Match Day 4 - Chicago @ TFC - Saturday April 6 3pm - Give Em Your Love in Our House

[OgtheDim]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wDJ9OQZ4Ns

********

Have at It People

[catz4ever]

This is going to be a very long week. Anxiously awaiting for Saturday’s game for many reasons.

[DinamoTFC]

3-0 for the boys

[James17930]

3-0 for the boys

Yeah, I see no reason why we shouldn't win this game handily, barring catastrophe. Even though Chicago looked better against RBNY, we're still at home and we're still the better team.

4-0-0 to start the season. Who would've thunk it!

[OgtheDim]

For the last 3 matches, the teams going in have looked like having competent offences & solid defences - and then proceeded to stink up the place on both sides. For the first time, we face a team with a solid offence & a shaky defence. In all 3 matches, our midfield was able to stifle their midfield (although Philly missed some sitters). That will have to happen again.

We are at home against an East opponent - if we want to succeed in this conference, we need to win these games. I want to see us go out there & establish the defence as something that IS rock solid. But I have my doubts.

Regardless, there should be goals in this game. I would take a 4-3 win but its just as likely in my mind to be the other way.

[GuelphStorm2007]

They way they moved that ball vs NYC is impeccable I cannot see why they cant continue that . I am still not confident with The Backline though but I think Vanney and His staff will figure something out. Like to see Hamilton grt some minutes . I say TFC 2 Fire 0.

[Kaz]

For the last 3 matches, the teams going in have looked like having competent offences & solid defences - and then proceeded to stink up the place on both sides. For the first time, we face a team with a solid offence & a shaky defence. In all 3 matches, our midfield was able to stifle their midfield (although Philly missed some sitters). That will have to happen again.

We are at home against an East opponent - if we want to succeed in this conference, we need to win these games. I want to see us go out there & establish the defence as something that IS rock solid. But I have my doubts.

Regardless, there should be goals in this game. I would take a 4-3 win but its just as likely in my mind to be the other way.

Sadly there is a offensive newness with Chicago that doesn't have time to read. Toronto right now is very vulnerable defensively. We have been really really really really lucky. The draw has been amazing. The next few games are going to really give a decent picture as to just how shaky they are when faced with a team that can score. A strong attack can do wonders if the mind set is right. So the key here is not to give up too many early goals and fight for goals at all times. Pozo was icing his knee in shorts at BMO after he came off the pitch which concerns me.

More so if Vanney thinks as some of these comments and trains the team how he often does for games he thinks should be easy... we are doomed to lose. So lets hope He is more cautious and sheepish about the teams chances.

[ag futbol]

Okay, not to roundly curse us but i think we absolutely run them over.

All of their leftbacks are injured (1st, 2nd, and 3rd choice) DeLeon and Auro were really effective down that side of the field last week.

Watching them play Seattle, they had issues dealing with Morris's speed and physicality and CB's were weak. I can't see that being any more favourable to them with Altidore playing up top.

And finally, their midfield shape so far this season has roundly been a disaster. If we can make it through NYCFC's press this will be much easier.

They have good attacking pieces in midfield but no balance. At times it looks like the play a 5-0-5, absolutely atrocious positioning. Even if Gaitan is great but he's not going to solve any of the most serious problems the team has right now.

[TheGoodson]

I watched some the Chicago game this past weekend and did not come away impressed at all. I was extremely impressed with us going forward and it should only get better as the team trains as a complete squad together. As TFC becomes better offensively and keeps possession and press when they lose the ball will in turn make our defence better.

TFC wins 2-0 Altidore and Oso. Puzeolo with 2 assists


BTW great track from a Chicago legend that was lost 5 years ago today

[Red CB Toronto]

Plus don’t forget their is a free t-shirt to the first 10,000 thru the gate. Looking forward to some day time football, hopefully with the sun out.

With a full week of training after his debut performance have to believe its only going to get better especially with Jozy.

[DinamoTFC]

Plus don’t forget their is a free t-shirt to the first 10,000 thru the gate. Looking forward to some day time football, hopefully with the sun out.

With a full week of training after his debut performance have to believe its only going to get better especially with Jozy.

Thanks for the reminder

[paul-collins]

Where did you find out about the t shirt? I've not received an email and I don't see it online? I'd love it if there was a published list of special dates...

[CBTFC]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9wDJ9OQZ4Ns

********

Have at It People

What a pleasant surprise this was to see as your track selection for this match...I have fond memories of Frankie Knuckles DJing at the Green Space Parties for Pride weekend for the couple years leading up to his death, have also had the pleasure of taking a walk along Frankie Knuckles Way and spending a few moments outside of the original Warehouse Club on Jefferson Ave.

[Areathrasher]

Where did you find out about the t shirt? I've not received an email and I don't see it online? I'd love it if there was a published list of special dates...

I saw a sponsored ad on instagram and a banner ad in my browser

[paul-collins]

Thanks!

If anyone has a list of other promotional dates I'd greatly appreciate it (particularly Pride)...

[Mike_S]

What a pleasant surprise this was to see as your track selection for this match...I have fond memories of Frankie Knuckles DJing at the Green Space Parties for Pride weekend for the couple years leading up to his death, have also had the pleasure of taking a walk along Frankie Knuckles Way and spending a few moments outside of the original Warehouse Club on Jefferson Ave.

I echo the love for Frankie Knuckles. Very appropriate selection with Chicago coming to town. :D

[Jack]

I'm looking forward to seeing Pozuelo repeat the quality he showed on Friday.

[Canary10]

I'm looking forward to seeing Pozuelo repeat the quality he showed on Friday.

I really think him and Jozy will be a wrecking crew. His balls in behind are fantastic, and Jozy really has an eye for making those runs.

The game against Chicago last year was the game I really felt like we were back in 2014 era TFC. If I remember correctly we were up 2-0 late, and they came back and stole a point in time added. Felt like a loss and a kick in the pants at a time when we needed to start putting together wins. Was a bit foreshadowing what would come. I'm really looking forward to righting that.

[Jack]

I really think him and Jozy will be a wrecking crew. His balls in behind are fantastic, and Jozy really has an eye for making those runs.

The game against Chicago last year was the game I really felt like we were back in 2014 era TFC. If I remember correctly we were up 2-0 late, and they came back and stole a point in time added. Felt like a loss and a kick in the pants at a time when we needed to start putting together wins. Was a bit foreshadowing what would come. I'm really looking forward to righting that.

Agreed! It would certainly be nice to gain some redemption from that debacle.

And yeah, Jozy's off-the-shoulder runs are definitely one of his strengths (eg. the Cup-winner). Given Pozuelo's vision and ability to play those balls trhough, I anticipate great things.

[OgtheDim]

....

The game against Chicago last year was the game I really felt like we were back in 2014 era TFC. If I remember correctly we were up 2-0 late, and they came back and stole a point in time added. Felt like a loss and a kick in the pants at a time when we needed to start putting together wins. Was a bit foreshadowing what would come. I'm really looking forward to righting that.

We won 2 other games against them last year but I'm with you....only remember that bad game as it was the first time when I thought we were not going to make the playoffs.

VV chip (not quite as good as Pozuelo)
Seba goal called offside but didn't look clear & obvious.
Bad VAR PK call where Morgan goes to take a kick, Fire guy steps in front of him & gets kicked - Bono save
Chicago 1st goal was offside & not called back because it wasn't clear & obvious
Alan Gorden with the winner in stoppage time

*******

I think we are in a better place now.

[Cuchulain]

The addition of Pozuelo and the win streak have really got me excited about this season. Saturday will be my first game this year; looking forward to seeing this guy play.

[James17930]

This game is on at the worst possible time for me – 3 am. Ugh.

Think I'll probably be watching the highlights only.

[ensco]

The game against Chicago last year was the game I really felt like we were back in 2014 era TFC. If I remember correctly we were up 2-0 late, and they came back and stole a point in time added. Felt like a loss and a kick in the pants at a time when we needed to start putting together wins. Was a bit foreshadowing what would come. I'm really looking forward to righting that.

What I remember about that game is outrage about the fact that the game time was not moved. It was on a Saturday afternoon, with us having played the CCL final a 6 hour flight away late Wednesday night.

Teams in Europe get extremely agitated if they have to play in three days because of CL. But no team in a serious league would have to play a game 60 hours after playing a Cup final that was a 6 or 7 hour flight away.

If you want to understand the 2018 TFC breakdown, that is a place to start.

[Derko]

This game is on at the worst possible time for me – 3 am. Ugh.

Think I'll probably be watching the highlights only.

When did they change the game time from 3:00pm? Damn MLS :facepalm:

[James17930]

When did they change the game time from 3:00pm? Damn MLS :facepalm:

It's a new viewing experiment - play the game overnight in N. America to get the European breakfast crowd ;)

[KGH]

I really think him and Jozy will be a wrecking crew. His balls in behind are fantastic

http://e.lvme.me/6vtbqn5.jpg

[C.Ronaldo]

Agreed! It would certainly be nice to gain some redemption from that debacle.

And yeah, Jozy's off-the-shoulder runs are definitely one of his strengths (eg. the Cup-winner). Given Pozuelo's vision and ability to play those balls trhough, I anticipate great things.

Id really like to see if Hamilton (who seems to have a fairly accurate shot) can link up with pozo.

[DFloorDanny]

Can't wait!! I'm bummed to have missed the home opener. Doing it the right way this time Joe's > BMO Field. Would love to see Pozuelo repeat his Friday form.

[Initial B]

Argh, I'll be watching my son's trial with the Trent U team. Hopefully I'll get back in time to catch the last 15 minutes...

[Mikmacdo]

2-1 TFC is my prediction. Osorio and Jozy score, Pozuelo two assists. Chicago has some pretty good players I think they will do better than we think this season.

[ensco]

Trap game. I expect a chippy game and Pozo to be poleaxed early and often. If the refs don’t call it tight, it could be a frustrating day. I am envious that they have Gaitan, who is the best forward we will have seen this year.

We could dominate possession and not get the result.

[Auzzy]

Trap game. I expect a chippy game and Pozo to be poleaxed early and often. If the refs don’t call it tight, it could be a frustrating day. I am envious that they have Gaitan, who is the best forward we will have seen this year.

We could dominate possession and not get the result.

It wasn't really discussed because the final result was good, but Chris Penso allowed lots of hacking during the game vs. NYC. I think that the PK on Jozy was the right call, but it was actually one of the weaker fouls compared to others that weren't even whistled. I realize it wasn't a foul every time a Toronto player fell down, but Penso left some blatant tackles from behind unpunished. I hope that doesn't become the standard, especially in terms of fouls on Pozuelo.

The ref vs Chicago will be Armando Villarreal. I don't have an overall bad impression of him, but does someone know how tightly he calls the games? Overall TFC has a .500 record when Villarreal officiates. However he was the ref for the game vs. Atlanta where Mavinga ended up getting ejected; I don't think that Villarreal handled that game well at all.

