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One thing that's abundantly clear after one friendly is I have too many damn players. When you don't have to pay guys, if they aren't going to complain its easy to just let them waste away in the reserves. But that always becomes a serious issue when its time to get guys into shape for the next season and have to allocate playing time in order to do so.
With that said, I feel like I have to put together some sort of depth chart right now just to make sure the right folks get into shape.
GK
1. Amidu Gyan - 29 y/o - $400/wk
2. Who Cares
I have 3 other guys on the roster. None will play outside of early round cup matches if Gyan stays healthy.
DR
1. Joe Jackson - 29 y/o - $130/wk
2. Stephen Lacey - 14 y/o - $70/wk
3. Bob Varela - 18 y/o - Amateur
4. Fausto Diaz - 16 y/o - Amateur
Since Lacey is being touted as my best youth player I feel like I need to go out of my way to give him playing time. He'll get a fair shot to compete for a starting job.
DL
1. Abdul Rahim Otoo - 19 y/o - Appearance Fee
2. Arturo Flores - 15 y/o - Amateur
3. Sean Rongen - 19 y/o - Amateur
4. Danny Coggins - 27 y/o - Amateur
Coggins was actually ok last year. But this position has always felt like a weakness, so I'm going to give ample time to my new signing Otoo, and youngster Flores to try to earn the minutes.
DC
1. Dan Hernandez - 19 y/o - $325/wk
2. Joe Pickering - 19 y/o - Appearance Fee
3. Steve Forrest - 24 y/o - $400/wk
4. Charlie Ashe - 18 y/o - $150/wk
5. Don Burke - 27 y/o - Amateur
There are others here but no one that really seems like they are worth playing time. I had initially held off on paying Steve Forrest, but now that its clear that we aren't going to be paying all kinds of new signings crazy money, I'm happy to pay Forrest. Hernandez/Forrest/Pickering have been quite reliable for me. Ashe gets his chance to break into the lineup over Burke.
MC
1. Mark Shakespeare - 19 y/o - $130/wk
2. Brendan Dempsey - 19 y/o - Trial
3. Jose Alejandro Tapia - 26 y/o - Amateur
4. Brian Williams - 19 y/o - $130/wk
5. Mike Wilkins - 15 y/o - Amateur
6. Gary Glaser - 20 y/o - Appearance Fee
7. Justin Wright - 14 y/o - $70/wk Hot Prospect
8. John Bradley - 14 y/o - $70/wk Youngster
Another spot where we just have too many players. Dempsey is on trial so not on the team yet. Tapia/Shakespeare seemed to work well as my starting midfield last year, but Tapia isn't someone I'm completely confident about. Wilkins seemed to fit the more attacking spot that Shakespeare fills here best last year. My coaches love Glaser, he's never been bad for me or anything, and then there are two youth pulls that I deemed worthy of keeping around.
This position was too crowded last year too. I release Bayard Perkins, Ashley Sandoval, and put previous youth pulls Alan Bartlett and Adalberto Vega on the unwanted list (b/c I can't seem to release them outright).
AMR
1. Ian Cooper - 19 y/o - $130/wk
2. Adam Fisher - 15 y/o - Amateur
3. Ryan Crook - 27 y/o - Amateur
I go ahead and offer Cooper a contract now that I have a better understanding of the team.
AML
1. Brian Davidson - 22 y/o - $120/wk
2. Dylan Rose - 19 y/o - Amateur
3. Chris Maurer - 14 y/o - Youngster
I put Jeff Gallardo on the unwanted list as well. Maurer is a youth pull that i haven't mentioned, because he's fairly marginal. But Gallardo has already proven he's not up to the task, so Maurer gets a shot.
ST
1. Colin Cole - 15 y/o - $325/wk
2. Ronnie Navarro - 19 y/o - $130/wk
3. Patrick Ratzburg - 15 y/o - Appearance Fee
4. Leon Roth - 19 y/o - Amateur
5. Michael Maurer - 16 y/o - Amateur
6. Dan Saunders - 15 y/o - Amateur
7. Carloa Alberto Arredondo - 30 y/o - Amateur
8. Will Willis - 14 y/o - $70/wk Youth
Cole is now willing to sign a contract, and without clearly better options in the market, I'm willing to pay him. In fact I probably overpaid him, b/c he wasn't asking for anything specific. I should have tried like $130/wk, heh. But I was trying to pay him less than the other top strikers in the league.
Even though Navarro is listed as #2 here, Ratzburg/Cole seemed to be the magic combo last year, and then pairing Roth/Navarro worked too. Maurer and Saunders are youngsters who seem decent, my coaches love Saunders, he's ok but very slow which worries me. Willis is a youth pull whose numbers were decent enough that I was willing to pay him a youth salary. Unless we have huge injury problems I'm not sure I'll make the time for him.
There are other guys not listed here, and this list is already too big in spots. But for now we'll be specifically trying to get the guys at the top of these spots fit over our friendly matches for the next month or so.
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