Columbus to Houston.... Toronto is playing an absolutely disgusting stretch of road games. How long will this last and what can be improved?
Lack of quality strikers
BMO Turf
Lack of traveling support
Jet lag
Home crowd lack enthusiasm, rivalry
MLSE's lack of focus on the Cup
No DP yet
Blame the players, Edu, Cunningham etc.
Blame coach Carver
Others
Why do we suck so much on the road?!!
Columbus to Houston.... Toronto is playing an absolutely disgusting stretch of road games. How long will this last and what can be improved?
Where's the option for "negative tactics"?
We play the same way each and every away match, we sit back from the kickoff and hope to pinch a goal from a set piece.
where is the "All of the above" option
no option for climate.
Houston is a greenhouse, Toronto's been wet for months, its only been humid here for two days.
How about BMO Field rather than just the turf. BMO's a smaller pitch and when we get out on larger pitches we seem to have a problem opening up and spend a lot of time huttled together bumping into one another.
multiple answers allowed!Originally Posted by TFCtorcida
We need to improve our road record or we are going to fade fast in the standings.
COME ON YOU REDS!
ffs it's only one loss!!! where is the faith?
actually it's 4 on the road...
they just can't pull it together on the road...
this game was just as bad as the one in DC the first time...
Something just isn't right...
Moderator
Well, in MLS play we've only bagged one away win so far (3-2 in LA) with the rest all losses. Yes, when you look at the overall picture, we're not in bad shape with our draws and wins at home, but I agree that the trend on the road is a bit disconcerting. I don't think it's panic time just yet, but towards the end of the season we'll have a lot more away games clumped together and that may cause issues if we really do have a problem.
Last edited by Cashcleaner; 06-10-2008 at 12:22 AM.
Did the USA , of all countries, just fix soccer? - C. Ronaldo, May 27th commenting on the FBI-led investigations into fraud and corruption throughout FIFA.
I think it lack of motivation on the road. In BMO they pretty much have to get pumped up, who wouldnt, but on the road they seem content to play for the tie, usually get picked apart in the 1st half and play catch up for the rest of the night.
IMO last night's performance was not because of the strikers (entirely) the midfield gave away the ball too easily. I think we need another playmaker like Guevara.
It's almost panic time. We're 1-4 on the road in MLS, 2-4 on the road overall, but we were very lucky in both the wins.
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.
i think its the tactics...why are we sitting back?
I've been saying this all season. Sitting back doesn't work for us. If another team scores first we're fucked because we don't have the same firepower available to just 'net a goal' when it's needed like most teams.
We haven't looked that bad since the 4-1 loss to DC in the second game and the arrival of Robert, Guevara and Ricketts. It was just the sort of game you might expect given the less than encouraging reports from training this week. We missed a good chance to pick up points on the leaders and put some room between us and the pack.
I hope the coming game with Col will see us back on form. If not we will be looking up at the playoff contenders.
Poll Options = All Of The Above
i want guevara back.
too bad he doesn't return until after the next game.
Agreed. That and we need a top-notch striker.
Agreed. If TFC had attacked Houston, they would have probably scored another couple, enough to get that tie.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
I don't know how they handle the road. The raptors have some home advantage because the players all want to go out and party the night before due to Toronto's nightlife. Our strippers get naked and you can drink beer and watch them.
Maybe you arrive in the new city, have no booze, eat supper together, go over tactics, stretch, and go to bed. Stay an extra day after if you are not off playing for another country.
Steve Nash (basketball) is a canuck, but really won't play for the Canadian Team.
Mabye the whole league should strive to tell the players that they get paid per game, go for an international and no pay. I'm not totally against the thing, but it would be possible for a team to end up with 8 or 10 guys away, might as well just stay home in that case. OR revise the schedule to eliminate overlaps....
I said some of that because the team looked hung over...and I was getting there....
I turned it off and got sloshed and my wife said I kept muttering fucking tfc assholes in my sleep.
I'm surprised no one has brought this up yet here- most MLS teams suck pretty badly on the road - only NE and Chicago have winning records on the road. So obviously, while there is need for improvement on the road, it's not as dire as some may think. If we can keep our home form (one of the best in the league) and improve, even a little, on the road, we will look very good to make the playoffs...progressing in them without a DP is another matter of course.
Ok, we all know losing SUCKS... But on the road we play completely different - which is frustrating to watch...
We gave Houston so much time and space, at home - we don't...
It'd be interesting to see the lads go out and play on the road as if they were at home... If we got spanked doing that - then move on... If not, well who the hell knows...
I'm still sour from last night (and hearing it from every co-worker
Carts...
"...Money wasn't tight, but it like, it wasn't right..."
Agreed. It's the same thing every away game, straight from kick-off we get behind our half and just sit there like we're playing for the draw. Our forwards and wingers need to push up more.
I cant agree with this,
We attacked Houston regularly, and well, and when we did we left an enormous hole behind us every time, which is exactly what DeRo and Ching (wankers. both) needed us to do.
Our best attacks came from Sutton's long balls at the end of the second, because that didnt leave us fucked when someone gave the ball away.
Moderator
But... let's also remember what sort of roster we had for the earlier games this season. The first game in DC was Robert's debut for TFC. Guevara came in a bit later as did Smith. The squad we could feild at the start of the season is very different from what we have now and maybe those away games could have been a lot different if we had the players then that we do now.
Did the USA , of all countries, just fix soccer? - C. Ronaldo, May 27th commenting on the FBI-led investigations into fraud and corruption throughout FIFA.
But that's entirely the problem: all of our attacks were on either long balls from Sutton, or from the back third, all aimed at a lead man. We had no prolonged possession, which meant we spent 75% of the game chasing Houston around until our guys were flat exhausted. In the first half of the game, houston pinched in in the middle defensively and forced us to use our fullbacks for outlets, but then covered the corresponding midfielder at the same time, leaving the fullbacks to hoof it up field.
And by continually pushing up the middle, they kept Harmse and Robinson occupied just trying to hold position for marking, and they were as inclined to hoof it away quickly.
One way you beat that is by playing a diamond, so you have three tiers of player depth up the field for your opposition to cover , making it much more likely that, if you have to hoof it against pretty, you'll hit an attacker.
This is all basic stuff that they all know, so it's down to the usuals: heart, smarts, discipline. You can't sit back for 80 minutes and then also have the space to stroke the ball around and open up attacks. You have to push up and have lots of off-the-ball movement. We sat back and our guys were static like lamposts, except perhaps for Ricketts and Smith, who tried hard.
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