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View Full Version : Onward! -- The DeRo has landed



Ben Knight
01-22-2009, 07:36 PM
In a half-lit main corridor of Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, with a ceiling full of wooden beer kegs on one side and a line of washrooms to the other, a patient line of 200 Toronto FC fans lined up to greet the dawning of their favourite team’s new day.

http://onwardsoccer.com/2009/01/22/the-dero-has-landed/

TFC OZZ
01-22-2009, 07:45 PM
I love you Ben!

flatpicker
01-22-2009, 07:46 PM
I like you Ben.

dantdot
01-22-2009, 07:48 PM
I heart you Ben!

Keyman
01-22-2009, 07:58 PM
I await your article on Mr Ricketts. That will be interesting. I've never seen anyone put together a logical criticism about why Ricketts should not be a member of Toronto FC next season.

Ben Knight
01-22-2009, 08:07 PM
In any other league, of course he should be.

I'll write it up soom.

rocker
01-22-2009, 08:11 PM
we could see you walking on the web stream before the press conference, ben. was that you that sneezed three times very loudly? ;)

Ben Knight
01-22-2009, 08:13 PM
If sneezing had ever been an Olympic sport, I coulda been a contendah!!!!

I might have been awful as a left back, but sir and madam, I CAN SNEEZE!!!

TFC Cityboy
01-22-2009, 08:16 PM
I just hope he's wrong about Rohan having to give way.

ensco
01-22-2009, 08:50 PM
I've never seen anyone put together a logical criticism about why Ricketts should not be a member of Toronto FC next season.

Huh?

There were endless threads last season about whether Ricketts was a one-trick pony, whose passing and finishing were mediocre. Everyone more or less agreed that he has real skill in beating his man one-on-one. The Ricketts supporters generally felt that he had real skill and needed time to mesh. You may not agree, but it was widely debated, and it wasn't a nonsensical argument.

I think either (i) Rohan is gone, or more likely (ii) he's got a very short time (say til the end of May) to prove he can be a difference maker, and can mesh.

For me, RR's service must improve. Too many crosses to nowhere, and way too many balls played square or back instead of forward. This caused Amado to have to play back in central midfield, instead of AM where he's most dangerous. We need RR to be a true jugador vertical.

There's also the issue of who should be outside left. I'm not sure Johann Smith can handle it, and I don't think DeRo will be nearly as effective out there. He's never been comfortable there for the CMNT.

peter_tfc
01-22-2009, 08:53 PM
In a half-lit main corridor of Toronto’s Air Canada Centre, with a ceiling full of wooden beer kegs on one side and a line of washrooms to the other, a patient line of 200 Toronto FC fans lined up to greet the dawning of their favourite team’s new day.

http://onwardsoccer.com/2009/01/22/the-dero-has-landed/

So did you get DeRo's autograph or what?:)

Beach_Red
01-22-2009, 09:04 PM
Huh?

There were endless threads last season about whether Ricketts was a one-trick pony, whose passing and finishing were mediocre. Everyone more or less agreed that he has real skill in beating his man one-on-one. The Ricketts supporters generally felt that he had real skill and needed time to mesh. You may not agree, but it was widely debated, and it wasn't a nonsensical argument.

I think either (i) Rohan is gone, or more likely (ii) he's got a very short time (say til the end of May) to prove he can be a difference maker, and can mesh.

For me, RR's service must improve. Too many crosses to nowhere, and way too many balls played square or back instead of forward. This caused Amado to have to play back in central midfield, instead of AM where he's most dangerous. We need RR to be a true jugador vertical.

There's also the issue of who should be outside left. I'm not sure Johann Smith can handle it, and I don't think DeRo will be nearly as effective out there. He's never been comfortable there for the CMNT.

This is really only an issue because of the salary cap - if it was a million dollars more (doesn't that sound small in pro sports, one million?) we wouldn't even be talking about this.

Last year, when Ricketts became available this team was desperate for players to come here and they grabbed him - and good for them. Now, the team isn't quite so desperate and his salary looks like it could be too much.

I hate this freakin' salary cap being so low.

Super
01-22-2009, 09:18 PM
Mickey Mouse league!

