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Lucky Strike
04-18-2010, 12:18 PM
Hi guys, just to let you know, I'm going to see my beloved Penguins at Scotiabank Place today so I'll be PVR-ing the TFC match. It means I'll be quite a bit later than usual with my ratings but this is where you'll find them (if I ever get out of that parking lot after the game :D - those in Ottawa know exactly what I mean).

Gazza
04-18-2010, 01:17 PM
For cheering against the Sens, you sir, get a ranking of 10!

Lucky Strike
04-19-2010, 01:38 AM
Came back from a good Penguins win, but I’m much later than I thought I would be as I agreed to proofread a friend’s essay. Given how it’s almost 2am as I’m starting to write this, I’ll make it shorter than usual. Other than that, seems the universe is back in alignment as TFC had all the breaks apparently going against it. It was also a difficult game to watch with seemingly a huge number of passes to nowhere/no one and brutal giveaways. Anyway…

Frei (6): Can’t fault for anything really. Two penalties and a goal where the wall parted like the red sea (you all knew I was going to use that analogy right?).
Harden (6): No real complaints about his performance today. He did have that one clearing header fall right onto Casey’s foot but other than that, better than Hscanovics.
Cann (6): I like what he brings to the table. A good aerial presence and some smarts. He was unfortunate to give away the penalty as he slipped (I’m still not wholly convinced it hit his arm rather than forehead) but he had an important takeaway from Cummings in the first half where he just hooked the ball right back toward himself and away from a streaking Cummings otherwise heading in alone on goal.
Attakora (7): Continues to be the shining beacon of the defensive line. Another solid outing today with timely interceptions and critical headers.
Usanov (5): Likes to get forward but it makes me nervous because he isn’t exactly The Flash, or even The Flash’s not so fleet-of-foot second cousin, The Moderately-Paced Ocean Current. Gave away a penalty near the end but I don’t know how I feel about it. It kind of seemed like he and Casey just ran into each other and they fell down.
Saric (5): Another less-than-stellar performance. Didn’t contribute that much in either direction. Contrary to the Gol TV commentators who were sure it was a foul, I did feel he was hard done by as the Rapids player just kind of ran across Saric’s legs and fell down. He kind of did it to himself, really. Either way, not great. Booked & Subbed.
DeGuzman (5): Poor first half following by a good opening to the second half. But then he thinks he’s Moses and jumps right out of the wall and Frei is screwed as a result. Wasn’t a cleanly struck ball, which makes more frustrating. But we can all be sure he knows he messed up.
Cronin (6): Wasn’t overly involved today aside from the one good move that earned TFC a penalty. I’m not convinced he can be effective on the flank and would like to see him replace Saric as JDG’s DM partner (or with Sanyang and move JDG into CM) when Peterson is fit enough to take the flank opposite LaBrocca.
DeRosario (6.5): Came through again from the spot and was generally involved in the play. There’s only so much he can do though.
LaBrocca (5.5): Not overly visible during the match. Subbed.
Barrett (6): Unfortunately, TFC had difficulty penetrating the middle which meant Barrett didn’t get too much service but did make the crisp pass to Cronin leading to the penalty.

Peterson, on for LaBrocca – 60th minute (6): Showed some deft footwork in his quest to become match fit again. Once he is, he’ll be a starter, I’m sure of it.
White, on for Barrett – 66th minute (5): Unfortunately, he was essentially alone in the 4-5-1 and as mentioned last ratings entry, that doesn’t work.
Gargan, on for Saric – 80th minute (NR): Only got 10 minutes but produced a great sound capture – “What the fuck are you looking at?” on the assistant’s decision to award a goal kick. I was surprised to see Usanov get the start over him today (or I guess yesterday, now).

Preki (6): I understand the 4-5-1 trying to get result on the road, but like I said earlier, I would have preferred Gargan at RB. They said on the broadcast it was because Gargan hadn’t played much, but how much has Usanov played lately? Made all the logical switched but I would have liked to seen something more offensive when we needed a goal after falling behind 2-1. He doesn’t have that many options though.

Referee (5): Still not convinced about the Cann “handball” nor about the Saric foul, or even the Usanov penalty. Am I just whining about the referee as an excuse? I honestly don’t think so but it sounds like it, doesn’t it?

Most impressed by opposition’s: Omar Cummings. The guy just comes at you and players seem to part. Neat trick.

Least impressed by opposition’s: Conor Casey. For a big man, he sure falls easily. Not subtle, eh?

Conclusion: Though TFC’s play was poor, defensively they were doing a fair job at throwing off pressure from Colorado (covering the wings and preventing crosses) until the inevitable cataclysm. Colorado on their side did a good job pressing high up the pitch and didn’t give time for TFC to play the ball and attack Wynne in the middle as apparently was the plan. MLS really throws up brutal away games (long distance travel, altitude, intense heat and humidity, or potential cold up in Toronto.

CoachGT
04-19-2010, 05:25 AM
Usanov (5): Likes to get forward but it makes me nervous because he isn’t exactly The Flash, or even The Flash’s not so fleet-of-foot second cousin, The Moderately-Paced Ocean Current. Gave away a penalty near the end but I don’t know how I feel about it. It kind of seemed like he and Casey just ran into each other and they fell down.

I referred to him Thursday (on one of his adventures forward) as fast like steamroller.

I thought Labrocca and Peterson were pretty much non-entities in the game. Peterson was awful on Thursday and did nothing to change my opinion of him yesterday. Just not being match fit may be generous - he may be "just another guy" in a league full of them.

I thought DeRo was getting pissed by the end of the match, an emotion that limits his effectiveness in a game like this.

A number of us at Archies wondered how long it will be before an opposing team takes a run at DeRo, since he is the only player seemingly playing offense. Possibly Montreal?

prizby
04-19-2010, 07:04 AM
Does Usanov not remind you of a bit slower version of Wynne?

CoachGT
04-19-2010, 07:07 AM
Does Usanov not remind you of a bit slower version of Wynne?

Slower in that you can time him with a calendar?

Alarius
04-19-2010, 07:43 AM
Anybody else getting frustrated with De Guzman or is it just me>?

KdotOdot
04-19-2010, 08:27 AM
I thought Jacob Peterson played like total shit. I was screaming at the TV. what a twat.

Daveisonfire
04-19-2010, 08:28 AM
I really liked what I saw from Peterson

lol opinions are funny

Lucky Strike
04-19-2010, 08:36 AM
Anybody else getting frustrated with De Guzman or is it just me>?

Nope, I am as well. I don't know what it is. Either he's not as good as we thought, or he's way too good in comparison to his team-mates and they can't see what JDG sees. Very frustrating.

Pachuco
04-19-2010, 08:45 AM
Pretty close to what I would've said with a few exceptions. There are always difference in opinions but this is the closest I've been to completely agreeing with you :)

I think Cann had a really good game, and was easily as good as Nana on this night. Can't fault him for the penalty because it wasn't a hand ball as you said. I don't fault the ref either though because I had to rewind it and slomo it 4 times to see whether it really hit his hand. The ref doesn't have that luxury.

Oh and on the ref, I actually thought the Usanov penalty was definately a penalty, he wasn't playing the ball at all and he raped Casey from behind. Casey isn't running or looking in Usanov's direction which tells me they didn't just bump into each other.

Saric was reckless and that foul from behind was quite dirty. He's lucky he didn't get a second yellow on another play. We don't have to worry about Preki sitting him soon because he's racking up the yellows and Preki won't have a choice.

Oh and I whole heartedly agree that Deguz and Saric were the weak links last night. Don't care what anybody says about Deguz's skill, the play died at him and Saric everytime except for 15 mins Deguz decided to show up.

Good review though, enjoyed reading your thoughts!

tfc2007
04-19-2010, 08:57 AM
I think you got all of them right on.

tfc2007
04-19-2010, 09:06 AM
As posted in the news thread, Here are Paul James's ratings

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/careless-toronto-fc-get-what-they-deserve/article1538858/

KdotOdot
04-19-2010, 09:22 AM
I swearI don't know what game people were watching. Peterson gets a 6? Really? Giveaways gallore, dribbling with his head down looking at the ball? Poor decision making.

the only player worse than him yesterday was JDG the million dollar man, fuck that he looked more like Virgil out there.

mastermixer
04-19-2010, 09:51 AM
Yesterday was probably the worst example of professional soccer that I have witnessed in a long time. If you are judging the teams performance by being able to pass it back and forth between the defenders for 5 minutes at a time then we have one of the best teams in the league. Other than that I haven't seen one thing that shows me this group has any potential to be successful anytime soon.
I mentioned this in another post but it seems like these guys are playing with a gun to their heads and seem very tense on the pitch, which is probably due to Preki's "You play to keep your spot on the field" mentality.
Everytime there is a goal by the opponent all I see from the guys is finger pointing which is their way of saying "It's not my fault, your the one that's going to get shit for this not me". These guys have to man-up and play together instead of playing to stay in the game. Its a horrible mentality to have especially in MLS where one player cannot make a difference on a team.

Carts
04-19-2010, 09:54 AM
I swearI don't know what game people were watching. Peterson gets a 6? Really? Giveaways gallore, dribbling with his head down looking at the ball? Poor decision making.

the only player worse than him yesterday was JDG the million dollar man, fuck that he looked more like Virgil out there.

Love the 90's WWF reference...!!! :)

Carts...

[NBF]
04-19-2010, 10:03 AM
OMG, it was a bad game, I had to watch it through stream, but it was crude, I could barely make out JDG's Fro. So, I did see JDG, give away the ball more than a few times.

The commentators made a reference to TFC trading away Wynne for LeBrocca, and they said, "What were they thinking trading away such talent." Quite, literally we handed him to the Rapids for a guy we cannot get rid of and in a position thats already filled by Cronin.

rocker
04-19-2010, 11:36 AM
Preki's "You play to keep your spot on the field" mentality.

isn't that the way it is on just about every club in the football world?

I don't really have a problem with players not being entitled to a starting role no matter how badly they play.

Lucky Strike
04-19-2010, 12:23 PM
Everytime there is a goal by the opponent all I see from the guys is finger pointing which is their way of saying "It's not my fault, your the one that's going to get shit for this not me". These guys have to man-up and play together instead of playing to stay in the game. Its a horrible mentality to have especially in MLS where one player cannot make a difference on a team.

If you're thinking about the second goal Colorado scored, Frei was right. When the play first happened live, it was a "WTF" moment. How could Frei get beat to the near post? But then I saw him gesticulating angrily at JDG and on the replay, he had every reason to be upset. Of the four man wall, three jump straight in the air and JDG just trampolines away for no apparent reason.

But yes in all, I want to see the team play as a team, not just a bunch of guys who feel awkward because they dressed all the same. That's what did us in for 2009 (underachieving) but I still have hopes for Preki to get this team to overachieve. He has to, because TFC is certainly less talented than last year.

Dbl_D
04-19-2010, 12:55 PM
Slower in that you can time him with a calendar?

rofl :facepalm:

MartinUtd
04-19-2010, 01:39 PM
What does a player have to do to receive a 4 or lower? Every week I see these massively over inflated ratings, it makes me think you're watching TFC games on North Korean tv.

J .
04-19-2010, 02:00 PM
Frei - 5 He made some stops and only gave up goals on the FK and two PK's. Boots the ball far up field and doesn't allow the club to develop any play

Harden - 4 I do not like the idea of him playing on the wing. Lacks pace, technical ability. Better suited as CB.

Cann - 5 For the most part shut down Casey and Cummings. But the first goal was his fault. If he didn't lose his feet, Cummings was alone in on goal.

Attakora - 7 If this play continues, I expect to see him attracting eyes from Europe. Solid play, looking more assured.

Usanov - 4 Rough player, not afraid to win 50/50's. Needs to control the roughness in dangerous areas and give up less fouls.

Saric -3 Not showing much and definately did not boss the midfield. Too many fouls, too little creativity and not much done positive.

DeGuzman - 2 A cowardly display cost the club a goal. Unwilling or unable to make the players around him better. Has not grasped control of the midfield and being made to look second rate to guys who get paid a fraction. Was there a reason other European teams took a pass?

Cronin - 6 Not much done, looks better in the centre of the field than out wide.

DeRosario - 6 He needs some help up top, especially from JDG. Without any width in the lineup teams just crowd DeRo to snuff him out.

LaBrocca - 4 Worst game as a member of TFC. Did not show up, no impact either way. Need more from LaBrocca.

Barrett - 5 Hardest working player on either team perhaps. Creates space with his pace, but needs to do more to create and finish.

Peterson, - 4 Not match fit, tough to gauge, did little to impress.

White - 3 Doesnt have the tools to be the lone striker. More of a poacher. What is White going to improve on to make him a top MLS striker?

Gargan - 3 Not sure what the role will be for Gargan, but its tough to envision him as a starter. On the plus side he's a tough player, on the downside he looks like he has less technical ability than Andy Welsh.

Preki - 5 The goals were not his fault. The set pieces were given up by player error, not tactical. Played for the draw and deserved it. If JDG was not a coward, TFC would have likely drawn a lacklustre effort from both clubs.