Hazard and Brandt are two of my favorites on that Dortmund team. I don't know what Leeds' needs are at the mom because I havent' followed all the transfer drama but either one would be good enough for that level and get paid well, imo.
Looking in on their preseason match with Villa, I’d say they need a starting left back, starting striker and depth all around.
Can't say we have much to offer in that department unless they want to buy Scally or take him on loan. He'd be a midfield type lb, tho. Good for passing if they are lacking in that department or to re-arrange as a 3rd cb since he is a clean tackler. At least Scally would get a clear advice from Marsch on his p.t. pre-WC.
NFL taxi squads have a size limit. (Used to be 10, raised to 16 due to Covid. Now fixed at 16.) So active roster + taxi squad = fixed number. The NBA is pretty restrictive on roster size. Some (not all) NBA teams have affiliates in the G-League. They cannot shuttle players back and forth except for players on "2-way" contracts. There is a limit of two such 2-way players per franchise. The 2-way guys do not count against the 15-man active roster limit. So essentially, active roster + 2-way roster = fixed number (17).
Not sure what your point is? A million is a fixed number. The original comment I responded to made it sound like American sports are so more restrictive in their roster makeups than soccer and thats just not accurate.
I have no idea what types of rules NFL puts on rosters or player movements but I think it is obvious that player movement in soccer is considerably different than what we see in the NFL, NBA or baseball. For one, you practically never see players traded in soccer and the way teams get rid of guys before their contract gets close to the last years doesn't happen in most American sports leagues. And I can't recall seeing a big time player in one of the US leagues have his contract bought out by another team. Whatever the reasons soccer players change teams differently than what is typically seen in the traditional US sports.
American soccer leagues have long banned having money be the primary component of a trade. In other words, they've never wanted to be a cash for player transaction for various reasons. MLS is somewhere in the middle; they allow trades for allocation money but I don't think they'd let straight cash go through in league. The other structural item is that the player has no say unless they have a personally negotiated clause. Of course, it's worth noting that the player-powered dynamic in world football is starting to show up in the NBA, and it's worth noting that players had significantly less say in Europe before the Bosman ruling. EU labor laws have altered a lot of this, and in the US, player power due to the willingness to basically quit on a team has simulated the same. (NFL players have almost no leverage because their union is so weak their contracts aren't guaranteed. They can be cut on a whim.) One thing that is similar, though, is a lot of players get traded right before their contract is up if the team can't re-sign. Juan Soto is going to get dealt from the Nats because of this. Cap leagues can almost create another dynamic -- expiring contracts can have value in some cases, but either way, a lot of guys get dealt when they won't re-sign.
Any word on if Reyna is back to full training yet? I can't find anything, and it looks like Dortmund has a cup game in 10 days and then the season starts on the 6th.
Neither NBA or MLB collective bargaining agreements require guaranteed contracts (and indeed not all players have them). A few NFL players have signed fully guaranteed contracts and some significant percentage have multiple years of guarantees. I am not disputing the NFL union is weaker than their counterparts, but the lack of guarantees are at best a second order effect of the restrictive movement under the franchise tag system (which eliminates much of the leverage of the most valuable players). Although I think the inherently large injury risk also plays a large role.
The lack of guaranteed contracts is far older than the franchise tag system, which isn't that old. NFL players, probably due to large rosters, short career lengths and the fanbase's interaction (i.e. fans are more tied to teams than players and largely not pro-labor) plus just internal will, simply do have the strength of union.
Since this is the Gio Reyna thread not the NFL thread... Hey 🇺🇸 fans, good news, Gio is cooking ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/btbKLsISLO— Borussia Dortmund (@BlackYellow) July 20, 2022
Random thought relating to Reyna: When people talk about players who are injury prone or coming off of injury, it’s often assumed that they should be subbed in for the last 30’ or 2nd half. But to me the opposite makes sense. If I sub a guy on it’s with the expectation that he plays the rest of the game. What happens if he gets injured and we’re out of subs? Or if my best option was the guy we took out? Conversely, if you start a guy who’s been injured then you can run him for the first 30-45’…and if he gets injured you can take him off with a healthy backup. All of this to say: once he gets cleared and starts to play, I actually think Reyna should be a starter for the USMNT, not a sub—but primarily because of the above, not for the reason most think (that he’s a Best XI guy when healthy.
This is like always going for it on fourth down: makes sense but too counter to traditional thinking.
i used the same logic early in the qualifying cycle for pulisic- there was very, very little support for it around here.
There is a fundamental flaw with that logic. If a player has been hurt and you know he is not fit to go more than 30 minutes the problem with starting them is that you are now certainly going to have to use a sub around the 30 minute mark. Whereas if you plan to use that player as a sub say around the 60th minute you now have options. 1. The player you were planning to take off is having a good game and is still strong. Even though you are putting on a fresh player it might not be the best move. Don't disrupt what is working. 2. You make the change around the 60th minute and you are brining that less than 100% fit player on against tired legs. Gives them a better chance at making a difference. 3. When you sub off a guy at the 60th minute you have a good idea of how the game is going, who is in need of a sub (who is tired or overmatched), and are multiple changes in players or tactics needed. When you do it at 30 minutes you are pretty much going to have to just make your one for one planned change. You just are too early in the game to have as much information. I would have been adamantly against this strategy two years ago but with the 5 subs now I can at least understand the argument. Don't agree but I can understand the thinking.
To be fair to the argument (generally), lots of clubs now seem to be making use of the "free" sub window at halftime for a simple tactical change (as opposed to someone being really bad).
For sure but I see a pretty big difference between a sub at 30 vs at half time. Half time changes can be talked about in the locker room based upon the first half. Ensure everybody is on the same page. Communicating any changes you make at the 30 minute mark is not going to be nearly as in depth.
The other thing is that while Bliga allows 5 subs, it is still only 3 substitution windows. Burning a window early is not ideal.
I guess I misread @FTGOTC post a bit and only saw "45 min" not "30-45 min", which makes a big difference. I agree that making a planned sub at 30 minutes doesn't make sense. But if a guy is fit enough for a half then I don't see why, with 5 subs and a "free" window at halftime, that wouldn't be a reasonable plan. Of course, all of this discussion is despite evidence that Reyna's 45-minute fit. So, give the kid 10 minutes in a game you've got locked up against an opponent you don't reasonably think is going to try to break him.
If you remember the 1996 World Cup there were no subs. The only part of the 1966 World Cup I remember is being kicked out of our living room during the final for disturbing my Dad on my birthday.
Gio Reyna vs Werder Bremen (8/20/22)season debut pic.twitter.com/xAHnghL2L8— Justin Moran (@kickswish) August 22, 2022