Clarification. RSL has 28 players signed as of this morning. Assuming someone like Dewsnup goes on season long loan to the Monarchs, it's 27. Bobby Wood makes it 28. Still need a starting level CB, that's 29. I'm fine with bringing in another winger, if that guy is clearly an upgrade. Mateus Vital would probably qualify as an upgrade.
Season starts the weekend of 4/17. Pre-season started yesterday. RSL will have all new assistant coaches, one still to be named. There will be a few new players (6 so far, none clear starters). Supposedly Bobby Wood will be here, his current team is done playing in May. There are rumors of bringing in a CB, need one as Nedum retired and only have 3 on the roster. Other rumor is a midfielder/winger from Brazil, Mateus Vital. Elliot has filled all but 2 roster spots so far. Team player value is still last on Transfermarkt. I don't understand/agree with everything they are doing, but I'll still be watching all the games I can and traveling to all the Midwest games I can.
RSL Show was pretty adamant the Vital move wont happen. I don't see how Fall could have that much "rainy day fund" money set aside to make it happen. He also would only accentuate the issue this roster has of having far too many similar type players. With the current roster (so no Bobby Wood) how do you start? I think the club should seriously explore a formation/identification/tactical change this year. I doubt Freddy wants to, though, as he kept shoving that square peg of his approach in the circular hole of a 2020 season... If I was given this team, as is, and said to make a starting lineup for a game tomorrow, I'd try one of these Option A: 4-3-3 false 9 Chang - Rusnak - Ramirez Luiz - Kreilach - Ruiz Toia - Glad - Silva - Herrera Ochoa We don't have an out and out striker, so why not just play Rusnak as a false 9? Stop shoving Kreilach into that role. Stop pushing Rusnak wide. Put those two in the middle, and give Rusnak a bit more freedom to drop in but not have to do the box to box work of the 4-2-3-1 setup we did before. Luiz and Ruiz sit behind Kreilach in the middle 3. so Kreilach's defensive responsibilities aren't as much. All 3 play very tight to gether Chang and Ramirez out wide are stretches, I know. I can see an argument to replace either with Meram. I don't know Rubin well enough to say he should be ahead of either of those two Really, this would look a lot like a 4-5-1 in defense, with Rusnak staying higher, and then quickly spring to a 4-2-1-1-2 with Rusnak and Kreilach being the single digit roles and Ramirez/Chang pushing into width Option B: 3-5-1 Martinez Rusnak - Luiz - Kreilach - Ruiz - Herrera Glad - Silva - Holt* Ochoa This one feels a stretch as we're pushing players into spots they maybe aren't comfortable with (Rusnak as a LM and Herrera as RM), not to mention the scary aspect of using pretty much every single CB into the lineup and asking Holt to be a starter. To counter that, if the club found a legitimate TAM level CB, this could work for a lot of reasons. Herrera's game as a wing back has only improved and I think this would give him a ton of freedom. Further, I think this fits Freddy's style more of using wingers as primary attackers as it puts Rusnak there and supports him in the middle. Tactically, I'd be very nervous how this setup would play on the transition to defense. Teams with speed could seriously expose our CBs and the space behind Rusnak, especially if Glad is expected to lock that space down Option C: 4-2-1-2-1 (narrow high diamond) Martinez Rusnak - Meram/Ramirez Kreilach Luiz - Ruiz Toia - Glad - Silva - Herrera Ochoa This one is left field and something I'd want to try very early on in preseason against some college or club team. It goes very opposite of the 2020/past tactics of playing to the width of the field. This one would be a slightly bastardized version of the diamond we used, just pushed it to the top of the formation. It's tight in the middle, with very clear defensive roles for Luiz and Ruiz in the middle, and then an interchanging diamond ahead of them that gives Rusnak and Ramirez/Meram freedom to roam and then Martinez (replaced by Wood later) the top of the diamond role
So, basically he’s just getting ahead of it through his tweets and figures the organization will not divulge the sordid details? That makes some sense. I have to admit that his tweets tend to make me sympathetic towards him.
The clubs (lack of) response to essentially leave it as a vacuum for the reader/fan to fill is some straight bullshit. As Jake mentioned in the most recent RSL Show: A no-statement response doesn't fly in this day and age. It's reeks of immaturity and a lack of professionalism.
Yeah. Even if his issues were somewhat public, unless they went through proper HR protocol and documentation, then dismissing him may open RSL up for more legal action.
Did I miss something? I assume this isn't referring to Andy's DUI back in 2015 while he was going through his divorce. I'd hardly say that "should have gotten him fired". Is this in reference to something else? With all of the drama around this club, I may be forgetting something here. Suggesting Andy speaking out in 2020 was somehow related to a DUI in 2015 is just...bizarre. Andy opening up about these issues with DLH was him revealing some very poorly kept secrets which were subsequently corroborated by others. Talk to any former RSL'er staffer, a few reporters, and many players and you'll find some sh!t out about DLH. I tried for years to get many to see this side of him, but kept getting told that I was just a hater and that DLH was great because he was investing in WIFI and new lights, and a new scoreboard so we should love him. Peruse back through BS and you'll see this. Maybe Andy did it to protect himself. Or maybe he did it because DeLoy was/is an a$$hole.
Looks like Anderson Julio back in RSL sights: https://www.futbolecuador.com/site/...antiguo-seductor-le-vuelve-a-coquetear/126216
In the Tony Beltran interview on MLS Extra Time, Tony says they've built a roster they 1) with existing resources not reliant on an owner to kick in additional funds that 2) is primed and ready for a new owner to add a couple of big money players at which time the team will take off. I've been mulling that a bit.
