Today's News,Wednesday,Feb.17

[denime]

Mornin'


No TFC News,except one that was already discussed yesterday.


Reaching for soccer stars (http://www.ottawacitizen.com/sports/Reaching+soccer+stars/2569247/story.html)



SUNSHINE (http://www.torontosun.com/sunshinegirl/)

[Wagner]

I'm attending this symposium this morning.

http://ots.open.uoguelph.ca/

W3 9:00 – 9:45 “Field of Dreams”: Real turf for BMO Field, Bob Hunter,
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment
After successfully sodding BMO Field for the Toronto FC vs. Real Madrid friendly,
the decision was made by Toronto city council to install permanent natural turf
at BMO Field. With a four party agreement in place between the City of Toronto,
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, and the provincial and federal governments,
Bob Hunter will talk about the plans to have the turf ready for the Toronto FC home
opener next season.
9:45 - 10:15 Coffee
W4 10:15 - 11:00 If you sod it they will come: Sodding BMO Field for Real
M adrid vs. Toronto Football Club Friendly, Claus Zander, Zander Sod
When Toronto FC wanted Real Madrid to fly in for a “friendly” game, it had to be
played on natural turf. They were given 40 hours to cover the artificial field with
sod, no room for excuses, the teams were going to play. The turf had to be removed
immediately following the match with the artificial field prepared and ready to play
on again. This talk will document the process from start to finish.

If there's any new info I'll share.

Kind of interesting that MLSE gets top billing at a industry event after just getting into the game.

[KRO]

Not soccer news but apparently our captain loves his German car.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/my-car/benz-it-like-beckham/article1470246/

[scooter]

mornin d

[spark]

An opinion piece, but are we headed for another season of a batch of "hopeful" rather than PROVEN strikers?

WILL TFC STRIKE OUT ON STRIKERS? (http://www.rednationonline.ca/Will_TFC_Strike_Out_on_Strikers_feb_17_10_column.s html)

[Oldtimer]

Not soccer news but apparently our captain loves his German car.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/my-car/benz-it-like-beckham/article1470246/

That is really important news... :flare:

[KRO]

That is really important news... :flare:
So sorry to post an article that upset you so much that it warranted the use of the 'flare guy'. It's a slow day and it was a published article related to TFC. What side of the bed did you get out of this morning?

[Mark in Ottawa]

As an addition to the story of TFC scouting players across Ontario for their academy...

Here in Ottawa we have one of the largest soccer clubs in Ontario, The Ottawa South United (OSU).
http://www.osu.ca/index.php

They have their own academy called the OSU Force which seems to be developing players successfully for the
Canadian and American college ranks.

"In 2005, 2006, 2007 & 2008 OSU obtained the coveted *Terra rankings as the #1 Developmental Community Soccer Club in the Province of Ontario.
( *The Toronto based TERRA rankings measures the 190 major soccer clubs across the province of Ontario. )"

As well this club is affiliated with Everton of the EPL who will be running a March Break Soccer camp here in Ottawa.

[Oldtimer]

So sorry to post an article that upset you so much that it warranted the use of the 'flare guy'. It's a slow day and it was a published article related to TFC. What side of the bed did you get out of this morning?

Actually, I liked the article, and read it fully. It was just a lame attempt at humour on my part.

And yes, it is a slow day for news.

[Lucky Strike]

As if his license says JimmyB11. Just a random thought, but he (and other players in the league) better hide that car if the players' union wants any sympathy in CBA negotiations.

They ought to do an article on what Gabe Gala drives. My best guesses are a '89 Civic, he gets a ride with Jimmy B or takes the bus. :D

[TFCRegina]

The Ottawa scouting article was a great read and I hope our academy continues to be active in the area.

[icecoldbeer]

Not soccer news but apparently our captain loves his German car.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-drive/car-life/my-car/benz-it-like-beckham/article1470246/

Got his license plate now too!

JIMMYB11, wouldn't have guessed that

[tfcmanu]

Toronto FC (http://www.tribalfootball.com/category/clubs/toronto-fc) have increased their search for quality youngsters by entering the second stage of their youth training camps or combines.
Overseen by TFC youth academy coach Stuart Neely, the club held their second combine at Ottawa’s Landsdowne Park after already being in Waterloo with plans to go to Hamilton next.
Neely, with assistance from academy senior team coach Paul Bent, was looking at about 80 youngsters ranging from 14 to 17 years of age and admitted that you were given a better opportunity if you are younger.
"The (born in) '93s and '94s will have to be a really solid standout, knocking at the door," he said before training began. "It's tough to say this, but the younger you are the more chance you have. The '93 players are usually very similar."
Neely said he was hoping to find something in the players that he could work with and help turn them into complete footballers – unlike what he was in his playing days.
“I was a centre half," he said. "I was there to just do a job. Now that's exactly what I don't want. I want to make a player a pure footballer. None of this win the ball and kick it and if you can't kick the ball, kick the player.
"I want attacking skills, movement on and off the ball, fluidity and a mind for the game. You only get a handful of minutes with the ball at your feet in a game. So, know how to find space, open up space, create space."
And there were plans to continue to hold these combines to keep improving the standard of players in Canada.
“We don't want to just come back next year. We are looking at multiple visits to see players, to visit clubs, to put on training sessions," he concluded.

http://www.tribalfootball.com/toronto-fc-increases-search-youngsters-647541

[J .]

