Toronto v. LA [R]

[BrennanFan]

0-0. Good game. Toronto very unfortunate not to win.

Very impressed with Lombardo. He brung the pain today. Should have had 2 goals in the first half, unlucky.

Braz did well, solid performance. Reda was good too, but he can do better. Poz was great. Also, with his performance i would never had known Brennan had 2 broken ribs.

[jonovision]

I was glad to see all the Canadian content out there tonight. Besides the 2 that started for L.A. (Jazic and Harmse), Toronto sent out Stamatopoulos, Braz, Reda, Brennan (4 of the back 5), Pozniak and Lombardo. After watching Toronto lose 3-0 with mostly internationals in their back four, I figured if you're going to give up 3 goals you might as well let your Canadians do it.

Braz, especially, did a nice job on Donovan.

I also thought that was one of the better MLS reffing jobs I've seen.

I saw two sold out matches today with attractive soccer and good atmosphere on SRC and CBC. It was nice.

[Juby]

helluvan entertaining match, loved that a huge crowd showed up too...SUPPORT THE TEAM, looked like they came to see toronto beat beckham rather then see beckham, even though they didn't see beckham, i wonder how many more times I can say beckham in a sentence...Beckham. poz played great, to be fair everybody played great...even welsh.

[loyola]

Yes, great game by TFC and the canadians.

I was impress with Braz crossing ability, he did serve some very nice balls in the box.

Lombardo played great, unlucky not to score.

Stama didn't have much to do but looks like an experience keeper and his distribution is much better than the other TFC keepers.

I thought Welsh should've come in 10 or 15 min earlier, he did well on that right side.

[manutd1]

That was the third TFC match I watched, and I thought they played really well. The Galaxy are going to need more than David Beckham to improve IMHO. Lombardo did a lot of work, tried to be positive, but the jury is still out for me. If he develops (only 20 yr) then maybe, but I am not sure he is a very good finisher. Good target man, although Xavier owned him the whole game. Welsh; for me he just doesn't have enough impact on the game, and if he is making in the 100's of thousands, how can you pay Lombardo 30k and feel right... just my opinion...

[jeffymac1971]

I saw the match and watched most TFC matches throughout the season.

Very entertaing and very gutsy performance by TFC in 0-0 draw. Better effort than last week's stinker against CF

Great to see all 6 Canadians on TFC and 2 Canadians for LAG having great matches. Lombardo was very unlucky and should have scored twice, but he still 20 years old and work in progress, deserved the MOTM tag.

Impressive performance by Poz and Braz especially shutting down that

little a-hole known as Landon Donovan.

Looks like Kenny S is going to be a keeper and looked very solid although he wasn't tested.

[yorkton]

very enjoyable 0-0 prefered it to the community (charity shield) game between chelsea and manu

the crowd today was really behind the team all game

welsh should have chipped the goalie at the end rather than blasting it at him brennan had a good game saying he was injured ribs i think they said

i wish beckham had played he needs a few games if hes going to play for england next month think he will miss the german game this month

[Rujulus]

Good game, too bad we couldn't sneak one through.

The current Strike Rate (Goals per 90 minutes played) of our forwards, past and present:

Forwards Strike Rate

Cunningham 0.456

Dichio 0.452

Samuel 0.154

Lombardo 0.000

Forwards (Discontinued)

Eskandarian 0.186

Ibrahim 0.000

Casey 0.000

Buddle 0.000

[Vancouver Fan]

I was also pleased with the Canadian content out there tonight. After ther game Dicchio was asked about what he said to Lombardo at the half. I like his answer about how he was trying to encourage Andrea. This is what the young lad needs. It seems that he is the right environment to improve and this is what was hoped for in MLS for Canada.

I'm guessing the pink streamers were meant for Donovan? It looked liked the Ultras and RPB broughtg enough of those for a dozen Donovan corners because with 5 min left they had all the leftovers come down at once. Don't you guys know how juvenile it is to litter?[8D]

[Grizzly]

quote:Originally posted by Vancouver Fan

I'm guessing the pink streamers were meant for Donovan? It looked liked the Ultras and RPB broughtg enough of those for a dozen Donovan corners because with 5 min left they had all the leftovers come down at once. Don't you guys know how juvenile it is to litter?[8D]

Yes Richard would not approve. TFC fans, just because you see Southsiders littering the field with beer cups doesn't make it right. Boorish behaviour not fitting of your (err Richard's) Victorian upbringing.

