Michael Petrasso

[Ruffian]

Interesting that the team announcement refers to him as a full back and not a winger.

[Ruffian]

38 minutes ago, Ansem said:

Great news for Montreal, I have mix feeling about it in regards to the CanMNT. I wouyld have preferred he stayed in Europe due to his age. Much easier to join MLS later than returning to Europe once joining MLS

I would prefer him to go to a team where he has a chance to play and improve, Europe or North America. His recent time in Europe has not given him that.

[Obinna]

Again, I am absolutely thrilled about Petrasso signing in MLS and in Canada no less.

He will likely get a chance, unlike at QPR, and the more minutes our younger players can get, the better.

[Blackdude]

1 hour ago, Ruffian said:

Interesting that the team announcement refers to him as a full back and not a winger.

Not really. I wouldn't be shocked that the Impact never saw Petrasso play outside of playing for the national team and that is where he played every match for us. 

[Obinna]

27 minutes ago, Blackdude said:

Not really. I wouldn't be shocked that the Impact never saw Petrasso play outside of playing for the national team and that is where he played every match for us. 

He played as a winger in the Euro camp in 2016, where we played Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Those were his first caps if I recall correctly.

[toontownman]

40 minutes ago, Blackdude said:

Not really. I wouldn't be shocked that the Impact never saw Petrasso play outside of playing for the national team and that is where he played every match for us. 

I Expect Remi did or does he not pick the players he wants to sign? 

[toontownman]

Great move for him to play under a very progressive coach with great experience of the highs and lows in the game.

I'm still shocked Garde is coaching in mls. He flopped at Villa, but most coaches do. Hopefully he can adjust or have help beyond the normally coaching roles. The way the MLS is run and things like the draft, trades and finances are usually such a crazy adjustment for European coaches. Definite coup for Montreal and the league. Petrasso too might be a sleeper of a signing that could turn into a coup. 

Here's hoping. 

[Blackdude]

1 hour ago, Obinna said:

He played as a winger in the Euro camp in 2016, where we played Uzbekistan and Azerbaijan. Those were his first caps if I recall correctly.

Yeah sorry. I meant, that's where they saw him fit. They might not have liked those matches then or might have not noticed him. They probably only signed him with his National team games this year. 

 

1 hour ago, toontownman said:

I Expect Remi did or does he not pick the players he wants to sign? 

I'm sure he had his say in this, but there aren't a lot of cheap right back to sign and often MLS teams don't want to get a foreign or more expensive player there as they'd rather spend on attacking players. 

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Blackdude said:

Yeah sorry. I meant, that's where they saw him fit. They might not have liked those matches then or might have not noticed him. They probably only signed him with his National team games this year. 

 

I'm sure he had his say in this, but there aren't a lot of cheap right back to sign and often MLS teams don't want to get a foreign or more expensive player there as they'd rather spend on attacking players. 

No worries.

It will be interesting to see if Montreal use him at RB or RWB. I'm sure we'll get hints of that leading up to the start of the season. Less than a month and a half away now!

Regardless of where he plays it will be good for him to establish himself sooner rather than later. I am really hoping he will become a starter much like Piette did. It's nice to see good, young, Canadian internationals impressing in MLS. I could see both of them, along with Edwards and Jackson-Hamel, all being regulars this year with the Impact.

Imagine those 4 starting for Montreal, and then Vancouver giving Davies more time (hopefully) and Henry rotating into the CB spots - especially in and around WC time. Ditto for Edgar (if Vancouver renew with him). If Parker gets more looks with the USMNT, we could even have a Henry - Edgar pairing in Vancouver for stretches of the season. Would obviously be good for the national team, especially when you factor in De Jong. Oh, and here's to hoping Teibert can play more of a role this season. Still only 25 but has seemingly been around forever.

And of course, TFC still has Osorio, Chapman, Ricketts and Hamilton. Although it remains to be seen how much each one will play, they all should get chances during the year. Bonus if Morgan sees the pitch at all. 

So I think we have, in total, 10 guys who can potentially play heavy MLS minutes (Jackson-Hamel, Edwards, Piette, Petrasso, Osorio, Henry, De Jong, Davies, Johnson, Akindele), plus a handful who will likely chip in, mostly off the bench (Chapman, Ricketts, Hamilton, Edgar, Teibert), with a few guys other guys looking to break in and rebuild themselves (Morgan) or even just launch their career (Shome, Levies, Beland-Goyette, Choiniere, Meilleur-Giguere, Levis, Reid, Pasher, Didic).

