TFC 2023 player in-season roster discussion

[ag futbol]

I am told they have been in touch with Pozuelo and would like to make it work, if they can. Budget is the big issue.

I'm also told his departure was purely Bob's decision, that he did not feel his playing style was a fit with what he wanted to do, and that pretty much everyone else involved in him leaving, including Poz, was crushed by it.

There were so many red flags along the way with Bob. Transactions where we could have waited for better, cheaper, alternatives to come to the forefront. But no, we charged ahead with reckless abandon.

Dumping Auro and Lawrence straight away, signing Kaye for a grossly inflated price, dumping Pozuelo before we even tried to fit him in (or at least waited to get a better price), and probably 5 other things. The targets we had, it seems like our mentality was “this is our guy, this is the way we do it, get onboard with it”

I don’t think Bob was a Preki / Paul Marnier kind of asshole but it seems to me like everything was his vision in a fairly closed context and he wasn’t taking a lot of suggestions or feedback.

[JoesphNdo]

What would be interesting is to go back and trace the source of the damage control rumours whenever we dump a fan favourite. Who broke the story they pozuelo wanted out and had some girlfriend in Miami? Who broke the story that Vanney wanted to move to LA? And I believe there were others. We certainly know those two were lies, very much deliberately leaked (where else would they come from?), so it'd be curious to see where they originated

[Graeme]

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/TorontoFC/status/1675273649396359168?t=5Av_YJipFAwEcgLU6i5EOA&s=19

[MikeForbes]

Our newest DP, likely.

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/MichaelSingh94/status/1675284424714223618?s=20

[MikeForbes]

#SellTicketsFC

[Amir.]

2 big keys for this club going forward are injury prevention and recovery and getting the right DPs...way too many injuries at the same time this year...the most in mls a lot of times and DPs havent been good enough...with well performing DPs (and in the right positions) the crew around that is good enough to at least make playoffs over a full season...for this year though playoffs seem a step too far

[JoesphNdo]

Our newest DP, likely.

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/MichaelSingh94/status/1675284424714223618?s=20

I love Richie, and he's our MVP this season, no doubt

But if we make him a DP that'll be the most bill manning signing in history and further evidence that he has learned absolutely nothing

It's lazy, it's easy, it'll provide short term fan service and get a happy reactions on twitter but it won't be the signing we need in the position we need it in. That could be his tagline on LinkedIn at this stage

[ag futbol]

Watching Canada play the last two games, I have to report Osorio does not look very good. Whether that’s a matter of still being too early from injury recovery, starting to break down in his 30’s, or other reasons it’s unclear.

But right that contract we gave him does not look good. I think that’s hard to argue at this stage

[DinamoTFC]

If that is so, I stand corrected. On here, I was one of the most vociferous in the "he wanted to leave" camp.

Respect for admitting this. I debated you at times cause I remembered the events vividly and was sure things weren't as they were being made. We've all been mislead at times by our management.

[los sonadores]

Watching Canada play the last two games, I have to report Osorio does not look very good. Whether that’s a matter of still being too early from injury recovery, starting to break down in his 30’s, or other reasons it’s unclear.

But right that contract we gave him does not look good. I think that’s hard to argue at this stage

He hasn’t looked good. But we saw the same thing early in the year when Bradley played him 90 mins out of position every match after missing training camp. Hopefully he can get it together again for the second time this year.

Edit: No one much looks good on Canada… sort of like us.

[DinamoTFC]

What would be interesting is to go back and trace the source of the damage control rumours whenever we dump a fan favourite. Who broke the story they pozuelo wanted out and had some girlfriend in Miami? Who broke the story that Vanney wanted to move to LA? And I believe there were others. We certainly know those two were lies, very much deliberately leaked (where else would they come from?), so it'd be curious to see where they originated

Pozuelo made a comment at his introductory press conference in Miami that he was glad he could come to Miami cause he has a gf there. I'm sure he would have been upset if we shipped him off to Salt Lake instead, but would have tried to say something positive about the city.

The Vanney to LA was just speculation because he played there as a player and their head coach position was rumored to be potentially available. Vanney was happy here and just wanted more control over player acquisition to get his "wingers" and such.

It's ironic that Bill Manning didn't give Vanney more control but then goes on and makes a disaster in Curtis/Armas and then tries to rectify his mistake by giving Bob Bradley 100 % control. Terrible mismanagement by Bill as well.

