Best XI

[baulderdash77]

Osorio won this year’s CCL Golden Boot and Best XI.  He was TFC’s best player in the CCL finals.

I’d say that in CONCACAF he can play with the best.  

[Kent]

4 hours ago, SpecialK said:

Osorio is playing great, wonderful season ! But here is my question, can he play against the best? He’s a player playing in MLS. YES mls has gotten better but it’s still not up there. I think that’s always going to be Osorio’s knock, the question mark? I think he made a huge mistake signing a long term deal at TFC. I guess staying at home and money are more important to him than challenging his career. 

Tabla yes is playing for  Barcelona B team but his  ceiling is higher and is  exposed to the best players in the world,  The best  facilities ,  The best coaches. 

Baulderdash already made one of the points I was going to point out regarding Osorio. As for sticking with TFC being a huge mistake, I guess loyalty is a great thing for coaches and a terrible thing for players in your opinion. Allow me to highlight this quote from you from just a few days ago.

"takes off for a better job ( he has already shown he has no  loyalty and not afraid to use blackmail, I hope people don’t forget that! He said give me the men’s team or I walk to England in the middle of getting ready for the women’s World Cup"

[BenFisk'sBiggestFan]

4 hours ago, baulderdash77 said:

Osorio won this year’s CCL Golden Boot and Best XI.  He was TFC’s best player in the CCL finals.

I’d say that in CONCACAF he can play with the best.  

If anything, Osorio seems to be better against better players. The more important the game or the higher quality the opponent, the better he looks.

[Grizzly]

17 hours ago, baulderdash77 said:

Osorio is our best AM.  He’s a our only true AM and he’s in his prime and in form.  Tabla has been more of a wing player and right now I rate him as our 3rd best winger, which is still good as we finally have very strong wing players in Hoilett and Davies.  

Arfield can play AM as well and has been playing that position about 50% of the time for Rangers. Cavallini has always struck me as having the skill set to play there as well although he doesn't seem to have much experience there likely because he is playing in leagues/teams with a lot of players with that skillset as opposed to our national team. Osorio is having a great season but I still rate Arfield, Hoillett, Davies and Hutch (if he plays in mid) as higher level talents who need to be on the field for us. Tabla may be in that category as well but that remains to be seen. A lot will depend on the opponent and formation and where we play Hutch when he is available. I think once we get past the minnows and start playing dangerous attacking teams we absolutely need to have Piette on the pitch especially given our weakness at the back. Osorio is not the only option in that role and may get pushed out of starting lineups against the better teams due to the number of other good midfielders we have but then that is precisely what we want, competition for spots and good players at every position including the backups and little change in quality if our first choice can not play.

[hamiltonfan]

1 minute ago, Grizzly said:

Arfield can play AM as well and has been playing that position about 50% of the time for Rangers. Cavallini has always struck me as having the skill set to play there as well although he doesn't seem to have much experience there likely because he is playing in leagues/teams with a lot of players with that skillset as opposed to our national team. Osorio is having a great season but I still rate Arfield, Hoillett, Davies and Hutch (if he plays in mid) as higher level talents who need to be on the field for us. Tabla may be in that category as well but that remains to be seen. A lot will depend on the opponent and formation and where we play Hutch when he is available. I think once we get past the minnows and start playing dangerous attacking teams we absolutely need to have Piette on the pitch especially given our weakness at the back. Osorio is not the only option in that role and may get pushed out of starting lineups against the better teams due to the number of other good midfielders we have but then that is precisely what we want, competition for spots and good players at every position including the backups and little change in quality if our first choice can not play.

Deserves a quote

[BearcatSA]

Osorio is having a tremendous year in MLS, especially scoring goals.  The expectations from most fans (and a number of ones here) will be sky high for next season.  I'm curious as to what will happen a year from now, in terms of his performance/stats/etc. and fans' opinions. 

Edited October 4, 2018 by BearcatSA

[baulderdash77]

The thing is Hutch is 35 and declining and he’s always been a true CM not an attacker.

I agree that Arfield, Hoilett and Davies are better.  I rate them as our best players.

Against top teams were going to play a 3-5-2, 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 and in all those lineups we will have 2 CM, 1AM and 2 wingers.  

I see our best lineup with Arfield at CM , a 2nd CM, Davies and Hoilett at wing and Osorio at AM.

If Hutchinson is in the lineup, until he declines he’s the next best CM, otherwise it’s Piette.

 

[El Diego]

I wouldn't say that Hutch has always been a DM. At Kobenhavn he was used more advanced and was named to their team of the decade (I believe) as an AM.

