Time for part 2 of my First Annual Half Arsed And Proud Of It MLS Season Predictions, and this time it's the Eastern Conference. Click here for my Western Conference preview, where Seattle took less than half a game to make a mockery of my optimism for Blaise Nkufo and O'Brian White. Like how I did it with the West, it's another no research, no googling, gut instinct kind of thing, here we go.
1 New York Red Bulls. Juan Pablo Angel could be a big loss, but having a full season of Thierry Henry should work out nicely for them. Not really much competition in the East, so they should sew up first fairly easily, before shockingly and amusingly losing to the wild card Colorado Rapids.
2 Sporting Kansas City. A new name, almost a new stadium, and Omar Bravo as their new DP. Things are looking up in KC. A long road trip could kill their season, but I think they'll do just about well enough to hang on, and then really make up ground in the 2nd half of the season, before making it to the Conference final and losing.
3 D.C United. Charlie Davies is a great signing and if Andy Najar can repeat or improve upon his showing of last year, they should help restore DC, if not to their former championship winning glories, at least back to respectability and a playoff position.
4 Philadelphia Union. Faryd Mondragon's a great name, and a decent signing as well. Carlos Ruiz seems like a bit of a desperate gamble, but things will come together and the Union will get the last wild card spot, where they'll lose to Colorado
5 Chicago Fire. Lost a few big name players in Cuahtemoc Blanco Brian McBride and Nery Castillo, so will wallow in mediocrity, flirt with the playoffs all season, but not make it.
6 Houston Dynamo. Houston benefit with the move to the weaker Eastern Conference, but won't really be able to take advantage. With no big names coming in over the off-season, they'll once again be relying on Brian Ching, and he won't be able to do it on his own.
7 Columbus Crew. Lost a lot of their best and most experienced players, like Schelotto and Hejduk, and their days of being a contender are over. They'll actually lose a game to Toronto, but will still finish above them.
8 Toronto FC. Ah, Toronto. New management, new hope, no good new players yet though. If some academy kids/draftees or as yet unknown new signings don't come along and impress, we'll be in trouble. We're finally on the right track but we're a long way back, 2012 should be better but this year will be long and frustrating, it'll be interesting at least.
9 New England Revolution. If only because I couldn't bring myself to put Toronto dead last. If Shalrie Joseph can keep himself out of trouble and out of rehab, they'll maybe do ok, but I think they'll struggle and it may be the end of the Nicol era.
So overall, in one magnificent single table format, your standings will be;
1 Real Salt Lake
2 Seattle Sounders
3 New York Red Bulls
4 LA Galaxy
5 Colorado Rapids
6 FC Dallas
7 Sporting Kansas City
8 DC United
9 Portland Timbers
10 Philadelphia Union
11Chicago Fire
12 San Jose Earthquakes
13 Houston Dynamo
14 Columbus Crew
15 Chivas Usa
16 Toronto FC
17 Vancouver Whitecaps
18 New England Revolution.
Wild cards, Colorado beats Philadelphia, Portland beats Dallas.
Conference semi finals, RSL beats Portland, Seattle beats LA, Colorado beats New York and Kansas City beats DC.
Conference finals, Seattle beats RSL and Colorado beats Kansas City
MLS Cup, Seattle beats Colorado.
Showing posts with label Chicago Fire. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Chicago Fire. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Sunday, March 6, 2011
2012 pre-season looking good.
Toronto FC continued it's preparations for the 2012 season with the first game of the Carolina Challenge Cup in Charleston on Saturday against the Chicago Fire.
With some of the very few officially signed players missing through injury (Julian De Guzman still, and now also Dwayne De Rosario with what was described as a tweak) or through contract disputes (Adrian Cann), the game provided plenty of opportuntities for those looking to impress enough to nail down a position in the squad or the starting line up just over 12 months from now.
Mikael Yourassowsky joined Nana Attakora in central defence, with Dan Gargan at right back and academy player Ashtone Morgan at left back. Another academy kid Oscar Cordon joined Jacob Peterson and Nick Labrocca in midfield with Joao Plata and Javier Martina playing upfront with Maicon Santos. Plenty of substitutions meant appearances for a few other new signees, trialists and academy players, including Andrew Ornoch, previously rejected but back for a second try, and Nathan Sturgis, trying to work his way out of the coach's doghouse after not impressing in Turkey.
