Match Day 1 -TFC @ DC United - Saturday Feb 25 7:30pm - Believe, Believe

[Hala Hrvatska]

I feel sorry for season seat holders. early indications are that this is going to be like last year
groupon has tfc tickets for $30 for the next 3 home games

Its going to be another looong year. Have 4. At times I couldnt even give them away for free to come along with me and my son. Once the Italians came, everyone wanted to come...but now, a disaster start, a humiliating loss to a garbahe team in Dc who played literal kids against us...missing guys....and now we have Insigne out who knows how long.

Will freeze my a.ss off opening night no doubt, but hopefull despite BB's managging or lack thereof we can turn it around.

I DO NOT want to hear about anymore "windows". The first 10 games we better be near the top...no injury excuses...everyone knows we have little depth...everything is on Isnigne and Fede, and if Fede goes down too...we are going to have another playoff miss....

Hope we turn it around but with our midfield in particular being so bad defensively, we will leak goals...and no Insigne, and no forwards other than Fede, he'll be double/triple teamed and we will have no offense either.

[gracos]

so what lessons can be learned and put into effect for the game against Atlanta, or are we just writing off the season, i feel once these players get better chemistry, we will be an 8th or 9th place team by the end of the season, is there going to be some rough patches, most certainly, but will this team be more entertaining to watch than last year, most certainly as well, lets just hope Insigne injury isnt too serious, where we will be behind even more

[jloome]

The DC story from Goff, for those interested. Rooney said he stressed positive mentality.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...er-toronto-fc/

[jloome]

Ratings (1- terrible 6 - okay 10 - otherwordly)

Johnson - 4, he had plenty to see on the Klisch goal and did zero to command his box on two close headers. Had one good save, talked to the backline.
Laryea - 5, nice run to set up the penalty, had a tough time defending overloads and missed a couple of runners.
Hedges - 6.5 Solid all night, bailed us out a few times
Rosted - 3, made three baffling defensive decisions in the second half, including ducking the ball on Benteke's goal as if leaving it for a teammate... in his own end??
Petretta - 6 - decent night, not too much wrong either way. Some good linkup, one frustrated foul
Osorio - 5 - invisible for the first 60 minutes. Had a great dummy run to pull the 16-yr old dc defender away from Richie enough to cause the kid to catch up and foul.
Bradley - 6 - Dire first half in which he kept backtracing to the defense without much purpose. Excellent second half, when he was left back as a number six, effectively.
Kaye - 5 - Only saved from a four by the goal, which he took nicely. Much better as a mostly advanced eight than going backwards. First half was awful, 2nd better
Bernadeschi - 6.5 - All action both ways, scored a pen, helped setup the other, maybe loses half a point for errant passing, but generally good.
Insgine - 4 - twenty frustrating minutes in which he had trouble linking with the mids, made a good run to create a chance but fluffed it.
Diomande - 5 - The offside was very close. He linked back well, made good runs. Seemed frustrated by their movement. Twice wound up isolated in Richie's position(?!/)
SUBS
Servania - DNQ - Wasn't on more than 10 minutes. Looked good in that time. Looked like he had better legs/energy than the starters at the first whistle.
Akinola - 5 - Got into some dangerous positions, screwed a turning shot off the bar, but also blew two breakaways by mishandling the ball, albeit on a shit field.

[JoesphNdo]

People are a little too down here. For a team that will need time to gel I thought we played okay in the second half

Few worries though. Our mid field is poor. For us to carry Bradley, which is non negotiable it seems, we need MAK to step up. So far he hasn't shown it. There just wasn't anything there in mid field. Bradley was actually the best of the 3 at times, but also on the first goal showed a pattern I think we'll see again and again

Diomande looked lost, totally lost. I'll give him time but Ayo, despite fluffing his lines, at least was a presence up there and caused problems. I think we need a number 9

Sean Johnson should have saved that first shot. Again he's a great keeper, I'm not worried, but if that was Bono he'd have been ripped apart on here

Again our lack of depth looks to be a problem

Despite that I thought we were the better team in the second half and with gamea under our belt we'll improve quickly. I do just worry about the mid field position. I don't believe we can line up that mid field and not have issues and I don't believe bob has any interest in even thinking about that

[jazzy]

