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American Soccer |OT| Life, liberty and the pursuit of the beautiful game

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O

Osorio

Member
New #RBNY trialist - Martin Woods of Leeds
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His wiki says he's known for long range shooting and his free kicks but he has 11 goals in 177 appearances.

Left winger which is something we need but damn.

Where are we finding these guys?
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
xbhaskarx said:
I don't think we're at the point where any of this matters, though. Any lineup or roster for 2014 that had been created this time four years ago would look ridiculous in retrospect, filled with prospects who didn't pan out, the injured (Holden), and veterans people thought would hang on (like Bocanegra and Cherundolo... and Donovan!). Instead people should just be thinking about who is currently in the pool at each position, who will likely be out of the pool by then, and who may enter the pool in coming years. The 2018 age breakdown Cornballer posted seems like a good place to start and build from.

The guys we will almost certainly be losing:
Howard, Dempsey, Jones, Beasley, Donovan, Beckerman, Wondolowski, Davis, E. Johnson, Goodson, Parkhurst, Evans, Rimando, Onyewu, Gomez, Feilhaber

There's plenty of easily replaceable roster filler there, but also a hell of a lot of talent in half a dozen players that will need to be replaced...
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With no soccer to distract me at work yesterday, I created a spreadsheet with the US team's player pool for the 2018 World Cup (with a cutoff at age 32 aside from Guzan), and 2016 Olympics:

Bmro3IE.jpg
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I'm sure I made mistakes so if you see any, let me know....
 
P

pauloshinobi

Member
I am thinking about start watching some MLS games this season.

Maybe I'll support the newcomer Orlando, since one of the owners is brazilian. (stupid arbitrary reason, but what the hell.) How well did they performed on their last season?
 
C

Cornballer

Member
All the Howard saves from Tuesday:

eWx1NTA.jpg


xbhaskarx said:
With no soccer to distract me at work yesterday, I created a spreadsheet with the US team's player pool for the 2018 World Cup (with a cutoff at age 32 aside from Guzan), and 2016 Olympics:

I'm sure I made mistakes so if you see any, let me know....
Click to expand...
That's a good start to the list and a reasonable (but necessarily messy) way to approach the pool. As we've discussed before in the thread, trying to predict an exact roster at this point is something of a fool's errand, but having a list of players to keep track of isn't a bad way to go about it. Who knows which players will step up, flame out, get hurt, etc... Good to see so many of those guys are Olympic eligible, as well.

Here's a few more facts/figures from Paul Carr with respect to the player pool:
Players from previous World Cup roster on U.S. WC roster:
2014: 6
2010: 8
2006: 12
2002: 11
1998: 13
1994: 6

- Only outfield player over 32 in last 3 U.S. WC teams was 2006 McBride. 35+ in 2018: Beasley, Beckerman, Davis, Dempsey, Jones, Wondo.
- 4-6 outfield players ages 30-32 made last 3 U.S. WC teams. 30-32 in 2018: Bedoya, Besler, Bradley, Cameron, Johnson, Zusi.
- Ages 26-29 in 2018: attacking trio of Altidore, Diskerud, Johannsson; defenders Chandler and Gonzalez.
- And still 25 and under in 2018: John Brooks, Julian Green, DeAndre Yedlin. Each had a shining moment in Brazil.
Click to expand...
 
G

gutshot

Member
xbhaskarx said:
With no soccer to distract me at work yesterday, I created a spreadsheet with the US team's player pool for the 2018 World Cup (with a cutoff at age 32 aside from Guzan), and 2016 Olympics:


I'm sure I made mistakes so if you see any, let me know....
Click to expand...

Nice work. You should put this on Google Docs and maybe give a few trusted GAF members editing access so we can keep it updated. It would be a nice resource to have, for new fans especially, who want to know what players and clubs they should be following.

One question: why isn't Agudelo eligible for the Olympics? Did he just miss the cut-off or something?
 
C

Cornballer

Member
gutshot said:
You should put this on Google Docs and maybe give a few trusted GAF members editing access so we can keep it updated. It would be a nice resource to have, for new fans especially, who want to know what players and clubs they should be following.
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Yeah, put it on Google Docs so I can add Mike Fucito. ;)
 
A

Askani

Member
pauloshinobi said:
I am thinking about start watching some MLS games this season.

Maybe I'll support the newcomer Orlando, since one of the owners is brazilian. (stupid arbitrary reason, but what the hell.) How well did they performed on their last season?
Click to expand...

