Any word on Seba? Will he be ready for this game? Just saw an article from the day after the conference final saying it was just cramping. Nothing since then
The Italian connection at Montreal seemed to have Seba dialed in. It won't be the same at Seattle - I predict that it will the Giovinco and Altidore show and that they will run riot. Jordan Morris is being touted as the new youth sensation that Altidore was 10years ago. Opportunity for Altidore to show he is still the boss. 3-0 TFC.
Chad Marshall is a pretty good central defender, but I distinctly remember Plata burning him pretty bad when he was with Columbus. He's good in the air but I don't think he can handle small players good with the ball at their feet. I think Giovinco will rip him apart.
Torres is probably even better than Marshall right now. It's a pretty damn good back line they have. Have only given up multiple goals in a game once or twice since Schmetzer took over.
Rumours are circulating that Alonso might not be fit enough to start. I'd prefer for Seattle to play their best lineup so we get the best product, but that would be a major plus for us if he's not ready to go. He's been very good down the stretch and they don't have a proper back up for him.
Based on playoff averages for goals for and against, TFC should win 2-1.4. If Seattle can convert the 0.4, I see it going to extra time where TFC will score the winner.
My heartbeat can't take another extra time game.
Toronto FC,#CMNT & #CWNT, Scotland, Heart of Midlothian FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC
"The Harder the Struggle, The Greater the Reward" - @OsoJ92AWAY DAYS - CHICAGO August 2017, MONTREAL March 2018
So do we revert back to Osorio or do we stay with Johnson in the starting eleven?
If Alonso starts I think we ought to stick with Johnson.
And if it does go into ET, Osorio + Rickets would provide plenty of attacking options. Oso was a post away from making it 6 of I remember correctly.
Interesting debate here.
I feel like Johnson would definitely help Bradley with the Lodeiro problem.
On the flip side, Osorio with Cooper may help overwhelm Alonso and other CM, possibly giving Giovinco and Altidore help to face up the CB's one on one.
Will be interesting to see the decision.
Toronto FC,#CMNT & #CWNT, Scotland, Heart of Midlothian FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC
"The Harder the Struggle, The Greater the Reward" - @OsoJ92AWAY DAYS - CHICAGO August 2017, MONTREAL March 2018
I'm torn on this.
My gut thinks this is the route we go with as well, however, this is an MLS Cup final. Jonson has the experience to handle this type of pressure game and do his job.
Oso is still young - I think there is a risk he cracks under the pressure of being a starter. He hasn't really shown that he can handle this situation.
So I say reverse - start Johnson and then bring in Oso earlier if needed - like 50 - 60th. We don't have time to dick around with something that isn't work. Change it earlier if needed.
I tend to agree with you on this. As much as I would like Oso to start I think Johnson's experience could be huge. And even though the whole teal played like crap the first 60 mins in Montreal I got the feeling that Oso in particular looked like he was overawed by the occasion.
The only reason I might start Oso is that Bradley didn't have his best game against Montreal game 2 (can someone name that game please? The Montreal Manita?) and maybe his role is better defined as a clear anchor CM in the 3-5-2 with Oso.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
I say start Johnson. We have enough talent in our starting 11 to create chances without Osorio on the pitch. It's far more important that we stifle Lodeiro, Friberg, Ivanschitz and Roldan in the middle of the park. We absolutely cannot give them time on the ball to spray passes into the channels for Morris and Valdez. That's what the game is going to come down to. If we can stop them from getting into a rhythm in midfield we win, if we fail to do so we lose.
Dude I work for Will Hill setting odds
see this math
http://www.sportsbookreview.com/pick...dds-converter/
Same line up that started vs montreal. Seattle plays same formation as them. Bring on oso and Ricketts in second half for spark.
Favourite part of Vanney's comments today is how intelligently he talks about Seattle's individual players. Gives me confidence that the team is watching a LOT of video and analyzing exactly what details need attention for this game.
http://www.torontofc.ca/post/2016/12...?autoplay=true
As much as I like Osorio, I agree that Johnson should get the start. Bring on Osorio in the 60 to 70th min depending on the score line.
For me - I'd start Johnson for sure that's the safest bet. I'd expect a much cagier affair than anything that we have seen in this play-offs with much fewer chances at either end. With Altidore on fire and if Gio is actually 100% we will have plenty of firepower. IF does end up 0-0 into the second half we have strength off the bench.
This is a bit like the first Montreal game - because of the conditions, you can pretty much throw out form etc. A lot of mistakes will be made because of the cold.
Seattle, because of their west coast and Latin American flavour, have a massive number of key guys that are going to have never seen anything like the weather we will see Saturday night.
Torres is Panamanian.
Lodeiro is Uruguayan, maybe he played in a cold game or two in Argentina, but that league is shut down in their winter, and Argentina ain't Canada until you get to parts of it that no one lives in.
Fernandez and Alonso are also from warm latin climates, they have played a few years in MLS, but playing only in Seattle, have they ever played in even one game like this?
Roldan is a kid from California.
Morris is a kid from Seattle who went to school in California.
Even our kids (Hagglund, Zavaleta) grew up in the northern US.
The more I think about the weather, the bigger my smile gets. Our USMNT guys have played in multiple huge games that were deliberately scheduled for the cold, and the one guy in Seattle who has that experience, Dempsey, is out.
Gio may struggle, given the technical nature of his game, and of course Cooper is new to this (have to keep on eye on that, may have to sit him early), but our overall emphasis on Americans and Canadians may well have just paid us a huge, unexpected dividend.
Think I may wander over to one of the websites and place a not so small wager on this one.
Last edited by ensco; 12-07-2016 at 07:58 AM.
“What the world needs is more geniuses with humility; there are so few of us left.”
If we were away I would be inclined to play Johnson but at home we need to play more positively, impose our game on them. While Oso is more attacking and Johnson more defensive I think Oso gives us more defensively than Johnson would on the offensive side of things.
Hilarious because you're both wrong. Probabilities quoted above included the vig so you have to normalize it to a vig free line.
So -175 / + 125 odds spread is 59% for TFC , 41% for Sea.
And please save me from some diatribe about bookies trying to balance the money on both sides ..... this is such an illiquid betting market that where they set the line is based mostly on how they project the game not how to balance the money.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
Kind of torn on the Oso issue. I thought he was starting to come into a decent bit of form but that 1st game in Montreal set me back. He was like a little kid playing against grown men. Everybody's allowed a bad day at the office and maybe that was his. We were lucky in that 1st leg as we had a 2nd to give us a life line. We don't have that luxury here, this is a one off game.I'm leaning more towards starting Johnson at this stage. He gives us that extra aggression in the mid which will be needed esp early on in a final. Not writing Oso off because if he doesn't start, he will defo come on at some stage in this game. I also think Johnson offers a bit more attacking wise than people are giving him credit for. Gonna be a close call but I think that experience he has, Johnson gets the nod. I noticed off the ball in the 2nd leg V Montreal, one of the first things Donadel did was basically shove Oso to the ground. I'm not sure he pulls that stunt on Johnson. They hit Oso hard in 1st leg, you can be rest assured Seattle will have seen that and noted that as way to stop him.