Well, given that the extent of the "BS" is some random noob poster on the V's board saying "Hey, what do you think about Ornoch!!!", I'd say you're very wise...
Well, given that the extent of the "BS" is some random noob poster on the V's board saying "Hey, what do you think about Ornoch!!!", I'd say you're very wise...
Sorry, didn't actually have time to listen to the podcast he was linking before now but you're 100% correct.Originally Posted by maninb
Too bad our former manager has a shockly poor eye for talent. Think he would have been pretty good and I wouldn't say that about too many Canadians we've had a shot at.
I did not see this posted yet and I don't know how true it is, TFC sign Bas Ent.
http://newsodrome.com/soccer_news/in...s-ent-22140069
![[NBF]'s Avatar](image.php?s=1c33e7cb5931f372d873cf7f757f5e2a&u=1574&dateline=1515553264 "[NBF]'s Avatar")
Bas Ent: He was signed apparently, but I dont know if he really did sign with the team, its like a rumour that spun out of control but he's nowhere to be seen on any rosters on the internet. The only official signing that has been made is Sturgis.
We should be grabbing Eddie Sidra who is available on a free and would be a wonderful right back. Played extremely well against Venezuela in his first senior cap.
Potential Player Acquisitions
One thing I've noticed is often times if a Latin American player isn't getting regular minutes in Europe he is able to arrange for a loan back to the Americas.
Canada has a number of Canucks Abroad who aren't getting regular playing time. Would it not make sense for Toronto FC to look into acquiring some Canucks Abroad who are sitting on the bench? For TFC it could provide some level of quality if they acquire the right players, and for the players and owner clubs it could better develop guys who might be sitting and playing in the reserve leagues.
I've also included a few guys out of contract.
Note that not all these guys might be suitable for us, but they're at least worth a look.
A few players come to mind who could be useful in the TFC squad:
Adam Straith (Germany, 2. Bundesliga - strong start to season, fell out of favour, hasn't had much playing time - 1. Right Back 2. Centre-half)
David Edgar (England, Championship - Hasn't played much with Burnley, rare appearances in the Premiership and Championship over the last 3 years - 1. Centre-half, 2. Right/Left Back)
Julian Uccello (Italy, Serie B - Isn't getting many first team appearances - can produce at the Serie C1/C2 level, worked his way up to Serie B from lower leagues - Forward)
Paul Stalteri (Germany, 1. Bundesliga - Hasn't had a first team appearance in ages, currently looking at transferring out but nothing has come out, Diesel is the most capped Canadian International in history -1. Right back)
Massih Wassey (Germany, Regionalliga West (4) - Actually out of contract (wiki is out of date), previous club FC Schalke 04 II, has been capped by the CMNT, might be a good free pick up - Midfielder)
Eddie Sidra (Out of Contract - 56 Appearances in 3 years with Energie Cottbus (Germany, 2. Bundesliga), he did not look out of place when Canada tied Venezuela earlier this year in an away match and set up the free kick that got us a tie - 1. Left Back).
Gianluca Zavarise (MIA, Previously Greek Superleague with Iraklis Thessaloniki - Capped Canadian, nobody has heard of him in ages - midfielder)
Isidro Sanchez (Mexico Primera, Puebla FC - Not getting minutes, potential loan for depth - Midfielder)
Pedro Pacheco (Portugal, Liga de Honra (2) - Not sure if he's playing or not, can't find match reports, nothing mentioned about playing time on the V's website, merely that he's with Santa Clara, capped Canadian - Midfielder)
Gavin McCallum (England, League 2 - Not getting playing time at Lincoln City, was performing well with Hereford United in League 2 before transfer, played great football in Venezuela friendly earlier this year, capped Canadian International - Striker)
Kyle Porter (Canada, NASL - Out of contract, 1 appearance for Whitecaps in 2010, 16 appearances with Energie Cottbus II through 2008-2010 - Midfielder, believe him to play wide)
Last edited by TFCRegina; 12-12-2010 at 02:37 PM.
