Fine. I am going to start drinking Canadian Club Whiskey. I am going to eat caribou steaks and maple leaves in my salad. I will work on PRO-jects and PRO-cesses. What channel carries curling? I bet it is on TWC whatever it is. . .
Talked to some players about the past few reserve games. Findlay has shown well with 3 or 4 goals the past 3 games, must be why we have seen him subbed in late in the games. Also, Barson has had 3-4 assists and drawn a PK, wonder if we will see him in place of Williams?
Just now getting back to my computer from out of town - hence the tardy post on the game, but my take: - I very concerned and surprised by Gonzalez. Shocking turnovers for a Central American National Team CB. Especially stabbing at the ball. He has nice skills for a defender and often creates good starts from the back, but not a lock down defender. Too many missed tackles and not the physical presence I was hoping for. - Despite someone's earlier post, I thought Francis had an excellent game. I hope he is trending this way. The wasted crosses were perhaps a shortcoming, but that was a team epidemic. - On the crosses, I was glad to see GB talk about changing that approach. We do not have the heads in the middle to be consistent at that game. Also, although it is certainly an important tactic, I do not care for old English style which used that as the primary approach to creating chances. Even with a guy like McBride in the middle, that approach relies too much on luck for my liking. Another surprise with our crossing game was how often we didn't have at least one man on the back side or hanging outside of the box for crosses that get through or carom out of the crowd. Especially when we were playing from behind. Too many people jammed up together IMO. - Oduro does not strike me as a natural, back to the defender, center forward. He has not been very effective in that role. - I think our vertical movement and switching is excellent. I would like to see more lateral runs up front. Too many times when we have the ball and are pressing in the opponents half, our front line either stands or runs away from the ball straight up field. This requires the man with the ball to beat someone on the dribble or create space on their own. BTW, this is a classic problem that plagues a lot of teams, especially in this country. - Federico has had a surprising number of unforced turnovers. I can't figure this enigma out. Overall, I think it is very important for us to remember that the this team is very new. New style, new players, new coach, etc. Also, it is clear that we are still trying to upgrade with another player or two. It will take time to mature as a unit. But I believe we have made tremendous strides. Even after the disappointment on Saturday, I still like the way we are headed and I remain very excited. In my opinion, the soccer being played now is at a much higher level than what we saw the past two years.
I'll be honest, Toronto doesn't annoy me anymore. The fans at the game seemed perfectly fine and civilized, their roster seems to have come together, they're doing pretty well at the moment.