TFC 2013 general player moves/speculation/etc.

[Ultra & Proud]

I agree that Forlan is a huge upgrade, but that doesn't mean there isn't risk in doing this, in other ways

If the team doesn't turn it around, Nelsen (and maybe Payne) will be under immense pressure. Soon. Too soon now.

A person would have to be pretty damn stupid to expect a massive turnaround with signing of one DP player. We've had enough of them to show that. Most people now will appreciate growth and improvement (like winning at home for example) and look forward to next season when the team is more like it should be. Also, I am no fan of Forlan and I didn't want us to take him but that being said, if he walks in and scores a few and our offense actually works a bit then he will prove his worth going forward. Our chances of getting good, affordable players would be greatly improved if say, we go on a run and end the season with 30 something points rather than the mid twenties we are on pace for and a finish in the absolute basement of the league. Plus having a MF with young guys like Osorio, Bekker, and Silva in place can only get better from watching and learning from a guy with Forlan's experience and his dedication to conditioning.

[Canary10]

He is a nice player. Will undoubtedly produce some nice goals.

What do you think the odds are he gets hurt or demoralized, and is just collecting cheques? It's not like it's been a hundred years since the Frings/Koevs signings.

I deliberately put this in the overall thread, not the Forlan thread. I said I liked the Forlan signing for a contender.

But I'm more interested in the long-term success of the team. Which imho this does nothing for. These signings are highly prone to producing locker room friction, if the new player isn't coming into a room with a strong positive culture. Which this one isn't.

We are once again trying to use money as a shortcut and invent a way out. Good teams sign great internationals for $200-300K that become the bedrock of their team. TFC under Payne/Nelsen have signed only two of these so far, Laba and Caldwell, and really, the jury is still out on them. This is 1-2 years too early.

Well put. That's my fear exactly. This club has looked at DP signings as a silver bullet and they've never worked out that way. I'm cautiously optimistic, but.....

[Canary10]

Just heard on the fan 590 tfc is expected to announce forlan signing in the middle of the week . I guess it could be happening.

Guess it's not Kaka, eh?

[19Barrett19]

Guess it's not Kaka, eh?

Guess not I was wrong on that one ... or a little to drunk

[Red I]

I agree that Forlan is a huge upgrade, but that doesn't mean there isn't risk in doing this, in other ways

If the team doesn't turn it around, Nelsen (and maybe Payne) will be under immense pressure. Soon. Too soon now.

Absolutely, there is an abundance of risk... but i think the type of player that Forlan is, there are some positives that can't be overlooked.

One of the biggest concerns about playing in this league is the travel. Players from Overseas and South America take a while to acclimatise (i think i spelled that wrong?) to the travel over long distances. Forlan has been playing for his national team for over a decade, and what's more is that he always is one of the best contributors. It can't be ignored that TFC will pose similar expectations on a DP - travel far distances, and play with a team that hasn't practiced together for an extended period of time. Since the 2010 World Cup, this guy has been one of the better international team players out there. If he can translate his international succes to this league, he should be incredible - he ain't bad with his club teams either. You can take his time at Man U as a bit of an outlier...

the risk is great, but there are positives; not only reputational ones, but actual soccer positives as well (in addition to the negatives). While there may be more on the cons side than the pros side of this equation, i still think it can't be denied this makes the team better at the end of the day. I also believe the front office cannot simply lean back in the chair and think this makes them instant MLS cup contenders... still lots of work to do, and i expect them to put in that work.

[Waggy]

Finally, some potential for optimism. About freaking time.

[BuSaPuNk]

@alexfan590: This report out of Brazil says that Forlan's current club have NOT been approached by TFC. http://t.co/cHBaYkYAv3

[MartinUtd]

If it is Forlan, that's great news. Sure this signing might be for just 1.5-3 years, but how serious does TFC look as a club that has signed a player for Forlan's stature? This will open doors that were previously left shut and if Forlan retires here or at worst is a bust, our next marquee signing might not seem so far out of left field.