I'd certainly be interested in seeing any of the players listed, particularly those out of contract, at least trial with TFC. It's hard sometimes not to view Canadian talent through maple leaf tinted glasses though. I could be mistaken, but I'm sure TFC trialed Gavin McCallum a couple of years back and were not impressed.
I'd like to see TFC give Kennedy Owusu-Ansah a trial. He went from being one of the likely lads of Canadian soccer to playing in lower leagues in Finland pretty quickly, but he's still only 21 (I think), a move back home might suit him.
I know a few other teams have been making moves, but I don't think TFC will do too much until mid Jan. once they've got a coach in place and heading into camp.
wasn't ali gerba league 1 player...u want McCallum...i would say no to about all of them, but edgar...but edgar isn't going to come back across the pond
I'd like to see McCallum at least trial.
As for League 2/League 1, I'll point out Dunfield has spent most of his time bouncing around both leagues and it appears he's going to be a MLS starter with the Whitecaps, and has performed admirably with the CMNT when he's been put in. He was a key performer in the win over Honduras.
Playing in Finland is not necessarily a bad thing. I'll note that Tosaint Ricketts just recently made a move from MYPA to FC Poli Timisoara in the top division of Romania (Europa League team - competing for a Champions League spot).
Many players use Finland as a jumping off point to the middling first divisions of Europe, the Romanias, Norways, Denmarks, etc.
Again, I suggested that they'd be worth a look, not absolute for sure signings.
Also, McCallum trialing here in the past: When was Mo Johnston ever a good judge of talent?
As for rose tinted glasses: I understand, and I've felt that we really shouldn't employ a lot of Canadians, but there are clearly guys out there (Sidra, Stalteri, Edgar) who can be employed as fullbacks if we can get them and are talented enough to play in those positions. We need stronger fullbacks.
I'd like to see more Latin American players in our squad, particularly wingers who play further up the pitch, but when there's an opportunity to snap up a guy like Sidra (who has a lot of experience for a 21 year old) we should be trying to take it.
Last edited by TFCRegina; 12-12-2010 at 02:32 AM.
Canadian Unemployed:
Waiting To Play In MLS?
- Ryan Gyaki- (Attacking Midfielder) two footed player. Ring any bells?
- Keegan Ayre-(Centre Midfielder) has bounced around in the SPL on loan spells.
- Kent O'Connor-(Defender) left footed and once trialed with TFC, but nothing came of it, spent some time in lower German leagues.
- Kevin Harmse-(Right Back/Defensive Midfielder) utility player.
- Gabe Gala- (Midfielder) why did we let him go? He definitely got the lower end of the stick the past 3 years and this year he finally got some game time.
- Matthew Lam- (MF)(Ajax Academy) now with FC Edmonton.
- Sean Saiko- (MF)(Middlesbrough Academy) now with FC Edmonton.
- Andrea Lombardo- (FW)(Atalanta Academy) now with Portugal FC.
No Lombardo. We already had him. He couldn't score with a fistful of twenties in a whorehouse (credit: Roogsy).
Saiko and Lam are with FCE and we should wait to see how they turn out. I think both players are young and will benefit from the dutch program they're going through, but currently aren't worth it at our level.
Gyaki? Who knows.
Ayre? Who knows.
O'Connor is playing for the Abbotsford Mariners in the PDL - probably not of the level of competition we need (Lower Div German experience was in division 6).
Harmse - I liked him but didn't he suffer some sort of career threatening injury
Gala - No thanks.
What dutch program?Saiko and Lam are with FCE and we should wait to see how they turn out. I think both players are young and will benefit from the dutch program they're going through, but currently aren't worth it at our level.
The one their dutch coaches had them in.
Adam Straith would walk into any MLS squad with ease.
Which is why he should be a potential loan target, along with Edgar. Even if we were only to secure him until July or so, that would be half a season of improved defense.
