TFC in-season player movement thread

[backbeat]

First, although Mariner was responsible for bringing in players under Winter, it was also Winter that was the terrible coach, not Mariner. We ALL agree that the players we had with Winter were ALL playing way under their ability, and the team should have been doing much better than they were. Mariner bought in some very good players while Winter was coach, and Winter couldn't get the best out of them. This isn't Mariner's fault. Mariner was doing his job, Winter wasn't doing his.

And secondly, I don't agree that Mariner has made the club worse this transfer window - I think he's made the squad overall much better!

Out went JDG - we all agree was a very poor player for TFC and taking up a very valuable DP spot.
Out went Plata - a talented player, but he wasn't in form at all this season, and his head clearly wasn't here (a player who doens't WANT to be at your club, should not be - you can't play a player who doesn't want to play!).
Out went Soolsma - Another player who was in and out of the first team since he came to the club, and another player who clearly didn't want to be here!

In came Hassli - a VERY good replacement for Koev's.
In came O'Dea - we ALL agree that we needed a new CB - and this guy has international experience and is young and will improve still. Great signing.
In Came Hall - we all agree that Roberts is way too young to be the one and ONLY backup keeper in the squad. Mariner needed to bring in dept at goal, and he did.
In came Wiedeman - an average player - but somebody who can play wide mid OR striker - and this is something we needed badly to cover.
and Amarikwa - like Wiedeman, can cover striker and wide mid, so now we have depth in both positions.

That's a successful transfer winder, IMO. We now have depth in multiple positions that we needed it, and we have better quality in O'Dea than we were getting out of JDG, and Hassli is an excellent replacement for the injured Koev's.

Also, I'm not sure where you are getting you info from that Mariner's tactics are turning off fanbase - you certainly can't judge that from this forum. All the SSH around me in 113 are all very much enjoying Mariner's style and the teams' success under him. I believe the majority of fans are happier now than under Winter! The few people on this forum who are against Mariner really appear to be the minority, actually.

can we please take this discussion out of here? it's very frustrating when you think there is a new post about potential TFC additions only to find this.

start a thread and go at it...elsewhere...

[T-boy]

At least I gave an assessment of the mid season transfers, unlike all the posters above me!

[ACSertL]

As I erroneously posted in the non-TFC transfer thread:

Olof Mellberg has signed for Villarreal, thus ending the saga (or Edda if you prefer).

http://english.villarrealcf.es/notic...-olof-mellberg

[BayernTFC]

thus ending the saga (or Edda if you prefer).

LOL. Nice touch.

[TFC07]

First, although Mariner was responsible for bringing in players under Winter, it was also Winter that was the terrible coach, not Mariner. We ALL agree that the players we had with Winter were ALL playing way under their ability, and the team should have been doing much better than they were. Mariner bought in some very good players while Winter was coach, and Winter couldn't get the best out of them. This isn't Mariner's fault. Mariner was doing his job, Winter wasn't doing his.

And secondly, I don't agree that Mariner has made the club worse this transfer window - I think he's made the squad overall much better!

Out went JDG - we all agree was a very poor player for TFC and taking up a very valuable DP spot.
Out went Plata - a talented player, but he wasn't in form at all this season, and his head clearly wasn't here (a player who doens't WANT to be at your club, should not be - you can't play a player who doesn't want to play!).
Out went Soolsma - Another player who was in and out of the first team since he came to the club, and another player who clearly didn't want to be here!

In came Hassli - a VERY good replacement for Koev's.
In came O'Dea - we ALL agree that we needed a new CB - and this guy has international experience and is young and will improve still. Great signing.
In Came Hall - we all agree that Roberts is way too young to be the one and ONLY backup keeper in the squad. Mariner needed to bring in dept at goal, and he did.
In came Wiedeman - an average player - but somebody who can play wide mid OR striker - and this is something we needed badly to cover.
and Amarikwa - like Wiedeman, can cover striker and wide mid, so now we have depth in both positions.

That's a successful transfer winder, IMO. We now have depth in multiple positions that we needed it, and we have better quality in O'Dea than we were getting out of JDG, and Hassli is an excellent replacement for the injured Koev's.

Also, I'm not sure where you are getting you info from that Mariner's tactics are turning off fanbase - you certainly can't judge that from this forum. All the SSH around me in 113 are all very much enjoying Mariner's style and the teams' success under him. I believe the majority of fans are happier now than under Winter! The few people on this forum who are against Mariner really appear to be the minority, actually.

Wow, just wow. I can't believe what I am reading here.

Wiedeman and Amarikwa have no business playing in MLS (it's pretty clear why if you watch how they play and see why teams didn't play these guys as much). Soolsma was arguably best player for us this season while Plata is much better player than Wiedeman and Amarikwa who can help our team win games unlike other two who are at best bench players. Where are you getting your information about Soolsma and Plata didn't want to be here?

Hall is signed for 2 years (at least) but when Frei comes back next season, then who are we going to cut to make room for him? I don't know about you, but I don't like wasting international slots on bench players who aren't going to play much for us. If worst comes to worst, then TFC can get a goal keeper from MLS players pool. So this signing was a waste IMO.

O'Dea is a good piece, but we needed a veteran CB who can lead backline. O'Dea doesn't fit that description. We're still waiting for that leader in backline to help guide our young backline. Mariner has failed (once again) to bring in that player. Right now, we got of a lot CB on this team. We need to get rid of couple or even more after this season. Also O'Dea contract might kill our cap space like how Eck's contract has. Not good enough!

Vancouver were desperate to get rid of Hassli. It was just good timing for us, but I don't think Hassli is DP player and I hope he doesn't comes back next season as one.

113 section? I have sat over all BMO field (outside of supporters section) and I haven't found one fan who is happy with Mariner and how we're playing. There's a reason why Mariner gives a "big fuck you" salute to fans after the game.

Team is declining now and lost to Chicago pretty much killed our playoff chances. Time to make changes and start to question what went wrong this season.

Mariner had 2 years and he has be held accountable as well. You can't fire one guy and look other way for other guy who's responsible bringing in players. Winter alone wasn't an issue, there's much more going on in FO which eventually we will find out that is causing a lot of issues with this club.

[Huyton]

The Special One says he is open to Kaka leaving Real Madrid. "We are not going to give him away for free," he said. "Those that want him have to pay for him."

Now THAT would be a DP signing that would re-fill the stadium.

[ArmenJBX]

Wow, just wow. I can't believe what I am reading here.

Wiedeman and Amarikwa have no business playing in MLS (it's pretty clear why if you watch how they play and see why teams didn't play these guys as much). Soolsma was arguably best player for us this season while Plata is much better player than Wiedeman and Amarikwa who can help our team win games unlike other two who are at best bench players. Where are you getting your information about Soolsma and Plata didn't want to be here?

Wiedeman and Amarikwa may not be starting quality players, but they are better options than the other strikers we had besides Koevermans and Johnson, who were....______ and _______. Two of something is better than nothing at all.

Hall is signed for 2 years (at least) but when Frei comes back next season, then who are we going to cut to make room for him? I don't know about you, but I don't like wasting international slots on bench players who aren't going to play much for us. If worst comes to worst, then TFC can get a goal keeper from MLS players pool. So this signing was a waste IMO.

Hall does not take up an international roster spot if I recall correctly. Stefan Frei's days are numbered - I reckon a trade is on the cards when he comes back. Quillan Roberts was never supposed to graduate and was called up prematurely.

O'Dea is a good piece, but we needed a veteran CB who can lead backline. O'Dea doesn't fit that description. We're still waiting for that leader in backline to help guide our young backline. Mariner has failed (once again) to bring in that player. Right now, we got of a lot CB on this team. We need to get rid of couple or even more after this season. Also O'Dea contract might kill our cap space like how Eck's contract has. Not good enough!

O'Dea is solid enough, but I do agree with you that we need a leader. However, leaders come in all shapes and sizes (and ages) so, at the very least, you need to give O'Dea a chance. You can't criticize a player that has played zero games in a Red shirt so far. As for having too many centerbacks, you hit the nail on the head here. We need to trim the roster to have, at most, five centerbacks, two starters, two subs, and one of which is an academy player. Anything more is a waste of resources.

Vancouver were desperate to get rid of Hassli. It was just good timing for us, but I don't think Hassli is DP player and I hope he doesn't comes back next season as one.

Vancouver weren't desperate and Hassli is a DP in this league. The depth chart in Vancouver wasn't kind to Hassli.

