Gerba sent home from camp

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Well winding this back to whether there is such a pressing need to keep Ali Gerba that Preki should bend over backwards to accomodate him I don't think he was much of a factor either way on all the late goals conceded that eventually turned out to be the difference between missing the playoffs by one point and winning the Supporters Shield. I would have thought the obvious angle of attack on what Preki and Mo are doing at the moment is why they didn't send Nick Garcia back to Toronto? I haven't seen enough of the recent preseason games to know whether that would have been a justifiable course of action or not and would guess there's far less chance of a European team quickly signing him so he can be eliminated as a factor where the salary cap is concerned.

[BearcatSA]

Well winding this back to whether there is such a pressing need to keep Ali Gerba that Preki should bend over backwards to accomodate him I don't think he was much of a factor either way on all the late goals conceded that eventually turned out to be the difference between missing the playoffs by one point and winning the Supporters Shield. I would have thought the obvious angle of attack on what Preki and Mo are doing at the moment is why they didn't send Nick Garcia back to Toronto? I haven't seen enough of the recent preseason games to know whether that would have been a justifiable course of action or not and would guess there's far less chance of a European team quickly signing him so he can be eliminated as a factor where the salary cap is concerned.

To me that's the biggest thing that Preki needs to address: that last 15 minutes of a match. I don't have the stats available (you're better at making friends with Mr. Google than I am), but I would like to see how TFC compared to the rest of the MLS in goals conceded from minutes 75 to 90+.

[loyola]

To me that's the biggest thing that Preki needs to address: that last 15 minutes of a match. I don't have the stats available (you're better at making friends with Mr. Google than I am), but I would like to see how TFC compared to the rest of the MLS in goals conceded from minutes 75 to 90+.

Well, not a direct answer to your question but TFC with 3 games to go last season were the worst team in the league with 14 goals against in the last 15 minutes. That's almost one every 2 games.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mls/torontofc/article/705963--late-game-lapses-cost-tfc-playoff-points

[BearcatSA]

^No, that's a good enough answer for me, thank you. And there lies the team's dropped points.

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

Well, not a direct answer to your question but TFC with 3 games to go last season were the worst team in the league with 14 goals against in the last 15 minutes. That's almost one every 2 games.

http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mls/torontofc/article/705963--late-game-lapses-cost-tfc-playoff-points

yeah, Hopefully Serioux being gone will help this, usually he had a yellow card and was gassed by then and was force to play cautiously leaving his men unmarked for just enough time for them to put one in.

EDIT: Gerba Says He's Probably Done With TFC

CBC Sports

"Toronto FC is keeping pretty tight-lipped about Ali Gerba's future, but the Canadian forward is saying plenty.

In a report published on the website of Radio-Canada, the French-language version of CBC, Gerba said that his days as a member of TFC could soon be over. That revelation came after the Reds sent Gerba home Monday from pre-season training in South Carolina.

Asked by Radio-Canada if he thought this marked the end of his association with Toronto FC, Gerba answered, "Yes, I believe so."

Gerba also told Radio-Canada that he is working with his lawyer to negotiate his release from his guaranteed contract with the Major League Soccer club.

Toronto FC general manager Mo Johnston did not immediately return an email message from CBCSports.ca seeking a comment.

Gerba left the team on Monday, with Johnston telling CBCSports.ca that the coaching staff felt it was necessary to send him back to Toronto because he was underperforming in TFC's pre-season.

"He's worked hard but his play was not up to scratch," said Johnston, who also stressed that Gerba had not been let go by the club.

"He's on a guaranteed contract.... He's still with us," the Toronto GM stated.

The next day, the club issued a press statement, confirming that Gerba was sent back to Toronto. The team also said it would not comment any further on the matter until it returns home from South Carolina next week.

'I could not do justice'

Gerba took issue with Johnston's comments about his game not being "'up to scratch.'

"They're saying anything. At the moment, I'm in good shape. That's [just an excuse] they found to explain my dismissal," Gerba told Radio-Canada.

Gerba, 27, signed with Toronto last June after being released by English club Milton Keynes Dons. TFC acquired his MLS rights as part of a trade earlier that month that brought defender Nick Garcia over from the San Jose Earthquakes.

It was hoped that Gerba, who was born in Cameroon and later moved to Montreal, would bolster Toronto's offence, giving the team a legitimate goal-scoring threat up front.

