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denime
03-20-2013, 06:41 AM
Mornin'




TFC TV




(http://www.torontofc.ca/video)Earnshaw Tops MLS Scoring


(http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2013/03/earnshaw-tops-mls-scoring)Matt Stinson Waived


(http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2013/03/matt-stinson-waived)Nelsen welcomes tough choices as Toronto FC readies for possible player influx (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/nelsen-welcomes-tough-choices-as-toronto-fc-readies-for-possible-player-influx/article9962821/)


Reds release Stinson, close in on signing (http://www.torontosun.com/2013/03/19/tfc-releases-matt-stinson-close-to-signing-argentine-attacker)


Central Winger: The true measure of passing efficiency has nothing to do with completion rate (http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/635551231?-19896:6206)


Toronto FC's Earnshaw is MLS' top scorer, but his game is about more than just... (http://www.newsnow.co.uk/A/635540977?-19896:6206)







(http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2013/03/matt-stinson-waived)TFC Related Blogs !!


(http://redpatchboys.ca/forums/showthread.php?29582-TFC-MLS-blogs-thread)

SUNSHINE (http://www.torontosun.com/sunshine-girl)

Fort York Redcoat
03-20-2013, 07:03 AM
Women's Canada friendly vs USA June 2nd tix will be up for sale for 112 shortly.



I'll update daily. 10 tix gets you a Voyageurs Toque!



link to thread




HERE (http://forums.redpatchboys.ca/showthread.php?33715-June-2nd-Canada-vs-USA-Ticket-Info)

CoachGT
03-20-2013, 07:32 AM
Members can vote for their choice of 2013 RPB Members Scarf here: http://forums.redpatchboys.ca/showth...rf-competition (http://forums.redpatchboys.ca/showthread.php?33772-Third-and-final-round-scarf-competition)

Also, memberships are being taken, both new and renewal. Board status will be changed back to "registered user" at the end of March. Please contact me to confirm that your membership remains up uninterupted!

And the registration list is up for those with kids that want to participate as a player escort before an upcoming game!

Yohan
03-20-2013, 09:41 AM
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/03/20/toronto-fc-newcomer-hogan-ephraim-hails-top-class-mls-standard-play

Ephraim on MLS

Auzzy
03-20-2013, 10:15 AM
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/2013/03/20/toronto-fc-newcomer-hogan-ephraim-hails-top-class-mls-standard-play

Ephraim on MLS

Funny quote from Ephraim:


"Sometimes in England you will play games as a midfielder and end up having a sore neck from looking up in the sky all the time to look for the ball. It suits me out here and I'm enjoying it."

Are we sure Torsten Frings' injury was really the hip, and not the neck? ;)

pekduck
03-20-2013, 10:20 AM
For those who are going to Philly April 13 for TFC vs Union

Please check member only thread.

http://forums.redpatchboys.ca/showthread.php?33799-TFC-UNION-SATURDAY-APR-13-4-00PM-EDT-Tickets

Canary10
03-20-2013, 10:23 AM
Interesting article about Jurgen Klinsmann and the US National Team: http://aol.sportingnews.com/soccer/story/2013-03-19/jurgen-klinsmann-us-mens-soccer-coach-national-team-usa-american-world-cup-2013

Found this quote particularly interesting: "A couple of players said Klinsmann might be more suited to the role of general manager or technical director. Perhaps his success with Germany hints he’s more of a visionary who needs a complementary, nuts-and-bolts colleague to handle the day-to-day grind. Perhaps the appointment of another assistant, one with more experience and success coaching American players, would do the trick."

Can't help but think this was the case with Aron Winter as well. He seemed to be more of a visionary who was leading moving the boat in a certain direction but couldn't get the guys going day-to-day. I personally wish he was still involved with TFC, maybe at the technical director level. I think we lost a really useful resource when he left.

jloome
03-20-2013, 11:27 AM
I think the gulf between how soccer is played in Europe and how it's played here (not quality, type of game) that anyone attempting to change the culture over here is going to fail without a massive push and many more people on board, understanding what is required.

