Najar leaving D.C. United, Ronaldo faces $1B lawsuit, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
Hello, hello! I have returned from a long Thanksgiving trip to Ohio to visit family and have plenty of news to share and chat about today.
Andy Najar won’t return to D.C. United as Ally Mackay begins to reshape roster (Washington Post)
Goff confirms what Najar’s Instagram story hinted at yesterday. Brendan Hines-Ike will also be leaving the team, while several other players’ futures are still being considered by the club.
Cristiano Ronaldo faces $1B class-action suit over Binance NFTs (ESPN)
NFTs and crypto partnerships continue to bite sports in the butt. I’m not sure a class action lawsuit against a spokesperson really has legs, though.
How the U.S. has helped shape modern soccer: From laws of the game to kit innovations (The Athletic)
On the heels of this week’s talk of sin bins, The Athletic’s Pablo Maurer has a deep dive on how American soccer leagues pioneered several changes that have become a common part of today’s game, including the use of substitutions, player names on jerseys, and the back-pass rule.
Vancouver Whitecaps coach Sartini gets five-game suspension for referee outburst (Pro Soccer Wire)
More discipline from MLS for violations against referees. Sartini was show a red card during his team’s final playoff match against Los Angeles FC and made a comment alluding to violence against the referee afterward. With the additional five-game suspension on top of the red, he will miss the first six of next season.
The planned start date of the USL Super League has really snuck up on me. The ownership of the Washington, DC, team, which will be based at Segra Field, is planning a series of listening sessions beginning this weekend to get fan input on crest, colors, and more.
Finally, there’s a lot of soccer going on this weekend, so here’s a little round-up of previews:
Lucho or Cucho? Can Houston stop LAFC? Conference Final Mailbag (MLS)
2023 USWNT Friendly: Scouting China (SSFC)
NCAA women’s soccer: How to watch College Cup (Pro Soccer Wire)
Have a good weekend!
In addition to Najar and Hines-Ike, it also seems like Asad will not be returning. Goff mentioned in his article that Asad was in discussions yesterday, and during the day yesterday his Twitter bio changed to remove his mention of DC United, which seems pretty telling to me. I really thought they’d hang on to him, if nothing more than for some cheap depth
Frankly didn’t see the point of Asad by the end of the season. Even his ability to keep possession and have a consistent touch seemed to have left him.
It would be weird if they let Asad go, but understandable if he’s asking for too much of a salary bump. A solid off-season of him coming Klichs gym routine and leaning into becoming a CM could help make him a useful depth piece but I doubt he’d be good enough as a potential starter.
Maybe Garay will finally get a chance? I doubt it though. He wasn’t even a locked in starter for Loudon this year so I think he might not make it to MLS.
Najar is gone. Hines-Ike is gone. Derrick Williams isn’t officially gone, but is in all likelihood gone. Mackay made some lukewarm comments about possibly keeping Pines, so that doesn’t seem like a sure thing. Our center backs are now Birnbaum, Akinmboni, and Hayden Sargis. Our right backs are now Ruan (assuming his option is picked up), and Jacob Greene. It seems like Mackay is pretty happy to start remaking the team right away, at least the backline. I would hope the new coach has some input on the new defenders they bring in.
Andy Najar made $450,000 last year.
Brendan Hines-Ike made $425,000 last year.
Derrick Williams made $800,000 last year.
With the guaranteed compensation factored in, that’s about $1.7 million that can go into restructuring the backline, before even getting to Pines. It seems like a bunch, but that price tag also got us Najar, Hines-Ike, and Williams. Can Mackay do a better job of finding more talent on cheaper price tags that are willing to come to DC? Hope so!
Fortunately Mackay was involved with the assembly of one of MLS’s best defenses, albeit with a DP back there… wonder if that’s a route he’s considering.
