasons have progressed, but last night was a prime example of how no matter how much he improves, he's still prone to those mental mistakes that cost us big-time. For me, to do it in the MLS Final is the last straw. I would also LOVE to see us sell on Meram. I'm sick of him up to my eyeballs. Poor decision making, little to no defensive ability/desire, tons of turnovers... The list goes on. He's like that crappy girlfriend who does just enough to keep you from dumping her. If we're so bent on getting rid of Clark, I'd like to see Lampson get a chance. He did a good job finishing out the year when Andy went down with that bizarre injury. Personally, I really, really want to see a formation that can utilize MacInerney and Kei on the field at the same time. It's the classic Poacher/Target Man combination. Jack is a known, proven goal scorer in the league and so is Kei. Now that they have the entire pre-season and the like to get to know each other and work together, I think 3G would be crazy to stick with this single-striker formation and use Jack solely as a backup. Of course, this is assuming we keep Jack.
#10. I don't want to seem like I'm overreacting to the game yesterday, but I don't think Pipa fits what GB wants anymore. When GB first came, it was about possession. We didn't have any strikers, so it was more about controlling the game, and trying to get a few good opportunities each game. This consisted of us playing our best when Pipa played higher up the pitch and Trapp was sending long diagonal balls to the wings, often switching the point of attack. Over time, starting with the emergence of Finlay, the team started to speed up the play and used the wings more and more. This year, with the introduction of Kei, it seems like we completely abandoned the possession game, and went for more pace, pace, pace. That itself isn't a bad thing, but it changed a lot about the team. Playing quickly obviously means that the other team will have more chances and more of the ball, which I think was the major reason we gave up so many goals this year. Last year we weren't allowing teams in those positions to begin with. With Kei up top and Finlay out wide, those guys were the focal points of the attack, not Pipa. And since wingplay became so much more important, playing Pipa through the middle became much less important. It also meant Pipa had less time to get upfield, resulting in him essentially being a third CM. Trapp also seemed to be more of just a link player this year, I was trying to remember how many long crossfield switch passes he had recently, and I honestly couldn't think of any. And we all know how much Pipa slows down the attack. If we are playing for possession, that's ok. If we are playing with extreme pace, it kills attacks. And holy shit what happened to his free kick and corners? They've all been terrible this year, completely useless. Pipa has been good for the team, but I just don't know if he fits this team anymore. And I just don't feel this way because of last night, it's been simmering in my mind for most of the season. Just look at some of the other Argentine playmakers in this league: Javi Morales (RSL), Ignacio Piatti (Montreal), and Diego Valeri (Portland). They have better passing, are much more mobile, and can *gasp* actually dribble past people. Pipa is very Beckham like, he's all technique and zero pace, problem is Pipa's technique has taken a nosedive this season. If he's back next year, I won't freak out about it, but 2016 should be his last year for us, and I really wouldn't mind if he leaves in January tbh, assuming we replace him obviously. TL;DR - We all like Pipa, but he doesn't fit the team anymore.
We'll see what Berhalter does but in my mind the Higuain era is over in Columbus. I'm not going off just last night but I'm hoping for an upgrade at keeper; Charlie Horton certainly sounds like a nice option if he's interested. Outside backs if both stay I think most of us are pretty happy with. Center back I'd be happy to see an upgrade; I don't think Parkhurst is terrible but when judging his body of work over an entier season I think we could improve there. Finlay and Meram MAY continue to progress but we could certainly use more complete wings either way. Mabwati will get a chance to fight for a starting spot this off-season and he may prove to be an upgrade as a starter. We could probably stand to move on from Steindorsson the person in his position needs to be battling for starting minutes. I hope Gall isn't worth giving up on yet; the way we play I'm fine with having at least one spot held for a developmental wing if not two. He's gotten a lot more defenders and good for him but I'm still in the "we could upgrade from Tchani" camp.
I'm not ready to give up on Finlay or Meram yet but Meram shouldn't be counted on to be a regular starter. I think with moving Pogatetz, Steindorsson, and Clark we should be able to pick up a pretty good LM and GK this offseason.
Patrick Guldan re-tweeted an interesting tweet from Klute. Columbus Crew SC Retweeted Chris Klute @chrisklute 7m7 minutes ago It's been a pretty awesome first year in Columbus. Thank you Crew fans for your support all year. ---- As Guldan points out, saying it's been a great first points to there being a second for him.
I don't think I could agree with this much more at all. Parkhurst is probably the last of the guys you mentioned that I look to upgrade, but that's based off him ending the year pretty well with Sauro as a partner. I'd like to see if they can build on that pair next season. But if they do go and get a new CB, I won't be upset about it either.
Klute is a good backup/decent occasional starter. He's two footed and can play LB or RB. I'd certainly hope GB keeps him around.
