Free kick

I agree. How effective can altidore be without having Giovinco around. Thats the big question and the question with respect to his worth. Dont get me wrong, he has been terrific in his time here, especially in the big games. But Giovinco had a way of drawing attention from opponents.

That cant be the guy they have in mind for DP. Just heard Manning on the radio and he stated that it would be a player that soccer fans (he may have even used casual soccer fan) would be familar with. Usually that will mean someone who is an international and played at the World Cup and/or would have played on side that is not a long shot. And/or played in one of the big three or four leagues (one whose games are televised in Canada) in europe and not for a typical relegation bound side. Unless its an american or a mexican. An algerian player from the Russian league would not fit that description. Gregory Vander Weil has greater name recognition, than the player thats being alluded to here. And he was acquired with TAM money.

I don’t disagree with anything you said. Also, it would find it very difficult to justify matching that reported offer if that 10 mill is correct for the reasons you mentioned. But it doesn’t change the massive crater in the roster that this departure represents. If they agree to spend on the next guy what they did for Giovinco when they signed him, then maybe there is glimmer of hope. But I’m not holding my breath. They were lucky to end up with Giovinco as I alluded to earlier in other posts and they got arguably more than what they paid for. if they decide to spend 5mil a year for next DP instead of the 7mill a year they gave Giovinco, then what they will have is a $5mill DP. And, there have been others in the league of that value. Including some who have never delivered a trophy. That’s the frustrating part. After watching TFC signing of the past, I tend to view it like buying a lottery, after ten years they hit the jackpot with the Giovinco signing. Before that they got a few free tickets but not much else.

That’s old news isn’t it? Wasn’t this announced several weeks ago?

There was a quote attributed to Tim Bezbatchenko (when he decided leave) stating something along the lines that he believed that things were going to change at TFC. So he knew what was coming. I am sure that clubs and companies dont arrive at these conclusions (ie; to scale back) just out of the blue. They likely knew that this would be the new direction some time ago, even before the season tickets renewal campaign for 2019. That’s the part I find frustrating, moreso given that SSH prices went up. Since day one when this club started we have seen increases and decreases as far as ticket prices over the years. Often it was based on the mood and optimism around the fans and clubs. They managed the mood well last fall to justify an increase in season seat prices.

I can never fault any professional for wanting to get paid. Careers are short for athletes and we don’t know the details of what they offered and what was asked. You cant compare the Giovinco situation to that of Osorio because one (Giovinco) has name value and pedigree that translates across borders. Plus the numbers will be different and hence the gaps in numbered will be larger for a guy like Giovinco as opposed to Osorio. With Osorio, they might have been haggling over tens of thousands of dollars and where else is he going to go? With Giovinco they may have been haggling over many millions and there are more places in the world he can go.

Yes. This is similar to a point I made earlier. There seems to be a misconception that TFC never spent before the Giovinco era. But they did spend. It’s just that they never got the same value in return and they never allow the chemistry to form. I don’t know that you can replace what Giovinco brings given the Constraints of MLS.

Not familiar with him. The age part (28) would mean that he is still at his peak as far as abilities. So that part is encouraging.

This would be a disaster. Regardless of the money they get for him and even if they break the bank to replace him, you just can replace what he brings. The goals scoring is one thing, but its also what he creates in the final third and the space he creates for others. And then there’s the free kicks. Who is out there that is willing to come to MLS, that replaces the skills i mentioned and that is not on the downside of his career? Sure there are always the thierry henry and wayne rooney types and other great fowards but not with the multideminsions that giovinco had. Mls people use to talk about David Villa, i say BS to that comparaison. Villa could score goals but couldnt fulfill definition of a ten like Giovinco. In his mvp year, i believe that he had the kind of form whereby he would starred in any league in the world. Maybe he was too good for the league and maybe he should have been playing somewhere else like top flight Italy, spain or england at that time but it was sure worth the price of admission. TFC was very fortunate to land this guy. No way did anyone expect the kind of impact he would have when they signed him. Even the tactics, like the multiple midfield formations, worked because you had Giovinco. A diamond formation , for example, worked because while the team conceded width on the pitch, the diamond created space for the midfielder when difting from side to side while having Giovinco on the opposite side drawing the attention from defender(s). This created a game that was fun to watch because it had lots of passing, possesion and creativity. Made the midfield look great.

Thats not a very strong denial of the story.

All well and good to have money to spend but are they going to get the kind of value from that money that equals what has departed? Thats the question. You could end up with another Aketxe with some of that money just as easily that you could find another Vazquez. Thats the nature and lessen learned from 12 years following this league. You just never know who is going to fit in and adapt and make an impact. Other examples, Altidore is here because Jermaine Defoe got home sick. And if Defoe stays, would they have spent the money they did to get Giovinco? I doubt it. And without Giovinco and Altidore how many trophies would TFC have? MLS is a weird league because of the cap and salary structure. In other leagues around the globe, you more often get what you pay for. if you have lots of money to spend you have a large margin of error because any incomming talent is more likely to fit and look good because there is comparable valued talent around them. In MLS, a guy like Giovinco is going to play on the same pitch as some college guy who might be a second or third division player in europe. Giovinco can rise above that and make others better. But was Torsten Frings able to do the same? Yes, i know they play different roles but even though Frings had a bigger pedigree, he did not have anywhere near the impact as Giovinco. Much less Bradley. Yet, Frings started every game for a national team that went to the world cup. Finals

Hagglund was a good and usefull piece. The only aerial presence the team had on set pieces. He was also young enough to still have an upside.

I’d like to know what the ratio of subtractions to additions is from the roster and team this off season. Seems like every roster news that has been comming out is about key players or personel leaving or being released rather than of exciting additions. Vasquez, as someone else pointed out, was someone you could have placed on a short list for league MVP a few years ago. Its imposible to stay confident of seeing trophy presentations in 2019 given all the news of the last month comming out of the TFC camp.

This would explain the selection of a former New York Red Bull exec.. NYRB have seldom signed anyone who would be considered marquis talent. They have had success if you look at wins and losses but no real trophies. And, when the scheduled is released or when season tickets box comes in via courier, the NYRB matches are not the ones that I am going to mark on my calendar. Unlike, say, half a dozen other teams in the league that come to mind. Thats the problem with significantly lowering the spending. You will lose your attractiveness and your image. I like the image of the big bad spenders who say “to hell with what everyone else thinks, we are in it for ourselves. “. I believe that in this sport, more so than certain others, there is a more direct correlation of trophies and to what you spend. The investment in the big three is what turned this club around. And the thought of going back to a time before that is what will cross my mind when it comes time to renew for 2020.

Depends on the person. But, there’s Better job security as a president. So many things that are out of your control can go wrong when your a GM (eg.: injuries, personality conflicts in the locker room, underperformance, chemistry, unreasonable fan expectation..etc). As president, you can better plan and see the fruits of your plan. As GM, you can try to plan but more often than not your dealing with day to day things all the time.