Guest speedmonk42 Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 I feel there is definitely a team in there. I don't think it is fair to say they were lucky to lose only 2-0. They forced some good saves out of the Chivas keeper. I have to disagree with people about Buddle. There were times where I was yelling at him to run. However, he made several excellent runs where he completely lost his man but the midfield chose a backpass. He also did quite well as a target man taking the ball out of the air a few times. I think with a more coherent team he will be a very effective player. I think players on the team actually ran into each other almost four or five times. Give them a couple of games, this team will improve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 I saw a number of positives and a number of negatives in the match. The defence looked solid (except for the seeminly botched offside trap). I was really impressed by Boyens. Reda was solid, as was Brennan. Sutton was superb - there was little he could do on first goal and he had no chance on the second. Like redhat, my concern rests with midfield. Nagamura looked lost and gave the ball up too easily. Welsh couldn't get forward without getting the ball tangled in his feet. Mulrooney seemed to be facing the wrong direction for much of the match. Canizalez had some good moments and some not so good moments. There was absolutely no service from the midfield to the forwards for the entire second half. It's hard to make a judgement on the forwards. They looked half-dangerous in the first half, and should have potted at least one goal. They got no service in the second half, so really could not make a statement. Esky took a knock and ran out of gas in the second half. Buddle needs to go wider around his markers and use his speed. Casey could be a good target man, but I could not really gauge with the small number of balls played in high to him (he had a couple of perfect flicks - if someone had actually anticipated them, that is). It's early days yet. Things need to be tweaked and players need to get a little more match fit. New England will be a good measuring stick. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Oh, and I forgot to mention... Whoever was in charge of the camera work for the match should be shot. It was like we were all sitting in the 70th row. You watch a match on TV so you have the best seat in the house, not the worst. When will North American soccer cameramen learn? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtwpg Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Cooks Oh, and I forgot to mention... Whoever was in charge of the camera work for the match should be shot. It was like we were all sitting in the 70th row. You watch a match on TV so you have the best seat in the house, not the worst. When will North American soccer cameramen learn? I liked the depth of the picture. It allowed us to see way more of the field. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
curtwpg Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Here are my player ratings: Sutton - 6.5 - For the most part was very good. Nice and quick off his line, but I agree with Forrest in saying that he was too quick off his line for the first goal. Boyens - 7 - Great night. Good in the air; solid on the groud. A solid no nonsense defender who clearly has a very bright future. Reda - 6 - Nice game. Clearly a better player than Braz. Unfortunately, due to his injuries his fitness wasn't quite there. Brennan - 6 - No mistakes of note. Will be an excellent player in MLS. Would like to see him at left-mid. Canizalez - 5.5 - A good game defensively. Didn't do much offensively. I worry that his slide tackles will become too predictable and TFC will be exposed at the back as a result. Mulrooney - 4.5 - Was missing in action for huge chunks of the game. It is starting to be clear why FCD was willing to let him go. Please let me be wrong. Nagamura - 5 - Good aggession on defense. Poor passing for the most part. Having watched a good deal of him in the past, this is what we can expect for most of the season. Robinson - 4.5 - Very similar performance to that of Mulrooney. Could everyone who says he was great please tell me why? I hope Robinson merely underestimated the standard of play and will raise his game from hereon in. His continual 30 yard back passes, without even considering any other option, gave me serious concern about his ability to be a playmaker. Welsh - 3 - Very disappointing to say the very least. Does not appear to have the speed or strength that are necessary to be a successful winger in MLS. Canero verison 2.0. Eskandarian - 5 - When you are paid to finish and don't that is a problem. Fortunately, I have seen enough of Esky to know that he is a top notch player who will provide the goods as the season progresses. Buddle - 5.5 - FYI, I have seen Buddle play a great deal over the years and have not been a fan. IMO, that was about as energetic a performance as you will see from Buddle. To date (2 online exhibitions and last night), I am pleasantly surprised by Edson's play. He was only denied a goal due to the brilliance of Guzan (on 2 occasions). His first touch has been outstanding and his distribution is the best I've seen from him (he usually holds on to the ball for far too long). I am very optimistic about Edson. Casey - 4 - Looked lost. Braz - 4 - More of the same (based on NYRB and CB exhibitions). Braz better start passing the ball better and not getting sucked out of position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 quote:I liked the depth of the picture. It allowed us to see way more of the field. So does a satellite image, which is what I thought I