One of the GK's has to be put on a season long loan, no? It makes absolutely no sense to have 4 roster spots locked up by GKs. Dewsnup should be a Monarchs player and not counting against the RSL roster
given the GK situation, I'm not sure there is any other argument that makes as much sense. I'd point out that is a self inflicted problem because of the Putna signing. I do not get that one and do not agree with it
The offer from the owners contradicts the reasoning to use force majeure. It's like filing for bankruptcy and then telling the bank "oh I can pay all of these debts right now, I just want to have the last 2 years of payments removed because I cant afford them" It does not add up. The owners are using this to take advantage of the players and are using the timeline adjustment to screw over players for the next decade. The players union should not accept this, at all. In a weird turn, the players might come back with an offer to take pay cuts now but keep the timeline of the current CBA. How weird would that be
https://www.rsl.com/post/2021/01/19/real-salt-lake-prepares-2021-mls-superdraft-pres-adidas Interesting list, only ~5 of those guys are expected to go before/around RSL's #7. I laugh at RSL taking a GK in this draft. Those others are #34 targets unless they trade up. A GA player would be interesting. They take up a roster spot, but they don't count against the budget. Several guys at the top of the draft are also internationals.
If RSL isn't looking for a GA player, I hope Elliott is looking at trading the pick. That'd be an easy way to pick up some needed GAM/TAM/MAM.
Don't know what it would take to get to #1, but that guy is supposed to future $5m+ transfer and he's pretty good right now.
This would be my move, as well. Package both picks for some MLS Monopoly Money to be used once we get an ownership group in place.
The rumor of this (which seems pretty solid) states he wouldn't join the team until the end of the Bundesliga 2 season. Otherwise, I like this deal as it has to be under a DP slot and addresses a need we have. This puts the roster at 27/28 players unofficially. It leaves little room for Fall to adjust in the summer. I would hope he learned his lesson from last year and doesn't fill the roster before the season has even began. Which, to me, means we can probably only add maybe 1 or 2 more players, max. Does this roster impress you? Inspire you? Give any argument to be a contender for even a playoff spot? I am feeling optimistic with the national news of the day so I'm going to see the hopefulness of this roster somehow clicking after this long together.
Bobby Wood and Rubio Rubin really do change the complexion of the forward corps. I tip my hat to Fall and company. Without DP money to spend, this is a job well done.
Reports are that Bobby Wood turned down a million dollar per year deal with Cincinnati last year. Wonder what terms we agreed to with him?
To me that sounds like we did the Baird trade and used all of that funny money (plus some more in reserve, probably) to bring in Wood. I'm good with that roster move.
You'll struggle to find optimism from RSL fans, probably even if its warranted. Wood is a decent move even though his perceived upside isn't what it was 2-3 years ago. Rubin is a big question mark, and my expectations are mild. Another year with Meram and Jeizon may prove fruitful. So maybe the attacking corps will be a very workman-like group effort that may not strike fear in opponents, but could prove productive. Maybe. Silva is a question for me on backline, and GK needs to solidify. And while Toia proved serviceable last year, still would like to see an upgrade there. Biggest question mark for me is how does this team advance the ball through the field, and create chances? This team seemed to be overwhelmed in the midfield going both directions on most/many occasions, and once again resorted to direct play too frequently. Seems like maybe a lack of a distinctive creative player, but I think tactics might be the bigger portion of this. And I'm not optimistic we'll see a tactical leap forward this season. The Wood addition inches this team closer to a playoff team, but my bet is still on the outside looking in.
I don't think you do. Rusnak may be perceived as having the better upside but I think Damir might give you more of the intangibles that take underperforming teams with decent talent to good teams with less talent. I would think that RSL could get quite a bit of valuable assets, players/funny MLS money, in return by selling/trading Albert on to a team that could really get his attention turned back to his potential. If this team has a plan then trying to win MLS Cup next year should not be top of their list. Great if it happens, ha ha, but hopefully there is a plan to rebuild this team with an eye to the near and long term future. Trading Albert might be a great way to really build a strong foundation for the future.
I could be wrong, but Bobby Wood and Ricky Rubin are likely the best Forwards we've had on this team since Sabo (Espindola included), and they haven't even suited up for us. I still think 2021 is a throw-away season for RSL, just like 2020 was for everybody world-wide. More than any new signings, I want to see a clearer vision about the future of the club. I'd be totally happy with a 2nd-tier MLS team that develops and sells talent, never really contends for the Supporter's Shield, and might occasionally have a cup run. Kinda like Southampton in the EPL. Without relegation, we could afford to prioritize attractive soccer as opposed to staying up. That, of course, would entail prioritizing coaching, academy, and recruitment.
The projected lineups I've seen have them (Damir and Rusnak) both on the field plus Everton and Meram, but not Ruiz. And I think Ruiz is an automatic inclusion.
Team may not have reached stellar status but I think we all agree that these were higher impact moves that we never thought would be possible without an owner.
I agree with this take. Doing this before the new owner is named and comes aboard is definitely odd. My first thought was “Hey, let’s do something proactive to impress the new owner and increase our chances of being retained”. That might be too cynical.
Yeah, those projected lineups ignore one of the few good things that came out of RSL in 2020: Ruiz. He's one of the first names I'd put on a starting lineup right now, no matter the formation
the more I've thought about it, the more it feels like a therapeutic move by a lot of the staff that endured the DLH years. And, on the cynical side, a way of trying to route out any DLH sympathizers still on board.
how ironic is it that RSL makes more moves without an owner than when they had one. All of the near misses are gone. Which dovetails into this next point very well Lets be honest, these new signings are not sexy. They aren't national news worthy. They're barely going to register in the local market. But they seem to be a move towards a more workmanlike team (I like that term) that has a lot of young and exciting prospects around it. I've called for the Southampton/Ajax/Dortmund approach like you spell out here for years and would absolutely love a club that adopted it full tilt. It makes so much sense for RSL with the facilities that we have, the metro that we cover, and the honest reality of where this league is going in terms of parity (it seems to be going away, from my perspective). Even with a billionaire owner, we have the drawback of a smaller market that doesn't move the needle in a lot of ways. There isn't a way around that. There is a way to accept it, use it as an identifier, and build a very respectable program out of it. I was hopeful DLH and the Herriman facility were the means to that. The latter could still be with the right vision and investment in areas.
I can see both of these points. I can also give them the benefit of the doubt by thinking they did it as a message to the fanbase, “THIS is who we are, NOT what has come out in the press recently. We will not let you down in living up to these values. You can be proud to call yourselves RSL fans.”