Gian-Luca Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 It's not like Ali impress last year with his goalscoring skills. Only one goal in 11 appearances and some really poor performances IMO. Be that as it may, as a TFC fan I find it a bit disconcerting that a team that shows no sign of coming close to scoring with or without Gerba even against teams that are two divisions below has a coach that is telling people that being able to score isn't part of the critieria that he's looking for in a striker. I have little problem with them dumping Ali if they can replace him prior to Saturday with a new player on the roster that can score. Their window of opportunity to do this is closing quite soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 Preki didn't say scoring skills aren't a criteria but I think he wanted to take a shot at what Gerba wasn't doing by giving a list of what he was looking for. I,m pretty sure all coaches in the world are looking at guys who can score for the forward position. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted March 24, 2010 Share Posted March 24, 2010 As I said much earlier in the thread, I guess Preki figures that Gerba doesn't have enough of an all purpose game to fit into his tactical plans and his recent comments haven't changed my opinion. Judging from the comments about his last game it sounded like he struggled with his first touch, resulting in possession losses, and I'm not surprised because he's never impressed me as particularly adept at holding the ball up in a classic target man role. He's more of a poacher trapped in a target man's body. He's got instincts for being in the right place at the right time, but he's much more the opportunist than the creator/manufacturer of goals (though his heavy shot has been used to lethal effect on a few occasions). However, the new gaffer is not impressed with what he brings to the table, so that goes along with a significant number of other club managers who have jettisoned Gerba. If you want an interesting read about strikers find a copy of the February issue of 442: among other things, the author discusses the changing role of strikers as compared to the recent (and not so recent) past. Among other contributors, he draws a fair bit from Jonathon Wilson's book "Inverting the Pyramid: A History of Football Tactics" (a recommended read from Sam). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Preki didn't say scoring skills aren't a criteria but I think he wanted to take a shot at what Gerba wasn't doing by giving a list of what he was looking for. A list which didn't include goal scoring, something that Ali wasn't doing much of either (granted he wasn't fit) so why not include that in the list too? It does sound to me like offense is going to be of prime importance under Preki, and Cheeta's translation of Preki's comments sound worryingly to me like its going to be an accurate prognostication of the upcoming season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Yeah, it looks like he going to grind out results. However, if he gets TFC to the promised land (playoffs), he'll probably be the toast of the town. And if he doesn't get to the playoffs playing that way....(?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 A list which didn't include goal scoring, something that Ali wasn't doing much of either (granted he wasn't fit) so why not include that in the list too? It does sound to me like offense is going to be of prime importance under Preki, and Cheeta's translation of Preki's comments sound worryingly to me like its going to be an accurate prognostication of the upcoming season. Because it goes without saying that you are looking for a forward who can score. I guess Preki could live with Gerba goalscoring problems of last season but couldn't accept that a guy who is struggling isn't working hard and doesn't offer much in other aspect of the game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKottonmouthed1555362307 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 A list which didn't include goal scoring, something that Ali wasn't doing much of either (granted he wasn't fit) so why not include that in the list too? It does sound to me like offense is going to be of prime importance under Preki, and Cheeta's translation of Preki's comments sound worryingly to me like its going to be an accurate prognostication of the upcoming season. The list doesn't need to include it as it's a list looking a for a STRIKER hence they should be able to score if not they aren't really much of a striker. It's the things that may not be so obvious to see from someone's goal totals that he wants to highlight that he's looking for to the outside observers. Therefore justifying his position to drop what most saw as our most legit scoring threat in the Striker spot; while also dropping the club to three forwards in White, Barrett, and Ibrahim. With only around a week to start the season. One thing is for sure playoffs are not gonna come easy to TFC and Preki this season; the first half of this season will be integral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Worth noting maybe that Preki didn't make an instant decision on Gerba. As recently as the first game of the Charleston tournament he was still starting up front so he was given a chance to make a case for himself by scoring a goal or two in preseason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Worth noting maybe that Preki didn't make an instant decision on Gerba. As recently as the first game of the Charleston tournament he was still starting up front so he was given a chance to make a case for himself by scoring a goal or two in preseason. ...or demonstrating other dimensions to his team play in a tactical sense. The coach felt he didn't have the goods so he's decided to cut him loose, like Robinson, and like Serioux. As an aside, usually when a new coach comes he likes to bring in players he's familiar with and trusts. With that, I see that veteran central defender Carey Talley got released by Chivas on Wednesday. I don't know, but was he one of Preki's "go to" guys? Any possibility as to whether or not he'll be reuniting with his former coach north of the border? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Ed Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Well Ali Gerba is top-drawer for me, at the very least for the "sssshhhh"ing of the Mexican fans beside us at Commonwealth in the last qualifying round; but he is an enigma in that he does very well internationally but just can't seem to find much success at the club level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheKottonmouthed1555362307 Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 ...or demonstrating other dimensions to his team play in a tactical sense. The coach felt he didn't have the goods so he's decided to cut him loose, like Robinson, and like Serioux. As an aside, usually when a new coach comes he likes to bring in players he's familiar with and trusts. With that, I see that veteran central defender Carey Talley got released by Chivas on Wednesday. I don't know, but was he one of Preki's "go to" guys? Any possibility as to whether or not he'll be reuniting with his former coach north of the border? I would be happy to see Talley brought in, and I totally agree that coaches like to bring in a few familiar faces and Carey fits the bill in what TFC need to help spell Garcia of his duties. Talley would be a much better pick up than Cann in my mind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Well Ali Gerba is top-drawer for me, at the very least for the "sssshhhh"ing of the Mexican fans beside us at Commonwealth in the last qualifying round; but he is an enigma in that he does very well internationally but just can't seem to find much success at the club level. My favorite striker for our NT is the guy who scoring or the guy who creates for others to score. That said, Gerba has had some good games in the former role and I like his predatory instincts (right place, right time stuff) so I would really like to see him come up trumps somewhere, be it MLS or Europe. Too bad it wasn't TFC. He should go to Houston: if Kinnear can't utilize him, than that might be the writing on the wall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Potentially alarming snippet of info from Chris Young of the Toronto Star:- http://www.