TFC season review, Part V - Where do we go from here?

So, what now?

Well, the first thing everyone should do is take a step back from the emotion of last Saturday. Losing 5-0 to New York exposed some things about TFC, no doubt, but it didn’t change the fact that the Reds were only one point from a playoff spot and just 10 points out of the Supporter’s Shield race.

So, TFC fans, try and remember that. The Reds weren’t Derby County circa 2008. No, they were a pretty typical MLS side that wasn’t quite good enough. So, chill.

Now, that said, they really weren’t good enough. Although they were just that one point away, they never looked good for a playoff spot from about two months out. They seemed to lack something.

The now infamous 15 blown points in the final 15, was exhibit 1A of that lack of something, but it came out in other ways as well. TFC failed to bury teams (eight of 13 wins were by one goal). The Reds struggled against teams that had less talent (they only won four of 11 games against New York, San Jose, Vancouver, Puerto Rico, Montreal and first half of the season Dallas. Take New York out and it’s just two wins in eight games) and they had the fourth worst road record in the league.

Those are problems. How you deal with them is not easy to determine. Clearly there is something in the psychology of the tem. Either they lack the skills needed to handle pressure (the ‘ole inverted U theory of sports psychology) or they simply lack the desire to put forth the needed effort.

It could also be a case of the players never learning how to win. How many championships have TFC players won in their pro career? Outside of DeRo, the answer, as far as I can tell, is none. TFC management needs to look at every player it has and determine if they have the ability to win. It’s a skill that isn’t just about, well, skill. It’s about metal toughness. And if it’s determined that a player is soft, then he needs to be shipped out.

Also, something as simple as hiring a full time sports psychologist might be beneficial as well. That type of auxiliary spending is how rich MLS clubs like Toronto can take advantage of their off-the-pitch success.

Jimmy Brennan should also understand that his captaincy needs to be critically evaluated. You want your captain to lead you through tough times on the pitch and, through three years, TFC has never shown an ability to do that. Maybe Jimmy isn’t the problem, but everything needs to be looked at.

Clearly the coaching situation is the most important piece of business in the off-season. Mo Johnston has said that he wants someone with MLS experience. That limits greatly. We can speculate all we want about specific names, but I think the prototype needed is understood. Both John Carver and Chris Cummins were assistant coaches given head coaching responsibilities. Both struggled to let go of their “one of the boys” attitude that served them well in their assistant manager roles. TFC’s players don’t need a buddy. They need a coach that can kick their ass in line when needed – someone that will demand respect from the get go.

It’s not going to be easy to find that guy, but if they can everything else will follow.

You don’t need to have your UEFA A licence to know what Toronto needs as far as players. It’s a broken record -- a pure goal scoring striker, one or two natural wing players and a hardnosed stopper to play CB.

That should be easy...

OK, maybe not. The truth is pretty much every team in the world is after those type of players. To me, the first priority should be to find the wing players. Although you might look at the other two holes as being more pressing, to me Toronto’s lack of width on the pitch is its biggest failing. Who knows, with an adjustment in tactics that involve actually having a player on the wing that can get some crosses in, maybe Chad Barrett or Ali Gerba might start scoring.

As for that 20-goal scorer Mo talked about earlier this week, TFC fans probably have as much chance of seeing themselves win Lotto Max next Friday. The only way you find a guy out there that can net you 20 goals who won’t cost you DP money is to win the figurative lottery by finding that mythical 19-year-old Argentine striker that no one has seen before. Now, Johnston did let it slip in his interview with the Fan 590 that he’s pretty sure the cap is going up. So, maybe there will be enough money to go after another big transfer. But, you can’t count on that.

Realistically, Toronto may be able to find another 10-goal guy and if they can do that it may be enough. You have to assume that one of either Barett or Gerba will bounce back a bit next year.

I’m actually least concerned about the centreback needs. Sure, a big stopper would be great. You can say that about pretty much every other club in the world. Dominating CBs are likely the most difficult of commodities to find. But, Toronto does have some promise on the backline. Between Emmanuel Gomez and Nana Attakora, I have to think that one will step their game up even more in 2010. With Adrian Serioux now playing on grass every week, his injuries should be less frequent and everyone will be happier.

I would love to see an upgrade at left fullback, thus letting Jimmy B play in the mid, where he belongs.

The wildcard in everything is what the impact of a full season of Julian de Guzman will be. If the new coach figures out how to best use him, that could be the extra two points TFC needs right there.

Regardless, and sadly, we will have four long months to ruminate over this. But, what needs to be remembered is that the Reds weren’t that far away. With a little tweaking – and an adjustment in the psychology – this team could not only make the playoffs, but also compete for the MLS Cup.

Really. It just doesn’t seem like it right now.

Part III of V of the season review:

Part I - Mo Johnston and management
Part II - What went right on the pitch?
Part III - What went wrong on the pitch?
Part IV - Player's report card
Part V - What needs to happen?

It's Called Footbal Daily - the West is the best (maybe)

...and we end with the West...

The more iTunes subs we have, the more impressive I am to strangers on the bus. Seriously. Help. It's all I got.

No iTunes, no cry - download the show for your Zune, MP3 player or tape deck

It's Called Football Daily - East playoff preview

Part two of three of our loooong night. We preview the east playoff.



ummmm iTunes.

No iTunes, no cry - download the show for your Zune, MP3 player or tape deck

It's Called Football Daily - SAAC v CSA with a little TOA thrown in

Part one of three of today's Daily triple play!



The CSA supports subscribing to ICF on iTunes*

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*maybe

Mo speaks

Mo Johnston spoke to the Fan 590 yesterday. I'll let you listen and decide for yourself what to think.

TFC season review, Part IV - The Report Card

TFC player’s report card

Nana Attakora – A
Nana had a breakthrough year that few could have predicted and his development was easily the most exciting thing to happen to TFC in 2009. Although DeRo’stats were better, his expectations were also higher, which is why Attakora gets a slight nod from me as the team’s 2009 MVP.

Dwayne De Rosario - A
DeRo delivered. He had his second best offensive season in his career and God knows how bad off the team would have been without him. Yes, he was frustrating at times, but make no mistake: he was TFC’s best player game in game out.

Stefan Frei - B+
The rookie keeper was another bright spot in a frustrating year. It’s rare that a keeper can step in and perform, but Frei did. Greg Sutton was the victim, and justifiably so – Frei was Sutton’s equal in shot stopping and a far better distributor of the ball.

Amado Guevara - B+
Amado will never satisfy a certain type of fan predisposed to see his failings. However, having watched him play as much as I have over the past two years I’m honestly not sure what people are looking at when they suggest that he mails it in for large portions of the game. From field level it’s apparent that Amado cares more than most, more often than most. His age and international requirements wore him down in the second half, but he was my MVP of the first half of the season.

Sam Cronin - B+
Playing out of position for most of the year, Cronin showed that he will have a long and productive career. I think it will be in MLS – Cronin isn’t the type that is going to grab massive attention from overseas, but he is a clear professional that will be a solid asset for years to come.

Danny Dichio - B
When he played, he was great. By far TFC’s most effective forward. It’s unclear why the Reds stopped using him, and it sure would have been nice to see him out there in the CONCACAF Champions League tie with Puerto Rico, but...

Jim Brennan - B
There have been some legitimate questions about his leadership over the past couple weeks – if there really were issues in the dressing room, why wasn’t the captain stepping up. However, Jimmy B’s play seemed to step up in the last month or so (especially when he was moved up to his favoured left-mid slot).

Julian de Guzman - B
It probably should be an incomplete, but de Guzman showed enough in his limited time to give us a glimpse of what TFC fans should expect from him after he has a full of-season to prepare and a full pre-season to gel. Hopefully the next had coach will allow him to play a box-to-box role to fully allow his creativity to shine through.


Adrian Serioux - B-
He was a beast early on – his willingness to sacrifice his body making up for some tactical shortfalls. However, as the year went on he started to slip. A big part of the reason for that were injuries. Also, it became clear that he needs to be teamed with a big, experienced stopper at the back

Carl Robinson - C+
It wasn’t a great season for Robbo. One year older he seemed to win a few less balls and his distribution remains what it is. Additionally, injuries kept him from doing what he does best – lead. I’d be surprised if he’s back and I suspect Robbo is just fine with that.

