Author: James Graham

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Transfers

Conner Antley signs for the Black and Red

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D.C. United have completed the signing of USL defender Conner Antley from Tampa Bay Rowdies. The deal is through to the end of 2025 with an option for 2026.

Conner has been a consistent and dependable defender in the USL Championship over the last few seasons. He’s a versatile defender who can play a variety of positions in the backline while also having the ability to go forward and join the attack. He will be a great addition to the roster and help reinforce our defensive depth heading into the 2024 season.

Ally Mackay, D.C. United General Manager and Chief Soccer Officer

Appearing in 35 matches in 2023, including two U.S. Open Cup games and a USL Championship Playoff match, he finished the year with 3 assists and finished 4th for the team with 25 chances created. Antley signed with the Tampa Bay Rowdies on Dec. 29, 2020 from USL Championship side Indy Eleven. He made his debut for the club on May 1, 2021 in a 3-0 win over the Charlotte Independence. Antley would record his first assist for the Rowdies the following month on June 11, 2021 in a 2-1 league win over Loudoun United. The defender helped Tampa Bay win the 2021 USL Championship Regular Season title after making 31 appearances and recording six assists; tied for most assists on the team. Over three seasons, Antley recorded 14 assists in 102 matches across all competitions for the Tampa Bay Rowdies.

Conner began his footballing career at Mercer University before joining Seattle Sounders academy. From there he went on to play for Tormenta FC where he spent a single season with the club. He then went on to sign for Indy Eleven for a season at which he ended up with Tampa Bay Rowdies.

A person who is in the know about this particular player and is from this side of the pond is @RowdiesUK. They said:

He was a consistent member of the team, not a flashy player just got on with his job. Really pleased to see he’s getting an opportunity at a higher level.

Tampa Bay Rowdies UK – @RowdiesUK, X (formerly known as Twitter)

Conner Antley

Position: Defender
Birthplace: Atlanta, GA
Country: United States
Birthdate: 03/22/1995
Age: 28
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 172 lbs.
Status: Domestic
Transaction: D.C. United have signed defender Conner Antley from the Tampa Bay Rowdies to a two-year contract through 2025 with an option in 2026.

Categories
Transfers

D.C. United sign Christopher McVey from Inter Miami

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The Black and Red have announced today that they have signed Swedish defender Christopher McVey from Inter Miami. The deal sees the defender come our way while we send an international slot for the year and up to $100k in General Allocation Money (subject to performance).

McVey spent the 2023 season with Inter Miami CF where he appeared in 16 MLS matches (12 starts), recording one assist and two clean sheets. He initially signed for Inter Miami back in 2022 from Swedish Allsvenskan side IF Elfsborg. He has made 61 total appearances in his time for the Herons scoring a single goal and recording that single assist.

The Sparsör native started his professional career with IF Elfsborg academy in the first division of Sweden. McVey would spend three years with the IF Elfsborg academy before making his debut with the senior team on Oct. 1, 2017 in a 5-2 league loss to AIK Fotboll. He would then officially sign with the senior squad on Jan. 3, 2018. The defender would subsequently be loaned out to Dalkurd FF of the Swedish second division on March 4, 2019. McVey would spend the entire 2019 season with Dalkurd FF and scored his first professional goal on June 15, 2019 in a 3-1- win over IK Frej Täby. He played in a total of 17 matches across all competitions, scoring one goal and recording one assist before returning to IF Elfsborg from loan at the end of the season. In 2020, McVey scored his lone goal for IF Elfsborg on June 25, 2020 in a 2-1 win over BK Häcken in the Swedish Cup. He would be featured in five of IF Elfsborg’s six UEFA Europa Conference League Qualifiers, recording his first assist for the club on July 29, 2021 in a 5-0 win over FC Milsami Orhei of the Moldovan first division. Over three seasons, McVey appeared in 42 matches for IF Elfsborg across all competitions, scoring one goal and one assist before signing with Inter Miami CF on Jan. 14, 2022.

McVey has represented Sweden at the youth national team level for both the U-18 and U-19 teams.

Christopher McVey

Position: Defender
Birthplace: Sparsör, Sweden
Country: Sweden
Birthdate: 04/12/1997
Age: 26
Height: 6’3”
Weight: 185 lbs.
Status: Domestic

Transaction: D.C. United have acquired Swedish defender Christopher McVey from Inter Miami CF in exchange for a 2024 International Slot. Inter Miami could receive up to $100,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) if McVey meets certain performance metrics.

Leagues Cup Announcement

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If you have listened to the new episode of the DCUK Podcast, you will know my thoughts on this tournament (hint: it’s not good). But here we are and we have recently received an announcement about a new format and who will be in our group. Let’s break that down.

New Format

Moving forward, the tournament will introduce a tiered Leagues Cup Ranking system

A number of changes is happening for this years edition. Like classic MLS and the ever changing playoff format, they couldn’t keep their grubby mits off changing the way Leagues Cup is done. It’s not like we’ve even really given last years format a good go, one and done. Firstly, there is a new ranking system, strictly based on a combined MLS & LIGA MX club performance based on the points gained in the previous 34 regular season matches. For MLS they will be based on the 2023 Supporters Shield standings, and LIGA MX clubs will be ranked based on the cumulative 34 matches in the 2023 Clausura and Apertura tournaments.

