Has all the JDG talk affected Robbo?

[jloome]

I'm sure other people here have noted the steady decline in his game over the last eight weeks or so. He can't pass, he dumps the ball off too quickly, his tackling is reckless and yesterday, he even had a couple of occasions where Cronin had to cover his spot.

Seems a hell of a coincidence that this all started around the time the JDG stuff went public. He's never been the most consistent player going forward, but defensively he's been a rock until now.

Given that he turned down offers and had a heavy family debate on whether to stay here, he may be seriously demoralized at the prospect of being dropped, or even just that the team feels he's emminently replaceable.

Thoughts? And can fan support maybe help turn it around?

[mdc 77]

He's getting old, still good but getting old.

[prizby]

Robo is a professional, and the best of them, the number of times he jsut sat on the wales bench for call up, he should be fine

[Hitcho]

interesting theory. he's been a lynch pin for us since we signed him, player of the season for 2007 and 2008 in my book, so sad to see his form dip now. everyone suffers a dip in form though. hiopefully this will clear up asap, especially if the de guz deal is off the table.

anyway, we have played 4-2-3-1 a lot recently, so who's to say it wouldn;t be robbo and de guz as the 2? that's be a kick ass shield for our back four...

[mmmikey]

his game is in serious decline. i would like cronin to be tried as a direct replacement once we get healthy, but i worry he isn't strong enough yet for sole control of that spot on the field in MLS.

[v00d00daddy]

I don't think his play has slipped. He looks like the exact same player (even when he plays well) that he looked to me in year 1.

There are just better players around him that make his warts show. It doesn't help that Cronin is here and (imo) already a better holding mid.

[felipe]

I'm sure it has affected him...and I think its shitty; he ended his international career for the TFC cause and he probably feels he doesn't get the respect he deserves.

So, yeah, it's slipped, and you're right, a little fan support would probably go a loong ways - too bad most people around here are a 'what have you done for me lately' crowd with exceedingly short memories...

I'm sure he'll pick it up again - atta boy Robbo, the people that matter are behind ya!

[arbogast]

Whew! I'm glad I'm not the only one here who thinks his form has dropped. Criticizing Robbo is tough cuz of his class, but the fact is he has not been playing well and last night was probably his worst performance in a TFC jersey. I hope he can turn it around.

[Chevy]

Nah. He was shitty before the JDG talk started.

[VPjr]

Nah. He was shitty before the JDG talk started.

+1

I continue to be totally baffled by the love affair some have for Robbo.

He is an adequate ball winning midfielder. that's where his quality begins and ends.

he is a horrible passer and always has been.

I'd rather see Daniel Imhof as our holding midfielder.

[jloome]

+1

I continue to be totally baffled by the love affair some have for Robbo.

He is an adequate ball winning midfielder. that's where his quality begins and ends.

he is a horrible passer and always has been.

I'd rather see Daniel Imhof as our holding midfielder.

Yeah, whatever. He's never been a "horrible passer." Utter fucking nonsense. In fact, there are some games when he's laser-like. He's just terribly inconsistent. He goes from good, to indifferent, to poor at the flick of a switch.

Less problematic than his actual passing is his unwillingess to hold onto it before he distributes. He's the biggest one-toucher on the team.

And I think we'd all like to see Daniel Imhof, but we're a few million bucks short, I imagine.

[VPjr]

^ 1st, Imhof makes nowhere near "a few million dollars". Getting him to leave Europe is likely more of a lifestyle issue than a money issue.

2nd, my eyes don't lie. I know what i see. I've watched pretty much every TFC match robinson has ever played for TFC, including a couple of his matches with Wales. The man is capable of making 1 type of pass with accuracy....a square ball east and west (or back to the keeper).

Ask him to make a useful north/south pass on any sort of diagonal angle and you'll get 1 thing....a turnover.

TFC would be better off with a holding mid combo of guevara and cronin.

[Blazer]

Robinson’s a professional as someone put it back there, and resigning from the Wales national team was a decision he made with his head rather than his heart. He understands that he has very little to offer from a skill set perspective and respectfully gave way to younger and more talented players. Good on him – nothing he can do would have made that team better and they’re better off for parting ways.

