Frei training at Liverpool?

[bgnewf]

My Tweet:

#TFC (https://twitter.com/#%21/search?q=%23TFC) keeper Stefan Frei training at EPL side Liverpool next week says Frei's agent @RichardMotzkin (https://twitter.com/#%21/RichardMotzkin). @TorontoFCasn (https://twitter.com/#%21/TorontoFCasn) with the find on that one!

[bgnewf]

Paul Beirne just confirmed

Paulbeirne (https://twitter.com/#%21/Paulbeirne) Paul Beirne



It's true. Frei is going to train with Liverpool.

[Razcle]

Good news for the lad

[king dave]

Well as we know, once the MLS season ends?
Anyone worth a pinch of salt goes out on trials with teams all over the ball (globe).
Liverpool is currently looking @ 2 international keepers in on a pure trial basis.
Remember?
There is an LFC Academy that's been around for a couple of years:D
KD.

[king dave]

Paul Bierne?
Why don't we trade him for Kathryn Humphries and give him a $1,000 Tim Hortons gift card?
KD.

[Yohan]

I'd be more than satisfied if Frei is sold to Liverpool for like a million bucks. That's about 300k in allocation money

[Whoop]

Oh no... wait until the people hear about this. LOL

[king dave]

^Yup.
I was happy watching Kocic between the sticks last season and thought he really loved the playing time.
He's Serbian loves to play.
One of my favorite moments last sealon is whaen Frei (injured) ran out on the pitch at the final whis. and had a 'bromance' moment with him!
Fucking brilliant.
KOCIC!
KD.

[king dave]

A bit off top but I would like to throw a big thanks out to my friend Hal.
He helped me through a very difficult time recently.
KD.

[prizby]

funny..here's a new concept; Frei actually asked for permission to train at Liverpool.

[Waggy]

funny..here's a new concept; Frei actually asked for permission to train at Liverpool.

psh, who does that

[Shakes McQueen]

If Liverpool wish to buy him, I'm amiable to selling him. Though "training with" doesn't always mean "looking to move to".

Kocic proved his worth last season, and I think Frei was exposed this season as being kind of overvalued by the fanbase. I'd love to keep Frei in Toronto as our starting keeper - I love his passion, and I do think he's talented - but with where the club is at right now, moving him for allocation space could be more useful to our needs.

- Scott

[Huyton]

I was impressed with how much Kocic improved with the more time he had on the field.

After his frankly disappointing performance in Panama in the 2010 CCL group stages, and this goal scored against him when arguably he should have been a bit more alert in coming out against a speedster like LaFleur, I was full of trepidation when Frei was injured.

SNgWqyRlU6I&feature=related

When he rolled over on the ball in the game against Real Estelli (after a great performance by Plata...loved the free kick he took for his 2nd goal), I thought we were in huge trouble. I gave him credit for apologizing to the fans for that gaffe. He didn't run away and hide or try to blame someone else. He took full and complete responsibility for it.

IzNJxDtIjrA&feature=related

After that, though, he really settled down well, commanding his area, and working well with the back line.

By the end of the season, I thought that Kocic was the better of the two keepers.


So...can Frei end up being Liverpools 3rd keeper? There's worse places for a 'keeper to be. Liverpool have been home to some great ones in the past, from Elisha Scott, to Tommy Lawrence, Ray Clemence and Grobelaar, Sander Westerveld and now to Pepe Reina.

Liverpools telex address was "Goalkeeper".

[denime]

funny..here's a new concept; Frei actually asked for permission to train at Liverpool.

Please stay on topic,if you have nothing to contribute to this thread than don't post at all,baiting people/trolling is not allowed,it will derail the thread to wrong direction.

Thanks!

[king dave]

I hope Frei gets to spend some time with Reina @ Mellwood ('pool training ground).
I would like to think he would be eager to learn anything he could from the veteran Spanish keeper.
Gotta respect any player who endeavours to get better by playing/learning.
KD.

