I was outside the stadium when the announcements were being made and boos were quite loud and noticeable. It didn’t sound like it was mixed reaction from my location.Originally Posted by Mr. Inbetween
I was outside the stadium when the announcements were being made and boos were quite loud and noticeable. It didn’t sound like it was mixed reaction from my location.
Football is such a funny game
Part of me is annoyed as I think if we lost Bradley walks this week and that's the greater good. But if this can somehow galvanize the team to play well and go on a run? Maybe that stuff was all it took?
Most interesting that was maybe insignes best game since he got here. As I said pre game, not sure what to read into that, but great to see him fired up and playing. I don't think he liked the way his time here was being framed
I will not speak for RPB or KoTN where I sit.
Yes, a lot of us joined in the booing of BB's name.
It looked like nobody else was interested in that BB out chant though - people were judging based on the pitch effort - if we had gone down or lost, I suspect the chant would have been picked up.
AND...114 booed Kaye's announcement as well. I suspect some of that crowd blame Kaye for the perma ban to the megaphone thrower - yes, they are that stupid.
As for Insigne, that's a very Serie A response by him to the boos.
Last edited by OgtheDim; 05-28-2023 at 08:39 AM.
For people that have the MLS on Apple package, there is a very telling interview with Matt Hedges after the game.
He admits it was a tough week with a lot of frank discussion - Edu tries to get him to talk about it & Hedges basically says "No I can't".
The 360 crew were shocked that Insigne wore the armband but both BWP & SK indicated that "this must mean they had some really good frank discussions"
We shall see on Wednesday against another non-pressing team - with a penchant to give up late leads.
Ironically, after all those injuries, for once we had the players on the field that matched the needs of Bob’s formation.
We had two fast fullbacks willing to overlap. We had midfielders who would run hard and put in the miles. We had a fast FW on the right side, which is pretty much what most teams do when they have a skilled guy like LI who is not as quick on the other side. And further, we actually tactically adjusted to move LI around for once to find more places to get him the ball.
Maybe it’s all a flash in the pan (as you said, it’s one game) but this just makes me think even more critically about Bob’s choices. Why the hell did we go out and sign a bunch of players that might be talented but don’t meet the needs of the team? Why did it take so long to tactically make these adjustments?
Hard to overstate how vital Matt hedges is to this team.
We've only lost 2 of the 9 games he's played (both to 90th minute winners), and the two games he's played with insigne are 2 of our 3 wins.
Bob also put his arm over Bernie's shoulder going out of the stadium in the tunnel. They were having what looked a fairly cordial chat.
I don't think there's any way this happens without him going public, because the offensive tactical set DID change, and pretty dramatically. People were making runs on the ASSUMPTION the ball would be delivered, and guys were just putting balls into dangerous area instead of trying to pick out passes.
I suspect the Athletic, in dealing with a lot of internal politics, may have seriously over-stressed certain elements of the story.
The way Insigne played, which was totally within the read-and-react system until they were around the box, looks like he really bought in last night. There were a few moments when he was killing time in their end right before the whistle when he briefly looked a lot like another small Italian dude who used to terrorize MLS.
He also dropped into Franklin's spot a couple of times to provide passing options, not just to cover defense.
Either way, he didn't try to do it all himself and it worked.
Respect to Bob, I have to say it. Whether this sticks, or all falls apart against higher pressure teams, he was stuck in an enormous, probably fire-able black hole and he got them galvanzied.
There was a great interplay between Frankin (who was massive, again, I think Petretta has lost his starting spot) and Insigne in the second half that, if they can make that work regularly, is going to cause hell for backlines.
Last edited by jloome; 05-28-2023 at 11:02 AM.
The league reads on this today are quite good. Singh has quotes from Insigne about MLS being "much harder" than he expected, also Kaye saying it's a start but there's obviously still stuff to work past.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/with-...toronto-fc-win
Meanwhile, Rooney says the first half three subs were basically disciplinary, because their work rate was shit.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/wayne...b-i-wish-i-had
I was a little surprised they didn't call the goal back, as Benteke tripped Hedges to win the ball before scoring. Perhaps they felt he didn't have enough control for it to matter.
Somebody please make this a TIFO, please I beg you.
This could be an iconic moment where things turn around.
What a roller coaster of a week.
For all of our hate on for BB this week he somehow managed to galvanize this team, in a good way. It makes one wonder all kinds of different things. Is Fede the issue, or is he also part of the cure? Without his comments and the attention that they created would this team continue to be sleep walking?
I rewatched the beginning of the match and Insigne clearly shakes his head in disapproval while the boos where raining down on BB. Add in the way he played and incorporated his teammates it definitely shows as if his post game words are true - that he supports BB.
That's fine, criticizing the commentators because they were bad. Leave the gender out of the discussion.
“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
I honestly think they weren't that bad. They were fucking terrible in the first half. The color caller, in particular, either had nothing to say -- long silence periods -- or stuff that was mind-bogglingly amateurish, like pointing out that fullbacks overlap and attack. What football has she called recently that that needs to be pointed out?!
But in the second half they were much improved and there was actually some tactical discussion that didn't sound like complete tripe. They also spoke less, generally, than some of Apple's equally-crappy male commentators, which was a plus.
I mean, I think the problem as a whole is that Apple has hired a mixed bag of experience and "identified talents" like the loud former WWE guy who sometimes co-hosts in the studio but apparently has nothing to say about football, he's just there to throw it to the other three.
I didn't think the actual game commentator was shit; In fact I think she's done us before and been okay. But her color partner was not good, no. Better in the second half, though.
Imagine having season seats and paying for half the lineup being tfc 2 scrubs plus MAK and Bernadesci sitting. I would be going insane
Thank you to my inner voice that told me not to get season seats this year
What was the deal with Rooney making 3 subs seconds before halftime? I’ve never seen anyone do that before.
I thought it was interesting. An attempt to push for a goal while the other side is winded, in extra time. They did win a dangerous FK. Suspect we will see this catch on.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
He says today it was discipline. “If i could have pulled 11 off I would have,” Rooney said.
He then tore them a new one over workrate at halftime.
But i think that might just be him using the narrative, as we definitely had an imbalance defensively when Thompson first had to pick up Santos.
It was only the third time in league history that has happened and the first without injuries being involved.
He must have been really pissed!
He was playing the current dumpster fire team of the league. I am sure expectations for a result were high. Maybe they thought they just needed to show up to get 3 points which is never a good thing to do in football.
Hopefully for us this one game’s positive performance becomes a trend and not just an anomaly. We have to be realistic though. It was one game. We need it repeatable. On to Wednesday.
This may all be 100% true - but that sub strategy strikes me as interesting, especially in a game where the other team has been pressing high.
Guys are naturally winded late in the half. It's worth going after them, if you are making the switch anyway.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Yeh, I was wondering at the time if it was a ploy to unbalance for 3 minutes - noticed they actually had a decent chance with that formation - got the free kick with that great save by SJ.
The comment I found most interesting from that interview is at about the 2 minute mark. 'Maybe a we just need <chuckle> (of truth) to have those conversations (instigated by Fede) every week and we come out and play like that'.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/video/matt...ithin-the-team
Last edited by Mr. Inbetween; 05-29-2023 at 05:41 AM.
2 players who haven't stood up regularly stood up to win this match. I hope it continues but this is a very small sample. Hopefully this is the start of a streak.
For those who like reading the opponents match reports, this is Goff in the Post. Rooney was not at all happy. And apparently they’re trying to extend O’Brien’s loan but can’t afford the transfer fee.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/sport...oronto-fc-mls/
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