2019-20 Roster Movement Thread

Strongly hope as well. I'm just concerned that his long-term injury precludes us from terminating his contract, I don't know.

 

We may still be in danger of losing to the expansion draft. Also, Nemeth is out of contract, while a handful further have option years for 2020. Vermes usually cuts from the lower end of his roster pretty ruthlessly. We'll see how much of that applies to the senior roster this year.

 

I didn't mention it earlier but another reason I would totally be happy leaving Zusi, Espinoza, and Besler exposed to the expansion draft is not so much that they'd get taken, but so that at least we could protect the players it would truly hurt tot lose. Not that we have many of those.

 

Croizet was a mutual termination, not a buyout. Fontas could still be our one buyout this offseason.

 

Interesting, and good to know! I'd love to know the terms of Croizet's release that make it different than a buyout - not that we'll ever really find out. But I'm assuming that some money still had to change hands in order for Croizet to agree to the deal? Or perhaps he expected he'd be able to sign some contract elsewhere, and was OK going away for free? I'd also love to know how the MLS Rulebook distinguishes between a buyout and a mutual termination.

 

He’d have trouble getting a new contract anywhere til winter because most windows are closed, and because he became a ‘free agent’ outside a transfer window he can’t sign til the window opens in those places. But it’d allow him to go on trial in preparation to sign somewhere in January.

 

The club says they’re going to spend money this winter. More seriously than they have in the past. Talks about a willingness to buy 3 higher priced DPs. https://www.kansascity.com/sports/mls/sporting-kc/article236029643.html

 

Do you think the "3 higher priced DPs" are going to fill the 3 positions mentioned near the end of that article? CF, AM, CB? I mean the first one is obvious, I think the 2nd one should ... just not sure about the 3rd.

 

We can't though, can we? I thought Russell and Gutierrez were higher than the TAM cap would allow? Guess we'll see how it pans.

I personally don't think we need an attacking mid really. Put a 6/8 worth some real cash out there to bolster Ilie and Gutierrez, and I think we'll generate absolutely plenty of opportunities through the middle. Especially with a real 9 out there. Could be fun, though. Benny never really played as a strict 10, though the days he got to were really fun days indeed. Other than that, we have never really had a particularly true AM for many, many years. Is fun to think about.

If we are able to keep Russell and Gutierrez and still sign three DPs, I'd vote:
Striker
Center Mid
Left Wing
and then we'd see just how much the goddamn Western Conference likes us now.

 

Before the Dallas game, Vermes was saying it would be tough for anyone to rise much with that game, but that folks who quit could really hurt themselves. If that's true, we need a new CB. the reality is that we do even if that isn't true. Besler was out injured this year, and had a horrible end of the season. Those come with getting older and losing your legs. We can hope that Besler bounces back and is once again the player he has been. There are a lot of CBs who have played well at 34. to 36. But a good general rule is that when a player slips once he's older than 30 you've seen the beginning of the end. I believe that a post achilles surgery fontas is a bigger problem. But I don't see a Barath-Smith tandem getting it done for us over long stretches next year.
As we all know, we are not going to corral the best attackers in MLS. We can bring in effective players for those roles, but we have to create our separation on the cheaper side of the field. If we're going to be elite, we need at least one new, elite CB.
If that is correct (IMO it is but I may be wrong), we absolutely need new, big time, signings at Striker, CM and CB. Hitting on all of those is gonna be really, really tough.

 

Promises promises....all that's missing are some tweets from Heinemann.

 

All very true. I really have no desire to give up on Besler, like a bunch of hot-takers have, but we'll see how it progresses from here. Manning the back line with three other guys who are struggling or worse doesn't do anything to get him revved up and thrilled. Hopefully with a CB signed, some clarity at RB, and a full offseason with Martins, everyone will be a lot more successful. I don't know why Barath can't seem to lock himself into place. He looks great and then he doesn't.

You've got it, though. Accomplishing all our offseason wants and needs is highly unlikely. We'll probably have to settle for a handful of okay signings or retainings to try to back up our one or two line-pushing FNGs.

 

I was sad to see that Vermes is coming back but hopefully he is finally on a hot seat and it is nuclear hot. This article had some interesting names, https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/10/10/top-10-coaching-candidates-mls-vacancies, Diego Alonso sounded good to me and also for Kerry to have a chance.

 

Based on this paragraph you're likely going to be disappointed.

 

I'd say it's warming. Not hot, definitely not nuclear hot.

 

Yep. Though to be fair I think it could be hot by the time the season starts, but it depends on how things get addressed this offseason.

 

I looked up Peter and his current contract is till 2023 as near as I can tell. If he can learn from his mistakes this season that will be great but I do not have a lot faith that he will.

