Current Crew Roster

Preseason training is here and in a little under a month the team travels to Hawaii to start tuning up with some games. Time to take a snapshot of the Crew roster and identify where the team is headed.

2018 Estimate : Name
 $1,050,000 : Federico Higuain
 $844,000 : Jonathan Mensah
 $731,000 : Pedro Santos
 $500,000 : Ola Kamara*
 $350,000 : Wil Trapp
 $350,000 : Justin Meram*
 $300,000 : Harrison Afful
 $250,000 : Gaston Sauro
 $200,000 : Mike Grella
 $175,000 : Mohammed Abu
 $150,000 : Hector Jimenez
 $125,000 : Artur
 $120,000  : Josh Williams
 $105,000 : Zack Steffen
 $95,000 : Adam Jahn
 $85,000 : Alex Crognale
 $75,000 : Eduardo Sosa
 $73,000 : Niko Hansen
 $73,000 : Lalas Abubakar
 $73,000 : Cristian Martinez
 $65,004 : Jon Kempin
 $53,004 : Logan Ketterer
 $53,004 : Connor Maloney

Notes:
- 23 players filling up a possible squad of 28, as things stand.
- ~$5.8m in wages, last summer it was $6.7m
- Team has about $1.0m to play with

*The big thing: 
The future of 2018 roster makeup hinges on Justin Meram and Ola Kamara, who have both expressed interest in leaving. Should one or both depart, they would be taking 60% of team goals (31/53) with them (Chicago, NYRB and NYCFC only teams higher). It creates a huge hole. Some of that will be made up by the arrival of Grella and increased scoring output from Santos (either by himself or contribution to others increasing their output from last year).

The team is clearly a playoff contender as-is, but I do expect Kamara and or Meram leaving. Kamara's the player that people want. Meram being the player others can afford.

Berhalter and company have room to play, so they are in a good position to fill gaps, should that happen. If it does, I expect the team to be fairly up and down early in the season, but the number of home games will help keep the positivity going.

It's difficult to foresee the overall impact of what's going on around the team and the move to Austin. I've head that players are confused and not sure what to say or do. It's an awful position to be in. It can also be taxing, emotionally. I expect that players that do have options (or feel they are desirable to others) will just not want to deal with the drama surrounding the team.

Outside of Kamara and Meram that would be Mensah, Higuain, Grella and Afful, who I see as guys who might not want to put up with it and seek a move at some point during the season. The rest of the squad is fairly set.

On the coaching, team admin side, the announcements by Kamara and Meram put a lot of work on Berhalter's desk.

Crew Roster in Shambles

Larsen

They say to not lose track of the basics. For some teams that might be as simple as player positioning, passing, shooting. For others, you have to walk it back further. Being able to travel a full roster of 18 players is as basic as it gets and the Crew were not able to do that for the second time this year.

Columbus has injuries to four players, which hurts, but MLS teams are allowed to carry up to 28 players on their senior roster. The league also allows teams to have an affiliate or a "II" (reserve) team in USL (3rd tier) to help in these situations. 

Right now Crew SC are sitting on 24 players. Let's do the quick math as to why things have gotten here. How about we start with recent player disputes / mishandles with the organization...

1. Emanuel Pogatetz - Option officially declined on December 7, 2015. Just a day after the MLS Cup final (league rules, likely). But problems arose much earlier in the year. Somehow he managed to get into the coaches doghouse and never made it back out. The drama / weirdness lasted most of the year last year, which is why he's on this list. Never want to let that stuff fester.

2. Romain Gall - Waived in February 2016. Not so much a dispute (though, there was some smoke) as it was just a failure to do anything with a promising young player that they went after (same thing with Ben Swanson, you could say). Columbus, as an organization, hung him out to dry. He's playing with Nykopings BIS (Swedish first division) right now.

3. Amro Tarek - Waived, May 5, 2016. This one just didn't work out. He wanted playing time (he totally would have had it by now!), but didn't get it. He must have been promised time. He's back playing in Egypt.

4. Kei Kamara - Traded May 12, 2016. We all know this one. Open dispute about an incident on the field with Federico Higuain. The team made it seem like it was more deeply rooted than that, but they were the one's that gave him a big DP contract a couple months prior. 

5. Emil Larsen... sent back in his homeland due to a dispute over playing time. Technically, he is still on the roster, but we will not be seeing him back. From Transfermarkt to FIFA 16 and Football Manager, everything pointed to him being a starter. He didn't get his time. Got chirpy and Crew sent him packing, likely because they learned a lesson from the Pogatetz situation.

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Now, on to the current roster. Key missing players due to injury, suspension or international travel.

