Originally Posted by
T-boy
I see you all rolling your eyes when I reply to a thread, haha! But I'll have a go at replying to this.
1.
I think the proof in the league is that you DON'T need a "quality centre back" to get anywhere in the MLS. Just look at Colorado - won the cup and they had Marvell Wynne playing centre back! No disrespect to the guy, but 1. he isn't even a centre back by trade, and 2. he really isn't that good, especially at CB! Another good example is Columbus - they won the shield AND the cup with....Andy Iro at CB! Again, as we very well know, NOT a very good CB at all!
2.
A average to good MLS side just needs defenders who can work as a unit, the quality of the individual players doesn't need to be that great.
3.
So where does this leave TFC with the current stock of CB's? I would say TFC have more than their fair share of "average" MLS defenders who could definitely work as a unit.
Cann is ok - not the fastest, but he's got an ok footballing brain and his positioning is pretty good.
Harden - love him or hate him, Harden is the epitome of the "average MLS CB". I'm convinced that playing in Mariner's simplified system that Harden would be pretty good. Under Winter he was ok, but Harden's short passing game isn't good enough for the 4-3-3 system. But in 4-4-2 - he could be fine.
Emory - He's again a fair example of a MLS CB. I would say he's better than Marvell Wynne, for sure! His tackling has proved to be pretty good over the last few weeks. He could be better positionally.
Henry - we all think could make it far in the game, especially at his young age. He could be a much better than average MLS defender.
Williams - For me the jury is out, we just didn't see enough of him lats season to judge fully. But Mariner raves about him.
Maund - I'm not convinced his best position is CB, but he's adequate backup for all defensive positions.
I would say TFC have enough strength in depth for success in the MLS. None of the current CB's are "standouts", but as proven by Colorado and Columbus - you really don't need a "star" CB to get anywhere in the MLS, just an average set of defendesr who can work well as a unit.