Good afternoon! Sydney here with this edition of the Scarves and Spikes Daily newsletter. Follow me on X, BSky, IG, and Threads.
A beginning…
Breel Embolo is here. My take (and I mentioned this on the podcast) is that he “won the press conference,” saying all the right things and presenting himself well. As I’ve said numerous times, though, the training wheels will be off immediately. Atlanta’s already been burned by signings that have “won the press conference” but failed to deliver. This team is officially, and it feels weird to type, in a playoff race, and given his role (and how much Atlanta paid to bring him here), he’ll be the most important part of where they’re headed not just this season, but beyond.
That’s not to say he’ll need to do it all himself. If anything during this win streak, Atlanta United have proven they can get contributions from other players. Hopefully Embolo pushes that to the next level.
A continuation…
I’m so glad Atlanta extended Jay Fortune’s contract. It’s a slight risk given the injuries he’s had over the past couple of years, but it’s a risk worth taking. No one can doubt the passion Fortune plays with each time he steps on the pitch. He’s a solid, steady competitor, and I don’t ever recall many matches where he truly looked below par.
Atlanta’s midfield, as a whole, has looked better than it’s been in sometime. Tristan Muyumba, who is out of contract at the end of the season, continues to put in maddeningly inconsistent performances but is coming off his best goal-scoring form as a Five Stripe. Cooper Sanchez has been impressive. Adrian Gill has barely put a foot wrong in his first handful of matches with the first team. Mauricio Amaro adds yet another dimension to the position. I do think that Steven Alzate is expendable and is a massive contract that needs to come off the books immediately (he didn’t train with the team on Thursday morning…take that news as you will), while Will Reilly is serviceable but not starter quality. Add Fortune to the mix, and this group is much, much stronger than even a year ago.
…and an end
We say goodbye to Stian Gregersen, who was transferred to Swedish first-division side Malmö on Thursday. Gregersen was a fan favorite who was one of Atlanta’s most consistent midfielders. If he had only remained healthy, I can’t help but wonder where the team would be right now.
This, obviously, opens the door for what could be a bit of an interesting signing before the window closes next week. Does Atlanta look to add to the wing to help Embolo receive service? Will we see a backup striker come into the picture? Is a much cheaper, but reliable, depth CB on the way? Is there a buyout on the way? Stay tuned, because there’s a good chance we see some more action by this time next Friday.
In case you missed it, we talked last night about the Embolo press conference, Fortune’s contract extension, and Atlanta’s winning streak headed into Saturday’s derby against Charlotte FC. Watch now on YouTube or listen on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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I’m baffled at the decision to offload Gregersen instead of Mihaj. As far as I understand, they are similar in cost/cap hit, but I can tell you with confidence every day and twice on Sunday that Gregersen brings more consistency and reliability (when healthy) than Mihaj. The health concerns were worrying when you depended on him to be a 90′ starter every game, but Diaz is showing well and Junior is growing into the role so that should have settled our nerves. Oh well. Maybe Mihaj is also being shipped soon and we can bring in a cheap vet/free agent to be the rotational depth. That plus Hernandez puts is in a decent place at CB.
And all I can say about Embolo… Welcome. You simultaneously have the smallest shoes to fill in AU striker history and yet also the highest bar we’ve ever set as a direct result of our frustration around big swings and big misses.