Well... GK: Ochoa (already on the first team) RB: Holt (already on the first team) CB: Plewa (27 years old, a bit late but at CB he could maybe be depth) LB: Ryden (28 years old, see above) LM: Schmitt (already on the first team) CM: Mulholland (already on the first team) CM: Portillo (already on the first team) CM: Blake (25, feels a lot like Besler - take that how you want) RM: Powder (21, hey, this actually might be worth a look) FW: Coffee (already on the first team) FW: Chang (28 year old USL journeyman forward) Subs Arriaga (FW already on first team) Moberg (25 year old defender, maybe worth a look?)
So you are saying that RSL stacked the Monarchs with first team players so that they could win the championship?
No. They played Monarchs so they could get competitive match time. I'm guessing Luke was the only "plant." I believe he's been kind of a player/coach for the Monarchs this year.
For the USL, it kind of is. And look, I'm really happy to see guys like Holt/Schmitt/Coffee get minutes with this team. That should happen. They can't crack the 18 for RSL, go get with the USL side to keep developing. I have a big problem with guys like Plew and Ryden taking up minutes. Chang is absurd for a MLS's USL side, he's older than every (actual) RSL forward. What is the point of this team? I really don't get it. And Olave has shown he can be good at winning at that level, fine, but is he the right pick for the first team? Eh, I struggle with that one. I'm not sure if I'd like him more than Freddy, honestly. Though his willingness to play a 3-5-2 was nice. But, at the same time, it speaks to the broken nature of the first team and the Monarchs that they play different styles of soccer. Like, the most basic aspect of it (play the same style of soccer) isn't even happening.
The most common defense I hear is that you don't want to field a full team of teenagers, cause they won't learn losing every game 3-0, so you need to mix in some experienced players. And I totally get that, but isn't that what the first-team players give you? I.e., Holt isn't actually a young player - he's 23, this is his 5th season at a decently high level, he's older than Glad or Saucedo, etc. Holt is an experienced, established player, and a great person for younger players to learn from. So if you play Holt, you really don't have to play Plewa or Ryden. Likewise, it's good to get minutes so Mulholland and Portillo can stay sharp, but if you played Arriaga next to them he'd learn a lot. Instead, Arriaga sits on the bench so Blake can play. My worry is that the Monarchs are going to look at this season as a success because they won the Championship. They're going to see this season as one to emulate, instead of one to improve fro
Rumor going around that RSL is signing Maikel Chang to the first team, a move that I really don't like at all. Rumor: Real Monarchs winger Maikel Chang has been linked with an #RSL move. A Cuban report says he’s signing a first-team contract. https://t.co/wXDqlIlzsn— Wasatch Soccer Sentinel (@WasatchSentinel) November 19, 2019
I agree with Irondeepbicycle on this as well along with 15. I don't think that running out a team of 16-20 year olds on the Monarchs is ideal. I also don't think that what the Monarchs ran out this season is what they should be doing either. I like that they won though. That's cool. Trophies matter. A bit. Winning cultures matter. A lot. I think that the Monarchs should have a couple seasoned veterans, like Mulholland, that teach younger players to be professionals. That teach them how to prepare to play and how to prepare to win in any league. You really can't get that with a team full of young kids. At least that's what I've learned from watching all of those heartwarming sports films. I mean someone has to sleep with Susan Sarandon. Right? I would definitely like to see more younger players from the academy getting time with the Monarchs and being groomed for RSL or MLS play and hopefully that will be the case moving forward. I'm sure the GM has everything under control.
Jeff Kassouf @JeffKassouf 23h Well, this is going to be a thing: USL's Real Monarchs will play a game with fans (up to 5,300 -- if they show up -- in a 20,000-seat stadium) on July 11. That is before the NWSL Challenge Cup shifts to the same stadium for semis/final -- without fans.
USL agreed to not put a pay cut in effect for the players this season. DLH has gotta make up some of that money somehow.
https://www.rsl.com/post/2020/12/01/welcoming-new-era-real-monarchs I'm not sure if this is the best place, but here it goes. It sounds like the Monarchs might finally be doing what so many of us have talked about. Very interesting and I might even say exciting. Re-reading it, I'm not sure they intend to bring back Vazquez and Arriaga unless they are part of the six new players (that is a stretch to include them if true). Beltran mentions the scouting network for Monarchs. I wonder if they have more resources than RSL? He has lots of quotes of big changes to the development path, we'll see if it works and if it's true. 1/3 of the roster being from the academy!? Only 3 players will return from last year, Blake isn't one of them. They expect a fair amount of players from RSL, too. Should be interesting.
Um, this isn't exactly the most promising of things. Some quotes that scare me: None of those players, and neither coach, has been any sort of exemplar star. The ages and academy affiliation for those players not being mentioned is purposeful, too. ******** this. If you're only realizing that the Monarchs need to change because you didn't win in 2020 like you did in 2019 then you've missed the point. This sounds exciting. Though, putting OTHER academies on this list ahead of our own is just flat out stupid. This means CURRENTLY the roster has a third of it's makeup from academy players. There is no promise/restriction that it will stay that way. It also makes the above mentioned paragraphs really weird in context. Winning with the Monarchs as the epicenter is dumb. We got nothing out of the Monarchs winning in 2019. In fact, we got worse because of it as a club. I loathe this winning first mentality.
The best minor league baseball club coaches realize their teams are going to be picked clean of all their best talent. The best organizations know that a club that wins a minor league pennant without having contributed to the major league affiliate isn't a complete success. Seems like a good business model, assuming your priority is a World Series pennant. If I were in an MLS team owner's shoes, I'd probably try to leverage the minor league team to make the MLS team as successful as possible. Call me crazy.
Jack Blake tweeted a photo and message thanking the RSL organization and fans for the 3 years he's spent with the Monarchs. I can't find anything about him being released. Is he just out of contract and planning to move on? pic.twitter.com/mrTpM7sxLM— Jack Blake (@jackblake94) December 4, 2020
per the recent article published about the change of the Monarchs, the only players returning: "... the three lone returners from the Monarchs old model; Sam Brown, James Moberg and Jimmy Slayton. "
There's quite a bit about the Monarchs in this interesting piece from The Athletic about the paucity of transfers in the US lower divisions.
Thanks for sharing Egner's sale of Okumu is a curious one when you look back on it. Was he really not a first team target at all? Was 200K worth more than what the first team could have flipped him for eventually? Seems especially ironic given he's a CB and our current CB situation