http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_...o-miss-4-6-weeks-with-strained-hamstring.html So are we 100 percent screwed? Or just 95 percent screwed?
D*mn, f**k, sh*t, bo**cks, cr*p, and any other profanities you can think of. Frings has become TFC's engine, and without him, others better step up (pointing at you here JDG) or we're going to be of a bunch of lame party poppers rather than the red rockets!
Really starting to miss Surgis about now. Basically we're now doomed to four to six weeks of Dunfield which will result in both a dysfunctional defense, and a Dysfunctional midfield
Dunfield does exactly what he's meant to do in his position. I don't understand why he's the whipping boy. He distributes the ball quickly, and in a defensive manner. He's not meant to be holding onto it.
No your correct, that is his responsibility but I would argue that his distribution is sometimes questionable and not accurate. Over the past few games, I have watched him carlessly give up possesion or make a poor pass. Dunfield has potential, but against difficult opposition, imo is a liability
Yeah, I know. Dunfield is meant to be a substitute, you can see it with defensive midfielders like Frings and De Guzman on the team with him. That doesn't mean everyone should just be taking potshots at the guy all the time, though. The way TFC Ajax talks about him you would think he had the all-time league record for own-goals.
This is my sentiment. CCL hs gone from faint hope to dire need of a miracle. As far as regular season goes, here's what we've got over the next 6 weeks: San Jose (H) Columbus (H) Impact (A) Chivas (H) Chicago (H) Real Salt Lake (A) So, four home games, one away game where we'll have a massive amount of travelling support, and an away game with very little if any travelling support. Other than RSL, none of these are particularly strong teams. I think we'll find ourselves in a decent position when Frings comes back.
As I asked in the Santos thread, do we risk starters in the home opener given the absence of Frings and Santos next week? Should the CL game be a priority?
It's a hard choice. Making it to the CCL finals is little more than a pipe dream at this point, but no coach would admit to throwing something at the expense at something else. Winter has to approach the San Jose game with the intent of winning. He'll likely put out his usual starting squad minus a few key players he really wants for the CCL match. For example, he may put in Soolsma to keep Johnson handy for Wednesday. He'll also likely designate one goalie for the MLS games and another for the CCL games.
actually this is just wrong. He doesn't distribute it quickly. If he has to do something quickly, he'll just punt it. I agree that he's not meant to be holding it, but the problem is that when he has time to think, or has a man in space, he holds onto it for too long. Also if he has a runner in space, his pass (if he passes to them) is usually behind them. So I honestly don't get where it comes from that he does what he's supposed to do (maybe because he's a Canadian International?) the fact is that our midfield is nowhere near as good as it has to be when Dunfield plays. When he replaces anyone in the midfield we experience a huge drop in quality. He doesn't press, his distribution isn't very good, and he has no spacial awareness. Whether or not he's sub quality doesn't matter, because so far he's played in all three of our games, starting two of them and coming on at HT in the other, and more to the point of this thread: with Frings out for the next 4-6 weeks, it's likely that we'll be seeing a lot more of him in the starting XI. I'm looking at him strictly from the perspective of what players bring to the game, and how that affects our chances of a good result. Therefore if a player like Dunfield isn't preforming properly, I'm going to voice my opinion. Last year everyone did the same thing with Iro, yet you never heard anyone complaining about that. Why am I suddenly not allowed to point out Dunfield's flaws?
I think he should try facing his own keeper.. that way, all those tedious back-passes become brilliant threats..
this is as good a schedule as you could hope for without Frings, i really feel like we should still be able to accumulate some points. it's possible he could be back even a week ahead of RSL, to get match fit.
As stated previously, I tend to agree that Dunfield has made some poor decisions during the last 3 games, that being said, he has also made some good decisions and shown he is capable of playing in the midfield position. I believe RedCoat is simply pointing out that some ,like yourself, have been in his opnion,overly critical of Dunfield who cannot solely be blamed for any breakdowns that occur in the midfield and has the potential to contribute. Regardless how anyone feels about Dunfield, the loss of Frings is going to hurt us for the next 4-6 weeks.
I agree, I believe players like Johnson and Plata will be rested in preparation for the Santos game. It's kind of nice to have some depth for a change!
What do you think will happen if you put Frei in net and Kocic as a defender? (or vice-versa). I've seen them rush out a few times and they both are capable of making brilliant tackles.