They've been around since 2010. Last year they played in the USL-Pro league, finished second in season points, and won the championship. Dom Dwyer, loaned from Sporting Kansas City with some other players, tied the league record for goals and only played half the season with them. This season they are currently in first place in USL-Pro by like, a bunch. Next season will be their first in MLS.
 
G

gutshot

Member
Askani said:
They've been around since 2010. Last year they played in the USL-Pro league, finished second in season points, and won the championship. Dom Dwyer, loaned from Sporting Kansas City with some other players, tied the league record for goals and only played half the season with them. This season they are currently in first place in USL-Pro by like, a bunch. Next season will be their first in MLS.
Click to expand...

See, we do have relegation/promotion! (Well, the promotion part, at least.)
 
J

jamesinclair

Banned
pauloshinobi said:
I am thinking about start watching some MLS games this season.

Maybe I'll support the newcomer Orlando, since one of the owners is brazilian. (stupid arbitrary reason, but what the hell.) How well did they performed on their last season?
Click to expand...

Are you in the us? Pick a team you can actually see in person
 
D

Dr Campino

Member
valeo said:
How do people think TFC are going?

As a Kiwi, have been following them on and off because of the Nelsen interest.
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[I'm also a Nelsen fan, own a #6 Nelsen All Whites jersey, and even lived in NZ for 6 months last year.]

I'm a huge TFC fan, and I'm pretty happy so far. They're actually winning games, and not just playing dead in the last 15 minutes as in years past. Whether that's due to Nelsen or the players themselves, or both, is up for debate but he was a defender so I bet it's both.

I think he has been instrumental in attracting some players to the club, even if they're loans. I imagine Nelsen played a role in bringing guys like Bradley Orr (formerly of QPR) and fellow Kiwi Jeremy Brockie of Wellington Phoenix, and even Julio Cesar (also of QPR).

Gilberto finally has (one hell of) a goal, Defoe continues to score and I can imagine we'll be even better suited to get and hold a lead when we have Bradley back.

I won't be delusional and say we're a favourite to win MLS Cup, but as of right now we're on our way to the playoffs for the first time, and that is pretty exciting.
 
N

NYCmetsfan

Banned
pauloshinobi said:
I am thinking about start watching some MLS games this season.

Maybe I'll support the newcomer Orlando, since one of the owners is brazilian. (stupid arbitrary reason, but what the hell.) How well did they performed on their last season?
Click to expand...

Yes! And we just signed Kaka and the owner is really trying to reach out to brazil and portuguese speakers (I think we have some agreements with Benfica and Sao Paulo). They've been really great in their league even if its the 3rd tier.

Are you Brazilian?
 
A

Askani

Member
We already know about the interest in Bees, but here's an article with some extra tidbits of info: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mls/sporting-kc/article669286.html

Also, the author of the article tweeted out:

"More from Besler's agent, Heineman and Vermes will be added to that story, so check back a little later this afternoon. #SportingKC"

KansasCityStar.com said:
Before Matt Besler traveled to the 2009 MLS SuperDraft in St. Louis, he packed a suitcase for New York City. The Red Bulls had already laid out their plans to draft Besler and make him a fixture on their back line.

It never happened. Instead, Sporting Kansas City — the hometown team for the Overland Park native — selected Besler three picks earlier, thus beginning a harmonious relationship that has included an MLS championship and an MLS defender of the year award.

More than five years later, that relationship could be nearing its final days.

Sporting Club CEO Robb Heineman acknowledged Thursday that the club has received “enormous interest” from overseas teams wanting to acquire Besler, as well as his Sporting KC teammate Graham Zusi. The offers for Besler — which have come “from different leagues all over the world,” Heineman said — spiked after his highly-rated performance for the United States in the World Cup.

Asked about the chances of Besler transferring to play overseas, Heineman replied, “I’d say there’s a strong possibility that could happen based on the interest that’s out there.”

If it were to happen, it would happen “probably within the next 10 days,” according to Besler’s agent, Eddie Rock. Besler deferred questions about the situation to his agent.

Rock said Besler is weighing three options regarding his future — sign an extension with Sporting Kansas City, transfer to a club in the English Premier League or transfer to a club in Bundesliga, recognized as the top league in Germany. He has received offers from both leagues, which begin their 2014-15 seasons next month.

