Quite the hire and probs not cheap.
TFC hire Laurent Guyot to head TFCA
Quite the hire and probs not cheap.
On the surface, it's quite a hire.
But you know there will be backlash as he's not Canadian.
http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2015/06...ademy-director
3 thoughts
Devos, the one soccer journo concerned about the development of the game in Canada, has retweeted but not commented.
Unlike Vanney, doesn't look like a hire to be there in case the current manager is fired - that would be Frasier.
Hope they give him time to turn the academy to where it needs to go.
Last edited by OgtheDim; 06-29-2015 at 03:31 PM.
How does Neely fit into this?
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Will people really care? I mean, it's the Academy we're talking about. I'd be surprised if their is much talk about this either positively or negatively. Personally, I think it's a pretty solid pick-up for TFC. He's got some pretty impressive creds, at least. If you talk to guys like Bez or even players within the organization, it really sounds like player development is a big focus for TFC, but I would imagine most fans aren't all that interested in much other than the first team and maybe a few outstanding players rotating through TFC2.Originally Posted by Areathrasher
Last edited by Cashcleaner; 06-29-2015 at 03:38 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 wonder if he can poach some young 15 16 yr olds from france...i wonder if they will start some kind of residency program now?
Doubt it. it would cost money via compensation that I highly doubt the FO would view as a good investment. Also very unlikely any French kid would think it worth his time to move to canada to advance his career.
I think there is two sides to this: one, the ability to have enough soccer cred to actually convince the locals that this isn't just MLS half-assing it and picking 2nd rate internal candidates. Two, actually developing connections with the community from a business development perspective. The story is lots of people wanted to help from the outset but TFCA basically ignored them; they are not happy about that.
Vanney's connection probably when he was doing his coaching badge with French FA and impressed by guyot to offer him a job.
Let's not overstate it. Lot's of people wanted to be included, not necessarily help. There's a difference.
I like the way young French players are playing the game, they are technically and tactically aware, physical and solid in defending and attack. I like this alot.
On the surface it seems to be a good hire, but lets not forget we also had some highly credible Dutch staff too and that went nowhere. TFCA is still all smokes and mirrors until I actually see some players come into the first team contributing, Morgan/Henry don't count.
Besides the fact that there is no incentive for kids to leave a place that develops world class talent for an academy who's most successful talent is Doniel Henry; it would also be illegal to import kids from that far away. Barcelona got hit with a two window transfer ban for pulling shit like that.
Um... seems you missed that the U-12 team managed a draw against the Barcelona Academy a month ago during a tournament in Spain. It's taken a while to build the foundations and there's still a lot of work to do, but hardly "smoke and mirrors". They weren't going to jump out of the gates in year 1 and be a powerhouse.
I understand there is a difference but I'm not of the opinion it's free riders we are talking about.
TFC has done a piss poor job of connecting with the soccer community in general.
This to me is a hire designed to attract kids to TFCA, plain and simple.
There are some good clubs and training programs out there, TFC has to have an edge. A kid really has to believe the he is getting something he won't get elsewhere in committing to TFCA.
I would like to know more about Guyot's reasons for coming, as this is a position you really want to stay filled by the same person for decades, if possible.
What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.
TFCA is also responsible for 11 of the 23(?) players on the latest U17 canada roster. Lot's of work has been done to right the wrongs of Rongen and Johnston by Vanney and Bez. Credit where credit is due.
I'm not talking about free riders. Lot's of clubs and organizations wanted to be part of TFCA initially, were not given the A+ treatment by the club they thought they deserved and took massive offense because of it. For a number of years we certainly did not do enough to include the community, but the massive egos in Ontario soccer were certainly detrimental to getting the best kids into the academy. We didn't take enough care to be inclusive, but it's hard to attract kids when teams are telling their players not to sign with us. I'm less in the know on this stuff since the days of Winter and Rongen, but Vanney and Bez have supposedly cured this relationship. I'm not sure how, but I take it they have.