113 section? I have sat over all BMO field (outside of supporters section) and I haven't found one fan who is happy with Mariner and how we're playing. There's a reason why Mariner gives a "big fuck you" salute to fans after the game.

I sat in 113 and I like Mariner.

Team is declining now and lost to Chicago pretty much killed our playoff chances. Time to make changes and start to question what went wrong this season.

Our playoff chances died when we lost nine in a row.

Mariner had 2 years and he has be held accountable as well. You can't fire one guy and look other way for other guy who's responsible bringing in players. Winter alone wasn't an issue, there's much more going on in FO which eventually we will find out that is causing a lot of issues with this club.

Paul Mariner, I think, is a good head coach. Players like playing for him and he knows the league well. Problem is the rest of the organization surrounding him, as it has always been. Even de Guzman said it now, Dallas feels more like a soccer team, a winning culture even though they're in a rut. Toronto, he described as different.

[starter]

Mariner activities do not confirm to the vision, which had most of supporters exited.
He is explicitly or implicitly getting rid of popular technical players --Soolsma, Plata, Avila next?
He has no story behind him. He is liked by players, but for the wrong reasons.

[TFC07]

Wiedeman and Amarikwa may not be starting quality players, but they are better options than the other strikers we had besides Koevermans and Johnson, who were....______ and _______. Two of something is better than nothing at all.

Wiedeman has been playing as a midfield more than as a striker lately while Amarikwa is a MLS reject who keeps bouncing around. Point is: TFC could had found better players and they failed to do that. Those guys aren't solution. They don't have a track record to help their cause to stay here for next season.

Hall does not take up an international roster spot if I recall correctly. Stefan Frei's days are numbered - I reckon a trade is on the cards when he comes back. Quillan Roberts was never supposed to graduate and was called up prematurely.

Hall has an American passport? Source?

Frei has no trade value since he has been injured throughout the year. Going to be hard to trade him in off-season.

O'Dea is solid enough, but I do agree with you that we need a leader. However, leaders come in all shapes and sizes (and ages) so, at the very least, you need to give O'Dea a chance. You can't criticize a player that has played zero games in a Red shirt so far. As for having too many centerbacks, you hit the nail on the head here. We need to trim the roster to have, at most, five centerbacks, two starters, two subs, and one of which is an academy player. Anything more is a waste of resources.

I am not really questions his abilities, but Mariner inability to address our needs. FYI: O'Dea isn't known being a leader.

Vancouver weren't desperate and Hassli is a DP in this league. The depth chart in Vancouver wasn't kind to Hassli.

Yes they were desperate to trade him so they use cap space to sign players

Paul Mariner, I think, is a good head coach. Players like playing for him and he knows the league well. Problem is the rest of the organization surrounding him, as it has always been. Even de Guzman said it now, Dallas feels more like a soccer team, a winning culture even though they're in a rut. Toronto, he described as different.

Team looked awful under Mariner and stats prove that. Recent games have been awful to watch and there even some RPB members here expressing their displeasure too.

De Guzman comment could have apply on Mariner, you know? lol Mariner is part of problem and he hasn't really proven to get things done. This transfer window was big opportunity to address those needs, but he has failed.

[TFC07]

Mariner activities do not confirm to the vision, which had most of supporters exited.
He is explicitly or implicitly getting rid of popular technical players --Soolsma, Plata, Avila next?
He has no story behind him. He is liked by players, but for the wrong reasons.

While Widenman, Jeremy Hall and Amarikwa start and get more playing time than Avila. Are those players better than Avila?

[burlington Red]

Wiedeman has been playing as a midfield more than as a striker lately while Amarikwa is a MLS reject who keeps bouncing around. Point is: TFC could had found better players and they failed to do that. Those guys aren't solution. They don't have a track record to help their cause to stay here for next season.





Hall has an American passport? Source?

Frei has no trade value since he has been injured throughout the year. Going to be hard to trade him in off-season.





I am not really questions his abilities, but Mariner inability to address our needs. FYI: O'Dea isn't known being a leader.





Yes they were desperate to trade him so they use cap space to sign players



Team looked awful under Mariner and stats prove that. Recent games have been awful to watch and there even some RPB members here expressing their displeasure too.

De Guzman comment could have apply on Mariner, you know? lol Mariner is part of problem and he hasn't really proven to get things done. This transfer window was big opportunity to address those needs, but he has failed.

