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***Official Soccer Discussion Thread*** (6 Viewers)

MIX WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111111111

NYCFC bought him out under this provision (which may or may not be new @NewlyRetired to the bat phone).  Extra bonus is there is no salary cap hit.  

Buyout of Guaranteed Contract

A club may buy out one player who has a Guaranteed Contract (including a DP's) during the offseason and free up the corresponding budget space. Such a buyout is at the MLS club's expense.

A club may not free up room in the salary budget with a buyout of a player's contract during the season. In the case a team buys out a player's contract during the season, the buyout amount will be charged against the club's salary budget.
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http://www.mlssoccer.com/league/official-rules/mls-roster-rules-and-regulations

Edit: looks like that has been in place since at least 2015

 
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I guess is safe to assume that no one wanted Mix league wide in any sort off even lopsided trade.  I wonder if he will just sit the season out to collect his last big pay check or go abroad and take a big pay cut.

 
What the hell, I'll try to do a preview for D.C. United.

For most of the Ben Olsen era, there's been one constant.  United have sometimes been pretty good and have sometimes been very, very bad, but they've almost always been pretty ugly.  Even in the good periods, there was always the sense that they only went as far as Bill Hamid standing on his head could take them.  But somehow, in the middle of last season, United turned all that on its head.  They stocked up on proven MLS wingers in Lloyd Sam and Patrick Nyarko and traded for Junior-Wondo (TM) Patrick Mullins.  And for the second half of the season, they were this crazy entertaining offensive team.  Lucian Acosta, the pint-sized number 10, integrated into the side and began creating chances. 

That looks to continue this year.  United will play a "4-1-4-1" that looks an awful lot like a 4-3-3.  Something like this.

                   Hamid

Deleon      Franklin  Birnbaum    Kemp

                          Sarvas

           Jeffrey (Harkes?)

                                 Acosta

      Sam                                Nyarko

                     Mullins

Perhaps more than in recent memory, DC actually has some decent depth.  The move of Franklin to CB leaves Bobby Boswell as the third CB (and gets the team a bit quicker in the back).  Sebastian LeToux and Lemar Nagle are proven MLS contributors who can play on the flanks.  Forward is a bit up in the air.  I think I know what Mullins has in his locker.  The reserves are a bit dicier.  Jose Guillermo Oritiz is a newly capped Costa Rican international.  Alhaji Kamara played sparingly last year after being brought in after being cleared of a heart scare.   Julian Buscher impressed me in moments as a 10 himself.  The wild card is Ian Harkes.   I think he's probably best as a number 8, and could easily start in that spot.  But he could play as a 6 or even a 10.  I expect him to get a lot of minutes as a swiss army knife in midfield.  As always, Hamid's health is a huge factor.  He's back after yet another injury setback.  Olsen thinks he's the best keeper in the league.  When he's right, he's certainly the best shot stopper in the league (in fact one of the best shot stoppers I've seen in any league).  He makes far fewer mental gaffes than he did as a young keeper, but Hamid still doesn't do some of the little things as well as I'd like him to.  He's not the best organizer and I think his judgment on crosses is sometimes a bit dicey. 

In the East, I think Toronto and NYRB are clearly better than United on paper.  After that, it's hard to find a team that seems clearly superior.  I think they're in a tier with Montreal, NYCFC, the Revs and maybe Columbus as the next likely playoff teams.  But with all those teams, something could go horribly wrong.  I think, on paper, Orlando, Philly, Chicago (although the FIRE look feisty to me), and Atlanta (I'll believe in an expansion team when I see it) are worse. 

 
Alright, so just received an email about an offer for my son through his soccer club being offered to a only a few of the players.  It's an 8 day trip to London that includes the following:



Highlights of the Tour
3 Live EPL Matches
3 Training sessions with professional coaches
3 Matches vs local English teams
Stadium Tours
Tower of London
Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
Trafalgar Square
London Eye
Schedule for Players
Schedule for Parents
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At about $2300 (not including airfare) for all of that including hotel and meals and really nothing out of pocket for the above, hard to pass up, right?  It's with a company called AM Sports tours....anyone here familiar with it at all?


 
Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
But with all those teams, something could go horribly wrong.  I think, on paper, Orlando, Philly, Chicago (although the FIRE look feisty to me), and Atlanta (I'll believe in an expansion team when I see it) are worse. 
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The Fire could be the most improved team in the league and still easily miss the playoffs.  This speaks both to how bad they were last year and to how well they rebuilt.