So how did it all look, well not great frankly, but that's ok, we've got over a year to be working on things. Sloppy defending led to Chicago scoring after 6 minutes, but aside from that Yourassowsky looked alright in the middle, making a couple of really good tackles in the second half. Attakora looked comfortable bringing the ball out of defence, and in general, the team was passing the ball about and keeping possession nicely, though they definitely lacked a cutting edge.
Chicago allowed that to happen really, happily letting Toronto pass it around in their own half while blocking things up in midfield in front of their defence. That tendency was increased after Chicago had a player sent off after 35 minutes, but even then, TFC, curiously still playing in practice jerseys rather than the official new kit, created very few chances against the ten men. It's obviously very early, and though we didn't look great, there were a few moments here and there yesterday where you could see the potential of what Aron Winter's trying to do and what it could all become with an improved squad, even adding De Guzman and De Rosario back into the line-up should make a big difference.
Fortunately there's plenty of time to give the current trialists a fair go and see which of them has what it takes to make the starting lineup for First Kick a year or so from now. Those who don't make the grade can be replaced between now and then, maybe in July when the European transfer window opens. Also the 40 odd practice games we'll have in 2011 will give plenty of opportunities to blood the youngsters from the academy, giving them valuable experience for when it counts. All in all, pre-season's off to a good start and the future is certainly bright.
What's that? How's the squad looking for the 2011 season? Oh, believe me, you really don't want to ask that question.
With some of the very few officially signed players missing through injury (Julian De Guzman still, and now also Dwayne De Rosario with what was described as a tweak) or through contract disputes (Adrian Cann), the game provided plenty of opportuntities for those looking to impress enough to nail down a position in the squad or the starting line up just over 12 months from now.
Mikael Yourassowsky joined Nana Attakora in central defence, with Dan Gargan at right back and academy player Ashtone Morgan at left back. Another academy kid Oscar Cordon joined Jacob Peterson and Nick Labrocca in midfield with Joao Plata and Javier Martina playing upfront with Maicon Santos. Plenty of substitutions meant appearances for a few other new signees, trialists and academy players, including Andrew Ornoch, previously rejected but back for a second try, and Nathan Sturgis, trying to work his way out of the coach's doghouse after not impressing in Turkey.
So how did it all look, well not great frankly, but that's ok, we've got over a year to be working on things. Sloppy defending led to Chicago scoring after 6 minutes, but aside from that Yourassowsky looked alright in the middle, making a couple of really good tackles in the second half. Attakora looked comfortable bringing the ball out of defence, and in general, the team was passing the ball about and keeping possession nicely, though they definitely lacked a cutting edge.
Chicago allowed that to happen really, happily letting Toronto pass it around in their own half while blocking things up in midfield in front of their defence. That tendency was increased after Chicago had a player sent off after 35 minutes, but even then, TFC, curiously still playing in practice jerseys rather than the official new kit, created very few chances against the ten men. It's obviously very early, and though we didn't look great, there were a few moments here and there yesterday where you could see the potential of what Aron Winter's trying to do and what it could all become with an improved squad, even adding De Guzman and De Rosario back into the line-up should make a big difference.
Fortunately there's plenty of time to give the current trialists a fair go and see which of them has what it takes to make the starting lineup for First Kick a year or so from now. Those who don't make the grade can be replaced between now and then, maybe in July when the European transfer window opens. Also the 40 odd practice games we'll have in 2011 will give plenty of opportunities to blood the youngsters from the academy, giving them valuable experience for when it counts. All in all, pre-season's off to a good start and the future is certainly bright.
What's that? How's the squad looking for the 2011 season? Oh, believe me, you really don't want to ask that question.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Oh my god! You traded Chad! You Bastards!
Well, I guess those of us who thought that Earl Cochrane had done all the necessary chopping of dead wood from last year's squad and that Aron Winter, Paul Mariner et al would move swiftly on to the rebuilding stage were wrong. At Wednesday's Superdraft! TFC did a lot more than just draft players. They first of all traded away Chad Barrett to LA Galaxy for the ubiquitous future considerations, in what was essentially a salary dump. Reports vary on whether TFC is still paying a portion of his salary or not, though the club has said that they won't be. Jon Conway was also traded to Chicago Fire for a 3rd round pick, and 4 players were drafted. Demetrius Omphroy, Matt Gold, Junior Burgos and Jaoa Plata will now have a chance to make it in Toronto.
