Every Friday, Sportsnet.ca will chat with Sportsnet soccer commentator Paul Dolan—a former Canadian national team goalkeeper—about the big stories and issues in Major League Soccer.
Toronto FC coach Greg Vanney has gone back to the central midfield partnership of Jonathan Osorio and Michael Bradley, relegating Collen Warner to the bench. Good move?
In a word, yes. I think it does two things–it gives you the best attacking option by using Osorio as a link between the midfield and back four to the front men. Osorio is always looking to get on the ball and join the attack, and he has a better ability to do that than Collen Warner. It also defines Bradley’s role more and suits what I think he is most comfortable doing, which is picking up the ball deep and looking to switch the attack with longer passes, a tactic Greg Vanney is looking to employ to find isolation for his wide players. Bradley is the best long passer on the squad and is also comfortable in possession with short passing combinations with Osorio as he moves up the field. He is also excellent at disrupting opponent’s attacks in the centre of midfield and in front of the back four. Warner had a pretty good run after joining TFC from Montreal but the balance between Osorio and Bradley is better in my opinion and gives more attacking upside.
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There was talk that Ignacio Piatti might join San Lorenzo in his native Argentina on a short-term loan after the MLS season is over. What are your thoughts on such loan deals? Shouldn’t Piatti rest up over the off-season to ensure he’ll be at his best for the Impact in 2015?
I think rest in the off-season is vital for a player to rejuvenate and commit himself fully to the team employing him, and that loans should be used only to get a player back up to full fitness if he’s been out for some time. The most obvious example in MLS of a loan not working out well was when David Beckham tore his Achilles while on loan to AC Milan from LA. Not only do you risk injury but burnout in this situation. It could be argued that Pedro Morales would be even better for Vancouver with having had a rest before coming over from La Liga at the start of this year. I think the soccer calendars around the world are already too long for the health and well-being of players. I think a loan for what looks to be Montreal’s most important player moving into next season is a risk NOT worth taking.
Whitecaps midfielder Sebastian Fernandez was named MLS player of the week after scoring both goals in Vancouver’s win over Dallas last week. It was a bit of a breakout performance from the Uruguayan, who has blown hot and cold this season. What have you made of his stint in Vancouver thus far?
More positive than negative, although his tendency to embellish hasn’t won him any favours with MLS officials who have now started to not give him free kicks and penalties he actually should have earned. His play last week against Dallas though summed up his best attributes—darting runs, aggressive closing down, good technical skill around the area, a very tidy left-footed finish and a surprising ability to climb in the air to head home a terrific opening goal for the Whitecaps. Like most newcomers there has been a settling in period but I think he has the goods to have a prosperous MLS career in a team that likes to use the strengths he possesses.
Tim Cahill earned a red card last weekend. With the Red Bulls midfielder set to join Australia on international duty and MLS not counting such games against suspensions, he will miss his team’s next two games, including a crucial match against Toronto FC. Shouldn’t Cahill change his mind about playing for his country and remain with New York?
This is a very tough one for me to answer as I always prioritized country over club and certainly where qualifying or major tournament games take place there can be only one choice. However, with the wages being paid today and the importance of playoffs in MLS, a league where FIFA dates are not respected, you would think a stronger consideration would be made to stay back to help his club team, especially since he will already be missing the one game due to suspension. I’ll never say playing for country first though is the wrong decision even if it’s just a friendly as there is always something special about pulling on the national team jersey, and Cahill, who turns 35 ion December, is closing in on the last few occasions to do that.
Programming alert: Watch Canada vs Colombia on Sportsnet World on Tuesday, October 14 at 9:00 pm ET. The match will also be live streamed on Sportsnet.ca || TV schedule
At one time Sporting Kansas City looked a sure bet to win the Eastern Conference. But they’ve dropped to third in the East, and only have two wins in their last 10 games. What’s going on? Can they turn this around and regain momentum headed into the playoffs?
The old adage in MLS is that every team at some point in the season will go on a run of good results and that same team will usually also go on a run of bad results and right now this is certainly the bad run for KC. You could say it comes at a bad time, but I don’t think it’s of major concern if they can put together a couple of decent performances ahead of the playoffs and secure one of the top three spots in the division and avoid the one-off play-in game. Houston is the best example of a team in recent memory that on more than one occasion stumbled into the post-season and then went on a good playoff run to the final. However, something does need to change for Sporting as their recent performances have lacked tempo and the precision of passing and execution of finishing we saw earlier in the year.
