MLS Match Day 9 - Cinci @ TFC Sat April 303:08pm - And do you feel scared? I do

[OgtheDim]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7EMTyMWSEU


But I won't stop & falter


***********

Have At It People

[Derko]

I still think MB needs to sit a few games, he is constantly giving up possesion and like Poz, does not release the ball quick enough, It's almost like they both either can't or won't make that quick decision. Maybe overthinking it.

[Mr. Inbetween]

Having at it...
Feeling more Chameleon(s) like, Up The Down Escalator... cause 'there must be something wrong boys'...
https://youtu.be/XP7TxTAmKXU

[Mr. Inbetween]

I still think MB needs to sit a few games, he is constantly giving up possesion and like Poz, does not release the ball quick enough, It's almost like they both either can't or won't make that quick decision. Maybe overthinking it.

Maybe. Who will fill in for MB? Yes, I agree he certainly did not have one of his better games but Poz was hhhhorrrrendous! Maybe his worse game with us to date? It did not help BB didn't try to shake it up until late; just a judgement mistake or is something else maybe going on?

I am though starting to believe Salcedo and Mavinga cannot play beside each other on the same defensive line. Too similar of a mindset/style of play; pushing each other the same (wrong) way (forward). When O'Neill is the one left- on the right to cover for these two, ending up to have to mark the opponents main man/men too often, it is simply not smart footy. BTW, I like and am rating O'Neill at this time in the general sense as being on par with or slightly better then the two in question.

IDK, as a one off, if Mavinga is a no go trialist for LB or even RB, then perhaps give him a go for MB in a D-Mid with Oso; maybe even try Salcedo there once to stir the pot if there is an opportunity with MacNaughton/O'Neill/Mavinga as the back three.

[jloome]

IDK, as a one off, if Mavinga is a no go trialist for LB or even RB, then perhaps give him a go for MB in a D-Mid with Oso; maybe even try Salcedo there once to stir the pot if there is an opportunity with MacNaughton/O'Neill/Mavinga as the back three.

Mavinga was a left back for much of his career.

I suspect he'd be very good at DM as it would force him to stay focused constantly. He's a very good low passer, and can split lines, hit long weighted stuff etc. He's also tall and decent in the air, cutting down a lot of ability to switch fields.

I dunno, I've heard crazier ideas.

[Red CB Toronto]

Will we see some come back this week or will we see another week with a short term signing?

[Ultra & Proud]

Mavinga was a left back for much of his career.

I suspect he'd be very good at DM as it would force him to stay focused constantly. He's a very good low passer, and can split lines, hit long weighted stuff etc. He's also tall and decent in the air, cutting down a lot of ability to switch fields.

I dunno, I've heard crazier ideas.
Mavinga at DM scares me because he is prone to wandering sometimes. Also the lack of focus at times but mostly because he can pop up just about anywhere at random and soon his recovery will go the way of Bradley's.

[MikeForbes]

https://twitter.com/MichaelSingh94/status/1519394489365929986?s=20&t=-WykW6gsKq0wggb9Nnr5ng

[reggie]

https://twitter.com/MichaelSingh94/status/1519394489365929986?s=20&t=-WykW6gsKq0wggb9Nnr5ng
i think they all got wind burn from the nyfc players speeding by them:D

[OgtheDim]

Pregame presser with BB

https://www.torontofc.ca/video/media-availability-bob-bradley-april-29-2022

Priso on the bench

Shaff questionable

Ayo had a good week

Very clear headed viewpoint that the team is a work in progress & "continues to evolve as a team"

[Kamp Berg]

Pregame presser with BB

https://www.torontofc.ca/video/media-availability-bob-bradley-april-29-2022

Priso on the bench

Shaff questionable

Ayo had a good week

Very clear headed viewpoint that the team is a work in progress & "continues to evolve as a team"

So refreshing to hear Bob’s takes. I especially like the fact that he shut down Michael Singh’s question and refused to speculate. Can’t wait to see them bounce back this week 👍🏻

[rydermike]

So refreshing to hear Bob’s takes. I especially like the fact that he shut down Michael Singh’s question and refused to speculate. Can’t wait to see them bounce back this week 👍🏻
What was Singh's question? Not home, so can't watch the video.