[king dave]

Okay. It's been about 24 hours since the news broke.
Where are the pics?????
KD.

[Ricky_Portugal]

theres alot worse teams that he could be training with then liverpool

[king dave]

^If he get's the chance to play some reserves games?
He will play against other EPL reserves clubs.
Keep fit/alert and ready for the Swiss call-up.
KD.

[Maltese Falcon]

Frei is still a baby in keeper years...he shows great potential and his passion is unquestionable. Maybe he'll learn how the game should be played with his time in Liverpool, because it's been a constant shooting gallery against him in T.O. I'm frankly surprised that he's not already playing in the SPL or lower english tiers.

[sulfur]

He's training. Like about 10-15 other top MLS players. They're not allowed to play with the team (including reserves). Just training.

[Keegan]

People need to understand he's training AT Liverpool, not WITH Liverpool. These little stints overseas are complete jokes and not what they're made up to be.

[Detroit_TFC]

People need to understand he's training AT Liverpool, not WITH Liverpool. These little stints overseas are complete jokes and not what they're made up to be.

It's a tour of the facility, chance to meet the training staff, see the training routine and partake of a bit of it. Hard to see any harm in it. The player gets a working vacation and the club staff gets to do an evaluation.

[TFCRegina]

Good for Frei. And if he gets an opportunity with Liverpool (unlikely) or any other Top 2 Division teams in England, great. We have a backup, we can afford his loss and the team can land a fee.

If he doesn't, he comes back after training with an EPL squad.

Either way, it's good for TFC.

[Gazza]

He's been a warrior for us, i hope he finds a team in Europe. And i hope that team pays us enough money to pay for a roof:)

I can't see him sticking with Liverpool. If he wants to play international football, he can't exactly be a third string keeper.

[brad]

Here is an article about Shea's stint with the Gunners. Plan was for him to train with the top prospects and the first team. Wenger wanted to play him in a reserve match but probably couldn't. Not sure if that's what Frei is in for, but I'd suspect it's similar.

http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/us-star-brek-shea-arrives-for-experience-

[Canary10]

As someone said, there are like 15 MLS players "training" with EPL teams right now. None of them will stay. There's no chance of Frei going to Liverpool. Don't worry so much!

[KezmanCCCC]

i would hate to see stefan leave but at the same time he deserves his crack at europe.... good for him!

[Ossington Mental Youth]

HES NOT LEAVING.
just going for training. Oy yoy.

[Pookie]

As someone said, there are like 15 MLS players "training" with EPL teams right now. None of them will stay. There's no chance of Frei going to Liverpool. Don't worry so much!

Not saying he is going. Though it would be curious to know who and why these 15 are training with EPL sides.

Are these all independent arrangements by players and agents? Or is it part of some league organized "showcase" tour for what they perceive to be as top potential transfer assets?

The latter, if true, would provide some clue as to Frei's future.

[king dave]

^Sounds like a conspiracy, yes?
KD.

[Yohan]

As someone said, there are like 15 MLS players "training" with EPL teams right now. None of them will stay. There's no chance of Frei going to Liverpool. Don't worry so much!
it's a 'trial', for whatever Euro teams to get a closer look at some MLS players and keep track of their progress. maybe consider a transfer in future

[no1redsfan]

Does anyone else think that Frei is the most overated player in TFC history ?

Has he ever once stopped a penalty kick ?

When everything is said and done, he has cost TFC more games than he has won for them.

[torontocelt]

Does anyone else think that Frei is the most overated player in TFC history ?

Has he ever once stopped a penalty kick ?

When everything is said and done, he has cost TFC more games than he has won for them.

WTF, I have read it all now.

[Whoop]

I wouldn't say he's overrated but he's lucky he has that Swiss passport.

[Ageroo]

I wouldn't say he's overrated but he's lucky he has that Swiss passport.

THIS

The kid is good...but whoop is right...that Swiss passport is key in people's opinions I think.

[prizby]

Does anyone else think that Frei is the most overated player in TFC history ?

