Happy Holidays

'Tis the Season

Ok so we are down to the crunch (2 more sleeps!) and per usual I have left all Christmas related shopping, requests, plans etc ... to the last second. Most importantly I left my TFC CHRISTMAS WISHLIST right to the wire. But I was always told Santa's some sort of crazy magician and I pretty much have up until 11pm on the 24th. So many things to ask for, so many things that would be great to see in the next season. Will I get a DP? Or maybe a NutriLite Championship!? I've thought of a few things I want want want for my TFC experience in the 2009 season that Sant ... ERRR, TFC can deliver to me - ok I'll be giving - to all of US!!

#5 ROAD WINS

Aye aye. This will be what will make or break us next season. How many games will TFC blow in the last few minutes, or even worse, injury time? We've made one key addition which already has improved the outlook dramatically, but regardless of the sport, if you can't win on the road then you are just another average team. The only thing to take from last season is that those losses were often from a last second lapse, so it's not like they were blow outs, but mental breakdowns. We correct that and points should start to add up.

#4 BETTER WEATHER
Ok obviously nobody can deliver on this one, but considering I didn't have season's tickets last year, it seriously seemed like it rained for the vast majority of the games I attended. This isn't England and we're playing football from March to October, right in the summer! I can think of only 3 or 4 games where it didn't rain. I have no real beef with Mother Nature, and hey I like crops and want them to grow, but man for real I don't have a TFC poncho and it sucks biking home not only in the rain but with soaked jeans and sneakers.

#3 A FEW MORE DICHIO GOALS
I consider myself pretty lucky that I was able to attend two games that Danny scored arguably his best ones for TFC. The guy who was brought in here to do what took us 4 games, scores goals not always in quantity and not always in quality but when they go in, I am jumping up and down. May 12 and October 20 sealed Dichio's status in TFC history as our first fan favorite, resulting in a 24th minute chant every home game. As much as you want everyone else to put it in, there's something extra that goes into celebrating one of his goals. It seems like next year will be his last season, so I hope 2009 is injury free and we see a few more corner flags ripped out of the ground and waved high to the fans in red.

#2 MORE BITCHY
That's right, I said it. We need more from Bitchy the Hawk. Come on, that hawk is a celebrity and a mean mofo. All smaller birds FEAR Bitchy AND it earned a spot during the All-Star Game on ESPN. I don't remember what was said during that interview but rest assured it was quality reporting from the good people at ESPN. For 2009 I'd like to see Bitchy "spread her wings" if you will - maybe some half time tricks, flying around the stadium, flying upside down, maybe even a few matchups against a seagull or two. Better yet, we need a Bitchy song! It might go something like this:

Oooooooo Biiiiitchhhhy
Whoooaaa Biiiiitchhhhy
Bitchy the Hawk! Oooo What a Hawk!
Bitchy the Hawk! Oooo What a Hawk!
Bitchy the Hawk! Don't need no flock!
Oooooooo Bitchy what a hawk!

That'll win us games, you wait and see.

OK AND THE #1 REQUEST FOR CHRISTMAS THIS YEAR *DRUMROLL* ...

WOOOPS. I mean



Alright this isn't happening this season but I just don't want this to become a dead issue. I'm just hoping we hear more about this and some sort of ball gets rolling on whether we're getting grass and when. No Argos coming in, we get added seating, real grass and we can say this is a 100% legit "Soccer Specific Stadium". Over the last few months I've read more footballing books than I have in my entire life and the one thing that is sticking with me is TRADITION. The history of football is so amazing, deep and rich that I can see how someone looks at artificial turf and thinks it's insane.

Well that's it. Nothing over the top. I know all these Christmas wishes will come true! Happy Holidays to everyone out there and get stoked for the new year!

Save the date!

Well ignore my picture below but for the sake of recent rumours (my favorite!) I'll keep it as is. For the last couple of weeks it has been leaked to a few news sources that we are for real going to drop some cash to acquire some new talent. When we picked up DeRo over a week ago, with his salary, it looked as though he was the big move - BUT - turns out there is more and the date that is being thrown around is January 6. According to my 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit calendar that is a Tuesday! Danica Patrick perhaps? Siiiiiigh.

There are many scenarios that could play out for us in the next three weeks. Whoever it is that comes in January, this will directly effect our current line-up and our draft choices. By that I mean don't be surprised if the addition of DeRo and a DP results in some pre-draft wheeling and dealing by Mo to shore up some weak spots or shed some baggage. Expect alot more exciting things to happen to this team in the next month than we've seen over the last two years.



As much as I want to speculate who this mystery "BIG SPLASH" is, I've decided to have some Christmas spirit and let this present from TFC remain a surprise. I think I can hold out until early January and simply enjoy reading the rumours. Why bother weighing out the pros and cons of it being Radzinski or Stalteri (who now apparently has signed with Borussia Monchengladbach (points for trying??). Sure it's fun - hey we sign a striker and look for a defender in the draft? Or draft another striker and trade him for a CB?? The possibilities are endless and the last thing I want is to write a ghetto MLS Rumours blog. I didn't think it would be either those two Canadians, but don't forget it wasn't long ago that one of our DP targets was Iain Hume - so put that into perspective.

So for now I'm leaving it at that - hang tight for another crazy 15 days where fine speculating's abounds!

Counting down to January

Well for once there is real, tangible optimism in Toronto (Go Raptors!). The addition of DeRo has already made everyone's "fantasy line-up" look 10X better than last season and every player is now twice as good with our new addition!! BUT THERE IS MORE - as our favorite Saturday morning (ok by morning I mean noon) character Gerry Dobson has noted, it seems to be almost certain there will be another announcement in the new year, and the term being used is "big splash". Dobson notes it's strange that there has been no "official" press meeting to introduce DeRo to Toronto. Can we maybe draw the conclusion that this is because he will be introduced in the new year with another signing? Who is this big splash that we keep hearing about? It is no secret that one of Mo's targets has been none other than Julian De Guzman. Is this the man who will also be wearing red, white, blue and a sorta charcoaly grey with collars sometimes and weird long sleeves?