[OgtheDim]

Singh was trying to create a narrative about the next 3 games being against teams at the bottom of their conference & "creating a stranglehold" on a playoff position.

BB was not having any of it - you can see him shake his head & move on

"For me its still about improving"

[Mr. Inbetween]

Singh was trying to create a narrative about the next 3 games being against teams at the bottom of their conference & "creating a stranglehold" on a playoff position.

BB was not having any of it - you can see him shake his head & move on

"For me its still about improving"

Really wouldn't expect any less (more) of an answer (measured) by such a seasoned coach.

[jloome]

Pregame presser with BB

https://www.torontofc.ca/video/media-availability-bob-bradley-april-29-2022

Priso on the bench

Shaff questionable

Ayo had a good week

Very clear headed viewpoint that the team is a work in progress & "continues to evolve as a team"

Did anyone ask him about us being tied for the worst defensive record in the league, and how it will doubtless continue as long as we get overrun in midfield?

I'm really hoping there's a defensive midfielder coming down the line in the July window. MB isn't tackling badly, he's at 1.7 a game or something. But he can't cover anything aerial and we get caught on the break and by late trailers constantly because he's too slow. A couple of goals from outside the box he could've gotten a foot to with more pace, as well.

It's obviously not all on him; we have inexperienced wingbacks, which makes covering diagonal crosses very difficult, as they're always too late or too far off the mark to get a foot on the cross. So the other teams get far too much pinging around in our box.

We need a left back and we need a DM, minimum, if we're going to stay competitive this year.

[Auzzy]

Doesn't TFC have a pretty bad record vs. Cincinnati, relative to how poorly they've done in the league? As a result, I'm especially happy if BB shut down speculation of moving up in the playoff race and focussed on improving. Even if some of the past results vs Cinci were flukes, and even if TFC is doing better this season so far compared to their recent performance (and especially compared to expectations), it's a psychological issue. Not the game for TFC to be getting ahead of themselves or thinking of Cinci as pushovers.

And I agree with jloome: unless TFC improves their defending and goals against average, and also increases the number of scoring chances per game, we're going to regress towards the mean (or worse).

[jloome]

I'm especially happy if BB shut down speculation of moving up in the playoff race and focussed on improving. .

Yeah, that was good. He knows we're giving away too many chances. The WB stuff is less dependent on the physical prowess as the stuff through the middle so hopefully we'll see incremental improvement there each game, and have fewer of those short back-post crosses to contend with.

[MikeForbes]

Cincinnati aren't exactly good, but they are a lot better than they have been since they entered MLS. I do expect all 3 today at home though.

[PizzaEatingYeti]

3-1 for the good guys today.
(Not 2-0, just because Bono won't get any shutout til the end of his TFC career, lol.)

[Kamp Berg]

What was Singh's question? Not home, so can't watch the video.

He tried to get Bradley to comment on whether Ayo has to compete with Jesus for minutes and whether they could play together or not. Bradley’s answer was pragmatic and shows a willingness to continue shaping the team, and not get stuck on players like most coaches seem to. He seems committed to letting what’s best for the team influence his decisions, hopefully it includes his son.

[jloome]

2-1 for us. We've been outperforming our chance creation by about a 2-1 factor, but Cincy has real issues breaking down defenses. They're scoring a lot on junk pinging around the box and breakaways, rather than direct assists.

[Kamp Berg]

Mavinga and Salcedo again. Not convinced those two can work together and have a sound defence.

[OgtheDim]

Going to be a small crowd today.

Nice day for it. Draft beer is back I see.

[OgtheDim]

Btw

We have neither had a penalty or given up a penalty.

I think both of those streaks end today.

[MikeForbes]

Wait, is the kid in those GE commercials supposed to be Oso as a kid?

