Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/TheNorthInsider/status/1808176172649345035
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/TheNorthInsider/status/1808176172649345035
Given that Norwich had a u21, premier league 2 striker who scored 20 in 2023 and he couldn't get a deal, McNeill's u21 tally of 3 in 12 is not exactly encouraging.
Edit: yeaaahhh..... two goals in 20 league two appearances on loan does not say ready for MLS.
He was released on Monday and I expect this is his agent trolling for attention.
Last edited by jloome; 07-02-2024 at 04:08 PM.
Now this makes a lot more sense.
Check out this tweet at https://twitter.com/Andres10196/status/1807875911624118450
Great, so every time CONCACAF is active we lose three midfielders? Pass.
More practicality needs to be applied here.
More breaks would be welcome but then they should do away with the leagues cup or somehow work it into the schedule while games are still going and not take a month break.
I also found it interesting that when they created the MLS schedule they wouldn't necessarily know what date each game is being played for Copa but it just so happened that Miami was scheduled to have a weekend off two weeks ago when Copa started..one less game Messi and co. have to miss.
And the Copa final is in Miami. All just a happy coincidence.
Ayo Akinola signs in Switzerland
https://fcwil.ch/2024/07/03/fc-wil-1...-mls-stuermer/
Yeh, not sold on Prince as a starting forward - he's better then some in this league but he doesn't create space for Insigne or Berne to operate towards.
Kerr at least was moving around.
Neither of them can play direct football.
If I had to midseason rate these guys out of 10, it would be:
Johnson - 6 - Keeps us in some games, wins others, makes the odd boneheaded play
Gavran - 4 - Great one game, terrible the next. Looks like a young backup, which is what he is.
O'Neill - 7 - Was consistently solid before his injury. Would've been an eight if not for a few stupid cards.
Rosted - 4 - Makes the occasional great play going back and is a good shot blocker but is late to most challenges and is generally not quick enough to read danger.
Mabika - 5 - Still lacksadaisacal although he hasn't quit on us yet this year. Looked better against Orlando but typically is late to get up for headers, despite his size, and relies too much on his size to shield guys off the ball. Is positionally late quite often.
Long - 7 - Has begun to struggle as the season has progressed, largely because he's become more desperate to close down his teammates mistakes. Too aggressive on the slide tackle for MLS, as our refs whistle when the wind blows someone over.
Gomis - 6 - Like Long, started very solid but has wilted a little, making the odd boneheaded decision. Still good in the open field but that own goal the other day was just stupid. It was a bad angle shot and he should've just left it to the keeper. Does make the odd decision that reminds you how young he is.
Petretta - 4 - Useless on the back post, utterly useless. Decent going forward but not quick enough to track back. Good defending one-one-one in our end, but that's about it. Not well rounded enough to be a starter despite obvious football intelligence.
Thompson - 5 - Better than he gets credit for but it's cameo appearances and they keep moving him around. I don't know how he'll ever be a consistent midfielder or defender if they can't decide on a job and stick to it.
Flores - 5 - Great when he's wreckin', dangerously poor vision when he's distributing.
Coello - 4 - Great when he's distributin', dangerously slow when he's wrecking.
Osorio - 6 - Competent most of the time, holds and links the ball well, has done nothing offensively in quite a while.
Longstaff - 5 - Competent most of the time, sloppy passing and link up occasionally causes us problems, has missed a few good chances too. Again, not an ideal starter, needs more consistency.
Bernardeschi - 8 - Carrying the team much of the time. Loses a point for going off script and trying to force things. Is still sometimes too emotional and quits on tracking back, but much rarer than last year.
Spicer - 7 - Good performances for a rookie, not a great defender yet. Decent, but gets caught high sometimes.
Laryea - DNR - No point rating him, hasn't had enough appearances.
Jakheel Marshall-Rutty - 5 - More aggressive in both directions than past years, needs to work on his crossing weight and quick decisions. Partially effective.
Derrick Etienne - 6 - A bit early to rate but has a couple of goals already. Is late to the box sometimes and getting back. Not sure he fits as a wingback except in a pinch. Very much a wing forward. Has a better work rate than most of his teammates.
Insigne - 4 - For his quality and cost, the most expensive waste of money in MLS. Two game winners, but a lot of occasions moping and it's clear he doesn't take any of this seriously when he doesn't bother keeping up with the team or even trying when a play goes sideways. Generally poor, with plenty of long passes left short, plenty of shots off target. If not for the two game winners, he's a 3. Minutes have to be managed, or he's glass. Probably the biggest flop in MLS history?
