He came here because of the money. He's leaving because of the Football.Originally Posted by habstfc
We need someone who'll do the opposite. LOL I know, I'm a dreamer.
He came here because of the money. He's leaving because of the Football.
We need someone who'll do the opposite. LOL I know, I'm a dreamer.
A bit beside the point but when we signed Defoe, all I could think was why not Drogba? Sure, he's older but he's still potent and has the character needed to play in a league like the MLS. Short term obviously but I doubt any of us believed Defoe would stay for the full 4 years anyways. Sign a player like that to help the team with experience, not to be our point man.
Unless we're signing a Luke Shaw or Emre Can, what's the point in chasing European players? We need catalysts not closers right now.
Soo.. we want someone to come for the football, and then leave for the money?
you can find Euro guys who will take pride in playing in MLS. you find a guy like Thierry Henry, Robbie Keane or di Vaio who not only produce on the pitch, but rep MLS whenever they can. They don't think MLS is beneath them. hell, even Beckham once he realized MLS is serious business gave his all.
Defoe? on hindsight, the way he needed to be pampered just to sign with TFC was like, he felt like he was more special than everyone else. he is, but that's not the attitude that'll endear you to your teammates or the league
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
I think if the correct background queries were done , instead of fandom hoopla we would of known he wasn`t the character we needed . They were simply looking a `name` to get `fans`into the stadium , and damn the consequences. All would be good after making the play-offs . We tries to jump too many hurdles , instead of simply climbing a ladder 1 link at a time. 2nd mistake , letting him ever play another game for us after realizing his bullshit ! It killed a team spirit we were building .
ALL HELL'S BROKEN LOOSEhttp://gfycat.com/SharpKindArrowana
That last point has been mentioned a time or two, in different ways, by myself and others.. but, I still think it's being underestimated.
Chemistry is SO huge; great that you're skilled -- best in the league -- whatever.. but, if you can't rally your mates, it's lost in a team sport.
Players of lesser ability, but with chemistry and familiarity with one another, can raise their game; guys like Oduro, maddening as he can be, at times, if in a settled side, where he feels comfortable, will have a better relationship with his team-mates, on the pitch, with them finding each other more, and thus helping our cause.
It's no coincidence that we get blanked, as soon as Gilberto's dropped from the squad. Came on in the last game, and, despite perhaps not being at his sharpest, given his time off, our play immediately improved.
I am literally frightened of Gilberto`s desire to stay....now of course , and there will be some interseting junk coming out of the locker room now I think , he`s either been scolded or his desire has been squelched . I can`t believe that the front office would do the same thing all over again, but have they butted in AGAIN to pick who plays and who doesn`t ? AND split up the team ? Many on here don't like Dero but I'd love to hear his version of all this . (Again this year we screwed him)....He could have contributed immensely this year in every game at least in the second halfs . The fans can sense sincerity and it seems to get lost always within this organization .
ALL HELL'S BROKEN LOOSEhttp://gfycat.com/SharpKindArrowana
I honestly don't believe that Vanney would willingly prioritize the marketing of Defoe above the good of the team. This all stinks of micromanaging from the owners. If Defoe was being disruptive and wanted out, why didn't they sell him? Lieweke himself said to get the hell out if you don't want to be here. And at that point when a player doesn't want to play there, it's pretty obvious that holding onto him doesn't increase your chances of getting to the playoffs. So then why not sell him? Because the owners invested a lot of money to bring him here and built their marketing campaign around him. I think that because of that investment, the owners might be getting more involved in the team than they should. Why would Vanney play an out of form, just back from injury, egotistical player like Defoe over an inform, hard working and more team oriented player like Gilberto? Because the owners want him to play. Besides the fact that he's their investment, his also their strategy to put faces back infront of the TV. The owners are the ones who broadcast the games, so they directly benefit from more viewers. Lieweke probably convinced them fork out money for Defoe based on the fact that he's a big name that will get people watching TFC again, so now they want to make sure he's playing.
TBH I hope I'm wrong, because this would mean that things are at a whole new level of fucked up if the owners are in fact dictating things. It's just a theory that makes more sense than that Vanney is a complete dumbass who doesn't understand things like team chemistry. It would also explain Leiweke's comments about Defoe a little while ago.
IIRC, Defoe was Nelsen's #1 target for a striker. Fits his system and he knows him.