[leedsandTFC]

a decent level DP striker in place of sapong last night probably bags a hattrick btw.

bill manning/ bob have completely wasted this season.

[los sonadores]

It's ironic that Bill Manning didn't give Vanney more control but then goes on and makes a disaster in Curtis/Armas and then tries to rectify his mistake by giving Bob Bradley 100 % control. Terrible mismanagement by Bill as well.

It seems most people who post on this board feel the same way. That same thought came to me during the press conference when Manning was waxing nostalgic (justifying his continued employment with his record of success as he so often does) about working with Vanney and Bez!

[los sonadores]

a decent level DP striker in place of sapong last night probably bags a hattrick btw.

bill manning/ bob have completely wasted this season.

And last season as well.

[jloome]

This would be my state of the team report right now.

Even if we'd hired Tata Martino, the team is fundamentally unbalanced positionally. Too many expensive underachievers, too many old player injuries, too many young players who aren't ready to be starters at this level.


In essence, we're a bad team. This is only going to be solved with smart roster moves. We're also tactically predictable, even with Terry's changes, because our buildup from the central midfielder hasn't changed.


Our most pressing needs are for a DP-level goal scorer and a commanding defensive midfielder. We have enough good pieces to be competitive if we address those. But it'll be difficult.


We're also mentally fragile. Our leaders are whiners, quite often. It's not hard to read how Insigne, Bernardeschi, Osorio or Kaye feel in any given moment. It's written all over their faces.


Our players lack strongly defined personal roles, are bounced around positions as needed, and don't appear to have grooved habits with surrounding players. Have Sapong and InsigneDeschi even had a conversation about where to serve the ball? There's a great interview in the Atlanta paper this past week with Giakoumakis -- hands down the best signing in the league this year -- about how he scores goals. Paraphrasing, he said "I tell them don't look for me, just put the ball in these spots and I'll be there to meet it."


None of our strikers would start at any other good team in the league. I'm unconvinced any of our midfielders would, either.


If I had the choice to leave out players who just aren't ready/playing well enough, our starting lineup would look something like:


---------Johnson--------
XX--Hedges-Mabika--Petretta
-------------XX(dm)
-----------------Coello----------
-----XXX---XX---Insigne----
------------------XX----------------------


.... although having said that, I would probably prefer us in a 3-4-3 with a false nine/10 ala Nottingham Forest's '22 run.


--------------------Johnson
-----XX (Rosted)--Hedges--Mabika----
---XX(Franklin)----Coello---XX(DM)--Petretta
-------------------XX (Bernie,Oso)-------------
----------XX (Kerr)-----Insigne


In a pinch, Kerr and Rosted are starters, i.e. replacing injury. Bernardeschi should be but he makes terrible decisions. Even when not playing selfishly, his passing and movement are unpredictable freelancing.


We have problems all over the pitch.


A couple of our strikers -- Ayo and Jordan -- are being developmentally wasted. Ayo is being badly misused and miscast as a late pressing forward and Jordan isn't learning the movement required to be a dangerous central player, even though that's what his skillset screams he is. We keep playing these guys wide, as well, and that's not where either is best used.


Our Midfielders are generic and in a few cases too slow relative to their read of the game to be starters. This is a result of Bob attempting to create a 'total football' based tactical set, where people shift position a lot.


As a result, our entire midfield is made up of number eights, two-way players, without enough quickness or specialization to impact games. We have no true number six, we have no true number 10. None of the number eights excels particularly going forward or back. In this league, that's murder. Only one, Coello, is an exceptional passer under pressure.


Our defense is our strength. Because of Hedge's frailty, I would describe it as middle-of-the pack. Mabika is an excellent player, but occasionally, as with all tall players, overruns or coughs up a ball tangled at his feet. Kaye has that problem as well. Petretta is overpaid but decent. Rosted has potential to play better than he has, is forcing too much based on frantic desire to improve things. I'd say O'Neill and Rosted are temperamentally quite similar when playing, both are better than the performances they're putting out.


Our goaltending is fine, other than having two internationals for 1-2 depth.


I'm going to go through what I see weekly from these guys, but also in comparison to other teams. I watch at the very least every game's highlights weekly, and usually a few other matches as well.


DEFENSE


* Franklin will be a starter. Probably within a couple of years, if it's going to happen. We shouldn't trade him.


He should not be a starter now. He has an underdeveloped forward game and he's a wingback in a fast league. He's defensively strong which is a great base, sort of Dan Lovitz in reverse. But he is not rounded enough, stalls going forward, and is not brave enough to make an unsafe pass or look for something over the top. He's a great backup.


