Something left in my chest again
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Have at It People
Something left in my chest again
*********
Have at It People
Who is the 12th Man ?
With both Laryea and Longstaff available, and surely nailed-on starters, two players need to give way from Sunday’s starting XI. Coello is one of them. But who is the other? It feels like Herdman has 12 starters as of now. So who does he sit?
Could it be Petretta with Richie taking up the left wing-back role and Fede staying where he is?
I dunno; Herdman was complimentary of Petretta and praised his connection with Insigne. Plus, I think he passed the eye test for most of us. And while Richie can play on the left he’s better on the right.
Could it be Prince with Fede moving to the 9?
Again, I dunno: Herdman likes to play with one and sometimes two classic strikers. And as jloome pointed out, Prince is pretty good at dragging the other team's centre backs all over the park and out of position. Would Herdman sacrifice this ability?
If it were me, and he weren’t wearing the armband, I think I might sacrifice Osorio and move Fede into his position behind the striker. But Herdman is not dropping his captain.
So, 12 starters for 11 positions. How does the gaffer solve this puzzle? Because whatever solution he comes up with, we may need to get used to seeing it in so much as the team doesn’t have its first short turnaround until the midweek game in Nashville on May 15.
Longstaff hasn’t played a match in a year and a half (with the exception of 30 mins in preseason). I’m thinking he’ll be integrated into the eleven slowly. Lots can change in 5 or 6 matches.
The thing that surprises me is how well we seem to be fixed for defenders. A few weeks ago it seemed mediocrity was the best that could be hoped for. Gomes is only one of the unexpected bright spots. Though I did always expect Herdman and his staff to improve matters right away… even the last match of last season was better despite no time at all to work with that group, and Petretta had already come good.
/\ Yeah, I don't expect Longstaff to start. He'll just come on at some point for Coello.
IMO, if you listen to Herdman’s post match interviews, when discussing the home opener, he hints at being aggressive. I think he tinkers with and surprises against the past two efforts. How? iDK. Maybe… a 3-4-1-2 with Longstaff likely starting in the DPIV and Coello eventually subbing in. I suspect no Owusu/Striker at first and Osorio slots in the hole as trailing AM with a narrow forward front two of Insigne and Bernardeschi. The wing backs will be Petretta on the left and Laryea on the right. Gomis is the left centre back of the back three.
It was funny watching a slight twitter melt down when Longstaff wasn't in the squad on Sunday. I am not sure he will be again by Saturday.
I'm more interested in seeing if Spicer plays. Charlotte's back 4 are fairly static and pace will kill them.
This will be another very good test for Toronto , Charlotte come in with identical record to TFC 1 win and a tie . They have looked well organized and disciplined and I think their new coach Dean Smith has already made a difference . Therefore, can’t take them lightly they just have to keep doing what they have been doing so far . I think under the circumstances even a tie would be ok at this point , however of course a win is is the ultimate goal .
I think this will be lineup. Herdman mentioned playing differently at home, and this gets all our most attacking players on the pitch in their natural positions.
Plus I don’t think Fede at wingback is ever Plan A. It just makes more sense to have him and Insigne closer to goal and playing off each other.
If Richie is good to play, but not fit enough to go 90 yet, after missing most of pre-season, I wouldn't mind starting Petretta over him and then bringing Richie in for the second half. Utilize his game-breaking speed, combined with him being fresh against tired legs. Especially if Longstaff starts, this way we can use the same lineup with only one change, rather than two.
Of course, the risk coming off injury would be having him get injured (after coming back from a minor tweak) being a sub and then having to use another sub.
So apparently “soaking rain” in the forecast. Will likely be a sloppy game and the speed of the game may be mitigated by the weather conditions. Ugh.
On a personal note - first time I will be seated on the west side of the stadium. What’s the roof coverage like in 126?
If the pitch gets too waterlogged, I guess they can always postpone it to Sunday, like in 2011 where they had to abandon the CCL match against FC Dallas and replay it the next day due to rain and lightning
The lower section of 126 gets wet all the time. The roof is very high and any wind pushes the rain beyond the roofline.
I've never seen 25-35 mm of rain in one day in the Weather Network app forecast. Either I'm running a marathon Saturday or TFC has a home game.
72 hours from now is a long time for the weather to change.
I think gomis starts based on herdman comments.
Can see something like this:
https://twitter.com/Johnsmith2553h/s...KE2SE4VaA&s=19
The weather definitely is looking pretty nasty. Cold wet rain and lots of it.
The interesting thing about that rain forecast by the Weather Network is 25-35 mm in 24 hours is usually a trigger for Enviro Canada to send out an alert or statement about potential flooding etc.- lets see if they do that later today.
Are we going to have a match that looks like the Canada-USA women's match last night.