Should be an exciting 2018 season.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Obinna

[dbailey62]

With Edwards gone, it may give Morgan a chance for sub minutes behind Morrow. He has wheels and hasn't looked half-bad on the wing and is a decent crosser as well. Let's see who TFC brings in and we will know more. 

Edited January 19, 2018 by dbailey62
spelling

[Gian-Luca]

51 minutes ago, Obinna said:

No worries.

It will be interesting to see if Montreal use him at RB or RWB. I'm sure we'll get hints of that leading up to the start of the season. Less than a month and a half away now!

Regardless of where he plays it will be good for him to establish himself sooner rather than later. I am really hoping he will become a starter much like Piette did. It's nice to see good, young, Canadian internationals impressing in MLS. I could see both of them, along with Edwards and Jackson-Hamel, all being regulars this year with the Impact.

Imagine those 4 starting for Montreal, and then Vancouver giving Davies more time (hopefully) and Henry rotating into the CB spots - especially in and around WC time. Ditto for Edgar (if Vancouver renew with him). If Parker gets more looks with the USMNT, we could even have a Henry - Edgar pairing in Vancouver for stretches of the season. Would obviously be good for the national team, especially when you factor in De Jong. Oh, and here's to hoping Teibert can play more of a role this season. Still only 25 but has seemingly been around forever.

And of course, TFC still has Osorio, Chapman, Ricketts and Hamilton. Although it remains to be seen how much each one will play, they all should get chances during the year. Bonus if Morgan sees the pitch at all. 

So I think we have, in total, 10 guys who can potentially play heavy MLS minutes (Jackson-Hamel, Edwards, Piette, Petrasso, Osorio, Henry, De Jong, Davies, Johnson, Akindele), plus a handful who will likely chip in, mostly off the bench (Chapman, Ricketts, Hamilton, Edgar, Teibert), with a few guys other guys looking to break in and rebuild themselves (Morgan) or even just launch their career (Shome, Levies, Beland-Goyette, Choiniere, Meilleur-Giguere, Levis, Reid, Pasher, Didic).

Should be an exciting 2018 season.

I thought Pasher got waived by KC? As for Didic, looks like KC just signed a 22 year old Argentinian on loan so he has some competition ahead of him that he will need to beat out.

Similarly I was more hopeful after seeing Laryea get increased playing time down the stretch that this trajectory would continue into 2018 but Orlando trades for Klejstan and also signed another attacking  midfielder from South America so he will also have his work cut out for him to land a starting role this year.

[Blackdude]

1 hour ago, Gian-Luca said:

I thought Pasher got waived by KC? As for Didic, looks like KC just signed a 22 year old Argentinian on loan so he has some competition ahead of him that he will need to beat out.

Similarly I was more hopeful after seeing Laryea get increased playing time down the stretch that this trajectory would continue into 2018 but Orlando trades for Klejstan and also signed another attacking  midfielder from South America so he will also have his work cut out for him to land a starting role this year.

Pasher's MLS rights are with ATlanta. I don't know if he signed something there though. 

[harrycoyster]

17 minutes ago, Blackdude said:

Pasher's MLS rights are with ATlanta. I don't know if he signed something there though. 

Carlos Bocanegra basically said that Pasher was going to be signed to Atlanta United 2, without using those words as they hadn't announced the team yet.

[Obinna]

3 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

Similarly I was more hopeful after seeing Laryea get increased playing time down the stretch that this trajectory would continue into 2018 but Orlando trades for Klejstan and also signed another attacking  midfielder from South America so he will also have his work cut out for him to land a starting role this year.

Knew I was forgetting someone.

Edited January 19, 2018 by Obinna

[Free kick]

On 1/18/2018 at 9:04 PM, Obinna said:

 

So I think we have, in total, 10 guys who can potentially play heavy MLS minutes (Jackson-Hamel, Edwards, Piette, Petrasso, Osorio, Henry, De Jong, Davies, Johnson, Akindele), plus a handful who will likely chip in, mostly off the bench (Chapman, Ricketts, Hamilton, Edgar, Teibert), with a few guys other guys looking to break in and rebuild themselves (Morgan) or even just launch their career (Shome, Levies, Beland-Goyette, Choiniere, Meilleur-Giguere, Levis, Reid, Pasher, Didic).

Should be an exciting 2018 season.

Yes, its taken a few years (ten years plus) but, slowly but surely things are starting to fall into place.  There is a sufficient number there on your list of ten players plus all the others.   You can say that we have reached over ten years, a milestone in terms of progress.  It maybe took longer than we thought but we can call this phase one.  