I feel like the question of De Guzman coming to Toronto is similar to his younger brother playing for Team Canada. It doesn't make any sense but would be great for the team and football in Canada. However, I can't help but be realistic and know that he is in his prime and coming to MLS at this point would not be the best career move. Gareth Wheeler at The Sun sometimes writes the most idiotic shit that baffles my mind and shows he doesn't know what is up when it comes to this sport or being an athlete. Case in point:

If de Guzman believes he's better off being a major player on one of England's or Europe's middle of the pack clubs, then so be it. On the flip side, returning home to become one of the faces of Canadian soccer may be a profitable and worthwhile venture.

Let's think about this for one second. If you had two choices - first, come home and play for your hometown team (ok, amazing) in a league where 13 of the 15 teams play in half empty stadiums and where the competition will be levels below where you are coming from. OR - play for, say Aston Villa or Everton, where you will have an opportunity to play in Old Trafford, Anfield, Stamford Bridge and Emirates Stadium against the best footballers in the world - and play on real grass (zing!). Come on now, how is that any different than us asking Jonathan to give up an opportunity to compete in numerous Euro and World Cups in the name of "becoming the face of Canadian soccer"? And let's be real - we all know that in order to become the face of Canadian soccer it has to be approved the CSA Board of Directors and their meeting isn't for another 3 months which they plan on using that time for giving each other back massages then handing Dale Mitchell an extension on his contract until 2014.

Hey, if De Guzman comes home I will lose my mind, but as I've written before, you have to stay realistic. Huckerby picked San Jose over here because of the turf and the weather. I've been to Spain a few times and if I could live there I would - the quality of life is pretty sweet and I can't imagine Julian would be quick to give that up.

So as much as I'd love this to happen, I'd rather not be an armchair or internet footballer giving him the gears for whatever career decision he makes. Instead, here's hoping Mo brings in a quality player (whoever he is) that will bleed TFC and give us even more optimism and confidence heading into '09!

Yeeeeoooow!

The best part is this isn't even 1 day later an it's old news. Well this blog isn't about breaking news, it's about important opinions - MINE! I can't get to too many in depth blogs during the day as I'm at work and this broke around 2-3pm Friday, but rest assured I was running around the office to the one person who would care about this piece of news.

Mo pulls off ... see? I can't even say arguably! His BIGGEST move to date and no doubt has restored the faith of TFC fans to his abilities as a GM. The best part of this, to me anyways, is this might be the biggest move yet, but might not be the biggest of our offseason! We still have heaps of cash and a DP slot we can fill. So we lose Julius James and a chunk of allocation money but get a valuable piece of offense that with just this one addition makes a huge difference. I mean, Guevara did not have the best of seasons in '08 but I remember Jason De Vos making the comment that he strongly feels that his skill set easily matches up with Schletto's and if you watch Honduras play, you can see he is to them as Julian De Guzman is to Team Canada. So my point being we now have to non-strikers who are serious offensive threats, and if Johann Smith has more than just speed and cross-overs, picking up that potential DP Striker and things are looking pretty good. Losing Julius James, well this is the conflict I was writing about below. At 24 you should know where most footballers (in the rest of the world anyways) are heading in their career. James is athletic but showed many deficiencies in his position. Maybe he'll work out but hey, we're looking for some results NOW and Mo pulled the trigger!

The Value of SuperDraft

Well I've said it before, starting an MLS blog with a week to go in the season probably wasn't the best idea in order to keep this daily. It's all quiet in TFC and Team Canada 'land' but you gotta find something to go on. With rumours still flying around who TFC is going to sign this offseason, I started thinking of something we can at least have a guarantee on - new players from the draft.

In our short existence in the league I think all football fans in this city have experienced a steep learning curve on how MLS works and the realities of player movement. In only two years in the league one thing is clear, that is there is not much that can keep a player from moving from MLS to greener pastures. With a limited salary cap and for the most part, half empty stadiums, keeping the best talent here, unless you are the DP, isn't happening. And especially with any prospect of going to Europe, MLS just can't compete.

So with TFC having 3 draft picks in the 2009 SuperDraft I started asking myself exactly what value short and long term does this have for the club? As mentioned above, there must be a real conflict when picking a player - Toronto needs help NOW - so do you want someone who immediately has an impact in the league? If they do, you have a real chance of possibly losing them to European club - Maurice Edu case in point. Edu, in my opinion, was far from a great player for TFC, had his moments but for the most part was not a player I was overly excited about or thought to have had a huge impact on the league (Despite being rookie of the year). Yet after a season and a half, big club with big money comes and he is gone.

Then there are players like Joseph Lapira who go into the draft without any intention of playing in MLS. They would rather play in the Norwegian second division than for TFC. This is something that also must be taken into consideration - do you draft these top players who you hope might not succeed abroad, but develop and gain experience so years later return and immediately have an impact - an investment, though you may never see a return on it. They could be another Rohan Ricketts or Carl Robinson, who have to come here to find themselves again.

A knock on the draft is that when these players are entering the league, in comparison to the rest of the footballing world, they are considerably older yet not as developed skill-wise. Julius James was touted as the top pick in the 2008 draft at one point. At 24 years old he was seen to be lacking many attributes in his rookie year - but this is when many players in the rest of the world have already been playing professionally and should be reaching their prime. As well, the list of players who were touted as the best in NCAA more often than not, can't even hack it in MLS (Xavier Balc!).

You have these different scenarios playing out and can see this isn't like the NHL or NFL where you know more or less what you are getting and that they won't be going anywhere - it's just a matter of their development. You hope to find that diamond in the rough, someone who is good, but not TOO good that they attract the attention from abroad. I see two possibilities that make good sense. First, trade a pick for an established player, so you know what you are getting (win!). Or take the risk on a younger player, if there are sophmores or freshman in the draft, or the odd teenager who you put into the "youth system" (academy?) and can see as a long term investment like Nik Besagno, Abbe Ibrahim and Alditore (ok, he just got too good).



