2014 season year end analysis

[Yohan]

Random thoughts about the shitshow that was this season. Probably going to be several random posts throughout next couple of weeks.

1. Michael Bradley

On the pitch and tactically, this ended up being TFC's biggest issue. Just where to play Michael Bradley and how? Both Nelsen and Bradley tried to figure this out, but didn't come up with good enough answer.

The biggest issue with Badly, errr... Bradley is that he thinks he's a combination of Messi and Busquets and tried to do everything at once. Ever notice how TFC played better through midfield if Bradley is not on the pitch? Far more organized with people knowing their roles better. Put Bradley in the pitch and the midfield plays like basketball. Pass the ball to Bradley like he's Kobe Bryant and just watch for things to happen and react to it. Passing the ball to Bradley means you're no longer responsible for the ball, and it's an easy way out. Frustrating.

Bradley has potential to be the best midfielder in MLS, but this season, he was far from being one. Not even close. Average at best. He can do a lot of things, but not all of them at once. So, Vanney needs to make a decision and pick a role for Bradley. Is he a box to box midfielder? Probably his best role. Or is he a DM with deep playmaking role, which seems to be Bradley's preferred role. Whichever one Vanney decides is the best use of Bradley, he needs to pick one for him, and more importantly, make Bradley stick with that role only. If he is playing B2B role, don't let him drop back too deep, because he won't be supporting the attackers if he's too deep. If he's playing DM, make him understand that he cannot allow the defence to get exposed on the counter, so he cannot venture too far up the pitch. Bradley needs to be more disciplined.

Bradley may be a high paid DP and he is a competitor who wants to win. But he needs to realize that he cannot carry the team alone, and he needs better understanding of his role within the team and not take on too much.

[Yohan]

2. 4-3-3? Are you kidding me?

I'm a fan of 4-3-3. It's a fun formation, when it works. But in MLS, it's a very tricky formation to play, because you need technical players who are comfortable with the ball across the entire team. It's also a formation you need to have learned for a long time to get good understanding of how it works and your role in it starting from young age. Most NA players don't get exposed to 4-3-3 enough.

Right now, TFC doesn't have the players to play 4-3-3. The CBs aren't comfortable enough with the ball to start the transition out of the back. The central midfields are ok, but the wingers are the problem. Jackson has the work rate, but not the footy IQ. Oduro has the pace, but not good enough technically and doesn't track back. Wingers/wide forwards in 4-3-3 need to track back so that on defence, 4-3-3 becomes a 4-1-4-1 or a variant, so that midfield doesn't get overrun when defending. The wingers need to be able to whip in a cross consistently. Oduro and Jackson aren't good with crosses. And wingers need to be very smart when to make runs forward.

You also need an attacking midfielder who will be focus of attack in the final third. TFC doesn't have a Valeri or Higuain to run the offence in a 4-3-3. The #10 position becomes so vital that you need one main guy, and another one as back up. They will be expensive to find.

So these are some of reasons why I don't think 4-3-3 can work for TFC. What about SKC you say. Well, SKC plays 4-3-3, but they play a North American variant that relies more on athleticism than technicality. SKC plays a high pressure 4-3-3 that relies on overwhelming opposition at one area of the pitch to generate turnovers which turns into a counter attack. They play an extreme high tempo game that takes a long time to perfect. SKC has some skilled players for that bit of magic, but overall, they require everyone to constantly press and help out on defence. It's an interesting variant that requires very specific kind of players to work, which SKC has been successful in finding.

So if Vanney wants to play 4-3-3 next year, it's going to require a lot of new players. And do we really want another huge roster upheaval?

[Lumpy]

No post-mortem can be complete without discussing the “firing”. Prior to the “firing” we were in 3^rd place , at season’s end we were 7^th.In our last 10 games which coincide with Vanney’s reign we scored a grand total of 9 goals and were shutout in 5 of those 10 games. Seven of these 10 games were against non-playoff teams. We only managed to get 8 points out of a possible 21 against these non-playoff teams. Our overall record for those 10 games was 2W-6L-2D. The season was lost because we did not score goals in our last 10 games and we couldn’t beat the shitty teams we played.

