Atlanta United made the best offseason move out of any MLS club, according to a new survey The Athletic released on Thursday. The anonymous results, polled from 20 club executives, had Atlanta United the winner in two distinct categories.
The hiring of club president and CEO Garth Lagerwey was voted by the group as the best move made this offseason. Lagerwey, who won two MLS Cups and the CONCACAF Champions League with the Seattle Sounders before joining Atlanta United last fall, was voted the runaway winner of best GM in the league in The Athletic's 2022 survey.
The other category that Atlanta United ranked no. 1 was best club owner/ownership. Arthur Blank was voted far and away the winner with nine votes.
The surveyed executives also made their picks for which club will win the 2023 MLS Cup, and Atlanta United received the second-most votes. Atlanta received more votes than Austin FC, LA Galaxy and last season's MLS Cup champion LAFC, which all tied for third. Defending Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Union ranked no. 1. Atlanta United also tied for third in the most votes in which club they think will win the Supporters' Shield.
Atlanta received votes in several more categories including best offseason, most talented player in MLS (Thiago Almada), best MLS defender (Miles Robinson), best MLS midfielder (Thiago Almada) and player that would make the best sporting executive (Brooks Lennon).
To read the article in full, which also contains anonymous feedback from executives on the league's new playoff format, visit The Athletic here.