The draft can be great tool for a club as long as you're not banking your immediate success on it. There will be no Crosby, Chris Paul or Ben Roethlisberger. You can find a short term impact player who can make your club some money (and by some, I mean the shitty crumbs left over from the league who takes most of it!) but with the rise of club academies, and players hopefully developing at a younger age this should be where we are getting our new and young talent from, and I don't think the draft but shrewd player moves is where we should be banking our future and success on.

Another piece of the puzzle

It was announced "in principle" that our main man, Danny Dichio will be back for one more season. This goes beyond the pitch, as there are already talks that once his playing days are over, he will be the man leading the academy. He's stated before that coaching will be one of his next moves in life after football and we weren't sure if that would be this year or next. Signing him on is a great move because this is the kind of guy we should want to keep in our organization - someone who came here without a chip on their shoulder, but an open mind and was looking to contribute to TFC. He might not be the most lethal striker, or gifted athlete but for us, but he's done great with what he's had when we've had him 100% healthy. Probably his two most famous goals are the first and last of 2007, however, another one I remember is the first one against Colorado this season off the volley as pure class. Grabbing a beer at half-time we overheard some Brits (So you KNOW they know what's what) discussing how that goal was a strikers goal, and one thing you can say about Dichio is the guy goes into the box hard and has the instinct to put the ball on the net. If some of the other forwards we've had, and have now, used their athleticism and played with his guts and instincts we probably wouldn't be freaking out about our horrible offense.



So now we continue to speculate on who is our DP, when De Rosario is coming, where Wynne is going and if we can get Ricketts back here for another year.

Pony up for the '09 jersey

Ehhhhh probably not. I won't go into the whole "breakdown" of what looks good and doesn't, but personally I just prefer a solid, classic look instead of bells and whistles, which for the most part don't make anything look better but just end up making it look like clutter. 2 colours with one accent as the logo. BAM. The whole story you can check out here and it's funny because this jersey was shown on The Offside TFC Blog in July!

I know this will probably not happen in the near future but I am looking forward to the day where EVERYTHING doesn't have to be controlled and run through MLS head office. Like switching our shorts from white to red needs to be approved?? I hate the whole North American trend of selling jersey rights to one company (adidas, reebok, nike) because they all end up looking the exact same (CFL for example) just with different colours. So for now I'll stick with my red t-shirt and tfc scarf!

Timing is everything

Careers, friends, women, and apparently ... books. I picked this one up years ago when I probably had just finished reading (ok watching first, then reading) High Fidelity, How to Be Good, and saw that Nick Hornby’s name was on the cover. I remember only two of the chapters stood out to me, and I’m not even sure (and it was confirmed as I read it again) that I even finished this book. I don't know why I didn’t get through it – schoolwork, another book on the backburner - or perhaps I just couldn’t connect with the authors. Fast forward six years later and I can now understand why.

My Favorite Year is a collection of short stories of just that, the writer's favorite year of their favorite football club. At first take you might think, Oh, I'm going to read about the glory years of Liverpool, Manchester United, Aston Villa, maybe even England of '66. This is where there the major difference for me occurred reading this then and now. Six years ago, there was no TFC and I was resigned (woe is me!) to following Liverpool. Knowing now what I didn't know then, how much a difference it makes to have a local team of your own to follow and physically cheer for live because now I can understand the passion each of these writers have for the clubs they support. Not only that but the clubs that are written about aren't huge powerhouses - so stories of Raith Rovers, Cambridge United, Watford, Bristol City, Norwich City and the Republic of Ireland to name a few, can truly connect with a supporter of TFC or Team Canada.


It all starts off with Roddy Doyle's account of the Republic of Ireland's 1990 World Cup run. This story sets the tone for rest of the book as he is able to capture the emotions of nostalgia, passion and pride. Stories of his youth, following clubs in England and their national team and then discovering that Ireland can have a successful team and finding pride in his heritage through football.

You go through stories of Middlesbrough, Raith Rovers and Oxford United before reaching Olly Wicken's chapter on Watford. This is the one that stood out for me then and still does now. Wicken recounts the 1974/75 season of his favorite club, but through his eyes from when he was an 11 year old ball boy. Stories of idol worship and memorabilia collecting, despite the fact it was a different sport, I remember being the exact same way with the Maple Leafs. This Watford team was far from remarkable but in the eyes of a small boy they were the best. How can you not compare the name Billy Jennings to Rick Vaive?!? Obviously they were the most lethal goal scorers EVER, with the COOLEST names! Wicken's account of that season feels like those 84-87 seasons where I know I thought they were the best team ever but looking back they were totally brutal and barely made it into the playoffs. I mean two words - Ken Wregget ... come on now. For Watford this was before Elton John and Graham Taylor took them from the FOURTH division to the first. Yes, fourth division, so to compare this to Toronto it was no different then going from the Ballard era into the days of Cliff Fletcher.

The other story that really made an impact was Don Watson's 1974/75 Leeds United story. Looking at the ones that I seem to connect to it kind of seem obvious, Roddy Doyle was in his 30s when Ireland was qualifying, Olly Wicken was 11 and Don Watson was 14 - all three of these (to me anyways) periods were so crucial in life. Child, teen, then a man. Don Watson comes across like this guy who just didn't give a shit and followed his club to one of their most remarkable seasons. 73/74 was the season after they won the first division, but this (74/75) goes through their path to the European Cup. It tells you as much about what it was like being a 14 year old football supporter than what was going on with Leeds.



My Favorite Year was something I didn't really think much of the first time around, but reading it now as a TFC supporter and being hopeful towards our national team, it comes across as a guide for what it means to have passion for your club. TFC or Canada doesn't have to be the best ever, or all the time, but if we could experience one season like the ones written about in this book then I think we could consider ourselves pretty lucky.

And so it begins?