[dal524]

i dont think its posted anywhere, at least not that i have been able to find.


Thanks!

If anyone has a list of other promotional dates I'd greatly appreciate it (particularly Pride)...

[DinamoTFC]

Trap game. I expect a chippy game and Pozo to be poleaxed early and often. If the refs don’t call it tight, it could be a frustrating day. I am envious that they have Gaitan, who is the best forward we will have seen this year.

We could dominate possession and not get the result.
I watched the 20 min condensed highlights of fire vs nyrb and vs Seattle. Fire are probably bit better than last year, playing with more men tracking back and lots of scrappy challenges. However, Seattle completely tore them up down the wings and thru the back. There is no reason we shouldn't get 3 points at home.

Also reminded me that I really miss raheem edwards.

Commentator said the Fires last game was Gaitan's first game in 4 months and he's a bit rusty.

[ensco]

I get the rusty thing but I am worried about him.

Gaitan was a rotation player at Atletico Madrid 12 months ago. That is a step higher than where Pozo was, as a for instance. Before that, he was every bit as dominant in Portugal as Pozo was in Belgium.

He was one of the fastest players in the world, a couple of years ago.

Simeone only brings in gamers, even though he wasn’t a regular, being there for two years is a major character endorsement.

There is a decent chance that Gaitan is every bit as good as Zlatan or Vela.

[Brooker]

fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire,

[Cas87]

https://frinkiac.com/video/S08E12/bhUzh2A8Xu5_bOKGA6Wc1QKV47k=.gif



fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire, fire,

[Brooker]

oh oh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh oh oh ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh FIRE

FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE! FIRE!

[MightyDM]

I hope our overexuberance as supporters isn't felt by the team. Overconfidence is a killer, and the first three games were against weak teams. (But there were moments against NYCFC that we looked fabulous)

[Fort York Redcoat]

2-1 TFC is my prediction. Osorio and Jozy score, Pozuelo two assists. Chicago has some pretty good players I think they will do better than we think this season.

3-2 is more likely for me. Hope we don't have to score 4 again to win.

[TheGoodson]

I get the rusty thing but I am worried about him.

Gaitan was a rotation player at Atletico Madrid 12 months ago. That is a step higher than where Pozo was, as a for instance. Before that, he was every bit as dominant in Portugal as Pozo was in Belgium.

He was one of the fastest players in the world, a couple of years ago.

Simeone only brings in gamers, even though he wasn’t a regular, being there for two years is a major character endorsement.

There is a decent chance that Gaitan is every bit as good as Zlatan or Vela.

I spoke to a few of my Argentinian friends about Gaitan and they all pretty much said the same thing he peaked early and he will never become the player he was thought he would be. He was spoken about as the next great 10 through the Boca system. I have no doubt that his talent alone will put him in the top of half of players in the mls, but to suggest he has the skill of either Zlatan or Vela is a stretch. Those two and along with a few others Jozy include are the upper class and I don’t put him in that category

[burlington Red]

I spoke to a few of my Argentinian friends about Gaitan and they all pretty much said the same thing he peaked early and he will never become the player he was thought he would be. He was spoken about as the next great 10 through the Boca system. I have no doubt that his talent alone will put him in the top of half of players in the mls, but to suggest he has the skill of either Zlatan or Vela is a stretch. Those two and along with a few others Jozy include are the upper class and I don’t put him in that category


For about 3 seasons in a row a lot of talk on Man Utd forums where that he was being watched. That was a few yrs ago, nothing ever came of it. They saw something but not enough, the fact he only has 16 caps shows he maybe never realized his true full potential. At one point though he was so highly thought of, but he seems to be one of these players just running down his career now. He's still only 31, if he wants to he has more than enough natural ability to succeed, it's whether or not he wants it.

[ensco]

I find this discussion bizarre. This is MLS, not England or Spain.

This guy isn’t “in the top half of MLS”, he is almost certainly a star in this league, day one

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IgJe9Bw-vlM

[stegosaurus]

I find this discussion bizarre. This is MLS, not England or Spain.

This guy isn’t “in the top half of MLS”, he is almost certainly a star in this league, day one

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IgJe9Bw-vlM

I don’t disagree that he could perform well here, but I saw him play in China and he didn’t seem fit and was pretty lazy.

His general performance at Dalian was pretty bad compared to what you’d expect (not exactly Tevez in China bad, but still).

If he puts in effort here there’s no doubt he could be effective. If not...

[TheGoodson]

The list of players that should be stars in the MLS that have DP is long and I don’t have the time to go through them. But I will give you Denillson the former most expensive player in the world and former Brazilian national team member. He is the perfect example of talent that did absolutely nothing here.

At the end of the day he’s not as good as he was projected to be and he was slightly above average at best in Portugal and didn’t cut it with Atheltico and ended up in China. If he’s so talented why not go back to Europe with a mid table team? He’s not getting crazy money like Seba was so really why come to the MLS?

At best maybe he ends up like anAllesandri or Ellis from Houston but even then he’s not in the top 10-12 players in this league I excluded Puzelo as it’s still too early to put him that echelon of players after 1 game. Putting him with established stars or players with true pedigree is a stretch IMO

[burlington Red]

don't think anyone doubts his talent, it's just when these players start moving clubs, you wonder what their motivation is if any. He only played 13 games in his last season for Atletico. This is his 2nd move in 2 seasons. There's no doubt he will show his ability at times, but is the consistency or the will to work there. It almost looks a little like Van Der Wiel for us, if anything his past and success were greater but once he left PSG he's been on a downward spiral.Gaitan didn't light up China, 2 goals in 30 games for an attacking midfielder. I know goals isn't his forte but you'd be expecting a bigger return considering his pedigree.

[ensco]

The list of players that should be stars in the MLS that have DP is long and I don’t have the time to go through them. But I will give you Denillson the former most expensive player in the world and former Brazilian national team member. He is the perfect example of talent that did absolutely nothing here.

At the end of the day he’s not as good as he was projected to be and he was slightly above average at best in Portugal and didn’t cut it with Atheltico and ended up in China. If he’s so talented why not go back to Europe with a mid table team? He’s not getting crazy money like Seba was so really why come to the MLS?

At best maybe he ends up like anAllesandri or Ellis from Houston but even then he’s not in the top 10-12 players in this league I excluded Puzelo as it’s still too early to put him that echelon of players after 1 game. Putting him with established stars or players with true pedigree is a stretch IMO

Denilson is a valid comparable. That could happen. I could add Frings to that list if I wanted to be mean...

He was a lot better than “slightly above average” in Portugal. Perennial transfer target of the biggest clubs. Probably should have moved before he did.

I give more pedigree than you do to being a rotation player at Atletico Madrid. That is something Pozo never came close to.

Your conclusion is probably fair. He isn’t an automatic given the year in China.

btw he's a winger (at least he was), his stats aren’t going to tell the story

[ag futbol]

After a few good early years Denilson spent his time essentially pissing away his career and being lazy, forget his last club stint prior to MLS. He had given up long before that. This guy could have been Ronaldo, before Ronaldo.

If that’s the comparison the fire are getting for this guy, they’re screwed.

[stegosaurus]

Denilson is a valid comparable. That could happen. I could add Frings to that list if I wanted to be mean...

He was a lot better than “slightly above average” in Portugal. Perennial transfer target of the biggest clubs. Probably should have moved before he did.

I give more pedigree than you do to being a rotation player at Atletico Madrid. That is something Pozo never came close to.

Your conclusion is probably fair. He isn’t an automatic given the year in China.

btw he's a winger (at least he was), his stats aren’t going to tell the story

In China, he mostly played as an attacking mid.

It’s just a question of effort and mentality; if he’s here for retirement tour #2, then it won’t go well. Guys who go to CSL and try can definitely put up big numbers, just look at Wu Lei looking like an absolute god with Oscar sitting behind him.

Nico definitely wasn’t putting in the kind of performance one would envy, but who knows, maybe he’s ready to put his nose to the grindstone in Chicago...

[OgtheDim]

Poz suggesting maybe pumping the brakes on him doing what he did last week every week.

https://twitter.com/Beezersun/status/1113857601958219777

[Graeme]

In both sad and happy news, Raheem Edwards out with a knee injury.

[paul-collins]

Poz suggesting maybe pumping the brakes on him doing what he did last week every week.

https://twitter.com/Beezersun/status/1113857601958219777
Not an unfair assessment by him. I think, though, that the rest of the team is going to improve significantly around him as they get used to his timing. He won't have to carry the team.

[OgtheDim]

Weather forecast now a lot like last Friday night.

8 degrees, no real wind, no rain, sunny with cloudy periods.

[James17930]

Not an unfair assessment by him. I think, though, that the rest of the team is going to improve significantly around him as they get used to his timing. He won't have to carry the team.

I thought the rest of the team was already pretty good around him in that game. As Vanney said, he 'played within the team,' fit right in with what they had already been doing, and filling the role VV used to. Even though he had a great game, it really didn't feel like he was 'carrying' us in the way that, say, Darwin Quintero has to carry Minny or Piatti has to carry Montreal.

And that's what makes us so good and dangerous IMHO. We won't be over-reliant on him, just as in some ways we weren't over-reliant on Giovinco (we had a decent record when he was out in '16 and '17).

[paul-collins]

I thought the rest of the team was already pretty good around him in that game. As Vanney said, he 'played within the team,' fit right in with what they had already been doing, and filling the role VV used to. Even though he had a great game, it really didn't feel like he was 'carrying' us in the way that, say, Darwin Quintero has to carry Minny or Piatti has to carry Montreal.

And that's what makes us so good and dangerous IMHO. We won't be over-reliant on him, just as in some ways we weren't over-reliant on Giovinco (we had a decent record when he was out in '16 and '17).
I thought the team did well around him but I saw glimmers of even more lethal interplay. I have, um, *expectations*

[backbeat]

Weather forecast now a lot like last Friday night.

8 degrees, no real wind, no rain, sunny with cloudy periods.


i'm seeing sunny and 14 - i like mine better

[stevep]

i'm seeing sunny and 14 - i like mine better

sunny and 14

https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/on-143_metric_e.html

[Joe Kool]

Poz suggesting maybe pumping the brakes on him doing what he did last week every week.

https://twitter.com/Beezersun/status/1113857601958219777

I was just coming here to say that he set the bar very high last week and hopefully people don’t expect that every game. Funny to see this post.

[OgtheDim]

sunny and 14

https://weather.gc.ca/city/pages/on-143_metric_e.html

Check out the forecast for South Parkdale or the Islands.

Always cooler near the lake.

[Auzzy]

Weather Network saying 11 C / feels like 10 C, sun & clouds for game time in South Parkdale. Shirts AND shorts off!

