2017 Toronto FC season (aka the 2017 MLS Cup clinching thread)

[shermanator]

According to this article by John Molinaro, TFC are negotiating with Ben Spencer, a US youth international who was with their TFC II team the last couple years.

I wonder what this means for Jordan Hamilton, who despite being a year younger looked pretty good during his stretch of games last year. I really hope Hamilton can get some more minutes at the MLS level this year.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/sebastian-giovinco-tfc-toronto-fc-mls-major-league-soccer-vancouver-whitecaps/

[Big_M]

Endoh was very weak offensively. CB's on the sides need better offensive positioning and movement off the ball. Cooper was very good offensively last year, not so much this year, could be defensive demands of Vanney or more responsibilities...Bradley needs to be able to go forward often but a player is needed to cover for him, like Johnson last year...maybe Delgado...Johnson's departure is felt and questions on the system arise also...Meanwhile, Morrow keeps coming up big.

[Alex D]

5 minutes ago, Big_M said:

Endoh was very weak offensively. 

I'm probably being completely irrational but I feel as though he may be the worst player in MLS. 

[Keegan]

That tying goal looked like a video game where the AI just isn't up to snuff.  Seriously felt like it happened in slow motion.

Endoh was just awful.  How in your right mind do you decide that a guy who can't cut it in his natural position at this level is the right fit for RB?  He looked lost out there the entire time on both sides of the ball.. lost an aerial challenge BADLY that led to the first goal.  Every time he had a chance to whip a ball in he passed on it, very frustrating to watch.

This is what I mean when I say that draft picks get preferential treatment because the guys who picked them want them to succeed.  

For me the right choice for RWB was clearly Cooper!!  We have strength in central midfield and Cooper has played the flanks before, actually he was brought in as a winger.  

[BearcatSA]

5 hours ago, Keegan said:

This is what I mean when I say that draft picks get preferential treatment because the guys who picked them want them to succeed.  

Since they've jettisoned Simonin and Thomas, the two 2015 first round CB picks, you sense this may also be a make or break season for Endoh.

[Free kick]

TFC youth side draws Juventus 1-1 and Maceratese 3-3 in their first two matches at the viareggio cup.  They sit on two points after two matches with decent chance to advance from the group stage. They play Dukla Prague (who are winless) in their final game. 

http://www.viareggiocup.com/torneo.html?task=gironi&Itemid=166

this is a fairly prestigous tournamnent where many of its alumis have become big names in the sport. 

http://www.viareggiocup.com/i-personaggi/da-pirlo-a-bernardeschi.html

http://www.viareggiocup.com/i-personaggi/stelle-del-torneo.html

 

[Dub Narcotic]

Two thoughts:

1. I wonder if the league has figured out Cooper. He really seems to have lost effectiveness has he gets more games.

2. As for Jack blaming Irwin: we saw in the San Jose - Vancouver game why you don't always want your keeper to be aggressive on those plays. Irwin saved his team a point where Ousted probably cost his team one.

[Gian-Luca]

TFC has re-signed Nick Hagglund (news which would have looked better at the end of last season rather than after the Philly game) and also signed Finnish defender Johan Brunell who had been on trial, and apparently found not guilty:

http://www.torontofc.ca/post/2017/03/16/toronto-fc-signs-johan-brunell

[shermanator]

More commitment from TFC to mediocre American players. Ho hum.

[Bison44]

I still wish we had sent Hagglund to West Ham(via cyrpus) instead of Henry.  

[MM2]

MLS roster rules clearly explained:

 

[Macksam]

Raheem Edwards came in at 75'th minute and added much needed width to the game. He crossed in the ball to Altidore who headed it into Vazquez' path for the first goal. He also took people on and was very lively. He always looked to get involved with the play. Great MLS debut.

[grasshopper1917]

14 minutes ago, Macksam said:

Raheem Edwards came in at 75'th minute and added much needed width to the game. He crossed in the ball to Altidore who headed it into Vazquez' path for the first goal. He also took people on and was very lively. He always looked to get involved with the play. Great MLS debut.

He he did provide a little spark for sure. Looked like he fit right in

[DannyFromToronto23]

32 minutes ago, Macksam said:

Raheem Edwards came in at 75'th minute and added much needed width to the game. He crossed in the ball to Altidore who headed it into Vazquez' path for the first goal. He also took people on and was very lively. He always looked to get involved with the play. Great MLS debut.

his debut was last year 

[Gian-Luca]

Edwards was credited (rightly, in a league that will give out two assists on occasion) for an assist on the Vazquez goal. Not a bad debut at all. Thank you Vanney for playing a winger that knows how to get crosses through (ie. not Endoh). Thank you as well to Brek Shea for being a complete idiot.

Two changes from last year - TFC win a game when going up a man and they finally win a game that Ismail Elfath officiated (mainly because he didn't screw TFC over this time unlike every game last year he officiated in - although Bradley might disagree with me on that point).

 

[TRM]

Congrats on the win. Nice to see all the Canucks on the pitch today. Osorio was the best of them IMHO.

 

[Bison44]

Somewhere Q.Roberts and M.Carducci are shaking their heads.  

[Macksam]

54 minutes ago, DannyFromToronto23 said:

his debut was last year 

MLS debut.

[DannyFromToronto23]

10 minutes ago, Macksam said:

MLS debut.

Ya his MLS debut was last year vs Seattle on July 2 he came on for Zaveleta 

idk what your talking about today was not his debut

[Macksam]

21 minutes ago, DannyFromToronto23 said:

Ya his MLS debut was last year vs Seattle on July 2 he came on for Zaveleta 

idk what your talking about today was not his debut

I forgot about that. Alright, his season debut and second MLS start.

[Gian-Luca]

Nice little feature on Jay Chapman:

http://www.mlssoccer.com/post/2017/03/22/toronto-vets-set-high-bar-jay-chapman-prospect-pres-advocare?autoplay=true

 

[msilverstein47]

2017 Dallas Cup Super Group:

http://goalnation.com/dr-pepper-dallas-cup-super-group-brackets/

Group A

• Manchester United
• Chivas de Guadalajara
• Coritiba FC
• Real Salt Lake

Group B

• Everton FC
• CF Monterrey
• Macabbi Haifa FC
• FC Dallas

Group C

• Eintracht Frankfurt
• Tigres
• Red Bull Brasil
• Toronto FC

[Gian-Luca]

Watching the TFC2 match from the weekend, its apparent to me that they are still trying Endoh as a right wing-back and he's having trouble coping with the defensive side of that position even at that level (although on the basis of that match, the USL level doesn't look as much of a step from MLS as it may have done a couple of years ago when it seemed like it was an entire staircase down). Delgado was played centrally, and while both have difficulty in putting in a good cross, I think for the defensive side of things Delgado would be a better choice to try as Beitashour's understudy between the two of them. I'd prefer to see Camargo tried in the central mid role the next time they lend a squadron of first-team players to the USL team. Not sure if he is still injured or what.

[Macksam]

Raheem Edwards made Zusi his bitch and had a near flawless game minus a few bad crosses. Osorio had a great game as well and Ricketts was good to. However, back to Osorio, finish those fucking chances. ?

[baulderdash77]

Raheem Edwards had a really good game.    He really showed a lot and looks like he has a bright future.

It's too bad that Justin Morrow is probably the 2nd or 3rd best LB in MLS, he's young and signed to a long term deal.