[Lumpy]

Here is the flotsam and jetsam list:

Bekker-De Rosario-Defoe-Hall-Moore-Morgan -Oduro-Osorio-Richter-Wiedeman

[Pookie]

In this discussion, as players' names come to the forefront and we discuss their potential and/or current contributions I would like to offer a little perspective. At one time or another, the following players were deemed to be unworthy of playing for TFC. Upgrades were needed. They had faults. Etc. Etc. Some to more degree than others.

Luis Silva
Nana Attakora
Jacob Peterson
Toni Tchani
Bobby Convey
Richard Eckersely
Chad Barrett
Stefan Frei
Todd Dunivant
Dan Gargan
Alan Gordon
Aaron Maund
Joao Plata
Matias Laba

…. well, as it turns out, each of the above will participate in the MLS Playoffs this year. Whether starter or depth, each was selected to the roster of teams that are much better than TFC.

I don't want to get into a debate as to why each was let go. Simply stating that when it comes to player evaluation, our club and we as fans, really don't have a track record of predicting success.

[OgtheDim]

Ultimately, this season failed to get to the playoffs because our system we were trying to play was easy to solve. It was further hampered by getting Bradley and the inability of management to develop pieces around him to allow him to succeed.


a) Bez didn't replace Laba

b) We got a gift with Bradley but had no clue where to play him and who to put where around him

c) We spent 1.5 seasons building a system that could not adjust once teams took our midfield seriously and was too fragile at the back to be successful



For the next off season to be a success, we need

a) a second stud CD that will take over as the back line leader once Caldwell goes for 2016

b) a defensive minded first midfielder (Warner and Creavalle are not it)

c) a #10

d) decent wingers who can cross the ball and track back



5 starters


At the end of 2012, we needed 10 starters and a complete turn over.

At the end of 2013, we needed 7 starters.

At the end of 2014, we need 5.


Its progress but we should have progressed more this season - we should be looking for only 2-3 pieces.

Over the last 2 seasons we found a future stud CD in Hagglund, a great LB in Morrow, a decent enough RB in Bloom, a decent enough central mid in Osorio, an All Star CM is Bradley, a hard working pest of a striker in Gilberto, a good prospect left winger in Lovitz, and a hard working fan favourite to return with DeRo.

A number of signings that were supposed to fix things have not done the job, for various reasons - Orr, Oduro, Jackson, Defoe, Warner.

[Ultra & Proud]

Salary cap will change a lot next season but unless it goes up significantly, we need to chop a lot of dead meat off this roster. If it does go up to $5M or thereabouts then at least we'll have decent bench as half of our starters should be on it or cut.

Off season needs list: a very good AM, a veteran CB, a RB, a CF, a true DM, at least one winger that can consistently cross, and a solid GK that can distribute from the re-entry draft. Depending on the cap we could get half or more of this list from the re-entry draft like DC did. You want a quick turnaround and acquiring proven, but pricey MLS vets is how to do it.

[ensco]

We have to stop the recriminations, they lead to unnecessary player turnover ...

We were one of the worst teams in league history last year. We improved a fair bit from there, but the fact that the $100M didn't work was to be expected (teams in most leagues/sports generally can't buy contenders without spending $500M), it's only Leiweke's idiotic pronouncements that is muddling the issue..

This team won a bunch of games it didn't deserve early on, then was unlucky down the stretch. We finished more or less where we deserved to finish. We had some injuries but it wasn't epic (our 31 year old striker is breaking down, what a shock....) so that is not a story this time.

Overall we were quite a bit better, competitive in many games. There was significant improvement, a core group has been established.

None of this is about Vanney per se, btw. The coaching call is different. But I would want a new coach to be committed to working with what is here.

I think mgmt is in a state of constantly blowing things up because they read what we say, and are trying to please us! And I am not kidding about that.

[Ultra & Proud]

We have to stop the recriminations, they lead to unnecessary player turnover ...

We were one of the worst teams in league history last year. We improved a fair bit from there, but the fact that the $100M didn't work was to be expected (teams in most leagues/sports generally can't buy contenders without spending $500M), it's only Leiweke's idiotic pronouncements that is muddling the issue..

This team won a bunch of games it didn't deserve early on, then was unlucky down the stretch. We finished more or less where we deserved to finish. We had some injuries but it wasn't epic (our 31 year old striker is breaking down, what a shock....) so that is not a story this time.

Overall we were quite a bit better, competitive in many games. There was significant improvement, a core group has been established.