 

Suggestion for ownership and PV about player acquisitions. Show me don't tell me. I'm beyond tired of reading the same story every transfer window.

Until proven otherwise, my expectations for the offseason are: dump some of the roster, lose a key young player in the expansion draft, sign a couple of over the hill MLS free agents, sign some unathletic former Barca B players and a "Bundesliga" striker.

 

I was and remain a Vermes fan. He adopted a style of play that worked for a small market, med level investment club, to remain competive. His teams were fun to watch, at times beautiful and usually successful.
The last couple seasons told him the old ways were both now extremely common in the modern MLS, and falling just short of what he wanted, so he adjusted his vision.
I give him full credit for the adjustment. I give him credit for putting a team on the field in 2019 that played really wonderfull soccer.
The problem was it was operating on very thin margins, and when things started going wrong the whole thing collapsed.
In the opener, we were a match for LAFC, and LAFC were a very good team. I believe we were better, until we completely ran out of gas, an exhausted Roger got a stupid red, and what had looked like the most promising side in a while was on a bad downhill slide.
I know many on here do not share this sense, but full credit to Vermes for trying and almost pulling off a Louis XIII cognac style with a Boulevard budget.
The problem was this attempt left us with a side that didn't really work in a plan B setting. Everything about this side is seen in Fontas, who, go back and look at the posts, looked to be imperious. Again, though, thin margins. When the injuries hit, we could not play Vermes dreamed of tika-taca, and Fontas was worthless in any other approach (and also injured). Way too many were injured, and our subs were not up to pulling off this system and we didn't really have a plan B, so we were a mess.
My Point: Vermes has to rethink what he wants to do for 2020 for us to have any chance to bounce back. SKC can't afford the players needed to the Barcelona of the Plains. While Nemeth is, stylistically, a (very) poor man's Messi, a poor man's messi isn't that impressive of a thing.
Same thing applies to our midfield. Being a shadow of Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta doesn't mean you're capable of the same game domination.
So it's not just rebuilding this off-season, it's recasting who we are. I know Vermes wants to move beyond the old 90 minutes of Hell approach, but there is a reason that in 2019 we were described both as "the best possession side MLS has ever seen" and "a disaster."
My question: Is Vermes will to go backwards to go forwards?

 

These were two points I have been saying about Peter for a while now. My wife is very tired of it. Peter has a huge problem with squad rotation. The margins will always be thin for his teams if he does not give secondary and tertiary players real minutes in competitive games to develop. SKC II is helpful but players need MLS experience to rise in ability. Busio was the only player who got any time this year and it still was not enough on my opinion. I thought Hasler, Wan Kuzain, Zelalem and Hurtado all had good moments on the field. Yeah none of them were perfect but it seems if you don’t do EXACTLY what Peter wants or maybe there is some other slight you are benched. You have to be given the chance to make mistakes, and will lead to some poor play, but it isn’t how you learn. And as long as Peter is this way the loss of any one player will doom his squads.

As for plan B the biggest thing Peter needs is to get one. And a Plan C and D, E and probably F. To me it seems Peter rarely changes tactics and when he does it is really only minor tweaks not a whole scale mix up. Consider the game in Monterrey. I was happy that at the start of that game they took it to them and pressed hard for the early goal. They truly off footed Monterrey and almost scored a crucial away goal. But when Monterrey recovers and scored the first goal there was no adjustment made. Your playing a top tier Liga MX team in their home stadium in a two game goal aggregate series so the tactic should have shifted to bunker and counter. They needed to frustrate Monterrey at all cost and prevent any more goals. But Peter did nothing and the team dug themselves an insurmountable 5 goal hole.

To me Peter has made no significant changes to his style and 2018 was an anomaly and unless he does some serious evaluation of his coaching style and its short comings 2020 will not be a good year for the team.

 

This just in, Andreu Fontas did not win MLS defender of the year. Ike Opara did. Please continue with banter about PV and his upcoming player personnel decisions.

 

Side note, Peter expected to have Ike, Besler, Fontas, and Barath as his CB core for this year. That would actually have been pretty awesome, the existence of Fontas aside.

I saw Vancouver's roster turnover, and at this point, that's what I expect ours to look like. Young players who haven't quite panned are sent back to SPR or waived entirely, while the bulk of the roster looks the same for now. Hoping he can get wheeling and dealing within MLS to exchange some of our depth or squibs around to better balance the team.

 

It was close, though.

 

I think that's a real good list. Though I'd keep Barath over Smith. If we could, I'd leave Roger exposed and dare one of these teams to try him. I don't think anyone would but it might mix things up a bit. Unless his contract states he's not an option for being left unprotected, as happens with some DP contracts (and I have no idea what his qualifies as these days).