Jahkeele Marshall-Rutty

[Ivan]

9 hours ago, BearcatSA said:

With Laryea out longer term, he has a golden opportunity to etablish himself as the first choice here.  He is still a young guy and you can see a lot of instinctive  skills with him.  There is still a lot of ceiling there, imo.

Franklin?  I am getting a "just a guy" feel about him, sort of like the Canadian version of RSL's Andrew Brody in terms of celing (that's not a negative because he might be able to forge out a Beitashour kind of MLS career.

 

JMR looked really good in Saturday's game.  Franklin, I agree, is pretty meh.  Both still young.

[InglewoodJack]

So exciting to finally watch this kid get his chances and look great doing it. I always thought Herdman would be the right coach to put him in places to success and early days, but it looks like that’s the case. Excited to see where his game is at by end of year.

Too bad for Kobe, I’ve always been high on him. Not sure how he’s going to thrive in Herdman’s system though. I feel like he’s in the same boat as Alistair Johnston with the NT- his best position isn’t even in the starting lineup, but AJ is a very good player so he can make it work as a CB. Hope he ends up somewhere more favourable for him, but in any cases if JMR can reach even 80% of his “future Liverpool star” potential but it has to come at the expense of another potential future national team player, so be it. 

[HochelagaFC]

 

5 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

So exciting to finally watch this kid get his chances and look great doing it. I always thought Herdman would be the right coach to put him in places to success and early days, but it looks like that’s the case. Excited to see where his game is at by end of year.

Too bad for Kobe, I’ve always been high on him. Not sure how he’s going to thrive in Herdman’s system though. I feel like he’s in the same boat as Alistair Johnston with the NT- his best position isn’t even in the starting lineup, but AJ is a very good player so he can make it work as a CB. Hope he ends up somewhere more favourable for him, but in any cases if JMR can reach even 80% of his “future Liverpool star” potential but it has to come at the expense of another potential future national team player, so be it. 

Would it be possible for Franklin to play RCB like Johnston for CMNT? I don’t know enough about him as a player to know, how tall is he? 

[InglewoodJack]

28 minutes ago, HochelagaFC said:

 

Would it be possible for Franklin to play RCB like Johnston for CMNT? I don’t know enough about him as a player to know, how tall is he? 

He’s only 5’8, so I really doubt it. I don’t really know where Toronto is mostly playing him- he seems to come on for different players all the time, so I assume there’s also a tactical switch with him, but not completely sure where Herdman actually sees him. What’s even the role of a 5’8 player with no obvious offensive acumen? 

[Acid-Tone]

2 hours ago, InglewoodJack said:

 What’s even the role of a 5’8 player with no obvious offensive acumen? 

That's one of the beautiful things about this sport. If you're good enough, your height is almost irrelevant. 

Sure, in general, you don't see that many short kings playing CB or GK, but most lists naming the best CBs of the last 40 yrs. probably includes Franco Baresi & Fabio Cannavaro (both 5'9).

I'm not sure in today's game a short GK would even be allowed an opportunity to prove he can compete with the very best, but I was always a big fan of 5'7 Jorge Campos back in the day.  And Mr. Scorpion kick himself Rene Higuita was just an inch or two taller than him.

The point being: don't pay too much attention to his height. To find his best position the focus should be on his attributes, skills, ability to read a game, and defensive instincts.

[PopePouri]

I didn't see anyone post this, but this was how good he was on Saturday.

32/38 (84%) pass percentage
2 chances created
4/5 (80%) successful dribbles
3/3 (100%) accurate crosses
4/5 (80%) accurate long balls
1/1 (100%) tackles
10/12 (83%) duels won

[FC_Hali]

Great to see JMR doing well. Regarding Kobe Franklin, I think the traditional “defence first” fullback is under appreciated nowadays. There’s value in 1v1 defending and being able to shut down talented wingers. I’m not sure what type of player Kobe is, or will be, but he’s wracked up a good amount of appearances at the age of 20. JMR no doubt has the higher ceiling but, as we can see with TFC’s injury crisis, depth is absolutely key. 

[InglewoodJack]

16 hours ago, Acid-Tone said:

That's one of the beautiful things about this sport. If you're good enough, your height is almost irrelevant. 

Sure, in general, you don't see that many short kings playing CB or GK, but most lists naming the best CBs of the last 40 yrs. probably includes Franco Baresi & Fabio Cannavaro (both 5'9).

I'm not sure in today's game a short GK would even be allowed an opportunity to prove he can compete with the very best, but I was always a big fan of 5'7 Jorge Campos back in the day.  And Mr. Scorpion kick himself Rene Higuita was just an inch or two taller than him.

