Olympic Qualifying U24 Tournament - Guadalajara Mexico - March 18 to 30 2021

[Ivan]

12 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

While CB is a major weakness name wise, I’m not going to discount Sturing and I’d like to see Romeo before saying he’s not good enough.

when I see the USA I see a talented team yes, but I also see some seriously overhyped prospects who haven’t done all that much recently or even at all. It’s not like they’re drawing a ton of guys from Europe either.  

CB is a major weakness.  I don't think we can count on one who is a backup at the worst team in the Dutch second division, and another who is a backup in the Danish second division when compared to who the US and Mexico will field.  Cornelius is a sure starter for me.

[toontownman]

Could be a breakout tournament for Dunn. If TFC let him.

 

[Ivan]

6 minutes ago, toontownman said:

Could be a breakout tournament for Dunn. If TFC let him.

 

I hope so.  I have more faith in him and Montgomery than I do in the other two right now.  However, their lack of match fitness hurts them.  At least Sturing and Romeo have been training.

[narduch]

Does TFC even rate Dunn?

[Nate3322]

14 minutes ago, toontownman said:

Could be a breakout tournament for Dunn. If TFC let him.

 

Dunn is my preferred choice at CB beside Cornelius but both Montgomery and Sturing could slot in alongside Cornelius too it'll be a tough choice to see who plays.

[Dominic94]

59 minutes ago, narduch said:

Does TFC even rate Dunn?

I think so but Vanney didn’t. There’s a reason he’s out and a big part of it was how he managed the youth.

[baulderdash77]

Vanney was a good tactical coach but he did a poor job of managing the youth investment that TFC made.  A lot of talent died on the vine or moved on because he refused to play and develop young players instead of slightly better 28-30 year old role players.  
 

While it may have been a lower risk tactic for that moment in time; it was a strategic failure on his part.

 

Edit- Example Nick Deleon and Patrick Mullins didn’t exactly set the world on fire last year and that time could have been spent developing some prospects.  Ciman was very clearly past his prime and in major decline but was getting rolled out too much.

Edited March 7, 2021 by baulderdash77

[Dominic94]

17 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

Vanney was a good tactical coach but he did a poor job of managing the youth investment that TFC made.  A lot of talent died on the vine or moved on because he refused to play and develop young players instead of slightly better 28-30 year old role players.  
 

While it may have been a lower risk tactic for that moment in time; it was a strategic failure on his part.

 

Edit- Example Nick Deleon and Patrick Mullins didn’t exactly set the world on fire last year and that time could have been spent developing some prospects.  Ciman was very clearly past his prime and in major decline but was getting rolled out too much.

Agreed 100%, really wonder how he’ll waste that golden talent pool in LA. They’ve been poor with their academy in terms of getting them to the next level.

 

 

[Club Linesman]

Vanney’s glaring weakness, if you can call it that, was his never ending faith in the experienced players.  And it worked for the most part.  Some still call the treble winning team the best in MLS history and he took us to a number of championships, losing in penalties twice and outplaying the Sounders in every championship game.  In the long run the lack of development for our younger generation of players will/has cost us but we still have enough high end talent that if Armas gives the youth some quality minutes and begins to trust them, the consequences of Vanney’s philosophy may be minimized and the team can be the destination for Ontario youth that it needs to be.  And we can start selling off some of the young talent to improve the squad overall.  Can’t wait for the season and some Canadian men’s action!

[gigi riva]

5 hours ago, toontownman said:

Could be a breakout tournament for Dunn. If TFC let him.

 

I think TFC will release Dunn

[Nate3322]

4 minutes ago, gigi riva said:

I think TFC will release Dunn

Why do you think that?

[TOcanadafan]

35 minutes ago, baulderdash77 said:

Vanney was a good tactical coach...

Respectfully disagree on this point.

Incredibly bad in-game management (adjusting tactics & communicating these adjustments to on-field players, and horrible at managing substitutions). Often failed to game plan properly to the opposition and what he had available.  He was a good motivator... seems to have more of the qualities of a team captain rather than a tactical coach.

