So we have talked about all the roster moves that TFC has made in the past month or so and there were a lot of them. To be honest I am not even sure if Winter is all done making moves even now so who knows what else could be in store. Last week though we got the chance to see this very changed TFC side in action twice after a fairly long layoff and sadly all we got as fans was a lot more of the same.
Against FC Dallas Winter put in 6 of the new players for the starting lineup meaning that the club eclipsed the 100 players all time mark and then some. They also had more then half of their starting 11 players being fresh faces which was almost certain to result in a bit of a settling in period. I won't be getting in to the actual match but the fact of the matter is that you could see the need for yet more patience. The team still had a fair few areas that are in clear need of improvement and if not for an impressive effort from Frei things would have been a lot worse then the 1-0 final score. The other thing that struck me was that Koevermans clearly had not played in a match of late and seemed to lack sharpness in front of goal. Training can help a lot but for both Danny and Frings they went from being in their offseason to jumping straight in to the middle of a season so it might take them a while to get up to pace. Speaking of Frings though he was one of the best players in the game for TFC. He provided a sharpness and edge to the midfield and his passes were instrumental in almost all of the chances that TFC did manage to create.
On the weekend things looked a whole lot worse for TFC as the team continued to defend terribly and this time Frei was not able to stand on his head and keep the scoreline close. An awful stretch of around 10 minutes saw the team conceding goals like it was going out of style. The 3 goals in 9 minutes was more then enough to sink Toronto on the day and made sure that new comers Koevermans and Ryan Johnson picking up their first goals for the club was not enough. In the end the score was 4-2 for Kansas City and for TFC it was the 4th straight defeat and 6th in their past seven matches. There is no point in trying to sugar coat it at this point as we can all see that TFC are struggling and have a long ways to go still before they are really competitive in the MLS. The problem is that no one on the team seems to know how to defend properly. It is not just the back 4 that are to blame for this, but they do get their share of the blame, but also includes the midfield who seem lost more often then not when they are trying to track back and cover. There is a part of this that has to be attributed to the coaching of the team as they do not seem prepared to defend properly and are often looking unorganized. The other half of the problem is that the personal to play defense are just not their with all the injuries. The team added Iro which is a plus and gives them another decent defender but they need at least 4 of them and they are well short of that number right now.
The problem that I see for TFC is that they do have some good defenders who are out for the season the most notable of them is Adrian Cann. So if they were to go out and make trades to bring in more quality defenders then they would have a bit of an overload come the start of next season when everyone is fit. So if you are planning for the long term you might just have to kiss any sort of playoff push goodbye and just make due with what you have and then work to improve things for the next season when you know who will be fit. I personally think they will not make a lot more changes this season in the back line but I hope that they do bring in a top class centre back. Not someone of Iro level but instead someone who would be among the best defenders in the MLS. The club needs to make a big move in the back line but now is not the ideal time to do that barring De Guzman moving back to Europe.
So we have our first two games for the new look TFC in the books and it is clear that they still can't defend and that the wins are not just going to start pouring in now. The club still has a long ways to go but at least as these players all settle in I expect the team to only get better. In fact I would still say that despite continuing the losing ways TFC are better now then they were before all the roster moves.
Showing posts with label mls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mls. Show all posts
Monday, July 25, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Whitecaps add a Designated Player
So last evening the Whitecaps official twitter account tweeted that at 9:30 PST this morning, July 12th, they would be making a major player announcement. This tweet of course started off a huge amount of speculation all over my twitter feed as every fan of Canadian soccer seemed to have their own couple of suggestions for who it might be. The early front runner was of course Owen Hargreaves who has bee often linked to the two Canadian clubs in recent weeks as well as having been spotted training in British Columbia of late. That speculation of course caused the expected reaction with die hard Canadian fans hoping that all the worst possible things happen to Hargo. The rumour of Hargreaves being the player coming in were squashed only a few minutes later when rumours came out that Vancouver's new player was going to be an African who had been in Belgium recently where he was a decent player. It was also reported that this new player might have been the captain of either his national team or his club team. So of course many fans who wanted to be the first to report the name, including myself, spent a few hours on the internet trying to find out just who all met these criteria. I for one never even came close to getting it right though and really only helped to add to the outlandish speculation that was going on with the likes of Eto'o and Drogba being linked just because they are captains of African nations.
