I didnt see the game , but the highlights just showed TFC miss after miss in front of the goal mouth... this could have been much much worse. Edson Buddle should have hit that great pass from Allen Gordon .., that was the only shot on goal the whole dam game wearing cleats on a wet artif. field is always a dangerous proposition. no one wants to break a leg.
Blind G-Faith What? - we suck with those two players!! We are a (.500) team with no arguing MLS's most expensive team.
On the Gordon versus Buddle question - Gordon does work harder, he's more creative and he's smarter than Buddle. IIRC all of our dangerous chances came through Gordon. Buddle has his uses, however, and he is a better finisher than Gordon (despite the disappointing miss in Toronto which let's face it, could happen to any forward including especially Donovan), and he may be a better running mate to Donovan, and he's developed a pretty good touch in traffic & with his back to the goal. I think the Buddle & EJ comparisons are valid. They are very similar in being physically gifted but not always seeing the field or the right runs. They just aren't that soccer smart. I think Buddle knows that his work rate isn't what it should be. He constantly talks in interviews about keeping moving, he has to think about it all the time, that is obviously what Ruud & Landon & David are trying to teach him. He has made progress. We've invested in both these guys, they are important to our offense, but they are obviously not now and may not ever be ready to carry it. We have 3 useful forwards at the moment, soon to be 4 when Ruiz gets back into shape, I hope. I actually think that's pretty good & I wouldn't want to mess with it. We will need them all.
On another thread is a discussion about getting futbols for Iraqi children. In the thread is a link to an ESPN piece about an honorable story which this post has little in common with except in highlights the conditions in which the worlds most popular sport is played frequently; that is all dirt. For many of us who have played here in the USA this type of field was not uncommon in the 60's and 70's where I played. In many parks here in Los Angeles today, the field is as barren as a Bradley match plan. There are a lot worse places to play then on turf. When it rains like it did in Toronto, the turf absorbs the water so you don't see the puddles and splashes. Ever play in a match with standing water? Give me the turf over natural every time in the rain. I wonder what McDonald thinks? He played 3 1/2 years on turf at San Francisco but was injured for a half of season. But I am pretty sure he was injured on a 'natural' field. The long and short of this post is, the turf is different (bouncier), but the difference is not by that much and in the rain, IMO turf is a better pitch to play.
Well, without Donovan and Beckham, and without a 100% Ruiz, our team is basically a bunch of journeymen and some rookies. And that's exactly what we looked like yesterday. Although Franklin is still a stud.
so let me set the record straight. LA lost because of the turf and because Landon and Becks were not in the lineup? Toronto was missing Guevara, Robert, Sutton, Marshall, Robinson and Dichio. we were playing on the same turf as you. but i understand that we play on it all the time so we are probably more used to it. i guess if we played on your field and you had Donavon and Becks and we had our guys then what would have the score been???? HOW ABOUT TORONTO WINNING 3-2 JUST LIKE ON 04/13
I agree with you.I think Ruud should have a good looked with some of his players.Don't keep the one that has no future,(improvement)trade them for hard working kids. Buddle & Gordon really did show their color in that game....... Again what was wrong with Randolph? The kid is going down fast......
How about you guys have a real football field? Too bad that was a final game with your team this year,I'll wait for 2009 by that time Toronto should see the grass turf.
Well our players aren't exactly keen on the Turf we fans aren't big fans of the Turf. If you want to e-mail David Miller, the mayor of Toronto, and ask him to allow TFC to put down grass we'd very much appreciate it.
Donovan > Guevara, Robert, Sutton, Marshall, Robinson and Dichio Beckham > Guevara, Robert, Sutton, Marshall, Robinson and Dichio We always give up two goals, the only difference is with them we would have scored 4. There are no clean sheets in sexy football
Quoted for truth. Too much truth, sadly, especially the "we always give up two goals" part. And I'm liking the use of our new tag line!
My impressions: LAG w/o Becks & Donovan are about 50% as good as LAG with them. When Landon's not playing we obv. lose his speed, passing, and scoring. But with Becks gone we lose even more because Becks raises the play of everyone around him. The team feeds off his competitiveness when the chips are down and they also tend to emulate his calmness and quick play when he is on the field. When he isn't they drop back to their natural tendency to taking too many touches on the ball and playing with a kind of resigned-to-losing attitude. Well most of them do - exceptions would be Franklin, Gordo, Klein, who continue to play quickly and simply. Most of our team struggles with ball control - put them on a wet slick turf field and it is really ugly. Then put them in new positions and it gets uglier. After watching the game I had a strange urge to gouge my eyes out. Gordo is really showing a sweet touch on the ball (most of the time). He's not much of a scorer but he is a pretty good set up man. Roberts is guaranteed to give up 1+ goals per game. Buddle is, well, Buddle. Hope Frapachino is struggling in recent games because of playing out of position and then on wet turf and this isn't signs of things to come. Hope it's not because he is drinking again (no evidence- just a made up rumor). Cronin is OK but continues to make very few "big" saves. I like seeing Ruiz back on the field. He immediately started trying to work combination plays with his teammates - a good sign. Tudela must be in the far, far back bedroom of the doghouse.
Except when you played against us in LA in April. you let in 3 and you only scored 2. QFT yeah thats right
I am so glad you noticed this too. I've mentioned it before - and mentioned it in my rant - that he has had some classy touches on the ball and has improved light years over last year. I mean, some of his passing has an exquisite touch, as well as his ability to receive the ball and dish it off quite nicely. And he and Ruiz seemed to be on the same wavelength in their limited minutes together and were trying to work some combinations. After they get another week of training together, and with the addition of Becks back in the lineup, I'm looking foward to seeing them take the field up top vs. Colorado. I'm betting on us getting back in the scoring columns.
You won that game, we played better. If we have both our full strength sides, we win 2/3. Now since we won't have a full strength side for a few weeks, keep believing you are right.