Richmond "Richie" Laryea

[Shway]

11 hours ago, Free kick said:

Oh by the way,  remember that superstar Djed Spence.  The guy (whom we were told) was so talented that he was blocking Laryea from getting minutes. And that he is such a super prospect that it would have been un unthinkable to mention in the same sentance as Laryea.    Well, Spence has seen the pitch (Tottenham) for a grand total three minutes this year.  
 

https://www.transfermarkt.com/djed-spence/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/483348/wettbewerb/GB1/saison/2022

His manager is the infamous Conte…He’s known for only using veteran players in his squads. Spence’s signing seemed like a Levy one, in the same way Richie wasn’t a Cooper signing.

[prairiecanuck]

12 hours ago, Free kick said:

They got thrashed again today 5-0 to Arsenal.  Worth repeating, they spent 161 million euros in the summer transfer window.  Thats more what Bayern Munich, Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Barcelona, R Madrid, PSG, Milan, Inter, Juve....ect all spent.  The 161 Mill so far has earned them last place in table with just two wins and a minus 20 goal diff..

They also signed Jesse Lingard on a free transfer and are paying him close to 200K pounds a week.  It's nice to have an owner that will invest in your team, but no promoted team, not even the fulham team from a couple years ago has spent more and gotten less out of their spending.  It's going to be a disaster if they don't turn things around and fight to finish 16th.  Still time, but not looking good. 

[InglewoodJack]

I read some Arsenal fans saying they didn’t even play well against forest, and that that effort would’ve resulted in a loss against a better team. I didn’t see the game, plus big team fans love to criticize their team, so I take it with a grain of salt, but it appeared that they’re somehow even worse than it would appear.

[Free kick]

2 hours ago, Shway said:

His manager is the infamous Conte…He’s known for only using veteran players in his squads. Spence’s signing seemed like a Levy one, in the same way Richie wasn’t a Cooper signing.

The reason I brought up the example of Djed Spence is because (when you go back 30-40 pages on this thread) a few of us raised the issue that the real reason that Laryea got no playing time was not based on abilities or talent but rather folklore, arrogance and snobbery towards North American (in this case Canadians and Americans).  There were some counter arguments that this was due to this Spence fellow and that he was such a valued key contributor.   So it kind of shoots down that argument when Spence is hardly getting minutes.    In short, Laryea was very likely more than capable of not only playing but being key contributor at this level  (as would many other players coming from North America) and its really had nothing to do with Spence blocking him;  Plus Laryea could play many positions on the pitch

Edited October 31, 2022 by Free kick

[RS]

44 minutes ago, Free kick said:

The reason I brought up the example of Djed Spence is because (when you go back 30-40 pages on this thread) a few of us raised the issue that the real reason that Laryea got no playing time was not based on abilities or talent but rather folklore, arrogance and snobbery towards North American (in this case Canadians and Americans).  There were some counter arguments that this was due to this Spence fellow and that he was such a valued key contributor.   So it kind of shoots down that argument when Spence is hardly getting minutes.    In short, Laryea was very likely more than capable of not only playing but being key contributor at this level  (as would many other players coming from North America) and its really had nothing to do with Spence blocking him;  Plus Laryea could play many positions on the pitch

To be fair, Spence was awesome for Forest last season. His lack of playing time with Spurs is a completely different issue.

[Kadenge]

Regardless of how well Spence played for NF, when Laryea got mins he played well and the fans (not that I put a lot of value on their opinion) seemed to like his performances. Richie should have received more regular sub mins on either the right or left side but the fact he came in mid-season and the coach showing loyalty to certain vets played a role.  He will have an opportunity in Qatar to showcase his talents as will the rest of the players who see the field. it's a wonderful opportunity for them, let's hope they max out.

Edited October 31, 2022 by Kadenge

[InglewoodJack]

2 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

Regardless of how well Spence played for NF, when Laryea got mins he played well and the fans (not that I put a lot of value on their opinion) seemed to like his performances. Richie should have received more regular sub mins on either the right or left side but the fact he came in mid-season and the coach showing loyalty to certain vets played a role.  He will have an opportunity in Qatar to showcase his talents as will the rest of the players who see the field. it's a wonderful opportunity for them, let's hope they max out.

