Club Linesman Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 None taken but I do watch quite a bit of MLS and guys like Petratta and Rosted and Mabika and Diomande,… are very poor talent wise. The league has improved significantly in the past decade and the quality is much better. Not top 5 but leaps and bounds better than 2010. I also have started realizing the young Canadians we have are not as talented as I thought or hoped. Probably the rose coloured glasses thing with the CMNT. Ruffian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison44 Posted January 21 Share Posted January 21 4 hours ago, Club Linesman said: None taken but I do watch quite a bit of MLS and guys like Petratta and Rosted and Mabika and Diomande,… are very poor talent wise. The league has improved significantly in the past decade and the quality is much better. Not top 5 but leaps and bounds better than 2010. I also have started realizing the young Canadians we have are not as talented as I thought or hoped. Probably the rose coloured glasses thing with the CMNT. R u sure? I know a knowledgeable guy from Argentina and he things Fraser and Shafflebourg in particular should be starting for the CMNT. Unnamed Trialist and longlugan 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 1 hour ago, Bison44 said: R u sure? I know a knowledgeable guy from Argentina and he things Fraser and Shafflebourg in particular should be starting for the CMNT. Don't you mean Shaffenburg? kacbru 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Club Linesman Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 Actually the play of guys like Shaff and McNaughton once they got out show what a terrible environment TO was. Herdman will probably address that well, but you can’t turn turkeys into eagles. Bring in a Hedges and Laryea type and 3 or 4 others and maybe they will be competitive. Ivan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 22 Share Posted January 22 An article from the MLS website discussing the rebuild status of the various clubs. Scroll to the bottom for TFC. https://www.mlssoccer.com/news/transfer-tiers-ranking-eastern-conference-clubs-so-far Not surprisingly, the summary for TFC is that nothing has happened yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
canuckgbp Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 narduch, Ruffian, Corazon and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 (edited) As of today we are exactly one month from our first regular season game. If we did a 4-4-2 our starting line up might look like: Johnson Franklin - Mabika - O'Neill - Petretta Flores - Osorio - Thompson - Bernardeschi Insigne - Kerr My point here is not to necessarily put people in exact places (centre versus wing) or claim this is absolutely the best possible line up. Maybe you like Akinola over Kerr, maybe you prefer a different formation - whatever. When I look at this lineup, however, there are still a number of spots that don't look like MLS-starter level guys. Nor do the possible line up switches make it look better as many of the alternates also don't look like MLS-starter level guys. Not great with one month to go. Edited January 25 by Kingston Unnamed Trialist, Club Linesman and Metro 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bison44 Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Not to pick hairs, but Rosted (Den-1), Blessing (MLS) and Prince Owusu (Bunda-2) are all supposedly/hopefully MLS starter levels eh?? Hopefully Servania, Couello, Thompson, Franklin, Kerr, Rutty are all improved with the added experience from last year and can be decent depth pieces. Maybe the first overall pick can bang in a few goals, make friends with the italians eh?? Mb its just preseason optimism but if the bad apples from last year have their heads on straight (and can stay in the lineup) it might not be too bad. Metro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unnamed Trialist Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 3 hours ago, Kingston said: As of today we are exactly one month from our first regular season game. If we did a 4-4-2 our starting line up might look like: Johnson Franklin - Mabika - O'Neill - Petretta Flores - Osorio - Thompson - Bernardeschi Insigne - Kerr My point here is not to necessarily put people in exact places (centre versus wing) or claim this is absolutely the best possible line up. Maybe you like Akinola over Kerr, maybe you prefer a different formation - whatever. When I look at this lineup, however, there are still a number of spots that don't look like MLS-starter level guys. Nor do the possible line up switches make it look better as many of the alternates also don't look like MLS-starter level guys. Not great with one month to go. Insigne isn't a striker, so if TFC do not have a premium striker up top, they are in trouble. He can't play up high, he has to start from the wing almost always, he's a linking player who should get some shots away from outside the box or be able to grab a few more inside of it. Are TFC going into the season without a proven striker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousInsider Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 16 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said: Insigne isn't a striker, so if TFC do not have a premium striker up top, they are in trouble. He can't play up high, he has to start from the wing almost always, he's a linking player who should get some shots away from outside the box or be able to grab a few more inside of it. Are TFC going into the season without a proven striker? I really believe in Prince Owusu. I think he’s really capable of succeeding in the MLS. Very tall, athletic, good strike, and good in the air. He is on the top of my list for players who could have a breakout/surprise season for TFC. All of this is coming from watching him train once at TFC last season by the way. Was immensely impressed on the day. I think he will have days this year where he looks more like a DP than the Italians. Would be embarrassing if I’m completely wrong but I’d put all my eggs in the Prince Owusu basket if I was John Herdman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metro Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 20 hours ago, Kingston said: As of today we are exactly one month from our first regular season game. If we did a 4-4-2 our starting line up might look like: Johnson Franklin - Mabika - O'Neill - Petretta Flores - Osorio - Thompson - Bernardeschi Insigne - Kerr My point here is not to necessarily put people in exact places (centre versus wing) or claim this is absolutely the best possible line up. Maybe you like Akinola over Kerr, maybe you prefer a different formation - whatever. When I look at this lineup, however, there are still a number of spots that don't look like MLS-starter level guys. Nor do the possible line up switches make it look better as many of the alternates also don't look like MLS-starter level guys. Not great with one month to go. Cool. I think this lineup screams more of a 4-2-3-1 formation. Johnson Franklin/Marshall-Rutty - Rosted - O'Neill - Petretta Flores - Coello Bernadeschi - Osorio - Insigne Kerr/Owusu Not sure who would start at RB and up front. I do think Owusu will be given every opportunity to start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metro Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 17 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said: Insigne isn't a striker, so if TFC do not have a premium striker up top, they are in trouble. He can't play up high, he has to start from the wing almost always, he's a linking player who should get some shots away from outside the box or be able to grab a few more inside of it. Are TFC going into the season without a proven striker? I believe yes as I don't see any new signings at this position. Unless we think Diamande is a proven MLS striker. (I'd rather they play Kerr.