Chad Barrett - C+
Oh Chad. I’ll actually probably take some heat for ranking him this high, but you have to look at his full game. He is a tireless worker and he does create a lot of chances. The problem, of course, is that he doesn’t finish them. A perfect season from Barrett is probably only a B. This was far from a perfect season.

Marvell Wynne - C+
He almost seemed to regress this year. His tactical awareness is not improving and there is only so much you can do with speed. He was also slowed down by injuries. If there is still perceived value in Wynne, TFC should act on it and move him this off-season.

O'Brian White - C+
Hurt for half the year, White didn’t have a lot of opportunity to make an impact. However, there were flashes that seemed to indicate that he could be an eight to 10 goal scorer in MLS soon. It will be interesting to see what he can do with a full season.

Emmanuel Gomez - C
Raw, raw, raw. Gomez could send a perfect 40-yard pass straight to the forward's feet in one instant, then immediately follow-up with a blown coverage that leads to a scoring chance against the next. I’m not sure if the endgame with Gomez is to sell him off, or to develop him into a consistent starter. I’m more inclined to think it’s the former.

Brian Edwards - C
It would have ben an incomplete mark prior to the last month. However, Edwards three starts down the stretch did enough to convince me that he is...a decent MLS back-up keeper. You aren’t petrified by Edwards in the net, but not inspired either.

Lesly Fellinga - C-
Used mostly as a sub it was at times difficult to understand why Toronto bothered to bring him in. If Jimmy B is back in 2010, Fellinga could provide some decent cover. We didn’t see much in ’09, however, to convince us that he’s more than a back-up player.

Amadou Sanyang - C-
Likely rawer than Gomez and, seemingly, with slightly less promise. Still, he’s an athletic kid that showed flashes (and flashes of recklessness). We shouldn’t give up, not should we assume he’ll be anything more than we see now. It’s simply too early to tell.

Greg Sutton - C-
He played OK in the time that he got (which wasn’t much) and was a victim of salary, not a loss of skill. Hopefully the classy keeper can rebound to find work in 2010. He’s too young to retire.

Pablo Vitti - D+
But he looked pretty doing it. Example 1A of how the right passport along with an ability to do a step-over, can keep you employed in this game. He got a couple goals, so he avoids the F, but, man...what a letdown.

Ali Gerba - D
Speaking of letdowns...you can argue that he was never used correctly – and maybe you’d be right – but he also was never in shape and is incapable of creating anything on his own. It was always unclear to me why a guy that couldn’t stick in League One should be expected to excel in MLS, but I can’t say I’m happy to be right in this case. Collin Samuel with a French accent.

Marco Velez - D
The poor bastard tried really hard. Hopefully he can find happiness in Puerto Rico because he seems like a really decent guy.

Rohan Ricketts - D
Rickets probably didn’t get a fair chance to show what he could do (there were times in 2008 where he looked like he could be a useful player), but rumours of training lapses and the feeling that he cared more about his profile in the community than his play on the pitch held him back.

Kevin Harmse - D
I hope the girl was worth the move back to Ca., ‘cause Harmse hasn’t seen the pitch since leaving Toronto. He was serviceable while in Toronto.

Nick Garcia - F
Maybe the worst trade in TFC history. There are rumblings that he was the problem in the room, but even if you just look at the play on the pitch Garcia was too slow and completely ineffective.

Fuad Ibrahim – Incomplete
I was tempted to give Ibby an F as well, such was the disappointment in his disappearing act in 2009. However, he can’t be held fully responsible for not getting a chance. And he didn’t. Sadly, in one year he’s gone from “likely to breakout” to “remember that kid who scored against New York.”

Gabe Gala – Incomplete
Telling is that Gala was the bigger prospect in 2007 when he and Attakora joined the team. At least he scored against Real Madrid. It’s hard to see the point in keeping him around another year since he clearly does not feature in the club’s plans.

Part III of V of the season review:

Part I - Mo Johnston and management
Part II - What went right on the pitch?
Part III - What went wrong on the pitch?
Part IV - Player's report card
Part V - What needs to happen?

Fearless playoff predictions

We will be breaking down the MLS match-ups in more detail on the It’s Called Football Daily show tonight, but for the sake of it here are my fearless playoff predictions:

Houston v Seattle

This is a tough one to call in that I’m not sure how Seattle will react to the playoff pressure and Houston has been a below average team the last two months of the season. Experience counts though. Houston starts its final push to glory with a tough 2-0 win (0-0 and 2-0)

Galaxy v Chivas

Welcome to MLS (playoffs) David! It’s a good thing Adrian Serioux isn’t there, but you can bet that there won’t be many pleasantries exchanged. The playoffs are a rough and tumble environment and as much as I love what Bruce Arena has done with the Gals in one short year (and as much as I have doubts about the Goats), I think the third time is the charm for Chivas to prove they can win in the post season. Chivas advances 3-1 (1-1, 2-0)

Columbus v Salt Lake

The Crew have not looked great the last month (ok, more like “just OK,” than “not great” but still…). SLC is damn lucky to be at the dance, but also damn good at home. No Sigi, Lots of cry. SLC rides a big win in the first leg to a 2-1 series win (2-0, 0-1).

Chicago v New England.

Ugh. Two teams that look like they don’t want to be there. The Fire have more talent. The Revs have an uncanny ability to win in the playoffs (in the east). Chicago’s old boys have just enough left in them to squeak through 1-1, 4-3 on PKs (0-0, 1-1).

West final –
Houston v Chivas

The Dynamo ride the hot goaltending of 83-year-old Pat Onstad to a tight 1-0 win. Stuart Holden gets the 88th minute winner helping the Houston faithful totally forget DeRo.

East final –

Chicago v Salt Lake

Just to make things fair, the Fire cough up the East final at home (where they have been mysteriously awful this year) to a west cross over team. The MLS Cup final is all west, after going all east last year. The game itself is strangely not close, with now hot SLC completing the miracle comeback from death (in Toronto) to win 3-0.

MLS Cup final-

Houston v Salt Lake

The Cinderella ride will end (which will, thank God, stop 3,876 posters at BigSoccer from proclaiming that SLC isn’t a Real (hardy har har) champion because they won in a playoff. The vets in Houston get one last ring. Onstad announces that he really is going to think about retiring and the parity league will hand a fifth crown to the franchise that can now lay claim to being the best ever in MLS’ short history. Final 2-0.

TFC Season review, Part III - What went wrong

It all starts with John Carver. When talking about how it went south for TFC in 2009, you can’t go wrong with tracing it back to Carver’s sudden leaving in the spring. It forced TFC to react to a situation it couldn’t have predicted and to put Chris Cummins into a position that he was clearly not ready for (which, ultimately, leads to the loss of a very good youth coach in Cummins).

We’ve already talked about Mo Johnston, and pointed out how much of the mess he should wear, so, for now, let’s keep the focus on the pitch. There, the mess in the coaching situation leads to pretty much every other issue that plagued this team this year.

Let’s start with the 75 minute issue. Famously, Toronto choked up 15 points in the final 15 minutes of games. It all started back in the second home game of the year when Dallas, then awful, scored in the 88th minute to steal a draw. It ended in October, when San Jose scored in the 92nd minute to also steal a draw at BMO. In between there were many other examples of TFC either allowing a late one, or looking damn good for it (we all left BMO feeling good about the result after the final home game, but the truth was the Reds were damn lucky not to repeat the pattern that day too).

It’s too simple by half, but those four points I touched on above are the difference between the playoffs and, well, this mess.

Cummins talked about how he was screaming at his players not to collapse during the San Jose game. They didn’t listen. Why in hell would they not? Either they stopped listening altogether or they simply have no football sense or any strength of character. It’s unfair to the man himself (see above – put in impossible situation), but if I’m telling you the truth it’s on the coach if the players aren’t listening and are blowing late game leads.