So this morning all the rumours were put aside and the actual announcement was made that the Whitecaps would be adding another Designated player to their team in the form of Gambian international Mustapha Jarju. He is a striker who spent last season playing for RAEC Mons of Belgium's second division. So he did indeed fit all of the criteria that were being put out in rumours the night before. He also fits the needs of Vancouver as last season he scored 25 goals for his club last season and has 58 career goals despite only being 24 years old. So he will bring the Whitecaps a second scoring option that should provide the sort of partner that Eric Hassli has been lacking all season long. Hassli has 6 of the teams goals this season but the introduction of Jarju will take some of the pressure to score from him as well as drawing some of the attention of the defenders away from him. The Whitecaps will be counting on their two designated players to get the job down and give them the attack that has been lacking in so many games this season.
Jarju will be counted on for scoring and to also create goals for the other attacking players. He has a good record of both in Belgium but that is by no means a guarantee of success in the MLS. His record in Belgium would suggest that he is worthy of that DP tag but now Vancouver has 2 of its 3 potential slots filled and has used both on them on attackers. It could limit their ability to strengthen other areas of the team but even with that aside there is still the question of whether a relatively unknown player from Gambia is worth that kind of investment rather then the team going after players with proven MLS quality. I personally think that signing Jarju is a worthwhile risk and as he won't command that massive of a salary and it is also possible that as soon as next season he could no longer be a designated player which would free that spot up to be filled by another player. His upside is very large as a 24 year old who has a proven ability to create in front of goal and if this move pays off he could be a huge factor in any improvements that the Whitecaps will make in the coming seasons.
The other big part of todays signing is that Jarju becomes the first African player to be signed to an MLS contract as a designated player. His move to the MLS could be seen as opening the door for more African players to make the same move in the near future which could only be good for the league that needs to continue exploring new talent markets in hopes of improving the overall quality.
For the Whitecaps they now have the attacker they needed but reports suggest they are still in the hunt of a midfielder which could even see them bring in a third designated player. That does mean that their fans will have to continue to worry about the potential of Hargreaves being signed in the coming days or weeks if he can prove he is fit and ready to play. Fans will likely be hoping that if the club does make another big move that it is on signing a proven player with real quality rather then gambling on a player from a small African country who plays in one of Europe's weaker leagues. Hargreaves would fit that bill but the fact is he has a major history of injury so playing him at Empire field would just be asking for disaster and that is my attempt to avoid discussing other reasons why signing him would be a terrible idea.
For the Whitecaps todays signing was another step forward but as a team that has only scored more then one goal in a match just one time in their last 21 matches there is clearly a lot of work left to be done. Jarju is possibly one piece of the puzzle that is success in the MLS but at this point he only address one problem on a team with a multitude of them.
So this morning all the rumours were put aside and the actual announcement was made that the Whitecaps would be adding another Designated player to their team in the form of Gambian international Mustapha Jarju. He is a striker who spent last season playing for RAEC Mons of Belgium's second division. So he did indeed fit all of the criteria that were being put out in rumours the night before. He also fits the needs of Vancouver as last season he scored 25 goals for his club last season and has 58 career goals despite only being 24 years old. So he will bring the Whitecaps a second scoring option that should provide the sort of partner that Eric Hassli has been lacking all season long. Hassli has 6 of the teams goals this season but the introduction of Jarju will take some of the pressure to score from him as well as drawing some of the attention of the defenders away from him. The Whitecaps will be counting on their two designated players to get the job down and give them the attack that has been lacking in so many games this season.
Jarju will be counted on for scoring and to also create goals for the other attacking players. He has a good record of both in Belgium but that is by no means a guarantee of success in the MLS. His record in Belgium would suggest that he is worthy of that DP tag but now Vancouver has 2 of its 3 potential slots filled and has used both on them on attackers. It could limit their ability to strengthen other areas of the team but even with that aside there is still the question of whether a relatively unknown player from Gambia is worth that kind of investment rather then the team going after players with proven MLS quality. I personally think that signing Jarju is a worthwhile risk and as he won't command that massive of a salary and it is also possible that as soon as next season he could no longer be a designated player which would free that spot up to be filled by another player. His upside is very large as a 24 year old who has a proven ability to create in front of goal and if this move pays off he could be a huge factor in any improvements that the Whitecaps will make in the coming seasons.
