We can start there on Sunday after we wake up after the celebration (hopefully). The players union has not posted 2020 salary info yet, but MLS lists our 3 DPs as Zelarayan, Zardes, and Nagbe. Santos was a DP last year and makes DP level money. Mensah also makes above max salary. As did Mokhtar, though with DP salary raising to $612k this year, he may now be under DP level. Likely we have 5 guys at DP level. Of course, teams can buy guys down with GAM ($1.525 million per club in 2020 + some for DP allocation charges, Expansion years, and CCL qualification) or TAM ($2.8 mil per club). $1.6 mil os the ceiling for using TAM on players, though I do not know if that is for acquisition or buy down purposes. Anywho, Santos & Mensah were around $800k each last year, and Nagbe $550k. We could buy these guys down under DP level easily & sign another DP. Z & Z are $1.4 million plus players. But in terms of overall cap (not just another free DP slot), we may be using a LOT of TAM/GAM to buy players down to fit under the cap. Don't know how much wiggle room we have. The cap for 2020 was $4.9 million. Virtually the entire SR of 20 makes at least $200k, with budget charges up to $612,500 for DPs. That is a lot of buydown. Hope was are still getting Steffen ManCity money.
OK, wanted to bump a full roster post since we only have 1 game left this year. I wanted to this roster to reflect where we will be heading into next year, so Wormgoor is back on the Senior Roster and we are back to 8 INT slots instead of 9. Again, salary info is still from 2019 as Player's Union has not updated since Sept. 2019 (WTF?). Best guesses. Also saw a Bez quote upthread saying we could open up two (2!) DP slots with our financial flexibility next year. Wowzers. Also, Nagbe won Goal of the Year. Room won Save of the Year. https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2020/11/20/darlington-nagbe-wins-2020-att-mls-goal-year https://www.mlssoccer.com/save-of-the-year/2020 Players ages updated as well. ---------------------- A. Rules & Regs (2020) Link: https://www.mlssoccer.com/league/official-rules/mls-roster-rules-and-regulations B. General Stuff: 1. Salary Cap = $4,900,000 A) On Budget: Only Senior Roster Spots count against the Cap B) 20 player max, subject to exceptions for Season Ending Injury, Injury List, and Loans. C) Up to 20 Senior Roster spots. 18 must be filled. Min budget charge is made if spots 19 & 20 are not filled. D) Max budget charge is $612,500. GAM/TAM Allocation $$ and DP rules can reduce a player's budget charge below their listed salary number. E) Off-Budget: Supplemental (21-24) and Reserve (25-30) Rosters do not count towards the salary cap. II. Estimated Roster Compositions 1. Senior Roster: 20/18-20 Players: A) 20 Player max on Senior Roster, subject to Season Ending Injury List, Disabled List, and Loan exceptions. B) Generally, this is the highest 20 paid players, though HG players and GA players can be on other rosters. C) Union still only has Sept 2019 Salary Data up. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 1. Zelarayan, M, 28, 6/20/92, 5'8", 154, Argentina, DP, INT#1, $1.5 mil+/$1.5 mil+ 2. Zardes, F, 29, 9/2/91, 6'1", 187, USA, DP, $1,421,667/$1,471,667 3. Mensah, D, 30, 7/13/90, 6'2", 183, Ghana, GC: $800,004/$894,004 4. Santos, M, 32, 4/22/88, 5'6", 139, Portugal, DP, Int#2: $817,560/$864,560 5. Nagbe, CM, 30, 7/19/90, 5'9", 165, USA/Liberia, $665,500/$665,500. 6. Mokhtar, M, 29, 8/29/91, 5'9", 159, Morocco, Int#3, $459,996/$533,845. 7. de Lima (Artur), M, 24, 3/11/96, 5'11", 154, Brazil, GC: $360,000/$411,633 8. Afful, D, 34, 7/24/86, 5'6", 135, Ghana, GC, $288,100/$363,800 9. Room, GK, 31, 2/6/89, 6'3", 179, Curacao & NED, Int#4, $300k/$354,694. 10. Diaz, M, 22, 12/6/98, 5'11", 159, Costa Rica, Int#5, YDP, $300k/$333,900. 11. Valenzuela, D, 22, 8/13/98, 5'6", 145, Argentina, GC: $290,000/$321,300 12. Wormgoor, D, 32, 11/16/88, 6'2", 179, Netherlands, INT#6, $???/$???. 