[mowe]

Anyone have a streaming link?

[Bobo]

Mavinga's gotta go. Once upon a time, his quality would have you look past his horrible fitness levels. Those days are over, he's now a significant burden on the club's books.

[gracos]

Carlos Salcedo is a DP why??

[Bushmancan]

So horrible on so many levels…

[Soccerpro]

Shane O'Neil didnt even bother to jump for a header vs the man he was marking in his own box. Ball gets headed back to the middle for a goal.

Almost as disgraceful as Salcedo's awful giveaway for a corner.

Getting outplayed by Cincy at home.

[RealG-TFC]

Just so slow and too many back passes. We need to get tight we have Poz, Jesus, and Oso on the field.

[FootBallAZ]

Lol once Salcedo did that I had a feeling it would end up in the net always happens like that

The defending on the cross was bad but what's unacceptable is giving opportunities when there was no press unforced erorrs

[MikeForbes]

Almost completely re-did the backline and it might actually be worse.

[ag futbol]

Salcedo is the Mavinga we have, rather than the Drew Moor we need.

Offence looks disjointed. If the plan is to use Nelson as a #10, bring him on for Poz at 65, don’t start then both together.

[MikeForbes]

Achara is playing himself out of a job at this point.

[OgtheDim]

No off the ball movement what so ever.

Nelson keeps going backwards from a promising position.

Thompson is not interested in driving at the opposing defender.

Akinola on the bench but not even warming up with the team during that half - he is up now.

[PizzaEatingYeti]

We are creating almost nothing in the front of the goal.
Defense? Shit, as usual.

Seeing him now in plenty of games to have an opinion:
Sorry but Salcedo is yet another bust for being a TFC DP.

[FootBallAZ]

Issue is the young guys always defer to Bradley

Like achara waited for Bradley to get the ball outside our 18 yard box

[PizzaEatingYeti]

Achara is playing himself out of a job at this point.

This whole season I haven't seen absolutely nothing from Achara.
He is a zero factor, he is TFC 2 level.

[RealG-TFC]

Issue is the young guys always defer to Bradley

Like achara waited for Bradley to get the ball outside our 18 yard box

I did notice Bradley directing Thompson to pass it back when we were advanced and could have made use of a cross into the box.

[gracos]

Two Red Cards and a play kicking the ball out, leading to a goal scoring corner, Salcedo should be forced to drop his DP Title

[MikeForbes]

Alright, we can still get a result. Let's get this rolling.

[MikeForbes]

Speaking of bad DP's - Brenner really sucks.

[MikeForbes]

Alex Bono masterclass today. Media will say nothing.

[ag futbol]

Like Bono surely should have the angle from there? Am I crazy?

[MikeForbes]

Like Bono surely should have the angle from there? Am I crazy?

Absolutely. Cincinnati has the clear advantage in goal and this is only the guys second career game.

[Ultra & Proud]

Time for Nelson to occupy the oblivion formerly reserved for Zavaleta.

[MikeForbes]

Does Ayo even exist? If there was ever a game for him, this is it.

[RealG-TFC]

Nelson needs to keep it simple and release the ball

[MikeForbes]

Time for Nelson to occupy the oblivion formerly reserved for Zavaleta.

He has a ton of energy. Too bad it is big time "headless chicken" energy.

[Auzzy]

I'm at the game. This is really depressing. Regressing to worse than the mean, which was to be expected based on our stats.

Cinci hustling all over the field. TFC often standing around both on offense and defense.

[ag futbol]

Have we given Jimenez one good ball today? Good grief

Edit: wtf is with the TSN crew and not being ready for the corner? Like get a clue

[MikeForbes]

Jesus is god.

[ag futbol]

Have we given Jimenez one good ball today? Good grief

There it was, the one good ball.

[MikeForbes]

Cincinnati parking the bus is gonna cost them.

[Amir.]

what a cross by Michael Bradley, then great header by O'Neill and great finish by Jimenez

[Auzzy]

Cincinnati parking the bus is gonna cost them.