The other big part of todays signing is that Jarju becomes the first African player to be signed to an MLS contract as a designated player. His move to the MLS could be seen as opening the door for more African players to make the same move in the near future which could only be good for the league that needs to continue exploring new talent markets in hopes of improving the overall quality.
For the Whitecaps they now have the attacker they needed but reports suggest they are still in the hunt of a midfielder which could even see them bring in a third designated player. That does mean that their fans will have to continue to worry about the potential of Hargreaves being signed in the coming days or weeks if he can prove he is fit and ready to play. Fans will likely be hoping that if the club does make another big move that it is on signing a proven player with real quality rather then gambling on a player from a small African country who plays in one of Europe's weaker leagues. Hargreaves would fit that bill but the fact is he has a major history of injury so playing him at Empire field would just be asking for disaster and that is my attempt to avoid discussing other reasons why signing him would be a terrible idea.
For the Whitecaps todays signing was another step forward but as a team that has only scored more then one goal in a match just one time in their last 21 matches there is clearly a lot of work left to be done. Jarju is possibly one piece of the puzzle that is success in the MLS but at this point he only address one problem on a team with a multitude of them.
Monday, June 13, 2011
More Beautiful Goals from this Weeks MLS Action
On the same night that Eric Hassli scored what should be the goal of the season in the MLS, Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas did their best to get their names on the list. Graham Zusi and Brek Shea added to an already outstanding night for goals with a long range cracked and a great individual effort.
FC Dallas forward Brek Shea scored to tie the score at 1-1 in the 32nd minute with a great run through the Sporting Kansas defense. Picking up the ball about 40 yards out, Shea turned and knocked the ball past three tackles before calmly slotting the ball through the Kansas keeper's legs. The home crowd sounded their appreciation for this piece of individual magic by Shea.
Graham Zusi does Brek Shea one better in the 55th minute making the score 3-1 for Sporting Kansas. From 45 yards out, Zusi lines up a free kick that he smashes into the back of the night. Zusi caught the Dallas keeper napping on this play but it was still a fantastic shot that dips just under the bar and smashes into the pole behind the net, just listen to the sound it makes.
Hassli, Shea, and Zusi's efforts were joined on the goals of week nominee card by Thierry Henry showing he still had it and Alan Gordon hitting a cracking volley. You can see all the candidates for MLS goal of the week and vote for your favorite HERE.
If you ever needed a reason to watch MLS soccer this weekend put on an exhibition of why you should tune in for next round for a chance to catch a glimpse of some more magic.
Canadian Excitement in the MLS!
I really hope that for our readers on the eastern side of the country you stayed up past your normal bedtime on Saturday night to watch either, or hopefully both, of the Canadian teams in MLS action. Toronto FC found themselves as massive underdogs going into their road match against the Los Angeles Galaxy while Vancouver White Caps were focused on trying to snap their winless streak against rivals Seattle Sounders FC.
The first game that I am going to talk about, since I watched more of it, is the Toronto FC match. The sense among most TFC fans was that this was not going to be a good outing for the team and they were just hoping to keep things close. Recent history though would suggest that when these two teams meets it is likely to end in a draw but if you look at the forms of the two teams Toronto's chances looked slim. The Galaxy came into the match unbeaten in 7 games and on their second longest run in franchise history without conceding a goal. So when Chris Birchall opened the scoring only 2 minutes into the game I for one was thinking here we go again assuming that things were going to get ugly for TFC. Things would settle down though and TFC slowly seemed to be getting in to the game. A bad tackle from Beckham would see him get a caution just before the half hour mark and a lot of TFC fans were left wondering how he managed to avoid a red card as he would be spoken to about 2 fouls later in the game without receiving a second yellow. It really did seem like he was getting the old super star treatment and not being punished for his actions. The tackle also resulted in Toronto having to make one of its two first half changes as Tony Tchani seemed to pick up an injury and had to be replaced by Plata. Jacob Peterson would also have to leave the game before the half when his hamstring appeared to tighten up. He was replaced by Gordon who was returning to the TFC lineup after missing several games with a groin injury. In Gordon's absence TFC's attack looked weak and lacked any real punch but his return to the lineup paid off quickly. The first half ended with LA up 1-0 but it was no where near the dominant performance that many would have expected.
