TFC 2013 general player moves/speculation/etc.

[Ultra & Proud]

Yeah, he looked really one-footed there when he crossed in the game winner with his right foot the other day. I'm not sure he's still got enough speed to be a starter but he has good vision, good technical ability and a decent right foot.

Exactly and if we're now saying speed is so important in the midfield then losing Silva shouldn't have been a major loss as he isn't much faster than Convey and plays the game way more static than Convey does. And what I am saying isn't that Silva was shit because he isn't. What I am saying is that speed isn't everything if there is some technical ability and brains to cover. Soolsma was a great example of that in the past and now Convey is another and I think Convey has better movement than anyone else on our roster at this point.

[Dave67]

Well I hope there are more signings because I still can't see where the goals are going to come from. We're not that far out to lunch on goals allowed this year, goals for has killed us. I don't think the back line was our highest priority.

[burlington Red]

Funny thing is, you can sometimes get some value in the lower Euro leagues if you do the right scouting. Gael Clichy was snapped up by Arsenal from French 3rd division back in the day. Not for one min comparing the two, but wouldn't be too quick in writing anyone off based on what league they came from.

[Ultra & Proud]

Funny thing is, you can sometimes get some value in the lower Euro leagues if you do the right scouting. Gael Clichy was snapped up by Arsenal from French 3rd division back in the day. Not for one min comparing the two, but wouldn't be too quick in writing anyone off based on what league they came from.

NY got Lindpere a few years back from absolute nowhere and he became pretty damn good. It can happen. Usually not for us but it can.

[Benficachop20]

On the other side, Ecks does as much forward runs if not more than Morgan, but he's more effective and doesn't lose possession as much. When he runs back to cover, he actually won more battles to regain possession or disrupt the opponents effectively.

I guess we see the same play and derive different interpretation. However, imposing your view (which I don't think many will agree) and saying RN doesn't understand it is, in my humble opinion, slightly ludicrous.

LOL like u said, your entitled to your opinion, but i dont see y Morgan gets so much hate ( i admit he's not having that great of a season so far) but are completely blind to the play of Ecks. Better going forward? all he does is literally run straight and hope he gets by defenders. More effective? how many goals has he set up? 0? At least when Koevs was playing Morgan was setting up a crap load of his goals. Wins tackles? regains possession? the only thing Ecks does is foul players constantly. The difference between Ecks and Morgan is that we are paying a crap load more money for Ecks to suck.

[Suds]

I will say one thing about Morgan, he has looked way better than Richter. Since he came in we've looked more stable on that side. That being said it isn't impossible to improve on Morgan and we should be looking at 2 decent options at each position anyway. Richter and Bloom aren't really that decent.

Fair comment. Even a fan of Morgan has to admit this has not been a great year for him. Could be just a blip to get over this year or it could be a stall in development. Either way, we need Morgan to up his game or bring in an upgrade in that position. It's not saying Morgan is crap, but it's a weak spot at the moment that needs to be addressed just like the many other weak spots we have.

I want Morgan to be a success as much as anyone but that's the difference between wants and needs.

[khso11]

Anyone think that this Elmer deal is a swap for Frei?

[Ivy]

Bringing in Ephraim and Bostock were not bad moves. Previous organizations would have signed these guys to 2 years crazy expensive contracts. Both those players were brought in when due diligence was not done, simply because Ryan and Kevin were not on board long enough to know what they were looking for. I salute them for cutting ties with a Spurs, and a QPR player in order to look for something different.
While Earnshaw hasn't been scoring, nobody else has. He also, was brought in on a loan pending his performance... He was signed until the end of the year because we have no strikers.
Like I said, there has not been a single bad LONG TERM signing that this regime made, and if they think Elmer is good enough to get 1.5 years, I'm all for it. All the Morgan fans can take off the beer goggles, as much as I want him to be a permanent starter, the kid looks out of place even in reserve games.

[miker]

Anyone think that this Elmer deal is a swap for Frei?

Interesting thought. It would be great to see Frei play ... somewhere.

[pekduck]

LOL like u said, your entitled to your opinion, but i dont see y Morgan gets so much hate ( i admit he's not having that great of a season so far) but are completely blind to the play of Ecks. Better going forward? all he does is literally run straight and hope he gets by defenders. More effective? how many goals has he set up? 0? At least when Koevs was playing Morgan was setting up a crap load of his goals. Wins tackles? regains possession? the only thing Ecks does is foul players constantly. The difference between Ecks and Morgan is that we are paying a crap load more money for Ecks to suck.

I have to agree that Ecks is overpaid =)

I also don't dispute Eck's shortcomings. I just find that given both Morgan and Ecks as fullbacks, Ecks is more effective over Morgan if neither can provide assists this season, but Ecks covers more defensively. Both tend to foul, with Ecks being more aggressive. Hey, when everything is the same, I'd take one less goal against.