Has he ever once stopped a penalty kick ?

When everything is said and done, he has cost TFC more games than he has won for them.

yep so overrated he led the league in saves last year

[Shakes McQueen]

I wouldn't say he's overrated but he's lucky he has that Swiss passport.

I think he's overrated by us, though that's no comment on his talent level. The Swiss passport is important though, you're right.

Frei's a really good keeper, but not even top three in MLS.

- Scott

[ensco]

He's a great shot stopper, only OK with his distribution, and below average (even in MLS) on set pieces (especially corners) and balls in the air generally.

He has no market value imho. Having said that, these things always have a whiff of the shop window. Must be exciting to train at Liverpool.

Is Dero training at Celtic again?

[no1redsfan]

Frei is not what you would call a 'money goalkeeper'.

He tends to make all his great saves in games where the outcome is not in doubt.

On the other hand, all of his bloopers usually come in games where a single goal means everything.

Reminds me of a Blue Jay named Willie Upshaw. The guy hit a lot of home runs.
Unfortunately, most of them came when there was nobody on base.

[Shakes McQueen]

Frei is not what you would call a 'money goalkeeper'.

He tends to make all his great saves in games where the outcome is not in doubt.

On the other hand, all of his bloopers usually come in games where a single goal means everything.

Do you have any data pointing this out? I've seen Frei make many a save late in games, to hang onto a one goal lead, or a draw.

- Scott

[Canary10]

Of the 15 people training with EPL teams, Tim Ream looks like the only one with an outside shot of being picked up by one. There was an article somewhere where Bruce Arena was commenting on how stupid these training things are. The players never train with the first team, only reserves. They don't really pick anything up skillwise, they generally just get to see how a truly professional team does things. Which maybe has a bit of value, but that's all they get. It's a non-story.

[Canary10]

Btw, Kurt Larson at the Sun interviewed Mariner recently and tweeted his impressions (stories are coming out later this week I think). It sounds like TFC is fully expecting Frei to be at training camp in January. I don't think trading him is even in the cards by the sounds of it. Which is good - we're going to have two very solid keepers. And I think Frei deserves to share in the success that we're all hoping (and some praying) we're going to have next season.

[sulfur]

A lot of the MLS guys over there are on the fringes of the the USMNT and Klinnsman set up a lot of training sessions with teams in Germany that he had contacts with.

[jloome]

If you look at today's story, it's only for a week. In other words, this is so they can get a look at him. 25 is very young, still, for a goaltender, as they don't tend to peak until their early 30s, so his agent probably just got him an early look, to get them interested about prospects down the road.

[rocker]

Lead the league in saves in 2010? That's a misleading stat.

Frei's save percentage wasn't that good that year. Bounda Coundoul had around the same number of saves but stopped a higher percentage. (And the MLS site seems to have a disagreement over who stopped the most shots in 2010 -- Coundoul's own page lists less than Frei while the league searchable list says he stopped more than Frei). No matter -- Coundoul lost his starting job this year.

in 2010, Frei faced a lot of shots and did a decent job of stopping them, but not a great job.

I tend to agree with the thinking that TFC fans overrate Frei, probably because he does make "highlight saves" at times. But he has a lot to learn. He's not, to me, a dominant starting keeper but he's paid like one.

At 155K, Frei is also now overpaid, in MLS terms, I think. I was just perusing the salary list and Donovan Ricketts, who is one of the best in the league, is only 30K more. Jon Busch is around that salary and a better keeper. Saunders in LA is much cheaper yet a better keeper. Frei's an average MLS keeper right now who is paid well.

Interestingly, Kocic (in fewer games of course) had better numbers despite playing in front of the same team. And makes less than half the salary.

[sashavukelich]

Lead the league in saves in 2010? That's a misleading stat.