But the real key with Chicago's improvement comes from who they take points from this year.  Those extra 10-15 points they pick up could easily determine who makes the playoffs out of the east.

 
gianmarco said:
Alright, so just received an email about an offer for my son through his soccer club being offered to a only a few of the players.  It's an 8 day trip to London that includes the following:

At about $2300 (not including airfare) for all of that including hotel and meals and really nothing out of pocket for the above, hard to pass up, right?  It's with a company called AM Sports tours....anyone here familiar with it at all?
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Without knowing anything about AM Sports tours there's no way I'd let this opportunity pass.

That $2300 is just for the kid, right?  Are you allowed to go too?

 
Ned said:
Without knowing anything about AM Sports tours there's no way I'd let this opportunity pass.

That $2300 is just for the kid, right?  Are you allowed to go too?
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Yes, I'm allowed to go too.  And I get to do all those things for the same price.

https://vimeo.com/203803936

Our club is one of the few they are partnered with to do this with kids.  I saw one of my son's classmates did it last year so I'm reaching out to them to see what it was like.

 
Jaysus said:
Jaysus said:
Hi,

I've created a league in MLS Fantasy Soccer Manager called FBG.

Joining the league couldn't be easier. Simply use this link and you'll be added automatically after you've entered the game:
http://fantasy.mlssoccer.com/?autojoin-code=

Jaysus said:
Last call - the season starts this weekend. 
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10855-2127.

You shouldn't need the league code, but just in case here it is: 10855-2127.

Enjoy the game!
Jaysus (from the internet) 
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innit.

 
gianmarco said:
Ned said:
Without knowing anything about AM Sports tours there's no way I'd let this opportunity pass.

That $2300 is just for the kid, right?  Are you allowed to go too?
Click to expand...
Yes, I'm allowed to go too.  And I get to do all those things for the same price.

https://vimeo.com/203803936

Our club is one of the few they are partnered with to do this with kids.  I saw one of my son's classmates did it last year so I'm reaching out to them to see what it was like.
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is it his team? if not, do you have a sense of what kind of players they're putting together for this?

it has to be different now than it was when I was 13- but back then somebody put together a team to go to Berlin (west) to play and train with Hertha. at the end of the day, it felt a lot less of a soccer specific thing and more like a free trip for the people who organized it. the team was comprised entirely of players from the favela (aka marin county) who could afford to go. it wasn't our brightest and shiniest 13yos.

 
El Floppo said:
is it his team? if not, do you have a sense of what kind of players they're putting together for this?

it has to be different now than it was when I was 13- but back then somebody put together a team to go to Berlin (west) to play and train with Hertha. at the end of the day, it felt a lot less of a soccer specific thing and more like a free trip for the people who organized it. the team was comprised entirely of players from the favela (aka marin county) who could afford to go. it wasn't our brightest and shiniest 13yos.
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At his club, there is a "soccer school" for like the top 10% of the players there.  He's been in that group for the last 3 years.  Those are the kids that are getting invited (and not sure if it's all of them or not).  It's the 2005 group.

 
gianmarco said:
At his club, there is a "soccer school" for like the top 10% of the players there.  He's been in that group for the last 3 years.  Those are the kids that are getting invited (and not sure if it's all of them or not).  It's the 2005 group.
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yeah- like I said, figured it was waaaaaay different than back in the dark days when soccer was... 'nt.

that sounds amazing. even though we got to play against the hertha u14s that were around that summer (over and over and again), doing it in any kind official way with guys I regularly played with would be much better. I've mentioned the Aston Villa training we got to do when I was u16... still a highlight for me- even though I didn't know AV was even a pro team at the time.

 
Email I was sent:

We are excited to continue our partnership with AM Sports Tours. Advised from the Soccer School Staff, your son XXXXXX has been targeted as a possible candidate for this years trip to London. The team will consist of top classic kids from the 2004/2005 age group.
 
2004 Soccer School kids attended this trip last year and it was a great experience. They spent the day at Readings Academy training and interacting with local players, as well as great training sessions with professional coaches and very entertaining matches vs local team. As a group we also attended Reading v Bristol City, Southampton v Everton, Arsenal v Southampton and Tottenham v Swansea. All the site seeing tours around London are included also. 
 