I was the asshole, not you. To (kind of) defend myself, though, Checketts did and subsequently has openly admitted that he desperately needed investors to keep this team afloat. On the podcast by Spence Checketts, Dave said that after 2008(?) it became immediately apparent that he could not afford the budget of this team. The one "regret" that Dave shared was that he allowed DLH to muscle his way in when talking to Eisner about investing in the team. That said, it is not a fair assessment of DLH to completely throw out everything he did for this club because of his (atrocious) actions. He lives a complicated legacy. Which is only further confusing when no further findings or wrong doings were brought up when the MLS investigation was completed. Without DLH, this club never invests in Herriman the way they do. In fact, we're probably still down in Arizona on a weird relationship with Casa Grande, if even that. Without DLH, the club cannot afford the Monarchs. I seriously doubt we even are able to build a relationship with a USL side to be our "sister club" of sorts. Without DLH, we never have (and also never lose) the Royals. That much is completely true and does not have any form of speculation. So while we're asking the question of whether you'd rather have DLH come back in as owner to retain the club or the club go away, another question would be: would you have rather had all of this expansion under DLH or had a cheaper club under Checketts and Eisner (who is not on the same grounds as DLH financially) that would be essentially l like a nicer ran cRapids?
What would have been really rad is if DLH kept checkers on with a minority stake and left soccer ops to him, while DLH would largely deal with infrastructure and bankroll. It’s safe to say that DLH was more interested in his coin collection than RSL.
I genuinely wish DLH was more interested in his coin collection than RSL. I wish he just foot the bill and went and played with his toys. That's not what happened. DLH's personality was never going to let that happen. Whatever that guy gets into, he fully gets into. Whether he has a clue what is actually happening (see his real estate holdings) or not (see his soccer IQ). The difference in how Checketts and DLH look to run their organizations, no matter what they are, could not be more different. Checketts empowered people and trusted them to make decisions. Hell, the guy let Garth and Jason bring back Mathis in 08 despite there being very obviously bad tensions between dave and clint. It was like inverse Yura. When you listen to Jason and Garth's interviews on the Spence Checketts show, you hear constantly how Dave ran an organization where he expected them to fail but supported them and believed in them. It is wild to look back on. On the flip side, DLH has played some part in about any significant decision this club has made (no matter it being soccer, business, or what have you) since he won the majority vote by owl nonsense the league ran. He's ran his mouth constantly like your grandpa thinking he knows soccer after 3 games of watching his grandkids play. He thinks he knows better than others in how to do their jobs and puts them in positions where they don't really seem to have any other decision except his. When you look at some of the more broad management styles, you can easily see a shift from things like collaboration and confidence into the realm of micromanaging and reliance on authority. Which, in this industry, just doesn't make sense
You may be right on the Royals side, but I'm pretty confident both of the other things would have happened eventually with any elevated financial support from an owner. The Herriman facility was the brainchild of Lagerway and Manning, and I agree that DLH's funding made it happen, but the scale and magnitude was always there. Eisner likely could have pulled that off and I think there was even a 3rd investor in RSL's sights at the time. Also, many people don't realize this, but RSL nearly executed an alliance agreement with Austin Aztex just before they decided to move the club to Orlando and make an MLS bid. TBH - I can't really think of a single positive soccer related move that DLH made that wasn't already in the works when he joined the club. Although this club may have struggled for a year or two without his involvement circa 2009 (for instance they may not have been able to buyout Sabo's contract), but I am convinced that the club would be in a much better place now without him. They would have needed some sort of financial infusion, but if they had been more patient, other options were out there. It's obvious that Checkers regrets the path he chose. You may have noticed this club is, and has been, a train wreck with no clear path forward in sight.
Is that why we had that game with Austin at Rio Tinto? I always thought it was a weird game because it wasn’t an Open Cup game (if I remember correctly), and couldn’t have been a cheap trip for a USL team.
Interesting article (sorry it is behind a paywall). Says that every year fans of every team in every sport always complain that their team hasn't signed anyone during offseason. Chalk that up to fan insecurities. However, this year (and last) there is actual truth to that. On avg teams have signed 4.6 and 4.3 players by this point in the offseason this year and last year compared to 6.7 2 years ago. And the profile is lower as well, in general. In fact, only 1 DP signed this offseason even though roughly 30 open DP slots across league. Compare that to 13 and 11 signed in 2019 and 2020 respectively. A number of reasons given including: - limited ability to travel for players and the team to get comfortable with moves. Mentioned RSL may have missed out on opportunities as a result of this last season. - players less willing to relocate away from family during pandemic - green cards not moving has more intl spots locked up than in previous years (only 9 open across league- perhaps that makes Fall's int'l spot acquisition more valuable) - financial challenges related to covid have slowed movement of players across the world; more willingness to retain known talent The article highlights RSLs position, and explains why free agent signings (vs transfers), interleague loans and USL signings are more important factors in this market.
This isn't how internet disagreements go. You are supposed to double, triple, quadruple down at a minimum and admit no weakness in your position.
Haha! I genuinely respect 15 for consistently taking public positions and sticking to it - even if it's that Seitz should start over Rimando (lol). The discussion causes us all to think and consider different views. To me there is a lot of value in that. We all come with our various perspectives, and as long as we keep it respectful, all is well in my book. I often find myself posting about an alternate position to 15, but I honestly agree with much more of his opinions than the few that I choose to respond to. Probably similar for most of us with each other.