None of this is about Vanney per se, btw. The coaching call is different. But I would want a new coach to be committed to working with what is here.

I think mgmt is in a state of constantly blowing things up because they read what we say, and are trying to please us! And I am not kidding about that.

Bottom line is that if Vanney stays and wants to play an intelligent, modern 4-3-3 then quite a few of those players who make up our core and scrapped out results earlier will be hard pressed to succeed in any system better than a Nelsen like counter game as that is what they were acquired to do. You can kid yourself about keeping a core but Vanney won't. He isn't stupid by any means. He knows that the squad was built to counter and that these players won't be able to play what he wants so he will have a ton of turnover. That's my issue. We will have a lot of turnover no matter who manages next and since it's inevitable then I would prefer an experienced manager who can stay awhile so at least the turnover won't be for nothing and we won't be doing it all again next July.

[Ultra & Proud]

And I hope they do read what we say. Hiring noob managers and letting them turn the roster over only to be dumped fast because it's easy is what got us where we are today. As did constantly rolling the dice with unknown managers armed with new systems hoping to land an identity.

For once get a legit manager, don't care if familiar with MLS. Get him a MLS experienced assistant, keep Bez as GM/bean counter but make new manager director of player personel and technical director. Pick the right guy. Same idea as with Winter but pick the right guy with the right system and the right assistant.

[pdubs]

Honestly the TL "playoffs" comment really fucked us. Without that and some of the hype train, if we look where we started last year, finished and where we finished this season, it has been a good improvement. In terms of the team itself I think the priority should be how to best fit Bradley into the team. What system works best for him? What players does he need around him to make our team dangerous? If we get a legit DP DM (like a Laba) and a DP CAM then I think we will see the best from Bradley.

Where does Osorio fit? I personal do not think he can play out wide. CAM is his best position but can he run our offense? I do not know if he is ready. If he is our CAM, do we get a DP wide attacking midfielder or winger? Would a DP DM, Bradley, Osorio and a wide DP winger be enough?

I think we needed one CB at the start of this season. Now we need 2 starting MLS caliber CB's. Hagglund can cover, and cover relatively well (if memory serves lol) at RB in a pinch. If Henry goes, draft another CB for more cover. Maybe we get another Hagglund type. I would personally buy out Caldwell. He will be on $300,000-$350,000 ish and that is too much for his age and the injuries from this past season.

Staying on Hagglund I think we drafted well this past year. Hagglund played too many games with Henry but he has been essentially everything we have wanted in a CB from college. Lovitz has also been quality for someone coming from the college system. These assets we need to keep and develop. Don't think Lovitz is ready to start games but coming off the bench he gives us an attacking mindset. He is always looking to go forward and will take players on. Something Oduro and Jackson cannot do.

Speaking of those two, they are both terrible frustrating. I was so pumped about Oduro coming to the team. He cannot cross and he cannot shoot. Yes he has speed but honestly I never really saw him take over people with his speed. I would get rid of him.

Jackson I like defensively. He is super fast and defensively strong. He cannot play RB we know that now. The major issue is the cards he collects. We knew he would be a problem coming in. Offensively he gives us nothing, which I would be fine with if we can fit him in a system or situations where defense and speed our key. People will say get ride of him, and I wouldn't have a problem with that. However I would keep one of Jackson/Oduro because of their speed. Personally I would keep Jackson - he is younger and defensively he help us a lot this season in that respect.

Gilberto I like - do we give him more time? I said I personally need 1 season out of him to determine if he is right for us. If the team gets a GOOD offer for him outside the league (do not want to get burned by him in the future and everyone knows this will happen) then maybe transfer him. His work rate it top notch. With a proper CAM and midfield would this provide him even more opportunities? If we add the disallowed goal in (Garber said it was a goal so in my mind i am counting it lol) and the numerous posts he hit during the year his tally could be in the 10-12 mark. Good enough for a DP striker? On the whole I would say no, however he was battling injury at the beginning of the year.

On the whole, I would keep him and see what he can do in his second season until January. Full, healthy preseason, more language and culture integration under him. Same conversation as with Bradley - what system works best for him? I think as a lone striker and proper wingers we could see the best out of him. He is young and wants to win. Like I said tho, an outside the league transfer I wouldn't really be against either, but I think we are all done with the "Defoe aged DP". Young south american striker with MLS experience? We have that in Gilberto.