Wow, barely two weeks after the MLS Cup and we are now ready for 2009 to begin. Last night, MLS hq released 2009s home opening schedule or "first kick". Seattle Sounders FC will be playing the first match of '09 March 19 vs. New York. TFC, as usual will be on the road, however this years it's in Kansas City, so I'm not entirely sure if we'll be seeing 2,500 people making that road trip. The only saving grace to that is the next weekend is in fact in Columbus.



This is the first season that I've had season's tickets to call my own. Last year I bought a guy's tickets when he moved to Australia, but he wanted to keep them in case he comes back. So for 2009 I'll be in 106, which I know isn't the biggest party but whatever, I'll chill there this year and think about getting to standing room only later. Anyway, the point is I am stoked to be wearing my new scarf on April 4th where we'll be taking on none other than Freddie's Seattle Sounders! I hope buy then we'll have a new and improved line-up (DP INCLUDED), and the only remaining question will be which radioactive uniform will Seattle be sporting.

Gotta stay positive!

I feel bad that any mention of the Men's National team lately I've been super crusty. So at least there is something good to write about for once. Although it's for his achievements at Deportivo it is sweet that a national footballer is up for the Lou Marsh Award. Gotta stay posi and hope 2009 brings our national team back together for a solid run at the Gold Cup!!

Leading Canada to Victory!

I know this is over a month late, and was released before I started this blog, but last weekend's appearance of Peter Montopoli on Soccer Saturday motivated me to at least add another voice out there to this. In his interview with Gerry Dobson, Montopoli (along with other members of the CSA in the past) left me with little confidence that anything is going to change with our men's national team. Dobson's first point blank question was the status of Dale Mitchell as the head coach and the urgency to replace him. Now let's first point out the obvious - Dale Mitchell coached our under 20 team in their World Cup that we not only lost every game but scored ZERO goals. As the Senior coach his only wins are against Martinique and St. Vincent, and the team that was touted as our best ever failed to qualify for the world cup and with games still to play (for pride!) some of our best players refused to return to duty. Montopoli's response to Dobson was that there is no rush to find another coach and they'll review this matter in the next few months when the board meets. I feel like the next thing he'll say is now is a good time to invest and not to worry Canada is running a surplus - my point being is it seems like every time I see or hear an interview with any of these guys it's like listening to Federal politicians - they can't answer questions, or circle around it and give an answer where you just sit there and think, "is this guy a $#%&%ing idiot??"

I had already downloaded the CSA strategic plan for 2009-2013 and read it again (and again today) and had to read their document on our "wellness to the world cup" - especially since Montopoli says that the response to these has been positive (well ok, maybe amoung 7 year olds and beach soccer players). It's hard to go through it and feel positive or confident that anything that is written is actually doable. Their set of goals to 2013 are getting $25 million in budget, CMNT World Cup qualification, a medal from the CWNT, a world cup bid for the womens world cup and a million+ players playing in Canada. This first thing that bothered me about this report was that it was released WHILE our CMNT was still playing games for the 2010 World Cup. So they've been eliminated, everyone can see that Mitchell is not the right man for the job, so they release a "strategic plan" saying their goal is to qualify for the 2014 World Cup! PHHHEEEW. Thank god they cleared that up. Thank god I have this report that gives me no clear idea how they are going to double their budget. Not long ago there was a report released that outlined what the CSA 2009 annual budget is. I don't want to say it's shocking because I think everyone knows how little the budget is, especially for the CMNT is. But it's shocking to think that the CSA actually thinks they can qualify for a world cup in their current state. Like I said before, it's just like politicians who can never admit that their are in the shit or the cause of it. Not long ago there was a quick blog written about Australia's path to the world cup that sheds light on what it really takes to have success.

You compile all this info and it's a bit depressing. A board that doesn't see a reason to fire their head coach - and if you ask me, I would not be surprised one bit if you see Mitchell still as head coach for the 2009 Gold Cup. A budget that is so far out of whack, with money allocated to Beach Soccer and a loss in gate receipts (well ... that's not surprising after their brilliant marketing for the Canada gamin Montreal).

This is the time get this right. We have some great players whose talents will go to waste in this current state of the national program. Clearly I am just venting because it will probably take someone way up to make a real change. Hopefully with this sport in the spotlight in Canada more than it has been in my lifetime, someone will come along and do it right. Until then ... SEE YOU ON THE BEACH!!!

No rest for the wicked

Around a few places yesterday it was put out there that my favorite CSA basher, Ben Knight, had his blog at the Globe & Mail axed due to economic restructuring or whatever the BS catch phrase is these days. Not to worry, sounds like he'll start up something independent so I'll have somewhere to link to every time we need a rant about the buffoons running the show. Speaking of which, I've been putting off a post since last Saturday when Peter Montopoli, General Secretary of the CSA, was on Soccer Saturday not answering questions and spewing complete nonsense about their 2008 Strategic Plan. I had to reread it to make sure I didn't miss something and was in total hate mode when I read it the first time.

Conclusion: No. It's still garbage. But I'll be all over it in a day or so when I have more time to get into it.

Anyway, like I said, keep an eye out for Ben's new blog, which I'm sure I'll be linking to in the very near future.

Win win?

A busy day in TFCland. Seattle went through the league and picked up 10 new players. From TFC we lost Jarrod Smith, which although I thought he was a definite possibility, it's surprising he was picked over Johann Smith. Now that I think of it this might have been brilliant strategy by Mo to put in two guys with pretty much the same name, KNOWING he had a 50/50 chance of keeping Johann! Well played Mo, well played! It looked like some of the guys left unprotected were either done so strategically or with just wishful thinking they wouldn't get picked (Ricketts, Sutton and Smith come to mind). Apparently we are in the process of trying to get Ricketts and Dichio resigned for next season, both of whom are essential components of the team. There is talk that Ricketts might try to get on the first bus back to the UK, and I hope that is not the case. As much as I like the guy, I don't think he really lit up MLS and if he goes back to England I don't think he's going to be in a great position to play like he can here.

