Tepid Stove League: 2015-16 MLS Offseason

Titans Bastard

Titans Bastard

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- NYCFC signed 22 year old Argentine DM Federico Bravo on loan from Boca Juniors. They mainly used Andrew Jacobson there last year, and while he's okay he's not exactly a foundational player. With Pirlo in the midfield, NYCFC needs their DM to do a lot.

- Orlando signed Antonio Nocerino after the player terminated his contract at Milan. Orlando had to compensate DC for Nocerino's rights because DCU had filed a "discovery" claim on him. OCSC now has a surplus of good defensive midfielders and I wouldn't be surprised to see someone dealt soon.

- Je-Vaughn Watson mutually terminated his contract with Dallas. He wanted to be closer to family, currently in Philly, but apparently none of the northeast teams wanted to take him at his current contract. He started at RB for Dallas most of last season, so they lose some depth there. Watson is getting old so he might have lost his spot anyway, but they'll have to figure something out. The arrival of Carlos Gruezo in the midfield means there's a decent chance Kellyn Acosta will be moved there.

- The USL announced a partnership with Alianza de Futbol, which I find to be quite an interesting piece of news. Alianza is an organization that hosts events and showcases with players drawn from Hispanic leagues around the country. Liga MX clubs have scooped up quite a few prospects via Alianza, and it is past time that the mainstream powers that be in the US connected with the organization. There needs to be good execution on this, but it has the potential to give a lot more exposure to a demographic that tends to fall through the cracks in the US.

- RSL dealt Abdoulie Mansally to Houston. After signing Chris Wingert, they had an excess of left backs. All that stands between Mansally and the Dynamo's starting lineup is DMB's health, so he'll undoubtedly get some playing time in 2016.

- DC signed their second round pick, Englishman Paul Clowes, a defensive midfielder from Clemson.

- KC shipped out Venezuelan midfielder Bernardo Anor to Minnesota United on loan.
 
Titans Bastard

Titans Bastard

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We're a little less than two weeks away from the start of the season, but the first competitive games of 2016 involving MLS teams are tomorrow. It's an MLS vs. Liga MX extravaganza in the CCL; no Central American teams made it through the group stage this time. The eight group winners were seeded according to points won and GD and it just so happened that 1v8, 2v7, 3v6, and 4v5 were all MLS vs. Liga MX matchups this time.

Tuesday 2/23
Querétaro vs. D.C. United
Seattle Sounders vs. Club América

Wednesday 2/24
Tigres vs. Real Salt Lake
LA Galaxy vs. Santos Laguna


The consensus is that we're fucked, as usual. It's hard enough to beat Mexican teams in a home-and-home with all things being equal. It's worse when Mexican clubs are in the middle of their Clausura while MLS clubs are still in preseason.

Querétaro is having the weakest Clausura so far, but they are also playing DC, who tanked in mid-2015 and since have lost Perry Kitchen (to limbo) and Bill Hamid (to injury). Expectations for them are low, although at least they don't lack for grit.

RSL might have a worse chance to advance than DC, since they haven't done all that much to improve after a poor season. Movsisyan and a few smaller tweaks, mainly. And they're going up a very deep team in Tigres. André-Pierre Gignac has been an absolute beast in Mexico since moving from Olympique Marseille.

LA and Seattle have more talent, but are going against tough opponents and also are sorting through new players and/or new lineups.

Hopefully someone can get through; by the semifinals MLS teams would have some CCL and league games under their belt and would be more likely to have shaken off the preseason cobwebs.
 
Titans Bastard

Titans Bastard

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DC vs. Querétaro about to start on FS1. AFAIK, DC has been converting winger Nick DeLeon into a central midfielder this preseason and he's starting there today alongside new acquisition Marcelo Sarvas -- not sure about the defensive chops of that duo. Dykstra comes in for the injured Bill Hamid, sadly.

Old friend Jonathan Bornstein is starting for Querétaro. Luis Gil is cup-tied since he played for RSL in the group stage.

A draw for DC on the road would be a great result here, but I won't get my hopes up.
 
ThePrideofShiner

ThePrideofShiner

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Dempsey has looked fantastic, but Club America has an away goal which could be very costly.

Sounders need another.

Edit: They didn't get it, instead giving up a brutal goal.
 
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Titans Bastard

Titans Bastard

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DC managed more shots and shots on target than Querétaro, but couldn't convert and ended up conceding two goals in the last 20 minutes. A 2-0 loss will be hard to turn around in DC. An away goal for Querétaro will be fatal.

