Moderators: kdawg32086, magik9113
LittleOzzy wrote:BMO is Back!
2 year deal, that expires the same time the field naming rights do. So MLSE can cash in on both with a new sponsor, or re-up with BMO once again.
Hue Durant wrote:demar has no use on this team
James has come back to toronto completely elite.
Brew666 wrote:All TFC preseason games are going to be streamed online via torontofc.ca and it starts tonight against OKC.
February 18 - 7:30 PM ET Toronto FC Oklahoma City Energy FC
February 21 - 12:00 PM ET Toronto FC HB Koge
February 25 - 7:30 PM ET Toronto FC New York Red Bulls
February 28 - TBD Toronto FC TBD
Vanney said that everyone is going to be playing tonight so it'll more than just the USL bound that are going to get some burn.
2014 FINISH: Seventh in Eastern Conference (11-15-8)
NOTABLE ADDITIONS: F Jozy Altidore, M-F Sebastian Giovinco, M-F Robbie Findley, M Benoit Cheyrou, D Damien Perquis
NOTABLE LOSSES: F Jermain Defoe, F Gilberto, F Dominic Oduro, M-F Dwayne De Rosario, D Doneil Henry
TOP NEWCOMER: Sebastian Giovinco. While not a like-for-like replacement for Jermain Defoe, Giovinco is certainly the man who has stepped in to fill the Bloody Big hole left behind by the English striker. A dynamic, creative force that will play just behind fellow newcomer Jozy Altidore, the former Juventus wunderkind aims to bring sizzle on the pitch while also adding name recognition to help TFC fill an extra 8,000 seats at an expanded BMO Field.
"I came here to win and to leave an important mark," Giovinco said. “I want to be part of the history of this organization and this team.”
PLAYER TO WATCH: Damien Perquis. Out of favour at Real Betis, Perquis crossed the pond in search of playing time and a new challenge. He'll get both at TFC, with the club starved for an increased veteran presence on the back line after yet another season mired in the lower third of the league in goals allowed.
Perquis is well aware of the situation he's stepping into — with Toronto desperate for a postseason appearance and needing to stop leaking goals to do so. It's part of the reason he switched continents in the middle of the European campaign.
"[TFC] gave me a project," Perquis said. "At Betis I didn't play and it was very difficult for me there, so I will enjoy my job and I will take pleasure in doing what I love the most in my life. Now I'm here to help the club to get to the playoffs at the end of the season."
While he brings a lot of experience and a high pedigree, Toronto will need to keep Perquis healthy. The French-born Polish international hasn't played more than 22 games in a season since 2010-11, when he appeared 38 times in all competitions for Sochaux.
2015 OUTLOOK
Once again the offseason has been dominated by talk of TFC's big-spending ways, but unlike last year it appears that the team has also addressed its pressing depth issues. There's no shortage of attacking talent on the team, and the key for Greg Vanney will be to find the right combinations to allow his side to succeed in front of goal.
The neverending story for Toronto has always been its defensive woes, and the club will once again live and die by the depth on its back line. The additions of Perquis and Eriq Zavaleta will help, and the club hopes sophomore Nick Hagglund takes a step forward in his development this season. With a healthy Steven Caldwell available and numerous solid choices at both fullback spots, TFC finally looks capable of going a full season without a defensive crisis should a key player or two go down.
Even with the depth issues seemingly addressed, how the team deals with a seven-game road trip to start the season will be a big factor in the its fate. The aforementioned BMO Field expansion project puts TFC on the road for the first two months of the season, and if the club can weather that stretch with a relatively decent record then a home-heavy summer schedule could see Toronto finally make good on a run to the postseason.
TheWire wrote:Can anyone enlighten me on the whole TFC II team thing? are they a farm team with players that can get called up ala NBA D League or the AA/AAA baseball teams?
LittleOzzy wrote:TheWire wrote:Can anyone enlighten me on the whole TFC II team thing? are they a farm team with players that can get called up ala NBA D League or the AA/AAA baseball teams?
That's it exactly, they will play in the United Soccer League and be used as our farm team.
Some of our home grown players and draft picks will be with TFCII all season.
TheWire wrote:LittleOzzy wrote:TheWire wrote:Can anyone enlighten me on the whole TFC II team thing? are they a farm team with players that can get called up ala NBA D League or the AA/AAA baseball teams?
That's it exactly, they will play in the United Soccer League and be used as our farm team.
Some of our home grown players and draft picks will be with TFCII all season.
How did TFC go about owning the rights to these players and are they paid? Sorry I have many questions because I have a friend on TFCII that I'm not in contact with anymore and I knew he had some sort of future in soccer whether Europe or MLS but I thought he would have gone through the draft of some sort.
I've tried googling some of these questions but couldn't find answers.
BigBall wrote:This season I will be happy if Toronto comes out Aug 22, 2015 to support Cyle Larin.
#1 MLS draft pick and Sigma FC product.
He is the Andrew Wiggins of the MLS.
LittleOzzy wrote:BigBall wrote:This season I will be happy if Toronto comes out Aug 22, 2015 to support Cyle Larin.
#1 MLS draft pick and Sigma FC product.
He is the Andrew Wiggins of the MLS.
I'm not sure if he's at the level of Wiggins, but he will be very very good.
I would have loved for TFC to draft him, and it's unfortunate we didn't get the number one pick.
BigBall wrote:I wonder what it must feel like for TFC drafting players being developed by a competing academy.
I think it hurt there pride when they took Kyle Bekker ....as a result I believe that he got misused and abused.
Glad to see him move on from TFC to a place where he has a chance to continue his growth as a pro player.
As much as I would love to see our Canadian talent stay home I know that TFC is a toxic environment to in at the moment.
Brew666 wrote:BigBall wrote:I wonder what it must feel like for TFC drafting players being developed by a competing academy.
I think it hurt there pride when they took Kyle Bekker ....as a result I believe that he got misused and abused.
Glad to see him move on from TFC to a place where he has a chance to continue his growth as a pro player.
As much as I would love to see our Canadian talent stay home I know that TFC is a toxic environment to in at the moment.
Did Bekker have an opportunity to join the TFC academy back then but chose Sigma FC? I'm still fairly new to MLS/north american soccer and wasn't really following it in 2007.
I don't know much about Bekker but what I saw, I didn't really think he showed much when he was given playing time. He seemed like a safe pick - low bust/low ceiling.
BigBall wrote:I have heard from several parents who have had there kids in tfc academy complain that the entire TFC
environment is not conducive to development. Its a rotating door in search of instant gratification and it shows
in there pro team record.
/cdn0.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/3411828/B95L2tBIgAAUwN3.0.png_large)