I won't pretend to know much about any of those players yet, you can find more details here, or more colourfully, here. Suffice it to say that lower round picks don't have a history of working out great, so if 1 out of those 4 ends up sticking with the club long term, that will probably be considered a success.
Trading Jon Conway also isn't really that big of a deal, Milos Kocic should be an able backup to Stefan Frei, so the $70,000 Conway is due to make this year can be put to better use in areas of greater need, which is pretty much every other position. By all accounts, Conway was a great teammate and all round good guy, so I wish him nothing but the best, and his last act as a TFC player, saluting the crowd while walking off after his red card for upending Columbus' Steven Lenhart is certainly a fine and memorable way to go out.
The trade of Barrett though, well that's a big one. Chad Fucking Barrett! For most people that would be said with an exasperated tone after another wasted opportunity, for me it was always with a defiant glee when he'd done something right, scored a goal or had a particularly good game. I always liked Barrett, even back in 2009 when he was, how to put this nicely, not so prolific, and when Barrett vs Vitti arguments regularly raged on the supporters forums, I was always on his side as his contribution was always so much bigger than mere goals scored or not scored. In 2010, when he added more composed finishing to his undeniable workrate, well, can you say MVP? I did, It was no co-incidence that everything fell apart last year after he and Maicon Santos were injured.
In 2009 it was always a bit of a pleasant surprise when Barrett scored, and that attitude carried over for me into 2010. The game against Chicago in May when he scored twice, I was positively giddy, it was as if the special kid in school had got an A, one that he'd actually earned. Probably the best thing I could say about his improvement in 2010 would be that that sense of surprise disappeared, later in the year, before and after his injury, a Barrett goal was a lot more routine, I expected him to finish a good chance, and he usually did.
But this is what happens in sports, so I'll move on, and for now, I'll trust that our new management have impressive plans on how to spend all the salary cap space now at their disposal, and I'll also admit that Barrett was overpaid, so hopefully there's better value for money out there.
For now, though, I'll say goodbye with highlights of some of his finest work. If I had any sort of technical skills, I'd put the highlights together into a single youtube video with a suitably admiring soundtrack. One quick glance at my blog however, will tell you I don't have those technical skills, so instead here's a bunch of different clips of his best moments. Just imagine you're listening to "Nobody does it better" in the background.
First off, his goal against Montreal in the 2009 Voyageurs Cup, at 7:50 of this video.
Then there's his 1 goal 2 assist second half performance in the Montreal Miracle, starting at 3:30.
This is the game mentioned above where he scores twice against Chicago, starting at 0:40. My season tickets are in section 227, so the fact that he always ran to that corner after scoring in the north end was great, he had some really good celebrations there.
Next up is his goal against San Jose in 2010, not the greatest goal, but another great celebration 1:30 in.
And I'll finish up with his contribution to our triumph over Motagua, here's his goal in the first leg starting at 0.33
And his 2nd leg goal, at 1"36, where he really shows off just how much he sweats in a game. Good luck with that LA heat.
Thanks for everything Chad, I'll miss you.
I won't pretend to know much about any of those players yet, you can find more details here, or more colourfully, here. Suffice it to say that lower round picks don't have a history of working out great, so if 1 out of those 4 ends up sticking with the club long term, that will probably be considered a success.
Trading Jon Conway also isn't really that big of a deal, Milos Kocic should be an able backup to Stefan Frei, so the $70,000 Conway is due to make this year can be put to better use in areas of greater need, which is pretty much every other position. By all accounts, Conway was a great teammate and all round good guy, so I wish him nothing but the best, and his last act as a TFC player, saluting the crowd while walking off after his red card for upending Columbus' Steven Lenhart is certainly a fine and memorable way to go out.