[OgtheDim]

Repercussions if this happens (I'll believe it when I see him hold up the shirt)

Laba - somebody to pass to...finally - he will have to step up a bit as teams concentrate on Forlan, might find a bit more space when that happens
Osorio - should flourish until we find a couple of real wingers
Hall - to the bench, sub if we are up
Silva - not as many starting minutes for sure...super sub and likely 4th forward
Becker - sub winger if he's lucky
Brockie - probably gone
Convey - before today I see him getting increasingly frustrated, as much with himself as anything; will probably do better until we get an upgrade
Koevs & Earnie - well this should be at least fun to watch
Welshman - badly in need of a farm team
O'Dea - hopefully never takes another close free kick

[OgtheDim]

@alexfan590: This report out of Brazil says that Forlan's current club have NOT been approached by TFC. http://t.co/cHBaYkYAv3

Pretty standard talk prior to a transfer.

[brad]

TFC + Forlan makes me think of TFC + DeRo (not comparing DeRo to Forlan on a quality basis though). Both are/where pretty bad TFC teams with a player who is an offensive threat that can win some games. Won't make us a contender, but should be good to pick up a few points here and there.

[Richard]

This makes sense to compete for next year, we still need the following:

LB
LW/RW
3 strikers since it looks like non of Koevs, Brockie or Earnshaw is comming back.

[billyfly]

I have it on good authority that the paperwork and jersey are being done up "as we speak".

[Greg]

Hmm...

Diego Forlán has just denied the move to Toronto FC. I just received notification from Inter's press dept.

https://twitter.com/JuanG_Arango/sta...49926710018048

[mcolvy]

WE DO NOT NEED A BIG NAME. WE ARE A SOCCER ENJOYING CITY. WE WANT A WINNER, NOT A FAMOUS PLAYER!!!!!!

We brought in Frings who is just as big..... omfg SKC has no international stud, they created their own. What are we doing....

[billyfly]

What can I tell you. Until you see the guy up there, it is always possible it doesn't happen. People within the club say its happening but....

[Richard]

Would your source happen to be Cochrane lol.

[billyfly]

Lol..nah

[Phil]

Repercussions if this happens (I'll believe it when I see him hold up the shirt)

Laba - somebody to pass to...finally - he will have to step up a bit as teams concentrate on Forlan, might find a bit more space when that happens
Osorio - should flourish until we find a couple of real wingers
Hall - to the bench, sub if we are up
Silva - not as many starting minutes for sure...super sub and likely 4th forward
Becker - sub winger if he's lucky
Brockie - probably gone
Convey - before today I see him getting increasingly frustrated, as much with himself as anything; will probably do better until we get an upgrade
Koevs & Earnie - well this should be at least fun to watch
Welshman - badly in need of a farm team
O'Dea - hopefully never takes another close free kick

Brockie is 100% out mid August. I think the buyout was something absurd to ensure he would be going back(a rumour I have heard). It was a favour pulled to get him for the time we did.

[Canary10]

WE DO NOT NEED A BIG NAME. WE ARE A SOCCER ENJOYING CITY. WE WANT A WINNER, NOT A FAMOUS PLAYER!!!!!!

We brought in Frings who is just as big..... omfg SKC has no international stud, they created their own. What are we doing....

Bieler? Espinoza? They've had a few. Not quite as big, but not created by them.

[Red I]

... does anyone know if Alvaro Rey is still on trial with the team?

[Ultra & Proud]

WE DO NOT NEED A BIG NAME. WE ARE A SOCCER ENJOYING CITY. WE WANT A WINNER, NOT A FAMOUS PLAYER!!!!!!

We brought in Frings who is just as big..... omfg SKC has no international stud, they created their own. What are we doing....

Difference is that sometimes that a big name player can do enough to produce winning. I'm not saying Forlan would be that guy but he is a long way from the broken down Frings we got and he also plays in a position that can lead to instant impact. You look at what he is doing in Brazil this season and for his national team. Frings was a long way removed from those standards when he got here.

