Seattle getting Francis from Columbus, NYCFC getting Abdul-Salaam from KC, that's two fullbacks who could have been very solid depth/potential starters for us. I'm a little bit worried by the lack of moves we've done so far, we just have so many players to sign I hope we didn't miss good opportunities. We were reportedly interested in Brad Stuver, he has just been traded to NYCFC. I was not a fan.
I think that when you aren't a regular starter that averaging .3g/gm per appearance in EPL over 3 years is pretty decent. You would have to look at his goals/90m and his assist rate to fairly assess his production but that is too much work for me. Gio btw scored 18 goals in 87 games or .21g/gm in the 3 years prior to coming to MLS. So Keane was scoring at a 50% higher rate than Gio and doing so in a slightly better league. But to be fair Gio played midfield a lot.
https://www.lagalaxy.com/post/2017/...t-conditional-fourth-round-selection-colorado Traded rights to McBean to Colorado for a conditional 4th round pick in the 2019 draft. That actually makes what we got for Kempin look pretty good. I wonder if we could get a conditional 2020 5th round pick (conditioned on MLS creating a 5th round) for one of the Villarreal brothers.
Good for McBean. I always liked him, with Colorado desperate for offense he might get a real shot at a starting job, and if he can't make it there, then he just doesn't have the right stuff. It is time for him to have a change of scenery.
I think Beep Boop Robot hit it on the head. Getting rid of Gio is not going to be easy even if it was the plan.
While not sold on RVP because of the injury concerns, I am happy to see that our first actual move and our first rumored move address 2 of the 5 positions that desperately need upgrades (I have those pegged as CM, D-Mid, Forward, RB, Goalkeeper). If the prior braintrust had been in place, our first moves would have been to sign a max-TAM right midfielder and max-salary No 8. So that's progress, right?
Interesting. The Gs promo video of Skjelvik are all offensive highlights. Maybe he will be played as a wingback?
or maybe the intern who put it together knows nothing about soccer and couldn't make a highlight video of great defensive play if they tried.
Likely...ha, though not as egregious as MLS emphasizing NDJ's lack of scoring prowess on his farewell tribute.
It's crap like that video and the alleged shenanigans going on with the Crew right now, that adds credence to the claims of MLS detractors. If NDJ had stayed, that could have helped a lot of this seasons issues.
I expect us to resign Rowe on a lower contract, and I am happy to have him back. We still need a new keeper though. I am also assuming Vom Steeg or Lopez will be our #3 keeper for this season which should be fine.
Good for McBean but if I were a Colorado fan I would be dismayed. I know they got him cheap but the guy is a USL level talent at best. Any team that doesn't recognize that right off the bat......wait, nevermind.
A conditional fourth round pick is basically nothing, considering that nowadays even second round picks have a hard time making it to the first team. Good luck to Jack.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/12/14/list-players-eligible-2017-mls-re-entry-draft-stage-1 List of players available for the Re-Entry Draft is here. Interesting note : Brian Rowe is not on that list, and he should have been. You can opt out of the Draft to negociate a new contract with your former team, and I assume Rowe did that. I expect him to be back next year. Interesting players, by position (remember it's mainly a Draft to get depth players) : GK : Ousted, of course we need a keeper. I'm torn on Ousted, he will soon turn 33 and has lost his starting spot in Vancouver, it's a gamble. His salary (360 k) must be renegociate. He might be too good for a backup spot but not starting material anymore. RB : - Ethan White of NYCFC is an OK RB who can also play in the center. For the price (65 k in 2017), he's not bad. - I've never been a fan but surprisingly Sheanon Williams is only 27 so theoretically in his prime. I wouldn't select him though. - for those wondering, Mears is too old (35 years old in February). Cato and Sarkodie from San Jose had bad years but I think they'll end up somewhere. Chris Korb of DC would be a versatile backup but has never been the same since his ACL injury in 2016. So not a lot of choice here. CB : not a lot of interesting names here. Maurice Edu is available but has not played for two years in MLS. Maybe a training camp guest? LB : I don't know a lot about Doody, but he is an intriguing name. DM : - I've never been a big fan but Mathias Laba is surprisingly available (I tought he will re-sign with Vancouver). I think we could do better at the starting DM position though. - Soni Mustivar or Servando Carrasco for depth? But nothing really exciting. - I love you Marcelo Sarvas but you're too old. And Okugo has been overrated his whole career if you ask me. CM : we already have too much, Powers being the only interesting name but has been garbage the last two years. RW : at a low salary, I'd take Lloyd Sam as depth behind Alessandrini. LW : nothing interesting. FW : there are a few interesting names available : - Mike Grella : his injury is concerning, but he's a special player who wouldn't ask for a big salary. Only 31 in January, could be solid depth but more suited for a 4-3-3. - Gonzalo Veron : often frustrated the NY fans, but 27 years old so in his prime, 6 goals and 3 assists in 777 minutes this year, mainly coming off the bench. Interesting. - Deshorn Brown : never been a fan of the style of play of Brown, but a player who can give you 10 goals per season is always interesting. - Giles Barnes : talented but frustrating player, he can play both FWD and winger. Will turn 30 next year so in his prime, and knows the League well. - Charlie Davies : very much the same situation as Edu. So as you can see, not a lot of exciting names available. Sigi has to be clever to find an underrated player and make him success.