Well Cinci can probably score three more against TFC is they need to.

[MikeForbes]

He does exist!

[MikeForbes]

Buddy banging on the drum should probably pop that top back on.

[ag futbol]

Achara is awful

[MikeForbes]

Achara is soon to be stapled to the bench.

[MikeForbes]

Didn't Kaku get suspended a couple years ago for doing what Poz just did?

[MikeForbes]

Give Cinci some GAM for that keeper.

[ag futbol]

What a frustrating game to watch. I never want to see Achara again.

Bob is too hesitant to do anything in midfield

[nick.mastro]

Both Achara and Bono are horrible. Now with Ayo healthy, Achara should not see any playing time. Even Peruzza is better

[PawTar711]

thought it was a pretty good game considering a bad goal let up, if we continue to go to he net good things will happen.

[OgtheDim]

Our midfield is soooo slow as is our wide players.

[OgtheDim]

https://twitter.com/MattDoyle76/status/1520498161848102912?t=_K69SyHaYv3TNFxpcsJTUw&s=19

[DavemTFC]

Not surprised we didn't create anything at the end when we had three centre forwards, Achara at fullback, and Salcedo in midfield (????)

[ag futbol]

Not surprised we didn't create anything at the end when we had three centre forwards, Achara at fullback, and Salcedo in midfield (????)
I know he hasn’t been great this year but might have been a good opportunity for Priso

[jloome]

I'm betting Bradley was not exactly charming after that one. We gave away three points with bad defending. Both goals, multiple bodies nearby to block a shot or get a tackle in, no one quick enough to react.

[Richard]

Wow this game thread is only 3 pages.

Anyway, Jesus Jimenez might be the most inspired TFC signing ever. It's really very early but he could very well play himself back to Europe or elsewhere.

[jloome]

LOL, Bradley in the post-game laying another speculation smackdown on Singh:

Singh: I thought Jayden Nelson was one of the bright spots out there today. Do you think he's gaining confidence?

Bradley: I would disagree with your assessment. I think Jayden catches your eye on a day like today with some ability and some of the things that we see that we're trying to develop. But still in the final moments today when he needed to get the right play, play the right pass to gain an advantage... that's where our area we we talk about him being better and more consistent, and that needs to go up.

Good to see him acknowledging the work ethic wasn't good enough today.

[OgtheDim]

Nobody wide on the wings, apart from Patrasso and Shaff, want to take on defenders.

[benito]

Wow this game thread is only 3 pages.

Anyway, Jesus Jimenez might be the most inspired TFC signing ever. It's really very early but he could very well play himself back to Europe or elsewhere.

Jimenez has been a great signing so far and capitalizes on pretty much all his chances. He has scored almost half of the teams goals and continues to impress.

[OgtheDim]

Yeh, watch the Bradley video - he is pissed off at the pace.

[Ultra & Proud]

Nobody wide on the wings, apart from Patrasso and Shaff, want to take on defenders.

Nine times out of ten today Petrasso chose to stop when offered a clear run to the end line to instead turn and recycle the ball back through Nelson & Osorio. He wasted yards and yards of free space on the wing.

[Ultra & Proud]

Nelson was dreadful today. That was like a 2012 golden era of TFC level display.

[Oldtimer]

What really stood out was the poor decision making and the static nature of how they played. Why keep doing things the same way over and over again (pass out to the side then cross in) when there are open lanes in the centre? Why do complicated plays (try to cross into centre over the heads of two opponents to a well marked man) when there are open players on the wing?

I'm trying to decide if this is a failure of the players or a coaching failure.

[portu]

MB4 was god awful today. Backline atrocious. And Nelson is catching shit from BB? At least he seemed to care enough to try things.

Terrible.

[reggie]

Nelson was dreadful today. That was like a 2012 golden era of TFC level display.
what game were you watching,lol

[reggie]

LOL, Bradley in the post-game laying another speculation smackdown on Singh:

Singh: I thought Jayden Nelson was one of the bright spots out there today. Do you think he's gaining confidence?

