This looks like a very shrewd trade. Another player who has won the cup in Toronto. I am starting to believe that this could finally be the year! Looking around for impending calamity.
This looks like a very shrewd trade. Another player who has won the cup in Toronto. I am starting to believe that this could finally be the year! Looking around for impending calamity.
AND as if on cue Larson begins to stir the pot tonight about this being a lateral move and that Bendik is as good as Irwin with a mild hint of Irwin not being TFC's first choice.
He obviously didn't watch Irwin enough last season. Commands the area better then Bendik, communicates with his teammates more, has better positioning, anticipates better and passes the ball with more accuracy. Bendik is a better shot stopper and penalty saver (i.e. he's better once the world has fallen apart around him).
Look, Irwin is no Rimando let alone a Cesar or a Buffon. But he's in the top 5 of MLS keepers, which is something we'ver never really had (Frei got there after he left). Lets see how he grows with a veteran defence in front of him.
Better than Bendik doesn't sound too reassuring. Hope this works out.
Really happy for this trade, I am sure I have seem Irwin saving goals in the MLS save of the week a few times, certainly a step up from Bendik & Konopka. I heard that they were looking at two goaltenders from Europe, but I am glad that we got Irwin, knows the league and has had success here, familiar with Moor, does not need to settle in. Only the management knows how much Tam was paid, but in the end Tam does to tend goal. Of the Goalies who moved this year, Kennedy & Bendik, Irwin was the best of the lot.
May 28th, 2011 The TFCA vs Capital Cities game. CC win 2-1 but 15 year old Jordan Hamilton (third from right in lineup) scores on Irwin for TFCA.
Fans on far side in last picture.
http://www.rocketrobinsoccerintoront...1/11csl047.htm
Last edited by Rocket Robin; 01-19-2016 at 08:00 AM. Reason: more detail
http://www.torontosun.com/2016/01/18...in-clint-irwin
Larson really can be incredibly irritating at times: "Whether Irwin is an upgrade remains to be seen. His bill of work simply isn’t significant enough to make grandiose predictions as to what his contributions will be."
He just makes stuff up. He says this, as though 3 full seasons isn't meaningful - I bet Irwin is in the top 10 in games played of active MLS GKs.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
Comparing a MLS all star calibre keeper to a guy that hasn't proven to be capable of being more than a backup at this level?
Larson must be upset that he didn't break the story...
I don't mind this considering he has an established MLS track record. Is Larson really that blind to how proven Irwin is compared to what we had last season?
Last edited by ag futbol; 01-19-2016 at 10:26 AM.
Another Article on Clint:
http://sbisoccer.com/2016/01/clint-i...uild-back-line
Looks like he's looking forward to playing here. I like that Drew Moor has been in constant contact with him as he transitions. The proof of success will be the preseason matches.
Bendik must've been one of Larson's sources.....Larson always gets bitchy when one of his sources move on......he makes it quite obvious too.....Paul Mariner must've been too as Larson sometimes still actually finds good things to say about him, and also still goes out of his way to say that everything wrong with TFC began and ended with Aron Winter.....Winter must've shut him down a few times during his spell here.....
I'll give Larson credit for being one of the few guys reporting TFC on the regular, but his biases are starting to make him unreadable for me......
Last edited by TFC Tifoso; 01-19-2016 at 01:38 PM.
Irwin seems like a better dressing room guy also, at least from the outside. Molinaro described Bendik as a "cold fish" personality-wise after he was traded, which always came across to me as well watching his interviews. I can't really imagine him being anyone's best locker room buddy.
From the reaction of Colorado's supporters alone, this looks like a good deal for TFC..
That aside, communication with the backline always seemed off with Bednik.
By all accounts Irwin looks vocal. Considering we have some previous familiarity on the backline now (two former SJ fullbacks, former Colorado GK / CB) hopefully chemistry and predictability are not far off.
Irwin first interview thing - Torterra throws a few lob balls to Irwin.
Yes, there's an almost TFC-like despair happening in Colorado, I feel for those fans.
http://www.burgundywave.com/2016/1/1...147.1417487143
for what it's worth, the Club's bi-weekly propaganda video portrayed him as a very popular and important locker room guy. Always in the middle of things, especially our charity/community events. Seemed like a real stand up guy.
Last edited by molenshtain; 01-20-2016 at 12:49 AM.
Well, communication during a game (and the multi-tasking it requires); communication with journos; and communication with teammates and fans in a friendly environment; are all very different things. Being a union rep might also make him a bit more careful with public pronouncements.
I totally agree about the iffy distribution. I also remember re-watching some highlights of lousy goals & lucky misses against TFC, looking for (among other things) the lack of communication from our goalies (incl. Bendik), and many of our CBs. I remember seeing that Bendik would often stay totally silent as a catastrophic play developed, although he should have had the best view of it, but then complaining to his teammates loudly after a goal was scored, or we got lucky due to a bad miss by the opponents. Or when Bendik (and some other TFC keepers) never call for the ball, and then get blocked from reaching it by their own defenders.
I was a crappy CB or sweeper on crappy teams. But I remember learning early to keep your head on a swivel, keep everything in view, talk to your other defenders incl. wingbacks & defensive mids. And if you missed something, expecting a loud yell from your keeper, hopefully before it's too late. I'm amazed how often TFC seems to be totally surprised by an opponent showing up at the back post, or someone walking in totally uncovered from midfield and getting on the end of a cross. All the while a bunch of TFC players stare at whoever has the ball before, or a couple of them drift off the side where an attacker has the ball, never looking around at the open attackers in much more dangerous spots right in front of goal. Hopefully Irwin & Moor can do a better job of organizing that.
Nothing wrong with Joe Bendik as a person. He'll always be welcome at BMO. Anyone here would stand him a pint anytime.
But he had too many games like this one. I'd wager he would agree.
http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/mat...ls/video/35305
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff