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TFC vs LA Galaxy - Wednesday April 13th


killgod

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I would've love to see Zavarise score on that header.

Cann was solid as was captain Frei. JDG was OK but still rusty (he let that Galaxy defender free on a FK that almost cost TFC a goal). I like Zavarise, he always look decent when he plays.

Stevanovic needs to pass more and stop dribbling in TFC defending end. Martina was poor, he broke up many promissing plays.

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Stevanovic needs to pass more and stop dribbling in TFC defending end. Martina was poor, he broke up many promissing plays.

He does too much work on the ball in the wrong parts of the field, but when he's in the attacking third he's got some "shake and bake" in 1 v 1 matchups, so making him a permanent fixture on the left side of the attack should bring out the best in him.

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Some TFC players were guilty of over-playing tonight & being too individualistic. Because the stadium announcers deem the 22,400 in the stands as being unworthy of knowing who the available substitutes were, I can only assume that Gordon & Santos were injured & unavailable to bring on. It's pretty tough for TFC to score goals with no strikers on the field - not counting Frei that was a 4-6-0 formation, which I don't think I've ever seen before, and yet TFC weren't bunkering. Although they played well and showed some nice one-touch passing at times and the overall skill level of the team has risen this year in comparison to Preki's "slash and burn the talent" policy from last season, the lack of a cutting edge (ie. strikers who can finish) for TFC tonight showed, if we only have two possible strikers to play in Winter's system we need another striker because a situation where both strikers are injured/suspended is all too easy to happen.

Nice to see my namesake get his first start (although I think he's more suited to the middle than as a winger) and to see Cordon get his MLS debut. Cordon looked very comfortable on the ball - I liked Osorio, but I still find it a strange choice that there wasn't room for Cordon on the U20 team as well.

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http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2011/04/reds-record-point-against-la

Substitutes Not Used: Nana Attakora, Keith Makubuya, Nick Soolsma, Milos Kocic.

Using an international roster spot to sign Nick Soolsma is the one move Winter could really be criticized for so far, in my opinion. I suspect the DP roster spot will be used during the summer window to sign another central striker. It's a rebuilding year and it is going to take time to assemble all the pieces and get fully up to speed with a 2009 season sort of roster again. If the team hits a rough patch hopefully Winter won't be judged like Preki was last year before that rebuild process has had time to fully unfold.

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Think part of the rationale on that was what happens when JDG is called up for CMNT games and if his return from injury hits a snag. A lot depends how much money Bouchiba is on, in my opinion. Initially I thought it would probably be a lot based on him having played in Qatar but the club he was with there was one of the weaker ones and got relegated recently so if he is on Martin Saric type money that may still turn out to be a positive acquistion.

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What did people think of the first night game with the LCD boards?

In the day they are just there, but at night, looking into them is horrific.

There were times depending on the ad you couldn't even tell the teams apart when they were close to the sideline.

It might be better if you are higher up in the 200's

But ugghghg. I don't look forward to that.

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What did people here think of JdG's game in particular?

I personally thought he played a great game and it gave me hope for the future, both with TFC and the MNT. I thought he was a very good ball winner and kept possession quite well and distributed really well.

However this morning I've read the following:

"Julian de Guzman failed to make an impression in his first start of the campaign, sticking too rigidly to his defensive duties in front the back four instead of pushing forward and trying to create offensive chances." - John Molinaro (CBC)

"Gianluca Zavarise did fairly well in a starting role and De Guzman showed some fancy footwork, but was otherwise unremarkable as he returns to full fitness." - Steve Bottjer (RedNation Online)

So, either I was watching with some severely rose coloured glasses or expectations really are out of whack for this guy. He made a few missteps out there but that'll happen if every ball goes through you. He always seemed to play the ball out of tight spaces in his own half and was one of the few out there who brought other people into the play rather than run at defenders and get caught in possession.

Just curious to hear what others thought.

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What did people here think of JdG's game in particular?

I personally thought he played a great game and it gave me hope for the future, both with TFC and the MNT. I thought he was a very good ball winner and kept possession quite well and distributed really well.

However this morning I've read the following:

"Julian de Guzman failed to make an impression in his first start of the campaign, sticking too rigidly to his defensive duties in front the back four instead of pushing forward and trying to create offensive chances." - John Molinaro (CBC)

"Gianluca Zavarise did fairly well in a starting role and De Guzman showed some fancy footwork, but was otherwise unremarkable as he returns to full fitness." - Steve Bottjer (RedNation Online)

So, either I was watching with some severely rose coloured glasses or expectations really are out of whack for this guy. He made a few missteps out there but that'll happen if every ball goes through you. He always seemed to play the ball out of tight spaces in his own half and was one of the few out there who brought other people into the play rather than run at defenders and get caught in possession.

Just curious to hear what others thought.

I didn't pay as close attention in the 2nd half, before he was subbed off, but I posted in this thread that I thought he had looked really sharp in the first. I'm kind of surprised at Molinaro's quote. He should know, by now, the role that Winter has envisioned for de Guzman. As the middle '1' in a 4-1-4-1, the system does not leave a lot of room for de Guz to get forward. He blunted attacks, got to the right place, made the right pass to play the ball out of trouble, had a few nice spinning/dribbling moves to keep possession. Apart for one or two wayward passes when he was a bit too eager to get the ball forward I thought he was great.

Perhaps he faded a bit after the opening 45 and that is clouding impressions. But I thought he was much more effective than in his first two appearances.

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DeGuzman is a defensive midfielder.... wtf is people's problem.

With the other team hitting posts and Frei making point blank saves and defenders sweeping in to stop shots from players on the PK spot.... what exactly is it DeGuzman is supposed to be doing? Pulling a Ryan Giggs and running up the field with the ball through 8 guys?

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JDG's job is always be in a support position to retain possession for his teammates, and shield the central defenders - aka, block the oppositions path from playing forward centrally. If he's done that then he has done his job. In a 4-3-3/4-1-4-1.

Some are displeased with Soolsma. While I can't comment on him as I haven't seen him play, I have to agree an international spot almost certainly needs to be used on a centre forward DP. I have no doubt Winter feels the same - finding one is a whole different issue. HOWEVER, With Winter in charge you can be sure he has connections.

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Like I said I thought Julian was OK yesterday. A couple of bad plays and some nice one too. Overall I think he's looking sharper than last season.

I'm not sure what Molinaro expects of a DM but his criticism about him not going forward enough isn't justify IMO.

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What did people think of the first night game with the LCD

It might

But ugghghg. I don't look forward to that.

the LCD boards have been there since the first game. Your right, I hate them as well and it also kills the TV broadcast because when I was watching the whitecaps games in HD. The picture starts to pixelate when there there is a close up shot and the boards in background.

Here is one of those european features to soccer games that we could definitely do without. If you are at the stadium, it's a big distraction.

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the LCD boards have been there since the first game. Your right, I hate them as well and it also kills the TV broadcast because when I was watching the whitecaps games in HD. The picture starts to pixelate when there there is a close up shot and the boards in background.

Here is one of those european features to soccer games that we could definitely do without. If you are at the stadium, it's a big distraction.

During a daytime game that are not as noticeable. Last night they were a real distraction on TV and seemed to throw the cameras for a loop, depending on the ad that was up there.

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