This brings us back to the argument about long term development plans in MLS vs trying to go for it all every year. In MLS it is very difficult to keep the talent you develop due to the salary cap restrictions. Their is a happy medium somewhere in between the two extremes, but I think it is closer to the reload and go for it every year side of the spectrum. In the past we have seen the salary cap destroy DC, Chicago as their younger players required a larger portion of the team's salary cap. This year we see KC and SJ going through the salary cap growing pains as they dismantle their squads. At least they have been to the mountain top. We know that GE/CC believe the route will to glory lies on the long term development side of the spectrum. What happens when their most talented young players (EJ, Nunez, Goodson) outgrow the limitations of the salary cap and vault for greener pastures before the rest of the team catches up to their development progress? The team finds itself back at the first step of a long term plan without ever having tasted the glory of a championship. Viking has been calling him the million dollar man. I just want world class. All it takes is one world class offensive player to take an average team to being a title contender especially in a league were parity is the norm. Two recent example we just witnessed were in Mexico and Argentina as perennial mid-table even relegation zone teams enjoyed remarkable turnaround seasons by going for it all by acquiring one world class player. Blanco went to Veracruz and they were the best team during the regular season. In Argentina, Ortega went to play for Newell's Old Boys and they won it all. Which side of the spectrum do you lean towards?
Chamo, excellent post.....and it is what I always bring up when talking about playing the youngsters. Because of this issue, the escalation of salaries running up against the salary cap, I believe it is all that more important to play the youngsters before the team is forced to make a decision due to cap.
Which is why you see the team only pick up 6 player options... all the rest they will go thourgh the trouble of new deals with the risk they sign overseas just to keep cao in line with their 3 year cap model they are building.
Hey Buzz- Can you elaborate on the 3-year cap model any? I understand the concept, just wonder what you know specifically about their methodology.
I don't really know much beyond that. GE talked about it at the Town Hall thing. At the start of last season they started this three year model of where the cap is and where they want to go. Part of that is the team building, player bonuses, raises, salary upgrade projections, and things like that. Basically they set salary limits for positions and players to make sure they cap stay in line over the time they build the team. I am sure it has some flexability in it and I believe they keep it always three years out. I understand it took some work to get all the contract info from MLS with all the options each player has (remember MLS HQ does all the deals).
Oh yeah, I do remember GE saying when he got there he couldn't even come up with a list of where they were in relation to the cap. That's crazy that it's that much work for a club to manage its own salary, but I guess it's just a by-product of single-entity.
But a three year cap model in which they potentially can turn 4/5ths of their roster in year one cannot be very accurate. I realize that you don't know all the details, but at this point their actions do not jive with their rhetoric as they talk long term but act short term. They remind me of my mutual fund companies.
It does if they are trying to stay under a cap and the only way to avoid raises and escalators in contracts is to not pick them up and re-do deals at lower numbers.
I think so far they are on track - they have a core of young, talented players (Cory, EJ, ROB) along with Simo, and have the ability to add to that this year with cap room acquired from getting rid of Toni and Jason. They should be able to get at least one allocation and one discovery player of note which should cover the holes, and they then have two years to do something with it. This team needs to be in the top third of the league this season, and I think that is their aim. Team chemistry, injuries and some luck will decide whether the team is just top third or whether they get hardware.
Not trying to change this off topic, but while there talk is about bringing some players in, what about Petke? https://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showthread.php?t=158860 Would be cheaper than Jolley and is experienced so when Gibbs is gone, there isn't a need to worry about Goodson. Thoughts?
Hmmm... Not sure he can organize even as well as Jolley. Remember, he has always played next to an organizer - Nelson being the most recent, Pope before that. Again, I'm not saying Steve is the cat's meow on organizing a defense, but with him in there, we have some semblance of what to do.
Petke makes approximately 50K more than Jolley, fortunately both are out of cntract and will probably have to sign at a lower number.
Mike was a bigger name/personality in New York than Jolley. Mike has actually gotten callups to the nt - Steve, not so much.
The defense is not relaly broken. If a guy wants to come here and it's easy to make it hapen then great. But burning assets to get get a defender is not a good use of those asssets. FCD needs two forwards, a central mid and probably a left mid.