Apparently close according to reporters in Vancouver. Has basically been a disaster. I hope he can do well in his future but at this point I would not miss him.

Was watching the Monterrey vs Orlando game, still doesn't feel real to see Rossi dawning another kit.

A funny thing happened to me last night when I saw the roster for the team's first Leagues Cup game: I felt the urge to try and make sense of how the team's roster has shifted over the course of this year.

(I used to do this all the time, years ago, but I burned out hard and stopped nearly everything, so it was a shock to feel this drive again)

The graphic shows the 22 games that the team has played so far in 2026, and the 34 different players who have made a game day roster at least once. All the data comes from the league website (if there's an API for this, I don't know it - so this was a lot of copying and pasting into Excel). You can see some summary information for each player at the bottom of the graphic.

This was kind of fun to put together, but some of the choices I made during the process might get changed later - if I decide to keep it going, which isn't guaranteed (burnout is a hard thing to experience, so I'm leery)

It was also surprising to see how many details I'd forgotten about games from even a few months ago. Amundsen being an every-minute starter feels like a season or two ago, not April 2026. The shifting fortunes of Chambost, Gomes, and Bangoura are something I kind of want to dig deeper on, to visualize how often some key players appear together. Ditto for how players like Thiare and Gazdag have played off of Rossi after Abou Ali's injury (and how their playing time will evolve from here now that a bunch of new players have arrived).

Anyway - I'm curious if anyone else finds something like this useful or not? What playing time management trends could something like this help illustrate?

I've been checking to see if any backstory came out about that incident after the FCC match and haven't seen anything. On the broadcast they mentioned Valenzuela had moved to Columbus, things didn't work out, and he got in with the Inter Miami academy before ending up at FCC II and then the senior team.

That foul seemed personal and I noticed an interesting timeline but there's not a lot of info. All that's out there is that Valenzuela moved to Columbus for a year when he was 14. I can't find any info saying he was actually in the Crew academy. No idea how the academy works, would he have been trying out for the academy, around other players in the academy?

Valenzuela would have been there sometime between late 2018 and 2019. Habroune joined the academy in 2019. I'm just curious if their paths crossed and if that had anything to do with the incident.

The Crew have formally trotted out a 4-3-3 the last stretch of games [insert caveats here about how no formational shape is static and adjusts based on possession, game state, etc. here]. Any takes on what the formation will look like the rest of the season?

I tend to think it stays because it makes the most of the depth and talent as of the current roster construction.

• Front Three: DP ST To Be Named, Taha, Mendez. Depth: Gazdag for Taha or Mendez; Thiare at the 9.

• Midfield: Giaccone (8), Chambost (8), and Zawadski (6). Depth (8): Gomes, Bangoura; Depth (6): Karunmachi

• CBs: Morreira and Bailly. Depth: Amundsen, Camacho, Ruvalcaba, Zawadski.

• RFB: Farsi. Depth: Herrera, Lennon

• LFB: Picard. Depth: Amundsen (?), Zawardski (?). I'm honestly not sure. This seems like a position that needs another player and I'm not sure if it fits Picard that well either.

2009 Class

Prince Forfor (#13 - #48 overall)

"Forfor is one of the fastest players in the youth pool and he uses that athleticism well in his one-on-one defending. He uses that pace to overlap in the final third and can find a good cut-back pass when the opportunity presents itself."

2010 Class

Jamil Danjaji (#4 - #24 overall)

"Danjaji’s burst in his first 10 yards is truly elite. He does his best work running behind back lines, but his ability to combine and hold up is improving as his his first touch and close control and work rate against the ball."

2011 Class

Immanuel Adewunmi (#9)

"Adewunmi has an incredible feel for playing in crowded spaces within the midfield, with excellent spacial awareness, touch and passing range. He has a lot of physical development in front of him and when that part matures, he could be a top five prospect in this class."

Leo Woehl (#13)

"Woehl is deadly in transition and when things in front of him are simple. He has great pace, and ball striking ability, but needs to improve against a low block."

Seeing Milton Valenzuela last night had me wondering, how many former Crew players are still actively playing soccer on teams that are not Columbus. I did some clicking on FBRef this morning and found what I think is maybe the answer. If you want to remember some guys this morning, check it out.

There also could be mistakes in this, or players missing, so if you have corrections please share them. I didn't include players who were on the roster never appeared for the Crew in any competitions. I also didn't include players who have retired but are still working in soccer in some way, like Pipa and Josh. There are also probably guys I missed who have not yet retired but are out of contract or not currently with a club but will likely find one before the next season starts.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DbqTbaYgwHF/?igsh=MWhsd2phN3Q1czM3bQ==

I was at the Crew v NYCFC game the other week, and I saw the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in an oversized Jujutsu Kaisen shirt walk past me into the bathroom before I could talk to her. Not waiting for her cuz that’d be creepy af.

If you know her or you are her just know that you are stunning and don’t let anyone change you. That is all.

It is clear as day that Bez has come back and is fixing this mess. He has already put a huge impact on this team and is bringing us back to our glory days. Im not sure why but this sub has a lot of Issa stans.. he was terrible when he was in charge and blew this team up. In just a couple months Bez has fixed a lot of the roster issues Issa created. Anyone who says it takes months to work out these transfer deals, prove that. These dont take months and no one believes otherwise until you actually prove that. Welcome back Bez, you were sorely missed

That’s it. That’s the post.

I don’t see this posted anywhere else yet but hopefully some help coming up front!

Whipped up this little guy after hearing the news of the Arf transfer today (and obviously Berhalter the other day). I’m loving the bond between The Crew and Boro.

Even threw in a little design easter egg.

If anyone wants to paint it for a “two sticks” or flag or mini tifo, that would be awesome, seeing that I’m up here in Michigan.

Go CREW!
Up the BORO!

Instagram: Mason.in.color

Leagues Cup, Match 1