I think they're being reasonable by trialing him and seeing what he's got left in his legs.
While there's definitely concern that the MLS is a retirement home for middle-of-the-road Europeans, I don't see how letting him train with us is a horrible mistake.
Granted, dude could impress at the camp and then pop a major injury before we even kick the regular season ball for the first time...
He was training with Leeds as recently as Friday:
http://www.yorkpress.co.uk/sport/500...aine_Beckford/Former Scotland international striker Paul Dickov is still training with Leeds following his release by Leicester but has not yet earned a contract.
He's still a decent player. Leeds didn't pass on him because he couldn't cut it, he was brought in as cover in case Beckford's injury was going to be long term...Beckford is healthy again so Dickov wasn't offered a contract.
I was just surprised how fast the turn around was, training with Leeds Friday, training with TFC Saturday. I'm excited and hoping he plays in the upcoming training match, but getting the sense I'm in the minority.
^I have no idea, but I'd guess that he told Leeds that he had an opportunity to trial with TFC and asked them how serious were about signing him, when they explained the situation he chose the TFC option.
Only guessing on my part, but seems reasonable.
yeah im pretty muhc in the mind that dude can fuck off, he came and left last time, hes 37, im not bothered
In his defence, we had a shit fieldturf... his old knees would've aged even faster.Originally Posted by Ossington Mental Youth
I'm with you......Dickov is definetly worth a look even at 35 he could score a shit load of goals in this league.
RPB Road Warrior. DC United 9/29/07, Columbus Chaos 3/25/08, DC Rumble 5/24/08, Montreal Madness 5/27/08, Chicago 7/12/08, Kansas City Opener 3/21/09, Columbus Smoke 3/28/09, Boston Bus Bounce 8/1/09, Montreal 1000 4/7/12 Montreal 3200 3/16/2013 Columbus Bus Breakdown 3/21/15, Montreal Playoffs 10/29/15, Montreal Opener 04/23/16, Montreal East Final 11/22/16, Chicago 08/19/17, NY Semi-Final 10/30/17, Columbus East Final 11/21/17, Montreal "Dichio Lives" 3/17/18
Agreed.
Dickov interview on TFC TV needs subtitles...
Dickov has never scored a shit load of goals anywhere, MLS would be no different. (Ok, two good years at leicester seven years ago. Seven. Years. Ago.)
Totals since then:24 goals in over 100 games.
Great work rate, annoying to play against, average striker. 30-freakin-seven. Please. We must be able to do better.
Has the potential to be a strong super sub. type player, something TFC has never had. This has the potential to be a decent move, as long as it's not TFC's only gambit in terms of strikers.
That's the point. He might be good for super-sub depth, if he comes at a reasonable price.
However, we still need a decent, young, MLS-caliber forward.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
ossieend wrote:
Dickov's been on loan to us at Derby for a few weeks this season, and I'd like to say to the TFC fan that he's no washup. Dickov is still lively, hard working and dangerous in the box. If he joins TFC you'll have a bargain.
atlantafox wrote:
I now live in the US but I am from Leicester where he has had 2 spells. Even at 37 he is better than local talent - he is a predator and will score goals at this level. You should hope he wants to join you because I believe this level of soccer is not good enough for him. You should be thankful it is not Akinbiyi !
Interesting comments from people that have watched him play recently.
RPB Road Warrior. DC United 9/29/07, Columbus Chaos 3/25/08, DC Rumble 5/24/08, Montreal Madness 5/27/08, Chicago 7/12/08, Kansas City Opener 3/21/09, Columbus Smoke 3/28/09, Boston Bus Bounce 8/1/09, Montreal 1000 4/7/12 Montreal 3200 3/16/2013 Columbus Bus Breakdown 3/21/15, Montreal Playoffs 10/29/15, Montreal Opener 04/23/16, Montreal East Final 11/22/16, Chicago 08/19/17, NY Semi-Final 10/30/17, Columbus East Final 11/21/17, Montreal "Dichio Lives" 3/17/18
Who are we to complain about anyone? Who's it going to be to bring the goals guys? Barrett?...White? Maybe someone with experience scoring them isn't such a bad thing eh?
