That was ballsy, but Morales was gassed out and not playing well all game.Originally Posted by ag futbol
Vancouver needed one half decent striker and he would have scored like 15. Hell, Kenny Miller would have bagged 15 with service Morales and Rosales were providing.
“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
geez man, I like Oduro, but this is way off. BWP is a league ahead as a finisher. NY moved him centrally, which he rarely got a chance at in England due to his stature and speed. But miles better finisher than Oduro. Miles. He's great finisher. His smarts in other areas might be called to question and most of his goals WERE from being played into space; but his positioning is great and his touch is superb, way above the average or even a good MLS striker.
Last edited by jloome; 10-30-2014 at 11:00 AM.
"Wrong" might be a bit of a stretch, but I concur. Generically, however, when people think of a DP, they think name recognition, as well as quality; the reality of the DP's brought into the league is that's more the exception, than the rule.
Having said that, I was only looking to highlight the SPIRIT of Hamilton_Red's post; the term "real" might have just been for want of a better word or a bit lazy, with him not caring to get into detail with exactly the kind of DP he is. From the context of his post, it's clear he actually LIKES Morales, and is suggesting that we could learn a thing or two from Vancouver (i.e. acquiring our own Morales type, a la Gilberto).
So, it was just a bit odd to see a number of posts focusing on the semantics of his choice wording; he meant well, lads.
No arguments here. I thought it was a great move by Robo and not an easy one to make.
late to reply, but I made that comment to my brother during that game - "he (Bradley) tries to do too much." Terrific player, but needs a coach.
Last edited by MightyDM; 10-30-2014 at 08:14 PM. Reason: Typo(s)
see Pardew, Alan, Newcastle United, for a recent example.
Sorry but but there is no public evidence of this. Other than the team being in third place. Only gossip, and there is also gossip that says he was out with players after being fired etc etc.
Excellent post,
great posts
Brilliant response to "some players fit better on some teams than others!"
Is there any chance Tim L will have something to do with the new LA FC franchise announced today, with Vincent Tam and Magic Johnson among the partners? They have similar messaging about becoming a world club. Not yet the bloody big deal, mind...
I'm with Yohan. Wright-Phillips is ok, better than Oduro but not that far away from just okay IMO. If Henry leaves this off-season I look forward to Wright-Phillips scoring maybe 15 goals next year.
I just took a first look at season goals.
Plata 13
Silva 11
Defoe 11
Urruti 10
I'm well aware each of these has a story behind it but just thinking of all the money involved that just made problems in moving these players around is just mind blowing.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
And to think, those are just the more recent/relevant cases..
Well, Vancouver has lost Lee Nguyen (MLS MVP candidate) and Camilo (2nd leading scorer in Liga MX Apetura ths year). Both those players are better than anyone TFC has lost, and that was just in the last two years.
6. Thou shalt always play with a good passer DM
It's not exactly a secret. Even the best teams in the world will play with at least one central midfielder who's primary duty is more defensive than offensive. Because a team needs a shield in front of the back four, especially when fullbacks get caught out of position.
A DM plays vital part in defence. He's likely the guy who prevents opposition from attacking through the middle and reaching the defenders. He's a ball winner.If he has good positioning and anticipation, he'll intercept a lot of passes. He'll likely be a good tackler who will dispossess an opposition player off the ball. So a good DM is good for defence.
The trend in MLS is that being just a good ball winner DM is not good enough. You must also be able to contribute offensively. If you win the ball, but you cannot make an effective first pass, then a lot of your defensive work is done for naught, esp if you end up losing the ball again. And one of best times to spring an attack is on the counter, when the opposition defence has too many men forward to support the attack and the defence may not be set and organized to absorb an attack. Easier to breakdown a defence when everyone is in a bit of disarray. Hence why a lot of MLS teams play on the counter, or counter attack as one of their primary tactics.
So, instead of a traditional '6', a lot of MLS teams look for '6.5'. A guy who is a good ball winner, but can make the first pass out of the defence, linking the defence to midfield to forwards. He may also end up collecting passes from defenders who can't make a good forward pass, which a lot of MLS CBs still suffer from. Probably the best example of this 6.5 DM is Kyle Beckerman. He is good defensively, but he's also got array of passing, has a good long range shot and knows when to join the attack, having a high footy IQ. RSL knows that if Beckerman is on the ball, he'll likely not lose possession easily and he'll make an advantage forward pass from deep midfield. So the other midfielders can take a bit more risk going forward and try to overload opposition defence in certain spots. The position of passer DM is getting more critical that Seattle opted to use a DP spot on Ozzie Alonso, and Portland did with Diego Chara.
Toronto had the perfect 6.5 DM in Matias Laba, who's interception and tackles data is way off the charts. And he can make a clean first pass. I've already discussed some of Bradley's faults, but Toronto needs to use a DM who is defence first guy. From what I've seen, Collen Warner might be able to play this position, but he's been too ill disciplined going forward and I'm not sure if he's good enough defensively. Warren Creavalle is a DM by trade, but he's the traditional ball winner DM and so far his offensive skills aren't good enough.
