Cronin’s departure raises more flags than answers

[powerof11]

A look at the Sam Cronin deal:

http://www.rednationonline.ca/Cronins_Departure_Raises_More_Flags_Than_Answers_june_22_10_article.shtml

[TFCRegina]

Vehemently disagree.

Cronin has been uninspired and looked good last year alongside Kevin Harmse (who I did like but isn't what I'd call a starter) and heart-not-in-it Guevara. This year he looks out of place and not very good.

[Havoc88]

I don't think Cronin was ever paired with Harmse. Harmse played midfield a few times but was also playing CB and didn't even last to half way through the season. Guevara as well played DM maybe twice and one of those times he was paired with Sanyang. Are you referring to Robinson?

[ag futbol]

I thought Cronin played pretty damn well when paired with Guevara. It was a good actual AM/DM combination where the DM could feed the ball to the players playing more advanced up the field. Unlike the Saric, Robinson, Sanyang, garbage where the AM continually has to track back to get the ball because the guy who is supposed to help facilitate the passing out of the back is terrible.

More often than not he was deployed as a stop gap and that's not going to help you adapt out there. He's not a winger and didn't benefit from playing next to another DM that often wanted to occupy the same area of the field he did. Guys who can keep the ball don't have to be as good at winning it. That's Cronin's part... he's not going to be a huge physical presence but he can knock the ball around pretty well and open up the field. Not exactly the brand of football we're playing right now but still some useful skills in there.

Not opposed to trading him, but let's see what the replacement is, because like it or not Cronin is a quality MLS guy while the average signing this team brings in is not usually at that level.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Bloggers often tend to be accentuate the negative to try to gain attention and this entry follows that pattern. In the first three seasons the good start followed by a midseason slump with a late rally at the end was related to playing a British style 4-4-2 during a summer rather than a winter season. Given the changes to the roster and tactics made by Preki I don't think there is any reason to expect that pattern to be repated this season.

With the benefit of hindsight Cronin should not have been taken second overall when Omar Gonzalez was still available and Stefan Frei has been more impressive for TFC despite being selected thirteenth overall. Mo Johnston was always likely to push for his top pick to get lots of playing time last season and it's worth bearing in mind that Carver and Cummins would have had some level of input on his selection as well. When Preki entered the picture all of the players had to earn their place all over again under the new regime. Personally think that people overrated Cronin a bit last season and was not hugely surprised that he dropped out of the starting lineup after players like Saric and LaBrocca arrived. If another team still rates him very highly and is willing to give up a sizable portion of allocation money, it made sense to trade him. Hopefully Preki will make the correct decisions on which of the recent trialists to spend the money on and on the probable second player to be voted off the island in addition to Cronin (my gut instinct on that has been Gabe Gala but he's been getting enough playing time that I'm not so sure now).

[Havoc88]

In the first three seasons the good start followed by a midseason slump with a late rally at the end was related to playing a British style 4-4-2 during a summer rather than a winter season. Given the changes to the roster and tactics made by Preki I don't think there is any reason to expect that pattern to be repated this season.

TFC did not employ a strict 4-4-2 last season. It often had more of a 4-3-3 shape or one with two strikers and another attacker, either De Ro or Guevara. I would attribute the slump in '08 to so many players being called up to international duty rather than a specific formation. Also don't forget the pattern you describe was the exact one that Preki had last season with Chivas.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

Perhaps worth bearing in mind that it is difficult to sum up three seasons worth of tactics in a single sentence. Personally think the 08 slump was primarily down to John Carver not having a clue what to do tactically when the weather got hot and humid because he couldn't move beyond doing what he had done in the context of a winter season in England. Probably not the consensus opinion on the various TFC subforums and boards as many/most people seemed to buy into the whole MLS is crap and in Carver we trust sort of vibe. Mentioning last season at Chivas is a much more sensible argument than that made in the blog entry based on the last two seasons at TFC but having watched quite a few Chivas games over the past few seasons I never got the impression that they were struggling when the weather got hot because of their tactics and have tended to wish that TFC were more like Chivas in those sorts of games. I was always very keen on the idea of Preki being appointed because of that.

[Havoc88]

having watched quite a few Chivas games over the past few seasons I never got the impression that they were struggling when the weather got hot because of their tactics and have tended to wish that TFC were more like Chivas in those sorts of games. I was always very keen on the idea of Preki being appointed because of that.

? Chivas went 3-9-1 through June-August last year. So you were keen on Preki because his tactics won three games out of thirteen in the summer?

Might be worth noting too in the column there's no mention of a slump but rather getting too excited on a run of decent form, which to me just says don't but the cart before the horse.

[Oldtimer]

? Chivas went 3-9-1 through June-August last year. So you were keen on Preki because his tactics won three games out of thirteen in the summer?

Chivas had a lot of injuries last summer. It's hard to say that the losses were due to tactics (although Preki pushing his team too hard may have been a factor).

[BearcatSA]

I didn't mind Cronin. When he's playing well he a decent linking player, using quick one and two touch plays with one or two other players to keep the possession rolling. I thought he worked well with Guevara in a couple of matches and I thought he was better when Robinson was beside him (he was teamed with Harmse away to Columbus early in the season last year and that was forgettable). However, he wasn't going to have that role with JDG on the scene and he wasn't suited for the current TFC job description of defensive midfielder, be it effective tackler/ball winner (Sanyang) or tactical fouling type (Saric). Unfortunately for him, when he got his chances this season on the flank of midfield he was distinctly underwhelming. He wasn't a fit for Preki's scheme and so be it. I hope he does well in SJ and I think he will become a good MLS pro.