The point being: don't pay too much attention to his height. To find his best position the focus should be on his attributes, skills, ability to read a game, and defensive instincts.

I hear you, though the guys you’re mentioning are obvious talents who could account for their lack of size by being very skilled- Franklin’s 5’4 teammate Insigne is another example. In Kobe’s case, he both has no discernable elite skill and he’s also not a starter, so by nature or his situation, he has to be a bit of a Swiss Army knife that Herdman can plug in wherever the immediate need is. TFC isn’t playing with defensive fullbacks this season, and his physical profile makes it more difficult to plug him in as a CB which would probably be the position he’s best suited to fill if not as RB. My question is more when Herdman looks to his bench to make a substitution and he sees Franklin, what does he see? 
 

I don’t doubt Franklin can be an excellent player- some metrics had him as one of the 10 best U21 RBs in the world last year- mostly due to his usage but a 19 year old RB starting in MLS and looking fine is a very good thing and he’ll end up being a good player for a good team one day, I just wonder where he fits in to TFC right now, given he’s playing behind Laryea and now JMR, and those two are much more versatile than Kobe.

[Obinna]

I don't think either of these guys (JMR or Franklin) make it onto the Copa roster, but with Laryea out for 3 months and ZBG inactive alltogether (a shame), has the door has kinda swung open? I don't think Godinho or Zator are going to make it playing for a mid-to-low table team in Poland. Maybe we are good with Johnston, Buchanan, Bombito, and LDF (who can all play fullback)?

[InglewoodJack]

4 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I don't think either of these guys (JMR or Franklin) make it onto the Copa roster, but with Laryea out for 3 months and ZBG inactive alltogether (a shame), has the door has kinda swung open? I don't think Godinho or Zator are going to make it playing for a mid-to-low table team in Poland. Maybe we are good with Johnston, Buchanan, Bombito, and LDF (who can all play fullback)?

If JMR continues to start every game and look this good, I’m not opposed to giving him a spot- probably either Ugbo or Bair’s. I don’t think we bring 4 strikers to Copa. 

[PopePouri]

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

If JMR continues to start every game and look this good, I’m not opposed to giving him a spot- probably either Ugbo or Bair’s. I don’t think we bring 4 strikers to Copa. 

I think he's on the plane if he's starting and fit. We'll go with 4 wingbacks and if Laryea is injured, besides Buchanan and Davies, who is a shoe-in?

[InglewoodJack]

1 hour ago, PopePouri said:

I think he's on the plane if he's starting and fit. We'll go with 4 wingbacks and if Laryea is injured, besides Buchanan and Davies, who is a shoe-in?

If we’re just talking any wingbacks, I think Liam Millar and Ali Ahmed can fit in in a pinch, but both play on the left. Maybe you put Corbeanu there if you need to, but on the right, I think after Laryea and Buchanan, I’m having trouble thinking of who you could put there. IIRC De Fougerolles has played RB, I think Bombito has played LB, but he’s right footed. The more I think about it, I think JMR could really be a crucial piece for us if he puts it together. I’m sure Herdman will have a lot to share with Biello about his potential for the NT.

Edited March 26 by InglewoodJack

[Bigandy]

1 hour ago, PopePouri said:

I think he's on the plane if he's starting and fit. We'll go with 4 wingbacks and if Laryea is injured, besides Buchanan and Davies, who is a shoe-in?

Davies, buchanan, johnston, millar, shaf, ali, choiniere, adekugbe can all play wingback and are ahead of JMR currently. 

Edwards, ZBG, JMR, raposo, franklin (abzi/farsi) are all the tier 2 and below guys. 

I think ali, shaf, choiniere and millar could all play rwb in a pinch even if most of them prefer the left. 

The more interesting question IMO is who do we take for RB if hes injured, assuming the new coach prefers a back 4. 

#1 johnston. #2. buchanan and then we start millar/shaf at winger? #3 bombito? franklin? LDF? 

Edited March 26 by Bigandy

[InglewoodJack]

20 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

Davies, buchanan, johnston, millar, shaf, ali, choiniere, adekugbe can all play wingback and are ahead of JMR currently. 

Edwards, ZBG, JMR, raposo, franklin (abzi/farsi) are all the tier 2 and below guys. 

I think ali, shaf, choiniere and millar could all play rwb in a pinch even if most of them prefer the left. 

The more interesting question IMO is who do we take for RB if hes injured, assuming the new coach prefers a back 4. 

#1 johnston. #2. buchanan and then we start millar/shaf at winger? #3 bombito? franklin? LDF? 

