TFC 2013 general player moves/speculation/etc.

[jloome]

If Davies does sign TFC's forward line will be Earnshaw 32, Kovermans 34 and Davies 36. Experienced, but pretty old and likely prone to injury or in Kovermans case recurring injury.

Well, when you pick the oldest three guys ... you're going to wind up with a list of the oldest three guys.

Earnshaw's a solid starter at 32, which isn't particularly old by modern standards. We have at least three more strikers under 30 and Jordan Hamilton coming up as well, so there's a sort of logic to it, younger guys learn from older etc.

If they score, I could care less if they're 38.

If we had Earnshaw and Davies up top, with Koevermans and Davies playing alternating roles to keep them healthy, that would be a troublesome pairing in every game against any defence in this league.

In fact, you can sort of see where this is all heading now, which is a pretty immediately competitive team, but with key parts that will go soon, allowing them to bring down the overall age of the squad slowly at the same time as breeding a competitive tradition.

It's predicated on getting the right people, competitors and fit at any age, then having depth. No matter who we lose to injury, we still have one experienced finisher on the field, and have some quick, talented but inexperienced secondary strikers to slot into the position opened by injury.

[Wooster_TFC]

Koev is no guarantee to return at all, let alone at his previous level of play.

Earnshaw is no guarantee to remain once his loan dies. I suspect he'll be looking for good money, which I don't think we'll be prepared to pay (which is good cap management IMO).

I hope Davies, if the rumour is true, is being targeted as a stop gap for the year, but I suspect that he'll want more guarantees than just a 6 month deal if he's going to move across the pond.

While I commend Payne and Nelsen for drawing the line in the sand (finally) and moving on, I suspect that Urruti falling through is a bigger deal than most think. I'm terrified that we'll have a starting top 2 of Wiedeman and Braun come July (assuming Nelsen sticks with the 4-4-2 he seems to favour).

[jloome]

Koev is no guarantee to return at all, let alone at his previous level of play.

Earnshaw is no guarantee to remain once his loan dies. I suspect he'll be looking for good money, which I don't think we'll be prepared to pay (which is good cap management IMO).

I hope Davies, if the rumour is true, is being targeted as a stop gap for the year, but I suspect that he'll want more guarantees than just a 6 month deal if he's going to move across the pond.

While I commend Payne and Nelsen for drawing the line in the sand (finally) and moving on, I suspect that Urruti falling through is a bigger deal than most think. I'm terrified that we'll have a starting top 2 of Wiedeman and Braun come July (assuming Nelsen sticks with the 4-4-2 he seems to favour).

The team has already said Koevermans is ahead schedule and could be back playing by May.

I think you're overestimating Earnshaw's earning power in England right now. He was out of favor at his home club, Cardiff, and playing in Israel. So upper level MLS money is probably more than he was going to make there. Davies is 36 and isn't even dressing for Bolton anymore, so he -- like Dichio at the time -- will probably take anything decent he can get. And Koeverman's injury is not even remotely considered career ending anymore, even for an older player.

I don't think there's much chance we'll lose all three, or even two of them, by summer.

[Wooster_TFC]

Well, when you pick the oldest three guys ... you're going to wind up with a list of the oldest three guys.

Earnshaw's a solid starter at 32, which isn't particularly old by modern standards. We have at least three more strikers under 30 and Jordan Hamilton coming up as well, so there's a sort of logic to it, younger guys learn from older etc.

If they score, I could care less if they're 38.

If we had Earnshaw and Davies up top, with Koevermans and Davies playing alternating roles to keep them healthy, that would be a troublesome pairing in every game against any defence in this league.

In fact, you can sort of see where this is all heading now, which is a pretty immediately competitive team, but with key parts that will go soon, allowing them to bring down the overall age of the squad slowly at the same time as breeding a competitive tradition.

It's predicated on getting the right people, competitors and fit at any age, then having depth. No matter who we lose to injury, we still have one experienced finisher on the field, and have some quick, talented but inexperienced secondary strikers to slot into the position opened by injury.

This is an excellent analysis, and if all three are solid contributors, and if all three remain healthy, and if all three get signed (Earnshaw needs a real contract come July), then we'll be scary up front for the back half of the year. A lot of "if"s though.

[Pint]

Koev is no guarantee to return at all, let alone at his previous level of play.

Earnshaw is no guarantee to remain once his loan dies. I suspect he'll be looking for good money, which I don't think we'll be prepared to pay (which is good cap management IMO).