FYI: O'Dea isn't known being a leader

That is probably one of O'Dea's biggest strengths. He isn't perfect by any stretch but not many are, but leadership qualities is probably his biggest asset. You have to remember that he has on ocassion captained Celtic in the past at a young age- you don't get that honour at a club of that stature in front of much more experienced teammates by not being a leader. Not trying to say he is the answer to our prayers or anything, but if you are going to criticize a player, then at least get your facts right. I seen a lot of him when he was at Celtic, and he is a very vocal defender, which is pretty much what we have been lacking.

[brad]

The Special One says he is open to Kaka leaving Real Madrid. "We are not going to give him away for free," he said. "Those that want him have to pay for him."

Now THAT would be a DP signing that would re-fill the stadium.

For the 3 games per year that he is fit

[TFC07]

FYI: O'Dea isn't known being a leader

That is probably one of O'Dea's biggest strengths. He isn't perfect by any stretch but not many are, but leadership qualities is probably his biggest asset. You have to remember that he has on ocassion captained Celtic in the past at a young age- you don't get that honour at a club of that stature in front of much more experienced teammates by not being a leader. Not trying to say he is the answer to our prayers or anything, but if you are going to criticize a player, then at least get your facts right. I seen a lot of him when he was at Celtic, and he is a very vocal defender, which is pretty much what we have been lacking.

O'Dea was just "temporary" captain for a brief period of time. He's vocal, but that doesn't mean he's leader.

Dunfield sometimes wears captain arm band (same with Cann in the past), but that doesn't mean they're leaders too. lol

[CoachED]

Wiedeman and Amarikwa may not be starting quality players, but they are better options than the other strikers we had besides Koevermans and Johnson, who were....______ and _______. Two of something is better than nothing at all.



Hall does not take up an international roster spot if I recall correctly. Stefan Frei's days are numbered - I reckon a trade is on the cards when he comes back. Quillan Roberts was never supposed to graduate and was called up prematurely.



O'Dea is solid enough, but I do agree with you that we need a leader. However, leaders come in all shapes and sizes (and ages) so, at the very least, you need to give O'Dea a chance. You can't criticize a player that has played zero games in a Red shirt so far. As for having too many centerbacks, you hit the nail on the head here. We need to trim the roster to have, at most, five centerbacks, two starters, two subs, and one of which is an academy player. Anything more is a waste of resources.



Vancouver weren't desperate and Hassli is a DP in this league. The depth chart in Vancouver wasn't kind to Hassli.



I sat in 113 and I like Mariner.



Our playoff chances died when we lost nine in a row.



Paul Mariner, I think, is a good head coach. Players like playing for him and he knows the league well. Problem is the rest of the organization surrounding him, as it has always been. Even de Guzman said it now, Dallas feels more like a soccer team, a winning culture even though they're in a rut. Toronto, he described as different.

- I think that Mariner is better than what we have had in a long time.

[CoachED]

The NICE ANALYSIS was from ARMENJBX.

I heard fewer negative comments when we were going 0-9. Total Football was total Marketing. Winter was not experienced and had no personality. It wasn't entertaining at all. The players didn't even hustle.

Mariner needs some time as he places the pieces together, we certainly owe him that.

Let the past go but hopefully we have learned from it.

No doubt that the excitement is not what it was in Yrs 1-3, so it needs to be earned back - this can start with a reduction of ticket prices and ensuring that real supporters are allowed to return.

What I want to know - Any thoughts on the trialists.

[ArmenJBX]

The NICE ANALYSIS was from ARMENJBX.

I heard fewer negative comments when we were going 0-9. Total Football was total Marketing. Winter was not experienced and had no personality. It wasn't entertaining at all. The players didn't even hustle.

Mariner needs some time as he places the pieces together, we certainly owe him that.

Let the past go but hopefully we have learned from it.

No doubt that the excitement is not what it was in Yrs 1-3, so it needs to be earned back - this can start with a reduction of ticket prices and ensuring that real supporters are allowed to return.

What I want to know - Any thoughts on the trialists.

Gracias mi amigo

Of the trialists, the Bermudan forward Antwan Russell looked like rubbish, Paul Robinson looked okay and I was most impressed by Cervantes.

