Excepting Payne, not sure anyone in this team's FO has ever gone to South America without it being the first time they were there.Originally Posted by Soccerpro
Excepting Payne, not sure anyone in this team's FO has ever gone to South America without it being the first time they were there.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Well I mean Morrow (for all his plaudits) is primarily a defensive fullback and RB was a constant disaster. Morgan is too inconsistent to be starting and he's one footed to a fault (with limited utility in that one foot).
You have to take into account that we play a very short secondary striker who also drifts wide to pick up the ball. We usually have one guy in the box who is a threat in the box on headers and for his size he can be underwhelming. Wingers who run up and down the flanks aren't going to get the most out of our best player. Having guys who play narrow and connect things is a prudent strategy. Plan A is always get the ball to Gio at his feet wherever you can find him (as it should be). It's not like this team was lacking for goals this season.
Maybe we get a real FW type to replace Findley on the other side. That would be useful. That player could on occasion run players and stretch the field on the opposite side. But the run to the bi-line and cross it routine will never be high on this team's list.
And yet that's what NYRB and LAG and others do.
Bez and Nelsen went to watch Gilberto before signing him.
Bez and Vanney were there last year too, it's how they ended up with Techera on their discovery list. It was in the Larson puff piece on how they signed Seba.
If they had their eye on anyone down there, they probably would have gone already, given that the Argie and Brazilian leagues are wrapping up.Colombia and Uruguay are still going if they have the good sense to have a look there.
Doubt they will have though, they probably in D'Amico or that French agency's pocket.
If theyre going to scout Europe, they need to be looking in the lower divisions in Germany, Spain, Holland, Italy, France, etc. There's lots of players there with skills that would be useful in MLS, but they just lack in certain areas which prevents them from making it over there. I little tactical intelligence spacial awareness and basic skill goes a long way in this league. For example Nick Soolsma was playing in the second tier of Dutch amateur football before he came here and was one of the most effective wingers we've had despite being slow as molasses in January. Need to find players like that, who come cheap, over players who used to play at the top but found themselves on the wrong side of 30 and no one wanted them anymore but they still cost 300k
Would love to see us take a run at Mapp for this assuming Montreal lets him go. His max salary under the free agency rules would be $239k, already less than Findley and we'd probably be able to sign him for less than that considering his recent injury history and lack of playing time this past year. Which is slightly concerning, but he definitely fills that role as a skilled wide player that can take on his man but likes to cut inside and get others involved.
I've always been a big fan of Justin Mapp and would love to see him in red. But it of course comes down to cost.
Don't believe Bez was with the club at the point Gilberto was signed. I believe someone alluded to the fact Gilberto came through a personal connection of Nelsen's. Now that being said - a few months prior to that signing nobody had ever paid Ryan Neslen to scout a footballer in his life nor had he spent any time doing it.
Whether we are watching these guys or not is really beside the point (that's the absolute minimum bar for due diligence). Whatever we are doing in our scouting process is failing miserably.
Last edited by ag futbol; 11-24-2015 at 11:21 AM.
Not sure if I feel totally comfortable with taking a player who's been with the Impact since Day 1 in MLS (Mapp)
Mapp is skilled and a great crosser of the ball but I'd look elsewhere first. We primarily need speed - but with more skill than a Findley offers.
Basically you unbalance the field by pushing Giovinco to one side then switching the play to a fast player who can quickly exploit the space. We tried to do that this year but RF is just terrible.
I'm near certain Nelsen mentioned traveling to Brazil with Bez to watch him in one of those pre-season scrum videos.
Last edited by Areathrasher; 11-24-2015 at 11:25 AM.
^ I stand corrected. That said... It's more or less the same situation as Nelsen. We hire a guy with no experience scouting but supposedly understands the MLS rules better than most.
I think he fits the bill well enough. He's not lightning quick but he's no slouch either, and he can actually dribble at pace, something only Giovinco can do for us right now. I see his value more as offering another avenue to build attacks leading to the middle. He loves to cut in and would be able to combine often with Giovinco/Bradley/Altidore. Last year almost every time we were pressured into moving the ball down the right Findley would be stuck and either lose possession or we'd have to work it all the way back to Konopka. If we actually sign Boakai I think he'd be the perfect guy to fill that speedster role.
I don't like the idea of looking past a proven player that fills a need because we could maybe do better... I think we should be trying to squeeze everything we can out of free agency and the re-entry draft. Just make sure any reclamation projects are low-budget moves, unlike Findley.
