2017 Preseason Thread

I don't know why we're necessarily discounting a 16 year old making the squad right now. We have more Homegrown money than any other team in MLS due to the fact that we don't have any Homegrowns on the roster. Doesn't mean he's going to play, but if CR and PV think that having him in training every day will allow them to mold him better, why not sign him? Not unprecedented in MLS (Erik Palmer-Brown was 15?) but certainly not all too common.
 
They've announced that he is only participating in the very beginning of camp and is going home before any friendlies (or at least before the Emelec friendly). This suggests they don't plan on having him with the first team this season, but want to give him the experience of camp at the full professional level.
 
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They've announced that he is only participating in the very beginning of camp and is going home before any friendlies (or at least before the Emelec friendly). This suggests they don't plan on having him with the first team this season, but want to give him the experience of camp at the full professional level.

Understood. Just thinking out loud that we've been waiting for kids to turn 18 and 19 to join the club but this is a European modeled club. They may not wait after all. Especially with the way Homegrown contracts run. They have nothing to lose.
 
Understood. Just thinking out loud that we've been waiting for kids to turn 18 and 19 to join the club but this is a European modeled club. They may not wait after all. Especially with the way Homegrown contracts run. They have nothing to lose.

The kid loses NCAA eligibility though, no?

If the kid prefers to go to college, he could pass on the contract and play with our PDL affiliate (Rough Riders) in the summer until he's willing and ready to sign a pro deal with us.
 
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The kid loses NCAA eligibility though, no?

If the kid prefers to go to college, he could pass on the contract and play with our PDL affiliate (Rough Riders) in the summer until he's willing and ready to sign a pro deal with us.

Why does he need an NCAA scholarship??? Play for NYCFC, they can cover his tuition to a local university; NYU, Columbia, Pratt; whatever he wants to do and take some night classes at his own pace. He'd get a better education then most other schools and get to play for a pro team.

EDIT: Moreover, by doing so he avoids the NCAA's outages rules about earned income. He'd be free to sign enforcement deals or get appearance fees, work at a local CVS if he wanted to and still be able to go to school and play for NYCFC.
 
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They've announced that he is only participating in the very beginning of camp and is going home before any friendlies (or at least before the Emelec friendly). This suggests they don't plan on having him with the first team this season, but want to give him the experience of camp at the full professional level.
That's also what Dortmund said last Christmas when Pulisic was brought into regular 1st team training. I feel comfortable saying that the statements are simply meant to lessen pressure on the player and expectations from the fans.

It's the safe and proper way to go about this. But I also feel comfortable in saying that make no mistake, if he has a decent showing, he'll be with the first team.
 
The kid loses NCAA eligibility though, no?

If the kid prefers to go to college, he could pass on the contract and play with our PDL affiliate (Rough Riders) in the summer until he's willing and ready to sign a pro deal with us.


Yeap. So he becomes a pro, gets paid to play professional soccer, gets his future tuition covered, and plays soccer full time. I don't see the issue? Unless he REALLY wants to go to college (which I respect), it's a win-win for the club and player.
 
That's also what Dortmund said last Christmas when Pulisic was brought into regular 1st team training. I feel comfortable saying that the statements are simply meant to lessen pressure on the player and expectations from the fans.

It's the safe and proper way to go about this. But I also feel comfortable in saying that make no mistake, if he has a decent showing, he'll be with the first team.

Very good post. Didn't know that about Pulisic.

I don't know if the kid could contribute right now. I would imagine he can't. That being said, I think it's worth doing a little digging around the Homegrown rules. Homegrowns don't count against the Salary Cap. They raised the Homegrown allowance last year to accommodate Jordan Morris. What I don't know is how long we can lock players into an HG contract. I think LA Galaxy had Zardes on an HG contract for a couple of years.
 
Sands was also previously with IMG Academy. So not to say he doesn't have college aspirations, but typically anyone who goes there for soccer is going because they wanna be a pro. Look at the list of people who attended it. The Only post 1999 USMNT great I don't see on it is Dempsey.
 
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Why is Connor Brandt there? Are we just letting him train to get fit, or could there be some kind of plan to re-sign him??
 
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James was born on 7/6/2000. He turns 17 in July. As a comparison, Atlanta signed their first Homegrown last year - Andrew Carleton. Andrew was born on 6/22/2000 so he is basically the same age. Andrew is out on loan with the Charleston Battery for the season.

So it wouldn't be crazy to think James could sign a contract with us.
 
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Why is Connor Brandt there? Are we just letting him train to get fit, or could there be some kind of plan to re-sign him??

I think they would like to re-sign him if he is healthy.
 
Why is Connor Brandt there? Are we just letting him train to get fit, or could there be some kind of plan to re-sign him??

He's been described as a trialist so it sounds like he has a chance to make the team if he performs well. One thing I noticed in the videos the team put out yesterday is that the established players had their numbers on their jackets while the trialists had blank jackets except for Conor who was wearing #16. Is that a sign that he's close to coming back or just an artifact of his previous club connection?
 
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