BUT - in promising news going forward for next season, it looks like we've resigned Carl Robinson! Woot! This was another case where at the end of the season it seemed like Carl was a bit non-committal about coming back this year. It sounded like he might try to get back to the UK for '09. If you think about it though, when he talked about not loving football anymore and finding his passion again at TFC, why would you risk leaving a situation where you are happy day in and out? And let's be honest, would you really trade living in Toronto for ... holy crap I just went on his wiki page and had no idea he had been loaned out 7 times over something like 3 or 4 years! Man, Carl you're the man here, you can't be goin anywhere. So below I found this great clip, actually I wasn't going to post it (you'll see why) but I was laughing too hard and couldn't help myself. Great goal though!!



Yeah Carl!! You are the ... scatman???? WTF!?

Who will stay or who will go?

Gaaaah that's kinda cheesy but whatever the clash rules. We lose one guy to Seattle Sounders FC tomorrow in the expansion draft. Our list of unprotected is kinda tricky to see who they will pick. Of the players I think most look at Ricketts, Johann Smith and Greg Sutton as the surprises on the list. If you break that down though, word is that Ricketts is looking to get back to England asap so we might not even be signing him next season anyways - plus his salary is $200K - a decent dent in their cap. Sutton makes around $150K and with Keller probably making a good salary I'd be surprised if they want to spend that much money on a back-up keeper - or take the risk of making that pick to trade. Johann Smith I have no idea. We wasted our allocation on this guy and missed out on Will Johnson. Some say he hasn't impressed but I think he only played a handful of games so not sure why we are looking to dump him already, unless his attitude sucks!

There's a couple of guys who I think could fit in at Seattle. Right now they have their 2 midfielders (Ljungberg and Nyassi) a striker and Keller in net. So it's wiiiide open. We could perhaps expect to lose a defender, and right now my money is on Marco Velez heading out. Other than that it's either Johann Smith or Jarrod Smith for the youth factor. Pretty good set of guys put out there if you ask me for TFC to hopefully not take any major damage.

Lucky 13

Well that's that! A season that began in Columbus, ends with them as the 2008 champs in the 13th edition of the Cup Final. As much as I hate to say it, Schelotto played an amazing game and that last flick to seal it was all class, and he deserved to win the MVP game trophy (aka a flower vase wtf?!). I think many people breathed a sigh of relief that Columbus won, as this playoff format most certainly has been under scrutiny given that the teams who finished strongest fell by the wayside to a NY team that barely made into the playoffs ahead of TFC. There have been many suggestions as to how to remedy this situation, especially considering there is no incentive or real reward to finish at the top during the regular season. It reminds me of years back in the NHL the top team of the 3 divisions get the top 3 seeds and we were seeing the likes of Carolina or Tampa Bay who would really be seeded 7th or 8th winning the 3rd spot. I like the idea, if it stays in a playoff format, reducing it perhaps to the top 2 teams in each conference, playing a home and away round then the winners straight to the finals. I've never been a fan of the whole, "you have to appeal to the American sports fan" and that's why there's playoffs. I think one of the poor marketing schemes that MLS has used is the "we have to win new fans" without realizing there are markets in the US and Canada that have existing football fans. So win over the existing demographic and work on bringing in the new ones, instead of cheesy giveaways, cheerleaders and half-time freak shows thinking this is what people will come to see.

Don Garber laid out an interesting state of the league address with a few small changes, most importantly for TFC is the recognition of some FIFA dates. But really the big news this weekend was that Montreal is no longer up for an expansion franchise.


When this story first came out, it was said they withdrew, but now it has come out that the league decided to not retain it's bid. We will hear the whole story tomorrow as the Saputos have said they don't want to say anything until after the Grey Cup weekend. There are several reasons as to why I can think of why this happened. First thing that comes to my mind is that first and foremost this is BUSINESS. Add up the costs and economic factors of today and I do have to say it really makes no sense for existing USL teams to come into the MLS. Think of this - the cost of the team is $40 million (some saying at the end of the day the cost is really more like $50), when 3-4 years ago TFC got a team for $10 million. Not to mention, Montreal would also have the added expense of stadium expansion to meet MLS requirements. Why would Montreal, when they are probably doing very well financially and on the field, spend over $50 million dollars to join a league that the vast majority of the teams operate in the red? The way MLS is set up, it appears that it does not favour the clubs making large profits - everything runs through the head office - you sell a player abroad for $5 millions (Maurice Edu) and end up with less than half of that after the league takes their share. Let's be straight, Montreal probably was the best market of the teams on the expansion list, some suggesting that if Philadelphia fails to secure finances on their new stadium, they would have gone straight into the league. If I had to guess, the Saputos knew that MLS needs them more than they need MLS and may have asked for some of the requirements (stadium size, expansion fee) to be amended or put off given the current economic scare - seriously, from a business standpoint, what is their incentive to join? It's disappointing because I would have loved to have this rivalry in the league. The Voyageurs cup game in Toronto is what football needs in Canada and MLS as well. I don't think any two teams can match that right now in North America. All this talk may be long winded and waaaaay off the mark in 24hrs but these are my thoughts tonight.

My non-linear path to football history

Ok so I'm bored and other than gossip (which I should really just leave to message boards) there is nothing big going on until sunday (unless mitchell gets fired - oh wait, the CSA Board doesn't work on weekends - duh!) when the MSL cup goes down, and possibly MLS expansion news.

As I was watching ... well Mexico v. Honduras, I was thinking of the conflict of my heritage in the Canada v. Jamaica game. As I like to trumpet as often as I can my Great Grandfather was born in Jamaica, thus giving me AUTHENTIC JAMAICAN HERITAGE.

Eversley Francis Freeman was born in Jamaica around the turn of the century in a little village which might have looked like the one below. In fact he could very well be in this drawing!

He immigrates to Canada and somewhere along the lines becomes an olympic athlete

Eversley (Jake) Freeman goes to the 1920 Antwerp Olympics, but most importantly - the 1924 Paris Olympics

The same 1924 Olympics that saw South American teams compete in an 'european' football tournament for the first time, as well as the first black man to play at a professional level in Europe (Jose Andrade for Uruguay). Did Jake Freeman witness and possible rub elbows with footballing history??? I bet he did. In fact I'm positive some of that footballing DNA rubbed off on me. As is described in Soccer in Sun and Shadow this Uruguay team had only played 30 games at this point and came over to Europe and won what was at that point the best footballing tournament in the world.

