Do you live in the Nashville area? Heading there in late October to see Jason Isbell at Ryman. Can I DM you with some questions?
Would absolutely love to pick up Arango however, sadly, Fall has said (I think it was Fall) they aren't looking at bringing in anymore attacking pieces. Anyone else getting a little nervous about summer signings? Most other teams either have confirmed signings or are attached to rumors but it's crickets with RSL.
Does the price change between January and now? Less time on his contract vs performance in Club WC. More suitors now? I know Fall said that (don't remember if it was before Wood's injury or not), but this team needs more goal scorers and a proven MLS player (Arango) sure makes a lot of sense, but who knows how much LAFC wants for him. Current players aren't getting it done, but I could argue the system isn't helping.
Great question. All I have is speculation. I can find that they paid $2.5m to acquire him, but no contract length. LAFC is probably better off selling him internationally, but if they're in a pinch, surely he'd command $1m+ in GAM from MLS teams. Sure would be nice to know if Elliot has full access to discretionary TAM or not. You then have that money to pay down guys like Damir and can use GAM for trades and stuff.
Damir and Cordova aren't listed as DP's on the league site RSL roster... I can't remember if either was before, but I found that curious yesterday when looking. I will say again, though, that this team needs a center mid more than anything else. The blueprint that Columbus laid out completely stifles Pablo's system. Minnesota had it down pat until the formational change; and even then, they got in behind to go up 3-0. That our starting CM duo is Pablo Ruiz (inconsistent) and Loffelsend (a new type of journey man) is very scary. That duo will get (has been) dominated by true playoff level teams. Any team worth a damn, no matter their system/formation, has a spine of solid players. The flair players that grab highlight reels may play out wide, but they consistently have a spine (GK/CB/CM) that keeps the systems glued together. Fall keeps chasing players in the other spots - especially winger... good god how many wingers has this club had - but doesn't address the spine adequately. For me, that's why this team is so wildly unpredictable. It's riding the variable performances of some of the most inconsistent and raw players. Stop getting distracted by a number 9 or an outside back. Get the guy(s) in the middle of the field right.
I don't disagree, but that's why I think for both long and short term, Cuellar is the answer. I don't think Pablo wants to play with a 10 and with Damir on the field, a guy like Cuellar can be a man defense allowing Ruiz and Damir to play the 8/10 hybrid roles. Yes, goal scoring is needed, but if you can have one guy lock down the defense, it allows you to commit more players forward. I still picture it as more of a 4-3-3, and I don't know if Rubio or Sergio are the answer up top, but if you can consistently attack with 5 and get the outside backs involved, it might be too much even if it's not top talent. Plus, I really want to see Joni on one side and Jefferson on the other, maybe with Anderson up top. I need to see that for a few games before I'm willing to say Joni was a mistake/isn't good enough for MLS.
I guess Fall, when asked about summer signings in a recent Q&A, talked about how Savarino is a recent signing…and players coming back from injury like Menendez and, eventually, Damir, are like new signings. The RSL Soapbox guys really unloaded on him in their most recent podcast.
As they should. That's a real good way to fall down the standings. It looks cheap. They have 1 DP on the roster and no U-23 signings. Don't need to add players for the sake of signing players, but this team still needs more impact players.
There’s speculation that we already have more players on the roster than is allowed, thus no room to bring in anybody else. If true, it’s a big screw up by the FO. Add that to more recent large screw ups in not getting anything for Rusnak and Ochoa.
I'll cut some slack on the Ochoa thing. The kid went awol suddenly, the club never really had a chance to shop him realistically. I guess this last offseason was the chance - but the return would have been miniscule. Rusnak is a weird one. I think the club did fine saying they weren't going to bring him back. I didn't agree with his second contract with teh club, but that ship has long since sailed. However, the current roster situation is 10000% on Fall. He's found a way to have more players that roster rules allow, as is, and that's just flat out stupid. He's made this same mistake over and over again since being GM and has found a way to open up just enough roster space to make things "work". However, the speak of "well these guys that came in during the first window and then our returning injured players..." is the talk of a guy who doesn't have the means to add anyone else. I'm sure there is hand wringing about the ownership not willing to spend - as far as I can tell they don't have the ability to spend because Fall filled every available roster spot.
If RSL can't bring anyone in because they have too many players on the roster that is beyond ridiculous. Make some moves Elliott.
how has Ochoa not been released yet? Are they trying to pull a deal off? If that wasn't done right at window opening (yesterday) I doubt it happens at all.... why is it so hard to find when the Liga MX transfer windows are?
https://www.transfermarkt.us/transf...tik/stat/plus/0?art=s&kontinent_id=3&option=0 Primary window opened 6/14. Secondary window opened in the US yesterday. Only matters if you are bringing in players that aren't already playing in the US.
Goff is reporting that DCU is pursuing Christian Benteke. I'm not sure what this says about our FO and Blitzer Connection if he ends up at DCU without considering RSL. With MLS transfer deadline 2 days away, D.C. United continues seeking DP attacker. Three apparent finalists, including Belgian striker Christian Benteke (Crystal Palace), though he's a longshot. Others from S America & Europe. One source rates overall chances at 70%. #dcu #mls— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) August 2, 2022
If DCU is willing to pay a transfer fee, might be hard to compete with that. Although Blitzer needs to make up for forcing Cordova and all his minutes on RSL. Speaking of DCU, Ola Kamara makes sense as an attacking option from within MLS, the spot that needs immediate help. I've given up hope of adding a #6 (this season) that can come in an dominate the middle like Kyle used to. Maybe in the off-season.
The bigger elephant in the room that Cordova represents is that, under this new umbrella, RSL needs to realize it's place in the pyramid. RSL is, at best, the third team after Palace and Augsburg. There is nothing wrong with that. It will certainly be frustrating, but it can also present fantastic opportunities. Cordova shows signs of being bust for RSL, yes, but he's not going to be the level of bust of Pool Boy or Yura. His salary is smaller, to start, and the loan agreement makes it so the club can move on from him. I would hope / expect RSL to not become the accounting mechanism to get relieve salaries of those other clubs given RSL has a cap and they don't. I guess this will be the scenario where we find if that is true. In fact, what I think would be smart is that, barring Cordova going on a great run, he gets sent on another loan from Augsburg to a different Blitzer umbrella club.
I asked Sam Stekjsal this very question when the sell from FCD happened. He thought it wouldn't happen, but found the scenario really interesting. Wouldn't Pepi be subject to allocation order? Would play out kind of like the NYRB/Philly scenario earlier this year
Yep. Hopefully they can make some kind of exception for loans with no purchase option. I guess it opens up the possibility that a parent team makes a purchase and loans them back, but that should be easy to disallow. I just think in your example, it shouldn't be part of the allocation order if an outside club wants to loan a player they just bought from an MLS club to another MLS club, especially if there's no purchase option.
Can you imagine a scenario where Pepi is allowed to come on loan to RSL but the league says RSL can't sign him permanently? That would be insane.