Two things can be true: 1) Bukari had disappointing production for a DP (despite unarguably being a very talented player) and the team will likely benefit more from a new DP with a different profile. 2) The team did not actively push him out and still saw enough potential in him to not risk a sale.

This is mostly just from Guys On Twitter — an important caveat — but there seems to be a view that if Austin has a DP spot, "Now we can go get our own Mueller, Son," etc. That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works. First, Austin FC needs to be good. Then we can attract int'l stars.

My personal feelings are: I'm sad to see Buka leave. He didn't always play well in Austin, but I think it was more the organization failing him than vice versa. Buka was our most consistent DP this season! But in building out the rest of the team, Rodo painted himself into a bit of a corner.

Every season for the last 3 years I've expected Sidney Crosby to take a step back... and he just doesn't

Like I've said, I'm finding it hard to be normal about Kindel. In no world did I imagine him being this good as an 18 year old.

It's hard to see how Uzuni recovers for Austin after last night's missed PK. That performance, after the season he had, certainly destroyed the fans' confidence in him. But it could've crippled his own confidence, too.

Otherwise, I want to throw some positivity into the #AustinFC universe. The team did show up and put in maximum effort. We've been knocked out of US Open Cup by San Antonio FC, Foro SC, and nearly El Paso Locomotive. A trip to the finals was well-earned, and our fans showed out tonight as always.

What hurts me the most about this #AustinFC loss is Surridge nailing Nashville's pen and Uzuni missing ours. The difference was that thin. Well fought match on both sides, but it's Surridge's season.

From one of our members: This is a pic after the FC2 team lost in the US Open Cup last year. He not only came over to sign autographs for the kids but also got the rest of the team to do it too. So happy he scored the winner last night.

I'm sorry for everyone with baby ears, you might want to close your ears for this: This was not a Pandora's Box moment. That moment has long come and gone. You just weren't ready to acknowledge it.

Seems like there are two camps of #AustinFC fans in how they view Rodo's performance. Those who think he's elevated the team's level and those who think that level isn't high enough. To me, both of those positions are fair, and how much weight you give one just depends on your expectations for 2025.

Unsurprising, horrifying, shameful outcome in a legal system that actively supports abusers and makes life more difficult for victims. Sadly, this is par for the course in North America, and especially for young male hockey players.

Glad #AustinFC bagged a win heading into the All-Star game. The vibes are going to be good next week. Also, last night it was an Austin DP providing just that little extra edge in a win. Doesn't feel like that's happened a whole lot in the last three years.

There was never a minute I truly thought Austin would win that match, and yet... Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.

What's left to say about #AustinFC this year? In addition to lacking creativity, showing no cohesion, and being unable to execute even simple plays, they're also just incredibly dull.

Watching #AustinFC every match is becoming self-mutilation at this point.

Something that's been stunning to me about Nico Estévez... After the win over STL he said, referring to defending in a low block and grinding out wins: "We could change the process and try to score more goals, and concede more. But I feel more comfortable in this way that we can get wins."

This #AustinFC team plays with no joy, and therefore gives the fans no reason to enjoy watching them. Another timid, toothless performance in possession. They go down a goal and that game is over, baby.

The Galaxy looked mostly awful again, so not much consolation from a 1-0 home win. But Nico set the team up for success, and a lot of guys played well. Dani, Svatok, Biro, Obrian (Bukari and Zan in relief) come to mind. A little more confidence across the frontline and maybe #AustinFC gets going.

Zooming out: Six weeks into the year, #AustinFC had surprised by building a strong defensive foundation. The offense had obviously struggled, but there were plenty of reasons for patience. After three straight wins, I felt like a home game (revenge game!) was setting up for an offensive outburst.

Starting Cascante over Svatok, against this Vancouver team at this time, AND moving Bukari to the left are insane unforced errors by Nico. On top of that, #AustinFC looks slow and unambitious in attack. Whitecaps are a great team, but they should be tired. Unacceptable half from Austin.