During the regular season, yeah, but during the preseason this year, fans had turned on him- I distinctly remember a friendly where as soon as he got pulled, fans basically agreed he was done with the club- just not at the level of a guy who could've hung on in the premier league, no way.

That said, it's not like Laryea would've made Forest somehow worse this season, considering how much they spent to be the worst team in the league. Tough situation for him because Forest started going on a promotion run around the time they signed Laryea, so it's tough to tweak what's been working.

 

I think if Forest is smart, which they are not, if Laryea has a good world cup, call him back, start playing him, and hopefully convince another championship team to buy him so they can recoup some of the 3.5M pounds (I think?) they paid for him, because they'll need every penny next year when their team falls apart.

Funniest of all though is that they didn't even own Djed Spence- they earned Middlesborough a nice fee though by playing him so much.

[Floortom]

8 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

I think if Forest is smart, which they are not, if Laryea has a good world cup, call him back, start playing him, and hopefully convince another championship team to buy him so they can recoup some of the 3.5M pounds (I think?) they paid for him, because they'll need every penny next year when their team falls apart.

Funniest of all though is that they didn't even own Djed Spence- they earned Middlesborough a nice fee though by playing him so much.

They only paid 1m for Richie.

i think you guys needs to accept his level. I would think he will be in MLS the rest of his career.
He’s about to be 28. TBH he wasn’t particularly good for TFC this season outside of his first few matches. Yes, I know TFC was a dumpster fire. 

[Kadenge]

4 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

During the regular season, yeah, but during the preseason this year, fans had turned on him- I distinctly remember a friendly where as soon as he got pulled, fans basically agreed he was done with the club- just not at the level of a guy who could've hung on in the premier league, no way.

.....

Funniest of all though is that they didn't even own Djed Spence- they earned Middlesborough a nice fee though by playing him so much.

After not playing much at all in the Championship for half a season, I'm not surprised he was behind during pre season in 2022.  I think most of us would agree that the EPL would be unrealistic, so not surprised re loan.  Re Spence, he helped get NF to the EPL and they got some decent coin for their promo. Not a bad deal even if it helped Middlesborough in the process, but they blew it all on transfers lol

[Free kick]

43 minutes ago, RS said:

To be fair, Spence was awesome for Forest last season. His lack of playing time with Spurs is a completely different issue.

But we all know that there are many different positions that Laryea could play,  including both the left and right side. I found it odd, that the play of Spence was the reason that he couldnt get playing time. 

[Kadenge]

3 minutes ago, Floortom said:

They only paid 1m for Richie.

i think you guys needs to accept his level. I would think he will be in MLS the rest of his career.
He’s about to be 28. TBH he wasn’t particularly good for TFC this season outside of his first few matches. Yes, I know TFC was a dumpster fire. 

This.

[WestHamCanadianinOxford]

2 minutes ago, Free kick said:

But we all know that there are many different positions that Laryea could play,  including both the left and right side. I found it odd, that the play of Spence was the reason that he couldnt get playing time. 

Jack Colback - a 33 year old central midfielder was playing ahead of him on the left at times.  Cooper went with what he knew, which makes this year all the stranger. 

[Free kick]

1 hour ago, Floortom said:

They only paid 1m for Richie.

i think you guys needs to accept his level. I would think he will be in MLS the rest of his career.
He’s about to be 28. TBH he wasn’t particularly good for TFC this season outside of his first few matches. Yes, I know TFC was a dumpster fire. 

In a couple of weeks, we will get to see the world cup rosters released.   I will be keeping an eye on how many players from championship level clubs are on those final rosters.   My guess,   Based on the world cups of the past,  there will be very very few.  Perhaps maybe less than handfull and those players will not be on nationalal sides that are serious contenders.   I do agree that we didnt see the same player in his games with TFC that we saw prior to his move to NF.   So NF might have seen the same player that we saw but i still cannot fathom that the Championship level so far out of reach of teh capabilities of the upper third MLS talent.   If Miguel Almiron (as a MF player) can be tied for fifth in EPL scoring and those couple of ex MLS players at Leeds can be key contributors, then is the gap between Laryea and thsoe talents so huge that he is out of his realm in Championship?   I dont think so.   