Seattle effectively lost 2-2 at home. Brutal second goal indeed.

Nice FK from Dempsey though:


Tigres vs. RSL and LA vs. Santos Laguna tonight.
 
Titans Bastard

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LA tied Santos Laguna 0-0 and RSL lost in Monterrey, 2-0. Once again it was two goals conceded in the last 30 minutes of the game. If one chooses to be an optimist, it's slightly heartening to see DC and RSL go toe-to-toe with Mexican opponents on the road for 60 minutes, given that it's basically preseason. But it's not enough. All four teams have difficult climbs in the next leg.

In other news...

- Philadelphia has signed a trio of players in the last week. Most notably they landed 30 year old Brazilian midfielder Ilsinho, a winger who is coming off his second three-year stint at Shakhtar Donetsk. They made two lower-profile signings, including center back Ken Tribbett, who spent his first pro season in the USL with Harrisburg City Islanders before signing a USL deal with Philly's Bethlehem Steel team. He did well in preseason, though, so he was bumped up to the MLS roster immediately. The other was Cole Missimo, a winger who was a low-round draft pick.

- Kansas City waived Amobi Okugo. His career has really gone downhill since leaving Philadelphia last winter, having now been dumped by two clubs. Not sure what's going on, but presumably he'll have offers around the league.

- San Jose signed Alberto Quintero on loan from Lobos BUAP in Mexico. He's a 28 year old Panamanian attacking midfielder who has 63 caps for his country. SJ has a huge number of attackers at this point and I'm not sure how they all fit together.

- Seattle signed central midfielder Nathan Sturgis, who at 28 is already one of the league's most traveled journeymen. The Sounders are his ninth stop, though that includes duplicates (he played for Seattle in 09-10 and for the Dynamo twice).

Titans Bastard said:
- Je-Vaughn Watson mutually terminated his contract with Dallas. He wanted to be closer to family, currently in Philly, but apparently none of the northeast teams wanted to take him at his current contract. He started at RB for Dallas most of last season, so they lose some depth there. Watson is getting old so he might have lost his spot anyway, but they'll have to figure something out. The arrival of Carlos Gruezo in the midfield means there's a decent chance Kellyn Acosta will be moved there.
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Watson is now on trial with the Revs. RB and RM depth.
 
Infield Infidel

Infield Infidel

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Why does MLS start in March? I get wanting to avoid the Super Bowl and NBA All Star weekend, but last weekend would have been a good time to start for all but soccer/NASCAR fans. They'd also be more prepared for CCL. It would also stretch out the season a bit.

Play in warm weather areas and domes for the first three weeks. Each canadian team has a dome or a dome nearby that's not being used.

Edit: there was no EPL last week as well, so I personally just wanted some soccer to watch on semi-regular TV
 
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Titans Bastard

Titans Bastard

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Infield Infidel said:
Why does MLS start in March? I get wanting to avoid the Super Bowl and NBA All Star weekend, but last weekend would have been a good time to start for all but soccer/NASCAR fans. They'd also be more prepared for CCL. It would also stretch out the season a bit.

Play in warm weather areas and domes for the first three weeks. Each canadian team has a dome or a dome nearby that's not being used.

Edit: there was no EPL last week as well, so I personally just wanted some soccer to watch on semi-regular TV
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I don't have a good answer for that. In addition to the CCL stuff, stretching the season out is really important if MLS is ever going to conform to the FIFA calendar. The number of games that conflict with FIFA dates has gone down in recent years, but it's hard to snuff them out entirely. You just can't stuff too many midweek games in the schedule like you can in relatively tiny European countries like....everyone except Russia.


Speaking of CCL, I'll be taking my medicine tonight again, DC vs. Querétaro and Santos vs. LA. Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.

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The season starts on Sunday, so teams are trimming their rosters, signing draft picks, and making other finishing touches to their roster. Well, close enough anyway - the transfer window will still be open for a while.

- The Rapids seem closer and closer to signing Tim Howard, which is a nonsensical move that won't solve many of their problems.

- Chicago signed 27 year old Dutch midfielder John Goossens. Ajax academy, moved to NEC, then an uneventful stint at Feyenoord before a brief stop in India and a move to Romania. He has a journeyman whiff about him. He may have a good chance to start for the Fire, at least for now, since they still only have 23 players after totally rebuilding this year. The Fire also signed former Columbus goalkeeper Matt Lampson, who came through the Crew's academy before being released this winter.

- Toronto has waived English forward Luke Moore to clear up roster space, though they'll have to eat his salary unless someone foolishly picks him up off waivers. They also signed draft pick Tsubasa Endoh.

- San Jose waived midfielder J.J. Koval, who didn't progress in 2015 after a somewhat promising 2014. LA cut veteran right back Dan Gargan and winger Ignacio Maganto. Gargan has gotten old and Maganto is crowded out. New York waived homegrown midfielder Mael Corboz, who only signed his deal a few months ago - I expect he'll sign a USL contract with NYRB II.

- KC and Marcel de Jong mutually terminated the Canadian left back's contract. They were well covered at LB with Sinovic and Dia, no need for a more expensive player who takes an international slot.

- Other draft picks: Montreal signed Michael Salazar, who was capped by Belize while in college. Dallas signed goalkeeper Ryan Herman and German midfielder Timo Pitter. Portland signed goalkeeper Wade Hamilton and Jamaican winger Neco Brett.

- Reno USL now has a name - Reno 1868. The first "[City] [Year]" combo since Houston's ill-fated attempt back in 2006 to be Houston 1836.
 
wonderland

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I'm curious why you think the Howard move is nonsensical. I know Howard hasn't been great this season but he wasn't terrible.

Unless they are paying way too much, it seems like a chance to bring in an established veteran who could help stabilize the team on the field.
 
SoxFanInCali

SoxFanInCali

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California. Duh.
wonderland said:
I'm curious why you think the Howard move is nonsensical. I know Howard hasn't been great this season but he wasn't terrible.

Unless they are paying way too much, it seems like a chance to bring in an established veteran who could help stabilize the team on the field.
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You can put the world's greatest keeper behind that defense and they will still get shelled.

In a league where you have caps on how much you can spend and how many Designated Players you can bring in, the Rapids have a lot of areas where they could use an upgrade before worrying about their keeper. He's not going to be able to pull off those 20-saves-against-Belgium games every night. Plus, if you are trying to excite your fan base and get them out to attend games, this doesn't do much. Who goes to a game to see the keeper?
 
Titans Bastard

Titans Bastard

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wonderland said:
I'm curious why you think the Howard move is nonsensical. I know Howard hasn't been great this season but he wasn't terrible.

Unless they are paying way too much, it seems like a chance to bring in an established veteran who could help stabilize the team on the field.
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SoxFanInCali said:
You can put the world's greatest keeper behind that defense and they will still get shelled.

In a league where you have caps on how much you can spend and how many Designated Players you can bring in, the Rapids have a lot of areas where they could use an upgrade before worrying about their keeper. He's not going to be able to pull off those 20-saves-against-Belgium games every night. Plus, if you are trying to excite your fan base and get them out to attend games, this doesn't do much. Who goes to a game to see the keeper?
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Yep. Colorado is terrible and signing a soon-to-be 37 year old keeper on the decline isn't going to turn the ship around. Nobody thinks that Zac MacMath is the best keeper in the league, but he's hardly the Rapids' biggest problem. At a $2m/yr salary, Howard is a waste, and like @SoxFanInCali I am unconvinced that he is a player who will have a big box office effect.

What makes it look worse is the context in which it has occurred. During the college draft, Colorado traded up to the get the top spot in allocation order in anticipation of signing Alejandro Bedoya. When the deal fell through, they immediately started talking about Howard. It makes the deal feel panicky and mindless. It's also worth remembering that Colorado's GM is an idiot who is so thin-skinned that he spends time arguing with fan bloggers who criticize his stewardship of the organization. Mastroeni has been a disaster of a manager, but they've inexplicably brought him back for a third season. The buck stops with Stan Kroenke, who only has to care enough to put competent people in charge. Unfortunately, he doesn't and he hasn't. There's no master plan here.
 
steeplechase3k

steeplechase3k

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The Timbers have reportedly locked up both Darlington Nagbe and Diego Chara for the next several years.

Nagbe:
Sources: Darlington Nagbe signs new deal with Portland Timbers http://dlvr.it/KgMXmq
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Chara:
A Timbers source tells me they've reached a multiyear extension with Diego Chara. PTFC will use TAM on both Chara and Nagbe. #RCTID
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Assuming both of these are true, I'm very happy.
 