Miles Robinson is a free agent and has been said to be seeking a Zimmerman-style contract…
He’s surely headed for Europe, though in January
Andy Najar leaves having played 152 league games for DC United, tied with Chris Pontius for 13th most all-time. He needed just 17 more to tie Richie Williams and enter the Top 10. He had 11 goals, tied for 31st on the all-time DC United scoring chart with Charlie Davies, Fred, and Freddy Adu. Some of those were some absolute bangers, especially against Philadelphia. He had 16 assists, which is tied for 17th most along with Chris Pontius, Paul Arriola, Bobby Convey, Nick DeLeon, and Bryan Namoff.
I was a bit disappointed with Najars lack of end product during his second spell with DC. He has undeniable talent and provides skills that nobody else in the league can match, but they never seemed to translate to goals or assists. Of course, a lot of that is down to lack of game time and constantly shifting tactics.
I’ll miss him but letting him go is probably the right call. Because he does what nobody else on the roster did, the team either had to change how they played for him (not great when he can’t play a full season) or try to plug him into a more traditional role. Rooney couldn’t seem to figure out how to best unleash him and he looked disinterested at times this season.
Yeah, I was expecting more in terms of goals and assists from Najar. Ruan had six assists just last year from right back, which is more than Najar had in his three season return combined. Najar was often the guy making the run or pass before the pass, though. For instance, on Teddy KDP’s memorable game winner against Toronto, Najar took a layoff from Klich, charged into the middle of the field, and then sent the pass to Kristian Fletcher, who moved it to Mohanad Jeahze, who centered it to Ku-DiPietro.
With Canouse’s option picked up, he actually has a chance to make it into the top 10 of games played. 32 games would tie him with Williams. That seems like a big ask for Russell, but if he’s healthy and playing 32 games, I think it would bode well for United’s prospects.
He’s solid. A good company man. We are wise to retain him.
Sorry to see Hines-Ike go. I thought he was always a “gamer”–smart, savvy, good decisions on tactical fouls. But his body has started breaking down it seems. And he’s not much of a physical presence as a CB.
He definitely had the best name of anyone to ever wear the Black and Red.
I’m a fan of Zoltan Stieber personally.
ZOLTAN! ZOLTAN!
I would hate to see Donovan Pines leave. But here’s someone who is out of contract and I’d love to see in the center of our defense: Miles Robinson!
Robinson would be an instant improvement, but my preference would still be to get a proven veteran organizer (ala Ryan Nelsen) to pair with Pines. Birnbaum just isn’t a good enough organizer to make the players around him better. I like the guy, but we need a vocal back line leader and he’s not it.
Actually, Ryan was young (but I get the reference to veteran), fresh out of Stanford for us, then off to EPL. (If my memory serves me).
Oh right! He just always seems like the kind of guy who never aged to me. Wild that he was so composed at a young age.
Yeah, he seemed ageless. He was remarkable. His leadership was extraordinary. Not only did he thrive at Blackburn (then in EPL), he captained the New Zealand squad to an undefeated World Cup appearance (3 ties). One of our all-time greats.
I said this above, but Robinson is surely going to Europe in January. He’s not the youngest CB prospect now, but in form, Robinson is error averse and competent at a level even some smaller Champions League hopefuls would take. For example, PSV had been noted to be interested, and I’m just gonna throw in AC Milan who, due to injuries and roster construction, only have Tomori left at CB.
That we’re making changes at the back isn’t surprising, but I thought one of those 4 names would be more likely to stay than not. It seems like we’ll essentially be starting over at the back once again.
Roster decisions are out!
Russell Canouse, Ruan, and Ted Ku-DiPietro had their options picked up (all make sense).
Yamil Asad, Eric Davis, José Fajardo, Jacob Greene, Brendan Hines-Ike, Erik Hurtado, Andy Najar, Nigel Robertha, Gaoussou Samaké all had their options declined. Some of those are pretty surprising, especially Jacob Greene. I also thought Eric Davis would be back, but they are really clearing out that defense.
Donovan Pines and Derrick Williams are out of contract.
The team says they’re in discussions with some of those who are out of contract or had their options declined. There’s just 19 players on the roster at the moment, so lots of spaces to fill.
