An analysis of the players connected with TFC's and their chances of being included on the roster for the first time: Beginning with the draft picks... - Julius James (DF): He looks almost certain to make the team and possibly challenge for a first team place. Before the draft, he was seen as one of the few players that could step in and make a difference. The fact that he has signed a contract makes him even more of a lock. 5/5. - Pat Phelan (DF): Judged to be another steal at the draft for Mo, he too was considered to be a player that could make the roster immediately. In my opinion, he seems unlikely to make first team but likely to be a reliable bench player, at least in the beginning. Can Mo sign this non-Generation Adidas player? I hope so, and that is the main variable in the equation. 4/5. - Brian Edwards (GK): With Stamatopoulos gone, Djekanovic playing for Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Monsalve dropped from the face of the Earth (he may be on the developmental roster), and Reynolds gone too, Edwards looks to be our backup keeper behind Sutton. This is assuming he can be signed in due time, and that Wagenaar ceases to pout and sulk over in the Netherlands. I would propose that Wagenaar's situation will be the main difference for a roster spot for Edwards. 3.5/5 - Mike Zaher (DF): We really know very little about what’s going with him other than that he was in some Jojo music video, but I digress from football… With James and Phelan in the picture, I find it highly unlikely that he’ll make the roster, particularly if Mo signs some new players. My spidey senses tell me Mo might want to focus more on the midfield and the attack rather than the back line. If this turns out to be true, then Zaher gets a small boost to his chances. 2/5. - Joseph Lapira (FW): This issue has been on many people’s mind and this assessment is intended to be realistic, not a wish upon a star. We know Lapira is talented and if he had been committed to play in the MLS, he would have been picked in the top 10 (to be conservative). But the truth is, he is not. He seems intent on going off to Europe and signing with a club there. Having been turned down at Aberdeen, where will he go next? To be completely frank, I don’t know and from the news posted around the web, it seems that TFC is a last resort and even then, he might not come. I personally have an opinion on what he SHOULD have done, but that’s for another day. If he comes to TFC as a last resort, will his attitude play a factor? By this, I don’t mean to say he has a bad attitude, merely that he could be dogging it at TFC, if he’s only there because it’s a job. That could impact his chances of making the roster. 1.5/5. - Xavier Balc (MF): The general agreement is that he has good vision and good distribution skills while being a little on the slow side. Coupled with a bad Combine, many teams shied away from him, and having picked him in the Supplemental Draft is a good deal, if not a steal in the minds of some. He’s supposed to be good on the left wing, where we need some help. To me, if Mo is unable to sign someone to fill that position, Balc will have a fair shot at it, at least from the bench. 3.5/5. On to the rumoured players… - Darren Huckerby (FW): A player many feel would fit well with the team and I’d agree. He won’t be renewing/receiving a new contract from Norwich City, giving TFC a shot at him. However, unless he is released early from his contract, we shouldn’t expect him until the summer. 2.5/5. - Steafano Fiore (MF): Was briefly rumoured to be joining TFC but this was quickly quashed. There is, at the moment, no chance of him coming. 0/5. - Josh Wagenaar (GK): The story is that he’s been offered a contract, Mo won’t budge, and Wagenaar has some issue with it. Either it’s too little money or he wants to be guaranteed a certain amount of playing time (perhaps first team status), which Mo can’t do because of a healthy Sutton, which in my opinion deserves to be #1. Statistically (SV% and GAA combined) he was our worse keeper but we have to remember that the first 3 games were lost by a total score of 0-9 because of a shambly (is that even a word?) defence. 2/5. - Savo Milosevic (FW): I was very excited when he was on trial at the end of the 2007 season. He has had success wherever he was gone and I would be glad to have him on the team despite the scepticism of some. However, we have heard next to nothing from him since his trial and that is probably not a good sign. Although this is just hearsay, people around the forums feel it’s likely we wanted too much money, an entirely plausible scenario. 1.5/5. - Steven Whalen: This rumour first emerged something like 2-3 weeks ago and died fairly fast. Honestly, even supposing he was interested in TFC, he doesn’t have the skill to make himself “worth it”. Other fans seemed to concur but never say never and I’ll leave the door slightly open for me to be wrong. 0.5/5. - Amado Guevara (MF): This was the guy who was Mo traded for before the 2007 season and refused to report. Mo told him things that should not be repeated and he went to play in his native Honduras and TFC is probably better off for it. I may get flak for this, but I’m really not a fan of South American players and their simulating talents. I do concede that this is a generalization and not all players are like this. In any case, Guevara resurfaced when news broke that a coach was in the area doing some scouting. Originally, this was thought to be Mo but turns out it was Steve Nicol. Life goes on. 0/5. Well, that’s all for now, and I hoped you enjoy reading this. Leave me your thoughts, comments, etc…
