We need at least one new destroyer type next season full stop. There's a reason Delgado almost never misses a game
re: Auro, my main issue when watching him is he slows things down way too much and then when he's out of options just does a simple back-pass to the closest player. His passing accuracy may be high but I'd be curious to see how many chances he's actually created with those accurate passes. Agreed that he seems to have gotten better defensively in recent games, would be interesting to see some of his stats on that aspect compared to the rest of the league
edit: Schweinsteiger is in the Opta XI, so I'm assuming this is biased towards attacking/passing statistics rather than defending, at least for CB's. Also he's partnering the Minne CB not named Opara ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Last edited by DavemTFC; 10-10-2019 at 01:50 PM.
The numbers don't lie.
Laryea's passing isn't as good but he moves play forward much quicker (no Opta points for that) but both are somewhat dodgy defensively. I think Auro's defending I'd improving though but he does still drift inside too often. Laryea gets caught up field a lot as well.
But this is MLS and you get what you can afford at FB and ours are all at least decent by MLS standards.
I think passing stats are so over emphasized. It's very easy to make lots of simple 10 yard sideways or backward passes. Much harder to to make a defense splitting pass. It's the number of completed key passes that count. I can't honestly believe that anyone would rather see Auro in the starting line up, than Laryea. Just look at the number of goals against, that come through the RB slot when Auro's playing. And that is a Full backs first job, not being able to pass backwards.
Bradley flat out says he would accept a non-DP deal for his next contract.
https://theathletic.com/1303155/2019...-john-tavares/
You’ve never been shy about your love for Toronto. Would you consider taking a differently structured deal than the one you’re on now, perhaps a TAM deal, to stay with TFC next season?
Absolutely.
So you’d be open to a non-DP deal?
Yeah, I didn’t come here for the money and I won’t stay or leave for the money. That’s not what this has ever been about. I came here because I saw the opportunity to come to a club and a city that I thought had incredible potential. I felt in a lot of ways that the city and the club were looking for someone like me and I was looking for something like them.
And so when I first got here and I told people that I had never been more excited for any challenge in my career, I’ve tried to live that every single day in terms of spilling every ounce of blood, sweat and tears I have into the club, the team and the city. Regardless of anything that happens, I’m so proud of that part.
I hope that along the way that the feelings I’ve been left with, I’ve been able to give some of those as well. Some of the best days of my career have been wearing this shirt in that stadium. Like I said (earlier) when you’ve been somewhere for this long and you’ve been doing something as long as I have at this point, it’s hard to operate under any other assumption that I will drive to the stadium on Saturday afternoon and the thought that it could be my last game at BMO Field won’t even enter my mind. First off, I’ll be so excited and focused for the game and in the back of my mind I’m still going with the idea that we have a few more games to play this year and hopefully at least another one in that stadium and hopefully many more games after still.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
Bring Bradley back on a TAM deal unless they feel he is blocking Fraser who has a high ceiling at a low cost. I would like to see a midfield of Bradley, Fraser and Pozuelo next year at times. Not sure if Fraser and Bradley are a good fit but Fraser looked good beside Piette so maybe a guy like him would be a better option.
Bradley now being discussed in three threads. In another thread, somebody said if TFC wins MLS Cup, Bradley's option year automatically gets renewed at $6.5 million? Is that true?
Sign me up but with our without Altidore? How about sell Altidore, bring in Willian + Cavalini. Bradley takes max TAM or they do some LA Galaxy type maneuvering to somehow get 4 DP's (still don't know how they fit all 4 of Pavon, Zlatan, Alessandrini and Dos Santos).
-----Willian-Cavalini-Benezet
-----Bradley-Pozuelo-Osorio
Morrow-Mavinga-Gonzo-Lareya
i'll put that up against anyone in MLS
Last edited by Defoe; 10-20-2019 at 06:32 AM.
Last edited by ensco; 10-20-2019 at 06:37 AM.
"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
So as far as transfers from this season what are the thoughts on Gallardo? It was big news when he was coming because he was supposed to add so much attack to our team from the wing....then all the hype was waiting for him to get to match fitness.....he has been here for how long now and can't even make it off the bench in an important game like the last one? WTF. Another Aketxe or do we need to be more patient? Quietly in the background of all the Gallardo talk in comes Benezet and plays a solid role. That was a nice surprise. I thought of the two players, Benezet would have been the bench guy that comes in only occasionally and not Gallardo. Anyone else think the same?
Think Gallardo isn't favored by Vanney OR he thinks he needs more time to develop. If an attacker was to leave, he'd be top of my list.
He's only on 300k (less than Zavs) and was said to be a project. I dont see him going. He has potential, Vanney has said he needs to work on his defensive game first. I dont think he's a bust, we just need to be patient.
Caldwell & KJ speculated in their podcast this weekend that the team can't put Benezet, Poz & Gallardo on the pitch at the same time because of their relative inattetention to defence.
I'm aware of the intentions, just concerning in my mind how little time he's gotten as a project. If I'm not mistaken, he was playing regularly in Venezuela, doesn't exactly help him to bench him here. Also why drop that cash on him when we needed a player to step in immediately at the time
Unfortunately I still don't trust Vanney's judgement on Gallardo (and a few others). When Gallardo briefly played at first, it's true he didn't defend much. But when he came back and played more for a bit, I thought he did quite well defensively. With his speed & quick feet, he's really good in the high press and in intercepting balls.
There were multiple games where I felt we really could have used Gallardo, at least as a sub to bring some speed into the game. Like the game Sept. 29 in Chicago. I remember OgtheDim writing "That's a cow pitch. Direct over the head approach and hoofball out is what is going to win this game for the Fire."
That was a game to bring in some speed, and mix in some dump & chase. Instead speed was removed (Endoh off). Gallardo was never brought on. Shaffelburg wasn't even on the bench. Benezet was playing, which helped, but I think Gallardo and/or Shaff would have been better for late-game dump & chase in that game, instead of Deleon for example. We ended up drawing the game, which I felt was unnecessary.
But since Vanney doesn't rate him or give him much chance to improve, I guess Gallardo will likely be gone.
I'd like to see Shaff play more during the regular season next year, not during the playoffs yet. He's fast, but still a very raw talent. Like Endoh took a few years to fully develop, I think Shaff will as well.
I feel Gallardo tbh is a bit over-rated, I am not too surprised he hasn't played much. There's a lot of Canadians who are equally as good. How about Terran Campbell from Pacific FC? I'd love to see him in red.
Last edited by Oldtimer; 10-22-2019 at 03:24 PM.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto