TFC 2020 Season

[Gian-Luca]

15 minutes ago, Free kick said:

Dont know what to say about this game.  TFC werent great. But neither was NE.   Ciman wasnt poor and didnt commit a costly error, so thats worth mention.  I saw the first ever decent play from Mullins in the game.  Good thing that TFC has string of matches against weaker opponents upcomming.  
Mavinga was very good in this game.   TFC Would have probably been very happy with draw,  so the three points have to be a big bonus.

It's unfortunate that he followed that up immediately with a really poor pass backwards to a player who had two NE right on his back, then followed that up with an unnecessary foul after TFC got the ball back.

Ciman being competent for the first time this season was a bonus. Team got a bit lucky though as a foul could have been called on Akinola (sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't) on the goal while NE had that comical PK miss, which was gifted to them by a silly challenge by Delgado, who decided that since he was having one of his best games for TFC, he would ruin it with a stupid foul in the box. No doubt if Fraser had committed that foul, it would be used as evidence by the Fraser-Haters ("Fraters"?) on this board that Fraser isn't good enough to make a USL reserve squad or something like that.

I hate games in this stadium though, I can see why NE does so well here as even the best possession teams like TFC struggle to keep it because they aren't used to that turf, while NE obviously is. With all those friggin Super Bowl wins that the Deflate-Gate-triots have given Kraft, he can't afford to put a grass field in that stadium?

Buchanan played well for NE, a pain in the neck for TFC the whole night. I think he'll keep his starting spot when NE's injured players come back. He's only 21 so is seemingly another exciting prospect developing for us.

[RS]

11 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

With all those friggin Super Bowl wins that the Deflate-Gate-triots have given Kraft, he can't afford to put a grass field in that stadium?

The funny thing is that the stadium started with grass but was switched to artificial turf because the Patriots prefer it.

[Bison44]

On 10/7/2020 at 8:46 PM, Free kick said:

Dont know what to say about this game.  TFC werent great. But neither was NE.   Ciman wasnt poor and didnt commit a costly error, so thats worth mention.  I saw the first ever decent play from Mullins in the game.  Good thing that TFC has string of matches against weaker opponents upcomming.  
Mavinga was very good in this game.   TFC Would have probably been very happy with draw,  so the three points have to be a big bonus.

I dont see what the purpose is of running Mullins out to end the game.  Surely Nelsen is faster and can harry the defenders/pressure the ball for the last 4-5minutes.  Mullins will be gone next year and Nelsen is supposedly an important prospect for TFC and it might actually might be worth their while to put a little time/effort into him.  

[Ruffian]

11 hours ago, Bison44 said:

I dont see what the purpose is of running Mullins out to end the game.  Surely Nelsen is faster and can harry the defenders/pressure the ball for the last 4-5minutes.  Mullins will be gone next year and Nelsen is supposedly an important prospect for TFC and it might actually might be worth their while to put a little time/effort into him.  

Mullins is a striker and Nelson is not. Mullins actually puts a lot of hustle into pressuring the other team in end of game situations. I think that is all that Vanney wants from his substitute striker in those situations. He doesn't have a good scoring record for TFC but he has had on other teams in MLS, so Vanney knows he could put one away while making that pressure too. I can't believe I am defending Mullins, but I think he was a good end of game sub in the past few games.

[Colliedor]

If there was ever a game to call up Dunn and Rutty, it's the one tonight.

Cinci with only 8 goals in 16 games says it all. Perfect game to put in a young defender.

[Bison44]

Vanney has been subbing a CB most games, trying to rest the old legs, so at least give Dunn a cameo eh?  Hopefully we are up by a couple and see the end of the bench...ie Nelsen please.  

[Club Linesman]

Let’s hope we come out to play. Slow plastic turf against a desperate team. Should destroy them but a trap game if there ever was one. 

[RS]

Nelson and Fraser get the start against Cincinnati. Marshall-Rutty on the bench.

Lots of squad rotation for this one.

 

[dyslexic nam]

And the win.  Despite the defence’s best effort to throw it away near the end.  

[Gian-Luca]

Please, no more bringing on a 3rd CB to defend late leads. Every time Vanney does it the opposition either tie it up or almost do so after creating nothing the whole game. 

Great shot by Ciman at the end of the game, though. Too bad for Cinci he missed the net. 

[dyslexic nam]

I missed most of the game.  How did the Canadian content play?   I saw that Laryea and Nelson got subbed off.  

[Mikmacdo]

1 minute ago, dyslexic nam said:

I missed most of the game.  How did the Canadian content play?   I saw that Laryea and Nelson got subbed off.  

Laryea was good like usual and Nelson didn't look ready for the MLS. 

 

Zavs was motm

[gator]

Good to see some more Canadians getting the start for TFC, Nelson struggled a bit, he did show a couple of glimpses of flair that he may contribute moving forward, a great opportunity for him to learn, Fraser was very good IMHO, caught in possession once in the 1st half and a rather poor ball over the middle in the 2nd half were the only blemishes, he sprayed good accurate passes around and was in good positions consistently! I liked seeing Osorio and Fraser playing the double pivot in the middle, they both read the match well and kept the midfield under control until the late formation change! Laryea played a perfect ball for his assist, apparently his sub was due to cramping! Overall a good learning experience for Nelson and Fraser and it was more solid play from Osorio and Laryea!

Edited October 12, 2020 by gator

[Gian-Luca]

Nelson "struggled" mostly with Auro having his "Patrick Metcalfe clause" in his contract invoked. Or at least that's my best guess since Auro kept refusing to pass the ball forward to him and made 3.5 million back passes in the first half alone instead.  Granted Auro was playing out of position but it would have been nice to see Gallacher playing in behind Nelson instead or someone willing to move the ball forward. In the 2nd half they put Nelson on the right instead of the left I don't think he and Laryea were on the same page defensive (go figure after never playing together before), they moved him back to the left where he made his best runs of the game. What he needs most IMO is playing time and figuring out where his teammates are, when to make the right runs, etc.

Nice to see Fraser go the full 90 for once.

[Mikmacdo]

16 minutes ago, Gian-Luca said:

Nelson "struggled" mostly with Auro having his "Patrick Metcalfe clause" in his contract invoked. Or at least that's my best guess since Auro kept refusing to pass the ball forward to him and made 3.5 million back passes in the first half alone instead.  Granted Auro was playing out of position but it would have been nice to see Gallacher playing in behind Nelson instead or someone willing to move the ball forward. In the 2nd half they put Nelson on the right instead of the left I don't think he and Laryea were on the same page defensive (go figure after never playing together before), they moved him back to the left where he made his best runs of the game. What he needs most IMO is playing time and figuring out where his teammates are, when to make the right runs, etc.

Nice to see Fraser go the full 90 for once.

https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1438437/Live/USA-Major-League-Soccer-2020-FC-Cincinnati-Toronto-FC

Auro was the highest rated player. 

[Free kick]

1 hour ago, dyslexic nam said:

I missed most of the game.  How did the Canadian content play?   

Me too.  I missed 90% of it and was wondering the same.

Edited October 12, 2020 by Free kick

[Gian-Luca]

5 minutes ago, Mikmacdo said:

https://www.whoscored.com/Matches/1438437/Live/USA-Major-League-Soccer-2020-FC-Cincinnati-Toronto-FC

Auro was the highest rated player. 

For me whoscored.com might as well be called "whocares.com" because as others have mentioned, nobody seems to know what their criteria is for their rankings. All I could glean from that link is that Auro completed 91% of his passes, but that fits in perfectly with the Patrick Metcalfe clause being invoked in his contract as I mentioned above. I prefer to go by what I witnessed for myself. I'm not saying he had an awful match (only one TFC player did, the guy who got a yellow card while warming up and then almost scored the most spectacular own-goal of all time) but no way was he the best player on the field.

[rkomar]

Don Cherry used to say that there is a kind of inertia with winning or losing.  When you're losing, you keep losing even when you start to play better, and you can't let the losses distract you from your efforts.  Likewise, when you're winning, you keep winning even when you start to play poorer, and you shouldn't let the wins distract you from the improvements you need to make.  I get the feeling that TFC is in the latter position recently.   They've been eking out wins, but they haven't always played well.  I'm hoping they don't get the wrong picture from their lack of losses. 

[Gian-Luca]

I think part of the reason they haven’t looked as good the past two games is the quality of the pitches they were playing on, both of which were atrocious and made it difficult to for them to control the ball and the match. That doesn’t explain everything of course, as it doesn’t matter how bad the turf is if you thrown on a 3rd CB late to invite pressure and lose the midfield battle due to inferior numbers or have one of your CB’s pick up the ball with no pressure on him and inexplicably decide to take a 50 yard strike upon his own goal.

A bigger issue going forward is what to do with Bradley when he comes back, which apparently is soon. He hasn’t been missed in the slightest (not even for his leadership qualities given all the character wins they have had since he has been out). I think the only game they lost with him out all this time was the Vancouver match where Ciman did his best to ensure a Vancouver victory at every opportunity. Pozuelo Osorio and Delgado have become the heart of the midfield and the team, so they should actually leave Bradley on the bench when he comes back but I doubt they will.

[Bison44]

2 hours ago, Gian-Luca said:

 

A bigger issue going forward is what to do with Bradley when he comes back, which apparently is soon. He hasn’t been missed in the slightest (not even for his leadership qualities given all the character wins they have had since he has been out). I think the only game they lost with him out all this time was the Vancouver match where Ciman did his best to ensure a Vancouver victory at every opportunity. Pozuelo Osorio and Delgado have become the heart of the midfield and the team, so they should actually leave Bradley on the bench when he comes back but I doubt they will.

If Vanney has any sense thats what he would do.  At the very least ease him back into the lineup so he wont be limping around come playoff time.  But I suspect he'll rush Bradley back in playing full 90 after 90 no matter the result.  And as far as missing people, how much have they missed Altidore while he has been in and out of the lineup??  Imagine if Achara wasnt injured, they would have even more/better options.  Forcing Vanney to find solutions that dont involve Bradley/Altidore has been good for the team.  TFC are top of the table now, watch out if the 2 big names ever get healthy.  

[Club Linesman]

Bradley decides how much time he gets.  If he wants it he will play 90 and force Fraser to the bench.  He will also demand nearly all, if not all of the games.  Fraser needs to move on as long as Bradley is in the team.  I truly like  Bradley for what he has done in leading this team to the upper echelon of MLS but he is the major reason Fraser is not developing so as a CMNT supporter need Liam to move on and get minutes.

Edited October 13, 2020 by Club Linesman

[Club Linesman]

5 minutes ago, Bison44 said:

  And as far as missing people, how much have they missed Altidore while he has been in and out of the lineup?? 

They have not missed Jozy because of Akinola. Ayo is a younger faster version of Jozy and if he keeps putting up numbers he will make the DP redundant.  Again love Jozy for what he has done for TFC but paying a striker who gets injured so often 4 million plus isn’t good business and hurts the team.  If Akinola wasn’t playing lights out we would be in trouble.  Interested to see how this plays out as Jozy loves it here but I doubt he will want to take a backseat to another striker.

[rkomar]

I don't see Akinola as a direct replacement for Altidore yet.  Akinola can score like Altidore, but I haven't noticed him holding up the ball and setting up others to score much.  Akinola needs more development that way.

[Unnamed Trialist]

17 hours ago, rkomar said:

Don Cherry used to say that there is a kind of inertia with winning or losing.  When you're losing, you keep losing even when you start to play better, and you can't let the losses distract you from your efforts.  Likewise, when you're winning, you keep winning even when you start to play poorer, and you shouldn't let the wins distract you from the improvements you need to make.  I get the feeling that TFC is in the latter position recently.   They've been eking out wins, but they haven't always played well.  I'm hoping they don't get the wrong picture from their lack of losses. 

Don Cherry never paid for his own poppies either, they were given to him by the producer.

Sorry, warming up for next month.

[it actually makes sense what he said, but of course in hockey you play more games and his comments are more appropriate for being able to adjust quickly and test immediately; hockey does not like draws anymore either, while in football drawing is sometimes the only way to weather the storm]

Edited October 12, 2020 by Unnamed Trialist

[rkomar]

It makes sense from the point of view that if you are on a long losing streak, then you are probably doing a lot of things wrong, and if you are on a long winning streak, then you are doing a lot of things right.  Changing one or two things may not break the streak, but you can't assume that they have no effect.  The next change may flip the streak the other way.  The turnaround is not as sudden as the record makes it appear.