An opinion piece, but are we headed for another season of a batch of "hopeful" rather than PROVEN strikers?

WILL TFC STRIKE OUT ON STRIKERS? (http://www.rednationonline.ca/Will_TFC_Strike_Out_on_Strikers_feb_17_10_column.s html)

Our clubs problem hasn't been scoring goals

[[NBF]]

if your striker dont score more than 10 goals a season. You have a scoring problem.

[Beach_Red]

;893705']if your striker dont score more than 10 goals a season. You have a scoring problem.


Yeah but Cunningham scored way more than 10 last year and that didn't help his team much.

This is a funny league.

[rocker]

to me it doesn't matter if you have a single player who scores more than 10 goals. What's more important is total goals scored by the team and total goals allowed.

the league leaders in goals were Cunningham and then Casey, and neither team made the playoffs.

Neither Chivas nor Houston had a guy above ten goals last year, and they had good seasons. NE made the playoffs without one. Chicago fire didn't have a guy with ten goals.

So there's really no correlation between having a 10+ goal striker and doing well over the course of the season.

I see people always saying we need to find a 15 goal scorer... well so does almost every other MLS team. 15 goal scorers are rare in this league.

[Carts]

to me it doesn't matter if you have a single player who scores more than 10 goals. What's more important is total goals scored by the team and total goals allowed.

the league leaders in goals were Cunningham and then Casey, and neither team made the playoffs.

Neither Chivas nor Houston had a guy above ten goals last year, and they had good seasons. NE made the playoffs without one. Chicago fire didn't have a guy with ten goals.

So there's really no correlation between having a 10+ goal striker and doing well over the course of the season.

I see people always saying we need to find a 15 goal scorer... well so does almost every other MLS team. 15 goal scorers are rare in this league.

That's right...

In the end, one thing matters - the final scoreboard...

They don't how, they don't ask from who, they just ask how many...

If you have a team with 11-guys with 6-goals each and a playoff spot, that's better than one 15-goal scorer and finishing 1-point out...

Carts...

[spark]

Our clubs problem hasn't been scoring goals

I don't think it's about exactly scoring per se, but STRIKERS scoring. I'm pretty sure you can't debate there has been a problem in this department.

[rocker]

I don't think it's about exactly scoring per se, but STRIKERS scoring. I'm pretty sure you can't debate there has been a problem in this department.

yes, that's true. But even somebody as derided as Chad Barrett only scored 3 fewer goals than a guy like Brian Ching, who has a pretty big profile in MLS. Ching led Houston with 8 goals... 8 goals ain't that hot for a team leading striker, but Houston did fine.

Also, if you look at Preki's Chivas last year, you'll see something interesting in the goals column:

http://web.mlsnet.com/t120/stats/index.jsp?club=t120&year=2008

[ExiledRed]

Our clubs problem hasn't been scoring goals

Yes it has, persistently for three seasons.

If we'd scored more goals we would have won more games, period.

[Technorgasm]

Yes it has, persistently for three seasons.

If we'd scored more goals we would have won more games, period.


GOALS = Points!

in the game of football. . I have been working on this theory. .

in the game of football, you get better results if you shoot it towards the oposing net. . typically, you get better results if you score more than the other team (apart from OGs of course)

[Beach_Red]

Yes it has, persistently for three seasons.

If we'd scored more goals we would have won more games, period.


Of course, that's true of every team. After last season, though, what it looked like was even the team we had should have been able to keep out a few of those late goals and we would have won more games.

What's the best strategy for right now? Getting in a coach with a system to protect the lead or look to sign players that'll make the lead so big it doesn't need to be protected?

(and don't just say both, that's too easy ;))

[rocker]

Yes it has, persistently for three seasons.

If we'd scored more goals we would have won more games, period.

Yes, and if we'd stopped more goals from going in (particularly in the final 15 minutes) we'd have won more games, period.

And if we'd stopped more goals from going in and scored more goals, we'd have won even more games, period!

And if we'd not let in any goals but scored 100 goals we'd have won more games, period.. that is, unless we scored those 100 goals in 1 game..

[Oldtimer]

yes, that's true. But even somebody as derided as Chad Barrett only scored 3 fewer goals than a guy like Brian Ching, who has a pretty big profile in MLS. Ching led Houston with 8 goals... 8 goals ain't that hot for a team leading striker, but Houston did fine.