[supersaint]

agreed, I cant believe how some supporters just make stuff up here to suit their arguments. ODea will be just fine in the middle of our back four. Like you say, not great, but pretty solid in this league.

FYI: O'Dea isn't known being a leader

That is probably one of O'Dea's biggest strengths. He isn't perfect by any stretch but not many are, but leadership qualities is probably his biggest asset. You have to remember that he has on ocassion captained Celtic in the past at a young age- you don't get that honour at a club of that stature in front of much more experienced teammates by not being a leader. Not trying to say he is the answer to our prayers or anything, but if you are going to criticize a player, then at least get your facts right. I seen a lot of him when he was at Celtic, and he is a very vocal defender, which is pretty much what we have been lacking.

[[NBF]]

Gracias mi amigo

Of the trialists, the Bermudan forward Antwan Russell looked like rubbish, Paul Robinson looked okay and I was most impressed by Cervantes.

Cervantes, looked better than Aceval, faster?

Russell, worse than Makubuya?

Robinson I would expect is still in good form even though he's hurt often.

[ArmenJBX]

Cervantes looked good, but then again, Aceval looked good in practice too, albeit slow. Cervantes reacted quicker.
Russell is nothing exceptional but Makubuya and him are probably on level terms. Maybe Makubuya is better.
Robinson is what he is, he's got quality but he is also kind of old.

[Oldtimer]

I heard fewer negative comments when we were going 0-9.

You couldn't have been on this board then. There was a multi-mega page diatribe against Winter going on at the time. You must have missed it.

[Oldtimer]

Paul Mariner, I think, is a good head coach. Players like playing for him and he knows the league well. Problem is the rest of the organization surrounding him, as it has always been. Even de Guzman said it now, Dallas feels more like a soccer team, a winning culture even though they're in a rut. Toronto, he described as different.

I call bull on this. Paul Mariner was and is part of the problem. Don't compare him to Winter, or any of the other dismal coaches who failed to get TFC into the playoffs, all of them. Answer this question instead: which coach of the current top 10 teams in the MLS table is Paul Mariner better than? If you look objectively, you'd say that any of those coaches would be a better choice than him.

Now look at his job, player acquisitions (which is the topic of this thread). Hassli is a good stopgap, but there is no real coherence to this team.

[Canary10]

I call bull on this. Paul Mariner was and is part of the problem. Don't compare him to Winter, or any of the other dismal coaches who failed to get TFC into the playoffs, all of them. Answer this question instead: which coach of the current top 10 teams in the MLS table is Paul Mariner better than? If you look objectively, you'd say that any of those coaches would be a better choice than him.

Now look at his job, player acquisitions (which is the topic of this thread). Hassli is a good stopgap, but there is no real coherence to this team.

There is no real coherence to this team.

Absolutely spot on way to put it.

[T-boy]

I call bull on this. Paul Mariner was and is part of the problem. Don't compare him to Winter, or any of the other dismal coaches who failed to get TFC into the playoffs, all of them. Answer this question instead: which coach of the current top 10 teams in the MLS table is Paul Mariner better than? If you look objectively, you'd say that any of those coaches would be a better choice than him.

Now look at his job, player acquisitions (which is the topic of this thread). Hassli is a good stopgap, but there is no real coherence to this team.

There is no real coherence to this team.

Absolutely spot on way to put it.

You really have to give the new players much more time to fit in! You are judging player acquisitions and how they've played in a couple of games! Players take time to fit in....a month or so, 6 or 7 full games. Some people on this forum were judging Wiedeman on his first quarter game sub appearance! You simply can't judge players on their first games. Let's take a perfect example of Thirerry Henry playing for Arsenal. He was hopeless in his first half season. Then look what happened! I'm obviously not suggestng that any of the new players are going to turn into Henry - but just that you cannot judge a player on a handful of appearances. How about Lucas Lieva at Liverpool - damn terrible in his first season! Then second season, after gelling with the league and the team, was then Liverpool's most consistent player and first on the teamsheet every week.

Also you really can't judge Mariner on taking over a team half way through the season. That's extremely difficult in the MLS due to the lack of mid season training sessions. A coach really needs an off season to work with his squad. That's where Winter really failed. Mariner has clearly instilled some confidence in the players, now we have to give him, and the whole squad, time to adapt, and have an off season's worth of training, to see where they are going.