Auro questionable for this game, tightness in the hamstring area. They should go easy with the guys if there are any concerns; avoid the injury issues from last year. How do they line up if Auro is out? Perhaps 3 in the back with Ciman; plus DeLeon on the right wing (or sliding to RB if they want to morph that into 5 at the back).

Or 4 at the back, with DeLeon at RB, and both Delgado & Chapman starting in midfield? It's too bad because DeLeon has been a real motor going forward, as well as breaking things up & helping in defensive midfield.

[Cas87]

Weather Network saying 11 C / feels like 10 C, sun & clouds for game time in South Parkdale. Shirts AND shorts off!

Auro questionable for this game, tightness in the hamstring area. They should go easy with the guys if there are any concerns; avoid the injury issues from last year. How do they line up if Auro is out? Perhaps 3 in the back with Ciman; plus DeLeon on the right wing (or sliding to RB if they want to morph that into 5 at the back).

Or 4 at the back, with DeLeon at RB, and both Delgado & Chapman starting in midfield? It's too bad because DeLeon has been a real motor going forward, as well as breaking things up & helping in defensive midfield.

I think there would be 2 options with Auro out:

(1) We may see the JMo switch from 2016.

JMo -- Moor -- Mavinga -- Morgan
Bradley -- Delgado
DeLeon -- Poz -- Oso
Altidore

(2) switch DeLeon back to RB, sub Chapman beside Poz

[James17930]

I think there would be 2 options with Auro out:

(1) We may see the JMo switch from 2016.

JMo -- Moor -- Mavinga -- Morgan
Bradley -- Delgado
DeLeon -- Poz -- Oso
Altidore

(2) switch DeLeon back to RB, sub Chapman beside Poz

Or we see one of Dorsey or Shaffleburg on the right.

[Mikmacdo]

If Auro is out I would go with a 3-4-1-2

——-Ciman Moor Mavinga
Deleon-Osorio-Bradley-Morrow
—————-Pozuelo
————Altidore-Akinola

[Joe Kool]

I know it is the nature of the beast but not really keen on MLS Soccer website guys saying it and now I just read a Chicago writer's article all calling for the way to deal with Pozuelo is to consistently hack him down and foul him in this upcoming game. MLS idiots said they should have hacked him down after the penalty kick he took last week. What a barbaric attitude. I hate that kind of mentality in sports.

[stegosaurus]

I know it is the nature of the beast but not really keen on MLS Soccer website guys saying it and now I just read a Chicago writer's article all calling for the way to deal with Pozuelo is to consistently hack him down and foul him in this upcoming game. MLS idiots said they should have hacked him down after the penalty kick he took last week. What a barbaric attitude. I hate that kind of mentality in sports.

I read the same thing. Absolute idiocy, but unfortunately this is exactly what actually happens at the top — look at the most fouled players in Europe, or how Ligue 1 deals with Neymar. Fouling a player into injury is actually a “strategy” unless the refs protect star players, especially when you can’t get calls unless you dive. Look at the penalty on Jozy — his shirt was held basically every time he went forward, he complained numerous times, but it wasn’t called til he flopped in the box.

Seba was fouled constantly while marked by 2-3+ defenders and people called him a “whiner” or “petulant” (even on this board) so it just goes to show the mentality of MLS fans.

[OgtheDim]

Not saying its a good thing, but if the Fire does this, Osorio or Delgado kicking Schweinsteiger or Dax will happen.


*****

Villareal is the ref - he can lose a handle on this game easily.

[Chubbs]

Unfortunately that's just the nature of the game, and it happens at all levels of play. Reminds me of this image from a few years back of Hazards legs after a match vs Galatasaray:
http://i.imgur.com/OGnDR1F.jpg

Just like stego mentioned above, this is the same strategy teams used against Seba all the time

[stegosaurus]

Unfortunately that's just the nature of the game, and it happens at all levels of play. Reminds me of this image from a few years back of Hazards legs after a match vs Galatasaray:
http://i.imgur.com/OGnDR1F.jpg

Just like stego mentioned above, this is the same strategy teams used against Seba all the time

That’s probably one of the reasons why Zlatan is still so effective in MLS — no one is going to try to foul him out of the game. :)

[Auzzy]

I agree with everything above. Chris Penso was largely awful with this in last game. If refs don't make the easy/early calls, and an occasional yellow when warranted (like a tackle through the back), people will just flop more & more until they get some calls. I think Pozuelo already mentioned that he didn't like some of attention & double-teaming he saw in Belgium. We really can't get that TAM winger soon enough, provide another avenue to attack, and draw attention away from Pozuelo.

Altidore, in addition to dishing it out, also gets hacked alot. I noticed he wasn't really getting in position for the long goal kicks and drop kicks vs. NYC; often staying in offside longer. Those long balls are some of the plays where he gets the most abuse.

In case we need some enforcement, Akinola actually weighs more, and is a bit shorter than Altidore. (And he's pure muscle & can turn on a dime.) Jussayin'... DeLeon also doesn't strike me as the shy and bashful kind.

[KGH]

If Auro is out I would go with a 3-4-1-2

——-Ciman Moor Mavinga
Deleon-Osorio-Bradley-Morrow
—————-Pozuelo
————Altidore-Akinola

I think you'll see mostly this but a 3-4-2-1 with Delgado in beside Bradley instead of Akinola pushing Osorio up beside Pozo. I think right now Akinola is best used as a sub to bring speed on later in the game.

[ensco]

If Auro is out, the logical sub is Zavaleta or Morgan. I doubt Vanney will go three at the back with Bono looking so shaky.

If it is Zavaleta, let’s show the man who was fourth overall in minutes played on our 2017 Championship team some love

[stegosaurus]

If Auro is out, the logical sub is Zavaleta or Morgan. I doubt Vanney will go three at the back with Bono looking so shaky.

If it is Zavaleta, let’s show the man who was fourth overall in minutes played on our 2017 Championship team some love

Or shifting Deleon to RB.

[OgtheDim]

Or shifting Deleon to RB.

And Endoh to where DeLeon plays.

****

https://twitter.com/FireConf/status/1114206931114254336

[TFC1154ever]

Or shifting Deleon to RB.

Or maybe we get our first sniff of Laryea at RB. Vanney did say they were grooming him as a RB

[ag futbol]

Unfortunately that's just the nature of the game, and it happens at all levels of play. Reminds me of this image from a few years back of Hazards legs after a match vs Galatasaray:
http://i.imgur.com/OGnDR1F.jpg

Just like stego mentioned above, this is the same strategy teams used against Seba all the time
Yellows for persistent infringement needs to be more of a thing in all levels of the game, but especially in MLS.

I remember watching Blanco get hacked about 8 consecutive times back in the day and counting them up for the ref (who did nothing). Shouldn’t be that way.

[OgtheDim]

Somebody should plaster an x on a railing every time a new foul happens on Pozo - like they do X's for strikeouts in baseball. The embarrassment would stop this real quickly.

[Richard]

Unfortunately that's just the nature of the game, and it happens at all levels of play. Reminds me of this image from a few years back of Hazards legs after a match vs Galatasaray:
http://i.imgur.com/OGnDR1F.jpg

Just like stego mentioned above, this is the same strategy teams used against Seba all the time

Jeez that looks brutal.

A swift kick in the balls after the first hack on Poz should set the tone.

Where's an enforcer when you need one.

[Hamilton_Red]

Poz will have to be protected. This isn’t unique to MLS - it has been part of football for long time. England doesn’t win WC 66 if Pele hadn’t been kicked off the park by the Bulgarians.

I’d be looking to Bradley, Delgado, Mavinga to be sending a message to anyone who is going to try that against Poz.

[OgtheDim]

Endoh & Shaffleburg down in Orlando starting tonight for TFCII.

[stegosaurus]

Poz will have to be protected. This isn’t unique to MLS - it has been part of football for long time. England doesn’t win WC 66 if Pele hadn’t been kicked off the park by the Bulgarians.

I’d be looking to Bradley, Delgado, Mavinga to be sending a message to anyone who is going to try that against Poz.

... Sure, but it’s going to happen. Seba was hacked the entire time he was here, and it’s not like anyone “sent a message.” Even TFC “supporters” here called him petulant, lol.

[MightyDM]

Or we see one of Dorsey or Shaffleburg on the right.

They aren’t ready.

[MightyDM]

Somebody should plaster an x on a railing every time a new foul happens on Pozo - like they do X's for strikeouts in baseball. The embarrassment would stop this real quickly.


I like that. East side, across from TV

[Red CB Toronto]

Endoh & Shaffleburg down in Orlando starting tonight for TFCII.
Shaffleberg would also have to be signed to an MLS contract.

[TFC1986]

As fans we have to be heard every time a call isn't made in our favor.
Come on.you reds!!!

[OgtheDim]

GAME DAY!!!!!:scarf::flare::drum::pbjtime:

[portu]

With Auro out I think it's gonna be 3 at the back.

Bono; Mavinga, Moor, Ciman; Morrow, Bradley, Delgado, DeLeon; Oso, Pozo, Jozy

[Gringo Starr]

Great weather, afternoon start, hope BMO is packed today.

[ag futbol]

They aren’t ready.
Agreed, they were roster in Panama. Need seasoning.

[ag futbol]

With Auro out I think it's gonna be 3 at the back.

Bono; Mavinga, Moor, Ciman; Morrow, Bradley, Delgado, DeLeon; Oso, Pozo, Jozy
This is tough. Chicago isn’t particularly good in the midfield but has some decent wide options. Ideally we setup the way we did last week but do we play the lineup that suits our available players or the lineup that suits the opposition?

Personally i’d add a striker up top and drop DeLeon to RB. Reason being, all else equal I take the impact of Hamilton, Akinola, or Chapman being on the field over Ciman. In theory the extra defender sounds good. In practice that extra defender has been bad. But that’s just me.

You could just as easily have the better game plan.

[Hugh Jazz]

Yeah I'd like to see the back 4 stay with DeLeon back there for Auro. Maybe Chapman at RM? He's done enough to warrant more playing time.

[ag futbol]

Yeah I'd like to see the back 4 stay with DeLeon back there for Auro. Maybe Chapman at RM? He's done enough to warrant more playing time.
Ya either Chapman on the right with Poz playing a free role up top next to Altidore. Or Akinola or Hamilton comes in as the second striker playing next to Altidore.

I’ve always wanted to see Hamilton and Altidore play together because they are both fairly versatile. Could see that causing teams problems.

[Yohan]

Laryea in at RB

[oranje boven]

So nice to be here without a toque... turf looks good. Waiting for the team to come out for warm up.

[TFC1154ever]

Or maybe we get our first sniff of Laryea at RB. Vanney did say they were grooming him as a RB

^ ;)

[Hugh Jazz]

Good call. Well I think we know what our default formation is moving forward.

[ensco]

Gaitan on the bench. Shows what I know.