Let’s now look at three other games – Vancouver on the road and Puerto Rico in both legs of the CONCACAF Champions League. Those three games represent the best example of Cummins having his ass handed to him by opposing tactics. Both teams played the underdog and forced TFC to break down a packed middle. Both teams played a perfect counter game to score just enough to grab the upset. In all three games TFC continued to play the same, toothless way to the end. In all three games TFC failed to score.

Montreal’s own failing in the final game of the Voyageurs’ Cup helped most forget Vancouver. However, the Islanders reminded us of the problem a couple weeks later. Upsets happen, of course, but when two different teams are able to shut TFC down so effectively in three separate games, there is a tactical failing going on.

The one caveat here is that a coach can only use the tools that he has. And, TFC has no natural wing players. It had one at the start of the year – Rohan Ricketts – but once he was sent Tweeting out of town, everything went through the middle. That allowed teams to pack the box and force TFC to the outside where it is ineffective. At one point late in the year I turned to someone in the crowd beside me and pointed out that the Reds had a single player on the right side of the pitch. We watched for five minutes. The situation didn’t change. Marvell held the fort, while the rest packed in towards the middle like a u-4 team down at the park.

Obviously, that’s a roster failure, but you do have to ask yourself a couple questions: Was Ricketts so bad that releasing him outright was the only answer? Am I the only person that sees Chad Barrett’s future as a wing player?

Ahhh...Barrett. Look, he’s a bit of a whipping boy amongst many, but the bottom line is that he didn’t score. That’s a problem when you’re a striker. I’m not one to call for his head, but obviously this team needs someone to step up and find the net. It’s bit telling to see former TFC strikers move on to other teams to suddenly find their touch, which makes me think there is something in the set-up that is holding them back (again, we go back to coaching). Regardless, three years of searching and we’re still not much better off than when Andrea Lombardo was being thrown to the Lions trotted out week after week.

But what about Dichio? The big man notched a point every 152 minutes he was on the pitch in 2009. Barrett was every 258, Gerba every 534, Vitti every 550, Guevara every 181 and White every 220. DeRo was slightly more productive at a point every 143.

Statistics, damn statistics and lies, and all that, but tell me again why Dichio wasn’t getting used (and make no mistake, his health would have been just fine if he was actually getting on the pitch). The way Dichio was used in 2009 was either a grand travesty or profound ignorance. You decide which is better.

As I said off the start, troubles began with Carver leaving. They end with Dichio’s forced retirement. Although TFC fans can hold onto the 6-1 game when they are looking for ways to deal with cold January nights this off-season, he truth is it was a pretty bleak season.

Four points better in the standings, but infinitely worse in the fulfillment of expectations.


Part III of V of the season review:

Part I - Mo Johnston and management
Part II - What went right on the pitch?
Part III - What went wrong on the pitch?
Part IV - Player's report card
Part V - What needs to happen?

Well, isn't that nice

Former Rangers, Celtic and Scotland striker and current Toronto FC director of soccer Maurice “Mo” Johnston is to be inducted in to the Scottish Football Hall of Fame. The ex-Old Firm star will join the likes of Jock Stein, Denis Law, Jimmy Johnstone, John Greig, Brian Laudrup and Henrik Larsson in the Hall of Fame which is a permanent feature in the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park.

That's the word from TFC HQ moments ago. It's a nice bit of timing, coming on the heels of a universal call for the man's head.

"What? Fire Mo? That's crazy. He's a Hall of Famer.

Two games, one window

In my obsession with tracking down the City - Scunthorpe United game today (yeah, well, we all have our problems), I neglected to report that Canada actually booked a second friendly for the November international break. The other six Canadian soccer bloggers were all over it. Personally, I liked Lord Bob's take.

Poland. Nov. 18. We'll get back to you on the TV options.

Not much to say. It's, clearly, good. As Lord Bob said in the linked article, the FIFA Ranking is secondary to actually playing and it's a good sign that the CSA was able to book two games. With European teams either looking to prepare for the World Cup or wanting run outs to see what kids might feature in Euro '12 qualifying, getting a friendly should be like shooting stoned beavers in a sauna (that's the old adage, right?).

Poland is also pretty good, although they weren't able to do much in qualifying. So, it will be a nice challenge.

Regardless, Canadian fans now have TWO things to (sort of) look forward to. That's a good thing and hopefully a sin that the CSA is starting to figure it the f(udge) out.

SuperFan!

I bet you didn't know Bubbles was actually British and a supporter of Burnley.

The Rest of the Story: King of the minnows

The dust settled on the final qualifying round of this season’s FA Cup this week, with 32 lucky non-League clubs booking their trip to the first round proper. There, they can dream of a glory fixture with Shrewsbury Town on route to a spectacular run to a third round loss at Old Trafford – 3-0, but with dignity, the commentators will say.

That’s the magic of the thing, anyway.

Of course there are minnows and then there are minnows. When you are talking about the qualifying rounds, the Conference National, hell the Conference North and South, are the major scalps. Charming mom and pop clubs from all over England need to find a way past AFC Wimbledon before they can grab their 15 minutes. In total there are 406 non-League teams fighting for 32 spots in the First Round proper. Of those 338 come from below the Conference umbrella.

Nine survived:

Nuneaton Town F.C
Stourbridge Football Club
Ilkeston Town Football Club
Lowestoft Town F.C
Oxford City Football Club
Wealdstone Football Club
Tooting & Mitcham United Football Club
Sutton United Football Club

And, the ultimate minnow in the First Round:

Paulton Rovers Football Club

Paulton is in the eighth tier of the English game. It would take four perfect years just to get into the bottom of the football league. Yet, if the Rovers were to get a lucky draw and pull another upset or two...

Movies have been based on less.

Of course the more likely ending is a First Round loss to a Conference National side, but the fact that it’s even possible is what makes the FA Cup so damn compelling.

NOTES: That other Cup competition, the League Cup, moves into the quarterfinals after the conclusion of the fourth round today. There are no minnows left in this one (well, Pompey might count), with all eight remaining teams coming from the EPL (actually six of the top seven teams in the table are left).

Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Spurs, Villa and Arsenal are joined by “underdogs” Blackburn and Pompey. The draw is Saturday, with the quarters starting the week of Nov. 30. Not that it should come as t all shocking, but the list of teams left would seem to indicate that the No. 6 slot on the final table will probably gain a Europa spot.

Whitecaps, Impact part ways with USL

CBC's John Molinaro has a very interesting story today confirming that both the USL-1 champion Montreal Impact and USL-1 finalist Vancouver Whitecaps are set to break away from the league. Whitecaps' president Bob Lenarduzzi told Molinaro that both teams are looking to join the other teams (the Atlanta Silverbacks, Carolina RailHawks, Miami FC, Minnesota Thunder, St. Louis Soccer United and Tampa Bay Rowdies) in the Team Owners' Association in a breakaway league for next season. This needs to be approved by the United States Soccer Federation, as it oversees club soccer in the U.S., where most of the teams are based (I'm pretty sure the Canadian Soccer Association will go along with whatever comes out of this).

"We're still pursuing the new league alternative, and by the end of the week, we should have our application into the USSF for them to grant us that status," Lenarduzzi said. "Our belief is that in order for soccer to grow in Canada and the United States, you need viable, professional leagues. The reason we're going the route we're going is because we think that with like-minded owners, we can achieve that, and that would be good for the sport in general."

Brian Quarstad of Inside Minnesota Soccer has confirmation from the USL side that negotiations with Vancouver and Montreal are over, so it does look like their time in USL-1 is finished. It's interesting that the USL hasn't been more willing to accomodate the breakaway teams, though, as they include many of its strongest markets both on and off the field. If all of the TOA teams leave, USL-1 is left with Portland (only for one year before they move to MLS), Puerto Rico, Charleston, Rochester, Austin and Cleveland as the only teams that competed in the top division this year. Many of those teams have attendance issues as well as less-than-great on the field lineups (particularly in Austin and Cleveland), and many of them are in fairly small markets.

