SSFC Going Forward into 2024

The Vargas situation is a good spot for us to be in. Signing him to a U22 deal would fill a key position for cheap money, and selling him would likely fetch great money (though I'm not sold on Waibel's negotiating skills).

I don't know that he's necessarily hitting any ceiling, I think he still has a lot of room to grow and his qualities in the attack are underrated and untapped. If there's anything holding him back, it's that he might benefit from being on a new team in a role that demands more of him. Perhaps the Mexico call up will help with that.

If you asked me earlier this year I would say we should actively look to shop him. Now, I could really go either way and with his progress with the Mexico NT he could be really motivated to continue showing out for the Sounders.

I also don't rate Atencio at all. He will always give you 100% but his passing range is on par with our centerbacks and he has a propensity for giving the ball up at the worst time.

I agree, the callup changes everything. It was clearly a major goal for Obed and congrats to him for seeing the path forward and taking advantage of it (he would not be on the L Tri roster in any other era). The callup can change his value, his ability, and his perception of the Sounders. If he's a starter for the Sounders in the Club World Cup, that's probably a better opportunity than playing for a mid-table Liga MX side. You couldn't say that 5 years ago.

Eventually he will want to make a move elsewhere, but if we can secure him for 3-4 more years first I'd consider that a huge win.

The fact that they went to a subscriber model during a declining environment in the first place is why their site is suffering. They are blind to basic economics.

They'll never apologize, the Sounders have given them their livelihood. Trust me, they think they're being brave right now by making these statements that we've all been making for years. It's so moronic it's funny, especially now that their blog is falling into irrelevance.

The official story is that they saw the writing on the wall with the Vox layoffs and decided to go independent.  If you're capable of adding 2+2, you might notice they started asking for money around the same time Hanauer became hard up for cash.

They're in an impossible position because they've built their model on access to the Sounders organization.  I believe Niko Moreno is doing real journalism.  I can see him reaching out to contacts in South America for scoops.  I do not believe that Oshan is doing anything other than repeating stuff that's leaked to him by the FO for publicity.  Without FO leaks and interviews, all they've got is a bunch of unimpressive writers with unimpressive soccer knowledge and annoying voices.  Burn the bridges with the FO and there's no "there" there.  As long as the FO was doing a passable job then the model was sustainable, but they're doing a crappy job and everyone is pissed about something, whether it's the lack of spending, the boring soccer, the price hikes, the declining atmosphere, or Providence.  
  
Continue to cover for Hanauer and destroy their last semblance of credibility?  Or tell the truth and burn down the business model?  A hard decision.  But they've earned it.  I truly believe that we'd be in a better position if they hadn't spent 15 years serving as Hanauer's manservants.  

Just remember, when you're feeling down, you'll never be filled with a much self-loathing and shame as Oshan felt when he had to whitewash the Providence deal.