The next phase (which i will call phase 2), is that we have to have a greater number from that list to earn and play themselves into consistent and regular starters on their club.  

The third phase,  one or two on that list (or not yet on that list) has to emerge as a true star in the league.   Someone whose productivity and/or play will progress each year, unlike Larin.  Someone who is in conversations when discusions come up for league honnors and who is mentioned prominently in euro transfers talk. Preferably, this talent from phase three, would be a number ten or similar.   

Finally, we need all this to happen before 2026. 

 

Edited January 21, 2018 by Free kick

[BearcatSA]

Right now, he reminds me of what Aird looked like at RB during his season with the Caps.  He'll have to up his 1 v 1 defending skills several notches against all the league's pacy wing threats.

[dbailey62]

On ‎2018‎-‎01‎-‎20 at 9:46 PM, Free kick said:

Yes, its taken a few years (ten years plus) but, slowly but surely things are starting to fall into place.  There is a sufficient number there on your list of ten players plus all the others.   You can say that we have reached over ten years, a milestone in terms of progress.  It maybe took longer than we thought but we can call this phase one.  

The next phase (which i will call phase 2), is that we have to have a greater number from that list to earn and play themselves into consistent and regular starters on their club.  

The third phase,  one or two on that list (or not yet on that list) has to emerge as a true star in the league.   Someone whose productivity and/or play will progress each year, unlike Larin.  Someone who is in conversations when discusions come up for league honnors and who is mentioned prominently in euro transfers talk. Preferably, this talent from phase three, would be a number ten or similar.   

Finally, we need all this to happen before 2026. 

 

Ah yes, 2026 ..... in Morocco! Thanks Trump!

 

[dbailey62]

15 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

Right now, he reminds me of what Aird looked like at RB during his season with the Caps.  He'll have to up his 1 v 1 defending skills several notches against all the league's pacy wing threats.

If it's any consolation, Vanderweil didn't look great at RB yesterday either!

 

[BearcatSA]

1 minute ago, dbailey62 said:

If it's any consolation, Vanderweil didn't look great at RB yesterday either!

 

I'd give him a mulligan because of playing pedigree and his baby's birth. 

[Floortom]

Quite the unfortunate debut for Petrasso and Edwards.

[BenFisk'sBiggestFan]

Ill give Petrasso a break today. I remember Davies blowing past many experienced RBs last year, and he was better than ever today. I am not sure many RBs would have been able to control him today. 

[Dub Narcotic]

Yeah, I feel that fullbacks are easy scapegoats. The smartest thing in modern soccer to do is to pack the middle and let people cross to their heart's delight as crosses tend to be low value offence. This means that you let your fullback get hung out to dry more often than not. However, if Petrasso does continues to get toasted by every winger in the league to this extent then his stay in the starting lineup may be short.

[toontownman]

Yeah. Not at all convinced he will ever be a decent full back. Good coming forward for sure but a huge amount of work to do on his defensive game. Davies is on fire though and Petrasso getting minutes and first class coaching form Garde and co. Are two huge positives. 

[BearcatSA]

41 minutes ago, Dub Narcotic said:

Yeah, I feel that fullbacks are easy scapegoats. The smartest thing in modern soccer to do is to pack the middle and let people cross to their heart's delight as crosses tend to be low value offence. This means that you let your fullback get hung out to dry more often than not. However, if Petrasso does continues to get toasted by every winger in the league to this extent then his stay in the starting lineup may be short.

Both RBs were poor in defending 1 v 1.  It's one thing to be getting skinned by a fast rising offensive talent with Usain Bolt pace but the number of times journeyman Lovitz was able to beat Nerwinski today?  That's a bigger red flag to me for Caps fans.

A number of people have posted on here about Petrasso's pace but even at the GC I didn't see a guy with that special burst that top wing players have.  That's probably why he has a lower ceiling.

[Obinna]

12 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

Both RBs were poor in defending 1 v 1.  It's one thing to be getting skinned by a fast rising offensive talent with Usain Bolt pace but the number of times journeyman Lovitz was able to beat Nerwinski today?  That's a bigger red flag to me for Caps fans.

A number of people have posted on here about Petrasso's pace but even at the GC I didn't see a guy with that special burst that top wing players have.  That's probably why he has a lower ceiling.

I think he lost a step after his injuries. He's still quick, but the top end speed is not elite. Probably slightly above average. Davies on the other hand...