Kosi Thompson

[Dominic94]

13 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

He has logged quite a few consecutive starts for the club but his play on the ball has been undermined by too many easy possession losses.  As we hit the dog days of MLS and with a very experienced LB now on the opposite side of the backline, it might be a good time to give this young guy a rotational break:  see what Marshall-Rutty or Chung can do.  

He’s not a right back

[Gian-Luca]

32 minutes ago, BearcatSA said:

He has logged quite a few consecutive starts for the club but his play on the ball has been undermined by too many easy possession losses.  As we hit the dog days of MLS and with a very experienced LB now on the opposite side of the backline, it might be a good time to give this young guy a rotational break:  see what Marshall-Rutty or Chung can do.  

He's had more of a rough stretch the past few games, probably not used to playing so many minutes (especially at this level). Even though I want JMR further up the field, I'll take him at right back for a spell (to give Kosi a needed rest) if it means stopping the latest experiment of constantly playing him now at left back. Experimenting with JMR at one completely unfamiliar position wasn't enough, apparently we have to try it two times.

[BearcatSA]

6 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

He’s not a right back

The errors he is making are not because of his position.  They are posssession losses due to a poor first touch or poor body shielding where he's not able to draw fouls.

Fortunately, his assistant coach wasn't a right back, either, but made himself into a Bundesliga champion while playing that position as well as RWB, not to mention one of the better NT RBs in CONCACAF.  That's a positive for his development if they are going to continue with him in that spot. 

However, opponents see video and they key on such errors like these he is making at the moment.  And sometimes there's a mental and physical fatigue with young players where they kind of "hit the wall," if you will, and all they need is a break while watching from the subs' bench to get a different perspective.

[TOcanadafan]

54 minutes ago, Dominic94 said:

He’s not a right back

We have to see JMR start now.  People will say JMR isn’t a RB, but isn’t that the position that the big Euro clubs, who were drooling over him this past winter, want him to play? 
And another question for those who may have followed TFC II more closely last season, was Kosi much better than Kobe Franklin (who is a natural RB and seemed to  have killed it for most of last season)?

[Dominic94]

9 hours ago, TOcanadafan said:

We have to see JMR start now.  People will say JMR isn’t a RB, but isn’t that the position that the big Euro clubs, who were drooling over him this past winter, want him to play? 
And another question for those who may have followed TFC II more closely last season, was Kosi much better than Kobe Franklin (who is a natural RB and seemed to  have killed it for most of last season)?

Starting to wonder if that’s even true.

 

@Footyeh can you chime in ?

[Aird25]

Has Kadin Chung really been so poor?

[Stryker911]

Mavinga has been horrible. Cause another goal last night. He is Toronto's version of Camacho. Comes from a strong European country with some good pedigree, bit gives up goals consistently. 

I would like to see O'Neal and McNaughton given a chance to start at CB.

[Unnamed Trialist]

2 hours ago, Stryker911 said:

Mavinga has been horrible. Cause another goal last night. He is Toronto's version of Camacho. Comes from a strong European country with some good pedigree, bit gives up goals consistently. 

I would like to see O'Neal and McNaughton given a chance to start at CB.

Even when it was 0-1 and TFC was dominating possession and moving the ball better, the one player who'd break the flow with mediocre passing was Mavinga. 

Thought Kosi showed he has nice skills, passes cleanly. Don't see how anyone can think Kerr was a problem. Even Bradley had a decent game. 

I like seeing all that Canadian youth, but it's clear you have to shift towards more experience, it just seems they've been on a holding pattern and when Insigne and a few more pieces are in there'll be less minutes for the kids but better results. 

[rydermike]

14 hours ago, TOcanadafan said:

We have to see JMR start now.  People will say JMR isn’t a RB, but isn’t that the position that the big Euro clubs, who were drooling over him this past winter, want him to play? 
And another question for those who may have followed TFC II more closely last season, was Kosi much better than Kobe Franklin (who is a natural RB and seemed to  have killed it for most of last season)?