Fire going three at the back, although maybe Schweinie will drop onto back line.

[oranje boven]

Gaitan on the bench. Shows what I know.

Fire going three at the back, although maybe Schweinie will drop onto back line.
I thought last tine they started Shweine in the back we weee all over them. They were forced to move him up... soon see

[Valdal]

If anybody has a stream I would appreciate it

[CBTFC]

Shorts and sandals for TFC!

[Boddington]

If anybody has a stream I would appreciate it

Give this a whirl.

https://telesports.live/sportsauth-genset-137607991177.php

[Richard]

https://twitter.com/torontofc/status/1114589360395964416

[stegosaurus]

Gaitan on the bench. Shows what I know.

Fire going three at the back, although maybe Schweinie will drop onto back line.

Yeah, I didn’t think he was fit enough for 90.

[stegosaurus]

I wonder if we’re going to see Pozo in a Seba role until they sign wingers...

[portu]

I think we're finally seeing a commitment to Vanney's vision with Pozo here and Seba gone.

When Seba first arrived a lot of 2015 pre-season was spent in a 4-2-3-1 with Seba in the 10 role behind Jozy. This obviously didn't pan out, but Seba was held as a number 10 in a narrow diamond 4-4-2. This didn't pan out either because Seba wasn't defensively sound enough for the position which meant he moved to his preferred position as a striker.

Now, Seba is gone and the club have a true number 10. The move to plug in a right back rather switch formation tells me Vanney wants to commit to the structure of the 4-2-3-1.

[RedsYNWA]

Wow 82% Possession & 27-3 advantage in attacks

[portu]

Markie is really trying these lobbed through balls and outside of the foot passes. Pozo rubbing off?

[ag futbol]

Finally.

I know that’s what Caldwell calls a “game plan” from Chicago but to me that’s complete shit. If you’re taking this much pressure you’re going to concede 19 times out of 20

[Richard]

What a ball though.

[notthesun]

Delgado is pinging some beautiful cross-field balls today.

[stegosaurus]

What is Osorio doing?

[RedsYNWA]

& Bono with Bonehead positioning

[ag futbol]

What on earth was bono coming that far out for? Sapong still had a lot to do but he made it easy

[benito]

What on earth was bono coming that far out for?

Geez that was terrible goal keeping.

[notthesun]

Jesus christ Bono. I mean jesus

[Richard]

Sorry but that goalkeeping is shambolic. Time to get a replacement and have him work it out at TFC2.

[stegosaurus]

What on earth was bono coming that far out for? Sapong still had a lot to do but he made it easy

He needs to ride the bench. What a garbage goal to give up when you’re dominating the game...

[portu]

Bono cost us on that goal. He's had too many chances. Pull him.

[Richard]

How disappointing. We've been dominating every area until that goal.

[RedsYNWA]

TFC 104-17 in Attacks
TFC 48-8 In Dangerous Attacks
TFC with 74% Possession

without that bonehead mistake by Bono it would have been Barcaesque

[TorontoGooner]

Any decent streams out there?

[portu]

Forget the fact Bono came out way too far on that play. The guy literally fell over at the sight of Sapong even shooting.

[stegosaurus]

Any decent streams out there?

Footybite probably has some HD streams.

[General Woolfe]

What has happened to Mavinga? He’s a shadow of the player he was in our championship season. Our entire defence worries me. They’re no excuse for going in tied here. We should have this Chicago side dead and buried, despite the fact they have defended really well. Our new superstar a bit anonymous today (assist aside) We need to start making our possession count otherwise we’re liable to drop not just two but maybe all three points today. Chicago have been on their heels the entire 1st half but go in level based on two real chances

[General Woolfe]

TFC 104-17 in Attacks
TFC 48-8 In Dangerous Attacks
TFC with 74% Possession

without that bonehead mistake by Bono it would have been Barcaesque
Mavinga’s sluggishness was as much to blame as Bono. Also Moor’s giveaway contributed.

Your figures show how dominate we’ve been but too often the final pass is blind, we need to play to the feet of our players rather than just play it into the centre

we also need Pozuelo to get further forward and more involved

[Richard]

Forget the fact Bono came out way too far on that play. The guy literally fell over at the sight of Sapong even shooting.

I feel like the only people talking about Bono's play is on these boards which is concerning. Bono has regressed considerably and its not even mentioned by the media.

[69Chevy396]

What has happened to Mavinga? He’s a shadow of the player he was in our championship season. Our entire defence worries me. They’re no excuse for going in tied here. We should have this Chicago side dead and buried, despite the fact they have defended really well. Our new superstar a bit anonymous today (assist aside) We need to start making our possession count otherwise we’re liable to drop not just two but maybe all three points today. Chicago have been on their heels the entire 1st half but go in level based on two real chances
He made a goal saving tackle in the box that few MLS defenders would even attempt.

[ag futbol]

Bono cost us on that goal. He's had too many chances. Pull him.
Agreed, it’s time.

I think DeLeon is completely ineffective on the inside. Chapman would have made way more sense

[stevep]

One shot on goal. One goal for Chicago

[portu]

That goal is entirely on Bono. Great ball and then work from Sapong. But zero excuses for Bono. It gets worse the more you watch it. Disgusting goalkeeping.

[TorontoGooner]

Footybite probably has some HD streams.

Cheers mate

[portu]

I feel like the only people talking about Bono's play is on these boards which is concerning. Bono has regressed considerably and its not even mentioned by the media.
I wasn't even talking about Bono last year. We were too shitty to assess whether he'd regressed. Especially after his performances in CCL, which were basically the only performances where we were good last year.

[jloome]

I feel like the only people talking about Bono's play is on these boards which is concerning. Bono has regressed considerably and its not even mentioned by the media.

The media seem to miss that point. The public doesn't; it's discussed on Reddit, on the MLS site, on every thread about them I see, pretty much.

That was just woeful. I mean, he predicted a low shot and cut off the angle when he should have shadowed back to to the far post, because Mavinga was deliberately cutting off the angle. It was just a really poor decision.

I get why they keep playing him; he's very young for his skill level and shot-stopping ability. But his accidents and poor decisions just killed us last year, and that was a good example of what happens.

We should still win this.

[69Chevy396]

I feel like the only people talking about Bono's play is on these boards which is concerning. Bono has regressed considerably and its not even mentioned by the media.
Bono should have stayed on his feet, near his post, on that shot. And, as much as the new guy, Leryea, showed offensively, he was not covering his man on that play. Can’t blame Mavinga because he was trying to cover for that error.

[Richard]

Don't blame Mavinga, he has been great for us so far this year and having a ball mover like that in defense is not easy to find.

[69Chevy396]

Luke Wileman is giving me a headache again today. He, and Caldwell, think calling a game, is like two guys at a bar talking about their lawn mowers instead of paying attention to the beautiful woman sitting next to them.

[notthesun]

He should have just stayed in goal and not come out to collect a ball he was never going to get close to. Once he's stuck in no man's land there he's cooked.

If he stays in net and Mavinga plays it the same way it's a weak left-footed shot that he stops with ease.

[69Chevy396]

Osorio needs to be subbed. He has completely lost his touch around net. That ball from Poz was right on his foot.

[ag futbol]

This team needs to go out and get a CB. Bez messes that up in the offseason with Ciman. He’s not performing and isn’t the “boss” CB profile in any case.

Moor is trying but his legs are clearly done. Anytime somebody turns him he has to have Mavinga come across to cover. We are adjusting a ton of different things because of Moor’s lack of speed

[Richard]

How long is Ciman's contract?

[ag futbol]

Gross, and for once I agree with Caldwell ... it was coming

[69Chevy396]

Aleaya was diarrhea on that goal

[jloome]

And... that was Richie Laryea playing a lazy quick ball to Bradley without enough on it.

Getting hurt by the younger guys today.

[BakaGaijin]

Layrea coughed up the ball needlessly and that led to that goal

[ag futbol]

Ya fair. I know he’s looked okay in the first half but to my understanding Chicago are fielding something like their 3rd or 4th choice RB

[General Woolfe]

FFS this is dreadful. We can’t afford to throw points away at home to teams like Chicago (improved as they are) Mavinga again lingering when he should be challenging firmly, though Moor wasn’t brilliant either letting the ball get across goal.

Again too many blind passes in to the centre when we attack rather than picking out players

[General Woolfe]

Poor sub from Vanney. Lareya has been one of our better performers. On the other hand Osorio has barely touched the ball. We need three points here so hopefully Akinola can deliver some of the promise he’s shown

[69Chevy396]

Osorio heard me

[jloome]

On the other hand Osorio has barely touched the ball.

Good call.

[Richard]

Now lets win it.

[General Woolfe]

First touch and he scores.Great cross from Jozy and good header from Osorio.

Come on TFC we need all three points here

[ag futbol]

Come on, let’s get the last one. Don’t want to drop points here. There will be tougher games this year

[jloome]

Come on, let’s get the last one. Don’t want to drop points here. There will be tougher games this year

We can win this. This version has the 2017 belief.

[portu]

Jozy trying some stupid shit in the box with 10 minutes to go come on

[jloome]

With Laryea, I wonder if Vanney is still smarting from not seeing now-U.S. national team member Daniel Lovitz's potential as a fullback and trying too hard. Laryea is a tricky winger who can contribute in the way De Leon does, but he's not a consistent enough professional yet to just up and start playing as a defender. He's not good enough at reading and reacting to do that, I suspect. He had two major gaffes today, one almost costing a goal and the other putting them ahead.

[portu]

Still miss Lovitz. Casualty of not playing with any wingers.

[ag futbol]

I dunno. I think Lovitz is greatly overrated.

[jloome]

Damn. That should've been three.

[portu]

Bono cost us. Sit him.

[ag futbol]

Well, can’t be too upset about 3 wins and a tie to start the season but we missed an opportunity today.

We’re going to actually start playing teams where the strikers can score on skill alone. So we can’t afford bone head moves from Bono and soft goals in general.

Really think Vanney got it wrong tactically today. We shouldn’t be scrambling to change the entire shape of the team over the exclusion of one fullback and then putting in an inexperienced replacement as the wide player on that side of the field.

[James17930]

Feels bad, but at least we salvaged the point. Poz didn't look so much in the match as last week.

Maybe he tired towards the end.

[azorean]

I still say Bono is better than Garret Sparks.

[adam1001]

This was a winnable game. Poz had a nice assist today, but his positioning is awkward. Too much time spent in the middle of the pitch, and not following through with his runs forward. Bradley had a forgettable game, as did Mavinga and Bono (what’s going on with him?). Can’t win them all, I guess!

[gracos]

Horrible performance for the last 15; felt liked me gave up and didn't play until the final whistle

[notthesun]

Rescued a point but we should've won today. Everything Chicago did offensively came from our own mistakes.

