Jump to content

Ayo Akinola


masster

Recommended Posts

1 hour ago, CanadaFan123 said:

I expect him to be more of a Akindele in our program than a Cavallini/Larin. 

We will see.  I still think he showed some really good movement and play during the MLS is Back tourney and we have no idea what sidelined him for so long.   

He was the 2nd highest scorer in MLSiB with 5 goals in only 3 games, and then followed that up with 9 goals in only 11 starts (15 total appearances) in the 2020 season.   That seems pretty good to me considering he had to battle DP-Jozy for time (and let’s face it, Altidore and Bradley are pretty much written on the game sheet in permanent marker when healthy).  
 

I still have faith that he can be a solid option for us.  I am not claiming he is going to displace David or anything - but I could see him progressing to the point where he becomes top 3 as Cav moves out of the picture. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

40 minutes ago, dyslexic nam said:

We will see.  I still think he showed some really good movement and play during the MLS is Back tourney and we have no idea what sidelined him for so long.   

He was the 2nd highest scorer in MLSiB with 5 goals in only 3 games, and then followed that up with 9 goals in only 11 starts (15 total appearances) in the 2020 season.   That seems pretty good to me considering he had to battle DP-Jozy for time (and let’s face it, Altidore and Bradley are pretty much written on the game sheet in permanent marker when healthy).  
 

I still have faith that he can be a solid option for us.  I am not claiming he is going to displace David or anything - but I could see him progressing to the point where he becomes top 3 as Cav moves out of the picture. 

I consider that his ceiling, but he also has a floor, which is probably "Akindele" level. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's way too early to determine where Ayo's ceiling is. We just have a partial MLS season. If he can improve on last season's goal production and build on the other aspects of his game, then anything is possible. He is fast, not tall but built like a tank and physical, has a great shot..so lots to like. His game is different from David and Larin and more like Cav. Depending on how we line up he could be a natural sub for Cav at #9 vs Larin/David as a #7/#10/second striker

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Obinna said:

I think part of it is that he accepted a call for Canada, but he's not as highly rated as say Effrain Alvarez , so the attitude seems to be "he's probably gone but meh, we're stacked and he'll have more of a future with Canada". 

I imagine they treat Ayo like we treated Telfer.

David, Dike, Sargent, Larin, Cavallini, Zardes,.......Jozy.

Not my ranking per se, just how I imagine their fan base would rank those players.

Curious to know how you would rank those players.  Sargent has played 69 games in B1 for Werder Bremen and scored 11 goals over 3 seasons including this season ( 29 games 5 goals). He reminds me a lot of Urutti...works his butt off but doesnt score much and that's a problem for a striker..now just watch him get a brace today!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just now, Kadenge said:

Curious to know how you would rank those players.  Sargent has played 69 games in B1 for Werder Bremen and scored 11 goals over 3 seasons including this season ( 29 games 5 goals). He reminds me a lot of Urutti...works his butt off but doesnt score much and that's a problem for a striker..now just watch him get a brace today!

I would perhaps swap Sargent and Dike, just because I think opinion on Dike is partly driven by hype at the moment, plus I think Sargent is arguably a better all around player. He inarguably has more experience, is more versatile, and is playing at a higher level. Dike has a better goal record though, so all in all I would say it's close and I wouldn't die on a hill arguing for Sargent.

I would still have Cavallini over Zardes, but I am very tempted to call it a coin flip if I am being honest.

I think Americans undervalue Zardes, and they have fresh (and hopefully painful) memories of Cavallini driving that nail in their coffin last October. That's why I think, if you asked them, they'd put Cavallini ahead of Zardes, perhaps comfortably.

However, Zardes' goal record over the course of his career is quite similar to Cavs at the club level. Lucas has played at a better (Liga MX) and worse (Uruguay) level than MLS, where Zardes has exclusively played in MLS, so I consider that pretty much even. Zardes has more caps, but Cavallini has more goals in less caps. Edge to Cavallini, perhaps?

I have Larin ahead of both, but again it's close. He's doing it at Besiktas, so for me he's leading that group of 3 at the moment. 

David is first and Jozy is last, that much is easy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Obinna said:

David, Dike, Sargent, Larin, Cavallini, Zardes,.......Jozy.

Not my ranking per se, just how I imagine their fan base would rank those players.

A completely unbiased opinion....
David, Larin, Cavallini, Dike, Sargeant, Zardes, Jozy. 

Sargeant is overrated. 
Dike is nice, but very fresh and unseasoned. 
Zardes is dependable but so is Cavallini....

okay this was completely biased. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Sargent is such a weird case to me... he always looks so dangerous, but he only directly contributes to goals a fraction of the time. I remember watching him in that pokal game vs Kennedy and thinking he was underrated... except he just never makes those dangerous plays in the box. It was always just outside.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ayo had injury problems himself last season but when he played he was generally much more useful and dangerous than Jozy was. Not hyperactive by any means but still regularly found good spots and scored goals, including multiple match winners. He hasn't looked in shape this year and hasn't even played his natural position, but I'm confident he'll come around

Link to comment
Share on other sites

45 minutes ago, DavemTFC said:

Ayo had injury problems himself last season but when he played he was generally much more useful and dangerous than Jozy was. Not hyperactive by any means but still regularly found good spots and scored goals, including multiple match winners. He hasn't looked in shape this year and hasn't even played his natural position, but I'm confident he'll come around

I’m cringing

he’s coming off an injury, TFC have played 5 games, Ayo came on against Azul in a game where nothing was created and the guy has like 30 minutes this year... 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 4/30/2021 at 11:48 PM, Dominic94 said:

I’m cringing

he’s coming off an injury, TFC have played 5 games, Ayo came on against Azul in a game where nothing was created and the guy has like 30 minutes this year... 

Not sure why you're saying this when it seems we're both making kinda the same point

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, DavemTFC said:

Not sure why you're saying this when it seems we're both making kinda the same point

I read your post wrong upon reflection, thought you weren’t happy with his performance and not giving him a fair shake, re read and you’re just pointing out what I did right after you😂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thought he was probably one of our better players tonight, though he was also pretty clearly gassed. He's still constantly making direct, dangerous goalscoring runs off the ball though not quite as sharply as he did last year. That's somewhat due to playing at Azteca and somewhat due to playing for just the third time this year, though I still wonder if he's lost speed, or if he never really had as much as I remember him having

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ayo did ok.  He got played in and beat the Azul player to the ball and got off a good shot in the first half.  All based on his speed and a shoulder barge on the defender..very similar to plays he was making last year.  I think he'll be fine once all the rust gets knocked off.  

Edited by Bison44
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
No Ayo on USMNT Nations League provisional! The players listed who can play striker: Sargent, Dike, Weah, Siebatcheu, Zardes, Gioacchini probably in that order. The first three or four names will make the Nations League final and the rest are likely contenders for the Gold Cup.

If they view Weah and Gioacchini as wingers then Ayo has a chance for the USMNT Gold Cup B-squad, but if they are strikers then even that doesn't seem likely.

Edited by Canadian Chuck
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

Anyone watch the game tonight?  I’m curious how he did.

He was quiet.  Didn’t really get much good service at all but I was hoping for him to make something happen and it never really materialized.  Was active and had some hustle but wasn’t really a goal threat.  For me, the most telling thing was the fact that Jozy had an obviously positive impact when he came on and it kind of highlighted what Ayo wasn’t doing.  

Edited by dyslexic nam
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...