Disccusion Thread - April 7 2020 - BEST TFC KEEPER EVER - Now I'm Lyin Here Alone

[OgtheDim]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEjJ6iTeH_I

So Who Was/Is the Best TFC Keeper Ever

*********



Have At It People

[flambe]

I guess Julio Cesar would have been the goalie with most pedigree, no?
Albeit that he was only with us for a short time.

[Oldtimer]

Apart from Cesar on a short term loan? Stefan Frei.

[levyashin]

Stefan Frei no one else close.

[Initial B]

But Frei wasn't at his best when playing for TFC, and I'm not sure Cesar was at his peak either. If you have to look at time spent with the team and trophies won when between the sticks, then you would have to go with... Bono... o_0

[Oldtimer]

Frei was here when the rest of the team was very poor. I don't think you can go by trophies, because not all other things are being equal.

[ensco]

Great thread!

It's not close. It's Alex Bono in 2017, and into CCL, until the ball floated over his head in the snowflakes.

I find with him , there's a recency bias. He was sensational in 2017.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAp9iiwHIC0


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwRfGmRP-Gs

[ensco]

Bono kept us alive in the NYRB second leg


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbhO9HoK2rY

Then he kept us alive late against Columbus in the conference final second leg.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GQWN_pFNQV8

[OgtheDim]

I think a few decent for the time MLS keepers came through the first few years but MoJo being an idiot....

[Bantamfan]

With out a doubt the one and only Freddy Hall!

[kottisinick]

The problem is we never really had a steady gk spot in Tfc that I can think of.... maybe frei. In the last 3 mls finals we have had 3 different keepers. We kinda had a different starting keeper every year. As long as we had a strong defence the keeper thing was kinda of non important issue. Unlike other mls teams that have had a steady keeper taking them into the playoffs we have not.

[rydermike]

Keeper History (Games Played) seasons

Alex Bono (100) 15-present
Joe Bendik (77) 13-15
Julio Cesar (7) 14
Jon Conway (6) 10
Srdjan Djekanovic (8) 07
Brian Edwards (7) 08-10
Stefan Frei (99)09-13
Freddy Hall (10) 12
Clint Irwin (49) 16-18
Milos Kocic (55) 10-12
Chris Konopka (24) 13-15
David Monsalve (1) 07-08
Sam Reynolds (2) 07
Kenny Stamatopolous (12) 07
Greg Sutton (39) 07-09
Quentin Westberg (32) 19-present
Caleb Patterson Sewell (0) 18-19
Quinlin Roberts (0) 12-16

[TFC1986]

Frei>Westberg>Bono>Bendik>Irwin
That'd be my order. But yes, everyone does enjoy everyone different style.
I enjoyed watching Frei at the field, and his passion as a soccer player (when he didn't even have the ball and was watching from afar)

Westberg & Bono are close, and each have there "+' & "-" over one another. So I just chose Westberg, because you'll know what you'll get from him each match without any surprises.

[OgtheDim]

With out a doubt the one and only Freddy Hall!

https://i.imgur.com/7LGuhKU.jpg

[WestStandGeoff]

Great thread!

It's not close. It's Alex Bono in 2017, and into CCL, until the ball floated over his head in the snowflakes.

I find with him , there's a recency bias. He was sensational in 2017.


This pretty much sums it up for me. Agreed with the recent bias too, and no way we would go as far in CCL without many of his many stellar saves.

[ensco]

This pretty much sums it up for me. Agreed with the recent bias too, and no way we would go as far in CCL without many of his many stellar saves.

Regardless of where Bono comes out on anyone's personal list, this is a nice opportunity to remember that Alex was huge throughout 2017, in those MLS playoff games, and in CCL.

Because of our dominance in the 2017 final, Alex could have sat inside the net reading a magazine in that game. His vital contribution in getting there is a bit forgotten.

[OgtheDim]

When I watched the 2017 final the other day as MLS was redoing it, I seem to remember Bono made one decent save in the last 10 minutes of normal time. Kick save, IIRC.

[Oldtimer]

Frei>Westberg>Bono>Bendik>Irwin
That'd be my order. But yes, everyone does enjoy everyone different style.
I enjoyed watching Frei at the field, and his passion as a soccer player (when he didn't even have the ball and was watching from afar)

Westberg & Bono are close, and each have there "+' & "-" over one another. So I just chose Westberg, because you'll know what you'll get from him each match without any surprises.

Mine: Frei>Westberg>Bono>Bendik>Irwin>Sutton

Frei started out much less impressive than Bendik, but he had so much practice because of a shambolic defense :facepalm: he became one of the better keepers in the league by the end of his time with us ("Super Stefan Frei"). Unfortunately cap issues tempted the club to send him to Seattle, short term gain for a long term loss. We would have had 2 MLS Cups if Frei had stayed and continued to play with us, IMO.

[Initial B]

Frei started out much less impressive than Bendik, but he had so much practice because of a shambolic defense :facepalm: he became one of the better keepers in the league by the end of his time with us ("Super Stefan Frei"). Unfortunately cap issues tempted the club to send him to Seattle, short term gain for a long term loss. We would have had 2 MLS Cups if Frei had stayed and continued to play with us, IMO.
I often wonder how TFC might have turned out if they MLSE had hired a competent FO from the get-go. I think TFC's history showed to future MLS franchises just how important it is to have the right pieces in place starting right from the top. Then again, without all those years of futility to temper the fanbase, I wonder if we would have seen more fickleness and fanbase loss during the lost 2018 season.

[PizzaEatingYeti]

FREI for me, nobody else coming even close!