Attached is a brochure of the upcoming tour of London (Nov 17-26). Any Interested families can contact me at xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.   Anyone that signs up before March 15, will save $250. Also see brochure to learn about how you can save another $1000. If you are a family of 5, the 5th family member travels for $500. Once the team is confirmed, we will have group training sessions before we leave, ran by some of our academy coaches. See below is testimonial videos from our 2001 Academy traveling with AM Sports to Barcelona last year.
 
Highlights of the Tour
3 Live EPL Matches
3 Training sessions with professional coaches
3 Matches vs local English teams
Stadium Tours
Tower of London
Westminster Abbey
Buckingham Palace
Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament
Trafalgar Square
London Eye
Schedule for Players
Schedule for Parents
Click to expand...


 
So I'm watching old Soton-Watford highlights on Twitter and somebody named Guly Do Prado scores for Saints in a 2011 game. We had a guy named Guly Do Prado and I missed him.

 
Oooh  I'll try to do NYCFC:

Last year was relatively exciting if nothing else led by the 3 DPs who basically tried to outscore everyone.  They scored enough more often than not, but melted down in the playoffs.  Out the door went Lampard (AM), Mendoza (AM), Bravo (DM), Iraola (DM/CB) and some other parts.  In comes DP Moralez (AM), Ring (DM), Okoli (USL forward), Johnson (GK), Camargo (AM), Callens (CB), Wallace (LW), and a few high upside offensive youngsters.  Point being, is they restocked with a bunch of what should be quality MLS players.  The question remains, can they defend at all with Pirlo needing cover on defense.  In any case, they'll probably play something like a 4-2-3-1 that is very skinny at home.  So something like this when everyone is healthy:

            Johnson

Allen  Chanot Callens Matarrita

                 Ring  

                         Pirlo

            Moralez 

Harrison                  Wallace

                      Villa

Subs: Brilliant (CB), McNamara (LW), Shelton (F), Okoli (F), Gomez (RB), Camargo (MF), Lopez (DM), Herrera (MF).  Herrera has been in the Pirlo role (age) with Ring pushing up higher, but the point stands the formation has been much more static this year (they played with 3 in the back some last year). 

Strengths:

  • Villa cares and plays his ### off.  Having a top DP MLS who gives a crap matters especially when he's willing to play with others.   
  • Attacking.  Villa still has "it", Harrison is developing "it", and Moralez has healthy calves.  Pirlo's passing is good for a few goals by itself. 
  • LW - If Matarrita doesn't move to Europe in the summer, he's going to be one of the best wings in the league.  He interplays with Villa well when he gets forward and can shut down his side of the field on defense with his speed. 
  • MF Depth - Unlike last year when they were still looking for players into June-July this team has cover at all the positions with MLS quality guys. Both McNamara and Shelton played big minutes last year and have seen their minutes decreased in the preseason.   
  • No Mix 
Weaknesses:

  • Health - Shelton and McNamara are already hurt.  Ring was hurt last year.  Pirlo and Villa are old.  
  • Tactics - They got stretched out easily especially when Pirlo got forward last year as they love to flood the box.  A lot is riding on Ring/Herrera/Lopez (when healthy) being able to provide the needed cover.  The DM position was a huge open space on the field last year that good teams exploited at will.  If this is improved at all they'll be tough to beat.
  • CB - they're still pedestrian and Brilliant/Chanot are slow.  Quick or technical opposition can break them down fairly easily.  
OUTLOOK:  A lot of goals scored (and conceded), but if Villa continues to play well they have enough other good-enough players to make the playoffs.  

 
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roadkill1292 said:
So I'm watching old Soton-Watford highlights on Twitter and somebody named Guly Do Prado scores for Saints in a 2011 game. We had a guy named Guly Do Prado and I missed him.
Click to expand...
Also a Chicago FIRE legend.

On 6 January 2015 Do Prado signed with the MLS club Chicago Fire.

On 4 August 2015 it was announced that the Chicago Fire and Do Prado had mutually agreed to part ways.
Click to expand...