Bono's poor decision changed the entire game, he needs to sit next week.

Pozuelo looked completely gassed to me in the last 10 minutes, dropping insanely deep to get the ball and no desire to take on his man. Poor delivery from set pieces today too for him (in addition to the free kick late he hit the first defender on multiple corners too). But he played some pinpoint crosses and we got a goal out of one of them.

Good job to get the tying goal, I think we would've lost this 2-1 last year. But boy oh boy Sapong's goal stings and I have to place most of the blame for these 2 lost points on Bono if I'm being honest.

[nonc]

Moor and Mavinga are so bad, Ciman should be playing.

Laryea, terrible. and risked red card.

Bono, terrible. What the hell is he doing on the first goal...even though Moor turned it over and Mavinga's defensive effort was not adequate.

[notthesun]

Really think Vanney got it wrong tactically today. We shouldn’t be scrambling to change the entire shape of the team over the exclusion of one fullback and then putting in an inexperienced replacement as the wide player on that side of the field.

Curtis and Manning need to get moving on this TAM winger. How different do those last 15 minutes look with a pacy guy that can beat his man there instead of Chapman?

[azorean]

That Chigago team is Not Good, this I know. We tied, at home, this should have been a win. Obvious, I know.

[ag futbol]

This was a winnable game. Poz had a nice assist today, but his positioning is awkward. Too much time spent in the middle of the pitch, and not following through with his runs forward. Bradley had a forgettable game, as did Mavinga and Bono (what’s going on with him?). Can’t win them all, I guess!
To me, it feels like we’re half way between a team that’s going to play 4-3-3 and one that plays 3-5-2 with a paper-thin roster. When someone goes down, it starts to get complicated what we do next.

They needs to clean things up. I think a few players need to be moved as well. 2017 is over.

[General Woolfe]

Very disappointing result against an average MLS side. Although we showed some decent attacking intent, too many poor final passes and shots on goal. We need to be less frantic and start playing more accurate passes when going in on goal. Pozuelo was a pale shadow of the player we saw last week, and the question has returned if he really is money well spent. I also shudder to think what Seattle might do to our defence next week. The feelgood factor of the opening weeks is gone. The loss of Seba’s clinicalness and goal production still needs to be addressed, and our defence needs major work if a repeat of last season is to be avoided. Mavinga and Osorio (goal aside) really need to rediscover their form of two seasons ago season. Osorio in particular needs to provide better support for Jozy. Although we still need some more investment, the pot isn’t limitless.

[gracos]

Who should stay and who should go, as of right now the team didn't fully show their heart and desire to get all 3 pts, and the teams are only going to get tougher from here on out

[stevep]

Yes he did. Sometimes the Better team does not win

[ag futbol]

Moor and Mavinga are so bad, Ciman should be playing.
I’m going with no on this one. We don’t need that weirdo running around the field making rash challenges and abandoning his defensive post.

Although I will concede neither Mavinga or Moor is inspiring confidence. Mavinga looks like a meat-head at times with his decisions and Moor’s legs look like they are done.

[stevep]

That Chicago team is bad beyond words.

[69Chevy396]

Do you know who we needed, in this game? Seba, thats who. Chicago double teamed Altidore, Poz was left with few options (for the first 60 min Osorio was invisible), the others tried hard, but are simply not in Giovinco’s universe. I hope front office finds a talented, proven goal scorer, otherwise a lot of possession, in these games, will be wasted.

[69Chevy396]

That Chicago team is bad beyond words.
Their forwards are very good and their keeper, is much better than ours. Sometimes, that is all what matters. Take Altidore, Poz, Mavinga, Bradley, off of our team, and they would fight for last place.

[azorean]

That Chicago team is bad beyond words.

Between watching them, and the earlier New York-Montreal game, Holy MLS, spare me, but I am a diehard.

[azorean]

Their forwards are very good and their keeper, is much better than ours. Sometimes, that is all what matters. Take Altidore, Poz, Mavinga, Bradley, off of our team, and they would fight for last place.

Have you actually watched them all year? I watch, They stink !

[Yohan]

Lots of doom and gloom about a team that's not been beaten in 4 games to start the season.

I feel like if TFC doesn't beat every team 5-0 (cuz there was quite a bit of criticism after 4-0 besting of the Pigeons last week), there will always be those people that just find something to gripe about.

Chicago is a bad team and TFC should have won this game esp at home. But you won't win every game.

And seriously, did someone criticise Pozo after 2 games?

[OgtheDim]

Shoulda won. Defence has issues. Good first half followed by a pedestrian second.

Jozy scores against anybody but Schweinsteiger - guile is very useful at the back.

[azorean]

Lots of doom and gloom about a team that's not been beaten in 4 games to start the season.

I feel like if TFC doesn't beat every team 5-0 (cuz there was quite a bit of criticism after 4-0 besting of the Pigeons last week), there will always be those people that just find something to gripe about.

Chicago is a bad team and TFC should have won this game esp at home. But you won't win every game.

And seriously, did someone criticise Pozo after 2 games?

Not sure about the complaining about the perfect start, did not see it, and I was / am happy with the team BUT, i'll be honest, bit disappointed with today , your 3rd paragraph said it best, we should have won this game, that team is shit. Disappointing is all.

[OgtheDim]

And seriously, did someone criticise Pozo after 2 games?

Guy beside me thought he was bad and should have been subbed. Didn't see the dribble & pinpoint passes it seems.

We are playing a different way now with Jozy getting balls to his chest to turn. We will get goals but this takes time to adjust through.

[MightyDM]

Osorio needs to be subbed. He has completely lost his touch around net. That ball from Poz was right on his foot.
That didn’t age well.

[Hamilton_Red]

Just saw the hilights. Crap - here we are clamouring to add attacking wingers...when we have major problems. At the back. Bono is not playing like a #1 that will win the Supporters Shield. We badly need a better keeper & another CB. First goal was calamitous and self inflicted.

[ensco]

I am really unsure what Vanney was doing formation-wise, although it really worked in the first half.

TFC were moving Altidore and Pozo all over the field (in an attempt to shake man marking?)

Not sure about that. It worked on the second goal, with Jozy playing wing, but it seemed to leave us lacking the final touch/move a lot.... Jozy was in an AM slot too often....

Total football tough to play unless you are Barcelona or Man City.

[ag futbol]

That didn’t age well.
In his defence (this week only) Osorio was poor today I thought. I find he needs to be in a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. 3-5-2 he always looks off.

[69Chevy396]

In his defence (this week only) Osorio was poor today I thought. I find he needs to be in a 4-3-3 or 4-4-2. 3-5-2 he always looks off.
The goal was good. Perhaps he should use his head more often, because that way, he won’t have to think about which foot to use. Poz, like VV, will soon learn to spot the pass right on Osorio’s strong foot, or, it is wasted.

[General Woolfe]

I am really unsure what Vanney was doing formation-wise, although it really worked in the first half.

TFC were moving Altidore and Pozo all over the field (in an attempt to shake man marking?)

Not sure about that. It worked on the second goal, with Jozy playing wing, but it seemed to leave us lacking the final touch/move a lot.... Jozy was in an AM slot too often....

Total football tough to play unless you are Barcelona or Man City.
Gotta give Chicago some credit. First half they defended like their lives depended on it. Seems moving Scwansteiger to CH is paying off for them. Watched their game last week and he was outstanding in that game too

[General Woolfe]

With Laryea, I wonder if Vanney is still smarting from not seeing now-U.S. national team member Daniel Lovitz's potential as a fullback and trying too hard. Laryea is a tricky winger who can contribute in the way De Leon does, but he's not a consistent enough professional yet to just up and start playing as a defender. He's not good enough at reading and reacting to do that, I suspect. He had two major gaffes today, one almost costing a goal and the other putting them ahead.
I thought Layrea had a decent game today. I’m guessing the sub was tactical as there were others in red performing a lot worse

[General Woolfe]

Feels bad, but at least we salvaged the point. Poz didn't look so much in the match as last week.

Maybe he tired towards the end.
He seemed to play in a much deeper role. Whether that was deliberate or he was just trying to get space from the Fire defence I don’t know. A few flashes of brilliance but we need much more from him that we got today

[boozilla]

No complaints. A fair result with decent refereeing. Schweinsteiger was sublime defensively. Last year they would have lost this.

[Auzzy]

I've seen quite a bit of criticism of individual players. Yes there were many individual errors. Also note we had had more than double the shots on target, and a couple of weak headers straight to their keeper that would have / should have gone in on a better day.

Biggest issue for me were long periods, especially in the 2nd half, where TFC seemed to take their foot off the gas. Most players weren't running off the ball; sometimes players weren't running down the wings to provide options. But the biggest outcome of the lackadaisical attitude were weak passes, too close to the Chicago players at a time when they were pressing and trying to intercept Toronto's passes. Yeah Laryea screwed up on the 2nd goal, but why is Moor passing to Laryea when he has 3 Chicago players right around him? Similar weak-ass passes, turnovers, and near-turnovers in the middle of the park (at risk for counter attacks) were committed by multiple players repeatedly, including Pozuelo and Bradley. Times like that, when things are going sideways, I feel that nobody in the club (incl. Vanney and Bradley) have the authority nor the motivational instinct to put their foot down and turn things around. One weak / dangerous pass is soon followed by another.

Things were dragging for a while, it was clear we needed a spark, but Vanney once again did his first sub (68') after we gave up a goal (62').

I don't think a tie after 3 wins is awful; I liked the chances created, and some nice passing for good stretches of the game. But the apparent motivation / attitude issues do bug me.

[scut farkus]

Sure this was a bit of a disappointing result, but let's remember that TFC is sitting first in the East with a game in hand. It's fine.

[Voodooman]

I got to say I was extremely impressed with Laryea and DeLeon in this game. That right side was stellar on the stream.

[stegosaurus]

I've seen quite a bit of criticism of individual players. Yes there were many individual errors. Also note we had had more than double the shots on target, and a couple of weak headers straight to their keeper that would have / should have gone in on a better day.

Biggest issue for me were long periods, especially in the 2nd half, where TFC seemed to take their foot off the gas. Most players weren't running off the ball; sometimes players weren't running down the wings to provide options. But the biggest outcome of the lackadaisical attitude were weak passes, too close to the Chicago players at a time when they were pressing and trying to intercept Toronto's passes. Yeah Laryea screwed up on the 2nd goal, but why is Moor passing to Laryea when he has 3 Chicago players right around him? Similar weak-ass passes, turnovers, and near-turnovers in the middle of the park (at risk for counter attacks) were committed by multiple players repeatedly, including Pozuelo and Bradley. Times like that, when things are going sideways, I feel that nobody in the club (incl. Vanney and Bradley) have the authority nor the motivational instinct to put their foot down and turn things around. One weak / dangerous pass is soon followed by another.