I hope Davies, if the rumour is true, is being targeted as a stop gap for the year, but I suspect that he'll want more guarantees than just a 6 month deal if he's going to move across the pond.

While I commend Payne and Nelsen for drawing the line in the sand (finally) and moving on, I suspect that Urruti falling through is a bigger deal than most think. I'm terrified that we'll have a starting top 2 of Wiedeman and Braun come July (assuming Nelsen sticks with the 4-4-2 he seems to favour).

I thought Earnshaw was our property now... not on loan?

I thought we had club options on him for the next 2 or 3 season after this season as well

[Wooster_TFC]

I think you're overestimating Earnshaw's earning power in England right now. He was out of favor at his home club, Cardiff, and playing in Israel. So upper level MLS money is probably more than he was going to make there. Davies is 36 and isn't even dressing for Bolton anymore, so he -- like Dichio at the time -- will probably take anything decent he can get. And Koeverman's injury is not even remotely considered career ending anymore, even for an older player.

I don't think there's much chance we'll lose all three, or even two of them, by summer.

Cardiff is an EPL level team. With Earnshaw finishing off chances in MLS, I could easily see a mid-level championship team giving him a go. That's DP money right there.

I fully believe that Davies will not be getting DP money, but I also really don't want him signed for more than this year. That said, I suspect it will take more than just a 1 year contract to get him to move across the pond.

TFC is saying good things about Koev, but then again, they were saying good things about Frings in the off-season. I have high hopes for him, but he shouldn't be assumed as an instant return.

All I'm saying is that while I'd have been more disappointed if the Laba deal fell through and Urruti was coming (especially since it was being reported as a loan with option to buy), I wouldn't completely slough it off like most are on here.

[KGH]

Koev is no guarantee to return at all, let alone at his previous level of play.

Earnshaw is no guarantee to remain once his loan dies. I suspect he'll be looking for good money, which I don't think we'll be prepared to pay (which is good cap management IMO).

All reports say Koev is in great shape now. You would be too if you've spent you're entire life playing professional sports and the next 2-3 years of your career depends on coming back from this injury strong and fit.

The deal with Earnshaw is already pre-negotiated. It's really the clubs option to bring him on or not. I doubt we would have negotiated a salary that becomes a detriment to our already piss poor cap management.

[Wooster_TFC]

I thought Earnshaw was our property now... not on loan?

I thought we had club options on him for the next 2 or 3 season after this season as well

My understanding for both Earnshaw and Bostock was that TFC has their rights in the MLS context (discovery signings?) but that they'd have to negotiate a contract to keep them past July 1st.

So, "our players", but not...

[ag futbol]

I'm not so sure TFC is sold on Bostock to begin with. Why is Reggie Lambe starting instead? Because he puts in more work when we don't have the ball, which is pretty central to what this team wants to do. Think they'll keep searching for upgrades in that spot.

What we get out of Kovermans at this point is a bit of a crap shoot. The injury he's coming off is fairly high risk. That being said I'm not too disappointed about losing out on Urutti, seemed ok but Laba is more of the prize.

[Wooster_TFC]

What we get out of Kovermans at this point is a bit of a crap shoot. The injury he's coming off is fairly high risk. That being said I'm not too disappointed about losing out on Urutti, seemed ok but Laba is more of the prize.

Agreed.

All I was saying is that people shouldn't be dismissing not getting Urrutti as "no big deal because we have Koev, Earnshaw, and Davies!" All I was saying is that there's no guarantee we will have any of the three come July 1st, and the thought of our primary striker being Justin Braun (no offense intended to Braun, he's a good kid who puts in a lot of effort) is terrifying to me.

[Oldtimer]

^^^ and ^^^^ MLS does not allow loans without a pre-negotiated team option.

[notthesun]

I'm not so sure TFC is sold on Bostock to begin with. Why is Reggie Lambe starting instead? Because he puts in more work when we don't have the ball, which is pretty central to what this team wants to do. Think they'll keep searching for upgrades in that spot.

What we get out of Kovermans at this point is a bit of a crap shoot. The injury he's coming off is fairly high risk. That being said I'm not too disappointed about losing out on Urutti, seemed ok but Laba is more of the prize.

I really hope we give Bostock a chance at CAM. Hell I wouldn't even be against him getting a run out at ST in a 4-4-2. He's always been a central player and with his technical ability he could prove to be deadly from the middle if we're feeding him balls on the ground that he can turn on.