I believe it is the players in that 12- 17 roster spot. Like Steiner(blah) and Pogtetz. I also think Tchaini, Meram, Higuain, Clark and Parkhurst could use a push either up or out.
The nice thing is, we can dump some of the dead wood and still get upgrades. GGG has shown the ability to go find good talent. I think our African players have brought a lot to the team, and it's a part of the world where we can obviously find new talent. I'm pretty sure we've seen the last of Seindorrsen and Poga, Speas, Barson, possibly Clark and Higs, but we need to go find some people. I would certainly like to see Tchani challenged, pretty much the whole midfield aside from Trapp. We scored 5 on DC without Higs or Kei, and I agree, I'd like to see more of a two forward system. I don't much care for the 4-5-1. One D-mid, be it Trapp or somebody stronger there, move Trapp upfield.
Columbus Crew SC @ColumbusCrewSC now14 seconds ago NEWS: Core of #CrewSC roster to return for 2016 season as club exercises contract options. http://crew.sc/1NS8wN9 Columbus Crew SC confirmed today that the core of its 2015 Eastern Conference Championship-winning side is set to return in 2016 as the club announced that it has exercised the contract options on 11 players from its 2015 roster, while 10 others were already under contract for next season, giving the club a roster that currently features 21 players. The club picked-up the options of goalkeeper Brad Stuver; defenders Harrison Afful, Chad Barson, Sergio Campbell, Waylon Francis, Chris Klute and Michael Parkhurst; and midfielders Romain Gall, Hector Jimenez, Justin Meram and Wil Trapp. The Black & Gold simultaneously announced that they have declined the contract options of defender Emanuel Pogatetz and midfielder Kristinn Steindorsson. Midfielder Ben Speas and goalkeeper Matt Lampson are out of contract. Pogatetz, Speas and Steindorsson are eligible for the MLS Waiver Draft, taking place this Wednesday, December 9 at 4:30 p.m. ET. Lampson is eligible for the MLS Re-Entry Process, which begins with Stage One this Friday, December 11 at 3:00 p.m. ET. A full League list of players eligible for Free Agency, the Waiver Draft and Re-Entry Process will be announced by MLS. Midfielder Kevan George and forwards Jack McInerney and Aaron Schoenfeld are out of contract and Crew SC is currently in discussions with those three players. “2016 preparations are underway and our aim is to keep the core group of the team together while being in position to make additional roster improvements for next season,” said Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. “While decisions to part with players are never easy, we’d like to thank all the players for their contributions throughout the year.” Crew SC's current 2016 roster follows: Goalkeepers (2): Steve Clark, Brad Stuver Defenders (8): Harrison Afful, Chad Barson, Sergio Campbell, Waylon Francis, Chris Klute, Michael Parkhurst, Gaston Sauro, Tyson Wahl Midfielders (10): Ethan Finlay, Romain Gall, Federico Higuain, Hector Jimenez, Cedrick Mabwati, Justin Meram, Mohammed Saeid, Ben Swanson, Tony Tchani, Wil Trapp Forwards (1): Kei Kamara
Lamp, Speas, Pogo & Steindorsson gone. If I had to predict 4 that would be gone, those are the 4 I would've guessed. This is a really a small number of changes compared to the last 5-6 years. We'll lose between 4-7 players, depending on the negotiations with the 3 mentioned. That's a very low number for MLS. If Jack Mac stays, our entire 18 game day roster will be intact. It will be difficult for a new guy, or a guy like down on the depth chart to break through. A little surprised that Barson & Gall were kept, but not unhappy about it. I really wish we had a USL team to get those guys, as well as Campbell, Swanson, draft picks and others some playing time. I'm hoping it will happen in 2017.
It cracks me up that they're still in negotiations with 2 players that were making $60k per year (George & Schoenfeld). Maybe their options were going to bump them up to a crazy amount of money like $80k. I think next year will be their 5th in MLS. Maybe they're not worth that kind of dough, but it says a lot about MLS that your big reward for staying in the league for 5 years is to re-negotiate your salary so you make a hair more than the rookies.
I think George and Schoenfeld are out of contract, not option declined. With Poga and Strindorssen leaving there should be money for an upgrade. Of course, berhalter might have known they would be gone and spent their money on Sauro and Afful so we don't know just yet. If we keep the same 18, how do we get better? Is like to see one new starter. Hopefully a Cambioso type DM that moves Tchani to spot starter and provides more offense.
Holy shit - Urruti is on the Re-entry draft roster. http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2015/12/07/mls-announces-60-players-eligible-re-entry-draft ---- Andrew King @AndrewKingMLS 2m2 minutes ago Andrew King Retweeted Jordan Sampson I think Pappa swinging in balls for Kamara could really work. If JackMac is too expensive, Urruti a solid backup ST.
We do not know what the option salary would be. Could be a huge jump to DP level, which may be why the option was declined.