TFC @ Seattle Sounders - Sat Aug 29th [R]

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

After the bizarre stuff about 5 hour plane flights not being good for 35 year old athletes, now Chris Cummins publicly lets the Sounders know exactly how he plans to replace the suspended Carl Robinson.

http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20090826&content_id=6627950&vkey=news_t280&fext=.jsp&team=t280

"I will be asking him [sam Cronin] to do the job that Carl Robinson normally does, leading by example, breaking play up and shifting the ball quickly. He has done that throughout the season whichever position he has played in, so although we will miss Carl, I am confident that Sam will easily be able to fill that role."

He also explains why he doesn't want Amadou Sanyang in there instead:-

Cummins is impressed with the work Sanyang continues to put in on the training pitch in a bid to improve his game. "He's hungry to play and is very enthusiastic," said the coach. "He has to improve technically but he is a terrific athlete. If you look at his stats from the last game he played, he had the most interceptions, headers and tackles because he is one of those players that is very good at breaking the play up."

"He's got to improve on the ball because when he gets it he's a bit erratic at times and I have told him that when he wins it he needs to give it to the players that can play. If he comes in every day and works on his technique he will improve, and he is doing that all the time. He is only 18 years old and he wants to learn, so he will get better. His athleticism and willingness to learn and general determination is important to us."

So Sanyang is doing a great job as a ball winner but the idea of allowing him to get stuck in and putting him in alongside Amado Guevara so he can dish a short pass off square to an excellent passer of the ball when he wins possession isn't on the agenda. If distribution is supposed to be the problem I have to question if Chris Cummins has actually been watching Carl Robinson play lately?

[tmcmurph]

Seattle are a tough bunch with a back line and goalie that are first rate. I would think TFC have to start Ali Gerba. Lets face it you will have to take quite a few shots from outside the box, well outside, against that defence and I don't see too many other players getting the ball on net. Ali has the cannon so get him some feeds to his feet 25-30 yards out and then head for goal and hope for a rebound. Aside from Dero not too many others have the long range and power that Ali has and Dero has been hitting them high too much. Besides if you have 2 guys on the field who can dial it in from distance then it makes it harder on the defence.

Good luck guys.

[Tuscan]

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd also push to see Barrett get time out wide up top in a 4-3-3 formation. He has shown that he can make things happen from that position, and having a speedy guy like him out there would give TFC an actual winger for once. I hate him in the center as a target man cuz he is completely incompetent in front of goal, but out wide he is able to get crosses in and force the opposition defense to spread out a bit, something TFC isn't very good at doing normally.

[Loud Mouth Soup]

Danny Dichio's tweet from this morning: "Off to Seattle!"

So I guess he's not too old for the plane ride, then.

[jonovision]

quote:Originally posted by Loud Mouth Soup

Danny Dichio's tweet from this morning: "Off to Seattle!"

So I guess he's not too old for the plane ride, then.

He could still make it driving if he goes hard

[jpg75]

I saw this on Dan Loney's blog at BigSoccer, odds of each team making the MLS playoffs:

http://www.sportsclubstats.com/USA/MLS.html

Crew - 99.7%

Dynamo - 99.3%

Fire - 97.8%

Galaxy - 91.8%

CD Chivas - 88.1%

Sounders - 70.5%

Rapids - 70.2%

Revolution - 69.5%

------------------------------

Real Salt Lake Soccer - 38.6%

D.C. United - 38.4%

Toronto FC - 32.6%

Wizards - 1.8%

FC Dallas - 1.5%

Earthquakes - 0.1%

Red Bulls - Out

Even more frightening:

Sounders vs Toronto FC  4:00 PM Sat 


Chance in playoffs if:  


           Sounders win  Toronto FC wins Draw  

Sounders   84.2          46.8            63.9  

Toronto FC 21.7          58.6            33.9 

[BearcatSA]

This team's a real grab bag in terms of performances: you never quite know what you are going to get. The goal scoring chances that were wasted earlier in the season seemed to have dried up lately. I don't like the team's prospects for this match. Maybe a good opportunity for Frei to step up and "steal" a result because I've got a feeling it could be a shooting gallery like the away matches at Columbus (the first away game) and Houston.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

On the bright side the Sounders have stagnated a bit of late. The likes of DeRosario and Guevara should be able to conjure up at least one goal over 90 minutes. The game revolves around getting the tactics right defensively. If Serioux were playing a 4 at the back alongside Attakora would be a no brainer after the last game but the more I think about the more a 3-5-2 seems worth the gamble in terms of playing to Nick Garcia's strengths rather than exposing his major weakness.

-------------------Frei

---------Attakora-Garcia-Gomez

--Wynne------------------------Brennan

--------Cronin/Sanyang--Guevara

-----------------Vitti

------------Gerba-------De Rosario(in afree role)

All hinges on Gomez's ability to bounce back from the last game really. Brennan and Gerba would be told to go flat out and not pace themselves as Fellinga/Gala and Dichio would be expected to be subbing in at about the 60 minute mark.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by BringBackTheBlizzard

The likes of DeRosario and Guevara should be able to conjure up at least one goal over 90 minutes.

I'd really like to see Vitti come through in a big way, considering that it appears the club is trying to keep him here for next season.

[jpg75]

I'm leaning towards a 4-5-1 with Gomez sitting this one out.

----------------Frei--------------

Wynne----Attakora-Garcia---Brennan

-----------Cronin-Guevara---------

Barrett--------Vitti----------DeRo

---------------Gerba--------------

[jpg75]

Unfrigging believable, 3rd min. and DeRo flubs the shot on an open net after rounding Keller!

For those with HDTV who are finding the CBCHD feed total ****, the match is also being shown on NBCHD-West (Ch. 529 on Rogers in Toronto) and is a much better signal.

[jpg75]

4 really good scoring chances for TFC in the 1st half and we're still tied at 0-0.

[CanadianSoccerFan]

These are the games that will keep Toronto out of the playoffs. That first half had to render a goal. You just can't dominate like that and come up empty.

p.s. thanks jpg75 for the tip. The Seattle NBC HD feed was orgasmic

[tmcmurph]

I missed the game but read the link on MLS when I got back. Could of had 3 but 1 is still better than zero. On the link at MLS they said Dero's shot hit his plant foot and missed. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.

Lets hope the Revs lose and everyone else draws.

[jpg75]

New England just won 2-1

CSF, you're welcome! That CBC feed sucked. I've watched a few Sounders games on the Seattle NBC feed this season and it's always top notch.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Unfortunately not getting three points out of that game could prove costly. No way should it have been 0-0 at half-time.

Can't criticize Cummins too much for team selection as it was reasonably close to what I had suggested above. Still think Gerba should have started over Barrett but maybe it was all about hitting Seattle early with a very high workrate. The midfield needed one more player who is comfortable on the ball to balance Wynne. I guess Vitti still wasn't 100%. Fellinga and Gala must wonder if they will ever get a start this season when Sam Cronin is preferred on the left. He did not bad considering but I wonder if Gala could be as big a revelation as Sanyang if given a chance.

Sanyang should get the start again next week over Carl Robinson. It will be interesting to see if Chris Cummins has the cojones to do it though. Garcia did OK but I suspect Serioux will get back in and there will be no place for him due to the lack of pace issue. Whether Gomez still gets a game again will depend on whether Wynne in midfield was a one-off. Did much better than the game before, which was good to see.

[VPjr]

quote:Originally posted by BringBackTheBlizzard

Sanyang should get the start again next week over Carl Robinson. It will be interesting to see if Chris Cummins has the cojones to do it though.

I agree with this. Sanyang might not be great with ball at the feet but neither is Robinson so I'd rather take young, quick, aggressive and hungry over older, slower and somewhat complacent, especially since they will be playing at altitude next week.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by VPjr

I agree with this. Sanyang might not be great with ball at the feet but neither is Robinson so I'd rather take young, quick, aggressive and hungry over older, slower and somewhat complacent, especially since they will be playing at altitude next week.

I thought Sanyang had a very good match. He looked really quick in closing opponents down and he seemed to win a lot of the ball either through tackles or interceptions. As far his play with the ball, all he needs to do is play the simple safe pass. One negative is that he could become a "card magnet," especially early in a match, for lack of discipline (e.g. blatant shirt tugging).

I was glad to see Gomez have a much improved defensive performance compared to last week. The two Gambians, at the very least, provide vastly improved depth options over their predecessors, Harmse and Velez.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

quote:Originally posted by BearcatSA

One negative is that he could become a "card magnet," especially early in a match, for lack of discipline (e.g. blatant shirt tugging).

I suspect he might actually have been under instructions to chop down Ljungberg in the first five minutes. Refs are usually reluctant to hand out cards that early and throwing the DP player on the other team off his game a bit is never a bad idea. Ljungberg almost wound up getting a red card later in the game after all.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by BringBackTheBlizzard

I suspect he might actually have been under instructions to chop down Ljungberg in the first five minutes. Refs are usually reluctant to hand out cards that early and throwing the DP player on the other team off his game a bit is never a bad idea. Ljungberg almost wound up getting a red card later in the game after all.

That may have been the case, we don't know. I understand wanting to get a key opponent off his game. And some refs are reluctant to hand out cards early in a match (unless it involves flagrantly dangerous play). Still, it's important to demonstrate a level of discipline out there or at least be able to do things more under the radar, so to speak.

[Gian-Luca]

Agreed that I'd take Sanyang over Robinson at this point. I wish Cummins would preach to his team what Hart did with the national team - get the ball to Ali's feet. Doesn't matter how fit he is or will get if they don't play to his strengths and instead keep playing to his weaknesses by continually lobbing balls high into centre field for him to try and out-jump taller defenders for.

[BearcatSA]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

I wish Cummins would preach to his team what Hart did with the national team - get the ball to Ali's feet. Doesn't matter how fit he is or will get if they don't play to his strengths and instead keep playing to his weaknesses by continually lobbing balls high into centre field for him to try and out-jump taller defenders for.

I agree: his strength is getting the ball played to feet and then go from there. He doesn't have a multifaceted game but he has shown improvement in the target man role setting up other attackers (nice work helping to set up Bernier and Hutchinson during this last GC, for example) when not going for goal himself. However, when the defenders know how the plays are going to be made toward you, you need to have maximum quickness to get that separation from your opponent and to do that you need to be at your fittest.

[Gian-Luca]

Looks like Cummins may be spared having to show if he has the balls to sit Robinson - the Footy Blog on thescore.com is reporting that Robinson has picked up an injury.

[jonovision]

quote:Originally posted by Gian-Luca

Looks like Cummins may be spared having to show if he has the balls to sit Robinson - the Footy Blog on thescore.com is reporting that Robinson has picked up an injury.

This is probably good for TFC in the short run. He has been terrible the last few weeks.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

One thing that had slipped my mind is the absence of Amado Guevara on Saturday due to World Cup qualifiers:-

http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20090901&content_id=6729900&vkey=news_t280&fext=.jsp&team=t280

Toronto will be forced to make at least one change to the line-up in Colorado with Amado Guevara away on international duty with Honduras, and Coach Chris Cummins is pondering a number of options in midfield. "We're going to miss Amado but it gives an opportunity for other people to show what they can do. A number of players have been playing well in recent matches so we have different possibilities. Obviously if Carl is fit, he is available again after suspension and Adrian Serioux is back as well," said Cummins.