Logan Erb

Goalkeeper - Real Salt Lake
19 Aug 2032
Thursday
Process

Marked for Logan Erb

306 Edition

The Real Salt Lake Post

7 Jun 2032
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Real Salt Lake

20 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

The terraces

Anger at Real Salt Lake spills outside the ground

It has stopped being a mood in the stands and started being something organised. Boards can ignore a bad atmosphere for a long time; they cannot ignore this stage of it for very long at all.

Match

Real Salt Lake sink to position 15

4 points, and a fixture list that is running out. The mathematics are not yet cruel, but they are no longer kind.

Squad

66 days out for John Dest after a fracture

A bone, which is the one injury with a calendar attached. Real Salt Lake will name a return date and, unusually for this business, will probably be right about it.

Squad

Luke Pruter keeps Real Salt Lake in it on his own

Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.

The dugout

Logan Erb says Real Salt Lake went back on their word

“I was told what my role would be, and I signed on that basis. It has not happened.” A grievance with a date attached is the hardest kind to settle.

Squad

Lukas Engel in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Real Salt Lake this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

A row about effort at Real Salt Lake

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Guilavogui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Match

Real Salt Lake come up short against San Diego Football Club

San Diego Football Club left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.

In brief

Back issues
296 Edition

The Real Salt Lake Post

29 Mar 2032
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

The wait goes on for Real Salt Lake

10 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Market

Keegan Hughes puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Real Salt Lake, and it is not being withdrawn.

Squad

Stijn Spierings pulls a muscle — 18 days out

The injury that keeps coming back, keeps being rushed back from, and quietly costs more careers than the dramatic ones. 18 days is the estimate; the honest figure depends on whether anybody is patient.

Transfer targets

Nahuel Herrera turns down Real Salt Lake

The clubs had agreed and the player had not. A snub, and a public one: Penarol keep him, and the supporters here are left wondering what he had heard about the place.

Player ratings

Elijah Wynder runs at them all day

Successful dribbles: 23. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.

Squad

Words exchanged at Real Salt Lake

Lukas Engel and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Real Salt Lake

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rafael Mosquera was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

Transfer targets

Empoli tell Real Salt Lake: Matías Fernández is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Match

Portland Timbers take the points off Real Salt Lake

Beaten 0‑2, and beaten fairly. The manager kept his words short afterwards, which was probably wise.

In brief

  • The dugout The manager makes an example of Kobi Henry
  • Squad Logan Erb signs a new deal
  • The dugout The manager’s verdict
279 Edition

The Real Salt Lake Post

1 Dec 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

The scrutiny sharpens at Real Salt Lake

Nobody upstairs has said anything, which is the loudest thing they could do. Results buy silence in this game; the account at Real Salt Lake is running low.

Market

Keegan Hughes puts it in writing

“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Real Salt Lake, and it is not being withdrawn.

The dugout

Logan Erb: that is not what I was promised

“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Real Salt Lake have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.

Squad

Words exchanged at Real Salt Lake

Lukas Engel and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Real Salt Lake

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Morgan Guilavogui was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Kobi Henry gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

The dugout

Morgan Guilavogui gets picked when it counts

Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say Morgan Guilavogui is on it.

Market

The Lukas Engel question follows Real Salt Lake around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Lukas Engel’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Squad

A season on the outside for Néstor Giménez

He trains hard, says the right things and goes home to an empty flat. Nobody at Real Salt Lake has done anything wrong, which is exactly what makes it so difficult to fix.

In brief

260 Edition

The Real Salt Lake Post

21 Jul 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Transfer targets

Real Salt Lake bid $620.0K for Aleksandr Guboglo

The offer went to CF Montreal this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Squad

Words exchanged at Real Salt Lake

Morgan Guilavogui and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Transfer targets

Real Salt Lake baulk at the price for Ricardo Pepi

New York City wanted more than $370.0K and the board would not go there. Walked away, for now, which in a transfer window means until somebody blinks.

Transfer targets

Real Salt Lake rebuffed over Nico Cavallo

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. New York City have kept their man, and Real Salt Lake go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

Squad

A row about effort at Real Salt Lake

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Emeka Eneli was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

The dugout

Filip Mirkovic gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

The Morgan Guilavogui question follows Real Salt Lake around

Every press conference now starts and ends the same way: with Morgan Guilavogui’s future. The manager has run out of new ways to say nothing.

