Revs In-Season roster moves 2023

OK, fair enough, but the general point being that I don't have a lot of confidence in them to bring in more Gil-like players. Burns may have been a broken clock, but even then I'm not sure he was right twice a day.

 

Question: Is there any real way to parse out which were "Arena signings" and which were "Onolfo signings?"

I'd assume Bruce, with all his experience and cache, was behind pretty much all the major deals - and it was certainly him who set the culture, and so it was probably him who established the pattern of selling players who wanted to head overseas. Which, as people have mentioned, has been a super positive development for the club.

But...is there a chance...maybe even just a tiny chance...that Altidore, Lletget, and Mafla were "Bruce signings," while Onolfo unearthed Petrovic, Borerro, and Chancalay - and therein lay some of the clashing between them? It doesn't seem likely - but hey, even after Bruce went on leave, the Petro sale and Vaclík signing were very well handled, which gives me a glimmer of hope.

And the above scenario would certainly explain Onolfo's high rating of himself, despite his previous MLS coaching failures.

 

I know we've thought we had turning point moments in the past (i.e., when they signed Jermaine Jones), but what we've seen over the past few years has been a monumental shift in terms of organizational operations and strategy. I have zero confidence that the Krafts and Brian will hire the correct next Bruce Arena to be GM and/or head coach. But I don't think they are going to just say F'k It and go back to the Mike Burns modus operandi. If they wanted to show me how serious they are about doing that, they would fire Brian Bilello now and find his replacement before the end of the season, and then that person would be responsible for rebuilding the soccer operations side of the organization.

 

Curt Onalfo said they are done adding to the roster, so I guess we can close this thread.

 

Yeah, I think that's a great question and one I've been wondering about - and honestly, gives me some optimism about Onalfo's role.

It's been reported that Onalfo and Arena clashed over personnel decisions over the last couple of years and I have to believe that Arena had the final say on the player moves they did make. That said, I find it a lot more likely that it was Bruce who was in favor of bringing the Galaxy 3 and Altidore, possibly influenced by his past personal feelings for them.

I think if there was a clash between them, I would think it most likely would be about those 4: Omar (too expensive?), DeLaGarza (too old), Lleget (not a great fit, too expensive) and Altidore (too expensive/bad fit, even with Toronto picking up major share of the cost).

So, if Onalfo was the adult voice in the room pushing back against Arena's questionable impulses, that is a good sign IMO.

 

Borrero spotted at practice - must be a breath of fresh air for the team.

 

I agree Bruce probably had final say and I'd bet any money Onalfo wanted no part of those LA players.

 

Unfortunately, we will never get the actual truth, we will get two sides (possibly in the future) from Onoflo and Bruce, but remember the saying, "the winner gets to write the history."

 

It's not like the intra MLS have been the only misses in the transfer market the last few years and some (like Romney) have been very positive. Someone added guys like Traustason and Kaptoum for example.

As always we'll see what happens, but I don't think anyone bats 1.000 on signings.

 

Also of note, Carles was asked about next year in his press meeting today and said the team holds his option for next year, so it's up to them.

 

Any update on the new GK's visa status?

Not that EEJ can't do the job but it would be great to have that process done and dusted.

 

If Onalfo doesn't renew Gil THEN we can be upset.

 

Yes, he's got the visa and was expected to arrive this weekend (as of a few days ago).

 

Yes, but it will be an interesting negotiation. Gil will be 31, I believe, so it may come down to how many years he wants.

But, we also need to be thinking about life after Gil - we are incredibly dependent on him (I wonder if anyone in the league is more reliant on one single player - that really is the literal definition of an MVP). Maybe Esmir will grow into that role - it's been a good, positive year for him so far.

 

That's fair. LAG is going to happen eventually but I would give him a 2 year deal with an option for 3 at decent money. Get the right weapons around him and give it a go during this window.

 

Maciel back (from Achilles tear) with Revs II! This is a lot sooner than I would have expected.

 

It's been almost a year (his surgery was Oct 3, 2022).

 

My first reaction to the Ramos addition is, "Seriously...a guy with that horrible of a track record?"

But then, he might be a much better assistant than he is a head coach. It's interesting that Peay will continue to be the main man, despite having so much less experience than his new assistant.

This news also serves to emphasize what a wacky, unfortunate position the team is in. With the entire coaching staff torn asunder, Bilello was probably just looking for any free-agent coaches floating around North America with even a drop of MLS experience. Bringing a guy like Ramos in probably isn't a bad idea. But man...it's hard to expect much from the rest of the season, realizing what a ramshackle operation this is going to be from here on out.

I just hope this on-the-fly coaching staff construction is only meant to get us through the season. Kraft, Bilello, and co. better not be thinking, "Alright! Onalfo, Peay, and Tab... we got our soccer operation sorted out again. Onward!"

 

Agreed, as far as MacGyver-level, duct tape and chewing gum fixes are concerned, this is probably not a bad short-term move.

They are still down 1 body until RW gets back from his "vacation".