Titans Bastard

Titans Bastard

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I've been busy and missed most of the CCL games this week. That's okay with me. In the end, MLS tied all four home games and lost all four away games. 0-for-4, goodnight. Another disappointment of a year - back to the drawing board. The preseason scheduling sucks, but I feel that teams could have done more to prep for this.

LA in particular embarrassed themselves. I feel as though LA and their army of past-their-prime aging Euros are strong candidates for underperformance this season.

It's the same shit every year.

On the domestic front:

- After a contract squabble, the Crew signed Kei Kamara to a new deal through 2018 that's reportedly to be $1m/yr. In less dramatic news, the Crew signed a couple of rookies - midfielder Marshall Hollingsworth who was a DIII star at Wheaton (the Christian one) and Matt Pacifici, an undrafted goalkeeper out of Davidson.

- The Revs acquired right back / midfielder Je-Vaughn Watson from FC Dallas. He left Dallas mainly because he wanted to be in the Northeast to be closer to his daughter. Watson stands a strong chance of starting at right back. The Revs may actually have defensive depth this year - Woodberry, Barnes, McCrary, Sambinha, and Smith. The Revs also signed forward/winger Michael Gamble, their draft pick out of Wake Forest, and undrafted goalkeeper Matt Turner (Fairfield U). Gamble supposedly looked good in preseason camp, but who knows. He's 5'7", so presumably he'd be an option on the wing and not as the lone forward. More likely, he'll wind up in Rochester on loan.

- Seattle bumped up St. Vincent forward Oalex Anderson to the first team, loaned CB Jimmy Ockford back to the NY Cosmos, and waived Jordan Schweitzer who immediately signed a USL contract with Sounders 2. Anderson is the dude who scored on the US in that WCQ in November.

- Chicago brought back old league veteran Arturo Alvarez who has spent time in Portugal and Hungary since leaving RSL after 2011. I'm not sure how good he is at this point, but Chicago needs bodies. They waived attacking midfielder Kingsley Bryce, so they still only have 23 players.

- Toronto waived Herculez Gomez and dealt central midfielder Collen Warner to Houston. Herc hasn't been very useful since returning from Mexico and Warner was surplus to requirements. Toronto has been trimming the fat off their roster lately. Now they have some open roster spots, which they are likely to fill soon.

- DC's Davy Arnaud has retired due to concussion issues. Sad to see him go like that, although at 35 he didn't have much in the tank left anyway. Meanwhile, DC acquired Charlie Horton's rights from NE in another classic Rev FO hold-up. The Revs also extorted allocation money from LA for Sebastian Lletget's rights last season. Horton's a 21 year old goalkeeper who left Leeds last year to attend to a family issue. He'll compete with Andrew Dykstra and Travis Worra while Bill Hamid is injured. Neither Dykstra nor Worra are any great shakes.

- NYCFC signed goalkeeper Andre Rawls, who they drafted back in 2015. He ended up on a USL contract in Wilmington (their affiliate), and I guess he's done enough to compete for the #2 spot. They also picked up Shannon Gomez, a young Trinidadian right back, on loan from W Connection.

- Dallas signed forward Colin Bonner. Sadly, it appears as though he's changed his social media from @ragingbonner to the more demure CBONN10.
 
Titans Bastard

Titans Bastard

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Domer said:
Nice, it could be the first overall pick; the Rapids suck.
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Don't forget that the top two picks in 2017 will go to Atlanta and Minnesota.


Details on Jones' contract:

Jones is signing a one-year contract worth a guaranteed $550,000, which is less than the offer he turned down from New England. He’ll be suspended for the first four games of the season after a playoff incident with referee Mark Geiger last year.
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So in the end, it doesn't seem like the Revs' offer was unfair after all. Given that we reached a point where he wasn't going to re-sign with the Revs, getting a draft pick and some salary cap space for a player that isn't in your roster seems like a reasonable deal to me. Especially because Jones is going to a place where he's unlikely to hurt the Revs.

I would have taken Jones at 1 yr/$550k, but I'm not sure he was willing to sign with NE at that price. He was talking more money and more years. As great as 2014 Jones was - and he was GREAT for the Revs down the stretch - I am strangely okay with how all this worked out. He's 34 now, he was injury prone last year, and his "I do what I want" attitude in relation to tactics mean the team must be built around him. As great a player as Jones is, I think it's hard for a team to be greater than the sum of its parts with him in it. Not a reflection on Jones the person, but on Jones the player.
 
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