Danny Califf's red card greatest gift for Toronto FC's home opener

What a night.I think that Califf's clunk to DeGuzman's head while being the last man back and in clear sight of the ref was the critical moment, but maybe it was overdue karma. It was great to be back by the lake. It was great to be saying hello to those who know the level of suffering required for supporting TFC. It was wonderful to see the grass field and the new North Stand. It was high time that we put this ragged offseason behind us.
This much was clear tonight, TFC will be a hard team to beat at home this year. Let me rephrase that, they will be hard to beat at home when facing expansion teams that are down to ten men fairly early in the game. TFC might be headed in the right direction.
Tonight was neither the disaster that one feared nor was it any confirmation of progress. The three points will be taken and sighs of relief all around, but the questions continue to pile up.
You have to start with the obvious sports fans, the fact that Nick Garcia was not in the starting lineup had to be the defensive highlight of the game. It was the sign that all had been waiting for, the opening of the door that allowed the TFC fan to look Mr. Preki in the eye and not suspect sabotage.
When I started to blog after the game, I found it hard to think of the game as a whole. It was hard to grasp the team as a unit, there is so much tinkering going on that the players and the combinations are what comes to mind. I am tempted to claim that Mr. Preki is lacking in tactics and grand schemes, but the choppy nature of play has to be part of the process of players still strange to one another rather than a coaching goal.
Some parts of this new team are connecting ahead of others. The back four and Stefan Frei show signs of life. I liked the alignment in the first half (Usanov Attakora Cann Hscanovics) even though they were ones caught napping on the Philly goal late in the first half. I thought that both Hsarivoc and Usanov played well in the first half. If you are critical of both picking up yellow cards, you are clearly not prepared for cheering for a Mr. Preki team. He wants a determined, abrasive squad. (Later edit- I saw the replay on GOL TV and I thought the Usanov yellow was overkill on the ref's part) Cann and Attakora were the central pair all night and I am still of the opinion that Attakora is more of a right back than a central back. Yet Usanov has the potential to own the right side spot, so Attakora in the middle seems ok.
Cann was a pleasant surprise, he was decisive when defending most of the time, used his height well and was able to fit in. He had some shaky moments on the ball. It will be an epic adventure should we ever get to see Cann and Gomez as the central pairing. I suspect that it would be a swashbuckling approach to ball control and would be spectacular. The second half move to drop Usanov and move Gargan back to the right spot was not a positive one. It did not help that Gargan ran into injury difficulties after all the subs had been made. Usanov had looked strong attacking down the right side despite having Gargan as his winger ahead of him. I think that a combination of Usanov and Peterson has greater potential and hope to see it soon.
The forwards are the next best aspect of the new team to the defenders, but it is far from a finished product.The strike force of Chad Barrett and O'Brien White in the second half was an improvement over the all midfielder attack force of the first. There is still the need for a crafty and efficient striker on this team. Did you hear "summer signing" whispered somewhere?
It's the midfield that is still a mess. Nick Labrocca mostly played the left wing in the first half and was more central in the second. He did not shine in either role. Jacob Peterson played the right wing in the second half (following the injury to Sanyang) but did not get forward very often. It is unfair to evaluate a player coming back from injury on an emergency substition, so better days must be ahead for Peterson. In the first half Saric and Sanyang were central midfielders and defensive disruption was their contribution. The second half pairing became Labrocca and JDG and the attack improved, but not by much. When your midfield can't attack down the wings and gets nowhere in the middle, you can't blame the defenders for resorting to long ball tactics, what else is available?
I will save my DeGuzman speech for the Colorado game. I am clearly not expecting much on Sunday when this team plays on short rest, away from home, two time zones west and at high altitude. It might be the perfect scenario for Mr. Preki to show off his preference for gritty disruption, but scrapping to avoid defeat is the best we can expect.

TFC plays the first 45, Revs kick butt the rest of the night

Trout FC, a blogging legend, sending pics from NE tonight

New England Revolution 4 Toronto FC 1
Toronto FC, a team that seems to still require introductions to each other, played with surprising cohesion and took a lead into halftime tonight. DeRo, in his first game as TFC captain, scored with a header from a Garcia cross.
Then reality returned to the universe and Nick Garcia played to his usual standard, a bloody disaster. When TFC defenders were not giving them gift opportunities, the Revs were finding space and time down the wings and attacking at will. It is not sour grapes to observe that New England could have had a few more goals in the second half. It was a total collapse.

