Richmond "Richie" Laryea

[Obinna]

Ciman is due for a good game. Now is his chance to prove his worth.

I wonder how tempted Vanney is to start Zavaleta? He mentioned that both players need minutes, as they need to get going. Unlike Ciman, Zavaletta hasn't seen any MLS action yet.

I would go with Ciman, but wouldn't be entirely surprised if Vanney goes with his nephew instead.

[Corazon]

In my opinion Ciman has been horrendous this year but based on previous history of play, I still choose Ciman over Zavaleta.

[Kent]

I don't watch a ton of Montreal games, but after a hot start with Montreal I thought he wasn't good, and even kind of bad. I definitely wasn't happy that he came to TFC a couple years after that. I think he is this year's Jason Hernandez, which is to say it was a mistake to sign him and he really isn't at this level anymore.

Zavaleta had a bad 2018, but I'd probably give him the start over Ciman at this point.

Good news about Laryea though!

[RS]

9 hours ago, Obinna said:

I would go with Ciman, but wouldn't be entirely surprised if Vanney goes with his nephew instead.

The nephew who hasn't even made the 18 the past two games? That would be a surprise.

[Keegan]

I have a hard time believing a guy who was an international on the top ranked FIFA team last year is not good enough for MLS. 

Ciman should be tried at RB, it’s a no brainer. 

[Obinna]

2 minutes ago, Keegan said:

I have a hard time believing a guy who was an international on the top ranked FIFA team last year is not good enough for MLS. 

Ciman should be tried at RB, it’s a no brainer. 

If Layera shit the bed, then I would agree. However, he did pretty well, so he becomes the back up and Ciman can win the CB position like a big boy.

[Bison44]

Yeah stick Ciman at RB, because he stinks so far at CB.  Wait, no..let him rot on the bench.  Foreign internationals need to EARN their minutes,  How will Belgium get any better if we just gift minutes to high priced, impressive pedigreed players??  He'll just have to sit behind a CDN until he plays a perfect error free game, and at the first flub he is scrubbing the dressing room floor.  Its about time we started treating them the same way we treat CDN players.  

[El Diego]

I liked what I saw from Laryea, but TFC absolutely dominated possession so it was difficult to gauge how we would have looked as a traditional right back. He seems to have the profile for a wing back, and his time playing as a midfielder makes him appear more clever with the ball than many full backs. I don't know where to put him in the mix for a NT call up without seeing more of him, but he's on the radar, at least.

[1996]

1 hour ago, El Diego said:

I liked what I saw from Laryea, but TFC absolutely dominated possession so it was difficult to gauge how we would have looked as a traditional right back. He seems to have the profile for a wing back, and his time playing as a midfielder makes him appear more clever with the ball than many full backs. I don't know where to put him in the mix for a NT call up without seeing more of him, but he's on the radar, at least.

Start Laryea he played well , Ciman has been a disaster every time he has played for TFC so far. TFC screwed up with the Ciman signing would rather go with Vanney’s nephew at this point than Ciman.

[Corazon]

Didn't see the pitch today but still somehow comes out looking better.  Zavaleta non-existent.  Ciman was Ciman.

[Obinna]

Ciman's long passing and overall distribution is an asset. Sometimes, his emergency defending proves valuable. But oh boy, he really has issues with switching off, doesn't he? 

Better game for him, but still not good enough.

Zavaleta looked far less rusty than I anticipated. Actually, I had no issue with what he gave today. Unlike Ciman, I don't have big expectations, so as far as 4th string centre backs go, he's a good option. 

As for Layera, he'll get another chance, perhaps as soon as next friday against Minnesota.

Edited April 14, 2019 by Obinna

[shamrock]

On 4/12/2019 at 5:54 PM, Bison44 said:

Yeah stick Ciman at RB, because he stinks so far at CB.  Wait, no..let him rot on the bench.  Foreign internationals need to EARN their minutes,  How will Belgium get any better if we just gift minutes to high priced, impressive pedigreed players??  He'll just have to sit behind a CDN until he plays a perfect error free game, and at the first flub he is scrubbing the dressing room floor.  Its about time we started treating them the same way we treat CDN players.  

Which Canadian CB would you like to see play?

[Bison44]

There is just Dunn at CB and I'm not even sure if he isnt with TFC2.  Dont switch Ciman over to RB, give Lareya another shot at until Auro comes back.  I dont see Ciman playing much better than Zav, and definitely not better than Mavinga and Moor.  All I hear is our young guys need to sieze their chances when they get them and earn more minutes.  Too bad we dont treat some of the mid 30 INT the same way.  

[Gian-Luca]

I suspect Laryea didn't play against Seattle because being on the road against a team with arguably the best left back in the league (and one of the quickest), it may have been a tall order to expect a guy who has only played one pro game at right back in his life to be able to shut down the attack from that wing (ie. not the best game to start blooding in a player at a new position). Hence Vanney went with the 3-5-2, although he abandoned that at at half time when he saw that his nephew's timing was off the whole of the first half. If Auro is still not back next week when TFC are at home we might see Laryea start again.

While people are trashing Ciman in this thread (and understandably so in some cases), Mavinga and Moor have also had mistakes leading to multiple goals against so far this year. Moor at least hasn't had a problem reading the play or diving in to make challenges he can't win. Mavinga was one of two players out to lunch on (what turned out to be) the winning goal by Seattle yesterday (the other was Bradley who didn't track Roldan's run, but Mavinga didn't move to cover the space either - you'd like to think Moor would have read the play). It's a concern overall for TFC, who despite having played 2 fewer games than most other teams in the East have scored the most goals, but continue to leak in too many to have any championship aspirations. Laryea can hopefully help out in this regard if he can learn quickly, but I think right back right now and left back are not the concerns - it's in the middle (and in goal if Bono doesn't stop making bonehead gaffes per game - he might have saved the 3rd goal mind you as he is a good shot stopper).

