Moderator
That Cathal Kelly article is kind of ridiculous. I agree with a bunch of what he wrote, but saying we look like one of the best sides in MLS based on that game, is premature, to say the least.
I am, however, starting to become convinced we may very well have the best midfielder (and maybe striker) in MLS, haha. Bradley was a total boss. Reminded me of Canada in the gold medal hockey game, in a way. Just shutting everything down.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
Dempsey seemed like a jackass in his pregame comments and continued to show that during the game. Loved watching Bradley completely outwork him.
Great start by the reds. So glad to see them hold onto the win and even more to see them do it on the road.
Can't way to see Gilberto... Hopefully next week.
Now add the unknown in Gilberto. It gets scary up front.Originally Posted by Shakes McQueen
Road Trips: July 7 2007 Chicago, July 22nd 2007 Columbus, August 11 2007 NY, October 13 2007 LA, March 29 2008 Columbus, May 24th 2008 DC, May 26 2008 Montreal, June 28th 2008 NE, March 7-11-14 2009 Charleston, March 28 2009 Columbus, April 10 2010 New England, May 12 2010 Montreal, April 7 2012 Montreal, March 16 2013 Montreal , June 3 2014 Montreal, March 14 2015 Columbus
Twitter: @RPBPhil
Did anyone else take in the "Bankers till I die" Ad on the side of the pitch the whole game? I thought that was hilarious.
Overall a really impressive performance as I didn't think we'd look that organised at the back this early but it's obvious now that:
1) Bloom is almost certainly going to be an integral part of the defense this season as he showed he very well could be towards the end of last season.
2) Henry really DID improve at West Ham over the break which is very encouraging. maybe this is the year he takes his big leap towards being one of the best CB's in the league?
3) the leadership of Cesar, Caldwell and Bradley REALLY showed in the second half. I don't think I've ever seen a group of TFC players have that kind of camaraderie and willingness to play for each other and the coach as I saw in the second half.
Nelson may not be the best tactician but he has certainly figured out the whole team chemistry aspect. Nobody is here to just get a paycheck anymore. It's very clear this group of guys are just as determined to not just have a good performance themselves, but they want everyone else on the team to succeed too. I don't think enough credit is being given to Nelsen for managing that in such a short period of time.
I should say we didn't look great at keeping possession all the time, especially in the second half where we didn't even really try, but there was definitely some good intricate passing and running in the first 35 minutes. We looked very comfortable at that point but having a tired Jackson and Bloom playing as our wingers didn;t help much in the second. I wouldn't look in to our inability to keep possession to closely. we just did what we had to do to get the points.
And sure, Wonderful debut by Defoe. But I'll be looking for him to do a little more connecting and work in the channels next week as he barely did any running other than on those two finishes. I'm still convinced those two goals were the only time actually ran at the defense all day. By all account it seems the the club thinks that Gilberto will be the one doing what Defoe did today in playing the poachers role while I expect Defoe to move down to dero's position slightly beneath him.
God I love Dero, but something was definitely not clicking today. Smart runs but his touch and agility really were not what they were even last season. I'm hoping it's just early season rust.
Anyway. I thought I was excited for today but that's multiplied by 10 now. can't wait for next week to be singing the players off the field for a good hour after we destroy D.C. full house for the first time since Madrid. It's gonna be something special.
I hope you're all ready for the new era.
Last edited by molenshtain; 03-15-2014 at 10:23 PM.
Moderator
Yeah, if Defoe was able to do that with Old Man DeRo doing slashing runs up front, imagine what he'll be able to do with Gilberto (if he does what it says on the tin).
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
Getting Issey signed and Gilberto in there completes 18 good quality players that we can go to war with.
Moderator
So for anyone keeping track.
- TFC won their season opener (on the road, against a good team)
- Maple Leafs are 3rd in the East
- Raptors are 3rd in the East
If the Blue Jays come out of the gate looking good, keep an eye out for the apocalypse.
- Scott
“Heroism breaks its heart, and idealism its back, on the intransigence of the credulous and the mediocre, manipulated by the cynical and the corrupt.” ~Christopher Hitchens
Loved Jackson's intensity. That said, if he keeps completely taking people out like that, there will be a few games that he won't be allowed to finish.
Do the Toronto Triumph still play?
What do you mean "let's be serious"? I was being serious.
