85' Silva goes down in the box. Calls for VAR but it was fair. Mind you, Orlando got into shoving when Abram did the same thing to one of their players.
Disappointing end, but they got way farther than I'd expected, and I got that one final home game that felt like the first couple years. Can't really complain. Hard to score when all your forwards are injured. Gonna be an eventful offseason.
As to the final match, it felt like a different side compared to the team that played in Miami. To be sure, Orlando looked faster than the Herons and surely had a different game plan. Especially after taking the lead and with Atlanta down to 3rd string striker. Still, even before those injuries Atlanta looked devoid of a potent threat. Not sure what the strategy was but didn't shut down the Lion's attack nor did it consistently yield quality shots on offense, so... Will be curious to see if the team focuses on getting a coach first, a new DP, or other moves. Safe to say they'll know some players they'll drop for sake of money, and there might be a cheap option for new pick up if a decent player lands at their feet. Not sure, however, if they've been scouting any potential DP options.
Xande is more expensive than Mosquera. And Xande's productivity took a nose dive this season, not to mention his inability to stay healthy..... Um..... Yeah, I got nothin. Honestly I figured both of them would be unprotected.
Wolff to SLC for $50k in GAM funny money? I'll be the first to admit I don't understand MLS bookkeeping, but this doesn't sound like a good deal to me. I guess he needed more playing time. And sorry if this is the wrong thread, but I didn't know where to post my frustration.
RSL, not SLC. The club declined his option, but said they were in negotiations to resign him. The fact that he signed a contract with RSL right after the trade tells me Atlanta never really had any interest in signing him, they just kept his rights long enough to trade him to get something. I liked Tyler, but he seemed to stall in his development this past season, and I think the club is wanting to get faster on the wings. Maybe a move will do him good. No Atlanta player selected in the expansion draft, which isn't a real surprise. Xande's too much of an injury risk, especially at his salary, and Hernandez's contract is up, so you would have to get him to sign a new deal. Atlanta has got to sign their new manager before the end of the year, right?
Thiare re-signed for one year, with an option year after. He made $600k last year. Wouldn't be surprised if his salary is a little less next year. He's productive as a backup when he's on the pitch, but can you really trust him to stay healthy?
Chris Henderson signed as sporting director. Atlanta hired him from Inter Miami, and will have to send a 2nd round pick from the 2026 draft in compensation, which, ok. Henderson worked with Garth at Seattle, so they know each other pretty well. Hopefully this means a manager is coming soon.
Goal.com is running articles noting that Cristiano Ronaldo's contract is up this summer, and that he "must come to America" to have one last glorious battle with Messi. Is Arthur willing to front the cash to make that happen? Messi has shown that the risk is pretty minimal. Ronaldo has scored FIFTY goals last season for whatever third-rate club he's playing for now. We've got the DP slot. If he's the first signing of '25, elite players would take peanuts to come be on the same team with him. Why not make the offer? I'd shell out $200 or whatever player jerseys are going for nowadays for one, in the hopes that he'd eventually sign it one day. We're due a new home jersey this year. You want to sell 72 million of those at $200 per? Give ol' Ronny a cut. 68,000 butts in seats for every single home game, and most of the away games. Bring it on.
Problem is the move for Messi was helped with all the ancillary deals where Messi got a cut of the kit sales and gets a cut from the season pass on Apple+. I suppose you could give Ronaldo a cut from his own kit sales, but I doubt Apple would be willing to give up any more revenue from the season pass, and I'm not sure whatever else you could offer, so whatever Ronaldo would be making in MLS, it would be less than Messi. Would he be willing to come when it's clear just by what he's being paid that Messi is #1? With his ego, I doubt it. Even then if it did happen, it'd probably be in a glamour city like LA or NY, not Atlanta. And honestly, in a physical league like MLS, I'm not sure how effective he'd even be.
I am done with MLS business and books. None of it means anything, they are all whores. As far as Messi, I wouldn't pay to see him play in this league. Ronaldo I wouldn't pay to see either, but my wife would. And I could work that to my advantage.
I would pay to see them play. I went out of my way to watch Beckham in person when he was in the league, and it was worth it. His level was so far above everyone else's, it was nuts. I missed Zlatan (he didn't come to Atlanta). The Army has had me away from Atlanta since Messi joined the league. I traveled back for the first Atlanta-Miami game, but he didn't play. I might make the effort again for Atlanta-Miami this year, but we'll see. Ronaldo largely relies on being an uber-athlete, but Messi is more cerebral. I'd love to watch him for a full 90 without the TV commentary. To be fair, I'd personally rather have Haaland or some other forward at their peak of world dominance, but I'm not sure they'd come.
Biggest problem would be he's not going to defend at all, and we've already got one guy on the field who's a non-entity when Atlanta doesn't have the ball (Miranchuk). I don't know if you can afford to have two people on the field who don't defend.
I would not, not after the way MLS and all the other money folks colluded to get Messi here. An unbalanced league with four or five contenders is Europe. One contender and it's a waste of money. What should happen but won't is for every team to start reserves against Inter and make the entire exercise look stupid.
They are so beatable in their current guise, though. So many games this season they were beaten and the opponent got complacent. Atlanta somehow managed to keep their boot on the throat for the whole game multiple times.