That being said, I do think he's a better DM than AM, especially at this stage of his career.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, El Diego said:

I wouldn't say that Hutch has always been a DM. At Kobenhavn he was used more advanced and was named to their team of the decade (I believe) as an AM.

That being said, I do think he's a better DM than AM, especially at this stage of his career.

He did spend time there I believe, but also played in a wide midfield position if I am not mistaken.

My fading memory of him playing against Manchester United in the CL group stage has him near the touchline.

[El Diego]

7 minutes ago, Obinna said:

He did spend time there I believe, but also played in a wide midfield position if I am not mistaken.

My fading memory of him playing against Manchester United in the CL group stage has him near the touchline.

He has certainly played a number of positions in his career (MC, DM, AM, MR, DR). If we are going by memory then things will probably get hazy regarding the specifics because he has had such a long career, at different clubs, playing different positions.

Btw, I found the article I referenced in my previous post. It was a fan vote for favourite all-time XI. Some interesting players in there:

 

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, El Diego said:

He has certainly played a number of positions in his career (MC, DM, AM, MR, DR). If we are going by memory then things will probably get hazy regarding the specifics because he has had such a long career, at different clubs, playing different positions.

Btw, I found the article I referenced in my previous post. It was a fan vote for favourite all-time XI. Some interesting players in there:

 

I have seen something similar to that on FCK's wiki page.

Don't know if the link below works (i'm on mobile), but from the look of those highlights, he's playing wide right in a front 3.

Obviously we can't say based on that he predominately played out wide, but at least it's marginally better than my memory, and arguably better than a fan best 11 formation, as we know players can sometimes appear out of position in an attempt to shoe-horn them in.

Watch "UCL Flashback: Da Allbäck sænkede Manchester United | fcktv.dk" on YouTube
https://youtu.be/NIBLCZBOyFQ

[jpg75]

Hutch played a lot of AM/ Withdrawn striker at FCK. He played all over the place though so he probably some RW as well...

[Obinna]

Anyone else still puzzled on how Herdman is going to fit Tabla, Davies and Hoilett on the field all at the same time? Will he put them all on the field at the same time?

I can't wait until Tuesday to find out.

Personally, I still believe those 3 have to start for us. 

Not that I am advocating for it, but I can see Davies playing as a wing back as the solution, for now. I wouldn't be as against that now that Tabla has joined up, but I am still holding out hope for something like:

------------------Cavallini-----------------

Davies--------Hoilett-----------Tabla

-----------Arfield------Piette-----------

?-----------?---------------?--------------?

-----------------------?----------------------------

One of the recent articles on, I think put out by Sportsnet, said something about the importance of familiarity within the back four.

I can't remember if it was Herdman or Morgan who was quoted as saying that, but either way, it could be a glimpse into how we look in the back - at least for this fixture. 

And how many we play in the back will obviously dictate how many (and more importantly, who) we play in attack.

 

[Keegan]

I was also wondering what the best way to put all 3 on the pitch and in positions they can play..

I feel for a match like this we could do:

-----------------Cavallini-------------------

-------------------Hoilett-------------------

Davies-----------------------------Tabla

I think Hoilett can thrive in that second striker sort of role, drifting to connect with the other 3 attackers.  This keeps it simple for Davies and Tabla.. beat your man and serve it up for the other three.  

Edited October 14, 2018 by Keegan

[baulderdash77]

I don’t think Tabla is a starter for us at this point.  He’s not one of our best 11 players yet.  I think he subs on.  

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, Keegan said:

I was also wondering what the best way to put all 3 on the pitch and in positions they can play..

I feel for a match like this we could do:

-----------------Cavallini-------------------

-------------------Hoilett-------------------

Davies-----------------------------Tabla

I think Hoilett can thrive in that second striker sort of role, drifting to connect with the other 3 attackers.  This keeps it simple for Davies and Tabla.. beat your man and serve it up for the other three.  

I was actually going to line the four of them up in that way, but I was too lazy to retype it.

At any rate, I see it exactly the same way. Play Hoilett in that advanced midfield/second striker role, with Davies and Tabla as wide attackers.

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, baulderdash77 said:

I don’t think Tabla is a starter for us at this point.  He’s not one of our best 11 players yet.  I think he subs on.  

I think it depends on what his form has been like in training this week. On his day, I think he can easily command a starting role. The Tabla I watched quite often in Montreal definitely had the quality to be a starter for Canada. Plus I expect that he's only gotten better with the Barcelona reserves, so we'll see. 

[Keegan]

24 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I was actually going to line the four of them up in that way, but I was too lazy to retype it.

At any rate, I see it exactly the same way. Play Hoilett in that advanced midfield/second striker role, with Davies and Tabla as wide attackers.