Having said that, you still need someone who can manage tactically, until players are ready to "know" the game they're supposed to play without a pre-game strategy session.

Clear indication from people involved in both camps was that that wasn't happening. American players expect to be treated like chess pieces, told what to expect tactically; European players develop field vision and an understanding of movement much younger and consequently don't need as much of that help. That's why NA teams only win on the counter-attack, because it's about plugging up the field, then breaking by using their athleticism. Until we have players developing their knowledge of the game at a much younger age (think pre-teen) they won't be stroking the ball around and finding space like Euro teams. It's a different game.

Beach_Red
03-20-2013, 11:45 AM
I think the gulf between how soccer is played in Europe and how it's played here (not quality, type of game) that anyone attempting to change the culture over here is going to fail without a massive push and many more people on board, understanding what is required.

Having said that, you still need someone who can manage tactically, until players are ready to "know" the game they're supposed to play without a pre-game strategy session.

Clear indication from people involved in both camps was that that wasn't happening. American players expect to be treated like chess pieces, told what to expect tactically; European players develop field vision and an understanding of movement much younger and consequently don't need as much of that help. That's why NA teams only win on the counter-attack, because it's about plugging up the field, then breaking by using their athleticism. Until we have players developing their knowledge of the game at a much younger age (think pre-teen) they won't be stroking the ball around and finding space like Euro teams. It's a different game.

That's right, it's the stage it's at now. It's pretty much exactly the stages the Soviets used to learn hockey. There's really no way to skip a stage.

Yohan
03-20-2013, 12:24 PM
http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/fletcher-on-tfc-eckersley-thrives-in-new-system/

Fletcher on Eckersley

ensco
03-20-2013, 12:24 PM
Before we go too far on the stage thing, Honduras is inflicting all this agony on the USMNT and CMNT and using primarily MLS players.

Klinsmann thinks he's a philosopher or artist or something. We got screwed by it, and now it's happening to the USMNT.

Beach_Red
03-20-2013, 12:42 PM
Before we go too far on the stage thing, Honduras is inflicting all this agony on the USMNT and CMNT and using primarily MLS players.

Klinsmann thinks he's a philosopher or artist or something. We got screwed by it, and now it's happening to the USMNT.

The trick is knowing when you're ready to move to the next stage. For (American) football it happened when players started choosing football over baseball. Have players in the US started choosing soccer over football yet?

ensco
03-20-2013, 12:54 PM
The trick is knowing when you're ready to move to the next stage. For (American) football it happened when players started choosing football over baseball. Have players in the US started choosing soccer over football yet?

No way.

Canary10
03-20-2013, 01:08 PM
US soccer has been basically stagnant for a decade. If they want to get to the next level, ie. competing in the top 15 in the world, they need new leadership and a new direction. You can't beat teams like Mexico regularly, let alone a Brazil, Spain, etc, playing the way they play. It's tough to be that leader though. US soccer in general is pretty conservative. MLS is even more so.

Detroit_TFC
03-20-2013, 01:10 PM
Before we go too far on the stage thing, Honduras is inflicting all this agony on the USMNT and CMNT and using primarily MLS players.

Klinsmann thinks he's a philosopher or artist or something. We got screwed by it, and now it's happening to the USMNT.

Having the TFC experience and then watching how things are rolling out at USMNT, I definitely got a deja vu feeling.

My feeling right now is that he would make a perfect president or executive director of a national federation but his team level man-management is very suspect. Shouldn't be allowed near a squad room.

Canary10
03-20-2013, 01:13 PM
^ At least we now know when he gave TFC his recommendations, he actually believed what he said!

Beach_Red
03-20-2013, 01:27 PM
No way.

Then they're not ready for the next stage ;).

It may happen, though. Maybe Marvel Wynne wasn't as good a baseball player as his father, but for some reason he chose soccer instead. Maybe his kids will be good as well as athletic. Maybe when insurance becomes too expensive for high schools to have football programs they'll start putting more emphasis on soccer.

