I had the privilege of a two hour dinner with Jesse and Jared last night

In Jesse We Trust.

 

"He also stated the only goal is to do better than last year"

Makes sense.

 

Under-promise and over-deliver, thereby keeping expectations low and everyone happy.

 

Last year Jesse said the goal was to make the playoffs. They made the playoffs.


I prefer someone who sets a realistic target and actually hits it to a Klinsmann salesman type.

 

Great stuff, Nigel... thanks for sharing...what an opportunity.

It was expected, but I'm a little bummed to hear they're keen on Godoy above Flo. At least they see Flo as the Dmid...very happy about that...we can build it up from there. Hopefully Godoy plays his butt off, but I have my reservations about him ahead of Flo.

I think he was just being polite when he said Cummings is only 5 lbs overweight...much more than that I believe.

Great to hear Jesse's short and long term goals...very candid answer regarding when we could realistically challenge for the cup.

We went from having the all time worst GM in MLS history to potentially having one of the best...total sea change.

 

Did you ask him why he hired the "Swedish Dominic Kinnear"?

Godoy-Flo at CM is a lock as I've been saying all along, though I think there's a chance that failures at CB cause Flo to move back there for a while at some point.

I disagree that we necessarily have to wait 2 years to win a championship. You just have to make the playoffs and get hot and have some good luck. I think the previous 2 champions before TFC last year were low seeds. There are so many teams in MLS now that winning a championship is more unlikely than ever, and more of a crap shoot than ever.

I guess if you have a truly elite team (and truly elite teams in MLS are very rare) you can increase your chances but otherwise, crap shoot. It is possible to be a good or very good team for many years and not win a championship. I think this is Jesse just not quite fully coming to terms with the reality of our playoff format yet. He is still thinking a bit "Euro". He hasn't seen Portland sneak into the playoffs with a "meh" team, and then win the Cup.

 

You don't think doing better than last year is a realistic goal?

 

Or Jesse understands exactly what you're saying and is merely managing expectations.

 

My previous comment:

 

I wouldn't say it's 2 years away though. I'd say it's however many years away . But seriously, I think a realistic goal is to make the playoffs consistently and be a consistently good team (let's say top 3 in the conference). A stretch goal would be to be elite for a number of years. How many MLS Cups come out of that, that's where the voodoo takes over .

 

Okay. Guess I inferred sarcasm where it was absent.

 

I think Flo is a better defensive player than Godoy, and with questions hanging over our new CB pairing, probably a wise decision to have Flo a little closer to them.

 

Stahre making the same point I was making. The "fun" thing about MLS: "Make the playoffs, and you can be the champion. I think that's an amazing thing".

 

Where did you eat?

 

I was being a little facetious about "the Swedish Dominic Kinnear" thing though I've been saying that he will be more of a defense first coach like Dom, and we may play a lot of "compact / quick counter" (read "bunker / counter") like Vancouver played last year.

 

I agree, much better protection. Imo, Flo at Dmid is the critical piece in the midfield foundation. He makes the right decision 99% of the time...he rarely makes mistakes...he reads the game so well...and he's a huge positive force and inspirational leader for his teammates.

There is a big drop before you get to anyone else at Dmid and that includes Godoy...who in my mind is a bit loose with his decision making...a bit of a joker who can be baited into boneheaded rash retaliations...plus he naturally plays a slower legato style, which might not be the best approach if we want to quickly move the ball out when we counter.

The saving grace with Godoy is we have a lot of depth and competition for the other central mid position. He'll need to bring his best every game to stay on the field. We didn't see that last year. It was Jekyll and Hyde...and he doesn't play worth a shit when he plays with the young guys...truly toxic chemistry with Tommy and Yueill, and to some degree Lima...deal breaker for me.

 

Don't know if you asked, or if Jesse gave you any hints, but what style of play is he after in his "long term plan"? Or is it just about youth development, and then "just win", or "just win smart"?

 

You guys forget - Godoy will be missing a not-tiny number of games this season due to national duty. I’m fine with Jesse’s philosophy here - ride Anibal as long as you can, and not have to drop a bit in quality with Flo to fill in. Given that Flo just turned 29, I don’t think it’s the worst thing to keep him a bit fresh.