13. J. Williams, D, 32, 4/18/88, 6'2", 185, USA: $215,000/$215,000 14. Adi, F, 30, 10/10/90, 6'4", 185, Nigeria, GC, $205,000 (of 1,933,333). 15. Jimenez, D/M, 32, 11/3/88, 5'9", 145, USA, $200,000/$200,000 16. Alashe, CM, 27, 10/21/93, 6'0", 170, USA, $190,000. 17. Boateng, M/F, 26, 1/17/24, 5'6", 150, Ghana, GC, $185,000. 18. W. Francis, D, 30, 9/20/90, 5'9", 160, Costa Rica, GC, $160,000/$199,167 19. Cadden, D/M, 24, 9/19/96, 6'0", 168, Scotland, INT#7 $56,250/same (2019) 20. Nemeth, F, 31, 1/5/89, 5'11", 165, Hungary, INT#8. ----------- 2. Supplemental Roster: Slots 21-24. 4 of 4 Players. A) Up to 4 players. Do not count vs. salary cap. Subject to SE Injury Replacement, Disabled List, and Loan exceptions. B) May include Senior Minimum Budget Players ($81,375), Generation Adidas players (who may earn more), and Homegrown Players (who may earn more). Must make at least $81,375. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 21. Tarbell, GK, 27, 10/7/93, 6'3", 193, USA, $200k/$235k (assuming pay cut). 22. Etienne Jr, M, 24, 11/25/96, 5'10", 160, Haiti/USA, $77,063/$82,063. 23. Lampson, GK, 31, 9/6/89, 6'3", 190, USA, $70,250/$70,250 24. Kempin, GK, 27, 4/8/93, 6'1", 175, USA: $71,664/$71,664. --------------- 3. Reserve Roster: 25-28. 4 of 4. A) Players must be either earning the Reserve Minimum Salary ($63,547) or be Homegrown Players earning more via the HG Subsidy. B) Players must be 24 or younger during the League YEAR. As determined by Year of birth, not date (I am not sure what this means exactly, is someone who turns 25 during the season eligible or not?). C) Senior Min Players & GA Players cannot occupy these spots. Rank, Player, Pos, Age, DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 25. Keita, D, 20, 4/6/00, 6'2, 180, USA, HG, $90,000/$110,000 26. Hamilton, F, 24, 3/17/96, 6'0", 176, Canada, HGI, $124,992/$137,659 27. Berry, F, 23, 9/16/97, 6'3", 180, Spain/USA, $???/$???. 28. Lillard, D, 25, 12/5/95, 6'4", 195, USA, $97,500. (Miami HG). ----------------------------------------- 4. HomeGrown Reserve Roster (29-30). 2 of 2. A) Must be Homegrown Players. B) Same Budget & Age rules as Reserve Roster 25-28 players. C) HG player salary for Supplemental players is xapped at +$125k above the Reserve or Senior Min salary (dependong on which roster they are on. Rank, Player, Pos, Age,DOB, HT, WT, Nat, Desig(s), Base $$/Guar $$ 29. Berhalter, CM, 19, 5/10/01, 5'9", 155, USA, HG, $???/$???. 30. Morris, M, 19, 11/16/01, 5'10", 158, USA, HG, $???/$???. --------------- 5. Designated Players: 3 of 3 Zardes, Santos, Zelarayan. Zardes & Santos both could be bought down with TAM. MLS has Nagbe as the 3rd DP instead of Santos. --------------------------- 6. International Roster Spots: 8 of 8. Zelarayan, Santos, Room, Diaz, Wormgoor, Mokhtar, Cadden, Nemeth. Hamilton DOES NOT count as an International. Home Grown International Rule. Etienne is dual US/Haiti. https://www.mlssoccer.com/league/official-rules/mls-roster-rules-and-regulations ------------ 8. Green Card Holders = 7. Mensah, Afful, Valenzuela, Francis, de Lima (Artur), Adi, Boateng. -------- 9. Homegrown Players = 5. Keita, Morris, Berhalter. Hamilton was a HG for TFC. Lillard a HG for Miami. Apparently they both still count. ------ Any comments and/or corrections welcome. As always.
Age breakdown: 18-22 = 5. Morris (19), Berhalter (19), Keita (20), Diaz (22), Valenzuela (22). 23-27 = 10. Berry (23), Etienne (24), Cadden (24), Hamilton (24), Artur (24), Lillard (25), Boatang (26), Alashe (27), Tarbell (27), Kempin (27). 28-32 = 14. Zelarayan (28), Zardes (29), Mokhtar (29), Adi (30), Francis (30), Nagbe (30), Mensah (30), Lampson (31), Room (31), Nemeth (31), Wormgoor (32), Jimenez (32), Santos (32), Williams (32). 33+ = 1. Afful (34).
This really surprised me. Adi is only 30. I think of the players listed, Adi, Mokhtar, Hamilton and one of Lampson/Kempin will probably not be back. Lillard probably too. I'd keep Boateng (not Boatang though).
