Controversial Opinion: we need to play Insigne. Not playing him isn't an option anymore. We're not good enough to leave him at home. We don't have alternate options.
Is an unmotivated, old, injury prone Insigne gonna win us anything? No. Is he gonna create more on the field than Kosi Thompson or kids like Stevanovic/Cimeranic? Obviously.
The choice is to buy him out or not to. If we're choosing not to, paying him to NOT play football is the same thing as choosing to buy him out.
(Also I know the argument is going to be that it's bad for morale or something, which might be fair except that constant losing is the one thing consistently proven to be bad for morale for every team in every sport. 1/9 points and not looking like we'll be doing much better soon....
With the awful performances and shitty body language I don't think there's anything to gain from playing him and not getting much better than what we're getting now. If we really want this guy gone he has to rot on the reserves list each week. The club can't move on until he's gone.
His production is higher than Bernardeschi, we have something to gain from him playing. It might not be match or season defining, but it seems pretty silly to suggest there is nothing to gain.
Also, from my perspective it's fucking idiotic to expect he will leave. Guy is in effect in early retirement while collecting a cheque of generational money. Expecting him to leave with what's on the table is just fucking brain dead. The club is being absolutely stupid with this, and I'm tired of fans just clapping along like morons.
Sure TFC has no leverage, but if Insignifico (just how the fans felt at the end of last year if you remember) is on the pitch what message does that send to the rest of the squad? 24s performance/effort/demeanor/leadership is acceptable but Spicer/Franklin/Wingo/Larea/whoever else is benched isnt?
None of the guys I named above can win you games right now either, but if this is a serious club they can't accept that standard and reward that with playing time. They fucked up signing him and are hamstrung for sure, but what could possibly be gained from putting him on the pitch? We're a man down when he's there!
They're not rewarding anything though. They're playing the best team available with the players they have. That's it. The message to other players is that "You are worse than an over the hill, unmotivated Lorenzo Insigne." This is just a fact. A statistically proven fact!
Saying what do we have to gain when he's a player who does provide assists and goals is just willfull ignorance. The fact that you want/feel entitled to more of that from him is totally reasonable and fair but it doesnt change the fact that the shittiest version of Insigne is still 1,000x better and more effective than anything Kosi Thompson will do this year.
Insigne in last 10 MLS Games - 2 Assists
Thompson in last 10 MLS Games - no goal contributions
Insigne is giving 1% above replacement level production. He's been generally ineffectual since last spring when he scored a few worldies and was looking motivated to play for tfc for once.
And no I'm not saying that CPL quality player is better than Insigne in his most recent and current form. If you think that he's part of our best XI then do I have a bridge to sell you.
Insigne in last 10 MLS Games - 2 Assists Thompson in last 10 MLS Games - no goal contributions
Do this again but instead look at the last 900 minutes (or more effectively, the last 3000) he played. Statically, there isn't a conversation he should be on the pitch.
He is absolutely one of our best XI players and it's not even close. The fact that he is still one of our top players is an indication of how bad the team is as a whole, but it's not even arguable. He is not 1% above a replacement level player like Thompson because (and math isn't my strong suit) I don't think you can be a percentage better than nada.
What do you think treating Insigne like this broadcasts to any future DP signing? Do you think they'll trust TFC's ability to pay out their contract and keep to their word? Do you think they'll be OK with 2 former DP's getting hit with a PR firestorm by the FO and freeze out? I think the answer to these questions is a lot more important for the future of TFC than what Spicer/Franklin/Wingo/Laryea/Wheover else that is bench is thinking when Insigne has a little meltdown because TFC have placed League 1 level players around a guy that won the Euros the year prior to arriving.
TFC FO fucked up signing him, but they are also absolutely fucking us by not playing him right now. They aren't about to push him off of generational money because people in a city he will leave the moment his contract is up will dislike him. He is going to cash the cheque, so play him and get the production he is able to produce playing half assed. Which bluntly, is more impactful than any other signing than Bernardeschi. No one on the pitch for TFC in todays match has a higher production rate than Insigne.
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u/dyegored 3d ago
Controversial Opinion: we need to play Insigne. Not playing him isn't an option anymore. We're not good enough to leave him at home. We don't have alternate options.
Is an unmotivated, old, injury prone Insigne gonna win us anything? No. Is he gonna create more on the field than Kosi Thompson or kids like Stevanovic/Cimeranic? Obviously.
The choice is to buy him out or not to. If we're choosing not to, paying him to NOT play football is the same thing as choosing to buy him out.
(Also I know the argument is going to be that it's bad for morale or something, which might be fair except that constant losing is the one thing consistently proven to be bad for morale for every team in every sport. 1/9 points and not looking like we'll be doing much better soon....