Post mortem

Well, tried to watch the game last night in front of my COMPUTER with some eats and my bottle of Old Tyme Ginger Beer. Hey I don't know about you but when I think Jamaica, I think of white pirates!! So unless I'm an idiot this game was nowhere to be found on tv and had to settle for watching a streaming telecast of the Mexico v Honduras game on Telemundo waiting for highlights to come in. Brutal. Well it's probably for the best. 3-0 and if I'm not mistaken the only starter in the line-up from the first Jamaica game was Paul Stalteri. I feel bad about getting all riled up yesterday but I had to throw it out there because I'm really hoping for change. I doubt it will happen, hell I wouldn't be surprised if Mitchell doesn't get sacked. Think of any other footballing country they would have booted their coach DURING the campaign to save it. Anyway there it is - hey guys at least we're now officially on our way to the WELLNESS TO THE WORLD CUP '14! YAAAY HOORAY!!

Is anybody listening?

It's over. Finally. Done. For the last month or so it's felt like that bad relationship that's finished but not officially "over" until one of you moves away. So after tonight it's over and we can move on. Almost 3 months to the day there was so much hope and promise - the best national team we've ever had - the best midfield in CONCACAF ... this was what we had to look forward to



This is what we got


So we came in like lions - a strong line up with so much potential - and leave like lambs. With players refusing to play for Dale Mitchell, as many points as Haiti and only better than Suriname? and a line-up of starters earning their first senior cap. Where do we point our fingers? The CSA? The coach? The Players?

A while back when it was being made public that the players were not happy with Dale Mitchell, Craig Forrest deflected that criticism and sent it right back at the players, asking each them to look at themselves and ask if they've done all they could to get the wins for Canada. That is a fair comment coming from a former player, who had to deal with the CSA and was able to win a Gold Cup, but I really think the time needs to come where we all say enough is enough. Imagine taking a job as a sales rep and getting shown your desk that has no computer and no phone and the boss says, "make me some money!!" I'm sorry Craig but shit rolls downhill and this has been the case with the CSA for over 30 years.

Ben Knight has been writing some very good articles on this subject over the past weeks specifically two about what role does the CSA really even play in the recent success of football in Canada (answer: none), and how they've really been nothing but an obstacle to progress and what we need to do to right the ship.

I agree with everything he says but as long as the CSA is in charge of anything we are screwed. There will never be a CEO (see Fred Nykamp and his wrongful hiring/firing suit) or one person in charge as long as there is a Board of Directors having their say. My question is what do we have to do or what needs to happen to get rid of this body? These guys are a bunch of clowns and while I was digging around last night reading (and getting more and more angry) about their actions I found this which to me sums up everything. This is from last year when Colin Lindford (former president who pretty much threw up his hands and quit because of the Board of Directors idiocracy) was trying to put together proper plans but was halted over and over by the Board.

It has been reported that Linford has had problems with the board of directors over the selection of the Canadian National Team for the World Cup.

The name of Brazilian coach Rene Simoes had been circulating as Canada's next head coach and his hiring was considered a formality.

But it was Canadian Dale Mitchell, head coach of Canada's Under-20 team, who was hired as head coach of the senior squad.

Simoes reportedly wanted the job technical director as well head coach and also wanted the ability to hire his own staff, which Linford was ready to accept.

However, the board refused to ratify the agreement with Simoes and mandated that one of the jobs, whether it be technical director or head coach, had to go to a Canadian.

I don't even know where to start with that but think it sums up pretty much what goes on with the CSA. They didn't want the head coach who took Jamaica to the 98 World Cup and didn't want the former CEO from Basketball Canada - WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE?? I read their plan for 2009-2013 and it is a complete joke - a sunday with the cherry being their plan of "wellness to the world cup". They actually have to point out that their goal is to make the World Cup! Gee shucks Wally, that's a great idea!! I'll save this for another day what we need to do to get this right (see USA or Australia for examples). For now I'm going to watch the game tonight and cheer on the team. I feel sorry for the players who get no support from above and when they rightfully criticize the state of the game aren't listened to. Is it any wonder why our best players either opt to play for other countries or sit out from the team altogether?

What else you gonna do on a Saturday?

After you've been sick all week, stayed in last night to watch a movie and it's raining today, I guess all you're gonna do is blog! After all the talk about how sweet Football Factories, Football Factories International is, I realized I've never actually watched the movie that started it all (actually I haven't read the book either but, come on, who reads books when the movie is available!?). I thought this would be a good watch considering pretty much every episode of FFI that Danny Dyer travels in, the firms he visits LOVES him (or doesn't kick his ass) because of this movie (or maybe just because he's a sorta famous actor ...).

So I wasn't sure what to expect the details of this to be about. I know Dyer is a West Ham supporter but in this movie I guess they are following the book so he's a Chelsea (BARF) hooligan. I guess that is realistic since even in my review of How Soccer Explains the World, Foer interviews the original Chelsea Headhunter and they were F*@#$ing scary dudes. It pretty much follows that theme of Chelsea hooligans beating up crosstown rivals, traveling to Liverpool and waiting for the dream match-up (in hooligan terms) an FA Cup draw with either Cardiff or Milwall.

I won't get into every detail of what this movie is about. It's pretty violent (obviously) and they drop the C-bomb about a hundred times. By C-Bomb I mean "you FAKKING KANT!" Overall it's pretty entertaining if you like watching people get beat up (who doesn't) but the one thing I hate is when you watch a flick and they blatently rip off a scene from another movie. They totally lift that scene from Goodfellows when Joe Pesci is all, "What? Is something funny? Do I amuse you? Am I some f@#)ing clown?!" BUT they totally redeem themselves with an amazing part where Dyer's best friend who has become totally whipped by his girlfriend ditches her and her family to go meet up with his mates for the big match of the year!! YES!! I know, I know ... only in the movies ...

