Jeremy's grand unifying theory of why we suck this week

[jloome]

Jeremy's grand unifying theory of why we suck this week

What a debacle.
Rather than do the usual list of right and wrong, I'm going to suggest that this week's truly terrible performance highlights this team's single biggest problem, and it has nothing to do with heart, Carver, Mo or any of the usual nonsense.

It's just depth. Simply, we don't have a truly competitive first team yet. So any time we're relying on more than one depth (bench) player, we're in big, big trouble.

Some examples:

On the Magee goal, no one picked him up as he sprinted out of the half. Magee was playing as a recessed attacker yesterday, so his assignment was probably with Harmse or Robinson, or potentially a centre half. Yes, Julian James watched him sprint into our end and showed his rookie colours by assuming that a) he wouldn't catch him and b) Velez would. But I don't know that he was the one who blew the initial assignment.

So the first goal consists of: 1) A blown assignment; 2) blown positioning, in one of our centre halfs being 20 yards into the opposition's end with no one dropping back to take his duties, 3) No effort to chase down a booted loose ball, aside from Velez.

On passing movement in the first half: Neither of our central midfielders passed and moved. Both played as rock-solid, in front of the defense defenders. So neither was in an advanced enough position to link up play with with the forwards, or be the link in the chain between the defense and forwards. Further, neither Robert nor Ricketts cut inside effectively, so all our opponents had to do to limit passing and possession was trap our ball carrier along the sideline.

On effort: Robert, as much as I love the skill, should perhaps retire. He's fully vested and excellent some games, but others? Really, did anyone else get the impression on Saturday that he really would rather have been home?

Harmse ball watched all day long. Ditto with Julius James and, for the most part, Jimmy B. The forwards did not drift laterally, to cause problems for the defense and again, with the exception of Rohan Ricketts, no one on TFC drifted behind the ball carrier to be offering ball support all afternoon. Players at this level should not routinely be trapped, with nowhere to go. But that's what is happening to us.

On positioning and intelligence: This is where our bench depth suffers most; we have players who are static; they don't know what space to move into, or how to support play that has moved out of the comfort zone of their typical field position. For the first 15 minutes yesterday, we pressured early and did well, and as bad as our positioning and control was, so was New York's. They adapted by changing their offense. We didn't , and it looked as if our players spent the whole game deliberately trying to play defense as a result.

All this comes down to bench depth, a few players not cutting it on the first team, a lack of on-field leadership, and growing pains. If Robert's legs aren't there -- or worse, his heart -- then we need a new left winger. I'd suggest putting Johann Smith isn't the answer if we want to groom him to be a striker.

Ideally, our lineup right now would look like this:

----------Sutton-----------

??-------??--------Marshall------Brennan

Ricketts---Robbo------??/Guevara (he has the skill, not convinced he has the heart)----??

??--Dichio.

Effectively, right now, we have:
1) A right back with all the athletic promise in the world but bad positional errors
2) No core central defense duo we can depend on.
3) A left winger who is out of gas too often, or burned out.
4) A central attacking mid who is a head case and certainly doesn't lead.
5) No predatory striker to pair with Dichio.
6) No team captain who can buoy spirits and scare his teammates into a fight.

IF we had our whole lineup healthy, and IF both Guevara and Robert are healthy and competing, then the team can compete, just. But we'd still lose more than we win because of the above-noted realities.

So, now the offseason shopping list has to include:

-- At least one dependable centre half and maybe a fullback
-- A midfield playmaker, preferably who can play centrally or on the left wing.
-- A striker who'll score a goal every other game.

I suspect Robert will retire after this season. I'm not sure Guevara's heart is in it, so as long as he doesn't get any more reds this year, maybe we should use him as trade bait (although he contributes so much skill-wise that may be a mistake). We need more depth across the board everywhere else.

[TFCREDNWHITE]

I agree! A lot of holes need to be seriously fixed...Well put jloome!

[Shakes McQueen]

Great post jloome. I agree completely.