But it didn't work out that way. Gerba appeared to be overweight and out of shape when he arrived in Toronto. He scored one goal in 11 regular-season games (five as a starter) last season and routinely sat on the bench as rookie forward O'Brian White took his place in the starting lineup.

Toronto begins the 2010 MLS regular season on the road, against the Columbus Crew on March 27."

http://sports.sympatico.cbc.ca/abc/News/ContentPosting.aspx?isfa=1&feedname=CBC-SPORTS-V3&showbyline=True&date=true&newsitemid=sp-gerba

[Grizzly]

Last season's top goalscorers in MLS:-

http://web.mlsnet.com/stats/

Jeff Cunningham - DAL 28 17 8

Conor Casey - COL 24 16 1

Fredy Montero - SEA 27 12 7

Landon Donovan - LA 25 12 6

Robbie Findley - RSL 27 12 4

Guillermo Barros Schelotto - CLB 24 12 3

Juan Pablo Angel - NY 25 12 2

Dwayne De Rosario - TOR 28 11 6

Ryan Johnson - SJ 30 11 2

Josh Wolff - KC 27 11 0

TFC currently have #8 on the list (who was only one goal away from being tied for third on goals scored) and over the course of three seasons have also had the top two on their roster as well. There is clearly no need to pander to Ali Gerba's whims if his attitude isn't right because TFC's ability to recruit potential top goalscorers has been greater than some of the more active posters on the messageboards appear to believe.

Worth noting also that last season the top three goalscorers for Columbus the winners of the Supporters Shield had the following stats:-

Guillermo Barros Schelotto 24 12 3

Eddie Gaven 30 6 0

Jason Garey 15 4 2

while the top three for TFC had a highly comparable performance:-

Dwayne De Rosario 28 11 6

Chad Barrett 29 5 3

Amado Guevara 25 5 6

That has to be a hall of fame post. TFC has had the two best goal scorers in the league on their roster. They didn't score for TFC but nevertheless were on the roster so we know TFC can recruit goal scorers who score for other teams with ease so TFC fans should not worry about dropping yet another proven goal scorer who can't score for TFC. This is high comedy at its best. Thanks BBTB for giving me a really good laugh. I owe you a beer if we every meet.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

This link courtesy of Ossington Mental Youth on the RPB board suggests a replacement may already be in the works. Ibad Muhamadu has been released by FC Dordrecht and is said to be on his way to Canada:-

http://translate.google.ca/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&u=http://www.soccernews.nl/news/87446/Muhamadu_en_FC_Dordrecht_uit_elkaar&ei=KYGiS7uAIcOUtgernq2mCg&sa=X&oi=translate&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ7gEwAA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dhttp://www.soccernews.nl/news/87446%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26hs%3D3mg%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibad_Muhamadu

He was on trial with TFC recently:-

http://www.cansoc.org/forum/showthread.php?39107-Toronto-FC-looking-at-Ibad-Muhamadu&p=341991

http://toronto.fc.mlsnet.com/news/team_news.jsp?ymd=20100225&content_id=8143054&vkey=news_t280&fext=.jsp&team=t280

A youtube clip of him in action for Dordrecht this season:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgOyh_PbcIg

[tmcmurph]

If he gets picked up by another MLS club and scores buckets of goals like 2 other former TFC strikers you will have to wonder why these players can't do it in Toronto or why TFC can't utilize strikers correctly. Strikers have a hard role and it is a continual "what have you done for me lately" approach most teams take. Ali had his chance and things just didn't work out for him at TFC. I hope things work out for him wherever he ends up.

[AvroArrow]

That has to be a hall of fame post. TFC has had the two best goal scorers in the league on their roster. They didn't score for TFC but nevertheless were on the roster so we know TFC can recruit goal scorers who score for other teams with ease so TFC fans should not worry about dropping yet another proven goal scorer who can't score for TFC. This is high comedy at its best. Thanks BBTB for giving me a really good laugh. I owe you a beer if we every meet.

Once again, Casey came back to the MLS with the intention of playing for his home team in Colorado. Toronto got him because they were first on the allocation list and then traded him after a brief stay. I guess you could fault TFC for not convincing Casey to stay, but the chances of that happening were slim to none.

