Sorry we missed y’all on Monday. We forgot to pay the internet bill, but the good thing is the internet is much easier to get ahold of to talk about problems than the electric company or the water company. Especially last week.

Soooo, news. John Hackworth, club president Brad Estes, and PR maven Scott Stewart announced during Soccer City Radio on Saturday that Greg Ranjitsingh, Paolo DelPiccolo, George Davis IV and Luke Spencer had all signed new two-year contracts to remain with the club. This is very good news! It’s telling that the club not only appreciates Greg + the Triumvirate for their invaluable service, but that they expect to continue to contribute in the near future. Paolo and Greg, in my view, were two of the best players in their respective roles in the USL the past two seasons, regardless of whether they get any official league recognition. Cuatro and Luke bring so much in the way of experience and leadership that moving forward without them would definitely feel like a step back. I’m happy for all four of them.

This begs the question: who else will come back? I personally hope to see everyone return, of course, but that’s unlikely. Hackworth, in his brief tenure with Morados, has shown the value of his connections with talented young players like James Sands and Jonathan Lewis. I expect we’ll see several like additions to whatever vacancies that may open during this offseason.

What the future may hold for Jose Carranza and Napo Matsoso remains to be seen, but they certainly have potential. Oscar Jimenez and Kyle Smith seem like mainstays, so the only way I think they don’t return is if they’re offered much better deals elsewhere, perhaps in MLS. One has to think Niall McCabe’s return is imminent as he’s married to an American and has started a family here. Ilija Ilić had a breakout season but may long to return home to Serbia now that he and his wife, also Serbian, have a baby. Or maybe not!

Cam Lancaster is probably gone. I’ve heard reports that his work visa in the U.S. expires at the end of this year. He certainly played well enough this past season to at least earn some looks in League One or the Championship in England, if not MLS should he choose to remain stateside.

Speedy Williams, one of the most talented players to ever wear LouCity purple, lost his starting job in the run up to the playoffs. Will he stay around in Louisville? Will he seek out more playing time elsewhere in USL? Or will he make the jump to MLS? If there was a signing priority on the club’s sheet that would top the list, it might the 23 year old Jamaican because he’s definitely one of City’s most valuable assets in the player market right now.

I’d be a little surprised to see Pat McMahon, Shawn Francis or Magnus Rasmussen come back. I’d welcome them, of course, but Francis’s contract is probably the most expensive on the team and he only played 784 minutes this past season. McMahon, after being a steady starter in City’s back three, hardly played once the team went to four in the back, but is valuable depth in defense at any of the four spots. You could really say the same thing about Sean Totsch, too. Magnus just never really found his rhythm in his second stint in purple for some reason, though I think he’d do well to challenge for the central attacking midfielder role.

I very much hope to see Paco Craig come back, and I expect Alexis Souahy to return unless he really made some waves in France (and he may have). I have no idea whether Richard Ballard will return – I don’t think he ever really recovered from that leg fracture early in the season.

The offseason is dark and full of terrors. Watch this space for news as it comes in.