- Scott

[jloome]

None of that excuses them for giving up in the second half on Saturday, but I imagine after the whole Cunny thing, then all of them probably knowing about Edu for months, then half the team being injured or missing, the morale has to just be in the dumper completely by now.

[DigzTFC!]

Good post, I should probably think to make my post long and well written as I get hammered for the same ideas. Here's my plug from other threads: we lack depth and our central midfielders don't know how to create an attack with the strikers. Will Johnson would be an excellent depth player to fill in for Guevara in the attacking mid role.

I really believe Johann could be the answer for us at left wing and I also really liked Chad Barret in his time with TFC. Good hustle and spirit with just a little quality lacking on finish, but it will come. We just need to link the ball forward so we create chances.

When it comes down to it, after a lot of internal debate, I really think this team needs a DP central midfielder with attacking qualities rather than a striker. Blanco, Schelotto, De Rosario are the type of individual players that have made their teams excel. A striker without service would be a waste.

[ensco]

And I'll add to that what I have said elsewhere this week: we can now say with certainty that we never replaced O'Brien.

Ricketts (and Robert sometimes) can do things for us, but not the essential distribution that is required.

We were a better team in May and June 2007 than we have ever been since.

[poppamidnight]

Attakora show's he belongs up with the big boys...


Wynne belongs in there to....

Jimmy B doesnt belong at D.... That Mo-Jo Adaptation project should end now and we should move him up to the Mid, where he (admittadly) belongs

[TFCREDNWHITE]

And I'll add to that what I have said elsewhere this week: we can now say with certainty that we never replaced O'Brien.

Ricketts (and Robert sometimes) can do things for us, but not the essential distribution that is required.

We were a better team in May and June 2007 than we have ever been since.

Not sure i fully agree with that....I think we were terrible then and terrible now!..:eek:

[TFCREDNWHITE]

Attakora show's he belongs up with the big boys...


Wynne belongs in there to....

Jimmy B doesnt belong at D.... That Mo-Jo Adaptation project should end now and we should move him up to the Mid, where he (admittadly) belongs

I agree, put him in the mid where he belongs is right!! The problem is there is no-one to replace him at LB!!

[James17930]

But you have to ask -- why was Harmse playing at all yesterday? We were playing a 4-4-2, so why would Carver start two holding mids in the centre? I mean, it's no wonder why couldn't get anything offensively.

Have Hemming or Rosenlund really been that bad to say that they can't get a start in a position that they are probably better suited for, skill-wise, than Harmse?

[rocker]

didn't Jimmy play predominantly left wing throughout his career? I seem to remember from the Holger Osiek days that he had some "move" he used to do all the time as a midfielder. :) I wouldn't be against the attempt. He played a game or two there this season and some people ragged on him... but i bet he'd be better there in the long term.

I like Attakora. Although some of his passes were total shit against NYRB. After the Colorado game, Carver made mention that one of the reasons Attakora hadn't started was they were concerned with his passing. It was fine against Colorado but weak against NYRB. But everything else about him suggests he could be an MLS starter regularly -- and he's only 19. That's the kind of prospect I like.

[giambac]

Jeremy's grand unifying theory of why we suck this week

What a debacle.
Rather than do the usual list of right and wrong, I'm going to suggest that this week's truly terrible performance highlights this team's single biggest problem, and it has nothing to do with heart, Carver, Mo or any of the usual nonsense.

It's just depth. Simply, we don't have a truly competitive first team yet. So any time we're relying on more than one depth (bench) player, we're in big, big trouble.

Some examples:

On the Magee goal, no one picked him up as he sprinted out of the half. Magee was playing as a recessed attacker yesterday, so his assignment was probably with Harmse or Robinson, or potentially a centre half. Yes, Julian James watched him sprint into our end and showed his rookie colours by assuming that a) he wouldn't catch him and b) Velez would. But I don't know that he was the one who blew the initial assignment.

So the first goal consists of: 1) A blown assignment; 2) blown positioning, in one of our centre halfs being 20 yards into the opposition's end with no one dropping back to take his duties, 3) No effort to chase down a booted loose ball, aside from Velez.

