Our view/comments about our player in general

[trane]

I am guilty of this as well, but in general I think we are generaly to one sided about our players, as a group. We expect to much for the most part, and then when we do not get Gattuso/Rooney/Messi, we trash them. I like to evaluate players, it is part of the fun of following this sport, but lets have realistic expectations, which means do not pretend that our players are flowless, none of them are, and those who are young and are developing will not be arround, but give them credit for what they do contribute.

Barrett is a perfect example. He does not suck. He has contributed, and I have liked his play. Having said that he is not the MLS Rooney, and I am startignt to belive he may never be. Does that meen he suck and we should let him go. No. Put him in the right role and he has and will contribute to the success of the team. I could go down the line but I will not.

[rocker]

the prob is few people except diehards watch other teams.
most people I know follow TFC in isolation.... many of the things we complain about are criticisms fans of other teams have. MLS is a flawed league, by nature.
fans of other teams complain about missed chances and "overpaid" players etc.

i think people need to look at the greater context... look around MLS. it doesn't matter what TFC's skill level is in absolute terms... only how our team compares to other ones.
for example, if the whole league complains of bad defending, there's no need to get too uptight about our defenders. it's the norm.

right now TFC is third best in scoring, per game. 3rd of 15 teams. pretty good.. but if you only look at TFC in isolation, you complain about the 1-0 games and Barrett missing chances. NY has Angel and they are near last in scoring.

just look at position out of 15 teams in the standings.

[Keyman]

Each player is a piece to the puzzle. And as long as they fit, then it's fine by me. I agree that people have a tendency to exagerate the uselessness of players. But that's the North American mentality, it's based on statistical conclussions, not analysis of actual play. Obviously some players will stick out in the puzzle, but you only need one or two to do so, the rest will continually make contributions which may not show up on the stat sheet, but do in the win column. And that, in the end, is the most important statistic of all.

[TorontoBlades]

It's part of playing in a passionate market I think.

I for one think that a lot of people think that Barrett is a decent player - not amazing, not shiite - but who wants to start a thread called Barrett is aiight. The posters will always be one of the extreme opinions on a topic. And I also think that a lot of posting occurs for reaction too.

That said, today has been a fantastic day for TFC banter - or maybe I'm just that bored at work.

[dupont]

I have some players that I really like such as Geuvara, DeRo and Dichio and even when they have bad games I don't start trashing them right away because I can keep it in context and remember how great they play overall.

[olegunnar]

I know speaking for myself it's taken time to get used to the level of play in MLS.
You spend your whole life watching top leagues, and top competitions and you get used to watching a certain level of play. One that's not possible in this league.

So you get the old school footy types that have a hard time rationalizing that such flawed players can be valuable assets to MLS teams.

[Oldtimer]

Actually, this is not unique to MLS. Supporters in leagues around the world intensely support their club, so any problems, and a player gets criticized.

[Shakes McQueen]

the prob is few people except diehards watch other teams.
most people I know follow TFC in isolation.... many of the things we complain about are criticisms fans of other teams have. MLS is a flawed league, by nature.
fans of other teams complain about missed chances and "overpaid" players etc.

i think people need to look at the greater context... look around MLS. it doesn't matter what TFC's skill level is in absolute terms... only how our team compares to other ones.
for example, if the whole league complains of bad defending, there's no need to get too uptight about our defenders. it's the norm.

right now TFC is third best in scoring, per game. 3rd of 15 teams. pretty good.. but if you only look at TFC in isolation, you complain about the 1-0 games and Barrett missing chances. NY has Angel and they are near last in scoring.

just look at position out of 15 teams in the standings.

It's funny, I spend a lot of time perusing other MLS teams' supporter forums. The one constant seems to be that every group apparently thinks their team is awful.

When you pull back and look at the bigger picture, instead of just intensely focusing in on individual actions during games, we are a pretty good team this season.

- Scitt

[Darlofletch]

I know speaking for myself it's taken time to get used to the level of play in MLS.
You spend your whole life watching top leagues, and top competitions and you get used to watching a certain level of play. One that's not possible in this league.

So you get the old school footy types that have a hard time rationalizing that such flawed players can be valuable assets to MLS teams.