Is there any country in the top 15 in soccer where the sport isn't one of the top three team sports?

PopePouri
03-20-2013, 01:54 PM
Interesting article about Jurgen Klinsmann and the US National Team: http://aol.sportingnews.com/soccer/story/2013-03-19/jurgen-klinsmann-us-mens-soccer-coach-national-team-usa-american-world-cup-2013

Found this quote particularly interesting: "A couple of players said Klinsmann might be more suited to the role of general manager or technical director. Perhaps his success with Germany hints he’s more of a visionary who needs a complementary, nuts-and-bolts colleague to handle the day-to-day grind. Perhaps the appointment of another assistant, one with more experience and success coaching American players, would do the trick."

Can't help but think this was the case with Aron Winter as well. He seemed to be more of a visionary who was leading moving the boat in a certain direction but couldn't get the guys going day-to-day. I personally wish he was still involved with TFC, maybe at the technical director level. I think we lost a really useful resource when he left.

It would have been naive to assume that Jurgen's and Aron's vision was not going to affect results and the make up of the team. The problem is that their visions were 5-10 years down the line, not the next world cup cycle or next MLS season.

ag futbol
03-20-2013, 01:57 PM
Before we go too far on the stage thing, Honduras is inflicting all this agony on the USMNT and CMNT and using primarily MLS players.

Klinsmann thinks he's a philosopher or artist or something. We got screwed by it, and now it's happening to the USMNT.
Agreed, Klinsmann might just be too philosophical for his own good. If he's going to implement the kind of culture change that's being dreamed up for the USMNT then he better have a lot of strong backers. Speaking of which, I think part of the reason why the TFC consulting gig didn't come off is that our own management prejudice influenced the solution. In an ideal world TFC would have said: "please fix our team. Here is your budget, here is your time frame, you have free reign". What probably happened was: "please fix our team, you can do whatever you want but you should definitely consider incorporating X, Y, and Z into your solution, oh and make Earl a big part of it because he's a real star here. etc, etc, etc..." Consultants will drive for the ideal solution if they're allowed, but otherwise they just go for the thing that makes the client happy, even if it's completely wrong. Not to say that JK's secret sauce works here in north america, strongly doubt it does because he doesn't seem to know how to implement his ideas.

As for Honduras, you have to laugh because they're using the league as a step up in their development pyramid from their domestic league. They can develop more robust players than we can because they actually have acceptable places for kids between 18-23 to play. No such luck for the north american player, they just have a list of inferior options.

Canary10
03-20-2013, 02:50 PM
The US will make the World Cup, they'll go out in the first round, and everyone will be complaining about the shit soccer they play and what they have to do to catch up to Europe. Then they'll hire a coach who everyone will complain has no tactical acumen and is asking too much of his players.

ensco
03-20-2013, 03:01 PM
Then they're not ready for the next stage ;).

It may happen, though. Maybe Marvel Wynne wasn't as good a baseball player as his father, but for some reason he chose soccer instead. Maybe his kids will be good as well as athletic. Maybe when insurance becomes too expensive for high schools to have football programs they'll start putting more emphasis on soccer.

Is there any country in the top 15 in soccer where the sport isn't one of the top three team sports?

You know what's funny? At the youth level, the number of kids in many top Euro soccer countries (eg France, Spain, Czech Republic) who play other sports (basketball, tennis, handball) is surprisingly high. In aggregate higher than soccer. Many parents there are turned off soccer for the same reasons many here are turned off youth hockey - too serious, too much bad behaviour.

Auzzy
03-20-2013, 03:01 PM
I remember lots of this type of stuff was also written when Klinsmann & others were trying to change things up in Germany. In fact, many things were much tougher in that case. There was a massive, entrenched old-boys establishment in that country's top sport. They had lots more past success to remember, leading many to think: why change, why fix anything -- when in fact their performance in soccer had been stagnant or drifting downwards for a while, and they had huge problems coming up in the future as seen at the youth level at the time.


