Columbus Crew are now a couple years removed from their 2020 MLS Cup title. Since then, they have missed the playoff by one single point in 2021, and by two points in 2022. Caleb Porter was fired, and former CF Montreal manager Wilfried Nancy took the reins. The issue last season was not losing too many games, which is usually the case for non-playoff teams. In this case, the problem was drawing too many matches. On 16 out of 34 match days, the Crew left the stadium with a single point. They even won more games than they lost, in a 5:4 ratio. In a rather incredible stretch during the second half of the 2022 season, Columbus lost one match across a 17-game span. Of the other 16 matches, just six were victories, along with a whopping 10 draws. Simply put, the team was unlucky at times and was almost always unable to secure wins. The Crew hope to turn those one-pointers into three this season, but they have not had a busy off-season towards that goal.
Outside of the draft, where Columbus selected Max Arfsten at pick No. 14, they acquired just two players. The first signing came in the form of left-back Jimmy Medranda. Medranda, 29, played with Seattle Sounders last season, where he appeared in 21 matches. The only other acquistion was the return of Christian Ramirez to MLS. Ramirez is a goal scorer, which he proved in stints with Minnesota United, Houston Dynamo, and LAFC. From 2014-2021, he scored 89 goals in over 100 appearances with the three clubs. He has a chance to start up top next to Cucho Hernandez, though it's unclear if he will be used as depth yet. On the way out is aging wing-back Pedro Santos, who is 34-years-old. Santos signed with DC United after making 174 appearances for the Crew. The other departure is winger Derrick Etienne Jr. He scored 12 goals in 90 total games before leaving for Atlanta United this off-season. More moves could still be on the way, but for the time being Nancy's squad has not seen a whole lot of changes.
The dynamic duo of DPs Lucas Zelarayan and Cucho Hernandez has the ability to lead this team to plenty of success. The question becomes, is the supporting cast good enough? The formation is still up in the air as well, a three-back could make sense, though it may not be the easiest route to get their best players on the pitch. In the back, Columbus have Milos Degenek and Jonathan Mensah, as well as Josh Williams centrally. Steven Moreira and Jimmy Medranda have the fullback spots covered. Kevin Molino has not been reliable for Columbus quite yet, having played just 11 matches in each of two seasons while battling through injuries. Luis Diaz and Darlington Nagbe will likely carve out roles in the midfield, while the newly USMNT-capped Aidan Morris will sit behind them at the #6. Eloy Room will remain in net. Columbus as a whole possesses a fairly solid roster, by no means is it one of the most exciting. With that being said, a couple of talented players can take a team pretty far. Cucho and Zelarayan will look to help do just that by leading the Crew back to the playoffs in 2023.
Projected XI:
GK: Room
DEF: Medranda, Degenek, Mensah, Moreira
MID: Morris, Diaz, Nagbe, Zelarayan
FWD: Hernandez, Ramirez
Off-Season Grade: C+
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