I grew up watching english division 4 football, so this is a step up for me.

I find myself generally reacting to other people's criticisms. Like when everyone was shitting on Barrett, i found myself defending him and looking for any positive I could find, whereas the whole Pablo Vitti love in that took place for a while made me want to criticise him. I irrationally want Barrett to succeed much more than Vitti.

Truth is they're about the same, they have different strengths, but both contribute/frustrate at about the same level, and neither of them are going to be the clear answer to our prayers up front.

[Calvin]

It brings up a point tho, were so of love or hate:

Players We Love:

DeRo
Dichio
Serioux
Frei
Guevarra

Players We Hate:
Harmse
Velez
Barret

I mean some of this makes sense. Part of it is cognitive dissidence.

[jloome]

It brings up a point tho, were so of love or hate:

Players We Love:

DeRo
Dichio
Serioux
Frei
Guevarra

Players We Hate:
Harmse
Velez
Barret

I mean some of this makes sense. Part of it is cognitive dissidence.

Again, Calvin, it's cognitive dissonance, not dissidence. And that isn't what it means. It's the uncomfortable mental stress of having an existing belief challenged; it has nothing to do with dissidents.

The hate for Harmse and Velez has always been badly overblown. Both are decent, workmanlike MLS-level players. I'd rather neither were a starter, in other words, but we also need them from time to time.

I don't hate Barrett, I just wonder if he was ever much of a finisher and lost his touch, or what? Because if his striker rate has always been this lousy in competition, it doesn't really matter how well he finishes in practice. We should move him wide full-time.

[trane]

^ I agree. Harmse made awfull mistakes, when he was played out of position. Back in his position he can contribute as a sub. Velez is also a capable sub at Back. Barret is a starter, just not infront of the net, but wide.

Like overs have said I myself end up attacking players, just becasue others will defend them seemingly no matter what. Then you end up looking like you hate the player/coach, when you are simply trying to put you view on the matter through. You may have a measured point, but it comes out like hate for a player/coach.

This is why I think coaching is key in this league in particullar, I think Jloome has said it in the past, you have a roster of flawed players, even the best are flawed. You need to now how to play them to hide there flaws and use their tallents.

[jloome]

^ I agree. Harmse made awfull mistakes, when he was played out of position. Back in his position he can contribute as a sub. Velez is also a capable sub at Back. Barret is a starter, just not infront of the net, but wide.

Like overs have said I myself end up attacking players, just becasue others will defend them seemingly no matter what. Then you end up looking like you hate the player/coach, when you are simply trying to put you view on the matter through. You may have a measured point, but it comes out like hate for a player/coach.

This is why I think coaching is key in this league in particullar, I think Jloome has said it in the past, you have a roster of flawed players, even the best are flawed. You need to now how to play them to hide there flaws and use their tallents.

Yeah, there's no team in this league that doesn't have to adjust to weaknesses continually. It's actually one of the points of parity, although unlike NCAA basketball, I'm not sure increased fallibility makes for a more interesting spectacle!

[Cashcleaner]

Hmmmmmm...

A lot of good points getting brought up here. I don't think we can escape the fact that regardless of how well our overall quality as a team is, there are the aforementioned players that just frustrate us to no end. That's pretty much my gripe - watching guys play so inconsistently at times. That said, however, it's been a while since we've had anyone who was undeniably shit.

Welsh, anyone?

[Ossington Mental Youth]

I am guilty of this as well, but in general I think we are generaly to one sided about our players, as a group. We expect to much for the most part, and then when we do not get Gattuso/Rooney/Messi, we trash them. I like to evaluate players, it is part of the fun of following this sport, but lets have realistic expectations, which means do not pretend that our players are flowless, none of them are, and those who are young and are developing will not be arround, but give them credit for what they do contribute.

Barrett is a perfect example. He does not suck. He has contributed, and I have liked his play. Having said that he is not the MLS Rooney, and I am startignt to belive he may never be. Does that meen he suck and we should let him go. No. Put him in the right role and he has and will contribute to the success of the team. I could go down the line but I will not.

Oh my god thank you
i wish this had been said and listened to a long time ago

[Calvin]

Harmse is quite truly afraid of the ball. I really dont think hes at this level.