USA call up two MLS players for friendlies
Two MLS players – Columbus Crew goalkeeper Patrick Schulte and Charlotte FC center back Tim Ream – are on the US men's national team's 24-man roster for September friendlies against Jesse Marsch-led Canada as well as New Zealand.
John Herdman
It’s been a weird one. Toronto are above the playoff line just one year after winning the Wooden Spoon with a 22-point season. Even if they ended the year at the 33 points they’ve earned this season, 2024 has been a noticeable improvement. That being said…
It’s not totally clear how they’ve pulled it off. That’s probably colored by the fact that when they lose, they lose. And they lose a lot. They have 10 wins this year – the same numbers as more well-regarded teams like Orlando and Charlotte – but they also have 15 losses. Only the San Jose Earthquakes have more this season.
With 10 wins and a genuine shot at the playoffs heading into the season's final stretch, real progress has been made after a nightmare season. But, it’s unclear how much of a foundation has been laid for a jump in year two. It’s tough to consider a season where a team has given up 50 goals and has a -14 goal differential a success.
Phil Neville
As of last weekend, it’s all going better than anyone could have hoped. Evander has taken a year-two leap forward, Felipe Mora has suddenly come good and Jonathan Rodriguez has been a stellar acquisition up top. When you have three Designated Players combining for elite production, you will typically thrive in MLS, even if there are some clear cracks in the armor.
The Timbers haven’t totally figured things out defensively this season and, in the end, it’s going to be what keeps them from entering the playoffs as anything more than a dark horse. But they’re a blast to watch, they score a ton and expectations are likely going to be sky-high heading into year two under Neville. Considering the tense reaction when the Timbers announced his signing, 2024 has been an undeniable success.
Chris Armas
Armas arrived right at the same time Colorado began revamping the top of their roster. They brought in Djordje Mihalovic in a club-record signing and added Zack Steffen in goal as the centerpieces of an offseason that turned a few heads. Still, there were questions about whether Armas would get the kind of results he got in his first half-season as a manager or the results he’s gotten pretty much everywhere else.
So far, a solid roster has helped him look plenty effective as a manager. The Rapids earned a Champions Cup spot by finishing third in Leagues Cup, they’re on the verge of earning a home playoff spot if they can hold onto fourth place in the West, and have scored as many goals as all but one team in the West.
No one has had as large a change from their previous season’s point totals. Don’t forget this team finished last in the West last year and nearly won the Wooden Spoon.
Dean Smith
Smith may be the most notable change of this bunch for simply being a variable that clearly fixed something that was broken. Charlotte gave up 52 goals in each of their first two seasons. In Smith’s first year, they’re on pace to allow 37.
They’ve been one of the best defending teams in the league and that solidity has guided them to sixth place in the East. They’re primed to be a dangerous team in the playoffs and could be something close to a contender if their new(ish) DPs Karol Swiderski and Pep Biel can change the attack sooner and not later.
Sandro Schwarz
Schwarz gets a less shiny, but still notable tactical gold star for convincing the Red Bulls to use the ball a little more often. There are still some Red Bullsy elements you know and love (?), but an increased comfortability on the ball plus the addition of a healthy Lewis Morgan and DP Emil Forsberg has slightly altered the aesthetics and the results. The Red Bulls are set to continue their more than decade-long playoff streak, and this time they may be hosting in Round One.
Although, it’s important to note it’s not like the Red Bulls are suddenly Guardiola-era Barcelona. Their possession numbers are actually down this year. The good news is they can handle themselves when they need to be on the ball. The bad news is they didn’t go out and buy a DP No. 9 to help them while they’re on it. Frankly: Bad move.
They’ve really been struggling as of late and it’s hard to see them make their way out of it without that No. 9.
Caleb Porter
Let’s be real. It hasn’t gone well.
But at least they’re not on track to be the worst team in MLS history anymore. That became a real possibility at the start of the year.
They are hitting the reset button though. By the time we reach Porter’s second season, I’m going to guess there will be more significant changes to the lineup as they move beyond the Arena-era Revs. They’ve already started exchanging pieces.
Laurent Courtois
Let’s keep being real. This also hasn’t gone well. But CFM have a bit of an excuse. Injuries and international break absences doomed Courtois’ first season in charge from the jump.
The problem now is they seem to have most of their key pieces back and they’re getting waxed worse than ever. The roster needs serious upgrades.
Troy Lesesne
It’s hard not to think about what could have been with this D.C. team. For a large majority of the year, they had solid to great underlying numbers. Christian Benteke looked set to carry this team to big things at the start of the season.
But some horrific finishing luck and some terrible defending have doomed them. There are building blocks to work with here at least. Like Montréal though, the roster needs more pieces.
Eric Ramsay
I… don’t even really know where to start.
Ramsay arrived late to the job and looked like a genius through his first few months. Tani Oluwaseyi and Robin Lod were thriving and all seemed well. Then June hit and the Copa América absences hit and the whole thing imploded. The Loons haven’t recovered since.
They’ve dropped all the way to ninth in the West and are fighting for their playoff lives after looking like one of the best stories of the season for half the year.
There is hope at least. They’ve added two new Designated Players over the summer and Ramsay will have a chance to integrate them both. It won’t be a bad idea to think 2025 could bring a lot of good.
But, man. There’s hitting a tough stretch and hitting a wall at full speed. The Loons smacked into it at 100 miles per hour. You don’t recover from that easily.
Vancouver Whitecaps exercise contract buyout on Luis Martins: Vancouver Whitecaps FC have exercised a Buyout of a Guaranteed Contract on defender LuÃs Martins. The 32-year-old will no longer occupy a senior roster spot and international slot for Vancouver.
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Good luck out there. Embrace scary times.