They would figure to offer Besler significant raises from his current salary of $200,000 with Sporting KC. Besler is set to become a free agent after making $220,000 next season, Rock said. The average salary for an English Premier League player exceeds $2 million.

“If Matt re-signs with the league now, his intentions would be to be a one-club player for the rest of his career. His goal would be to finish atop Sporting and the Wizards in all-time appearances and longest captaincy. He would try to build a dynasty there,” Rock said.

“The biggest factor with a potential move is do they provide a bigger ceiling for Matt’s development as a player? Would playing in the EPL or in the Bundesliga bring him to an even higher level as a player simply because you’re playing against the top players in the world on a daily and weekly basis?”

If Besler agrees to a deal with a foreign club, that team would be required to pay Sporting KC and the MLS an agreeable transfer fee — and likely a significant one. Besler, 27, has spent six seasons with the Wizards and Sporting KC franchise and is in his first year as the team’s captain.

Heineman said he has already received terms sheets with official transfer fee offers from European clubs, but Sporting KC plans to first make its pitch to keep Besler in Kansas City for the long-term.

“We’ll try to do everything we can to retain our guys, particularly guys like (Besler and Zusi) that are so core to our team,” Heineman said. “But sometimes guys are going to have aspirations to do different things. If that’s the case, we try to do something that’s mutually beneficial to both the player and the club.”

Heineman declined to discuss the exact fee it would take to pry Besler away from Kansas City. When Sporting KC agreed to transfer Uri Rosell last month to Clube de Portugal, the transfer fee was more than $1.5 million, a source told The Star. Sporting KC retained two-thirds of the fee, with one-third going to the MLS.

Besler is making national media stops at ESPN on Thursday and has appearances booked with “Good Morning America” and “Morning Joe,” among others, on Friday. He will not play in Sporting KC’s home match Sunday against Chicago.
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N

NYCmetsfan

Banned
Askani said:
We already know about the interest in Bees, but here's an article with some extra tidbits of info: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mls/sporting-kc/article669286.html

Also, the author of the article tweeted out:

"More from Besler's agent, Heineman and Vermes will be added to that story, so check back a little later this afternoon. #SportingKC"
Click to expand...

I don't understand transfer fees. The club sees all that money, the player none? I though those 100 million transfers meant the player was making that.
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
Cornballer said:
That's a good start to the list and a reasonable (but necessarily messy) way to approach the pool. As we've discussed before in the thread, trying to predict an exact roster at this point is something of a fool's errand, but having a list of players to keep track of isn't a bad way to go about it. Who knows which players will step up, flame out, get hurt, etc... Good to see so many of those guys are Olympic eligible, as well.
Click to expand...

Thanks. What's crazy is that as exhaustive as the list is, I'm sure there will be one or two on the final roster who aren't on it (who knew Julian Green four years ago). And half a dozen of these guys will be out of soccer entirely...


Apparently SBNation has a good list with most of the same guys, with a small writeup for those who are not familiar with them:

Potential USMNT players to watch during the 2018 World Cup cycle

The players they mentioned that I didn't: Marco Delgado (Chivas USA), Joe Gallardo (Monterrey), Tyler Turner (Orlando City)... I'll add them.

gutshot said:
Nice work. You should put this on Google Docs and maybe give a few trusted GAF members editing access so we can keep it updated. It would be a nice resource to have, for new fans especially, who want to know what players and clubs they should be following.

One question: why isn't Agudelo eligible for the Olympics? Did he just miss the cut-off or something?
Click to expand...

It actually is a Google Doc. I'll make it public and allow comments. If anyone who pays close attention to US prospects wants editing access, I'll give it to them.

I think Agudelo may just miss the age cutoff, but I could be wrong. Shawn Parker is ineligible because he's already cap tied to Germany for Olympic purposes because of U-21 Euro qualifications as they're connected.
 
B

B-Dubs

No Scrubs
Askani said:
We already know about the interest in Bees, but here's an article with some extra tidbits of info: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/mls/sporting-kc/article669286.html

Also, the author of the article tweeted out:

"More from Besler's agent, Heineman and Vermes will be added to that story, so check back a little later this afternoon. #SportingKC"
Click to expand...

He sure as hell deserves it after the performance he put in.

Osorio said:
Wait, so we could've had a CB pairing of Besler and Ream (no need for Marquez)?

DAMN YOU KC
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I am very salty over this.
 
