Convert Sam Cronin to Fullback

[jloome]

OK, since we're into the Devil's Advocate part of the offseason.

Sam Cronin is going to be, for a long time, a very good player. He passes magnificently, reads the game well, hustles forward and back more than anyone on the team.

He is the epitome of a box-to-box midfielder. Except....

* We have seen little evidence of offensive skill. His shots were mostly well off target, although his timed runs were good.

* He's too small to be a significant defensive midfielder, and even if he muscles up, ala Dennis Wise, he doesn't seem to have a mean streak. Plus, he's vertically challenged, making him a direct passing lane for opposing teams.

* His average-to-quick pace probably isn't enough to be an effective starting winger, although a two-way wide midfielder is a distinct possibility.

But he has sooooo many good qualities, and they're all valuable as afullback. He passes wonderfully, meaning he can be both a direct link to the forwards and a distributor to his winger and the midfielders. He can cross the ball really, really accurately. He tackles well. He gets forward and back quickly. He can hug the line with the ball.

Who here can honestly say they'd be more comfortable with Marvell Wynne, U.S. international status notwithstanding, at right back next season instead of Sam Cronin?

Plus, if Preki plays his cards sensibly and moves DeRo back to his preferred central playmaker role, we likely have one spot next to him for a defensive midfielder, two at most if we play a narrow game. And we have both DeGuzman, a lock starter, and Robbo, a much more experienced player. And Sanyang's going to be a monster.

If we move Cronin to right back, he'llbe a great fullback. I don't doubt it. It fits his skill set.

[jloome]

And I just realized this should be in the regular section, if someone would like to move it along. Thanks.

[H Bomb]

Sammy is too good at midfield to not be a midfielder. If Marvell isnt gonna start then someone else should be brought in. Nice idea but there's no reason to waste the midfield talent we've got. And how many good midfielders do we have?? De guzman for sure. dero is a floater wherever he plays. Sanyang could be great, we'll see. But Cronin was on many occasions the calmest head on the pitch and that is better suited for the middle instead of tucked away in the corner like that

[JonO]

* His average-to-quick pace probably isn't enough to be an effective starting winger, although a two-way wide midfielder is a distinct possibility.

This :D

Edit: With him and Wynne overlapping on the right, we could have a pretty good right side.

[Yohan]

This :D

Edit: With him and Wynne overlapping on the right, we could have a pretty good right side.
right now, Wynne shouldn't be playing RB forever. though I have slight hope that with Preki, he can drum some footy IQ into Wynne and teach him how to play defence.

interesting idea about Cronin. question is can Preki afford to experiment Cronin at RB, and allow him the time to learn a new position? Cronin did have few games at RB last year though, and Preki did convert Jorge Flores, a young striker into converted LB last year at Chivas.

but I thought one of criticism of the team was that too many players playing out of their natural position... though you can't totally avoid that in MLS

and no Cronin at mid means who'd be our depth player? our sub off the bench?

[Stryker]

Cronin is the only person who can put in decent crosses from the right side at the moment.
The only way I'd consider playing him at RB is if we picked up a right wing and were selling Wynne for a shit load of money.

[TFC_Junky]

^^ I agree with this but I don't think we could sell Wynne for "a shit load of money" anymore. I think that ship sailed along with our dreams of him becoming a talented RB...

[Shway]

This is a joke
i dont see anything great about Sam Cronin excluding his great work ethic.

No strength, average speed, great 10 feet passing, doesnt win balls,
no aerial ability, cant take on players

How is that a midfielder or defender?

I rather have robbo on the filed, if not robbo, Sanyang
However, Cronin would be a great supersub,

[H Bomb]

No way man, Cronin is gonna do good things in this league.

[TFC OZZ]

I remember Cronin having a couple super strikes from distance, he's got a nice shot.

[Shway]

Unless he gets stronger, faster, great passing, starts to win balls, and is able to take on players....

then yea he will do great things in this league.

Preki is a no bullshit kind of coach, dont expect him to play Cronin on the wing, and if hes not on the wing, where else is he going to play?

JDG will play at Guevaras spot, CDM is robbo, his feasible and most adequate substitue will be, should be Sanyang

[daner90]

I would have to say we keep Cronin at mid. So puch JDG up front in the mid with Dero, than Cronin and Robbo at the back. I am in no convinced Sanyang has any skill yet so he can be a sub.

I have to say that Wynne is a good RB option for this team as long as he keeps his crazy arms down...

[jloome]

This is a joke
i dont see anything great about Sam Cronin excluding his great work ethic.

No strength, average speed, great 10 feet passing, doesnt win balls,
no aerial ability, cant take on players

How is that a midfielder or defender?

I rather have robbo on the filed, if not robbo, Sanyang
However, Cronin would be a great supersub,

I can safely say that after three seasons, that is the single worst assessment of a player I've ever seen. YOu need to go back and watch some game films, as he is, hands down, the best passer on this team. And he's a good tackler too.

[Brooker]

Stefan Frei as a striker while we're at it.

Preki as CB.

and Ibby as Head Coach.

[trane]

^ What? Jloome's assessment and suggestion is not a basless one, you may disagree with it. But it is far from baseless. I happen to think that he would be a good Full Back, I prefer him as a Defensive Mid, simply because I can see him developing as a playmaker, good vision and passing.

This is not nearly the same as suggesting Stefan Frei as a striker. I also have to question those who do not see Cronnin's quality.