I'll leave it off with a somewhat relevant clip where the boys are traveling up to play the Reds and it's OH SO CLOSE to see Chelsea get beat ... well that already happened once this years! GO REDS!!!

Money, money, money ...

Well it looks like my time as an investigative journalist will be about as short lived as my career as a supermodel. Hmmmm I guess the livestock and stench of manure should have tipped me off that those bleachers lying around *might* have something to do with the winter fair.

So to the topic at hand. A few days late but hey, I've been sick all week. Novmeber 10 came and went and as it turns out, yes, MLSE has given Mo and Carver the green light to sign a Designated Player. Well thank god for that. I'd find it hard to swallow that they would OK $3.5 million for JEFF FINGER, but would not be able to pony up some money for a high callibre footballer. I know it's all business and dollars and cents at MLSE - as I can recall an interview, I think it was Dobson on soccer saturday, asking a higher up at MLSE about the success TFC has been having (this was early in the '07 season) and his response being along the lines of "Ok, hey now ..." and giving the whole, let's be real, the leafs and raptors are the top priorities and money makers, TFC is a small fish. So hopefully that attitude has changed since the beginning of 2007 and they realize there is strong support and they need to keep improving the product on the pitch ... OR ELSE!!

This raises the question of how exactly this money should be spent. I don't think anyone would argue that we should not be searching for a DP. John Carver has pretty much said "sign a DP or I'm gone", adding that TFC needs one to get competitive in this league. Some people might point out - hey, Houston are the 2 time champs and don't have a DP. Sure, but Houston is not a 2nd year franchise, and are actually 4 times champs over the last eight years (via the move from San Jose), and had time to build that team up. There is also the question or debate on whether or not a DP actually makes the team successful.

You can look at that list of current DPs in the league and say none of those players have resulted in immense TEAM success (by way of trophies). However, some you can't deny are worth every penny. Angel and Emilio have both scored at a significant ratio, and Blanco has proven his worth.

I think what this translates to for TFC is that merely signing a player won't equal success - there are still ten other positions that need to be filled to the best they can. TFC is lucky in the sense that we can look at these past DPs and see clearly that the role of this player is not to single-handedly win games but to become an integral piece of the puzzle that we otherwise could not have obtained. If that is the attitude used to finding this player (and I do believe this is how Mo and Carver are approaching it) then we can see a player that will contribute to the team more than just on the scoresheet. Finding that player will be the hard part because as we have seen, money and fan base hasn't been enough thus far to bring in any bigger names. So there's the challenge and I'm stoked to see how this search pans out.

It's kinda funny because the team that started this whole spending hoopla is the LA Galaxy and their whole "beckham" experiment or whatever you want to call it. You can't deny the exposure, league success or cash that this has brought MLS. The thing is though, Beckham may have made them alot of money and gotten the league noticed around the world but he hasn't won them any championships. With it now appearing as though Donovan AND Beckham could be leaving - looks like LA is about to *GET* DP'd! HEYOOOOOO

Late breaking news!

So in September I moved to the King & Dufferin area in Toronto, which lucky for me, is about 2 mins from BMO field. Also when I need to go back to the suburbs to visit the fam I'm right at the Exhibition GO Train stop. So I thought as I rolled back in today I'd swing by old BMO and reminisce on the good ol' 2008 season, maybe check on my new seats for 2009 etc ... but as I approach the stadium, what do I see? A huge pile of stadium seats all over the place!!


I'm not one to speculate, but I'd speculate that we might be seeing some new sections installed for 2009 perhaps!? If I had to roughly estimate there were around 2,500 seats in bunches of various rows, but normally of about 18 seats all fenced in at the north end of the stadium. Is MLSE maybe being proactive knowing they'll have to spend about $2 million to bring in a DP next season? Could this be the "Del Piero" end of the stadium? Haha well I doubt that. Anyway, yeah there's no TFC news so gotta find it where you can!

Official programme here!

You wouldn't know it by the layout of this blog, but my profession is graphic design. There are a few good design bookstores downtown, in particular one on Richmond Street called SWIPE. It used to be west of spadina, but has recently moved into the reno'd warehouse east of it beside Mamma's pizza. I used to live right in that area when I was in school, so I would pop in there every weekend to thumb through some of the books. One that always caught my eye was MATCH DAY. Flipping through the pages, my eyes would get all big, seeing all these examples of really cool covers that were so reflective of a time and place. For whatever reason, I never bought it until recently when I ran into the owner and asked him if he could order it in.

MATCH DAY is a collection of programme covers from England dating just after the second world war to the start of the premiership. Every team that played in the first division is here, as well as some significant other teams from across the country. In their introductions Bob Stanley and Paul Kelly both talk about football's past in England, better days, but specifically in terms of these programmes. They lament how now they are all glossy and filled with advertising, but before each team definitely has a unique stamp on their pre-game guides, some done with good design (Sheffield United, Leister City) others ... ugh, not so much (Crewe Alexandra!)

I'm glad I finally picked this up after so many years. It's just rad to be able to flip through some serious footballing history and see not just how design changed, but you can see pieces of the history of England through these covers as well. This book, as well as my last review of Soccer in Sun and Shadow show how the game used to be ... something that as a typical hockey/baseball Canadian kid I am keen to learn about. As with Galeano, even though they are short intros, it's just really cool reading about stories from people who lived through the past that they are presenting in their books. Whether it's just hearing about how the programmes were made (sometimes the managers were writing them) to hearing about how the schedule used to have home and away matches played in successive saturdays (a cause for resentment and revenge for the first leg). Anyone who follows EPL, likes design and history, or is just a collector of any kind of Football memorabilia would benefit from checking this pretty rare find out.

Why, oh why ...

... did I start a blog at the end of the season!?! TFC news is dead as a doornail! Yeah we've thrown out the "so and so might be our DP", booooooring - BORING! It's all quiet at BMO Field.

