I didn't even know the "Supplemental roster" was a thing. What is that? Does that limit his starts or salary or something?
Owners and players appear to have resolved differences and players are voting on new CBA through Monday. So by all accounts the 2021 season is a go. We should hear within a week or two about the plans for fans in MBS. No idea how I feel about attending right now but mostly just glad the season won't be delayed. Based on the scuttle going around the Stripes might be seeing a new D-mid and/or right back, with Remedi and Escobar among the names possibly leaving. Camp opens in 1 or 2 weeks so I imagine by then we'll have an early indication about the main roster. So, (* knocks on wood*) given that we have a healthy Martinez, a full season with Moreno and Damm, and Lopez added to the attacking depth, I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume the offense will be better, and thus I'm entering the season hopeful. Time soon to begin prognostications.
Remedi to San Jose? What would we get in return? I'll take Wondolowski as the backup striker, please.
Thanks, Eric, for the toe poke goal on NYC's badminton court in 2018, and the shimmy shake that followed.
I don't know if any of you saw Life (Eddie Murphy, Martin Lawrence), but there's a scene in the film where they have to fast forward thru time, and they do it by showing images of the given characters who died during the FF, where the character just fades out of the image, leaving only the background. This kinda reminds me of that. I mean, these guys here didn't die or anything, but it is a stark reminder of where we've been and what it might take to get back there.
That’s a good reminder. Honestly, I have no idea why they dismantled the team the way they did... but we’re an entirely different team than the 2018 team. Still, to beat my favorite dead horse, this is why I stress a good youth academy. We need a system where that next guy is ready to step in when someone departs. However, we haven’t established that pipeline. And it’s hard as hell to think we’re going to go out and buy a championship team consistently.
Someone on DSS mentioned a while back that we got more money the first couple of seasons than we have now, because expansions clubs get a bit extra, or something. Setting aside how Gress did at DCU, he was great for us, and deserved the money he got. I don't know whether we could have paid him, but we tried to go younger too quickly. Nobody's developed a championship team in a while. Maybe some kind of balance between us in 2017-18 and Dallas (whose academy is great but whose team isn't successful). I'm of the opinion that 1) development cannot exceed the level of the competition in general, and 2) turnover is necessary to avoid individual stagnation. A guy who grows up in an MLS academy is not going to dominate MLS and stay. If he's as dominant a player as we need (Almiron, Josef, Nagbe), he's gonna leave anyhow, and in Dallas fashion, it might happen before he can help the team become relevant. Frankly, I don't know how Darlington keeps such a wide gap between himself and everybody else in MLS tasked with his role, without consistent play against teams with talent like his. Until Dallas does what the Galaxy did, or fields a team like our 2018 lineup, they're just a club that's good at sending players to Europe. The US doesn't have the footballing culture to satisfy Atlanta's need for talent. Not yet.
...and because we have playoffs, we need to be better enough than the rest to avoid single-leg losses like 2019. It's even more difficult to dominate a league that's deliberately set up to give shit-poor clubs with cheap owners a chance.
So Meza is officially gone. How much of this is related to the team vs struggles in adapting to the US (during the worst of years) I can't say but it's immaterial now. Another centerback, preferably if starting quality, is needed. Walkes can obviously do the job to degree but I don't know that we want to hang our hat on a Miles+Anton pairing. Especially with so much new blood elsewhere in the projected starting defense it might be good to get someone who is speedier and more vocal.
There's been talk of a guy from Velez Sarsfield, but I don't recall his name. Veteran player who was there under Heinze. Both Walkes and Miles took a step backward last season. Miles could have used another season of tutelage from Parkhurst, but Father Time didn't let it happen. He'll get there, but he's not ready to be the defensive anchor just yet.
https://www.dirtysouthsoccer.com/20...ormer-heinze-defender-to-fill-centerback-void Name's Lautaro Gianetti. 27.
Atlanta United's talent plan is to identify up-and-coming young players. The drawback to that is that if they DO pan out, you can't afford them anymore. This is a cap league. Even guys like LGP and Gressel deserved pay raises after 2018. Not Almiron money, obviously, but a raise. Can't afford to pay everybody what they're worth. So, you move on to the next young talent. Sometimes that's a Barco and it doesn't go as well as it did with Almiron. But if you want to get the next Gressel, you can't afford to keep the current Gressel at the pay level he wants.
Gianetti fails physical, but Heinze wants him anyway, per Agustin Sileo. No word on this from DSS. Apparently he had an ACL injury a couple seasons ago, but has been playing. Lautaro Giannetti hasn't passed his medical at Atlanta United but Gabriel Heinze still wants him. The defender suffered an ACL injury a couple of seasons back but has played almost every game since recovery https://t.co/aQxj9OEqwb— GOLAZO (@golazoargentino) March 3, 2021
Hmmm. That's a twist. Usually if someone can't pass the basic fitness check then there's a just cause to be fearful, but if he's been playing full matches for some time how could he fail the exam? If he's been playing for Heinze and the manager trusts him then I'm willing to let it go. Heinze knows his own job would be on the line with this recruitment so I can't see him selecting a complete bust. Does put the team in a bind, however, since they now REALLY need a centerback, especially since we know Robinson might miss several games with USMNT duty.
"Failed medical" can mean that the x-rays or MRI or whatever showed that the injury hasn't healed correctly or completely. But if he's been playing on it for some time, he's probably match-fit. He may just be susceptible to future injury more easily.
https://www.atlutd.com/post/2021/03/03/atlanta-united-announces-2021-preseason-schedule Atlanta United began training camp Wednesday, Feb. 24, and will continue to train at the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Training Ground in Marietta. The team will stay in Atlanta for the duration of its preseason and is scheduled to play four preseason friendlies, beginning with South Georgia Tormenta FC on Saturday, March 13. Atlanta will then play Charleston Battery on Saturday, March 20 and Chattanooga FC on Wednesday, March 24. All three matches will be played at the club’s training ground; however, due to health restrictions in place at the facility resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the matches will not be open to the public. Finally, the team will travel to Birmingham, Alabama to play Birmingham Legion FC on Sunday, March 28 at BBVA Field. Stadium capacity will be limited, so fans interested in tickets are encouraged to fill out this form and Legion FC’s ticket office will be in contact in the coming weeks. Atlanta will then open its 2021 season at LD Alajuelense in the Round of 16 of the 2021 Scotiabank Concacaf Champions League. The Leg One match will be played at Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto in Alajuela, Costa Rica and kick-off at 8:00 p.m. EST. Atlanta will host the return leg a week later, April 13 (6:00 p.m. EST), at Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw.
Sooo... looks like no Giannetti. We better score a lot, 'cause if we don't shore up this defense, we're going to concede a lot. Anybody know how many matches Miles and Parky played together?