Photo: Earl Gardner
Philadelphia Union
Nashville SC acquired three MLS SuperDraft picks in a trade with the Union.
Write-up of Cory Burke on a Jamaican news site: Burke shooting for MLS Golden Boot
Brotherly Game published a four-page newspaper of the Union’s Supporters’ Shield win.
This trade is done, I'm told. Don't know the details. Romero will report to LAFC as soon as camp opens and forego the last three years of NCAA eligibility. #mls
— Steven Goff (@SoccerInsider) January 20, 2021
MLS
Hernán Losada is D.C. United’s new head coach.
Paul McDonough, who helped build Atlanta’s inaugural roster, is returning to its front office.
Houston acquired Tim Parker from the Red Bulls.
The Portland Timbers signed Chile forward Felipe Mora from Liga MX’s Pumas.
U.S. Soccer
The USMNT to play Trinidad & Tobago with fans in Orlando on Jan. 31.
NWSL
North Carolina Courage signed Irish defender Diane Caldwell.
Around the globe
Christian Pulisic said he believes he “grew the most as a player” with no fans at Chelsea. Ugh, hurts to read that because I was a Dortmund fan.
A Guardian blogger opines, “Phil Neville‘s tenure as England Women coach: tepid and too much arrogance”.
England appointed Hege Riise as temporary women’s coach.
The Premier League will investigate Robert Snodgrass’ omission from the West Brom squad after they lost to his former club, West Ham, 2-1.
Goalkeeper coach suspended for “sprinkling an unknown substance in goal and urinating or simulation of urinating against one of the goalposts”.
So, I’ll start by saying I know VERY little about how MLS “Allocation Money” works beyond it being used to cover or reduce salary cap hits for certain players on the roster.
Doesn’t $50,000 seem a little light for 3 picks? A 2nd and 3rd rounder this year and 1st rounder next year and thats only worth half a roster spot?
I know the Union have basically avoided the draft in recent years, but didn’t realize how devalued it has become.
Does 50k seem enough value? Yeah sure I guess. Not really worried about it. When the Union have professionals signed at 17, 18, 19 years of age and academy players arguably more advanced than college seniors, there really isn’t much value in the draft for the Union. I believe there has been debate on whether or not to even continue with the draft.
agree here. I for one love the draft becoming a non factor in this city as it means the academy is doing what it is supposed to do… soon enough, the draft will be only for USL players & that will be the ceiling…. which is what it is already very close to being anyway… and what it should be as well.
.
if there were upward mobility in the league structure the draft might actually be a means of someday playing top tier footy but we all know the policy on that.
A couple things to consider. First, the Union have made it abundantly clear they don’t value the draft, so teams are much more likely to lowball them for the picks. Second, the Union are likely to be good next year so that first rounder is a pretty low pick, if it were a likely top 10 pick where Nashville thought they could get a Generation Adidas kid or whatever, I’m sure they would have offered more.
I do guess I am a bit guilty of thinking of the draft in NFL terms. Like I said, I knew that the Union haven’t really embraced the draft the last few seasons, and to the points above are in fact generating their own homegrown talent.
.
Maybe with all the Aaronson and McKenzie money being thrown around it makes the $50K seems even more inconsequential.
If it helps, think of it as that trade mostly paid for Cole Turner’s salary last year.
Was watching the USWNT game in Orlando and couldn’t get over how ridiculous it was to see people moving through the computer-imposed adverts on the seats. I really hope this is a trend that is set to go away very soon. A few bodies, heck, no bodies, are better than those advertisements.
Have to agree with Scott! Very suprised at the lack of money. But at the same time, they did a great job last season without the draft. Maybe this just means the U have more faith in the youth and the open market. Have other teams backed away from the draft as well? Maybe not as far as the U seem to have.
I think the draft has more value to teams that don’t have an established academy. If you haven’t had a player working in front of your training staff for more then two years (how long has Nashville had an academy?) you have no idea what you really have. With the college kids there is a lot more video history of them available for evaluation. While the Union have benefitted from the draft in the past (Andre, Jack) I can see where they would want to get what ever they can from the picks (funny money wise) while continuing to build from within.
Homegrown signings have sapped a lot of value out of the draft. Just looking at last year’s draft, of the 77 players selected, only 28 of them made MLS rosters and five played in 10 or more games last year. While some of the players may still develop, it should be noted that with the average draft pick having had some college, they’re generally a little older than the home grown players the Union sign from the academy.
A more subjective look also suggests there were very few players drafted that were good enough to play in MLS, Darryl Dike, Henry Kessler, and Alastair Johnston seem like the three big ones. All of them were taken before the Union had a chance to draft.
Honestly, I don’t think the draft system really works for soccer. There is still some value to be had now, but as more clubs develop stronger academies, more and more players will be scouted as homegrowns and not end up draft eligible.
Was watching the latest edition of the Men In Blazers where they were talking with Christian Pulisic. They were talking about the success of young american players in Europe. I thought one of the more interesting things mentioned was the concept that 17-20 was when players grew most tactically. I can see where an organization would want to have control over the players in that time period. And that doesn’t even get into the cap advantages to “home grown” players.