Nailed it. Unlike plenty of folks in RCTID-land, I am a Gio fan. After all, this is a league focused on knock out tournaments which is his calling card. But it's pretty clear that his voice isn't hitting like it used to and the club needs a change.
But you really hit the nail on the head with your off season talk. I'm hopeful Ned gets the…
Nailed it. Unlike plenty of folks in RCTID-land, I am a Gio fan. After all, this is a league focused on knock out tournaments which is his calling card. But it's pretty clear that his voice isn't hitting like it used to and the club needs a change.
But you really hit the nail on the head with your off season talk. I'm hopeful Ned gets the resources he needs to prove he can build a winner. MLS teams can build a contender in one off season so let's get er done!
Y Chara $1.5M total, $651K of which counted against the MLS salary budget
Blanco $1.38M total, significantly less than that in salary budget (details unknown, but he has been bought down from DP status)
Niezgoda $850K total, also significantly less in terms of salary budget
Mabiala $400K total, probably all of that will be available in salary budget
Asprilla $365K total, all of which will be available in salary budget
Boli, $450K total, unknown how much is bought down (and honestly I'd be OK with him re-signing for about that same money)
Right there, you've got probably somewhere around $2M (depending on how much of any player's salary is bought down, details at that level aren't really made public) in salary budget availability. Not to mention the about $5M in actual cash those deals represent.
So if you free up $2M+ from that $11M through the natural attrition of contract expiration, you've got a good chunk of change available to reform a squad in desperate need of help.
Should be a busy offseason. Ned better be planning well right now, because even if there isn't a change in the budget there should be plenty of dollars to work with. Lots of holes to fill, fortunately defense isn't one of them. Here is how I would prioritize the positions:
Wing - need to get an impact player here. Scoring is a problem, and we should have open positions here.
CDM - Chara isn't ageless, he just seems to be. We need someone to fill this role going forward, and with Ayala and Williamson coming off serious knee injuries its a position with little to no depth.
Striker - Boli seems okay, but then we are working with Mora and Nathan. That is a weak group. If we don't resign Boli than this jumps to #1!
Wing Back - I like Mosquera and Bravo, and Miller is fine as a backup but we probably need one more.
I think almost more importantly than "we need someone to fill this role", the Timbers need to evolve the team past where a destroyer CDM is vital to the success of the midfield. Chara's the last of a dying breed there, and finding a like for like replacement is probably not gonna be that realistic.
I'd be fine with the evolving playing style coming from a new coach, too, but either way, the Chara era of Timbers play should be winding down gracefully at this point and not frantically trying to be replicated with Much Lesser Chara just for the sake of it.
True, but I guess I wasn't clear. With the injuries to the midfield we simply need a good player there. Our current midfield is Chara (aging), Paredes, Ayala (knee) and Williamson (knee). Even if the ACL recovery is 9 months to see the field, I think we are looking at 14-20 months before a player is back to where they started so I'm not expecting a lot from Ayala/Williamson until the end of next season. If we keep Evander in the CAM role, we are going to need another CDM.
If we are changing the formation, we don't need a direct replacement. But we will need midfielders, and it would be great to have a high level player there. I'm totally on board with change, especially after seeing the Timbers play so far this year.
Nailed it. Unlike plenty of folks in RCTID-land, I am a Gio fan. After all, this is a league focused on knock out tournaments which is his calling card. But it's pretty clear that his voice isn't hitting like it used to and the club needs a change.
But you really hit the nail on the head with your off season talk. I'm hopeful Ned gets the resources he needs to prove he can build a winner. MLS teams can build a contender in one off season so let's get er done!
"I'm hopeful Ned gets the resources he needs"
These are the salaries coming off the books at the end of 2023 (from https://www.capology.com/club/portland-timbers/salaries/2023/):
Y Chara $1.5M total, $651K of which counted against the MLS salary budget
Blanco $1.38M total, significantly less than that in salary budget (details unknown, but he has been bought down from DP status)
Niezgoda $850K total, also significantly less in terms of salary budget
Mabiala $400K total, probably all of that will be available in salary budget
Asprilla $365K total, all of which will be available in salary budget
Boli, $450K total, unknown how much is bought down (and honestly I'd be OK with him re-signing for about that same money)
Right there, you've got probably somewhere around $2M (depending on how much of any player's salary is bought down, details at that level aren't really made public) in salary budget availability. Not to mention the about $5M in actual cash those deals represent.
Per MLS (https://mlssoccer.com/news/heres-how-mls-player-compensation-will-grow-through-2024-new-cba), the salary budget for 2024 is $6.425M/team. The base "salary budget" is what people generally refer to as the "salary cap", but it's not, because in addition to that, teams get about $3M in GAM and $2.1M in TAM, for a total available budget of about $11.6M.
So if you free up $2M+ from that $11M through the natural attrition of contract expiration, you've got a good chunk of change available to reform a squad in desperate need of help.
Should be a busy offseason. Ned better be planning well right now, because even if there isn't a change in the budget there should be plenty of dollars to work with. Lots of holes to fill, fortunately defense isn't one of them. Here is how I would prioritize the positions:
Wing - need to get an impact player here. Scoring is a problem, and we should have open positions here.
CDM - Chara isn't ageless, he just seems to be. We need someone to fill this role going forward, and with Ayala and Williamson coming off serious knee injuries its a position with little to no depth.
Striker - Boli seems okay, but then we are working with Mora and Nathan. That is a weak group. If we don't resign Boli than this jumps to #1!
Wing Back - I like Mosquera and Bravo, and Miller is fine as a backup but we probably need one more.
Just my thoughts.
I think almost more importantly than "we need someone to fill this role", the Timbers need to evolve the team past where a destroyer CDM is vital to the success of the midfield. Chara's the last of a dying breed there, and finding a like for like replacement is probably not gonna be that realistic.
I'd be fine with the evolving playing style coming from a new coach, too, but either way, the Chara era of Timbers play should be winding down gracefully at this point and not frantically trying to be replicated with Much Lesser Chara just for the sake of it.
True, but I guess I wasn't clear. With the injuries to the midfield we simply need a good player there. Our current midfield is Chara (aging), Paredes, Ayala (knee) and Williamson (knee). Even if the ACL recovery is 9 months to see the field, I think we are looking at 14-20 months before a player is back to where they started so I'm not expecting a lot from Ayala/Williamson until the end of next season. If we keep Evander in the CAM role, we are going to need another CDM.
If we are changing the formation, we don't need a direct replacement. But we will need midfielders, and it would be great to have a high level player there. I'm totally on board with change, especially after seeing the Timbers play so far this year.