Frei's save percentage wasn't that good that year. Bounda Coundoul had around the same number of saves but stopped a higher percentage. (And the MLS site seems to have a disagreement over who stopped the most shots in 2010 -- Coundoul's own page lists less than Frei while the league searchable list says he stopped more than Frei). No matter -- Coundoul lost his starting job this year.

in 2010, Frei faced a lot of shots and did a decent job of stopping them, but not a great job.

I tend to agree with the thinking that TFC fans overrate Frei, probably because he does make "highlight saves" at times. But he has a lot to learn. He's not, to me, a dominant starting keeper but he's paid like one.

At 155K, Frei is also now overpaid, in MLS terms, I think. I was just perusing the salary list and Donovan Ricketts, who is one of the best in the league, is only 30K more. Jon Busch is around that salary and a better keeper. Saunders in LA is much cheaper yet a better keeper. Frei's an average MLS keeper right now who is paid well.

Interestingly, Kocic (in fewer games of course) had better numbers despite playing in front of the same team. And makes less than half the salary.



the voice of reason strikes!

[Fort York Redcoat]

Does anyone else think that Frei is the most overated player in TFC history ?

Has he ever once stopped a penalty kick ?

When everything is said and done, he has cost TFC more games than he has won for them.

Stats, please or it never happened.

[no1redsfan]

It would be kinda hard to produce some stats since they don't really
keep any on great saves or cheap goals.

My only point of reference is my memory and my overall perception.

It always seemed to me that whenever he let in a bad goal it usually
ended up costing us a game, or at least a couple of points. On the
other hand, I can't think of a single time one of his acrobatic saves
ended up making a difference in the game's outcome. To me, that's the
difference between a good goalie and a great goalie. Like in hockey,
a great goalie will always win a few games solely on his own merits.

[Wull]

UGH! Of all the teams in europe, it had to be them

[TorontoGooner]

Does anyone else think that Frei is the most overated player in TFC history ?

Has he ever once stopped a penalty kick ?

When everything is said and done, he has cost TFC more games than he has won for them.

Wow. Okay, I think you're a prankster!

[Klinsmann]

http://foothockey.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/lord-of-the-frei.jpg

[Oldtimer]

IzNJxDtIjrA&feature=related

After that, though, he really settled down well, commanding his area, and working well with the back line.

By the end of the season, I thought that Kocic was the better of the two keepers.



Kocic really did poorly on that one play, but what really strikes me from those highlights is Plata's creative quality.

Frei could play in Europe, or at least be a backup, I wouldn't be surprised to see him transfer over there. However, I think that it is unlikely that Liverpool is looking to pick him up. It most likely is a training stint, with the possibility of other clubs seeing him and picking him up.

[Fort York Redcoat]

Lead the league in saves in 2010? That's a misleading stat.

Frei's save percentage wasn't that good that year. Bounda Coundoul had around the same number of saves but stopped a higher percentage. (And the MLS site seems to have a disagreement over who stopped the most shots in 2010 -- Coundoul's own page lists less than Frei while the league searchable list says he stopped more than Frei). No matter -- Coundoul lost his starting job this year.

in 2010, Frei faced a lot of shots and did a decent job of stopping them, but not a great job.

I tend to agree with the thinking that TFC fans overrate Frei, probably because he does make "highlight saves" at times. But he has a lot to learn. He's not, to me, a dominant starting keeper but he's paid like one.

At 155K, Frei is also now overpaid, in MLS terms, I think. I was just perusing the salary list and Donovan Ricketts, who is one of the best in the league, is only 30K more. Jon Busch is around that salary and a better keeper. Saunders in LA is much cheaper yet a better keeper. Frei's an average MLS keeper right now who is paid well.

Interestingly, Kocic (in fewer games of course) had better numbers despite playing in front of the same team. And makes less than half the salary.

I'd disagree with you respectively. If you want to take a poke at the stats which is valid as much as one can misconstrue their importance, it needs to be countered.

If Frei lead the league with saves but was worse with save percentage I'd assume he faced more shots by sizable margin which indicates the number and chances for quality shots against him with a weaker back four in front of him..

