I think Vasquez was taken, but I can't recall the others. We could use him for depth right now. FWIW, Kann hasn't played tons of minutes in Cincy, either. Yeah, fair enough, I had mistakenly called it an ACL.
Man, what a shame about Walkes. May not have been the greatest player but certainly seemed a likeable guy and I don't recall him saying anything bad about his time here. Wish his friends, family, and teammates well as they cope with his loss. RIP, sir.
Re: Josef in Miami I don't know what to expect for him. I don't think anyone assumes he'll be the Josef of 2018 or 2019, but the hope is obviously he'll be much better than last year. Maybe an extra off season of proper rehab helps him both with his knee and his match fitness, but the guy did not cover a lot of ground last season so if I'm Miami I'm only thinking of him as the primary striker IF the rest of the team works well enough that I don't need a DP up top. But their hands were kinda tied since they lost Campana and Josef was essentially "Miami or bust." So, I suspect he'll start enough to stay happy, won't be a full 90' player, and come away with double digit goals. But how they make him and Higuain both happy and productive will be a tall order, and their individual shortcomings could really curtail Miami's defensive abilities. This is, after all, a team with a lot of key role players on the wrong side of 30.
Re: Guzan I view this distinctly through an MLS-calibre lens. Brad has his shortcomings but on the whole he remains an above average keeper who's good in the locker room and can communicate well with the defense. Rios Novo was far too quiet/ passive while Gudino was just too slow and had difficulty reading the play. (Understandable considering he was new to the league.). There may be better keepers out there but whether or not they're available, available at the right price, and a good fit for this team is all up in the air. Given some of our other needs I'd rather the front office not have to waste time "fixing" a position that isn't a priority at this time. But that's just me.
This is Miles' second bad injury in a few years. I've got concerns that we can't trust his body at this point. I hope I'm wrong, but I think him moving on after this year might actually be a blessing in disguise. You can't afford to have that big of an injury risk on your roster in this league. I am having a difficult time getting excited for this season. The biggest roster "additions" seem to be three guys who are coming back from serious injury, and the club didn't look great even when they were playing. Perhaps a second season under Pineda and his system will yield better results on familiarity alone, but I'm skeptical. RIP Anton.
Don't tell me you've forgotten Miles' missed playoff run after Berhalter had the USMNT do a training session after a game around 10 at night.
Someone correct me if I am wrong, but Kann was the Cincy starter until he too got injured. Apparently all our players are made of glass.
Wow, this Anton Walkes news is a gut punch.He was always one of my favorites when I lived in Atlanta because he was one of the voices the club would send out when it was time to do radio interviews.
This makes sense. Guzan is under contract for the season, so let's not fix stuff that isn't broken. We have much bigger problems.
We're reportedly in talks with Celtic striker Giorgios Giakoumakis. Uwara Red Diamonds is in the mix as well..
Giakoumakis would almost assuredly be a temporary placeholder. He's tall compared to most AUFC attackers and had a big year for a middling Dutch club pre-pandemic, but he's expendable for a Celtic side that can do little more than claim domestic trophies. While Celtic do play an attacking style they do so in a league where 9 of 11 opponents are on 1/8 the budget (or less). So, at his best maybe he has a Mulraney-level impact, I feel. Sounds like the team is gonna play things close to the vest financially until they can permanently resolve situations for Barco and others. Especially since Atlanta didn't recoup the level of sales money hoped for on several players. So with Atlanta not poised to find and afford another Almada, they're making so until the skies clear and they can see a better, obvious solution. Expect to see Conway get some chances, aming others, unless a diamond in the rough is discovered. Methinks, anyway.
Times are harsh. Lot's of ugly stuff being said about our club, mostly because of league caps and shit like that.I am far removed, but still love this team. We will overcome.
A friendly against Chattanooga happened yesterday, and we lost 3-3. Played a lot of people, from what I've been reading. Not much to take from it.
All the goals were scored in the first half, when Atlanta had pretty much their starting 11 in. So Atlanta's starting defense gave up 3 goals in 45 minutes to a NISA club. Not great.
So, rumors are that we have upped the ante for Giakoumakis, and the Red Diamonds have turned into the Red Cubic Zirconias. Of course, we won't get an official announcement until the ink is dry..
Pineda mentioned in one of the first practices when camp started that they were looking to bring in 3 guys. He insinuated that they had already chosen who they wanted to go after. Haven't seen anyone yet, and this striker is the only one we've heard of. Clock's ticking guys.
So, depending on the accuracy of the Twitters(!!) and Doug Roberson, Mosquera will go on loan and Erik Lopez may have to be brought back in for contract purposes unless there is another taker for him. I thought MLS teams could still sign guys beyond January? Did they change that rule?
Erik Lopez. Oh boy. MLS' transfer window goes until April. But if you're talking about Giakoumakis specifically, Scotland's window ends tonight at midnight, so you have to get that done before then. Anyone else the club might be looking at could have similar windows. And while I think some leagues do allow outgoing transfers outside of transfer windows, usually not the big leagues, and a lot of clubs would want the ability to bring in someone new to replace who they lost.
Re: Lopez Reading up on his history makes it sound like he's never been settled in a position or a system, which likely stifled his development. He was more a striker before coming here but was then deployed largely on the wing while with Atlanta/ AU2. I'm sure being loaned out abroad didn't help his psyche. Whether or not he has the chops I can't say, but if I'm the coaches I figure out which position gets the most out of him and stick with it. Don't force a square peg into a round hole when all that will do is upset overall team chemistry. If Atlanta is reduced to playing striker by committee, then that's the perfect excuse to tell each one "Go run the defense ragged!" Have Erik, or Conway, or GG run all over and force the defense to create openings for the other players.