Pre/In/Post - Game 4: Los Angeles Galaxy at TFC, Sat 30 Mar, 2pm

[Canary10]

Hall had probably the best game I've seen him play. Not sure why people are so down on him. Dunny was Dunny. Osorio really looked good. The only player in the mid who could see the runs the forwards were making and tried to slide rule those in. Came very close to releasing Earnshaw a few times. I think it's safer to not start him at this point, but his intelligence is on another level from the other TFC mids. Eckersley was shit again. He looked really weak in the first half (where I had the best vantage point of him). Sean Franklin caused him all sorts of problems. Also he has been found out on his forward runs. Defenders just give him the outside until he runs out of space. It works on him time after time after time. Really annoying that he doesn't see it. As everyone said, Russell had a howler. But the second half was pretty decent. I'd have taken a draw before the game, but losing the three points like that was hard, although predictable.

[jazzy]

I'm really liking O'Dea. Probably worth the salary due to his age and potential.

he was on many headers that were sure dangerous chances , surprised no one mentioned how good his game was , he simply got everyone off the hook constantly. LA simply sent gorgeous crosses and passes in all day at will. I too felt he has silently taken over a large leadership role.

[ag futbol]

The reason is we don't want to create another Oscar Cordon. A kid with decent ability who was thrown into the fire way too early, lost confidence and got cut (effectively ruining his chances at a decent career).

Now, clearly Osorio and Bekker have more skill than Cordon ever did. But we would be wise to exercise caution with them. Like I said, give Osorio a start next week because he earned it and (especially) because we're so weak in central midfield. But we should be bringing someone in who is a proven professional to start every week (ideally two so that we can also bench Hall/Dunfield), and continue easing Osorio and Bekker into the first team. If Osorio puts in a similar performance for the next two or three games running, then we can talk about starting him full time.

You have to be smart with rookies. Most aren't ready to play 90 minutes every week. If Osorio is ready it'll become clear after the next few games.

Agreed 100%. Lets think long term here. Developing these guys properly is more important than having stop gap solutions

[jazzy]

Exactly, I didn't really like how lambe played yesterday, so maybe start Osorio/Silva instead of Lambe?

Lambe has been a very weak no show for me all season......he is simply running and losing the ball, our wings are non-exhistant, only when silva came on did LA panick AND he actually schooled the amazing Gonzalas on his rushes.

[Soccerpro]

Is anyone else thanking our lucky stars that we have 4 points? Earnshaw poaching some goals is masking the weakness of the team so far. We're getting outplayed. In the 2nd half of yesterday's game, aside from our goal, L.A were unlucky not to score.They probably out chanced us 7-1 in the 2nd half.

At the moment it's kind of like the CCL games vs L.A last year. Yes, some results, but can't hide it for long. (not that it's as bad as last year)

We need upgrades at CM and on the wings, it's as simple as that. Without that, we have no bite. If opposition players put a few more of their chances away, it will get tougher.

[jazzy]

Hall had probably the best game I've seen him play. Not sure why people are so down on him. Dunny was Dunny. Osorio really looked good. The only player in the mid who could see the runs the forwards were making and tried to slide rule those in. Came very close to releasing Earnshaw a few times. I think it's safer to not start him at this point, but his intelligence is on another level from the other TFC mids. Eckersley was shit again. He looked really weak in the first half (where I had the best vantage point of him). Sean Franklin caused him all sorts of problems. Also he has been found out on his forward runs. Defenders just give him the outside until he runs out of space. It works on him time after time after time. Really annoying that he doesn't see it. As everyone said, Russell had a howler. But the second half was pretty decent. I'd have taken a draw before the game, but losing the three points like that was hard, although predictable.

good points but for me can't agree on hall, he didn't help out at the back at all and he should have gotten back on the first goal to help cover the perfect cross even though Russell waas asleep and completely beaten. also feel he just kicked the ball away to nowhere in particular too many times. (although that seemed for some reason everyones plan on the day).