The trade of Barrett though, well that's a big one. Chad Fucking Barrett! For most people that would be said with an exasperated tone after another wasted opportunity, for me it was always with a defiant glee when he'd done something right, scored a goal or had a particularly good game. I always liked Barrett, even back in 2009 when he was, how to put this nicely, not so prolific, and when Barrett vs Vitti arguments regularly raged on the supporters forums, I was always on his side as his contribution was always so much bigger than mere goals scored or not scored. In 2010, when he added more composed finishing to his undeniable workrate, well, can you say MVP? I did, It was no co-incidence that everything fell apart last year after he and Maicon Santos were injured.
In 2009 it was always a bit of a pleasant surprise when Barrett scored, and that attitude carried over for me into 2010. The game against Chicago in May when he scored twice, I was positively giddy, it was as if the special kid in school had got an A, one that he'd actually earned. Probably the best thing I could say about his improvement in 2010 would be that that sense of surprise disappeared, later in the year, before and after his injury, a Barrett goal was a lot more routine, I expected him to finish a good chance, and he usually did.
But this is what happens in sports, so I'll move on, and for now, I'll trust that our new management have impressive plans on how to spend all the salary cap space now at their disposal, and I'll also admit that Barrett was overpaid, so hopefully there's better value for money out there.
For now, though, I'll say goodbye with highlights of some of his finest work. If I had any sort of technical skills, I'd put the highlights together into a single youtube video with a suitably admiring soundtrack. One quick glance at my blog however, will tell you I don't have those technical skills, so instead here's a bunch of different clips of his best moments. Just imagine you're listening to "Nobody does it better" in the background.
First off, his goal against Montreal in the 2009 Voyageurs Cup, at 7:50 of this video.
Then there's his 1 goal 2 assist second half performance in the Montreal Miracle, starting at 3:30.
This is the game mentioned above where he scores twice against Chicago, starting at 0:40. My season tickets are in section 227, so the fact that he always ran to that corner after scoring in the north end was great, he had some really good celebrations there.
Next up is his goal against San Jose in 2010, not the greatest goal, but another great celebration 1:30 in.
And I'll finish up with his contribution to our triumph over Motagua, here's his goal in the first leg starting at 0.33
And his 2nd leg goal, at 1"36, where he really shows off just how much he sweats in a game. Good luck with that LA heat.
Thanks for everything Chad, I'll miss you.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
A really good year for TFC.
My usual cynicism and pessimism will soon return, but buoyed by a 2 game winning streak to end the season, and in the spirit of reconciliation, with MLSE playing nice, I'm going for a positive season review, so here we go, the 8 reasons why this was the best year yet for TFC.
1. We won the home opener. The home opener is always a special day in it's own right. The end to 5 months or so of not going to games, the chance to hold aloft a new scarf, try the new food options (mmmm, poutine) meet up with old friends, or check out the view from your new seats, and just get back into whatever your matchday routine and way of supporting the club is. The anticipatory buzz around the ground, the optimism not yet beaten out of the crowd, an enthusiastic singing of the anthem even in the prawny sections. For the second straight year we got an expansion side to kick things off, but whereas last years game against Seattle was a real downer, this year we won. OK, we didn't play all that well, and were lucky to be gifted both our goals, but what the hell. The home opener, a win, excellent stuff.
2. We won our first 5 home games. Though the weather was terrible pretty much every game, we kept building on that feel good first win, making it into June before we even drew a game at home. The peak of this run was the 4-1 win over Chicago. Heavy winds and intermittent rain provided a trial for the real supporters to get through and led to a freak opener from Nick Labrocca, and a Jersey Shore celebration (how together the team seemed, how much fun they appeared to be having). The second half saw Chad Barrett score twice against his old club, and even O'Brian White scored, though he nearly messed up an almost impossible to mess up chance. The combination of the weather and the result launched the brief "shirts off" phenomenom, for better or worse.
3. We won the Voyageurs cup with the minimum of fuss. This time there was no Miracle needed, we beat Montreal twice and drew in Vancouver, and that was enough for the cup to be clinched before we even played the last game. That led to a pressure free game with academy kids playing and supporters able to celebrate throughout the game, with no need to worry about the result. A trophy presented at home for the first time, players diving into the corners to celebrate, good times.
