I completely agree and I'm not arguing with that. I think we should ship Ponce back to the Greek Super League. But at the same time, we have the makings of a pretty salty all around roster. If Ponce was even playing at last year's level we'd be hard to beat. He was never really a prolific scorer anywhere outside of Greece. I tend, however, to blame the player and not the GM when a dude tanks like this. He scored 10 goals last year and 5 in a short stint the year before. He's not even as prolific as Ferreira at this point, whom we also killed and wanted to run out of town with pitchforks and fire. Maybe we should go get Thor back from Loudoun United.
I do see your point about Ponce. I just think that when you combine Ponce + Ferreira I can understand where people get frustrated with Onstad. I do think it is worth remembering that Onstad wanted to sign Baird for multiple years but Baird wanted to test free agency.
I still regret when we let go that Duke forward, tall, obedient first touch, nose for goal and played within his own game but did show a few moves when he had the ball and going towards the box. Forget his name, looked like a Nate Jaqua but played more like a Brian Ching.
Correct, Thor. Big target forward but still attacked the goal from runs outside the box, solid touch and was good linking up with his teammates. Did not cost an arm and a leg as well.
He's playing in USL right now and has 6 goals in 13 games. He's at Loudoun United, and wouldn't cost much to get him back.
Well, there he is for the return to our club. I did read that our FO went and signed a player from Orlando, a striker. Don't recall the name as I was locked in to the small matter of England vs. Argentina today.
This is how bad our striker situation has been for so long, that our fanbase over romanticizes a crap player because he scored 7 goals in (checks stats) 49 appearances. This is a guy who went from here to Hungary and couldn't get on the pitch, then went to Iceland and couldn't get on the pitch. If he's doing well in USL it's because he's found his appropriate level. He's not the answer, never was.
For those who like to nerd out over allocation money, here is an interesting note about the McGuire trade from a guy who is one of the best at understanding and tracking this stuff. Forwarded this email? Subscribe here for more Digging Deeper into the Duncan McGuire Trade The Duncan McGuire trade had one small element that has me thinking very hard... past the current MLS CBA Arman Jul 17 It’s been a minute since we’ve had a blog! I’ve spent the last couple of months re-energizing myself and enjoying the World Cup. I was able to attend eight matches across four cities as the tournament took over the US. Genuinely, the World Cup brought me back to why I love this game so much (and I understand that I’m watching the sport at its peak). Dallas was overrun with tourists and the different cultures all coming together… man I already miss it being here. Some personal highlights: Thanks for reading Footy Analytic Musings! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work. Subscribed Watching the US play in Seattle. I teared up when the crowd went into a ‘U-S-A, U-S-A’ frenzy. What an experience, man. Taking my dad and brother to watch Iran play in Los Angeles. My dad was going absolutely crazy. It’s a very difficult situation and has been for the entire year, but to root for Team Melli and the athletes there was awesome. Brazil’s comeback victory over Japan in Houston was as electric an atmosphere as you can think of. And finally… even though the semi-final was an absolute beatdown by Spain, the magnitude of the match really weighed on me. Was a surreal experience going into a semi-final in my home city. We got two more games left, but our glorious MLS is back. GAM Is Fun is being updated daily with new moves. The league is trying to capitalize on the momentum from the World Cup, and this blog will try to be on top of any changes that come to fruition. There was one trade, though, that caught my eye on my little break. The devil is in the details, and it’s why I want to dig deeper. Let’s analyze why the Duncan McGuire deal is so interesting. But How? The first thought that went through my mind was the how. MLS teams often trade GAM across multiple years, but usually it’s the current season and then one year in the future. My understanding is that you must trade GAM that can be usable 12 months in advance. In 2024, the only GAM usable in 12 months was 2025 GAM. You can trade conditional GAM for 2026 in this example, but not guaranteed GAM. GAM Is Fun has a ton of trades, and only four trades had GAM spanning two years from the trade date. The trades are presented below: If you read the details of the press release: The funds break down as $250,000 in 2022 GAM, $250,000 in 2023 GAM and $500,000 in GAM between 2023, 2024 and/or 2025 based on Crepeau’s roster status. It’s a bit tricky. To me, this reads as if they are guaranteeing the GAM, but the way it’s split is based on the condition of Crepeau being on the roster. This isn’t as straightforward as the McGuire trade. The language in the Mark-Anthony Kaye deal is very similar: There is $775k guaranteed GAM split across this season and next, while $250k GAM comes in either 2023 or 2024 depending on Kaye’s roster status in 2023. Again, another conditional based on roster status that guarantees the GAM but not the year it comes in. The Carranza deal is different as well. Carranza was on loan with the Union for the 2022 season. They executed the option to purchase him before the season ended, but my understanding when looking at this is that he completed the loan in 2022 and then joined the Union in 2023. Technically, this means while the deal was announced in July, it wouldn’t be actually executed until after the 2022 MLS season, allowing 2023 and 2024 guaranteed GAM to be shipped out. My thoughts on this one are simple. They’re trading a 2027 asset, and that allows them to trade GAM in 2027 as well. This to me makes the most sense out of all of the cases. There’s so much weird language in some of these deals and future assets. Again though, the McGuire language is very, very clear: Houston Dynamo FC acquired forward Duncan McGuire from Orlando City SC in exchange for $1,250,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) ($600,000 