[Rocket Robin]

The team official at Fan Services desk (gate 1) answered me that the TFC vs LA Galaxy reserves game scheduled Monday at 10:00am has been cancelled.

This makes sense we both agreed that TFC had enough trouble tonight finding 11 starters for tonight's game.

That makes three reserves games cancelled this year. They've only played two at home I believe.

Oh well that leaves me with two CSL Open Canada Cup games tomorrow afternoon and evening. I'll hopefully post the results in the "Other Leagues" forum by late tomorrow night.

[RS]

quote:Originally posted by Vancouver Fan

I'm guessing the pink streamers were meant for Donovan? It looked liked the Ultras and RPB broughtg enough of those for a dozen Donovan corners because with 5 min left they had all the leftovers come down at once. Don't you guys know how juvenile it is to litter?[8D]

Yes, the pink streamers were for Donovan and Becks, but unfortunately there was no LA corner kick on our side of the field so the thousands of pink and lavender streamers we had waiting went to waste.

We spread word about the pink streamer idea throughout a lot of the supporters though, which is why you saw pink streamers elsewhere.

If Donovan had taken a corner kick at the south-east end, he might have crushed by the sheer weight of them all!

Oh well, there's always next year.

[Gian-Luca]

quote:Originally posted by manutd1

Lombardo did a lot of work, tried to be positive, but the jury is still out for me. If he develops (only 20 yr) then maybe, but I am not sure he is a very good finisher. Good target man, although Xavier owned him the whole game.

I can't agree with that. Right after the game I singled out Xavier as being exactly the type of foreign player I would not want to see TFC pick up. He looks well past it. I thought that was the case in the Superliga match that I saw but gave him the benefit of the doubt because the entire team looked like they weren't bothered playing defense in the 6-5 win. He only looked good in the air & that was largely because TFC had no aerial threat (Lombardo is much better with his feet & was so effective today because his teammates kept giving him the ball there). Otherwise he got stripped of the ball embarassingly easy by Lombardo in the first half & even the otherwise useless Samuel deked Xavier out of his shorts in the first half. He was a bit more effective in the second half though that is likely due to Lombardo having tired after running around the field for the whole game. Even then he was nowhere to be found when TFC had a 2 on 1 with Poz & Lombardo & it was only because Kevin Harmse came and saved Xavier's ass by breaking up the play twice.

All in all Xavier looked like an average MLS player at best, and certainly no better (at this stage of his career) than the homegrown talent coming out of either Canada or the US.

[Gian-Luca]

Btw, I'll echo the sentiments - nice to see the Canadian boys step up & show they belong in this league, especially after the less-than-inspiring comments from their coach which basically implied that most of them didn't.

[masster]

Is Canizalez not around anymore?

[masster]

8 Canadians starting an MLS game. That was beautiful to see. Yes, TFC may not be the developmental saviour that some people expected, but giving players like Stamatopolous and Lombardo a place to play is what will really make the difference.

[BrennanFan]

Canizalez should have played, at least subbed in for dunivant, who was ok but doesnt run at players or do anything dangerous whatsoever. at least maycoll would have tried.

But Mo knows best... [borat] NOT! [/borat]

[Grizzly]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I can't agree with that. Right after the game I singled out Xavier as being exactly the type of foreign player I would not want to see TFC pick up. He looks well past it. I thought that was the case in the Superliga match that I saw but gave him the benefit of the doubt because the entire team looked like they weren't bothered playing defense in the 6-5 win. He only looked good in the air & that was largely because TFC had no aerial threat (Lombardo is much better with his feet & was so effective today because his teammates kept giving him the ball there). Otherwise he got stripped of the ball embarassingly easy by Lombardo in the first half & even the otherwise useless Samuel deked Xavier out of his shorts in the first half. He was a bit more effective in the second half though that is likely due to Lombardo having tired after running around the field for the whole game. Even then he was nowhere to be found when TFC had a 2 on 1 with Poz & Lombardo & it was only because Kevin Harmse came and saved Xavier's ass by breaking up the play twice.