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mls/torontofc/article/784993--young-picture-s-still-cloudy-for-tfc-as-new-season-looms ...Granted, he turned out to be a bit of a damp squib, and apart from carrying around some extra poundage never looked the part of the big striker. But with a three-year guaranteed contract, on a team as lacking in quality as this one has been, it was a bit of pruning that invited all kinds of questions, chief among them concerning the director of soccer who gave Gerba that deal – how does Johnston do it? How much longer does he keep doing it? And if this is part and parcel of the "culture change" that Preki promised to bring, where does that leave Johnston in terms of his authority, the new coach apparently at large to expel previous signings if they're not up to his more exacting standards? ... especially if rumours of it being for over 300k per season are true. I suspect it is only fully guaranteed this season and there are club held options after that. I seriously doubt that Gerba would be negotiating a release from his contract otherwise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Mr Preki has some experience as a coach, not a lot, but some, but I doubt he's going to find himself entirely prepared for the sort of fan pressure he'll be getting if things go poorly on the pitch for any length of time. Don't think there is a lot of patience out there in the Toronto footie-verse these days. Interesting to watch how things will play out if it looks like it's going to be a slow, painful, re-tooling process for TFC under Preki. Maybe he's got it in him but I don't see anything in his coaching career which would have prepared him for the experience of having to deal with the type of media and supporter pressure he's may to have to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BringBackTheBlizzard Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Perhaps worth bearing in mind that what you see on the messageboards is generated by a small portion of the fanbase who are not necessarily representative. There's a danger of people starting to believe their own press. Despite the positive writeups in comparison to the rest of MLS BMO Field doesn't exactly measure up to what fans at the Marakana in Belgrade get up to in atmosphere terms and that's the environment in which Preki initially emerged as a pro level player. I suspect the reason why he simply can't tolerate players like Ali Gerba is that he still feels the sort of passion for the sport and for winning that created the atmosphere at this Red Star Belgrade training session a few years back:- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Because it goes without saying that you are looking for a forward who can score. Everything on Preki's list "goes without saying" though. It goes without saying that you don't want a non-committed, immobile player either (no matter what position he plays) but they are mentioned on Preki's list as well. It just reads to me like, as Bearcast says, the emphasis is going to be on griding out results - ie. we have a greater emphasis on guys who will run around the field like a chicken with his head cut-off rather than someone who can actually put the ball in the back of the net. As a TFC fan, that doesn't enthuse me heading into the season (as does the overally lack of strikers that we've got now). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I think giving 3 year guaranteed contract at the rumoured amount for $300,000 for Ali is nuts - and I'm betting even the most ardent Gerba supporter would admit that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loyola Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Everything on Preki's list "goes without saying" though. It goes without saying that you don't want a non-committed, immobile player either (no matter what position he plays) but they are mentioned on Preki's list as well. It just reads to me like, as Bearcast says, the emphasis is going to be on griding out results - ie. we have a greater emphasis on guys who will run around the field like a chicken with his head cut-off rather than someone who can actually put the ball in the back of the net. As a TFC fan, that doesn't enthuse me heading into the season (as does the overally lack of strikers that we've got now). Griding results is usually the trademark of teams who are well organized and disciplined and rarely have players who are running like "chicken with their heads cut off". I doubt Preki is looking at that kind of players either. OBW, who would be the one challenging Ali for a place on the starting 11, doesn't strike me as that type of player. No disrespect to Ali but I don't think he is that great of a goalscorer. Unless he plays with Canada, his club career has been unimpressive except for one season in USL and one decent season in England. Sadly, his international performances look more like an anomally than the norm. I think Mo made a big mistake by signing him to that kind of contract (if true), specially considering his reputation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dyslexic nam Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 ... we have a greater emphasis on guys who will run around the field like a chicken with his head cut-off rather than someone who can actually put the ball in the back of the net. Sounds like a system designed for Barrett. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loud Mouth Soup Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 That's it. Time to bring Dichio out of retirement. Someone had to say it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Griding results is usually the trademark of teams who are well organized and disciplined and rarely have players who are running like "chicken with their heads cut off". That's more in line with my interpretation of a disciplined system (which makes me wonder how DeRo will fit in). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john tv Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 I guess I put the hex on him. It was so painfully obvious seing that overwight body trying to play intelligent soccer. It did not make any sense to me and ever since that time it has been a downhill thing for him.I still don't know how he managed to fool the MNT staff unless they had exceptional players that made him look good. Anyway back to that drawing board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 Griding results is usually the trademark of teams who are well organized and disciplined And don't have many players who can score, which again, is my concern - especially now that our most tradeable asset - Marvel Wynne - has been traded for yet another defensive midfield player rather than an even-more-badly-needed striker. Yes, those kind of teams do have players who run all over the field, work hard, etc. (which is what I meant by players running like chickens with their head cut off - Cobi Jones, Chad Barrett etc.) - but aren't very offensively talented. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted March 25, 2010 Share Posted March 25, 2010 ^Preki will probably be the Jacques Lemaire of MLS coaches during his time year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gian-Luca Posted March 26, 2010 Share Posted March 26, 2010 ^Preki will probably be the Jacques Lemaire of MLS coaches during his time year. The problem for TFC with that analogy is I don't think Lemaire ever had the likes of Nick Garcia marshalling his defense....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.