{"id":113154,"date":"2025-08-27T06:45:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T06:45:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/113154\/"},"modified":"2025-08-27T06:45:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-27T06:45:17","slug":"key-takeaways-from-craig-waibels-post-transfer-window-media-availability","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/113154\/","title":{"rendered":"Key takeaways from Craig Waibel\u2019s post transfer window media availability"},"content":{"rendered":"

SEATTLE \u2014 The facts are these: The Seattle Sounders had the time, money and desire to make a U22 signing this summer and didn\u2019t get the job done. On a basic level, that has to be seen as a failure \u2013 or at the very least, a missed opportunity. How big of a deal that is depends on how you look at it.<\/p>\n

Talking to the press prior to Sunday\u2019s game against Sporting KC, Sounders GM Craig Waibel effectively confirmed those basics, did his best to explain why that happened and what it means going forward. <\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what I took away from his answers as well as what wasn\u2019t said:<\/p>\n

Waibel passed his own test<\/p>\n

I asked Waibel directly how he would assess himself after the window and whether he let the team down by not getting a deal done. I wouldn\u2019t say he gave a fully satisfactory answer to that question, which is fair enough, but here\u2019s the crux of what he said:<\/p>\n

\u201cIn terms of the money we had, I mean would it be more fun to sit here with a player sitting next to me? Yeah. That would be more fun. That would look better, sound better, feel better. But do I think it\u2019s letting the roster down, letting the team down? No, I don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

In arriving at that answer, Waibel explained that they had a budget of $2.5-$4 million, did an exhaustive search, came close to signing at least a couple of different players, and ultimately decided that it was better not to sign anyone than to compromise by signing someone they weren\u2019t as excited about. He also explained that they set a high bar, that the player they signed needed to be someone they thought could actually contribute this year, while also fitting within the constraints of the U22 rules that dictate the player can\u2019t be paid more than roughly $750,000 a year. <\/p>\n

Essentially, he created a test where not signing someone was ultimately a better result than signing the wrong player. In his accounting, he passed that test.<\/p>\n

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I\u2019ll argue that\u2019s, at best, an incomplete test. The history of U22 signings suggests that it\u2019s very rare for one to come in at midseason and contribute anything truly meaningful. L\u00e9o Ch\u00fa, the Sounders\u2019 only previous foreign U22 signing, only logged 153 MLS minutes in his first season and it wasn\u2019t until Year 3 that he was particularly productive. At the time, he was considered one of the better U22 signings.<\/p>\n

While I can\u2019t begrudge Waibel for wanting to find a better player than Ch\u00fa, using him to set the baseline is a little tough. In the entire history of the U22 Initiative there haven\u2019t been any attacking players who made huge on-field impacts in their first seasons. Arguably the two best foreign U22 signings are Dejan Joveljic and Santiago Moreno. Both were signed in the winter and neither had more than four goal-contributions in their first seasons. Notably, though, both players broke out with massive seasons in Year 2. <\/p>\n

My point is the U22 Initiative is set up to bring in players that will likely require a fair amount of seasoning before they\u2019re fully ready. Just because a potential U22 signing wasn\u2019t ready to contribute today, doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not worth signing. Even if a new U22 signing wasn\u2019t going to contribute now, they\u2019d presumably help raise the level of internal competition and be better prepared to make an impact next year and in years to come. Despite what Waibel said \u2014 \u201cthe biggest concern I had was adding a body that isn\u2019t gonna contribute\u201d \u2014 I think he knows all this.<\/p>\n

I can\u2019t help but feel this test was designed in a way that makes not signing someone more likely than signing someone.<\/p>\n

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