On passing movement in the first half: Neither of our central midfielders passed and moved. Both played as rock-solid, in front of the defense defenders. So neither was in an advanced enough position to link up play with with the forwards, or be the link in the chain between the defense and forwards. Further, neither Robert nor Ricketts cut inside effectively, so all our opponents had to do to limit passing and possession was trap our ball carrier along the sideline.

On effort: Robert, as much as I love the skill, should perhaps retire. He's fully vested and excellent some games, but others? Really, did anyone else get the impression on Saturday that he really would rather have been home?

Harmse ball watched all day long. Ditto with Julius James and, for the most part, Jimmy B. The forwards did not drift laterally, to cause problems for the defense and again, with the exception of Rohan Ricketts, no one on TFC drifted behind the ball carrier to be offering ball support all afternoon. Players at this level should not routinely be trapped, with nowhere to go. But that's what is happening to us.

On positioning and intelligence: This is where our bench depth suffers most; we have players who are static; they don't know what space to move into, or how to support play that has moved out of the comfort zone of their typical field position. For the first 15 minutes yesterday, we pressured early and did well, and as bad as our positioning and control was, so was New York's. They adapted by changing their offense. We didn't , and it looked as if our players spent the whole game deliberately trying to play defense as a result.

All this comes down to bench depth, a few players not cutting it on the first team, a lack of on-field leadership, and growing pains. If Robert's legs aren't there -- or worse, his heart -- then we need a new left winger. I'd suggest putting Johann Smith isn't the answer if we want to groom him to be a striker.

Ideally, our lineup right now would look like this:

----------Sutton-----------

??-------??--------Marshall------Brennan

Ricketts---Robbo------??/Guevara (he has the skill, not convinced he has the heart)----??

??--Dichio.

Effectively, right now, we have:
1) A right back with all the athletic promise in the world but bad positional errors
2) No core central defense duo we can depend on.
3) A left winger who is out of gas too often, or burned out.
4) A central attacking mid who is a head case and certainly doesn't lead.
5) No predatory striker to pair with Dichio.
6) No team captain who can buoy spirits and scare his teammates into a fight.

IF we had our whole lineup healthy, and IF both Guevara and Robert are healthy and competing, then the team can compete, just. But we'd still lose more than we win because of the above-noted realities.

So, now the offseason shopping list has to include:

-- At least one dependable centre half and maybe a fullback
-- A midfield playmaker, preferably who can play centrally or on the left wing.
-- A striker who'll score a goal every other game.

I suspect Robert will retire after this season. I'm not sure Guevara's heart is in it, so as long as he doesn't get any more reds this year, maybe we should use him as trade bait (although he contributes so much skill-wise that may be a mistake). We need more depth across the board everywhere else.

The team sucks and consistently plays shit. I don't get your long winded analysis, all you have done is stated the obvious of which any socccer follower already knows.

our problem is depth???

Every teams problem in this league is depth...

[jloome]

But you have to ask -- why was Harmse playing at all yesterday? We were playing a 4-4-2, so why would Carver start two holding mids in the centre? I mean, it's no wonder why couldn't get anything offensively.

Have Hemming or Rosenlund really been that bad to say that they can't get a start in a position that they are probably better suited for, skill-wise, than Harmse?

He's basing their entire offense around distribution to the wings and getting upfield quickly, and that doesn't work in this league. We have to be able to move laterally as well as up and down and right now our lateral distribution and support is truly fucking terrible.

I suggested last week playing Ricketts and Robbo in the middle, because in a pinch Ricketts can defend, but certainly can create offensively. I still think it would've been a good idea.

I'd also add that we have to stop playing as if the formation doesn't affect the tactic, because it does.

[jloome]

didn't Jimmy play predominantly left wing throughout his career? I seem to remember from the Holger Osiek days that he had some "move" he used to do all the time as a midfielder. :) I wouldn't be against the attempt. He played a game or two there this season and some people ragged on him... but i bet he'd be better there in the long term.

