TFC - 2022 Season Thread

[wallflower]

2 hours ago, Free kick said:

Its the 35th minute in the first half.  What a contrast with TFC-Mtl encounters of past years,  I cant ever recall a Tor-Mtl matchup where TFC have ever looked this underwhelming.  Usually its TFC playing on the front foot in these matchups.  Its was always TFC owning the midfield and controlling the game and Montreal looking for counter punch opportunities.   Tonight its Montreal showing quality and TFC just sitting back there unable to string anything together and just hanging on for dear life; playing like a second division club.    If Montreal wasn't so wasteful, the score might already be out of reach already. 

 

EDIT.:  I am not sure Insigne alone would have been enough to right this ship.  

underwhelming good word - the tfc bench is scary - scary short

 

[Metro]

12 hours ago, Free kick said:

Its the 35th minute in the first half.  What a contrast with TFC-Mtl encounters of past years,  I cant ever recall a Tor-Mtl matchup where TFC have ever looked this underwhelming.  Usually its TFC playing on the front foot in these matchups.  Its was always TFC owning the midfield and controlling the game and Montreal looking for counter punch opportunities.   Tonight its Montreal showing quality and TFC just sitting back there unable to string anything together and just hanging on for dear life; playing like a second division club.    If Montreal wasn't so wasteful, the score might already be out of reach. 

 

PS EDIT.:  I am not sure Insigne alone would have been enough to right this ship.  

Their decision making at the back continues to be atrocious.  I was yelling at the TV the entire time from when Bono passed a goal kick to McNaughton beside him until the goal happened.

[The Beaver 2.0]

17 hours ago, Free kick said:

Its the 35th minute in the first half.  What a contrast with TFC-Mtl encounters of past years,  I cant ever recall a Tor-Mtl matchup where TFC have ever looked this underwhelming.  Usually its TFC playing on the front foot in these matchups.  Its was always TFC owning the midfield and controlling the game and Montreal looking for counter punch opportunities.   Tonight its Montreal showing quality and TFC just sitting back there unable to string anything together and just hanging on for dear life; playing like a second division club.    If Montreal wasn't so wasteful, the score might already be out of reach. 

 

PS EDIT.:  I am not sure Insigne alone would have been enough to right this ship.  

Totally agree. It seemed that Montreal was really good and TFC very poor, or one of those two, but Montreal looked dynamic, composed, high-energy, and full of ideas.  The finishing let them down a bit, but they looked dominant.

TFC missed Pozuelo and Osorio. MAK and Bradley were not able to do much to boss the midfield. Montreal looked cohesive, well-coached, and all their subs were damned effective. They've some decent depth.  Miller, Johnston, and Piette played really well, and Waterman was solid too. The work rate for Montreal was very high.

TFC seems a full year away from having a cohesive side, and this all depends on the new guys gelling with the rest.

[RS]

18 hours ago, Free kick said:

I am not sure Insigne alone would have been enough to right this ship.

Insigne alone was never the plan.

TFC's biggest hole is at the back. Fix that and everything else immediately looks better. Midfield and forward is fine (and will likely be great in an MLS context very soon), goalkeeping is passable but could obviously use an upgrade.

[AvroArrow]

Even at the professional level, I don't see how playing the ball short out of the back on a goal kick is worth the risk.  You are immediately inviting pressure on yourself and there hasn't been enough time for breakdowns in the defensive coverage to occur.

[yomurphy1]

I'm convinced Akinola was onside for the second called off goal and if so it was by a hair (Miller was hanging back).  Shocked that wasn't reviewed.

[rkomar]

9 minutes ago, AvroArrow said:

Even at the professional level, I don't see how playing the ball short out of the back on a goal kick is worth the risk.  You are immediately inviting pressure on yourself and there hasn't been enough time for breakdowns in the defensive coverage to occur.

Maybe the few dozen attempts before to kick the ball upfield only to have it immediately come right back made them try something new.  This current squad doesn't have the players to keep up a sustained attack.  Someone is going to cough up the ball within a few passes and start the counterattack against them.

[jordan]

1 hour ago, yomurphy1 said:

I'm convinced Akinola was onside for the second called off goal and if so it was by a hair (Miller was hanging back).  Shocked that wasn't reviewed.

Was it even reviewable after the early flag? 

[BearcatSA]

5 hours ago, RS said:

Insigne alone was never the plan.

TFC's biggest hole is at the back. Fix that and everything else immediately looks better. Midfield and forward is fine (and will likely be great in an MLS context very soon), goalkeeping is passable but could obviously use an upgrade.

The keeping kept them in it and almost stole them a point.

[RS]

1 minute ago, BearcatSA said:

The keeping kept them in it and almost stole them a point.

The two goalkeepers are both capable of spectacular outings, but they have been average at best more often than not this year (and last). I'm sure Bob Bradley would make a move if an opportunity came along to upgrade the position.

[BearcatSA]

11 minutes ago, RS said:

The two goalkeepers are both capable of spectacular outings, but they have been average at best more often than not this year (and last). I'm sure Bob Bradley would make a move if an opportunity came along to upgrade the position.