[Canary10]

good points but for me can't agree on hall, he didn't help out at the back at all and he should have gotten back on the first goal to help cover the perfect cross even though Russell waas asleep and completely beaten. also feel he just kicked the ball away to nowhere in particular too many times. (although that seemed for some reason everyones plan on the day).

Hall did start the second goal. you won't get a lot of pretty balls from him, but he out-Dunnys Dunny.

[Yohan]

Hall did start the second goal. you won't get a lot of pretty balls from him, but he out-Dunnys Dunny.

Hall and Dunny were where TFC attack went to die, esp in 1st half. I'll have to rewatch the game again, but there was a nice build up, then a missed pass from Dunny or Hall would kill it. So frustrating

[Canary10]

Hall and Dunny were where TFC attack went to die, esp in 1st half. I'll have to rewatch the game again, but there was a nice build up, then a missed pass from Dunny or Hall would kill it. So frustrating

He did start off the second goal though. I agree he's not pretty but I'd rather see him in than Dunfield, paired with a better distributor.

[james]

Is anyone else thanking our lucky stars that we have 4 points? Earnshaw poaching some goals is masking the weakness of the team so far. We're getting outplayed. In the 2nd half of yesterday's game, aside from our goal, L.A were unlucky not to score.They probably out chanced us 7-1 in the 2nd half.

At the moment it's kind of like the CCL games vs L.A last year. Yes, some results, but can't hide it for long. (not that it's as bad as last year)

We need upgrades at CM and on the wings, it's as simple as that. Without that, we have no bite. If opposition players put a few more of their chances away, it will get tougher.

yeah i agree. 2 goals have been scored on penalty shots, and 2 have been scored on bad mistakes of the other team this year but not actually been scored on great plays or anything by us.We can not count on winning games like this for long. Against Vancouver we had no chances in the 2nd half while Vancouver had many, was lucky only lost 1-0. KC game i think we did ok but again KC came so close a few times at the end of the game, lucky TFC got the 3 pts. And yesterday LA was the better team, we had very few shots durring the game and some of the few we did were shots from way outside the box, were easy saves for LA. The way we are playing we are not a winning team, we will start to lose more games. TFC has a lot of work to do to improve this. Big issue i think Bostock can be a great player but only if he has the right players to work with.

[T-boy]

respectfully,.. a defender has to know where he is positioned , where the ball may be coming from , and what is his or the balls best course away from danger . thats his ONLY job! and Russell failed, therefore asking is he not talented enough then for the job? in the final minutes thinking defense is ones only thought. It's simple enough, I expect this from an academy player thrown into the big leagues but is not this gentleman an european upgrade? Maybe Mr. Russell needs an attitude change and maybe he learned the hard way we're not a backwoods amateur hour here in the MLS. I watched him get simply caught napping on the first goal. And the second ? Funny we'd crucify a home grown for the same mistake. As I said before given Ashton's weakness's he'd had recovered enough to at least upset the perfect pass in on the first goal( he"s much quicker and on the second Ashton (maybe not so smartly) would have at least dribbled the ball out of the zone with his speed or cleared it far up the sidelines as he always has done. and the score would have been 2-1. I think in light of Ashton's correct positioning as a sub, Russell therefore should sit the next game out contemplating his role as well.

I definitely don't put all the blame on Russel for this goal....and the pictures below really show this:

Plenty of blame to go around on that second LA goal.



Few things to note at this point:
1) Bostock was chasing around two players by himself. As a result, when Gonazalez gets the ball back he has ample time and space. Osorio or Earnshaw need to step up and help with the pressure.

2) Eckersley went too far wide and high up the pitch and has to fall back in line.

2) Lambe has failed to track Colin Clark's run down the left side. Prior to this image he did point and call out Clark's position, but didn't actually run back, leaving Russell to deal with two attackers.