4. We had a 2 month unbeaten streak. Between May 1st and July 17th, we went 11 games without a loss in all competitions, including away wins at San Jose and Montreal, and important away draws at LA and Vancouver. At the end of this stretch, even Fuad Ibrahim scored, to give us a 1-0 win over Colorado.
5. We beat Motagua over two legs. The first game, we played really well but only got a 1-0 win to show for it, so we would have a hard time to defend that. Yeah, Motagua were only just out of pre season, but a Canadian side went to Honduras needing a result, went down early, but still got it, Dwayne De Rosario and Barrett with the goals, both set up by an excellent Maicon Santos. I watched this game at Shoeless Joe's and the Red Patch Boys "qualifiers! qualifiers! ole, ole, ole!" chant was as inspired as it was emotional.
6. We went 14 games unbeaten at home to start the year. Our away form was nothing special again, but BMO Field really was a fortress, 21 goals scored and only 6 conceded giving us a record of 9 wins and 5 draws in those first 14 games.
7. We beat Cruz Azul over two legs. The game at home is probably my favourite TFC game so far, an early goal, 2-0 before half time and then defending comfortably before letting in a goal from a very good free kick that was too late to cause real worry. Again, we beat Cruz A-fricking-zul, in a game that counted. The second leg, after the firing of Preki but with Champions League progress still a real possibility was an excellent backs to the wall performance, grinding out a 0-0 that never really felt in danger.
8. We've got some good academy kids. Doneil Henry was the first player to be signed to the big club from the academy, Ashtone Morgan put in a great performance against Arabe Unido, but the real find was Nicholas Lindsay. Signed to the first team late in the season, he put together a series of good games that suggest we might finally have ourselves a dangerous winger.
So there you go, without even having to resort to " there's hope for the future under a new regime" or "at least things got bad enough that they finally got rid of Mo" there's a lot of things that happened on the pitch that, despite the way the season unravelled, made 2010 a very enjoyable year.
1. We won the home opener. The home opener is always a special day in it's own right. The end to 5 months or so of not going to games, the chance to hold aloft a new scarf, try the new food options (mmmm, poutine) meet up with old friends, or check out the view from your new seats, and just get back into whatever your matchday routine and way of supporting the club is. The anticipatory buzz around the ground, the optimism not yet beaten out of the crowd, an enthusiastic singing of the anthem even in the prawny sections. For the second straight year we got an expansion side to kick things off, but whereas last years game against Seattle was a real downer, this year we won. OK, we didn't play all that well, and were lucky to be gifted both our goals, but what the hell. The home opener, a win, excellent stuff.
2. We won our first 5 home games. Though the weather was terrible pretty much every game, we kept building on that feel good first win, making it into June before we even drew a game at home. The peak of this run was the 4-1 win over Chicago. Heavy winds and intermittent rain provided a trial for the real supporters to get through and led to a freak opener from Nick Labrocca, and a Jersey Shore celebration (how together the team seemed, how much fun they appeared to be having). The second half saw Chad Barrett score twice against his old club, and even O'Brian White scored, though he nearly messed up an almost impossible to mess up chance. The combination of the weather and the result launched the brief "shirts off" phenomenom, for better or worse.
3. We won the Voyageurs cup with the minimum of fuss. This time there was no Miracle needed, we beat Montreal twice and drew in Vancouver, and that was enough for the cup to be clinched before we even played the last game. That led to a pressure free game with academy kids playing and supporters able to celebrate throughout the game, with no need to worry about the result. A trophy presented at home for the first time, players diving into the corners to celebrate, good times.
4. We had a 2 month unbeaten streak. Between May 1st and July 17th, we went 11 games without a loss in all competitions, including away wins at San Jose and Montreal, and important away draws at LA and Vancouver. At the end of this stretch, even Fuad Ibrahim scored, to give us a 1-0 win over Colorado.
5. We beat Motagua over two legs. The first game, we played really well but only got a 1-0 win to show for it, so we would have a hard time to defend that. Yeah, Motagua were only just out of pre season, but a Canadian side went to Honduras needing a result, went down early, but still got it, Dwayne De Rosario and Barrett with the goals, both set up by an excellent Maicon Santos. I watched this game at Shoeless Joe's and the Red Patch Boys "qualifiers! qualifiers! ole, ole, ole!" chant was as inspired as it was emotional.