Defoe- easy get rid of him. Even if he has a "change of heart" for some reason. When healthy he scores goals. When he isn't healthy he is a massive distraction.

For the love of all that is holy, get rid of - Hall and Morgan. Hall is useless and Morgan will never be our LB.

Bekker - honestly he showed more this season. With a proper DM and Bradley behind him, in the CAM where is defensively responsibility is way less can he offer us something? Maybe. He is Canadian and isn't taking a chunk of cap space, I would keep him.

More later. Need more time to digest and go in-depth position by position.

[TFC07]

And I hope they do read what we say. Hiring noob managers and letting them turn the roster over only to be dumped fast because it's easy is what got us where we are today. As did constantly rolling the dice with unknown managers armed with new systems hoping to land an identity.

For once get a legit manager, don't care if familiar with MLS. Get him a MLS experienced assistant, keep Bez as GM/bean counter but make new manager director of player personel and technical director. Pick the right guy. Same idea as with Winter but pick the right guy with the right system and the right assistant.

Agree with this post 100%

We need a new manager with experience to lead this club before deciding which players to get waive or trade.

Once we get a new manager, then we can discuss about players.

[TorontoGooner]

We fired a Manager who had us in 3rd place with 10 games to go. All because of politics and a blip in form.

We replaced him with the youth team coach who showed he is absolute clueless, and drove us down to 7th. SEVENTH. The club got exactly what they deserved

We will not make the playoffs under Vanney next year.

[azorean]

Here is the flotsam and jetsam list:

Bekker-De Rosario-Defoe-Hall-Moore-Morgan -Oduro-Osorio-Richter-Wiedeman

About right, though I am tempted to ditch everyone and just start over..lol

I would add Caldwell to your list. Look at his outrageous salary and compare that with what a guy like waston just did for Vancouver at either half or a little more of the cost. Hate picking on the guy but he offers nada other than his flailing arms, wtf is up with that? He carries himself like he is leading man united or something with his air of self importance but makes little difference, just too much money for a guy like that. Just another example of tfc overpaying.

Also, osorio has potential. One to keep.

[notthesun]

In this discussion, as players' names come to the forefront and we discuss their potential and/or current contributions I would like to offer a little perspective. At one time or another, the following players were deemed to be unworthy of playing for TFC. Upgrades were needed. They had faults. Etc. Etc. Some to more degree than others.

Luis Silva
Nana Attakora
Jacob Peterson
Toni Tchani
Bobby Convey
Richard Eckersely
Chad Barrett
Stefan Frei
Todd Dunivant
Dan Gargan
Alan Gordon
Aaron Maund
Joao Plata
Matias Laba

…. well, as it turns out, each of the above will participate in the MLS Playoffs this year. Whether starter or depth, each was selected to the roster of teams that are much better than TFC.

I don't want to get into a debate as to why each was let go. Simply stating that when it comes to player evaluation, our club and we as fans, really don't have a track record of predicting success.

I've said more or less the same in a few match threads now. I think blowing up the team would be a massive mistake at this point. Since Vanney and Bez seem to be staying, I'm hopeful it doesn't happen (I would not be against a new experienced coach at all but I'm afraid it would lead to massive turnover).

I see guys like Oduro, Warner, Jackson come under heaps of criticism during games. I have no problem with that; they've had some stinkers and it's in the heat of the moment. But when people turn around later and immediately demand we ship them out for upgrades... that I find troubling. That's a bad look. It's way too quick a reaction. If it's a guy who has consistently shown over time he doesn't have what it takes, okay (e.g. Lambe, increasingly Bekker). But the guys I mentioned have had moderately to fairly successful careers in MLS already. They're not useless. People fail to realize the issues that these and other guys on our roster have can be largely covered up when they're in a well-coached team that has a functional and understood system. Dan Gargan is a run-of-the-mill RB but he gets legitimate minutes for one of the elite teams in the league. Toni Tchani is not agile and can't dribble well, but he's been an all-star for Columbus this season because they know how to use him. Barrett is Chad Fucking Barrett yet he's contributing off the bench for Seattle because he's got a damn good team behind him. And Plata, well, we all thought the league had figured him out when he was traded.

Dallas was happy with Jackson for 3 years and he's got 4 goals for us. Oduro has a 12 and 13 goal season in MLS under his belt. Warner showed his quality in the 3-4 games right after we snapped him up before Bradley came back. They can be useful players in a proper team.

