Can't because I'm in the same boat. Still have Dom and Benny. Did cut a lot of dead weight so maybe we'll see.
Davis & Mapp were dead weight and both retired. A few of young guys we brought in havent lived up to expectations. Interesting to see who we bring in, but Vermes needs to refind his knack for finding hidden gems.
I was convinced Benny was gone, so it's nice to have him back. Hopefully he has at least one more good season left in him, this last year was really disappointing. Kevin Oliveira should be back from his knee injury at SPR last year. He was one of the best U20 prospects in the league last year. I haven't heard how close he was to breaking through the SKC roster though. Benji Joya seemed like a steal of a signing late last year. Wish we could've given him a shot earlier. Another year of progression for Medranda and Salaam, who are turning into very good, very young players. Salloi and EPB continuing youth progression at their loan clubs in Europe. Not sure if EPB is coming back, and if he'll be ready to play if he does. But having 2 youth players on loan in Europe is a good thing.
Yea the Davis and Mapp signings were a slap in the face to a fanbase that has been crying for a decent DP for 3-4 years now.
Were dropping 38 the spot and partnering with fox sports. Any non national televised games will be on FSKC or FSMW. Also every game will be available on FSGo or whatever their app is. Pretty nice upgrade.
Nice ish. Means in KC you have to have cable to watch. Games on 38 were able to be picked up over antenna.
It's (nearly) 2017, no one should be concerned about what can or can't be picked up over an antenna. I'm not sure anyone under the age of 17 knows what an antenna is.
It's not that big of a deal for me since I have cable, but for any local cord cutter SKC fan it would be a bigger deal.
Cord cutters can easily attain a log in for FS Go so it shouldn't be a big deal. It'll be nice for those out of the city. When I'd visit my parents in Columbia they obviously don't get 38 and I couldn't watch on MLS live because they considered it "in the market" so it was blacked out.
http://www.sportingkc.com/post/2017/01/04/sporting-kc-signs-winger-gerso-fernandes-designated-player Heard rumblings about this guy around Xmas. Don't know anything about him but he looks like an actual winger which would be nice.
Yea he's quick..was hoping we wouldn't have to use a DP spot on him, but oh well. I have been wanting an Oduro/Sadio Mane type on the wing after having years of Zusi/Peterson/Zizzo types. I think we are close to locking Latif Blessing as well. Similar type player. 19 yr old from Ghanaian Premier League, so might have to spend some time at SPR to adjust. Was the MVP of the league and was expected to make Ghana sqaud for AFCON (but didn't).
Forgot to mention we got Igor Juliao on loan from Brazil again. He was the quick, technically-gifted fullback we had on loan 2 seasons ago (maybe 3?). Not sure who starts between Salaam, Igor, and Medranda. Maybe Medranda moves forward? Or maybe one of Sinovic/Myers is leaving?
Yeah, it was 3 years ago right after we won the cup. My friend who knows a lot of the hispanic players said the coaching staff was pretty excited to get him back. I remember him looking really nice going forward but was shitty at getting back and his 1 on 1 defending was piss poor. IIRC, Vermes blamed a lot of our bad defending down the stretch that year on the fact he had to play so much.
I don't think I've disliked any of the moves so far. We've gotten younger and faster at key positions or brought in guys that fill key needs in Vermes' 4-3-3 (Pacey wingers, CDM, etc). Need to see some defensive signings though.
Hm interesting. I thought Besler's DP contract was through 2018 like Zusi. I have been hearing there's a chance one of the two are gone before next season starts, but thought Zusi made more sense at the time. I was also pretty convinced Benny would be gone after last year too though.
With the weird roster rules MLS has who actually knows how they are pay everyone besides their "cap" specialist.
Another signing today..Vermes loves him some ex-Barca B guys. Guess he is in tight with people there.
Starting 11 for the Desert Diamond Cup 1st game...looks like we are experimenting with Zusi at RB. Excited to see how our 3 in the attacking end play together.
Caught the first half. Looked like the wind made quality play damn near impossible. Good to have a Brit in the booth again, by the way. Now, if only we can get rid of Bukaty...
Making my way through the first preseason game. Was going to wait till the end to comment but guys, Sanchez is the real deal. His vision and touch are incredible. The last 2 players to jump out at me in the preseason like this were Nemeth and Uri.
Looks like we're on the FSGo app today @ 4:30 vs NYRB. My top 11 right now: -----------Melia Zusi---Ike---Besler--Sinovic ----------Sanchez -------------------Espinoza ---------Benny ----Gerso------Medranda ------------Dom Top Off Subs: Blessing, Saad, Porter, Rubio, Igor Top Def Subs: Soni, SAS, EPB, Ellis
I can already see this season: Slow start, get some momentum once the new wingers get up to speed, then Opara gets hurt and we have to play Kevin Ellis at CB which costs us lots of points. Yet somehow we make it into the playoffs as the 5 seed and crash out there.
Pretty accurate. EPB should be the first CB off the bench though. Wouldn't mind seeing what IKE-EPB could do next to each other.
New guys breakdown: Sanchez: I'm so high on this guy. Nemeth is the only other person I can remember seeing in pre-season and jumping out at me like Ilie. Has the best touch on the team. The ball sticks to his feet. His vision, positioning and passes are incredible. Verses alls him Uri 2.0. Came up through Barca B like Uri but instead of a handful of caps he has like 150 or something with them. If we do something great this year it'll be because of him. Blessing: Super exciting new guy. little Ghanaian speedster. Is the faster player to wear a sporting kit and probably slots in as top 5-10 in the league. Great dribbler, multiple times in preseason he dribbles through/around multiple defenders. His passing and finishing were not crisp. Biggest hang up is his size. The British guy on the broadcast said he's 120 dripping wet. He looks like a 5th grader. He's going to have a hard time adjusting to the physical nature of MLS. Don't see him going a full 90 very often till he physically matures in a couple years. Twice played with the starters, twice the reserves and twice got talked i for simulation. He's in the ground a lot. Gerso: New DP. We finally have an actual winger. He's left footed but we played him on the right side. He looked to cut in the majority of the time which in a fan of. No more get to the end line and cross it to our midget striker. Hasn't been much of a scorer in his career but looks like a good creator. Really good touch, good pace, good service just a really good winger which i don't know if we've ever had.
Nyarko and Sam will be swapping often to test Zeus. I have faith in him. Hate that he's blocking both SAS and Igor there. Kits look fly af. Like Ilie's new cut.
It won't happen but with I wouldn't mind seeing us jack around with a 3-5-2. Get EPB on the pitch, get someone next to Dom. Vermes does throw it out on occasion. Brings up the point that our roster construction is pretty piss poor. Out of the attacking players not in the 11 yesterday Blessing is the only true winger (Pasher I guess but surely he'll be at SPR mostly). Saad, Rubio, Salloi, Porter aren't really wife players. The same with zusi at RB now. So he's blocking SAS, Igor and Storm all three are better on the right. Really no one other than Medranda for the left if Seth goes down. I'm guessing we'll learn a lot about SPR during the open cup this year.