Maybe the empty senior roster slots and “addition by subtraction” are related to the long WC break. You can subtract because you have a recovery period from long season wear and tear. And subtraction means fewer players don’t make the game day 18. So there’s fewer players who feel like they’re just on the equivalent of an NFL practice squad. There’s enough players for competition for starting places. And if there are injuries, Q2 players do know that if they’ve shown consistency that they could be with the 1st team at any time. It doesn’t seem that terrible to have empty slots for the next transfer window.
Six is a bit much but with JoGo signing, it's down to 5 at least, and with Adimabua signing, someone (either Adimabua or someone else) could occupy another senior slot, so that makes 4 open. And of course only senior slots count against the cap, so if you are running up against the max you can leave slots open. Or you could leave more cap $ in the piggy back for the next transfer window by leaving more slots open.
Leaving two senior slots open makes some (limited) sense. You don’t have to pay for those open spots, and then you can easily sign players in the summer transfer window. But four open slots, as we stand now, means that we’re paying for two of those open slots. That’s not good planning. The primary window is still open, so is Bruce going to evaluate as we go and maybe sign one or two more guys before the end of March? I just don’t get the strategy. You can always cut a player or two to create open spaces, so even this seems dubious. You could loan a guy who isn’t cutting it to a USL team if you needed a roster spot. It seems like we are deliberately going into the season with a short roster. Why? It’s not like we’re stacked with talent. Can we not find a good player or two to bolster our ranks? Are we giving Niko the keys with no competition for his role? And if he isn’t good enough we sign someone else? Color me confused. Go Quakesfans!!
Yeah, that’s a moving target. Pretty sure it was four open slots when I posted that. But we don’t yet have a “full deck,” as they say. Edit: Oh wait!! Our very own Semi Official Roster thread shows Four (4) open slots, only two on the senior roster though and two more among the supplemental roster spots. Go Quakesfans!!