[ag futbol]

Well put. That's my fear exactly. This club has looked at DP signings as a silver bullet and they've never worked out that way. I'm cautiously optimistic, but.....

My fear as well. I'm scared this team is again blinded by preasure to find short term profits, potentially at the expense of the long run.

[dantdot]

... does anyone know if Alvaro Rey is still on trial with the team?

Not sure if he's still here but some news in the Spanish press saying he's about to have his contract terminated.

[Red I]

Not sure if he's still here but some news in the Spanish press saying he's about to have his contract terminated.

Sweet

[notthesun]

Sorry but I can't imagine a situation in which acquiring the best player in the league can be declared a bad move.

Is it ideal timing? I guess not, but very little is ideal in professional sports. Who's to say in a year or two after we've built a better core that a player as good as Forlan will be ready and willing to join the team? Opportunities to get guys like him don't fall out of the sky. If we pass on him now there's no guarantee we get someone like him in 2 years.

What about the fact he'll draw a lot of attention to the club? We've become rather irrelevant recently. Some buzz around the team could do us some good. Not to mention we would instantly become more attractive to other players. Pumas is apparently fighting us for Urruti right now; if this goes through you don't think that might tip the scales in our favor a bit? Suddenly we look a lot more appealing to South American players.

Besides, you can turn a team around in this league in a year, just look at Montreal. If we make the right moves our core could be set by next year, and Forlan will still be producing for us. Yeah I'd love to have him when we're 3rd/4th in the league and he can push us to 1st, but I'll gladly settle for him simply pushing us into the playoffs next year. And I don't think that's out of reach if we play the rest of our cards right.

[Ultra & Proud]

My fear as well. I'm scared this team is again blinded by preasure to find short term profits, potentially at the expense of the long run.

How is signing a DP like Forlan at the expense of the long run? It's not like TFC is giving up young players to bring him in and even if an international needs to be cut to clear a spot it will be Lambe. Now if we started trading all our young guys away to clear space for older internationals ala Preki, then I'd be concerned but this can't do anything but help TFC in the short to medium term and by the time 'long term' comes into play I would hope Osorio, Bekker, Silva, and maybe even Welshman are our primary contributors to our first team.

[mcolvy]

Bieler? Espinoza? They've had a few. Not quite as big, but not created by them.

Espinoza was created by them... Where else was he?.. College.....

Common, Bud. You must be trolling. You cant actually believe this crap.....

Bieler was just brought in this year, after they have had success. And common..... do you really think that Bieler is a big name? He is quality... but those are two different things..

Laba has more international pedigree then Bieler. He is also not 30+. He has a few years that he can and will build with the club.

He was brought in at the absolute maximum age. No older. He is soooo different then Frings and Forlan.

Dont do this.. please.

[Ultra & Proud]

You can turn a team around in this league in a year, just look at Montreal. If we make the right moves our core could be set by next year, and Forlan will still be producing for us. Yeah I'd love to have him when we're 3rd/4th in the league and he can push us to 1st, but I'll gladly settle for him simply pushing us into the playoffs next year. And I don't think that's out of reach if we play the rest of our cards right.

You are 100% right. With the way we've played the league so far, an addition of someone like Forlan would/should add to a few more goals scored. If our defense plays as is then you'd have to think we could turn some of these 1 goal losses to draws and some of our crappy draws to wins. If any other of the rumored players come along during this window then we'll be ahead of the curve for next year.

Look at Montreal. They were a non-playoff team last year and were also having problems scoring goals. Then they signed Di Vaio and a few other Italian relics and went to first in the league. I don't hear anyone complaining about signing the 36 year old Di Vaio and getting him in there before Montreal were 3rd or 4th in the league. Passing up someone who can address your biggest weakness because the team isn't ready yet is idiotic. You see something to improve the squad, you do it.

[Greatest Ripoff]

How is signing a DP like Forlan at the expense of the long run?

Because Toronto doesn't have an unlimited amount of DP spots and cash to spend. Why not use theses resources on more players like Laba that the team can built around? Will Forlan be playing for Toronto we they have a legit chance of winning the MLS cup?