Cunningham is an entirely different story though. At the same time, he was given plenty of opportunities to prove himself on the pitch, and most of the time came up lacking. At the same time, if you want to assign blame to TFC for trading him, the blame would fall on Mo for trading away a player that was having an offseason and not riding it out.

[jamieNDG]

the team shakeup this year is really questionable.

gerba has talent and i was hoping to see big things from him.

hes strong like an ox, has good positioning, good in the air and has a quick reaction time.

after seeing him play for canada im just really disapointed that he hasnt been given a chance.

at least theres dero and deguzman.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

For most of Ali Gerba's career prior to the recent run of goals with the national team and apparent good form with a promotion contender in League One in England there was very little reason to think that he was good enough to start regularly in MLS. He never made it off the bench with the Fusion back when he was Ali Ngon, for example. Given the shortage of MLS quality Canadian players he was definitely worth a try, however. Where Mo Johnston is open to criticism is in giving him a guaranteed deal for this season. Mo's career longevity as a GM may well be significantly enhanced if he can get him off the senior roster relatively painlessly at this point.

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

For most of Ali Gerba's career prior to the recent run of goals with the national team and apparent good form with a promotion contender in League One in England there was very little reason to think that he was good enough to start regularly in MLS. He never made it off the bench with the Fusion back when he was Ali Ngon, for example. Given the shortage of MLS quality Canadian players he was definitely worth a try, however. Where Mo Johnston is open to criticism is in giving him a guaranteed deal for this season. Mo's career longevity as a GM may well be significantly enhanced if he can get him off the senior roster relatively painlessly at this point.

Gerba is not the reason he'll get fired and it shouldn't a be the reason he keeps his job either.

Gerba was worth a shot for sure. No question about it. It's list of other mistakes Mo's made that should of costed him his spot already.

[nfitz]

Do we know what this is really about yet? You don't send someone home because he's a bit out-of-shape, or disappointing on the field; if so, there would be many sent home this year, and previous years.

Clearly he did something very wrong. Surely it has to be something like a serious discipline issue, or drug testing failure. If this was just dissatisfaction then you keep him around, and start looking for a trade - not do something that would make him untradeable.

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

Do we know what this is really about yet? You don't send someone home because he's a bit out-of-shape, or disappointing on the field; if so, there would be many sent home this year, and previous years.

Clearly he did something very wrong. Surely it has to be something like a serious discipline issue, or drug testing failure. If this was just dissatisfaction then you keep him around, and start looking for a trade - not do something that would make him untradeable.

Considering his track record with clubs, something's gotta be wrong with his overall fitness, attitude or passion.

[David Bailey]

Do we know what this is really about yet? You don't send someone home because he's a bit out-of-shape, or disappointing on the field; if so, there would be many sent home this year, and previous years.

Clearly he did something very wrong. Surely it has to be something like a serious discipline issue, or drug testing failure. If this was just dissatisfaction then you keep him around, and start looking for a trade - not do something that would make him untradeable.

I totally agree nfitz. There is something serious here that we have not been told about. As you say, it makes no sense to exile a player in this way unless there is something very seriously wrong here ... beyond the game.

[BearcatSA]

Here's Preki's reasons for unloading Gerba:

http://sports.sympatico.cbc.ca/news/contentposting.aspx?feedname=cbc-sports-v3&showbyline=true&date=true&newsitemid=sp-toronto-fc-gerba&pagenumber=1

Preki said he made the decision about Gerba based on what he felt was the forward's lacklustre performances in the pre-season thus far.

"We evaluated as a staff for five weeks in pre-season and we felt that we need a different type of player here," Preki answered when asked to explain his decision.

What type of player, exactly, is Preki looking for to replace Gerba?

"Players who are mobile, people who run around, people who work both sides of the ball, people who are committed to the group. That's what we need," Preki said.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

On the bright side Chad Barrett, O'Brian White, Dwayne DeRosario, Jacob Peterson and Fuad Ibrahim all do fit into the profile of the type of player he is looking for to fit into a hard-working possession oriented counter-attacking style so there will eventually be no shortage of options up front. Assuming Martin Saric is signed soon left mid is the key gap on the roster that needs to be addressed sooner rather than later assuming of course that Gabe Gala isn't seen as the answer in starting terms this season.

