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  1. #3391
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mr. Inbetween View Post
    Not comfortable with this at all. Unless Odds Ballklubb has a second tier team, a TFCII, and then I would be even more apprehensive about what is being done. I am concerned with the possible attempt of TFC to media spin the move. There is no need. Yesterday, upon learning of the acquisition, I tried my hand at some quick research. The information I yielded supported Wikipedia's posting of 2 game appearances and 1 goal; for matches on 28AUG22 and 04SEP22. Moreover, as far as I could determine, he made the team line-up for only those two matches for last season. What gives? Why the need to murky or juke that stat?
    wikipedia isn't gospel. some leagues don't have the best public information posted about them.

  2. #3392
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    anyways, hopefully a sean johnson announcement today.

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    Quote Originally Posted by leedsandTFC View Post
    wikipedia isn't gospel. some leagues don't have the best public information posted about them.
    True, wikipedia isn't the best source, but like Mr.I I tried to verify it. He only played in two official matches. Maybe he played in some unofficial and/or reserve games, but in terms of Eliteserien matches, he only played two.

    Norwegian Football Federation has him down as two appearances - https://www.fotball.no/fotballdata/p...fiksId=3891524

    As does soccerway (which in my opinion is one of the best stats sites), which has the full lineups for all of Odds matches - https://int.soccerway.com/players/ad...omande/231756/


    Historically, his MLS stats are great. His fitness recently looks to be a concern. Hopefully, we get a case of the former not the latter. This is like an Altidore-type. High uncertainty-high reward. When he plays, he can beast. The question is will he be able to play.

  4. #3394
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    Everyone was asking for depth. We signed a depth player. Not every signing is gonna be Lorenzo Insigne or a CMNT player.

  5. #3395
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    Quote Originally Posted by MikeForbes View Post
    Everyone was asking for depth. We signed a depth player. Not every signing is gonna be Lorenzo Insigne or a CMNT player.
    bingo.

    hopefully we get some more signings soon so we can all stop hyper analyzing a cheap depth signing that could realistically be n a league minimum contract.

  6. #3396
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    Quote Originally Posted by MikeForbes View Post
    Everyone was asking for depth. We signed a depth player. Not every signing is gonna be Lorenzo Insigne or a CMNT player.
    Yep, I'm good with this signing (assuming price is right). If we can get first half 2022 season Jimenez combined with a prior-MLS-level-Diomande (even if he's only healthy for half a season), we'll have great production at the front combined with the Italians.

    Of course, we could get a 2nd-half of 2022 Jimenez plus an oft-injured Diomande, so I understand the worry some have. It's a risk-reward situation.
    Last edited by rydermike; 01-13-2023 at 11:25 AM.

  7. #3397
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    Quote Originally Posted by rydermike View Post
    Yep, I'm good with this signing (assuming price is right). If we can get first half 2022 season Jimenez combined with a prior-MLS-level-Diomande (even if he's only healthy for half a season), we'll have great production at the front combined with the Italians
    The problem with Jimenez wasn't his form per se, but once Poz left and the DPs arrived we started playing a system that did not suit him at all. He probably has to go, but if he stays I will be rooting for him to succeed because we badly need production, or at least a threat at striker that can draw defenders from FB/LI.

  8. #3398
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    Quote Originally Posted by leedsandTFC View Post
    anyways, hopefully a sean johnson announcement today.
    Hoping as well. About this time three years ago this board experienced the most users ever online! An omen?

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    Bob is not talking about Diomande like he is a depth player.

    “He is a proven striker with vast experience playing in MLS and Europe. His smart runs, athletic presence, and skill to finish in the box will immediately impact our attack.”
    “What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”

  10. #3400
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    Quote Originally Posted by ensco View Post
    Bob is not talking about Diomande like he is a depth player.

    “He is a proven striker with vast experience playing in MLS and Europe. His smart runs, athletic presence, and skill to finish in the box will immediately impact our attack.”
    Yes, he is.

    a depth piece/ option off the bench still immediately impacts the attack, just another option/ look.
    Last edited by leedsandTFC; 01-13-2023 at 11:34 AM.

