Keano Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Tonight's Impact loss and the total no-show of their midfield including DP Bernardello is about as ringing an endorsement for Bernier's value as you can make. It's hard for people who didn't watch the Impact this season (except when they played Toronto) to understand that there were basically two Impacts this year; the one when Bernier was healthy and the one when he wasn't. That includes games he sat out as well as games he played hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 It's hard for people who didn't watch the Impact this season (except when they played Toronto) to understand that there were basically two Impacts this year; the one when Bernier was healthy and the one when he wasn't. That includes games he sat out as well as games he played hurt. Yes and Bernardello is a big step down in talent from Bernier as we saw yesterday. A guy who can play at a high level as a role player in a team full of more technical players but not of the quality to be a dominant player on a team, ie. a DP. It is like the DeGuzman experiment all over again. He reminds me of so many Canadian players who we always wonder why they can play at a high level but were never great on the national team. High level role players who fail when they are the key players on a team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ag futbol Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 I've been a big fan of Bernier's game ever since he's arrived in MLS. Bernardello is playing a game that works within a well-balanced team. MLS teams are not well balanced, it's usually a few jewels and a bunch of bit parts, nobody will do the work for you. Bernier gets that and plays to the standard. The number of through balls he sliced open defences with last year was incredible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yohan Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Yes and Bernardello is a big step down in talent from Bernier as we saw yesterday. A guy who can play at a high level as a role player in a team full of more technical players but not of the quality to be a dominant player on a team, ie. a DP. It is like the DeGuzman experiment all over again. He reminds me of so many Canadian players who we always wonder why they can play at a high level but were never great on the national team. High level role players who fail when they are the key players on a team. speaking of underperforming, what the heck happened to Felipe? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obinna Posted November 1, 2013 Share Posted November 1, 2013 Bernier is clearly one of MTL's most valuable players, and arguably one of the best DM's in MLS. Certainly one could make an argument the he was the best Canadian in the league this year. It is too bad he wasn't healthy for the playoffs. Regarding Morgan vs Henry. No question that the latter is more valuable and more well rounded at this point. I really think Morgan has hit a ceiling, he is so one dimensional going forward and his distribution is inconsistent. He lacks creativity and relies on his pace. He is still kind of young but is looking to be a peripheral player for the CMNT moving forward, and certainly I do not see him progressing out of MLS in the future. Henry on the other hand is not only more confident with the ball at his feet, but his distribution is good, he is two footed (unlike Morgan), and generally looks like he has a much higher ceiling. I can see him playing in a good European league when he hits his mid 20's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BearcatSA Posted November 2, 2013 Share Posted November 2, 2013 Henry COULD be a great player. Yes, he has to eliminate the brutal gaffs from his game. But he is a physical brute with great speed and aerial ability. Each year the amount of mistakes lessen, and Caldwell has been huge for him as Bearcat stated. This team has always been looking for that back line leader to be that mentor. Not to say that all is ironclad back there. They tend to collapse in on their keeper with long diagonal balls played in from set pieces or open play, and with Bendik's tentativeness in such situations, it was a bit of a time bomb back there on those types of plays. I thought they could keep a higher line on those and other similar situations but that's just my take and maybe they just how it goes. Henry's got the physical goods, for sure. And it takes some awhile to really master the nuances of the position. I do hope those mistakes lessen over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_twelve Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 So we're not too far off from having a regular Canadian starting at every position, I guess that's good? Would be nice to have a regular keeper again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanovski94 Posted November 4, 2013 Share Posted November 4, 2013 Kenny Stamatopolous starts every game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingback6 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I don’t think the Morgan vs. Henry thing is even a contest. Henry is stronger on the ball, reads the game better, and just has a better all-around game. His major faults are occasional ball watching and being overly aggressive. Requirements of his position are a lot higher. Morgan ... has some very large deficiencies which are readily obvious after watching him play on numerous occasions. I agree with most of this post. However, Morgan is much closer to the finished product IMHO. Ball watching is the single most deadly habit a CB can have, and they never, and almost never, at any level, get out of it. That alone sets Henry far back. Morgan is clearly a (self-directed) student of his position. Henry has Caldwell beside him, which is going to make him seem better than he actually is. Morgan is all alone, like all FB's, and he did admirably this season, showed lots of growth from previous years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shamrock Posted November 5, 2013 Author Share Posted November 5, 2013 I don't think Morgan is bad either. He's a decent MLS leftback, with the potential of becoming a strong MLS leftback. Henry is physically so strong, and with him playing at a high level at that age, I have to agree with most above who say his ceiling is higher. He could be a beast in 3 or 4 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davey_twelve Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 Kenny Stamatopolous starts every game. I was referring to MLS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ivanovski94 Posted November 5, 2013 Share Posted November 5, 2013 I was referring to MLS. ah i prob should have realized that......i must have been tired Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
El Hombre Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Johnson made the MLS best XI. Not too shabby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackdude Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Johnson made the MLS best XI. Not too shabby. Nice to see that, although I couldn't care less about a "best XI" that doesn't have wide players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keegan Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 I never thought I'd see it and I've always been a huge fan of his but Johnson has truly passed De Rosario as the Canadian face of the league. We really needed that next generation superstar for Canadians in the league after DeRo and he's done it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yohan Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Nice to see that, although I couldn't care less about a "best XI" that doesn't have wide players. this was the year of AM in midfield. not many wingers had truly exceptional year, maybe Fagundez but that's about it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ag futbol Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 The wide play in MLS is generally awful. The physical play MLS referees are inconsistent with controlling makes it hard to attack through the channels and get results. I read a stat a little while ago that the player who led the league in headed goals this season, had something like 3 or 4 of them in total. That says a lot. That being said the formation they've cooked up makes no sense whatsoever. They picked two box-to-box mids and no defenisve mids, a boadload of AMs and strikers without any realistic way to fit them together. It's a bit ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmcmurph Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Nice to see that, although I couldn't care less about a "best XI" that doesn't have wide players. Or the golden boot winner, Camilo, in it. Better than the others by every measure. http://www.maple-leaf-forever.com/2013/12/03/camilo-misses-the-mls-best-xi-fans-roll-with-laughter/ goals per 90 minute, shots directed per 90 minutes, shots on target per 90 minutes, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grizzly Posted December 4, 2013 Share Posted December 4, 2013 Ricketts is not even a top 10 keeper in MLS let alone the top one. Great athletic skill but no understanding how to play the position. He had a good team in front of him this year and they made this choice based purely on stats. I was a bit disappointed in Perkins this year but I would still take him over Ricketts by a large margin (even though he is also far from the number 1 keeper in MLS). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cheeta Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Good for Will. Not a big deal to my mind but every honour is always welcomed and as he's approaching those peak-earning-years pretty fast the more recognition the better. No, don't really rate Ricketts either. Impressive season statistics though. One of those cases of "in spite of" not "because of" I'd dare to say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub Narcotic Posted December 5, 2013 Share Posted December 5, 2013 Good for Will. Not a big deal to my mind but every honour is always welcomed and as he's approaching those peak-earning-years pretty fast the more recognition the better. No, don't really rate Ricketts either. Impressive season statistics though. One of those cases of "in spite of" not "because of" I'd dare to say. Ricketts had an incredible year. It may not be reproducable but he was great. Johnson is the inverse of a Carson Palmer-type, he's been incredible lucky in his club situations with great coaches and teams around him that maximize his talents. He produces better than his actual level, which shows in his more ordinary national team performances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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