I don't know anything about piped in sound. It seemed like they had a mic in the drum, but that's just for TV not the whole stadium. That stadium is very loud. Seattle fans set two NFL noise records there last year. In general they seem like good fans to me....you can have Portland or wherever else, I don't really care. I was just saying that insulting Seattle fans for something we do pretty much every game seems weird.
Watching the highlights, Caldwell's block on Martins is a thing of beauty. It wasn't a great shot from Martins and it looks like Cesar probably had it covered but Caldwell reacted instantly and did everything he could.
Good point about the refs. I thought it was one of the better officiated MLS games I could remember.
Yes, the officiating was solid today. Keep the scabs!
Meh, I find Seattle fans to be more plastic than Portland, though It`s kind of a stupid argument. Both are great sets of supporters But I think the TA have a more organic feel to them and have better chant`s that are more fun and original. A lot of the supposedly great new fan support from teams such as SKC and Seattle still have the video board telling the crowd to MAKE SOME NOISE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Gotta love that our FO never did that when we started out. We might not always be the loudest anymore but at least we can say we`re not being told what to do by the fucking video board or PA guy.
I'd be careful with that. We had the nationally telecast game and got a good official because the league knows where the eyeballs are. NY-COL had a blown call today that changed the result of the game. Overall it hasn't been terrible but if the point of this strike is to continue to use the same group of poorly performing officials and pay them less, we are all in trouble.
A huge number of offside calls in this league are blown, which isn't surprising considering their pay is comparable to a McDonald's cashier.
Moderator
WOOOOOOOO!!!
Great game. Awesome game. So glad for the win. Had a great time at Shoeless. I figured Defoe was gonna bag a goal. Didn't think he was gonna score two, though.
Bradley played awesome. Jackson and Cesar looked very comfortable out there. For the most part, the whole team played pretty cohesively I thought. I totally get some of the criticism toward DeRo, but to be honest, he's not likely going to start a lot of games so I'll let it slide. I kinda like Shake's remark - If Defoe can can be offensively effective with a slower partner like DeRo, what is he gonna be like when Gilberto's laced up and on the pitch?
I went into the game expecting a hard-fought draw at the most. I'm very glad to be wrong and will readily accept the 2-1 win.
Last edited by Cashcleaner; 03-15-2014 at 11:21 PM.
Did the USA , of all countries, just fix soccer? - C. Ronaldo, May 27th commenting on the FBI-led investigations into fraud and corruption throughout FIFA.
I agree with the pipped in BS and bands, its a bit fake there. Seems like they got micro phones and TV cameras right where the supporter end is to show it off more. But you can not deny that Seattle has some massive support (they get around 38,000 fans a game) and they have had some big ass Tifo displays that are bigger and better then ones we have ever done. And there flags are pretty good, and you can not deny that the "Seattle" followed by "Sounders" chant is louder then any chant we have ever done. It sounds like the whole stadium sings that chant, something we can never seem to get the whole stadium to join in.
I thought the first half was amazing and I've never, ever seen TFC boss around a team like that at an away game. Defoe and Bradley are at an entirely different level and I shudder to think what we'll be like at home with our support.
I don't care. We won away at Seattle. Fantastic result. Let's not lose sight of the accomplishment
Moderator
There was the initial ten or fifteen minutes when Seattle dictated a lot of the game's pace, but once they settled in TFC really started to push back. We adapted quite quickly. That's a refreshing change.
Not sure if it's been posted (probably), but here's Caldwell's post-game interview:
http://www.torontofc.ca/video/2014/0...-march-15-2014
Last edited by Cashcleaner; 03-15-2014 at 11:40 PM.
Did the USA , of all countries, just fix soccer? - C. Ronaldo, May 27th commenting on the FBI-led investigations into fraud and corruption throughout FIFA.
Every single head coach in MLS is going to watch that game with his coaching staff and come up with a plan to contain JD. That's going to cut into his effectiveness, but opens the door to opportunities for Gilberto and others as JD gets double or triple teamed.
As for Seattle's support, it is broader among the general public than any other place I've been to. More than Portland (but close). In my experience the only two places I've been and found random people who wanted to talk MLS with me (in response to a scarf or a shirt I was wearing) has been Seattle and Toronto (edit: and Portland now that I think about it).
Last edited by Detroit_TFC; 03-15-2014 at 11:46 PM.
Lmao i was thinking that during the game laughing with my pops like what the hell? theres multiple teams in Toronto doing good at one time?