Bradley: I would disagree with your assessment. I think Jayden catches your eye on a day like today with some ability and some of the things that we see that we're trying to develop. But still in the final moments today when he needed to get the right play, play the right pass to gain an advantage... that's where our area we we talk about him being better and more consistent, and that needs to go up.

Good to see him acknowledging the work ethic wasn't good enough today.
lol i wish he would talk about his son who couldnt hit the side of a barn today

[Ultra & Proud]

what game were you watching,lol

The one where he gave the ball away by tripping over it while trying to dribble without any pressure on him.

[jloome]

The one where he gave the ball away by tripping over it while trying to dribble without any pressure on him.

even when he didn’t give it up, his end product was pretty atrocious. He doesn’t seem able to just pull the trigger on an early cross.

[reggie]

[QUOTE=Ultra & Proud;1958708]The one where he gave the ball away by tripping over it while trying to dribble without any pressure on him.[/QUOTE
he was the only guy trying stuff,sure he gets in to trouble some times,he made the play for the goal,people on here beat up the young kids way to much,its the vets that are losing the games,and bob throwing him under the bus is bush league,god forbid he talks shit about his son and the million dollar dp cb

[MikeForbes]

If that was Nelson's first game we would all be thrilled. Unfortunately, this is becoming a trend where he runs around, never picks his head up with the ball and makes stupid tackles.

[FootBallAZ]

I thought Achara was decent, made simple plays and passes.

Can't speak to why he was last one back.

Nelson was decent, but always couldn't make the simple final pass to unlock the defense.

Bradley was I dont even want to say anymore, but IQ was bad when it was 10 V 8 he tried to go over the top instead of playing on the ground

Salcedo was just I dont even know, but DP worthy? I kept thinking his excitement and reason to come was for his music career and Maybe collab with drake lol.

I had bad feeling about that turnover ?


Bono is bad that second goal was easily stoppable. Not sure why the team keeps playing it back to him


Not sure if anyone noticed on an off side call in the second half the ball ended up in our net and oso rushed to get the ball and pushed Bono ou of the way lol and played the ball.... easily frustrated by lack of ability



Oso was all over the pitch was pretty good looks like hamstring hurt again near the end


Pozuelo underestimating players on the other team , had a sweet pass to Jimenez from the right wing he should be playing higher up....I'm thinking Mike got Bob to get pozueulo to play so deep back and tire him out that he ends up looking bad in the offensive of things.

Kinda missing Delgado + Osorio midfield

[Ultra & Proud]

To be fair, nobody except Jiminez would deserve a ranking above 5/10 today. If I were laying out the numbers there would be a lot of twos and threes out of ten.

[OgtheDim]

FWIW, Akinola looked decent today.

It's not going to happen, but I'd like to see a 4-4-2 on Wednesday, sans MB.

[SirBobSaget]

Nelson was dreadful today. That was like a 2012 golden era of TFC level display.

The 3 v 2 break was peak Nelson. He cut in to the middle and dribbled into a defender then just left the ball at the defenders feet. He had Poz and Jimenez with him!! Can't go wrong with sending it their way.

[Auzzy]

I agree with most of what was written above. I don't think anybody mentioned much about the calamities before the first Cinci goal. It was off a corner just before halftime. TFC players just didn't seem to give a shit. They took a long time to get into position to defend the corner. It almost looked like Cinci would take the corner before TFC was ready. Then they passed it back off the corner, and NOBODY from TFC ran out to challenge. The Cinci player had all the time and space in the world to put in a cross.

I can't believe how badly the mentality in the team has deteriorated compared to a couple of weeks ago.

[Ultra & Proud]

I can't believe how badly the mentality in the team has deteriorated compared to a couple of weeks ago.