Owusu - 5 - Most of his goals have been tip ins. If not for those, he'd be a 4, as his movement doesn't unbalance anyone and he's late to the ball in the box far more often than not. Only dangerous when the box is packed and he can muscle space. Good defensively.
Kerr - 3 - Utterly fucking useless as a striker. Gets no service, so that's part of it, but does himself no favours with poor movement and poor first touch.
Mailula - 3 - Has a couple of goals against amateur teams but looks too small and weak on the ball for this level.
Bang on. Paints a less than flattering picture too, whether the metric is enough star power that lifts the squad, a balanced first 11, or depth in the first 18… the roster falls short.
My two silver linings are Berna looks fantastic this year and Spicer is promising. Otherwise? Lot of question marks.
Manning and Hernandez heads need to roll. We cant afford any more contract debt thrown on in an effort to save their own skins.
I have been at peace with this season - being a fan of badly mis-managed hockey and basketball teams allowed me to see the red flags and distance my self emotionally from this team- on top of that - i find it incredibly difficult to watch any MLS game after Euro/Copa.
I do wonder as i do read game day threads- many posters have mentioned the roster limitation and the lack of bench- im curious to know when we can start making noise to get bill manning out- this is absolute insanity -the worst part about it is - Bill Manning inserted himself front and center into team group pictures after wins- i cant feel he will clout chase at an given opportunity-
at what point do we as fans accept another lost season- someone mentioned 6 Wins and 1 Draw to get in- I dont see TFC winning more than 3 games going forward.
when is enough enough? I myself have been roasted by fellow board members due to my firm stance on the terrible coaching hires and player management/mis-management.
oh but how but them Argos' - lovely pitch
The magnificent coaching of Bob Bradley [
https://youtube.com/shorts/ynJLq80Qk...4BBh16xiQFCiYRlp
Last edited by rydermike; 07-04-2024 at 03:17 PM.
Ok I'm going to put on the asbestos flamegear here....
********
My thing always is base a rating of a DP on what you want out of that position - not $ spent. Is the person worth a DP slot? (others disagree - I know)
That's why I have issues with the low Insigne rating - I've seen him defend deep in our end more then most wingers (he was almost a WB for the first 20 minutes yesterday) and patiently attempt to find people open. When Berne tends to be the only one making himself open...what's he supposed to do.
Worst DP ever?
Well I don't consider the $ spent an issue (yeh, I know, others disagree) but given how bad some DP's have done for US teams, he's by no means the worst $ for production DP in the league ever. As anybody watching the idiocy that has gone on in Chicago, San Jose, Charlotte and various other locales would testify, there have been WAAAY worse going on down there.
He's not even the worst 8 period for TFC.
What he is is:
results focused to the point where if we are not doing well, he tries to hard. Like jloome says in the Herdman thread, we have tactics & roster construction issues that informs this.
selfish with the ball at times
one of the best passers this league has ever seen spotting openings more often then anybody else in the league right now
emotionally invested - sometimes too much
A 10 goal / 15 assists a season guy...at best
33 years old
To me, a 10/15 guy is a DP worth investment.
Next year?
I have my doubts.
But... he's not a 10/15 guy, because he's nowhere near his best. He's unfit, and by the 66th minute he's not even tracking defensively. Yesterday, at the end of the game, he stopped even trying to get forward and Bernardeschi had to cover his spot twice.
Right now, he's on pace to be a 6/4 guy. Six goals and four assists for $15M? No other DP comes close to that level of futility.
He's crocked man, a shadow of his former self.
The only way he becomes effective for us is playing as a 10/second striker, maybe in a 352, so we can actually win with a midfield diamond occasionally, or at least shift to it when we're losing the battle.
yesterdays game showed proper roster construction vs bad roster construction...they had a bunch of latinos doing tiki taka around our players 30 meters from our goal and we had italians doing 40 meter diagonals to each other and then putting their hands up and clapping when it didnt work out...lol smh
Came here to see if there were any rumours I was missing.
Apparently, everyone missed one.
Check out this tweet at https://x.com/TheNorthInsider/status/1808541837449384291
but TFC is only mentioned in this one.
Check out this tweet at https://x.com/CalciomercatoG/status/1807913895442383132
I'm told they're pursuing at least a couple of reinforcements in this window, as well as a staff addition to address and stem the number of soft tissue injuries.