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1. Federico Higuain - Sports Hernia. He's out for a few more weeks still. Likely longer. It's amazing how much of the midfield he held together. It's exposing Ethan Finlay (and, perhaps, Wil Trapp). Shoes too big to fill right now.

2. Gaston Sauro - Knee. Key to helping the team get to the MLS Cup last year. Smart player, but appears brittle. With the team running off Amro Tarek, it leaves depth at center back completely thin.

3. Conor Casey - Probably various injuries. This signing felt like an old MLS vet signing a buddy. It's fine, but Casey shouldn't really be considered a viable option behind your starter. He is right now, so his injury is costing the team.

4. Cristian Martinez - International Duty. 

5. Matt Pacifici - Injury. 3rd string keeper.

6. Ben Swanson - Caught in no-mans land.

7. Tyson Wahl - Suspension. Should be back next week.

OPEN ITEMS

Resolving player issues. It was interesting to see Steve Clark taunting Kei Kamara yesterday in the second half (before he scored on him) then after the game watching Kei hugging Mo Saeid and chatting up a couple other Crew players. From the outside looking in? Things don't look fixed.

Signing players. Dilly Duka was an immediate necessity. It's difficult to find free agents laying around this time of year that can go right away. 

Things working against signing players. Crew are 19th on a 20 team table. Good players probably aren't knocking down the door to come. You'll have to find players without options and want playing time. You also have the very public dispute with Kei Kamara that pulled in dark clouds. Players see this stuff. 

Lack of reserve team. This is number one on the list, really. It's been on my list of issues since they dropped the reserve team a few years ago. Look at the players Gregg Berhalter is relying on right now. Ethan Finlay, Justin Meram, Tony Tchani and even Chad Barson. Old reserve stalwarts I would go watch back in 2012-13 that everyone made fun of took a team to the MLS Cup final. Right now, there is nothing. The affiliations have not worked out (likely been more of a burden). The well runneth dry now. It needs fixed. 

This whole post is the reason for a reserve team. Player issues and injuries happen to every team, it's how well prepared you are to deal with them that makes the difference.

Little in Reserve

It might have been an afterthought and a burden for Columbus at the time but the last iteration of the reserve league… worked.

Major League Soccer has never really quite found a stable place for players down the roster in the 20+ spots. In recent years we’ve seen two failed attempts at a Reserve League where teams would often play regionally or a day after the senior squad played. The most recent attempt at getting roster players time was the most aggressive yet - in that the league sent out a mandate that they either had to “affiliate” with a United Soccer League team or instantly create a “B” team that played in the league.

MLS history is littered with ideas like this “one size fits all” idea. This a league that obsessed with controlling every soccer dollar in the US and throwing every little thing at the wall to see what sticks all while trying to spend as little as possible via centralized control. Is the "B" (or II) working? For some, maybe. But not all. Senior teams still carry up to 28 players so the issue for some guys remains. It's certainly better than the affiliation program, but that could work well in the right conditions as well. Again, this is a big country with lots of people. More often than not, forced ideas, do not work.

Analyzing current state isn’t why this post exists though. It’s here because something did work here in Columbus more than other places and it’s come from the strangest of place: The Reserve League of 2011-2013. For certain, nobody is going to argue that it was a hotbed of developing superstars but it arguably performed more noble functions.

Here is a list:

1. Playing Time
It might not have been the most intense of environments, but reserve games often were competitive and several notches above practice in terms of intensity. It was valuable especially to college players trying to adjust to the MLS game. 

2. Place for injured starters to recover
It wasn’t unusual to see a starter getting a 45’ of action after coming off a few weeks of injury. Reserve games were invaluable to regular starters looking to ease back in. 

3. Out of Form Players
Life events, don’t like the city or a case of the yips… sometimes players lose form. You hear it in soccer all the time and the only way out of it is to play out of it. 

4. Trialists and Academy Players
Gave coaches a chance to see players up close and personal as well as valuable one-on-one time between coach and player. Can’t get that from videos. Think of it like hiring someone. You want an interview. 

5. Coaching Experience, Experimental Tactics
A good opportunity to give an assistant or two some experience running games also helps build relationships. This is undervalued. Reserve games are also a great place to test out a new formation or training a player in a different role. 

6. Soft Skills, Comradery
Last on my list falls in the nebulous place we call soft skills. Confidence, hard work, focus, teamwork, and general comradery. The latter saw the emergence of popular fringe players and developed fan attachment and familiarity. In other words, it added more color to the team.

So, how did this work out for Columbus Crew SC for the three years it was in operation? The best way to answer that is to look at the players that regularly participated.

Ethan Finlay - Top Goal + Assist man in MLS last 18 months
Justin Meram - Regular starter at Right Mid
Tony Tchani - On of the league's best Defensive Mids
Ben Speas - Regular in the 18

Eric Gehrig – Regular starter for Chicago Fire
Nemanja Vukovic – Starter on 2014 USL winner Sacramento FC
Cole Grossman – Playing for Bob Bradley’s Stabæk
Josh Williams – Playing for NYCFC
Bernardo Anor – Regular for Sporting KC
Tom Heinemann – Ottawa Fury FC
Drew Beckie – Ottawa Fury FC

Gregg Berhalter gets a lot of credit for bringing out the best in Finlay, Meram and Tchani but how much of that was those players having a foundation built in the hard work they put in during reserve matches? Without those minutes, they are different players.

This tree bore fruit. It is an impressive list of players that fill day to day, game to game needs for teams all over North America. They might not be superstars (a couple seem to be bubbling up) but they are filling important team needs that are particularly hard in MLS because of roster restrictions and budgetary concerns.

CURRENT STATE, COLUMBUS CREW SC

More than anything, the mandate the league dropped on MLS teams to start a USL side or affiliate was a bit of bad timing for Columbus.

After initially deciding on the affiliate option with Dayton Dutch Lions the Crew changed operators to Anthony Precourt and company. Shortly after the Lions USL team folded and they moved on to affiliate with new USL side Austin Aztex where only Kalen Ryden is getting regular time. What this means is that there are 7-9 players going idle (for lack of a better word).

As time goes by “bad timing” becomes less and less a viable excuse for not having a place for players down the roster to play games. One of the higher profile failures of not having this situated is with USMNT U20 standout Romain Gall. Once pegged as a rising star, he has now slipped to being nearly forgotten and possibly, now, out of shape.

There are others that would benefit from regular competitive action as well. Goalkeepers, obviously, like Matt Lampson coming back from injury or keeping Brad Stuver sharp. In the midfield, we see that Kristinn Stendorsson is having trouble adjusting to MLS play and could use some 90-minute matches against other players in similar spots. Ben Swanson, who has the world in front of him could be getting a head start and let’s not forget about Wil Trapp needing to get back into the swing of things after a long layoff from concussion.

Not having a place for these guys to get time is going to end up (and possibly is) costing Gregg Berhalter and Anthony Precourt down the road. Plucking out guys like Mohammed Saeid and Steindorsson can get expensive for a team on a budget like Columbus. There are no Justin Meram’s or Ethan Finlay’s on the team right now and certainly no place for the next Tony Tchani to rebuild confidence.

The well is drying up and unless it’s address here soon we may see a Crew SC team burning through a litany of signings and college draft picks that don’t go anywhere because there is no place for them to learn how to adjust after playing in that bastardized version of the sport.

Was the 2nd iteration of the MLS the right thing for the league as a whole? Of course not. Again, the one size fits all approach is not a sound one but for Columbus it turns out that there was some real work being done there and meaningful experience being gained.

WHAT TO DO

The current situation Crew SC find themselves in with Austin is not working and, in all likelihood, will not work going forward. Cost, distance, the aspirations of Austin's ownership all add up to a dead end.

The situation in Columbus isn't quite right to do anything radical as well. Precourt bought into a team that didn't have an existing NPSL or PDL side (like DC and NY have, for example). Nor did the team have particularly strong relationships with the Michigan Bucks (affiliation by name only) or others in the region like Detroit City or even Cleveland Internationals and Derby City Rovers.

It's clear that Columbus is also in revenue growth mode and not particularly focused development of competitive side of things. Setting up teams in the PDL or NPSL costs money. Setting up a "II" in the USL costs even more money.

As previously mentioned, having to rely on the draft or buying mid-range guys (foreign and domestic) is not a financially sustainable practice in a team-on-a-budget city like Columbus. The competitive avenue that Crew SC is going to have to take is developing strong relationships with teams in the region in the near-term and working towards fielding teams in the PDL and NPSL longer term.

This might not solve the challenges in getting down roster guys time but it does setup some semblance of a developmental pipeline for players 18-23 years old.

Honestly, I'm not sure now to get the back end of the roster time right now outside of scheduling the odd Indy 11 match or college scrimmage. My dream scenario is that we link the pyramid so the Crew can trim the roster down a few guys and then track the others in regionally structured lower divisions while they get time to develop. I've been told that's crazy talk though, and that having a completely broken system is better. Regardless, Columbus is going to have to figure out how do deepen the roster without breaking the bank. It's an issue that needs solved soon, overwise the team will always be spending and always tripping up with the schedule gets jammed during the summer. Or, in other words, stuck mid-table purgatory.

2015 Crew SC Roster, Budget Snapshot

Happy New Year everyone. The gears of the 2015 Crew SC (CCSC) season have no doubt started so here is a quick summary of where the team stands at this very moment.

