Toronto FC fans everywhere knew that we would be able to expect a fair bit of activity once the summer window opened as it was clear that the club was in need of improvement, and in some cases just more bodies, in almost every position. It was also clear that some of the clubs under performing players were in danger of being moved on. With that in mind today's announcement by the club that they had gone out and secured two new designated players really should not be a shock. Even more so when you consider that both signings had been strongly linked to the club by almost every media outlet that offers speculation on the team.
For Toronto FC today was a big day and many fans are going to be hoping that this serves as some sort of turning point in the future of the club and from here on out it will all be looking up. I personally think that these two signings are a great beginning but it is nothing more then that. A lot more needs to be done to address the teams needs. They have still not replaced the scoring that they lost when the traded away De Rosario or found a striker to take some of the pressure to score off of Alan Gordon. They also still need to go out and at least do some sort of patch job on the back line as injuries and other factors have left the team short on defenders able to play at the MLS level. Today in the press conference announcing the signings Aaron Winter made it quite clear that this was only the beginning as he indicated that the team would be looking to make a number of trades which could see the club moving out any number of players included De Guzman who has consistently under performed since joining the club.
The first of today's signings that was announced was former German international Torsten Frings. He has played much of his career as a defensive midfielder, same position as De Guzman, and was capped 79 times by Germany. Most recently he played for Werder Bremen where he played in over 300 games in his two stints with the club. Frings is now 34 years old and in the later stages of his career but it is clear that he still has loads of ability. Despite being a defensive midfielder Frings has a proven ability to chip in some goals from time to time having scored 67 of them in his career that spans over 500 games now. He will bring composure and experience to the centre of the park for Toronto FC and the club will be hoping that he is able to play on for at least a few more years despite his age. He joins the club on a multiyear deal as a free transfer and will be eligible for selection on the 20th against FC Dallas.
The second signing of the day starts to address the scoring needs of the club. Danny Koevermans is a Dutch striker and he also joins the club on a free transfer having signed a multiyear deal as a designated player. Kovermans is a former Dutch international, even though he only played 4 games for the Netherlands, who has a proven scoring record in the Eredivisie. In his club career he has scored 136 goals in 253 matches which is a good rate for a striker but his pace has fallen off a bit since he joined PSV in 2005. Toronto FC will probably be looking for him to chip in a goal every other game and provide a veteran presence in the attack as well as giving a much needed increase to the depth. His arrival will hopefully also make Alan Gordon and Maicon Santos better as they will be under slightly less pressure now to do all of the scoring.
Lost in the big news of the signings was the fact that TFC had a match tonight against their Canadian rivals in the Vancouver Whitecaps. I was unable to watch the game but having seen the highlights I got the sense that it was a very even battle with neither team generating much in terms of offensive chances. The only breakthrough in the game came as Soolsma cut inside and then out before Janicki brought him down just inside of the box. The referee showed no hesitation in awarding the penalty and I have to say that it was the right call. Soolsma was given the chance to finish off his play by taking the spot kick which he calmly converted to the left of the keeper. It was the only goal of the game as TFC were able to bag a 1-0 win over the White Caps which is only their 3rd win of the season but it was enough to see them jump over three teams and into 5th in the East. It also means that TFC are now 4 points up on Vancouver in the battle for the best Canadian team. That battle will continue on the weekend when the Nutrilite Cup finally wraps up with the second leg being replayed at BMO Field.
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