Once the final whistle blew on Oct. 19, ending D.C. United’s campaign, Ally Mackay’s season began. The club’s general manager finalized his roster plans for the offseason and, a month later, began jet-setting around the world for the next set of talents to bring to the nation’s capital.
After spending over a week abroad, he flew to California to meet with team ownership before returning back to his home in Virginia. The homecoming was a small break before going back on the road as part of his offseason plans to upgrade to a roster that missed out on the playoffs for the fifth consecutive year.
“I’m the guy that’s been put in place to right the ship,” Mackay, who was hired last November, told WTOP. “The club has been super successful historically, but obviously it’s not had that success lately in the last five years. And that, for me, is something I take personally.”
Mackay spoke to WTOP about his assessment of the 2024 season, D.C.’s roster moves thus far, and the club’s future goals.
Roster overhaul begins, Canouse let go
United (10-10-14, 40 points) finished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference, tying in points with Atlanta, but missing out in a goal differential tiebreaker. Not only did D.C. miss out on the playoffs — in a format where more than 50% of teams qualify — United surrendered 70 goals, third most in the league and 20 more than what the club expected.
Even though United was in playoff contention on the final day of the regular season for a wild card spot, Mackay graded its 2024 season as “incomplete.”
“I wanted to make the playoffs this year. Did we get to that point? No, we didn’t,” he said. “Did we get close? Yeah, sure, but that doesn’t change the narrative.”
Only six days after D.C.’s season ended, nine players were released and two others’ contracts expired. It was the earliest United announced its roster decisions in years, highlighted by its decision to cut ties with all four of its goalkeepers, including starter Alex Bono. The 10-year veteran finished 2024 with 82 saves and two clean sheets.
“Our honest assessment was simply that we lost too many goals,” Mackay said. “For me, in terms of where we want to go, I think that’s a position that we can potentially upgrade, or at least bring a player in that is our decision.”
The club is not “actively engaging” with any of the players released, Mackay said. While circumstances may change, his plans are to move forward without them due to salary cap flexible to make roster upgrades. According to the MLS Players Union salary data, this year’s releases opened up more than $4.4 million in salary.
“I’m not here to keep guys happy or keep fan favorites or anything like that,” he said. “That has no pulse for me.”
Russell Canouse, who spent the last seven seasons with United, was one of the players whose contract was allowed to expire. Last season, the defensive midfielder played only two matches after suffering a preseason injury and, separately, surgery to address his ulcerative colitis. Mackay expressed his appreciation for Canouse, calling him, “an absolute warrior,” but he said it was the right decision for both sides to move on.
“I think Russ still has a lot of tread left on the tires. I think he’s someone that will add value,” Mackay said. “But I think for us, it was the right decision to part ways.”
Roster building going forward
United will look to sign players that fits an attacking, pressing style of play next season, United’s general manager said. To do so, head coach Troy Lesesne will need to be equipped with players that can be creative to create their own shot along with provide service to striker Christian Benteke, who will be returning in 2025 after scoring a league-best 23 goals.
“The shop is open,” Mackay said. “We are trying to not leave any stone unturned.”
After signing goalkeeper Jordan Farr from USL Championship side Tampa Bay Rowdies in late November, D.C. has 18 players on its roster, including four homegrowns. Despite all three of its designated player spots being used by Benteke, Mateusz Klich and Matti Peltola, United has enough roster space and salary to make impactful signings.
One example was seen during Mackay’s first offseason. United traded homegrown midfielder Chris Durkin to St. Louis for midfielder Jared Stroud, defender Lucas Bartlett and $300,000 in general allocation money. D.C. was able to use those funds right away along with an additional $200,000 and defender Ruan in a trade with Montreal for defender Aaron Herrera.
Stroud and Bartlett became essential starters for United, while Herrera’s dominant play on the wings made him an MLS All Star for the first time his career. United exercised the option on his contract in the offseason, keeping him with the Black and Red for two more seasons.
“The good clubs in this league maximize every mechanism,” Mackay said, adding that using analytics will be key with some of its signings. “We obviously have a lot of mechanisms coming up. We have international slots that are available. So whether that is going overseas, whether that is the SuperDraft, whether that is reentry or free agency, we will be busy.”
The rumors have already begun as multiple outlets reported that D.C. is close to signing 22-year-old Brazilian winger João Peglow from the Polish first division for about $1 million.
Meanwhile, interest for D.C. young players has picked up. Sports news outlet GiveMeSport said United plans to reject a bid for Annapolis, Maryland, native and defender Matai Akinmboni from Premier League side Bournemouth. Bowie, Maryland, native Kristian Fletcher remains on loan to English side Nottingham Forest with an option for the English side to purchase his contract.
When asked about the interest on his two homegrowns, Mackay said that the club has received a lot of interest on its young players this year. With the continued growth of its other youth products, Ted Ku-DiPietro and Jackson Hopkins, Mackay hopes the club starting its own full time academy program, the growth of the area’s young soccer talent will increase further.
“I think that we can alter the narrative in terms of what the club is, and I think the heartbeat of that is going to come from the academy, and that’s just because there’s good players here,” he said. “We’ve got good homegrown players in the first team right now, and … I think we are making very aware that we’re willing to play young players in the system and in this team.
United’s preseason plans
With the season less than three months away, Mackay confirmed to WTOP that D.C. will return to Florida for its preseason. A portion of the offseason will be spent at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, while the half will be at Palm Beach. The final schedule with preseason matches dates will be released in the near future.
Last season, United spent over two weeks in Saudi Arabia for its preseason, playing four exhibition matches against Saudi-based teams while training at the King Abdullah Sports City in Jeddah.
The decision — made before Lesesne and Mackey arrived to D.C. — led to six of United’s supporter groups to organize in-stadium protests against the trip, including no organized singing or chanting during its first four home games at Audi Field.
Mackay said he had multiple conversation with the club’s ownership group over the summer about its preseason and credits them for helping him get acclimated to the region. Ultimately, management is allowing him to “get his fingers dirty” in how United moves forward.
“This is just my own personal stance, to be honest with you, I’m not a fan of changing time zones in preseason,” Mackay said. “I want to try preseason is a very foundational part of what the season is all about. The foundation that you can create in preseason, I think, has a massive impact on where that season goes.”
His continued relationship with ownership has been key to continuing to grow United in multiple ways, on and off the field. Mackay hopes to continue the upward trend in 2025.
“I want D.C. to be respected again, and that, for me is really, really important,” he said. “I’ll take that very personally over the next 12 months in terms of what we are able to do and how we execute it.”
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