There are two Lam's at FCE, I'm almost certain one of them spent time in the Academy set-up at Ajax.
Saiko is the one that was at Middlesbrough, isn't he?
Yes sir.
Matt and Sam are the two Lams. I believe Matt was abroad.
Added Kyle Porter.
^ Pretty sure Kyle Porter is in the Whitecaps training camp. He trained with TFC last year.
James Chalk, Defense, should be added to the list since he has been with le PSG academy, but it doesnt seem like he graduated onto the reserve team of the club, he might have been dropped.
The lack of young Canadian talent is depressing, particularly when compared with the USA: I remember less than 20 years ago when the US development programs were non existent, now they are producing some of the best young footballers in the world, while here, in Canada, we still talk about inept bums like Harmse and Lombardo as possible saviors for TFC. OUch.
^ Agreed. There's not a lot of interesting names there really. Ignore the fact a lot of these guys are Canadian and we would shit all over our management for signing players with these sorts of backgrounds.
I see a lot of guys who could *potentially* add depth or play in the D-league to develop. Maybe a few with a mild upside who could start. Edgar and Straith won`t come for obvious reasons.
The only problem with loan deals to the MLS are that most players play during the European season (August - May), which obviously doesn't correlate well with our season. If we get a guy on a year-long loan then we only get them halfway through our season, then for our entire off-season, and then for just the start of our next season. So, essentially you're left with only 6-month loan deals that either start in January or June, neither of which should be used for anything more than a make-shift emergency gap-fill.
Last edited by Milky; 12-13-2010 at 10:30 AM.
I disagree. Edgar and Straith might come on loan deals, especially since they're not getting minutes over there. I initially wrote this as potential players we could borrow, and decided to expand it to out of contract players as well. Is it out of the question that we could get Edgar on a 3 month loan? No. Especially since he's been asking for a loan so he can get playing time.
Also, Sidra would likely be a good signing for this team in a position where we need players and depth. Add in the fact he's 21.
The Dutch guys did a good job last year and have landed jobs in Japan. New guy's another dutch coach.
Matt Lam, Michael Cox and Chris Kooy were all better players at the end of the year than that start. I'd say Lam and Kooy could both make it in MLS.
Both had short Euro spells, I believe, in Holland and Scotland respectively.
Cox shows real promise. He's a striker out of the AMSL, good natural finisher, quick and smart, and can create some of his own goals. Given that he's only 19 or 20, it would be smart to at least scout him.
Yeah, Dwight Lodeweges is going to JEF United from my understanding.
Yeahhhh.... I really don't see it.
Edgar's wages would easily put him into DP money. If Straith was available to MLS he'd be going to Vancouver, not Toronto.
Both are defenders in their early 20's with plenty of upside for a European team to develop whether that be a premier league club or someone in Norway that can still pay 3x as much as MLS.
Sidra is interesting, but i'm not going to make judgments based on the very slim view we have of him.
Lot's of these guys could come to TFC, but I really don't see them coming at contract terms that would favor the club. As for some of the others, I'm inclined to give their spots to academy kids.
Last edited by ag futbol; 12-13-2010 at 08:21 PM.
What do you guys think of these formations?
4-3-3:
----------------------------------Frei---------------------------------
Attakora---------------Cann--------------Ihemelu--------------Sturgis
-------------------------------DeGuzman-----------------------------
----------------DeRosario---------------------LaBrocca----------------
Peterson-------------------------------------------------------Barrett
-------------------------------Santos---------------------------------
4-2-3-1:
---------------------------------Frei----------------------------------
Attakora---------------Cann--------------Ihemelu--------------Sturgis
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
----------------DeGuzman------------------LaBrocca-------------------
Peterson----------------------DeRosario-------------------------Barrett
--------------------------------Santos--------------------------------
*Ugo Ihemelu, he's not on the team but if we look within the MLS to fill that gap in CB, this is the guy I want on the team.
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