I expect some bad times to come and at the end of the season only Herdman & Rubio will be left standing.Originally Posted by jloome
I expect some bad times to come and at the end of the season only Herdman & Rubio will be left standing.
I appreciate waiting until the 11th hour is usually the smart thing to do when completing buyouts but when there has to be an out before the in and the “in” is critical…. and nobody is coming to save us from these bad contracts, I think it’s best to get on with things.
The risk here is we start the year with a highly dysfunctional roster that hamstrings our competitiveness. The reward is saving a few bucks. They are clearly prioritizing (or can only do) the latter.
I think you are right, jobs are on the line. But I also believe they probably have enough boardroom shackles on Manning and Hernandes where they can barely move. They might think they are here this year to turn it around, but I think they are here to fail, buy some time, and have the new CEO bring in his choice of TFC President next year.
Would have been done already if not for the leadership void at the top.
Are we confident we'll use it? The fact we didn't last year is insane to me, or is there a belief that we did the speculated secret use on Bradley?
Not using it at all is something you could seriously read into, and I'd be very curious if they decided to use this year but not last year
Has it been stated that the Presidents of each MLSE sports franchise will now be reporting directly and only to the new CEO Keith Pelley on the non-administrative business side of matters as well; and similar to the T.J. Leiweke era. Or will they continue to report for the non daily operational matters directly to the Board as done so under the CEO tenures of Cynthia Devine and Michael Friisdahl?
Although I am on the fence if he would deserve such leeway, I suspect Herdman is at least safe for this season. The presumption has been that there is no money for that third DP, and yet, it seems to me, MLSE/TFC have committed such an amount to Heardman, his team, additional support staff, as well as, the replenishment or build-out of other segments of TFC.
Fab / Di Marzio. To be clear, they're only reporting that Roma are open to swapping Belotti in a general sense. Berna is my speculation.
All this talk about intent is nice but irrelevant. The year is lost, unless somehow the same guys do very different things. Possible but not very likely.
If you are strapped into a chair, and you just can’t undo the straps no matter how “focused” you are on it… then it is what it is.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Basically how I'm feeling now too. I have zero total excitement for this season. I've seen absolutely nothing that says we're going to be able to be competitive until Berna and Insigne are gone.
Now, if Herdman can pull a Postecoglu and somehow change the whole atmosphere, style of play and attitude around the club with players who were mostly brought in by another coach, then I will be absolutely amazed and joyful. But I highly doubt it's possible here.
I don't 100% agree.
Is the team we have a good/great MLS team? No.
Should the team have been wooden spoon champs? No.
With the parts we have there was a high level of underperformance caused by factors we all know. Can Herdman turn that around? Possibly, maybe even probably and I expect us to be better for sure but in saying that I mean better by finishing 10th or 11th in the east at best.
We have a decent chance to go from dreadful to mediocre.
I am fine with disappointment. In fact I cherish memories of fine disappointments. Freis save on Jozy. Morrow hitting the crossbar against Seattle. Delgado skying the cross from Giovinco in Mexico. Oso hitting the crossbar in Mexico. Oso, having beaten the Croatian keeper, fizzing the ball just past the post... all magnificent failures.
But your aspiration, in bold above, depresses me.
Last edited by ensco; 01-24-2024 at 10:48 AM.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
Let’s pretend, let’s pretend, let’s pretend… we’re mediocre! Yeah!!!
The only silver lining for a little bit of hope for this upcoming season is like some have mentioned is that the team seriously underperformed with the players we had . The two obvious ones were the Italians . Like seriously how can two players that played at such a high level come to the MLS which according to world ratings is ranked around 15 in world League rankings. You just have to think with the right motivation and having a new coach that in terms of motivation and organization and methods we all know are Herman’s best quality just might get these two guys to play close to their abilities. I don’t think with the players we have now that we should be a wooden spoon candidate again . However , saying all that right now my biggest concern is our Center Backs even more than goal scoring . We desperately need at least two decent Center backs we are in desperate need. How many times did we concede goals last year from blunders and sometimes comical ones from all of the three Center Backs O’Neil, Mabika and Rosted. My biggest concern right now is going into the season with these 3 guys that should not be anywhere close to any MLS team , they are just not good enough period . Hopefully we can find at least two new ones , because no matter how good the others play these three guys will cost us games once again like last season .
Nice post, man. It cheers me up. Nothing to do with whether I agree with it or not, but it’s nice to come here and read good thought and a good memory.
There is MLS interest for Canadian winger Theo Corbeanu. The 21-year-old from Wolves was most recently on loan at Switzerland’s Grasshopper. OH Leuven and a Danish side are also after him. Corbeanu has 7 caps for Canada, scoring 2 goals. (@nieuwsbladsport)
I think he would do a decent job in MLS, but he seemingly fell out of favor with Herdman and rarely got any call ups the past couple years.
The usual vacuum of communications continues.
I realize any attempt to build narratives right now faces cynicism, but that doesn't mean PR should effectively cease.
I wonder if they're trying to figure Richie as the third DP? Herdman loves those quick offensive wingbacks, and right now we have one trainee.
