News: 2025 MLS Preseason Thread - Stuff that may or may not matter

Now this is awesome business! Well done.

 

Sure on paper this is a good a price for a player who disappointed last year.

Mostly it just feels like a gut punch because we seem to have no interest or ability to develop our young talented players. I have no confidence that we will spend the money wisely.

If we don't make some moves this window our season could basically be over before the summer window even opens.

Even If Benteke stays healthy, I could see him start to phone it in given his supporting cast.

Just feels like a wasted opportunity when we actually have a golden boot winning striker to work with this season.

 

There is literally zero hope or reason to watch the team until it’s sold.

Atlanta has spent $33 million on transfers in the past two weeks. That doesn’t guarantee them a winning record. It does guarantee that they’ll have a vastly more talented team on the field than DC United. DC has the least (or 2nd least) talented roster in the league .

Relative to the league our roster is an insult to the fans.

 

Smart trade on paper. His best spot is withdrawn in a two forward alignment which we aren’t going to play it looks like. And he doesn’t fit out left in a 4-2-3-1 very well. I just hope we have plans to replace him quickly either via another trade because it’s more depth loss on a team that wasn’t at all deep on paper. Plus we’re out of international slots.

 

I've made a bot that types out WTAF for this team. It's saved quite a few keystrokes for me. Oh, I need to add at the end of it.

WTAF

There. That's done.

 

You'er assuming they spend that $1.25M on the roster and not interest payments. It said cash, not GAM. But getting $1.25M for a deckchair was good business. I can't say I see them spending that money this window which will leave it burning a hole in Levien's pocket. They're not bringing anyone in at this point other than some unsigned floater or some intra-league deal/signing. MLS4.0 is starting and we're still wallowing in MLS 2.0 mud with our piss poor owners. They had no money at RFK because they didn't own the stadium so they built a stadium that can't afford and have no money. Its like the plot for Netflix series that will air on Flo.

 

This would be true regardless of whatever moves DCU made or didn't make. I'm more surprised the Rapids threw 1.25 million in cash on this, no offense to Ku-DiPietro.

 

Thank god for the TKD trade, I was so afraid we would start the season short of cash for the team.

If they do something with the money, fine, but I'm pretty sure that is not happening.

 

1.25 million for a bench player on one of the worst teams in the league? Sure, what else you got in mind, Rapidman?
I like him, though last year was a frustrating season, he looked clueless. I hope he does great in Colorado.

 

I liked Teddy Q, he had that instinct to run at, and thru, people that every other player on this team lacks. But maybe it was smart business in a normal year.

We have talked the last two weeks about having the least number of players in the league and wondering if we'll have enough of them to field a team by week 3 with injuries -- this does not help

 

If young players don't mature and get better as an individual, that's mostly on them. Coaches can point our weaknesses and exercises/drills to address those, but it's up to the player to put in the weekly hours to get better. I was really optimistic about Teddy two years ago. He was energetic, seemed to make timely runs often, and even scored. Last year, though, more often than not he seemed to be on his knees after muffing shots, not getting that pass after making runs, and just plain losing the ball on bad passes or dribbling INTO defensive pressure. I was worried that this year would be more of the same. Now I don't have to.

 

Don't worry Goff has reported we are bolstering our MF depth with a Toronto reject and a guy who split time between Montreal and USL last year.

 

That’s right, Brandon Servania and another guy. Also, Dodson isn’t listed at DCUnited but I’m pretty sure he’s on the team.
Hopkins is injured and I don’t know what’s going on with Fletcher (he’s on the website’s roster), but they have enough cover everywhere. I didn’t say anything about the quality.

 

I said we’d trade him and now he’s not a game changer and worth keeping around to people who called me ridiculous. Ok

 

RB: Herrera, Dodson
LB: Schnegg, Antley
CB: Bartlett, Rowles, Tubbs, McNaughton (Peltola, Antley)
CM: Enow, Peltola, Pirani, Kijima, Servania, other guy (Hopkins inj.)
F: Benteke, Badji, Peglow, Stroud, Murrell (Fletcher? Eventually injured first round pick I wanna say Karamoko?)

Looking at the roster I don’t see Benteke, Peglow or Stroud coming off the field much. Hope they can bank points in case their bodies break down.

 

Why do you think the guy who scored 1 goal in 25 appearances in Poland last year will be any good in MLS?

 

Uh, I don’t. I can hope but that’s not the point. Who is playing in his place? Besides, they’re already pushing the Pirani/Peglow Brazilian connection he’s going to get every opportunity.

 

I think you forgot Leal who may have once been a good MLS player but is coming off an injury. Seems like a better hope than Peglow to me. I almost sound optimistic now. . .

https://www.dcunited.com/news/d-c-united-acquires-midfielder-randall-leal-off-waivers

 

Fletcher is still on loan in England with Nottingham Forest's U-21s.

 

You’re right I totally forgot about Leal. It’s my fault for looking at their websites roster, he’s not on it and neither is Rowles, but I remembered him.

 

Focusing on this piece specifically, but isn’t the fact that they sold a homegrown player for $1.25 million demonstrating an interest and ability to develop young players?

Are you suggesting he shouldn’t have been sold? That he should have been sold for more?

 

I said earlier in my post that the price was fair given how he played last year.

I would like us to be able to develop players into above average MLS starting players that actually help our team. Maybe some that could sell for more than $5MM.

We seem to jump at any reasonable early offer we get.

We are selling potential not a developed player.

Same with Yow, Paredes and Akinmboni.

Has KDP improved at DC since he first started seeing playing time?

 

That's not what a selling team does. You sell young with perceived potential for development. You get an immediate transfer payment and then a sell on percentage if the player pans out. In this case, Mackay determined (right or wrong) that at 23 Ku was a finished enough product that there was going to be little overseas interest and Colorado offered more in cash for him than Kasper got for Arriola a few years back when Arriola was a regular USMNT call up.

 

Ok but how do we actually get a team that consistently makes the playoffs?

We sell young players before they are good starters.

Then we sign a bunch of slightly older lottery tickets who didn't make it on other MLS teams or castoffs from 2nd/3rd tier euro leagues?

 

Arriola went for more GAM than Ku-DiPietro did in cash.