* Lazar Stevanovic should not be playing with the first team at 16. Obviously a considerable talent in a few years, but not close to ready in size, speed, or confidence. Caught ball watching, over-awed and overthinking on two occasions in his first appearance. Also had two great plays that will make everyone miss the others. And... why was his first appearance late in a nil-nil draw at home that we could still win? Insane to put him in that sort of pressure box. Send him to the CPL or USL or Europe for seasoning. MLS Next Pro isn't a high enough competitive standard, for the most part. He's sixteen and looks it.


* Matt Hedges is an exceptional center half. If he could stay healthy, he'd be Drew Moor part 2. But he can't, clearly. He's out more than in.


* Rosted is an okay step-up defender. I suspect he'd be a decent number six anchor, too. I'm not sure he has the decision consistency to start in MLS. He turns off too often, tunes out. His intensity seems misbalanced, more at the start of games than late.


* Mabika is technically excellent and knows his own limitations to the point that he can stand off guys further and later and still block their shots and tackles. But he plays a dangerous game there. If he's wrong, there's no recovery time. He also plays with the ball too much; his ball skill is excellent but he's too big to be doing that, doens't have the mobility to fight off multiple guys and dribble around them. So he's really good but still making arrogant decisions.


* Petretta is technically good but struggling a bit physically. He's undersized and not that fast for a small guy. At most teams, I don't think he'd be the choice just because of how small and relatively weak he is. He is not a TAM quality player in this league; ten years ago, yes. Not now.


* Christian Guttierez. Needs work defensively. Decent winger, USL level. Can't defend to save his life. Just tries to mark the guy out each time, even when they've drifted inside and have two lanes to pass him. Never challenges early or pressures the ball. Saw him at Vancouver and it was much the same. He's afraid to be beaten for pace, so he's too cautious and stands off too much.


MIDS


* Theo Antonoglou looks more like a midfielder to me than a defender. He has good defensive skills but he's quick, agile and can spot a pass. Given that we keep using him as a fullback he is, ironically, probably one of our best-suited players to being a number eight.


* Kosi Thompson. Good athlete, good mind, decent vision, good tackler. Lacks intensity -- not in effort but more in confidence and willingess to kick in a higher gear. Also, I have no idea what his best position is. Not a starter at this level, not until that's figured out and he can groove in some behaviors. He obviously has great pace over distance and is defensively strong, but his quickness, balance and agility all require work. Did very little pressing work as a defensive forward beside Sapong.


* Brandon Servania. Has real potential as an eight. Has quickness, aggression. But he often loses focus, drifts positionally, fundamental short passing is off sometimes, and ball watches. Mindset issues are preventing him from being an effective starter. Needs focus.


* Osorio. Should be the team's third-best player but seems badly affected by his injuries and the general malaise around the team. Seems to have lost a step and seems to maybe be overthinking things a little. I suspect his decreased physicality and explosiveness rules him out as an effective eight or six, but he's still pretty decent going forward. The loyalty was nice, but he's not producing TAM quality play. Might try him in the hole, where his skillset has always looked best.


* Mark-Anthony Kaye. For all his skills and physical size, he makes terrible decisions more often than solid ones. I can literally peg four or five specific bad decisions he makes in every game that either cost us goals or ruin forward moves. He is simply not a consistent enough player to start at a good MLS team, which is why LA let him go and he's disastrous as a six to receive the first ball forward (something we really have to stop leaning on, it's so predictable.)


Some of the stuff he does is straight bombscare bad, like that turn inside, towards his own goal, to try and play a backpass against RSL, immediately being stripped and giving them a two-on-one. He is just not good enough, and when the evidence can be timestamped, it's extremely frustrating for fans that the front office and coaches can't see it or refuse to accept it.


His mindset and mentality are also quite poor. He blames other players for his mistakes, he shoots angry stares at them when he has to make a recovery run. Despite being generally terrible, he gets away with one spectacular pass or run each game, and that seems to be enough to convince each manager in turn that they're the one who can fix him. But his mindset is poor; when he was taken off against RSL, did he show his teammate going in support? No, he whipped a water bottle at the bench like a petulant child, even though the game was still zero-zero. That is arrogant. He was dropped at LA, did not excel at Colorado and has been dropped by the Nats. They were not wrong.


* Alonso Coello -- Is our best midfielder. He should be starting every game. He lacks some athleticism and can look a little plodding, but he has the best read, passing weight, consistency and fundamentals on the pitch, every time he plays. It's screamingly obvious. If anyone is the actual Michael replacement, it's him. He's definitely best suited to an eight, as he doesn't really have the acceleration to be a six or ten. But the guy can unlock defenses very quickly with his passing, which we BADLY need.


* Michael Bradley. Legend, best midfielder if he were quicker. His acceleration over short distances is gone, and he overcompensates too much by dropping and asking others to cover. Really should have retired or accept a part-time role by now.


FORWARDS


Insigne - Good player. Could be great if he got any help. His mindset and mentality are poor, as he gets frustrated easily and shows it outwardly. We need him to be a leader, but he's a bit of a pampered sort, from being a hero in his home city. Seems to go from undermotivated and under-involved to playing at 120% and overstretching everything. Not really an ideal DP, certainly not at the eye-watering money TFC is shelling out. A guy at that cash should be putting up 15/15, 20/20. If we get 10/10 out of him we'll be lucky, without a better supporting cast. If we'd had him at 28, he'd be Giovinco or Mukhtar, possibly, but he's somewhat hampered by being at core a team player, used to rigid tactical movement, and not an explosive hole player. It is what it is; at his money, he's not going anywhere.


Bernardeschi - Had three goals for Juve in league play in his last three years there. Looks crocked as a winger because his confidence is shot, and he plays best in rigid tactical sets where his space is guaranteed, and where people only make penetrating runs when opponents make a mistake. A serious mental rehab needed. I seriously think moving him inside is the only solution. He wants to be a star so he's forcing everything, and makes too many bad decisions. It's also worth nothing his best years goal wise were wide left, at Fiorentina, not wide right. He had a knee injury in 2018 and had been declining ever since. Has been figured out by MLS defenses, and we don't tactically adjust to that in any way.


Kerr - Has significant potential, a very Gyassi Zardes vibe to him. Can score with head and feet. Looks too much like a coverted winger right now and is too static in the box. He finds good spots but then just stands and waits instead of timing runs to go to the ball, or hitting the posts, or shaking defenders. Ideally not a starter yet but can do so.


Akinola - Ayo's second gear has not returned, and he bulked up so much in musculature (Jozy's idea, as he mentored him and did the same?) that it cost him quickness and slowed his turn. His size and balance favor more of a Josef Martinez/Diego Luna stocky-but-quick body type. He started as a winger and needs a lot more striker training. He doesn't tie up defenders, he doesn't run a horizontal line, he doesn't try to find the blind side of central guys. He just runs to space.


Sapong - Is an MLS 1.0 player. He's a converted winger and it shows. A good athlete, okay anticipation, good in the air. Not quick enough, doesn't make precise consistent runs to the same spots, so is unpredictable to find. Doesn't read defenses well to know where he should be. Doesn't know how to get inside a defender on crosses or work the blind spot to get position, just goes over the guy's back. Seems to be no work out on where deliveries should be between the strikers and wingers.


Peruzza - Has real potential but isn't being coached to do striker things. We use him wide, which is a total waste, as he has no idea how to play it except to make diagonal runs against his man to try and beat him for pace. He's a proper striker; he should be running the back line horizontally to spread defenders, he should be running in on their blind sides to the posts. His movement -- all of our striker movement -- is uniformly terrible.


Diomande - Is crocked. What was he thinking, signing him?


Mbongue - Doesn't look like he's anywhere near ready for this level. Looks tentative and confused.


We need to rebuild, clearly, again. I think we probably have to shed Bernardeschi through whatever means are necessary, to free up enough money for a DP striker. We need a proper number six badly, and have for years now. At least one of those two should be a team leading character as well.


Kaye should be traded for whatever we can get, if it clears his salary off the books and frees up money for a proper six. At worst, we should be platooning the mids to lower their game-to-game performance pressure and to force competition that could force improvement.

[Canary10]

Let’s just get out there and sign Ivan Toney while he’s suspended from the EPL.

[ag futbol]

My thought is we’re going to have to make lemonade from lemons somehow. We are anchored to a lot of bad contracts and Insigne isn’t getting any younger.

Guys will have to move on yes but we’re also going to have to get unexpected performances from some places. And all these years later, if we could actually sort out the academy (instead of fake hyping green 16 year olds) that would be great.

[SenorDingDong]

I truly do hope we get Poz back. He's so much what this team is missing. Insigne will be so thankful to have someone who knows what to do with the ball.