If Vanney wants to play just 2 CMs in the middle, you cannot afford to have one of CMs be weak technically. He has to be able to make a pass. With 3 CMs, you can sorta get away with having a pure defensive DM if the other 2 are good technically, but one of faults of pure defensive DM is that he is more or less ignored by opposition defence on attack, because they know he's likely not going to be a huge threat.
DM was one of positions that MLS teams sorta skimped on wages traditionally, but with growing importance of a passer DM in modern game, it's not a position that a team can afford to be cheap. You should still be able to find a good DM without using a DP spot, but likely you will be spending 250-350k to get a good one. But it's a glaring weakness in TFC roster right now, if you do not play Bradley as a DM.
“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
From everything I've heard from Vanney I don't think he'll be playing a 2 man central midfield. I think he understands that's not how best to use Bradley. I think we'll be seeing Bradley playing in a midfield with a "6" and a "10" with inverted wingers next year.
7. The importance of fullbacks
It's not the most glamorous position, but it's importance in modern football is growing every year. In a way tactically, fullbacks may be one of more important positions. You have the traditional role of fullbacks, which is to provide defence from the flanks. But more steadily, fullbacks are critical part of a lot of attacks. So a modern fullbacks are not just solid defensively, but also good offensively. He must know how to defend, but also have the smarts to pick his time for his overlap runs and have the skill to dribble and deliver a good cross into the box.
In MLS, most teams cheap out on fullbacks, and for most part, because MLS teams play tight at the back, the lack of quality on FB defensively can be masked to some extent. Good MLS teams are starting to use fullbacks as key part of their attack. Fullbacks can create an overload in the midfield, creating 2v1 chances on the flanks. Whenever you create an overload in the midfield on the attack, it means someone or, some players are open, as defence shifts to try to compensate. Good teammates can exploit the channels.
Fullbacks are critical to RSL attack. Beltran and Wingert aren't individually brilliant, but working within RSL formation, they know their role. They are the primary source of attack on the flanks as RSL midfield will pinch in, so on attack when one of the fullbacks push up, RSL's 4-4-2 diamond turns into 3-1-3-1-2 with 5 in the midfield. RSL fullbacks are very aggressive, and they have the stamina to run up the flanks all game long. Seattle also use fullbacks aggressively especially on the right with Yedlin and his pace can move between defence and attack rapidly. LA runs a 4-4-2 as base, but either Rogers and Gargan will push up, creating a 3-4-3 depending on which side the attack is channeled through, or even a 3-3-4 when LA is being really aggressive. Shift from Todd Dunivant, who has been more of a defence first fullback, but smart when picking his runs to support on attack to Robbie Rogers who has been normally an attacking winger converted to fullback is indicative of how Bruce Arena is changing how he uses fullbacks from more traditional 4-4-2 couter, to more possession based attack using fullbacks to overload midfield.
So, what does that mean for TFC? It's suicidal to overcommit your FBs when your base CBs are weak. If TFC wants to play with more attacking fullbacks, the CBs have to be solid, and the DM able to cover for FBs if they get caught on the counter. Fullbacks are still the most moneyball position in MLS, and I think Morrow and Bloom are generally able to do the job. Justin Morrow has been the most consistent player for TFC this season. He may not be spectacular going forward, but he supports the attack well. He proves he's good defensively by also being able to play CB in a pinch, despite being only 5'9-10. He's a starter for most MLS teams, and on a good wage.
Mark Bloom is a bargain. He is good offensively for a fullback, with ability to deliver a cross and can use both feet. Defensively, he is prone to being caught on the counter and his positioning has been suspect, but some of it has to do with nobody organizing the defence well when Caldwell is out. For min wage, he is a good player for that price.
The thing about MLS is, fullbacks considered junk can be very effective under certain system. One man's trash is another man's gem? Seth Sinovic was waived by New England but flourishes at SKC. Not the most brilliant of fullbacks, but he fits SKC's high press 4-3-3 well. And for TFC fans, Dan Gargan is now the starting right FB for LA Galaxy. He still has his faults, but LA's defence first system shields, (plus playing with 2 good CBs in Omar Gonzalez and AJ De La Garza) a lot of Gargan's faults, and he's gotten really good with his supporting runs. One of SJ's failure this season has been trading away Morrow and Beitashour, who have been solid and were on affordable wages, and trying to break in new set of fullbacks that never quite worked out as well as before.
So, if someone incredibly better than Morrow and Bloom comes along for good price and good cap hit, sure. I'd love to have a look. But I don't think TFC should tinker too much with Morrow and Bloom combo. FBs aren't the biggest worry with TFC right now. (well, barring Bloom being away from his family and new kid)
“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
http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/articl...ear-turnaround
Good article on how New England scored on good domestic talents to build a winning team.
“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
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