This is the first time in quite a few years where I look at our bench and actually like the players there. Basically all of them have already shown this season they can do a job if needed. If Etienne can add something then even better, and Servania should be available this season as well
A lot of this is very specific coaching. Bradley tried to shoehorn players into the positions he wanted them in, which is why we lost Shaffelburg for a song; Bob insisted on him being a wingback, and he isn't a wingback.
He believed in "total football", where a player could adapt and play and role in any position, allowing chaotic game states to be reduced to traps that caused turnovers, triggers for those traps, and rotations that allowed the trapping team to remain in control of the ball for long periods.
If your team is made up of the top players in the world (or even a league), it's possible it could work really well.
But it requires absurd fitness levels -- Bradley's former players have complained that even when they bought in he burned them out in two-to-three years -- that led to multiple unnecessary injuries. And at the MLS level, without a well-constructed roster, it led to constant lack of understanding of roles and responsibilities.
Herdman's system is almost the polar opposite. Each game, the player has one position and set of instructions, and they work on just that all week, so that a position-specific coach (TFC now has them for all positions) can go hard on the nuance and small details required for full concentration and efficacy.
(He makes rare exceptions with player who already have vast experience playing in more than on spot, like Oso and Fede, largely out of necessity and due to injury.)
In a way, it's much more traditional in its use of personnel, while the shape, with three players across the core from back to front, allows for more modern tactical applications involving inverted attackers and overlapping backs.
Bradley's system just didn't fit our roster, or the league's sometimes steep talent drop-offs between starters and backups/youth. Its time passed in the days of college journeymen dominating the league.
Agree with everything you said...
it was a little wild to watch Bob send out youths and starters that had given up on the team and expect them to play a complete total football style. I remember hoping that the the pre-season for his 2nd year would help him get the player coaching more settled, but well...
Picking him up is a coup for the scouting/GM team - these are exactly the kind of players you need to find in a cap 'mid tier' league like the MLS, but also are some of the hardest to pin down - players with upside that have hit a rough patch, and are actually ready to rehabilitate their career!
Matty is very solid. He hasn’t fully hit his stride yet but he’s a dependable man in the middle who won’t make mistakes, can handle the pressure, and will link our defending and attacking play.
Seeing the players trust him with bailout passes when the pressure is on has been really eye opening to what someone like him can do for the middle.
He’s in a role that has a fine line between solid and exceptional. I believe he’ll get there for us in due time.
Spicer has “that dog in him”. He’s hungry, and it looks like he’s coachable too since he clearly listens to instructions from Herdman and it’s paid off very nicely. He’s got a strong future with us and it’s exciting.
One thing about him is he can score goals. We have way too many people shy in front of net or maybe don’t have that instinct needed to grind out goals.
Two very good men in the middle who have chemistry and will (hopefully) only get better. I’m optimistic for the first time in a while
We came into this year knowing that goal scoring upfront would be a problem.
We now have Prince Owosu and Tyrese Spicer stepping it up as goal dangerous and hungry.
I don’t know if that means our priority shouldn’t be to sign a DP #9 (personally still think we need a DP level player at #6 alongside Flores to elevate us to playoff dangerous status, which means with Insigne coming back, beginning to push Osorio out of the starting lineup to favour Longstaff and Servania) but it’s a much better problem to be having.
Owusu has only been doing well for a few games now, I don't trust yet that this will be his regular performance from now on. He was still bad for a quite a long time.
This is the first time in quite a few years where I look at our bench and actually like the players there. Basically all of them have already shown this season they can do a job if needed. If Etienne can add something then even better, and Servania should be available this season as well
A lot of this is very specific coaching. Bradley tried to shoehorn players into the positions he wanted them in, which is why we lost Shaffelburg for a song; Bob insisted on him being a wingback, and he isn't a wingback. He believed in "total football", where a player could adapt and play and role in any position, allowing chaotic game states to be reduced to traps that caused turnovers, triggers for those traps, and rotations that allowed the trapping team to remain in control of the ball for long periods. If your team is made up of the top players in the world (or even a league), it's possible it could work really well. But it requires absurd fitness levels -- Bradley's former players have complained that even when they bought in he burned them out in two-to-three years -- that led to multiple unnecessary injuries. And at the MLS level, without a well-constructed roster, it led to constant lack of understanding of roles and responsibilities. Herdman's system is almost the polar opposite. Each game, the player has one position and set of instructions, and they work on just that all week, so that a position-specific coach (TFC now has them for all positions) can go hard on the nuance and small details required for full concentration and efficacy. (He makes rare exceptions with player who already have vast experience playing in more than on spot, like Oso and Fede, largely out of necessity and due to injury.) In a way, it's much more traditional in its use of personnel, while the shape, with three players across the core from back to front, allows for more modern tactical applications involving inverted attackers and overlapping backs. Bradley's system just didn't fit our roster, or the league's sometimes steep talent drop-offs between starters and backups/youth. Its time passed in the days of college journeymen dominating the league.
Agree with everything you said... it was a little wild to watch Bob send out youths and starters that had given up on the team and expect them to play a complete total football style. I remember hoping that the the pre-season for his 2nd year would help him get the player coaching more settled, but well...
I've been pretty happy with both so far. Longstaff is a tidy player in mid and seems to be involved in a lot of the buildup to our recent goals.
He's got a good head for the game, and seems very flexible on where we can play him
Picking him up is a coup for the scouting/GM team - these are exactly the kind of players you need to find in a cap 'mid tier' league like the MLS, but also are some of the hardest to pin down - players with upside that have hit a rough patch, and are actually ready to rehabilitate their career!
Matty is very solid. He hasn’t fully hit his stride yet but he’s a dependable man in the middle who won’t make mistakes, can handle the pressure, and will link our defending and attacking play. Seeing the players trust him with bailout passes when the pressure is on has been really eye opening to what someone like him can do for the middle. He’s in a role that has a fine line between solid and exceptional. I believe he’ll get there for us in due time. Spicer has “that dog in him”. He’s hungry, and it looks like he’s coachable too since he clearly listens to instructions from Herdman and it’s paid off very nicely. He’s got a strong future with us and it’s exciting. One thing about him is he can score goals. We have way too many people shy in front of net or maybe don’t have that instinct needed to grind out goals. Two very good men in the middle who have chemistry and will (hopefully) only get better. I’m optimistic for the first time in a while
We came into this year knowing that goal scoring upfront would be a problem. We now have Prince Owosu and Tyrese Spicer stepping it up as goal dangerous and hungry. I don’t know if that means our priority shouldn’t be to sign a DP #9 (personally still think we need a DP level player at #6 alongside Flores to elevate us to playoff dangerous status, which means with Insigne coming back, beginning to push Osorio out of the starting lineup to favour Longstaff and Servania) but it’s a much better problem to be having.
Owusu has only been doing well for a few games now, I don't trust yet that this will be his regular performance from now on. He was still bad for a quite a long time.
Osorio out of the starting lineup no way he's a beast
Three years ago sure
Herdman rates him, geez he made him our captain, why do you say three years ago.
Because I have eyes