I say we win this one. 3-2 for the good guys.
I say we win this one. 3-2 for the good guys.
I think we'll win too. We're a disappointing 500 team, not the 1962 Mets.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
I think we all tend to get caught up in the down times because this team has had almost nothing. We're still a few pieces away, but we're not awful. Sometimes we're quite good. Defensive side is sort of universally sub-part right now. Morrow's about the only real starter, and that includes our DMs and goalie. (MB should be playing as a two-way mid, which is his strenght, and Cheyrou should be his backup, as he's too and fades a lot now.)Originally Posted by ensco
We might get past the first round, or even go deep, because Seba alone is talented enough to win us games. But we probably won't.
The fact is, we don't have a natural hole player, and yet we keep trying to play a diamond. No one has looked good there; not Bradley, not Delgado, not Osorio. Cheyrou and Warner have both had their moments but neither is in Laba or Alonso's league. Yet we can't go wide because we lack true wingers.
So basically we have talented players, but the wrong balance of them. In the offseason we need to lose a central mid (likely warner) in exchange for a true winger, sign another winger who can also play inside. We need at least one line-leading center back. And we need a shut-it-down defensive midfielder to anchor in front of the line. Then we have options to play multiple tactical shapes. As things are, we're very limited.
Based on everything we've seen this season,I think we'd do best in a flat 433 playing a defensive counter, shifting the middle to the strong side and keep the fullbacks back. Somethign like:
------Altidore--Seba--Moore----
------Bradley--Osorio--Jackson--
Morgan--Zavaleta--Hagglund--Morrow
--I have this sneaking suspicion that Kantari, Williams and Perquis are all complete shit. Zavaleta and Hagglund are young and naive but they work hard and are athletic, at least.
--There's no point looking for width through the middle or on the overlap, as we have no natural wingers or speed out wide. Better to reserve it for the odd surge forward by the fb, with the three mids teaming up to out number the other team on the ball.
-- Moore and Altidore can make themselves useful byusing their size and strength to pull the center backs apart and give Giovinco space to operate.
Something like that.
And with that comment you prove you have no clue.
I would like to see Gomez start at striker Saturday. Pair him with Altidore in a 4-3-1-2
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
jloome - long time reader of your fine contributions and observations. Must debate your comment quoted above. I think that international defenders in the MLS are expected to be impact players yet not given the time to learn the opposing players/combinations/teams/surfaces/strategies. We never got to see much of Perquis paired with Caldwell (an international much further along on the learning curve). I think that Perquis has ball skills that would be attractive when scouting for a player to feed the ball forward to Bradley/Giovinco etc. He was meant to benefit from a vet in MLS, instead he quickly became the vet. Hot head issues? Sure. Making the mistakes one should expect first year in the MLS? Sure. Complete do-do? Not by a long shot. Not sure that Kantari is the perfect central pair partner for Perquis, but hope he has time to become a MLS vet too. The TFC pattern is that they will give up on one of these talented defenders and then we will have to witness their successful growth with another MLS team. Williams is a player I have seen too little of to have a strong opinion on...
You are accurate when you point out that TFC lack wingers but then forget to mention that Vanney style means filling the winger vacuum with backs - Morrow, Morgan, Delgado, Jackson are forever going forward out wide, hopelessly up field and caught out for counter attacks and the "on-the-job" learning central backs are forced to save the day time and time again.
Agreed.
Caldwell going down was a massive loss, as much as people on here ragged on him. The goal was to get through this season with Caldwell & Perquis and then move forward into next season with Perquis and somebody else. Didn't happen. Kantari and Williams were not part of the original plan.
As for the lack of width, Vanney owns that and has to adjust as FB's are not enough width attack in this league.
Thanks for the compliment, SK! I still disagree entirely about Perquis! I read the comments from Spanish fans and blew it off, figuring that level was just too high for him. But he makes sooo many bad decisions. Multiple per game. His temper/seeming rage is less an issue to me than pure decision making, which has been very poor. I agree he's a number two, not a number one cb, but that's not the role we're using him in! We have no line leader.