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HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY
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1. New CBA being negotiated now. The push back from the MLS Players Union is minimal and no work stoppage is expected.

2. Roster sizes are expected to shrink from 30 to 25 players. CCSC currently at 24

3. Cap / Budget limit is expected to land between 3,875,000 (+25% over 2014) and 4,650,000 (+50%). New player salaries are not known but one can reasonably estimate salaries based on available information and league tendencies. CCSC are still under 2014 league budget of $3,100,000 (my estimate: 3,078,000).

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ROSTER
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2015 Estimated Player Salary -- Name, Age, Birthplace

750k -- Federico Higuain 30 Argentina
380k -- Emanuel Pogatetz 31 Austria
300k -- Michael Parkhurst 30 USA
250k -- Kei Kamara 30 Sierra Leone
180k -- Tony Tchani 25 Cameroon
175k -- Steve Clark 28 USA
160k -- Waylon Francis 24 Costa Rica
160k -- Wil Trapp 21 USA
150k -- Ethan Finlay 24 USA
150k -- Kristinn Steindorsson 24 Iceland
125k -- Ben Swanson 17 USA
100k -- Justin Meram 26 USA
100k -- Mohammed Saeid 24 Sweden
90k -- Tyson Wahl 30 USA
80k -- Hector Jimenez 26 USA
70k -- Ben Speas 23 USA
52k -- Aaron Schoenfeld 24 USA
52k -- Romain Gall 19 France
52k -- Kevan George 24 Tobago
52k -- Chad Barson 23 USA
52k -- Matt Lampson 25 USA
52k -- Brad Stuver 23 USA
52k -- Ben Sweat 23 USA
48k -- Adam Bedell 23 USA

• Median age: 24
• Median Wage: 100k

Further Comments:
Working on surprisingly few unknowns considering the league and players are negotiating a new agreement but there are a few "ifs" here and there.

IF - rosters shrink to 25 then CCSC are fairly set going into the new year. I would expect a few players to be shuffled around in the next two months, though. On that list would be Ben Speas, Chad Barson and possibly Justin Meram and either Brad Stuver or Matt Lampson.

IF - the salary budget number jumps even just the league's normal 5%, CCSC are in really good shape.

IF - the salary budget increased more than 25% then I might be underestimating Finlay and Meram's pay jump.

As things stand right now I don't expect there to be any surprises to the starting lineup. I do think Kristinn Steindorsson was brought on to be CCSC's Left Midfielder if he gets acclimated to the league. I believe Mohammad Saeid was brought on to help bolster the midfield but could become the man to come in for Higuain, bumping Speas down the CM bench or moving him to depth on the wings.

Closing Thoughts:
With the roster above CCSC will enter 2015 in good shape. I wouldn't expect them to finish any lower than 5th in the East or 10th overall in the league. That said, I do not think they are anywhere close to the Supporters' Shield or winning the MLS Cup.

Weaknesses include the lack of a real right wing back and more depth up top in a scoring role - A weakness that was hidden due to spectacular years by Ethan Finlay and Justin Meram. I also think the team is weak at center back. I would expect both starters to miss time to general wear and tear this year and there isn't much behind them so far (or really anything with no Josh Williams or Eric Gehrig). Tyson Wahl is the only option right now *when* one (or both) go down.

The offseason holds a lot of surprises, to be sure. We'll see how things go - but for now, not a bad starting point.

Lack of Depth, Quality, Preparation Sink Crew in NY

Standings said these teams were even though the same number of games but by the time it was over the gap couldn't have been greater.

With the loss the Crew drop to 15th on the overall MLS table and 7th in the East (on PPG). Even with 4 goals put past Steve Clark, the team is still 6th best in Goals against while slipping to 16th in Goals For.

Looking at near results things get pretty dire for the team. Over the last 10 matches the Crew are only averaging 1.00 GF while conseding 1.40 GA (-0.40 GD) and only earning 0.80 PPG (or last on the overall true table).

The Crew are notably missing 4 of 11 regular starters for a multitude of reasons, here is a list:

Hector Jimenez, Knee Injury (out 6-8 weeks)

Josh Williams, Groin (indefinite)

Giancarlo Gonzalez, World Cup (returning soon)

Waylon Francis, World Cup (returning soon)

In the early moments of the match Jairo Arrieta pulled up with a hamstring problem that will probably sideline him for a number of weeks. The Crew will also be missing Bernardo Anor for a couple matches due to card accumulation and a straight red received late last match.