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 19 hours ago, Bison44 said: Not to pick hairs, but Rosted (Den-1), Blessing (MLS) and Prince Owusu (Bunda-2) are all supposedly/hopefully MLS starter levels eh?? Hopefully Servania, Couello, Thompson, Franklin, Kerr, Rutty are all improved with the added experience from last year and can be decent depth pieces. Maybe the first overall pick can bang in a few goals, make friends with the italians eh?? Mb its just preseason optimism but if the bad apples from last year have their heads on straight (and can stay in the lineup) it might not be too bad. Optimistically, yes. And before last season I certainly wasn't expecting a Wooden Spoon collapse. But there is a lot of (to use your excellent words) supposedly/hopefully in this line up. We are still a ways from a starting eleven where everyone clearly belongs at this level, let alone a staring eleven that looks like a contender. Club Linesman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 21 hours ago, Kingston said: Franklin - Mabika - O'Neill - Petretta Flores will need to be a world beater to shield that back four. The team looks like a defintion of a "work in progress. Ivan, Club Linesman and Kingston 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyslexic nam Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 In the context of the status quo squad, I keep thinking about what is riding on this from Herdman's perspective. After Qatar (both the results and the high profile off-field missteps), the underwhelming period before he left the Nats, and him subsequently casting blame on other factors, it seems like this is a bit of a risk for his managerial reputation. TFC may have a lot of resources at its disposal, but with the normal amount of ins and outs, this is essentially the same squad that has habitually underperformed for a while now. If he can't substantially improve what has historically been a sustained failure to deliver results, it seems like this may tarnish a bit of the shine he earned with us during WCQ. Maybe I am overstating it. It does seem like managers can ride the wave of specific accomplishments for quite a while. But I still view this as a rather risky proposition. Club Linesman 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 9 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said: In the context of the status quo squad, I keep thinking about what is riding on this from Herdman's perspective. After Qatar (both the results and the high profile off-field missteps), the underwhelming period before he left the Nats, and him subsequently casting blame on other factors, it seems like this is a bit of a risk for his managerial reputation. TFC may have a lot of resources at its disposal, but with the normal amount of ins and outs, this is essentially the same squad that has habitually underperformed for a while now. If he can't substantially improve what has historically been a sustained failure to deliver results, it seems like this may tarnish a bit of the shine he earned with us during WCQ. Maybe I am overstating it. It does seem like managers can ride the wave of specific accomplishments for quite a while. But I still view this as a rather risky proposition. Given that he has not only inherited a bad team but also has almost no room to make any changes, I think he gets a one year free pass (as would any coach coming into this situation). After that, yes, he needs to deliver substantial and sustained improvement. Shway and Metro 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kacbru Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 On 1/26/2024 at 8:40 AM, Kingston said: As of today we are exactly one month from our first regular season game. If we did a 4-4-2 our starting line up might look like: Johnson Franklin - Mabika - O'Neill - Petretta Flores - Osorio - Thompson - Bernardeschi Insigne - Kerr My point here is not to necessarily put people in exact places (centre versus wing) or claim this is absolutely the best possible line up. Maybe you like Akinola over Kerr, maybe you prefer a different formation - whatever. When I look at this lineup, however, there are still a number of spots that don't look like MLS-starter level guys. Nor do the possible line up switches make it look better as many of the alternates also don't look like MLS-starter level guys. Not great with one month to go. I wonder if he is yelling at Manning.... narduch, costarg, BearcatSA and 1 other 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
costarg Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 57 minutes ago, kacbru said: I wonder if he is yelling at Manning.... Judging by the photo, I think he's learned Italian. kacbru, narduch, Metro and 3 others 1 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mtroads Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 They're doing a season ticket holder pre-sale for individual games. Only tickets there for the Miami game were in the last row of the second deck and were $134. Wonder what they're charging for decent seats. nfitz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jedi Ram Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) Deleted. Edited January 30 by Jedi Ram Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nfitz Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) There's a couple of better pairs there now ... for over $500. In 121! Dark grey. I almost hope he doesn't play, as the meltdown from some would be epic! What am I saying??? Let's try again. If TFC is competitive for the last game of the season I definitely don't want him to play! Edited January 31 by nfitz narduch, Ruffian and Jedi Ram 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 Assuming a sell out of 30 000 and an average ticket price of $200 (feel free to input your own estimate) that makes this a $6 million game for TFC. nfitz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
to70 Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 1 hour ago, Kingston said: Assuming a sell out of 30 000 and an average ticket price of $200 (feel free to input your own estimate) that makes this a $6 million game for TFC. Don't forget the concessions. Usually the non-regulars spend a fortune at the stadium for food, drinks and jerseys. narduch 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingston Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 2 minutes ago, to70 said: Don't forget the concessions. Usually the non-regulars spend a fortune at the stadium for food, drinks and jerseys. True. I was thinking concessions would be a wash but it seems reasonable that jersey sales would be up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narduch Posted January 31 Share Posted January 31 TFC fans watching all other MLS teams make transfer moves Metro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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