The forever trialist from last season Adolfo Ovalle joined the Seattle MLS Next Pro team
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/TACdefiance/status/1513201898014224385
The forever trialist from last season Adolfo Ovalle joined the Seattle MLS Next Pro team
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/TACdefiance/status/1513201898014224385
i know what people think of will forbes but seeing as thread been dying thought i'd post it in here anyways
https://twitter.com/TransfersMLS/sta...33831808393216
"Toronto is still all in on signing Italian striker Andrea Belotti and is still very confident they can capture his signature this summer. If Belotti chooses to take a deal outside of Torontos (which no one is coming close to matching) they will spend big elsewhere."
Seems like he's hedging to cover his ass on his previous certainty that it was going to happen
for that kinda money...they could do way better,he is so overrated
my main concern over belotti would be his injury record, we don't want another jozy situation.
The people who claim to have a lot of inside knowledge on this, yet probably know nothing, claim we're offering $9-$10M a season. Now if we need to get a fellow Italian in for Insigne then I would just go for Destro on TAM level. Save some $$ and offer shorter terms.
However Bradley should hit up whoever knew about Poland to land us Jiminez for some midfielders. Kind of expecting Poz & Oso gone next season so might as well look this summer when it's easier.
https://twitter.com/FabrizioRomano
Andrea Belotti could leave Torino on a free transfer in June, president Urbano Cairo says: “Andrea Belotti’s contract runs out in June - so maybe he has already signed a contract with another club…”. 🇮🇹 #transfers
“Maybe it already happened - but I don’t think so”, he told TMW.
TFC signs CB Adam Pearlman and LM Themi Antonoglou to 4 day loans from TFCII
Kobe Franklin scored for TFC2. Still shocked he's not on a first team deal.
He will be the next homegrown signing for the Reds if he wants it. Seems like his was exploring opportunities during the pre-season when he was not initially included in the first teams camp and later joined it. Can not blame a kid for seeing what is out their, the kid has talent.
Remember The Man, The Legend, The Goal 5-12-07 and All That #9 Left On The Pitch, Thanks For The Memories !!!
Rothrock was really impressive last season in USL One and has continued that with TFC II. Has to get a chance with the first team too, at some point.
My concern now is that we're going blow out the doors signing Belotti or another big-name Italian striker.
It's not what we need. We have Jimenez, we have Ayo behind him. Both are 10-goal per season guys for a lark if fit, so why create roster problems forcing them both to sit behind another DP striker, when what we need is a right wingback and a right-wing attacker?
In fact, in terms of actual need, I'd say our ranking is:
1. wide right attacker
2. Defensive midfield anchor,
3. left or right fullback (we could be stronger at both).
If we're going to force productive players to sit and fight for time, I'd rather it be young guys like Shaffelburg and Petrasso than Jimenez or Ayo.
But I fear Manning is looking at ticket sales more than what will enable us to win.
I'd swap #1 with #2 because we need something to put on lid on how many chances we conceed but I agree that a FW/ST shouldn't be at the top of the list right now. However I guess their theory is that if they were to get a Belotti or Destro then Jiminez would become that wide right attacker.
Still though, we need a solid #6.
The problem with Jimenez being over there is he's right footed. If he were playing as a true winger it would make sense to have him there, but as a wide forward, we might as well scratch ten goals off the season if we move him to the right side. I don't see any indication the dude is going to score bunches with his left foot and it's intrinsically more difficult to cut inside and shoot with the foot that curls away from the goal.
As that point, he goes back to being the winger he was before Poland, when he was bagging four-to-eight a year instead of 10-20. And then he's not that fast and dynamic compared to some wingers in the league.
To me, he's wasted unless he's a striker or left-side forward, and he can't be the latter with Insigne coming in.
Agreed. They should not be targeting a striker at this point. My list of wants would be slightly different:
1. LCB - to play in a pairing or as part of a back 3. Not convinced of Mavinga any longer and O’Neill better on the right side.
2. Right-sided winger. All the guys we have try hard but there’s nobody who naturally fits into that spot and excels
3. Some sort of central midfielder. If Osorio is leaving come end of the season, get that player now and benefit from the depth on the way through. If Osorio is staying, make the midfielder a replacement for Bradley.
Otherwise, I think it’s best to continue to provide some time for the kids to develop. Leave extra cap / flexibility in reserve. Use it to get out from other budgetary charges (Altidore, etc) that might be hurting our position currently.
