2025-2026 St. Louis CITY SC Off-Season Catch-All Thread

That's not a bad move. With Kessler gone, MacNaughton is a decent addition. He certainly knows the league and he's game-smart.

Edelman is also proving to be a smart addition. His play setting up Becher in the Austin preseason match was exactly what we've been looking for. He's caught attention all preseason, and in a good way. I get the feeling that some roster-trimming is ahead. Damet is starting to mold the team that he wants, and a few players look like they are disappearing in the depth chart (Yaro and Glover, in particular). The obvious gaping hole is up top. Becher has looked better at creating space and getting chances, but his finishing is still meh. McSorley brings the energy and has the potential of youth, and may take the second depth position away from Becher if CITY has a midseason signing. The pressure's definitely on Becher to up his game. My big question mark is still Teuchert. If Damet can get him playing like we need, CITY could be better than expected. If not, CITY will still be on the way to where we want to be, but this won't be the season we really want.

My biggest takeaway so far is that there seems to be actual thought going into the rebuild. The teardown part of any rebuild always looks ugly. Seeing a CITY team able to hold possession, create space, complete midfield passes, and look like they have some idea what they are supposed to be doing is already an improvement. The Austin preseason match looked like real, live soccer, and Olofball never looked like that. The skill level needs to improve. The bench still needs more depth. And the gaggle of new players need to figure each other out in game action.

To me, this season needs to show improvement in thirds. The first 10 matches may be rough, but the second 10 need to show buy-in and skill development and increasing PPG, and the final 10 matches need to look like playoff soccer, even if the team doesn't make the playoffs this season. If CITY does that, I'll feel much better looking ahead to the weird 2027 sprint season and the full 2027 Shackleton Expedition re-enactment season. If CITY makes the playoffs this year, all the better.

Certainly a lot of questions going into this year, but at least we don't have Olof.

 

Here are the MLS 2026 Roster Rules and Regulations.

 

Possible incoming player on loan option, ex-Vancouver and ex-RSL

 

I wonder if is the bridge to get CITY through the first half season until the Second Transfer Window (opening July 13th)? It certainly suggests that Wray and Damet aren't confident of the attacking options. We're definitely going to find out how the defensive additions and connectivity between the back line and midfield work in the real world.

 

MLS front offices are dealing with a lot of headwinds right now.

• In the general forum earlier today, wantmlsphilly posted about Garber's statement that the league is making significant roster rules changes between now and the winter season. This creates an incentive to wait for the rule changes. Since the teams are involved in these roster negotiations, the front offices know more than we fans do about the coming changes.
• Minnesota fans have been talking about the difficulty attracting players to the Twin Cities because of the ICE crap.
• The politics of getting a simple VISA is barring several players (including Mbacke) from getting to their teams.
• The economy is shaky and sports tickets, merch, and subscriptions are discretionary spending. People are afraid of losing jobs, not being able to pay mortgages, unable to afford healthcare, and watching food costs increase constantly. Many of us may have to eliminate discretionary spending just to survive. Teams have to factor that into spending right now.
• About half of the MLS teams lost money last year. CITY made a profit, but one of the smaller MLS profits. The unprofitability of so many teams raises a real doubt in the current economic environment of the league's survival. And the never-ending political garbage raises doubts about whether the Canadian teams can continue in the MLS at all.
• We don't know how many players CITY approached who refuse to move to the US right now. We don't know the financial demands being made by other teams for transfer requests. And we don't know how many of our players have left or are seeking to leave because of the political situation.

There are also self-inflicted headwinds, like CITY's idiotic banner ban and the chaos and angst that has caused with the supporters groups and more casual fans.

Putting all that together, CITY's roster moves aren't that bad.