A few things in this discussion now about Klinsmann in the US really pique my memory. All stuff heard in another time & place. "German soccer establishment too conservative for this" -- "Germans can't play that way" -- "We don't need to modernize" -- Klinsmann was seen as "too American" by many in Germany (so it's funny that some people think he now needs an assistant who has more experience with American players) -- German players pre-Klinsmann were also much more likely chess pieces than on-field visionaries -- but now, very few people still think they got screwed by Klinsmann in Germany.


They pushed through with the changes in Germany -- much more than Klinsmann, although he played an important part -- and have been quite successful, from the youth up. (Admittedly, now they still need to find a way to go the final steps to be able to win a cup.)


All that doesn't mean that Klinsmann necessarily has the right role, the right assistants, and the necessary support from the US establishment to be successful. It's just funny that when I read this stuff from the US now, I get deja vu about Klinsmann's time in Germany (and the later success), and not about Winter's time at TFC.


Note that in Germany, Klinsmann was not just the visionary, but also the initial implementer. He had to rock lots of boats & piss off lots of people to break through that establishment, so he decided early he would start implementing things, stay through the following Word Cup, but then handover to someone else who hadn't burned bridges. Could be that Klinsmann is not the ideal long-term implementer in the US either, but he should be able to bring it farther than it is now. But yes, he needs to be have the right role, the right assistants, and the right amount of time.

Auzzy
03-20-2013, 03:10 PM
It's been said before by others: I highly doubt that Klinsmann's "vision" was ever significantly implemented at TFC. Thinking about Mariner/Cochrane/Anselmi who were in place around Winter & Co.; some of the stuff we've heard about scouting & the Academy; stuff BDK wasn't allowed to do; etc. etc. Also, was Winter Klinsmann's number 1 suggestion, or #99 on a list of 100? We'll never know, because we will never see his report. When Klinsmann was last in Toronto, he promised a later interview, but that never happened -- MLSE likely reminded him about stipulations in his contract.


BTW, I don't think a massive change to a messed up organization like TFC/MLSE can be implemented via a consultant report, unless you have an amazing implementer on-site & free reign to alter the existing organization from the top if necessary. So looking at TFC/MLSE, especially two years ago, it probably didn't really matter what Klinsmann wrote in his report, it was doomed.

Detroit_TFC
03-20-2013, 03:10 PM
^ I think he sticks around USSF for sometime, not as coach after WC 2014 though. Unless there is a mighty big palace coup at USSF, they've hitched their wagon to JK.

Yohan
03-20-2013, 06:21 PM
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2296141/Premier-League-players-continue-choose-MLS-mid-ranking-European-careers.html

Talks about MLS in positive light

Yohan
03-20-2013, 06:45 PM
and for those of you interested in TV broadcasting of MLS

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/mar/20/nbc-premier-league-mls-rivalry-week

HuTor
03-21-2013, 12:46 PM
Then they're not ready for the next stage ;).

It may happen, though. Maybe Marvel Wynne wasn't as good a baseball player as his father, but for some reason he chose soccer instead. Maybe his kids will be good as well as athletic. Maybe when insurance becomes too expensive for high schools to have football programs they'll start putting more emphasis on soccer.

Is there any country in the top 15 in soccer where the sport isn't one of the top three team sports?

You should be asking:
"Is there any country in the top 20 in soccer where the sport isn't the most important team sport?"

The answer:
"Of course, it isn't."

maninb
03-22-2013, 10:55 AM
US soccer has been basically stagnant for a decade. If they want to get to the next level, ie. competing in the top 15 in the world, they need new leadership and a new direction. You can't beat teams like Mexico regularly, let alone a Brazil, Spain, etc, playing the way they play. It's tough to be that leader though. US soccer in general is pretty conservative. MLS is even more so.

If the USA were to make it into the final 4 (not a chance in 2014)...it would completely revitalize the game in America...there's nothing the Americans love more (and want more) than RESPECT from the rest of the world....and if they get that the AVERAGe person starts to pay attention and they start pumping more money into the game...