Seba would have to go through the allocation order.
Hypothetically, with Nashville holding it right now (we are 25th in the order) what would it take to convince Nashville to trade that number 1 spot.
Seba would have to go through the allocation order.
Hypothetically, with Nashville holding it right now (we are 25th in the order) what would it take to convince Nashville to trade that number 1 spot.
I reckon Davies is simply an outlier. Nobody else has managed to come through the Whitecaps system and actually stay as a consistent starter/first-team player. Teibert is the closest thing and even he had 2 or 3 years in the wilderness
That said, things may be changing under MDS
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
Seba isn't getting a dp contact. Manning said vanney and Ali are going to South America and Europe to sign an attacker. They have a list down to 3-4 guys.
With Bradley signed (woot!) for at least three more seasons, I think a 4-2-3-1 is the most logical setup moving forward. Fraser MUST play, so let him split time with Delgado next to Bradley (and give MB more chances to rest).
Also, pour one out for Benezet. Manning said MB took his TAM spot.
I wonder if a guy like Alfredo Morelos would intrigue TFC as a DP. A young forward who (I think) can play out wide and has been scoring a tonne for Rangers. Transfermarkt has him at $8.5M, but I imagine he'd go for more. MLS has traditionally been an attractive destination for Colombians.
Last edited by Bobo; 12-12-2019 at 04:13 PM.
I feel like the player we are going to get is going to be a big name. If we were going to sign an average striker for around 1 million, they probably would have give Bradley a DP. The fact Bradley bought into a TAM deal signals to me the players they are targeting are quality.
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/Beezersun/status/1205209631385116674
If we sign a DP winger this ends up a straight upgrade. Benezet was ok but not worth bringing back in my opinion.
I'm actually pretty impressed by management to bring in a guy like Benezet for only a few months. Sometimes you can mistake by signing the wrong guy to a large deal but bringing in Benezet filled a need, made us better and pleased the fan base instead of doing nothing.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
Watching that press conference, simply stunning -- how can you not love this guy and how he speaks about this city, this team, and representing this club in the best way possible.....this is a captain and a leader....I for one am thrilled he's back, sometimes the player is more than just what is on the field (yes, he is not what he once was, but he's still pretty darn good), it's the other intangibles that this guy possesses in huge volume and he's shown it both on and off the field since day 1.....I remember being at his press conference with Defoe and everyone was going crazy about the Defoe part of that day, and I remember turning to the guy beside me and saying that Bradley may turn out to be the more important signing that day, I guess I was proven right in the long run....(standing on my desk now a la Dead Poets Society...."Captain my Captain".....seems like a Tifo for the future.....)
COYR
Manning interview with KJ
https://www.tsn.ca/soccer/video/mann...iation~1852702
3 DP candidates being looked at
Vanney & Curtis in South America to see 1 player
Other 2 candidates playing this weekend in Europe - Curtis to discuss with players and the teams.
They want the guy before training camp ends.
Reaction time slows time. Recovery speed slows down. We saw how he got burned twice by Pity Martinez in the E. Conf. final, though just to be clear, I'm not blaming his positioning there - it seems Vanney told them to play a high line. My point is that Martinez did get in behind and MB wasn't able to recover and it led to a goal and a penalty.
Now, of course, we don't know if the same thing would've happened five years ago or not, if Bradley is able to recover and does get there – I acknowledge that. But, well ... he's not getting any younger. His reactions and speed will only get slower from here on out. And yes, that can be mitigated by intelligence and positioning, but that will only get a player so far – there will come a point where he just can't be the #1 go-to guy any more.
Hence, what I said in my comment, he will have to make way sooner rather than later, and what I want is that Liam Fraser steps into that role. As long as Fraser is happy to wait in the wings in another few years, then there's no problem anywhere. But, like I said, as nice as it is to have Bradley back now, if it means we lose Fraser because of it, well, that's a bigger problem for the club going forward.
And again, to be clear, I like him. I want him to stay. I want him to retire here and be a coach here etc. etc. etc.
But I'm just worried about losing Fraser.
Last edited by James17930; 12-13-2019 at 01:03 AM.
Santos Borré at River may be the guy from SA.
European guys that fit the bill, wouldn't be dumb expensive and play this weekend (including Monday in case Manning used weekend losely):
Samatta (Genk - Saturday Match) - Contract to 2021
Lasagna (Udinese - Sunday) - 2023
Paulinho (Braga - Sunday) - 2023
Wilson Eduardo (Braga - Sunday) - 2020
Aboubacar (Porto - Monday) - 2021
Tiquinho Soares (Porto - Monday) - 2021
Based on the term left on Paulinho and Lasagna's contracts I'd say they're less likely. That leaves Samatta, Wilson Eduardo, Aboubacar and Tiquinho.