Your little review was great until the last player. Sure he's an ass for not showing up to play for a Canadian team, but to say all South Americans (go ahead, include Italians, Portuguese there too) simulate and to act as if nobody else does is completely stupid. You really lost credit with me. PS: Watch United's game from this weekend, Rooney flopped 3 times and was carded for it the 3rd time. He's English. Lemme guess, he learnt it from good 'ol Ronaldo? Nah, players of all nationalities do it, it's more common than you think. Canadians do it too, our great Julian De Guzman's little brother Johnathan was also carded for simulation after flopping 2 times vs Ajax sometime last week (saw repeat on Setanta). If that's not enough Covney who is American, was warned twice for simulation last weekend vs Chelsea, though not carded. Sorry, just pisses me off when people stereotype players from certain regions of the world negatively. I know you said "even though not all of them do it" you still went on with stating you don't like South American players for that reason.
You're probably right Rabid, it was a bit mean. However I'm not necessarily saying that no one else does it either. I suppose I get frustrated sometimes with diving (remembering Canada's 3-0 win over Guatemala in the 2007 Gold Cup and others) and got carried away. Good on you for calling me on it; I have no problem admitting that I was wrong. P.S. I did in fact see Rooney's antics this weekend.
I was talking about ROONEY btw...not Ronaldo this weekend. And Ronaldo dives like anyother player, but you'll see everyone jump the gun and call every fall of his a flop. He's skilled, defenders close him down hard, it's bound to happen. But anyways, I'm glad you admitted that the stereotyping of regions was wrong, now on to the topic at hand. The only players I see joining TFC are James, Phelan and MAYBE Huckerby.
Yes, I actually did mean Rooney: saw it on The Score. Honestly, I felt bad for it and wanted to quickly correct my mistake. But like you said, it's past now. Concerning Huckerby, supposing he comes at all, we have to pretty much assume it'll be sometime in the summer, which is really too bad. I'm a strong believer in team chemistry. I'm also eager to see the GK situation resolved, other than Sutton and Reynolds (for 2-3 games), our keepers were very ordinary.
I am kinda angry about the lack of getting players early to build chemistry too. When he arrives if he arrives, or whomever arrives, is gunna be kinda lost for a bit and it would take 2-3 games to get used to teammates, and in a 30 game season like MLS thats too much to basically be risking the game with a player who's still trying to settle. That's why we have preseason....
That is the main problem i have at the moment, if we are being honest we did suck last year and the only way we are going to get better is to bring in players and get them building a chemistry with each other. We need to have players in and fast, i understand that we can't just buy anybody but at the moment i would settle for anybody (and that worries me )
Great posting Lucky Strike.... I also agree with all the comments about players diving. I grew up and played footie in the east end of London right up until I left for university. Play was always rough and as schoolboys you were always told to stay on your feet if you can. I heard so many of the coaches saying "don't flop about like the Germans, Italians, Brazilians, etc"... and pretty much grew up having that mentality thumped into me. But the fact is, at pro (and even semi-pro) level players are going to do what they can to gain an advantage - unfortunately, that includes diving no matter what nationality they are. I think historically, Latin and European players do tend to do it a bit more often, but the English players cannot be excluded from blame either as its become quite common for them to do it as well these days. Regarding getting players in... Mo really needs to get moving. I think his move upstairs is good since he seems to be quite a good front man for the team, and clearly he's a pretty good scout and an ok coach. It is frustrating to hear all these rumours, only to have them shot down as chances of getting players in because of money, age, attitude, etc. But at the end of the day, MLS teams really do have a lot more restrictions than European teams, and I suppose getting players with a good attitude can also prove to be challenging. With all that in mind though - I would be really disappointed with Mo if all he got in were the draft players and an "over-the-hill" former Canadian star by the time the season starts. I see another really long season (particularly with goal-scoring) if this happens... Can anyone clear up the whole Salvo Milosevitch thing? I know people have been asking, but what the hell happened with him?