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    He might be our starting striker at this point. Everyone is saying Ayo is gone but I thought Jimenez would of been gone by now the chemistry with Bern & Insigne is just not.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Phil744 View Post
    He might be our starting striker at this point. Everyone is saying Ayo is gone but I thought Jimenez would of been gone by now the chemistry with Bern & Insigne is just not.
    Makes no sense to get rid of Jimenez now. JJ is a different player and adds more things. Plus the guy knows how to play watching him.

    Ayo should be on the trading block. Still remember last season when Berna played him through 1 on 1, he had tons of time and just ran the ball right into the keeper. ugh.

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    Quote Originally Posted by leedsandTFC View Post
    Yes, he is.

    a depth piece/ option off the bench still immediately impacts the attack, just another option/ look.
    so who is the starter?

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    Quote Originally Posted by reggie View Post
    so who is the starter?
    if im being honest i still expect both our strikers from last season to be moved on.

    bob was very unhappy with both of them.

    as of now a fully fit jiminez would start with dio as an option off the bench / starting in multi game weeks (bob used him as an impact sub at LAFC too, almost half his games there in 2019 were off the bench).

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    Quote Originally Posted by ensco View Post
    Bob is not talking about Diomande like he is a depth player.

    “He is a proven striker with vast experience playing in MLS and Europe. His smart runs, athletic presence, and skill to finish in the box will immediately impact our attack.”
    What do you expect him to say?

    "We picked up a player who used to be good that did poorly in subpar leagues for 3 years that had some muscle injuries"

  16. #3406
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    Quote Originally Posted by leedsandTFC View Post
    Yes, he is.

    a depth piece/ option off the bench still immediately impacts the attack, just another option/ look.
    No, he's not. A coach doesn't come out in a pre-season press conference and stress the player's importance to improving the attack when he's a 60 min. player.

    (And I have no problem with that. He was still at LAFC in 2022, two-and-a-half seasons ago. Two washed out years in the Middle East is less a concern than age, and he's only 32, not 42. He's a very good striker at the MLS level, if he gets the right service. And he's worked with BB before).

    I get the urge to always play the reasonable advocate, but I covered press conferences for 24 years. I highly doubt he sees him, after that statement, as a backup.

    He will be competing to start with JJ and Ayo.

    Quote Originally Posted by 19Barrett19 View Post
    For reference I'm sure the data on MLSsoccer.com is last years. It says ayo is 96kg at 5'10 in comparison lukaku is 6'3 at 103 and zlatan who is much older and taller is 106kg. Ayo should be 83 to 86 at most. This guy eats all day. Zero commitment and it's a shame. When is the last time he ot paced any defender. Like he dud in MLS is back when he was fit. Watch the old highlights and see the difference on how he looks physically. The guy is a FAT man. R9 LOOKS MORE FIT THESE DAYS THAN AYO.
    You can't go by listed weight to determine if someone's mass is healthy. Like Jozy, who mentored him, he could just as easily be overbulked with muscle, which weighs more than fat.

    Either way, if it's enough weight to affect his sprint times, the team will address it.

    Sometimes, people seem to look at MLS like it's high school. These guys go through beep tests regularly, fat content tests regularly. They have a team dedicated to keeping them at peak operating fitness. This isn't MLB in 1992, with John Kruk drinking a six-pack before batting cleanup. Times have changed.
    Last edited by jloome; 01-13-2023 at 11:46 AM.

  17. #3407
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    Quote Originally Posted by jloome View Post
    No, he's not. A coach doesn't come out a a pre-season press conference and stress the player's importance to improving the attack when he's a 60 min. player.

    I get the urge to always play the reasonable advocate, but I covered press conferences for 24 years. I highly doubt he sees him, after that statement, as a backup.

    He will be competing to start with JJ and Ayo.


    You can't go by listed weight to determine if someone's mass is healthy. Like Jozy, who mentored him, he could just as easily be overbulked with muscle, which weighs more than fat.

    Either way, if it's enough weight to affect his sprint times, the team will address it.

    Sometimes, people seem to look at MLS like it's high school. These guys go through beep tests regularly, fat content tests regularly. They have a team dedicated to keeping them at peak operating fitness. This isn't MLB in 1992, with John Kruk drinking a six-pack before batting cleanup. Times have changed.
    well in modern football, depth players will start some games as there are so many games, multi game weeks.

    but even in 2019 10 of his 25 appearances were off the bench. bob likes him as an impact sub.

    but i suspect you're right that he will get some starts. hopefully we don't have to run any of our starters into the ground this year.