If we accept that Curtis and Vanney plan on attending the matches together (which I think is safe since they would both want to interact with the club and the player following the match) then they're seeing two of Porto, Genk and Braga.
Wilson Eduardo isn't a true goalscorer and is getting up there in age but is a winger. Samatta has the Genk connection. Tiquinho starts for Porto so could be out of budget. Aboubacar is still trying to stay fully match fit after his ligament rupture last year.
I'd say it's Samatta and Wilson Eduardo, outside shot it's Aboubacar.
Last edited by ensco; 12-13-2019 at 07:37 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
Who ever we sign as a DP it’s 95% going to be someone with name recognition for casual fans. Manning has a mandate to pack BMO and the only way is if they sign someone that causal fans know. It will be someone in the same idea as Seba, fringe national team player, good player on a top team but not good enough to play consistently.
From what I have been told Manning wanted to offer Balotelli a contract that would have put him the top 3 in salary in the MLS, but Vanney said no as he doesn’t fit his system and all of the other issues. If there is transfer fee the player’s salary will not be as high. If they get the club to void the contract the player will get more money.
now we wait...
Can't find a quote of it but I remember Manning saying in the end of season press conference that they patched things up with Genk to get the deal done and he hinted the clubs could/would work together in the future...so I definitely wouldn't rule another Genk signing out (edit: portu beat me to it, glad to know I wasn't making it up!)
Samatta is a striker though, and afaik he rarely if ever plays on the wing. If they're signing someone from there as a DP, Theo Bongonda would probably be the most likely
Last edited by DavemTFC; 12-13-2019 at 09:08 AM.
Club president Bill Manning said on Thursday that Curtis and Vanney are currently in South America scouting prospective Designated Players. Curtis told the Toronto Sun that they will be visiting Uruguay and possibly Argentina during the trip to South America, and then Holland, France and Spain in search of a high-quality DP — an attacking player/goal scorer.
...
“This weekend Ali is going to Europe and he’s going to catch a couple of games. There are three players in particular that he’s going to meet and watch and then I’m going to go over the following weekend,” said Manning. “And then we hope to have conclusion of a new DP before we break camp, or even earlier.”
...
“(So) for the last two weeks, we have been very strong in some of our DP conversations to the point where we’ve now narrowed it down to about three or four players (from an original list of about 20),” Manning said.
“Attacking players. Guys that have proven track records of putting the ball in the back of the net and helping their team be more aggressive on the offensive side of the ball.”
Manning said, position-wise, the ideal DP signing for the Reds would be “guys that have the flexibility to play from the flanks but also play with Jozy. Our head coach likes to be flexible with his systems. We think having Michael secure, obviously with Pozo (Alejandro Pozuelo) and keeping Jozy on the field, we have another real strong attacking option.”
“We still have four five slots to fill, one being a designated player, the other slots would be role players,” he added. “We’ll see if we can work something out with (forward) Juan Agudelo (picked up from New England in the MLS re-entry draft last week).”
https://torontosun.com/sports/soccer...cut-to-re-sign
“Juan is a guy that has performed in this league, he’s a quality player, this season played over 1,900 minutes for New England,” detailed Manning. “If he’s willing to be flexible on his contract demands he’s a guy that could come in and perform a role. Athletic, still 27 years old, it was worth taking a chance and now it comes down to will he be willing to accept our terms.”
https://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2019/...g-benezet-back
I had a chance to watch the entire Bradley press conference last night. I can't say enough complimentary things about him. He embodies everything you can possibly ask for in a captain and a leader.
An important part from that Sun article.
Curtis told the Toronto Sun that they will be visiting Uruguay and possibly Argentina during the trip to South America, and then Holland, France and Spain in search of a high-quality DP — an attacking player/goal scorer.
Remember Bradley scored that extra time goal for the US U-20 in 2007 knockouts against Uruguay at BMO? What a head of wild stringy hair he had back then.
Suarez scored for Uruguay earlier in the game.
Bradley is the epitome of captain, rivaled by only Sundin in this city the past 30 years. Bradley has always been the level headed glue that held ego, personalities, and less-than-world class players together. Without his leadership, and presence on the field, I strongly believe TFC wouldn't have made the MLS finals in 2016 or 2017.
Its Jony menendez. Someone check Argentine Craigslist to see if his car is for sale again