Vaya con Chivas, Cabrón! Richard “Richie” Ledezma at CD Guadalajara

Ledezma starts today v. Twente. Tillman on the bench after his injury scare. Booth, Pepi and Dest not in the squad due to injury

 

I love how Ledezma has powered through to become the starting RB, but I still don't think he will be PSV's starting fullback when everyone is healthy and if they get the players they want. I hope I"m wrong, and Ledezma might be channeling enough of lil Stevie Dolo to make FB his own, but it still feels to me like he is not strong enough defensively for a team with PSV's ambition.

 

Yeah - I blame the post above yours for jinxing him. Ban that guy...

but also, ouch that was bad.

 

It was. OTOH he's ousted a vastly more expensive Karsdorp, who's leaving at the end of the season. He may lose his starting position to a fit-again Dest or a new signing but he's shown more than enough times over the season that he can function at this level.

Meanwhile, whoever the starting RB is, they'll need depth on both sides next season and transfers won't be cheap - 10 million, minimum, for a good player - while extending Richie's contract will be pretty inexpensive and he's a known quantity at PSV.

I'd expect him to stay but if he does leave, he won't be short of decent options.

 

PSV certainly sounds like they hope to keep him. And if he stays I think he'll get decent minutes, if only because they have so many games. Karsdorp was a flop - and I think he never was 100% fit. Ritchie made the best of the situation. And it's possible his defense improves, but my gut is, at the end of the day, unless he improves his offensive contributions, defensive consistency, or both, he risks being displaced. I don't know who is moving in the summer, except Karsdorp, but if Dest his healthy Serg, Junior, Dams (who is still v. young, tho not impressed yet) are all viable FBs and I'm sure PSV will look at a body to replace Karsdorp. We shall see and I hope I'm wrong, but PSV wants a better season than this one, which means looking for upgrades someplace.

 

Needs to avoid howlers like that most recent one to have any hope of staying at a top club. That was brutal.

 

It was my fault. I won't post analysis at KO ever again.

 

richies future isnt as a fullback

jus bc psv needed him there that doesnt mean that is his best position or where he should play in the future

its a testament to his quality that he could play there this year and often with high ratings

whoever thinks he wont play at top clubs in the future, doesnt get the sport very well, imo

its a bit silly to think that his future depends on his play as a FB. it doesnt.

 

For sure they'll want upgrades but IMO the areas where lack of depth had the greatest impact was striker, obviously, and AM. Pepi's return should go a long way to solving the first problem but De Jong will have to be phased out and they're said to be hopeful about one of the Jong PSV CF's prospects but the real area of need is at AM.

PSV's February-March collapse coincided with Tillmann getting injured and their results have improved significantly since he returned. In the 8 games he was injured for, PSV took 12 out of 24 points. They took 16 out of 24 in the 8 games before that. Put losing the 6-pointer with Ajax immediately after Malik's return on top of that and the title was lost.

The question is whether they want upgrades on their starters or depth to back them up. It's just that upgrades will not come cheap and a pretty modest 15m is the highest transfer fee they've paid in the last 5 years.

 

Yeah - the Tillman effect was quite dramatic and lot of PSV fans have commented on it, but what's really interesting to me is you look at the line-up for the 5 losses and they are all quite different manpower - save de notso Jong. Will Pepi's return make enough of a difference? Seems to me PSV have to be thinking they might need another CF beyond Pepi. Luuk might not even still be there - has he extended? Malacia's loan with option is up this summer. I don't see any indication PSV is interested in buying there. Will be interesting to see what moves they make, and it would be great for Ritchie if they decide Dest, Junior, Dams and him are enough but my guess is they bring someone in if they don't keep Malacia. Whether that someone will displace Ritchie at all time will tell.

 

Malacia is off to . . . someplace but they'll look to bring one more body in one either side, just in case someone gets injured.

