I think tfc will have to let some higher paid vets go like morrow, moor and obviously zavaletta to help pay for the raises of Laryea, bradley on tam and benezet or endoh. They should sign a winger/striker as a dp so both endoh or benezet wont be needed.
The Athletic confirmed yesterday that TFC have an option on Laryea for 2020. No mention of what salary level, but I would assume it wouldn't be that much of an increase over what he earned this season.
https://theathletic.com/1315096/2019...me-in-toronto/
https://www.thestar.com/sports/tfc/2...-for-more.html
Good article on Fraser. He wants more minutes.
Frankly I think he should have a near full-time starting role next year. He's a legit player and we're fools if we don't give him a chance and he leaves for a bigger role elsewhere.
I feel like we can create minutes for him if we commit to rotating the squad a bit. There should be enough time available for Fraser, Oso, Poz, Delgado, and Bradley to play in the midfield. Chapman played 522 minutes this season for example. I'd imagine those minutes could be freed up for Fraser to play, albeit in a different role.
If the team can get off to a decent start, particularly without the extra pressure of CCL matches, it can hopefully open up some rotation opportunities throughout the season to keep everyone fresh come playoffs.
EDIT: Add Deleon to the players I listed. I still think there's sufficient opportunities for all.
Last edited by noxx98; 10-23-2019 at 02:51 PM.
With the squad we have right now, places are hard to come by. Gallardo is always on the bench - that tells me Vanney appreciates something about him.
Its either him or Endoh right now & I don't know too many people who would make that move.
We have a massive off-season coming up. A lot of guys are getting older, have regressed significantly and are on big contracts. I'm seriously concerned with the ability of this club to move into a new era and rebuild. Manning was never able to pull it off with RSL and the club seems to value stability to a fault. Prime examples are Vanney and Jozy.
Vanney has put up a terrible couple of years aside from basically a run of 10 matches (CCL 2018, Playoffs 2019), but when push came to shove they basically threw all they could at new signings this summer rather than sack him and back the players they had. That screams loyalty and stability, but also that they're afraid that a replacement would be worse.
Jozy is constantly injured and is a regular international. He has played less than 50% of his minutes in 5 years at this club. Entering the last year of his contract he was not only re-signed but given a major raise. Why? Because the club knows what they're going to get from him. In a bad season (like this): it's around 12-15 goals. In a good one: closer to 25. Those are pretty good numbers, and team goalscoring totals for the season have not been a problem. So, the easy solution is not to fuck with it. Even though on its face and looking around the league it's obvious that we can do better with our DP spot.
My point is that the front office likes to be ambitious when they're forced to make a move (see: Pozuelo), but when it comes down to it they'd rather stick to the status quo. That's troublesome when you have an aging portion of the team taking major salary.
13/18 of our best 18 squad rotation players are 30 and under and only Gonzalez has hit 30 who should have another 3-4 years left.
Forward: Altidore, 29
LW: Benezet, 28.
RW: Endoh, 26, Deleon, 29, Gallardo, 23.
CAM: Pozuelo, 28
CM: Osorio, 27
CDM: Delgado 24, Fraser 21.
LB:
LCB: Mavinga, 28.
RCB: Gonzalez, 30.
RB: Laryea, 24, Auro, 23
G.K: Bono, 25.
30> = Morrow, Moor, Ciman, Bradley, Westberg.
but what's good thing is that those > 30 players they can mostly be transitioned to Depth players as they age, or are already depth players except Bradley who they will have to make a decision on.
I think we should be looking at a younger LB to split time with Morrow, other then that I actually think our relatively prime aged team allows us flexibility to focus on being selective with finding the right DP at winger/forward.
I agree on Jozy... I would be happy to sell him and replace him with a younger more durable forward.
We should be looking at signing a young LB and finding an elite DP Forward/winger. I'd bring back Bradley on TAM and with Delgado and Fraser as CDM's as well we should be good at that position.
Wish list:
Clear 2 DP spots, Sell Altidore, Bradley to TAM
Let Zavaleta walk.
Let Morgan walk. (sorry OG's)
Sign a Cavalini/Larin aged striker: 23-27.
Sign an elite DP winger/forward: Giovinco, Vela tier.
Re-sign Bradley - (TAM starter)
Sign a young LB to split time with Morrow.
Re-sign Ciman - 300 k. (depth)
Re-sign Moor - 200 k. (depth)
Obviously this is a dream scenario... but even if we fail, Altidore for 20 games per year, Pozuelo and a new DP Winger with our middle aged core I think we should be pretty good for another 2 years while we try and develop the next batch of Gallardo, Fraser type talents. I actually feel pretty good with Ali Curtis right now
Although he's limited as a player, Morgan is needed for Canadian depth and he's pretty impactful on the locker room. I'd keep him, especially as the "cap" will be rising under the new CBA.