I'm not saying we necessarily must keep these or other guys, or that new players aren't needed, because they are. But when a player is not performing for us, our first reaction should be to look at the team as a whole, the big picture, and identify issues there rather than vilify individual players and look for better replacements. Doing the latter has hurt us a hell of a lot more than it has helped over the years.

[azorean]

We have to stop the recriminations, they lead to unnecessary player turnover ...

We were one of the worst teams in league history last year. We improved a fair bit from there, but the fact that the $100M didn't work was to be expected (teams in most leagues/sports generally can't buy contenders without spending $500M), it's only Leiweke's idiotic pronouncements that is muddling the issue..

This team won a bunch of games it didn't deserve early on, then was unlucky down the stretch. We finished more or less where we deserved to finish. We had some injuries but it wasn't epic (our 31 year old striker is breaking down, what a shock....) so that is not a story this time.

Overall we were quite a bit better, competitive in many games. There was significant improvement, a core group has been established.

None of this is about Vanney per se, btw. The coaching call is different. But I would want a new coach to be committed to working with what is here.

I think mgmt is in a state of constantly blowing things up because they read what we say, and are trying to please us! And I am not kidding about that.

Was to be expected? In Mls? Wtf?.....the money that was spent on tfc was more than enough to produce at least a playoff spot. I'm sorry but especially in Mls, where the cap is so low, and throwing around mega dollars like we did and to not reach the playoffs?. That was money misspent. Give any other team our budget for this past season and your looking at cup contenders. This was a colossal failure.

[Yohan]

Was to be expected? In Mls? Wtf?.....the money that was spent on tfc was more than enough to produce at least a playoff spot. I'm sorry but especially in Mls, where the cap is so low, and throwing around mega dollars like we did and to not reach the playoffs?. That was money misspent. Give any other team our budget for this past season and your looking at cup contenders. This was a colossal failure.

if it was 100 mil spent on entire team, then yeah.

but it was spent on 3 players that proved not enough. to win with DPs, all your DPs need to be highly productive and injury free all the time. all 3 TFC DPs were busts one way or another.

[MightyDM]

Random thoughts about the shitshow that was this season. Probably going to be several random posts throughout next couple of weeks.

1. Michael Bradley

On the pitch and tactically, this ended up being TFC's biggest issue. Just where to play Michael Bradley and how? Both Nelsen and Bradley tried to figure this out, but didn't come up with good enough answer.

The biggest issue with Badly, errr... Bradley is that he thinks he's a combination of Messi and Busquets and tried to do everything at once. Ever notice how TFC played better through midfield if Bradley is not on the pitch? Far more organized with people knowing their roles better. Put Bradley in the pitch and the midfield plays like basketball. Pass the ball to Bradley like he's Kobe Bryant and just watch for things to happen and react to it. Passing the ball to Bradley means you're no longer responsible for the ball, and it's an easy way out. Frustrating.

Bradley has potential to be the best midfielder in MLS, but this season, he was far from being one. Not even close. Average at best. He can do a lot of things, but not all of them at once. So, Vanney needs to make a decision and pick a role for Bradley. Is he a box to box midfielder? Probably his best role. Or is he a DM with deep playmaking role, which seems to be Bradley's preferred role. Whichever one Vanney decides is the best use of Bradley, he needs to pick one for him, and more importantly, make Bradley stick with that role only. If he is playing B2B role, don't let him drop back too deep, because he won't be supporting the attackers if he's too deep. If he's playing DM, make him understand that he cannot allow the defence to get exposed on the counter, so he cannot venture too far up the pitch. Bradley needs to be more disciplined.

Bradley may be a high paid DP and he is a competitor who wants to win. But he needs to realize that he cannot carry the team alone, and he needs better understanding of his role within the team and not take on too much.

Absolutely nailed what I saw this season, and what ultimately cost Nelsen his job.

[Yohan]

I've said more or less the same in a few match threads now. I think blowing up the team would be a massive mistake at this point. Since Vanney and Bez seem to be staying, I'm hopeful it doesn't happen (I would not be against a new experienced coach at all but I'm afraid it would lead to massive turnover).