Team of the week includes Bob Bradley as coach, Pozuelo starting, Mavinga on the bench.
https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/team-...find-another-g
Just read the Waking the Red Post - https://www.wakingthered.com/2022/4/...-jesus-jimenez
Had to comment on it, I completely get the desired theme of the story - two Spaniards connecting but i thought it would have been far more accurate to add Osorio to this and still call it the spanish connection. Not having Osorio in this conversation (or even mentioned) is a glaring omission in my opinion.
He has played some of his best football this year and arguably early season MVP but most importantly just as important in Poz’s and Jesus’ successes.
Really hoping Insigne has chemistry with this three…. the next TAM /DP is going to be so critical.
Well, to be fair, a content creator can only say, "When Oso isn't on the pitch, TFC struggle" so many times....
I think by "Spanish Connection" they are link the fact that they are both from Spain - not necessarily just Spanish speaking or heritage.
"As for Jiménez’s fellow countryman, Pozuelo has already doubled his goal tally from last season in just seven games. "
"There is a clear connection between them on the pitch, and when it is time for the team to execute offensively, both Spaniards are almost always involved."
I think 2 big questions this year were:
- Can Poz bounce back
- Can Jiminez sustain us until reinforcements come in
The Spanish storyline compliments and helps answer both these questions.
Osorio is more like a third wheel in this story. i think the Oso story stands on it's own and is more tied to the national team and this being his contract year
Last edited by jabbronies; 04-19-2022 at 01:58 PM.
Should have been more clear...I completely understood the fellow countryman argument, but i was getting at the spanish language connection for Jimenez adjustment. I just have seen Oso play as important and connected with Jimenez and Poz and why i connected the three of them.
Not a big deal other than that and why I wonder where the connection for Insinge will be. Bradley fluent Italian and here's an outlier... i think Bernadeschi's contract is up this summer as well and juventus is hesitating . Not a bad RW.
He'll have to adjust to connect the same way Seba did. That's the only way he'll thrive here.
As far as communication is concerned, he'll have to learn the language. To try and recreate an Italian environment here isn't going to be successful. The players speak english. The media speaks english. The league is predominantly english. He's the franchise player that everyone will want a piece of.
On the field - I think he's a good enough player that adapting on the field isn't going to be an issue. If we really do trust in Bob the Builder, everything we are doing now is working towards a system were he can just come into the team and fit in. it'll just be a matter and figuring our nuances and player tendencies. I think he will connect with that Oso, Jiminez, Poz trio. They are all smart/competent players. They'll make it work.
Off the pitch - I do think he'll need a friend and that's where all this talk of another Italian is coming from. I bet the Seba experience says having at least 1 other family around would have been beneficial for that work/life balance stuff. But I don't think this is pitch related stuff - I think it's more personal related. Crisito gives him a 2 year window to get comfortable and make other friends. Bernadeschi or the likes means he has someone for the long term/majority of his stay here.
I imagine Perruzza can speak Italian too. Besides being of Italian heritage, he spent several years in the Empoli academy and has an Italian passport.
So I'm looking at the team stats page for MLS & noticed something.
We have, by far, the lowest amount of shots taken in the league.
We average 7 a game where as everybody else averages between 11-15.
Now, when we shoot, we are on target more then anybody else & goals / shot we are the best in the league too.
We also don't do the long ball & are about the middle in terms of passing attempts.
We don't give up a ton of shot, can't keep a clean sheet, are low on defenders winning duels but high for the league in duels won (really good midfield press)
So, we are a team hoping for a 2-1 win with very accurate attackers.
I look at this & I know its a stereotype but
We are already an Italian team....
Insigne playing well against Empoli today - given space (which MLS teams do), he's going to kill teams
Seeing the amount of young prospects we’ve got, I wonder if it might be prudent to leverage any for some solid MLS pieces.
I feel it was a mistake fully relying on our youth, this game is certainly showing us this isnt the right way to approach the season
This year is in many ways a building year. The only way to figure out what the youth have and to develop them is to play them. In an ideal world we'd have a few more vets on the squad to provide some rotation, but I doubt the team wants to be locked into a multi-year deal with a DeLeon type player. This year is about learning, keeping us close to a playoff spot for when Insigne & co arrives, and getting set to dominate next year.