I'll cede the fact he's got a ways to go with consistency. He can make some acrobatic saves but we've seen cockups at the back that could've been solved with more leadership. And this isn't touching on his work needed on his game improving when moving the ball out of the box.

All in all I don't think he's the best he could be but I'd keep him before trading for anyone else in the league right now.

[TFC/Everton]

Does anyone else think that Frei is the most overated player in TFC history ?

Has he ever once stopped a penalty kick ?

When everything is said and done, he has cost TFC more games than he has won for them.

:facepalm:

[Gazza]

Does anyone else think that Frei is the most overated player in TFC history ?

Has he ever once stopped a penalty kick ?

When everything is said and done, he has cost TFC more games than he has won for them.

There's a guy up on the Wall of Honour that holds that title.

[Wombat]

As someone said, there are like 15 MLS players "training" with EPL teams right now. None of them will stay. There's no chance of Frei going to Liverpool. Don't worry so much!

We should do a swap deal - Frei to Norwich, and Simeon Jackson to 'come home' to Canada with TFC

[GabrielHurl]

Agudelo from the Red Bulls is training with Liverpool as well

[__wowza]

i don't think he's overrated by our standards, we have two great goalkeepers really.
he has a problem with distribution, and as a keeper he should command a better backline, i rarely hear him communicate with them.

for shits sake, let's look at the stats last year:
- 8th in the league with SV % (in front of hesmer and keller) for keepers with more than 20 games
- 2nd in shots faced
- 1st in saves
- 5th in GAA
- tied for 5th in goals against
- 8th in minutes played

may i also point out that that's WITH preki-ball. in a system that valued defense and sitting on top of leads, that man was a stonewall for us. when he's in a keeper-heavy league like this, we wouldn't get much for him. i used to think we would, but we won't.

[Whoop]

i don't think he's overrated by our standards, we have two great goalkeepers really.
he has a problem with distribution, and as a keeper he should command a better backline, i rarely hear him communicate with them.

for shits sake, let's look at the stats last year:
- 8th in the league with SV % (in front of hesmer and keller) for keepers with more than 20 games
- 2nd in shots faced
- 1st in saves
- 5th in GAA
- tied for 5th in goals against
- 8th in minutes played

may i also point out that that's WITH preki-ball. in a system that valued defense and sitting on top of leads, that man was a stonewall for us. when he's in a keeper-heavy league like this, we wouldn't get much for him. i used to think we would, but we won't.

Exactly.

Might as well hold on to him.

[Wombat]

Does anyone else think that Frei is the most overated player in TFC history ?

Has he ever once stopped a penalty kick ?

When everything is said and done, he has cost TFC more games than he has won for them.

:facepalm:

I was a good standard goalie in amateur soccer for 20 years so scrutinize & have an appreciation for goal keepers a lot more than outfield players.

How i laughed at our "CANADA NATIONAL TEAM GOALKEEPER" Greg Sutton - now he was a wanker of the highest order. He was tall & lanky so he looked like he was good but played with the tennacity & confidence a 6 year old bed wetter. Some of the howlers he made, would have made a 50 year old in a Sunday league match, cringe.

Stefan Frei is a great goalie - really the only keeper we've had sice I've been watching, to inspire confidence in his back line. Frei is one of the top MLS keepers and we're lucky to have him.

[rocker]

i don't think he's overrated by our standards, we have two great goalkeepers really.
he has a problem with distribution, and as a keeper he should command a better backline, i rarely hear him communicate with them.

for shits sake, let's look at the stats last year:
- 8th in the league with SV % (in front of hesmer and keller) for keepers with more than 20 games
- 2nd in shots faced
- 1st in saves
- 5th in GAA
- tied for 5th in goals against
- 8th in minutes played

may i also point out that that's WITH preki-ball. in a system that valued defense and sitting on top of leads, that man was a stonewall for us. when he's in a keeper-heavy league like this, we wouldn't get much for him. i used to think we would, but we won't.

doesn't that mean his stats were helped by Preki-ball though? The defensive posture of the team actually made it easier on him, not harder.