6. We went 14 games unbeaten at home to start the year. Our away form was nothing special again, but BMO Field really was a fortress, 21 goals scored and only 6 conceded giving us a record of 9 wins and 5 draws in those first 14 games.
7. We beat Cruz Azul over two legs. The game at home is probably my favourite TFC game so far, an early goal, 2-0 before half time and then defending comfortably before letting in a goal from a very good free kick that was too late to cause real worry. Again, we beat Cruz A-fricking-zul, in a game that counted. The second leg, after the firing of Preki but with Champions League progress still a real possibility was an excellent backs to the wall performance, grinding out a 0-0 that never really felt in danger.
8. We've got some good academy kids. Doneil Henry was the first player to be signed to the big club from the academy, Ashtone Morgan put in a great performance against Arabe Unido, but the real find was Nicholas Lindsay. Signed to the first team late in the season, he put together a series of good games that suggest we might finally have ourselves a dangerous winger.
So there you go, without even having to resort to " there's hope for the future under a new regime" or "at least things got bad enough that they finally got rid of Mo" there's a lot of things that happened on the pitch that, despite the way the season unravelled, made 2010 a very enjoyable year.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
That's a mega juggling act!
It certainly was a mega juggling act by Chicago tonight, two handballs in the box, both accidental, sure, but both very clear and the sort of thing that regularly gets called. Both penalties not given. Not to cast aspersions on the ref or the Fire, they'd never get involved with this sort of thing, but can someone check the ref's bag on the wayout to see if Nery Castillo's shirt is in there.
Joking aside, this time I'd agree with Preki that we didn't get the breaks we deserved, I thought overall, even though the result was another 0-0 that leaves our playoff chances hanging by an even slimmer thread than before, we played well today, and played a well coached team to the best of our ability given the players at our disposal.
Given the extra quality Chicago have, with Freddie Ljungberg, Nery Castillo and Collins John all starting and Brian McBride on the bench, sitting back to absorb the pressure would have been suicidal, and thankfully we didn't do that. We went with two up front with De Ro and De Guzman pushing up, and Usanov and Harden getting forward from both full back positions. We'd also obviously been told to be aggresive and not let them play, as we quickly racked up the fouls. That it came to nothing in the first half is down to the fact that the two we played up front, Peterson and White, is probably the most insipid forward line in MLS history, that and the non-penalties, but hey at least we were trying.
In the second half, we brought on Maicon Santos for Peterson and things immediately improved, with a bit of quality to go with the added numbers we were throwing forward, we looked a lot more fluid and dangerous up front, even if our best chances were still coming from set pieces. He obviously wasn't fully fit though and soon faded, and when Garcia and Nane were brought on, it was obvious we were settling for the point.
So overall a good game for Preki the coach in my opinion and a much more entertaining game than we've seen recently, with Chicago also having their chances.
Now the fact that we had Peterson and White up front, is quite the damning indictment of Mo and Preki's personnel decisions, our squad just isn't good enough to withstand a few injuries, in contrast look at the forwards Chicago has as mentioned above, and you can add Guatemalan international Marco Pappa to that list who also scored a bunch of goals for them this year as well.
As for our DP, Mista wasn't playing, not even on the bench, it was mentioned that he took a knock, and I'm very eager to see what stories come out of the woodwork as far as this is concerned.
What's that Jim Mora, you want me to talk about playoffs? Ok then. Much like the black Knight we're not dead yet, but we're pretty much at the "I'll bite your legs off" stage.
With 7 games left we need at least 4 wins and a draw, probably 5 games, and while it's a weak schedule so it's just about plausible, I can't see Santos and Barrett coming back quickly enough to enable us to do it. I await the North End Elite's banner selection for the DC game on saturday with baited breath.
Joking aside, this time I'd agree with Preki that we didn't get the breaks we deserved, I thought overall, even though the result was another 0-0 that leaves our playoff chances hanging by an even slimmer thread than before, we played well today, and played a well coached team to the best of our ability given the players at our disposal.