As far as Zavaleta goes... I'd personally volunteer to drive him to the airport for a one way flight out of town, lol.
I agree with keeping Morgan. He's useful for the Canadian Championship quota, especially next season with having to play the extra game against the CPL teams, it'll be a way to give guys like Osorio, Laryea, Fraser days off (especially if the latter two become regular starters next year)
Moor isnt worth 200k at this point. Invest the 200k in a young cb. Ciman signed a two year deal i believe so he will be back. I would let morrow go and bring in a young left back. Play auro at lb and laryea at rb or move Laryea to right wing.
We def need to sign a winger/striker DP. A guy like divock origi would be perfect. Not likely as he just signed a new deal. Larin on a tam deal would be great.
It’s going to be tough to keep some of these guys happy as a function of playing time as much (or more so) than money.
I would try not to upset the apple cart too much. This group is still learning how to play together and the ceiling might be even better than what we’ve seen late this season
We need to plan around Bradley being a DP next year. I'm assuming we win the MLS Cup and he gets his option automatically. Always optimistic
Last edited by rydermike; 10-24-2019 at 03:06 PM.
This is a good point. If we lose Canadians in our roster what happens next year with the Canadian Championship and one of the few guys we have left get injured around that time. We need 3 to start. Do they have the option of bringing in a TFC II guy in for a game or two to start to make the quota in that case? I am sure it is something they have to consider with the roster decisions.
Hopefully guys like Okello and Dunn are deemed ready to play in the Canadian Championship next season. We also have Shaff. Hopefully Ayo decides to make the switch to Canada at some point as well, but that's not something that should be expected for another few seasons.
Road Games:
2013 - Montréal , 2014 - Orlando (Disney Classic), Montréal
2015 - Columbus, New England, Montréal
2016 - NYCFC (Leg 2 Conference Semis), Montréal (Leg 1 Conference Final)
2017 - Ottawa (Leg 1 Canadian Championship Semi), DCU, Red Bulls (Leg 1 Conference Final), Columbus (Leg 2 Conference Final)
2019 - Montréal, NYCFC (Eastern Conference Semi @ Citi Field), Seattle (MLS Cup Final)
Interesting thought. I thought it was more of Vanney trying to cement the win, but what you said makes sense. I could also see him hang them up, just because he's now 4th on the depth chart and with Vanney moving to the Back 4, 4th on the depth chart makes him the sub's sub, not even the main sub, behind Gonzalez-Mavinga-Ciman-Moor. I could see him maybe deciding to hang around another year if he was 3rd on the chart, but with OG coming in, his playing time has just been further limited. Takes two injuries to get him in now.
Which at his age and if his family likes living in Toronto, might be what he wants for another year. It's either that or retirement. Depends on what he wants to do. As a 4th CB I think he is good at the right price and that price should be around what Hernandez's was, not what Zavaleta's is.
This seems to be a consensus... (50+% agree)
1) Replace Jozy Altidore with a younger more durable striker on TAM or DP, if not keep him for the 20 games you will get from him. I see most people agreeing it would be ideal to replace him, and if we can someone younger and more durable that can score 12-15 goals or more why wouldn't we?
2) Sign a DP Winger/forward, obviously as talented as possible. If we hit a home run with a Vela/Willian level winger awesome, if not just get someone good.
3) Sign Bradley to TAM
4) Sign a young LB. Use Zavelta and or Drew Moor money to do it.
The rest are minor moves for depth, filling out the roster.
Please don't suggest consensus based on opinions on a forum. I for one gave up responding to the "Jozy needs to be let go" posts back in March - its just not worth my time.
I'm just referring to the general feedback from this thread, I could be wrong but I think most people want 1) Bradley back (on TAM if possible) 2) to sign a younger LB (obviously a huge position need as Morrow gets older) 3) to utilize our DP spot on a winger/forward. The 4th, moving Altidore and bringing in someone younger, there seems to be more divide here but i think it's getting close to the fact most people agreeing with that. I know Altidore is good in big games, can score 10+ goals and is a nice fit overall but would you really object to bringing in someone better, younger and cheaper then Altidore that can play 30+ games (If that scenario presented it self)?
One thing mentioned was using the Canadian Champ to not play oso, Laryea, or Fraser, assuming the 3 are Mls Starters. Morgan would provide a veteran presence instead of 3 young guys. Telfer now represents Trinidad internationally, so he probably doesn't count anymore