Zavs is heading into his option year, IIRC. As he has had little playing time, I doubt he sticks around.
The endless accusations around here about Eriq and Vanney are slanderous and disrespectful.
Some people should be really embarrassed about what they are posting.
I wish mods would police this.
Vanney and Zavaleta have done nothing to deserve this. Zavs played when he played well, he didn’t when he didn’t.
Last edited by ensco; 11-15-2019 at 12:56 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
"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
I liked Zavs in 2017, but his last appearance led to a red card within 10 minutes of being subbed on. I said then that with that performance he played himself off the team. He's trying too hard, making mistakes, and getting frustrated. A change of scenery is probably for the best. I doubt we'll see him in 2020 in a red uniform.
How's hiring your buddy Armas working out for you?
Why did we give this guy an extension?
"We are in a results-oriented business," Bezbatchenko told a hastily called news conference Sunday at the team's north Toronto training facility. "And over the past 13 matches, we've won three games. More important for our fans in Toronto, we've won one game in the past six matches ... I know we can get more out of this group of guys." - August, 2014 on the Firing of Ryan Nelsen
Armas has 2 wins through 11, 1 in the past 6
Nelsen was not Bez' guy - Vanney was the guy in the wings brought in just in case.
Armas is Curtis' hire.
That's the difference.
Kinda - there has always been a buddy thing in sports. Sports started out as a group of people wanting to do things who always relied upon somebody within the group with a benefactor & then when the investment necessary became too big, the benefactors took over. The who you know never really left the industry.
Issue for people at MLSE, and one reason why most sports don't want corporate entities running teams, is there has to be some ROI on everything, even if its seen to be coming in Q4 of 2026. Sports operations by and large hate that thinking because they are more comfortable with the buddy system where ROI is not the key. This is tempered slightly at MLSE because the operational rep of the board is Larry T.
Conversely, the buddy system that most media & the sports teams they cover operate under with people coming to practices etc. has broken down with TFC being away from Toronto, to the point where
a) the club has been giving out less & less information
b) a journalist not as concerned about access has started to ask some piercing questions that we are glad are being asked but are making TFC people uncomfortable - see Singh asking directly about Q & this week about the Auro as DM thing.
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Consensus on Armas is the team likely won't keep him around if they are not looking like making the playoffs. I personally think if playoffs are the goal, then now being let go is better then August but the braintrust has other ideas right now.
Curtis will only go so far in protecting Armas.
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure how much of a buddy-buddy hire Armas is. The main thing to me is heirarchy. How does Curtis avoid losing his job to his head coach again.
Why Armas won’t lose his job is because this club clings to stability to like a child does to Halloween candy. It’s the same reason they re-signed Jozy (I don’t buy the PR angle - this club under Manning has not given a shit about PR or fan relations). Their philosophy is “the problem we know is better than the problem we don’t”, which is great until it’s not. It’s a reactive philosophy because technically the only time you enact change is when it’s absolutely necessary or when no change at all is worse than the current problem. What does that mean for Armas and the club? Well, it means the bar is incredibly low because management is petrified of risk and uncertainty. They’ll ride out Armas until the very bitter end, not because he’s a buddy hire, but because they are terrible executive decision makers. That’s why “two weeks” is the way we all describe the efficiency with which this team acts.
tbh ali curtis' player recruitment has been pretty good.
apart from gallardo, most players he has brought in have been good acquisitions.
however, all that completely undone with armas hire.
pointless to bring in good players if you dont hire a coach who will put them in a position to succeed.
Given the importance of second half momentum in MLS, and the lack of importance of these games, we have more time than you guys think. Armas deserves more time UNLESS there are problems he is causing that we don’t see yet. If yes, then he may have to go sooner. I think a lot of things are going wrong at once. Suspect Armas isn’t really part of the Jozy thing. We can’t know here if the injuries are a fluke or a criticism, we need inside info for that.
I think the model is Seattle firing Sigi Schmid after 19 games (they were 6-12-1) and then turning it around.
But Armas is truly being a bullet head about formation stuff, and I am with the rest of you on this. He has to stop with the Auro at CM and Delgado on the wing insanity. I have always hated formation bs. Soccer is soccer. You play your best XI in the formation that makes most sense for them.
"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
I don't disagree, but I do have to wonder about the viability at MLS level of a coach who doesn't understand that basic principle, who hasn't noticed positional experimentation failing at dozens of other clubs over the years.
How is someone going to be a top-level manager if they don't absorb the most basic lessons of the role?
This thread is the Curtis evaluation thread.
Armas thread is here: http://forums.redpatchboys.ca/showth...n-Thread/page6
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
Dont know where to put this but the club needs to be putting stuff out and not letting speculation and gossip linger. Get on the front foot man! And Curtis is in a position to recognize that and push to make it happen.
I thought Curtis was doing an ok job. Some good, some bad, I was fine with him and wanted to see where things would go.
But the hiring of Armas has so heavily soured me on his judgment. I think I'm #CurtisOut now. This hire just makes zero sense, absolutely none at all for the type of team we have and the kind of club we are within MLS. If Curtis could not see that then I have no faith whatsoever in his decision-making.
I think Curtis bought significant time for him and Armas by referring to the 1-6 run that the Red Bulls started the 2016 season with.
I go back to him being furnished with a contract offer half way through the year and just putting it off. Maybe those facts weren’t public but to anyone who knew those details it seems pretty clear his intent was not to renew.
I don’t know how hard Ali could sell anybody on anything. He’s not the type.
When people make comments about Vanney leaving due to lockdown and family etc....They know he's in LA on his own right? His wife and kids stayed in Toronto and arent moving till school year is done.