All clubs (except the two Leagues Cup champions) are divided into 3 tiers based on Leagues Cup rankings (1-15, 16-30, 31-45), forming 15 groups of 3 teams, one from each tier, while also prioritising geographical and competitive balance. For this year, the tournament will be played in 2 regions, East and West, with 7 groups in the east and 8 in the west. The winners of each league automatically qualify for the Round of 32.

The LIGA MX Champion and the three top-ranked LIGA MX clubs will be granted hub privileges. The hub privileges, which will minimize LIGA MX club travel and reward them by playing in pre-determined venues as the home team, are based on the Leagues Cup Ranking. Club America (League champion with a bye) will have hosting privileges through the semifinals, C.F. Monterrey (No. 1 rank) through Round of 16, Chivas Guadalajara (No. 4 rank) through Round of 32, and Tigres (No. 6 rank) throughout the Group Stage, rewarding the clubs according to their 2023 Apertura and Clausura performances

Knockout rounds: Following the Group Stage, the advancing 30 teams will be joined by LIGA MX and MLS cup champions (Columbus Crew and Club America, respectively) and will be placed in a fixed bracket to compete in the single-game elimination Knockout Rounds beginning with the Round of 32 (16 matches), followed by Round of 16 (eight matches). The eight advancing teams will compete in the Quarterfinals (four matches) before the two Semifinal matches. Leagues Cup 2024 Third Place and Final will determine the three Concacaf Champions Cup qualified clubs.

No Ties: Leagues Cup will maintain its current No Ties format. Each team receives one point if the game is tied after 90 minutes. The winner of the subsequent penalty shootout will earn an additional point. Regulation wins count as three points, with games being decided by penalty kick in case of regular time draw.

DC’s group

We’ve been drawn into the group aptly named East 7 (really wish it was East 17, if you don’t know, Google them). We have been drawn against Atlanta United and Santos Laguna. Atlanta finished the 2023 MLS season 6th in the Eastern Conference while Santos Laguna finished the most recent Apertura tournament in 9th place. It’ll be interesting to see how we fare against both of these teams and if we can qualify out of the group stage this time around.

As I said in the podcast, I’m not a fan of this tournament for the reasons it was created and what it has done to the US Open Cup. I’ll loathe to follow it and will keep up being disappointed by it. But here is a recap of the tournament last year

https://dcunitedkingdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/MLS-Leagues-Cup-Doc_Social-Cutdown_FINAL_16x9-Webmaster.mp4

Podcast: Season 6 is underway

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Coming up on today’s show!

– Tea & Tactics with Alex Bono
– Club news
– And, answering your questions

Make sure you subscribe/follow to be kept up to date.

All things DCUK – https://bio.link/dcunitedkingdom
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Categories
Transfers

D.C. United have signed GK Nathan Crockford

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The Black and Red have completed the signing of University of Wisconsin goalkeeper Nathan Crockford to a one year deal, with options for 2025, 2026 & 2027. Standing at 6ft 4″, he’s a big goalkeeper who will no doubt be playing backup to Tyler Miller & Alex Bono.

Nathan Crockford was drafted in the 3rd round of the Super Draft by D.C. United. The Illinois native spent two seasons at UCLA from 2021-2022 where he made 23 appearances, making a total of 87 saves. He also led the way in 2022 where he recorded a 76.8% save rate and 8 clean sheets too. He transferred to University of Wisconsin in 2023, where he started in all 17 appearances he made and playing in all 1530 minutes, recording 43 saves.

We are signing a talented young goalkeeper in Nathan [Crockford] and he’s coming off a good season with the University of Wisconsin. He has the qualities to be a successful goalkeeper in this league and he will be a great addition to our core goalkeeping group. We are excited to welcome him to the Nation’s capital.

Ally Mackay, D.C. United General Manager and Chief Soccer Officer

Nathan Crockford

Position: Goalkeeper
Birthplace: Northfield, IL
Country: United States
Birthdate: 09/06/2002
Age: 21
Height: 6’4”
Weight: 190
Status: Domestic
Transaction: D.C. United have signed University of Wisconsin goalkeeper Nathan Crockford to a one-year deal with options in 2025, 2026, and 2027.

Categories
Transfers

D.C.United have signed defender Garrison Tubbs from ATL Utd

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D.C. United today announced the signing of Garrison Tubbs from Atlanta United in a deal worth $125k GAM while ATL will retain a sell on percentage. Tubbs recently signed a homegrown deal with the five stripes and avoided going through the Super Draft.

We are getting a young defender with a high ceiling for growth and development in Garrison [Tubbs]. He’s coming off an impressive season with Wake Forest and he has all the tools necessary to be a great defender in this league. We’re excited to bring him to the nation’s capital.