He does however need a few games from the sidelines. The team needs for that to happen too. When he’s in there every damn game for 3 years he’s going to make great plays that make us all love him and want to support him, while also making the poor plays that we forgive and move on from (and accept as just part of his game).

I’d like to see what this team is capable of without him on the pitch for a few matches. It’s hard to sit a guy that wants to play as bad as he does and a guy that has made the commitment he has to this city, but we have to do what’s best for this club, not what’s best for our most stand up players.

If we continue to struggle without him in the lineup then so be it, play him til he’s donezo. But we need to see what we can handle and potentially become without him too.

Brennan’s sort of in the same boat. They’re not getting old, they’re getting complacent and good scouting has started to expose their many deficiencies and weaknesses. They have to adapt otherwise their spirals downward will only continue to mar their overall game and more importantly this team performance so long as they’re being relied upon.

[arbogast]

^ 1st, Imhof makes nowhere near "a few million dollars". Getting him to leave Europe is likely more of a lifestyle issue than a money issue.

2nd, my eyes don't lie. I know what i see. I've watched pretty much every TFC match robinson has ever played for TFC, including a couple of his matches with Wales. The man is capable of making 1 type of pass with accuracy....a square ball east and west (or back to the keeper).

Ask him to make a useful north/south pass on any sort of diagonal angle and you'll get 1 thing....a turnover.

TFC would be better off with a holding mid combo of guevara and cronin.

+1. You're spot on with the east west passing analysis, he's good at it, so he always does it. I would also add that when he does put the ball forward, he usually gives the ball away. a lot. But it baffles me that no one calls him out for it.

[fetajr]

Robbo is no good which ever way you look at it.

Mo can replace Robbo with a much more effective, forward passing defensive midfielder in ARTURO SANHUEZA from Colo Colo in Chile

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L6LlsTdoUs

[felipe]

I'm sorry

Why would a random Chilean be interested in coming here? And why would his team be interested in selling him? And do you think TFC/MLS would pay anything above $0 to get him?

Y'know, I think Viera would do a better job, too, lets sign him up

[C.Ronaldo]

Robinson’s a professional as someone put it back there, and resigning from the Wales national team was a decision he made with his head rather than his heart. He understands that he has very little to offer from a skill set perspective and respectfully gave way to younger and more talented players. Good on him – nothing he can do would have made that team better and they’re better off for parting ways.

He does however need a few games from the sidelines. The team needs for that to happen too. When he’s in there every damn game for 3 years he’s going to make great plays that make us all love him and want to support him, while also making the poor plays that we forgive and move on from (and accept as just part of his game).

I’d like to see what this team is capable of without him on the pitch for a few matches. It’s hard to sit a guy that wants to play as bad as he does and a guy that has made the commitment he has to this city, but we have to do what’s best for this club, not what’s best for our most stand up players.

If we continue to struggle without him in the lineup then so be it, play him til he’s donezo. But we need to see what we can handle and potentially become without him too.

Brennan’s sort of in the same boat. They’re not getting old, they’re getting complacent and good scouting has started to expose their many deficiencies and weaknesses. They have to adapt otherwise their spirals downward will only continue to mar their overall game and more importantly this team performance so long as they’re being relied upon.



maybe the league/team/style is actually getting a bit better, quicker, and they havent been able to adjust.

[Ultra & Proud]

I'm sure other people here have noted the steady decline in his game over the last three years or so.

Fixed your post.

[fetajr]

I'm sorry

Why would a random Chilean be interested in coming here? And why would his team be interested in selling him? And do you think TFC/MLS would pay anything above $0 to get him?

Y'know, I think Viera would do a better job, too, lets sign him up

What do teams do when they find a player that they like and want to acquire him?

Money can solve everything. Its guys like like Sanhueza that can be acquired without having to pay ridiculous amounts of cash, yet he is much more effective in his position than alot of european players that would cost more.

For the quality that Guillermo Barros Schelotto brings to the table, he wasn't making a whole lot in salary his first year, and wasn't that close to the top salaries in his second year, but Columbus did thier homework and thought outside of the box (opposite of Mo Johnston) and acquired Schelotto.

[ensco]

I think it's simpler than this. He's just getting older. The look on his face isn't resentment over JdG, it's frustration - he can't do the things he used to do.