They should also just play Berna as a striker. His time on the wing should have ended like 10 games ago.

[Phil744]

In essence, we're a bad team. This is only going to be solved with smart roster moves. We're also tactically predictable, even with Terry's changes, because our buildup from the central midfielder hasn't changed.


Our most pressing needs are for a DP-level goal scorer and a commanding defensive midfielder. We have enough good pieces to be competitive if we address those. But it'll be difficult.


We're also mentally fragile. Our leaders are whiners, quite often. It's not hard to read how Insigne, Bernardeschi, Osorio or Kaye feel in any given moment. It's written all over their faces.


Our players lack strongly defined personal roles, are bounced around positions as needed, and don't appear to have grooved habits with surrounding players. Have Sapong and InsigneDeschi even had a conversation about where to serve the ball? There's a great interview in the Atlanta paper this past week with Giakoumakis -- hands down the best signing in the league this year -- about how he scores goals. Paraphrasing, he said "I tell them don't look for me, just put the ball in these spots and I'll be there to meet it."


None of our strikers would start at any other good team in the league. I'm unconvinced any of our midfielders would, either.


If I had the choice to leave out players who just aren't ready/playing well enough, our starting lineup would look something like:


---------Johnson--------
XX--Hedges-Mabika--Petretta
-------------XX(dm)
-----------------Coello----------
-----XXX---XX---Insigne----
------------------XX----------------------


.... although having said that, I would probably prefer us in a 3-4-3 with a false nine/10 ala Nottingham Forest's '22 run.


--------------------Johnson
-----XX (Rosted)--Hedges--Mabika----
---XX(Franklin)----Coello---XX(DM)--Petretta
-------------------XX (Bernie,Oso)-------------
----------XX (Kerr)-----Insigne


In a pinch, Kerr and Rosted are starters, i.e. replacing injury. Bernardeschi should be but he makes terrible decisions. Even when not playing selfishly, his passing and movement are unpredictable freelancing.


We have problems all over the pitch.


A couple of our strikers -- Ayo and Jordan -- are being developmentally wasted. Ayo is being badly misused and miscast as a late pressing forward and Jordan isn't learning the movement required to be a dangerous central player, even though that's what his skillset screams he is. We keep playing these guys wide, as well, and that's not where either is best used.


Our Midfielders are generic and in a few cases too slow relative to their read of the game to be starters. This is a result of Bob attempting to create a 'total football' based tactical set, where people shift position a lot.


As a result, our entire midfield is made up of number eights, two-way players, without enough quickness or specialization to impact games. We have no true number six, we have no true number 10. None of the number eights excels particularly going forward or back. In this league, that's murder. Only one, Coello, is an exceptional passer under pressure.


Our defense is our strength. Because of Hedge's frailty, I would describe it as middle-of-the pack. Mabika is an excellent player, but occasionally, as with all tall players, overruns or coughs up a ball tangled at his feet. Kaye has that problem as well. Petretta is overpaid but decent. Rosted has potential to play better than he has, is forcing too much based on frantic desire to improve things. I'd say O'Neill and Rosted are temperamentally quite similar when playing, both are better than the performances they're putting out.


Our goaltending is fine, other than having two internationals for 1-2 depth.


I'm going to go through what I see weekly from these guys, but also in comparison to other teams. I watch at the very least every game's highlights weekly, and usually a few other matches as well.


DEFENSE


* Franklin will be a starter. Probably within a couple of years, if it's going to happen. We shouldn't trade him.


He should not be a starter now. He has an underdeveloped forward game and he's a wingback in a fast league. He's defensively strong which is a great base, sort of Dan Lovitz in reverse. But he is not rounded enough, stalls going forward, and is not brave enough to make an unsafe pass or look for something over the top. He's a great backup.


* Lazar Stevanovic should not be playing with the first team at 16. Obviously a considerable talent in a few years, but not close to ready in size, speed, or confidence. Caught ball watching, over-awed and overthinking on two occasions in his first appearance. Also had two great plays that will make everyone miss the others. And... why was his first appearance late in a nil-nil draw at home that we could still win? Insane to put him in that sort of pressure box. Send him to the CPL or USL or Europe for seasoning. MLS Next Pro isn't a high enough competitive standard, for the most part. He's sixteen and looks it.


* Matt Hedges is an exceptional center half. If he could stay healthy, he'd be Drew Moor part 2. But he can't, clearly. He's out more than in.