Haven’t posted for long time but the disheartening effort I viewed last night has sadly put this team in Leaf status , I’m numb to being let down constantly, it’s the same for past 4 years regardless of the every game people searching for needles in the haystack for hope . People write them off but Hava and more unsubtle soccerman2 have been very accurate in their critiques even if it cuts deep like a knife . OG is a sensible well studied evaluator thanks all but . Mr.Bradley was the worst hiring one could ever imagine , and we can never get rid of him unless Manning goes to . I hate to have this end result but our team resembles B.Bradley’s demeanour on the sidelines , sour . No life , or creativity. I am very embarrassed for a rare and lucky pickup of Bernie as any mgr who can’t turn his huge opportunistic joy of playing into a supportive team has lost it . We are rewarding average talent , at the peak of their career and maybe have the slowest midfield in the league , yes your fav Osario was not effective. Do we have a defence coach ? Our talent is there but wtf? Bradley made some passes , so did the 16 yr old defender of DC . We all sit by and hope . That’s why there’s zero fear to lose , yet ? How does won forever ( even Vanney) consistently stand around parking the bus in late stages , then many times lose . Sean J thought it would be different that’s why he came , I spoke with him , pure educated class . Until Bradley Osario ( old leaders ) slap themselves silly and realize they’re AVERAGE . We will be held back . Yes Insigne wasn’t a great move ( on the field) but he sold tickets our obvious MO . Hopefully I don’t have to watch all year every team running at Bradley into obvious space , pass / shoot goal .

[NK Toronto]

I know that most people dismiss pre-season matches but I don't think you can completely ignore the fact that the team had 4 losses and 1 tie, and after last night's loss is now winless in 6 consecutive games.

In terms of the Insigne signing, we have put all of our eggs in one basket on a player who will be turning 32 in a few months. It seems this signing was more about selling tickets then sound roster construction.

[Mr. Inbetween]

Excuses, excuses, excuses... Mine... Although I can't fathom why, maybe we are not a cold weather/pitch team? Moreover, seems more than expected, Lolo may be like Josmer and Fede like Seba?

[Canary10]

We made only one non-injury sub. They made 2 after 85 minutes and outworkef us in that final 800 minutes when we were tiring. I think that’s how we dropped the points.

[Mr. Inbetween]

'They are poor little pinguino's who have lost their way... squawk, squawk, squawk'. TFC thinking they should lead the league, only to find out they may need to catch up from the rear to join the colony again...

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/fasc1nate/status/1629709699053412352

[ensco]

Having seen all the highlights now... every game had howlers at the back. These games (ex Philly v Columbus) all had a random crap shoot feel...

If you haven't seen the STL v ATX highlights, make sure you find that. Three absolutely beautiful goals, and the worst misplay by a CB you will ever see...

[MikeForbes]

Having seen all the highlights now... every game had howlers at the back. These games (ex Philly v Columbus) all had a random crap shoot feel...

If you haven't seen the STL v ATX highlights, make sure you find that. Three absolutely beautiful goals, and the worst misplay by a CB you will ever see...

This really needs to be shared on here. I burst out laughing upon seeing it.

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/ManagerTactical/status/1629708837979582464?s=20

[ag futbol]

This really needs to be shared on here. I burst out laughing upon seeing it.

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/ManagerTactical/status/1629708837979582464?s=20

Fair. That guy is the worst though. Example A of cool-aid drinking USMNT supporter with a loud bark who probably lives in his parents basement in his late 30s.

[ensco]

Since we are doing this .... see what Driussi does here. Wow.

[MikeForbes]

Fair. That guy is the worst though. Example A of cool-aid drinking USMNT supporter with a loud bark who probably lives in his parents basement in his late 30s.

Agreed. I don't follow him, I just had it retweeted onto my feed shortly after I read ensco's post.

[Slick]

Some of the posters on this site are nothing but a bunch of clowns. Had TFC won last night, there wouldn't be more than 6 pages of commentary here. God forbid we're down a goal, they start posting their toxic negativity.

Do us all a favour. Go and support Montreal.

[jloome]

This really needs to be shared on here. I burst out laughing upon seeing it.

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/ManagerTactical/status/1629708837979582464?s=20

They played together last year. He saw the face of a teammate and passed it to him, basically.

I think that's why the goal scorer looks so serious and doesn't really celebrate, he feels for the dude.

[Bushmancan]

Some of the posters on this site are nothing but a bunch of clowns. Had TFC won last night, there wouldn't be more than 6 pages of commentary here. God forbid we're down a goal, they start posting their toxic negativity.

For the most part i agree with you, but everyone that criticizes is not a troll. The team and BB to be fair deserve some soul searching, there is no way we should not have come out of the game last night without 3 points. It is unacceptable, 85+ minute with a 1 goal lead against the worst team last year, I think the players would say the same. I am not for the personal attacks on the players but we threw away points that may very well be valuable down the road.