3) The midfield as a whole has given up too much space in their own half. Either press high or fall back. Galaxy players have gotten in behind and there is about to be a 4 on 3 in the box.



1) At the time of Russell's header Califf is in no-man's-land, making an undermanned situation even worse.

2) The rest of the team was so far away that they're barely in the picture.

3) O'Dea appears to be marking Villareal but doesn't actually stay with him as you'll see in the next picture.



1) O'Dea completely fails to react to the header and continues walking toward the goal. Look at how far away he is from Villareal when they were next to each other at the time of the header.

Very poor play by TFC, be it fatigue or personnel or tactics.

I can't tell who is in the first photo (the the arrow behind him) - I think its Bostock or Lambe? He's in no mans land. In the first picture Russel is marking two guys while Bostock and whoever is next to him are marking nobody. Bostock (or Lambe) needs to check behind him and cover. By the time the ball is crossed, Russel is marking two guys at the same time. He's outnumbered and vastly the underdog to win the ball. By the last photo, you can see that while Russel has two guys on top of him, there are THREE midfielders in no-mans-land. ONE of those 3 guys needed to be heading backwards about 15 seconds early - but all sat in a row they are not helping - they are just taking up the space. Somebody needed to push forward, and somebody else needed to cut backwards and help out the outnumbered defence. If Russel had help from Bostock (or whoever that is in front of him doing nothing) then he wouldn't be outnumbered.

Whether this is just a complete lack of concentration by those 3 sat in the space in midfield, or just fatigue, I'm not sure. But if they were doing their job and somebody was tracking backwards and helping, then that goal probably wouldn't have happened. I'd put maybe 25 percent "blame" on Russel, and 75 percent on whoever is doing nothing and parking empty space in front of him.

Mowe, thanks for posting the stills, I think it really shows the lack of movement from the midfielders in that goal.

[mowe]

^ Lambe is the player with the arrow in the first picture. He was the one who didn't track the run. Bostock was trying to pressure the ball on the far side but one guy chasing two players is pretty useless, he needed help.

What I was trying to convey was that second goal was a result of allowing far too much space in the midfield and terrible marking in the box. Russell's gaffe was only a small part of the equation. TFC was completely disorganized near the end there, and I think lack of fitness is a big factor.

[T-boy]

The way I see Russel's gaffe is that he was about the only one busting a gut to cover two guys at the same time. If that's Lambe in that photo doing nothing, then he needs a kick up his arse! I'm not sure if that's a lack of fitness or just a lack of concentration and football brain.

I think in the end of the day, we have to be satisfied with 4 points from 4 games. But, even on Nelson's submission, we probably have only have half the 'starting eleven' that we will end the season with. I can see Hall, Dunfield, Ephraim, Lambe, and Morgan/Russel all being the second choice come the end of the season.

[Abou Sky]

Re watched the game again, (the last 5mins were tough because I knew the outcome)

That was not 2012 TFC, they didn't give that late goal up because they ran out of steam or didn't care, they were trying to make it 3-1 until the very end and THAT is encouraging.

Even after the equalizer TFC was giving everything to get another goal and win.

IMHO the difference between great teams and mediocre teams is that great teams play like it is nil-nil until the end and that is what TFC did.

[Dreadlocks]

There were actually 4 LA players in the box vs 3 Reds - which should NEVER happen, especially at that stage of the game. I put this on a couple of players. If Eks is tucking in and marking in the 6 year box, it frees up O'dea to double up on Calif's man which may have prevented the goal. If Lambe is back marking at the far post like he should have been then maybe the aerial battle goes differently and Russel does not head the ball back across goal.

Now all of that being said, Russel knows better than to head the ball across goal like that. Do anything else but don't do the job that the LA attacker is supposed to be trying to do in situations like that.

[T-boy]

There were actually 4 LA players in the box vs 3 Reds - which should NEVER happen, especially at that stage of the game. I put this on a couple of players. If Eks is tucking in and marking in the 6 year box, it frees up O'dea to double up on Calif's man which may have prevented the goal. If Lambe is back marking at the far post like he should have been then maybe the aerial battle goes differently and Russel does not head the ball back across goal.

