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View Full Version : TFC Half-Season Review PT. 2: GK and Defence.



Dub Narcotic
07-21-2008, 10:49 PM
Look at this stat:

TFC Home Goals Against: 2 (Rank: 1)
TFC Away Goals Against: 18 (Rank: Last)
Overall: 20 (Rank: Fifth)

That statistic is unbelievable, but it matches up with my perception of the defence, which is that they are a fairly average bunch who tend to play well, even chipping in some goals, when the team has a lot of possession, but tend to fall apart in cascades of fail when pressure is put on away from home. It's hard to say what the reasons are for this, being away from the emotional support of the home fans, the constant rotation of center backs, and a couple of bad shallackings skewing the stats (@Houston and @DC) are some of the possible reasons. I hope that Carver has some idea on how to fix this, because there's not one obvious thing I can put my finger on. One thing I mentioned in my Part 1 was that Carver needs to find a consistent CB pairing. I think that would be a start.


Goalkeepers

Greg Sutton. A. (CAN $158,000) Last year, things looked bleak for Sutton and the TFC goalkeeping spot. The carousel of mediocrity at goalkeeper saw no less than five different players in net for TFC, and Sutton did not particularly impress, In fact, most TFC fans hoped that Kenny Stamatopolus would stick around, but he ended up back in Europe. For Sutton, he spent most of the off-season recovering from a brutal concussion picked up during the Gold Cup, then lost his place in the pre-season to Brian Edwards, and Sutton's career with TFC, especially at a fairly large salary, was in doubt. However, after an Edwards howler in the opener, Sutton was re-instated and made a series of unbelievable saves despite letting in four goals, none of which were his fault. Sutton hardly looked back from that point, although being away on international duty has led to the occasional Brian Edwards start. Probably needs to work on his kicking, but its not like Barcelona is on the other end, so kicking is less important than shot stopping in this league, and Sutton is one of the best on the continent at this point.

Must do: Keep it up in the second half. Find comprimising pictures of John Carver with Pinball Clemons so that he actually plays every time he is available.

Brian Edwards. C. (USA $45,000) Good value for late in the draft, Edwards is a solid backup who needs some more seasoning. Thrust into a starting role after a good pre-season, Edwards was slow to react to a saveable shot in Columbus and immediately lost his job. In fact, almost every game Edwards has played in (save LAG, which was a complete fiasco), he has been at least partly responsible for a goal. Hopefully Carver won't make the mistake of playing him over Sutton when Sutton is available again, but Edwards is a cheap, mostly competent, quasi-domestic backup, which is good enough for me.

Must do: Work on setting up a wall and lateral quickness. I hope the later is improvable, because he looks a bit bulky and slow to me, which is pretty fatal.


Defence

Marvell "Captain Tractor" Wynne. A. (USA $48,000/$150,000) For my money, the MVP of the season so far. Never hurt, always hustling, able to shut down players on the wing (Altidore's last MLS memory will be getting destoryed by Wynne), play as a de facto sweeper, and get forward. Wynne does need to improve in a couple of areas, as its sometimes easy to get him to bite on a fake on the wing and get a cross in, but for a team that hasn't always seen consistent effort in the hot sun from its players, Wynne is a tough-as-nails gem. Hopefully with some new striker talent, more of his runs to the endline will be rewarded with goals.

Must do: Not get hurt in Beijing. Work on being able to fully lock down crossers and trust himself more to take on people when attacking.

Tyrone Marshall B+ (INT $150,000) Last year, I was not a fan of Tyrone Marshall. He got beat as the last man, took stupid cards and punted the ball to nowhere four thousand times a game. This year, I think he's been very effective when not hurt or away with Jamiaca. His distribution still isn't very good but he's a MLS veteran and seems to play well, subject to the caveats above. However, with three other center backs capable of playing, Marshall is taking up a fair bit of cap space and an international spot. All things being equal, I'd rather see him stay, but he's a prime candidate to move to clear up cap space for a striker, especially as he is aging and constantly away on international duty.

Must do: He is who he is at this point. Stay healthy, I guess.

Marco Velez (INT $60,000) C Sorry, not a fan. Velez brought back memories of Marco Reda with his inept performances at the start of the year but Carver kept the faith and his form improved with the team's. However, when he came back from international duty, he seemed to stumble again and was culpable for some poor play. Velez hustles and is generally pretty good in the air, but his athleticism is suspect and his game is certainly not consistent enough to start. Velez is probably a MLS-capable player, if not starter, but his international status makes him easily expendable. I'd keep Velez for the year, especially if Marshall is leaving, but Attakora-Gyan should be making a serious push for his spot in the offseason.

Must do: Work on his flexibility and athleticism. I may be way off base here, but I wonder if Velez is too bulky. He looks very stiff out there.

Oliver Tebily (INT 157,000) Inc. Really hasn't played enough because of his late arrival and injuries. Due to his international status and salary, he either needs to be starting or he needs to be cut. I would prefer he starts.

Must do: Get healthy.

Julius James (INT $36,000) C+ Hyped as a possible first-overall pick in the draft this year, James' experience this year is showing the widening gap between NCAA play and the MLS. James really hasn't looked comfortable in any of his showings after being very unfortunate to lose his starting slot in the pre-season to a shoulder injury. James looks the part and has the athleticism, so hopefully he will become more comfortable in the role with some more experience. If TFC looks out of the playoff picture, or possible even before, I would like to see Carver bite the bullet and play James full time, so we can see if James is the future, or the position needs more shoring up in the offseason.

Must do: Get some more playing time.

Attakora-Gyan (CAN $12,900) Inc. Haven't really seen the games where he's played. Looks the closest to really breaking through of the reserve players.

Must do: Get a job in construction in the offseason to pay some bills.

Brennan. (CAN $175,000) B. Good, not great, half, for Brennan. Good at the back, good going forward, although his crosses tend to be wasted by poor finishing. Been at fault for a few goals. It also looks to me like some of the injuries from last year have caught up to him (and through his career, really), as he looks stiffer and less mobile than last year. I still think he has a few years left, though.

Must do: Keep consistent and focused in the defensive end.

Dunivant (USA $105,000). B-. Solid depth on the left side, Dunivant is done for the year. I think he was one of the more underrated players on the club, as left-sided depth is hard to find, and he was quasi-domestic and fairly cheap.

Wooster_TFC
07-22-2008, 08:53 AM
As a note, both James and Velez are USA, not INT. I believe James got it from going to school there, and Velez counts as one due to the whole Puerto Rico being a territory of the USA.

While they may currently be officially taking up INT roster spots, they are much more valuable than a full INT, since they count as a USA.

ensco
07-22-2008, 10:11 AM
The goals away differential is directly related to fieldturf, and how tough it is to switch surfaces.

Opposition teams routinely lose 5 possessions or more a half at BMO, because balls skitter away. We only lose one or two a half this way. It's a gigantic advantage.

On the road, many times we look "slow". I think because our guys are misreading the play, and it's an instinctive thing, because they're more used to the BMO bounces.

This was most striking when we played DC home-and-home. They were hopeless offensively here, but three days later they got 8-10 quality chances.