In any other top-flight soccer league, anywhere else on the planet, we would not be having this conversation. But in MLS, with its 20-man roster limit and suffocating $2.4-million (U.S.) salary cap, someone has to be the odd man out.
And while there are hugely compelling arguments to keep midfielder Rohan Ricketts on board (speed, skill on the ball, strong finishing, huge popularity with the fans), it’s more than merely possible his days with Toronto FC are done.
The argument runs like this:
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
Right now, with the draft done and Dwayne DeRosario finally signed, TFC has a senior playing squad of 24 players. That’s actually not that tight, given that newly drafted goalie Stefan Frei is one of those special “Generation Adidas” players who don’t actually take up a roster spot. Young Mike Grella, also inked to Toronto, just scored a hat trick in his first match for Leeds United’s reserves. That could keep him busy over in Blighty for … a while.
On merit, central defenders Tyrone Marshall and Marco Velez should not return, which would bring you down to a nice, even 20.
But – players are still going to be coming in. A central defender at minimum, and GM Mo Johnston has publically admitted his love and devotion for 23-year-old Independiente net-buster Pablo Vitti. And even if both those men materialize, Johnston will never stop beating the bushes for new and promising models for TFC’s snazzy new shirts.
All of which means – and Johnston confirmed this with a quick burst of words right at the end of yesterday’s press conference – that some present players will be heading out the door.
Now – money:
The unannounced terms of the DeRo deal make this a game of speculation, but I think we’ve got enough to at least do some useful thinking.
Start with $2.4 million, and subtract almost a million of it for DeRo, Amado Guevara and Carl Robinson. Striker Chad Barrett made along about $60,000 last year, but just signed a brand new four-year deal. There had to be a significant pay hike in there somewhere.
All cap issues, of course, are blurred by this odd MLS invention – allocation money. This can be used to exceed the salary cap, and Mo had along about $1-million of it heading into December. What we don’t know – yet – is how much DeRosario got. A chunk, one assumes, given how long it took to land him after the deal with Houston about six weeks ago. Allocation money was also dealt to Houston in that deal.
Back to young Vitti, for a moment. If he’s Mo’s man, it will certainly be a loan deal. That puts the Designated Player debate in the parking lot, and saves an automatic $400,000 hit on the cap. But Vitti would still have to be paid, as would the new central defender(s).
Which brings us back to Rohan Ricketts.
He arrived from Barnsley to great fanfare, and certainly scored a couple of blinders in the home match against Colorado. There are concerns, though. Too many times – and too many people noticed this, coach John Carver notable among them – the ball went in to Ricketts, and never came out. He’s quite good at dribbling past defenders, but then he either runs out of room, or tries to dribble past more of them. This wins corner kicks and throw-ins, but it’s not producing telling crosses.
Last season, he earned over $200,000.
When Johnston made the surprising move to draft acclaimed Wake Forest midfielder Sam Cronin with the second pick in last week’s MLS Super Draft, he bought himself some cheap and promising midfield depth – defensive-minded, too, which might ultimately help if he needs to shift Robinson to the back four.
Whether Ricketts, at this stage of his development, is now worth that roster spot and all that money suddenly becomes a very real and valid question.
And it’s a pity, because as I said at the top, in most other leagues, we wouldn’t even be thinking about this. Ricketts would be an occasional starter, and deadly second-half attacking midfield sub.
MLS, ultimately, is a league where four or five guys on each team “get paid,” and everyone else takes the bus. Ricketts, right now, doesn’t contribute enough to “get paid.” And there are others around (Tyler Rosenlud, Cronin, maybe Gabe Gala finally gets a shot) who might contribute, and won’t “get paid.”
Ricketts could ultimately be better than all three of those guys put together, but it doesn’t change the spreadsheet, and MLS soccer is a spreadsheet game. His ability does give him some trade value, however. Even just getting allocation money in return could help an otherwise-doomed back four.
I’d love to be wrong about this, people. But that’s where things appear to stand this morning.
Onward!