N

Nesotenso

Member
Besler is gone. Wouldn't make sense for SKC to pay him DP level money. The positive side is that someone like Palmer-Brown will get more minutes. If he does well, great chance at making the Olympic qualifying team and if we do qualify, playing in Rio in 2016. Who knows maybe even the WC in 2018? A dude can dream...
 
X

xbhaskarx

Member
BBC: Why US will conquer world football


Grantland: The United States of Soccer: Where Did Americans Watch the USMNT?

Apparently Texas was watching Chile instead of the US....
usa_belgium_rating_1152.jpg
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Those eastern cities outpaced all other locations, and in general it’s fair to say that watching the game was more popular on the East Coast than anywhere else. The match garnered over a 10.0 in 15 markets, and of those 15, 13 are in the eastern time zone, where the match started at 4 p.m., a reasonably acceptable time to stop working for the day.

The match drew its lowest ratings in the Dallas–Fort Worth market, and was generally less popular in places like Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas (Austin excluded).
Click to expand...
 
A

Askani

Member
APKmetsfan said:
I don't understand transfer fees. The club sees all that money, the player none? I though those 100 million transfers meant the player was making that.
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MLS is an odd beast. As Wikipedia says:

"Instead of operating as an association of independently owned teams, MLS is a single entity where each team is owned and controlled by the league's investors. The investor-operators control their teams as owners control teams in other leagues and are commonly (but inaccurately) referred to as the team's owners."

To be an owner, you "buy in" to the league as a whole, and then are given control of a team. So here, the league gets a cut of the money since they are technically in control of everything. The team gets the rest to use for signings. The transfer fee is just to buy out MLS's control of the player and the player signs a new contract with their new team.
 
N

Nesotenso

Member
about the Joe Gyau move, wasn't he getting minutes with the first team at Hoffenheim last season? Why move to Borussia to play with U23?
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Nesotenso said:
about the Joe Gyau move, wasn't he getting minutes with the first team at Hoffenheim last season? Why move to Borussia to play with U23?
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My understanding based on other internet chatter: He only played a handful of minutes for Hoffenheim's first team, and if he was willing to leave presumably he wasn't in their long term plans. Dortmund's second team is managed by an American (David Wagner) and also in a higher division than Hoffenheim's second team (3rd division vs 4th division). Dortmund is known as a good place to develop and he'll likely have a friendly manager there. We'll see where he goes from here, but it's difficult to parse exactly what's going on.
 
M

Meier

Member
APKmetsfan said:
I don't understand transfer fees. The club sees all that money, the player none? I though those 100 million transfers meant the player was making that.
Click to expand...
With some exceptions, players get nothing from a transfer fee. If you're a player worthy of that kind of fee though you're getting a massive contract with a huge loyalty bonus, etc. The club is buying the rights to register the player.
 
C

Cornballer

Member
Cannavaro update from Greg Seltzer:
Following his meeting with Union officials in Brazil last week, Fabio Cannavaro is scheduled to visit Philly for more talks about their head coaching job in a few weeks. The plan as of now states he will be in attendance when they host a friendly with Crystal Palace. It is also possible this may be getting set up for an offseason change, with interim boss Jim Curtin finishing up this campaign.
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C

Cornballer

Member
Five MLS matches tonight:

Houston - RBNY 8:30ET
FC Dallas - Philadelphia 9:00ET
Colorado - Columbus 9:30ET
RSL - New England 10:00ET
LA Galaxy - Portland 11:00ET
 
O

Outdoor Miner

Member
So I obviously missed out on lots of discussion and would hate to bring up something thats prob been discussed ad nauseum, but, what was the general consensus here about Landon being left off the US squad? What's the general feeling here regarding Klinsmann?
 
Z

ZZMitch

Member
I feel like the general consensus is that Landon Donovan probably wouldn't have made much of a difference. And I feel like most people are pretty happy with Klinsmann, not amazed by his work or anything, but he did well.

And Happy Independence Day to everyone!
 
N

NYCmetsfan

Banned
Meier said:
With some exceptions, players get nothing from a transfer fee. If you're a player worthy of that kind of fee though you're getting a massive contract with a huge loyalty bonus, etc. The club is buying the rights to register the player.
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Yeah that just seems... weird at the minimum... abusive at worst. How do clubs own 'rights' to players. I understand the US contracts but rights on top of contracts seems like way to many suits are getting rich compared to the players.

I have no doubt though that American and most European league player are still doing well though.
 
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