With a short handed roster Gregg Berhalter thrust Adam Bedell into the line up where he was able to score. He held his own in a lone forward role most of the match. Ethan Finlay had another standout first half assisting on Bedell's goal. Late in the 2nd half we also saw Aaron Schoenfeld enter the match for the first time this year. Schoenfeld is on pace to break the USL Pro scoring record but looked a bit out of place here (no fault of his own).

The Crew tried to match NY by pressing high up the pitch and working quick counters but they ended up getting burnt pretty badly due to superior talent on the other side of the ball - therefore the approach to the match, especially considering the patchwork lineup, should be called into question.

Another questionable and potentially risky decision was for Berhalter to pull team captain and regular USMNT player Michael Parkhurst out midway though the second half. Parkhurst was clearly frustrated as he flipped his armband towards Wil Trapp (missing him and hitting the ground) as he drifted off to the bench, nearly ignoring the head coach before thinking better of it.

Theirry Henry's three assists and a goal were not the only difference in this one. The Crew have fires all over the roster that need put out or this season will be one to forget.

Crew take on a full strength Sporting KC this Wednesday.

US Open Cup Loss Highlights Roster Management Challenge for Crew

The Columbus Crew dropped out of the 101st Lamar Hunt US Open Cup last night by way of 4-2 aet loss in Chicago to the Fire. Outside the result, this match might be remembered for a couple things - one being tied to the other.

1) The Crew only had 15 players available (one was a pool 'keeper)
2) Berhalter implemented a new formation system just hours before the game started

“Today in the pregame, we basically unrolled a new system and explained it to the guys and said, ‘This is how we want to play, and go out and do it,’  ” Berhalter said. “That’s not easy to do." (Columbus Dispatch, June 26, 2014)

Not often that we see a professional team just flat out not able to field a full 18. I've seen it a couple times by choice in the US Open Cup (LA Galaxy comes to mind) as well as in Reserve matches but can't think of a time where a team had to do it out of necessity and only able to pull together 14 players.

Here is a quick rundown of the roster, as I have it:

NAME - STATUS
Jairo Arrieta - Okay
Hector Jimenez - Okay
Tony Tchani - Okay
Bernardo Anor - Okay
Steve Clark - Okay
Chad Barson - Okay
Justin Meram - Okay
Tyson Wahl - Okay
Ben Speas - Okay
Eric Gehrig - Okay
Ben Sweat - Okay
Kevan George - Okay

Wil Trapp - Okay, recovering
Michael Parkhurst - Okay, recovering

Josh Williams - Okay - Healthy scratch(?)
Giancarlo Gonzalez - Out, World Cup
Waylon Francis - Out, World Cup
Aaron Schoenfeld - Out, Loan with Dayton, Cup Tied
Ross Friedman - Out, Loan with Dayton, Cup Tied
Matt Walker - Out, Loan with Dayton, Cup Tied
Alvaro Rey - Out, International transfer window not open yet
Adam Bedell - Out, Red Card Suspension
Daniel Paladini - Out, Red Card Suspension

Ethan Finlay - Out, Appendicitis
Fifi Baiden - Out, Injury
Agustin Viana - Out, Injury
Matt Lampson - Out, Injury
Brad Stuver - Out, Injury
Federico Higuaín - Out, Injury
Matt Wiet - Out, Still on IR

After a strong start to the season and a couple months of stability at the player level, all the sudden the Crew have players in numerous stages of availability. Plenty of excuses out there, World Cup being the big one, but not being able to field enough players when 30 is allowed is worrisome for the team.

While the team was more than competitive with Chicago in the match the Crew will not be able to hold on to there table position with a roster in pieces like it currently is. Not only will results suffer but practices will as well with half the team not available.

MLS regular season starts back up this weekend as FC Dallas are in town. Crew will have to be at there best to navigate the next few weeks or they will risk falling off pace to make the MLS Cup play-offs.

Crew Roster + Budget Snapshot

The Columbus Crew have had a busy roster move week so it's worthwhile to take a quick look at where things stand with the team.

RECENT PLAYER TRANSACTIONS

IN: Waylon Francis
IN: Matt Wiet
IN: Brad Stuver

RE-SIGNED: Josh Williams

OUT: Glauber
OUT: Matias Sanchez
OUT: Jairo Arrieta*
OUT: Eddie Gaven
OUT: Danny O'Rourke*
OUT: Dominic Oduro*
OUT: Andy Gruenebaum*
OUT: Aaron Horton
OUT: Konrad Warzycha
OUT: Kyle Hyland
OUT: Drew Beckie

*Players believed to be in contract restructuring negotiations. Players agreeing to reduced deals with existing team is a moderately rare event in MLS.