Also I expect Koef to come back pretty strongly. Every week I read a new tweet about how he says he's feeling good, he's upped his training a bit or how the club expects him back quicker than originally thought. It's probably mostly optimism but I think after a couple games he'll be up and at 'em.

Anyways, Molinaro seems pretty confident about Laba coming in so hopefully no funny business.

[ag futbol]

^^^ and ^^^^ MLS does not allow loans without a pre-negotiated team option.

Is that still the case? I kind of got the impression teams were getting around that by sticking high option prices in the contracts, making the whole exercise moot.

[Canary10]

I really hope we give Bostock a chance at CAM. Hell I wouldn't even be against him getting a run out at ST in a 4-4-2. He's always been a central player and with his technical ability he could prove to be deadly from the middle if we're feeding him balls on the ground that he can turn on.

Also I expect Koef to come back pretty strongly. Every week I read a new tweet about how he says he's feeling good, he's upped his training a bit or how the club expects him back quicker than originally thought. It's probably mostly optimism but I think after a couple games he'll be up and at 'em.

Anyways, Molinaro seems pretty confident about Laba coming in so hopefully no funny business.

It really isn't how he feels at this point. I'm sure he feels great the knee feels good. It's a mental thing now. After that injury, you have a fear of going into tackles without wrecking it again. That bit of hesitation is big in a game situation. It's going to take him a while to shake that.

[brad]

^^^ and ^^^^ MLS does not allow loans without a pre-negotiated team option.

Isn't that loan with an option to buy? Or is it terms agreed with the player in advance? I though it was the former to prevent some MLS team from partnering with a big club and becoming a farm team stacked with high quality talent for a pittance in salary.

[flamehawk]

I much prefer Laba over Urruti as others have mentioned. But seeing as these deals were supposed to be a done deal a month ago, I will wait to see this officially announced before getting too excited.

The deal makes sense, I actually like Hall, but his distribution isn't up to scratch. Best use him as a utility man off the bench, which I think he does well enough.

[Greatest Ripoff]

How legit is this twitter account? Say 'official' but doesn't look official. https://twitter.com/TodoAAAJ


Todo AAAJ @ TodoAAAJ 25m# AAAJ - Matías Laba not continue at the club. Emigrate to Canada (# TorontoFC) by $ 1.5 million clean.

Edit: nevermind its not the official club site or twitter.

[Greatest Ripoff]

Alejandro Calumite ‏@alecalumite
AAAJ Confirmed: Sunday Laba travels to America. This Wednesday signed everything. Player will Toronto FC @ Diegomar

[Pint]

So he travels to Canada on sunday or he traveled to canada on sunday?

Either way looks like the paper work will be worked out tomorrow and he will be out player.

[notthesun]

Next Sunday is the 28th and his original date to arrive at the club was the 29th, so that seems to line up.

[Morlesio14]

Cool about Laba. About Davies, one pacey finisher in earnie and a great player in the air in davies

[brad]

Cool about Laba. About Davies, one pacey finisher in earnie and a great player in the air in davies

Lethal combo in this league IMHO.

[moralis]

More info on Kevin Davies to TFC:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/foo...medium=twitter

Bolton paying half Davies wages to go to Toronto. Interesting.

[brad]

Uurati deal dead as per Molinaro. Nelsen said so in today's post training presser

[Oldtimer]

Bolton giving us their player and paying half his wages??? Kevin Payne must be some negotiator to make this happen!

[Pint]

Doesn't say when Davies is coming but I would guess it is soon considering the transfer window closes soon.

[jazzy]

From what i saw on the Vimeo vids, he looks like a destroyer; he looks like he can distribute, but not a very creative guy, and looks like he doesn't get up the field a whole lot, doesn't really score goals - i don't think he really fits the mold of a box-to-box mid

again,,,someone tell me is this not DeGuzman....although an inexpensive DeGuzman would have been ok

[Yohan]

Doesn't say when Davies is coming but I would guess it is soon considering the transfer window closes soon.

6 May. oodles of time

[jazzy]

With Ephraim and Bostock wide I would say. I have almost seen enough of Lambe starting.

boom....although I think Neilson really likes Lambe

[Yohan]

Bolton giving us their player and paying half his wages??? Kevin Payne must be some negotiator to make this happen!

Davies must be on EPL level wages. And Bolton would only be paying until end of June when Davies contract expires.

So loan till end of June, permanent transfer after?