I would venture to say if we had signed him last year, as was rumoured, we score a few extra goals and make the playoffs.
I'll second that. Nothing much more to add to the Dickov discussion is there?
You know, I remember another old striker who had never had that great a goal scoring rate. Had only scored 17 goals in his last 104 games but also had a reputation of having a good work rate and being hard to play against.
He seemed to work out alright for us, I think his name was Danny something.
Not really.
I find I'm not even that interested in following whom we might be trialling or not.
I just want the season to start, and I'll worry about who's on the roster then.
ok fair enough, but at the same time i wonder if they even have a clue what MLS is about. Akinbiyi was shit in MLS too. Ali Gerba had a good strike rate in league one, but can't find the net here.
Compared to the strikers a few other teams have brought in on trial this is significantly less inspiring.
Chicago's trialing Collins John.
DC has just signed Sergio Herrera.
We're trialling a guy who has never lived up to his potential and is now 37 years old. 37.
And comparing him to Dichio is specious and ridiculous. Danny's a target man with good feet, but he was never expected to be a huge goal scorer. Dickov is a fox-in-the-box who has simply never produced the goods the way he should but keeps getting signed on the talent people see in trials, practices and loan deals at lower levels.
Personally, it seems a stupid waste of time. THere are younger players out there who are just as available, more likely to produce goals, more likely to be with us for a few years.
Dickov's upsides are that he's a known commodity (although if you've watched him flame out for years that's not much of an upside) and that he's a team leader. So maybe they see him as a player-coach or something.
WE need a finisher.
From BBC sport:
"Dickov made 16 appearances for the Rams, scoring 2 goals. "
Real "predator."
typical mo....1 mth before the season starts and he has no plan yet.wtf was he doing the last 10 mths.
what position is Ischia Junior?
maybe a keeper or a d mid...because we don't have enough of them...lol
I must admit, I'm not impressed by the new additions to the team thus far. I guess Mo feels our squad is strong enough as it is. Hope he's right.
I try not to over analyze pre season performances because they tend to be misleading. I recall Vitti tearing it up last year in the pre season and in the regular season he was a colossal disappointment. I won't judge any of the trialists that sign with TFC until their first few performances of the regular season...
The one thing I will say is that last years team was definitely good enough to make the playoffs on paper. What killed TFC was not coming together well as a team and for tailing off at the end of matches.
That isn't to say I didn't want lots of new players coming in but this team is good enough to be a top team and they just didn't play like it when it really counted. That was what frustrated me the most about last season.
[quote=jloome;890045
We're trialling a guy who has never lived up to his potential and is now 37 years old. 37.
[/quote]
Don't really get this comment. For a striker he was never great but he was a constant menace to other teams. Dickov was a decent striker in his day and the fact that he played so many games in the premiership is testament to his abilities as a player. For a guy with his abilities he has had a great career playing in a big league for several big clubs. He was no world beater and his international caps speaks volumes about his overall talent as Scotland has not been blessed with great strikers for quite some time but none the less he has still achieved a lot and he has more than fulfilled his potential.
Without a doubt his career is winding down but I am pretty sure Preki is a better judge of player than me so I will leave it to him to judge if he is worth a punt.
Ok, your post is so self-contradictory it basically supports my point.
"For a striker he was never great but he was a constant menace to other teams."
His scoring record clearly indicates that all he does is menace. He's a support striker, much better at creating backline problems and setting up other players than scoring.
"He was no world beater and his international caps speaks volumes about his overall talent as Scotland has not been blessed with great strikers for quite some time but none the less he has still achieved a lot and he has more than fulfilled his potential."
So, he didn't set the world on fire, he made the Scottish team on the back of it having weak strikers and he still achieved his potential?
All this without scoring goals? What the hell is he going to offer us at 37, then, exactly?
Oh yeah, leadership, also known at the Nick Garcia Method of Player Recruitment (tm).
It's not that he wasn't a half decent player in his time. It's just that a) he's well past prime and b) we can do much better.
Or, maybe Mo can't. Maybe that's what this is actually demonstrating.
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