It was a mistake, but let's not overdo it.
It's 20/20 hindsight, Frei was not the keeper he became (Sigi deserves the credit for getting it out of him, RIP) and international spots were and are rarely used on GKs.
It was a mistake, but let's not overdo it.
It's 20/20 hindsight, Frei was not the keeper he became (Sigi deserves the credit for getting it out of him, RIP) and international spots were and are rarely used on GKs.
"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
Jozy's talent really has never been a concern for me. It's how tied our MLS performance has been to him staying on the pitch. There are other factors to consider but look at these numbers:
2019 - 1691 Minutes - 50 Points
2018 - 877 Minutes - 36 Points
2017 - 2194 Minutes - 69 Points
2016 - 1487 Minutes - 53 Points
2015 - 1796 Minutes - 49 Points
If we consider a starting player in this league to be hitting ~2000 minutes (or 22 full games), Jozy has only hit that mark once. Our DP striker isn't even playing starter minutes. The guy's played 53% of possible regular season minutes since he got here. Our seasons live and die on a guy that plays 50% of the time.
I don't know how much we overdo it or not, but IMO Frei was the best keeper in TFC-s history. I'm afraid we'll never have one not better, but not sure even as equal quality, unless at some point MLS will evolve that much that we can pay at least $1 million per season for a goalkeeper.
That guy must be a hero in Seattle, they should erect him a statue at the stadium... too many times he was the sole reason for Seattle getting results in important matches.
(Of course I'm not including in TFC's history that famous Brasilian GK who has played very few games being on loan.)
I am sure I mentioned that was your thought and concern about Jozy when posted sometime last year, some people just don't get what you are sayingOriginally Posted by portu;1911274[B
I see the Frei thing as him just needing a change of scenery and a chance to play and regain confidence - things Seattle had and Toronto didn't. He had a few blunders his first year there but by the end of the season was one of the league's top keepers. Even if he had somehow won his job back from Bendik I doubt TFC would have been as patient with him
I think most of us share this concern. But the problem is what is the alternative? Any player we acquire is unlikely to match Jozy's level and might well be a Pity Martinez - highly touted but a bust. So for me we need either Benzet to be a secondary strong scorer or to restructure our TAM players so we can try for one
Wasn't it an injury thing? Didn't he get injured and then Bendik/Konopka took the job and he never got it back? Seattle did give him the opportunity to start, which is something he wasn't getting here, I'm sure that change definitely helped his confidence, knowing he wasn't a mistake away from being benched.
Last edited by rydermike; 10-29-2019 at 01:26 PM.
Frei broke his leg in a training accident, iirc. There was so much negative karma accumulated the first 9 years that TFC should have a couple of decades of positive karma to balance it out.
Great post.
Its absolutely silly to think we cant find a replacement for Jozy at the price we are paying him.
Seriously people take off the rose tinted glasses and look at it objectively.
I don't care about his cap hit, if you've got a DP playing close to less than 50% of the games you have a problem.
The team was built around Gio and Vanney needed some time to rebuild the system successfully. The same can be done with Jozy gone, which is much easier considering he is never playing.
Before someone says I'm a hater, Jozy, Gio, and Bradley all deserve their numbers retired.
Last edited by Richard; 10-29-2019 at 04:54 PM.
2011 and 2012 he lost out to Kocic due to injury but 2013 he was mostly healthy. Think he had a slight knock just before the season began so Bendik started but then he got healthy again and never won the starting job back. So injuries still kind of played a part the last year but it wasn't the reason he barely played
Just to add: got my info from soccerway. Frei had 1 start and 26 bench "appearances". Interesting since I too assumed he was just injured that season. 2013 was probably the most forgettable year in TFC history tbh
Agreed. I like the guy and in no way wish to diminish what he’s done for TFC. But we need someone with more durability.
For what we are paying there should be some real options. Saying you can’t replace him is a bit silly. We just replaced VV this year with Poz and nobody thought that would be easy. For the cheque size we pay Altidore there is room for error and big potential upside with someone new.
Keep Jozy. Redeploy dollars from Gallardo and maybe Ciman, you get a $1.5-2M for a second striker and a different winger (you might keep Benezet, who would probably cost $750K or something)
Guys like Heber, Diomande etc make less than a million.
Last edited by ensco; 10-30-2019 at 12:14 PM.
"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
They should really just move away from all these fancy things and adopt a more standard and transparent salary structure. Fantasy sports / business of sports is a big part of the culture and MLS misses a lot opportunities by being so secretive.
As far as the cap goes, I want an increase but not for this league to get ahead of itself. Put more money into developing domestic players and leave some time for lagging markets to catch up. Get more teams on non-turf fields. That should be the focus.
Or maybe just play DeLeon up top a bit more!
"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 we are one win away from Michael coming back being locked in for 6.5M and a DP spot next season, guess it will be worth it if next Sunday goes the Reds way.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
Jozy Replacement?
Transfers MLS
@TransfersMLS
Lots of rumors swirling that Sergio Agüero will be leaving Man City in June on a free to come to an unnamed MLS club. With him being only 31 and the best striker in the premier league of the last decade this would be an amazing addition to the league! #MLS2020