I watched quite a bit of TFC2 last year (haven't watched this year). I felt Kobe Franklin was better and more MLS ready. I had put players into categories. My ready for a first team deal were Petrasso and Franklin. They were great at RB and LB. Kosi Thompson I liked what I saw but felt he needed another 0.5-1 season with the B side and was in my "Very close" grouping. Kosi was predominantly an attacking RM,which is where TFC started him out before moving him back out of necessity, which hasn't helped. I felt he looked much better (naturally since he wasn't being played out of position) before the shift to RB. I remember there being strong rumours that Franklin would be signed to a first team deal and the it never happened. One thought I had was maybe he didn't want to lock himself into a 3 year homegrown MLS deal, and wanted to just play out his TFC2 deal (I think I read his option was picked up, so this would be the final season) and then move to Europe on a free. I'm completely speculating there, but I was shocked when he wasn't signed. 

Edited July 10, 2022 by rydermike

[Footyeh]

4 hours ago, Dominic94 said:

Starting to wonder if that’s even true.

 

@Footyeh can you chime in ?

It's hard understanding what JMR's best position actually is, and honestly I keep asking the question "what exactly is he good at?" or "what's his one or two attributes that make him a standout?"  I don't believe he's a RB or LB at any top level but I think he clearly has strong soccer IQ at this age and that he's being used in these roles as the manager trusts him to give a safe performance.  He can get forward but he's not a threatening player in wide positions in terms of 1 vs 1 or crossing,

I can see him being a great box-to-box midfielder in the future.  I think he can cover ground, he's far more comfortable operating in central spaces, able to advance the ball on the dribble, hasn't showed it yet but I saw a lot of him at the youth level to think he can be a goal threat from midfield arriving into the box (third man runs, cut backs etc.).  He's a "team first" or "system" player IMO that managers love, won't ever be flashy but they do the job really well (think Gini Wijnaldum at Liverpool).

[BearcatSA]

1 hour ago, Unnamed Trialist said:

Thought Kosi showed he has nice skills, passes cleanly. 

In earlier matches, yes, but his play in maintaining possession last night was really hit and miss.  I'm the worst guy here for complaining about the cherry-picking of opta stats by posters, but the 6.0 he received on whoscored.com matched my eye test.

TBH, I'm not so sure about the play of his possible replacement (Chung).  My thought is give Thompson a one match rotational rest, see what happens, and go back to him.

[dyslexic nam]

5 hours ago, Footyeh said:

It's hard understanding what JMR's best position actually is, and honestly I keep asking the question "what exactly is he good at?" or "what's his one or two attributes that make him a standout?"  I don't believe he's a RB or LB at any top level but I think he clearly has strong soccer IQ at this age and that he's being used in these roles as the manager trusts him to give a safe performance.  He can get forward but he's not a threatening player in wide positions in terms of 1 vs 1 or crossing,

I can see him being a great box-to-box midfielder in the future.  I think he can cover ground, he's far more comfortable operating in central spaces, able to advance the ball on the dribble, hasn't showed it yet but I saw a lot of him at the youth level to think he can be a goal threat from midfield arriving into the box (third man runs, cut backs etc.).  He's a "team first" or "system" player IMO that managers love, won't ever be flashy but they do the job really well (think Gini Wijnaldum at Liverpool).

This is pretty much how I feel as well.  Despite being used exclusively in wide positions by TFC, it just doesn’t seem to line up with his skillset.   Some sort of playmaking midfielder would be a better fit - and yet he is missing out on the chance to learn the position during these important years.   

[Obinna]

I feel a little bad dunking on this 19 year old, who's done a good job so far earning the right back spot, but holy cow he was absolutely horrible last night. How many times did he give away the ball? I lost count, honestly. Just never looked ready or able to play inside the intensity of that match. I know Rutty is not a RB, but he would have done so much better. It was really shocking to see Bob role with Kosi considering how much he struggled. 