In the second half Toronto continued to fight back and show that they were not going to be pushovers. It was nice to see the team playing with some real heart and acting like they wanted to go out and try to salvage a result. In the end their effort paid off as Gordon marked his return to the lineup with a 68th minute goal that leveled things. It looked like TFC had done enough to earn a draw but in the 90th minute Juan Pablo Angel scored a heart breaking goal that seemed almost certain to send the Galaxy on to all 3 points. In the past Toronto would have folded like a cheap tent under that goal and not had enough about themselves to even try to fight back. They have a proven history of lacking any sort of performance in the clutch moments of matches and stoppage time goals have been few and far between for the club since their inception. On this night though things seemed to be very different as TFC bounced right back from going down 2-1 and went right to work trying to pull it back in stoppage time. Just as it seemed like time was going to run out on the Gordon again proved his value to the team as he scored his second of the game against his former team. Gordon managed to volley home the ball in to the top corner in what would have been one of the best MLS goals I have seen in a long time if not for one that took place in the Whitecaps game.
For me the game felt like a win for TFC despite it being their 4th draw in 5 matches and extending their winless streak to 6 games. It also ensured that the Galaxy's unbeaten run continued for an 8th game. Toronto did show a lot of positive signs in this game and when the club is working to rebuild that is the kind of thing that you look for. After their 0-0 draw with Sporting Kansas I was concerned about how the team were satisfied with that and seemed to be lacking the desire to win matches. Combine that with the fact that anyone who has followed the club knows that they are terrible in the clutch moments of matches and you can see how this result was even more unexpected. The team showed a lot of heart and passion in LA as well as showing that they really can hold their own with the better teams in the league. There is no reason for this team to be happy with 0-0 draws against poor KC teams but this draw is one that you can build on. The game also proved that Alan Gordon makes TFC a whole lot better in the attack. With him out of the lineup they looked far to one dimensional and if teams could deal with Santos Toronto had very little other options in terms of scoring threats.
The Toronto result had me all excited but it was a moment from the Vancouver game that stole all the headlines and may actually help to increase the profile of the MLS. Vancouver played a very good opening 80 minutes and led 1-0 thanks to a penalty that was converted by Eric Hassli. It all seemed like it was going to be undone though as the team had a terrible couple of minutes and Seattle scored a pair of goals very quickly to go up 2-1. It looked like all of the Caps hard work would be for nothing and they would lose yet again but then Eric Hassli stepped up with one of the best goals you have ever seen. If you have not seen his goal yet well you need to! It is a world class goal, not just one of the best ever in the MLS. Hassli showed that he has the skill to be a great goal scorer when he is actually able to avoid card trouble and stay on the field long enough to show these flashes of brilliance. Some poor defending by Seattle set up Hassli's second goal of the game as they turned the ball over to him near the corner of the 18 yard box. He flicked the ball up and with his back almost to the goal he volleyed the ball across the net and right into the top corner of the net. It was one of the best goals you will ever see and it was enough to ensure that Vancouver would at least be able to grab a point from the match. Even the loud Seattle crowd could not help but appreciate what they had seen and gave Hassli a well deserved round of applause.
So if you went to bed on Saturday night then you missed out on both Canadian MLS teams being involved in some exciting games. Its a shame that both teams had to settle for draws but the efforts of Gordon and Hassli are ones you can be proud of as fans and both teams had games that they can build on going forward.
And now for your viewing pleasure:
The first game that I am going to talk about, since I watched more of it, is the Toronto FC match. The sense among most TFC fans was that this was not going to be a good outing for the team and they were just hoping to keep things close. Recent history though would suggest that when these two teams meets it is likely to end in a draw but if you look at the forms of the two teams Toronto's chances looked slim. The Galaxy came into the match unbeaten in 7 games and on their second longest run in franchise history without conceding a goal. So when Chris Birchall opened the scoring only 2 minutes into the game I for one was thinking here we go again assuming that things were going to get ugly for TFC. Things would settle down though and TFC slowly seemed to be getting in to the game. A bad tackle from Beckham would see him get a caution just before the half hour mark and a lot of TFC fans were left wondering how he managed to avoid a red card as he would be spoken to about 2 fouls later in the game without receiving a second yellow. It really did seem like he was getting the old super star treatment and not being punished for his actions. The tackle also resulted in Toronto having to make one of its two first half changes as Tony Tchani seemed to pick up an injury and had to be replaced by Plata. Jacob Peterson would also have to leave the game before the half when his hamstring appeared to tighten up. He was replaced by Gordon who was returning to the TFC lineup after missing several games with a groin injury. In Gordon's absence TFC's attack looked weak and lacked any real punch but his return to the lineup paid off quickly. The first half ended with LA up 1-0 but it was no where near the dominant performance that many would have expected.