* Rosted is an okay step-up defender. I suspect he'd be a decent number six anchor, too. I'm not sure he has the decision consistency to start in MLS. He turns off too often, tunes out. His intensity seems misbalanced, more at the start of games than late.


* Mabika is technically excellent and knows his own limitations to the point that he can stand off guys further and later and still block their shots and tackles. But he plays a dangerous game there. If he's wrong, there's no recovery time. He also plays with the ball too much; his ball skill is excellent but he's too big to be doing that, doens't have the mobility to fight off multiple guys and dribble around them. So he's really good but still making arrogant decisions.


* Petretta is technically good but struggling a bit physically. He's undersized and not that fast for a small guy. At most teams, I don't think he'd be the choice just because of how small and relatively weak he is. He is not a TAM quality player in this league; ten years ago, yes. Not now.


* Christian Guttierez. Needs work defensively. Decent winger, USL level. Can't defend to save his life. Just tries to mark the guy out each time, even when they've drifted inside and have two lanes to pass him. Never challenges early or pressures the ball. Saw him at Vancouver and it was much the same. He's afraid to be beaten for pace, so he's too cautious and stands off too much.


MIDS


* Theo Antonoglou looks more like a midfielder to me than a defender. He has good defensive skills but he's quick, agile and can spot a pass. Given that we keep using him as a fullback he is, ironically, probably one of our best-suited players to being a number eight.


* Kosi Thompson. Good athlete, good mind, decent vision, good tackler. Lacks intensity -- not in effort but more in confidence and willingess to kick in a higher gear. Also, I have no idea what his best position is. Not a starter at this level, not until that's figured out and he can groove in some behaviors. He obviously has great pace over distance and is defensively strong, but his quickness, balance and agility all require work. Did very little pressing work as a defensive forward beside Sapong.


* Brandon Servania. Has real potential as an eight. Has quickness, aggression. But he often loses focus, drifts positionally, fundamental short passing is off sometimes, and ball watches. Mindset issues are preventing him from being an effective starter. Needs focus.


* Osorio. Should be the team's third-best player but seems badly affected by his injuries and the general malaise around the team. Seems to have lost a step and seems to maybe be overthinking things a little. I suspect his decreased physicality and explosiveness rules him out as an effective eight or six, but he's still pretty decent going forward. The loyalty was nice, but he's not producing TAM quality play. Might try him in the hole, where his skillset has always looked best.


* Mark-Anthony Kaye. For all his skills and physical size, he makes terrible decisions more often than solid ones. I can literally peg four or five specific bad decisions he makes in every game that either cost us goals or ruin forward moves. He is simply not a consistent enough player to start at a good MLS team, which is why LA let him go and he's disastrous as a six to receive the first ball forward (something we really have to stop leaning on, it's so predictable.)


Some of the stuff he does is straight bombscare bad, like that turn inside, towards his own goal, to try and play a backpass against RSL, immediately being stripped and giving them a two-on-one. He is just not good enough, and when the evidence can be timestamped, it's extremely frustrating for fans that the front office and coaches can't see it or refuse to accept it.


His mindset and mentality are also quite poor. He blames other players for his mistakes, he shoots angry stares at them when he has to make a recovery run. Despite being generally terrible, he gets away with one spectacular pass or run each game, and that seems to be enough to convince each manager in turn that they're the one who can fix him. But his mindset is poor; when he was taken off against RSL, did he show his teammate going in support? No, he whipped a water bottle at the bench like a petulant child, even though the game was still zero-zero. That is arrogant. He was dropped at LA, did not excel at Colorado and has been dropped by the Nats. They were not wrong.


* Alonso Coello -- Is our best midfielder. He should be starting every game. He lacks some athleticism and can look a little plodding, but he has the best read, passing weight, consistency and fundamentals on the pitch, every time he plays. It's screamingly obvious. If anyone is the actual Michael replacement, it's him. He's definitely best suited to an eight, as he doesn't really have the acceleration to be a six or ten. But the guy can unlock defenses very quickly with his passing, which we BADLY need.


* Michael Bradley. Legend, best midfielder if he were quicker. His acceleration over short distances is gone, and he overcompensates too much by dropping and asking others to cover. Really should have retired or accept a part-time role by now.


