After 30 seasons, I think we are finally primed to win the one piece of lumber we've managed to avoid thus far.
SKC have undoubtably the worst roster to start 2026. It's so bad that Doyle said our best candidate for "breakout player of the year" is Afrifa. https://tacticsfreezone.substack.com/p/every-mls-teams-best-breakout-player The new coach still doesn't have his P1 visa. I don't one of the assistant does either. Preseason is a few pros, some random players, some new assistant coaches but no head coach. What could go wrong?
I think we're overstating the importance of having professional players on a professional team. And a professional manager. And an actual preseason with the players you do have so that they can figure out what the tactics might be, what's expected. I mean, we do have other things. Trying to think of what those might be, but pretty sure we've got them. To me, the question isn't so much the Wooden Spoon, for which we have to be heavy favorites. It's will we be worse than the San Jose Earthquakes (2024). 21 points total gave up 78 goals (I think this might be in our sights) and a GD of -37. Now that is something to shoot for. Or rather to shoot at and miss and hit your own foot.
Afrifa....I know Doyle is a fan but really who else would you nominate? If I was Doyle, I would have said "player to be named later" as our most likely break out candiate. As is, our "breakout candidate" is a guy that barely played on one of three or four worst teams from last season, even though he was fully healthy and: 1) one wing can't use his right and 2) the other wing is almost as pacy as Fontas. As for the professional manager, I wonder if Wiki is coaching/watching practice via Zoom or Teams?
Hell, he could have picked Manu. Manu got love on these boards and nowhere else in MLS. if he tears up the first half of a season, it would be a breakout. But an Ian James breakout 2026 should come at SKCII, shouldn't it? He's 17 and 17 year old centerbacks almost never break out. Pau Cubarsí at Barca has, I guess. But he's the best young CB on earth (current TM value $95 million) and I don't think we need to put that kind of pressure on James (current TM value $200,000). This is the problem I have with not having anything close to a full roster as the season approaches. Lots of great young players have been ruined by being tossed into the fray before they are ready. If James gets 800 or 1000 minutes this year with SKC, after 500 last year, that would be a nice progression, subbing in, several starts across the season. Ideal. After every game he has time to calm down and study what went right and learn. If we need him to start the first 15-20 matches because there isn't another option, and we throw him out to mark Timo Werner followed by what whatshis name at the crew and Dreyer at San diego, and on and on, and, as it might, it messes with his mental game, we could back him up by a couple years. I think he looks really good. We are going to struggle to put together a compliant roster (18 to 20 senior players) by roster day.
Did everyone really cool on Miller? I thought he looked better than James in pretty much every game. I know he tapered off a little towards the end of the year, but he's still the player I'm most interested in watching from a development perspective.
Cooled? No, but I don't think you can consider him possibly as a "break out player." He started 25 games and played the most minutes by a rookie for KC since Michael Harrington in 2008. And I'd hope at 23 he'd look better against grown men than a 16-17 year old in James case.
Sorry, didn't make it clear. I was speaking in a broader context than just this thread. Feels like as soon as the younger James started playing, a lot of folks lost enthusiasm for Miller.
I think Miller is the closest thing we have to a starting CB on the roster. I know Buzz wants an upgrade at that position, and i think we'd all agree that would be great, but as it stands, I can't see Miller not starting. We have much bigger problems than him. We need another starting CB, outside backs, Dmid, wing. There are 3 weeks until the opening game, the coach just joined the team. I don't see us replacing MIller before the summer or next winter, and by then maybe he's a solid starter and we focus on our many other needs.
Our Sporks have an MLS match in 17 days (vs another contender for MLS worst offseason, SJ). My best guess at SKCs "air quotes" starting lineup. GK Pulskamp RB Justin Reynolds (barely played for the Fire) CB Jansen Miller CB Ian James LB Bassong CM 6 - Bartlett CM 8 - Davis CM 10 - Manu LW - Shapi CF DJ LW - Salloi Yes, two left wings because Shapi (our RW) has no right foot. You'd think playing a cross in with your outside foot as a winger would be a minimum point of entry for a professional soccer player, but its the Sporks. Not a single position improved from a team that FINISHED IN LAST PLACE in the West. I'd argue several positions have gotten worse. We won't even discuss depth at this point, because there isn't any. If last year they were worst in the conference, and this year they are clearly several notches worse, what is the goal? It has to be the spoon?
The KCSJ take on our starting lineup, and depth chart. It's a very wooden spoonish feeling I get from this.
I'm generally not a big Chad fan as he was one of the absolute worst PV apologists in the SKC "press corps". That said, his "starting 11" is the same as mine besides Shapi and Calvin. Why, because the roster is so ass that there literally isn't anyone else to start. Imagine this roster with an injury to Manu or DJ. If i was one of those guys, I might pull a hamstring in the first game and hope for a trade.
Yeah I didn’t think a depth chart was necessary to post with 20 players, and only 16 field players. The depth chart is painfully clear with really the only debate being Shapi and Harris.
Jesus. Yeah. Our season is already cooked, but if we pick up 2-3 injuries, we are going to be a poster child for suck for generations to come.
Exactly. The only reason would have been if someone at KCSJ would go out on a limb and predict a revolutionary approach that requires starting more than one keeper. Otherwise there is 1 position battle. Flip a coin but I personally wold start our one footed Russian.
Also, should be noted that it is not "if" we have injuries, it is when, to whom and for how long. There is a reason a good roster is at least 25 deep with people who can play. The two folks we just picked up, for instance, are great for the 18-25 slots, players who won't make the gameday roster if all is well but who are not a three week disaster if there are a couple injuries. Four keepers brings us down to 16 players. five of those are 20 or younger, I think? maybe it's 21.As for the "core" except for Jovelic and Manu, they are all serious questions marks. can anyone think of a worse MLS roster in recent league history?
MLS history, hard to say. Wizards/SKC, this is absolutely the worst roster to start a season in the 20 plus years I have been an avid fan of the club. The ownership sale is the most positive thing to happen in the past 5 plus years, but we are going to have to SUFFER in 2026. Its so bad that I continue to get calls and emails from "my ticket rep", who now is reaching out to former season ticket holders to offer a BOGO for the HOME OPENER. Gone are the days of RH talking about expanding the seating capacity. Now its buy one get one on opening day to watch what could be the worst SKC/Wizards team to take the field in 20 years.
As did several on here, I started buying season tickets in 1996. There is no doubt that Jovelic is a huge upgrade over digital. But I'm not so sure we're better for 2026 at any other part of the field. Is Manu an upgrade over Preki? i don't think so. Jake Davis would have been a very nice player on that side. Not sure he's better than DiegoG. The problem with this is that almost every other side in MLS is tons better at every position. Maybe not DC United. I mean, Eddie Pope would still be an all star. But it is a short list.
Doyle on Soccerwise just said that he wildly over-stated SKC's potential for 2026 when he set their over/under at 30 (good enough for last overall many years). He said he would now pick 24.5 and take the under.
Does Tom read BigSoccer? Seems like if he had a vote in our poll, he's a Yes on SKC winning the spoon. Considering that if you start a game and you just don't concede, you would get 34 pts, saying you think a club will get < 24 points means you think the club is really really bad. And I totally agree. Congratulations to OnGoal and PV. Our transformation to provincial club is complete.
Time to marvel at some really sad and depressing stats. https://www.americansocceranalysis....ews-sporting-kansas-city-la-galaxy-toronto-fc