lol a comment under a salcedo arrival video
Un jugador acabado, polémico, de muchas indisciplinas, engreído no saben en qué problema se metieron
A finished player, controversial, of many indiscipline, engrossed they don't know what problem they got into
He joined the A-League champions, so he gets to play in the AFC Champions League. They made mention of him as an Asian player for Champions league in their press release. Looking it up, it appears that the AFC Champions League has a 3+1 foreigner rule (until 2023) which says every team can play a max of three foreign players + one player from another Asian country. https://www.arabnews.com/node/1964451/sport
Looking at their roster, I think he's their only Asian player, so he should get the opportunity to play AFC CL minutes because he'd be the only one who can be that +1 spot
Ashtone Morgan signs with Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League. Gets to play in the CONCACAF Champions League
I know a few of us were interested in getting him as a depth fullback
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/ForgeFCHamilton/status/1488611586440896519/photo/1
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
That's a bit disappointing, there was no way we could have brought him in on minimum for depth? Well at least he will be guaranteed playing time, I hope he can play his way back to MLS.
Really like this prompt Bushmancan. Gonna cheat/modify a little.
With my expectation and belief both eventually Destro @S and Jimenez@RW are coming; with an understanding Giovinco will also make the roster.
New Striker: 0%
Jozy Buyout: 100% gone...
70% Buyout: is pushed to a mattresses deadline due to love/hate relationship by Manning in FU spite to delay any season start game day readiness.
20% Buyout: with an MLS trade combo; with 'something' in return
10% Buyout: with insurance combo and retirement.
Lawrence Leaves: 75%; too quiet, plus with Luis Mata rumour, plus with Criscito, O'Neill and even Mavinga redundancies.
Keeper Change: 100%; game day best option rotation between Bono, Ranjitsingh, Westberg and Buffon.
Osorio: 100% for now; drank the kool-aid and will transition into Captaincy as Bradley transitions out within next couple of years.
Complete Surprise: Belotti or Mertens as striker because Destro falls through.
Last edited by Mr. Inbetween; 02-01-2022 at 06:29 PM.
https://www.torontofc.ca/video/salce...bruary-01-2022
Lots of stuff in this interview but one thing stood out to me
The roster build is not going to be finished by opening day
"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
Bradley played it very coy on Giovinco, if I were to try and read between the lines - he hasn't looked great in camp, but they are still likely to sign him.
Hey, anyone?
I thought JJ transfer was happening. According to Bobo reference not so sure anymore. But then according to this Reddit reference more likely...
https://www.reddit.com/r/tfc/comment..._stars_in_mls/
Does anyone have any further better information/clarity?
Did TFC pay the release clause?
I am not sure signing him would be in the best interests of the club. Sure the nostalgia and getting more buts in seats is the upside, but at what cost? Who gets dropped to fit him in? Osorio, Bradley? Pozuelo? Do we not play with a striker and keep Akinola, Peruzza and Achara on the bench?
Doesn't it really depend on how much they sign him for? Giovinco says it's not about money (this time). If he's signed to a low enough one year deal with a one year club option like DeRo was when DeRo came back (another nostalgia signing) there won't be that much down side. I don't think we'll need to drop someone like Pozuelo to get him.
Now bringing back DeRo was a really important righting of wrongs that signalled to the players that the team was under new (more ethical) management but it's also possible that there are important psychological benefits to having an eager Giovinco in the locker room. The team kept Ashtone Morgan for years mainly for locker room psychology, he barely ever played. Maybe Giovinco will play a similar role beyond fan nostalgia.
Now if they hurt the team by overpaying Giovinco or playing him when they shouldn't this won't apply, but Bradley is a seasoned manager who gets more decisions right than wrong. Listening to Bradley, I read it differently than MikeForbes, he didn't seem too quick to commit to signing Giovinco, it was more like wait and see how he is once he shakes off some of the rust and if they can work out the right deal.
Last edited by Oldtimer; 02-02-2022 at 06:07 AM.
That's a really good point, about Giovinco as a possible character signing as well as nostalgia signing. That's probably at least as difficult to get right as the money.
The nostalgia/PR benefit to fans and club is pretty straightforward. But we don't really know what happens in the locker room. I feel like the DeRo re-upping was good for team morale, but it's hard to know how things will turn out when you add another Type-A personality to a room that already has a bunch of Type As. Especially an aging star that also needs to come to terms with his own limitations at the same time. Again mostly a guess, and it's been a while so my memory may be clouded, but I feel like DeRo handled that part well towards the end.
I guess Giovinco could help light the fire under a bunch of guys that sometimes seemed flat and unmotivated last year. (Of course many of those guys will be gone in the new season.)
But will Giovinco be fine with a significantly reduced role? To be utilized only as it benefits team strategy, while still leaving room for youth development? I guess he always wanted to play when he was here last, and was frustrated when anything (including field condition) held him back. I think he also played a reduced role in Saudi Arabia, so perhaps he's fine with transitioning in that way. But I don't know how it will play out at TFC, the site of Giovinco's former glory. And how will it hold up if some of the younger players screw up occasionally as they hone their talent?
In any case, you can bet there will be strong opinions about it here on this board!
Last edited by Auzzy; 02-02-2022 at 09:01 AM.
I think the character/locker room thing for Giovinco, if that is a driver, would be part of making Insigne (and other Italian Serie A players) more comfortable.
I would definitely interpret Gio's potential signing as a kind of sign that more Italians are coming.
I like to think he can be a senior statesman. But it's hard to know for sure. He is a lifelong alpha dog. His instinct is to stand over every free kick, that'd be hard for him.
I vividly remember Super Pippa in his late 30s, as Milan's super sub on those championship teams, glaring back at the Milan bench every time he scored as a sub. He never stopped thinking he should have been starting, even at age 38 or whatever.
Last edited by ensco; 02-02-2022 at 09:13 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
I think it is also important to remember that Bradley is our sporting director as well. He knows bragging about how amazing Giovinco is in training entices him to go for that extra few bucks in a contract. He is being prudent from a sporting director perspective of being positive enough that Giovinco is happy with what he hears Bradley saying, but not happy enough to push for more money. I like Bradley more every time I hear him talk!
We now have the #2 spot in the allocation order for those of you on Seba Watch.
I think if there was even the smallest hint of any character issue- past with Giovinco that could not be tolerated or managed he would not have even made it to the pitch as a trialist by the Firm of Bradley & Bradley.
Apart from any cosmetics, for me Giovinco is a transitional on-pitch solution; depth and redundancy until reinforcements arrive.
As it stands, for now, Poz is the on-goal deadball specialist. I am hoping Giovinco could also help in those situations; in the interim.
I am guessing Super Pippa may be referencing Inzaghi... or Rivera or other?
Last edited by Mr. Inbetween; 02-02-2022 at 10:14 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