Things were dragging for a while, it was clear we needed a spark, but Vanney once again did his first sub (68') after we gave up a goal (62').

I don't think a tie after 3 wins is awful; I liked the chances created, and some nice passing for good stretches of the game. But the apparent motivation / attitude issues do bug me.

It’s a game we should have won, but there’s a problem playing possession football when you don’t have the talent to do it. 75% possession is great, but you need to do something with it.

Bono is useless with his feet, constantly out of position, and makes far too many mistakes. Can’t count on him to save us like the keepers in the league who stand on their heads to get results. He’s “young” for a keeper, considering you don’t have the same kind of development here that is producing 9-year-old starters like Donnarumma. He even did an interview recently where he talked about the struggle, that he wasn’t fit enough, etc.

It’s nice to give him time, but he certainly doesn’t fit the style of football TFC are trying to play if he can’t kick a ball.

Moor is pretty much done. Mavinga has some lapses but he’s saved the team so many times with last ditch tackles that could have ended up being goals instead. He’s also a good passer, which is important when you’re trying to play out the back. Ciman is similar, but it seems he can’t defend whatsoever at this point.

Osorio scores, but he was straight garbage most of the game and was constantly losing the ball, a black hole in front of the goal, and misplacing passes.

Chapman isn’t good. He’s not “a kid.” Yeah, he scored last week, but he lends nothing to the team in general.

Bradley fucked up a lot today. Lots of misplaced passes or passing straight to the opposition.

Pozo was good, but he can’t do it all himself. No need for him to be retrieving balls in our half all game. Last game he was playing further forward. Seba drew a lot of attention allowing for other players to find space. But now Jozy is getting mobbed and Pozo is running end to end.

Jozy was great today. Deleon played well. Delgado has his moments... then didn’t.

We were better overall, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. The takeaway is that our defense is still not great, the goalkeeping is terrible, and while we’re undefeated, this isn’t a side that will win the cup.

[DinamoTFC]

Chicago is not good. We were coasting to a 3-0 victory until Bono's boneheaded blunder once again at the worst possible time. Completely deflated us. How many blunders does it take for him to ride the bench for a couple games to teach him a lesson and stay competitive?

I actually thought Laryea played quite well today. Most of our first half chances came thru him and he defended well. His one mistake was the bad pass but to be fair he shouldn't have received the ball. For first time playing RB for us I give him a passing grade.

I think I'm more angry at the amount of boneheaded errors costing us goals/points. If Chicago earned their goals id be okay. But Bono's blunder literally deflated me in the stands today. Time for some time on the bench. Way too many soft goals for anyone's liking.

[Shway]

Surprised no body mention Delgado and his non existenceness. Vanney has to drop him in favour of putting Oso in there. Because the team is very imbalanced with Deleon attacking on one side and Oso cutting in.

[reggie]

bono scares the shit out of me.at this point i would take bendik over bono.i would be shocked if westberg doesnt start next week.bono is usl caliber,and we need a wide player with some speed for games like this.

[DinamoTFC]

Surprised no body mention Delgado and his non existenceness. Vanney has to drop him in favour of putting Oso in there. Because the team is very imbalanced with Deleon attacking on one side and Oso cutting in.

Once these new TAM wingers finally come in, only one of Osorio or Delgado are needed on the pitch alongside Bradley. They're all more similar than different.

[MightyDM]

I've seen quite a bit of criticism of individual players. Yes there were many individual errors. Also note we had had more than double the shots on target, and a couple of weak headers straight to their keeper that would have / should have gone in on a better day.

Biggest issue for me were long periods, especially in the 2nd half, where TFC seemed to take their foot off the gas. Most players weren't running off the ball; sometimes players weren't running down the wings to provide options. But the biggest outcome of the lackadaisical attitude were weak passes, too close to the Chicago players at a time when they were pressing and trying to intercept Toronto's passes. Yeah Laryea screwed up on the 2nd goal, but why is Moor passing to Laryea when he has 3 Chicago players right around him? Similar weak-ass passes, turnovers, and near-turnovers in the middle of the park (at risk for counter attacks) were committed by multiple players repeatedly, including Pozuelo and Bradley. Times like that, when things are going sideways, I feel that nobody in the club (incl. Vanney and Bradley) have the authority nor the motivational instinct to put their foot down and turn things around. One weak / dangerous pass is soon followed by another.

Things were dragging for a while, it was clear we needed a spark, but Vanney once again did his first sub (68') after we gave up a goal (62').

I don't think a tie after 3 wins is awful; I liked the chances created, and some nice passing for good stretches of the game. But the apparent motivation / attitude issues do bug me.

I didnt see lack of motivation. I saw players unsure how to beat a ten men behind the ball without Seba to create all on his own. The standing around seemed to be from uncertainty. Not laziness. A lazy team doesn’t come back - Jozy basically willed that goal to happy.

[MightyDM]

We were magnificent for stretches the previous game. This game, not so much. Curious as to why. Chicago tactics? Bad luck with the first goal? Over confidence?

[stevep]

Chicago is not good. We were coasting to a 3-0 victory until Bono's boneheaded blunder once again at the worst possible time. Completely deflated us. How many blunders does it take for him to ride the bench for a couple games to teach him a lesson and stay competitive?

I actually thought Laryea played quite well today. Most of our first half chances came thru him and he defended well. His one mistake was the bad pass but to be fair he shouldn't have received the ball. For first time playing RB for us I give him a passing grade.

I think I'm more angry at the amount of boneheaded errors costing us goals/points. If Chicago earned their goals id be okay. But Bono's blunder literally deflated me in the stands today. Time for some time on the bench. Way too many soft goals for anyone's liking.

yes, Chicago put 10 guys back and did nothing until we scored, then they started to play. then bono cost us that goal and the chicago went back to 10 guys sitting back defence.
bono killed the excitement of the game by letting that goal in. the game was starting to open up a bit before that goal.
we would have easily got another 2 goals if he didn't let that goal in.
ive always defended Bono in the past but now it's kind of obvious he's not that good. 3 shots on goal 2 goals

[Auzzy]

I didnt see lack of motivation. I saw players unsure how to beat a ten men behind the ball without Seba to create all on his own. The standing around seemed to be from uncertainty. Not laziness. A lazy team doesn’t come back - Jozy basically willed that goal to happy.

Yes they were lazy or at least coasting for periods of the game, not for all of it. That's not what I said. Of course they weren't lazy when they got the goal back. I mentioned that I liked the chances created. There were enough chances created to win, so that's good. Just needed better finishing for that. I also mentioned great passing sequences for good portions of the game.

But stopping to run into space for periods of the game is not uncertainty. Repeated dangerous/weak passes in midfield, in vulnerable areas, is not uncertainty. (That lead to both goals against, and a number of other dangerous chances that Chicago didn't capitalize on.) And a few TFC players jogging after turnovers, is also not uncertainty. (BTW it didn't look like exhaustion in most cases.) Of course mistakes happen, no big deal. But if similar mistakes happen repeatedly from multiple players, that worries me.

[stegosaurus]

Surprised no body mention Delgado and his non existenceness. Vanney has to drop him in favour of putting Oso in there. Because the team is very imbalanced with Deleon attacking on one side and Oso cutting in.

Eh... I did.

Osorio is trash though. Last season was an anomaly because TFC was awful and somehow he got on the end of a lot of passes from talented players.

On his own he is talented at taking too many touches, thinking way too much, sending balls into orbit, etc. Osorio wont have a season like last year ever again.

[TFC1154ever]

LOL. Some people in here are hilarious. People chirping Osorio and Delgado. TFC was so dominate for 45 mins, it wasn’t even funny. Like people in here have stated, the only reason the fire were able to stay in this game was another horrible display of goaltending. Nothing else.

Watch the replay. Mavinga reaction as soon as the ball is turned over is fantastic. He pushed Sapong to a horrible shooting angle. Bono just needs to stay in his net, but he gets a moment of a.d.d, and gets stuck in no mans land. He’s been horrible since March 2018, and this team with a winger addition has MLS Cup potential. He needs to be traded in league, and a replacement needs to be found. TFC isn’t a team that needs to develop goalies. He’s had over a year to prove that he’s a top MLS keeper, and he’s proven he isn’t even in the top 16.

The team is great bar Bono. People need to get off everyone else’s back.

[notthesun]

Delgado pinged like 4 or 5 perfect cross field balls to Morrow. He was good.

[Shway]

Pinged passes going backward.

[JuliquE]

LOL. Some people in here are hilarious. People chirping Osorio and Delgado. TFC was so dominate for 45 mins, it wasn’t even funny. Like people in here have stated, the only reason the fire were able to stay in this game was another horrible display of goaltending. Nothing else.

Watch the replay. Mavinga reaction as soon as the ball is turned over is fantastic. He pushed Sapong to a horrible shooting angle. Bono just needs to stay in his net, but he gets a moment of a.d.d, and gets stuck in no mans land. He’s been horrible since March 2018, and this team with a winger addition has MLS Cup potential. He needs to be traded in league, and a replacement needs to be found. TFC isn’t a team that needs to develop goalies. He’s had over a year to prove that he’s a top MLS keeper, and he’s proven he isn’t even in the top 16.

The team is great bar Bono. People need to get off everyone else’s back.
Have to agree, here. Yohan, I think, was also making a similar case.

People, here, are going to town on a player that has scored a goal to salvage a point, against a team that's parking the bus and hitting on the counter (we may actually fare better against better sides, contrary to the fear of those matches a few have projected).

There's still some adjusting/gelling to do, for a team that's ultimately undergone massive change; I was also gutted to drop a couple points, but happy we made sure not to lose, and maintain a great start to the season.

Really don't understand some of the venom in a few of the more scathing comments. Sheesh.

[OgtheDim]

Vanney afterwards on their 1st goal.


Make of it what you will but the blame is pretty squarely put here.


https://twitter.com/plattoli/status/1114693836268171264

[Auzzy]

I also don't get some of the strong criticisms of individual players (although over the course of many games, Alex Bono does worry me). Sometimes I wonder if we were all watching different games. If you don't believe my eyes, then check the stats. Delgado had the highest player rating after Altidore; then DeLeon; Osorio not far behind. I'm not going to bet my life on player stats especially in detail, but they are going to give you an idea whether a player was contributing positively or not.

[Gringo Starr]

That was a tie that felt like a loss, the possession was dominant but not effective, everything was telegraphed and slow. We desperately need another attacking option, hopefully Curtis gets us a winger in this window.

Its time to see what Westberg can do, Bono is far from a write off but there has to be consequences for errors that are happening almost every game

I think Vanney waited to long to make changes, it was clear by the 60 minute mark that a breakthrough wasn't coming, I would have liked to have seen JHams come on as another attacking outlet and create a bit of space for Jozy.

On the plus side it was great to see the team comeback and get the point, that effort and fortitude wasn't seen much last year and we are still in good shape in the standings.

