Ayo Akinola

[Metro]

^^ Sure but I'm pretty sure Toronto will give him every opportunity to do this.  They did sign Akinola to a fairly lucrative contract so that he wouldn't bolt for Europe, IIRC.

[scooterlawrence5]

I still believe that Ayo has the best chance for a recently "non-rostered" MNT player to be part of the Qatar roster.  I don't see Herdman giving a Qater roster spot to any other player that hasn't helped the team get there. 

[toontownman]

Yeah who knows. Having the previous experience, if only a little, being involved will help. That said if Jebbison gets a few goals off the bench this season and comes alive the season after that would be hard to ignore. 

No definites the Ugbo makes it in, he should if he keeps getting minutes and scoring. Cavs looked more like his old self last week. He is surely the person at most risk of losing a place. In form Cavallini offers something different to everyone else though.

[dyslexic nam]

34 minutes ago, toontownman said:

Yeah who knows. Having the previous experience, if only a little, being involved will help. That said if Jebbison gets a few goals off the bench this season and comes alive the season after that would be hard to ignore. 

No definites the Ugbo makes it in, he should if he keeps getting minutes and scoring. Cavs looked more like his old self last week. He is surely the person at most risk of losing a place. In form Cavallini offers something different to everyone else though.

Agree with all of this.  It is really only up front that I could see any real tinkering at all (barring changes forced by injury), and even that would be minor.  Cav’s participation IMO is largely about what he brings other than goal scoring.  He can be a force that can combat opposing CBs in a way that none of our other guys can at this point.   He essentially brings something very different to our other options.  And agree about Akinola and Jebbison as possible inclusions.  Depending on the form of Ugbo and Cav, they are the two that are in the mix for me.  I think the odds are still that Cav and Ugbo get the nod but if either take a sharp dip in form they are the ones I think have the greatest chance of displacement.  

[Obinna]

If (this is a big hypothetical) Herdman gets it into his head that he can only take one of Akinola, Jebbison, Ugbo and Cavallini, I think it's probably going to be Cavallini.

He's been with the program the longest and has contributed the most out of any of those forwards.

Obviously if he's injured or out of form, and the others are doing well, then that's different, but all things being equal I feel he probably goes with the guy who's helped the most to build the team to where it is. 

At the same time, I think he's going to do everything he can to integrate all those other guys into the team with nations league and/or friendlies. It's just that when it comes to the big dance, I think he ultimately goes with whoever he believes will help the team the most, both on and off the field. 

[trc2014]

2 hours ago, Obinna said:

If (this is a big hypothetical) Herdman gets it into his head that he can only take one of Akinola, Jebbison, Ugbo and Cavallini, I think it's probably going to be Cavallini.

He's been with the program the longest and has contributed the most out of any of those forwards.

Obviously if he's injured or out of form, and the others are doing well, then that's different, but all things being equal I feel he probably goes with the guy who's helped the most to build the team to where it is. 

At the same time, I think he's going to do everything he can to integrate all those other guys into the team with nations league and/or friendlies. It's just that when it comes to the big dance, I think he ultimately goes with whoever he believes will help the team the most, both on and off the field. 

Herdman puts a ton of value in the grit Cav shows coming in the last 10 minutes of a game.  Sprinting to each ball, doing everything he can to disrupt play.  Haven’t seen it in awhile, but the photo where Cav is diving headfirst towards someone’s boot as they are kicking the ball speaks for itself.  To date, I don’t think Brym or Ugbo have shown this when coming on to close out the game upfront. 

[Watchmen]

Assuming he's healthy, I'd like to see him get call for the Nations League games this summer. See what he does on that stage. I really don't care about the Nations League this summer, so just give the regular team a summer to rest for the hall and give some of the bench guys an opportunity to show what they can do.

[Bison44]

I just want to see Akinola bang in a couple goals for TFC to get the season started right.  Then he can worry about nations league auditions for Herdman.  

[Obinna]

40 minutes ago, trc2014 said:

Herdman puts a ton of value in the grit Cav shows coming in the last 10 minutes of a game.  Sprinting to each ball, doing everything he can to disrupt play.  Haven’t seen it in awhile, but the photo where Cav is diving headfirst towards someone’s boot as they are kicking the ball speaks for itself.  To date, I don’t think Brym or Ugbo have shown this when coming on to close out the game upfront. 

Brym definitely not but Ugbo I am not sure. He seemed to really hustle and hurry defenders in both games he played. In Hamilton, he was pressuring Chris Richards in the play that led to his injury. Not saying he does it as well as Cav, but he certainly does it better than Brym. 

[Obinna]

16 minutes ago, Watchmen said:

Assuming he's healthy, I'd like to see him get call for the Nations League games this summer. See what he does on that stage. I really don't care about the Nations League this summer, so just give the regular team a summer to rest for the hall and give some of the bench guys an opportunity to show what they can do.

I am curious what kind of squad we will see for nations league.

On one hand, there's value in resting players after long European seasons. On the other hand, this is the last chance for some meaningful and competitive games leading up to the WC.

I expect us to have meaningful friendlies against WC caliber teams, but they're still friendlies. On the other hand, such games are specifically meant for prep, whereas nations league (likely will be against non WC teams) are kind of too far out to be considered real prep.  

