FC Cincinnati took center stage on the American soccer scene Tuesday, when it took part in the Major League Soccer Expansion Draft. From that, the club made an incredible amount of moves to bring in some crucial pieces into the fold for the upcoming season. The front office also announced five players from last season’s USL squad the day before the Expansion Draft.
The hype surrounding the Orange and Blue’s entry into MLS has continued to grow in the Queen City, but what has been said from around the country? After each move that is made, it is always nice to see what is being said from the prominent figures, covering the top league in North America.
Dec. 9-10
Moves made: Acquired goalkeeper Spencer Richey from Vancouver via trade and signed Blake Smith, Justin Hoyte, Jimmy McLaughlin, Emery Welshman, Nazmi Albadawi
These moves made a day or two before the expansion draft gave the club some depth before adding major pieces to the roster. The additions of these six players made it 10 total from the squad last season. The addition of 10 players from the USL squad, including Fanendo Adi and Fatai Alashe, brought a lot of reaction from around the country, including a lot of negative thoughts.
FC Cincinnati going heavy on the USL signings. Will be interesting to see how that works out… #MLS #expansion
— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) December 10, 2018
Feels like there’s more pressure than usual for #FCCincy to ace the expansion draft. The high number of USL holdovers already account for three international slots and 8-10 senior roster slots. A very small margin for error now. (1/2)
— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) December 11, 2018
There’s nothing wrong with taking fliers on your lower-division players – but having 11 players come with #FCCincy means they need to play a key role, not just take a spot. It’ll be up to Alan Koch to get the most out of them. (2/2)
— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) December 11, 2018
As you can see from a few of the biggest soccer writers in the country, the skepticism is there for how FC Cincinnati has approached their USL signings.
Dec. 11
Moves: Acquired forwards Darren Mattocks and Kei Kamara (traded to Colorado for international roster spot); midfielders Roland Lamah and Eric Alexander; and defenders Hassan Ndam (via expansion draft), Greg Garza (via trade with Atlanta United) and D Kendall Waston (via trade with Vancouver Whitecaps).
These were the moves that FC Cincinnati fans were waiting for. You can check out the Cincinnati Soccer Talk recap of the expansion draft here. The club had the advantage of being the only one entering the league during this expansion year, so it had all of the picks to itself. The moves made would be under a microscope from everyone around the league.
FC Cincinnati selects Darren Mattocks with the first pick in the #MLS expansion draft. The speedy Jamaican forward gives Cincinnati a different element than they have on their current roster.
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) December 11, 2018
A few points of comparison for what FC Cincinnati hope to/need to get today:
-LAFC flipped players to get Laurent Ciman & drafted Latif Blessing, Tyler Miller
-MN flipped players to get Miguel Ibarra & Bobby Shuttleworth
-ATL flipped a player to get Julian Gressel— Bobby Warshaw (@bwarshaw14) December 11, 2018
Ahead of today's 2:00pm EST expansion draft, I'm hearing significant moves are coming from FC Cincinnati in and out of the draft. We'll see how many teams are impacted.
— Bobby Warshaw (@bwarshaw14) December 11, 2018
Greg Garza is the best player on Cincinnati's roster, IMO.
Garza is a great MLS left back. Him being your best player is not good.
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) December 11, 2018
As for the Garza trade, I'm a big fan. Don't think $450k of allocation is steep for him at all.
However, he's in line for a big raise. Cincy will no doubt try to negotiate Lamah and Mattocks down. Garza should go to them asking for at least triple the $175k he made last season.
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) December 11, 2018
A starting RB ($241,625 comp in 2018). A promising attacker ($145,004). A starting winger ($200,000). A starting midfielder who's still 24 ($581,663). A promising defender ($70,234).
That's good value if you're #FCCincy, but I'd understand passing on Higuita for a goalkeeper.
— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) December 11, 2018
Darren Mattocks is still 28. If #FCCincy holds onto him, he could be a nice complement to Fanendo Adi (again). If not, he'll have plenty of suitors within MLS.
— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) December 11, 2018
FC Cincy showing it was not worried about salary numbers in this draft. Have drafted Mattocks ($420k) and Lamah ($818k) so far. Cincy can renegotiate these deals, per expansion rules.
— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) December 11, 2018
Some quick analysis: Big chunk of money for Garza. Two big salaries taken in the expansion draft. If those aren't negotiated down, I'm looking at today and going 😬😬😬
— Paul Tenorio (@PaulTenorio) December 11, 2018
BIG news: Alan Koch reveals that FC Cincinnati is acquiring Greg Garza from Atlanta United. That's a HUGE pickup for Cincinnati, their best move of the day. Atlanta United has George Bello and Mikey Ambrose at left back, so dealing Garza made sense.
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) December 11, 2018
Some folks might be surprised FC Cincinnati didn't select a goalkeeper, but I'm told Cincy has lined up an international goalkeeper to be their starter. Very curious to see who they bring in.
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) December 11, 2018
FC Cincinnati selects Roland Lamah from FC Dallas with the 3rd pick. Speedy winger who has shown well for FCD. A bit surprised to see Cincinnati go the international player route, but he has game-breaking speed on the flank, which the current Cincinnati roster didn't have.
— Ives Galarcep (@SoccerByIves) December 11, 2018
The reaction to the moves made by FC Cincinnati on Tuesday were met with a wide variety of opinions. While some of the moves were praised, some were certainly questioned. Regardless of how some of these moves are viewed, the club got stronger and deeper than expected.
Dec. 12
Moves: Acquired M Victor Ulloa via trade with FC Dallas
This was another move that brought some depth in the midfield and strengthened the squad. This move was long-rumored and was finally made official on Wednesday.
Cincy are building a bit of a puzzling roster. FC Dallas are all-in on youth and look set for a (big?) step back in the standings.
Emptying the notebook with tons of context, reasoning and a little bit of news behind the wild week of MLS roster moves. https://t.co/knfhDnpvwF pic.twitter.com/Yfi4P3ELsT
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) December 12, 2018
It should be a battle between Fatai Alashe, Eric Alexander, and Nazmi Albadawi for the partner role in #FCCincy's midfield. Could play the matchup since each is a different type of player.
— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) December 12, 2018
Solid piece of the puzzle for @fccincinnati. https://t.co/uU75iwJWBw
— Andrew Wiebe (@andrew_wiebe) December 12, 2018
This was another solid move in the eyes of many around the league. T
Dec. 13
Moves: Acquired goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton via Free Transfer
This was a move that makes some sense after FC Cincinnati did not acquire a goalkeeper in the expansion draft. Just prior to the draft, it was rumored FC Cincinnati was going to sign an international goalkeeper. That was the case with this move. The Polish international comes into the fold to be the starter, or at least compete with Spencer Richey for the starting role.
This is a bit of a gamble for #FCCincy. Assuming he shakes the rust after a long layoff, not sure he's that much better than the available domestic goalkeepers (Bendik, Cropper) or a veteran like David Ousted. Cincinnati now has 5 international slots filled. https://t.co/z1SfHb09ac
— Jeff Rueter (@jeffrueter) December 12, 2018
With very little time to build an MLS roster, FC Cincinnati has been extremely busy, and that will certainly continue as we head into the upcoming season. There are more moves to be made, and all eyes will be on the club as it looks to be competitive in their first season in MLS. With more moves on the horizon, stay tuned to CST, as we will have reaction to all moves made by the club.
Follow Chris on Twitter @iamchrisasbrock
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