This #AustinFC team, man. I remain confident they'll figure out the offense because the team keeps getting points. And yet, I'm not sure they've given me much reason to be confident.

Class from No. 1️⃣4️⃣!

I think there's enough evidence now to say #AustinFC is tactically flexible, something our fans have never seen before. Scoring first and being on the road in 2 of the last 3 games is skewing our data more defensive than it will end up over the full season.

If Owen keeps playing this well he might get snatched up in the summer window. Somebody in the Eredivisie or Jupiler Pro League must be salivating over a 20-year-old player like him.

Well, it was an insane Austin FC starting XI and the gameplan of a madman, but the players executed quite well and everyone deserves credit. More stressful than it needed to be, but I'm happy that (for once!) Austin was the one burying early chances and forcing their opponent to pass into oblivion.

It's 7:30 and the sun is still out. My heart is so happy, but my 22-year-old self is sooo scowling.

My takeaways after rewatching ATX-POR... Defense: Good all night. Limited CFs, did pretty well at snuffing out wide chances. Offense in 4-3-3: Struggled to break down POR's 5-wide backline. Not as much space for Bukari to go 1v1 and they stopped Owen from overloading left.

It was a toothless SKC squad tonight and Austin FC was too hesitant around the box, but they found a way to get 3 points. I'm confident the play they showed will translate to more goals once the squad is more settled.

This is the most excited I've been for the start of an Austin FC season. Our expectations are high because the talent level is so much higher. But I want to keep in mind that if certain players perform really well this year and/or next, they won't be around very long.

One thing I'll be keeping a closer eye on in MLS the next couple years: Who are actually teams' "core players." CSOs and head coaches like to talk about building around a core, and in theory those are your best players. But is that the case with MLS' roster rules?

This is an amazing resource. No excuses now for fans and media to mispronounce names.

I think these are going to look really, really good on the pitch. Austin's design team did a great job making the best of Adidas' ugly template.

After looking thru @soccerwisehq.bsky.social research the last couple days, here are some more takeaways: 1) The average DP had 10.4 G+A in '24 (regular season only, no 2nd assists). 2) If you only look at attacking players (remove CMs, D and GK), average production goes up to 8.1 goals, 12.5 G+A.

OP deleted minutes after Bogert reported live on @soccerwisehq.bsky.social that Austin's top target is Uzuni. This is the second time recently Bogert has directly refuted something Benlaziz has reported (See: Illarramendi). #AustinFC fans: Treat this account's "reports" accordingly.

Uzuni is a strange but intriguing DP target for Austin. He's played across the frontline, and currently plays CF for Granada, but with Vazquez in town you'd have to say Uzuni starts at LW in Austin's Best XI. His signing would of course mean Driussi is out, which leads to more intrigue.

I said this before, but -- ignoring everything else -- I'm sad to see Driussi go. From the moment he stepped onto the field at Q2, I could tell he was a special player. He hasn't performed as well recently, but with the improved squad around Seba, I was excited to see him this year.

My favorite part of this story on Brandon Vazquez's possible transfer is mention of him replacing Djitte. Hey, they're not wrong 😄. We do miss The Moose!

Like @steve-davis.bsky.social wrote about Nico's 1st year at FCD, I expect a priority will be to tighten ATX's defending thru the middle. It's been an issue for 4 years. My expectations for Ilie on the pitch are fairly low, but I see how he likely fits into ATX's strategy. bsky.app/profile/stat...

@thenorthendpodcast.bsky.social I just saw this. I was kinda hopeful about Hercules. Price must not have been right for the chef.

@thenorthendpodcast.bsky.social I can't find where this aggregator account is getting info from (possibly from Sport 890 radio show in Uruguay), so it could be made up. But interesting nonetheless. Would surely not be a DP.

Austin FC simply did not have enough GAM and roster flexibility to come close to that offer. Even if they were hypothetically interested in Campana.