The only issue I see with the idea is that it means Morgan starts at LWB and I don't think he has any business starting for Canada right now in a competitive match.  So I suspect we'll see Davies at LWB again and David worked into the attack again, which is only right considering he had a brace on his debut.  

Here's a crazy idea:

-----------------Cavallini-------------------

-------------------Hoilett-------------------

Davies-----------------------------David

-------------Osorio---Piette------------

Arfield------------------------------Tabla

---------Hutchinson--James--------

 

That is probably the most offensive we could shape our outfield players.  Remember Arfield played at LM for Burnley so this isn't too wild for him.  Tabla at RWB.. yea, probably not ideal but he won't have too much defending to do.  How can you leave out Osorio and Piette?  These depth issues are tough.. we need to play more matches.

Edited October 14, 2018 by Keegan

[dyslexic nam]

22 minutes ago, Keegan said:

The only issue I see with the idea is that it means Morgan starts at LWB and I don't think he has any business starting for Canada right now in a competitive match.  So I suspect we'll see Davies at LWB again and David worked into the attack again, which is only right considering he had a brace on his debut.  

Here's a crazy idea:

-----------------Cavallini-------------------

-------------------Hoilett-------------------

Davies-----------------------------David

-------------Osorio---Piette------------

Arfield------------------------------Tabla

---------Hutchinson--James--------

 

That is probably the most offensive we could shape our outfield players.  Remember Arfield played at LM for Burnley so this isn't too wild for him.  Tabla at RWB.. yea, probably not ideal but he won't have too much defending to do.  How can you leave out Osorio and Piette?  These depth issues are tough.. we need to play more matches.

One real defender on the field.  Might be fun in a fantasy footy sort of way, but...  

I can see Davies getting pushed into a wingback role just in an effort to accommodate the rest of the talent.   I am really curious if Tabla gets the start.  I can see it just because him coming aboard is a big deal - may want to kick things off on the right foot.  But dropping someone to give him a spot will be tricky.    Either way, we will see some talented players (among Oso, Piette, Tabla and Larin) start on the bench, and some might not even see the pitch depending on whether we also want to cap someone like ZBG.

[Obinna]

4 hours ago, Keegan said:

The only issue I see with the idea is that it means Morgan starts at LWB and I don't think he has any business starting for Canada right now in a competitive match.  So I suspect we'll see Davies at LWB again and David worked into the attack again, which is only right considering he had a brace on his debut.  

Here's a crazy idea:

-----------------Cavallini-------------------

-------------------Hoilett-------------------

Davies-----------------------------David

-------------Osorio---Piette------------

Arfield------------------------------Tabla

---------Hutchinson--James--------

 

That is probably the most offensive we could shape our outfield players.  Remember Arfield played at LM for Burnley so this isn't too wild for him.  Tabla at RWB.. yea, probably not ideal but he won't have too much defending to do.  How can you leave out Osorio and Piette?  These depth issues are tough.. we need to play more matches.

That is crazy. 

But yeah, though to get everyone on the field, isn't it?

I just don't see how Osorio, Piette, Arfield, Davies, Tabla, Hoilett, Cavallini and David all fit on the field. Not to mention Atiba.

In reality, we are probably going to see strong attacking options on the bench, which is fine with me. 

  

[Keegan]

41 minutes ago, Obinna said:

That is crazy. 

But yeah, though to get everyone on the field, isn't it?

I just don't see how Osorio, Piette, Arfield, Davies, Tabla, Hoilett, Cavallini and David all fit on the field. Not to mention Atiba.

In reality, we are probably going to see strong attacking options on the bench, which is fine with me. 

  

Agreed, but this is bound to catch up to us if we don’t start playing two match windows.  A guy like Larin (just an example due to distance) might decide he wants to fake a knock rather than fly across the world to play 45 minutes. 

[Grizzly]

1 hour ago, Keegan said:

Agreed, but this is bound to catch up to us if we don’t start playing two match windows.  A guy like Larin (just an example due to distance) might decide he wants to fake a knock rather than fly across the world to play 45 minutes. 

We should be playing the formation that gives us the best chance to win. If any player wants to fake a knock instead of flying to North America to play 45 minutes then that player should not be on the team and we are better off without them.

[Bertuzzi44]

As good and promising as Tabla is, I don't think he steps into Canada's best XI.

That said, he better see the field on Tuesday!

[The Beaver]

Tabla will start; Davies will be a wingback. Mark my words. ?

[Obinna]

1 hour ago, The Beaver said:

Tabla will start; Davies will be a wingback. Mark my words. ?

This is very likely imo