-This was ugly. I would honestly question Mr. Preki's sanity if he plays Nick Garcia in the home opener. It will be a security nightmare to keep the disgruntled TFC faithful from physically expressing their disdain for the defender.
- Jason DeVos was the colour commentator on the GOL TV broadcast and his verbal blast on the Garcia giveaway (that created NE goal number 2) was the most honest talk on television heard in eons.
- It is unfair to heap everything onto the heads of the defenders. The second half stinking also had contributions from a midfield that could not mark, could not keep the ball and could not attack. Neither OBW nor Chad Barrett, when he came on late, were displaying potency in attack up front. When you don't pressure down one end, you give the other team time to exploit your weaknesses.
- I think that Mr. Preki is the wrong coach for this team and this city. His post game comments on GOL TV were awful. This is his team and they reflect his decisions. We know the faults of the players who left town and maybe the wisdom of reshaping the team will pay off over time, but don't go on television all puzzled. Don't distance yourself from your team. Demand more of yourself and of your team and say something that the fans can hold onto. Toronto fans sure don't want to hear about how Columbus stumbled last year and then had the best record. The best you can do is tell TFC fans that we are stuck with a team that reminds the coach of Columbus? Stick up for your team, because there is so much turmoil right now, so many cuts and salary dumps and mystery men taking the field that if you don't show some faith, players and fans alike will figure that you are about to throw more players under the bus and grab some more no names.
- The questions that should be answered, because fans are asking them, are
So trading Wynne for Labrocca helps our midfield and our team in what ways again?
That saying goodbye to Robbo and Guevara and benching Cronin to give us a midfield of Sanyang, Labrocca, Joseph Nene was meant to do what for TFC?
Asking Brennan to retire in time to start a Latvian left back who was burned down his wing repeatedly in the second half until substituted in a mercy move (that should have included Garcia) was wise in what ways?
I think that the "Mo must go" movement is both understandable, but short sighted. Tossing aside Mo to get more of Preki scares me at this point. For better or worse, TFC is stuck with these two and we have to see if their moves will pay off in the short term. Somebody give Mr. Preki some positive talking points for the month of April. If he continues to be puzzled, he is going to be finding out just how indignant TFC fans can be with his renovation attempt.

Mo cries "Somebody stop me, I can no longer tell if I'm cutting or signing"

TFC management in a candid moment of devotion, worshipping the five year plan
There will be a day this spring when the sun shines and the grass will glisten and the team in red will take the field to the roar of the crowd. They will play with energy, zest and a sense of cohesive teamwork. You will cheer and I will cheer and the chaos will be forgotten. Someone will lean over and explain to me both the genius tinkering of Manager Mo and what all those Lost episodes were about. I will laugh like a loon and pat my pocket to ensure that my winning lottery ticket is still there. Then I will get a text message from Tiger Woods and my wife will hand me the Nobel Prize for blogging. Trust me on all of this.


Can I just go to bed now and figure out the Jim Brennan story tomorrow?

One Ali Gerba! There's only one Ali Gerba! Toronto FC releases him

Float like a battleship,
score once for TFC,
you're now out of contract
if you're Gerba, Ali

Multiple Designated Player rule - The day the fun started

My head is swirling with the names of players who would look good in TFC red. The day of the MLS Cup 2010 press conference I was also expecting information on changes to the Designated Player rule. Here it comes, I thought, when GOL TV interviewed The Garber. But The Garber ducked the DP question from Lee Godfrey. The commish seemed to be putting any roster moves on the back burner. Clearly, I am not a poker player. So just 48 hours later the DP rule was changed. The details are here. Suddenly TFC fans are agog (that's right, I said agog) with the possibilities of a star player or two.

Maybe, just maybe, Mo saw this coming. It would explain his low key approach to trialists during the pre-season. Why bother with out of contract players who can perhaps make a small splash, when bigger fish can be caught in the summer? I would like to see myself as gliding above both a sea of Mo haters, without ever landing on that small island of Mo apologists. Mistakes will always be made when building a team. A little humility goes a long way in the world of bloggers. I was one of those fans who was convinced that Ali Gerba was a great signing for TFC. Mistakes by the lake existed long before Mo came to town

I think that New York sets the pace for Toronto when it comes to how quickly to pursue players. New York has their new stadium and they need to generate buzz. How do you break through in a market dominated by Knicks, Jets and Giants, Yankees and Mets? You follow the Cosmos model. So a NYRB team that contains Angel, Henry and Raul(?) would need a TFC response. Or do you move first and obtain younger stars that will win the Cup this year and let NYRB bring in the bigger names next year? Stay tuned, this will be fun.

MLS Cup 2010 will be played in Toronto

Today it was officially announced that BMO Field will be the site for this year's MLS Cup. The date for the championship game is November 21st and I am predicting a cold rain and a lot of wind. What do I base this on? I am old enough to remember what being by the lake late in November was like in outdoor stadiums. Somewhere down my basement is a ticket stub for Grey Cup 1982.

Season Four beckons, somebody wake Mo

Season ticket holder packages have arrived- check
Grass is being installed at BMO as the North Stand goes up - check
The Garber is in town to make the MLS Cup announcement - check

I am officially distracted from the woes of watching this team being assembled (and trying to score), until tomorrow.