I'm not sure about De Jong. He's a club legend and playing for Ajax would be awkward to say the least, assuming they even want him, and Feyenoord couldn't afford his salary. While he's not as good as he was last season, especially in Europe, he's still a force in the league and should have at least one more good season in him. What they need is someone to understudy Pepi while he and De Jong swap roles

 

I was a big defender of LdJ last season as he was objectively on fire. This season he is objectively mediocre to poor:
In league his numbers, for a starting striker on a #2 team are really poor.
10th on PSV for G-PK/90
7th for G+A/90
9th for A/90 (behind Karsdorp!)
7th for G+A-pk/90
For all comps he's not any better:
7th on PSV for G-PK/90
8th for G+A/90
10th for A/90
10th for G+A-PK/90

When your starting 9 is not top 5 on the team for any goal-providing metric... I mean, maybe it's just an off year, but he's got a lot of talent around him, will be 35 in August and has been talking retirement a little... I think it's possible he's finally run out of road. Maybe we'll see him in MLS!

 

PSV decided "let's make everyone go to WhatsApp to see the full lineup" --



He starts.

The match is on ESPN+.

 

PSV must take into account a departure of Richard Ledezma. The American has an expiring contract, but does not seem to be renewing it. For the defender, a transfer to Chivas Guadalajara beckons.

 

Seems like a downgrade.

 

PSV win with Ledezma starting, Dest subbing in for him. Ajax dropped points last couple of games so, with 3 left to play it's an actual race again. Ajax, of course, control their destiny, but PSV seem to have gotten it together. Feyenoord next week is huge for them. They are 4 pts back, so Ajax need to lose 1 and tie 1 while PSV wins out. Unlikely, but possible. Won't be mathmatically over for another game or two at the earliest.

 

Why would he do this? He's 25 in September and leaving a CL side, not for La Liga but for Liga MX

Even if he gets to play CM/CAM there, he's going to a relative backwater and is de facto saying that top sides in Liga MX are his ceiling.

To me, it suggests that he's looking at el Tri again.

 

He's 25 in September and leaving a CL side, not for La Liga but for Liga MX. Even if he gets to be the 10 there, he's leaving Europe for a league in the Americas at an age when Mexico's best players head in the opposite direction.
To me, he's saying that a horizontal move to a top side in Liga MX is his ceiling and that if MNT considerations are a factor, he's thinking El Tri rather than the Red, White and Blue.

 

based on what?

 

Yeah. While an away loss to Utrecht was an upset for Ajax, dropping points at home to Sparta was a real shocker but 7 more points will still secure the title no matter what PSV do.

PSV must beat Feyenoord this weekend and they're in serious form (unbeaten in 9 with 7 straight wins). With Utrecht just 3 points behind them for the final CL spot, they'll surely be up for it.

After that, PSV have two winnable games against already-safe Heracles and Sparta but Ajax don't have an especially hard run-in: Conference playoff-qualified (and Cup finalists) Go Ahead followed by playoff-chasing Groningen and already-qualified Twente at home on the last day. No easy games but no mountains to climb either. It's a test of mentality more than quality for Ajax

 

IDK, it's not 100% clear to me where Richie sits on the depth chart at PSV when everyone is healthy. It's possible that he goes to CDG and is given a starting role, a significant salary bump (capology has him on ~€400k/yr, average salary for a starter at CDG is ~$750k), and a path to a national team, while staying at PSV means a meager salary bump while being forced to fight / pray for serious minutes. I cannot stress how valuable Mexican nationals are to Liga MX teams with the existing roster rules...

Getting a shot at CL minutes isn't worth it for everyone, especially if there's no clear path to "promotion" in terms of pay and/or game time. Richie did decently when given CL minutes this year, and yet it seemingly hasn't led to offers from other Europeans teams... maybe he just wants a guaranteed pay day and not the chance to prove that he's worthy of a guaranteed pay day.

 

The minimum number of Mexicans would make Liga MX pay a salary premium to a Mexican passport-holder, whatever MNT he plays for. Him having played well enough in the CL this season would likely give him an additional premium.

That said, I'd be sure he'd be earning more than the €400k Capology give. The Eredivisie has a minimum salary for non-EU players over 21 years of age of €500k ($560k) and Richie is 24. Most likely the algorithm took what NYC was paying him in MLS and assumed that was his full salary rather than the share the borrowing club was paying. They also have Tillmann on €300k and there is no way on God's green Earth that a guy who was transferred for €12 million is going to accept a salary that low.

 

Didn't think twice about Capology's numbers, but you're right, it's impossible for him to be earning €400k unless he secretly holds EU citizenship.

 

??
What do you mean?