Metro Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 18 hours ago, Kingston said: TFC's problem has never been ambition or a willingness to spend money. It has (aside from the fondly remembered Bezbatchenko era) been incompetence in how they spend to try to realize that ambition. Honestly, they should just offer Bezbatchenko whatever he wants to come back and be GM again. That would be a much better use of funds than seeking out some other overpaid DP. Let him GM and Herdman coach and we'd be contending again inside of two years. I've thought about that too. For Bez to come back though, you would need to give him Manning's position. Kingston and narduch 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadenge Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Just now, Metro said: I've thought about that too. For Bez to come back though, you would need to give him Manning's position. That's an easy decision Kingston, Club Linesman, Ivan and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 6 minutes ago, Metro said: I've thought about that too. For Bez to come back though, you would need to give him Manning's position. I think I could live with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 Bez probably isn't interested in that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 12 Share Posted January 12 23 minutes ago, narduch said: Bez probably isn't interested in that Probably not. However, what do you think he makes per year? I'm sure a Cup contending team would rapidly pay back whatever dollar number was necessary to lure him back to Toronto. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fil Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 (edited) I'm sure he is still fond of Toronto but let's be real. He has a proven track record of winning MLS cups with different teams. He would be in high demand for almost any MLS team. At this point money by itself isn't enough and some teams can outbid Toronto. And really does he want to start Toronto at the very bottom? Edited January 13 by fil Bison44 and narduch 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoppage Time Posted January 13 Share Posted January 13 3 hours ago, fil said: And really does he want to start Toronto at the very bottom? Well, what an accomplishment it would be if Bez was able to lift TFC to a cup in a couple of seasons. After that, he could write his own ticket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryker911 Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 On 1/12/2024 at 6:57 AM, narduch said: Peter Galindo has joined TFC's analytics department. Sean Young is a guy that Galindo couldn't talk enough about. Wonder if him or someone like Nimick ends up in camp? aredding77, narduch and canuckgbp 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stoppage Time Posted January 14 Share Posted January 14 48 minutes ago, Stryker911 said: Sean Young is a guy that Galindo couldn't talk enough about. Wonder if him or someone like Nimick ends up in camp? I would be happy to see either in the VWFC camp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted January 15 Share Posted January 15 YorkRegionFan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shway Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Preseason Roster List: Goalkeepers: Luka Gavran, Greg Ranjitsingh, Sean Johnson. Defenders: Kobe Franklin, Aimé Mabika, x-Joey Maher, Shane O’Neill, Raoul Petretta, Sigurd Rosted, Luke Singh Midfielders: Latif Blessing, Alonso Coello, Deybi Flores, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Jonathan Osorio, x-Tyrese Spicer, Brandon Servania, Kosi Thompson. Forwards: Ayo Akinola, Federico Bernardeschi, Adama Diomande, Lorenzo Insigne, Deandre Kerr, Cassius Mailula, Hugo Mbongue, Prince Owusu, Jordan Perruzza, y-Charlie Sharp. narduch and Corazon 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Herdman lists Shane O'Neill as part of the team's leadership group. Yikes, gonna be another long year I fear! narduch, Gian-Luca, Corazon and 4 others 3 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 Unless Joey Maher (presumably a draft choice?) is the second coming of Giacinto Facchetti, that is one hell of a poor defensive unit at the moment. Not a lot of depth in midfield and too many unproductive #9s in the forward group. Metro, Shway, Corazon and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kadenge Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 This could be a bigger challenge for Herdman than he thought. At least when he got the CMNT job there were bright young stars with Davies and David. A proven Larin, Arfield, Oso, Borjan, Atiba, Cav etc. That TFC squad is mostly unchanged from last season Corazon, Shway, narduch and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shway Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 4 minutes ago, Gian-Luca said: Unless Joey Maher (presumably a draft choice?) is the second coming of Giacinto Facchetti, that is one hell of a poor defensive unit at the moment. Not a lot of depth in midfield and too many unproductive #9s in the forward group. And not a lot of salary cap to play with guys on guaranteed contracts. Mbongue - $78,787.00 Kerr - $90,763.00 Perruzza - $132,500.00 Diomonde - $585,000.00 Owusu - $707,500.00 Akinola - $771,875.00 Kerr will continue to be serviceable. Great return on investment. Peruzza will get loaned out...again. Will help recoup some cap space. Diomonde is my odds on for TFC using the 1 player-waived voucher. Owusu will get some time, and may be the guy to play in between the Italians. I think the most interesting question is what formation will Herdman play, because he preferred 352 won't work with this crop of guys. Akinola is..well.......I hope he has his revival season, if not it seems like he has crashed and cashed out. narduch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shway Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 4 minutes ago, Kadenge said: This could be a bigger challenge for Herdman than he thought. At least when he got the CMNT job there were bright young stars with Davies and David. A proven Larin, Arfield, Oso, Borjan, Atiba, Cav etc. That TFC squad is mostly unchanged from last season That's why I wonder how long his leash is. I feel like Herdman would have finessed his way into stating that "I can't really make it my team with Insigine and Berna taking up vital pieces. I'll definitely try, but my future can't be determined by guys who I have had no say with". This team is going to be a shit show Kadenge and Ivan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoccMan Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 (edited) 1 hour ago, Ivan said: Herdman lists Shane O'Neill as part of the team's leadership group. Yikes, gonna be another long year I fear! Shane O’Neill oh my if you compiled a blooper real of all the mistakes that the center backs made last year I think he might have the most. However, the the other pylons that masqueraded as center backs like Mabika and Rosted might have something to say about that . After last season what kind of sadist must Herdman be to want to go into the season with these stooges