Lets not forget that Frei almost always had in front of him a shit defense, so he almost in any game faced a lot more dangerous goal situations to stop than any other TFC keeper in "better times".

I won't even include in the discution Julio Cesar, because the insignificant number of games played for TFC.

PS: In Seattle Frei must be venerated like a saint, without him IMHO Seattle would have zero MLS champ trophies. When he retires, they need to erect him a bigger than life statue somewhere around that stadium...

[PizzaEatingYeti]

Mine: Frei>Westberg>Bono>Bendik>Irwin>We would have had 2 MLS Cups if Frei had stayed and continued to play with us, IMO.

Yes, 2 MLS cups, or maybe even 3?

[Oldtimer]

Yes, 2 MLS cups, or maybe even 3?

Maybe even all 3.

I was only counting Frei's "miracle save" in 2016 to be definitely 2.

[Prof]

Purely on skill level.
5. Alex Bono

1.Julio Cesar


4.Stefan Frei

3.Kenny Stamatopolous

2.Quentin Westberg

[ensco]

Stama? Hmmm. This is my only memory of him as the TFC keeper.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTxgd4a4WD4

[James17930]

Man I can't wait for the season to re-start.

Carry on.

[OgtheDim]

Stama? Hmmm. This is my only memory of him as the TFC keeper.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTxgd4a4WD4


Anecdote about that game found here https://theathletic.com/1697681/2020/03/24/an-unofficial-history-of-mls-in-25-scandals-pranks-and-improprieties/



The festivities next moved to the team hotel, where Revs striker Taylor Twellman manned a piano in the hotel’s lobby. Players were everywhere, including on top of the piano itself. At one point, someone spotted an open supply closet down the hall. The hotel staff were in the process of putting up Halloween decorations and had left it open.
This is all to say that several members of the Revolution walked into the closet and emerged with what one staffer now describes as a “$1,000, five-foot-tall easter bunny.” They stole the bunny, which accompanied the Revs on their subsequent trip to Chicago a few days later, where it was issued a training top and placed on the sideline during a training session ahead of the match.
The bunny was given its own locker at Toyota Park on game night, a match the Revs went on to lose. Days later, the club gave its imperfect good-luck charm its own locker at Gillette Stadium, where it was present for another loss. By then, the superstition grew dark, and the players turned on the bunny, destroying it ahead of the Revolution’s season finale against Toronto FC, one which ended in a draw.

[magmadragon]

Frei for me. He was the lone bright light during those dark years. I'm still pissed that because of incompetent management, he was never given the honour of game 100. He SHOULD have been our first player to hit the century mark.

Also his trade was nonsense. We were supposed to get some sort of future consideration. I can't recall what we ever got for that trade, if anything.

[Oldtimer]

Frei for me. He was the lone bright light during those dark years. I'm still pissed that because of incompetent management, he was never given the honour of game 100. He SHOULD have been our first player to hit the century mark.

Also his trade was nonsense. We were supposed to get some sort of future consideration. I can't recall what we ever got for that trade, if anything.

We got a 2015 Superdraft first round pick, which we flipped in a trade in 2014 to pick up Brazilian midfielder Jackson (remember him? I don't really). Bez did both transactions.

[pdogg]

Frei for me. He was the lone bright light during those dark years. I'm still pissed that because of incompetent management, he was never given the honour of game 100. He SHOULD have been our first player to hit the century mark.

I had a huge rant that I decided to delete. Heres the Coles Notes. Stefan Frei was one of the very few bright spots in those dark years (worst team in the world). It was a very indicative of the club culture from top to bottom at the time, how he was handled - from being denied the chance to play to 100 in a season that we won 6 games, to his only start being an away match late in the season. Good riddance to coach nelson and everyone else who managed the team at the time.

[noimpactinmtl]

We got a 2015 Superdraft first round pick, which we flipped in a trade in 2014 to pick up Brazilian midfielder Jackson (remember him? I don't really). Bez did both transactions.

I do, Vanney had to trot out Jackson at RB and Findley at RM to hide the fact we had no RB on the roster. Montreal exploited that weakness mercilessly in the 2015 playoffs.

[OgtheDim]

I do, Vanney had to trot out Jackson at RB and Findley at RM to hide the fact we had no RB on the roster. Montreal exploited that weakness mercilessly in the 2015 playoffs.

Annoying thing is that season near the beginning we had that game in Dallas when Vanney tried Haglund at right back. That was the lightning delayed game with Giovinco's chip & free kick. Didn't get a RB all season.

[MightyDM]

Annoying thing is that season near the beginning we had that game in Dallas when Vanney tried Haglund at right back. That was the lightning delayed game with Giovinco's chip & free kick. Didn't get a RB all season.

Yup. I was furious with Vanney at the time. Wasnt it a home game though? Whoever he was facing was a speed merchant. it was like, "hello"??? didn't we get Jackson to fix that problem but it really was not until we got Beitashour.

[OgtheDim]

Yup. I was furious with Vanney at the time. Wasnt it a home game though? Whoever he was facing was a speed merchant. it was like, "hello"??? didn't we get Jackson to fix that problem but it really was not until we got Beitashour.

It was Fabian Castillo, in Frisco


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2Z28OJ4wMA

Probably the last game where teams didn't take Giovinco seriously as a goal threat.

[MightyDM]

It was Fabian Castillo, in Frisco


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2Z28OJ4wMA

Probably the last game where teams didn't take Giovinco seriously as a goal threat.

Thats right. my bad but the first two goals were brutal and predictable. It was clear Dallas basically just said "kick it over Hagglund's head". Oh my what goals by Giovinco.