This season, with a more offensive team in front of him, and some awful defenders, he was not surprisingly notably worse. I can't really figure out what his contribution was over these two years, a Jekyll and Hyde performance from one year to the next.

If he was a great keeper, his stats should have been better than 26th in GAA and 12th in Save Percentage in 2011. Kocic was much better... although he benefitted from having the improved team in front of him for the most part.

And this year a number of keepers faced MORE shots than Frei did and performed better. Look at Matt Reis -- more shots, lower GAA. John Busch -- more shots, lower GAA. Keller -- more shots, lower GAA. Tally Hall -- more shots, lower GAA. Nick Rimando -- almost the same number of shots, massively lower GAA.

If one goes through the stats of other keepers, Frei's are almost always worse in comparison. I think he's a decent keeper, but the people who call for him to go to Europe based on his MLS performances are projecting too much. He's a decent keeper who probably shouldn't be making $155K.

[J .]

Frei is a really great keeper and papered over several years of really bad TFC sides. I dont think people hating on him are giving him credit. There have been more games over the years where he has stolen us points than where we have dominated another team or he cost us the match.

Indeed, I dont think hes stopped a penalty, but I wont penalize him for that. He's a top keeper and Im not shocked an EPL team is taking a look at him.

If he was shit, Daglish wouldnt be looking at him

[CSO_BBTB]

If he was shit, Daglish wouldnt be looking at him

Could that line of reasoning be used about Freddy Adu and Alex Ferguson a few years back? Don't think the parallel is exact but Liverpool seems like a bit of a stretch to me so could be more to this than first meets the eye. Once his Generation Adidas deal is up he will be able to use his Swiss passport to play pretty much anywhere in Europe without having to worry about work permits because Switzerland has a freedom of movement agreement in employment terms with the EU. I suspect MLS want to cash in at this point if at all possible before he can walk away for nothing and that training with Liverpool is part of getting him onto the radar of top European clubs in the build up to the January window.

[J .]

Freddy Adu is still a skilled player, but his mind isnt right so he didnt make the most of it. He was a prodigy that was 100% mishandled.

I doubt Frei is ready for EPL, but he has the tools to become a solid mid to relegation side team. Maybe time with Reina to help him develop will do wonders and he could play on a team that plays in European competitions.

Its well deserved, it wont hurt, its great exposure for TFC and Frei so I think its a good move for all sides.

[sulfur]

He's a top keeper and Im not shocked an EPL team is taking a look at him.
They're not really taking a look at him. He, like a number of other MLS players, is keeping in shape and taking the opportunity to train with the training staff for a top-level team.


Once his Generation Adidas deal is up...
It's been up for a while.

[CSO_BBTB]

He is still subject to the terms of the Generation Adidas contract that he signed when he entered the league in 2009. All that happened when he "graduated" was that he started to count against the salary cap.

[Belfast_Boy]

They are not looking at him. He is there to train. That's all don't get all excited. He's ok by our standards but have any of you watched a good epl keeper at work? He is literally not in the same league. Hope Pepe can give him some pointers, I like the guy.

[Whoop]

They are not looking at him. He is there to train. That's all don't get all excited. He's ok by our standards but have any of you watched a good epl keeper at work? He is literally not in the same league. Hope Pepe can give him some pointers, I like the guy.

This.

If Frei lands in Europe it won't be with an EPL team but likely some Scandinavian league or in the Swiss league.

[ManUtd4ever]

If Frei doesn't get traded and plays his fair share of games for TFC this season, this training stint can only benefit him and our club.

[brad]

This.

If Frei lands in Europe it won't be with an EPL team but likely some Scandinavian league or in the Swiss league.

If they see potential in him, he could be signed as a third string keeper or trainee. Probably not likely though as MLS tends to overvalue their players and would probably ask way more that he's worth in that role.

[Technorgasm]

Frei likes a bit of SCOUSE!