as your only Center backs right now . God help this guy he is going to need a lot of it with these guys back there . Edited January 16 by SoccMan Gian-Luca and Ivan 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivan Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 57 minutes ago, Shway said: And not a lot of salary cap to play with guys on guaranteed contracts. Mbongue - $78,787.00 Kerr - $90,763.00 Perruzza - $132,500.00 Diomonde - $585,000.00 Owusu - $707,500.00 Akinola - $771,875.00 Kerr will continue to be serviceable. Great return on investment. Peruzza will get loaned out...again. Will help recoup some cap space. Diomonde is my odds on for TFC using the 1 player-waived voucher. Owusu will get some time, and may be the guy to play in between the Italians. I think the most interesting question is what formation will Herdman play, because he preferred 352 won't work with this crop of guys. Akinola is..well.......I hope he has his revival season, if not it seems like he has crashed and cashed out. Wouldn't they have dropped Diomande already if that was the case? Shway and narduch 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 2 hours ago, Shway said: That's why I wonder how long his leash is. I feel like Herdman would have finessed his way into stating that "I can't really make it my team with Insigine and Berna taking up vital pieces. I'll definitely try, but my future can't be determined by guys who I have had no say with". This team is going to be a shit show I'm thinking his leash is pretty long. Personally, I think there are bigger holes in the roster than the two Italians, but regardless he is legitimately stuck with a lot of deadweight contracts that he can't just magically move. So it would be pretty hard to say to any new coach, "We're giving you effectively no room to change a roster that finished deal last in 2023 but we expect winning ways in 2024." I imagine he's been tasked with showing some modest improvement this year so long as there's massive improvement in 2025. So, yeah, I'm not expecting much in 2024 but I don't see that as a failing by Herdman. Shway 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison44 Posted January 16 Share Posted January 16 The italians should be the pillars he builds on, if he can get their heads on straight. Then get Owusu/Kerr/Akinola/draft pick striker etc working with the italians, that will be half the battle right there. If they do snag the FB from france, nab someone solid/reliable in midfield, and a MLS level CB, Herdman will be cruising. His motivation rah rah schtik will eek a bit more out of team as a whole to start with, vets like Oso, Akinola (24 going into his 6th mls season) should be super hyped and Johnson is a very good keeper. That all could happen, but its just as likely the italians are selfish and pouty babies again, the team never gets in synch and its only marginally better than last year. Ivan, Shway and Corazon 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
An Observer Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 Am I the only one who is surprised that Lazar Stefanovic has not been invited to camp? Or even Adam Pearlman. Especially considering their weakness at the back. Frankly, I was thinking this might be the year Stefanovic makes the leap and it would fix some of their depth issues at the back. I know he is young but I was impressed with him at the U17s and his limited minutes with TFC last year. youllneverwalkalone, YorkRegionFan, PastPros and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YorkRegionFan Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 (edited) 2 hours ago, An Observer said: Am I the only one who is surprised that Lazar Stefanovic has not been invited to camp? Or even Adam Pearlman. Especially considering their weakness at the back. Frankly, I was thinking this might be the year Stefanovic makes the leap and it would fix some of their depth issues at the back. I know he is young but I was impressed with him at the U17s and his limited minutes with TFC last year. John Molinaro was speculating that we might see some trialists when the camp switches over to California from Florida in a couple of weeks. Edit- Reading the RBP forums, things are quite dire. Maybe there really is no cap or roster space available. Edited January 17 by YorkRegionFan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stryker911 Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 11 hours ago, Shway said: Preseason Roster List: Goalkeepers: Luka Gavran, Greg Ranjitsingh, Sean Johnson. Defenders: Kobe Franklin, Aimé Mabika, x-Joey Maher, Shane O’Neill, Raoul Petretta, Sigurd Rosted, Luke Singh Midfielders: Latif Blessing, Alonso Coello, Deybi Flores, Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty, Jonathan Osorio, x-Tyrese Spicer, Brandon Servania, Kosi Thompson. Forwards: Ayo Akinola, Federico Bernardeschi, Adama Diomande, Lorenzo Insigne, Deandre Kerr, Cassius Mailula, Hugo Mbongue, Prince Owusu, Jordan Perruzza, y-Charlie Sharp. Wow, so a worse roster than they stated with last year. Also the star players are a year older. Going to be another tough year in Toronto. Club Linesman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nolando Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 2 hours ago, Stryker911 said: Wow, so a worse roster than they stated with last year. Also the star players are a year older. Going to be another tough year in Toronto. You can kinda see now why they made such a big deal about the Flores signing, which wouldn't have registered as more than a blip at most decent MLS sides. I'm surprised they didn't resurrect the "It's a Bloody Big Deal" billboards for him given the lack of promise listed above. narduch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 17 Share Posted January 17 15 hours ago, Bison44 said: The italians should be the pillars he builds on, if he can get their heads on straight. Then get Owusu/Kerr/Akinola/draft pick striker etc working with the italians, that will be half the battle right there. If they do snag the FB from france, nab someone solid/reliable in midfield, and a MLS level CB, Herdman will be cruising. His motivation rah rah schtik will eek a bit more out of team as a whole to start with, vets like Oso, Akinola (24 going into his 6th mls season) should be super hyped and Johnson is a very good keeper. That all could happen, but its just as likely the italians are selfish and pouty babies again, the team never gets in synch and its only marginally better than last year. You raise some good points and at present the perspective depends very much on whether one is a glass half full or empty type. We need to see who, if anyone, the team picks up between now and opening day. If they can upgrade to true MLS starter level players in at least three of the five or six spots where they need one, the team will do okay. Not great, by any means, but something more enjoyable than bottom of the table. If they don't upgrade and all they have is Herdman's motivational skills, it will be very difficult. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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