Clearly Bernie and Petretta looked solid… Richie did his thing etc, etc…. But the first half was rough and we made some really bad passes to give the ball away and leave others badly out of position, objectively look at their shape on the goals against… whether that is the design of the system or just sloppiness, i am not sure yet.

Not holding on to the lead is just a preparation, mindset and discipline thing. Our schedule is not that difficult to start, these points are valuable and can give a team momentum. Winning is contagious, lets hope for Atlanta.

[Prof]

Should play a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Johnson
Laryea - Hedges-Rosted-Petretta
Servania-Kaye
Insgine- Osorio - Bernadeschi
Diomande

[SilverSamurai]

We made only one non-injury sub. They made 2 after 85 minutes and outworkef us in that final 800 minutes when we were tiring. I think that’s how we dropped the points.

Hard to argue with that. I too found it baffling. Only reason I can think of is that he wanted to keep the players on for more time to "gel" in match conditions, but that's all I got.

[Lil'John]

Ratings (1- terrible 6 - okay 10 - otherwordly)

Johnson - 4, he had plenty to see on the Klisch goal and did zero to command his box on two close headers. Had one good save, talked to the backline.
Laryea - 5, nice run to set up the penalty, had a tough time defending overloads and missed a couple of runners.
Hedges - 6.5 Solid all night, bailed us out a few times
Rosted - 3, made three baffling defensive decisions in the second half, including ducking the ball on Benteke's goal as if leaving it for a teammate... in his own end??
Petretta - 6 - decent night, not too much wrong either way. Some good linkup, one frustrated foul
Osorio - 5 - invisible for the first 60 minutes. Had a great dummy run to pull the 16-yr old dc defender away from Richie enough to cause the kid to catch up and foul.
Bradley - 6 - Dire first half in which he kept backtracing to the defense without much purpose. Excellent second half, when he was left back as a number six, effectively.
Kaye - 5 - Only saved from a four by the goal, which he took nicely. Much better as a mostly advanced eight than going backwards. First half was awful, 2nd better
Bernadeschi - 6.5 - All action both ways, scored a pen, helped setup the other, maybe loses half a point for errant passing, but generally good.
Insgine - 4 - twenty frustrating minutes in which he had trouble linking with the mids, made a good run to create a chance but fluffed it.
Diomande - 5 - The offside was very close. He linked back well, made good runs. Seemed frustrated by their movement. Twice wound up isolated in Richie's position(?!/)
SUBS
Servania - DNQ - Wasn't on more than 10 minutes. Looked good in that time. Looked like he had better legs/energy than the starters at the first whistle.
Akinola - 5 - Got into some dangerous positions, screwed a turning shot off the bar, but also blew two breakaways by mishandling the ball, albeit on a shit field.

I broadly agree with your rankings, except thzat I thought MAK was (again) completely catastrophic and a 3 or a 4.

[ag futbol]

I rewatched this one today (sucker for punishment perhaps).

Midfield still looks broken defensively. Bradley is now at the Cheyrou stage of his career. He is still okay on the ball but his legs are done. Insufficient ability to pressure the ball in the middle third. Kaye not great in this regard either (we should be expecting more). Osorio tasked with too many things at once.

The tactics, particularly the offense, feel pretty stale. I am sure we could all name the 3-4 things TFC tries to do with the ball when they have possession in the final 3^rd without much effort. I think this makes us pretty easy to play against despite some good individual talent.

We were huge benefactors this game of a 16 year old starting at CB for DCU. And yet, we didn’t really test him out until close to half time when Bradley clipped the ball over the top to Akinola. Once we started threating that repeatedly in the second half it changed everything. DC had to adjust and TFC was able to take advantage and find more openings into the final third.

I like Petretta and Hedges. Johnson and Servania looked good but just didn’t see enough of them in this game to get an overall feel. Rosted looks a bit weak, we will have to see on that front. But I still like that the back 4 was good at keeping its shape. It didn’t feel as tire-fire as it was last year.

[los sonadores]

Hmm, unfortunately I was watching in a lousy bar and when the large screen was changed to the 8pm Leaf game (so Toronto bar watching!) I was consigned to not seeing well enough.

So, which one was it? agfutbol:

“Bradley is now at the Cheyrou stage of his career. He is still okay on the ball but his legs are done. Insufficient ability to pressure the ball in the middle third.”

Or, jloome: Bradley as second highest rating “Bradley - 6 - Dire first half in which he kept backtracing to the defense without much purpose. Excellent second half, when he was left back as a number six, effectively.”

Okay, “6” is only okay overall but an excellent second half (after BB made adjustments) in which we played better (until the disaster of an end) is something. I’m not sure when we’ll see Bradley Jr be sat but I do think it will happen, at least from time to time, this season.