I go back and forth about what to expect this summer. Either way though, it would be nice for Akinola to be a part of it.

He'll have to start racking up goals to even be considered for nations league, as Bison says. 

[Watchmen]

4 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I am curious what kind of squad we will see for nations league.

On one hand, there's value in resting players after long European seasons. On the other hand, this is the last chance for some meaningful and competitive games leading up to the WC.

I expect us to have meaningful friendlies against WC caliber teams, but they're still friendlies. On the other hand, such games are specifically meant for prep, whereas nations league (likely will be against non WC teams) are kind of too far out to be considered real prep.  

I go back and forth about what to expect this summer. Either way though, it would be nice for Akinola to be a part of it.

He'll have to start racking up goals to even be considered for nations league, as Bison says. 

I think most leagues are planning to start earlier next year, making it an even shorter off season. Give as many players as possible the rest they need.  Which is why I'm sort of less concerned with how he does at TFC. I mean, if he's terrible then sure don't bother. But even if he's just "fine" call him in. That's the point to having more depth now, that the A team doesn't have to play every single game for us anymore. 

[Obinna]

1 minute ago, Watchmen said:

I think most leagues are planning to start earlier next year, making it an even shorter off season. Give as many players as possible the rest they need.  Which is why I'm sort of less concerned with how he does at TFC. I mean, if he's terrible then sure don't bother. But even if he's just "fine" call him in. That's the point to having more depth now, that the A team doesn't have to play every single game for us anymore. 

Good point. I can seeing playing out that way. Nations league will be the last real chance to give the Euro guys a break.

Nations league may perhaps the last real chance for guys to play their way on.

Although it's a short European season, I can see Herdman dipping into the Euro pool for guys like Paton, Brym and Corbeanu to complement a domestic heavy squad. Vitoria, Larin, Hutchinson, Davies, David, Hoilett, Millar, Buchanan, Kennedy and Cornelius are some of the players who'd likely benefit from the rest, but the way things are going, players like Laryea and Eustaquio may not even need the break. Could make for an interesting Nations League roster:

GK Crepeau, Hasal, Breza

D Johnston, Miller, Laryea, Brault-Guillard, Guiterrez, Henry, Waterman

M Piette, Osorio, Kaye, Eustaquio, Kone, Priso, Paton, Mitrovic

F Corbeanu, Cavallini, Akinola, Nelson, Schaffleburg, Brym, Jebbison (a man can dream, right?)

Nice little mix of 25 players there. Few new faces and several core players. Probably as experimental as nations league would get. 

[An Observer]

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Davies in the nation league assuming he is not playing this window as he has been out for awhile and likely could use the extra matches

[Xavier.]

 

[VinceA]

1 hour ago, Xavier. said:

 

 

[Cblake]

Great to see Ayo out on the pitch today at training. Hoping to see him back in a match soon. Maybe he will get a runout with TFC II first to see how are things are.

[Shway]

Hopefully he’s cut some weight. 

[dyslexic nam]

14 minutes ago, Shway said:

Hopefully he’s cut some weight. 

He looks noticeably leaner in that pic.  

[toontownman]

Big year for him. He needs to come back when he is ready and not rush it. He has an outside chance at the world cup squad it he does well upon his return.

[EJsens1]

3 hours ago, toontownman said:

Big year for him. He needs to come back when he is ready and not rush it. He has an outside chance at the world cup squad it he does well upon his return.

He’s got quite a bit of run way here between now and November to make an impression. I’d assume a big specific goal upon return from injury (aside from returning to TFC) was to be involved in the mix for the nations league and friendlies in June. If he’s playing well all season, he’ll be right in the mix with Ugbo, Cavallini, potentially others for Qatar. Obviously David and Larin are locks. I see someone like Wotherspoon more as a guy with an outside chance on getting back into the mix (yes different position, but I mean in terms of injury timelines).

Edited April 12, 2022 by EJsens1

[TGAA_Star]

16 hours ago, toontownman said:

Big year for him. He needs to come back when he is ready and not rush it. He has an outside chance at the world cup squad it he does well upon his return.

Ayo still for me too anyway has a while to go to impress me especially if it comes to trying to make the Qatar squad in November 

[canuckgbp]

 

[PegCityCam]

https://www.tsn.ca/video/playing-for-canada-at-the-world-cup-is-all-the-motivation-akinol~2431685

Looks trim, sounds positive and has  clearly matured. Excited to see what levels he can reach.

[dyslexic nam]

4 hours ago, PegCityCam said:

https://www.tsn.ca/video/playing-for-canada-at-the-world-cup-is-all-the-motivation-akinol~2431685

Looks trim, sounds positive and has  clearly matured. Excited to see what levels he can reach.

Yeah, great interview and perspective. He really does seem to have matured.   And the fact that he slimmed down should help him stay healthy and avoid re-injuring his knee.  Really hope we see him on the field again soon (today…?).  Could be a key element in TFC’s youth movement.  

[Sal333]

I really have nothing to back up my next statement but my intuition tells me Akinola will rival David and Larin for top striker on the NT. Maybe not this November but within a year Herdman will have a pleasant headache as to who to choose between Larin, David and Akinola.