Given the extra quality Chicago have, with Freddie Ljungberg, Nery Castillo and Collins John all starting and Brian McBride on the bench, sitting back to absorb the pressure would have been suicidal, and thankfully we didn't do that. We went with two up front with De Ro and De Guzman pushing up, and Usanov and Harden getting forward from both full back positions. We'd also obviously been told to be aggresive and not let them play, as we quickly racked up the fouls. That it came to nothing in the first half is down to the fact that the two we played up front, Peterson and White, is probably the most insipid forward line in MLS history, that and the non-penalties, but hey at least we were trying.
In the second half, we brought on Maicon Santos for Peterson and things immediately improved, with a bit of quality to go with the added numbers we were throwing forward, we looked a lot more fluid and dangerous up front, even if our best chances were still coming from set pieces. He obviously wasn't fully fit though and soon faded, and when Garcia and Nane were brought on, it was obvious we were settling for the point.
So overall a good game for Preki the coach in my opinion and a much more entertaining game than we've seen recently, with Chicago also having their chances.
Now the fact that we had Peterson and White up front, is quite the damning indictment of Mo and Preki's personnel decisions, our squad just isn't good enough to withstand a few injuries, in contrast look at the forwards Chicago has as mentioned above, and you can add Guatemalan international Marco Pappa to that list who also scored a bunch of goals for them this year as well.
As for our DP, Mista wasn't playing, not even on the bench, it was mentioned that he took a knock, and I'm very eager to see what stories come out of the woodwork as far as this is concerned.
What's that Jim Mora, you want me to talk about playoffs? Ok then. Much like the black Knight we're not dead yet, but we're pretty much at the "I'll bite your legs off" stage.
With 7 games left we need at least 4 wins and a draw, probably 5 games, and while it's a weak schedule so it's just about plausible, I can't see Santos and Barrett coming back quickly enough to enable us to do it. I await the North End Elite's banner selection for the DC game on saturday with baited breath.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Please, please, please, let me get what I want.
“We will see how Maicon is doing tomorrow,” said Toronto coach Preki. He has trained today and looked o.k. but he hasn’t played for quite some time. If he plays against Chicago we will have to limit his minutes because he is not at his full speed and we don’t want to take any risks.”
The above quote, from Luke Wileman on the tfc website fills me with pessimism for tonight's must win game against Chicago, meaning as it does that O'Brian White will once again be leading the line, a job that right now he really isn't cut out for given the lack of support Preki's favoured formations and system will give him.
In the last month, since Maicon Santos was injured against Chivas followed by Chad Barrett's injury against New York, we've still been playing the same formation, with the hard work and discipline that Preki stresses, and in a way it's worked well. Aside from that crazy game against New York when a whole bunch of irregular things happened and we lost 4-1, we've been very good defensively, letting in only 1 against New York, Cruz Azul, Arabe Unido and Dallas, and keeping a clean sheet against Salt Lake.
At the other end however it's a different story, in those games, we've scored 0 against New York, an unexpected 2 against Cruz Azul, 1 against New York, 0 against Arabe Unido, 0 against Salt Lake, and 0 against Dallas. Given those stats, unless we change our approach, I'd suggest 1-0 Chicago is a likely result. If TFC has good luck and gets a few bounces, then maybe we'll get a tie, or an outrageous 2-1 win. Following Preki's complaining about bad luck after the Dallas game, I'm beginning to think that's what he's playing for, keep it tight and hope something happens. And who knows, maybe we are due some luck, but I'd rather we weren't relying on it as our main hope.
Personally, as our defence and Frei in goal have proven themselves to be reliable, I'd go for something more attcking. Play Gargan at RB rather than the more, erm, mercurial Maxim Usanov to solidify it as much as possible, if Harden's comfortable at LB, he can replace Garcia as his reward for a couple of good performances while Nana was out, then let the midfield be much more attacking than usual to help the forwards out and maybe we'll score some goals. Have Joseph Nane as a dm, then let De Guzman, De Ro and Mista play as fairly free roving attacking midfielders supporting White and Ibrahim up front.
It's maybe a bit on the reckless side, and therefore not something Preki would be likely to do, but I'd rather take it to them and try and score some goals, and potentially lose 3-2 rather than sit back, before they inevitably score and we never ever look like equalising, I've had too many of those matches recently.
And oh, White, if you get the ball in space in the box, for god's sake SHOOT!
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