According to a user over at RPB, Milosevic will likely be playing in Romania, although nothing is finalized yet. He provided the following links: How is your Romanian? http://www.protv.ro/stiri/fotbal-intern/sarbul-savo-milosevic-va-juca-in-romania.html http://pescurt.ro/stiri-sport/savo-...id-astept-o-oferta-concreta_21-01-2008_298301
UPDATE Someone over at RPB pointed out that Steve Nicol was not specifically scouting Guevara, merely that he was scouting and happened to see one of his matches.
I think that with the posting of Luck Strike, our defense can be the envy of the league in a couple of years, IF we play them right and get some help from the injury Gods (or lack of help from them!). What TFC needs in my opinion is one striker to compliment Cunny and Dichio so that when one is tired in the 2nd half or if one gets injured (hopefully not) we don't have to rely on Lombardo. Plus, with a qualified striker on the bench with Lombardo he can learn from him as well as Cunny and Dichio. Secondly, TFC needs another playmaking Midfielder to go with ROB, so that we have the contingency plan in case he goes down as well. Basically, the whole point of this post is to tell TFC, and MO, to sign players that are qualified as contingency plans if the injury bug bites us as baddly as it did last year. One last thing, regarding the chemistry comments I have been reading: This new Canadian Championship Cup thing (with the Impact and Whitecaps) will help in TFC building chemistry, as well as the MLS season and any friendlies we play. This is going to be one good year, plus we have the all-star game!
UPDATE Christian Gomez (MF): We've all heard the rumblings. At one point, it was a done deal what he would sign with Colorado, but then TFC were still in the running. Finally, more recent news would appear to tilt the scale back in favour of Colorado. He's an expensive player by MLS standards, something of concern to Colorado. Apparently, TFC has offered to loan their DP slot for a year (some say perhaps 2 or 3) in exchange for Gomez. Whether or not we believe this is a fair trade, the idea is to assess how likely we are to get him. I would advise going with our first instinct - he's likely off to Colorado but don't despair, it's never over until it is officially announced. 1.5/5. Tyler Rosenlund (MF): We don't know much about him other than he was training with Canada's men national team which suggests he is a decent player which in turn means that he's likely to attract some attention from Mo during his time in training camp. Other than that, we are in the dark and any probability assessment is nothing more than an educated guess. 2/5. Jarrod Smith (FW): We was our first pick in the 2007 Supplemental Draft but didn't report and instead played in USL-2. I currently have no reports as to how well he has done so if he wasn't tearing up that league, it is difficult to see him making an impact in the MLS. The fact that he's played off the bench for New Zealand isn't too much to get excited about: they are ranked 94th by FIFA. For comparison purposes, Canada is ranked 56th and we are not exactly known to be a world soccer power. Based on this information, his chances would appear to be slim. However, we have no indication that he wasn't tearing the USL-2 up, so he may very well be useful. 2/5. Stefan Honoré (??): Quite frankly, I won't try and pretend I know this player and make up fictitious odds. He's from France, presumably has some talent if he's with the team in camp. In the 1-1 draw with DCU, he did not start and it is unclear whether he made it onto the pitch. Only time will give us more information. ?/5. Mo is apparently close to signing three new players. Assuming he means it (because we have heard this before), we don't know if he means any of the above players or not. Stay tuned for probability assessments as we hear more. As always, I'd love to hear your feedback and remember, these are just my opinions based on what I have seen and read. Feel free to disagree - like I need to permit you to do that .