[ensco]

Interesting. But I don't agree about the lack of offensive skill. He can definitely beat guys off the dribble, I think he can shoot, and I vividly remember his cross to Barrett against Columbus in May, one of the passes of the year for TFC.

His game suffered because he was being moved around, and our midfielders were tripping all over each other because DeRo, Guevara and Vitti were all liberos. Won't happen next year with Preki.

[prizby]

* He's too small to be a significant defensive midfielder, and even if he muscles up, ala Dennis Wise, he doesn't seem to have a mean streak. Plus, he's vertically challenged, making him a direct passing lane for opposing teams.



JDG = 5'7
Cronin = 5'10

[druid]

JDG = 5'7
Cronin = 5'10

Just to add a few more...

Claude Makélélé 5 ft 7
Gennaro Gattuso 5 ft 10
Javier Mascherano 5 ft 8.5
Neil Lennon 5 ft 9
Lassan Diarra 5 ft 7
Nicky Butt 5 ft 10
Esteban Cambiasso 5 ft 10

While I think his height is not an issue in and of itself, I think he might be a little too light weight to pair with JDG in a two man midfield. I think I'd prefer to see him in a three man central system partnered with JDG and Serioux. Serioux would give you the strength in midfield and could sit deep and give a target man a torrid time. Coupled with a decent centre back and we'd have a strong defensive platform with good intelligence allowing a lot of attacking freedom up front.

Would Preki go for a three man midfield? Would JDG and Cronin could offer enough of an attacking threat? Would it suit our attackers? Not sure.

I do think it would be a waste of Cronin's talents and I'd be inclined to ask for a trade if I was Cronin and they told me they wanted to turn me into a right back. If we play 4-4-2 I can see Cronin filling a utility role for a lot of the season unless he hits on a good partnership with JDG.

[jloome]

Just to add a few more...

Claude Makélélé 5 ft 7
Gennaro Gattuso 5 ft 10
Javier Mascherano 5 ft 8.5
Neil Lennon 5 ft 9
Lassan Diarra 5 ft 7
Nicky Butt 5 ft 10
Esteban Cambiasso 5 ft 10

While I think his height is not an issue in and of itself, I think he might be a little too light weight to pair with JDG in a two man midfield. I think I'd prefer to see him in a three man central system partnered with JDG and Serioux. Serioux would give you the strength in midfield and could sit deep and give a target man a torrid time. Coupled with a decent centre back and we'd have a strong defensive platform with good intelligence allowing a lot of attacking freedom up front.

Would Preki go for a three man midfield? Would JDG and Cronin could offer enough of an attacking threat? Would it suit our attackers? Not sure.

I do think it would be a waste of Cronin's talents and I'd be inclined to ask for a trade if I was Cronin and they told me they wanted to turn me into a right back. If we play 4-4-2 I can see Cronin filling a utility role for a lot of the season unless he hits on a good partnership with JDG.

Guys, small does not mean "short". It means slight. He could put on 20 pounds of muscle, and it would be a different story.

[Kaz]

Well Attakora is a great example of what work ethic and desire can do.. Attakora has been with TFC for a while and this year was his year, be got bigger, worked hard, and is a strong part of the club, and will continue to be. Cronin has every chance to do the same, and think he will Though I think he's best suited for Midfield, it is crowded and having him convert to the LB position isn't a bad thing.. if only to help out Jimmy, who is there till he retires if it's a good idea or not.

[Redpunkfiddle]

Interesting. But I don't agree about the lack of offensive skill. He can definitely beat guys off the dribble, I think he can shoot, and I vividly remember his cross to Barrett against Columbus in May, one of the passes of the year for TFC.

His game suffered because he was being moved around, and our midfielders were tripping all over each other because DeRo, Guevara and Vitti were all liberos. Won't happen next year with Preki.

And it was from the left of the field too.

[Hugh Jazz]

The biggest problem with this plan is it is a short term solution. There's no way of knowing what our midfield could look like two years from now. Cronin looks good on the path he's on now, might as well keep him there. Sure the middle's crowded now but he's got some great players to learn from.

[druid]

Guys, small does not mean "short". It means slight. He could put on 20 pounds of muscle, and it would be a different story.

He's not small either. I'd say Cronin's about 165 pounds. He probably has 10-15 pounds on JDG and there's not much difference between Cronin & Robbo. Plus, as other posters have mentioned, his upper body strength could be improved if it was deficient. If he started working on that last season you wouldn't really see the benefits untill the beginning of next season.

He may not be as tenacious as either Robbo, JDG, or Serioux but I don't think that rules him out from being a passing midfielder regardless of where in central midfield you stick him.

Anyway, he's smart enough that I don't think he'd do badly anywhere on the pitch. As for right back, I think he's a bit deficient in the air and his crossing isn't actually that good. He's good at putting diagonal balls into the box/deep crosses from 25-50 yards out if given time and space but hitting the ball on the trot from the 18 yard line to byline isn't really his strength. His crosses from short tend to wind up as weak high looping balls.

That doesn't mean that he can't fill in there but I don't think he should look at it as a career move.

[Brooker]

^ What? Jloome's assessment and suggestion is not a basless one, you may disagree with it. But it is far from baseless. I happen to think that he would be a good Full Back, I prefer him as a Defensive Mid, simply because I can see him developing as a playmaker, good vision and passing.

This is not nearly the same as suggesting Stefan Frei as a striker. I also have to question those who do not see Cronnin's quality.

my apologies. it was a joke.