There's people here and on Reddit who won't support him simply because of where he's from. People will make it an issue, unfortunately.
What's the issue? He was in Philly for the last two season. Or are you just one of the "complete ****** idiots" mentioned above? There was a statement by an LAFC group of "complete ********* idiots" when they signed Cengiz Under on loan from Fener. These type of things are stupid and juvenile.
Already have - a few posts above. Makes me leSigh. At least on other social media I can assume they are all bots. Here, unfortunately probably real.
I’ll try and stay above the fray. I’ll just say that the topic is volatile enough, especially in a city as politically charged as DC, that it could go south at any time. Much as we are not our government, Tai Baribo is not his. He’s an established player in our league who can help DC on the field. I hope it can stick to that, but am concerned that it can spiral quickly and cause even more division around this team.
I saw this on Reddit, a young (18yo) Honduran player: https://futbolcentroamerica-com.tra...l=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp
Regarding Baribo, if somebody hates somebody else simply because of where they were born, that's a textbook case of bigotry. I would hope that every single person everywhere can agree on that. Where things can get tricky is if some enterprising reporter asks him if he thinks it's cool that his country is bombing orphanages and he replies, "Yes, I think it's hilarious." Honestly I don't think there's any reporter covering soccer today who would risk losing their precious access for that. Furthermore I would hope that Baribo DOES NOT support bombing orphanages and, if he does, that he keeps his goddamned mouth shut about it. If he wants to blabber on about how bombing orphanages is cool then my Jewish ass will be the first one on the barricade. The far more likely scenario is that when Columbus comes to town, authorities confiscate Palestinian flags and let the Israeli flags in, leading to an internet kerfuffle.
I think the nuance here is that the extreme majority of us (those on BigSoccer, DCU fans, non-cult member Americans, etc.) vociferously condemn actions like the boat strikes that are currently happening. We’re in a glass house, but at least we’re calling ourselves on our own BS.
Walker Zimmerman presumably on a TAM deal (Bogert reports that he won’t be a DP) is a really solid value. Too bad DC couldn’t pull that one off.
He's obviously far better than anybody DC has now. But that's still a lot of money for a dude who can't really be counted on to stay healthy.
I work under the assumption that no DC United player is guaranteed to stay healthy with how cheap this current regime is, so a player’s health history is of less concern to me.
Baribo is interesting. So clearly Monteanu was the preferred play but that seems to have fallen through. Baribo comes in as a DP but he’s cheaper overall and much more MLS proven. To be honest, I think I actually prefer the latter between the two of them. There’s no guarantee that the former would’ve adapted to MLS from the Romanian league. I can’t vouch for quality of the Romanian league but I would think it would probably be a small step below MLS. Last year may have been Baribo’s ceiling but at least can produce. Very few on our current roster can say that.
I’m glad we didn’t. We shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking we are one or two players away. I wouldn’t count on Walker being any good in 2027, which is the first year there is even a chance we will be competing for trophies. And it’s more likely 2028. I would have signed him if we have someone like Akimboni in the pipeline again, someone for him to mentor. But I don’t think we do.
I understand your point but where do you draw the line? Should DC avoid signing any talented players to upgrade the squad because the ceiling for the team next season is most likely 6th or 7th place? Nobody is suggesting that this team is 1-2 players away, but playing this example out, if we assume Baribo is coming in then you’d have the following to shop for: Designated Player: 1. Tai Baribo 2. TBD 3. TBD U22: 1. Caden Clark 2. Gabriel Pirani 3. TBD - (assumes Hong is bought out. Cannot waste a U22 and International slot on a backup GK) TAM: 1. Zimmerman (assumes Enow gets bought out) 2. Herrera (possibly being shopped) 3. Peglow 4. Peltola 5. Rowles 6. Schnegg There’s a TAM logjam but theoretically if DC had gone for Zimmerman they’d still have 2 DP spots and a U22 open to upgrade the team. I don’t have much confidence in the team getting every acquisition right, but if this is the new set of top tier players for the squad, it’d be a good start: 1. Baribo (DP) 2. 2nd DP 3. 3rd DP 4. 3rd U22 5. Zimmerman (TAM) Currently our CBs are Rowles, Bartlett, and Tubbs. Zimmerman immediately jumps to the top of the list from a quality perspective on that group. He’s got 3-4 solid years in him most likely, so I think there’s definitive value in bringing him in as a TAM player. Not to mention the added bonus of needing no acclimation time for the league, occupying an international roster slot, etc. Long story short, we need a CB this offseason and one of the best CBs in the league was available for a good value. Hopefully we can find someone that’s a better fit, but we could’ve plugged a hole for awhile with someone that would instantly upgrade the back line.
Now if you want to make the argument that DCU is better off with a DP CB and TAM keeper, I’m totally open to that idea.
Yes, he did. Dave replied to my post that referenced him signing as a TAM player and my suggestion that would’ve been good value for DCU.
Tom Bogert is reporting that teams are asking about Lucas Bartlett, and he's requested the club discuss his future with him.
FC Dallas signed an Israeli player today and the response on social media/Reddit is not much different than the response to DC looking into acquiring Baribo.