In the second half Toronto continued to fight back and show that they were not going to be pushovers. It was nice to see the team playing with some real heart and acting like they wanted to go out and try to salvage a result. In the end their effort paid off as Gordon marked his return to the lineup with a 68th minute goal that leveled things. It looked like TFC had done enough to earn a draw but in the 90th minute Juan Pablo Angel scored a heart breaking goal that seemed almost certain to send the Galaxy on to all 3 points. In the past Toronto would have folded like a cheap tent under that goal and not had enough about themselves to even try to fight back. They have a proven history of lacking any sort of performance in the clutch moments of matches and stoppage time goals have been few and far between for the club since their inception. On this night though things seemed to be very different as TFC bounced right back from going down 2-1 and went right to work trying to pull it back in stoppage time. Just as it seemed like time was going to run out on the Gordon again proved his value to the team as he scored his second of the game against his former team. Gordon managed to volley home the ball in to the top corner in what would have been one of the best MLS goals I have seen in a long time if not for one that took place in the Whitecaps game.
For me the game felt like a win for TFC despite it being their 4th draw in 5 matches and extending their winless streak to 6 games. It also ensured that the Galaxy's unbeaten run continued for an 8th game. Toronto did show a lot of positive signs in this game and when the club is working to rebuild that is the kind of thing that you look for. After their 0-0 draw with Sporting Kansas I was concerned about how the team were satisfied with that and seemed to be lacking the desire to win matches. Combine that with the fact that anyone who has followed the club knows that they are terrible in the clutch moments of matches and you can see how this result was even more unexpected. The team showed a lot of heart and passion in LA as well as showing that they really can hold their own with the better teams in the league. There is no reason for this team to be happy with 0-0 draws against poor KC teams but this draw is one that you can build on. The game also proved that Alan Gordon makes TFC a whole lot better in the attack. With him out of the lineup they looked far to one dimensional and if teams could deal with Santos Toronto had very little other options in terms of scoring threats.
The Toronto result had me all excited but it was a moment from the Vancouver game that stole all the headlines and may actually help to increase the profile of the MLS. Vancouver played a very good opening 80 minutes and led 1-0 thanks to a penalty that was converted by Eric Hassli. It all seemed like it was going to be undone though as the team had a terrible couple of minutes and Seattle scored a pair of goals very quickly to go up 2-1. It looked like all of the Caps hard work would be for nothing and they would lose yet again but then Eric Hassli stepped up with one of the best goals you have ever seen. If you have not seen his goal yet well you need to! It is a world class goal, not just one of the best ever in the MLS. Hassli showed that he has the skill to be a great goal scorer when he is actually able to avoid card trouble and stay on the field long enough to show these flashes of brilliance. Some poor defending by Seattle set up Hassli's second goal of the game as they turned the ball over to him near the corner of the 18 yard box. He flicked the ball up and with his back almost to the goal he volleyed the ball across the net and right into the top corner of the net. It was one of the best goals you will ever see and it was enough to ensure that Vancouver would at least be able to grab a point from the match. Even the loud Seattle crowd could not help but appreciate what they had seen and gave Hassli a well deserved round of applause.
So if you went to bed on Saturday night then you missed out on both Canadian MLS teams being involved in some exciting games. Its a shame that both teams had to settle for draws but the efforts of Gordon and Hassli are ones you can be proud of as fans and both teams had games that they can build on going forward.
And now for your viewing pleasure:
Monday, May 30, 2011
Toronto FC beat down
It was made abundantly clear that when Toronto FC took on new management under Aron Winter that the club were going to be undertaking a rebuild and that fans would need to be patient through what was looking like another season of hardships. Winter joined the club having enjoyed a very successful career playing for Ajax and several other top European clubs. His resume as a manager might have been a bit lacking but his experience as a player at the highest levels seemed to be enough to convince TFC that he would be the man to finally get the job done for the club. Winter promised to grow the club from the ground up by investing in young talent and developing players in a fashion similar to what made Ajax into one of the top clubs in Europe.