09:19
GIOVINCO STAYING IN MLS
Toronto FC starSebatian Giovinco will not be leaving the MLS franchise, despite reported interest from Barcelona.
The Italy international, who has been linked with a move to Tottenham in recent weeks, has been in scintillating form since heading Stateside, scoring 24 goals in all competitions and being named the 2015 MLS newcomers of the Year.
European champions Barcelona are also thought to be interested, but Giovinco’s agent Andrea D’Amico has dismissed such claims.
"They watched him at different times, but there was nothing concrete," D'Amico told Calciomercato. "There was a general interest.
"A return to Europe? Sebastian has never considered returning. The club has made him the cornerstone of their project, they're definitely not willing to sell him.”
Stateside, ha!
thats just not fair, Im sure Bez has gone all inclusive before
provinceside just doesnt have that ring to it
If I recall correctly, didn't Mo go down there all the time for vacati...... I mean scouting?
That's tourism.
Payne told reporters here that when at DCU he went on 4-6 trips/year to get 5 guys over 10 years.
Was he exaggerating? Maybe. But the point stands.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Best. Scouting. Trip. Ever.
My favourite part was when he came back and said his mould of an ideal player was like this prospect who played for São Paulo (I believe). This guy was already on the radar of top euro clubs and valued at 20 million or so. This all happened at a time when MLS clubs hardly spent a dollar on transfer fees.
He might as well have gone to barca and told us Messi was the ideal player. Bravo.
Last edited by ag futbol; 11-24-2015 at 04:47 PM.
Ah the Dentinho rumours, we were so young.
http://forums.redpatchboys.ca/showth...s-potential-DP
I like that you can randomly pull up any in season or off season player thread from any of our years and it will always be filled with CB talk.
And I saw Marco Velez's name in there too
LOL, some things never change. Maybe one of these years we'll actually have a reliable CB pairing.I like that you can randomly pull up any in season or off season player thread from any of our years and it will always be filled with CB talk.
And I saw Marco Velez's name in there too
we are focussed on the wrong thing. Findlay has weaknesses - he has lost a step - but also has some strengths. He isn't the problem though, the problem is that we MUST play with two up front for Gio to succeed and we MuST play Bradley in the middle of a midfield three so we must play 4-1-3-2 or3-1-5-2 and we don't have the "1" to play there - a Laba type, not a Cheyrou type (who is an excellent player but is really a back up to Bradley in a similar skilled role at this point in his career). It also means the LB And RB are really critical in the 4-2-3-1. For me, the best we had this year was Morgan and morrow, not Jackson and morrow, unless Jackson had Warner in front of him. With Delgado's defensive mistakes and Findlays attacking bent, Jackson was a defensive risk.
for me then the focus is on balance. If we keep Altidore, Bradey and Gio, the first priority must be the "1" a true DM like Laba. Second is making sure we have strong two way full backs. And the midfielders come next, but wit Oso, Jackson, Delgado, Chapman we are starting decently there.
i am avoiding the goalie and coaching discussion. For brevity.
PS the best we played towards the end was a 4-2-3-1 but it means no atidier and Gio isolated.
Last edited by MightyDM; 11-24-2015 at 08:02 PM.
Everything your saying rings true but I think we could play a 4-3-3 as well. The midfield three still needs a '1' though (Italian style, played like an inverted triangle), and the full backs must be defensively sound.
This post hits it right on the head.
Completely agree.
(Although I still would look for a RB upgrade. Prefer Morgan behind Morrow at LB and Bloom behind a true RB starter)
On the GK watch. Tally Hall available.
Revs and Orlando have announced their cuts. TFC one could be coming.
Last edited by Areathrasher; 11-25-2015 at 10:18 AM.
I'll be disappointed if we pick up Tally Hall
Orlando City SC announced today it has declined contract options for goalkeepers Tally Hall and Josh Ford, defender Corey Ashe, midfielders Eric Avila and Lewis Neal, and forwards Danny Mwanga, Adam Bedell and Sidney Rivera. In addition, midfielder Tony Cascio’s contract has expired.
Ashe and Avila will be eligible for Free Agency. Cascio, Ford, Hall, Mwanga and Neal will be eligible to participate in Major League Soccer’s Re-Entry process.
The club did not exercise options for goalkeeper Trevor Spangenberg, defenders Kevin Alston and Jeremy Hall, and midfielders Timi Mulgrew,Steve Neumann, and Tyler Rudy. Midfielders Andy Dorman and Jermaine Jones are currently out of contract for the 2016 season.
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