MLS 2018: More Barco Than Bite

Titans Bastard

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Really excited to see the new-look DCU with hot young Latin American talent like Wayne Rooney.
 

Titans Bastard

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Nagbe out 2-3 months.


This could turn out to be a problem given that their CM was already weakened by Carlos Carmona's departure this winter. I wouldn't be shocked to see them acquire a Larentowicz upgrade in July, though.
 

Titans Bastard

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Twellman says that Porter has taken himself out of the running in Orlando:



There are strong rumors that Mauro Diaz will be sold to a club in the Middle East. That's a huge change for FC Dallas, whose attack has run through him (when healthy) for years. Paxton Pomykal will get a few chances (and hopefully take them!), though I imagine they plan to acquire another player as well.
 

Titans Bastard

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Rooney to DCU is official. Is this exciting for DC fans?



He signed a 3.5 year deal, which takes Rooney through his age 35 season (will turn 36 towards the end of the last year on this contract). Hmm...

WaPo had very recently reported that he would sign a 2.5 year deal for $13m and an undisclosed fee. This definitely doesn't seem like a slam-dunk move. It's not the big-money transfer I'd have made, but maybe he'll still score a bunch of goals.
 

pedro1918

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Rooney to DCU is official. Is this exciting for DC fans?
I used to follow DC United and I guess they are still "my MLS team" but I got really tired of the stars from Europe signing with the Galaxy. Now that DC United finally get a big European star, it just happens to be my least favorite player of all time. Well, one of them anyway.

I might try to get to the game, but more to see the new stadium than to see Rooney.
 

dirtynine

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On an alternate timeline, it’s the Revs with a new Boston-area stadium, signing Rooney (“New, England” - the promos write themselves) and starting a new chapter. But we’re stuck in this one.
 

Titans Bastard

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He's slightly lower-profile than Big Phil, but signs point to James O'Connor being Orlando's pick at manager. All I know is that he's earned good reviews for his work in Louisville, which includes a USL championship last year.

O'Connor perhaps benefits from his connections to Orlando City; he played for the USL version of the team from 2012-14 at the tail end of a career that took him through Stoke, WBA, Burnley, and Sheffield Wednesday (@Dummy Hoy - any observations about this guy?).

 

Titans Bastard

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Raul Ruidiaz is official. He should be a boon to a team that has really, really, really struggled to score goals this year.

 

Titans Bastard

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He's slightly lower-profile than Big Phil, but signs point to James O'Connor being Orlando's pick at manager. All I know is that he's earned good reviews for his work in Louisville, which includes a USL championship last year.

O'Connor perhaps benefits from his connections to Orlando City; he played for the USL version of the team from 2012-14 at the tail end of a career that took him through Stoke, WBA, Burnley, and Sheffield Wednesday (@Dummy Hoy - any observations about this guy?).

It's happening: Louisville City announces O'Connor's departure.
 

Titans Bastard

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There were nearly 72k in attendance to see Atlanta's 4-0 rout of Orlando City, who have now lost a Rapids-ian eight games in a row. Atlanta is now five points clear at the top of the Supporters Shield race since NYCFC lost at Chicago and KC lost at Montreal.

The Revs beat DC 3-2. Bunbury now has 10(!!!) goals. The struggles of Orlando and Toronto mean that the playoffs are looking increasingly realistic.
 

Titans Bastard

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Reputable sources are saying the Revs are pursuing Bojan Krkic.


If he comes ready to play, he'd be a nice upgrade over Krisztian Nemeth, who I suspect Friedel will try to offload sooner rather than later.

The Revs need reinforcements for their very thin backline. They are an injury or two away from disaster back there.
 

Senator Donut

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Bojan would occupy the final international spot, so moving Németh would be imperative if they want to improve the roster; it’s hard to add American talent at this point of the season.

I’d say they are exactly one injury away from a back line disaster. I don’t trust anyone except the four who started tonight.
 

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The Timbers won in Seattle for the first time in MLS regular season play, and have never even had the lead before today. The Timbers are on a 12 game unbeaten streak (including the US Open cup) after a poor road start.
 

OCST

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Seeing Rooney running around on a hot, muggy day in DC should be fun.
I saw almost every minute of every Everton game in 2017-18 (which I should rather have jabbed a hot fork into my eye for 2 hours every Saturday).

