D.C. United offseason heats up, NWSLPA opposes HIP rule, and more: Friday Freedom Kicks
It’s Friday! Christmas week has really snuck up on me, and I anticipate spending much of this weekend with last minute preparations. A good portion of that will be baking cookies, though, so I can’t really complain. The other surprise: we had a big news day yesterday! In December!
#1 overall pick Nikola Markovic leads DC United MLS Superdraft acquisitions (The District Press)
From what I’m reading, D.C. United made some smart picks in yesterday’s Superdraft! Donald summarized all five selections for us. You can check out all of the picks from the draft here.
And it sounds like another acquisition is on the way: Tom Bogert and Steven Goff are reporting an imminent trade with RBNY for Sean Nealis.
Offseason rumors are also flying, with Keisuke Kurokawa rumored to be joining United and Lucia Di Guglielmo linked to the Spirit.
While we’re on the subject of D.C. United, prices have been set for their Baltimore game against Inter Miami, ranging from $73 to $400. Will we see any lower prices for the supporters’ section?
NWSL Players Association opposes new star player rule change proposal (The Athletic $)
Before the NWSL’s proposed rule to allow teams to play certain players outside of the cap could cross the finish line, the league needed to consult with the players’ association. Surprise, surprise, the PA hates it. They disagree with the criteria the league will use to designate “High Impact Players” and say the league are required to bargain for this kind of change. So more litigation is definitely on its way. Trinity Rodman’s contract expires in a week and a half…
New women’s football national team player survey highlights advancements across confederations – but players feel gaps need addressing (FIFPRO)
As the NWSL tries to figure out how to pay their biggest stars, FIFPRO is here with a new study to remind us how much work is still needed to pay women around the world. They report that 67 percent of female players make less than $20,000 a year and nearly one in four need second jobs to support themselves.
Forward Zach Ryan Announces His Retirement from Professional Soccer (Loudoun United)
A second Loudoun United player announces his retirement this offseason. Ryan joined the team in 2023 and became their captain and all-time leading goal scorer with 31 goals and 13 assists.
World Cup countries Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire among additions to Trump travel ban (The Guardian)
The US government continues in their campaign to host the worst World Cup ever. I’m perhaps even more concerned about the fact that several of the countries with new bans and restrictions are the home countries of NWSL players (like Rose Kouassi and Gift Monday), meaning those players are in an increasingly precarious position if they hope to continue playing here.
U.S. Soccer announces World Cup ticket lottery details for USMNT fans (Pro Soccer Wire)
For those still hoping to attend despite it all (I am among you), U.S. Soccer has announced details of a ticket lottery for USMNT matches.
For some Friday fun, a look “Behind the Crest” at the process of moving the USWNT from one city to another:
Finally, your schedule of events for the weekend. I was surprised to find DC Power still has one game left before their winter break.
| Teams | When | Where | Watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC Power FC vs. Carolina Ascent FC | Sat., Dec. 20 at 2 p.m. | Charlotte, NC | Peacock |
Have a good weekend!
As far as bans and Monday and Kouassi are concerned, especially after they got us to the final last season:
Don’t make Spirit fans angry. You won’t like them when they’re angry.
Btw, I fully suspect that seeing Senegal and Ivory Coast as World Cup participants reminded the administration those countries exist, and that they would not have been banned but for that reminder.
The more we find out, the clearer it becomes that this is not 4D chess, but racist Candyland level thinking.
I wonder if this “ban” will affect the USMNT-Senegal friendly prior to the WC? Speaking specifically of the WC, this Administratino is doing a terrific job of making the US a crappy host.
They seem to not be targeting the players or the staff, so the friendly could go forward, though I’d take the opportunity to cancel publicly in protest in order to let the fans travel for the tournament.
Sean Nealis plays where Rowles and Bartlett play. Is this part of Bartlett wanting to discuss his future?
I am glad to finally see some rumors and moves from DCU. Gives me some hope.
Given the number of central defenders that DCU has acquired, this seems to me that we may have close to a full do-over when it comes to our defensive corps.
Based on how the team did last year that could be the thinking for the whole team, a total rebuild. They are also building better depth, too, or so it seems. To finish the defensive build they need a really good goalie.
I’d honestly rather keep Bartlett than Rowles. Thoroughly unimpressed by the latter. We signed him to lead the line, and he doesn’t have the talent to lead by example. Not exceptional in his positioning, not athletic enough to avoid desperation tackles that leave him on yellows far too quickly and make him even more ineffective lest he get a second. For his salary, he’s a waste.
If other teams are interested in Bartlett, they might sell or trade. It would depend on what they get. Sort of like Baribo, offer enough and the team will move on. But I don’t think they have a replacement based on the current moves. I think it was replacing McNaughton.
Kind of like replacing McNey…..sigh….
Well, our defense went from just having Rowles, Bartlett, and Tubbs in the middle to being Rowles, Nealis, Bartlett, Tubbs, and Markovic. That looks better, and has a lot of height to boot.
Having Herrera, Antley, Schnegg, and Kurokawa on the wings isn’t too bad either.
Hard to say that we’re done here. We know that Bartlett wanted to “discuss his future,” and Herrera certainly seemed like he was kind of done with things too. And we’ve been connected to a Dutch fullback, too. I think Nealis is a good addition. He’s an upgrade over Lukas MacNaughton. I’d still love to get a truly great center back, which we might go after if Bartlett leaves, but things are looking better today than they were yesterday.
And that is the problem with being a DC United fan. We always have hope in the off season. Then we start the season. LOL.