I like Attakora. Although some of his passes were total shit against NYRB. After the Colorado game, Carver made mention that one of the reasons Attakora hadn't started was they were concerned with his passing. It was fine against Colorado but weak against NYRB. But everything else about him suggests he could be an MLS starter regularly -- and he's only 19. That's the kind of prospect I like.

If you could combine his positioning with Wynne's physical skills, we'd have a good fullback.

But Wynne is a defensive liability (albeit an offensive threat). We need someone well rounded. He's also only 20 or 21, and if he keeps improving his defence will be a great fullback, soon. But right now he's not there, and it's hurting us.

Attakora's distribution was, it must be said, god-awful in the second half. Kept trying to force short passes that werent' there.

[Chevy]

Edwards over Sutton.

[Damien]

Think part of the reason Mo hired Winsper was to avoid other teams exploiting our bench, but I guess injuries/rookies are inevitable.

Good post, Jloome!

[jloome]

Think part of the reason Mo hired Winsper was to avoid other teams exploiting our bench, but I guess injuries/rookies are inevitable.

Good post, Jloome!


Thanks. There are several reasons for optimism, of course. Our depth at the developmental level is getting strong and if half these players turn into MLS caliber players we'll have full squad depth for years to come.

My fear, as a fan, is that year-to-year results aren't really the issue for Mo or MLSE, that they're only looking at the long-term plan, i.e

year one: put the team together, develop a following, work on some grassroots issues such as a dev team

year two: hire some solid veterans to go with the returning core, hope the team stays health and competes but don't worry too much if it doesn't. It's only year two!

Year three: Hire a DP star to put the ball away; add more veterans and some youthf or depth. Hope that between the reserves and the new signings, there's enough depth to compete even without the starters. Compete in the playoffs

etc etc etc

I'm not knocking the approach, but it may be overly cautious for what is required in this league and it certainly doesn't help to raise fans expectations.

[James17930]

Edwards over Sutton.

Gotta agree there too. I've tried to defend Sutton in the past, but now it's apparent that he's in way over his head in this league. He's great for shot-stopping, but his decision making and positioning when he comes out to challenge are awful and he's cost us a few bad goals this year.

[Ossington Mental Youth]

Still not convinced that Robert is as bad as everyone thinks, yes he doesnt chase everyball that goes behind him down but he was placing balls where they should be with no reaction, I do also agree he doesnt look 'on' every game but hes also older so thats to be expected. I often wonder whether people had unreasonable expectations with his signing and since we havent seen anything from him recently (him or anyone else for that matter) perhaps hes become a whipping boy?

i do however agree with most everything else thats been suggested, hopefully Tello will sort out our issues with shutting players down and redistributing in the mid. Gotta say a monstrous part of why we looked like total shit in the second half vs the first is the lack of distribution (a Guevara not being there and b, and i stand by this Robert being pulled out).

[Ossington Mental Youth]

No clue how you guys are picking Edwards over sutton, thats just crazy talk, Edwards is still in trainign and if anything needs to learn and break down that ego of his.

CRAZY TALK

[poppamidnight]

I agree, put him in the mid where he belongs is right!! The problem is there is no-one to replace him at LB!!

You wouldnt need to worry about it all that much if you had him on the left side of mid... but maybe give Attakora a shot on his off-wing (right kick):

_________Sutton__________
Wynne__Marshall____Attakora
____Robbo______Jimmy B_____


Personally, looking at that back... I feel more at-ease that we wont allow goals that i do with 4 in the back:

Wynne_Marshall_Velez_Brennan
__________Robbo__________

1 - Velez Just doesnt belong as a starter any more,
2 - Brennan has shown D isnt exactly his strongsuit (WTF was that bouncing pass-back to Sutton last game)... He's at his best in the mid
3 - Robbo apparently is at his best with someone along side him.....

[Ossington Mental Youth]

curious to see if we sign christanval and if he starts...