Rooney is very skilled with the ball. Deadly accurate shooter and passer.

Trouble is he is neither strong nor fast, and having logged heavy, heavy mileage on his body since 17, in terms of games played, lagers downed, and groupies bedded, his legs are rubber.

He has always lacked a natural position, to credit those who have watched his career. He lacks the physical gifts to play either a true 9 or true 10. He’s best playing off a true striker, making things happen in the space opened up by the striker, while being fed by a good 10. But here’s the thing- such a player is a luxury. if you had a good 9 and 10 already, you wouldn’t necessarily need the Rooney type. It’s like saying that X, a shooting forward in the NBA, plays well when he’s alongside a good power forward to create space and draw matchups, and a good point guard to feed him the ball. Well, duh-him and every other guy, right?

He did well at the beginning of the season, but lost his legs by Christmas. In the second half of the season, he scored 0 goals and was subbed off around the 60’ mark often.

His stats for keeping possession and winning possession were awful. He was basically a spectator in midfield.

Yet they tried to run the team through him, pushing a real No 10 (Sigurdsson) out wide to accommodate him. Which was another issue- he’s too past his prime to boss the game on the pitch, but because he is A Legend, he sucks the oxygen out of the room and makes it harder for a leader to develop organically.

The travel and the extremes of weather in MLS will kill him. He may start strong but he will not be worth this contract, not even close. He won’t even be worth it as an ambassador/ marketing draw once he inevitably gets caught in some kind of public drunkenness/aberrant sexual adventures.
 

Titans Bastard

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For some reason, Sebastian Giovinco is very, very bad at penalty kicks.

Toronto somehow missing the playoffs becomes more likely with each passing week. The CCL run and the injuries have totally devastated them.
 

speedracer

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Seeing Rooney running around on a hot, muggy day in DC should be fun.
I can't seem to find possession stats, but DCU are third from bottom from the table in shots per game. Using that as a proxy, I'm guessing Rooney's going to be doing an awful lot of running around in the heat and humidity without the ball. Good times.
 

Titans Bastard

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Mauro Diaz was sold to Shabab Al-Ahli in the UAE. Big loss for FCD, who will struggle to create chances without him.

https://www.fcdallas.com/post/2018/07/03/fc-dallas-transfers-mauro-diaz-shabab-al-ahli-dubai-fc

They are also rumored to be loaning young CB Chris Richards to Bayern Munich for the rest of 2018. Loaning players to clubs that don't have a stake in their development is generally dumb. However, FCD and Bayern established a partnership of sorts recently and Richards will be back in 2019 when FCD launches a reserve team in USL D3. Because FCD has taken so long to get their shit in order, he wouldn't have all that much else to do other than perhaps go on loan to a USL D2 team for the second half of the season.
 

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There’s a fun midweek night of MLS action tonight, including a matchup of both conference’s best teams (Dallas and Atlanta). Darwin Quintero has a hat trick of highlight-worthy goals for MNUTD (and was carded because a teammate put a hat on him) who are up 4-1 on floundering Toronto.
 

Titans Bastard

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The drumbeat of reports around Jesse Marsch makes the story feel like it has legs. It remains to be seen, though, how Marsch would fit into the RB Leipzig picture. Nagelsmann is coming in as manager next summer, so it's a weird situation.

Jesse Marsch is close to leaving the New York Red Bulls to take a role with RB Leipzig, sources tell The Athletic, a midseason move that would throw a team that is near the top of the table in MLS into a fair degree of uncertainty. A source with knowledge of the situation says that nothing is final but that Marsch, 44, is deep in discussions with the parent company that owns both teams.

It is unclear at this time what Marsch’s position with the Bundesliga club would be. Sources tell The Athletic that Marsch could become Leipzig’s interim head coach, or possibly an assistant under Ralf Rangnick, sporting director for Red Bull soccer, who would himself be serving as an interim head coach.
https://theathletic.com/421329/2018/07/05/sources-jesse-marsch-on-verge-of-leaving-new-york-red-bulls-for-role-with-rb-leipzig/
 

Titans Bastard

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There it is. Both NY managers move to Europe in midseason. That's definitely a first.

Chris Armas takes over at NYRB and we'll have to wait to see exactly what Marsch will be doing next.