I, too, am a bit surprised to see Davis gone, but maybe this is the new GM already clearing the slate for a specific style of play he doesn’t see these players fitting
He definitely seems to want to remake the squad the way he (and his coach?) wants. Which is fine by me. United was improved last year, but certainly not in any danger of being one of MLS’s elites. Nobody that the team let go would really help them get there. Pines maybe, and he might return. Greene is a surprise, but folks like Najar and Davis (and maybe Robertha or Fajardo) would be decent complementary pieces on a contender.
United is going to look like Mackay’s team quite a bit in 2024, and then even moreso in 2025. We’ll see what that looks like.
Any of the above could still be resigned with a new contract, if desired. No opinion one way or the other.
Goff is reporting that the intentions are to bring back Gabriel Pirani next year, which would bring the roster up to 20.
Maybe since they were stuck with Santos they didn’t want to commit to three LB’s at the moment? That could explain Davis not being picked up, although I wish he had been.
Greene just wasn’t there yet physically this year. He looked like a kid playing with men. Needs at least one more year at a lower level.
Asad makes sense somewhat to drop. He’s cheap, flexible depth but not every coach will like him.
I don’t think Santos can go for more than half the season. Jeahze getting healthy would give us a more adequate option.
Santos is going to be rough unless his service significantly improves over what he was giving us last year. He’s too slow to be starting at LB. If anything we should move him up to LM/LW and only if his service has significantly improved. I think we got our hands on him off Cbus because Cbus knew he’d hit his age wall and would start the rapid decline phase.
Did Jeahze’s legal problems in Sweden ever get resolved?
Yeah, last I recall the charges were dropped or whatever the equivalent is.
Yes. No deal, simply the investigating authorities said he was cleared and no evidence to justify further investigation, let alone charges.
Ho hum. Kristian Fletcher scored. Again.
I would suggest the rest of MLS start making their signings from the Championship U-21 level.
UPDATED:
Ho hum. Kristian Fletcher scored A HAT TRICK. AGAIN.
Six goals in two games, which would have made him the second leading scorer for the season on DC United last year.
U-21 Championship is a different animal than MLS, but it does prove that Fletcher has a nose for goal and is capable of scoring in droves.
Swansea fans are livid he’s not on the first team but he’s still under contract with DC so….
McKay making some tough, but probably necessary roster decisions. The ones that stood out to me were Pines, Greene, Davis, and Hines-Ike. McKay doesn’t seem to be messing around with this roster rebuild, and so far I’m here for it. Hopefully he is setting the stage for a coach to come in where they can collaborate on incoming players.
Meanwhile, definitely curious myself if there will be any movement on the shirt sponsor. I haven’t heard any stories about XDC, but it’s been a bad and possibly lethal period for the concept of crypto in general. And yeah, I’d like to stop looking at that, lord knows it hasn’t been a lucky charm.
Hopefully,DC got its money up front in cash.
Nope, it was in crypto…..
(Joking, but that wouldn’t surprise me….)
My wife and I would get another pair of cherry blossom jerseys if they change the sponsor
In Tom Bogert’s write up at the Athletic of the roster moves, he notes that Donovan Pines and Derrick Williams are gone. I don’t know if he knows anything we don’t, or is just using shorthand for “out of contract” while twenty other MLS teams drop their roster decisions at the same time.
Okay, it looks like the full list of players definitely not returning is out. The following players had contract options declined: Asad, Davis, Fajardo, Greene, Hines-Ike, Hurtado, Najar, Roberthe, and Soumake’. Extensions/options extended to: Canouse, Ku-DiPietro, and Ruan. Pines and Williams are free agents.
Frankly, I’m surprised we didn’t offer an extension to Davis–I liked what i saw of him last year. And frankly, I’d choose Najar over Ruan (who I feel is faster but a weaker defender). Also, Williams is still listed on the roster but Pines is not. Clerical error or a statement about who we’re making a qualifying offer to and who we aren’t?
The rosters are always messy this time of year (but really all the time). Their social media post made it seem like no one who’s out of contract or declined is returning.
I’m 100% sure this is just to get press. As suing a random executive won’t get squat coverage as they’re all facing 100s of lawsuits already.
DC might have dodged a bullet here. Also WTF.
