I know Toronto FC is an expansion team and much has been said about the style of play. TFC plays a long ball, quick passing type game similar to what is seen in England. DC United seemed to be able to pass the ball better and retain possession better than Toronto FC in today's game. What do you Toronto FC fans think about the style of play? Do you think it needs to change in order to compete with other MLS squads on a regular basis or become an MLS contender? Will it be successful in the near future?
I personally don’t like the longball game & one touch/pass football, but I don’t think we got the right players to play more creative style of football. We lack technique/creativity right now. But to be fair, Toronto is dealing with a lot of injuries right now. They're missing some of their key players.
TFC07 I agree but I think TFC still plays the same way even with those injured players. I guess part of the reason is due to the players we have at our disposal, but I also think we could sign other players that could adapt to different styles of play.
We will see what MO does during the off-season. I am not too sure how much salary cap space TFC has though.
In reality, we are playing 3 vs 11. our only good players are Dichio, Wynne and sometimes Edu or Brennan (the sometimes makes them each .5) If Ronnie and Cunny come back, then it's 5 vs 11, the rest of our team is crap. Style doesnt matter when you don't have players that can string more than 1 pass together, or cough up the ball whenever they are on it. there, simple enough for ya?
I think we should just play more long ball football get Dichio, Lombardo and Sammuel (to make late runs into the box) and we should just keep launching it in there and hope we get lucky. With our players I don't see any other way.
*engage sarcasm mode* ya, because having only one style of attack makes it so hard to defend against *terminate sarcasm mode* As has been shown already by our opposition, all they need to do is shut down Dichio and we pretty much have no offense, except for when Wynne makes a run.
hey it worked for Bolton so far, they've gotten more skilled lately but last season there were tonnes of games where every throwin/freekick basically any chance they got to put it in the box they put it in and it eventually led to wearing down teams/ someone makes an error. Its not pretty, but you can grind out draws and get the occasional win. A lot of goals have come from dead ball situations and crosses this season.
LOL. But you do make a good point. We ned to improve the player quality. Samuel has been a disappointment; Welsh is a winger that can't make a cross and Lombardo can't hit the goal. I'm all for developing players but none of these guys are going to turn things around in the near future. O'Brien is the only quality midfielder, but he is prone to injury, so we need a mid DP and some one else who can hold and create in midfield. I'm willing to give MO the benefit of the doubt until next year. Every team as to deal with the same salary cap, so it is no excuse if we sign useless players.
Wow, someone says it like it is. I agree 100% We suck bad, even with a full team, we have 5 good players, and even they aren't anything special (sept ronnie) Dichio needs service, we can't service him right. Wynne is basically our most dangerous offensive weapon, and he's a right back! lol Edu tries so hard, but when you got nobody else worth passing to, you'll fail... Everyone else is horrible. I like Melo and thought he contributed to the team with solid passing skills, patience with possession and a deadly accurate shot. But we won't see him since MO never understood that we get 3 subs a game... And I know welsh sucks, but wtf...atleast put him on for 15 minutes as a sub and watch him run around... I can't wait for the offseason, this team sucks, even with all our players.
LOL, I agree with this all Rabid, except maybe the point about subs... Who do we have to sub on? is it still handball if Ronnie hits it with his crutch? Mo does sub on way to late though, I think he has a personal rule of not before the 80 minute mark. Does anyone know if something spectacular happened in Mo's playing career when he was subbed on or off at that time in the game?
How do we know if our subs are good or not though when we don't sub at all? I saw Melo, Canizalez, Gala in the games that i'ved watched. Melo stood out as pretty damn good for an 18 year old, Canizalez played 10 minutes, hardly able to make an analysis, and Gabe is hardly used but was "decent" when put on. We have so many others to try. We won't make the playoffs, why not try these kids to see who comes and goes next season?
totally agree, since there's no reason to play hard, throw on... dare I say it, our crap players.... lol, well alright, our bench players, cuz u cant get much worse than TFC lately
The style, and I'll barely call it that because losing has no style, is dictating itself due to the situation TFC finds itself in. Did anyone watch the Copa America this year at all? How did Brazil win? Well I'd never seen a Brazilian team blast the ball up so much in my life. These days you can't afford to leave out any one weapon because it's not pretty. Unfortunately for TFC, that's all we have right now.
so what you guys are basically saying is that we should play kick and chase? ok i did that when i played houseleague (non-competitive soccer). TFC need set plays and they need to pass the ball better and flow better. kick and chase might work for some teams in some leagues or competitions but it isnt working for TFC. i was reading the quotes from some of the DC guys and they were saying that they picked up on TFC play quickly and so it made it easier to shut down their attacks because TFC kept doing the same thing over and over again. the teams in the MLS are not stupid. they pick up on these things easily. we need to mix it up a little bit. They need to try different ways of getting the ball up field. and then maybe with that type of creativity we will FINALLY score a goal. the problem is that TFC dont really have creative midfielder. other than o'brien is injured. we will have to wait and see what mo has up his sleeve but i think that we will have to wait until next year before we reach the playoffs if we keep up this scoring drought.
I have absolutely zero problem with the bolded part. TFC is an expansion team. I had zero expectation from them other than to show some work effort and probably lose a huge number of games. Unlike others that want to lynch the manager in TFC's first season, I'm ok with the progress the team is making. The team has been ravaged by injuries, and within the economic framework of the MLS, at this point there isn't much more than Mo can do except keep pressing on, and bringing in some players to trial. He has given me indications that he is doing both those things. I don't think it is fair to ask anything more of the team at this point. If they were out on the pitch just dogging it, I would have less sympathy. But they certainly look like they are trying, and that is good enough (for now). Cheers!