All in all Xavier looked like an average MLS player at best, and certainly no better (at this stage of his career) than the homegrown talent coming out of either Canada or the US.

I agree Xavier looked shaky. Maybe not out of place on a MLS team but at best an average MLS player and I would argue a little below average considering he looked like a weakspot on a poor MLS team. It is neat seeing a guy playing for MLS who you recognize from world soccer (though maybe more for his hair than his ability) but if you didn't know his past you would not have been very impressed by him. Jazic was much better on the other side and judging by tonight's game one would think he had been the soccer star not Xavier.

However, I do agree that Lombardo seems to lack the finishing ability that a striker needs. Nevertheless he had a strong game but in my opinion he should be an offensive mid behind the strikers. He can pass and set up plays well but is not dangerous enough to be a striker. I also think the scoring ability is a bit of a gift and hard to teach so am not sure he will improve in this area. I think he would be better as a playmaking mid who score the odd goal than as a striker.

[Gian-Luca]

I think Lombardo is a decent finisher (good enough for this league at least) with his feet. Of the three goals he has scored in the last 10 games (only one of which was allowed to stand) they have all been accurate, nicely tucked away shots with his feet, and all the goals he scored for Canada's U20 team were with his feet. Where I don't think he is very good is in the air, which unfortunately is where all his chances for Canada at the U20 tourney came from. I think that is the biggest area which he needs to improve to become a complete striker.

[BigBird]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Btw, I'll echo the sentiments - nice to see the Canadian boys step up & show they belong in this league, especially after the less-than-inspiring comments from their coach which basically implied that most of them didn't.

Gian Luca as much as I would like to agree with you I cannot, reason is this I was at the game and also reviewed and watch the game on TV this morning, which confirmed, my thoughts of this game even worse then what I saw there.

I do not see it as a step up for them, as you say....in fact the opposite

Why you ask is this....

I'm not necessary looking at the way TFC played yesterday, but more so the way Galaxy played. Galaxy played like ****. Geeze they look like a group of 40 year old men playing for the first time in Mens League.

There (Galaxy) passing was terrible, their attacking was ridiculous, their defending was ok but not something I would be proud of. They seemed tired.

The point is simple, Galaxy a last place team, completely lost in this league, and on the pitch, No system of play, attacking and defending which was poor, and a counter attack that was working backwards instead of forward to me is not much of a team to be highly motivated on TFC play performances thru this game.

In fact If I would be more pissed off in this game not getting the 3 pts, if I was TFC manager then last week loss against CHI at least they where good watching them play.

TFC should had a easy 3 pts. to their record, they simply did not get that and that is not a step up as far I'm concerned. Its backwards I pay to watch a good game regardless of winning or losing and that was not the case yesterday......

The good thing that happen in my opinion is Lombardo play as I mentioned, he will only get better if given that chance but again a single striker up front at his age is a waste of time and too much to ask of him at this early stage. He requires a mature player next to him to get results and the best of him, or in this case up in the midfield where his playmaking and his assist could mean 3 points for TFC.

[BigBird]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I think Lombardo is a decent finisher (good enough for this league at least) with his feet. Of the three goals he has scored in the last 10 games (only one of which was allowed to stand) they have all been accurate, nicely tucked away shots with his feet, and all the goals he scored for Canada's U20 team were with his feet. Where I don't think he is very good is in the air, which unfortunately is where all his chances for Canada at the U20 tourney came from. I think that is the biggest area which he needs to improve to become a complete striker.

Gian luca how else are you to score with your hands!!!!

[putkaputka]

I agree with BigBird that the game was a step back. When you take away the atmosphere, the product was not that good at all.

The problem with Lombardo dropping him in mid is that he can not beat a man. And I've never seen him cross the ball or give a pass 30 yards out well either to be able to useful in that position. He would be limited to through-balls which he really does well, but that would not be enough.

