adam straith is also available now that he has been released by cotbus. it would be a great idea to get a look at him in red.
have you ever watched him play up close?...its extremely sad that this its where it team stands. Grasping at straws,....basically castoffs.....is that now all we can look forward to.....talk about low expectations
When I look at the 2011 draft class, I see a decent amount of notable names. Salgado, Kitchen, Nagbe, Valentin, MacMath, Soares, Anibaba, Bruin, Sapong, Cardozo...do they all not play 1st team minutes? That's most of the 1st round and when you think the draft is now just 2 rounds...we're looking at at least 30% of that class making it so far no? What would the rate be for a league with 7 drafting rounds like the NFL or NHL? What percentage of those draft classes pan out?
When I see our Sturgis trade, followed by Bruin, Sapong in the 1st, or Farfan, Meredith in the 2nd round...there's pro players to be had out there. Just cause we're pretty much fucked the draft doesn't mean it's "incredibly low" like you're suggesting IMO.
But look at where those guys were drafted that you're referencing, it's pretty much all top ten or so. Some guys in the first around are already playing in the USL (Hertzog) or have been traded + didn't seem too valuable to their club (Valentin). NFL has a virtual monopoly on talent and NHL is miles ahead of the competition. MLS has to negotiate with kids not to play in Scandinavian so they can be allocated to one of twenty teams.
I'll take a 23 year old CB with 50+ games of pro experience under his belt over anything we'd get below 10th pick or so on average, because it's too much of a crap shoot.
Last edited by ag futbol; 06-26-2012 at 11:24 PM.
Personally, I wouldn't feel comfortable putting a guy at the back who has decreased mobility.
Defending is about positioning, but it's also about reacting to the play around you and having the foot speed to run with forwards and the agility to get into passing lanes.
If he can't run or move, I wouldn't put him at the back.
You're forgetting Avila. Personally I think a midfield three of Avila Burgos and JDG would be awesome, with a back four of Eckersley, Frings, Henry, Morgan.
Young CBs develop best when paired up with an experienced guy. Frings might not be fast, but he can position himself well, and he can direct people. A fast guy like Henry would more than compensate for Frings' lack of speed. You can't tell me that Frings would be bad because he's slow when we usually have Cann in there
Right now Frings gets to sit right in front of the defense as a stopper in our midfield diamond. He's as close as possible to the defense without actually being relied on to run with any attackers who are trying to run in behind him.
Personally I don't really see the need to put him at the back, because he's not a long term solution at the position. We're in last place, and have no hope for this season. Let Frings lead them from his holding midfield spot, but let the kids take their lumps and see what becomes of it. The best case scenario is that with four young defenders on the field, one steps up into a leadership role and becomes our defensive leader for the next 5-10 years.
Putting Frings at the back does nothing but put a band aide on a gaping wound. It might help a bit temporarily, but it does nothing to address the real problem which is our need for a young, quality CB to build a defense around.
http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/co...ith-Toronto-FC
Nesta to TFC...Duane better not be fuckin with me...
Follow me...... https://twitter.com/#!/aGeRoO76
"Just like JDG. It wasn't a post-and-in shot, but JDG is smart & experienced" - Carts
I think this sends us down the wrong road. First of all 3 DP salaries is an incredible burden on roster flexibility. I was looking forward to next year with JDG off the books so we could spread some of that cash around to regular players. Second, while I'm sure he would be amazing on the field in the short term, long run he's not going to be here and we go searching again for someone new.
I'd like to see us commit to a core of players who can come back for the next five years or maybe longer if everything goes right. These DP's over the age of 35 ... MLS is becoming the NASL 2.0
This is becoming a concern of mine as well. We all saw how the NASL turned out. But I think that there's still a balance between 'name' signings at an older age and the rest of the team and sustainable fan interest across the board in MLS. I just wonder if they're going down the wrong road now.
I wonder if we could exploit a loophole and pay Frings the rest of his DP contract in the offseason and then sign him to a regular lower salary contract for next year. It would be a win win win situation. TFC gets him for a much reduced cap hit, but doesn't spend a penny more than they would have if they didn't but him out, they're just paying him in advance. Frings gets all his money, but gets to play on a better team because there's more cap room. MLS doesn't have to pay him 350k of his salary.
You could do the same thing with Koevermans as well
But he could also help a lot with Henry's development, which would help us for a lot longer than just the year that he's hereSecond, while I'm sure he would be amazing on the field in the short term, long run he's not going to be here and we go searching again for someone new.
I'd like to see us commit to a core of players who can come back for the next five years or maybe longer if everything goes right. These DP's over the age of 35 ... MLS is becoming the NASL 2.0
Can't agree more. Only thing I'll add is that Frings and Koevermans come off the books at the end of next year. So this 3 DP thing is only going to be for another year. And who knows, maybe Frings retires after this year if he decides he doesn't want another year of MLS travel.
Sucks to see Junior Burgos released, thought he had a bright future here.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
^ Agreed, I don't understand the decision to waive Burgos at all!
http://t.co/BzhmTot6
EDIT Ugh, the kid was due to make $34k this year, waited forever to get a chance here (Visa/residency issues). I don't get it.
Last edited by Auzzy; 06-28-2012 at 04:26 PM.
ok, there has to be players on the roster with less potential than Burgos. He was good whenever he appeared for TFC or the reserves, which is a lot more than I can say for a lot of the roster. Plus with Mariner starting three DMs per game, he was our ONLY backup DM
I feel the Burgos release was not done for the benefit of TFC but so that Burgos can get playing time elsewhere (maybe a central american club?). His potential was being wasted.
He was showing up consistently on the Rserve games scorers list ... not sure why was not at least given 1st team sub mins