Also, if you look at Preki's Chivas last year, you'll see something interesting in the goals column:

http://web.mlsnet.com/t120/stats/index.jsp?club=t120&year=2008

Very interesting. Nobody more than 5 goals, yet they made the playoffs.

Which shows what I've been saying for some time, the key to doing well in MLS (and also in CONCACAF competition) is a solid defense. If Chad and DeRo do the same as last year, but we don't give up those goals, we might go far, even if we don't land that star striker.

LA 2 years ago was the poster child for lots of goals scored, but crappy defense. They were near the bottom of the table.

Montreal in CONCACAF CL during the same period was the poster child for solid defense (until that last game) and below-average goal scoring. They went far.

[polak9pete]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12875_5955924,00.html

rohan ricketts has found a new home

[rocker]

Very interesting. Nobody more than 5 goals, yet they made the playoffs.

Which shows what I've been saying for some time, the key to doing well in MLS (and also in CONCACAF competition) is a solid defense. If Chad and DeRo do the same as last year, but we don't give up those goals, we might go far, even if we don't land that star striker.

LA 2 years ago was the poster child for lots of goals scored, but crappy defense. They were near the bottom of the table.

Montreal in CONCACAF CL during the same period was the poster child for solid defense (until that last game) and below-average goal scoring. They went far.

Yup.. you need some goals, but not an excessive number if you hold the fort at the other end.

LA finished with 1 fewer goal than TFC did last season, but look how much success they had. Despite Fredy Montero, Seattle finished with just 1 more goal than TFC did, but nobody thinks of Seattle as having scoring problems. The Mighty Houston Dynamo, who everyone praises, scored only 2 more goals in 8 months than TFC did.... 2 measly goals... Chivas scored 3 *fewer* goals than TFC but did better than TFC.

So yeah, goal scoring is not a major problem for TFC. Keeping goals out is a major problem for TFC and has been for all three seasons.

[Stryker]

Ahahahahahahahaha.


"I spoke to him face-to-face and he spoke about his experiences in football and he admitted he wasn't in as good condition as he should be.

He may not be in shape but he can pimp a product like nobody's business.

[Oldtimer]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12875_5955924,00.html

rohan ricketts has found a new home

Glad for him. The quality of play in Hungary is not that high currently, so he should be able to do well.

[Beach_Red]

Very interesting. Nobody more than 5 goals, yet they made the playoffs.




It makes sense. There are exceptions like Cunningham who score a bunch and yet couldn't make a team in practically any other league - or certainly wouldn't get paid as much anywhere but his home country, so any time a young player looks like he can actually score goals he's gone.

Movisisyan from RSL is my current favourite example. He's probably 10-15% better than Barrett - so RSL have lost him.

Now, I don't know about this, but are goal scorers something American soccer isn't producing a lot of yet? I know you can't compare too closely to hockey, but when other countries introduced hockey they produced goalies and defensemen first and it took decades for them to produce pure goal scorers.

If that comparison can be made then as long as MLS rosters have to be so domestic-heavy, defense is the way to go.

[MG42]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12875_5955924,00.html

rohan ricketts has found a new home



"I spoke to him face-to-face and he spoke about his experiences in football and he admitted he wasn't in as good condition as he should be.
"I offered him the chance to attend extra training sessions within one month and he accepted this offer."


:rofl:

[spark]

yes, that's true. But even somebody as derided as Chad Barrett only scored 3 fewer goals than a guy like Brian Ching, who has a pretty big profile in MLS. Ching led Houston with 8 goals... 8 goals ain't that hot for a team leading striker, but Houston did fine.

Also, if you look at Preki's Chivas last year, you'll see something interesting in the goals column:

http://web.mlsnet.com/t120/stats/index.jsp?club=t120&year=2008

Unless I checked a bad source, I'm seeing Ching with 9 goals in 21 games and Barrett with 5 in 29.

*Yes, and if we'd stopped more goals from going in (particularly in the final 15 minutes) we'd have won more games, period.*

I agree with this but it can go two ways. How many of those games did we see our players botch chances to put away an insurance goal? I can recall too many games thinking to myself "those missed chances are going to bite us in the ass" and there goes all three points.

I personally don't think one is more important than the other - we still need stronger defenders and another striker. We can debate it all day long but game are won or lost at both ends of the pitch.

[Oldtimer]

Now, I don't know about this, but are goal scorers something American soccer isn't producing a lot of yet? I know you can't compare too closely to hockey, but when other countries introduced hockey they produced goalies and defensemen first and it took decades for them to produce pure goal scorers.

If that comparison can be made then as long as MLS rosters have to be so domestic-heavy, defense is the way to go.