Now all of that being said, Russel knows better than to head the ball across goal like that. Do anything else but don't do the job that the LA attacker is supposed to be trying to do in situations like that.

Again, its not like that was his intention. Nelson acknowledged it in his interview, and so did Russel. He said all he was trying to do was put in the effort to win the ball and get it clear - he didn't mean to put it back towards the goal like that. I'm almost certain Russl does indeed know better than to do that, but he was clearly stretching. He clearly didn't mean to put it on a plate for the LA guy IMO.

[Abou Sky]

Again, its not like that was his intention. Nelson acknowledged it in his interview, and so did Russel. He said all he was trying to do was put in the effort to win the ball and get it clear - he didn't mean to put it back towards the goal like that. I'm almost certain Russl does indeed know better than to do that, but he was clearly stretching. He clearly didn't mean to put it on a plate for the LA guy IMO.

+1

Blaming Russell for a bad header is like blaming a striker for blowing it over the bar. It happens, he isn't great, watching the game I see the first goal as more Hall's 'fault' but both those players were alright and really they are depth players (Russell was filling in for Morgan who was just back from Qatar)

I can give them that much slack, you win as a team and you lose as a team.

[james]

Re watched the game again, (the last 5mins were tough because I knew the outcome)

That was not 2012 TFC, they didn't give that late goal up because they ran out of steam or didn't care, they were trying to make it 3-1 until the very end and THAT is encouraging.

Even after the equalizer TFC was giving everything to get another goal and win.

IMHO the difference between great teams and mediocre teams is that great teams play like it is nil-nil until the end and that is what TFC did.

I agree with the fact that this team looks like they want to win more then previous years. I just still think they are missing some key points if they want to make this a winning season. TFC have not been in full control in a game yet to show they will be a great team. Biggest problem TFC does not get enough shots on net. They are lucky in many ways to have 4 points so far, they could just as easy have less points then they do the way they have played. Every game has had lack of quality chances. But it is still early in the year, hopefully they can keep working at it and fill the positions and get the players in the positions we need to fill.

[Dreadlocks]

Again, its not like that was his intention. Nelson acknowledged it in his interview, and so did Russel. He said all he was trying to do was put in the effort to win the ball and get it clear - he didn't mean to put it back towards the goal like that. I'm almost certain Russl does indeed know better than to do that, but he was clearly stretching. He clearly didn't mean to put it on a plate for the LA guy IMO.

+1

Blaming Russell for a bad header is like blaming a striker for blowing it over the bar. It happens, he isn't great, watching the game I see the first goal as more Hall's 'fault' but both those players were alright and really they are depth players (Russell was filling in for Morgan who was just back from Qatar)

I can give them that much slack, you win as a team and you lose as a team.

I'm sorry if I gave the impression that I believed the goal was totally on Russell. I don't. Russell was only one of a couple players to blame. Naturally he did not intend to head the ball like that; just like the other players that I mentioned earlier did not intend to be so out of position.

The goal was caused by a series of errors that should not have happened and not just one.

[Cashcleaner]

^ And even on the point of Russell, the mistake wasn't one made of intent, but rather of execution.

[T-boy]

I agree with the fact that this team looks like they want to win more then previous years. I just still think they are missing some key points if they want to make this a winning season. TFC have not been in full control in a game yet to show they will be a great team. Biggest problem TFC does not get enough shots on net. They are lucky in many ways to have 4 points so far, they could just as easy have less points then they do the way they have played. Every game has had lack of quality chances. But it is still early in the year, hopefully they can keep working at it and fill the positions and get the players in the positions we need to fill.