Don't know about Mo's subbing history. But I think it's just that he's trying to keep the best players he has on the field for as long as possible. The reality is, though, that most of this team looks like an MLS team circa 1996, playing at about conference/league two level, if that. Some of the better players in the league bring it up to about league one, lower championship level, but only a few teams have a majority of their starting 11 fit that description. So it becomes a "constant pressure", boot and chase style game. AS long as you know your opponent can't ditch pressure or hold up the ball -- or has poor movement off the ball into space -- then you can just full field press them all the time and they're forced to play dump-and-chase, which is exactly what's happening to Toronto. Mo didn't do the best job in terms of team depth, but that's to be expected to some extent; there probably weren't many players willing to go to a new franchise, in a (relatively) new league, in a Canadian city, on field turf stadium (right or wrong, there's a stigma). If he's got any sense there will be massive turnover this winter as he does what teams below the prem do: look for roleplayers to fill specific duties in specific spots of a specific tactical approach. This year, he went after a combo of flash/whoever he could get, knowing full well that speed and intent sell tickets...but that a lot of flash players (one good move, an extra gear, a 10-cent football brain) often are available on free transfers entirely because of the lack of depth they offer a team. We don't need players from South America over those frm Europe or vice-versa. In fact, I don't care if every single new player comes from Zimbabwe (although we have to get rid of the ridiculous Canadian content restriction to play in an international league). What we need are players to do what we've been unable to do this season: 1) Open up space. a) We already have two forwards (dichio and lombardo who can hold up the ball). So we need at least two more speed strikers, preferably one who is as much a mover and poacher off the ball as a finisher, ala cunningham. b) Control the midfield We already have two midfielders in robinson and edu who can feed a good pass. But neither has shown much in the aggressive holding role. So one of them has to be relegated to rotation or a backup role, or released if that's two expensive. We need onje solid defensively inclined midfielder who can deliver a good long pass and ditch short with comfort. c) Cross the ball. We need two new wingers, one to cover for the other two, one to play on the left side. I love Welsh's work effort for the first two-thirds of the game, right up until he also realizes he can't beat a molehill and gives up. Ditto with Colin Samuel, as both a striker and winger. Plodders don't win games, they fill in for injuries and try not to look bad. d) Dominate the box. We need a strong centre back. Marshall is too old to be the anchor man anymore and both Boyens and Braz are number twos at best. We need an ironman who doesn't f__k up and doesn't let his mind drift, who can win big crosses in the air and knock people around a bit. We're pretty deep at fullback, although both Brennan an Dunivant scare me, as they're both more offensive than defensive. On the right side we have good depth starting with Wynne and with Braz backing him up. e) WE need someone at MLSE who is not only studyingthe big picture, soccer-wise, but is also effective at communicating that vision to the public. USL support has shown that even in Toronto, which may be the most multicultural city on Earth, people won't support sh_T football forever. That means a youth academy, a proper reserve squad and a commitment to proactive involvement in CONCACAF and FIFA politics, to ensure that our interests are represented. I'd like to see a chairmanship/board structure introduced, to show the fans that there are money-types fighting for our political interests within FIFA and its regulatory and tournament structures. So, if I magically had a GM role with TFC, I'd be looking for: Two speed strikers, one holding mid, one speed winger, one big centre back and probably one left back as well. Plus, a public board for lobby purposes and a youth academy. It would also mean getting rid of Robinson ( too expensive for the return), Welsh (waaay to expensive for the return), Boyens (he becomes a SI pretty soon, right? I'm just not seeing an upside, given that he's already 25), and Dunivant (because he and Brennan are basically the same player, but Jimmy's better defensively, where we need the help most from a fullback.) These aren't going to be cheap chnges, especially if the quota rules remain, and it's no going to happen in one more season. We're still a few years away from taking on -- or overtaking-- the rest of the league. We can, however, compete for a playoff spot if we use our DP right (and, given the team's exceptional financial situation, perhaps bought another a la New York). That could instantly solve two of our key shortages, perhaps at striker and defensive mid. Finding some wide style players who are good on the dribble and can cross would actually be easier, I would imagine. The defensive issues are then down to convincing one good centre back to come in.
Yes we do need more quality players. Why don't we play Canizalez, Melo Gabe more? I know people like to hope about the playoff situation but there comes a time when u have to be realistic. I mean we're having trouble scoring so why not experiment. Put Wynne up front with Dichio, play a 4-2-4 or try a 4-3-3. Do something to change up the mix. Because I can't think of a better time than now to do these things. I'll even go for Mo putting on a jersey and going on for a run. Surprise me, heck i'm in this til I die as a lifetime season ticket holder. Otherwise, if Montreal gets a team in the future I may have to jump ship.
This teams needs to stop singing British players and sing South and Central American instead. Some of you may not know it, but Central American is an undiscovered gold mine for players. Where do you think DC got Luciano from?
ok thats not entirely true. TFC has been the better team in a lot of their recent games its just that we cant catch a break. we are unlucky and that is just something we will have to wait out.
ya, I dont want to hear Dichio sing either, I dont think he'd have a good signing voice. that being said, South and Central Americans are overhyped as the wunderkind of the sport, simply because they take the game so seriously down there.
i agree i dont think that all south/central americans are good at soccer i truely think they are overrated. european players are just as good and often better.