Yes, American soccer has not produced that many top-level goal scorers. Jozy Altidore is one of their best strikers, but he's only scored one goal in 19 appearances for Hull. Freddy Adu scored 2 goals in 11 appearances as an AM for Benfica in 2007, and has hardly scored since. The only real exception is Landycakes (1 goal, 1 assist in 3 appearances at Everton).

U.S. soccer is mainly noted for it's goalkeepers, who are often sought overseas.

[rocker]

Unless I checked a bad source, I'm seeing Ching with 9 goals in 21 games and Barrett with 5 in 29.

*Yes, and if we'd stopped more goals from going in (particularly in the final 15 minutes) we'd have won more games, period.*

I agree with this but it can go two ways. How many of those games did we see our players botch chances to put away an insurance goal? I can recall too many games thinking to myself "those missed chances are going to bite us in the ass" and there goes all three points.

I personally don't think one is more important than the other - we still need stronger defenders and another striker. We can debate it all day long but game are won or lost at both ends of the pitch.

Oh, I don't disagree with that. But his argument was simply on the goals side, while I'm presenting the fact that defense is important too. As I mentioned before, many good MLS teams scored the same or close to the same number of goals as TFC did. In THAT equation then, goals is not a problem, defense is. The comment that sparked the discussion dealt with goals being a "problem" for TFC. Well, if 37 goals is a problem then Chivas and LA had a problem too, cuz they scored fewer than we did. But they performed better in the standings.... due to better defense.


On Ching, my source is MLSnet. They say 8 goals in 19 games. Perhaps you're counting other competitions.

http://houston.mlsnet.com/players/bio.jsp?team=t200&player=ching_b&playerId=chi444955&statType=current

[deacon]

Any word on DC United scrimmage this morning?

[Beach_Red]

Yes, American soccer has not produced that many top-level goal scorers. Jozy Altidore is one of their best strikers, but he's only scored one goal in 19 appearances for Hull. Freddy Adu scored 2 goals in 11 appearances as an AM for Benfica in 2007, and has hardly scored since. The only real exception is Landycakes (1 goal, 1 assist in 3 appearances at Everton).

U.S. soccer is mainly noted for it's goalkeepers, who are often sought overseas.


So it is similar to hockey. There have been a couple of Swiss goalies in the NHL (and even Huet from France) but no goal scorers from there yet. Stopping someone else from doing something is a different mindset from creating something.

It seems guys like Limniatis and Preki have the right idea - build a team that suits the players you're able to get. As long as the rosters are so domestic-heavy and the salary cap so low the best bet is defense.

[Oldtimer]

Any word on DC United scrimmage this morning?

http://www.redpatchboys.ca/forums/showthread.php?t=20333

[tfcmanu]

You can tell a lot about what a team's front office thinks about its team's prospects by the number of trialists it invites to camp.

In the case of Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls, there are trialists galore — and the more interesting prospects are the topics of my Red Card column in Wednesday's 24 hours Toronto, P. 20. (http://24hrs.ca)The fact that TFC's and RBNY's camps are brimming with tryouts is a sign that the coaches are willing to look anywhere to rebuild teams that are badly broken.

Take a look at New England, where there is one trialist of note, the Chilean striker Reinaldo Navia. Coach Steve Nicol obviously feels good about the midfield and defence, but knows he needs scoring help. Houston has brought in a host of midfield trialists, looking to replace Stuart Holden and Ricardo Clark, the two major midfield parts who left for Europe. Basically, these teams are looking at unsigned project players only in select areas where they need help. Chicago has former Fulham striker Collins John on trial, but he's looked so good so far that I think it won't be long till the tryout tag is removed. If not in Chicago, he'll find work somewhere in MLS. Heck, he'd be a lot more attractive option than a 37-years-young Paul Dickov in Toronto.

While many teams have trialists coming in areas of specific needs, i.e. some need strikers, some need defenders, RBNY and TFC are bringing in so many trialists that it shows just how badly they realize that their squads need to be remade.

http://blog.canoe.ca/thefull90/2010/02/17/trialists_are_indications_of_teams_fortu

[Stryker]

Preki post game interview up on TFC TV.
Unlike previous coaches, I somehow believe him when he says he likes what he sees.
Also of note, the slick one touch ball played thru high at the 2:20 mark.

[polak9pete]

apparently Pablo Vitti signed with a team in Peru called Universidad San Martin and they won their opening match 3-1 with Vitti playin the full 90

[drewski]

Glad for him. The quality of play in Hungary is not that high currently, so he should be able to do well.


especially if/when they get relegated to NB2

[Whoop]

Ricketts' new team, Diosgyor, is in danger of being relegated. LOL

[TFCRegina]

http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,12875_5955924,00.html

rohan ricketts has found a new home

My favourite part is where it says he was playing at Toronto FC...more like sitting on the bench and then hanging around town for a bit.