Looking ahead

A reunion for Filip Mirkovic

He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against St. Louis CITY SC in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.

The dugout

When it matters, George Moore plays

It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.

In brief

254 Edition

The Real Salt Lake Post

9 Jun 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Logan Erb is the hero from the spot

A shoot-out is remembered by its ending, and this one ends with Logan Erb: 2 kept out, and a set of supporters who will describe every one of them for the next twenty years.

Match

Real Salt Lake march on in the cup

DC United are out and Real Salt Lake go through, 1‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Squad

Luke Pruter stands alone

6 saves, and a scoreline the ten men in front of him had no right to. Goalkeepers only get noticed on the bad days; this was one of the other ones.

Player ratings

No sign of nerves from George Moore at 19 — 7.75

The hardest thing about being 19 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. George Moore did not need any: 7.75, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.

Player ratings

Morgan Guilavogui, 33, rolls back the years — 7.96

There is an age at which every good afternoon gets described as a throwback, which is unfair and also accurate. 7.96 at 33, and nobody on the pitch was better.

Match

5 matches without a win for Real Salt Lake

The run now stands at 5, and the questions being asked around Real Salt Lake are no longer polite ones.

Squad

A falling-out at Real Salt Lake

Morgan Guilavogui and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Player ratings

Owen Presthus beats them one at a time

Successful dribbles: 21. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.

Squad

A row about effort at Real Salt Lake

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rafael Mosquera was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

245 Edition

The Real Salt Lake Post

7 Apr 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

Squad

Logan Erb wins the shoot-out

3 kept out from twelve yards, and a stadium that will describe each of them for twenty years. A goalkeeper needs one night like this in a career, and this was it.

Boardroom

The interim tag comes off Interim Coach

Real Salt Lake interviewed the field and appointed the corridor: Interim Coach keeps the job he had been doing in all but title. Sometimes the safest pair of hands is the one already holding the wheel.

Squad

A knee injury of the worst kind for Máximo Mendoza

45 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. Real Salt Lake lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.

Match

Real Salt Lake march on in the cup

New York Red Bulls are out and Real Salt Lake go through, 1‑1 the final word. The bracket opens up a little, and everyone allows themselves a look at it.

Match

No end in sight to Real Salt Lake's wait for a win

8 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Real Salt Lake has to find a result from somewhere.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Diego Rocio

Successful dribbles: 28. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Transfer targets

Colorado Rapids tell Real Salt Lake: Sagir Arce is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

Squad

Words exchanged at Real Salt Lake

Morgan Guilavogui and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.

Squad

A row about effort at Real Salt Lake

Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Rafael Mosquera was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.

In brief

242 Edition

The Atlanta United FC Courier

17 Mar 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Match

Nowhere to hide for Atlanta United FC

0‑3 against Charlotte Football Club, and no complaints that would survive the replay. The manager spoke about character afterwards; the terraces used shorter words.

Match

The wait goes on for Atlanta United FC

5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Match

The goals have deserted Atlanta United FC

5 matches, no goals, and a training ground that has tried everything. It will end — droughts always do — but nobody at Atlanta United FC can tell you which week it ends in.

Transfer targets

Kaio due for a Atlanta United FC medical

Everything agreed with Atlético Mineiro, everything agreed with the player; a doctor is the only person left to persuade. The photograph is a day or two away.

Market

Logan Erb moves on

Real Salt Lake pay $1.0M, and the deal is done. The number reads well on a balance sheet; whether it reads well on the pitch is next season's question.

Squad

Steven Alzate in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlanta United FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Squad

Mauricio Amaro falls out with a teammate over standards

The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.

Transfer targets

New York City tell Atlanta United FC: Seymour Reid is not for sale

The approach was made and the answer came back in a sentence. There is no number on the table because there was no number that would have been enough.

The dugout

The manager makes an example of Ethan Hoard

“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.

In brief

242 Edition

The Real Salt Lake Post

17 Mar 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Squad

The knee: Máximo Mendoza out for 66 days

66 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. Real Salt Lake lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.

