Barrett sucks as a striker and always will. However, he is clearly a natural winger and does very well in that position. He doesn't put many goals in, but I couldn't help but notice that there were a great many times that his foot had the second last TFC touch as we scored. All he needs is a coach who knows how to best use him. If we don't protect him, Philly will take him and laugh at us for giving him up so easily.
Barrett is not a natural winger, not even close. He is forward, a head down, single minded, and hard running. Of course he would be better in Philly, of course they'd laugh, but when its not working, its just not working. His 2ook could be spent on a real winger. As for Brennan and Robinson I honestly beleive one or both wont be here. Things cant continue as they are now.
I know that and you know that and I'm sure that most people on this board think that TFC is in need of a huge overhaul. Unfortunately, in the interviews that I've heard so far, Mo seems to think that we only need to add a few new players to the team to make this team a contender. And I don't see any signs from MLSE that Mo is going anywhere anytime soon. So, I'm expecting the core group from this season to be around for spring training next year with perhaps a few new trialists.
I'm one who does not think the team needs a major overhaul. I think the squad itself is pretty competitive for this league, it just needs to be utilised properly, read: a good coach. Don't get me wrong, I'll always believe that the squad can be improved, we especially need some wide mids. I just don't think that it needs a full rework. And I still say that Barrett will succeed with TFC if used on wing (and by that I don't mean a left or right mid-fielder, I mean as a wide playing forward).
I'm surprised that so many people are that down on Barrett. Yes, it was incredibly frustrating to see the missed chances. You know what, though? He scored five goals (plus two more in the Canadian Championship). That's the same as Guevara and more than any other player on the team except DeRo. I think Barrett contributes far more in terms of hustle and coming back than Guevara does and yet somehow no one rags on Guevara for not scoring more but Barrett should apparently be walked off a plank. I would definitely like to see Barrett protected and watch him make things happen next year. If you're looking for players to leave open, leave the defenders open (except for Attakora) since we need upgrades there anyway.
When Mo recruited Barrett in the mcbride deal it was common knowledge among many soccer fans that he was not a pure goal scorer, and was in fact, not very good as a striker. He did not have the type of goal scoring record that Cunningham had for eg. He was like wynne, considered a project. He has been given numerous opportunities to demonstrate his goal scoring abilities, and managed to score once in every five or six games. Guevera is a midfielder. Any goal by a midfielder is a bonus. Barrett was given a long term extension by Mo to score goals, not to hustle. Every time he runs back to cover it is not productive. First, he gets gassed too soon, second, he has to run all the way back into position to give his wingers a target. The guy plays striker/forward like a midfielder on drugs. time to say goodbye to him, if Mo has any idea what he is doing he will admit he made a stupid mistake with the contract extension, allow Philly to pick him up , and sign a guy who knows the position and has a better goal scoring rate. If Barrett stays, it has to be as a midfielder, but whom would he replace on the current roster?
Philly will not pick up Barrett. Why? Because they are probably reading this board and seeing how much the fans of Toronto love him. Philly has 15 teams to choose from and if we are as bad as we are, we will probably not lose anybody. Columbus, Chicago, Houston, RSL, Seattle, even Dallas have some interesting players not in the top 11 that are cheaper than Barrett or Gerba.
I was wondering about that possibility, too. That said, we lost a player in each of our first two expansion drafts when we were a worse team. 2011 will be interesting with two expansion teams and Vancouver looking to take any Canadian we don't nail down. And the possibility of a Canadian-hunting Montreal in 2012.
Agreed on that! If you look at some of the teams, like Dallas, who has a Break Shea *sp, Columbus with a Garey or Lenhart, Seattle with Letoux and Levesque, the list goes on, I think if we lose somebody it will be a Sanyang, Gomez age, calibre and price point. To protect a Brennan, Gerba or Robo is pointless, nobody will pay that much for the quality of those players, Barrett maybe (I doubt it), as he is only 24.
MLS has released the rules for the upcoming draft. He is a link to the page. http://web.mlsnet.com/news/mls_news.jsp?ymd=20091118&content_id=7683798&vkey=news_mls&fext=.jsp Key points about the draft are; Teams get to protect 11 players, both senior and developmental Generation adidas players do not need to be protected Designated players only need to be protected if they have a no trade clause Teams can only lose one player -- after a team has a player selected, they are out The expansion draft will last ten rounds
Smenge, As far as the Barrett playing out of position, that is coaching. If we all see it, don't you think Cummins saw it? He was instructed to play so defensively. Once in awhile he would over do it if he lost the ball, but that is playing with passion and heart.
I am not questioning Barretts effort, just his raw scoring ability. Strikers are paid to score goals, period. They are an important part of a team effort, when they fail to execute, the hard work and hustle among the rest of the players is wasted. How many times did Barrett get an opportunity to put the ball on target and missed? Robinson can get away with that, he is a defensive midfielder, but not Barrett. After two years with this club it is time for him to move on.
I've heard that Cunningham had incentive clauses in his contract this past year. If this is true, then yes, he was getting paid extra based on how many goals he scored. This was not the case with his contract when he was playing here.
I bet a lot of people are hoping that the press release regarding Stephan Frei being a GA graduate and not protected is a big mistake. Looks like Guevara is staying put in the big TO.
Here's who is protected: Nana Attakora Chad Barrett Jim Brennan Sam Cronin Julian de Guzman Dwayne De Rosario Emmanuel Gomez Amadou Sanyang Adrian Serioux O'Brian White Marvell Wynne As Generation Adidas graduates, Stefan Frei and Fuad Ibrahim do not need to be protected as they cannot be selected in the Expansion Draft.
Surprises: * Brennan Protected (I figure that with him being Canadian on the downside of his career, Phllly wouldn't be interested) * Barrett Protected (I would think that few teams would want to touch his contract * Wynne Protected (I can't see him being in TFC's long-term plans) * Guevara Not Protected (I'm surprised because even if he isn't in the team's plans for next year, he is certainly trade material)
Here is who is unprotected: Brian Edwards Lesly Fellinga Gabe Gala Nick Garcia Ali Gerba Amado Guevara Carl Robinson Pablo Vitti
Ives take on all this. Philly can only take one player, so I assume one of Frei or Guevara (or possibly Edwards) is gone.
Ives updated and said Frei is indeed still going to be a GA player so he won't be exposed to the draft. As for the players we left out if I was a betting man I wouldn't be surprised if Philly took Edwards who is a good back-up at a very cheap price. I know some members on the RPB board are saying we are linked to a Canadian keeper so maybe the staff has the idea Edwards will be the one picked. Though last season many of us thought Johann Smith was going to be the players selected but it ended up being Jarrod Smith.
^^^ both Poz and Jarrod Smith being taken were a surprise (although Jarrod Smith along with Andy Boyens will likely get to play in a world cup whereas JDG and DeRo will not....) Ives has listed all the protected players (link below). Let the mock drafts begin: http://www.soccerbyives.net/soccer_by_ives/2009/11/mls-expansion-draft-protected-lists-unveiled.html