[Kent]

12 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

and in goal if Bono doesn't stop making bonehead gaffes per game - he might have saved the 3rd goal mind you as he is a good shot stopper

It wasn't Bono against Seattle. It was that new guy, Westberg. Bono has been bad so far this year though, you are right about that.

[Dominic94]

Can we just agree that Vanney isn’t a good coach ? 

[Gian-Luca]

8 minutes ago, Kent said:

It wasn't Bono against Seattle. It was that new guy, Westberg. Bono has been bad so far this year though, you are right about that.

Yes, to clarify what I was saying was that if Bono had played against Seattle he might have saved the third goal because it's the type of save (within his arm's reach) that he has made in the past. He's got great shot-stopping reflexes but mentally has made some bone-head plays (like on the first goal conceded against Chicago) so I can understand why they gave Westberg a chance.

[PopePouri]

28 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

Can we just agree that Vanney isn’t a good coach ? 

No.

[Corazon]

Getting a little off the subject now but TFC definitely needs defensive help.  Bono is not the goalie that was he was expected to be and we haven't seen enough of Westburg yet.  Ciman has pedigree but has had his troubles this year and Zavaleta has been disappointing since he joined TFC.  I like Mavinga and think hes fairly good but he has had some off games this season particularly when Moor is not next to him.

As for outside backs both Morrow & Auro Jr have been good this year.

For the Canadian content in this post, Laryea played very well in his first game with TFC (not his first professional game as some on here think).  We all know what Morgan brings to the table and hopefully we can see some of the young local center backs later this year.

[Corazon]

Toronto FC definitely needs to improve their back line and goal-tending but Laryea looked fairly good again at Right back last night.  A few minor errors but less than most TFC players.  Not at fault for either of the goals he was on for.  Auro is back but man he struggled when he came on.  I'm sure he will bounce back though.

Not Osorio's best game but had another nice assist.  And well done by Jordan Hamilton.

[Obinna]

8 hours ago, Corazon said:

Toronto FC definitely needs to improve their back line and goal-tending but Laryea looked fairly good again at Right back last night.  A few minor errors but less than most TFC players.  Not at fault for either of the goals he was on for.  Auro is back but man he struggled when he came on.  I'm sure he will bounce back though.

Not Osorio's best game but had another nice assist.  And well done by Jordan Hamilton.

Really agree with this analysis. I was also impressed with Layera. He wasn't exactly a world beater last night, but he definitely looked competent (again) as a right back. His previous experience as a central midfielder allows him to come inside with ease. That allows TFC to mix things up a bit on the right side.

As for Auro, he looked like he was running in quicksand last night. I am sure the position is still his to lose, but Layera is probably giving Vanney something to think about right now. And the more competition, the better TFC are for it.

I know nations league is still a ways away, but if Layera can keep these performances up heading into fall, I wouldn't be shocked to see him called for the Cuba match. Gold Cup is probably too soon.

[toontownman]

I thought he was VERY conservative and offered very little coming forward. It might all be due to the instructions he was given but he rarely ventured forward and immediately got rid of the ball when he recieved it, in the second half especially. I thought it was tactics or he just wasn't comfortable there. Either way they brought Auro on to bring that attacking flair I think Ritchie is capable of.

Great he is getting minutes though. He certainly didnt disgrace himself and will grow there with minutes. 

[Obinna]

14 hours ago, toontownman said:

I thought he was VERY conservative and offered very little coming forward. It might all be due to the instructions he was given but he rarely ventured forward and immediately got rid of the ball when he recieved it, in the second half especially. I thought it was tactics or he just wasn't comfortable there. Either way they brought Auro on to bring that attacking flair I think Ritchie is capable of.

Great he is getting minutes though. He certainly didnt disgrace himself and will grow there with minutes. 

I think he was smart to play in this way. When you are new to the position, you want to play within yourself and not make mistakes. I would rather he play in that way, rather than bombing down the field and risk losing the ball up high and having to recover. Whether he was actually instructed or not is something we may not find out, but my hunch is that he's just being intelligent by not taking too much risk. I don't think they'll be specifically telling him to be conservative, but are happy he is putting in performances that are largely mistake-free. 

By the way, I am not actually sure he didn't get forward or contribute to the attack. I think he did so, but did so responsibly. I'll have to rewatch...

Edited April 21, 2019 by Obinna

[Bison44]

Whats a kid to do? Last game they said he wasnt looking on the defensive end, this game he was too conservative going forward.  Learning when to go and when to stay home will take a long time and some people will never be happy.  Auro was no improvement when he came on (still suffering with injury??) and probably could have stayed on the bench and gotten more rest. 

I like the way Lareya is making himself a more rounded player and he should be able to fill in for Auro or Deleon farther up the pitch for the summer.  

[El Diego]

I have disagree with the take that Laryea was not responsible for any goals. He let Quintero get goal side of him and then followed his run to keep him on side. To me, that was a really basic error that directly led to the goal and showed that he still has a lot to learn about the basics of playing in a back line.

Regarding him going forward, it is clear that each full back position has different instructions from Vanney. The left back is asked to provide width because Osorio plays left wing, but Oso tucks inside to play as an extra center mid. On the right, DeLeon plays as a more traditional winger so the right back stays back a bit, and tucks inside himself. This is evidenced by the fact that not only was Laryea doing this, but Auro was doing it when he came on (and was doing it in previous games). That being said, Laryea did get forward at times, most notably when he baited a flyby and set up Altidore who fired over.

Despite the error I described above, I like the Laryea experiment at full back. He is much more intelligent with the ball than most full backs, so if he can turn himself into a competent defender I would be very pleased.