CURRENT ROSTER BREAKDOWN

Budget Hit : Name, Pos 2013 Base Salary
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YES: Federico Higuaín, M 440k
YES: Chad Marshall, D 330k
YES: Tony Tchani, M 130k
YES: Agustin Viana, D 105k
YES: Wil Trapp, M 100k
YES: Waylon Francis, D 100k*
YES: Josh Williams, D 88k*
YES: Tyson Wahl, D 76k
YES: Ben Speas, M 62k
YES: Justin Meram, M 56k
YES: Ryan Finley, F 47k
YES: Ethan Finlay, M 47k
NO: Matt Wiet, D 46k*
NO: Aaron Schoenfeld, F 47k
NO: Bernardo Anor, M 47k
NO: Chad Barson, D 47k
NO: Eric Gehrig, D 47k
NO: Kevan George, M 47k
NO: Matt Lampson, GK 47k
NO: Brad Stuver, GK 47k*
NO: Daniel Withrow, GK 47k
NO: Shawn Sloan, M 47k

*Estimating new or re-signed player salaries.

Budget hit is what counts towards the league mandated "salary cap".

Only players 1-20 on each roster count towards the cap (1st team players). Teams fill those slots with players making about $80k and up with projected starters making >$100k.

Isolating the player that count to the MLS Budget along with projected 2014 wages (YOY wages, on average, increase between 10-15%):

$369k Federico Higuaín (DP)
$363k Chad Marshall
$143k Tony Tchani
$115k Agustin Viana
$110k Wil Trapp
$110k Waylon Francis
$88k Josh Williams
$83k Tyson Wahl
$68k Ben Speas
$61k Justin Meram
$52k Ethan Finlay
$51k Ryan Finley
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$1.62 million

The players above are who Gregg Berhalter and company are planning to have locked in the 18 each game day. Since there are only 12 players here that leaves about 8 more open spots for "MLS level" players (>$80k).

This fits perfectly with the roster already at 22 players.

EIGHT SLOTS TO FILL

So who and what type of player will be filling the final 8 to budget spots?

SLOTS 1,2 maybe 3: Forwards. Crew only have Schoenfeld and Finley right now (Meram should be there, but will not). They will likely be spending big here. Oduro, Arrieta are still out there, yes. Wouldn't be surprised to see new faces though.

SLOT 4: Easy one: the 4th overall draft pick in the upcoming SuperDraft (he will likely be in the 60-90k pay range).

SLOT 5,6: Midfielders. The Crew are already crawling with mids but lack solid starters. Wil Trapp and Higuain are the only two that are locks. Anor? Maybe. Personally would like to see Speas get full games. I believe Berhalter will be looking for another CDM to push Trapp (or start over him) as well. Either way, MF weakest area in '13, needs improved. They will be shopping here.

SLOT 7,8: Defenders. With Marshall the only player to be locked into the starting back line the team will be on the hunt for defenders. Heath Pearce or Brad Rusin were just released and could be options. I would expect him to be a target to play next to Marshall. On the wings I think it will be Williams on the right and Francis (or Viana) on the left.

MY BUDGET PLAY SHEET

I have a few MLS budget sheets that I mess around with, even one's for other teams. This might be blasphemy in the world of sports blogging (particularly MLS where very few step out of their own team's bubble). Never the less, I do it. Reason being: a general understanding of a team's cap position is the single most important thing in MLS. Team budgets are ever present and is behind everything.

It's not perfect but I think it gets me close enough.

Questions, comments? Feel free to email me at ljbaby654(at)gmail.com

MLS All Star Roster, No Crew (again)

The 2013 Major League Soccer All Star Gameday roster was announced today and it did not include any Columbus Crew players. The Crew are the only MLS team in the past three years not to have an All-Star selection.

From what I gather, today's announcement is the 'gameday' roster and that there will be more selected later on this month. I looked around a bit on the MLSsoccer.com and couldn't find where or when the next group of 'snubs' (expect the articles, zzzz) will be chosen. Were I to have the energy, I would track down excactly when and how MLS selects the rest, but... really MLS?

The actual All Star game that pits MLS's best against a preseason Roma is scheduled for the last day in July.

There are a lot of reasons to bang on the all star game but one thing it does is call attention to some of the better young players in the league. Looking up and down the selections since 2010 I see a load of guys that have gotten calls from better leagues.

Hoping Crew players like Josh Williams and Federico Higuain get a look when the league fills out the rest of the roster.

Empty Stables, Open Paddock

The Crew have a small roster. In fact it's the smallest roster in the league as of this post. This should bother you if you are a fan of the Columbus Crew because - teams with few returning players or those clubs with Major League Soccer experience - do rather poorly.

If reports about a few players are true then the Crew are just barely hanging on to a league low of 21 players signed. Emilio Renteria and Sebastian Miranda have recently been confirmed as not coming back and Danny O'Rourke and Tony Tchani were very close to not making it back.