 

Cellar-Door

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One of (maybe the?) best players in MLS might be on the move, rumors that teams in Europe (including West Ham and Fiorentina) are going to make an approach for Almiron in this window. Should be interesting to see what Atlanta does, have to let him move either now or in January.
Now you lose him mid-season, but likely get more money.
Force him to wait for January and the $ goes down, and you have to worry about how he reacts.
 

Titans Bastard

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This is a good piece about how the league is navigating its place in the global soccer economy.

MLS faces three choices:

  1. Stay in the bubble. Ignore the demands of the global market by refusing to sell players, and accept that a number of young talents will inevitably leave on free transfers to foreign clubs, as with Erik Palmer-Brown, Perry Kitchen, Kekuta Manneh, Joevin Jones, and Bill Hamid.
  2. Accept its place in the global market. Incentivize buying and selling players, and grow the league with smart decisions, accepting that top talent won’t stick around forever.
  3. High risk, high reward. Vastly change the salary cap model and push the chips all-in to compete with the big boys right away.
The first option is not a sustainable business plan. The third would represent a radical break from the controlled growth model MLS has long championed. And so, the league picked the second option. MLS had to start becoming a more active member of the global soccer economy.
 

Infield Infidel

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That's a really good article (I've been pleasantly surprised by The Athletic's soccer coverage). I didn't realize TAM had grown to be basically a second, slushy salary cap.

I think calling option 1 unsustainable is a bit overstated. It is sustainable by virtue of a timid, purposefully low ceiling, like a small businessperson who doesn't want to expand a profitable small business. This isn't optimal but it's sustainable, for better or worse.

I think I've said it before but in the short-to-medium term MLS should aim to compete with Liga MX, Brazil, and Argentina to acquire young players from the Americas who for whatever reason don't directly go to Europe, and then be ready to sell if Europe comes calling, which fits with option 2. Being a top 4 league in the Americas wouldn't be bad, and having good players come from your league only improves your reputation. European clubs will pay more attention and $$, and young players can see the league as an attractive jumpoff for Europe.
 
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Titans Bastard

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I think calling option 1 unsustainable is a bit overstated. It is sustainable by virtue of a timid, purposefully low ceiling, like a small businessperson who doesn't want to expand a profitable small business. This isn't optimal but it's sustainable, for better or worse.
I think Tenorio could have made this point stronger by citing academy kids who are walking, rather than the list of MLS pros who left on frees. Other than EPB, none of the guys he listed are top talents.

What makes Option 1 unsustainable is not Perry Kitchen walking, it's Weston McKennie walking for free after FC Dallas invested a lot of academy $$$ in him. MLS clubs need to dig themselves out of the hole they have created by signing kids without a strong plan to develop and/or sell them.

MLS clubs are collectively spending more and more on academy operations, USL teams, etc. If they want to make all that investment worthwhile, they have to follow through with giving players more opportunities in the first team and eventually selling them on if they are good enough. The best players want to play for the best teams and MLS clubs have to show that they are part of the pathway to the best teams if they want to sign the best players.
 

Infield Infidel

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I generally agree, it's just that for me "unsustainable" means "will eventually cease to exist". I don't want to see more situations like McKennie (or Kitchen for that matter), but the league isn't going to fold because of it, it'll just perpetually and significantly underperform its potential.
 
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Titans Bastard

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I generally agree, it's just that for me "unsustainable" means "will eventually cease to exist". I don't want to see more situations like McKennie (or Kitchen for that matter), but the league isn't going to fold because of it, it'll just perpetually underperform its potential.
Agreed on that.

Option #1 won't make the league unsustainable, but it might make MLS owners decide that their levels of investment in youth development are unsustainable. That would be disastrous for American soccer because so, so much of our long-term future is dependent on how good our domestic youth development system gets. There's no way it can be all that great without the top-level professional league doing things the right way.
 

Infield Infidel

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Speaking of potential, I think if/when Almiron is sold, Martino will have solid proof of concept and ideally others follow, not just to Atlanta but elsewhere. It could end up being a good buy low sell high move. Why haven't other MLS clubs done move like this that much?
 

Titans Bastard

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Catching up on some news....