 
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Ramsay Hunt Experience said:
There was no more fun time last year than "Frank Lampard's Turn Back the Clock With Jedi Mind Tricks In The Box" run last summer.  Seems hard to replace. 
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I get your point, but I do think that run artificially inflated their record.  They really had no depth (Mix :bye: ) and it showed by the end of the year (i.e. they were probably close to a .500 team in talent than their final record indicated).   They had a lot of tired old legs last year especially with Lampard on the field and a shape that could be broken down easily through the middle.  That may still be the case this year, but I won't be shocked if a full season of Moralez is an improvement. 

Just take McNamara.  Last year he played that ACM role in the beginning of the year and he may have a hard time getting on the field much this year if the preseason is any indication and even when he's been played he's been pushed out to the left.  I also think Harrison is going to take another step forward along with Matarrita.    

 
El Floppo said:
its funny because you wrote "reading comprehension" instead of reading fc.
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Yeah, I'm coming up to NY this summer...not to watch the Cosmos, but to beat you with that boy's missing arm.  Repeatedly.  All the while, panting breathlessly.

 
Sammy3469 said:
I get your point, but I do think that run artificially inflated their record.  They really had no depth (Mix :bye: ) and it showed by the end of the year (i.e. they were probably close to a .500 team in talent than their final record indicated).   They had a lot of tired old legs last year especially with Lampard on the field and a shape that could be broken down easily through the middle.  That may still be the case this year, but I won't be shocked if a full season of Moralez is an improvement. 

Just take McNamara.  Last year he played that ACM role in the beginning of the year and he may have a hard time getting on the field much this year if the preseason is any indication and even when he's been played he's been pushed out to the left.  I also think Harrison is going to take another step forward along with Matarrita.    
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Oh, I think so too.  The expected goals model showed that NYCFC scored a lot more goals than would typically be expected of their chances (and while they were a bit unlucky on defense, the difference was nowhere near enough to set that off).  I love the commitment to build-up but I just don't see this team scoring 60 goals again this year.  Even if Villa is awesome.  They can be a better team this year and still take a bit of a step back in record. 

 
Sammy3469 said:
I get your point, but I do think that run artificially inflated their record.  They really had no depth (Mix :bye: ) and it showed by the end of the year (i.e. they were probably close to a .500 team in talent than their final record indicated).   They had a lot of tired old legs last year especially with Lampard on the field and a shape that could be broken down easily through the middle.  That may still be the case this year, but I won't be shocked if a full season of Moralez is an improvement. 

Just take McNamara.  Last year he played that ACM role in the beginning of the year and he may have a hard time getting on the field much this year if the preseason is any indication and even when he's been played he's been pushed out to the left.  I also think Harrison is going to take another step forward along with Matarrita.    
Click to expand...
I was really impressed by the little guy who played a kind of hybrid MF/F role... spanish last name. he and harrison along with maxi and villa should still be pretty potent going forward with Pirlo pumping them passes. but with those three on the field, not sure who's going to defend.. so I agree with you guys and could see a regression in terms of w/l. 

 
Sammy3469 said:
BTW let the 5 year clock start on Harrison to the USMNT as he got his green card at some point this offseason.  
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he's still only 20... given 5 years of pt (and assuming that he doesn't get picked up by England), he could be a pretty massive guy for the US for the "qatar" WC and beyond. 

riyl pulisic.

eta: has he made any noise about wanting to play for the US?

 
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El Floppo said:
he's still only 20... given 5 years of pt (and assuming that he doesn't get picked up by England), he could be a pretty massive guy for the US for the "qatar" WC and beyond. 

riyl pulisic.
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COULD BE HUGE!!!!!

Matarrita also got one which might me he's extending his stay.  Too bad he's already locked up for CR.

 
Sammy3469 said:
COULD BE HUGE!!!!!

Matarrita also got one which might me he's extending his stay.  Too bad he's already locked up for CR.
Click to expand...


related... on ESPN just now..

New York City FC midfielder Jack Harrison says he would recommend other young English players try their luck in the United States, as he did when he left Manchester United's academy six years ago.

"It's not easy to leave your family and friends at 14 but I was very independent and excited to try something new," Harrison told Press Association Sport.

Born in Stoke and raised in Bolton, Harrison took the remarkable step of quitting United's academy at 14 to take up a scholarship at an elite private school in Massachusetts. From there, he progressed to Wake Forest -- one of the top college teams in the U.S. -- before becoming the first player chosen in last year's MLS SuperDraft.

An injury delayed his impact at NYCFC but once fit he took the league by storm, ending the 2016 season as runner-up for both the Rookie of the Year award and goal of the season.

And asked if he would recommend his path to the pros to others, the 20-year-old said "definitely."

"Quite a few friends came out later too and pursued a similar path at colleges. It's hard to break through at home," he said.

"I remember a lot of the kids I played with only thought about playing professionally -- they had a kind of tunnel vision. It was great they knew what they wanted but it was also a bit naive."


Jack Harrison has found a home in the U.S. with New York City FC.
At United, Harrison was in the same group as Cameron Borthwick-Jackson and Joe Riley, both now on loan in the English Football League, while James Wilson, also on loan in the Championship, was a year ahead. Marcus Rashford was a year below.

And while Harrison said he's happy in MLS, he would still love to attract some attention from home.

"Everybody dreams of playing in Europe and it would be a dream to one day play in the Premier League," he said. "That's what I aspire to but I've got to get the timing right and for now I'm completely focused on NYCFC."

Harrison also defended the level of play in MLS, and said the league offers some unique challenges.

"It's hard to compare the MLS to other leagues but a lot of people underestimate how tough it is," said Harrison.

"There is a lot of travel, you play in different climates and the standard has gone up exponentially. Just look at the players who have come, guys like Thierry Henry, [Sebastian] Giovinco, [Frank] Lampard.

"And it's not a retirement league at all, there are lots of young, physical players and it's still growing. It's much tougher than lots of people back home think."

 
what happened to Mendoza (the guy I was trying to remember for NYCFC)? 

I thought he was really good- but doesn't appear to be on the roster any more... back in Colombia.

ah... looking him up, seems that he was loaned to NYC by corinthians. too bad.

 
El Floppo said:
what happened to Mendoza (the guy I was trying to remember for NYCFC)? 

I thought he was really good- but doesn't appear to be on the roster any more... back in Colombia.

ah... looking him up, seems that he was loaned to NYC by corinthians. too bad.
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I don't know the definitive reason, but he was always "me first" when a simple pass to Villa would lead to a better goal scoring opportunity.  Yes he was active, but he was highly selfish and wasted a bunch of good chances.  I think the guys they replaced him with are probably better.  

 
Sammy3469 said:
I don't know the definitive reason, but he was always "me first" when a simple pass to Villa would lead to a better goal scoring opportunity.  Yes he was active, but he was highly selfish and wasted a bunch of good chances.  I think the guys they replaced him with are probably better.  
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good stuff. 

I kind of fixated on him after going to the one game where he looked pretty great. 

 
El Floppo said:
wheezing. panting was another summer.
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Speaking of the Cosmos, I saw that they were tentatively linked to Diamanti :wub: ...Now, he's as crazy as they come; those insane freekicks & that disorderly leonine mane...Ooohh boy.  Yeah, I'll be seein' ya soon.

 
Ned said:
So this is all too exciting to not share... (hey look at me)

Philly Union is going to be sending some scouts down to my youngest son's club to scout him for potentially adding him to their youth academy.  It's all pretty surreal for me right now, but I'm so proud of him for even being recognized as a potential candidate for their academy.  I can't believe a fricken' MLS team is coming down to see my 8yr old play soccer.  

It started with a couple emails from his coach this weekend and has quickly moved to them setting him up to train/play with his club's 2006 A team (he's a 2008) in prep for the scouts coming to see him in a few weeks.  They want him to show well with the 2006's since that's more on par with what they expect out of their 2008 boys.  He's been doing really well in that 04/05 urban league I'm coaching (got his first goal and an assist on Sunday), so hopefully he'll keep that up in the coming weeks.   

It's killing me to not tell him about it, but I don't see any upside in telling him about it.  I did tell him that coach wants him to start working with the 06 team, but I didn't tell him about the scouts.  No need to add that pressure, IMO.  I'll let him in on it if (or when) they want to personally meet him, but I'm assuming the scouting will just be on the sidelines watching him do his thing... :shrug:  

If anyone has any thoughts/tips on how to handle this, I'm all ears - this is uncharted territory for us.
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Awesome Ned - that is so cool!!!

 
Just mind boggling.  If this team gets off to a good start and gets some sort of bonding moment (those are not easy to come by) the country might finally have something to rival Seattle.  

================================


Kyle Tait‏ @HearKyleTait



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