Ignoring goal keepers as they can be ageless in soccer and Abang who is on loan...Our 1st Team field players (Kaku not yet included):
Conor Lade is our 3rd oldest field player...
Only 2 over 30...
4 teenagers...
4/5 are 25 or younger...that's 80%!
1/3 are 21 or younger...
We are competitive with a young squad, a very young squad. People wonder about Etienne, he is only 21. People bust on Muyl, he is only 22. Casseres has to start on RB II? he is same age as Adams. Redding is a question mark? He is only 21. Rivas has shown nothing? He is only 23.
Right now I would like one more seasoned CB for depth and would love us to add a "Big Splash" attacking player in the summer window as our BWP of the future (at 32 Bradley is our oldest) and of course to help the final 3rd of this year...
But overall I think this team has a lot of potential. Will it all come together this year? Not sure, but we are now in a position that if we can keep some continuity and keep adding a difference maker here or there, we could be in for some exciting seasons as these young players mature and hit their prime and as we continue to show that our pipeline behind this squad is also healthy. Obviously we will lose good players to Europe, but as a feeder league, what MLS team is immune to that?
Who remembers all those desperate years when the draft was such a big event because we needed that crapshoot to fill starting holes every year?