I see guys like Oduro, Warner, Jackson come under heaps of criticism during games. I have no problem with that; they've had some stinkers and it's in the heat of the moment. But when people turn around later and immediately demand we ship them out for upgrades... that I find troubling. That's a bad look. It's way too quick a reaction. If it's a guy who has consistently shown over time he doesn't have what it takes, okay (e.g. Lambe, increasingly Bekker). But the guys I mentioned have had moderately to fairly successful careers in MLS already. They're not useless. People fail to realize the issues that these and other guys on our roster have can be largely covered up when they're in a well-coached team that has a functional and understood system. Dan Gargan is a run-of-the-mill RB but he gets legitimate minutes for one of the elite teams in the league. Toni Tchani is not agile and can't dribble well, but he's been an all-star for Columbus this season because they know how to use him. Barrett is Chad Fucking Barrett yet he's contributing off the bench for Seattle because he's got a damn good team behind him. And Plata, well, we all thought the league had figured him out when he was traded.

Dallas was happy with Jackson for 3 years and he's got 4 goals for us. Oduro has a 12 and 13 goal season in MLS under his belt. Warner showed his quality in the 3-4 games right after we snapped him up before Bradley came back. They can be useful players in a proper team.

I'm not saying we necessarily must keep these or other guys, or that new players aren't needed, because they are. But when a player is not performing for us, our first reaction should be to look at the team as a whole, the big picture, and identify issues there rather than vilify individual players and look for better replacements. Doing the latter has hurt us a hell of a lot more than it has helped over the years.

spot on. we need better talent evaluation. some players will be released or traded and that can't be helped in a cap league. but we do need to play better moneyball and not just giveaway players for free or cheap

[jloome]

Bottom line is that if Vanney stays and wants to play an intelligent, modern 4-3-3 then quite a few of those players who make up our core and scrapped out results earlier will be hard pressed to succeed in any system better than a Nelsen like counter game as that is what they were acquired to do. You can kid yourself about keeping a core but Vanney won't. He isn't stupid by any means. He knows that the squad was built to counter and that these players won't be able to play what he wants so he will have a ton of turnover. That's my issue. We will have a lot of turnover no matter who manages next and since it's inevitable then I would prefer an experienced manager who can stay awhile so at least the turnover won't be for nothing and we won't be doing it all again next July.

We'll have more turnover with a new manager than with Vanney. He's said so himself on several occasions. And the starters we have who aren't good enough to start ARE good enough for bench depth.

I think Ensco's right; I think MLSE reads this stuff and makes decisions based on the most panicky positions.

I saw improvement under Vanney in terms of offensive movement. I saw obvious issues of learning new tactics and positional responsibities; most caretakers who come in get the bounce because they were direct assistants to the guy fired and they don't change anything tactically; Vanney has switched us up considerably.

In terms of defense and defensive movement, we had more issues after Nelsen left, but again that's to be expected.

Book it right here: we will NOT see massive player turnover this year. We may see a few fringe players (Hall, DeRo) dropped because they rarely saw the pitch or contributed. But we won't see a mass exodus.

[azorean]

if it was 100 mil spent on entire team, then yeah.

but it was spent on 3 players that proved not enough. to win with DPs, all your DPs need to be highly productive and injury free all the time. all 3 TFC DPs were busts one way or another.

OK. So we failed. Bottom line. Like I said. Still think if every other team was given our budget, regardless of dp restrictions or what not, they would have done more. we did not.

[Yohan]

We'll have more turnover with a new manager than with Vanney. He's said so himself on several occasions. And the starters we have who aren't good enough to start ARE good enough for bench depth.

I think Ensco's right; I think MLSE reads this stuff and makes decisions based on the most panicky positions.

I saw improvement under Vanney in terms of offensive movement. I saw obvious issues of learning new tactics and positional responsibities; most caretakers who come in get the bounce because they were direct assistants to the guy fired and they don't change anything tactically; Vanney has switched us up considerably.

In terms of defense and defensive movement, we had more issues after Nelsen left, but again that's to be expected.

Book it right here: we will NOT see massive player turnover this year. We may see a few fringe players (Hall, DeRo) dropped because they rarely saw the pitch or contributed. But we won't see a mass exodus.

We won't see a mass exodus because with increase in the cap, we likely can afford to keep all the players Vanney wants. In previous years, the high cap hit players would have to be traded to make cap room for new players.
Plus bundles of allocation cash (and we get more again for sucking) means TFC has a lot of room to add for next season.