My response was toward that comment "RN didn't like Morgan because Morgan runs forward, and RN didn't understand it", haha.

[Marc"2L"]

Hmm, All-Star game is tomorrow.

Are we just signing one guy from a Swiss 2nd tier club and burying,
or big splash with league pomp and stuff.

Tomorrow!

[dantdot]

Hmm, All-Star game is tomorrow.

Are we just signing one guy from a Swiss 2nd tier club and burying,
or big splash with league pomp and stuff.

Tomorrow!

Announcing one of our DPs at the All Star game? I'd put that in the when pigs fly column.

[v00d00daddy]

Yeah, he looked really one-footed there when he crossed in the game winner with his right foot the other day. I'm not sure he's still got enough speed to be a starter but he has good vision, good technical ability and a decent right foot.

When he put that ball in with his right foot I literally jumped up. I think it was the first time all game I saw him use his right foot to put out a purposeful ball. I mentioned it in the game thread. There is no decent right foot there.

Do you think he's worth 200k a year?

[Morlesio14]

i had a nightmare last night that laba left tfc and went to brazil because he hated blacks.

[Morlesio14]

When he put that ball in with his right foot I literally jumped up. I think it was the first time all game I saw him use his right foot to put out a purposeful ball. I mentioned it in the game thread. There is no decent right foot there.

Do you think he's worth 200k a year?

not worth 200k but i like convey. id like him here for another 2-3 years. he's pretty good

[v00d00daddy]

Exactly and if we're now saying speed is so important in the midfield then losing Silva shouldn't have been a major loss as he isn't much faster than Convey and plays the game way more static than Convey does. And what I am saying isn't that Silva was shit because he isn't. What I am saying is that speed isn't everything if there is some technical ability and brains to cover. Soolsma was a great example of that in the past and now Convey is another and I think Convey has better movement than anyone else on our roster at this point.

Silva was not a winger. A winger needs speed more than an internal midfielder. Unless you're Soolsma of course. LOL

It was odd how he was able to beat guys down the sideline over and over. Haven't seen that from Convey. I'm not a huge fan of his game but I really begin to lose patience with him when Nelsen plays him on the right wing. Last game when Oduro was exploiting Morgan there was nobody to help him. Would have preferred Convey on the left wing to help Morgan a little more.

[Whoop]

Soolsma was the strangest player ever in the history of TFC.

Slow as molasses yet a) he consistently beat guys wide and b) but in a decent cross.

[Ultra & Proud]

Silva was not a winger. A winger needs speed more than an internal midfielder. Unless you're Soolsma of course. LOL

It was odd how he was able to beat guys down the sideline over and over. Haven't seen that from Convey.

Because Convey usually tries to cut inside perhaps because he's smart enough to realize that heaving crosses into the box is leading us nowhere because most of our attackers don't make runs in and challenge for balls.

[ginkster88]

Soolsma was very good at dummying to get past his marker. He also had a quick first step. Every ensuing one was plodding, to be sure, but he had just enough skill to put a defending off-balance and take advantage.

[v00d00daddy]

Bringing in Ephraim and Bostock were not bad moves. Previous organizations would have signed these guys to 2 years crazy expensive contracts. Both those players were brought in when due diligence was not done, simply because Ryan and Kevin were not on board long enough to know what they were looking for. I salute them for cutting ties with a Spurs, and a QPR player in order to look for something different.
While Earnshaw hasn't been scoring, nobody else has. He also, was brought in on a loan pending his performance... He was signed until the end of the year because we have no strikers.
Like I said, there has not been a single bad LONG TERM signing that this regime made, and if they think Elmer is good enough to get 1.5 years, I'm all for it. All the Morgan fans can take off the beer goggles, as much as I want him to be a permanent starter, the kid looks out of place even in reserve games.

LOL. What long term deals have they made then?

Laba and........

If that's your criteria then yes....they've made no bad long term deals. They've made a total of one long term deal prior to the guy playing for us. Laba.

[v00d00daddy]

Because Convey usually tries to cut inside perhaps because he's smart enough to realize that heaving crosses into the box is leading us nowhere because most of our attackers don't make runs in and challenge for balls.

He doesn't try to cut inside when he's playing on the left wing. He does heave balls in for crosses....IF he can muster the space, which he doesn't do often.

[nonc]

When he put that ball in with his right foot I literally jumped up. I think it was the first time all game I saw him use his right foot to put out a purposeful ball. I mentioned it in the game thread. There is no decent right foot there.

Maybe you missed the part where, minutes before his assist, he also drove that spear into the path of Brockie who layed it off for Osorio's goal. The corner put on a tee for Caldwell, etc. He tracks back and disrupts opposition transition, generally with Laba is the most involved and professionally fit player for TFC.

Totally agree about Earnshaw though.

[Ivy]

LOL. What long term deals have they made then?

Laba and........