Of course this all got blown up when we landed Bradley, which is probably the best move TL made in his tenure here.
I just meant the first part...
heh Just having a.. jab.. at you (see what I did, there?).
NYRB got themselves a real winner for their DP. A man who has won everywhere he's played and been captain of very good teams. A man who will be remembered as one of the all-time legends of the game. Defoe...scored a lot of goals for mid-table teams (albeit Spurs did improve later on during his tenure). There is no doubting Defoe's scoring talent, but he can't be compared to Henry.
Toronto FC baby...best team everrrrrrrrrr -Jozy
Armen Bedakian @ArmenBedakian 21m21 minutes ago Spoke with Gilberto today about his season and Montreal. But, he wished not to comment on my q. about chemistry built with Defoe. #TFC
Armen Bedakian @ArmenBedakian 19m19 minutes ago
Gilberto made it clear though that he not only likes life in Toronto FC, but he's also having a lot of fun here, too. #TFC #MLS
You got to think that anyone who says no comment in answer to a question has a story that cannot be told right now.
Agreed and hopefully Gilberto will stay on at TFC for a few more years. I think he is committed to TFC, the Badge and the Supporters. Maybe a story will come out, but I would rather it not. Hoping both Gilberto and Defoe bag a few against L'impact, and give us a game to cheer about.
thing about Keane and Henry is they had both been captains before they came here. Both had leadership qualities as well as ability. Neither Gilberto or Defoe have that leadership aspect to their game. Defoe is moody as we know. Compare Gilberto's movement to either Henry or Keane, there is an ecomony to their movement, in that they don't gallop all over the pitch as Gilberto does, but when they make a run, it is significant, impactful. Not saying Gilberto doesn't make good runs at times, but there is a headless chicken aspect at times to his game. It might seem cruel to compare him with Keane and Henry, but he's a DP, he's in with the big boys now. Some might say Henry doesn't move as much now due to age, and there is probably an element to that, but he was never as rampant with his runs as Gilberto. Keane has never been a big runner even when younger. I appreciate Gilberto is a big fav on here with the majority, and I do like him, I just don't think we've got enough out of him for the outlay and I think some of the praise he gets is way OTT. Service has been poor to him in fairness and it's his first season in a new league also. Next season he may well excel and at that time he'll get my praise wholeheartedly, but for this season, he's done okay.
I'm still trying to figure out how on earth he was supposed to get service in that previous system.
As soon as teams took away the obvious options we were out of ideas.
Henry long balls?
We were also in third place.
Before NYRB, Columbus and NE had their late season surges. There's no need to go over it again. It's been leaked and leaked that the players were unhappy with Nelsen. They gave up on him after Ernie's goal.
It really makes me wonder how much thought they put into signing Defoe, management knows that TFC has a culture of loosing and that things have gotten out of control many times, so why bring in a player with a high temper and fuse. I know Defoe was supposed to change that but you are making a huge descions here, why not research a bit more. This may sound radical but sometimes I wish we were a bit cash strapped so it forces us to look into our descions more..... Tossing money at a problem helps, but don't do it blindly...
^ Many good points. The risk of signing a marquee player is that they require management. The particular risks of signing JD had to be apparent (hindsight is 20/20, I know). I'm sure TL's mindset at the time was, if JD doesn't work out, we'll get some other big name player. Well, that backup plan isn't going to work for us now. Can we get back on the Kevin Payne plan (without the hassle of it being attached to Kevin Payne) - get down to Brazil and Argentina and find some decent players who want to come to North America.
just posted on FB by Toronto FC - -
Jermain Defoe will not play vs. Montreal after aggravating his groin injury.
https://www.facebook.com/torontofc
Go Gilberto!!!!!! It's his to run with now
Duane tweeting (maybe correctly) that Gilberto is out.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
Oh, man. Does anyone want to play for us anymore??!??!!??!??
John Molinaro @JohnMolinaro 32s33 seconds ago Defoe is here at training. Not practising with team. We're told he won't talk to reporters today. #TFC
Trying not to freak out about Gil rumors. So far, mostly unsuccessful on that effort.
So Bradley, our surprise last minute DP that fell into our lap, may be the only one left after this season.
Dead on.
I suspect many of this year's problems emanated from having three primadonnas in the room in Nelsen, Defoe and Gilberto, three guys who expected to be the shit because of their previous success at the top level.
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