[SoccMan2]

Bradley is a DM that's it a very good DM nothing more nothing less he plays the same position as Laba and Warner. This team needs an attacking midfielder we can't go into next season without a proper AM, Osorio is not the answer if anybody from management is reading this go get a fucking AM do not dare go into next season without one!

[Yohan]

OK. So we failed. Bottom line. Like I said. Still think if every other team was given our budget, regardless of dp restrictions or what not, we Still would/ should have done more.

oh I agree. pretty much all managers would love to have the wage budget TFC has. this season has told me that we suck a talent identification and the level of dysfunction in TFC is just as bad, if not worse than MoJo/Winter-Mariner years

[OgtheDim]

...
Book it right here: we will NOT see massive player turnover this year. We may see a few fringe players (Hall, DeRo) dropped because they rarely saw the pitch or contributed. But we won't see a mass exodus.

I don't think we are going to see 12 players currently on the roster leave. BUT, our issues are obvious and do need to be addressed.

Oduro and Jackson might get better, but there is nothing in their past that indicates they can do so and provide what we require out of those positions.

As for the central defence and the lack of midfield defensive support, the failings are bemoaned by more then just people on here. Molinaro talked about this as our achilles heel back in March. If they don't address the defence, Bez should be fired at the end of next season. Caldwell & Hagglund or Henry with Warner in front of them are not good enough as a unit. If there is no upgrade in the central defensive core, we will not make the playoffs.

[Yohan]

3. The need for depth in centrebacks.

Most MLS teams build their squad defence first, because if you can't keep the opposition from scoring, you're going to lose and it's easier to defend than to score. So, your CBs need to be good.

You need 5 good CBs with 3 MLS starter calibre. That sounds like a lot, but with injuries and fatigue, you're likely going through at least 4 of your CBs. This is how I see a good CB depth chart. This chart is very loose with definitions.
1. Commanding CB. Organizer with experience. Likely cost around 250-350k. (Chad Marshall, Omar Gonzalez)
2. Solid CB. Good #2 CB with at least some experience. Can fill in #1 in need. 150-275k. (Matt Hedges, Jeff Parke)
3. Decent CB. Experienced, but ok quality. Or a youngster with high potential with some experience under belt. 100-175k (Doneil Henry, Pa Madou Kah)
4. Depth CB. Varying level of MLS experience. Cheap, does the job, but not expected to play first team a lot. High NCAA draft pick can go here also. 60-100k. (Stephen Keel, Nick Hagglund)
5. Rookie CB. HG or draft pick. Rookies with not much experience, and gets their mins either on loan, or during Cup games. 45k-70k. (Karl Ouimette, Christian Dean)

Toronto had 1 solid CB Caldwell and one decent CB in Henry. Hagglund should be depth or rookie and shouldn't have expected to get so many mins. Orr is a depth CB and he played out of position. You need at least one solid CB to lead the defence. When Caldwell went down, that became an issue because when you have 2 young CBs, it just not going to work, no matter how good their potential may be.

Because of injuries and fatigue, your squad often ends up relying on how good your 3rd and 4th CBs are. Dallas lost George John all season. Most teams would probably suck if you lose your #1 CB for the year. But Dallas has another stud in Matt Hedges who'd normally fill #2 spot. And got a lot of mins out of their #3 guy Stephen Keel. And they also had #4 Walker Zimmerman who is a young up and comer at 21, but still pitched in with 10 games. So Dallas managed to survive losing John, because they had depth.

If TFC wants to succeed, we need 2 solid CBs. Caldwell is on his last legs and he should be in #3 role, splitting time with Henry. Hagglund is #4. If Vanney wants to play more attacking game, TFC will need to spend a lot more on CBs, maybe one on a DP, because you'll need that higher individual quality to make up for lack of protection from midfield. If Vanney plays more defence first game, TFC can get away with spending less, but will need better organized defence that defends collectively, plus a defence first DM to shield the back four. Either way, we need help on defence.

[azorean]

3. The need for depth in centrebacks.

Most MLS teams build their squad defence first, because if you can't keep the opposition from scoring, you're going to lose and it's easier to defend than to score. So, your CBs need to be good.