was seeing for most of the evening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Spaulding Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 quote:Originally posted by curtwpg I liked the depth of the picture. It allowed us to see way more of the field. Agreed, seeing only the immediate play leaves me with no sense of how the play is developing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooks Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 So the viewer is basically clueless when watching an EPL match? They have no sense of how the play is developing because they are not viewing the match like they were on the balcony of a neighbouring apartment building? I disagree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbailey62 Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Cooks Oh, and I forgot to mention... Whoever was in charge of the camera work for the match should be shot. It was like we were all sitting in the 70th row. You watch a match on TV so you have the best seat in the house, not the worst. When will North American soccer cameramen learn? I don't mind the wide shot. You do need to see how the play is developing. From my point of view, the director was sitting on non-play close-ups too long while play continued. We missed one TFC shot at goal (just over the bar) because of that. We also did not see (until much later)a replay of our early corner that was almost headed home but for a great save by the Chivas keeper. Sportsnet would show it to us later but whoever was doing the match for MLS really missed the boat on that one. db Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremy Loome Posted April 8, 2007 Share Posted April 8, 2007 Didn't seem that much further away than EPL cams to me. I don't think the were awful, just tactically inept and quite obviously lacking any interpersonnel connectivity yet. Playing three at the back in this league is gonna kill them, unless they have two very fast wb tracking back as well, which they didn't last night. Chivas kept pushing the ball into those deep wide spots all the time. We need to play four at the back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest speedmonk42 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 quote:Originally posted by Jeremy Loome Didn't seem that much further away than EPL cams to me. Yeah but they are all a foot taller in the EPL. We do seem to have a small team. I wonder if there any stats on that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puskas Posted April 9, 2007 Author Share Posted April 9, 2007 I thought Chivas was smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nedved9 Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 For there first game they did okay, Sure they lost but they did create some chances, and were very unlucky not to score in the first half. But unfortunatly they ran out of steam in the second half I agree with Jeremy Loome that they must play with 4 at the back unless they have some speedy wingbacks like a Fabio Grosso, and a Zambrotta, but nontheless I think they will be fine. and maybe surprise a few people during the course of the year. hopefully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgary Boomer Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I've come to expect very little from the Sportsnet soccer production. The game was NOT in HD, whereas the Colorado game was. Look out for Mikael Galindo...he's going to make a name for himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marktci Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 Steven Brunt has his take from the game in today's paper. quote:Brunt: Toronto FC puts its first game in the books STEPHEN BRUNT CARSON, CALIF. — Now everyone understands a bit better just what it is they've got into, the league, the game, its joys and pitfalls and its strengths and failings. All in all, it's not bad at all, judging from Toronto FC's debut on Saturday, a decent but losing effort, 2-0, against Chivas USA at the Home Depot Center. Major League Soccer is something new for Canadians, but in many ways it is really something old, professional sport on a decidedly more modest scale than has become the norm. They haven't tarted up the ancient game, they have given up on the kind of gimmicks once thought essential to sell footie to North Americans. (They also seem to have lost the flopping, faking and histrionics that plague the sport elsewhere. Good riddance.) I actually ran into Steven at LAX yesterrday morning and had a great chat with him about the game. I thanked him for seeing Toronto FC as it is (a roaring success) and writing about it in that way. He noted the recent silence of a lot of the naysayers. And for the record, he is total class. I spoke with him for about ten minutes (at like 6 a.m. pacific) and he was extremely personable and genuinely appreciative of my comments about "Searching for Bobby Orr". We've got a great ally in Mr. Brunt. Link. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 quote:Originally posted by sj the laziest on was Buddle he was just standing around in the second half not pressuring the defenders. he look like he was not interest in the game. with him out there TFC was playing with ten men only. Mo should have taken him out instead of Welsh. No way. Welsh should have been taken out at half time, possibly earlier, given how utterly useless he was in that match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calgary Boomer Posted April 9, 2007 Share Posted April 9, 2007 I thought the Brazilian boy was STRUGGLING in the first half. I counted 5 giveaways, but it might have been more. TFC really should have scored first in that game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.