Transfer targets

Fee done, terms next for Reid Roberts

Real Salt Lake and Portland Timbers have settled on $1.2M. The rest belongs to the player and his agent, and a supporter who has watched one of these before knows not to buy the shirt yet.

Match

Real Salt Lake leaking at the back

7 matches, two or more conceded in every one of them. Sides that create as much as this can live with it for a while. Nobody lives with it forever.

Match

The wait goes on for Real Salt Lake

5 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.

Player ratings

Nobody could get near Diego Luna

Successful dribbles: 25. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.

Market

Real Salt Lake sign Logan Erb for $1.0M

The paperwork is done: Logan Erb joins from Atlanta United FC in a deal worth $1.0M. Now comes the harder part.

Transfer targets

Too dear: Real Salt Lake walk away from Zakaria Taifi

$680.0K was the most the club would pay and Orlando City were asking for more. Deals like this are revived in the last week of a window roughly half the time, and everybody involved knows it.

Squad

A falling-out at Real Salt Lake

Morgan Guilavogui and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

Real Salt Lake rebuffed over Ștefan Chirilă

Not now, not at any price the club was prepared to say out loud. Chicago Fire have kept their man, and Real Salt Lake go back to a list with one name crossed off it.

In brief

240 Edition

The Atlanta United FC Courier

3 Mar 2031
From our football correspondent Crisis

Boardroom

Atlanta United FC run out of patience with Interim Coach

The end came on a Tuesday, as these things usually do: a short meeting, a shorter statement, and Interim Coach clearing his office by noon. Football’s cruellest ritual, performed to schedule.

Boardroom

An empty coaching office at Atlanta United FC

There is nobody left to promote and nobody left to run a session. The board have brought in a name the supporters do not know, and the question of how a club gets here will outlast whoever answers it.

Boardroom

Interim Coach minds the shop at Atlanta United FC

“I am not thinking past Saturday, and I would advise nobody else to.” The caretaker’s first rule is to pretend the job is small; Interim Coach recited it perfectly.

Market

Logan Erb hands in a written request

“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Atlanta United FC can pretend not to have heard.

Market

FC Cincinnati come back empty-handed

The bid was some way short and Atlanta United FC did not need long over it. Nobody in the game reads a first refusal as the end of anything.

Transfer targets

Atlanta United FC bid $680.0K for Malcolm Fry

The offer went to Real Salt Lake this week and it is theirs to answer. First bids are rarely meant to succeed; they are meant to find out how loud the door closes.

Squad

John Nelson in a row with a teammate

It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlanta United FC this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.

Boardroom

13 academy players handed senior numbers at Atlanta United FC

The morning the pathway stops being a brochure and becomes a team sheet. Most of them will not be here in three years; all of them have already done the hard part, which was getting to today.

Match

3 matches without a goal for Atlanta United FC

The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.

In brief

239 Edition

The Atlanta United FC Courier

24 Feb 2031
From our football correspondent Uneasy

The terraces

A $3.1M sale, and a town that did not want it

Jake Davis has gone, the accounts have $3.1M in them, and the supporters have the feeling of having been sold something themselves. Good business and a good decision are not always the same thing.

Market

Business is business: Jake Davis goes

Inter Miami CF paid $3.1M and Atlanta United FC took it, which is the whole story in one sentence. The longer version involves a wage budget and will be told all season.

Transfer targets

Door shut on Chituru Odunze

Atlanta United FC asked and New York City said no without discussing a figure. It is the least ambiguous answer in football and the one clubs most often come back to test.

Squad

A falling-out at Atlanta United FC

Steven Alzate and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.

Transfer targets

No deal for Lucas Bartlett at that price

Atlanta United FC offered $44.0K; Seattle Sounders said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.

Squad

Words at Atlanta United FC training over how hard people work

Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Mauricio Amaro is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.

Market

Logan Erb attracts admirers

The name of Logan Erb has come up in conversations Atlanta United FC were not part of. Nothing formal, nothing signed — but nothing about it accidental either.

The dugout

Ervin Torres gets it from the manager

“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.

Market

The Junior Alonso story refuses to die

It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Junior Alonso signs something — a contract at Atlanta United FC or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.

In brief