Adi just moves like he is really old. Still, you never know, maybe he has a Will Bruin moment when we need it. Props on me 'tanging' Boateng. On those most likely to mot return, I agree. Mokhtar & Adi of the Senior guys. Kempin on the Supplemental (post COVID we don't need 4 GKs). Hamilton/Lillard on the Reserve. Boateng also iffy. Bez said we could add 2 DPs, financially speaking. With those moves we'd have 1 INT spot open. Though someone getting a GC could always happen. We are starting to have a lot of important guys in that 30-33 range. Well, 30-32 now, but some will turn 33 next year.
We've never actually read anything that's said he's going after one, right? Other players have gotten them much faster than he has.
Didn't we have to cut Duncan Oughton to get under the limit? He was super-close to his, then 9/11 messed everything up and he had to try again.
I want to say Mohktar looked genuinely happy so i hope we just speculated incorrectly. i think we keep most of this roster intact while trying too add a young stud RB and if we can get something for Santos we have to let him go but if he stays we are just ridiculously loaded with talent. i wouldn’t mind another quality striker . has Caleb ever played a 2 striker formation as his default go to formation ? most likely to get cut : Adi starter most likely to be replaced : Afful so who knows details on who is out of contract ? when are the deadlines ? If we have a crew 2 and were in CCL ( if covid doesn’t wipe them out ) it’s going to be a short and interesting off season
We didn’t win a road game all season. Toronto and Atlanta had an off year. The stars aligned and we took advantage. But next year will be difficult. Bez knows this. We need a few improvements. With CCL our depth will be tested. It will be a fun off season full of smiles.
Hearing, per league source, that Columbus Crew's Hector Jimenez is heading to Austin FC.32-year old can play either fullback position or on the wing. Just won an MLS Cup last night. #Crew96 #AustinFC— Kristian Dyer (@KristianRDyer) December 13, 2020
The roster stuff is inevitable unfortunately but the guy is literally still celebrating (just posted a bunch a stuff on Instagram). Seems like a good move for him and he would depart a massive champion.
The timing does seem odd (why today?), and the news is partial (this is a trade of some sort, so there'd have to be $$ coming back our way). I'd wish Hector well wherever he goes. He's been a great occasional starter and utility player for us. But he just turned 32 last month, and doesn't have much of a role on the team any longer. If he does leave, it makes it seem that much more certain that Cadden (who just turned 24) would stay.
The timing makes sense because MLS has a one-day trade window open today ahead of the Austin expansion draft next Tuesday. The Crew are exempted from the draft. After the draft, the window opens again on Wednesday. It makes sense for Austin to finalize moves ahead of their draft. It's unfortunate, but I get why this move would be good for Hector. Namely, he'll get more leadership and playing time there. Curious to see what we're getting in return.
If this was Hector’s decision then I wish him luck. Wolff will have his hands full and a little veteran leadership will go a long way. I’m just sorry He got has to be involved in that shit show down there.
Anyone know the length of Hector’s contract? Was he in his last year or maybe a 1 year option? If it’s true, then it sucks. I’d wish him well. I will have to see what we got in return before saying anything more about this specific situation. In general, I really wanted to avoid having Crew players end up in Austin. Ben Sweat doesn’t really count IMO.
Roster breakdown by position & outlook I want everyone’s opinion on each player and thoughts of our future CCL & MLS season in 2021 Striker: 5 Zardes- age 29 tireless worker in his prime is perfect fit for this Club . Also doubt we ever sell him to a better league so he should be here for quite a while. Nemeth- age 29 for now he is a very good back up not sure of the wage Dynamics but we need him and his depth for open cup games and rotation as we navigate CCL . I expect him back and to perform well when called upon. Adi- 30 I’ll be shocked if we bring him back he brought nothing to the table but he did not cost us much. Hamilton- age 24 left footed player we didn’t see much but he did well for Toronto so it was odd not to see him get many opportunities. If he is the #3 striker he should get a chance in 2021 or maybe he is a Crew 2 candidate but you would think not because he seems like someone would snatch him . Berry - age 23 we heard good things but he seems to be a certain candidate for Crew 2 and expandable if we need a roster spot. Midfield 11 Zelarayán- age 28 ,in his prime the best 10 in MLS ,teams might be coming to buy him for a high price and he deserves any opportunity that may come his way Santos- age 32 , pocket winger or back up cam this guy excels in transition and in Porters system . I’m not sure anyone can offer us enough for him because his international value probably isn’t even close to the value he adds to the Crew. I hope he stays i love his effort and dedication and being in CCL it would be foolish to lose a veteran of his caliber. Whenever his skills start to diminish only then should we consider moving on. I think our depth will allow him to possible extend his carrer by not forcing him to play a lot of minutes. Nagbe- age 30 also in his prime and