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2023/dec/01/footballer-ravel-morrison-fined-1000-for-using-dead-persons-blue-badge
Ravel Morrison clearly just not an upstanding dude
THAT was absolutely reprehensible. Using a dead person’s handicap parking permit?
He’s been accused of worse in the past, but yeah, really selfish and antisocial behavior for a current professional athlete to be so selfish as to deprive the handicapped of parking to basically be lazy about parking
Dodged it? He sure took a lot of our money.
I am not enough of a legal expert to predict how the lawsuit against Ronaldo will play out. However, he deserves every bit of bad fortune coming his way from taking money from such an obvious scam and fraud.
Now, the software industry is trying again by blathering on about “AI.” The chat programs aren’t artificial intelligence. They are data and text relationship program. They can “learn” by associating large sets of text with another set of text. They are sort of beefed up search engines.
Don’t invest in any of that either, although it is an actual program with actual uses to look up information. NFT’s were just a fraud and scam from the beginning. They collapsed because there was never any market to being with. It was just snake oil.
Soccer comments and investment advice in the same post. Wow. Actually, I think the AI we’re seeing right now is closer to “autocorrect” than a search engine.
DC United has parted ways with Sean Howe, their Director of Scouting. I don’t know if he was outright fired or if his contract was up and just not renewed. A lot of people had nice things to say about Sean Howe, although I’m not sure how much of that was performance-related, and how much of it was that he was nice to them and showed up on their podcasts.
I don’t really have anything against Sean Howe, but I’m not said to see him go. Ally Mackay is clearly clearing things out and getting ready to put his own stamp on the organization. I don’t think anyone ever really saw scouting as a true strength of ours, so I’m fine with that. It just makes me think two things.
1) The team and organization is Mackay’s now. That’s fine, but now it’s up to him and deliver, and fill those roles with quality people.
2) Howe gets fired? He was functioning as the co-GM with Kasper (and basically Wayne), but somehow Kasper gets to stay on as an advisor and those other two are gone? It’s with impressed awe that I say that Kasper’s ability to survive is second to none, and also is why I can’t feel fully comfortable with the “they’re shunting him aside and letting him serve out his contract” rationale. The man. Finds. A. Way. Get rid of him! In no uncertain terms!
Stewart Mairs is out too. Same analysis applies, except that I think I was mixing up Howe and Mairs when it comes to acting-GM abilities.
Kasper is probably just around because a) he’s got guaranteed money and b) for transition purposes. We have a perilously small sporting staff right now, Brilliant might be the next most senior person? Keeping someone around who at least knows what extensions to dial at work can be useful.
It’s fascinating to me that we’ve decided to undertake some pretty drastic changes after years of subpar competitiveness, while Chicago decided to change absolutely nothing, and Minnesota seems to be punting at least the start of next season with an interim coach.
We constantly conjecture on Kasper having dirt on the owners, but maybe it’s as simple as Kasper knows the key codes around the office, and the owners can’t be bothered to get them.
Scouting hasn’t been the same since we had Kurt Morsink.
Columbus will host LAFC in MLS Cup on Saturday at 4 pm (not sure if that’s kickoff or when the game coverage starts). Rather than being shown on the dark web this game is supposed to be on Fox main channel.
Not sure when the next Kicks will appear, so I’ll add this now. NCAA Men’s Final Four starts on Friday. Not many local bits of interest, but a few…
Clemson sophomore starting defender Adam Lundegard, hails from La Plata (or maybe Huntington), and has played for both the DC United Academy and Loudoun United.
Clemson faces WVU. The Mountaineers are coached by Dan Stratford, a DC United draftee, who played a year here, before heading back to native UK. One of his assistants is Nick Noble, a Damascus, MD native — a goalie with a decent career, mostly in USL. WVU has a couple of local players on their roster, sophomores who haven’t seen the pitch much, one from Germantown, and one from Leesburg.
The other semifinal pits Notre Dame against Oregon St. No DMV or DCU connections, except that the Director of Operations for Notre Dame athletics is Chris Rolfe.
Devon McTavish is an alum of West Virginia University, although I don’t know that he has any active connection to the program these days, outside of fandom.