Tosaint Ricketts

[Shortdutchcanuck]

What I really love about Ricketts is he kept improving.  Early in his career he was athlete first and soccer player second.  As someone else said he looks more comfortable now with the ball than ever before.  And years ago boy did he miss some sitters sometimes but he has become much more efficient.  

[BearcatSA]

53 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

Yeah, Ricketts can be frustrating, but he is fast, can play a role for us, and has scored more goals than any other active player.  For a team that often can't put the goddamned ball in the net, it is hilarious that people feel entitled to dismiss him.

We're a whole squad of role players and he's one of them.  The problem with our MNT has been that a few too many guys (supported by some posters on here) think they are better than they actually are and then the blame game gets played when results don't go as hoped.

When you have him and Davies able to play off the counter, that's some big time pace which is a threat to any opponent.

[aloyol]

1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

I have never understood the tendancy to shit on Ricketts.  Despite not being a striker, and often being subbed into games, he is tied for our fourth all-time in goals scored.  

Yeah, but many were against minnows.

NEWSFLASH: we are a fucking minnow in most people's eyes.  You think CONCACAF hex regulars tremble at the thought of playing a team that hasn't made the last round of WCQ in decades?

And for the record, every one of our guys padded stats against minnows.  DeRo, Mitchell, Bunbury, etc - they all have cheap goals against guys who are part time footy players and full time plumbers.  Every one of them.

Yeah, Ricketts can be frustrating, but he is fast, can play a role for us, and has scored more goals than any other active player.  For a team that often can't put the goddamned ball in the net, it is hilarious that people feel entitled to dismiss him.

I just took a look at Mitchell goals and I don't see goals against minnow there (maybe 2 against NZ who were probably weaker at that time could be qualify as such). The rest are against good CONCACAF oppositions. 

You could say the same about Bunbury. Most of his goals were scored in WCQ or the GC against solid opponents (except a hat trick against Bermuda).

My goal isn't to "shit" on Ricketts but I think his goals total is helped a lot by those games against minnows. It's just putting things into perspective and not comparing him with Mitchell or Alex. 

[dyslexic nam]

Bunbury has goals against Indonesia, Singapore, Bermuda, and Martinique.  Most would consider them minnows.  And DeRo has goals against weak teams as well.  Mitchell may be the exception, but I am not really sure how strong Guatemala was in that era - and he has more against them than anyone else.

My point is really just that it is silly to dismiss or minimize Ricketts' contribution, considering how much we have struggled to score.  And it isn't just in the last few pages - I have seen it over and over in game threads.  

Anywho, everyone is entitled to their opinion.  And I have mine about the idea that our 4th highest goalscorer doesn't deserve credit, or that his stats warrant some sort of special asterisk.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Shortdutchcanuck said:

What I really love about Ricketts is he kept improving.  Early in his career he was athlete first and soccer player second.  As someone else said he looks more comfortable now with the ball than ever before.  And years ago boy did he miss some sitters sometimes but he has become much more efficient.  

Someone can correct me if I am wrong, but he began playing organized soccer at a very late age - like 13.

And a year or so later, he was on the Alberta provincial team and played in the 2002 U-15 National Allstar championship, which is actually amazing when you think about it.

[Guest]

Trying to compare players from different eras is difficult and very subjective. Total goals scored and average goals per game is entirely objective. And presumably over the course of a career the quality of opponent averages out.

So Ricketts deserves full credit for his very respectable scoring record thus far, even if it doesn't necessarily mean he is in the starting eleven today, or even the eighteen man squad for that matter. We do have competition for places now and that is good for everybody (well, maybe not for Hondurass...).

[aloyol]

2 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Bunbury has goals against Indonesia, Singapore, Bermuda, and Martinique.  Most would consider them minnows.  And DeRo has goals against weak teams as well.  Mitchell may be the exception, but I am not really sure how strong Guatemala was in that era - and he has more against them than anyone else.

My point is really just that it is silly to dismiss or minimize Ricketts' contribution, considering how much we have struggled to score.  And it isn't just in the last few pages - I have seen it over and over in game threads.  

Anywho, everyone is entitled to their opinion.  And I have mine about the idea that our 4th highest goalscorer doesn't deserve credit, or that his stats warrant some sort of special asterisk.

Guatemala got us out of the 1990 WC in a home and away series. 

I think Guatemala and El Salvador were better teams in the 80's and 90's  than they are today. But I might be wrong, I was young at that time. 

I'm not dismissing Ricketts goals. I'm quite happy he has that many goals but for the discussion I just don't think his contribution to the MNT can be compare to a Mitchell or a Bunbury.even if he pass these guys on the goalscoring list.

 

 

[rkomar]

25 minutes ago, aloyol said:

I'm not dismissing Ricketts goals. I'm quite happy he has that many goals but for the discussion I just don't think his contribution to the MNT can be compare to a Mitchell or a Bunbury.even if he pass these guys on the goalscoring list.

 

 

The CMNT was generally a better team back then, so scoring seemed more significant.  We're a long way from being competitive these days, and I wonder how much of that goes towards discounting Ricketts' (and everyone else's) goals.  If the games meant more, we would rate the goal scorers more highly.

