Liam Fraser

[sose]

Now that Heardman is at the helm, when does he re-sign with TFC, this season or before the beginning of next season?

[VinceA]

Just noticed he wasn't in the 18 for Dallas.

 

eep.

[InglewoodJack]

Played a big 9 minutes tonight!!

[Gian-Luca]

He did set up the Dallas goal albeit with the aid of a keeper gaffe. St Louis was up a man after just 12 minutes due to a Dallas keeper handball outside the box

Edited August 31, 2023 by Gian-Luca

[RS]

Fraser started on the bench for Dallas in Seattle but subbed on in the 18th minute for an injured Alan Velsaco.

Its halftime, Dallas down 1-0.

[Obinna]

Not many Canadians starting in the MLS playoffs. Maybe he's someone we need to watch more closely as the Nov window draws closer....

[SoccMan]

18 hours ago, Obinna said:

Not many Canadians starting in the MLS playoffs. Maybe he's someone we need to watch more closely as the Nov window draws closer....

Looks like he played the whole game in their playoff win at home yesterday against Seattle forcing a game 3 and deciding game back in Seattle . He received a 7 rating on FotMob .

Edited November 5, 2023 by SoccMan

[BearcatSA]

Behind Eustaquio, I really think Biello sticks with Piette, so I don't think he'll be bringing in Fraser, as well.  He likely is a taxi squad replacement.

[CanadaFan123]

21 hours ago, Obinna said:

Not many Canadians starting in the MLS playoffs. Maybe he's someone we need to watch more closely as the Nov window draws closer....

I watched him hoping for this but he’s painfully bland as a player. His only stand out attribute is his passing and even that isn’t close to elite or game changing. 

[BearcatSA]

Gets another year in Big D (or rather, little f, for Frisco) with his option being picked up.

[Obinna]

Started for FC Dallas in a friendly vs Inter Miami and had a nice secondary assist on Jesus Ferreira's opening goal. A very nice one touch pass to Paul Arriola with his left foot, who then slipped Ferreira.

I think we have to ask ourselves if we underrate or undervalue Fraser....

I know myself I tend to forget about him when thinking about who our best 23 players are, which was rather easy to do when he was toiling away in the Belgian 2nd division, but it seems like FC Dallas really trust Fraser. He was starting for them deep into the playoffs, and I believe he was the only outfield Canadian player to go deep into the playoffs last year.

I regularly make cases for the likes of Ahmed, Choniere, and Paton to get more looks in our midfield, but Fraser is basically in the same age cohort as these guys and has 19 caps already, compared to Ahmed's 4 and Choniere and Paton's 1 cap each.

I dunno, not saying Fraser should be ahead of any of them, but I need to remind myself to include him in the conversation, especially if he continues to start for FC Dallas and play well. And while I don't want to sound like Javier here, being a DM he could be the ideal compliment to Kone and Eustaquio, sitting behind and allowing them to play as dual 8s. 

[narduch]

Looks like they are trying to toughen him up too.

 

 

[SoccMan]

21 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Started for FC Dallas in a friendly vs Inter Miami and had a nice secondary assist on Jesus Ferreira's opening goal. A very nice one touch pass to Paul Arriola with his left foot, who then slipped Ferreira.

I think we have to ask ourselves if we underrate or undervalue Fraser....

I know myself I tend to forget about him when thinking about who our best 23 players are, which was rather easy to do when he was toiling away in the Belgian 2nd division, but it seems like FC Dallas really trust Fraser. He was starting for them deep into the playoffs, and I believe he was the only outfield Canadian player to go deep into the playoffs last year.

I regularly make cases for the likes of Ahmed, Choniere, and Paton to get more looks in our midfield, but Fraser is basically in the same age cohort as these guys and has 19 caps already, compared to Ahmed's 4 and Choniere and Paton's 1 cap each.

I dunno, not saying Fraser should be ahead of any of them, but I need to remind myself to include him in the conversation, especially if he continues to start for FC Dallas and play well. And while I don't want to sound like Javier here, being a DM he could be the ideal compliment to Kone and Eustaquio, sitting behind and allowing them to play as dual 8s. 

I still find it strange that he wasn’t even starting in the Belgian second division , I know it’s Belgian but how good is the second division? What am I missing , Fraser is a decent enough player who I think will get a lot of minutes with Dallas this year but that Belgian stint he had was a head scratcher for me .

