Fletcher on TFC: Pre-season report card
Posted March 4, 2012 1:08 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It was short and sweet, but Toronto FC’s pre-season is now over after three successful matches at the Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando.
It’s a ridiculously small sample size, especially when you consider all the substitutions that take place to get as many players as possible some action, and the fact that only one of those games was against an MLS side (and that was nowhere near a first-team from FC Dallas). For better or worse, that’s all we have to work with, so let’s take a look at TFC’s pre-season and specifically the players who made a good impression.
There are three who stood out for me in different ways. First up was Luis Silva. He scored twice and added two assists in an early game against the University of South Florida, but had to miss the first match in Orlando. He put in a good performance against BK Hacken, before really grabbing attention with his two-goal effort against Dallas.
Secondary scoring is something TFC has always struggled with, with a history of midfielders not really chipping in with that many goals to help out the forwards. Going into pre-season, my assumption was that Eric Avila would be the first choice in the number 10 position for his creativity and smart link-up play, and that Ryan Johnson would be the alternative there that might provide that goal-scoring threat.
From the little evidence we’ve seen, Silva may be a convenient combination of the two. His second goal in particular against Dallas showed a real goal scorer’s instinct, quickly and accurately pouncing on a loose ball in the box to give the goalkeeper no chance.
As much as the goals were welcome it was his general play that impressed. He showed a willingness to get forward and attack the defence, and linked well with Johnson, Joao Plata and Danny Kovermans. If he can continue that level of play in the attacking midfielder’s traditional duties, as well as provide a genuine consistent goal-scoring threat, then that could really make a difference to TFC’s fortunes this year. With Avila cup tied for the CONCACAF Champions League games against LA, he may well get the chance to make that position his own.
Matt Stinson was another who impressed. Though I can’t see him breaking into the first team this year ahead of Torsten Frings or Julian de Guzman, his play was very good, outplaying Terry Dunfield and maybe earning a place in midfield against LA on Wednesday when de Guzman is suspended. Given his versatility, he’ll be a regular on the bench this year and should get plenty of playing time as the season progresses. He shone at right back last year, but really did well in midfield in these games, playing a good basic energetic box-to-box game, reminiscent of Sam Cronin.
The third player who impressed me was Stefan Frei who should have put to bed the debate as to whether he or Milos Kocic should be considered the number one goalkeeper. It wasn’t so much the shot stopping ability he displayed against Orlando City. We’ve always known he’s very strong there; it was more the confidence he displayed on set pieces and coming for crosses. He was more aggressive and dominant, exemplified best by his starting position at corners, standing about four or five yards off his line, ready to come out and claim any cross coming into his area, rather than standing on the line ready to make a save. It’s a valuable change of mindset that if maintained should go a long way to reducing the shooting gallery he was often exposed to last year.
Other notable players were Plata and Ashtone Morgan, both of whom quieted worries that they may take a step back, Morgan doing well both defensively and when supporting the attack down the left side.
There’s obviously still plenty of issues to work on, most obviously in central defence, and Reggie Lambe certainly didn’t show he could be the hoped for upgrade over Nick Soolsma on the right wing. Also it’s still not obvious that the preferred 4-3-3 formation can consistently do the job at the back rather than the 5-4-1/3-4-3 that employs Frings in the middle of defence.
Obviously three pre-season games can’t really tell us all that much, but overall Toronto FC look improved over last year. They’re still far from the finished product, but with improved goalkeeping and a more dynamic presence in Silva, this could be the year TFC can finally be a serious option to contend in MLS.
Duncan Fletcher is a Toronto-based writer and key contributor to Waking the Red, a blog about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer. Follow Duncan on Twitter.