I think we all agree that we are still missing a few key players and areas of improvement before we have a "winning season". But we also need to be realistic about what a "winning season" is this year. Should we be definitely in the play offs? That's probably unrealistic seeing as we were dead last in 2012. For me, I just want to see a steady improvement through the season - the end position of the team is almost irrelevant. I'd love to see us at least half way up the eastern conference, but also 2 placed from bottom would be an improvement!

[trane]

Plenty of blame to go around on that second LA goal.



Few things to note at this point:
1) Bostock was chasing around two players by himself. As a result, when Gonazalez gets the ball back he has ample time and space. Osorio or Earnshaw need to step up and help with the pressure.

2) Eckersley went too far wide and high up the pitch and has to fall back in line.

2) Lambe has failed to track Colin Clark's run down the left side. Prior to this image he did point and call out Clark's position, but didn't actually run back, leaving Russell to deal with two attackers.

3) The midfield as a whole has given up too much space in their own half. Either press high or fall back. Galaxy players have gotten in behind and there is about to be a 4 on 3 in the box.



1) At the time of Russell's header Califf is in no-man's-land, making an undermanned situation even worse.

2) The rest of the team was so far away that they're barely in the picture.

3) O'Dea appears to be marking Villareal but doesn't actually stay with him as you'll see in the next picture.



1) O'Dea completely fails to react to the header and continues walking toward the goal. Look at how far away he is from Villareal when they were next to each other at the time of the header.

Very poor play by TFC, be it fatigue or personnel or tactics.

I and as a group watching the ball and the same side, leaving the other flank wide open for a runner to slip in unmarked. I have seen it so often that I rely can say nothing more. It is too early to give up on the new managment group, but it is a lingering problem which makes it old. Makes you wonder what it would take to fix it.

[trane]

^ Too to comments of those that poin that we have three in the box, and they sneek in four. No matter what footballing phylosophy you follow so late in the game the default should be for everyone to drop back to the box or the edges of the box, always preferable then sitting in space quarding space. Again particullarly so late in the game you fill the box with bodies, and it is pretty hard to score, up close of far our, barring a Messi like efforts, or a Balo type shot, from 20 yards, out, either is unlikely in this leaque.

[Huyton]

^ And even on the point of Russell, the mistake wasn't one made of intent, but rather of execution.

That was not even close to the incredible level of ineptitude show by Garcia, who somehow managed to kick a ball into the back of Stefan Frei (who was lying on the ground, injured, at the time), whereupon, the ball bounced into the path of chief piss-stain himself, Schelotto.

[james]

I think we all agree that we are still missing a few key players and areas of improvement before we have a "winning season". But we also need to be realistic about what a "winning season" is this year. Should we be definitely in the play offs? That's probably unrealistic seeing as we were dead last in 2012. For me, I just want to see a steady improvement through the season - the end position of the team is almost irrelevant. I'd love to see us at least half way up the eastern conference, but also 2 placed from bottom would be an improvement!

ok, I guess i just trying to get pretty much the point that you just explained across. It just seems some people want TFC to be a winner so bad that once we win a game or 2 early in the season all of a sudden people start thinking we are going to win the League or something. It's early yet and work needs to be done, lets hope we can make the playoffs at the end of it, but don't be shocked if we don't.

[burlington Red]

Hall had probably the best game I've seen him play. Not sure why people are so down on him. Dunny was Dunny. Osorio really looked good. The only player in the mid who could see the runs the forwards were making and tried to slide rule those in. Came very close to releasing Earnshaw a few times. I think it's safer to not start him at this point, but his intelligence is on another level from the other TFC mids. Eckersley was shit again. He looked really weak in the first half (where I had the best vantage point of him). Sean Franklin caused him all sorts of problems. Also he has been found out on his forward runs. Defenders just give him the outside until he runs out of space. It works on him time after time after time. Really annoying that he doesn't see it. As everyone said, Russell had a howler. But the second half was pretty decent. I'd have taken a draw before the game, but losing the three points like that was hard, although predictable.

how did Ecks do against Dallas