[Obinna]

Just now, SoccMan said:

I still find it strange that he wasn’t even starting in the Belgian second division , I know it’s Belgian but how good is the second division? What am I missing , Fraser is a decent enough player who I think will get a lot of minutes with Dallas this year but that Belgian stint he had was a head scratcher for me .

I think when he joined Dienze he was pretty much their best player, as expected. He helped push them up the table and I think him joining coincided with a winning streak, if I recall correctly. I think with Fraser the plan was to try and gain promotion with them as a backdoor route to the Belgian First Division, which is probably the level Fraser should have been at from the beginning. As it was though, the gamble didn't pay off and they fell short. 

Then, I think what happened was that he was nearing the end of his contract and didn't intend to stay there (clearly) and so maybe Dienze didn't play him much based on that situation. I never watched his games there, so maybe his form was bad too, but that's not surprising for an unsettled player who "no longer wants to be there" (speculating here based on the fact he did leave in the end). 

[InglewoodJack]

34 minutes ago, Obinna said:

Started for FC Dallas in a friendly vs Inter Miami and had a nice secondary assist on Jesus Ferreira's opening goal. A very nice one touch pass to Paul Arriola with his left foot, who then slipped Ferreira.

I think we have to ask ourselves if we underrate or undervalue Fraser....

I know myself I tend to forget about him when thinking about who our best 23 players are, which was rather easy to do when he was toiling away in the Belgian 2nd division, but it seems like FC Dallas really trust Fraser. He was starting for them deep into the playoffs, and I believe he was the only outfield Canadian player to go deep into the playoffs last year.

I regularly make cases for the likes of Ahmed, Choniere, and Paton to get more looks in our midfield, but Fraser is basically in the same age cohort as these guys and has 19 caps already, compared to Ahmed's 4 and Choniere and Paton's 1 cap each.

I dunno, not saying Fraser should be ahead of any of them, but I need to remind myself to include him in the conversation, especially if he continues to start for FC Dallas and play well. And while I don't want to sound like Javier here, being a DM he could be the ideal compliment to Kone and Eustaquio, sitting behind and allowing them to play as dual 8s. 

Fraser is underrated for sure, but Ahmed* and Choiniere have much more club experience and one is an ascending force in MLS and the other has been an upper tier/teetering on elite MLS player for two seasons now. Fraser is breaking into Dallas as a starter for pretty much the first time in his career. Dallas is a good team and if Fraser solidifies his spot, I think he deserves the call up. I certainly rate him higher than the other fringe guys like Paton and Loturi and so on, that’s for sure. We also have Piette who I know many don’t rate very highly here, but has Fraser done enough to consistently get called over Piette?

Fraser has about 30 or so MLS games over Ahmed but AA has shown a lot more at the MLS level than Fraser. Two absolutely different players though. 

Edited January 23 by InglewoodJack

[Obinna]

11 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

Fraser is underrated for sure, but Ahmed and Choiniere have much more club experience and one is an ascending force in MLS and the other has been an upper tier/teetering on elite MLS player for two seasons now. Fraser is breaking into Dallas as a starter for pretty much the first time in his career. Dallas is a good team and if Fraser solidifies his spot, I think he deserves the call up. I certainly rate him higher than the other fringe guys like Paton and Loturi and so on, that’s for sure. We also have Piette who I know many don’t rate very highly here, but has Fraser done enough to consistently get called over Piette?

I think the answer has clearly been NO but moving forward the answer will be MAYBE?

In theory, Piette could begin slowing down just as Fraser is coming into his own, which I hope and think he'll do down in Dallas. Thing is though, Piette is excellent at breaking up plays, which I haven't seen much of from Fraser, so it's different kind of DM as you know. Fraser being more of a deep lying passer and Piette being a destroyer who probably gets more criticism for his passing than he deserves. 

As for Ahmed and Choniere, I agree. I think if all goes will with Fraser he can have a long career in MLS and be a regular starter for most of it, but the other two have genuine European potential, Ahmed even moreso than Choniere I think, personally. Will they get there remains to be seen.

Right now all 3 are MLS players and all 3 are looking as if they'll be starters. It'll be a nice battle to see who gets the NT calls.

My sense is that Ahmed and Choniere will get called over Fraser, who seems to be perpetually on "stand by" for the national team. Maybe the battle for a spot will actually be Paton vs Fraser, with Ahmed and Choniere being regulars, along with Kone and Eustaquio, so 4 midfield spots locked, 1 up for grabs, and 1 (maybe two) going to Osorio/Piette. 