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    Quote Originally Posted by MikeForbes View Post
    Everyone was asking for depth. We signed a depth player. Not every signing is gonna be Lorenzo Insigne or a CMNT player.
    I am for productive and challenging depth; especially at a probable bargain price. Seems like it should work out as so. Bob expects so. I really would like and would enjoy JJ to click with Lolo and Fede and thrive. I want Akinola to garner the best possible trade return. I do not understand any need to muddy any stats on Diomande by the club; by any proxy 'front office type'. Suppose it is as jloome may suggest... just a matter lazy journalism; no spin.

  19. #3409
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    Quote Originally Posted by leedsandTFC View Post
    well in modern football, depth players will start some games as there are so many games, multi game weeks.

    but even in 2019 10 of his 25 appearances were off the bench. bob likes him as an impact sub.

    but i suspect you're right that he will get some starts. hopefully we don't have to run any of our starters into the ground this year.
    I think Bob is playing the numbers game, moneyballing it. He knows he's going to get most of his goals from Insigne, Bernadeschi and Osorio. We're probably the only team in the league with three midfielder who, if fit, are a bet to reach double digits in goals AND potentially assists.

    So if he gets nine or 10 out of one of the strikers, seven out of a second and three or four out the third, he gets twenty goals from the striker position. As long as he can interchange them without upsetting others' responsibilities, he gets his goals and he gets some roster flexibility, as JJ and Ayo can both spot as wide forwards as well.

    EDIT: Some interesting numbers on Diomande's last tour from mlssoccer
    https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/your-...-at-toronto-fc
    Last edited by jloome; 01-13-2023 at 11:58 AM.

  20. #3410
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    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUzqndWmfh0

    good interview with MAK.

    seems an incredibly intelligent and thoughtful guy, happy to see him representing us.

  21. #3411
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    Quote Originally Posted by jloome View Post
    I think Bob is playing the numbers game, moneyballing it. He knows he's going to get most of his goals from Insigne, Bernadeschi and Osorio. We're probably the only team in the league with three midfielder who, if fit, are a bet to reach double digits in goals AND potentially assists.

    So if he gets nine or 10 out of one of the strikers, seven out of a second and three or four out the third, he gets twenty goals from the striker position. As long as he can interchange them without upsetting others' responsibilities, he gets his goals and he gets some roster flexibility, as JJ and Ayo can both spot as wide forwards as well.
    absolutely.

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    Bob expects everyone to put the work in. If you do, and show that you're excelling he'll give you time on the pitch. AD is definitely a depth signing but that doesn't mean he will be relegated as a sub. Let the competition for minutes begin.


    At this stage we have (new signing, TFCII):
    GK:Romero, Gavran, Ranjitsingh
    FB: Laryea, Marshall-Rutty, Thompson, Chung, Antonoglu, Franklin
    CB:Hedges, O'Neill, MacNaughton, Singh, Pearlman (throwing him in as a future potential)
    M: Insigne, Bernadeschi, Osorio, Bradley, Kaye, Vazquez, Nelson
    FW: Jimenez, Akinola, Diomande, Peruzza, Kerr, Mbongue

    Rumourwise we have Rosted and Johnson which are huge areas of need.

    If I had the keys, I think I would focus on a dependable and fast LB to help cover for the lack of speed that we have at CB, sort of a LCB type guy (Kamal Miller-esque but much better defensively). This also allows our RB's to bomb up the pitch and be that extra inverted winger. With a full offseason Jimenez should be in a much better state and in addition I would hope that Akinola has had just that extra amount of recovery fitness time that he clearly still needed. With Dio, we've added some decent depth which allows us to look to trade someone like Akinola.

    Although we're not getting the rumours we want, the signing of Dio to me shows that they're doing what they need to do to continue to shore up the roster. It may seem like nothing is happening but clearly things have progressed this offseason so far.

  23. #3413
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    ^
    Thoughtful, succinct, recapitulation of some of the on-goings.