Andrew Hauptman has sold 49% of the Chicago Fire to Joe Mansueto. This can't be a bad thing, as the Fire under Hauptman's ownership have been pretty pathetic on and off the field. They're like the Revs, only worse on the field and even less relevant in their city. That's a problem in such a major city.


LAFC exercised the purchase option on Omar Gaber's loan deal from Basel, then immediately sold him to Pyramids FC of Egypt. The release says that Gaber had a family matter in Egypt. That may be true, but he's fairly expensive and hadn't won a starting role, so getting his salary off the books probably had additional appeal.

Colorado terminated the loan of Joe Mason from Wolves. He was expensive and terrible, all of which was predictable given that he was a mediocre player in the Championship. The Rapids then went out and got one-time MLS journeyman Giles Barnes on loan from Club León in Mexico. They will still be very bad.

Chicago signed Argentine center back Nicolas Del Grecco. He's 24 and is coming off a very short stint at Olimpia in Honduras. Prior to that, he played in the Argentine third division. Unless his resume is significantly selling him short, this looks like a trash signing.

On the bright side, the Fire signed Aleksandar Katai permanently from Alavés, before his loan expired at the end of July.

FC Dallas signed 24 year old Brazilian left back Marquinhos Pedroso from Figueirense. He'll replace Anton Nedyalkov, who was sold to a Bulgarian club a few weeks ago when he wanted to go back home.

Houston signed 21 year old Venezuelan forward Ronaldo Pena from Caracas FC. He started in Venezuela's 2-1 win over the US in the quarterfinals of the last U20 WC, though I don't particularly remember his performance one way or the other. He's the third player from that XI to wind up in MLS, incidentally.

Minnesota signed 23 year old Ecuadorian attacking midfielder Romario Ibarra and 29 year old Colombian forward Angelo Rodriguez. Rodriguez is a DP, although his resume looks a little weak for that status. Minnesota already have a few decent forwards and a ton of attacking midfielders (though a bunch are injured). Their roster is a bit of a mess and they don't seem to have much of an identity or a long-term plan. I've never been impressed with Adrian Heath as manager and Manny Lagos as GM has been similarly underwhelming.

DC traded Patrick Mullins to Columbus for $150k in TAM. Mullins no longer had much of a role in DC with Rooney's arrival. In Columbus, he'll be a decent backup to Gyasi Zardes. Gregg Berhalter knows how to get a lot out of limited forwards, so Mullins could score some goals there.

Toronto loaned Spanish midfielder Ager Aketxe to Cadiz of the Segunda Division in Spain. Aketxe has been a huge bust - Toronto is paying him an incredible $1.3m and he's been totally unremarkable.
 

Titans Bastard

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It's opening night for Audi Field in DC.

I'm overseas and can't watch, sadly. It's hard to overstate what a big moment this is for DC, whose stadium search has been very long and very painful. DC United was once one of the biggest and highest-profile clubs in MLS. That is no longer the case, but this is a key milestone on the road back for them.

EDIT: and I'm a sucker for steep stands.

 

Dummy Hoy

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He's slightly lower-profile than Big Phil, but signs point to James O'Connor being Orlando's pick at manager. All I know is that he's earned good reviews for his work in Louisville, which includes a USL championship last year.

O'Connor perhaps benefits from his connections to Orlando City; he played for the USL version of the team from 2012-14 at the tail end of a career that took him through Stoke, WBA, Burnley, and Sheffield Wednesday (@Dummy Hoy - any observations about this guy?).

Nothing concrete to add to your observations - I remember him with Wednesday, and word from Louisville fans was that they thought he did a great job there. It’s a step up in pressure, but he’s played at higher levels than that. I’ll be rooting for him of course.
 

Dummy Hoy

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It's opening night for Audi Field in DC.

I'm overseas and can't watch, sadly. It's hard to overstate what a big moment this is for DC, whose stadium search has been very long and very painful. DC United was once one of the biggest and highest-profile clubs in MLS. That is no longer the case, but this is a key milestone on the road back for them.

EDIT: and I'm a sucker for steep stands.

Taylor Twellman is reporting that a sideline reporter was hit in the head by a falling piece of metal railing.
 

Monbo Jumbo

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So naturally, Atlanta fails to beat 10-man Seattle!
Lots of fun. The Benz is a great facility. Great atmosphere. Chippy first half.

Best scoreboard in the world, but sucks if they don't show replays of controversial plays.

Why do they water artificial turf at halftime??

Announced crowd of 72k+, but lots of empty seats everywhere. I assume those numbers are "tickets distributed" not the gate.IMG_20180715_154818.jpg
 

blueline

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It's opening night for Audi Field in DC.

I'm overseas and can't watch, sadly. It's hard to overstate what a big moment this is for DC, whose stadium search has been very long and very painful. DC United was once one of the biggest and highest-profile clubs in MLS. That is no longer the case, but this is a key milestone on the road back for them.

EDIT: and I'm a sucker for steep stands.

Do you live in DC? The stands are indeed very steep. Doesn't feel like the team exactly paid top dollar for the facility overall, but it's a great place to watch a match from pretty much anywhere. Unfortunately some supporter group drama with the front office killed a lot of the atmosphere.

Rooney looked fantastic when he came on. His vision and passing is way beyond anything else on DCU. Already seemed to have decent chemistry with Arriola, Acosta, and Asad. It could be a great signing if he can keep up his fitness.
 

OCST

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Ay, there’s the rub - “if.”

He started last season similarly at Everton - but could not keep it up.

MLS doesn’t have PL-quality midfielders to expose him like he was badly exposed by mid-season.

OTOH, the travel and weather in MLS are taxing.

No doubt he’s very shrewd.
 

Titans Bastard

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Do you live in DC? The stands are indeed very steep. Doesn't feel like the team exactly paid top dollar for the facility overall, but it's a great place to watch a match from pretty much anywhere. Unfortunately some supporter group drama with the front office killed a lot of the atmosphere.

Rooney looked fantastic when he came on. His vision and passing is way beyond anything else on DCU. Already seemed to have decent chemistry with Arriola, Acosta, and Asad. It could be a great signing if he can keep up his fitness.
Nope, I live in Boston. I did have the chance to glance at Audi Field from the highway when I was visiting DC a couple of months ago. From the Revs perspective, I'm jealous -- falling stadium bits aside. (I'd joke about spinning that as an homage to RFK Stadium, though I'm just fully reconnecting after traveling and I'm sure that someone's gone there already.)

*IF* DC United plays its cards right, a real renaissance is possible. Newer MLS fans don't remember that DCU was once viewed as the premier club in the league. There's been about a decade of brand damage since then, but a new stadium helps. It's particularly helpful because DCU has been the only club in a legitimately financially shitty stadium situation for a while now, so it's not just that Audi > RFK, but DC might start spending more money.

Signs strongly point to DCU launching a USL team in Loundoun County, perhaps as soon as next year. There's also rumors afoot that they'll be sold soon. If they are sold and the new guy is more ambitious & engaged, anything is possible.
 

Titans Bastard

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Portland signed Argentine attacking midfielder Tomas Conechny on loan from San Lorenzo. At 20, he's a former member of Argentina's U20 and U17 World Cup times, but his youth pedigree hasn't seemed to translate for his club. He's on loan and the Timbers have an option to buy if he works out.

Montreal sold Raheem Edwards to Chicago for $400k in TAM. Edwards can play on the left flank at any position from LB to LW. He was a pretty solid contributor to Toronto last season, but he was exposed in the Expansion Draft and taken by LAFC, who flipped him to the Impact. In Montreal, he hasn't been played as much. Chicago is far from the deepest team, so he'll probably get more run.

Montreal also signed Mathieu Choinière, an academy kid.

Vancouver signed a pair of academy kids. 18 year old forward Theo Bair - who checks in at 6'4" 215 pounds - signed a contract that kicks in at the start of next season. They also signed 18 year old midfielder Matthew Baldisimo.
 

Titans Bastard

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Tata Martino is savage.

He had this to say about Howard Webb, who is in charge of PRO, the referee organization that operates in MLS.

 

Titans Bastard

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Oh, to be an Atlanta fan instead of New England. Especially on the heels of a midweek loss to a truly crap Minnesota side.
Am I being dramatic, or does it feel like the playoffs just slipped away in the course of the last two games?

EDIT: or maybe three, with the draw against Seattle.

Up next: @NYRB, @ORL, vs PHI, @DC, @PHI, vs POR, @NYC, @LAFC

Lots of brutal road games.