[TomLawrence]

I also don't get some of the strong criticisms of individual players (although over the course of many games, Alex Bono does worry me). Sometimes I wonder if we were all watching different games. If you don't believe my eyes, then check the stats. Delgado had the highest player rating after Altidore; then DeLeon; Osorio not far behind. I'm not going to bet my life on player stats especially in detail, but they are going to give you an idea whether a player was contributing positively or not.
Oso could score a hat-trick and you'd still have people bitching about him on here, it is frankly ridiculous. He could take a shit in the middle of the pitch and it'd still be of higher quality than some of the posters here.

[MightyDM]

[QUOTE=stegosaurus;1895276]Eh... I did.

Osorio is trash though. Last season was an anomaly because TFC was awful and somehow he got on the end of a lot of passes from talented players.

On his own he is talented at taking too many touches, thinking way too much, sending balls into orbit, etc. Osorio wont have a season like last year ever again.[/QUO

I am stunned at the nastiness of ciriticisms of Osorio. You wonder sometimes if he did something personal to some of these posters.

He is a very good player, Canadian, but isn’t quite Poz or Bradley. So? Last game he was incredible in combination play with Poz. Very very effective and incisive. Yesterday not so much, but he took his goal well. Otherwise - yes he had three loose passes but so did Pzoeulo and Bradley had two terrible giveaways. By the standards of this poster, Pozueko and Bradley are trash too.

Come on.

[MightyDM]

Oso could score a hat-trick and you'd still have people bitching about him on here, it is frankly ridiculous. He could take a shit in the middle of the pitch and it'd still be of higher quality than some of the posters here.

Didn’t see this before I wrote my post. Spot on.

[MightyDM]

That was a tie that felt like a loss, the possession was dominant but not effective, everything was telegraphed and slow. We desperately need another attacking option, hopefully Curtis gets us a winger in this window.

Its time to see what Westberg can do, Bono is far from a write off but there has to be consequences for errors that are happening almost every game

I think Vanney waited to long to make changes, it was clear by the 60 minute mark that a breakthrough wasn't coming, I would have liked to have seen JHams come on as another attacking outlet and create a bit of space for Jozy.

On the plus side it was great to see the team comeback and get the point, that effort and fortitude wasn't seen much last year and we are still in good shape in the standings.
This is how I saw it.

[ag futbol]

Vanney afterwards on their 1st goal.


Make of it what you will but the blame is pretty squarely put here.


https://twitter.com/plattoli/status/1114693836268171264
“I don’t think he gets caught in no mans land”. And yet, if you read every other piece of that quote, it’s essentially exactly what is described.

[ManUtd4ever]

We absolutely deserved a win based on the run of play. Bono needs to sit.

[stevep]

This is how I saw it.

Bono doesn't let that goal in, Jozy's header goes in, the floodgates open

[ensco]

We got some breaks in the Philadelphia and NE games, and we didn't as much here. It's life.

I was early on the issue with Bono, but that first goal, that had multiple breakdowns.

Also I get how Bono got fooled. That was one hell of a world class ball from Gutjahr to Sapong, who controlled the pass with one hell of a world class touch. That is why they scored. (That was Gutjahr's debut, btw. A homegrown. Never heard of him before. Turns out he played behind Griffin Dorsey in college. Pretty interesting player!)

https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/04/06/goal-cj-sapong-ties-things-stoppage-time

Sometimes good players just get beat. It's a long season.

[paul-collins]

Amazed at how many people think that the difference in this game was the loss of Giovinco. Loved him here, but have any of you watched this team over the last two years?

I mean, when a team drops 10 behind the ball, do we ever score?

Both our goals today were headers. Most of our chances were headers. We're already better at this than we were in 2017. (Hell, we couldn't score with only 9 behind the ball rather than 10, then)

I'm surprised at Delgado's rating, to me he looked not so good - but I know I have my biases.

Chicago was very handsy. Every time someone started a run, there was a tug on the shoulder to twist. All went uncalled. (and it would be off camera too, so broadcast watchers wouldn't likely get to see it). The last 5 minutes you saw the frustration finally boil and we became unable to convert.

Chicago may not be very good but they were stout in defence. They took away all the space and left us with not many passing options. Full credit to them. It was our first real challenge. And, like I said, we scored two, even so. Miles better than even our championship year, when facing the bus.

[stegosaurus]

I also don't get some of the strong criticisms of individual players (although over the course of many games, Alex Bono does worry me). Sometimes I wonder if we were all watching different games. If you don't believe my eyes, then check the stats. Delgado had the highest player rating after Altidore; then DeLeon; Osorio not far behind. I'm not going to bet my life on player stats especially in detail, but they are going to give you an idea whether a player was contributing positively or not.

Player “ratings” don’t tell the whole story, and vary widely depending on the outlet (take L’Equipe, the biggest football magazine in France, for example). Chicago had pretty awful “ratings” and where did they end up?

Delgado played well, except when he didn’t. I like Delgado and think he’s underrated, but he does slip up from time to time and has bad games.

Osorio scored, but he’s now a TAM player and constantly whiffs chances and misplaces passes (often passing to opposition players). If we’re going to spend TAM money on him, he can’t regress to the same shit he was doing previously. You’d expect anyone to score the goal he scored — it was a brilliant ball in to him.

Osorio was good last year, mostly because teams concentrated on our talented players leaving him unmarked and free to score. Every other year he’s been pretty anonymous, but was on a small contract and is Canadian so it didn’t matter.

Now he’s on a bigger contract and still gives the ball away every time he has it, takes too many touches, etc.

Plus he’s an asshole in person so fuck him.

[stegosaurus]

[QUOTE=stegosaurus;1895276]Eh... I did.

Osorio is trash though. Last season was an anomaly because TFC was awful and somehow he got on the end of a lot of passes from talented players.

On his own he is talented at taking too many touches, thinking way too much, sending balls into orbit, etc. Osorio wont have a season like last year ever again.[/QUO

I am stunned at the nastiness of ciriticisms of Osorio. You wonder sometimes if he did something personal to some of these posters.

He is a very good player, Canadian, but isn’t quite Poz or Bradley. So? Last game he was incredible in combination play with Poz. Very very effective and incisive. Yesterday not so much, but he took his goal well. Otherwise - yes he had three loose passes but so did Pzoeulo and Bradley had two terrible giveaways. By the standards of this poster, Pozueko and Bradley are trash too.

Come on.

If you actually read posts you’d realize that I criticized Bradley for exactly the same thing. Watching Osorio fumble around the pitch while misplacing passes, not getting on the end of passes, or dribbling into opponents is a game day tradition.

I don’t think he’s a very good player, but perhaps my standards are slightly higher than “well, at least he’s Canadian!”

[Fort York Redcoat]

It’s a game we should have won, but there’s a problem playing possession football when you don’t have the talent to do it. 75% possession is great, but you need to do something with it.

Bono is useless with his feet, constantly out of position, and makes far too many mistakes. Can’t count on him to save us like the keepers in the league who stand on their heads to get results. He’s “young” for a keeper, considering you don’t have the same kind of development here that is producing 9-year-old starters like Donnarumma. He even did an interview recently where he talked about the struggle, that he wasn’t fit enough, etc.

It’s nice to give him time, but he certainly doesn’t fit the style of football TFC are trying to play if he can’t kick a ball.

Moor is pretty much done. Mavinga has some lapses but he’s saved the team so many times with last ditch tackles that could have ended up being goals instead. He’s also a good passer, which is important when you’re trying to play out the back. Ciman is similar, but it seems he can’t defend whatsoever at this point.

Osorio scores, but he was straight garbage most of the game and was constantly losing the ball, a black hole in front of the goal, and misplacing passes.

Chapman isn’t good. He’s not “a kid.” Yeah, he scored last week, but he lends nothing to the team in general.

Bradley fucked up a lot today. Lots of misplaced passes or passing straight to the opposition.

Pozo was good, but he can’t do it all himself. No need for him to be retrieving balls in our half all game. Last game he was playing further forward. Seba drew a lot of attention allowing for other players to find space. But now Jozy is getting mobbed and Pozo is running end to end.

Jozy was great today. Deleon played well. Delgado has his moments... then didn’t.

We were better overall, but sometimes it doesn’t work out. The takeaway is that our defense is still not great, the goalkeeping is terrible, and while we’re undefeated, this isn’t a side that will win the cup.

We need CBs. Wether one blames Moor slowing down or Mavingas risky play these are not the veteran leaders our midfield and beyond can trust on turnovers. Chicago was a great team to play right now since they are in a very similar situation.

I'm not confident TFC is going to even target the back until end of season since they are pretty engaged already in finding a winger or two with TAM.

[shwade]

I think Hamilton shoulda came in instead of Akinola. Bono has regressed considerably since he re- signed, we need a proper GK or we'll just give away games like these. He's really the weakest point.

[ag futbol]

I think Hamilton shoulda came in instead of Akinola. Bono has regressed considerably since he re- signed, we need a proper GK or we'll just give away games like these. He's really the weakest point.
Agreed. Akinola is good in a counter attack scenario or when the other team is playing a high line but when the play depends on one-twos or interchanging positions Hamilton should be the choice.

He’s basically in the mould of Altidore on a small scale. He’s capable of holding up the ball or pulling wide. That would have made a lot more sense with Altidore moving all over the place to disrupt Chicago. Problem is, crossing the ball back when all your targets are 5’8 is not that effective. Hamilton would have forced them to think about if certain guys could follow Altidore our wide or stay centrally to provide aerial cleanup.

[ag futbol]

Amazed at how many people think that the difference in this game was the loss of Giovinco. Loved him here, but have any of you watched this team over the last two years?

I mean, when a team drops 10 behind the ball, do we ever score?
Agreed. This was actually encouraging in the sense that we would have been able to beat a team with 10 behind the ball if not for making a couple preventable mistakes.

I don’t think Giovinco would have made any difference on the day. This type of game was never his forte (for all his talents).

[notthesun]

“I don’t think he gets caught in no mans land”. And yet, if you read every other piece of that quote, it’s essentially exactly what is described.

It's an interesting dance watching a coach try to be honest about a play without publicly burying his guy.

[Hugh Jazz]

"Often I must speak other than I think. That is called diplomacy."
-Stilgar

[portu]

We'll find out next match if Westberg was brought in to compete with Bono or fill in if he gets injured.

[MightyDM]

[QUOTE=MightyDM;1895286]

If you actually read posts you’d realize that I criticized Bradley for exactly the same thing. Watching Osorio fumble around the pitch while misplacing passes, not getting on the end of passes, or dribbling into opponents is a game day tradition.

I don’t think he’s a very good player, but perhaps my standards are slightly higher than “well, at least he’s Canadian!”

You said two posts earlier that “he’s an asshole in person so fuck him”

Now I understand why your critiques of him are so personal, mean and usually totally wrong.

