Who needs another team when TFC beats itself?
@Montreal Post-Game
Who needs another team when TFC beats itself?
The Toronto FC Gong Show Takes It's Wacky Variety Of Sports Entertainment On The Road To Montreal!
Starring:
The Two Million Dollar Man - Julian DeGuzman
His Faithful Sidekick - Terry Dunfield
And The Wildcard - Ty Harden
Pick Up Your Points On The Way Out The Door.
At least TSN doesn"t bother with a postgame show and goes directly to curling.
My thoughts on this game:
Has apathy set in yet?
Not for me, not yet.Originally Posted by Gazza
I am not denying that the team's defense is horrible right now, but we have Cann returning soon, Williams a bit later, and most importantly Frings to shore up in the midfield.
Making it into the playoffs is not yet an impossible dream. The Eastern Conference is fairly weak (the new playoff rules will definitely play in TFC's favour), and TFC are only four games in- defeats or not. Two wins against Chivas and Chicago in the next two weeks, at home, and this club is right back in it.
Moreover, I think the only really shameful result was losing to Columbus. This Montreal defeat hurts, no doubt, but I don't think the Impact are a writeoff, expansion or not. I think they can take plenty of points at home in the MLS. San Jose is a better team right now than anyone is giving them credit for, and Seattle are great at home.
If it's early May and we don't have at least 6-9 points, it might be time to panic, or stop caring.
Koev's goal means a lot. This team can score. It just needs to defend better. I think having Cann back and Frings back will already make a huge difference. I rate Williams for later in the season as well.
Last edited by Kilgore Trout; 04-07-2012 at 01:20 PM.
I wouldn't put money on this team going perfect for long stretches during MLS play. I don't know what it'll take to keep fans interest, but players should be fighting for jobs and the chance at Canadian Championship play now.
I don't think this team needs to go perfect for long stretches during MLS play. With the top 5 teams from the east going through, TFC just needs to be better than five teams that are hardly terrific in themselves. A solid home record (no more losses especially important), a couple of opportune road wins, and a few draws on the road, and TFC can make the playoffs. 4 straight losses is a detriment but in no way eliminates TFC from playoff contention. TFC is 6 points out of even 2nd place right now. This is the MLS. You can count on teams like Columbus, DC, Philadelphia, Chicago, New England, and Montreal to put own their own occasional horrorshows (Columbus just went down 0-2 at home inside the opening 15 minutes). 4 losses look awful because they all came together, at the start of the season. TFC is one win and one player away from being right in the contest for 5th or 4th place.
I'd agree with the playoff pessimism if this was the Western conference, but it isn't. TFC has the offense to score goals and just need Frings back and, in the absence of a defender coming in, at least Cann/Williams and the team can eliminate the sort of mistakes that led to these last three losses. Hell, today's game would have been a draw at least with just Cann in for Harden. Cann isn't amazing, but he doesn't make that backheel 'clearance' there. No way this team with just one solid CB and Frings loses that game to Columbus, or leaks three goals to SJ.
I'm not blind to how bad aspects of this team are. I'm only saying that the club as a whole is only two injury returns away from a team that simply does not give up games like this one or last week's.
Last edited by Kilgore Trout; 04-07-2012 at 02:27 PM.
Wow....just...wow.
Just when you don't think they can sink any lower, they manage to find a way. Lifeless, listless, laughable. Remind me again who the expansion team was?
I didn't drive from Buffalo to watch this horrorshow. So...there's that.
Ugh.
The forwards were okay, and Kocic had some big saves, but that's about it.
Let's try Stinson and Burgos in the midfield. Things can't get any worse, might as well see what the kids can do.
I agree. I'm willing to see what those kids can do. Gotta be better than De Guzman and Dunfield at this point.
De Guzman keeps doing those rash challenges or he lashes out trying to stop guys who are running past him -- Dunfield has an issue with rash challenges when he knows he's caught -- in previous games he was passing with tackles actually.
I also thought TFC played better when they had Silva on in the midfield, since he can battle physically and has a good sense of what to do, and has skill on the ball. Start Silva.
it was clear before the season started that Dunfield and Ty Harden aren't good enough for MLS. 95% of TFC fans knew it. I'm very disappointed in Winter.
WHo would have thought 4 games into the season that TFC would already be out of the playoffs.
Just dumb mistakes all around.
De Guz and Dunfield were useless, like a black hole in the midfield. So nothing got going forward, making Koevermans' job harder. We can't just bypass the midfield and shoot high balls for Koevermans to take down when he's got defenders on him.
Ty Harden put Emory in a really bad position, which led to Emory's red -- although if Emory lets the player run, I'd take my chances with Kocic making the save. But it's pretty much the same thing De Guz did against Santos, but outside the box.
We did have chances though... the save on Koevermans... the ball on the line that Montreal cleared...
With a final score of 2-1, it just goes to show how fine-edged results can be. If we didn't give up stupid goals and actually had a stud at CB, we'd be tied at the very least.
But as Soccerpro notes, we knew before the season where our weaknesses are. We're starting players of backup quality. Can't expect to win doing that.
My first impression was that Emory touched the ball before the Montreal player went down.