Beach_Red
01-22-2009, 09:20 PM
Mickey Mouse league!

I used to have a boss who'd rant, "Disney is one of the richest companies in the world, I'd love it if we were fucking Mickey Mouse around here!"

Man, I hated that job.

Dirk Diggler
01-22-2009, 09:22 PM
Why the salary cap bashing all of a sudden? If TFC the only team in the league that has to get rid of players based on their salary? No ... infact that is how we got Dero. So stop the whining people.

Beach_Red
01-22-2009, 09:24 PM
I don't mind that there's a salary cap, it's just too low.

Super
01-22-2009, 09:24 PM
I used to have a boss who'd rant, "Disney is one of the richest companies in the world, I'd love it if we were fucking Mickey Mouse around here!"

Man, I hated that job.

LOL not a bad line though.

Super
01-22-2009, 09:27 PM
I wouldn't mind the salary cap either if, like in baseball, we can spend above it and pay a 20% fine or whatever based on what extra we spend. It would help other clubs as they can use the funds to buy talents as well. Would it give us an advantage? Of course it would. And quite frankly: clubs that are better supported SHOULD have an advantage. What's best for the league? Kansas City winning or TFC winning?

rocker
01-22-2009, 09:34 PM
How does giving TFC or LA more leeway in spending more help the league grow?

All it would do is make it more likely that TFC and LA win, while other markets lose.
Losing regularly to people who can spend more than you is disheartening. I totally lost interest in the Jays because the Yanks could outspend the Jays. There's almost no hope.
I don't think at this stage of MLS's development we should be reducing the hope of the fans in certain cities.

I never really understand why people thought it was good to win games by outspending your opponents. Isn't it better to outsmart your opponents, or outwill them with tenacious competition?
Man U, for example, isn't a great team because of some perfect world of competition. It is a great team because it spends more than most teams in its league.

nimamalek
01-22-2009, 09:58 PM
I love Ricketts, and I would be extremely upset if he left. I think towards the end of last season he started to show us what he can do, and I dont think we have anyone else who can put in the same type of performance on the wing opposite Dero. Not to mention that when most of the team leaves for international duty he is still available. I think Ben missed the mark on this one

Beach_Red
01-22-2009, 10:57 PM
How does giving TFC or LA more leeway in spending more help the league grow?

All it would do is make it more likely that TFC and LA win, while other markets lose.
Losing regularly to people who can spend more than you is disheartening. I totally lost interest in the Jays because the Yanks could outspend the Jays. There's almost no hope.
I don't think at this stage of MLS's development we should be reducing the hope of the fans in certain cities.

I never really understand why people thought it was good to win games by outspending your opponents. Isn't it better to outsmart your opponents, or outwill them with tenacious competition?
Man U, for example, isn't a great team because of some perfect world of competition. It is a great team because it spends more than most teams in its league.

It just has to be properly managed. Super's right, TFC fans should be rewarded for buying all those tickets. And, if 20% more were given to the weaker teams, and they had to spend it on players, that might actually help them attract more fans so they could spend more money and so on.

It doesn't have to turn into a league with two or three teams winning all the time because they have the biggest budgets, but it could - and someday will - be better than it is.

mighty_torontofc_2008
01-22-2009, 11:14 PM
I await your article on Mr Ricketts. That will be interesting. I've never seen anyone put together a logical criticism about why Ricketts should not be a member of Toronto FC next season.


Hes one of the few pro athletes that actuallu like living In toronto...keep him

I_AM_CANADIAN
01-22-2009, 11:32 PM
Excellent article...

And hopefully a proven centre back is the next player on the way.

Pachuco
01-23-2009, 12:12 AM
I said this before, and I'll stick to this. I don't want Ricketts to leave, BUT - I can see him finding his way to the bench if Jo Smith has a break out year. I don't know, I guess I feel Smith has the potential to come out and have a really good year. I also feel that Ricketts can be quite inconsistent. Maybe he'll step up and prove he's worth 3x the salary of Smith, who knows. He definately deserves to stay on the roster and as a starter at this point, but if he finds his way to the bench, I don't see how we can afford his high salary. Off the field though, the guy is a class act!