Think of Carlos Delgado on the Blue Jays.  He set so many offensive records, but the team sucked, so he isn't generally considered to be as great as some of the players on the winning teams.

Edited March 28, 2018 by rkomar

[AvroArrow]

Counter point for those of you saying Ricketts only scores against the minnows:  If scoring against minnows is so easy, then why didn't players like Mitchell, Bunbury, Dero, or whoever double their total goals by wracking up the goals against these opponents?  Now, if some of these guys never had a chance to play against the minnows, then that's a different story.

[aloyol]

3 hours ago, AvroArrow said:

Counter point for those of you saying Ricketts only scores against the minnows:  If scoring against minnows is so easy, then why didn't players like Mitchell, Bunbury, Dero, or whoever double their total goals by wracking up the goals against these opponents?  Now, if some of these guys never had a chance to play against the minnows, then that's a different story.

In the case of Mitchell and Bunbury, you can just look at the CONCACAF WCQ system in the 80's and 90's to realize that we were starting qualifications when most of the minnows were out.

For me, I think it's the main difference with what we see today. We were rarely playing minnows back then because the WCQ was setup differently.

[BearcatSA]

16 hours ago, aloyol said:

Guatemala got us out of the 1990 WC in a home and away series. 

Boy, that was a big loss for the whole program.  Obviously, there was no guarantee that we would have qualified for Italia 90 through the subsequent round, but I genuinely believe that the state of the game in this country would have been profoundly different had we been able to solidify a place for that particular World Cup.

[Gian-Luca]

28 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Boy, that was a big loss for the whole program.  Obviously, there was no guarantee that we would have qualified for Italia 90 through the subsequent round, but I genuinely believe that the state of the game in this country would have been profoundly different had we been able to solidify a place for that particular World Cup.

With no Mexico in the Hex that year however and a US team that didn't have a league of their own (with some of their best players like Ted Eck plying their trade in the CSL), we really would have had a good chance - I would say we would be one of the favourites. There has probably never been a more costly defeat than that two-game away-goals loss to Guatemala (even from the point of view of it being our shortest ever WC qualifying run of just 2 games).

Edited March 28, 2018 by Gian-Luca

[aloyol]

39 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Boy, that was a big loss for the whole program.  Obviously, there was no guarantee that we would have qualified for Italia 90 through the subsequent round, but I genuinely believe that the state of the game in this country would have been profoundly different had we been able to solidify a place for that particular World Cup.

True, back to back WC presence would've been massive for the program.

The 1993 loss to Mexico, when we were up 1-0 on a Bunbury goal, is second on the list of big loss.

[Lord Bob]

On 3/27/2018 at 2:33 PM, dsqpr said:

Added another point to your post.

Oh darn, just remembered that goals don't count unless they are scored against Brazil. Sigh.

This is why Eddy Berdusco is the greatest striker in Canadian men's history.

[Soro17]

16 minutes ago, Benjamin Massey said:

This is why Eddy Berdusco is the greatest striker in Canadian men's history.

Tied with Rob Friend.

[Guest]

Another goal for Ricketts tonight vs. RSL. Great to see.

[Shortdutchcanuck]

And Ricketts, angered by my list of all of his goals against minnows, bashes one home in added time to seal the W for TFC against Real Salt Lake.  Also read somewhere he was dealing with a thyroid issue early in season, hence why he didn't play before New Zealand game.

Edited March 31, 2018 by Shortdutchcanuck

[dyslexic nam]

Johnny on the spot again.  Say what you want - he does produce goals when given the chance.

[Guest]

10 minutes ago, Shortdutchcanuck said:

And Ricketts, angered by my list of all of his goals against minnows, bashes one home in added time to seal the W for TFC against Real Salt Lake.  Also read somewhere he was dealing with a thyroid issue early in season, hence why he didn't play before New Zealand game.

Yep. Banged that one in just to teach you a lesson!

[Obinna]

2 different teams but 2 goals in 2 games. Great to see.

[Bison44]

Oh POOOH.  I'm a Negative Nelly! Grouch grouch, it doesnt count as much because RSL is a minnow!!  Mumble mumble, didnt work in the 90's.....mumble mumble hipster fans and immigration patterns......mumble mumble  business models, B teams...grumble.  

[Keegan]

I’m critical about his performances for Canada against worthy opposition I’m happy whenever he produces.. just so you know I’m not negative. I’ve always said he’s a great super sub.

[toontownman]

3 hours ago, dyslexic nam said:

Johnny on the spot again.  Say what you want - he does produce goals when given the chance.

I thought that was his biggest shortcoming. He has all the tools to succeed but always seemed to fluff his lines after getting in good positions when I watched him for Canada. Seems to have matured the last season or two though. The stats don't lie. Long may his goalscoring continue!

[Fort York Redcoat1555362293]

That was such a fun match to watch. So happy to see Tos boss it. Hope to see Super Sub in plenty of club matches so he'll be ready to maximize his goal chances in the League of Nations.

[Kent]

That was not exactly a golazo, but it was still pretty difficult. He smashed it in with his weak foot on a half volley. A few years ago you wouldn’t think he could pull that off. That’s a solidly good goal.