I don't disagree, as I had posted my opinions about them on here before.  I never felt Westberg was as good as some made him out to be in previous years.  Like Dracula, he hates crosses and doesn't dominate his p.a., so it doesn't do his already dodgy back line any favours.  Bono still seems prone costly lapses in concentration.

[RS]

3 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

I don't disagree, as I had posted my opinions about them on here before.  I never felt Westberg was as good as some made him out to be in previous years.  Like Dracula, he hates crosses and doesn't dominate his p.a., so it doesn't do his already dodgy back line any favours.  Bono still seems prone costly lapses in concentration.

If you could combine the two of them into a single goalkeeper (Bono's athleticism with Westberg's soccer IQ) you'd have an All-Star level GK. But alas...

[BearcatSA]

8 minutes ago, RS said:

If you could combine the two of them into a single goalkeeper (Bono's athleticism with Westberg's soccer IQ) you'd have an All-Star level GK. But alas...

I have seen Westberg make some pretty dumb decisions playing with the ball at his feet in more recent times.  I think he has been riding on that rep since his first year with TFC, where he was very confident in that department. 

 

[Ozzie_the_parrot]

Belotti still being talked about in the Italian media and not just by Will Forbes:

 

[Kadenge]

CB next please!

[jordan]

 

 

 

[Gian-Luca]

15 hours ago, Ozzie_the_parrot said:

Belotti still being talked about in the Italian media and not just by Will Forbes:

 

I am just watching the Bernadeschi press conference, a few minutes in he mentions that he visited Toronto "in secret" two months ago with "Bill, Bob [and] Andrea" - he could be referring to someone else of course but naturally makes me wonder if Belotti visited with him in mid-May (before they all headed over to England to play horribly against Argentina).

[Yohan]

2 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

I am just watching the Bernadeschi press conference, a few minutes in he mentions that he visited Toronto "in secret" two months ago with "Bill, Bob [and] Andrea" - he could be referring to someone else of course but naturally makes me wonder if Belotti visited with him in mid-May (before they all headed over to England to play horribly against Argentina).

andrea d'amico, his agent

[Shway]

I’ve seen Kemar Lawrence performances for a few weeks, and watching this friendly…..I find it weird that he was replaced with old man Criscito.

[Gian-Luca]

13 hours ago, Shway said:

I’ve seen Kemar Lawrence performances for a few weeks, and watching this friendly…..I find it weird that he was replaced with old man Criscito.

Apparently the rumours were that Lawrence didn't want to be in Toronto in a re-building phase and didn't even always show up to practice last year. If so, then I can understand why they needed to ship him out (am I correct in thinking that along with Altidore, they are still paying part of his salary?)

[Bison44]

1 hour ago, Gian-Luca said:

Apparently the rumours were that Lawrence didn't want to be in Toronto in a re-building phase and didn't even always show up to practice last year. If so, then I can understand why they needed to ship him out (am I correct in thinking that along with Altidore, they are still paying part of his salary?)

Why do TFC keep bringing in guys like this?  Salcedo never looked like he wanted to be there, nether has Mavinga for the past few years.  Poz had personal problems that led to him having a shitty season as well...I am just waiting in about 2months from now to hear how the italians dont like in TO either.  And by next spring we'll be talking about how they are going to get out of those massive contracts to bring in new DP's.  

[RS]

7 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

Why do TFC keep bringing in guys like this?  Salcedo never looked like he wanted to be there, nether has Mavinga for the past few years.  Poz had personal problems that led to him having a shitty season as well...I am just waiting in about 2months from now to hear how the italians dont like in TO either.  And by next spring we'll be talking about how they are going to get out of those massive contracts to bring in new DP's.  

All three of those guys have been dealing with some heavy personal issues. That's life.

Salcedo and Mavinga were never going to be able to co-exist on the field at the same time without a Drew Moor type marshalling them, anyway. They're both high risk, high reward defenders and you can't have two of them of the same backline with rookies flanking them at the fullback position unless you want the kind of defence that TFC has had over the past 5 months.

[Metro]

4 hours ago, RS said:

All three of those guys have been dealing with some heavy personal issues. That's life.

Salcedo and Mavinga were never going to be able to co-exist on the field at the same time without a Drew Moor type marshalling them, anyway. They're both high risk, high reward defenders and you can't have two of them of the same backline with rookies flanking them at the fullback position unless you want the kind of defence that TFC has had over the past 5 months.

And this is why I do not believe Doneil Henry would be a good fit for Toronto at this time, as much as I want to see the man playing starter minutes somewhere.

[RS]

1 minute ago, Metro said:

And this is why I do not believe Doneil Henry would be a good fit for Toronto at this time, as much as I want to see the man playing starter minutes somewhere.

It depends on how much faith you have in Chris Mavinga's ability to stay on the field. Mavinga's made of glass, so Henry could see a lot more time with the other CBs.

[Bison44]

At least there would be a better chance that Henry could move to TO without his personal life going to shit and causing him to be moved again in 2 months.