he is the perfect fit for the 8 and he can also play the 10 or the 6 if needed at a high level. I would expect him to play here till he retires . Artur -age 24 this guy is a 6 but is developing and playing with Nagbe has only made him better. Maybe one day someone will buy him from us but thsts probably a few years off. He should be starting here regularly for the foreseeable future and hopefully his game will expand to the level of Nagbes versatility. Mohktar-age 29 similar to Santos with versatility but a different skill set. We are paying him a lot of money to be a back up but if he is happy than we should be glad too because he is a experienced back up option who seems to be the back up pocket winger behind Santos and rotating them could help both guys play longer.Also wouldn’t be surprised if whenever his contract is up he would leave if not a regular starter. Alashe- age 27 a good depth player but could be expendable with the emergence of our younger central midfielders unless we put some of them on crew2 this guy will have to be content with limited playing time. Díaz- age 22 this guy is a stud who we will sell for a good price one day . He needs to work on consistency which is normal for his lack of experience. Etienne Jr age24 such a value deal we need to extend him ASAP he looks like he can play either wing we got a deal when he fell to us. Boateng- age 26 down in the pecking order but another good fit at a value price but likely the most expendable winger if we need a roster spot Morris- age 19 needs playing time but might be too good for Crew 2 but should get plenty of time now that we made CCL Berhalter- age 18 same as Morris only hard to see them both playing a lot of minutes so maybe he does play for Crew 2 Defender/ Midfielder/ versatility guys 2 Jimenez- age 32 great glue guy and versatile player he probably doesn’t have a lot of years left but we should hold on to him until we have someone who can fill his role Cadden- age 24 puke be the guy to eventually take Jimenez Swiss Army knife roll but he has a lot to learn on defense and not enough skill for winger but could become a central defender in midfield . So his work ethic and development could take him far as long as a better opportunity fir playing time in Europe doesn’t entice him to leave. Centerback : 5 Mensah: age 30 the captain is in his prime and locked in as starter which is great hopefully we can play him a little less during a full mls season and find him more effective his small bad stretch of play reeked of fatigue Williams age 32 a perfect back up but maybe he makes Vito expendable because of his value. Some ppl wanted him gone but i hope he stays. Wormgoor - age 32 if healthy he brings depth but can we find a younger guy to replace him as starter ? We need to do that even if the young guy only pushes for starting time you can only keep so many older CB on your roster. Keita - age 20 will start here one day his depth will be needed as he should pair with someone as the back up centerback . Might be too good for Crew 2 but he really needs experience of playing a lot of minutes. Lillard - age 23 being the 5th guy and not playing much means he is a candidate for Crew 2 we really haven’t seen him so i wouldn’t expect that to change and he is expendable if we sign another centerback which we should leftback : 2 Valenzuela age 22 played solid but didn’t seem like the same player but he should be better as it takes time to comeback from a injury . He could start here for years but hopefully he starts balling out and we can sell him for a nice profit one day. Francis age 30 good back up and only other left footed outside back so i expect him to be here but should he keep getting injured we may need to find another veteran left back and if we can upgrade to a better left back we should consider it Right back :1 Afful age 34 this is where we need to upgrade and get a younger starter who is ready to start now . Would love to keep him as a back up but that may not be possible Jimenez & Cadden are good back up options but we need a true RB on this roster besides Afful GK- 4 Room -age 31 should be the starter here for several years Tarbell -age 27 should be the back up here as long as possible Lampson age 31should fight for 3rd string and hopefully he stays around Kempin age 27 I’m in favor of cutting him no need for 4 keepers other than practice purposes . Also wouldn’t mind him on Crew 2 to help mentor any young guys we might sign
I get the move. Hector is probably not going to play a ton for us. Behind Afful/Cadden at RB and Valenzuela/Francis at LB. And all the wings. And he makes decent money. And he is 32 now? But he is a steady, reliable player at 5 positions. Hate to loose Hector. Hate giving Austin anything good.
Good call. Make buying down Mensah, Santos, and Nagbe easier. Maybe even Zardes. Perhaps an INT slot? I think either would signal that we plan on being fairly aggressive in terms of acquisitions.
I really wonder how Bez & Porter build for CCL and how we rotate roster. personally i would like to see the best XI play in CCL and let the back ups play some MLS games but it’s never that simple. Depends on how much rest players will get and if matches are home and away and your strategy can definitely change as you should have basically 2 teams although some players are critical and might start most matches .Seems like it could be a very difficult challenge to navigate then throw in injures and who knows . I’m really going to enjoy 2021 and CCL