Laba is recovering from an ACL injury, but pre-injury Laba would be a good option for defensive midfield. Mustivar is another decent option for that position, but I wouldn't be thrilled if he was our first choice starter at that position. Powers has been played out of position for the past 2-3 seasons, but he doesn't solve any problems we have. He's a deep lying playmaker, who was being played as a 10. I wouldn't be upset if we picked him up as he offers something we don't really have at this moment. I wouldn't mind taking Sarvas as a depth option if we got him on a real cheap salary. Even if he got little to no playing time. I think he'd be a positive locker room presence. (The Rafa Garcia role). Only wide/forward player I'd consider is Grella.
Charlie Davies blocked me on twitter a few years ago cause I told him he was setting a bad example for kids when he dived to get that penalty against us. On that reason, it's a no for me. Ousted is also a huge gamble. We could very well have a Kennedy situation again. I know we need a keeper, but if he wasn't good enough for Vancouver, then why would he be good enough for us? Also apparently he opted out, so not even available. I like the idea of inviting Edu to essentially try-out for us. His injuries have been brutal, but when fit, he is a great center back and DM.
1. Due to «blacklist of players» TAM rules in MLS, I have not been able to agree to terms with 3 teams offering me my option year salary by using TAM.— David Ousted (@David_Ousted) December 15, 2017 2. For this reason, I have been forced to opt out of Re-Entry Draft today as no team can actually enforce my option unless they go over budget and gamble. #ontheblacklist #MLS #PlayerUnion?— David Ousted (@David_Ousted) December 15, 2017 I got told last night that I wasn’t allowed to be TAM player. Hoping @MLS will release the list of players not eligible to be TAM, so players can know the conditions they’re entertaining the re-entry draft on. #blacklist #mls #playersunion #transparency— David Ousted (@David_Ousted) December 15, 2017 Per a league source, MLS recently rejected an LA Galaxy deal (using TAM) to acquire former Vancouver Whitecaps goalkeeper David Ousted. The 32-year-old was eligible for Stage 1 of the Re-Entry Draft today, but has since pulled out. #LAGalaxy #MLS— Matt Reed (@MattReedFutbol) December 15, 2017
Obviously another case of the league creating a rule in order to favor the Galaxy, by preventing them from making the mistake of signing Ousted. #GalaxyFavoritism
Of course it is not easy. If it was easy Sigi would have done it already in a heartbeat. It does not matter which set of GM scenarios one runs through, it always comes back to the $5.5MM elephant sitting in the middle of the room. I hope that LA gives Sigi the full $5.2MM TAM to work with but with 2 of the 3 DPs not likely to produce much goals and the escalating prices around the league it looks bleak. Atlanta is making moves (up to $1.6MM for Nagbe!), LAFC is making moves. I fear that Sigi's hands are tied with that elephant in the room.
WTF I thought we'd keep one GK around... NEWS: #LAGalaxy acquire 2018 MLS SuperDraft second-round selection from Vancouver Whitecaps FC in exchange for rights to Brian Rowe: https://t.co/9f4pDUqGw1 pic.twitter.com/z8AVx4s7SH— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) December 15, 2017
I was starting to think that as well as Ousted and Rowe I think are on similar contracts and I think Rowe with a stable backline would be a good option. So maybe we are going for a solid vet for a couple of seasons until one of our young keepers can push into the spot