His first season at the helm has seen the club make a few big changes including shipping off star player and perennial leading scorer Dwayne De Rosario to the already star powered New York Red Bulls. His departure made it clear that the club were going to give up success this season to ensure the long term plan would pay off. It has led to a season of struggles and ups and downs so far but on the whole it has been pretty much par for the course compared to recent seasons. The club are now sitting 7th in the east with 12 points but the main concern is that they only have collected 2 wins so far. The 6 draws are nice but fans are sure to be getting impatient for the club to get a few more wins under their belt. Things are only made worse for the fans when you consider that the club has only managed to score 13 goals in 13 matches while conceding a terrible 23 goals. Sure a rebuilding team is supposed to struggle but it has to be getting hard on the fans who keep going to the games just hoping to see an exciting display from TFC. Besides Maicon Santos who has scored 5 goals in the league so far the team has struggled to get any sort of consistent scoring with the next best total sitting on 2. The one positive for the fans is that both wins have come at home where the club has only lost twice in 8 matches.
This weekend though the fans patience was put to a real test as the home team took a serious beat down at the hand of the Eastern conference leading Philadelphia Union. Coming in to the weekend game the Union had been having success thanks to their defence which had only conceded 7 times in the first 10 matches. On the other hand though they had only scored 8 goals in league action. At BMO field though they discovered their scoring touch and it took them barely more the 10 minutes to get ahead 2-0. Toronto did try and put up a fight at the start of the second half where a good spell of play allowed them to close to gap down to 3-2 but having gone down so far early in the match TFC were forced to open up and push forward in hopes of salvaging the match but that just left them exposed at the back and when all was said and done the Union managed to put 6 into their net and leave with a resounding 6-2 win. The 4 goal margin of defeat was the worst MLS beating that TFC has received in 5 seasons and was sure to have left many fans with a bad taste in their mouth.
His first season at the helm has seen the club make a few big changes including shipping off star player and perennial leading scorer Dwayne De Rosario to the already star powered New York Red Bulls. His departure made it clear that the club were going to give up success this season to ensure the long term plan would pay off. It has led to a season of struggles and ups and downs so far but on the whole it has been pretty much par for the course compared to recent seasons. The club are now sitting 7th in the east with 12 points but the main concern is that they only have collected 2 wins so far. The 6 draws are nice but fans are sure to be getting impatient for the club to get a few more wins under their belt. Things are only made worse for the fans when you consider that the club has only managed to score 13 goals in 13 matches while conceding a terrible 23 goals. Sure a rebuilding team is supposed to struggle but it has to be getting hard on the fans who keep going to the games just hoping to see an exciting display from TFC. Besides Maicon Santos who has scored 5 goals in the league so far the team has struggled to get any sort of consistent scoring with the next best total sitting on 2. The one positive for the fans is that both wins have come at home where the club has only lost twice in 8 matches.
This weekend though the fans patience was put to a real test as the home team took a serious beat down at the hand of the Eastern conference leading Philadelphia Union. Coming in to the weekend game the Union had been having success thanks to their defence which had only conceded 7 times in the first 10 matches. On the other hand though they had only scored 8 goals in league action. At BMO field though they discovered their scoring touch and it took them barely more the 10 minutes to get ahead 2-0. Toronto did try and put up a fight at the start of the second half where a good spell of play allowed them to close to gap down to 3-2 but having gone down so far early in the match TFC were forced to open up and push forward in hopes of salvaging the match but that just left them exposed at the back and when all was said and done the Union managed to put 6 into their net and leave with a resounding 6-2 win. The 4 goal margin of defeat was the worst MLS beating that TFC has received in 5 seasons and was sure to have left many fans with a bad taste in their mouth.
It is never easy to get beat down so badly but it has to be even harder on the players when it takes place at home and in front of your own fans. Toronto FC have never conceded 6 goals in the league before so this result would have been a shock to the fans and a very hard one to watch. Many of the players were very apologetic for the performance and you could see that they were honestly embarrassed to have put in such a poor showing for the home fans. Toni Tchani tweeted "What a disaster that was!!!We r really embarrassed about what happened today n especially myself. Thanks for ur support n we need it" and he seemed honestly interested in what the fans had to say about how things could have gone so wrong for them on the field and was genuinely appreciative for the support that he received from fans. He is just one example of players searching for answers and hoping to use the defeat as something to motivate them to be that much better going forward to ensure there is no repeat of the performance.
