Couldn't agree more. He was very frustrating to watch and I don't miss him at all. Having said that, if he's thriving in San Jose, I congratulate him and wish him well.Originally Posted by Jeff s
yea, his one goal since 09 and 1 assist since leaving Toronto is sorely missed.. Guy was a ghost half the time. Seriously, I think some people really overrate this guy. He was never anything special. Not even close.
*cough* Wynne *cough*
Bones...
[quote=Pachuco;1261717]i just thought the comparison with our keeper was a strange one, the JDG one is a better comparison. i think both sturgis and JDG are better players, but sturgis has yet to find his groove, and JDG just never had the type of game that suits his skills. hopefully that will change this year.
fast but terrible at defending, showed promise at one point then just pulled dudes down too often.*cough* Wynne *cough*
Bones...
Id take cronin over sturgis
If we traded Dan Gargan before the beginning of this season, people here would be raising him up on eagle's wings as well.
[quote=FreekAce;1261727]To be honest, if I was looking at building the team this year, JDG is who I'd want playing that position with Sturgis or Cronin backing him up. I'm the biggest JDG hater there is out there but I figure if he doesn't perform in this system then he just simply sucks. And it's hard to believe that he simply sucks based on his professional career.
[quote=Pachuco;1261761]JDG is a great player, his career upto coming to TO is a testament to that. TO has yet to take advantage of his skillset. hopefully this year that will change.
not trying to be a douchebag or anything, just really curious. Wat is it about Cronins play that makes him so well liked around here? i always see people saying he shouldn't go and he was a good player etc but never actually say wat makes him so good.
this is just my opinion, but never liked the guy. Defensively he wasn't a ball winner, never really made any big challenges and with his small frame he wasn't really the guy to be bossing players around in the midfield, not a challenger in aerial battles as well.
In the attack... wat did he do? i thought we were getting a box to box players when we drafted him but it seems like he's never in the box, and really he just wasn't a major threat i felt. His passing was average, never really felt he brought that vision into the play. He was a safe player, he would make the simple and easy passes which is ok, but i think we need more from a player in his position.
So again not tryin to be a dbag just seriously curious into what exactly did he bring in to this team. Did i miss something? wat makes his play so different from a player like Hemming or Labrocca? If he wasn't the nice guy or leader would he be getting the same kind of treatment?
I was really feeling GREAT today ... until I read that article.
I wish ILL on Preki!
perfectly reasonable questions
Sam ended up playing two or three different roles here. His first few games he played as a defensive (holding) mid. He took instruction from Robbo and played well in the role. Nothing flashy, but he was able to distribute forward and, over a short time, developed into a "quarterback" type role, much like what we would expect JDG to take now. In a couple of games, he got moved back and played as a central back and played credibly in the role. In one or two other games, he was given a more offensive role. Personally, I thought he was a lot more creative than many other mids at the time on this team. He had a knack of setting up potentially dangerous plays with lead ins, but execution when receiving those balls hasn't been our strength, so many went unnoticed.
Not a terribly physical player, but very competent. Had a pretty good first touch, better than most. His real gift appears to have been in a leadership role. After the travesty in New York at the end of the year a couple of years ago, he was one of very few to stand up and face the media and he pretty much spoke his mind, basically saying we sh*t the bed and needed to play better.
Robbo was one of many I've heard tout this kid as the leader of the future.
Unfortunately, he just didn't fit into Preki's desire for hard nosed, physical defender first players. Despite trying to play the role (now third in his natural position behind Robbo/Saric and JDG) and a couple of ancillary postions, Preki did him a favour by moving him.
He would be exactly the type of player that Winter's system would suit and he'd be coming into his own now.
He is genuinely a nice guy, a gentleman to talk to and I wish him all the best. But I sincerely wish we still had him here!
Last edited by CoachGT; 04-01-2011 at 10:19 AM.
You didn't miss anything. Just people prematurely losing their shit like usual.
JDG scored 0, assisted 0 in 2007/2008 where he was named Fans Player of the Year at Deportivo. Goals and assists are not how every player on the pitch is gauged.
/thread
His short passing game was exceptional for the MLS. He did nothing flashy, just picked up the ball and kept it moving with a high degree of accuracy. This would have fit very well into Winters system IMHO.
cronin had vision - but was overshadowed in the attacking department by guevara. he was a good box to box guy at a time when we needed just that however. but when you're getting played in 2 different spots on a weekly basis (i seem to recall him in the center and then playing RB for a good while) it's hard to develop a chemistry with the team, especially in the attacking front.
a good player that i'm sad to have lost (and i was a big fan), especially since what we got to replace him have been far worse. not exactly the end of the world however, and definitely not good enough to be considered a "foundation" to be honest - but for sure a higher tier MLS midfielder in the future.
He's a huge loss when you consider his base salary was 57k. He was quality in the MLS for that price.
^ I was going to point this out as well. It is incredible that after four years, people still rate player in terms of goals, even in positions were goals are not the point.
Cronin was an efficient and versatile CM/CDM, who could also play as a FB. Were ever he played he did well. Letting him go was a mistake.
people who dont play soccer talking about soccer always makes for a good read
I dont know how people can label him as a "ghost" or an inconsistent player. Lets not forget he was in his first 2 professional seasons during his time here.
Worst trade in history IMO.
Cronin was and is a decent player but will never be great when was the least time he suited up for the US ??
glad that douche bag is gone.. Although not fast enough for my liking.. we lost a quality player all becuase he didn't fit into Preki's absurd scheme..
Im glad he is doing a good job in SJ, but he wasnt doing that in Toronto.
Not sad to see him gone, not mad hes doing well elsewhere. He worked hard, put in his minutes and is flourishing (if you could call SJ doing that) elsewhere.
I think the Dunivant trade was worse. Dunivant plays a position that's tougher to fill in MLS. He's looked quite good with LA. And Dunivant was entering his prime at the time.
I was never sold on Cronin. Decent player but I don't sit there thinking "man, we could be so much better with that guy."
And Sam was cheap! And loved Toronto!
For all those talking about "cap space" and getting rid of productive players in favour of this holy grail...how can we possibly defend the most efficient use of cap space we have ever had in Sam Cronin I don't know.
All I know is they love him in San Jose. It seems our players need to go elsewhere to be recognized for their efforts but we hang on to League One castoffs as heros.
Or Dan Gargan...all I have to say is Release the Gargan. Permanently.
Or have him riding the bench.
He was called up in January for the USMNT but did not play due to injury.
Sam's game has improved since his TFC days; he holds onto the ball and makes the clean passes expected of a DM. They apparently find him very valuable in San Jose and I'm glad he's found a team which sees him more than a bench warmer.
And hey, let's not forget, Frei has an assist!
Cronin is a very complete player. He tackles well -- not great, but well. His positioning is excellent. He was the best ball distributor we've had, and I include Guevara in that.
His weaknesses were his relative lack of speed and his small frame. But his intelligence on the ball generally made up for that.
He lacks the requisite aggression to take it to the next level, but gets by at MLS level by being a smart player.
I like Cronin because he can pass a ball more that 5 metres without it going to someone else with a different colour jersey.
Me, I would rather have Carl Robinson then either Sturgis or Cronin. He was never going to score a goal, and made some horrible passes, but nobody on the team has made one decent tackle during the past two seasons that Carl did on a regular basis while here. Attakora is close, but nobody else: even JDG seems to have given up on this, are these guys all afraid of MLS refs?
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