He got the ball, and didn't make all that much contact, either. These are the sorts of things that really make me wish football would get on board with video replay. It's not just disallowed goals; it's these major, incorrect decisions that are made in so, so many matches. I'd rather have a just game than one with fewer interruptions.
Looking at the replays, it looks like Emory didn't get any ball, all player. And as it's been pointed out in the other thread, the red card is because he was the last defender that prevented a breakaway scoring chance. Jason De Vos also says the referee made the correct call........
http://www.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter...videoID=181506
Exactly were supposed to keep the ball on the ground. I remember Johnson had Plata wide open on the left and Johnson just ignored Plata and kicked it to Koef who was surrounded by 2 defenders and it obviously got intercepted. Wtf is Aron teaching the team? The 4-3-3 is all about maintaining possesion, keeping the ball on the ground, quick 1-2 passes to create passing lanes. TFC has done none of this! In the D the defenders just passes it to Ecks who hoofs the ball to nowhere and it loops again every two minutes.
I'm not for instant replay. Emory took the chance with the challenge and with the referee at the vantage point he was in.
It's too bad the link provided doesn't have the footage of the second angle that was shown in the broadcast. I wouldn't make calls based on De Vos' comments. The referee had a tough decision and Emory was the last man.
![[NBF]'s Avatar](image.php?s=e4b3d48f30a2765d7a9ebd814dbcadc4&u=1574&dateline=1515553264 "[NBF]'s Avatar")
The physical disadvantage of Dunfield and DeGuzman and the slow pace of Harden has been costing the team.
Dunfield, is just an extra body when he plays, no matter what he does or whether he doesnt commit errors, he is like playing versus a brick wall. He is by far the least likely to improve the team when he's on the field.
DeGuzman, IMO he will play up to the talent thats around him. He is not a leader or motivated player. He is a chaser and workhorse without actually having the height and muscle mass to call him a workhorse.
Harden, he is physically what you would want in a centre back, but his pace and lack of change of direction makes him a liability. Other than that he is not that bad, but playing him with two midget holding midfielders is asking for trouble.
*What it really comes down to is playing two undersized midfielders in front of Harden and a rookie centre back in Emory. It was a bad selection versus the physical style of MLS teams. This would be reasonable versus the college teams in preseason, but not versus a rival with an intention on embarrassing the team by winning their first game in MLS versus their closest rival.
------------------------------Kocic----------------------------
Eckersley-----------Harden--------------Emory----------Morgan
---------------------------------------------------------------
--------------DeGuzman-----Johnson-----Dunfield--------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
Soolsma--------------------------------------------------Plata
---------------------------Koevermans-------------------------
*If you are going to start DeGuzman, you have to at least start either Silva or Avila, instead of Dunfield. IMO, there's an understanding that Dunfield is suppose to be that hardworking midfielder that will chase players down and do all the hard tackling, but in reality, the player that best suited to playing that way is DeGuzman. Dunsfield, shouldn't even be on the field before the 85th minute and the last possible substitution.
4-1-2-1-2 or 4-4-2 diamond:
------------------------------Kocic----------------------------
Eckersley-----------Harden--------------Aceval---------Morgan
----------------------------DeGuzman-------------------------
----------Avila----------------------------------Silva----------
-----------------------------Johnson--------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------
----------------Koevermans---------------Plata----------------
I thought this was the idea, at the end of last year?....I was looking forward to Silva after picking him, playing with Avila....speed , ball control and soccer instincts to f%%king win...
ALL HELL'S BROKEN LOOSEhttp://gfycat.com/SharpKindArrowana
For the love of God........ Dunfield / Harden / de Guzman MUST GO!
These are liabilities that are costing us games, perhaps even this entire season!
There's no words to describe the start to the season, just a massive, epic FAIL!
We need to find way to get this message across to Winter and management ASAP! These guys need to be benched!
Oh yeah , that's right.
Seems to be doing alot of good taking this approach with the Leafs.
The team is shit.
There's no bullshitting this storyline at all. We have 1 win in 8 games and haven't led for even 1 second in MLS play.
And Harden, Dunfield, and JDG need to go.
Cann has been on the bench for the past 5 or so games.
Anyone know why he isn't seeing any minutes?
There seem to have some little bit of stability there last year before he went down.
...AND AVILA??????......winter keeps playing players who aren't cutting it and they just don't seem to be under the gun.
ALL HELL'S BROKEN LOOSEhttp://gfycat.com/SharpKindArrowana
Because he's not ready yet. Pushing him back too soon can cause him to re-injure. I think he's still chasing match fitness. Rumour has it he didnt look too solid in the reserve game last week. Plus as he makes his comeback you're going to see him not play on turf. It's extremely hard on the knees.
I imagine he might get some late game minutes in the Chicago game (15-20). After that he'll likely be a sub until finally seeing regular minutes in May.
So we've now given Vancouver and Montreal their first MLS wins, Seattle their first road win in MLS, any other fucking "FIRSTS" we give to other teams?
My own feeling is that the team was actually built around Frings, for good or for bad.
Without Frings, this team cannot win.
The offense is decent enough. The defensive problems were not properly addressed, and this falls squarely on Mariner's shoulders.
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