That's the problem with young guys, especially young domestics; they saw us in the playoff places, heard the 'young Canadians' developing so fast stories, guys doing no wrong even after having poor matches (like Nelsen today) and it looks like it went to their heads. That NYCFC fake comeback papered over that but hopefully today stung. And Bob should have thrown more players under the bus. They earned it.

[SirBobSaget]

That's the problem with young guys, especially young domestics; they saw us in the playoff places, heard the 'young Canadians' developing so fast stories, guys doing no wrong even after having poor matches (like Nelsen today) and it looks like it went to their heads. That NYCFC fake comeback papered over that but hopefully today stung. And Bob should have thrown more players under the bus. They earned it.

My feeling, the season is split into pre-summer transfer and post. Bradley is giving the youth plenty opportunity in the 'pre' window. For one left wing will be locked up with Insigne so Petrasso, Shaffelburg and Nelson are battling for LB/W/Backup roles. Elsewhere on the filed if no roster player commands their place I believe they will reinforce next window

[reggie]

My feeling, the season is split into pre-summer transfer and post. Bradley is giving the youth plenty opportunity in the 'pre' window. For one left wing will be locked up with Insigne so Petrasso, Shaffelburg and Nelson are battling for LB/W/Backup roles. Elsewhere on the filed if no roster player commands their place I believe they will reinforce next window
i agree with this, the kids are not perfect,and no team in the world will start 4 or 5 17-18 yr olds game after game most of them playing out of postion,my concern are the vets,the cbs,poz mb,that has not changed from last season,if not for jj and his clinical finnishing.we may not have win

[Auzzy]

That's the problem with young guys, especially young domestics; they saw us in the playoff places, heard the 'young Canadians' developing so fast stories, guys doing no wrong even after having poor matches (like Nelsen today) and it looks like it went to their heads. That NYCFC fake comeback papered over that but hopefully today stung. And Bob should have thrown more players under the bus. They earned it.


i agree with this, the kids are not perfect,and no team in the world will start 4 or 5 17-18 yr olds game after game most of them playing out of postion,my concern are the vets,the cbs,poz mb,that has not changed from last season,if not for jj and his clinical finnishing.we may not have win

I gotta agree here. I expect some instability from the kids. I mean, Nelson, Petrasso, Chung and all the rest do frustrate me sometimes, but I'm not going to get too worked up about that. But almost all the vets are showing the same instability.

[PizzaEatingYeti]

I gotta agree here. I expect some instability from the kids. I mean, Nelson, Petrasso, Chung and all the rest do frustrate me sometimes, but I'm not going to get too worked up about that. But almost all the vets are showing the same instability.

And this is the main problem right now, this is the cause we do not have 5-6 more points in the standings.
Vets like Salcedo, Mavinga, Bradley, Poz have all clearly underperformed, no matter of the reasons why.

[Kamp Berg]

And this is the main problem right now, this is the cause we do not have 5-6 more points in the standings.
Vets like Salcedo, Mavinga, Bradley, Poz have all clearly underperformed, no matter of the reasons why.

Exactly, seems like also is the only vet left over from last year who is actually motivated, and probably only because of the World Cup. There is definitely still a stink from this team, and I don’t think it will leave until MB and Mavinga are gone, Salcedo too. Way too much arrogance. I hate to say it again, but MB is becoming our Jermaine Jones, no discipline, too good to sit, but impossible to compensate for. And furthermore, could we just get some more no frills CBs? I’d rather have stay at home CBs, than guys that try to do too much and end up unbalancing everything and missing simple things.

[Auzzy]

And this is the main problem right now, this is the cause we do not have 5-6 more points in the standings.
Vets like Salcedo, Mavinga, Bradley, Poz have all clearly underperformed, no matter of the reasons why.

I'll add Bono and O'Neill to the list. They're both 28 and have been playing long enough that they should provide stability together with the rest you mentioned. Even Achara is 24 and has been with the club for 2 years. I feel all the vets have had some good games or spells of games this season, but are wildly inconsistent. Add the kids to the mix and we're lucky that TFC already got as many points as they did.

[Ultra & Proud]

And furthermore, could we just get some more no frills CBs? I’d rather have stay at home CBs, than guys that try to do too much and end up unbalancing everything and missing simple things.

I still believe we could get by alright with our current CB batch of we had an experienced, true DM and a GK that vocally organized us at the back and commanded his box better. At this point I wouldn't mind going high TAM on a GK and maybe even DP on a legit ball playing DM. Most of our goals against come when our backline is in chaos and nobody knows where anybody else is and thusly are slow to react to plays. Both goals yesterday were that.

[ag futbol]

Salcedo is a poor fit IMO. And it makes me wonder if that deal was more about hiding the waste of Soltedlo’s signing and saving Manning’s job. Still lacking leadership at the back.

Bradley is only more complicated with each passing game. He’s sitting in passing lanes and spots where he can break up the play, so the stats sometimes look good but the sad reality is anytime he gets isolated 1v1 he struggles keep up and a lot of players are making adjustments out there to compensate for it.

Overall, the team had a lot of guys who turned in average performances yesterday when the game needed something bolder.

Looking forward to the summer window and these things being addressed.

[OgtheDim]

Both of those goals were planned plays (unless you think the smallest guy on the pitch being directly behind their tallest guy jumping for a header was unplanned)


I think MB was at fault on the first goal for not going out to meet the man & based on the presser yesterday, BB knows it & this will be addressed.

[Ultra & Proud]

Both of those goals were planned plays (unless you think the smallest guy on the pitch being directly behind their tallest guy jumping for a header was unplanned)

They planned it pretty good but we were just in abstract chaos at the time of each goal. Just a lot of ball watching or scrambling aimlessly. We're still a couple windows away from being a good team. Until then we will have our share of days like yesterday.

[leedsandTFC]

our big issue is that young players finding their feet will not be consistent.

hopefully by july these young players we're relying on will be squad players, not nailed on starters.

[Joe Kool]

Salcedo is a poor fit IMO. And it makes me wonder if that deal was more about hiding the waste of Soltedlo’s signing and saving Manning’s job. Still lacking leadership at the back.

I was expecting a lot more from Salcedo like I am sure most of us were. I never watched him play in the Mexican league but I thought since he was a DP we were going to get a leader and a rock on defense and add some stability. Instead I think he seems to unbalance the defense a bit and has poor decision making at times. Just my opinion but our defense doesn't seem to be any better or worse when he is in. DP's should make a noticeable difference. Then again with our midfield not being able to hold onto the ball it does make it harder to evaluate the CB's since it is non-stop pressure on them for so much of the game.

[Ultra & Proud]

I was expecting a lot more from Salcedo like I am sure most of us were. I never watched him play in the Mexican league but I thought since he was a DP we were going to get a leader and a rock on defense and add some stability. Instead I think he seems to unbalance the defense a bit and has poor decision making at times. Just my opinion but our defense doesn't seem to be any better or worse when he is in. DP's should make a noticeable difference. Then again with our midfield not being able to hold onto the ball it does make it harder to evaluate the CB's since it is non-stop pressure on them for so much of the game.
I think his future is to become a higher TAM replacement for Mavinga. He is that type of CB. The search for a new 'Moor' type CB continues.

[CowTipper]

Except for the weathert, everything was wrong with that match on Saturday…including the celebration just inside the gates post match after a horrible display and the ziplock bag give-away.

[portu]

I still believe we could get by alright with our current CB batch of we had an experienced, true DM and a GK that vocally organized us at the back and commanded his box better. At this point I wouldn't mind going high TAM on a GK and maybe even DP on a legit ball playing DM. Most of our goals against come when our backline is in chaos and nobody knows where anybody else is and thusly are slow to react to plays. Both goals yesterday were that.
Those are some pretty big 'ifs'.

Bringing back Mavinga, Bono and sticking with Bradley in midfield remains just purely baffling. It's getting laughable that this board has been pointing things out for two years that the FO hasn't addressed yet.