How would you guys like to be judged after working 10 minutes at a new job? In any profession, you can't judge that quickly!

On topic - Amarikwa and Wiedeman may not be "better" that Plata and Soolsma - but the benefit of the new guys is that they can play multiple positions - something neither Sooslma or Plata could do. With the cap the way it is in the MLS, if you have depth players, you need them to be able to play in a couple of different positions. Mariner has covered much more of the field with depth this transfer window, which is exactly what we needed. The overall quality may not be better, but the overall depth and strength to get through the rest of the season, including CCL games, is much better IMO.

[Derko]

There is no real coherence to this team.

Absolutely spot on way to put it.

More importantly, Cohesion

[Canary10]

You really have to give the new players much more time to fit in! You are judging player acquisitions and how they've played in a couple of games! Players take time to fit in....a month or so, 6 or 7 full games. Some people on this forum were judging Wiedeman on his first quarter game sub appearance! You simply can't judge players on their first games. Let's take a perfect example of Thirerry Henry playing for Arsenal. He was hopeless in his first half season. Then look what happened! I'm obviously not suggestng that any of the new players are going to turn into Henry - but just that you cannot judge a player on a handful of appearances. How about Lucas Lieva at Liverpool - damn terrible in his first season! Then second season, after gelling with the league and the team, was then Liverpool's most consistent player and first on the teamsheet every week.

Also you really can't judge Mariner on taking over a team half way through the season. That's extremely difficult in the MLS due to the lack of mid season training sessions. A coach really needs an off season to work with his squad. That's where Winter really failed. Mariner has clearly instilled some confidence in the players, now we have to give him, and the whole squad, time to adapt, and have an off season's worth of training, to see where they are going.

How would you guys like to be judged after working 10 minutes at a new job? In any profession, you can't judge that quickly!

On topic - Amarikwa and Wiedeman may not be "better" that Plata and Soolsma - but the benefit of the new guys is that they can play multiple positions - something neither Sooslma or Plata could do. With the cap the way it is in the MLS, if you have depth players, you need them to be able to play in a couple of different positions. Mariner has covered much more of the field with depth this transfer window, which is exactly what we needed. The overall quality may not be better, but the overall depth and strength to get through the rest of the season, including CCL games, is much better IMO.

I'd say the depth is worse, in part because of Mariner's tactical and formation switch, and in part because of the lack of quality he brought in. Who, for example, is the back up to Frings and Dunfield? With the 4-3-3 we had Frings and JDG in the centre, with Dunfield as back up. The AM had Silva or Avila. Depth at all positions. We have none now. Go back and look at TFC's last 5 MLS games and see how often either Frings or Dunfield are subbed. That will show you how bad the depth problem is.

In the right we only have Lambe. Soolsma would have been an excellent complement, but he's gone. We're now converting players to right mids when we need someone there (ie. Hall has played there a few times, I think Maund has even played there). No depth there either. On the left, we have no one. Silva is a central player playing left, Avila is a central player not playing left because he's on the bench now, and Wiedeman...well we were told he's a striker but has come on in the left. I hope Mariner doesn't wreck this kid, because he could be decent.

I agree we are marginally better at the back with O'Dea and we at least have depth in terms of quantity (if not quality). Up front we're a little weak but the best we could be imo after Koef went down. I give them credit for minimizing the loss there.

That's my player assessment. And I totally agree with Oldtimer, we aren't bringing in many players we really need, we are just bringing in players without a coherent sense of the team.

[T-boy]

QUOTE=Canary10;1519933]I'd say the depth is worse, in part because of Mariner's tactical and formation switch, and in part because of the lack of quality he brought in. Who, for example, is the back up to Frings and Dunfield? With the 4-3-3 we had Frings and JDG in the centre, with Dunfield as back up. The AM had Silva or Avila. Depth at all positions. We have none now. Go back and look at TFC's last 5 MLS games and see how often either Frings or Dunfield are subbed. That will show you how bad the depth problem is.

I would argue that Dunfield is better overall than JDG in the middle. We never saw the best out of JDG and he was best gone from the club. Dunfield, since Mariner's arrival, has justified his first choice CM place in the team. We still have Stinson, Cordon, and Maund as backup to CM. So really we've only lost JDG (I don't think that's much of a loss, and getting the burden of his DP and wages off the books was more essential than having him as backup to CM IMO).