Could it be that the difference between a disastrous/embarrassing 2013 campaign and a mid-table team rests on re-signing O'Rourke and Tchani? Right now, the answer is 'yes'.

Below is the club's current signed roster with estimated salaries. I will group them based on how they will be played in 2013. An asterisk* will be put next to players of whom I am estimating.

STARTERS
324,000 : Federico Higuain
310,000 : Chad Marshall
225,375 : Jairo Arrieta
223,333 : Milovan Mirosevic
190,000 : Eddie Gaven
100,000 : Danny O'Rourke*
78,667 : Andy Gruenebaum
70,560 : Josh Williams*

GAMEDAY 18 AND/OR IN RESERVE
100,000 : Tony Tchani*
75,000 : Tyson Wahl*
70,575 : Justin Meram
70,500 : Aaron Horton
60,000 : William Trapp*
59,000 : Ethan Finlay
58,000 : Ben Speas
47,187 : Bernardo Anor
47,080 : Eric Gehrig
47,080 : Matt Lampson
44,000 : Aaron Schoenfeld
44,000 : Kevan George

TRANSFER LISTED
110,000 : Dilaver Duka

This puts the club at $2.3 MIL towards the 2.95 MIL cap (Schoenfeld, George not counting towards cap). I expect the difference betwixt current salaries and cap will be used on starters.

YOUR 2013 CREW STARTING LINEUP
GK : Andy Gruenebaum

RB : Josh Williams
CB : Chad Marshall
CB : OPEN
LB : OPEN

MF : Danny O'Rourke
MF : OPEN
MF : Eddie Gaven
MF : Milovan Mirosevic

CAM : Federico Higuain
ST : Jairo Arrieta

With preseason just around the corner it's hard to say the Crew are in good shape. I don't feel it should be this hard to argue that success is in the cards. Too much change. No player development. Too little consistency. Questionable direction.

- 1.64 Million Columbus Crew Moves

The Columbus Crew moved $1.64 million off their books last year by declining, waiving, dropping, offering minimums, having stolen or just, well... misplacing. None of these players were sold, so nothing in return. Dollars-wise anyway. The team did get a lot of space to replace average talent... with average talent. Save for a few, you be the judge.

Below are the guys moved in 2011 and what they are up to now.

Dejan Rusmir
What Happened: Declined Option
Last Crew Salary: $170,496
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $110,900
Status: Started playing for OLYMPIAKOS NICOSIA FC in Cyprus last week. What I think: Good to have the experience and he is a good player, but too much.
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Kevin Burns
What Happened: Declined Option
Last Crew Salary: $42,000
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $129,000
Status: Sent email to the Danish club he tried out for (Hjorring), surprisingly got a nice response. They liked him but small club, not enough money. His agency says he may be headed to Germany to trial there. What I think: Maybe I'll send another email... but this time to the Crew. Bring him back. $42k breaking the bank fellas?
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Josh Gardner
What Happened: Stolen
Last Crew Salary: $49,200
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $184,300
Status: With Montreal Impact, likely starter for them. What I think: Impact got a great pro and better player.
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Andres Mendoza
What Happened: Dropped
Last Crew Salary: $595,000
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $227,700
With Atlante FC, Mexico. 2 goals in less then 300 mins so far this season for them (3 games in). What I think: Only caught fire for a month (2/3rds through season, 13 goals is misleading. 5 were penalty kicks. Never fit in and didn't / never would've worked well with Renteria.
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Andy Iro
What Happened: Traded
Last Crew Salary: $87,346
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $39,000
No team at the moment. Nottingham Forest put the PR feelers out, they deemed him "lovable but clumsy". Crew could use him now. Haven't heard anything else. What I think: Sign him back at $50k. Crew needs depth in back.
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Santiago Prim
What Happened: Dropped (I think)
Last Crew Salary: $32,600
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $0
Playing for RAMPLA JUNIORS FC in the Uruguayan Primera División. What I think: Seemed like an odd signing at the time. Did he get homesick?
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Leandre Griffit
What Happened: Traded
Last Crew Salary: $55,000
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $32,500 (min)
Traded to Toronto mid 2011, they dropped him same time as Iro... Nowhere now. What I think: Crew reached to get Tchani and it involved Griffit. Lots of red flags around Tchani right now but jury is still out. As it stands, Iro and Griffit should still be in the black and yella.
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Robbie Rogers
What Happened: Minimum Offer, Declined
Last Crew Salary: $140,000
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $229,100
With Leeds. May be playing on January 31st against Birmingham at home. What I think: His buddies got shipped out of town. He left. Good talent leaving. End of story.
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Emmanuel Ekpo
What Happened: Minimum Offer, Declined (lost?)
Last Crew Salary: $222,250
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $239,600
Status: Was lost there for a bit. Some say he has turned up in Eastern Europe. His Nigerian National Team was banned from this years African Cup so I know he isn't there. We'll see. What I think: Expensive, but he held it down all of 2011. I think the Tchani signing really bothered him (on different levels).
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Jeff Cunningham
What Happened: Option Declined
Last Crew Salary: $152,500
*Helltown 2011 Season Value: $80,200
Status: Signed with Guatemalan side, Comunicaciones. What I think: Way too much spin out of Obetz (and ONN) on this guy. The team needed a goal scorer and it was turned in to a feel good story about returning "home". I also didn't believe the stories about his changed character. I'm sure he was nicer than the first go around, but too much noise about dissent on decisions last year.
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Alex Riggs, Ben Sippola and Andy Adlard have not popped up yet. I thought Sippola had some talent. Sure he's out there somewhere.