Things they could get into that might make this less tedious and more worth following:
-- What's up with Diomande? They talked about him in the mix of strikers in Herdman's training camp presser. So he's... healthy? Actually going to play a minute or two? Facing imminent release? Is he the starter if he's healthy on resume alone, or does Owusu get a proper chance to fit with the first team? Does Herdman play two up top, as he sometimes did with the Nats?
-- How does he see Mailula being used, mostly wide, underneath, off the bench? Apparently the reason we only saw him twice last year is he injured his foot in training, so is that recovered?
-- Which TFC2 players are getting a look? Is Stefanovic going to get serious minutes, or Maher, or are they both playing in NextPro, for the most part, this year.
-- What is Jason Devos focussing on to get turn around the woeful defence from last year? The only piece we've added is a college kid from the second round.
-- How do they adjust to the forward numbers tactically? Because we have nine strikers, none guaranteed to be the starter for most of this year based on recent performances.
-- Are they targeting or considering more CPL loans? Has Singh shown enough there to warrant being a backup this year? Is Peruzza going back there? He did okay, but didn't exactly blow the doors off in Halifax.
-- How does Herdman see Thompson developing? We tried him as a RB, but he's always looked more a six or eight. Is Jesus Batiz going to get more first team time given that we lack and need more pace, and he's extremely quick and technical. (Plus, he's Honduran and can help Flores settle).
Any of that. Anything, really. The season is a month away and we seem inert, publicly. I'm told they're busy as hell... but nobody gives a shit about the paperwork.
I'd think the fact that the club has dropped three places in the annual MLS valuation, to seventh, and had some of the smallest value growth would necessitate, at some point, taking public relations seriously.
Italian Serie A side Lazio is exploring the possibility of the loan acquisition of Federico Bernardeschi from Toronto FC. The 29-year-old Italian winger would go on loan for 6 months to prove his ability. Bernardeschi has scored 13 goals in 47 games for TFC. (@DiMarzio) #TFCLive
I get the feeling that some of the TFC II players will get their look, chance to earn a first team contract in the latter half of the pre-season. It seems early on that John wanted to focus on the core. In terms of TFC II another name I would throw into the mix is Adam Pearlman. With 5 roster spots currently open there are some to fill, figure even if signed to a first team contract most of their playing time could still be with TFC II, Hugo is also still in the mix, will be interested to see how he rates in 2024?
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
I like him but he’s not quick. Maybe a better future as a #9?
Yeah, that's a good shout. Pearlman got some time last year when we were disastrous. I'd like to see more of him and Batiz.
Man, all good questions! I wish someone would ask them.
I guess it makes life quieter for Herdman not having to deal much with media. Also makes it harder to get fans engaged in the team he’s trying to build.
On Richie, seems a good fit. He’s already been our best player (more than once) and Herdman loves him and needs wing backs exactly like him most of all. As you pointed out, we have a number one pick trainee too. I don’t get the rumour of the Ligue Un defensive minded RB unless that’s Herdman’s way of shoring up the defence.
I don’t think we’re getting a line leader. We had little chance at the best free agents and bringing one from anywhere else would be expensive and /or perilous. Herdman said he’s going with three at the back and a “low intensity build up” to improve the back line. No doubt he hopes Flores is part of that solution.
After a few days of talking to people and emailing, I'm now of the opinion that this season is going to be another disaster.
They can't even get the fucking kit right. The communications department is a joke, the front office is getting nowhere.
Herdman will have to carry this shit, and I don't think any manager has that much in them.
So depressing.
Herdman by the end of this season going to be aging more then Obama from the beginning of his presidency to the end.
This is my wild guess , but I assume that either 1) Manning is very much leaving and is just a seat warmer right now, until the new MLSE president knows what he wants to do. Or, 2) everyone knows Manning will be fired once the new president gets his bearings and knows what he wants to do.
In the interim, I feel bad for all involved. The whole exercise of what happens on the field right now is an afterthought.
And they probably cannot see through the fact 18k seat holders or whatever they have is actually a failure, cause if they ran this ship correctly, that number could be large enough that we’d be expanding the stadium.
They just seem to fail on every front. I've never seen a company this large with communications this poor. It's egregious. If I was still teaching it in j-school, I'd fail the fucking lot of them.
The inability to handle the media, to understand the pitfalls of buying high in football, to understand that the fan experience requires attention, to understand the culture.
We have the worst owners in the league, I think, other than their willingness to occasionally spend vast sums, usually on players who aren't worthy of it.
I'm not having the greatest day, mood-wise.
is it a coincidence that both the raptors and tfc have been quite poorly run the last 3 years after being run very well for the 6 (more for raps) years previous?
both mlse.
open to theories.
Mic Drop!
I’ll be your Huckleberry… ERogers, maybe w/Bell frustrating operations/matters to keep shareholder value suppressed as much as legally possible till early 2026 arrives.
I must concede, part of my moroseness this morning is that they seem to have clamped down on leaks quite a bit this year, so people who talked to me in the past aren't now.
FWIW, low tier journo report suggesting an accord has been reached between Bernardeschi and Roma.
Posting Permissions