We STILL have Silva and Avila as AM options, nothing has changed there. Add into that Johnson who can play either wing (which is where I think he's more effective) or AM/second striker. So I think we still have depth at AM/CM overall. Avila can play either wing (IMO) and Silva CAN play wide, although he is better in the middle as we have recently all found out!

In the right we only have Lambe. Soolsma would have been an excellent complement, but he's gone. We're now converting players to right mids when we need someone there (ie. Hall has played there a few times, I think Maund has even played there). No depth there either. On the left, we have no one. Silva is a central player playing left, Avila is a central player not playing left because he's on the bench now, and Wiedeman...well we were told he's a striker but has come on in the left. I hope Mariner doesn't wreck this kid, because he could be decent.

Avila is an interesting one - he was omnipresent under Mariner until recently. But then again, would any of us be playing him before Lambe and Silva, who are both playing VERY well recently? Given Avila's form before we was dropped, I would definitely be playing Silva-Frings-Dunfield-Lambe over Avila at the moment. So, again no loss at the moment, and Avila is still very good backup to anywhere accross the midfield. I'm sure if Lambe, Silva, or Dunfield dropped in form, Avila would be the first choice to come back into the starting 11.

Wiedeman had played forward, wing AND full back for Dallas, so he's clearly an adaptable player. He said himself that he "prefers striker, but will play anywhere". I think that's the appeal of the kid. Amarikwa is similar - he's played wing far more than striker in the MLS so far. So he can clearly play a couple of positions too.

So where we are maybe slightly weaker in depth on the wing (without Plata and Soolsma) we are MUCH stronger in depth in attack. And where we are "very slightly weaker" in CM (JDG) we then have a massive burden off our backs in his DP slot.

I think most of us agreed that our big depth weakness earlier this season was in attack, and we now have that depth. Something HAD to be sacrificed (that's how the MLS works unfortunately!) and that was JDG and the "luxury" players of Soolsma and Plata. I think that's a fair trade off, and we are better off now than before. Just IMO, of course!

[Canary10]

I would argue that Dunfield is better overall than JDG in the middle. We never saw the best out of JDG and he was best gone from the club. Dunfield, since Mariner's arrival, has justified his first choice CM place in the team. We still have Stinson, Cordon, and Maund as backup to CM. So really we've only lost JDG (I don't think that's much of a loss, and getting the burden of his DP and wages off the books was more essential than having him as backup to CM IMO).

We STILL have Silva and Avila as AM options, nothing has changed there. Add into that Johnson who can play either wing (which is where I think he's more effective) or AM/second striker. So I think we still have depth at AM/CM overall. Avila can play either wing (IMO) and Silva CAN play wide, although he is better in the middle as we have recently all found out!



Avila is an interesting one - he was omnipresent under Mariner until recently. But then again, would any of us be playing him before Lambe and Silva, who are both playing VERY well recently? Given Avila's form before we was dropped, I would definitely be playing Silva-Frings-Dunfield-Lambe over Avila at the moment. So, again no loss at the moment, and Avila is still very good backup to anywhere accross the midfield. I'm sure if Lambe, Silva, or Dunfield dropped in form, Avila would be the first choice to come back into the starting 11.

Wiedeman had played forward, wing AND full back for Dallas, so he's clearly an adaptable player. He said himself that he "prefers striker, but will play anywhere". I think that's the appeal of the kid. Amarikwa is similar - he's played wing far more than striker in the MLS so far. So he can clearly play a couple of positions too.

So where we are maybe slightly weaker in depth on the wing (without Plata and Soolsma) we are MUCH stronger in depth in attack. And where we are "very slightly weaker" in CM (JDG) we then have a massive burden off our backs in his DP slot.

I think most of us agreed that our big depth weakness earlier this season was in attack, and we now have that depth. Something HAD to be sacrificed (that's how the MLS works unfortunately!) and that was JDG and the "luxury" players of Soolsma and Plata. I think that's a fair trade off, and we are better off now than before. Just IMO, of course!

We'll have to agree to disagree on the JDG thing. I think he's far better than Dunfield. But even if he's not, forgetting the contract, in pure player terms we were a better team with more depth when JDG was there.

