Greatest 18 minutes so far in modern European Vs. South American Football.
https://youtu.be/aE4BdIP6bvc
Greatest 18 minutes so far in modern European Vs. South American Football.
https://youtu.be/aE4BdIP6bvc
We bought a Mexican INT CB this year, it is no one's fault that he isn't still here. Saying TFC did nothing on defense is laughable.
We promoted our best prospect to RB, then he got injured two games in.
His back up was a good CPL player, has been good enough to be a back up. Also got injured.
We bought an Italian RB, he bailed on coming in the primary window at the last minute.
We promoted an academy kid to be the backup and he has been acceptable.
We bought a Mexican INT CB, he had issues, and he left.
We bought a journeyman CB from Seattle and he has been fine.
We promoted a CPL player to be a backup, and he has been fine.
Transfer issues and injuries do not mean the team has done nothing. You not liking the things they did does not make them nothing.
Our defense sucking after injuries and issues does not mean they did nothing.
Why is Kosi starting over JMR? I have no idea. Without reporters asking these questions, we have no idea. Are they protecting him from loosing value due to playing with a bunch of not ready for prime time youths?
Being upset that Lawrence and Auro were let go does not mean there was no plan for the replacements. If the plan failed, it was still an evident plan.
The plan
JMR-Salcedo-Mavinga-Criscito
With Chung, O'Neil, McNaughton, and Petrasso as the backups.
If criscitio comes in the January window, and Salcedo doesn't have issues, and JMR isn't injured, who knows?
Just saying...
When somebody's retort about a view on the team is "are you related to management", I insta ignore.
Disgree & prove me wrong? Sure
Engage intellectually but fundamentally disagree with an opinion of mine? Sure
Tell me I'm stupid and or biased? On ignore & you can go back to reddit for all I care.
Criscito was never leaving Genoa in the middle of a relegation battle for this shit show and thinking JMR is going to seamlessly fit into the back four is a massive lack in judgement on the part of Bob Bradley, Anyone out there that believes JMR will be playing at Liverpool soon needs a good head shake
JMR looked good and improving before his injury.
We had been, by reporters, told criscitio signed, it was not an impossibility. It was even reported by Italian press as recently as this month that he had agreed to terms with us during the primary window. Believing it was possible does not make me gullible. There was enough reporting to make it at least a reasonable possibility.
because they have historically did not perform well they play abroad, very similar to English players. So the market reflects their price. But in Italy transfers between clubs the evaluation is always more so if he’s worth 50 million in Italy outside it would be like 35-40 million again similar to England as English players are notoriously over priced when selling within the country
I find the Henry signing interesting re: Bradley as Sporting Director. There is a certain pragmatism at work. It could be called laziness if we were certain that Bradley is lazy and incompetent but in fact his record suggests strongly that he’s a work horse who very much knows what he is doing. Whether that all works out is another story. The jobs he’s doing are about as far from football manager, video game virtual crap as possible. I like actual football because it’s truly complex stuff and unpredictable at times.
I see a very strong pattern in his work here so far. It’s been extreme, 20+ players out fast, three DPs gone but I don’t think the decisions being made are without intention.
Henry is not the sort of centre half that might be Bradley’s ideal type. He’s not mobile enough, doesn’t pass well enough, doesn’t move the ball forward well enough. He’s not terrible on those counts but that’s not his forte. Yes, he’s good in the air and has good spirit, is tough, a fighter but I don’t think, if he wasn’t willing to take a short term deal and wasn’t desperate for pre world cup minutes, that he’d be here.
I also think he might work out okay because he’s a Brampton born, TFC developed player and he’s very experienced, has a lot to prove. Think he’s not going to be a fish out of water in Bradley’s system either. A pragmatic signing from Bradley though.
^Agree
Also, exactly how many players in the world, who are going to get minutes in Qatar, are not good enough for TFC, in spots where we have glaring needs…?
"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
Unless, you believe that playing him in TFC II worthy lineups would not do anything to showcase his strengths, and might highlight his weaknesses to the overall detriment of his value.
Especially if an argument can be made that you're also allowing him to return to absolute full fitness before throwing him out there game after game risking a reoccurrence of his injury that could become a long term thing if rushed.
Since we are not on the medical team, we have no idea just how healthy JMR is. If he is not 100% is it really with throwing him to the wolves for a small advantage over Kosi? As right now JMR only has slightly better positioning, and possibly some advantages going forward?
It is not necessarily a black and white decision.
Jorginho has succeeded, but it took an Italian manager to bring him over, and the player was criticized early on despite generally performing well. The reasons for the criticism I think partly answers your question. The style of play in Serie A is so different to other leagues, especially the biggest in the Premier League. Drop a classic regista into the EPL and people don't know what to think, LOL. Jorginho adapted his game slightly and fans got used to his style, and he ended up being named UEFA's Best Player. But in general, Italians may just want to stick to the football they know.
