Luckily for them, you can now name 20 players to the matchday roster. Seriously though, I think Trapp definitely still has the quality to be an option off the bench for us.
Trapp is far too slow in the build up and far too conservative to work for Nancy's style imo. I'd rather Artur than Trapp and I don't particularly want either. I don't think of of the people named would start for us. Gressel, Steffen and Artur could at least be depth (albeit not on any of their current wages)
The roster rules for NISA in general and USOC in particular are somewhat.....relaxed. It's not at all unusual for a team to bring in what might be considered a ringer under other circumstances. That appears to be the case here. Meram is indeed a rostered member of Michigan Stars and one would guess he and Afful are freinds from the old days and Harry got recruited. As long as Afful doesn't appear with another club in the same tournament its the sort of thing that is permitted.
I'd take Artur over Jones 10/10. Jones is really slow. So unbelievably slow I just don't see how he can really help us. My issue with Trapp is that his build up is too slow, but even he is considerably quicker both on and off the ball than Jones. I'd take either over him. I don't see what Jones gives this team besides a big body who cant really get into any positions to use his size.
Bringing back Trapp would simply be a nostalgia move. You just can't do shit like that. Artur can still play, and I wouldn't complain about it but he's old and unless he's coming back on a year to year deal for mediocre money to serve as a backup, I'd look elsewhere.
Jones. Fair enough. So it's all just a feel good move to get a name we love on the bench as a third-string option.
Yes, these theoretical roster moves in a discussion strictly about ex-players are not totally based in reality and are "feel good" theoretical moves.
Molino, and he's already gone. He was on a $700K+ contract, about $100+ more than Artur (my preference) is making. I know this is all just silly talk, but we easily could fit a player like Artur onto this roster, as-is, with the open senior slots and salary budget space that we have.
I'm not really a "bring back a name we love" kind of guy, I think Trapp or Artur would be a better contributor than Jones. But the list of people that could contribute more than Jones is long and includes many, many more players than just former Crew guys.
I have no problem with one roster spot being a "sentimentality" spot. Sports could use more of it rather than this "win at all costs and expense of anything else" mentality. I'd welcome Trapp back with open arms. I'd love to see what Nancy could do with him, just look what he's done with Yeboah and others.
Atlanta United traded Derrick Etienne to Toronto. Atlanta gets $200,000 in GAM and up to $175,000 more if certain things happen. https://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-...tienne-to-toronto/OM2CIPNI55G3NM64QCNSJNM7OY/
Except Yeboah is a starter and Trapp would be a backup to Morris and Nagbe, who basically play 90 minutes every game.
If we are opening a sentimental roster spot for a fan favorite, I don't think Eddie Gaven has reached 40 yet.
This guy dropped off big time after having one decent season. Not really a big surprise though. I always felt his 2022 season with us was a statistical outlier, and that definitely seems to be the case.
He’s captain and starter for Minnesota, so he wouldn’t accept that. And more importantly, for the money he’d make, he wouldn’t help. Offensively he doesn’t really offer anything and plays at a much slower pace than Nancy likes. Defensively, he doesn’t cover ground like Zawadzki or Artur (for this hypothetical) does. I like Trapp, I have a signed Trapp jersey, we don’t need him back unless it’s league minimum though.
To the above list, add Gaston Sauro, now at Sarmiento (Arg). Also, former defender Emanuel Pogatetz is now an assistant coach at Crystal Palace. Isaiah Parente and Brady Scott play for Ventura County (Galaxy 2) of NextPro.
(Hopefully it is okay for me to post this here, if not, mod feel free to delete). Former Crew member Marcello Carrera ('96-'98) will be among the former Canton Invaders and Cleveland Crunch players in attendance at the Invaders 40th / Crunch 35th Anniversary Reunion on May 25th at Goodyear Hall in Akron. If anyone out there in the Cleveland, Akron, Canton area (or anywhere else ) would be interested in attending, tickets and further info is available in the link below. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/invaders-vs-crunch-a-night-of-soccer-legends-tickets-777811985587