I don't think anything has changed up front. Hassli isn't the finisher that Koef was, but the best we could do under circumstances. Johnson is still Johnson, he can't finish a ball outside the 6 yard box. I really wish we had two solid strikers instead of one and a half. Amarikwa, as I said elsewhere, runs really fast in a straight line.

On the Silva/Avila thing. I wish that Mariner was a bit more tactically flexible. If he insists on a two striker formation, why not go to a 4-3-1-2 with Silva/Avila in the centre? That would at least get them in a better position on the field. We play extremely narrow anyway, so play Dunfield, Frings, Lambe behind them. I think that would make much better use of who we have. I think he loosely played this formation in the first game against Houston and the Montreal game. Maybe decided it was too offensive? We haven't seen it again since.

[ManUtd4ever]

I call bull on this. Paul Mariner was and is part of the problem. Don't compare him to Winter, or any of the other dismal coaches who failed to get TFC into the playoffs, all of them. Answer this question instead: which coach of the current top 10 teams in the MLS table is Paul Mariner better than? If you look objectively, you'd say that any of those coaches would be a better choice than him.

Now look at his job, player acquisitions (which is the topic of this thread). Hassli is a good stopgap, but there is no real coherence to this team.

It's too soon to make any sort of definitive determination. After all, 13 games is a ridiculously small sample size from which to draw any firm conclusions one way or another.

How many times did you refer to Kreis at RSL in the past, and the fact that it took him over 40 games to get his club on track?

Mariner has compiled an unspectacular but respectable record thus far at the helm. Let's see what happens moving forward.

[T-boy]

[QUOTE]

We'll have to agree to disagree on the JDG thing. I think he's far better than Dunfield. But even if he's not, forgetting the contract, in pure player terms we were a better team with more depth when JDG was there.

JDG had to leave at some point though, especially at 31 years old. He wasn't worth a DP contract this season, that's for sure. As "value per money" I'd take Dunfield. Dunfield is also a much better attacking threat to JDG (I know that seems strange to say!). We can agree to disagree on that though, of course!

I don't think anything has changed up front. Hassli isn't the finisher that Koef was, but the best we could do under circumstances. Johnson is still Johnson, he can't finish a ball outside the 6 yard box. I really wish we had two solid strikers instead of one and a half. Amarikwa, as I said elsewhere, runs really fast in a straight line.

My "number one preference" within the MLS as replacement for Koev's would be Kenny Cooper. I almost thought we were lining him up when Le Toux went to Red Bulls. Hassli isn't the same type of player as Koev's and Cooper (or Casey, say). But Hassli is still a quality attacker.

On the Silva/Avila thing. I wish that Mariner was a bit more tactically flexible. If he insists on a two striker formation, why not go to a 4-3-1-2 with Silva/Avila in the centre? That would at least get them in a better position on the field. We play extremely narrow anyway, so play Dunfield, Frings, Lambe behind them. I think that would make much better use of who we have. I think he loosely played this formation in the first game against Houston and the Montreal game. Maybe decided it was too offensive? We haven't seen it again since.

Agreed - Silva is a very good "visionary" playmaker. Mariner needs to find a way of getting him behind the two strikers putting little through-balls into the channels. That's where Silva is excellent.

[Oldtimer]

And I totally agree with Oldtimer, we aren't bringing in many players we really need, we are just bringing in players without a coherent sense of the team.

That was the problem under Mo, he would pick random players from various places.... some of them looked good on paper, some were actually good, but they didn't combine well. That hasn't changed in the 2 years under Mariner.

It's too soon to make any sort of definitive determination. After all, 13 games is a ridiculously small sample size from which to draw any conclusions one way or another.

How many times did you refer to Kreis at RSL in the past, and the fact that it took him over 40 games to get his club on track?

Mariner has compiled an unspectacular but respectable record thus far at the helm. Let's see what happens moving forward.

For player acquisition, Mariner already has a long enough track record to judge, and it's unspectacular at best, bordering on failure.

As a head coach, I'd agree that it's too early for a final judgement, however I'm responding to certain fanboys who are saying "look at how amazing a job Mariner is doing!" It's way too early for that, to say that, but they are! Compared to 0-9 he looks good, but compared to any other coach in the top half of the league (i.e. in a playoff position) he looks really second rate so far. I'd like to ask his fans to give what evidence they have that he can even make the playoffs? So far there is none.