If that's your criteria then yes....they've made no bad long term deals. They've made a total of one long term deal prior to the guy playing for us. Laba.

Laba, Caldwell, Osorio, Bekker, Welshman. Still don't know much about Rey, and haven't seen enough of Convey

[v00d00daddy]

Maybe you missed the part where, minutes before his assist, he also drove that spear into the path of Brockie who layed it off for Osorio's goal. The corner put on a tee for Caldwell, etc. He tracks back and disrupts opposition transition, generally with Laba is the most involved and professionally fit player for TFC.

Totally agree about Earnshaw though.

He did. It was a nice ball in to Brockie who laid it off nicely too. It was on his left foot. So was the corner. I agree about his tracking back and disrupting things too. That's why I wished he was on the left side to help Morgan. At least there he can use the left sideline to his advantage. Playing him on the right wing limits him to HAVE to cut in to the middle. It's not a bad play but it become predictable. I don't hate the guy. I'm just not a huge fan of his game.

[v00d00daddy]

Laba, Caldwell, Osorio, Bekker, Welshman. Still don't know much about Rey, and haven't seen enough of Convey

Earnshaw was brought in on loan....wasn't Caldwell as well? It's not like they signed Caldwell long term before he played. It was the same situation.

Osorio is an Academy product (kind of).

Bekker is a draft choice and rarely plays. How do you know he's a good choice, despite him not being a signing?

Welshman doesn't play. How are you unsure of Convey (who plays) but sure that Welshman is a good signing?

[nonc]

He is not that good, and for that kind of money we could have had the best Canadian player of all time (Dero) so please no more talk of Canadian players simply because, well, because they are Canadian. As a DP he would not do anything to increase the fan base (forlan, Kaka etc).

Haha. Hutchinson targeted by a perennial top 10 team in the EPL and you are criticizing this because of course that means "he's not that good". In what world? He's already accomplished more in his club career than Dero (never held teams hostage for money either) and frequently out-performed him at international level. It's painful watching someone so good play for Canada. Dero was rarely involved enough to think that. Scored some nice PKs? ..

So by your reckoning, Mista is better than Dero too, and while we are at it, how about those other giants of world football, JDG, and Laurent Robert

You are pulling at straws trying to twist this person's response into something extremely flattering of Dero, but the poignant thing is despite struggling in MLS near the end, all were just as good or better than Dero at the height of their careers. Although it's not even worth comparing to begin with.

Really, which playoff bound MLS team would replace their starting central midfielder with Laba?

7 or 8 of 10 easily, including NYRB, Impact.

Sorry, I didn't have time to really go through your recent lengthy masturbatory, acrid ramblings.

[ag futbol]

I agree, and am sorry it came off so negative. I like Laba, but I just want to understand how we tend to ignore the obvious here, in Toronto, whenever we discuss our failed sports teams. Laba is good, but so many MLS teams are getting stronger every season while we celebrate the signing of Bostock on day, and the dumping of Bostock the next, Ephrain, and the list goes on. By dumping Silva this management either showed tremendous prudence, or are completely stupid. Given the history of TFC (the worst franchise in MLS history, yes, say it, it is true), it is hard to place much faith in anybody running this team until they have started playing well. This past week was good, but such a small start. It wasnt me who said "we are going to sign a star player, of internatinal stature"..or whatever, that wasy Payne and L. They said it. So until they produce, I am not willing to sit by and celebrate every signing...or near signing...this thread is about player moves, that includes moves out of the team, not just coming in. So far, more have moved out than have come in. so that is what we could be discussing, it is not off topic as some would suggest...but I suppose there are those who would turn this thread into a hero worship Leaf style forum where 45 years and counting is ignored whenever the team eeks out a win. Go Leafs Go.

I see what you are saying. Personally, I have only been so-so on the signings so far. Don't think we have enough of a track record to say if they are doing a good job or not.

Inevitably a few guys will come in and not work out, but what will determine success from failure will be how high the hit rate is.

[OgtheDim]

Convey was playing on the left when Rey came in. When they switched out their LB, he and Rey switched back. Convey was beating that sub, who is usually a starter, for the rest of the game - that impressed me as I thought Convey would be dead tired. Still not sure he is worth the salary but that was his best game.

[notthesun]

I'd say Payne deserves credit for signing Osorio. He's only an academy product in that he trained with us enough days to qualify. Payne still had to make the decision to sign him at the start of this year having only seen him in training and pre-season, which he did, so credit to him on that move.

In no possible universe can anyone, at this moment, say Bekker or Welshman are good signings/picks.

Convey is a good trade in my eyes. We needed immediate help on the wings and he provides it. He was never going to be a world beater and everyone knew it, hence only a 3rd round pick going SKC's way. Still has enough quality to have a positive impact in games (see The Columbus Comeback) and more often then not doesn't hurt us like having Lambe start does.

[rocktml]

Lucas Melano apparently in Toronto. Can someone confirm?