With Toronto’s impending introduction of Aron Winter and his Total Football compatriots we’ve begun looking at what that style and culture will mean for the Total Football Club.
Yesterday, in our It’s The Tactics Stupid column, we looked at what Ajax Total Football means, why it works and how it’s played today.
Today, we’re looking at TFC player by player and talking who we think will fit in that new system.
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Expected to succeed
Nana Attakora
Nana has consistently shown a willingness and ability to get forward into the attack. His fitness, pitch awareness and physical presence make him an excellent candidate for Total Football
Chad Barrett
Strangely, the man most had written off for dead (myself included) because of his inconsistent attack, might be the man who is the best fit under a total football system. He’s shown he can play a variety of positions, works his ass off at everything and with a little coaching (ie. Instead of throwing your arms up every time you get frustrated with yourself Chad, how about you track back?) he could become one of the most effective players in that system. Don't write him off just because he can't hit the broad side of the Exhibition food building.
Dan Gargan
Play him at left or right back and let him run. He’d be perfect for making those 2v1 passes and runs down the wing. And if he gets caught, he’s tactically aware enough to know to man mark as he tracks back.
Nicholas Lindsay
I was going to put him in ‘the could’ succeed category but he shares much of the same qualities as a Dan Gargan and he’s moldable.
Could succeed
Adrian Cann
Cann’s been described as stiff in the past. I can’t see him ever trying to get forward but maybe he doesn’t have to. He does, on occasion, dive in too quickly. If he’s going to sit back, which is what that style requires, he will need to develop the patience to allow opponents to come at him. Also, last I heard he was still negotiating his contract, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be even in the squad. But, at the very least, he won't have to worry about having a certain agent forced on him this time around. $30,000, paid over the life of a contract to an agent, is a lot of money.
Julian de Guzman
As it has always been, Julian is going to need players around him to make his game effective. I have no doubt that he will buy into the system and I have no doubt he will excel at finding ways to make it work, what I do question is whether TFC will have the personnel signed to make it happen. Julian spent a great chunk of time last year dealing with players who weren’t in the proper position to receive the ball. Toronto needs to find him some support this year or there will be more of the ‘this guy isn’t worth the money’ talk.
Dwayne De Rosario
Put aside the entire recent BS and assume for a second that he will be back in a Reds uniform (whether you want him or not). DeRo is as anti-system as they come. No matter what formation (and, hell, there have been a lot of them the past few years) he’s ran all over the pitch playing ‘his’ game. He could do very well in this system but he will be putting a lot of pressure on players around him to fill in the holes. His vision for seeing the pitch is one of the best on the squad. At the very least he’ll find creative new ways to exploit weak defenders on the attack. But, his play will still puts demands on others around him.
Maicon Santos
My only question with him is how he’ll do in the three-man triangle offense. He’s shown an ability to be both the holding and slashing striker, but I’m unsure of how he’ll fair when he’s expected to fill the space left by an attacking mid.
Doneil Henry
He has a decent tactical awareness but certainly needs some work on that crucial first touch. Those from the Academy side speak highly of his willingness to learn and adapt to new systems. I still haven’t seen enough of him with the first team to be convinced either way.
Won’t succeed
Ty Harden
He's sound defensively but fitness and speed have shown to be a problem in a traditional system. It will certainly get exploited under this one. If Adrian Cann and Nana Attakora pair in the central defense again this year and he’s forced to play a wing back role – one where he will be expected to get forward – he will rendered useless.
Jacob Peterson
His touch on the ball has been described as terrible and his tactical awareness is far from sound. He did okay as a holdover from Preki’s anti-football system but much of that success was born out of a holding, stagnant style of play. He will struggle in anything as fluid and complicated as Total Football.
Nick LaBrocca
I spent a lot of time last season defending LaBrocca and looking back on it now, I'm not really sure why. His awareness on and off the the ball is sorely lacking and he's not exactly a stand out player in any other category. If Toronto signs more players before First Kick then I expect he'll be relegated to the bench - maybe the resurrected reserve division.
Undecided
Astone Morgan
Of the little I saw of him with the first club he did show some skill and willingness to adapt. I can’t say for sure how his inexperience would play in a system like this.
Nathan Sturgis
Having never really watched him closely, the best assessment I can give is that he's been left unprotected and selected in two Expansion Drafts now. That tells me clubs value him but not enough to ensure keeping him. He should be a bench player but then again Toronto has only signed 15 guys.
Emmanuel Gomez
Huh? Who? Oh ya. He’s still around? I barely remember anything about the ‘other Gambian’