[Dub Narcotic]

Good analysis, but I think you are underrating Wynne severely. He's already better than Brennan, IMHO. For every 'positional error', he's shut down somebody one-on-one for a whole game, he's made many great saving tackles and his attacking play clearly adds a dimension this goal-poor team needs. Brennan has certainly made his share of mistakes this year, and I think his athleticism has really declined this year because of injury accumulation.

I think if Wynne was Canadian, he wouldn't get the flack he does around here.

[Damien]

Gotta agree there too. I've tried to defend Sutton in the past, but now it's apparent that he's in way over his head in this league. He's great for shot-stopping, but his decision making and positioning when he comes out to challenge are awful and he's cost us a few bad goals this year.

Agreed. Sutton cannot connect on goal kicks either. I think he's connected with teammates on less than 5 occasions all season long!

It's kick... up in the air .... down and into the other teams possession / to their GK / out-of-bounds. Waste of possession.

[Shakes McQueen]

Agreed. Sutton cannot connect on goal kicks either. I think he's connected with teammates on less than 5 occasions all season long!

It's kick... up in the air .... down and into the other teams possession / to their GK / out-of-bounds. Waste of possession.

Only thing that bugs me about Sutts, is his occasional reluctance to even hoof the ball down field. He does that thing where he runs out to the top of the box, fakes a throw to one defender, and then throws it to the other one.

He did it almost every time in the Colorado match.

- Scott

[S_D]

Thanks. There are several reasons for optimism, of course. Our depth at the developmental level is getting strong and if half these players turn into MLS caliber players we'll have full squad depth for years to come.

My fear, as a fan, is that year-to-year results aren't really the issue for Mo or MLSE, that they're only looking at the long-term plan, i.e

year one: put the team together, develop a following, work on some grassroots issues such as a dev team

year two: hire some solid veterans to go with the returning core, hope the team stays health and competes but don't worry too much if it doesn't. It's only year two!

Year three: Hire a DP star to put the ball away; add more veterans and some youthf or depth. Hope that between the reserves and the new signings, there's enough depth to compete even without the starters. Compete in the playoffs

etc etc etc

I'm not knocking the approach, but it may be overly cautious for what is required in this league and it certainly doesn't help to raise fans expectations.

It may be cautious, but I think it is the right thing to do. Get older guys to plug the holes, let the youth come in off of the bench to get a bit of experience until they are ready to become full time players. There is quite the young core being constructed with this team, and if they actually pan out, in 3 or 4 years time, TFC will be a team to be reckoned with.

Johann Smith, Ricketts,Wynne, Barrett is a nice group to have, even though the jury is still out on them. I didn't include James in this group because he hasn't shown that well this year but it takes a long time to become a quality defender, especially a CB. There was a lot of hype at the draft that James was MLS ready, and as we have all seen, he isn't (yet).

One of the biggest problems with TFC this season has been the international absences. Not only do we miss the players during the games, but they do not get the chance to be familiar with the players that are playing game in game out. Guevarra was gone a month earlier in the season and if Honduras reaches the hex we are going to miss a lot more of him. Edu, between Olympics and NT duties wouldn't be here a lot either. When they get carded in MLS play it hurts even more.

And this leads me to my next point, aquiring South Americans. Let me preface this by saying I am not one of those people who believe that you have to get South Americans because they must be good :rolleyes:. What I believe is that players should be targeted from these countries because their player pool is so deep, a quality mls starter wouldn't be any more than a fringe depth player on their NT. Look at DCU... they won't lose 1 player for WCQ's so their team stays together for essentially the entire season.

Just my 2 cents.

[jloome]

Good analysis, but I think you are underrating Wynne severely. He's already better than Brennan, IMHO. For every 'positional error', he's shut down somebody one-on-one for a whole game, he's made many great saving tackles and his attacking play clearly adds a dimension this goal-poor team needs. Brennan has certainly made his share of mistakes this year, and I think his athleticism has really declined this year because of injury accumulation.

I think if Wynne was Canadian, he wouldn't get the flack he does around here.