Next week should be busier with the Board meeting to discuss the budget and the last World Cup qualifier with Canada v. Jamaica. I'll save that mess for another post. The only somewhat interesting find is this vid I saw on SoccerBlogs yesterday of the best goals from 08. If I counted correct there were four for TFC and four scored on us. Hey, another tie, at least we didn't get scored on in the last clip to lose 5-4! If I remember correctly you'll see Barrett's free kick vs. Colorado, Dichio at home vs. Colorado (this one was sweet), and maybe two from Guevara? Either way enjoy.



Looks like someone else put up TFC specific highlights. Some amazing goals in this one too!!



And last but not least one more amazing vid of some of the best TFC goals I've ever seen in my life ...

Ruuuumours ...

Since the end of the season TFC management (well Mo and Carver) have set their plans for the team in the offseason. The three main things we'll be seeing is 1. Keeping the "core" team together 2. Finding the best draft picks and 3. (let the rumours begin!!!) signing a DP!

Well it's been a busy week of hearsay now that it has been made official that this is one of their top priorities. Before the end of the season there was talk that ideally the DP would be Canadian. I have no idea who that would be because I would say there are really only two Canadians worth spending DP money at this point - Julian De Guzman and Atiba Hutchinson. Unfortunately I can't see either of them coming here considering they are both at a point in their careers where their next move could definitely be up to bigger clubs. Julian was named to La Liga's starting XI last season and Hutchinson is a key player at Copenhagen with his best years ahead of him. Other than those two guys, I would be disappointed if TFC spent DP money on any other of our internationals (no disrespect!!) but if we're getting a DP they have to be a high-impact player (imo)


Yesterday on Soccer Saturday Craig Forrest threw out the name Del Piero as an ideal target. Hey I agree ... but no way in hell! I think the shitty thing is we're going to have to be realistic with who is going to be attracted to TFC and to MLS. First off we know that money, our fan base and multicultrual city is not going to necessarily bring someone here (see Dikov, Huckerby, Sukur, Pauletta etc ...) As much as Forrest gave Seattle crap for signing Ljundberg, I actually thing THIS is the reality of MLS right now. He said it himself - he's good but way past his prime, and not at his best. Well ... we saw what happened when a supposed player who came here we THOUGHT was past his prime arrived and where is he now? OH! On loan to Milan WTF!?!? If Toronto can sign a top notch guy in his prime I'll be totally shocked. Realistically I think we might either see an older guy who is a big name and still has the goods (but not like he did in his prime) OR I'm thinking almost like a Rohan Ricketts (obviously of a higher pedigree) story where someone who was highly touted in their youth but kinda lost their way over the last few years.

November 10 is the date to mark on our calendars because that is the directors meeting where Johnson and Carver will be discussing the money needed to sign our DP. It should be interesting to see what kind of money TFC will get especially considering a report this weekend stating the MLSE is worth 1.6 BILLION DOLLARS. So 8 days to go - let the rumours continue!

Kicks must be aimed only at the ball …

I first saw this on a random search for a new book on football. The cover makes it look like it’s perhaps a story or novel on the game, but it has been almost classified as “history of the sport”. This is true in one regard, as it does take the reader through the game from beginning up until the 2002 World Cup, but to say it is merely a historical reference it definitely inaccurate. Like many other authors from the Americas, there is a very romantic passion that Galeano speaks with. He writes with and embraces a type of witty poetry in a series of short stories/essays that start at the most simple point of the game – soccer, then the player, the goalkeeper, the fan etc … escalating until he seamlessly gets into the history of the sport from the Chinese to the 20th century where he spends the majority of the book.


Galeano is from Uraguay, so his approach is very South Americancentric (did I just make up a word???). He grew up seeing what could be called a golden era of South American football – before all the best players would leave for Europe at a young age. Stories of Pele, Di Stephano, Ademir and Puskas (in Europe) aren’t researched , but come from memories of his youth. The focus on South America is by no means a fault or knock on the book, and it does cover much in Europe through World Cups and the most famous clubs, but I would say that it is not meant to be the most comprehensive historical read.

Soccer in the Sun and Shadow, to me, comes across as memories from a fan, someone who loves and is passionate about the game to the very core. Galeano doesn’t write like a journalist or a sports writer. He appreciates the beauty of a game that is not what he remembers it used to be. In a very wry manner, he rejects what it has become, a commercial venture ruled by those who see only profit, by pointing out that World Cups now are won on market terms. The 2002 World Cup was won by Brazil over Germany and Turkey finishing third over South Korea – with Nike taking first and fourth, while Adidas finished second and third.


It’s hard not to side with Galeano’s view and passion of the game. I am not fortunate enough to have grown up in a country or in a time where the game meant everything. Having witnessed a change in the game throughout his lifetime – in his hometown, country, contitnent and the world, where it comes to the point that he has to confess:
I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good soccer. I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: “A pretty move, for the love of God.” And when good soccer happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.

Here's to you ...

It's only been four days since the end of TFC's season and on their website, the end of season awards have been announced. I'm not going to direct you to the post below, because really, anyone with two eyes who followed this season would be able to say there were a very small group of players who could be up for awards. Carl Robinson has picked up team MVP for 2008 after being the co-winner with Jim Brennan last year. Marvell Wynne ended up with defender of the year, so there you have it - looks like I don't need to refer to the Magic 8-Ball to make predictions! Maybe some people would think that Greg Sutton should have been in the mix. That is fair, he made some huge saves during games, and for sure we would have been blown out in many if it weren't for him, but his distribution out of the box is horrible and hopefully that will be something that is improved on in '09.

Chad Barrett picked up the Golden Boot which is awesome for him, but also is kinda sad because he only scored four goals. He had nine on the season so that is respectable but I hope in the off season we don't lose sight of the fact that our finishing was BRUTAL (again) this season and really needs to be remedied in 2009. I like Chad Barrett, so hopefully we can bring in a serious poacher who can free him up, Amado, and even Ricketts or Wynne to sneak more in.