Good luck Seba. You're going to eat that league alive with barely any effort but you will miss Toronto. Saudi Arabia is an awful place to live but money is money.
Good luck Seba. You're going to eat that league alive with barely any effort but you will miss Toronto. Saudi Arabia is an awful place to live but money is money.
Terrance Boyd essentially lost three seasons of his career to injury. He has been heathy of late, playing in the German 2nd division, so I would take a wait and see approach with him. Figure he is a TAM target.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
Pretty much nailed my sentiments on the head --- trying to explain the contract thing to my daughter and it was pretty much the same thing --- Giovinco is right in trying to seek out the best contract or lifestyle choice that works from him and his family; the team is right in saying we aren't going to pay you what is an exorbitantly large salary by MLS standards especially at age 32 and beyond (is he worth that much more than Martinez or Almiron got paid last year?! - of course those are lightning in a bottle examples (like getting Vasquez as a TAM player); but can I blame MLSE for saying why can't we find great DP's for $3-$4M who are younger, and not the $7-8M that Seba and Jozy are asking for in their 30s?! - I'm not saying it's easy to be Atlanta and get high performing DP's who are paid relatively little in relation to what they delivered (or else everyone would do it) - but clearly any business would look at that model and say there is a way to win and pay less money (or use the NYRB academy model) than why shouldn't we try that?) - again if we paid him $8M for the next five years and his performance diminished people would be pissed at the contract preventing the team from moving forward, if he left and we got nothing in October, people would be pissed, if he moped around all season because he was pissed about his contract status, people would be pissed....there is no answer where the fans would be happy unless Gio said he would play for a short term deal for relatively speaking, a paycut....and why would he agree to that?
As a fan - we cheer for laundry (as Seinfeld used to say) ----obviously when it's not my money I can very easily say - have a $25M payroll (heck make it $30M?!) - damn the costs just spend and win (I do believe that spending will help winning but it's no guarantee as lots of luck and health is required too) -- but let's be fair to ownership here, they were paying almost double (and sometimes more than double) the salary of almost every team in the league save for the Galaxy and NYCFC -- that's not an outrageous notion for the ownership to say can we spend $15-$20 Million and still be a top 3 payroll team and contend....and some of us are paying $20-$25 or so a ticket (as long time STH in the Supporters Sections and Light Grays) for the last few years which is less than lots of other fans pay in other cities to support far less expensive teams --- it's a business, for the team and for the players; for the fans it's an emotional investment, and emotionally this hurts as Seba was the shining light of this team for the last number of years....
--- But we are Supporters on this Board, and we will Support, if any group of MLS supporters can handle adversity it's this one, we watched 8 years of crap and we survived, we were taken to the most painful of championship losses and we survived, we saw the top of the mountain and we were overjoyed, we again saw heartbreak in April and disappointment in 2018 and we survived, and we will survive this too.....the band-wagon will empty (as it always does when teams aren't as successful or popular players leave - see Blue Jays post 2016) and hopefully those of us that were there before the glory will still be there to start the process again with new Reds that we will grow to love over time too ---- or is everyone magically now becoming STH for the Forge and York 9?!.....I am way closer to York than I am to BMO and I'm not abandoning TFC yet - I guess we will see if others feel the same way in April....I guess one upside is it will be easier to get a table at Joe's this season.....
Last edited by tfcfans; 01-30-2019 at 10:11 PM.
Boyd is the Ricketts replacement.
Reading the article on the G&M, it feels like we’ve been blindsided by the realities of the international marketplace. I would feel better about this if the club put out the message from the get-go that they were willing to deal but only at a fair price.
Instead, in the absence of a narrative, it looks like we intended to have him play out his contract only to have our hand forced in coming back to the table. Once that happened we were (potentially) on the back foot and put up a decent offer but one that was poorly received given our initial stubbornness.
And so my fear in all this is not that Giovinco is leaving (as much as he will be missed). It’s that our management team is naive and thinks in the mindset of a small-market MLS team where these sorts of considerations never come to the forefront.
Maybe someone can refresh my memory but Leiweke certainly made sure Gio was in the picture prior to jettisoning Defoe. What’s our plan here? Lean on a dumpster fire of an academy?