If I'm, say, Fox Soccer Channel, I'd be much more interested in televising a league composed of teams in Atlanta, Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. There's a decent geographical spread there, and those are major sports markets; all of them have NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB teams (exceptions are Carolina, which doesn't have MLB, and St. Louis, which doesn't have the NBA). By contrast, the only remaining USL-1 cities to have any other major sports are Portland (NBA) and Cleveland (NFL, NBA and MLB). That isn't necessarily a bad thing, as there's less competition for sporting dollars in smaller markets, but the remaining USL-1 cities aren't great from a national television perspective (and they also may struggle at the gate). That gives the TOA league a pretty decent chance of success in my mind, and it doesn't bode well for USL-1.

The key question is what this means for the Whitecaps and Impact, though. If the TOA league gets off the ground and they accept both Canadian teams, it probably won't have a massive effect. Both teams will still be playing regular games against familiar opponents, and fans are drawn to the club name, not the league name. The TOA league has every reason to accept the Whitecaps and Impact; they've been heavily involved in the formation of the TOA, they have long and proud histories, solid financial bases, large markets and strong support in those markets. Their membership may be short-term, especially considering the recent announcement of the long-awaited B.C. Place roof deal, which appears to have removed the last obstacle in the Whitecaps' path to MLS. Montreal may be around for a few seasons, but they also seem to be destined for MLS. Still, their involvement in the TOA league would help it get off the ground and give it legitimacy, especially considering that both clubs just played in the USL-1 final. My bet is that the TOA would be happy to have them for as long as they're able to stay.

If the TOA league runs into launching difficulties, though, Vancouver and Montreal could be forced to scramble for whatever games they can. There are plenty of problems that can arise trying to get a league off the ground, which is why it's good that this split is happening now instead of just before the season starts. The involvement of the USSF may make things difficult, though, as I'm sure their focus is more on what's best for soccer in the U.S. in the long run rather than getting a new league off and running quickly. That may involve negotiations with MLS to become a feeder league or affiliated minor league, it may involve USSF-moderated discussions with USL-1, and it may take a considerable amount of time.

For the Whitecaps and Impact, though, urgency is key. Taking a season off to sort things out is not really a viable option, as you lose your supporters, your TV deals and your legitimacy (just look at the issues faced by the Arena Football League in its bid to relaunch after a year on hiatus). A lost year could prove especially disastrous for Vancouver, as they need a solid schedule next year to prepare for the transition to MLS. Various exhibitions and such are all right, but league experience is much better and much more valuable. Let's hope some solution can be found that solidifies professional soccer in North America for both the immediate future and the long term.

Update: Molinaro is now reporting that Lenarduzzi called him back to say the Whitecaps' door isn't officially closed to playing in the USL next year. That doesn't sound likely at the moment, though.

[Cross-posted to Sporting Madness]

BREAKING: Impact, Caps out of USL

TSN is reporting. More soon...

Or, now.

Rags on tour: United "fans" take on snack bar

Long-time readers of this site know that I'm hardly an angel and that I enjoy a little edginess in my football supporting. However, for much as we sometimes make light of my wannabe hooligan status, the truth is I'm far more likely to hit myself in frustration at a TFC game than ever look for trouble. In Chicago, I was the one making peace with the security guard in an effort to keep the more, um, refreshed, elements of our support in the stands.

In short, I believe in riding the line, not crossing it. And, as an adult, I'm pretty sure that I can do just that. More than 90 per cent of hardcore support the world over does it as well.

Most, for instance, would never attack a helpless snack bar.

Not so for the fans of AFC Trafford FC, apparently. Witness the aftermath of their visit to Barnsley in the Carling Cup yesterday:



Not sure if any of these guys were involved, but take note of the all black attire of most in this shot (designed to trick the CCTV cameras):



It's likely safe to say that some were at least thinking of making a brief return to the 1970s, even if most in that shot weren't born then.

It's a difficult question: how do you remove the stupid element from football without sucking all the passion out? The EPL is a pretty sanitized place right now (and expensive), so do you run the risk of pushing away more traditional, rough around the edges, support? Probably. You can already see a certain type fan turning to the lower leagues to get their fix.

That's not ideal though. Ideally, balance needs to be found that will allow some organic passion back into the game. However, it would help if fans stopped trying to beat up snack bars. That's the first step.

It's Called Football Daily: Rotten Apples edition

Chris Cummins catches a flight back to England, we talk about it.

Also an update on SAAC's battle for recognition and why the CSA might not actually be at fault.

TFC season review, Part II: All that went right

It’s really easy right now to wallow knee deep in the feces. An infuriating 5-0 loss to New York, the second worst MLS team of all-time, to end an incredibly frustrating season that saw TFC drop 15 points in the final 15 minutes of games (39 + 15 = 54 = Supporter’s Shield*) will do that to you. But, it would be a mistake to label everything about the year as a complete waste.

So, at the risk of being called a MLSE lackey, part II of the season review will attempt to be positive (don’t worry, there will be plenty of excrement wallowing to come).

What went right for TFC in 2009? Well, you can start with the kids. Sam Cronin, Stefan Frei and, especially, Nana Attakora have to be the biggest three positives this season. Although some legitimate criticism can be made about Mo Johnston’s decision to pick Cronin over Omar Gonzalez none of it has to do with the player Toronto got. Rather, it’s a reflection of needs: as in even my cat knew that TFC needed a defender of Gonzalez’ style, like, really badly.

Cronin, however, has been a rock for the club all year. Asked to play out of position for basically all but one game, he has forced his way into the conversation for rookie of the year and, more importantly, has also demonstrated a tremendous potential for leadership.

In a dressing room that is, it seems, too comfortable, Cronin has shown that he will speak his mind. He comes from a winning culture at Wake Forest (I’ve been clear in my position that the NCAA is not the right place for MLS to be developing players from, but if you have to grab a college kid you could do much worse than Wake) and he does not seem overly willing to accept losing.

He’s also not likely to be heading to Europe soon and could prove to be a long-term player for the Reds if the club can find a way to keep him happy.

One player that probably will be in Europe fairly soon is Stefan Frei, the rookie keeper that could very well win the rookie of the year (you know that the two rookie of the year candidates will be front and centre in the team’s off-season marketing efforts and spin – it’s not that bad, we’ve got the kids!). With an EU passport and strong Swiss roots, Frei seems destined for a middling Euro league within the next 18-months. It’s tough to step in as a keeper, but Frei did, showing some great shot blocking instincts and solid distribution skills along the way.

There is room for improvement, of course. He needs to command the box lot better before he moves to a big league, but he’s very young for a keeper and with that passport...he will be an asset for TFC either on the pitch or through allocation moving forward.

And then there is Young Nana**. To me the biggest surprise and most inspiring aspect of TFC’s season this year has been the development of Attakora into a legitimate MLS starter and a potential MLS star down the road. To have 22 MLS starts before you can drink in 14 of the 15 MLS cities is an accomplishment.

Much of the credit for his development should go to Chris Cummins, actually. It was Cummins that was most closely working with him in 2008 and who showed the confidence in him early this season. Attakora rewarded that confidence by becoming, arguably, Toronto’s most consistent performer. He was the team’s player of the month twice this year (and should receive some attention for the team’s player of the year).

Considering he’s been in a professional set-up since he was 17 (a nurturing professional set-up close to mom’s cooking), there is really nothing but upside to Attakora. His technical skills could end up matching his physical ones (which are significant) and something tells me he won’t retire in Toronto (unless it’s as a homecoming after a long career overseas). Would anyone be shocked to see Nana end up in the set-up of wherever Cummins lands? I wouldn’t.

The Scarborough boys are obviously a positive as well, albeit it one tempered with a significant side of disappointment. As much as many people want to dump on Adrian Serioux right now, he was a rock in the early part of the season and he really only started to struggle when the injuries started to catch up to him. If a centreback can be found in the off-season that may allow Serioux to move back to his natural full-back position and maybe even open up the possibility of moving Marvell Wynne for a more needed asset.

DeRo produced a boat load of goals. It was his best offensive season since 2005 and second best of his career. And then there was the hat-trick in Montreal.

Just getting Julian de Guzman is a positive that should provide a little bit of hope for the fans moving forward. I’m not sure using him as a holding midfielder is the best utilization of his talents at the MLS level, but a full season under (yet again) a new coach will be interesting to see.

On the pitch it was, of course, bleak -- the Voyageurs’ Cup being the one positive in an otherwise frustrating year. People tend to remember the 6-1 game in Montreal, but forget Toronto’s other two wins in the competition. Although they undoubtedly should have converted more of their opportunities in the home games against Vancouver and Montréal, the bottom line was that they won both games while dominating in both possession and chances. Those two wins are every bit a part of the championship as was the 6-1 win in Montréal to end it. That said, the TFC fans that traveled to Quebec that night got to see something special and the disappointment of the season (or the bitterness of other Canadian fans) should not take away from that.

As for MLS play, there was a slight increase in points (from 35 to 39) and the team was in it right to the final weekend. I’ll have a lot more to say about the MLS season in Part III, however, as the truth is that there isn’t much positive to point to. As a point of comparison, both Salt Lake (40 points) and Chivas (43 points) made the playoffs in their third season in the league.

As stated, Part III will look at the negatives more closely, but it is incorrect and unfair to suggest that there were no positives. Not enough, sure, but not none.

*Clearly this is the ultimate woulda, coulda, shoulda statistic. I’m not for a minute suggesting that TFC would have won the Supporter’s Shield this year if not for a little more late game luck. I am, however, going to make the argument that the Reds would have comfortably made the playoffs if they showed even a smidgen of backbone at crunch time. Let’s look at just three games – Dallas at home, San Jose at home and Columbus on the road. Toronto dropped five points in the last two minutes plus stoppage of those three games. Take care of those points and TFC’s playing Chicago next weekend.

** It seemed at times this year that Attakora’s first name was actually Young. Every time a coach referred to him he was always “Young Nana.” I always found it strangely endearing.

Part II of V of the season review:

Part I - Mo Johnston and management
Part II - What went right on the pitch?
Part III - What went wrong on the pitch?
Part IV - Player and staff report card
Part V - What needs to happen?

Cronin's words

This isn't breaking news, but for those who haven't seen Sam Cronin's post-game scrum following New York you should take a look.

"More so than anything we need to change the culture here, make it a winning, passionate group next season. I think it starts with a mentality and a kind of psychology of the team"

Why is a rookie the one that had to say it?

Cummins out - it's official

Toronto FC announced this morning that Chris Cummins will not be returning to the team for 2010.

This was a little earlier than many expected it would be announced and it likely has to do as much with Cummins wanting to go back as it does with TFC looking to move on.

As we've said here may times, Cummins was far from the biggest problem with this team and hopefully people won't look at this move as a solution to the larger problems.

Four head coaches in four years. That is not a path to long-term success.

It's Called Football Daily: EPL Review and MLS playoff primer

We looked back at the EPL's weekend that was and spoke to the possibilities of each of the eight MLS post-season clubs on ICFD.

It's Called Football Weekly: The aftermath

We talk to Joe Ross from The Score and Buzz Carrick from 3rd Degree about the final weekend of MLS action.

Lots and lots of TFC bashing and a little bit of positive-ish looking ahead...



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It's Called Football: the live chat!

Join us for a live chat during today's show. Buzz from 3rd Degree and Joe Ross from The Score join us.

TFC Season review -- Part I: What to do about Mo

Mo Johnston has always been a polarizing figure amongst TFC fans. Some have put their trust in the controversial and charismatic Scotsman and believe that he is a brilliant football mind that has a clear plan to take TFC to a championship. Others pretty much think he's the devil and the reason why Toronto will never be competitive, let alone a championship team.

Those that support Mo, often point to the addition of popular Canadian players like Dwayne De Rosario and Julian de Guzman as evidence of the good things that he has done this year. They even give him credit for getting grass to BMO next year.

Although I agree that Mo brought in pretty much the fan's whole wish list this year (and got rid of the fan's shit list too). I've often joked that it was like the Red Patch Boys’ forum was the team's GM.

I've never said that's a good thing though.

TFC still doesn't have a dominating centreback.

It still doesn't have a consistent scorer.

It's tight up against the cap, and running out of allocation.

The Reds still don't have anyone that can play on the wing.

Those are serious shortcomings in the make-up of the team that can't be overlooked and they have little to do with coaching. The reason I'm not in the long line of people looking to chop Chris Cummins head off is that I have little trust that anyone better will be brought in and, if that's the case, change for the sake of it accomplishes little.

Positively, Paul Beirne and the business team continue to do a great job. Adding the Fan 590 radio contract this year increased the team's profile tremendously and the addition of GolTV was also a nice piece of work for the same reasons (as much as the journalist in me cringes at some of the programming on there).

The grass file, especially, was the big win this year. But, to bring it back to the topic at hand, that had nothing to do with Johnston. No, that's the power of those suits that so often get derided.

Since year one I've been uncomfortable with Mo. His inability to attract decent domestic talent and overreliance on obtaining additional international slots, while lobbying MLS to take pity on Toronto and reduce the domestic requirement, put us behind the 'ole eight ball right away. Although we all remember 2007 fondly -- it was a blast in the stands -- the reality is that TFC did nothing but spin its wheels (how's that for two clichés in one paragraph. My j-school writing Profs would be proud...).

Here's a list to consider:

Eddie Gaven, Andy Gruenebaum, Frankie Hejduk, William Hesmer, Chad Marshall, Adam Moffat, Alejandro Moreno, Danny O'Rourke, Duncan Oughton, Robbie Rogers, Guillermo Barros Schelotto and Jed Zayner.

That would be the 14 players from the 2007 Columbus Crew, winners of 37 points and missers of the playoffs, which remain on the current Crew squad, defenders of MLS Cup championships and makers of CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

Toronto?

Jimmy Brennan, half a season of Danny Dichio, Carl Robinson and Marvell Wynne.

Three and a half men - one more than the TV show and, stunningly, not as funny.

It all starts with that first season. TFC started horribly and has never really recovered. Although the domestic talent has been increased it was likely no coincidence that started about the time it became clear than Vancouver and/or Montreal were coming into the league (Like the married man who suddenly decides to trim his nose hair after seeing his wife flirt with her personal trainer, a little bit of fear went a long way to inspiring action on the domestic front). So, Mo doesn't get a lot of credit in my mind for doing what was painful obvious (and what some of us were screaming from the hilltops about from the get-go). There is also the question on whether he's brought in the right Canadian talent. Why is Will Johnson -- a guy that could address that wing problem TFC has -- in Salt Lake? Andrew Hainault started 19 games for Houston this year. Doesn't Toronto have some problems at the back? What, Dejan Jakovic is Canadian too??? Good God this gets worse.

Others will say this with a little more profanity than I will, but in the end the message is the same. After three years it's clear. If Toronto wants to become a championship contending team in this league than one thing needs to happen first.

Mo must go.


Part I of V of the season review:

Part I - Mo Johnston and management
Part II - What went right on the pitch?
Part III - What went wrong on the pitch?
Part IV - Player's report card
Part V - What needs to happen?

Sober Second Thoughts: And so it goes...

You have every right to be angry tonight. After watching TFC lose 5-0 to New York (5-0?!), it’s perfectly understandable if you want to burn BMO Field to the ground. The result was awful. It was painful and it was more than a little surreal. It’s inconceivable that a team could lose that badly – to another team that was that bad – in a game that meant that much (this probably isn’t a good time to point out that the other results TFC needed happened. A win would have put them in).

So, yes, anger is reasonable. It’s probably even healthy. I’m sure there is a lot of anger amongst the players and staff of the Reds right now. It’s not like they wanted to embarrass themselves.

But, I can’t bring myself to be spitting mad. No, I’m sad. I’m sad because I know what kind of opportunity a playoff run would have provided Toronto and Canadian soccer fans. I’m sad because I know that a lot of good friends are also sad tonight and I’m sad because another season – we only get so many in our life – is gone. It’s 152 long days before TFC will kick a ball in anger again. That’s more than four months before TFC fans can gather to support the team and to share our passion for this game. It also feels that a limited opportunity for this team to truly break through to the mainstream – not that go-once-a-year-get-loaded-in-the-south-end crowd, but the actual, honest to goodness sports fan -- is gone.

We had DeRo and Julian, Scarborough boys, and no real competition in the city for our attention. Something special could have happened. Instead, it’s a punch line (and we all know there will be plenty of media folks out there tomorrow enjoying their oh-so-hilarious TFC punch lines). Nothing will ever be easy for soccer fans in this city. That’s pretty clear.

So, yeah, as I said, be angry. Punch a wall if you need to. Swear. Whatever. And, then get over yourself.

Supporting a team, especially a football club, is a grind. You don’t do it to secure an invite to the victory party. You do it to connect yourself to a community and to others who share your passion. Sure, you want to see the team win and half the fun is second guessing them, but if you are in it for the glory you might as well stay home and watch Man U on the tube. There are thousands of professional football teams in the world. Very, very few win. Pointing that out doesn’t mean you are giving up on the possibility of your team one day lifting a trophy. Rather, it’s understanding that there are other things about supporting a team that make it worthwhile. It’s understood that it’s difficult to see those things when you are staring at 5-0 win, but they are there.

What I’m saddest about tonight is that it will be four plus months before I can once again gather with the men and women who fill up the south end of BMO Field. In three short years they have become a living, breathing community – lawyers standing beside plumbers, new Canadians beside hopeless hosers. Yes, many of those folks enjoy an adult beverage, but that’s not why they are there. They are there for the football and they are friends because of that. Although the community exists beyond BMO Field – through soccer leagues, Christmas parties, random encounters in a mall, etc. – it’s at its best when it’s a mob attempting to will TFC to victory.

In moments of weakness, I imagine that mob growing disenchanted and walking away. Perhaps a fit of frustration will make them forget how wonderful the experience is and how important the community has become. Maybe, the mob will become blinded by the scoreboard and lose focus on the full picture.

That would be a shame because then they might miss it when the scoreboard one day turns in TFC’s favour. This is a third year club. We shouldn’t forget that. Yes, they could have done more. Yes, we should demand that there is a consequence to losing 5-0 to the worst team in the league. But, we should also remember that there will be another game soon enough.

And it will go on and on and on and on...

I’ll see you at BMO April 17.

It's Called Misery

The post game show that had all the air sucked out of it by TFC shitting the bed in a 5-0 loss to NYRB - the worst f*cking team in the league.



Going live at 10:50 pm EST

EDIT: The archived show will be up shortly - as well, the feed dropped at the end and we'll get the last five minutes up as well.

Cheers

As a reminder...

How TFC gets in isn't really that complicated.

A TFC win combined with a loss of points by either Colorado or Dallas and you can print the tickets.

If both Colorado and Dallas win, the only hope Toronto has is to end up in a four way tie with Dallas, New England and DC United. So, Reds fans will have to cheer for DC United to get by K.S. on Saturday and then wait it out to the Sunday Crew - Revs game.

A draw makes it very difficult and would take all day to list all the possible scenarios. We'll do that if it happens on the It's Called Football post-game show, which will be live from about 10 p.m. on.

But, the easiest part of all of this is the win in New York. It all starts there.

Happy Birthday!

The 24th Minute turns one today! Thanks for all of your support and feedback over the year. It's been a privilege to write for you. Hopefully, there will be many more birthdays.

I'm hoping for a nice gift from TFC in the form of a playoff berth - although I'm always open to those $24 donations too ;)

Cheers,
Duane

It's Called a Testrun

This is a quick little test run before tomorrow night. We'll be back here Saturday night (10 pmish) for the It's Called Football post game show. Tune in for updates on all the games and the playoff scenarios.

Depending on how Chad Barrett does, Duane may or may not be in a good mood.



EDIT: The archive edition will be up shortly (7:17 p.m.)

It's Called a Preview - TFC vs NYRB

We break down what Toronto needs to do to win versus the Red Bulls Saturday, discuss the latest TFC controversy with Robbo and Cummins and state why Brian Edwards deserves to start all through the playoffs.

We also get into the Chicago Fire v Chivas game and what it means for the MLS playoff implications



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For those who want to download without an Apple addiction

Another Canadian MLS coach

Former Canadian international Mark Watson joined the New England Revolution today to take over as an assistant coach in the position vacated by Paul Mariner.

Watson was always a warrior for the nats, so it's nice to see his coaching career continue to advance. The more Canadians in management in MLS the better.

MLS standings since Sept 1

Although not perfect, a good measure of who might do well in the playoffs can be seen by how clubs did in the lead up to the post-season.

Here are the standings from Sept. 1 on:

East -
K.C. 11 pts
Columbus 10
TFC 8
DCU 7
N.E. 6
Chicago 4
N.Y. 2

West -
Dallas 16
Seattle 10
San Jose 10
Chivas 9
Galaxy 7
Colorado 7
Houston 5
SLC 5

Interestingly, Dallas still has the best record in the league even if you back it up to August 1, with 22 points (Columbus and the Galaxy have 19 in that time).

Although you can't necessarily predict who will win based on these numbers, it likely is a good indicator of likely failure by those teams backing in. Houston with five and Chicago with four seem ripe for an upset in the first round (assuming Chicago gets in).

Toronto fans, used to always finding the negative, will likely be surprised by TFC's sixth best record during the stretch run thus far. And that's with a road heavy schedule.

Coaching stability and other impossible dreams of the Toronto soccer fan

I'll stay as long as I'm asked to stay and I'll move on if I'm asked to move on.

-Chris Cummins

There has been much speculation of late about whether Chris Cumins will be back for a second season as Toronto's head coach. Serving as an interim since John Carver left suddenly 200 years ago (or so it seems) Cummins has been widely criticised for his tactical handling of the team following several games.

Indeed, it's likely fair to say that he has been out-coached at times, particularly during the CONCACAF Champions League preliminary round tie with Puerto Rico.

There has also been some speculation that Cummins may not want to stay for personal reasons. I'll let others get into the details of that, but there is some suggestion that his family would be better off with him back in the UK. If that's the case, then fair enough.

However, today's statement that he'll "stay as long as he's asked to stay" would seem to put that to bed.

The question, then, is should he be asked to stay? Although I see his "areas for growth" as much as the next guy, I've yet to be convinced that the team would be better off bringing in another coach. Many people seem to look at a coaching change as a magic bullet that will fix all the club's problems. I see it more as a Band-Aid to distract from shortcomings in the makeup of the club. I'd rather see Cummins given the opportunity to grow into his role, then to make another coaching change for the sake of it.

Stability is a good thing, you know.

So long as Cummins really does want to be here, and so long as there isn't something behind the scenes that we aren't aware of that is stopping the team from performing, then let him have a full season - from training camp to final whistle -- to truly mould the team into his own.

Frankly, I don't see many better alternatives (that aren’t pipedreams involving the raiding of other organization’s coaching staffs) out there anyway.

Why we love him, part XXXIV

Look who made an appearance at BMO Field last night as supporters gathered to do the dirty work of cleaning up the Dichio tifo from Saturday.



Pure class.

The fantastic Fire free-for-all frenzy

The Chicago Fire will probably make the playoffs. Although they unbelievably enter the final week of the season still with the possibility of missing, too many crazy things need to happen for hat to occur.

But, even if they do make the post-season you have to wonder what happened to the Fire. A pre-season consensus as the, at worse, co-MLS Cup favourite, Chicago has not won a game since August 23.

T-L-T-T-T-L

It's hard to understand exactly what he problem is. Injuries have been an issue. Gonzalo Segares, William Conde, Cuauhtemoc Blanco and Brian McBride have all missed boatloads of time. They've sucked it up at home with only four wins and have been more a little leaky at the back, giving up a goal in seven of the last eight league games.

The older stars that were supposed to pace his team have trailed of and have not been as dominating as maybe was expected Blanco's five goals and eight assists is decent, no doubt, but is it DP worthy? McBride looked amazing at the start of the year, but the injury seemed to slow down his overall effectiveness (Riddle me this TFC fans, who has more goals in all competitions this year? McBride, or the man he was traded for, Chad Barrett? It's a push at seven).

There are a lot of factors at play. No one thing can be pointed to that fully explains the Fire's freefall. But, make no mistake, that's what it is. And facing a Chivas club tonight that desperately needs three points to stay in the Supporter's Shield race, confidence can't be too high in Bridgeview.

Yes, chances are that this:

(deep breath) in a 4 way tie between CHI/DC/NE/TFC, TFC would win; in a 3 way tie between CHI/DC/NE, DC would win; in a 3 way tie between CHI/DC/TFC, DC would win; in a 3 way tie between CHI/NE/TFC, CHI would win; in a 2 way tie between CHI/DC, DC would win; in a 2 way tie between CHI/NE, CHI would win; in a 2 way tie between CHI/TFC, CHI would win

won't come into play. But, the fact that it's still out there is telling for the pre-season favourites.

NOTE: Canadians can watch this one on GolTV tonight at 8 p.m. EDT

It's Called Football Daily: More Champions League (both kinds)

We review the Wednesday games in The Champions League games and talk about another shameful MLS performance in Champions League, CONCACAF edition.

Other stuff too, including a story about the odd folks you sometimes meet late at night in the big city.



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The MLS Show slums again

I made a 13 minute appearance on last night's MLS Show. I'm sure you can fast forward past that to get to the good stuff...

Who needs the NFL when you can have a MLS playoff game?

I tweeted this a couple days ago, but it's probably worth a mention here as well. A reliable source has told me that TFC's first ever home playoff date is most likely to be Sunday, Nov. 1. It would be an afternoon game.

The Sunday time is likely to do with TV, although no reason was provided to me.

Beyond the small fact that they need to qualify first, the club isn't prepared to release this info to the public just yet as things can change (for instance there is still an outside chance that TFC could finish second, which would push the first home date back to the week of Nov 7-8).

I asked TFC management about when to expect ticketing information and was told that there are still a few details that need to be worked out. However, information should be available quickly following the team qualifying.

Sober Second Thoughts: Everything came up Jimmy

It was all about Jimmy. TFC’s first signing, a Toronto boy and Leafs fan. Jimmy is a guy that kinda looks like someone walking out of a strip club after a hard day at the plant. And pulling it off – Oh, that Jimmy. What a guy.

In short, he seems like one of us. So, on a day that we celebrated someone, Danny Dichio, who became like a good ole’ Canuck, it was the Canuck-y-est guy of all that won the day. The captain, finally put in his natural left-mid position, willed TFC to a win Saturday. If it wasn’t a cliché, I’d say that he wanted more. Certainly at the final whistle it was Jimmy that first walked towards the south end, grabbing the crest and plating a big, sloppy kiss on it.

Saturday’s win didn’t put TFC into the playoffs, but it was a playoff win in all but name. Jimmy seemed to understand that more than most. He was hustling all game, creating. A first half chance – looking dangerously close to Jimmy’s only other goal this year – went high and the advertising boards behind the goal got a good kick for it. Toronto fans are a sucker for that type of thing.

Especially when it is backed up with something special a little later. Based on Jimmy’s age and self-confessed hoser-ness, I’m going to take a guess that one of his favourite hockey players of all time is Dougie Gilmour. Jimmy’s game Saturday looked a bit like what No. 93 used to roll out back in the “glory” days of the local hockey heroes – an uncompromising, straight ahead effort with gritty results. And, in what was perhaps TFC’s most important win ever (I know someone is yelling VOYAGEURS’ CUP at the monitor right now, but I’m not sure the club shares the sentiment), it was only fitting that Mr. Brennan was its man of the match.

Others contributed too, of course. Amado had moments, Chad Barrett put forth one of his best games of the year and a lot was asked of the three man back line, which included two players still young enough to be in high school.

But, this was Jimmy’s game. And it’s still, in many ways, Jimmy’s team. We don’t sing in the 24th minute for the first ever Red, but make no mistake. There ain’t no one more Red than good ole’ Jimmy B.

City's Money: An update and a link

Between the MLS playoff chase and recording 2,764 podcasts a day I haven't had a lot of time to devote to the EPL or the greatest club in that little circuit, the glorious, glorious Manchester City.

Well, other than my little live blog Sunday during a frustrating romp in Wigan.

At any rate, I'd have to say that it's been a fine start to the season for the boys in blue. Standing in a sea of Arsenal fans while Emmanuel Adebayor sprinted the length of the pitch to scream "F(udge) You" to every smug little glory hunting...ANYWAY...has to be my highlight. It was unsporting, but brilliant. The Carling Cup run has given me hope for some long desired silverware (hey, you gotta start somewhere) and has me checking prices of flights to London for the last week of February.

So, yeah, it's been good. I've even calmed down (a little) about the 4,000 extra minutes in the derby.

So consider this a brief update on my current emotional state prior to a return to obsessing on TFC's efforts to gain a likely undeserved playoff berth.

Also, I want to point you to a brillinat article by City blogger Norfstander. It's an examination of fan behaviours as it relates to singing songs about Munich (and Hillsborough and Heysel). In it he manages the not easy task of calling out fans who partake in such indiscretions in a way that isn't overly condescending. You can tell this isn't some guy calling for everyone to sit down, shut-up and enjoy the game. Passion doesn't have to involve "deriding the dead," he argues. It’s a fair point.

Like I said, go have a read. It's worth the two minutes.

Now, if you'll excuse me I have to go work out all the potential ramifications of TFC finishing in a five-way tie on 40 points. I’ll be all day.

It's Called Football Daily: Russia rules, Liverpool drools

Champions League review...



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It's Called Champions League

Liverpool continues their downward spiral, Barcelona shows some rare poor form at Camp Nou, Arsenal acts like Arsenal and doesn't care its way through a Champions League match and we set up all the CL games for today.



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New York: the good, the bad, the very ugly and why it all matters

This has to be one of the funniest/saddest MLS Youtube videos I've ever run across:



"Keep an open mind and give us a chance to blow your mind," and "Red Bull is committed to a team the likes of which this league has never seen." You can't make stuff like that up. Considering the current state of this club, that's comedy gold.

Except it's kind of tragic. Just as Canadians hate that everything here is Toronto focused (and, say, that USL-1 championship final is overshadowed by TFC's attempt to sneak into the playoffs), Americans don't much like to have it pointed out that it's important to have a presence in the New York market. That doesn't make it any less true though. Since much of the sports media in the U.S. is focused on NYC, it is not helpful at all that the Red Bulls are a punch line.

I don't know what the answer is. If the league is going to do everything in its power to force parity you can't make New York be good. Maybe a loosening up of the academy rules would give N.Y. a slight advantage over less populated areas of the U.S. but that would not likely be enough on its own. Basically, MLS fans just have to sit back and wait for New York to get better on its own.

Obviously, Bill, the league will survive just fine without a major presence in the N.Y. market, but can it thrive? It's hard to see how. Although the NASL eventually collapsed under its own weight, the existence of the Cosmos is what gave it a few glory years. Finding a way to create sustainable Cosmos is vital to MLS if it ever wants to break through to the next level.

As an aside, I find it interesting from a trivial perspective that Toronto will be playing in the last ever game at Giants Stadium, which was once, undeniably, the Mecca of northern, North American soccer. Combine that with the fact that the Toronto Blizzard were one of two teams involved in the last ever NASL game played and you see just how ingrained Toronto and Canada is to the history of U.S. soccer. Not that the isolationists will ever see it that way, but they are a dying breed anyway, so...

We’re in this together whether we like it or not. Call it a soccer thing.

It's Called Football Daily: EPL review and more

We talk about the beachball, Spurs, I somehow make a reference to City and then move on to look at World Cup playoffs and Canada actually playing a game.

Finally, a little rambling about Chris Rolfe's "dive" and Those Amazing Sounders (tm).



iTunes subs make Duane happy

No iTunes, no cry - download the show for your Zune, MP3 player or tape deck

It's Called Football weekly: ImpactMania

Listen to me dazzle you with numbers as we break down the MLS playoff possibilities and Noel Butler of the Team 990 in Montreal joins us to talk about the Impact's championship run.

It's Called Football Live chat

We will be talking to Noel Butler of the Team 990 in Montreal about the Impact's championship run.

Also, TFC in the driver's seat for the playoffs? That's umpossible. And why Chad Barret is going to score five goals next week.

2 p.m. EDT. Join us live on Thatchannel.com

Toronto invented large scale tifos

A look at the south end tribute to Danny Dichio:



The banner was about three weeks in the making and cost several thousand dollars (paid for with multiple small donations by individual supporters).

Volunteers gave up several hours of their weekends to get it done (it should also be noted that the North End Elite had a very large display up as well -- send me a photo if anyone has one).

This sport connects people in a way that others don't. I truly believe that and it's why I love it. Danny Dichio was our first hero. He won't be our last. Knowing that I'll be there (literally or in spirit) the next time one of those big banners goes up makes me incredibly thankful to have found this community of TFC and MLS supporters.

The game is bigger than he Ws and Ls. It's even bigger than that banner.

EDIT: The NEE display:

Live blog: City v Wigan

Meh, why not. I'm watching anyway.

Not as complicated as it seems: The MLS playoff picture for TFC

You had best sit down. This seems convoluted. But, it actually isn’t. Unless it is.

Currently, the best I can tell (MLSnet has yet to update the standings) Toronto sits in ninth place, in a four way tie for the final playoff spot. Dallas wins the four way tiebreaker by having the best overall goal differential of the three teams in that tie that were also tied in the first tiebreaker criteria (total points in games involving the tied teams). You still with me?

There are still two playoff spots at play. Seattle clinched a spot with its 3-2 win over K.C. tonight. Six teams are chasing those two spots – Toronto, New England, Dallas, DC United, Colorado and Salt Lake. However, Salt Lake is pretty much out of it as it would need to win and have a lot of other things go right. So really it’s five teams for two spots.

There are way too many possible scenarios to try and list them all, but, as far as Toronto is concerned it really comes down to winning against New York. The Reds will be the first of the playoff chasers to hit the pitch next week, so a T.O. win could have everyone chasing. Toronto would actually jump into the seventh slot with a win.

A draw would not immediately eliminate them, but it’s not something that they would relish.

The games:
Toronto @ New York
Colorado @ SLC
DCU @ KC
New England @ Columbus
Dallas @ Seattle
SLC at home versus Colorado

It’s interesting to note that all the realistic chasers are on the road (and it’s one of the reasons why a tie might, bizarrely, be enough). However, a TFC win combined with Dallas not getting the full three points against Seattle would clinch a playoff spot.

Why, you doubters ask?

Because Toronto wins any tiebreaker with DC United and New England. The only thing that mucks it up is if Dallas gets into the tiebreaking mix. So, provided that Toronto assures itself of finishing ahead of Dallas (the only team it can end tied with -- if it beats NY -- that it doesn’t win the tiebreaker), the worst they can finish is eighth.

Also, Toronto almost assuredly would clinch a playoff spot if it wins and Colorado fails to get the full three points (the worst case scenario there would see T.O. in a four way tie for seventh. Dallas would win the tiebreaker to capture the seven seed and the eight seed would go to either New England or Toronto, depending on which of those teams had the better overall goal differential. Toronto currently has a one goal advantage in that category, so New England would need to win by multiple goals against Columbus).

So, to summarize, next week TFC fans need to be looking west (and, of course, hoping for a win). If Seattle can finish off its home regular season with a result and TFC does what it should, you can buy your playoff tickets!

Straight from the horse's mouth: MLS tiebrekers

Many people are going to be wondering about this. The MLS tiebreaker format:

TEAM-STANDINGS TIE-BREAKING PROCEDURES
The team awarded the highest position in the MLS standings will be the team with the greatest number of points (3 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss). In the event that two teams finish the regular season with an equal number of points, the following system will be used to break the tie:

1) The highest position shall be awarded to the team with the better win/loss record in current regular season games against all other teams equal in points. (head-to-head competition)

2) If the teams are still equal in the standings, the highest position shall be awarded to the team with the greater goal difference against all other teams during the regular season. (goal differential)

3) If the teams are still equal in the standings, the highest position shall be awarded to the team scoring the greatest number of total goals against all other teams during the regular season. (total goals)

4) If the teams are still equal in the standings, the procedures described in this section shall be applied only to games played on the road by each team against all other teams during the regular season. (road 1-3)

5) If the teams are still equal in the standings, the procedures described in this section shall be applied only to games played at home by each team against all other teams during the regular season. (home 1-3)

6) If the teams are still equal in the standings, the highest position shall be awarded to the team with the fewest team disciplinary points in the League Fair Play table during the regular season.

7) If the teams are still equal in the standings, the highest position in the standings shall be determined by the toss of a coin.

8) The first tiebreaker in a three-way tie is also head-to-head, but it is determined via points-per-game versus the other two teams. If two teams are tied in points-per-game head-to-head, the next tie breaker is goal difference.

NOTE: If two clubs remain tied after another club with the same number of points advances during any step, the tie breaker reverts to step 1 of the two-club format.

I'll have a breakdown on the playoff possibilities soon...

Vancouver - Montreal USL-1 final live blog

It's been a tumultous season for the Vancouver Whitecaps. They entered as defending USL-1 champions, but had substantial offseason turnover and decided to go with a youth movement to build towards their 2011 MLS entrance. Off the field, they've been dealing with issues surrounding both the construction of a retractable roof on B.C. Place and the transfer of USL-1 ownership to a new group. On the field, they struggled initially in the league, but made a great run in the Nutrilite Canadian Championship and were set to claim its associated berth in the CONCACAF Champions League. Of course, that was before Montreal rolled over and played dead in the final game, allowing Toronto FC to come away with a 6-1 victory on the road and the necessary goal differential to claim the trophy.

That loss thanks to factors out of their control seemed to inspire the team, though. The made a tremendous stretch run and snuck into the final USL-1 playoff spot. They then upset the first and second-ranked teams in the playoffs (Portland and Carolina) to clinch a revenge match against Montreal in the final. The stage seemed set for their second straight USL-1 championship and a glorious ending to a disappointing season.

Last week in the first leg, an unexpected twist showed up. Montreal came away with a 3-2 victory on the road, and the Whitecaps lost captain Martin Nash to a red card, making him unavailable for today's match. Now, their backs are against the wall. Fortunately for them, away goals have no particular importance in the USL, so Vancouver could force overtime with just a 1-0 win. That's still going to be tough, though.

Don't write the Whitecaps off yet, though. For one thing, they have perhaps the most lethal group of forwards in the league, including USL-1 goalscoring leader Charles Gbeke, the talented Marlon James, speed demon Randy Edwini-Bonsu and rookie sensation Marcus Haber. As Haber said after last week's game, being down a goal isn't as big of a concern with this side as it might be with other teams.

"We're confident in our group that we're going to score goals," he said.

For another, they've got plenty of motivation, and for another, they've always stepped up when faced with adversity. Head coach Teitur Thordarson said after the game last week he loved his team's play in the second half, despite being down a man.

"I was unhappy with the first half, but the second half was fantastic," he said. "The guys stepped up; they didn't quit."

Thordarson said that never-say-die attitude may pay dividends today.

"If we go to Montreal with that attitude, anything can happen," he said. "We have shown that we can win there. We've done it this year."

Thordarson said no one should write his team off yet.

"We're not out of this."

Join in the live blog below and find out how this breaks down!

Whitecaps. Impact. USL Final. Round Two.

I'll be live-blogging the second leg of the USL-1 final later today. This leg will be in Montreal at 2:30 p.m. Eastern/11:30 a.m. Pacific. The Montreal Impact come into the second leg fresh off a 3-2 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps on the road last week; I was there in person for that one, but I'll be bringing you coverage of today's game direct from Las Vegas! Come join me here for it then. I'll hopefully have a full game preview up here before that as well.

It's Called Football Daily - TFC/SLC preview

TFC Vs. SLC - bring it!