in 2026, $400,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2027/28) both clubs announced today. Orlando may acquire up to an additional $1,150,000 in GAM if certain performance metrics are met. If you remember what I said, the understanding I have of the rules is that the GAM must be usable 12 months in the future. Well, what starts in a year from now? The 2027/28 season. That season is expected to begin in July. With MLS’ own rules, the GAM, whether it’s real or not, can be traded. For the first time (well, since the start of the data in 2022), without the roster clauses or future assets, guaranteed GAM will have been traded across three seasons. In a normal world and without the schedule change, that would be impossible. However, with the nuance of the schedule change and within MLS’ own rules, that respective GAM is eligible. Kudos to the Dynamo front office for figuring that out and really pushing the boundaries. Will other teams take note now and try to leverage the 2027/28 GAM that doesn’t exist yet? Splitting of Seasons The next reaction I had was that in the press release and with this format, MLS is calling 2026, 2027, and 2027/28 as three separate seasons. If that’s the case, does that mean that the sprint season in 2027 is going to have all of the GAM/TAM amounts that we have in the CBA, but just in the condensed 14 games? If so, I wonder how teams are going to handle that plus then preparing for the 2027/28 season. Teams are supposed to get for the 2027 season: $3,921,000 in GAM $2,025,000 in TAM $7,068,000 of Salary Cap This might be the final time we see the allocation money like this, but if 2027 is its own season, the question remains. What is going to happen for 2027-28? Again, based on this language, we can infer what is on the cards for the sprint season. Beyond that, we have no idea, as the CBA actually expires in January of 2028. The Dynamo have traded an asset that we are not sure will exist when the time comes. It’s the same situation the NBA actually finds itself in. The current lottery reforms run through the 2029 draft. Beyond that, the NBA hasn’t clarified whether the league will move in the direction of keeping picks or a new system, like draft credits. If MLS continues GAM, it’ll be no problem. If they don’t, they’ll have to think of a solution for teams. It just has me spinning with hypotheticals. Could a team plan to have payments received for transfers hit in July of 2027, when the new format begins? If they do that, can they spend 2027/28 GAM and have those payments in case they need to convert to raise funds? In that case, if the 2027/28 season doesn’t have GAM, what are the repercussions? I’m sure the league would have a way to help teams, but it just opens up Pandora’s Box. Personally, I’m of the mind that 2027/28 guaranteed GAM should not be traded. The league should clarify by the start of the 2027 sprint season whether there is GAM, and if there is, that should then allow for that GAM to be traded. If not, I feel like you’re really making an error that’s going to cause issues. Conditional GAM feels a little different to me, just because it’s conditional versus guaranteed. A team is owed that money; it has to get there. That’s all we have for today. We’re back to nerding out about MLS roster rules. FAM is back, baby.
I wonder if we could convince Filip Kostic to come on a free. He and Ante Rebic are both free agents right now. Kostic would terrorize the left touchline in MLS.
The following guy posts the following rumor on twitter. - Boca Fans are generally "good riddance." - Some Celtic fans think Celtic should have bought him. Guy is a 27 yo left back. The following gleaned from Transfermkt.com. Came out of Danubio, then up thru River Plate. Moved to RB Liepzig, market value of 12m euro. Moved around, market value declining with every move. Galatasaray, Levante. Back to Liepzig. Then Boca Juniors for 1.5M in 2023. Got used 15-20 games each in 2023 & 2024. Fell out of favor in 2025. Loaned out to Celtic in Scotland for 25-26 where he played 27 times. Now back at Boca, out of favor, valued at 2m euro.
Exon Arzu sold to a Venezuelan club.... https://www.houstondynamofc.com/new...forward-exon-arzu-to-carabobo-fc-in-venezuela
Dynamo GK prospect Cruz off to El Paso Locomotive on loan for the remainder of 2026: https://www.houstondynamofc.com/dyn...oalkeeper-pedro-cruz-to-el-paso-locomotive-fc
Same guy tweets today that the Dynamo have pulled out of this purchase because of no response from Boca. Funny thing, most Boco fans I saw on Twitter were all saying "We should sell that guy but we won't because we will never respond -- our club doesn't have the decision making capacity to respond to transfer proposals." Seems like they were right.
I've been following Boca Jr's. since 1995 and theat club is usually sharp on selling their players. Perhaps there is something a foot?!?
The purchase of Saracchi from Boca is back on and complete, according to the same twitter guy: Taking this from this guys twitter post: César Luis Merlo reports that the transfer of Marcelo Saracchi from Boca to Houston Dynamo is complete. The transfer was closed at $1,250,000 plus objectives for 60% of the player's rights, and the Uruguayan footballer will sign a 3-year contract.
And 7s may be about to get his wish. Same guy who accurately reported the Saracchi rumor says Ponce to Elche (La Liga, finished 15th of 20 last year) is a done deal. Assuming it is true I wish him fair winds and following seas. May his fortune's improve at his next stop. I personally think he played hard but obviously struggled to have the impact he and everyone wanted. Thanks and good luck Zeke.
The angles are singing! The trash ass bum is gone!! Thoughts and prayers to those that tried to tell me he wasn't terrible. Hopefully you can find a way to cope. The real season now begins and our future looks brighter than it has been in a long time. Oh man, am I gonna party tonight! https://www.houstondynamofc.com/new...ezequiel-ponce-to-elche-cf-in-spain-s-la-liga See ya'll tomorrow at the 20 year celebration. I'll be the one with the smile on my face!
7s: "Ponce is TRASH HORRIBLE WORST PLAYER IN HISTORY!!!" Others: Your over-the-top there, he's not doing well, we need better, but geez. 7s: YOUR TRYING TO TELL ME HE IS GREAT!!! SUNSHINE POLICE!