FORWARDS


Insigne - Good player. Could be great if he got any help. His mindset and mentality are poor, as he gets frustrated easily and shows it outwardly. We need him to be a leader, but he's a bit of a pampered sort, from being a hero in his home city. Seems to go from undermotivated and under-involved to playing at 120% and overstretching everything. Not really an ideal DP, certainly not at the eye-watering money TFC is shelling out. A guy at that cash should be putting up 15/15, 20/20. If we get 10/10 out of him we'll be lucky, without a better supporting cast. If we'd had him at 28, he'd be Giovinco or Mukhtar, possibly, but he's somewhat hampered by being at core a team player, used to rigid tactical movement, and not an explosive hole player. It is what it is; at his money, he's not going anywhere.


Bernardeschi - Had three goals for Juve in league play in his last three years there. Looks crocked as a winger because his confidence is shot, and he plays best in rigid tactical sets where his space is guaranteed, and where people only make penetrating runs when opponents make a mistake. A serious mental rehab needed. I seriously think moving him inside is the only solution. He wants to be a star so he's forcing everything, and makes too many bad decisions. It's also worth nothing his best years goal wise were wide left, at Fiorentina, not wide right. He had a knee injury in 2018 and had been declining ever since. Has been figured out by MLS defenses, and we don't tactically adjust to that in any way.


Kerr - Has significant potential, a very Gyassi Zardes vibe to him. Can score with head and feet. Looks too much like a coverted winger right now and is too static in the box. He finds good spots but then just stands and waits instead of timing runs to go to the ball, or hitting the posts, or shaking defenders. Ideally not a starter yet but can do so.


Akinola - Ayo's second gear has not returned, and he bulked up so much in musculature (Jozy's idea, as he mentored him and did the same?) that it cost him quickness and slowed his turn. His size and balance favor more of a Josef Martinez/Diego Luna stocky-but-quick body type. He started as a winger and needs a lot more striker training. He doesn't tie up defenders, he doesn't run a horizontal line, he doesn't try to find the blind side of central guys. He just runs to space.


Sapong - Is an MLS 1.0 player. He's a converted winger and it shows. A good athlete, okay anticipation, good in the air. Not quick enough, doesn't make precise consistent runs to the same spots, so is unpredictable to find. Doesn't read defenses well to know where he should be. Doesn't know how to get inside a defender on crosses or work the blind spot to get position, just goes over the guy's back. Seems to be no work out on where deliveries should be between the strikers and wingers.


Peruzza - Has real potential but isn't being coached to do striker things. We use him wide, which is a total waste, as he has no idea how to play it except to make diagonal runs against his man to try and beat him for pace. He's a proper striker; he should be running the back line horizontally to spread defenders, he should be running in on their blind sides to the posts. His movement -- all of our striker movement -- is uniformly terrible.


Diomande - Is crocked. What was he thinking, signing him?


Mbongue - Doesn't look like he's anywhere near ready for this level. Looks tentative and confused.


We need to rebuild, clearly, again. I think we probably have to shed Bernardeschi through whatever means are necessary, to free up enough money for a DP striker. We need a proper number six badly, and have for years now. At least one of those two should be a team leading character as well.


Kaye should be traded for whatever we can get, if it clears his salary off the books and frees up money for a proper six. At worst, we should be platooning the mids to lower their game-to-game performance pressure and to force competition that could force improvement.[/QUOTE]



If we keep Laryea I would move him to RW and leave Franklin at RB who has been a positive surprise this yr, and move Bernie to CAM to have more connections with Insigne instead of running across the field to find him.

[DinamoTFC]

The lies are now falling like dominos.

Here's the next one about Delgado being a problem and wanting out.

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/MarkyDelgado/status/1675552780659093505?t=uwsHZDLOv3jdD8EfwAZPHA&s=19

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/MarkyDelgado/status/1675550520520617985?t=rHPWq2Gl2bfZVgnwrRXPlA&s=19

Pozuelo made a comment at his introductory press conference in Miami that he was glad he could come to Miami cause he has a gf there. I'm sure he would have been upset if we shipped him off to Salt Lake instead, but would have tried to say something positive about the city.

The Vanney to LA was just speculation because he played there as a player and their head coach position was rumored to be potentially available. Vanney was happy here and just wanted more control over player acquisition to get his "wingers" and such.

It's ironic that Bill Manning didn't give Vanney more control but then goes on and makes a disaster in Curtis/Armas and then tries to rectify his mistake by giving Bob Bradley 100 % control. Terrible mismanagement by Bill as well.