Yeah, you're probably right, I'm being overly harsh on him lately. But I do think that's because crosses from his side seem to have burned us several times and because his positioning allows opponents to build in our end, and those are serious considerations. Having said that, he has had some brilliant games, and does, when needed, usually put a good tackle in. So credit where credit's due.


It may be cautious, but I think it is the right thing to do. Get older guys to plug the holes, let the youth come in off of the bench to get a bit of experience until they are ready to become full time players. There is quite the young core being constructed with this team, and if they actually pan out, in 3 or 4 years time, TFC will be a team to be reckoned with.

Johann Smith, Ricketts,Wynne, Barrett is a nice group to have, even though the jury is still out on them. I didn't include James in this group because he hasn't shown that well this year but it takes a long time to become a quality defender, especially a CB. There was a lot of hype at the draft that James was MLS ready, and as we have all seen, he isn't (yet).

One of the biggest problems with TFC this season has been the international absences. Not only do we miss the players during the games, but they do not get the chance to be familiar with the players that are playing game in game out. Guevarra was gone a month earlier in the season and if Honduras reaches the hex we are going to miss a lot more of him. Edu, between Olympics and NT duties wouldn't be here a lot either. When they get carded in MLS play it hurts even more.

And this leads me to my next point, aquiring South Americans. Let me preface this by saying I am not one of those people who believe that you have to get South Americans because they must be good :rolleyes:. What I believe is that players should be targeted from these countries because their player pool is so deep, a quality mls starter wouldn't be any more than a fringe depth player on their NT. Look at DCU... they won't lose 1 player for WCQ's so their team stays together for essentially the entire season.

Just my 2 cents.

Understanding that they're taking a cautious approach to building is one thing. Liking it is another. For one, you have to ask how severely MLSE underestimated the public buy-in given that they thought a one-man football operation could handle all this stuff. Either that, or Mo sat on his hands last year when he should have been finding scouts, signing youth, getting a fitness coach, and doing things every football operation does that we haven't really introduced until this year.

And why wait until year three for a DP? Unless he's already got someone under wraps I fail to see the purpose in waiting. The team has the dough from profit alone, let alone all this league buy-in nonsense.

I'd also be quite happy to see players from South America or Africa, or any number of places we associate with creative footie. But I'd take a DP from anywhere if he bags a bunch of goals and sets up a bunch more.

[Steve]

DP isn't here yet because they want it to be the last piece of the puzzle, which I agree with. Right now they are trying to build the team, the FO, and the infrastructure around it. It takes time. Though I am as dissapointed as anyone that our playoff dream for this year seems to be over, I do appreciate the face that Mo seems to be building a team for the future. The allocation money we have, plus all the young players he is bringing in, plus the draft picks is promising. He's also brought in some good older players to help train the youth (Dichio and Robinson at least, possibly Robert but I don't know where his heart is). Next year I expect a DP to be added to the lineup, as well as some more tweaking. Essentially, I don't want to see us try to buy a cup for one year, I want to see a slow, steady, growth, so we will be competing for many years to come. So far, I see that.

[ensco]

DP won't be here til MLSE recoup the $10 million franchise fee (that's my grand theory anyway). I will try to calculate where they are on this, in a separate thread, soon.

[Ossington Mental Youth]

DP won't be here til MLSE recoup the $10 million franchise fee (that's my grand theory anyway). I will try to calculate where they are on this, in a separate thread, soon.

Out of curiousity why?
If thats the case why would they have spent good money on an academy?
On Carver (whos sure not to come cheap) and other coaches like Dasovic?
On that computer program that noone else in the league has?

[ensco]

Out of curiousity why?
If thats the case why would they have spent good money on an academy?
On Carver (whos sure not to come cheap) and other coaches like Dasovic?
On that computer program that noone else in the league has?

MLS' future is not a 100% thing. They would lose their entire investment if the league fails.

Plus it's just my theory about how corporations work.

Re the academy or Carver or Dasovic, they're all in the original budget, and they're chump change compared to the cost of a DP, or grass.