In the U20 where he should have destroyed the opposition given he was playing with kids. Instead, what he showed was that he not only had no scoring touch (arguably thing you cannot learn), but that he was manhandled by these kids.

If I were Mo, I'd bench him for a year. He should simply hit the gym and work on stamina and one-on-one skills for a year. He should come out with a passion next year. Instead, playing him now, even if he scores a new lucky goals, I am not sure he would regain the confidence he needs, he would be relieved that' for sure, but you want your strikers to be hungry, not "relieved".

[striker]

quote:Originally posted by putkaputka

I agree with BigBird that the game was a step back. When you take away the atmosphere, the product was not that good at all.

The problem with Lombardo dropping him in mid is that he can not beat a man. And I've never seen him cross the ball or give a pass 30 yards out well either to be able to useful in that position. He would be limited to through-balls which he really does well, but that would not be enough.

In the U20 where he should have destroyed the opposition given he was playing with kids. Instead, what he showed was that he not only had no scoring touch (arguably thing you cannot learn), but that he was manhandled by these kids.

If I were Mo, I'd bench him for a year. He should simply hit the gym and work on stamina and one-on-one skills for a year. He should come out with a passion next year. Instead, playing him now, even if he scores a new lucky goals, I am not sure he would regain the confidence he needs, he would be relieved that' for sure, but you want your strikers to be hungry, not "relieved".

To be fair to Mo, he doesn't really have a lot of options right now, which is why Lombardo is playing. If everyone was healthy he probably wouldn't be seeing the field.

As far as the game being a step back, I disagree. TFC is an expansion team missing five starters. Most of their attack was out injured. A first year expansion side just isn't going to have the quality of player to jump in and play Total Football. You have to lower your expectations a bit unfortunately. I was happy with their performance, but it was frustrating to watch in the attacking third.

[BigBird]

I dont think benching Lomabardo is the answer here. There is time and money invested in him not only with TFC but also the National Team..........you can be as good as you want with your feet or head, as Gian Luca mentioned but you right the bottom line is scoring goals when they count, and right now he lacks that in a huge catergory for the past 2 to 3 years with ony 3 goals in games that count. does not show that he should be talk about highly and your right I can agree with you to be displeased with his position and performances so far. But I think your wrong about dropping him back to mid. I think if you put him in Midfield I think you find another type of player (Lombardo) that will work well for a strong and Mature Striker and also players along side of him as midfielders. His attributes, as a feedeer and a playmaker should not go un noticed for today, for a sacifice of a goal a year or two he is worth that 10 times as a midfielder maybe 10 goals for another striker, what tommorrow brings is another thing maybe in couple of years he just be the huge striker he wants to be.

[Cheeta]

Thought Jazic may have been the best player out there. Easily the Galaxy's best player anyhow and I thought Harmse looked pretty damned good too. If that's the typical fare Yallop has been seeing from him this lad is going to go places. Looks like he's got a fire in his gut and some good vision to go with that odvious overdose of grit he hauls around the field. Cheeta like.

Overall though, LA are Crap. With a capital "C".

And Landy-poo played yesterday? When?

Yes, agreed. Even though it was a quiet night for TFC's keep, Kenny S looked very comfortable, very mature. Especially taken into account he's played like what? A hour with this team? Full marks for style.

Speaking of, Braz didn't look half bad. Pretty good actually but this was as easy a test as he'll face. Lost some weight too. Still, score one for the big man. Wynne won't be back for a bit anyway I think.

Everyone on TFC pulled their weight yesterday. More so for our guys Pozniak, Braz and Reda. Just because the last two have no time under their belts and Poz has been all over the field for Mo. They all worked nicely with a 'keeper they by rights don't even know.

Disagree a bit about Lombardo. His touch is wanting. End of story. But I don't think I'd drop him back into the gut. I'd leave him high. If TFC could develop a midfield goal-scoring threat coming up through-the-gut I think that would suit Lombardo much better than the advantage of coming in behind the attack.

Sure Mo's happy for the point especially considering how things have been going with injuries, but it looks like Toronto let a couple of points get away there yesterday.

LA is Crap.

"What have I gotten myself into?"

David Beckham.

Superstar