Was Aidan Morris not good enough for the Championship until he left for the Championship? Was Cucho not good enough for La Liga until he left for La Liga? Zack Steffen not good enough for the Bundesliga until he left for the Bundesliga (via the Premier League)? Just because you haven't left for a league doesn't mean you aren't good enough to play in that league.
I wonder if any players signed during the special transfer window will be eligible to play in MLS competition prior to the secondary window opening. Yesterday's announcement doesn't say one way or the other. The logical thing for the league to do would be to allow teams to sign whoever they want during the special CWC window, but not allow any of those players to play MLS games until the secondary window opens.
Of course Cucho was good enough, he played for 3 La Liga teams before playing for Columbus. And Steffen was in Germany before coning back to the US to play for us. I'd argue most MLS players are good enough to make a Championship squad, so...
Steffen had never played in the Bundesliga before we signed him. He played for Freiburg's reserve side in the 4th division. And yea, the bottom of the Championship is pretty bad compared to MLS. I definitely agree that just about every MLS starter is good enough to at least start for the worst Championship club. Morris went to a team fighting for promotion and immediately stepped in as a starter. That's not something every MLS player would be able to do.
Are you seruiously comparing players like Morris, Cucho and even Steffen to Arfsten, AZ and JRR? Not to mention, the point wasn't that they might, in theory, be signable by a Euro league club. It was that players like Arfsten, JRR and AZ aren't likley to get deals in any league that's better than MLS.
Yeah, Arfsten can definitely play "in Europe," especially if it's a move like the rumored Czech league transfer. JRR was rumored to a Scottish club or something, wasn't he? AZ could definitely play in... Norway? Sweden? Greece? Hungary? As far as Arfsten goes, the weakest parts of his game are his inconsistent final ball (not great for an attacking wingback), his defending (not ideal), and overall soccer IQ (always seems to not take the best option). He's athletic, has some skills, and is aggressive, but there are tons of dudes like that all over Europe (and MLS). Until Arfsten (and especially AZ) improve their decision making, I can't see them regularly starting for a team in a top 7 European league (the big five plus Holland and Portugal). Maybe Belgium, sure, but that league kinda sucks. Reggie Cannon plays for QPR in the Championship, Cannon is 10x the player Arsten is IMO.
More comparable players would've been appropriate, like Cristian Ramirez or Aaron Schoenfeld, not Cucho or Steffen or Morris.
My statement has always been that those players would like to go to Europe. Whether or not an offer materializes for them is another matter. It’s definitely a stretch for a few of them.
Puli has a hip flexor injury where hes pretty much not practiced. Jedi also has a recurring injury Weah, Wes, Gio, are CWC participants.
Yeah, the special window should apply to the federation, not just a couple of clubs within the federation.
Thought I remembered reading that. Just looked, yeah no limit but non-EU players are required to be offered a salary above league average. Arfsten wouldn't command that.
It is a good thing we have no games until June 14, then. We have 3atches in June, all at home. 6/14 v Vancouver, 6/25 v Atlanta, and 6/29 v Philly. The beginning of July is tough (at Seattle, at Cincy at Nashville). But after that the toughest MLS test in the last 11 are Orl (twice), Chicago, or one of the NY squads. If we can get through the next 6 within touching distance of top, I will be optimistic for the run in, assuming we make a DP attacker signing. I am not super optimistic about recent results. We beed 3 or 4 wins out if the next 6. With 2 on turf.
Yep. The EPL & La Liga opened it up for everyone to make it fair, and they are 9ut of season. Meanwhile, in-season MLS does not. I hate Garber. If you are not gonna open the window up for everyone, then any players acquired in that window should not be allowed to play in MLS until the window opens for everyone. CWC only.
Okay for everyone complaining about the special fifa window, according to either Bogert or the Athletic (forget where I heard it) FIFA granted this, but because MLS is across two federations, and there are no Canadian teams participating in the CWC, mls could have either allowed ALL 27 us-based clubs to sign players and leave out 3 Canada teams, or just allow the two (or 3) clubs participating in the tournament to be able to utilize it. I believe fifa asked the US soccer federation who then left it up to MLS to decide what to do
Everyone is freaking out about Pulisic not wanting to play in the Gold Cup, but the dude has clearly been playing through an injury for a while now. He was doing everything he could to try to get Milan into European competition next season, either by winning Copa Italia or their position in the league table. Now that European competition is out of the question for next season, I don't think we'll see Pulisic play for Milan this weekend. He needs to get himself healthy. Same story with Jedi. He's been dealing with a nagging injury for a while now. He needs to get himself healthy. Of all the guys in our national team picture, these are the two I'm least concerned about in terms of their ability to perform come World Cup time. We just need them both to be healthy.
Will Columbus Crew sign a striker? Wilfried Nancy talks focus for MLS summer window "'The fans, they want a No. 9,' Nancy said. 'But I don’t know if the No. 9 is going to be good. If we brought a No. 9, we spend, first of all. To have a No. 9, this is so difficult because a few teams killed the market. So, this is expensive.'" Nancy hears you, Crew fans, and he cares not. And I'm not really worried. Teehee.