As a TFC fan and more importantly a fan of the CMNT, I’m so glad he’s gone.

Edited March 7, 2021 by TOcanadafan

[Dominic94]

58 minutes ago, Club Linesman said:

Vanney’s glaring weakness, if you can call it that, was his never ending faith in the experienced players.  And it worked for the most part.  Some still call the treble winning team the best in MLS history and he took us to a number of championships, losing in penalties twice and outplaying the Sounders in every championship game.  In the long run the lack of development for our younger generation of players will/has cost us but we still have enough high end talent that if Armas gives the youth some quality minutes and begins to trust them, the consequences of Vanney’s philosophy may be minimized and the team can be the destination for Ontario youth that it needs to be.  And we can start selling off some of the young talent to improve the squad overall.  Can’t wait for the season and some Canadian men’s action!

The list of talent that emerged in Ontario since the arrival of TFC is insane, let’s get crazy here:

St.Clair

Laryea-Ferreira-James-Johnston

Kaye

Buchanan-Osorio-Corbeanu

David-Larin

bench of 

millar

cornelius 

Dias

Flores 

Akinola 

Raposo 

 

thats the top of my head here, I’m missing guys but the common theme here with this list.... TFC missed them, they left or were cut. 2 players on this list played pro for the club... full credit must go to sigma and league 1, I’ve talked about the strides we made, a lot of these guys took non mls path so were doing something right.

TFC told Ryan Raposo he wouldn’t amount to anything, he became a 1st round super draft pick and a member of the whitecaps.

@spitfire has a great story and will attest to this, forgive my lack of details but at 11 they told this kid Liam Millar he wouldn’t be a pro player for them. That same Liam Millar kid would go on to become the first Canadian to play for Liverpool in any competition. 

I would bet Spitfire can tell us of kids who were rejected by the academy for stupid reasons who were miles ahead of the kids they took in terms of skill and iq. 
 

fun to rip on TFC but this is a nice list of players who emerged at a time when TFC couldn’t get anything right, as the academy settled and the pathway (league 1) emerged you can see players popped up. I will keep raising the question, what happens when TFC properly integrates their youth ? What about with more league 1 teams ? And the D2 ? And now the can PL ? How nice does this list look in 3 years ? 5 ??? Hopefully Armas and TFC get it right because man they’ve got a glut of young talent.

that David kid told them no because he was worried he wouldn’t play.

let’s be real here:

Akinola got lucky to emerge, there were injuries he doesn’t get that chance without them.

im missing names and this is almost exclusively a reject list or a list of guys who took a different path. Most of them are NT guys, what if TFC was able to be good at integrating its youth ? That’s FCD level output by the province. With a fraction of the ability and investment, Toronto should easily be the best team in the league when it comes to producing youth talent. It’s a travesty they are not. We knew the shift was coming and let’s hope it continues because the potential for a Rutty prospect every year exists.

 

Edited March 7, 2021 by Dominic94

[Macksam]

16 hours ago, SpecialK said:

I’m curious what’s gonna happen with Ballou. This tourney could be his redemption. He’s talented could be a game changer. 

You got Rutty and Nelson who are young guns , who don’t have much experience and maybe they are rushed and you got shaffleburg ( who I don’t think is very good and should be a left off this team, that’s my view). 
Like Borges (CPL Moses, I do think the CPL and One Soccer is pumping him way too much, yes they need stars I get it but come on it’s alittle crazy right now)was left off. If He was left off why is Shaffleburg there ? 

He didn't play much last year but in 2019, when he was given chances, from what I recall, Shaffelburg was a good pacey winger. His game wasn't overly elaborate but he was certainly MLS quality.

[Bison44]

1 hour ago, baulderdash77 said:

Vanney was a good tactical coach but he did a poor job of managing the youth investment that TFC made.  A lot of talent died on the vine or moved on because he refused to play and develop young players instead of slightly better 28-30 year old role players.  
While it may have been a lower risk tactic for that moment in time; it was a strategic failure on his part.Edit- Example Nick Deleon and Patrick Mullins didn’t exactly set the world on fire last year and that time could have been spent developing some prospects.  Ciman was very clearly past his prime and in major decline but was getting rolled out too much.