Edited January 23 by Obinna

[Dominic94]

I think Fraser will always be on the outside looking in, AA ceiling seems higher. Choiniere is probably not going to get that much better, but will be a very good depth piece.

[Bison44]

I like Fraser, and was really rooting for him to displace the baldy over at TFC.  But he has never been a consistent starter at MLS level, never got more than 1200min in a season, and he is now 25.  He has always put in a good shift for canada and plays a role where we are thin.  BUT....look at CHoiniere, he was a starter for the last 3 years and an allstar and he cant get a spot.  Ahmed, Saliba both have better shots at being starters this year and have better upsides to Fraser.  Piette has been a MLS starter for years, and done plenty for the national team.  Fraser needs to become a solid MLS starter like these other guys have, and then mb he can get back into the DM conversation.  I'd love to see it, but show us the goods this summer.  

[SthMelbRed]

5 hours ago, Bison44 said:

I like Fraser, and was really rooting for him to displace the baldy over at TFC.  But he has never been a consistent starter at MLS level, never got more than 1200min in a season, and he is now 25.  He has always put in a good shift for canada and plays a role where we are thin.  BUT....look at CHoiniere, he was a starter for the last 3 years and an allstar and he cant get a spot.  Ahmed, Saliba both have better shots at being starters this year and have better upsides to Fraser.  Piette has been a MLS starter for years, and done plenty for the national team.  Fraser needs to become a solid MLS starter like these other guys have, and then mb he can get back into the DM conversation.  I'd love to see it, but show us the goods this summer.  

The poor bastard had his development massively stunted by the presence of Michael Bradley in Toronto. No matter what additional minutes he earned with his play, they were artificially curtailed to accommodate the apparent need to play the captain for every available minute. It's a tough ask for him to recover to reach the height of his potential after losing so many years early in his career. But, I'm really hoping that he can find a way, 'cause I've always liked him as a player.

[YorkRegionFan]

27 minutes ago, SthMelbRed said:

The poor bastard had his development massively stunted by the presence of Michael Bradley in Toronto. 

I chalk it up more to the fact that Greg Vanney refused to integrate any young players into the squad. Coaches tend to go for job security and as such play the veterans. It happens in every sport. 

[hodgkiss]

Fraser would be great for a team that slows the game down and plays possession. But that is not many teams anymore... His best ability (which is a great ability) is to spray mid to lengthy diagonals from his own end. We have witnessed some great examples in his time with TFC and Canada. However, his reaction time allows players to take possession of the ball or players get close enough where they get in the way of his passing.

If he was looking to play 20 years ago, even 10 years ago, he would have a much easier time getting integrated into a side.

[Kadenge]

^^^  agree. Both Staq and Kone have loads of playmaking ability including being able to hit the long pass from deep.  There isn’t a starting spot for Fraser in a 442. In a 352 with David, Larin, Davies, Tajon and Kone/Staq behind them, a 3rd mid has to be a ball winner and that's not Fraser.

[CanadaFan123]

1 hour ago, hodgkiss said:

Fraser would be great for a team that slows the game down and plays possession. But that is not many teams anymore... His best ability (which is a great ability) is to spray mid to lengthy diagonals from his own end. We have witnessed some great examples in his time with TFC and Canada. However, his reaction time allows players to take possession of the ball or players get close enough where they get in the way of his passing.

If he was looking to play 20 years ago, even 10 years ago, he would have a much easier time getting integrated into a side.

Nailed it. His development wasn’t stunted by Bradley, he’s just a “meh” player like Teibert with average general attributes. Lots of players who are good enough for MLS but not Canada. 

[El Hombre]

I think a lot of the posts above speak to exactly what @Obinna was saying, especially when you look at the comparisons with Ahmed.

If you look back at Fraser's 2021, you'll see that his stat lines in terms of minutes played and games started with Columbus is on par (if not better) than Ahmed's last year at the same age.  To say that one is clearly above the other underrates Fraser.  He just had a little detour in Belgium (where he got some playing time) and featured in half of Dallas' games last year after he was acquired in August, starting four which is no small feat for someone like him joining a team mid-season.

Edited January 24 by El Hombre

[BearcatSA]

Let's see how his season starts in Dallas prior to the big game near the tail end of March.  Personally, I'm seeing "just a guy" out there at this stage of his career who is not a dynamic enough destroyer that this midfield needs to go alongside Eustaquio and Koné but would love to see a renaissance for him.

Edited January 29 by BearcatSA