Messi and Zidane: Yea, I know, just dreaming. It would be nice for MO to sign anybody at this juncture.
I think Honore was a trainee at Barnet in league two, which means things aren't looking bright on that front.
ARIEL ORTEGA from RIVER PLATE, the #10 we've been needing since day 1! http://thestar.blogs.com/starsportsblog/2008/01/for-the-cost-of.html#comments
UPDATE According to Larry Millson, Stefan Honoré has failed to impress and will not be continuing with TFC.
AS OF 9 FEBRUARY An analysis of the players connected with TFC's and their chances of being included on the roster for the first time: Beginning with the draft picks... - Julius James (DF): Looks like he has impressed the training staff by asking to see some of his tapes so that he can better his performance. Needless to say, the team was impressed. He’s got a contract, he’s got motivation, he’s got skill. Look for him to be prominent this season. 5/5. - Pat Phelan (DF): Larry Millson was very impressed with Phelan (along with James and Edwards) and seems likely to make the team at this point. Other than that, there isn’t too much new to report. 4/5. - Brian Edwards (GK): Edwards has thoroughly impressed, making a star of Mo for not budging from his offer to Wagenaar. Word is that if Wagenaar comes, he’ll be signed to a developmental contract, which apparently is the sticking point. 4/5. - Mike Zaher (DF): No news is good news… I think. A quiet camp so far and nothing new to report that I’m aware of. 2/5. - Joseph Lapira (FW): Same as Zaher, not too much new on the front, but people seem to be getting optimistic as Lapira would appear to be running out of European options. 2/5. - Xavier Balc (MF): Larry Millson was disappointed with Balc so far in camp, somewhat vindicating those managers who passed on Balc in the Superdraft. But I get the feeling that he’s the type of player to perform better once his spot is secured. Personally, I’m the same way too, I get self-conscious about coaches evaluating me and don’t perform as well as I do during league matches. But do the coaches know this? Perhaps not… 3/5. On to the rumoured players… - Darren Huckerby (FW): No recent news on Huckerby. If he comes, it’ll be in the summer unless he is released from his contract like Danny Dichio was last year. I feel the hopes of TFC fading for now. But there are still those players that Mo said is close to signing… Is Huckerby one of them? 2/5. - Steafano Fiore (MF): The rumour was quashed a while back and it has stayed quashed. 0/5. - Josh Wagenaar (GK): As mentioned above, the sticking point appears to be the developmental contract, which I can understand since he has playing overseas and must have SOME talent. Mo’s offer would seem to be a slap in the face but I hold Mo in high regard for not budging on his offer: he holds all the cards. Wagenaar has no contract and TFC has two keepers. In my opinion, Carver shouldn’t mention the fact that he wants three goalkeepers so much to prevent giving Wagenaar leverage. In any case, he’s now in training camp with TFC and a weird facebook source (I know?!?) portays Wagenaar as getting a bit desperate to sign. 3.5/5. - Savo Milosevic (FW): Would have been a good player in the MLS and for TFC but has apparently signed (or is extremely close to) in Romania. This is difficult to verify as the sources I was provided with were in Romanian. I like languages, but that’s not one I know. 0.5/5. - Steven Whalen: Nothing new has emerged on this front as the report was quickly denied. Besides, I can confidently propose that Mo wouldn’t want him anyway. 0/5. - Amado Guevara (MF): All reports that Mo was looking at Guevara have been blown out of the water. 0/5. - Christian Gomez (MF): Has officially signed with Colorado after being rumoured with TFC for a while. As a sidebar, I think Colorado got the short end of the stick on that deal. 0/5. - Tyler Rosenlund (MF): He’s still training with TFC and is apparently holding his own. Other than that, we are left in the dark. 2/5. - Jarrod Smith (FW): Same deal as Rosenlund: he is currently with TFC but no reports as to his performance. 2/5. - Stefan Honoré (??): Has failed to impress with TFC and was given his walking papers (supposing there are some – but you get the idea). 0/5.
Zaher played in the friendly vs DC United. The reports out were that he performed fairly well, I believe