Edited October 31, 2022 by Free kick

[InglewoodJack]

25 minutes ago, Floortom said:

They only paid 1m for Richie.

i think you guys needs to accept his level. I would think he will be in MLS the rest of his career.
He’s about to be 28. TBH he wasn’t particularly good for TFC this season outside of his first few matches. Yes, I know TFC was a dumpster fire. 

I got his transfermarkt value ($3.85M at that time) mixed up with his transfer fee- you're right.

It's not a question of accepting his level- I think a lot of MLS players can slot into the Championship and vice versa, I'm just saying, if he wants to move back to England, I think he's good enough- it's not a question of him playing well and eventually moving up to the Premier league, but if he wants to play out his prime int hat league, he could probably do it. Being that the club who owns his rights right now is both in the premier league and nearly guaranteed to get relegated, might make sense to call him back and play him so maybe a mid table championship team can buy him off you, but at $1M, they can just write it off.

[RS]

30 minutes ago, Free kick said:

But we all know that there are many different positions that Laryea could play,  including both the left and right side. I found it odd, that the play of Spence was the reason that he couldnt get playing time. 

I agree. I was just countering the premise that Spence isn't very good because his playing time at Spurs is nil.

[GasPed]

3 hours ago, Free kick said:

But we all know that there are many different positions that Laryea could play,  including both the left and right side. I found it odd, that the play of Spence was the reason that he couldnt get playing time. 

I think most of us thought that Spence was the reason he didn't get any play on the right side (Richie's preferred side), and that Cooper's loyalty to Colback and his unwillingness to try Richie in an inverted role was the reason he never got to play on the left.  I think the former is a legit reason (the games the I saw, Djed Spence was an Alphonso Davies-like monster on that right side), and the latter is a lame one, although I can also see why Cooper might not have wanted to go away from his winning hand.  That said, there's no doubt in my mind that an in-form Richie could easily start on most Championship teams on either side if given the chance.  And Cooper never gave him one.

[ECW]

14 hours ago, Free kick said:

But we all know that there are many different positions that Laryea could play,  including both the left and right side. I found it odd, that the play of Spence was the reason that he couldnt get playing time. 

There was a definite lack of will to play him. Given how brilliantly he’s played on both sides for Canada and at right wingback and right wing for TFC, I can’t see him not being up to holding his own in the championship. If Hoilett can be an effective back Richie can certainly do it.

He wasn’t in good form on his return to Toronto (although the first couple of matches he was) but there is no way his skills have declined.

Not sure he’s going to be brilliant at the world cup though. He’s played not much this season. We have a bit too much of that in Herdman’s preferred starting eleven. 

Edited November 1, 2022 by ECW

[SoccMan]

8 hours ago, ECW said:

There was a definite lack of will to play him. Given how brilliantly he’s played on both sides for Canada and at right wingback and right wing for TFC, I can’t see him not being up to holding his own in the championship. If Hoilett can be an effective back Richie can certainly do it.

He wasn’t in good form on his return to Toronto (although the first couple of matches he was) but there is no way his skills have declined.

Not sure he’s going to be brilliant at the world cup though. He’s played not much this season. We have a bit too much of that in Herdman’s preferred starting eleven. 

I’m not going to base my opinion on Laryea on how he did on his return with TFC, that was a complete shit show and that coaching staff and management will be treading on thin ice in the beginning of next season if they start off poor, but that’s another story. We all have seen what Laryea can do he didn’t lose his skills and his overall game overnight , he will be ok . That situation at Forrest was very unfortunate and I know he can play at that level and even excel. Hopefully he is given another chance at Forrest , now if he returns to TFC they hopefully get their shit together or else he needs to move on from them because if that team shits the bed again it’s not a good situation for him there anymore .