^ Again, you're starting from a different place. Forget A+ treatment, how about this: amateur club with existing relationship with TFC says they have a great player to recommend. What is your expectation? That TFC look at the player in person? Pick up the phone and say "thanks but we only scout through these channels?" Asks for video maybe?
Because from the stories bantered about the line is TFC didn't even call to say no in the past. They just ignored the information completely from their PARTNERS (ie those clubs they supposedly had close relationships with).
If you can point out what bez / vanney have done to improve it I'd be interested to hear. At face value, they have bigger fish to fry and what we've done with our academy just mirrors the rest of the league.
So here's to hoping this hire is the start of a new trend.
I heard that Johnston and co didn't even start many relationships.They got here and had no idea who to talk to about the Youth community and got some very bad advice from some dubious sources. Setting up relationships with certain clubs and barely listening to any outside recommendations. With Rongen it got worse.
Like I said, I'm less close to the ground with this sort of info the last few years. From what I can tell our new FO has made it a point to make TFCA part of the greater footballing community, and not on top of a pedestal like it was before. They've gotten much better at getting the best talent from the area, too. I can't say why specifically, but our under 16's and 17's are much closer to resembling a GTA all star team than it was 5-6 years ago.
Last edited by molenshtain; 06-29-2015 at 10:13 PM.
Obviously we don't know the internal workings but there is evidence that there is cooperation and improvement:
1) The rehiring of Stuart Neely. Obviously he isn't in his previous job but his presence I've heard has soothed over some of the problems. Based on his twitter account, he is incredibly passionate about the academy teams and players. The fact that he took the job too.
2) The signing of Jay Chapman. Was just another player discarded by Rongen along with Vukovic, Camargo, Kelsey and others. He had offers elsewhere but it's pretty obvious he didn't want to go through the draft or entertain offers overseas. He wanted to sign with us.
3) Manny Aparicio and Molham Babouli. Players not on the Canadian system's radar but ended up signing. That doesn't happen without proper scouting and collaboration with the club. Mo being 22 just shows there was definite 2 or more years of incompetence, most likely related to previous regimes.
4) Their interest is fielding a local tier 2 team and their collaboration with OSA/Vaughn.
Last edited by PopePouri; 06-29-2015 at 10:29 PM.
what backlash, its just the academy, no one (except for forum posters) really cares
It's the kind of thing Jason de Vos loves to bitch about on the air. Not that too many people care about that either.
As usual Trane , I agree with you. The French have always developed very good technically gifted players from Platini , to Zidane to Pogba and many more,
You are confusing game results with development. At U12, results should be way down the list of "markers of a good program."
What do you make of the fact that they were a part of the OPDL last year but pulled out for this season? This is the OSA's main development thrust for U13 on up.
Their obvious edge is they are free.
Their obvious downside is that you have to live in the GTA for it to be feasible from a parent/commuting perspective.
Their challenge is convincing people who are used to the club system, that training held behind closed doors with no ability for parents to observe and the only real payoff is a low wage MLS job is a good investment of time.
Please. The fact our team can even compete with a youth team like Barcelona is a sign they're doing something well. They also lost 1-0 to Ajax in the same tournament, and those are widely regarded as 2 of the best academies in the world. I think our U9, or maybe U10 team, was also showing well in a European tournament about the same time too, so it's not a one-off.
No need to be so patronizing.
That's assuming that MLS is the only opportunity. Even with our inept academy, how many players have signed with development squads overseas? What are the numbers on such signings for other MLS academies?
I don't know, but lets not suggest that MLS is the only possible option.
That and ability for parents to observe is really a North American thing - not certain it affects success or not but the anecdotal evidence from parent involvement in youth development across sports in North America is a certain % of parents will inhibit development and cause issues for the rest of the team beyond their own children.
Read up on why academies in general do not focus on results, particularly for U13 on down. Results are inconsequential at this age.
I think showing in this 7 v 7 tournament format is great for the kids' confidence and they will have stories to remember for ages. End of story.
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