Robbo has lost a tiny bit of speed. It makes all the difference in the world. You lose that extra split second, suddenly your passing, which was never great, becomes horrible.

Same for Brennan, btw, with him you really see it on his runs down the wing, he rarely beats the defender any more.

[Dirk Diggler]

^ 1st, Imhof makes nowhere near "a few million dollars". Getting him to leave Europe is likely more of a lifestyle issue than a money issue.

2nd, my eyes don't lie. I know what i see. I've watched pretty much every TFC match robinson has ever played for TFC, including a couple of his matches with Wales. The man is capable of making 1 type of pass with accuracy....a square ball east and west (or back to the keeper).

Ask him to make a useful north/south pass on any sort of diagonal angle and you'll get 1 thing....a turnover.

TFC would be better off with a holding mid combo of guevara and cronin.

Completely agree with every word in the post. Even when he was in England, I remember a lot of people on the internet boards stating how the only accurate passes he makes are east/west ... nothing down field. This has held true for the majority of his stay in Toronto as well. For MLS standards, he is an above average ball winner but overall as a midfielder, I'd have to believe that at the very best, he is par for the course in the league.

[Northern Soul]

I think maybe Robbo plays too many matches. We need to give him a rest every so often.

[Cashcleaner]

^ I'm starting to think so as well. I think Robinson is a good player and has a place on the roster, but I'll agree that we could be over-using him at times and that in itself could be responsible for some of his breakdowns in performance.

[Lucky Strike]

I'm sure other people here have noted the steady decline in his game over the last eight weeks or so. He can't pass, he dumps the ball off too quickly, his tackling is reckless and yesterday, he even had a couple of occasions where Cronin had to cover his spot.

Seems a hell of a coincidence that this all started around the time the JDG stuff went public. He's never been the most consistent player going forward, but defensively he's been a rock until now.

Given that he turned down offers and had a heavy family debate on whether to stay here, he may be seriously demoralized at the prospect of being dropped, or even just that the team feels he's emminently replaceable.

Thoughts? And can fan support maybe help turn it around?

I had noticed the same thing as well and your theory might be the explanation. Robinson, as it's been pointed out earlier, is a consummate professional of that I have no doubt, but this sort of talk (especially given the personal wrangling with his family to come here from overseas, etc.) will affect even the best guys. Robbo hasn't been himself lately and maybe with JDG not coming, he'll break out of his funk.

[this is joga]

I'm sorry

Why would a random Chilean be interested in coming here? And why would his team be interested in selling him? And do you think TFC/MLS would pay anything above $0 to get him?

Y'know, I think Viera would do a better job, too, lets sign him up

the same reason a random Welsh men had interest in coming here.
btw the Viera comparison is way off - we're talking about Arturo Sanhueza here.

anyway, getting someone named Sanhueza, Viera, Mascherano, Makelele or Hargreaves is not gonna happen anytime soon. so lets give a kid named Cronin the chance while Robbo sits and watches.. plus, wouldn't his great character still be valuable on the bench and in the dressing room? no need to be on the field to do those things.

[Pookie]

Let's keep in mind that the guy will make over US$300k this year when he was considering retirement in the offseason.

Even if he is shipped out, his money is still coming in. I can't see him being that distracted by talk of being released when he himself was considering hanging them up just a few months ago.

I don't think he play has been affected. I think he is playing about the same as he always has. You might remember our painful 18 game finish last year in which we blew leads and fumbled our way out of a playoff spot. He was there for that... coincidence?

[arbogast]

Let's keep in mind that the guy will make over US$300k this year when he was considering retirement in the offseason.

Even if he is shipped out, his money is still coming in. I can't see him being that distracted by talk of being released when he himself was considering hanging them up just a few months ago.

I don't think he play has been affected. I think he is playing about the same as he always has. You might remember our painful 18 game finish last year in which we blew leads and fumbled our way out of a playoff spot. He was there for that... coincidence?

I'm glad you noticed that too. We have problems ldefending and inking the ball, and his position plays a vital role in both functions. As a Dm he should also be cleaning up mistakes and bolstering our backline (which has been attrocious since day 1). Unfortunately he hasn't and it was painfully obvious agains PR when he missed a sure tackle to allow a forward through to goal. I'm starting to think Robbo and Jimmy have played a large role in our mediocrity.