No point in debating you on Oso. I won’t bother but you might want to reconsider your need to keep posting criticisms of him. Many of us see his play completely differently and are tiring of the constant unfair trashing.

[stegosaurus]

[QUOTE=stegosaurus;1895303]

You said two posts earlier that “he’s an asshole in person so fuck him”

Now I understand why your critiques of him are so personal, mean and usually totally wrong.

No point in debating you on Oso. I won’t bother but you might want to reconsider your need to keep posting criticisms of him. Many of us see his play completely differently and are tiring of the constant unfair trashing.

He scored a goal. Does that absolve him of passing to the opposition numerous times, failing dribbles, or missing out on passes in front of the net? Nope. If Bradley does it I’m critical of him too, which you seemingly didn’t decide to respond to despite saying that people who don’t like Osorio wouldn’t say the same thing about him. Oops.

He’s a total douchecanoe in person which is basically the “but he’s Canadian” negation equivalent. If he was a genuine, nice guy I’d give him a better shake when he’s shit. But he’s still shit and on a TAM contract.

He gets paid more than a zillion players better than him, who can actually shoot, score, pass, have a reasonably first touch, etc.

“I won’t bother” with additional content. That’s like the Osorio. Well, he sucks but when he gets good balls or MLS defenders are concentrating on our good players he finds a way to score.

When Osorio transitions his talent to a prime European squad I’ll reconsider your negative personal attack focused post.

[SoccMan2]

[QUOTE=MightyDM;1895347]

He scored a goal. Does that absolve him of passing to the opposition numerous times, failing dribbles, or missing out on passes in front of the net? Nope. If Bradley does it I’m critical of him too, which you seemingly didn’t decide to respond to despite saying that people who don’t like Osorio wouldn’t say the same thing about him. Oops.

He’s a total douchecanoe in person which is basically the “but he’s Canadian” negation equivalent. If he was a genuine, nice guy I’d give him a better shake when he’s shit. But he’s still shit and on a TAM contract.

He gets paid more than a zillion players better than him, who can actually shoot, score, pass, have a reasonably first touch, etc.

“I won’t bother” with additional content. That’s like the Osorio. Well, he sucks but when he gets good balls or MLS defenders are concentrating on our good players he finds a way to score.

When Osorio transitions his talent to a prime European squad I’ll reconsider your negative personal attack focused post.
You sound like that guy ya that guy I’ve known around for decades, you know that guy who is probably jealous that a guy like Osorio, did you play against him in youth soccer as a kid and he made it and is making some good coin while you are left playing in a beer league ? You definitely sound like that guy lol. You sound like those guys who think their beer league team is better than a MLS team lol so that’s why they don’t follow the team or the league lol! Please body give it up I’m starting to think you are that guy!

[stegosaurus]

[QUOTE=stegosaurus;1895351]
You sound like that guy ya that guy I’ve known around for decades, you know that guy who is probably jealous that a guy like Osorio, did you play against him in youth soccer as a kid and he made it and is making some good coin while you are left playing in a beer league ? You definitely sound like that guy lol. You sound like those guys who think their beer league team is better than a MLS team lol so that’s why they don’t follow the team or the league lol! Please body give it up I’m starting to think you are that guy!

Did you have a seizure while typing this?

[Red CB Toronto]

It was great to Richie out there too, getting an opportunity to show the best is yet to come !

[notthesun]

Well Osorio has 1 goal and 3 assists in 4 games now so I'll take some more shit play from him, thanks.

[stegosaurus]

Well Osorio has 1 goal and 3 assists in 4 games now so I'll take some more shit play from him, thanks.

Memo has 4/4 at 50k smarty pants.

[OgtheDim]

Meh....guys producing. People may not like him for various reasons but in this league, 1 g & 3 assists in 4 games is TAM level producing.

[stegosaurus]

Meh....guys producing. People may not like him for various reasons but in this league, 1 g & 3 assists in 4 games is TAM level producing.

Uh... no.

[OgtheDim]

Uh... no.

This is getting tedious.

There are 12 players with 3 assists in this league.


If you want to argue that this list isn't good...well

Nani
Vela
Diomande
Elis
Quintero
DeLeon
Osorio
Rooney
Lodeiro
Blessing
Moreno
Higuian


We get it...you don't like the guy.

He's producing at a good level given his wage.

[shwade]

This is getting tedious.

There are 12 players with 3 assists in this league.


If you want to argue that this list isn't good...well

Nani
Vela
Diomande
Elis
Quintero
DeLeon
Osorio
Rooney
Lodeiro
Blessing
Moreno
Higuian


We get it...you don't like the guy.

He's producing at a good level given his wage.

Seems like Osorio dumped him hard or something.

[andre99]

No Auro, no Party

[stegosaurus]

This is getting tedious.

There are 12 players with 3 assists in this league.


If you want to argue that this list isn't good...well

Nani
Vela
Diomande
Elis
Quintero
DeLeon
Osorio
Rooney
Lodeiro
Blessing
Moreno
Higuian


We get it...you don't like the guy.

He's producing at a good level given his wage.

Ah, pointless statistic logic from a small sample of games.

Jay Chapman is our best player with 1 goal and 2 assists in 81 minutes and we should give him a DP salary because his production is absolutely insane. Why even pay Osorio, who has no instagram game, when you can pay a guy who literally has one less assist than Carlos Vela and accomplished this immense feat in just 81 minutes? Play Chapman 81 more minutes and he’s bound to be MVP this year.

[JuliquE]

You begin to wonder why some people are even here, "supporting" this club. o.0




“I don’t think he gets caught in no mans land”. And yet, if you read every other piece of that quote, it’s essentially exactly what is described.
Reckon he meant that, in his opinion, Bono wasn't quite in no-mans land, feeling he still had a chance at making a save, before falling over made any such effort impossible.

[paul-collins]

JFC can we just mute the guy

[stegosaurus]

You begin to wonder why some people are even here, "supporting" this club. o.0




Reckon he meant that, in his opinion, Bono wasn't quite in no-mans land, feeling he still had a chance at making a save, before falling over made any such effort impossible.

I support TFC, not individual players.

Will Johnson broke his leg to win us a trophy, but he’s neither an amazing human being nor an amazing footballer.

[ag futbol]

Reckon he meant that, in his opinion, Bono wasn't quite in no-mans land, feeling he still had a chance at making a save, before falling over made any such effort impossible.
I dunno, I think it’s more what the other guy said where Vanney knows his player screwed up and is walking a tight rope to give a sound bite to a reporter.

From what I saw, not only did he fall over but he was in the wrong spot.

[JuliquE]

I dunno, I think it’s more what the other guy said where Vanney knows his player screwed up and is walking a tight rope to give a sound bite to a reporter.

From what I saw, not only did he fall over but he was in the wrong spot.
I mean, his words aren't flattering, either way you interpret it; I felt like he were very clearly making it known that he sees the first goal as being on Bono, but I also think he's being balanced in his response, making certain not to absolutely torch him.

As someone else noted: an interesting dance, to be sure.




I support TFC, not individual players.

Will Johnson broke his leg to win us a trophy, but he’s neither an amazing human being nor an amazing footballer.
Look at your last responses; I feel like if someone's not in complete agreement with you, you're unable to let things go, snapping back at the slightest of nuanced views.

For me, this is supposed to be an enjoyable experience, for all; there will be disagreements, and for sure the odd argument, even… but, ultimately, we remember we're on the same side, as you say. Have to agree with paul-collins: your tone is most always a belligerent one, often oozing with sarcasm and back-handed compliments. I don't mean to join the pile-on, as such, but perhaps, when every week you seem to be getting into it with someone else, you might want to have a look at yourself, and if it's all even worth it any more, for you.

To be clear, I feel like you bring some interesting perspective on things, at times… but, often let yourself down with these various spats, making it difficult to see past the person.

[Jack]

Ah, pointless statistic logic from a small sample of games.

Jay Chapman is our best player with 1 goal and 2 assists in 81 minutes and we should give him a DP salary because his production is absolutely insane. Why even pay Osorio, who has no instagram game, when you can pay a guy who literally has one less assist than Carlos Vela and accomplished this immense feat in just 81 minutes? Play Chapman 81 more minutes and he’s bound to be MVP this year.
Stegosaurus, we're all supporting TFC here. Your posts have a confrontational and hostile tone. Maybe step away and remember we're all on the same side and we are discussing opinions, of which there are many.

[Section_105]

I quickly skimmed through the thread and there is a lot of criticism of our players in certain situations and they are warranted but didn't see much mention of the fact that chicago came in knowing they were a pathetic and vastly inferior team to the one they were playing (yes, some bright players but as a team they are awful). They frustrated and physically attacked players all game as their only path to success and it worked. The ref allowed shit that should never have been allowed. our lads allowed them to get under their skin and further frustrate them.

If the ref hands out a few yellows in the first 10 minutes as he should have this is a different game. What I don't know is how we get through teams that are just there to batter ankles and put 14 men behind the ball (looked like there were more of them behind the ball than possible).

Anyway, frustrating game all around but I think Laryea had a great runout (and yes he was partially accountable on the second goal but c'est la vie). Welcome home

[stegosaurus]

I quickly skimmed through the thread and there is a lot of criticism of our players in certain situations and they are warranted but didn't see much mention of the fact that chicago came in knowing they were a pathetic and vastly inferior team to the one they were playing (yes, some bright players but as a team they are awful). They frustrated and physically attacked players all game as their only path to success and it worked. The ref allowed shit that should never have been allowed. our lads allowed them to get under their skin and further frustrate them.

If the ref hands out a few yellows in the first 10 minutes as he should have this is a different game. What I don't know is how we get through teams that are just there to batter ankles and put 14 men behind the ball (looked like there were more of them behind the ball than possible).

Anyway, frustrating game all around but I think Laryea had a great runout (and yes he was partially accountable on the second goal but c'est la vie). Welcome home

Teams know it works, so they do it. TFC has a bad history of not being able to break down teams that bunker and play cynically, even a man or two up.

The game against NYCFC Callens’ held Jozy’s shirt the entire game, you could see the frustration, and it only finally got called when he made an incredibly comical flop.

I think ag alluded to this in the Sounders thread with refs really not whistling down this kind of nonsense, and Pozo commented about how pitiful that kind of football is.

It’s unfortunate that teams are basically being rewarded for it.

[Derko]

Stegosaurus, we're all supporting TFC here. Your posts have a confrontational and hostile tone. Maybe step away and remember we're all on the same side and we are discussing opinions, of which there are many.

I was doing the exact same thing when I was having a hard time with Prostate Cancer, I was lashing out at everything, so I stepped away and refreshed and am not as jaded in my comments and responses,
Steg is probably a really decent guy, maybe just a bit over-zealous, but I tend to glaze over when the rants are on.

All for one!!