Quote Originally Posted by jloome View Post
Firing is premature. Concern about his willingness to adapt IN GAME to what is happening (playing a back three a handful of times early in the season to try it is hardly tactical flexibility), his willingness to force youngsters into new roles under pressure and the defensive performance (Shane O'Neill was a significant player for Seattle with lots of Euro experience; Mavinga didn't really come back; McNaughton was a good backup but overhyped)....

I mean, lots of things didn't work during a rebuild year. But they were still his choices. He was okay with Salcedo and Mavinga as our main pair, despite both having histories of flighty behavior and pay. He was okay with Bono; he could've bought out his last year and signed someone else, as the team's not exactly light on money.

I get the argument that they don't want to rush it, but if almost felt like they spent a year experimenting rather than even attempting to field competitive teams. We lost Shaff for what appears to be no good reason, we badly overpaid for Kaye. We still lack most of the pieces from two years ago that we've been missing: a goal threat, a centre half line leader, a strong goalie, a defensive midfield.

So, yeah, suggesting the guy be fired is premature. But if by the midpoint of next season, with three transfer windows behind him, we aren't competing? He should be fired, end of fucking story. This isn't Philadelphia, where they're doing it all on the cheap, developing youth players and giving Jim Curtin a decade-long plan to do it; TFC is going to spend something close to $40M next season, the same as a Mexican league club.

I don't get "fire them all!" but I also don't get "no worries, we're still rebuilding." There was a lot from his performance, and that of his staff and the players, for fans to worry about.
i genuinely am not worried.

if oso had played 30 games this year and westberg had stayed fit we'd probably be in the playoffs now, despite everything (we have only 1 win with oso out of the lineup out of 10+ games).

we played 3-4-3, 4-4-2, 4-4-3, plus a bunch of different variations to accommodate pozuelo. we also moved insigne inside a couple times with oso out in order to have ball progression in the middle.

his tactical inflexibility is a myth, or at very least wildly overstated.

with bernardeschi and insigne on the team, we need to be doing everything we can to get the current squad reps in a 4-3-3, as its the best formation by far for a team with elite wide players.

of course, to be successful you need CBs who can defend space, and neither of our forwards can play in a 4-3-3 successfully.

there can be lots of questions in the future if:

a) we don't bring in a top MLS gk, 2 new CBs who can cover open space, a DP striker, 1-3 Cms (depending on oso situation)
b) we do most of the above and are not challenging at the top.

if next year we are competing for a playoff spot or out of the picture, there will be a huge shakeup.

however, i don't think that transfer window is unrealistic for a winter, especially with all of the great free agents available.

and i also can't see us outside the top 3 of a weak east if we have a half decent window and address our inadequacies.