*Helltown 2011 Season Value: Is based of player performance during league play last year using my own rating system, then assigning a dollar amount to each point earned in that system based off the MLS salary aggregate (players that saw minutes in league play only).

Hans Backe, Respected. MLS All-Star Team

Major League Soccer should feel pretty lucky to have Hans Backe. I respect him a great deal. A big thanks to Notts County for being disorganized whilst he was there a couple years ago. Had it not been for you bouncing checks we'd never have Mr. Backe here in the USofA.

Mr. Backe has a great deal of freedom in choosing his squad that will take on Manchester United here in about a week. I think he did a pretty good job considering that teams are entering into a busy part of the year. Championship League games and EPL friendlies on top of league games. Tricky stuff. Since the MLS is a centrally controlled animal I'm going to say his list is good (even if Swedes have a hard time differentiating a defensive mid from a straight defender. ahhh ziiiinnnng).

The first group of players here are Mr. Backe's. On the left is my rank at that particular position.

Goalkeeper:
04: Faryd Mondragón (Philadelphia Union)
06: Tally Hall (Houston Dynamo)

Defenders:
08: Sean Franklin (LA Galaxy)
14: Geoff Cameron (Houston Dynamo)
18: Heath Pearce (Chivas USA)
21: Jámison Olave (Real Salt Lake)
29: Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City)
39: Tim Ream (New York Red Bulls)
35: Corey Ashe (Houston Dynamo)
45: Bobby Convey (San Jose Earthquakes)

Midfielders:
05: Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake)
08: Nick LaBrocca (Chivas USA)
12: Jack Jewsbury (Portland Timbers)
14: Brad Davis (Houston Dynamo)
15: David Beckham (LA Galaxy)
31: Shalrie Joseph (New England Revolution)

Forwards:
01: Thierry Henry (New York Red Bulls)
07: Landon Donovan (LA Galaxy)
09: Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes)
53: Juan Agudelo (New York Red Bulls)
43: Omar Bravo (Sporting Kansas City)
87: Omar Cummings (Colorado Rapids)

Inactive All-Stars (Note that another six inactive All-Stars will be chosen via player voting): Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders FC), Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy), Rafa Márquez (New York Red Bulls), Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
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Okay. Now here is my list. Note the ++. That means they are not available. I went with a traditional 4-4-2.

Helltown Beer All-Star Starting XI
++Note++ Eliminating Sounders, FC Dallas, Rapids, Galaxy players can't play due to Champions League games.

Goalkeeper:
++: Kasey Keller (Seattle Sounders)
++: Kevin Hartman (FC Dallas)
03: Nick Rimando

Defenders:
++: Todd Dunivant (LA Galaxy)
02: Sheanon Williams (Union)
++: George John (FC Dallas)
++: Ugo Ihemelu (FC Dallas)
05: Roy Miller (New York)
06: Carlos Valdes (Union)
07: Danny Califf (Union)

Midfielders:
++: Brek Shea (FC Dallas)
02: Joel Lindpere (New York)
03: Kyle Beckerman (RSL)
++: Osvaldo Alonso (Seattle)
++: Marvin Chavez (FC Dallas)
++: Juninho (LA Galaxy)
++: Daniel Hernandez (FC Dallas)
08: Nick LaBrocca (Goats)
09: Ned Grabavoy (RSL)

Forwards:
01: Sebastien Le Toux (Union)
02: Thierry Henry (New York)

One added note is that Eddie Gaven, Chad Marshall and William Hesmer missed the cut by one spot. ONE. Hoping at least one of them gets the call to replace the players who can't make it to the game. I know they have the Newcastle game the day before (MLS. Not on TV and not even listed in the homepage top page crawl) but they have earned it.