What’s crazy is that even at this very moment, JMR is probably the best choice out of the tier two guys. Edwards has barely played, ZBG looks like he’s gonna sit the year out, I don’t think Raposo is a natural RB, Franklin is being benched for JMR, Abzi has played 35 minutes all season, and Farsi is out of our pool. That said, it’ll probably be TB to start, if we go to a back 4, you bring on another CB and put AJ at RB, and if you need to bring on yet another RB, then I think the game is probably out of hand already, so you just call on any of the names you mentioned and hope for the best. 

[Bigandy]

1 hour ago, InglewoodJack said:

What’s crazy is that even at this very moment, JMR is probably the best choice out of the tier two guys. Edwards has barely played, ZBG looks like he’s gonna sit the year out, I don’t think Raposo is a natural RB, Franklin is being benched for JMR, Abzi has played 35 minutes all season, and Farsi is out of our pool. That said, it’ll probably be TB to start, if we go to a back 4, you bring on another CB and put AJ at RB, and if you need to bring on yet another RB, then I think the game is probably out of hand already, so you just call on any of the names you mentioned and hope for the best. 

He's looked pretty good from my limited watching of him. I really hope he can jump into the tier 1 category but i fear copa will come to quick for that. 

With only 23 spots, I think you dont take any tier 2 guys. If johnston goes down we play wingbacks or LDF/Bombito/Buchanan/adekugbe? (with davies on the left) at RB

Edited March 26 by Bigandy

[InglewoodJack]

46 minutes ago, Bigandy said:

He's looked pretty good from my limited watching of him. I really hope he can jump into the tier 1 category but i fear copa will come to quick for that. 

With only 23 spots, I think you dont take any tier 2 guys. If johnston goes down we play wingbacks or LDF/Bombito/Buchanan/adekugbe? (with davies on the left) at RB

I agree. If everyone is healthy, you probably run it back with the T&T lineup, I probably drop Bair and Ugbo for Adekugbe and Laryea, and first injury I probably bring in one of JMR/Corbeanu/Nelson. 

[Kadenge]

40 minutes ago, InglewoodJack said:

I agree. If everyone is healthy, you probably run it back with the T&T lineup, I probably drop Bair and Ugbo for Adekugbe and Laryea, and first injury I probably bring in one of JMR/Corbeanu/Nelson. 

Ahmed?

[BearcatSA]

22 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

Ahmed?

This.  He likely had his last subbing stint vs RSL and should be back to starting next game.  The only debate is whether the Caps keep him at wingback or use him centrally and that might affect his NT role.  I liked what I saw last year prior to his injury and the glimpses he has shown in gradually getting back into the swing of things following surgery this season.  He's a baller.

[Dominic94]

Going to stress again he looks to be a winger 

[Kadenge]

12 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

Going to stress again he looks to be a winger 

I have only seen him play in  GC 2023 vs club games, but his ability on the ball in tight spaces was incredible. That would be  useful centrally as we seem to generate our attack in the final 3rd down the flanks. That would help David, receiving  the ball in space centrally vs from the wings. Curious as to why you feel he looks like a winger. Is it because his club plays him there?

[blueseeka]

10 minutes ago, Kadenge said:

I have only seen him play in  GC 2023 vs club games, but his ability on the ball in tight spaces was incredible. That would be  useful centrally as we seem to generate our attack in the final 3rd down the flanks. That would help David, receiving  the ball in space centrally vs from the wings. Curious as to why you feel he looks like a winger. Is it because his club plays him there?

He is very slight. He gets pushed around a lot defensively. He is not a fullback. Kind of how Shaffelburg struggled when he was a wingback

 

 

Edited March 26 by blueseeka

[PopePouri]

2 hours ago, blueseeka said:

He is very slight. He gets pushed around a lot defensively. He is not a fullback. Kind of how Shaffelburg struggled when he was a wingback

 

 

The eye test doesn't reflect the stats from last year for Ahmed. The same goes for JMR or Cubas who are slight as well but are able to win the majority of their duels.

Edited March 27 by PopePouri

[BearcatSA]

14 hours ago, Kadenge said:

I have only seen him play in  GC 2023 vs club games, but his ability on the ball in tight spaces was incredible. That would be  useful centrally as we seem to generate our attack in the final 3rd down the flanks. That would help David, receiving  the ball in space centrally vs from the wings. Curious as to why you feel he looks like a winger. Is it because his club plays him there?

He is slippery like an eel.  He slithers out of very tight, telephone booth-like situations but has a really nice burst once he gets into open space. I am not sure how much higher his trajectory is and he certainly has areas which need improving and further development but he does have some of that game breaking magic in him.

Edited March 27 by BearcatSA

[gigi riva]

I just want to see the likes of Rutty , Kerr , just improve game after game 

[InglewoodJack]

14 hours ago, Kadenge said:

Ahmed?

100%- I forgot him. He should be at Copa.