I firmly believe we need to address the spine of our team first.
Mabika has a ton of potential, but is still so raw.
O'Neill and Rosted have proven they are basically just depth players.
Ibarra is only here until seasons end.
Bradley is 50/50 to retire.
Oso is starting to become injury prone.
Blessing is a good piece, but needs to regain form. Same can be said for Servania.
And at striker... You already know.
Per the Austin release. Hedges signed a new contract with them and appears locked in for 2024 with them. I guess Austin just wanted to spread the GAM over multiple years
This is fairOriginally Posted by Richard
Under the current rules, this is a terrible move - and *classic* short sighted 'what will make the fans happy RIGHT NOW' Bill Manning thinking
But I will give them a potential rule change may make this one make sense. He's certainly a very good player.
But I'm not inclined to give the benefit of the doubt here, given how absurdly on brand a move like this in the current rules would be
Mailula will be our future Right Winger going forward
Mabika is raw, but the talent is there. Petretta and Mabika are the future of the left side of the Defense.
O'Neill and Rosted are just stop gaps for 2024
Bradly can and will retire or move on.
Osorio will be traded or we should look to off load him. At 31, his lack of leadership. That ship has sailed.
Our major need is Striker and Rightback. Both those positions are lacking currently.
Romero is also a very good GK. He has a strong post to post game and all he needs is consistent playing time
According to Molinario TFC have put in a bid for Laryea.
He better not be a DP and if he does come back it might be a good idea to put him at RW and put Bernie in CAM instead. Franklin has been good at only 19 yrs old at RB in his natural position.
Hernandez so far is batting a perfect score with these moves but not totally sold on this one. Hedges was brought in to win this season, that hasn't happened so its best to ship him. He also has only played what, half our games this season?
I like the thought of keeping Richie.. but it really depends on the cost and what new rules are coming in for 2024. If the rumor's of 4 DP slots and really changing the rules so its easier for teams to spend more it makes sense. If he knows something we don't
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/JohnMolinaro/status/1684275996583755776?s=20
singh was saying before the holdup on the laryea deal was that they were trying to fit a bid/ contract under the DP threshold.
safe to assume it will be, in some capacity (maybe 1.4 M salary, 1 M bid and 4+1 contract or something)
We originally had him on a deal through 2024 with options through 2026, which is the same structure as his new deal. I'm guessing maybe he agreed to take less money to go back home to Texas (Texas does have no state income tax, so he could take less and still get the same money - loophole for Austin maybe to negotiate new deals)
Original TFC deal - https://www.torontofc.ca/news/toront...er-matt-hedges
I still hate it at max TAM (Again, judging under the current rules, so will give them the fact that rule changes may change this)
The gaps in the spine of our team are so large you could fly a jumbo jet through them. He's a great player, but that much cap space (Again, under current rules) on a RB really hamstrings our ability to bring in players we truly, desperately need more than even a great MLS full back
Or, put another way, if this was the same player but they had no prior TFC connection or emotional connection with the fans, there's no shot we'd make the move
Last edited by JoesphNdo; 07-26-2023 at 02:15 PM.
If only we could of just worked something out with Richie was still a TFC player. We did offer to make him the highest paid fullback in the league at one point before he decided he wanted to try Europe.
That makes sense.
The 100k for 25 terms sounds from the TFC release to be dependent on Austin not picking up his option for 2024 but the Austin piece make it seem like a formality.
Just highlighting the point
i feel like it isn't going to happen, regardless.
the leak to molinaro is probably the club trying to let the fans know they tried.
Yeah this is a no bueno in my view, feels a lot like ‘let’s nail down some quick wins - and bringing back a Toronto guy that people love and someone berna is ok with playing alongside- is a good win’ in a bad situation and fans will love seeing Richie back.’
except it isn’t. Let him get offers in EU. Don’t care if he’s one of the best backs in the league, don’t care he’s Canadian or from toronto - it isn’t worth another Oso sized tam/DP sink when we got so many other problems and our cap structure is a mess. Unless mls plans on switching to a much larger open team salary cap
I agree. Feels like Manning leaking this to try and appease the shrinking "TFC should be all Canadians" fan base.
Doubt we'd have a leak about a bid if there was a good chance of him joining, but you never know.
I'm sick of reading transfer / trade news without it involving a DP striker coming our way. Are we really that incompetent? It's the summer window. Go get a DP striker. Let's not push everything to the next off-season (again) and maybe end up with a first half of the season with half a squad because we can't sign anyone in the winter window.
Get a DP striker TODAY! Enough, TFC. You shamed us all by not playing in red, shamed us all by playing shit football, and now you shame us again by not solving the ONE problem we have faced all year: the lack of a striker. Be a super club or be a bottom feeder.
I disagree a little on this moving Hedges frees up Mailula, I think it all depends if Notts Forest expect a big purchase. I think they loan him again and we buy him next year. Something tells me Richie likes Toronto. If it is a good deal. I would take him in a heart beat. Maybe they will take Bernie in a swap LOL
Bernie is going to need to do a lot to win the fans back, not impossible he just needs to dig in.
Last edited by Bushmancan; 07-26-2023 at 03:03 PM.
He learned his lesson, it's not easy to break in when you're in Europe and a Canadian.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
I think England is the issue, its notoriously difficult for foreigners to make it in the Championship, very cut throat at the level especially with all the money invested into making into the EPL.
He should have went to Turkey or similar standard of league.
I'm 5'10 and was once 205LBS, let me tell you, everything felt so sluggish, bulking up is an addiction though and I can definitely see it from that perspective.
Cutting back down to 175-185LBS made a world of difference for me.
It depends. Perhaps they have new information regarding any interest in Europe.
I was told about three weeks ago that they'd already made the best offer they could but that Richie was being advised to stay at Forest and try to get a gig in Europe.
It might be that the right options aren't coming up.
I agree with the sentiment but it's usually the deal that takes longest. They'll have lots of targets but good strikers are always in demand, so lists get whittled down really quickly.
Could be right. I'm fairly confident that even bill manning isn't dumb enough to offer him a DP deal too...
Our defence isn't good enough. I get why Hedges was traded & still...our defence isn't good enough.
We require a stud CB.
The forward thing is obvious. The defence thing will cost us games just as much.
For the most part the defense wasn't terrible when Hedges was out and that was often and with MAK as a 6 too.
Even mostly not horrendous with Ranjitsingh in goal and he's total shit. We did choke up late goals though but a few of them had Hedges out there so...
We're not a 2021 trainwreck at the back. It's workable.
So Inter Miami have signed everyone, presuming on TAM, with Suarez coming in as , get this , TAM, and we appear to be offering a DP spot for Richie? I love Richie but cmon guys. How can we have 2 Canadians filling DP spots. We might as well start looking in the Spanish leagues here in Toronto.
Ummm......
Does anybody know if we have traded away our draft pick for next year yet?
No, the Reds have no, still have it, expecting Miami to have a better finish to the season than TFC so last place overall is very realistic.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
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