You need 5 good CBs with 3 MLS starter calibre. That sounds like a lot, but with injuries and fatigue, you're likely going through at least 4 of your CBs. This is how I see a good CB depth chart. This chart is very loose with definitions.
1. Commanding CB. Organizer with experience. Likely cost around 250-350k. (Chad Marshall, Omar Gonzalez)
2. Solid CB. Good #2 CB with at least some experience. Can fill in #1 in need. 150-275k. (Matt Hedges, Jeff Parke)
3. Decent CB. Experienced, but ok quality. Or a youngster with high potential with some experience under belt. 100-175k (Doneil Henry, Pa Madou Kah)
4. Depth CB. Varying level of MLS experience. Cheap, does the job, but not expected to play first team a lot. High NCAA draft pick can go here also. 60-100k. (Stephen Keel, Nick Hagglund)
5. Rookie CB. HG or draft pick. Rookies with not much experience, and gets their mins either on loan, or during Cup games. 45k-70k. (Karl Ouimette, Christian Dean)

Toronto had 1 solid CB Caldwell and one decent CB in Henry. Hagglund should be depth or rookie and shouldn't have expected to get so many mins. Orr is a depth CB and he played out of position. You need at least one solid CB to lead the defence. When Caldwell went down, that became an issue because when you have 2 young CBs, it just not going to work, no matter how good their potential may be.

Because of injuries and fatigue, your squad often ends up relying on how good your 3rd and 4th CBs are. Dallas lost George John all season. Most teams would probably suck if you lose your #1 CB for the year. But Dallas has another stud in Matt Hedges who'd normally fill #2 spot. And got a lot of mins out of their #3 guy Stephen Keel. And they also had #4 Walker Zimmerman who is a young up and comer at 21, but still pitched in with 10 games. So Dallas managed to survive losing John, because they had depth.

If TFC wants to succeed, we need 2 solid CBs. Caldwell is on his last legs and he should be in #3 role, splitting time with Henry. Hagglund is #4. If Vanney wants to play more attacking game, TFC will need to spend a lot more on CBs, maybe one on a DP, because you'll need that higher individual quality to make up for lack of protection from midfield. If Vanney plays more defence first game, TFC can get away with spending less, but will need better organized defence that defends collectively, plus a defence first DM to shield the back four. Either way, we need help on defence.

Yohan, you really think Caldwell is worth keeping at his salary?!...I would take any of the other guys you listed over Caldwell. I haven't compared salaries but from what you listed they are all better and cheaper options. Why keep the guy? He has not proven to be a difference maker yet his salary is of one that should be. He is almost a liability on defense with his flailing arms. He seems to have some leadership ability but that is not good enough when everything else is lacking and you are making 400 grand in a small cap league like Mls. He is easily replaceable for what he brings. look at some other Mls signings in comparison, goncalves a little more but look what he means for NE, it is not even comparable, bernardez is way cheaper, Watson, the list goes on. I don't hate Caldwell, but he ain't worth what he's making. End of.

[Yohan]

Yohan, you really think Caldwell is worth keeping at his salary?!...I would take any of the other guys you listed over Caldwell. I haven't compared salaries but from what you listed they are all better and cheaper options. Why keep the guy? He has not proven to be a difference maker yet his salary is of one that should be. He is almost a liability on defense with his flailing arms. He seems to have some leadership ability but that is not good enough when everything else is lacking and you are making 400 grand in a small cap league like Mls. He is easily replaceable for what he brings. look at some other Mls signings in comparison, goncalves a little more but look what he means for NE, it is not even comparable, bernardez is way cheaper, Watson, the list goes on. I don't hate Caldwell, but he ain't worth what he's making. End of.

it's the matter of whether you can find someone to take Caldwell at his salary. nobody in MLS wants him at his current cap hit, and if Caldwell's agent wasn't stupid, he'd have ensured Caldwell has a guaranteed contract.

so we're more or less stuck with Caldwell for next season

[pdubs]

it's the matter of whether you can find someone to take Caldwell at his salary. nobody in MLS wants him at his current cap hit, and if Caldwell's agent wasn't stupid, he'd have ensured Caldwell has a guaranteed contract.

so we're more or less stuck with Caldwell for next season

Can we use the 1 buyout we have per year on Caldwell? Or are there stipulations to using the buyout? Have things changed?

[Yohan]

Can we use the 1 buyout we have per year on Caldwell? Or are there stipulations to using the buyout? Have things changed?

yes you can. it has to be done during the off season