We do need to see who we might be selling or trading next. Are we retooling the midfield and forwards during the offseason?
So, going into this week, we were at 22 players. We’ve since added:
Tai Baribo
Gabe Segal (the team has to offer him a bona fide deal, and I’ll assume that he accepts)
Nikola Markovic
Sean Nealis (rumored)
Keisuke Kurokawa (rumored)
Richie Aman (I’m assuming we didn’t trade to pick him to NOT sign him)
That brings us up to 28 players, and we still need to add a goalkeeper and two more DPs. Which takes us to at least 31 players.
It’s quite possible that more players could be on their way out. Bartlett has discussed his future. The team has two buyouts that they can use (Badji? Stroud?). Sogut, the smartest soccer mind ever encountered, could be working out deals to send players like Joon or Enow or Peltola or Schnegg or Herrera elsewhere. And the team has a lot of youth, like Hakim Karamoko, Gavin Turner, Oscar Avilez, Markovic, and Aman, who would be prime candidates to play in an MLS Next Pro team (along with those other players we drafted), assuming that situation gets somewhat worked out.
All of which is to say, 1) the Gabe Segal deal still doesn’t make much sense to me, and 2) lots more personnel moves to happen.
Not all the draft picks will be signed. Markovic is in, Aman maybe, but the rest I think are trialists with an uphill fight on their hands.
I’m only counting Markovic and Aman. Markovic is a Generation Adidas player, which means he’s already signed with the league, so he’s automatically on the roster. Aman needs to earn a contract, but the chances for him are good to get one because the team traded back into the first round to get him. I think the last time they acquired a second first round pick was to draft and subsequently sign Michael DeShields (for our purposes, it’s only important that DeShields made the team. Don’t bring up what sort of impact he had!).
The other three draft picks would be slated for the MLS Next Pro team, if they get any kind of offer at all. I will say that the team’s approach does seem to look like they have something worked out for a development squad, even if it hasn’t been announced.
I would really hope so. They went ahead and set up a women’s team with what, a couple of weeks to go before the season started? They’ve had much longer to figure out a reserve team.
Of all the shortcomings of this organization, this is the one that makes me want to scream every time.
What are the roster rules for NextPro players, vis a vis the MLS parent club/rights holder?
If a player is parked / loaned to a NextPro team, does that free up an MLS roster slot? Does it depend on their status — would Homegrowns still occupy MLS slots, but maybe others would be paid by DCU but not taking up roster slots?
From my understanding, sending a player to a MLSNP team works functionally like how we would currently loan players to, for instance, Loudoun. They would not count against the cap or roster slots if they are sent to the MLSNP team. I think where the difference comes in is how the players move between the two teams, and how frequently that is allowed to occur (like the short-term loans, for example). Players could also be fully “promoted” to the senior team from the MLSNP team, though you have to have the roster space and cap space to accommodate them
I would also think, if we’re getting all these young guys because some sort of MLS Next Pro deal is imminent, then Segal could in theory also go to the MLSNP team if needed. He’s spent time with both Houston2 and NYCFC2, so spending some time at DC United Partnership Team FC seems plausible. I think its possible they use a buyout on Badji, but I can also easily see him sticking around, with Segal being a recallable backup if needed.
Yeah, it’s possible. He’s 24 and turns 25 in May, so I don’t think more playing time is going to do too much for his development. Like, Jacob Murrell would probably get more out of it, but Murrell at this point is also one of the longest-tenured players on the roster. Same with Jackson Hopkins, to be honest.
Based on the limited sample size we have for Weiler so far at least, I’d expect Hopkins to be a starter this season, so I think he’s better staying here regardless. But I could definitely see whatever our MLSNP deal is to also be used as a place to store our “in case of emergency” depth pieces. Segal might be in that middling place where he’s not really at the level we need given who’s already on the roster, but could be useful to come in and immediately contribute if someone gets hurt. But that’s obviously a guess on my part
I’d be very surprised if we get up to 3 designated players for the spring…maybe the 2nd one comes through, but they’re probably hoping to land someone after the world cup. Relieved that the pace seems to have picked up.
GK is pretty concerning since the best options seem off the table or prefer other destinations. I’d be ok with Johnson as a stop gap while they sort out the rest of the team. He might want to go play for a winning team if he feels like he’s earned enough at this point (and that’s pure speculation on my part).
I will be shocked, absolutely shocked, if a bunch of the guys who were on the roster last week aren’t sold, cut, or traded by the start of the season. Weiler’s comments about how it wasn’t one position or one player but overall team quality make it clear to me that if he could move 80% of the players, he would.
As for the last two picks (the U.Md guys), I have no inside info. But…they’re both experienced Europeans. I wouldn’t be shocked if they’ve practiced either with or against DCU when we needed some bodies. I don’t think they’ll have a problem adjusting to Weiler and I bet the team feels like they know what they’re getting with both players.
In addition to having announced the Loudoun United 2 team joining USL L2, Loudoun now announces they’re also starting the Loudoun United Youth Team, which will be playing in USL-Y
….The new Loudoun front office continues to show that its got it more put together than DCU….
Some good (youth development pipeline), some bad (Ryan Martin and many, many player departures). The team was good last year, but based on what’s happened with the first team this offseason so far, its hard to imagine they’ll be anywhere near competitive next year, which is a bummer
I mean, it’s ambitious, but I’m holding my breath with everything related to soccer in the DMV region until someone besides Kang shows some results.
At the very least, they have an existing network of staff to get things off the ground.
To quote King Phillip from the Christmas classic, Lion in Winter:
“Yes, nothing IS too little…”