(I know there is often a fanatic response to MB on these boards but I’m putting this question here in the not long-lasting game thread rather than the MB thread because the quotes come from the game thread and because I don’t think I want to brave the never-to-end MB thread.)

[James17930]

Any updates on Insigne yet?

[SenorDingDong]

Any updates on Insigne yet?

Suspect we will hear today or tomorrow after the next practice.

Anyway next match in Atlanta is a hard one. I feel like Servania should start. We need some legs in midfield.

[Graeme]

Had trouble getting the kids to bed, so I missed the whole first half. Barring the complete last minute meltdown, I was much more optimistic about the team than the rest of the board. Makes sense, as it sounds like a nightmare first half.

Only from the second half, I was very pleased at how Akinola looks--much sharper than last two seasons. Likewise, MAK was also great for the second half (and Bradley too). New guy (Servania?) didn't get many touches, but led to the free kick for the second goal.

It was nice to see them play with grit and determination and take the lead (deserved!). I wish I could forget the last 8 minutes. Hopefully they can play like the second 45 this weekend. Fingers crossed Insigne's injury is not serious.

[SenorDingDong]

Had trouble getting the kids to bed, so I missed the whole first half. Barring the complete last minute meltdown, I was much more optimistic about the team than the rest of the board. Makes sense, as it sounds like a nightmare first half.

Only from the second half, I was very pleased at how Akinola looks--much sharper than last two seasons. Likewise, MAK was also great for the second half (and Bradley too). New guy (Servania?) didn't get many touches, but led to the free kick for the second goal.

It was nice to see them play with grit and determination and take the lead (deserved!). I wish I could forget the last 8 minutes. Hopefully they can play like the second 45 this weekend. Fingers crossed Insigne's injury is not serious.

First 20 min of the game the team was still asleep. Insigne getting injured actually seemed to spark them to life.

That said, Insigne missed what should have been an easy goal on a great ball in from Berna just before he got injured.

[Fort York Redcoat]

Best part of the match was watching it with fellow supporters. Match itself was such a letdown after so much planning and $$$ into it.

[FootBallAZ]

After waiting for some time- The game was disappointing - The team looked very very slow- aside from laryea. did not feel like TFC had 4 shots on target.

I also questioned where the goal scoring would come from- if we assume LI and FB score 10 Each- I dont see who on the team will be scoring the other goals.

Rosted was no good, bradley was bad in the first half- had a nice pass to ayo.

Osorio was slow and not what he has shown in the past- have to give credit as he did send the pass to richie for the penalty and he also did send perralta on the left side when he was taken down in the box as well.


SJ - Should have had saved the first and the third -he was right there for both- he did bobble a free kick- which was unexpected since he suppose to be quality.

BB- tactics- was not impressed with- the last 15 minutes of the game was very badly coached .


FB- was decent- had a beautiful cross to LI, nice PK, lost the ball trying to take on the team.

LI- not impressed, havent been impressed since last season TBH- seems more often the not- he cant beat anyone one on one.

overall i understand the team has new players and they need time- but these players should have been with TFC earlier- The start to this season is extremely important. I expected results and no more excuses.


The end of game as very disheartening for sure- doesn't inspire any confidence- especially considering DC youth schooled TFC's experienced players and I believe DC's two best players didn't even hit the field while TFC had their strongest line-up possible.


The biggest issue I had from last season which seemed to be the biggest issue this first game is -majority of goals last season were scored off individual brilliance- from LI/FB/Criscito- free kicks/penalties - this game highlighted this- as TFC scored off a PK and a free-kick-other then that there wasn't much of a threat of a team build up to create chances to score- yes bradley had a nice ball played in--but no results.

TFC cannot rely on FB/LI to do it all on their own they def need the others to support them- if they let in 60+ goals, I dont see where TFC will get the additional 30 to 40 goals from if FB/LI score 10 each.

[jloome]

The biggest issue I had from last season which seemed to be the biggest issue this first game is -majority of goals last season were scored off individual brilliance- from LI/FB/Criscito- free kicks/penalties - this game highlighted this- as TFC scored off a PK and a free-kick-other then that there wasn't much of a threat of a team build up to create chances to score- yes bradley had a nice ball played in--but no results.

TFC cannot rely on FB/LI to do it all on their own they def need the others to support them- if they let in 60+ goals, I dont see where TFC will get the additional 30 to 40 goals from if FB/LI score 10 each.

Yeah, totally agree. We're relying on moments of brilliance because our offensive set is totally predictable.