I do not expect Toronto to get beat like this again any time soon but the fact of the matter is that this match shows how far away they still are from being among the top sides in the east. The team have been in various stages of building and rebuilding since they came to the MLS but at some point fans might start to get sick of waiting for the team to deliver on 5 years of promises. I hope that Winter is the made to finally live up to what he has said and build the team in to one that can compete for the MLS crown but it is clear that he still has a long ways to go and it will be important to get things turned around fast so that the fans and players don't begin to lose faith in the team or themselves.
Next up for TFC will be a replay of the rained out Nutrilite second leg which will give TFC a chance to win a trophy which will at the very least be a positive in a hard season and give the fans something to be happy about. To win the game though they will have to play much better then they did against the Union and also better then they did in the first half of the rain cancelled match.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Nutrilite Cup: Is Professional Soccer moving forward in Canada?
So tomorrow night, May 18th, is the first leg of the Nutrilite Cup which is the corporate sponsor name for the Canadian Soccer Championship. In past years this cup has been a bit of a joke as it has only included 3 teams, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact and the format was basically that of a group stage so there was no winner takes all show down at the end and as a result the tournament lacked a real level of excitement in my opinion. That was made worse by the fact that Toronto FC was an MLS team and they were competing against teams from a level lower that they really should have been far superior to. In the end the 2010 edition of the Cup was exciting as Toronto FC needed to claim a massive win on the last day to win the prize but up until that last match it was dull and doubt it won over to many new fans.
This year things have been much different. FC Edmonton have been included and the format has been completely revised. The addition of the 4th team allowed a shift to two round format with both rounds featuring two legs. In the first semi-final match up Toronto FC cruised to a win over FC Edmonton which should come as no real surprise due to the gap between the levels of the two teams. On the other side the match between Vancouver Whitecaps, who are now in the MLS, took on Montreal Impact who will be the third Canadian team in the MLS next season. This tie was a very exciting one with the White Caps winning the first leg on the road it set up for an exciting second leg. To be honest the only reason that I ended up tuning in to the second leg of this one was the timing. Since the game was in Vancouver it kicked off at 10 pm for me and by that time there was nothing else on tv and I decided to give the match a try. It was a dull on for much of the game but in the dying moments Montreal started to try and get the goal that they needed and things really opened up. Partially as a result of the lack of quality in the sides it seemed that once things got opened up the teams struggled to calm them down at all. It made for exciting viewing as a neutral with Montreal drawing level in the 83rd minute thanks to Canadian international Ali Gerba. Vancouver would go on to win the match in extra time thanks to a 100th minute strike but what really struck me was the way in which the extra time went. I am used to seeing times completely shut things down after they score but this time it seemed that the Vancouver goal only opened things up more as Montreal created several chances of their own.
The semi-final results set up what is probably the final which most fans would have expected with both of the MLS teams managing to advance. Toronto FC and Vancouver opened the MLS campaign against each other earlier this spring when they met in Vancouver. That was a very exciting game with Vancouver come out on top 4-2 but again it was marked with the sort of sloppy defending that seems to have characterized games that involve Vancouver this season. Since that game both teams have really struggled in their MLS campaigns as Toronto FC have only collected 2 wins in 11 matches while Vancouver have failed to win in their 7 matches since that opening night.
On that opening night of the season there was a real sense of excitement for the future of professional soccer in Canada. Empire Stadium in Vancouver was rocking and both teams went out and put on a show to match the spectacle of Vancouver being back at the highest level. That excitement seems to have died down a fair bit since then though with both teams struggling to make any progress in the MLS. For Vancouver that is understandable since it is their debut season but with Toronto FC being around for 5 seasons now fans are sure to be expecting better from the club. The gap between these two sides seems to be fairly small and that should lead to these two games being fairly exciting. The first leg will likely be a bit of a nervy affair with neither team wanting to do anything that could cost them the tie before the second game but they will both be looking to try and gain the upper hand. I think that these two games might just be the best chance to witness what sort of foundation there is for Professional soccer in Canada. Hopefully both stadiums are load and supportive and both sides come out and show what they can do. This is the only trophy that either of these teams is going to get anywhere near so lets hope they go all out to try and win it.
Beyond the improving of the Nutrilite Championship the teams are all improving. It was only 5 years ago that the MLS decided it was time to expand into Canada by including a team from Toronto and now they have added Vancouver and Montreal will join in 2012. That will give Canada three teams at the highest level and hopefully that will increase the competition between them. The creation of strong rivalries between these teams will only help increase the fan base for the clubs and get people more involved. The team still have a long ways to go in terms of reaching the quality needed to win an MLS title or even compete for a playoff spot but with strong management in place and the foundations there it looks like the future is getting ever brighter. I would like to say that optimistically in another 5 years Canada could be home to 3 of the better teams in the MLS. This growth can only help to develop the grass roots program as well which could lead to more talented Canadians coming up through the ranks and if the clubs keep increasing in stature they might even be able to keep top Canadians from going over to Europe, at least for a while.
This year things have been much different. FC Edmonton have been included and the format has been completely revised. The addition of the 4th team allowed a shift to two round format with both rounds featuring two legs. In the first semi-final match up Toronto FC cruised to a win over FC Edmonton which should come as no real surprise due to the gap between the levels of the two teams. On the other side the match between Vancouver Whitecaps, who are now in the MLS, took on Montreal Impact who will be the third Canadian team in the MLS next season. This tie was a very exciting one with the White Caps winning the first leg on the road it set up for an exciting second leg. To be honest the only reason that I ended up tuning in to the second leg of this one was the timing. Since the game was in Vancouver it kicked off at 10 pm for me and by that time there was nothing else on tv and I decided to give the match a try. It was a dull on for much of the game but in the dying moments Montreal started to try and get the goal that they needed and things really opened up. Partially as a result of the lack of quality in the sides it seemed that once things got opened up the teams struggled to calm them down at all. It made for exciting viewing as a neutral with Montreal drawing level in the 83rd minute thanks to Canadian international Ali Gerba. Vancouver would go on to win the match in extra time thanks to a 100th minute strike but what really struck me was the way in which the extra time went. I am used to seeing times completely shut things down after they score but this time it seemed that the Vancouver goal only opened things up more as Montreal created several chances of their own.
The semi-final results set up what is probably the final which most fans would have expected with both of the MLS teams managing to advance. Toronto FC and Vancouver opened the MLS campaign against each other earlier this spring when they met in Vancouver. That was a very exciting game with Vancouver come out on top 4-2 but again it was marked with the sort of sloppy defending that seems to have characterized games that involve Vancouver this season. Since that game both teams have really struggled in their MLS campaigns as Toronto FC have only collected 2 wins in 11 matches while Vancouver have failed to win in their 7 matches since that opening night.
On that opening night of the season there was a real sense of excitement for the future of professional soccer in Canada. Empire Stadium in Vancouver was rocking and both teams went out and put on a show to match the spectacle of Vancouver being back at the highest level. That excitement seems to have died down a fair bit since then though with both teams struggling to make any progress in the MLS. For Vancouver that is understandable since it is their debut season but with Toronto FC being around for 5 seasons now fans are sure to be expecting better from the club. The gap between these two sides seems to be fairly small and that should lead to these two games being fairly exciting. The first leg will likely be a bit of a nervy affair with neither team wanting to do anything that could cost them the tie before the second game but they will both be looking to try and gain the upper hand. I think that these two games might just be the best chance to witness what sort of foundation there is for Professional soccer in Canada. Hopefully both stadiums are load and supportive and both sides come out and show what they can do. This is the only trophy that either of these teams is going to get anywhere near so lets hope they go all out to try and win it.
Beyond the improving of the Nutrilite Championship the teams are all improving. It was only 5 years ago that the MLS decided it was time to expand into Canada by including a team from Toronto and now they have added Vancouver and Montreal will join in 2012. That will give Canada three teams at the highest level and hopefully that will increase the competition between them. The creation of strong rivalries between these teams will only help increase the fan base for the clubs and get people more involved. The team still have a long ways to go in terms of reaching the quality needed to win an MLS title or even compete for a playoff spot but with strong management in place and the foundations there it looks like the future is getting ever brighter. I would like to say that optimistically in another 5 years Canada could be home to 3 of the better teams in the MLS. This growth can only help to develop the grass roots program as well which could lead to more talented Canadians coming up through the ranks and if the clubs keep increasing in stature they might even be able to keep top Canadians from going over to Europe, at least for a while.
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