[Grizzly]

Note that Preki didn't mention scoring. It seems to me that for the last 3 years TFC has had plenty of strikers and offensive mids who "are mobile, run around, work both sides of the ball" yet few of them could actually score.

[Cheeta]

Yes, well we all know MLS is a-wash in readily available goal scorers. No need trying to stick it out with one who's going through a dry spell.

Of course it's hard to imagine Barrett having another season like he did last year. I guess it's possible but if he improves his conversion rate even a little bit that will be a huge boost to TFC up front. By my reckoning if he can find the goal on just 5% more of his quality chances he should score something like 43 more goals in 2010 than he did in '09.

Think if I was Trader Mo right now I'd have a stroke if DDR got injured.

And since there snow on the ground this AM and I've decided to share my sour mood about that please allow me to translate.

Prekonian;

"Players who are mobile, people who run around, people who work both sides of the ball, people who are committed to the group. That's what we need,"

Common English;

"We have no defense. No way we're going to score enough goals with this bunch to make up for that. We need players who are happy to participate in my game plan of having 10 men behind the ball for 89 and a 1/2 minutes each match."

[loyola]

Note that Preki didn't mention scoring. It seems to me that for the last 3 years TFC has had plenty of strikers and offensive mids who "are mobile, run around, work both sides of the ball" yet few of them could actually score.

It's not like Ali impress last year with his goalscoring skills. Only one goal in 11 appearances and some really poor performances IMO. Ali is a decent goalscorer but I can see why Preki doesn't see him in his plan, he is lazy and unless he can find the back of the net he doesn't offer you much on the field. A lot of fans were criticizing Collin Samuel but at the end of the day you have to wonder if there is much difference between Samuel and Gerba.

[MuirtonPark]

Samuel is back playing with St. Johnstone of the SPL. According to the club stats available through the bbc.co.uk site, Samuel is currently third in scoring in all league and/or cup games with 7, after Craig with 9 and Deuchar (who recently had a spell in MLS) with 8. The team has had a lot of injuries so some stats may be a bit skewed.

Interestingly, when Samuel returned after his TFC time, the coach was quoted as saying he was a much better player as a result of his TFC experience.

[tmcmurph]

Think if I was Trader Mo right now I'd have a stroke if DDR got injured.

Prekonian;

"Players who are mobile, people who run around, people who work both sides of the ball, people who are committed to the group. That's what we need,"

Common English;

"We have no defense. No way we're going to score enough goals with this bunch to make up for that. We need players who are happy to participate in my game plan of having 10 men behind the ball for 89 and a 1/2 minutes each match."

LOL. Nail, hammer, swing & smash

I can see Preki playing 4-5-1 with only 1 person up top trying to hold the ball up and forecheck the other teams defenders by constantly running at them. It might work but like you said god help TFC if Dero or JDG gets injured. Barrett is the type of player Preki seems to favour. Preki would probably send Dichio home if he was still playing.

[redhat]

Note that Preki didn't mention scoring. It seems to me that for the last 3 years TFC has had plenty of strikers and offensive mids who "are mobile, run around, work both sides of the ball" yet few of them could actually score.

I was just thinking exactly the same thing. To be really fair, Gerba hasn't played a full season (unlike Barrett) and I didn't think he had the chances and service Barrett had.

While it is arguable that he hasn't lived up to his scoring abilities, it's clear that Preki had someone else in mind.

[canucklefan]

LOL. Nail, hammer, swing & smash

I can see Preki playing 4-5-1 with only 1 person up top trying to hold the ball up and forecheck the other teams defenders by constantly running at them. It might work but like you said god help TFC if Dero or JDG gets injured. Barrett is the type of player Preki seems to favour. Preki would probably send Dichio home if he was still playing.

I have to admit, it put a smile on my face as well.

[loyola]

I don't think you can compare Gerba and Dichio in term of using them as target man. Dichio is built for that kind of role while Ali isn't really a target man even if he has the body to play that way.

If Chad Barrett had that many opportunities to miss open goals last year it was because he worked for it, not so much because of service. I doubt there was a big difference between the service Chad and Ali received at forward, I think it's the way those 2 work that is a bit different. Anyways, none of the 2 had a good goalscoring year for TFC in 2009.

BTW, you can't really compare Barrett and Gerba because Gerba would probably replace by OBW at forward. Barrett would probably best use on the wing and sometime as a striker.