I have to disagree.  I am not an expert but watching TFC from day one Vanney didnt stick out as a tactical coach and seemed to try and shoe horn players into his tactics instead of tailoring it to the guys he had.   

As for the vets, there was nothing wrong with a guy like Deleon who was useful and versatile...or Morrow who really brought stability to the flanks.  However he was just as stubborn rolling out guys who were not much better than the prospects (Endoh/Mullins/Zavs) and burying the future of the club...talent wise and the financial windfall selling those kids would have brought.  

[Macksam]

37 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

The list of talent that emerged in Ontario since the arrival of TFC is insane, let’s get crazy here:

St.Clair

Laryea-Ferreira-James-Johnston

Kaye

Buchanan-Osorio-Corbeanu

David-Larin

bench of 

millar

cornelius 

Dias

Flores 

Akinola 

Raposo 

 

thats the top of my head here, I’m missing guys but the common theme here with this list.... TFC missed them, they left or were cut. 2 players on this list played pro for the club... full credit must go to sigma and league 1, I’ve talked about the strides we made, a lot of these guys took non mls path so were doing something right.

TFC told Ryan Raposo he wouldn’t amount to anything, he became a 1st round super draft pick and a member of the whitecaps.

@spitfire has a great story and will attest to this, forgive my lack of details but at 11 they told this kid Liam Millar he wouldn’t be a pro player for them. That same Liam Millar kid would go on to become the first Canadian to play for Liverpool in any competition. 
 

im missing names and this is almost exclusively a reject list or a list of guys who took a different path. Most of them are NT guys, what if TFC was able to be good at integrating its youth ? That’s FCD level output by the province. With a fraction of the ability and investment, Toronto should easily be the best team in the league when it comes to producing youth talent. It’s a travesty they are not. We knew the shift was coming and let’s hope it continues because the potential for a Rutty prospect every year exists.

 

QFT

TFC should be the MLS equivalent of the mid to late 90s/2000s Detroit Red Wings if they actually had a good development system. 

[Dominic94]

36 minutes ago, Macksam said:

QFT

TFC should be the MLS equivalent of the mid to late 90s/2000s Detroit Red Wings if they actually had a good development system. 

It’s true. The gta area has many wealthy families who have kids who can afford that extra training. It’s a large reason why so many hockey players come out of the area. Having access to high level coaches and training does help from a development standpoint.

 

I think we will slowly see TFC transition to a homegrown power house. I know they have plans for more teams than they currently have so I do believe they’ll enter D2 and eventually the CPL.

[Macksam]

1 hour ago, Dominic94 said:

It’s true. The gta area has many wealthy families who have kids who can afford that extra training. It’s a large reason why so many hockey players come out of the area. Having access to high level coaches and training does help from a development standpoint.

 

I think we will slowly see TFC transition to a homegrown power house. I know they have plans for more teams than they currently have so I do believe they’ll enter D2 and eventually the CPL.

I believe they will also considering the return on the massive DP investments off the field hasn't been so great so the approach has to change for MLSE.

[SoccMan]

11 minutes ago, Macksam said:

I believe they will also considering the return on the massive DP investments off the field hasn't been so great so the approach has to change for MLSE.

It’s only really been around  10 years really that TFC Academy has been around and even at that it took a few more years for them to experiment and get things right , so I think just now we are starting to see some results .

[baulderdash77]

1 hour ago, SoccMan said:

It’s only really been around  10 years really that TFC Academy has been around and even at that it took a few more years for them to experiment and get things right , so I think just now we are starting to see some results .

The problem is that the team and program has a well deserved reputation for horsing and then burying talent by not playing them.

Also I don’t think them betting that the USL pathway would be better than the L1O pathway has worked out.  Generally speaking they have been acting like a US team based in Canada for a while now and not trying to integrate with Canadian soccer.

I hope the new regime starts to treat its academy better in terms of bringing players along.  It’s really been a travesty.  

[SoccMan]

6 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

The list of talent that emerged in Ontario since the arrival of TFC is insane, let’s get crazy here:

St.Clair

Laryea-Ferreira-James-Johnston

Kaye

Buchanan-Osorio-Corbeanu

David-Larin

bench of 

millar

cornelius 

Dias

Flores 

Akinola 

Raposo 

 

thats the top of my head here, I’m missing guys but the common theme here with this list.... TFC missed them, they left or were cut. 2 players on this list played pro for the club... full credit must go to sigma and league 1, I’ve talked about the strides we made, a lot of these guys took non mls path so were doing something right.

TFC told Ryan Raposo he wouldn’t amount to anything, he became a 1st round super draft pick and a member of the whitecaps.

@spitfire has a great story and will attest to this, forgive my lack of details but at 11 they told this kid Liam Millar he wouldn’t be a pro player for them. That same Liam Millar kid would go on to become the first Canadian to play for Liverpool in any competition. 

I would bet Spitfire can tell us of kids who were rejected by the academy for stupid reasons who were miles ahead of the kids they took in terms of skill and iq. 
 

fun to rip on TFC but this is a nice list of players who emerged at a time when TFC couldn’t get anything right, as the academy settled and the pathway (league 1) emerged you can see players popped up. I will keep raising the question, what happens when TFC properly integrates their youth ? What about with more league 1 teams ? And the D2 ? And now the can PL ? How nice does this list look in 3 years ? 5 ??? Hopefully Armas and TFC get it right because man they’ve got a glut of young talent.

that David kid told them no because he was worried he wouldn’t play.

let’s be real here:

Akinola got lucky to emerge, there were injuries he doesn’t get that chance without them.

im missing names and this is almost exclusively a reject list or a list of guys who took a different path. Most of them are NT guys, what if TFC was able to be good at integrating its youth ? That’s FCD level output by the province. With a fraction of the ability and investment, Toronto should easily be the best team in the league when it comes to producing youth talent. It’s a travesty they are not. We knew the shift was coming and let’s hope it continues because the potential for a Rutty prospect every year exists.

 

You think TFC is the only team in history that has missed players ? It has happened throughout history , they are many players playing in top leagues today that were missed or probably cut when they were younger ! Our good friend Hargreaves was cut from one of the youth national teams at 15 I think and then at what 18 I think was winning and starting with Bayern Munich in the Champions League final no? Moreover, some players were also just not good enough period I don’t care how many minutes they would have gotten . I forget who was that goalie TFC had that everyone on here was saying should have started over the American keeper Bono who was the TFC keeper in the 2017 winning season . Moreover, said Canadian keeper in the end was not good enough to start with Forge in the CPL and was let go but back in the day everyone was up in arms that Bono started over him. Sometimes maybe certain players don’t get a lot of playing time because they are simply not good end of story .

[Bison44]

Quillan Roberts.  

[Dominic94]

3 hours ago, SoccMan said:

You think TFC is the only team in history that has missed players ? It has happened throughout history , they are many players playing in top leagues today that were missed or probably cut when they were younger ! Our good friend Hargreaves was cut from one of the youth national teams at 15 I think and then at what 18 I think was winning and starting with Bayern Munich in the Champions League final no? Moreover, some players were also just not good enough period I don’t care how many minutes they would have gotten . I forget who was that goalie TFC had that everyone on here was saying should have started over the American keeper Bono who was the TFC keeper in the 2017 winning season . Moreover, said Canadian keeper in the end was not good enough to start with Forge in the CPL and was let go but back in the day everyone was up in arms that Bono started over him. Sometimes maybe certain players don’t get a lot of playing time because they are simply not good end of story .

They aren’t but I do wonder what if ???

[narduch]

El Salvador has finalized their squad.

 

[toontownman]

You would think we will likely hear tomorrow or Tuesday.