I'll defer to your perspective and say that at the very least, we need someone with pedigree next to him. But none of our central defenders gives me confidence.
I'll also add the concern about players going on to do well elsewhere doesn't really apply here; the one consistent element of our team has being in the bottom five or six in the league, every single season, in defence. We've NEVER had a lockdown defence.
We need a Boswell or Marshall type who is veteran and solid, but knows the league as well.
This is a fair point, but there are a lot of examples throughout the league of foreign defenders coming in and having an immediate impact. Goncalves, Ciman, Waston, Collin when he first came over to SKC. I mean even Caldwell did a lot better when he first played for us than Perquis and Kantari have. I would take a healthy Caldwell over both of them in a heartbeat.
It's really concerning to see Perquis showing no signs of improvement with the season nearing its close. Kantari hasn't shown me much to lead me to believe he'll get there either. We just really could have done a lot better than both of them. Could they both get there with time? It's not impossible but I would stay well clear of those odds.
What I hate is that Zavaleta is the only CB on the squad that isn't the type to rush into tackles. He's generally extremely patient and picks his moments well. All our other CBs dive into tackles constantly, it drives me nuts.
Interestingly enough, the Rapids supporters have their own version of a "deathwatch" thread for their coach Pablo, however he is not going to be replaced but helped by an experienced coach (shades of JFJ):
http://forums.bigsoccer.com/threads/...002965/page-26
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
Haha that reminds me of when Mariner came into help with the strikers when Winter was managing.
There will be videos tonight from training. Molinaro is tweeting now about Seba.
He's a team player.
Check out this tweet at
https://twitter.com/JohnMolinaro/status/644962004004945921
Suspension incoming for Kantari per Larson
Our newest chapter - The rough patch boys.
FORMER FULL TIME KOOL-AID DRINKER
FYI for those of us coming down the right side of the yellow line
Line 1 Yonge-University Weekend Closure
There will be no subway service between Bloor-Yonge and Lawrence stations on September 19 and 20.
I swear to god I hate this city a solid 80% of the time.
A success story for Larson considering he was pretty much campaigning for Kantari to face supplementary discipline.
Nah.....a number of us called it at the time. It was worth a game.
Buried in the TFC email about this game.
As BMO Field gets ready for the arrival of its covered stands, there may be some congestion at various gates, so arrive early to ensure you get to your seat on time.
Damning and brilliant.
As for the defensive woes: lots of this is the midfield and the attacking style we play. Organization is also poor, partly due to injuries suspensions etc but still poor. I'd put individual player skill at the bottom of the list.
Love it!Our newest chapter - The rough patch boys.
following the increasingly-brilliant OgtheDim titles lead, these threads are full of creativity lately all, lifts the mood amongst tactical doom and gloom haha
Rough Patch Boys! Kayak fires!
what does that mean!? Construction tarps already going up?
hm
I get the..."we're not so bad that we'll lose 4 games in a row narrative". But I am concerned that we also have a competing narrative of ... This is TFC and we have put ourselves in a "must win" situation...when was the last time that we won a must win game?
GAME DAY
Weather
Bands of Rain crossing all day including thunderstorms. So, ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
22 feeling like 30 at game time.
Winds out of the south west gusting to 30 km/h
Construction And the Like
Line 1 Subway line closed between Lawrence and Bloor - take a Sheppard West 84 out of Sheppard station to Downsview or a 96 Wilson or 165 Weston Bus out of York Mills to head to the West side of the line
1 Gardiner lane closed each way for the rest of the season.
Note for the King Car & for those coming from the Junction: Roncasvalles closed between Dundas West and Queen West. The King Cars will be out of whack a bit because of that.
I'm gonna miss that Pan Am games express bus out of Dundas West to the dufferin gates. Easiest ride to BMO I've ever had. Ahh well.
TWN hourly forecast has 33km/h winds gusting up to 49km/h around 2pm
Shit winds are gonna be blowin' Ricky
"F*ck the game, let's get drunk and eat chicken fingers"
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