TFC - Philly Union - October 15th 2011

[Razcle]

Game just ended between TFC and the Union.

Solid effort by the Reds to get a point on the road against a team at the top of the East table. Considering many of the top guns were on the bench or subbed off early in preparation for this Tuesday's Champions League match, I am very happy with this result. The second half of the season has gone well for the Reds, its just too bad we put ourselves so far behind the eight ball to stay within contention.

Nice back flick in by Johnson to finish off the Soolsma cross. Back line looked composed and organized and possession appeared to not be too far in the home teams favour.

Tuesday cannot come soon enough..... COYR!!!!

[Standard]

Winter did everything right. Good game and good result.

[Gian-Luca]

Nice back flick in by Johnson to finish off the Soolsma cross. Back line looked composed and organized

Except for that incredible gaffe which gifted Philly their goal of course. A nice result though given our line-up this afternoon and the aforementioned gift.

[Soccerpro]

Good game. Stinson and Morgan aren't showing their age. It's clear that Henry isn't a RB. Would have liked to see him get another match at CB.

[BearcatSA]

^Yes, the two young guys are doing very well but they are both still works in progress in a number of ways. Hopefully this season will be a springboard of even better things to come.

For those who watched Ethan Gage play with the Caps, how does Stinson compare to him?

[CanadianSoccerFan]

Well, my expectations were less than nothing for this game so I'm pleasantly surprised.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

It's clear that Henry isn't a RB. Would have liked to see him get another match at CB.

Have to agree but thought he did better in that role than Nana Attakora did at a similar age.

[Canuck Oranje]

Re: Henry, I think you will find that there are very few CBs anywhere that get a lot of minutes at CB minutes in the first team at 18. It's very typical to start them @ FB to get them experience in less central positions. I did a quick look around two of the leagues best known for starting players young. While their may be one or two that I missed, these are the main ones and I will say there are very very few CBs who play a lot of minutes at CB at 18-19.

The Netherlands

Nicolai Boilesen (born Feb. 16, 1992), Ajax Amsterdam

Boilesen is listed as a CB and is reported on Transfermarkt as having been involved in 6 games in 2010-2011 and played 460 minutes. Incidentally, Boilesen is rated by Transfermarkt as being worth 1.2 million euros and has already by capped by Denmark's senior team.

Daley Blind (born March 9, 1990), Ajax Amsterdam

Blind is listed as a Defensive Allrounder which would suggest, like Henry, that he has played a number of defensive positions. Going back to 2008 - 2009 (when he would have been only a part year younger than Henry), he played 5 games and 136 minutes total. The following year (2009-2010), he played 17 games for FC Groningen and 1,440 minutes. Blind is a regular with the Netherlands U21 team and is rated by Transfermarkt at 1.25 million euros.

Stefan de Vrij (born Feb. 5, 1992) Feyenoord Rotterdam

de Vrij is listed as a defensive allrounder and appears to have been playing mostly as a RB recently although at 1.89 metres, I suspect he is expected to be a CB long term. In addition to this year he also played as a regular last year, and 17 games the year before (2009 - 2010) and 1,359 minutes. He is also a Netherlands U21 player and rated by Transfermarkt at 2.5 million euros.

Brazil

Bruno Uvini (born June 3, 1991) Sao Paulo FC

Bruno Uvini is a CB and is just under two years older than Henry. Last year at Sao Paulo (2010), he played just two games and 26 minutes. This year he has played just five games and 181 minutes. This year his games may have been reduced somewhat by the fact that he was the starting CB and team captain for Brazil's World Champion U20 team.

Juan (born June 10, 1991) Internacional

Juan is listed as a Centre Back and played seven games last year (2010) accumulating 518 minutes. This year he has played 14 games and 1,191 minutes. Juan was Bruno Uvini's regular CB partner on the World Champion Brazil U20 team.

[Ivan]

Stinson and Morgan seem to get better every game.

Henry was getting schooled by Mapp early, but seemed to improve as the game went on. He is getting good PT as a true 18 year old ('93 born). Like others, I would like to see him in the middle more, but he looks to have great potential and has a great attitude.