Wrote my rep explained wasn't happy with lack of communication , transparency and not follow in the mantra being the best.same said most likely will cancel tickets.
This on top of issues didn't even bring up with my rep such as my seat being broken, and not fixed for 3 weeks and had to walk down with beers to get customer service to get the chair fixed
Glad I was able to get a picture, Jersey signing and 3 pictures signed .
Wasn't there a Sturridge to MLS rumour a few weeks ago, I'd be okay with that as a seba replacement
Its a sad way to end it. In terms of significance this comparable to the when De Rosario came and left.
God bless that little Italian! He came to the worst club in MLS history and turned us into the best in the league. I will miss him terribly, but wish him nothing but the best.
In 30 years I will remember what it felt like to watch him score. He's the kind of player you tell your kids about.
Sad day in TFC land.
But as always, Toronto till I die.
I was hoping Bradley would have gone first. This would be my choice in saving money. BAD MOVE
Check out this tweet at [URL]https://twitter.com/joshuakloke/status/1090808980878778368[/URL
Minimal deal? Thank fuck.
"There are some people who might have better technique than me, and some may be fitter than me, but the main thing is tactics. With most players, tactics are missing. You can divide tactics into insight, trust, and daring." - Johan Cruyff
Just got off the air. As @KristianJack says in this interview, sources tell him #TFCLive are lining up a move for a very good player from a very good club. Have a listen Much to play out here. Stay tuned.
Aside from the Boyd signing I am hearing Toronto FC are very close to signing a designated player in his prime that they are hoping to announce & finalize within the next week. Aside from that they also have $1.5m TAM that they will use to bring in other players. #tfclive
At this point, I almost prefer a complete tear down.
Boyd is a good no risk signing. He was 'the next big American striker in Europe' while Leipzig was coming up. He is no Giovinco obviously but has the potential to be a lot better than Ricketts was.
A lot of pressure on Jozy now to stay healthy. He has never been so important. A lot of goals to be replaced with Seba gone.
Toronto FC announced today that forward Sebastian Giovinco has been sold to Saudi Arabian side, Al-Hilal FC of the Saudi Professional League.
“I’d like to thank the fans and my teammates for four special years playing for Toronto FC,” said Sebastian Giovinco. “I’d also like to thank the club for helping me as I transition into the next phase of my career.”
Giovinco, 32, originally joined Toronto FC on January 19, 2015 from Juventus, of Italy’s Serie A. In four seasons with TFC, Giovinco made 142 appearances with 83 goals and 64 assists across all competitions (MLS, MLS Cup Playoffs, Concacaf Champions League, Canadian Championship and Campeones Cup). He was part of Toronto FC’s 2017 “Treble” winning side, won two additional Canadian Championships (2016, 2018), two Eastern Conference Championships (2016, 2017) and reached the final of the 2018 Concacaf Champions League. In 2015, his first season with TFC, Giovinco won the Landon Donovan MLS MVP award along with the MLS Golden Boot and MLS Newcomer of the Year. He was named to the MLS Best XI three times (2015, 2016, 2017), and was an MLS All-Star four times (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018). Additionally, Giovinco was the George Gross Memorial Trophy winner (2017), the 2018 Concacaf Champions League Golden Ball winner and was named to both the Concacaf and Concacaf Champions League Best XI in 2018.
“Seba is any GM’s dream. Coming into the organization, I was really excited to work with him and get to know him as a person and as a player,” said Toronto FC General Manager Ali Curtis. “We believe in consistency, so this transfer hits hard in a lot of places. I have so much respect for Sebastian as a player and what he has meant to the organization. His departure presents both challenges and opportunities. Obviously, replacing a player like Sebastian is difficult, but we are working diligently and are confident that we will be adding a new Designated Player in the near future who will be an exciting addition to our team.”
Giovinco departs as Toronto FC’s all-time leading goal scorer across all competitions with 83 goals and a number of club and league records.
“This was an extremely emotional transaction for our club. We’d like to thank Seba for all he did for TFC during his time with the club. He gave our fans many thrilling moments during his four years, especially during our championship season in 2017,” said Toronto FC President Bill Manning. “He leaves Toronto as the greatest player in club history. We wish Seba and his family nothing but the best as he begins a new chapter.”
https://www.torontofc.ca/post/2019/0...ld-al-hilal-fc