I think the lack of Italian exports is also a cultural thing, much like how you rarely see Brits playing elsewhere. Even in calcio's heyday, Italian talent was largely kept in-house. Granted, Italian teams had money to keep the talent. Now the talent has dried up with the money, and it can't be a coincidence.
As for your player comparison, any player who performs in the EPL will be a hot commodity since there are just so many more eyes on it. Serie A ratings are awful for the most part now (back to money) so all people really see, like you said, are Italian teams failing in Europe. (Inter deserved to knock out Liverpool last season.)
One final thing on Berardi: For years he wanted to remain with Sassuolo, which could've been viewed as him not wanting to test himself (much like Belotti). Now he's a few years older and a lesser asset. Sassuolo are also notorious for playing hardball in negotiations, which is why Scamacca will now be trying his luck in the EPL rather than staying in Italy.
I'll probably never be happy we traded Priso although I do understand it.
But I'm happy he's playing. Second-straight start tonight for Colorado; he seems to have walked directly into their starting lineup.
They've got him marking Lodeiro out of the game so far.
Last edited by jloome; 07-23-2022 at 09:57 PM.
Have to think playing with Insigne and Bernie could be enough to convince Osorio to re-sign. (Seemed really happy in the first half, then second half had his pissed off arm shrug at Nelson)
Then, we can still add a DP to this. I'm still in favour of a CB DP (I'd prefer a CM to replace Bradley, but that's not happening, although if we get first half Bradley when the DPs play then it's fine). Take Bono's expiring salary and sign a right back and add an average MLS keeper (or maybe Buffon will want to join the Italian party here for cheap ) - Since we don't really know how much GAM we have apart from just guessing, I'll be super conservative and say we're maxed out, even though with the trades and GAM allowances it seems like we have more.
Keeper
400k RB- DP - ONeill - Criscito
Kaye-Bradley-Osorio
Bernie-Jimenez-Insigne
Maybe trade Ayo for a CB.
Last edited by rydermike; 07-23-2022 at 10:17 PM.
While his history leaves me super leery, I must admit that Bono has played really well in the last few games.
I think they'll go for a striker then move Ayo. A good team is a deep team. Jimenez is too good and works in multiple positions too well to lose, but if they can get a guy who is fast enough and technical enough to create his own goals (a Robbie Keane/Defoe/Josef type) or a power/target forward who is great with feet and head (ala Buksa) I can see them doing it.
But yeah, a DP CB would probably make the most sense, just because it guarantees that lock-down line leader who is so hard to find. It's not hard to find talented athletic guys who make boneheaded arrogant decisions. We've had them around aplenty.
If this team gets Belotti… unstoppable
Even without, if everyone stays healthy. I suspect once they get each other's timing down, Jimenez will beat a lot of backlines. He knows how to hold off a run and time it from deep, which is very hard to defend if the through ball is great. The one today was a half-second late but that'll come.
bradley looked great tonight if we're being honest.
take away the two goals, his link up play, passing and pressing was great. he looked a player transformed with the two dp wingers.
i can see him giving us another year as a starter, and if he plays like tonight, who could begrudge him that.
"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
He looked really good. I thought both he and Oso looked like guys who were enjoying being on the pitch for the first time in ages. It was like the game wasn’t a grind, they could just play their role and not worry about covering for other guys. In the second half Oso looked like he was ready to unload on the young guys, the change in demeanour was drastic
Last night was a good argument for not making any more moves until the end of the window
We have zero depth, and now we will go to the two worst surfaces in the league, with 12 hours of flying, 4 days apart. Oh, did we tell you about this part of MLS life, ragazzi?
(Kind of a terrifying two games in terms of injury risk.)
"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
Yeah, Bono's played well recently, but I feel he's always had these streaks of great play followed by a stretch of bad ones. Either way his current salary is too high for his production. Would I take him back as a 150-200k backup, sure. As a 500+k player, absolutely not.
Going for a high end striker is something I can definitely see Manning doing, although I feel it's unnecessary. I'd be fine with going after a reliable but reasonably priced striker as a JJ backup instead of a starter. Insigne+Bernie could probably be like the Vancouver Canucks with the Sedin twins. Pair them with anyone competent and that guy will just pot in goal after goal. Jiminez (already above average) could be a Golden Boot winner as a striker with them, but like you said his positional flexibility is a huge asset.
Last edited by rydermike; 07-24-2022 at 08:25 AM.
Is it possible that, with a revamped defensive line, Bono could actually be the solution? I actually noticed his distribution was really good this past game and the defensive line, even when it was pared down with the yutes coming in, was still doing what it needed to.
After watching that first half last night I'll throw it out there ... if we use Ayo to beef up the backline and we decide not to use the 3rd DP spot on an out and out striker this window, I'd take a run at that Sebastian Giovinco guy as Ayo's replacement on a deal till the end of the season. If he can still find the back of the net, sign him up for next season and if he doesn't, his contract's up at the end of the year and he gets a well deserved swan song with us ...