[VinceA]

5 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I feel a little bad dunking on this 19 year old, who's done a good job so far earning the right back spot, but holy cow he was absolutely horrible last night. How many times did he give away the ball? I lost count, honestly. Just never looked ready or able to play inside the intensity of that match. I know Rutty is not a RB, but he would have done so much better. It was really shocking to see Bob role with Kosi considering how much he struggled. 

What annoys me with how TFC is developing some of the youngsters is this idea of oh he's a wide player? Let's turn him into a full back. It isn't working and all you do is destroy the players confidence. Everyone thinks just because it worked for Davies, which isn't comparable at all, it will work for them.

[Kadenge]

4 minutes ago, Obinna said:

I feel a little bad dunking on this 19 year old, who's done a good job so far earning the right back spot, but holy cow he was absolutely horrible last night. How many times did he give away the ball? I lost count, honestly. Just never looked ready or able to play inside the intensity of that match. I know Rutty is not a RB, but he would have done so much better. It was really shocking to see Bob role with Kosi considering how much he struggled. 

Kosi looks fatigued. Yes he is young but he played much better earlier on in the season. I think it would help him if he sits out a game or two and has a chance to observe from the bench. An opportunity to recharge and recalibrate

[Floortom]

He’s hasn’t done anything positive in months it seems. The best I hope from him at this point is “anonymous”.

not sure how Bradley can keep trotting him out at RB.

[PopePouri]

He doesn't project well as an attacking wide player IMO. He isn't pacy or smart off the dribble. I'd be interested how he is in midfield, but he gives the ball away a lot. I don't know. Maybe center back?

[Obinna]

I have questions about his technical ability at this level. He does seem to interchange well and take up good spots in the midfield. I saw some examples of that last night with Osorio. Not sure that's a tactical wrinkle from coach Bradley or simply players creatively taking it upon themselves, but either way I do think he's a smart player. It's just the technical talent for me, specifically the ability to control the ball when time and space compresses, as well as his consistency hitting his target with his short and medium passes. And usually he's able to just complete those in a typical MLS game, but last night was WAY off. 

[Corazon]

He's been quite poor for some time now but last night he was terrible.  I'll cut him some slack for playing out of position but he's been underwhelming back there for weeks/months now.  I'd be interested to see what he can do in his more natural position but I wouldn't even have him on the TFC squad as an outside back.

[El Diego]

There are some things to like about him. Long, willing to combine, tries to find positive solutions... but he also makes so many boneheaded plays (both with and without the ball). He is still only 19 and needs match experience at higher levels so he can realize what does and doesn't work. But if he is keeping JMR out on merit then I think that must say something about JMR at this point...

[Obinna]

4 minutes ago, El Diego said:

There are some things to like about him. Long, willing to combine, tries to find positive solutions... but he also makes so many boneheaded plays (both with and without the ball). He is still only 19 and needs match experience at higher levels so he can realize what does and doesn't work. But if he is keeping JMR out on merit then I think that must say something about JMR at this point...

It's hard to imagine, unless JMR is now a different player to the one that started the season. 

[BearcatSA]

3 hours ago, Obinna said:

I feel a little bad dunking on this 19 year old, who's done a good job so far earning the right back spot, but holy cow he was absolutely horrible last night. How many times did he give away the ball? I lost count, honestly. Just never looked ready or able to play inside the intensity of that match. I know Rutty is not a RB, but he would have done so much better. It was really shocking to see Bob role with Kosi considering how much he struggled. 

I was asking about how he did in the Kadin Chung thread but I missed this obvious place to look.  Thanks.

The kid needs a rest but Bob doesn't trust Chung, it seems.

[canuckgbp]

Kosi with a great late run goal. 

[canuckgbp]

 

[VinceA]

Kosi out here reminding everyone that he's a midfielder who has played RB and we should pay attention to.