As IW reported, Matan is gone. Instrumental last season in the championship. Bad time to have a down season. He still dunked on Porter, which was awesome.
Classy. He started on an MLS Cup winner and had double digit assists that season. Was a viable option wide and in CM. And was on a cheap cap hit of $200k as a U-22. Still, he underperformed a bit this year, despite that late hat-trick vs the Revs. Wish him well. CM, CB, and another dangerous attacker have to be our to do list. But that is what I thought at the deadline. Assuming Zawadzki is still auto-prorected despite the extenstion: Auto protected (7): Schulte (GA), Zawadzki (HG), JRR (HG), Jackson (HG), Habroune (HG), Mrowka (HG), Hughes (HG). Protected (12): Cucho, Rossi, Nagbe, Moreira, Farsi, DeJuan Jones, Arfsten, Amundsen, Chambost, Cheberko, Ramirez, Camacho. Unprotected (7): Bush, Hagan, Romero; Derrick Jones, Matan, Yeboah, Hinestroza. Unsure (1): Herrera (do we need to protect loaned IN players?). Amongst the protected are 6 INTs that I can see (Cucho, Moreira, Farsi, Chambost, Cheberko, Camacho). Herrera woukd make 7. A tad dubious on protecting Ramirez and Camacho at their age, but until we have better options.....Herrera and Jones would be the respective replacements if necessary.
I think we should protect Hagen, He is a starting MLS keeper on a lot of other teams somewhere in the 20-30 range and he is young and has promise. A lot of the top keepers in MLS are on the older side. I would either leave Camacho or Ramirez unprotected depending if we have January targets we expect to get. We need more CB so we need Camacho and Ramirez is great off the bench but we need a better younger player for both but we have plenty of other attacking options. So by default if we aren’t selling anyone on your protected list , if nobody is retiring ( Nagbe, Camacho or Ramirez ) then by default I think it’s Ramirez that I leave unprotected.
When protecting and projecting a draft list, a big factor is to ask " if I was an expansion team, who would I want to start my roster with?" Guys like Ramirez and Camacho aren't the kind of players an expansion team wants to waste a pick and/or money on. By the time the team is competitive in a year or two, they probably won't be around. And they're not big enough names to attract fans. Protect the kids and expose the oldies, daring the expansion GM to take them.
Integral at the back. Sensational in the attack 🫡Congratulations to Steven Moreira, who has been named the 2024 MLS Defender of the Year. pic.twitter.com/sB09QSF948— The Crew (@ColumbusCrew) November 13, 2024
Matan and AZ have different skill sets, but their role is very similar. They both are quick to turn and attack on the dribble. Personally I'm a little higher on Matan than AZ, but I like AZ too, and i'm guessing Matan is the one that wants to make a move more than the Crew want to move him out.
This disappoints me a little. I don't hate Sean at a CM role, I just think he has a higher ceiling in the CB role, an potential to be a similar CB to Moriera. But there's a reason I'm a fan and not coaching professional teams.
Very much in agreement with the second to last line. I know IW said we're looking for a Camacho replacement, but until that happens, I don't think you expose him. I also think you protect Hagan because I think he is the replacement in waiting for if/when Schulte gets sold. I probably would not protect Chambost, but I could see Cheba or Dej Jones unprotected. Expansion draft is only 5 rounds. We have a lot of auto protected guys. Odds of a Crew player getting taken are low. I risk any of those three over Camacho and Ramirez right now. Camacho might be a low risk to be chosen, but I actually think Ramirez could be taken. He'd be a semi-local kid. Scored a good clip of goals the last couple years. Would potentially be a leader in the clubhouse. I think if he's exposed he's gone, despite his age.
I love Ramirez, but he’d be on my list as one of the most important positions needing replaced in the off-season.
I love to have Ramirez as a super sub. A quality character with skills. Just doesn't seem to have 90 minutes of quality time.
As I've stated elsewhere online, Steven Moreira's selection as Defender of the Year ends the streak of award winners who stormed referee locker rooms at one.
Losing Ramirez would help us get younger which we need to do , depending who we get to replace him it could hurt our depth until the summer. But exposing Dej Jones would be insanely stupid. He is too good and we invested too much to lose him for free. I guarantee you he will be protected. Are you drinking already ?
Hagen is good insurance against a Schulte injury or departure. But Nick is unavailable during international windows when Pat is also called away. That's a problem.
Really good season recap article from Matt Doyle, who fully outs himself as a Crew fan, and also assesses the roster and who to build around: https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/columbus-crew-what-we-learned-in-2024-season-what-comes-next
Just heard we’re probably going to go after a U22 #10 too. For Nancy, how well a player’s personality fits into the team is as important as their skill level. For example, Hartel wasn’t a good fit nor was Zelarayan. Hope scouting is able to come up with the goods.
Thought that is what we should do. To get one worth something, Jimmy will have to pony up or maybe Nancy can turn lemons into lemonade. (Even going back to Porter, I'm not sure how great a fit Lucas was)