Second that… they were more competent then the regular refs lol
I'm still pinching myself after watching that game. My heart was in my mouth every time a TFC player went down on the pitch. I was sweating bullets through the last 10 minutes of the game. I can't believe TFC won in Seattle and without an injury. I'm actually starting to have a bit of hope that we might actually make the playoffs - is that a bad thing?
A couple of things I noticed that haven't been commented on:
- Alonso is supposed to be one of the best midfielders in the game. Bradley dominated him. The jawing match they got into halfway through the second quarter showed just how frustrated he was getting.
- Nelsen made use of all is substitutions. What's more, he was mostly using them to counter what Sigi was doing with his subs, showing a tactical awareness. I liked how he told Wiedeman to play as a midfielder more than as a striker, how Rey and Jackson were able to switch sides to counter Yedlin's speed, and how he was able to shuffle the positions of Bloom and Jackson when Orr came on.
- Jackson is going to be our Steven Lenhert. he plays physically and almost dirty. He's going to be voted the most hated player on the pitch by opposing teams.
- This wasn't even TFC's best starting 11 and they beat one of the best teams in the league on their home turf. How much more threatening/dominant will we be when Gilberto starts?
I want to say that TFC is going to crush DCU in the opener next week, but I'm a little worried that were going to see a return of the Ghosts of TFCs past and the team will get punked. It's going to take me at least a quarter of a season to gain confidence in the team, and the hope I have is tempered by the fact that it can all go wrong very quickly...
Road win is huge and the class of the first goal was not something we have seen often in last 3 years ( or at all? )
One thing that seems to have improved is the defending and it seems Morrow must have had a steady defensive game along with the CBs.
+1. Although a bit sloppy at times, Bradley was man of the match for me. Defoe was clinical and obviously beyond valuable but I haven't seen someone runs his balls off for the red jersey like this since the younger days of DeRo. Much like his pre-season games, Luthor is insanely tireless. Hopefully he doesn't burn out but I can see why they call him the destroyer, holy crap that kid was everywhere. Must annoy the hell out of opponent's players.
Not only that, his, Caldwell's and Dero's, leadership/character will hopefully provide the much needed support to hold everyone's balls up during the last 10 minutes of games.
I just hope injuries are kept to a minimum. Too many pieces missing from this starting XI and I can see us struggling against teams having better days.
I thought TFC were full value for the 3 points despite the possession stat. When we had the ball in the offensive end I thought we looked much more dangerous than Seattle ever did. Even after Dempsey's goal I was never concerned Seattle would tie the game up. I must be honest, I knew Bradley was a good player but thought his pedigree was extremely inflated (along with Dempsey) particularly by the US media. I was totally impressed by him and equally unimpressed with Dempsey. I can't believe he is the USMNT captain, that guys behaviour is embarassing. I thought the team played well especially at the back and love what Jackson and Rey bring on the wings. I'm predicting TFC finishes in top 3 in east.
Credit to Nelsen to let Bradley just play and be that box-to-box midfielder. He also trusted Osorio to be the pivot while Bradley was high up the pitch.+1. Although a bit sloppy at times, Bradley was man of the match for me. Defoe was clinical and obviously beyond valuable but I haven't seen someone runs his balls off for the red jersey like this since the younger days of DeRo. Much like his pre-season games, Luthor is insanely tireless. Hopefully he doesn't burn out but I can see why they call him the destroyer, holy crap that kid was everywhere. Must annoy the hell out of opponent's players.
Not only that, his, Caldwell's and Dero's, leadership/character will hopefully provide the much needed support to hold everyone's balls up during the last 10 minutes of games.
I just hope injuries are kept to a minimum. Too many pieces missing from this starting XI and I can see us struggling against teams having better days.
So here I am in Toronto General with my wife after watching the game there in the TV room on her floor and I am at Starbucks ordering a latte (actually finding that funny now reading some of the previous comments) and ran into a couple kids and their grandpa and I started talking to the kids about the game because one of them was a Spurs fan. After I said I was proud of TFC today the old man says to me "what happens when Defoe gets hurt?" And I say "I hope he doesn't" and he says "he will". I say "hopefully not" again trying to be polite to an elder. The old bastard says again "he will and they will lose"!then he walks away. What a ray of sunshine some people are. Screw him and all negative people like him. Go reds!!!!
Still disappointed brad?
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