Ally Mackay, D.C. United General Manager

Tubbs who has recently played for Wake Forest in Div 1 of the NCAA. He scored a single goal in 18 appearances while being part of 7 clean sheets this past season. He was also a finalist for the 2023 Mac Hermann Trophy. In total he amassed 3 goals & 5 assists in 68 appearances. Prior to playing for Wake Forest he was a part of the ATL Utd U-17/19 teams as well as ATL Utd 2 in the USL Championship, making his pro debut in 2019 against North Carolina coming on as a sub.

Garrison Tubbs

Position: Defender

Birthplace: Brunswick, Georgia

Country: United States 

Birthdate: 02/17/2002

Age: 21 

Height: 6-2

Weight: 174 lbs. 

Status: Domestic 

Transaction: D.C. United acquire defender Garrison Tubbs from Atlanta United in exchange for $125,000 in 2024 GAM. Atlanta will retain a sell-on percentage for Tubbs.

The 2024 Schedule has been released!

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The MLS 2024 schedule has been released today, and you’re thinking when are the big games for the club. Let’s start with the rival matches

  • PHI (h) – May 5th 12:30am
  • RBNY (h) – May 16th 12:30am
  • RBNY (a) – Jun 30th 12:30am
  • PHI (a) – Sep 22nd 11:00pm

The 2 local rivalry match are fairly spread out throughout the year. Other key games are Messi’s Inter Miami at home on March 16th with a very UK friendly 6pm kick off, while the return happens on May 19th at 12:30am. DC also gets to partake in Decision Day this year after missing out last season.

MLS All Star game is happening on July 24th at Columbus Crew’s Lower.com Field stadium.

MLS wraps up with the MLS Cup Final match happening on Dec 7th

Leagues Cup begins on July 26th with the final happening on Aug 25th.

There is some controversy around the US Open Cup and that MLS teams will not be taking part in the competition in 2024, this is yet to be resolved, and while I hope that this is resolved soon, and to an agreement that satisfies everyone (including fans), I don’t see any news on this any time soon.

Which game are you excited about?

Categories
Transfers

D.C. United have selected forward Jacob Murrell

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Today has seen an earlier start to the MLS SuperDraft, a time when players from the college game get their opportunity to be selected by one of the MLS sides to earn a pro contract. MLS teams are all placed into an order based on their previous season finish, with the lower ranked sides getting first choice.

This meant after D.C. United’s poor season, they got the 7th choice in this SuperDraft. And with that, they picked a local lad, forward Jacob Murrell. Jacob sees himself as a player in the mould of Duncan Maguire, who has seen success with Orlando City this year. Hopefully we will see some of that from him in the Black & Red, and if the fans are to go anything by, he is a player worth being excited about!

D.C. United have selected Georgetown University Forward Jacob Murrell with the 7th overall selection in the First Round of the 2024 MLS SuperDraft presented by adidas. 

Murrell scored 18 goals and recorded 8 assists in 40 appearances (34 starts) for Georgetown University from 2022 to 2023. In 2023, Murrell scored 11 goals and recorded four assists in 19 appearances.

D.C. United Press Release
Categories
Transfers

Multiple trades made, the rebuild begins

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D.C. United today announced 2 trades that show their intent in rebuilding the club after recently hiring Ally Mackay as the new General Manager. Aaron Herrera has come in from CF Montréal while Durkin was traded to St Louis City in return for 2 players plus GAM.

In a statement released for the Herrera deal, Mackay was quoted as saying “We are excited to welcome Aaron to D.C. United and we are thrilled to be securing an elite and proven defender in this league. Aaron has been one of the top fullbacks in MLS over the last couple of seasons and we think his style of play aligns with our philosophy and will significantly bolster our roster in that position. He has the defensive intuition combined with a desire to go forward and create goal scoring opportunities. We believe he will be a huge success in the District and we’re excited to integrate him with the team.”

Herrera comes in with experience on the international stage having made several appearances for Guatemala. In return for signing Herrera, the Black and Red have sent Ruan and $500k GAM. We wish Ruan all the best and will miss his speed on the wing.

For the trade with St Louis City, Mackay said “We want to thank Chris for his incredible contributions to the club since he was initially signed as a 16-year-old. Speaking with others at the club, I know how big of a role Chris played at D.C. United and that he was beloved by our fans and the community. We wish him all the best in his next chapter in St. Louis and he will always be a part of the Black-and-Red family.”

While St Louis City have acquired Chris Durkin, they have sent to us $300k GAM along with Jared Stroud and Lucas Bartlett, a midfielder & defender respectively. Stroud recorded 5 goals & 5 assists in the 2023 season and Bartlett made 14 appearances and was able to record an assist too.

Durkin will be massively missed from the club, his second spell hadn’t quite gone to plan as he was shoehorned into many different positions and not able to excel in one place. Best of luck to him.

We welcome Herrara, Stroud & Bartlett to the Black and Red family.

Herrera Announcement – https://www.dcunited.com/news/d-c-united-acquire-defender-aaron-herrera-from-cf-montreal

St Louis City trade – https://www.dcunited.com/news/d-c-united-acquire-midfielder-jared-stroud-and-defender-lucas-bartlett

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