[BearcatSA]

12 hours ago, ECW said:

He wasn’t in good form on his return to Toronto (although the first couple of matches he was) but there is no way his skills have declined.

With the two high profile Italians on the wings in front of him in Bradley's current 4-3-3, I don't think he will be a good fit there.  Just not seeing it

However, playing in the inverted wingback role on the left in Vancouver with Gauld in front of him might (emphasis on "might") be a better fit for him.  I think the Scot might be able to complement him better and allow him to be more of a primary attacking threat and not a second banana role in which he ended the year.  Just spitballin', of course.  I just don't see him getting back to his pre-NF levels while Forza Italia is in town.

 

 

[ECW]

11 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

With the two high profile Italians on the wings in front of him in Bradley's current 4-3-3, I don't think he will be a good fit there.  Just not seeing it

However, playing in the inverted wingback role on the left in Vancouver with Gauld in front of him might (emphasis on "might") be a better fit for him.  I think the Scot might be able to complement him better and allow him to be more of a primary attacking threat and not a second banana role in which he ended the year.  Just spitballin', of course.  I just don't see him getting back to his pre-NF levels while Forza Italia is in town.

 

 

Yeah, you might have something there. First match or two back at TFC seemed it wouldn’t be a problem but in the end he and Bernadeschi didn’t seem to work well together.

I’m hoping Layrea gets another shot at the Championship or a Euro league. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

People are being blind to the fact he was also a bit of a mess last time out for Canada.

I'm one here who has never been enthusiastic about him. He's never been consistent in either direction, he has flashes which for some are enough to override lapses. And he's mentally unstable, getting into unnecessary squabbles. I'd use him any day because his style can break things open, that kind of edge is useful. Late sub for Tajon down the right, fine.

Edited November 2, 2022 by Unnamed Trialist

[ECW]

24 minutes ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

People are being blind to the fact he was also a bit of a mess last time out for Canada.

I'm one here who has never been enthusiastic about him. He's never been consistent in either direction, he has flashes which for some are enough to override lapses. And he's mentally unstable, getting into unnecessary squabbles. I'd use him any day because his style can break things open, that kind of edge is useful. Late sub for Tajon down the right, fine.

I think that was the only time he was less than impressive for Canada. Watching him weekly for TFC after he came from Orlando until he was bought by Forest I have to disagree with your assessment. He was converted to back when he arrived, instantly did well and probably can become a better defender yet. After a season he was maybe the best wingback in the league.

Your “mental instability” I find to be rare intense fight and usually a positive. 

[Unnamed Trialist]

1 hour ago, ECW said:

I think that was the only time he was less than impressive for Canada. Watching him weekly for TFC after he came from Orlando until he was bought by Forest I have to disagree with your assessment. He was converted to back when he arrived, instantly did well and probably can become a better defender yet. After a season he was maybe the best wingback in the league.

Your “mental instability” I find to be rare intense fight and usually a positive. 

He's more of a useless card waiting to happen than Henry.

He's not afraid of hurting the team for no reason.

The overrating is mostly TFC fans, as usual.

[An Observer]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

He's more of a useless card waiting to happen than Henry.

He's not afraid of hurting the team for no reason.

The overrating is mostly TFC fans, as usual.

Man, did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning? Your posts in multiple threads are quite negative and aggressive 

[ECW]

2 hours ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

He's more of a useless card waiting to happen than Henry.

He's not afraid of hurting the team for no reason.

The overrating is mostly TFC fans, as usual.

No need to be a prick. Most of his matches have been for Toronto so it follows that those who keep a close eye on that side would know much about his play. His (consequential) cards have been relatively few. 

There was a map a couple of seasons ago with each zone on the field assigned to which MLS side was most effective in it. Toronto was dreadful everywhere… all but the areas down the right to the right of the goal where they they were the most effective in the league. Not much of “they” actually but all Laryea effectiveness there. 

Unfortunately, given his recent form and the lack of games played this year I don’t seen him shining at the world cup. But I think it’s a problem because I don’t think we have an adequate replacement for him. 

Edited November 2, 2022 by ECW