[JoesphNdo]

Would love to know the truth there. I certainly always found it interesting how, after years, Delgado suddenly just wanted to leave allegedly. That never smelled right to me. The classic TFC "oh they just magically wanted to leave" line

And in his defence on locker room issues vs not, which we can't know, the fact that his old manager snapped him up backs up his side a bit on this

[DinamoTFC]

Would love to know the truth there. I certainly always found it interesting how, after years, Delgado suddenly just wanted to leave allegedly. That never smelled right to me. The classic TFC "oh they just magically wanted to leave" line

And in his defence on locker room issues vs not, which we can't know, the fact that his old manager snapped him up backs up his side a bit on this

Exactly. It was strange also after knowing these players and their quotes so well that all of a sudden Poz, Vanney, Delgado, etc all wanted out. In my opinion it was false leaks or rumours/quotes taken out of context.

[ag futbol]

The lies are now falling like dominos.

Welp, one more local blogger / fake journalist to cross of my list.

Yes, mouthy former play is such problem he gets traded to a team managed by (checks notes) his former coach?

[los sonadores]

Welp, one more local blogger / fake journalist to cross of my list.

Yes, mouthy former play is such problem he gets traded to a team managed by (checks notes) his former coach?

Yeah, dumb, gossipy social media stuff with no logical or likely basis.

I’m sorry that a respected and good footballer should have to bother with an idiot like this. Social media may have it’s benefits but the tendency to attack people you know nothing about and can’t hold a candle to is not one of them.

[MikeForbes]

I will forever believe that Marky was shipped out because he had basically usurped MB's role in the starting lineup and Bob wasn't having that.

[JoesphNdo]

I will forever believe that Marky was shipped out because he had basically usurped MB's role in the starting lineup and Bob wasn't having that.

Not sure if I'd believe this as such but the weight of evidence points to the initial clear out that happened when bob came in largely being based on the thoughts of Michael for my money, and that should never ever have happened. Perhaps even including pozuelo?

[MikeForbes]

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1675816633875431425?s=20

[Oldtimer]

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1675816633875431425?s=20

You only sign a new agent if you're about to negotiate a new contract or you're on your way out.

Guess Insigne is on his way out. Hopefully some rich Saudi club will pay a ridiculous amount for him because no Italian club will pay what TFC is paying.

[FiveThreeTwo]

I might be in the minority with our total fan base, but I seriously wouldn’t mind a scenario where we shed both DPs this summer, give them a proper chance to go else where (if anyone else wants to pay those salaries like saudi or Qatar), and we get back to humble basics. Bottom-up transformation from academy to DP structure.

now would be a beautiful time if they are trying to get back 2 more analytical / logical/sports science orientated - to evaluate the academy, re-engineer it’s entire philosophy and intent, re-birth the academy from w.e the old ways were of politics, not good enough coaching/mentoring, and bad treatment of contracts …. To an approach that produces more technical, team orientated and humble mindset players that would be ready for MLS level athleticism. And get coaches and mentors that aren’t just local guys with potential to coach and MLS crony player hires/retreads; go find the best and pay them. Aspire to being the best. In Toronto. In Canada. MLS. Then Continental. Piss on Ontario soccer politics, find/bridge the solutions and get past that.

Offload our DPs to clubs in ME lol, and then bring in guys after an evaluation period that align with the overall club culture and intent; not just butt in seats, sell tickets PT Barnum level shit and guys that think they are already above the club, coaches and mls before they even sign the contract. If we gotta send the private jet, drake treatment, court side seats and cushy MLSE wine n dine to get a player convinced to come here - that’s the most ass backwards method of bringing in the talent that organically want to be here and be integrated amongst the club.

I’d actually welcome a proper refresh bottom-up. Might take manning to be gone to completely be excited about that prospect… but yea. Chalk me in as a fan who’d be ok with us selling both DPs this window. But I agree with the great content above from everyone - we’re in a rough space atm.

[Hala Hrvatska]

The lies are now falling like dominos.

Here's the next one about Delgado being a problem and wanting out.

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/MarkyDelgado/status/1675552780659093505?t=uwsHZDLOv3jdD8EfwAZPHA&s=19

Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/MarkyDelgado/status/1675550520520617985?t=rHPWq2Gl2bfZVgnwrRXPlA&s=19

haha love it...little jeffy nesker called out for his continual bs and lies...bam. The guy is clueless and his horrendous modding basically killed wtr. A fluffer for the Bradleys and Manning.....has no shame.

Well done to Marky calling him out.