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    Quote Originally Posted by leedsandTFC View Post
    well in modern football, depth players will start some games as there are so many games, multi game weeks.

    but even in 2019 10 of his 25 appearances were off the bench. bob likes him as an impact sub.

    but i suspect you're right that he will get some starts. hopefully we don't have to run any of our starters into the ground this year.
    I’m pretty sure Bradley rotated his two strikers in LA. Both were needed and when one went down (Diamande for a long stretch) production from that spot decreased.

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    Are we back to the “who ate all the pies?” days when it comes to discussing player fitness and assuming certain body types couldn’t possibly be fit? Past glories included picking on Wayne Rooney who literally had a six-pack and sub 6% body fat and was outrageously fit.

    I don’t think Ayo’s issues are anything to do with fitness. I just think he had a couple of good runs of form which everyone assume was his standard, when in fact they were outliers. He’s still developing and not as far along as some assumed.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jloome View Post
    No, he's not. A coach doesn't come out in a pre-season press conference and stress the player's importance to improving the attack when he's a 60 min. player.

    I get the urge to always play the reasonable advocate, but I covered press conferences for 24 years. I highly doubt he sees him, after that statement, as a backup.

    He will be competing to start with JJ and Ayo.
    It wasn’t a press conference, it was a quote for a club press release. The statement is meaningless.

    The fact they gave him two guaranteed years plus an option says more about what they expect from him.

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    Quote Originally Posted by jloome View Post
    No, he's not. A coach doesn't come out in a pre-season press conference and stress the player's importance to improving the attack when he's a 60 min. player.

    (And I have no problem with that. He was still at LAFC in 2022, two-and-a-half seasons ago. Two washed out years in the Middle East is less a concern than age, and he's only 32, not 42. He's a very good striker at the MLS level, if he gets the right service. And he's worked with BB before).

    I get the urge to always play the reasonable advocate, but I covered press conferences for 24 years. I highly doubt he sees him, after that statement, as a backup.

    He will be competing to start with JJ and Ayo.



    You can't go by listed weight to determine if someone's mass is healthy. Like Jozy, who mentored him, he could just as easily be overbulked with muscle, which weighs more than fat.

    Either way, if it's enough weight to affect his sprint times, the team will address it.

    Sometimes, people seem to look at MLS like it's high school. These guys go through beep tests regularly, fat content tests regularly. They have a team dedicated to keeping them at peak operating fitness. This isn't MLB in 1992, with John Kruk drinking a six-pack before batting cleanup. Times have changed.
    Don't think this is the norm in MLS. Regular body fat tests were cited as one of the reasons Losada was fired. Brad Friedel complained about players complaining when he tried implementing it. Certainly the norm elsewhere though.

  28. #3418
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    Quote Originally Posted by ag futbol View Post
    Are we back to the “who ate all the pies?” days when it comes to discussing player fitness and assuming certain body types couldn’t possibly be fit? Past glories included picking on Wayne Rooney who literally had a six-pack and sub 6% body fat and was outrageously fit.

    I don’t think Ayo’s issues are anything to do with fitness. I just think he had a couple of good runs of form which everyone assume was his standard, when in fact they were outliers. He’s still developing and not as far along as some assumed.
    Ayo looks like the most gassed player after 15 minutes coming on as second half substitute amongst players who have played the entire match.

    His bad form is partly because of fitness and not being up to standard.

    Quote Originally Posted by mowe View Post
    It wasn’t a press conference, it was a quote for a club press release. The statement is meaningless.

    The fact they gave him two guaranteed years plus an option says more about what they expect from him.
    Really? Two guaranteed years for a striker on the wrong side of 30 with a recent injury history?

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    Depending on the dollars (I am going to assume $250K)… Diomande is a perfectly good signing. A moneyball player if he works out, an easy-ish contract to deal with if not.

    I just feel that the sum total of Bob's work on signings (excluding the Italians and CPL/Academy players)isn’t what I expected: O'Neill, Jiminez and now Diomande. None younger than 28. Feels thin, so far.
    “What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”

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    Quote Originally Posted by ensco View Post
    Depending on the dollars (I am going to assume $250K)… Diomande is a perfectly good signing. A moneyball player if he works out, an easy-ish contract to deal with if not.

    I just feel that the sum total of Bob's work on signings (excluding the Italians and CPL/Academy players)isn’t what I expected: O'Neill, Jiminez and now Diomande. None younger than 28. Feels thin, so far.
    That will be the next step!

 

 

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