Not saying MLSE are evil, btw. Just saying this is often how major incremental spending decisions go in big corporations.

[S_D]

DP won't be here til MLSE recoup the $10 million franchise fee (that's my grand theory anyway). I will try to calculate where they are on this, in a separate thread, soon.

I am not sure they think about it that way. In your way of thinking it would be like buying a bank stock and only willing to sell it once the dividends = the initial buying price. I think it is more important to them that they continue to see an increase in value of the franchise. Right now to buy in you will need at least 40 million. That is a significant increase in value!

[brad]

Only thing that bugs me about Sutts, is his occasional reluctance to even hoof the ball down field. He does that thing where he runs out to the top of the box, fakes a throw to one defender, and then throws it to the other one.

He did it almost every time in the Colorado match.

- Scott

Sutton's biggest problem IMHO is gives away far to many dangerous rebounds. When a keeper stops a shot, they are supposed to knock the ball off the side - Sutton tends to send it straight down the middle. We've been scored on several times this season because of this.

[DigzTFC!]

You forgot Ibbe in that core of young players. Anyways, I think we're all frustrated not because of the losing but because of the way in which we lose. Watching the games are terrible and extremely painful. We have very few shots per game, which means few goals, which means defensive football, which means any defensive laps is a insurmountable problem.

Here's some good news: Wynne won't be called up very often anymore.

[Ossington Mental Youth]

MLS' future is not a 100% thing. They would lose their entire investment if the league fails.

Plus it's just my theory about how corporations work.

Re the academy or Carver or Dasovic, they're all in the original budget, and they're chump change compared to the cost of a DP, or grass.

Not saying MLSE are evil, btw. Just saying this is often how major incremental spending decisions go in big corporations.

Fair enough, i guess my argument is the fact that they are willing to spend money on even small things like talented academy coaches and that 'puter program and these are examples of MLSE investing in the team and not being afraid to spend on things that need to be bought/make the team better. Im ok with them taking their time with stuff like a DP as it makes me think that they wont just jump into signing another Denilson. As for grass, well, we know we need grass, im sure they are at least thinking of sorting it with the city and thats better than nothing.

[Ossington Mental Youth]

Here's some good news: Wynne won't be called up very often anymore.

How come?

[a.ungaro]

Jeremy's grand unifying theory of why we suck this week



So, now the offseason shopping list has to include:

-- At least one dependable centre half and maybe a fullback
-- A midfield playmaker, preferably who can play centrally or on the left wing.
-- A striker who'll score a goal every other game.

I suspect Robert will retire after this season. I'm not sure Guevara's heart is in it, so as long as he doesn't get any more reds this year, maybe we should use him as trade bait (although he contributes so much skill-wise that may be a mistake). We need more depth across the board everywhere else .


wasn't this what we needed at the end of last season?

[DigzTFC!]

Regarding Wynne:

Because doesn't really get called up to the USMNT very often. Most of his callups this year have been with the U23. The US has some solid defencemen playing internationally

[Ossington Mental Youth]

werd, thanks.

[jloome]

wasn't this what we needed at the end of last season?

Yep, still major problems to address, basically. We tried Robert and he's good about 65-70% of the time, so we need someone of equal or as effective talent for the time his legs are gone.

We did improve at centre half; we got Tebily. Wrong guy, obviously. Central mid we got Guevara, and he's missed about half the season, then punched a guy out. Wrong guy? Maybe.

We improved with Ricketts, and with Sutton, and in general depth with Ibee, Jo Smith and Attakora stepping up. Edwards give us a capable backup.

We lost Ronnie O, and although I don't think Ricketts brings the same things to table, he's a a solid replacement who plays better two ways.

Barrett, I believe, looks substantially stronger than the fool who used to play here.

So all across the park, we've made improvements. If your questions is whether we could have done better this year, yeah, I'd say we could.

[Damien]

Good news is we can still trade within the MLS until start/mid september so we still may see a move in the coming weeks.