Things are going to be a bit quieter here over the next week or so as I'll be on vacation, a Pacific coast trip anchored by TFC games in Seattle and Chivas. With away games on my mind, this is the first of what will be a semi regular feature of top 5's, based on the whole "long suffering fan" experience. These are my worst away games, in chronological order, feel free to add your own.
Top 5 worst away game trips.
May 1989, Scunthorpe 5-1 Darlington.
My second season following Darlington really wasn't a good one, down near the bottom of the league all season, firing the manager improved things a bit but not much, and we went into this game, the penultimate of the season, needing to win to have a chance of avoiding relegation to non-league status. Things didn't go well, and by halfway through the second half it was all over. A fabulous long range goal from Paul "Jimmy's brother" Willis a mere consolation.
But it wasn't really about the game, it was more about what happened on the terraces. Hundreds of Darlo fans had made the trip, and there were quite a few tears (I was 13, but many older and tougher looking men were crying as well). The last 30 minutes or so were filled with chants of "we love you darlo, we do" and "we'll support you ever more", and after the team had gone back to the dressing room, the fans didn't leave instead ludicrously singing "bring out the champions" until the team returned, shirts were thrown into the crowd, only the security fence stopped a full on pitch invasion and lovefest.
The fans showed their wisdom as well, with chants of "Brian must stay" referring to our new manager Brian Little. Fortunately the chairman listened, as he was kept on and led Darlington to 2 successive championships and promotions before leaving for a bigger club. But that was all in the future, all that remained at the time was a gloomy car ride home and the sinking realisation of what I'd let myself in for.
February 1990, Runcorn 2-1 Darlington
Darlo's season in the Vauxhall Conference was on the whole a very enjoyable one, with a lot of really good away games, but there were a few where the downside of the "non-league" thing really hit me. There was Northwich, who with the help of an allegedly fixed referee, kicked the crap out of us, ending one player's career and badly injuring our goalie, on the way to a 1-0 win, also Barrow on new years day where torrential rain inspired Darlo fans to donate heavily towards the "new roof fund".
The worst game/ground/town from that year though would have to be Runcorn. Now it's quite possible that Runcorn is actually a delightful town (I'd be a lot of money that it isn't, but I guess it's possible)but when Darlo played there it was a cold wet Tuesday night in February, we arrived in darkness and though maybe it's my memory playing tricks on me, it seemed like the ground was at the bottom of a hill, overlooked by some industrial/chemical factory, very picturesque. It was absolutely freezing that night, the kind of night where you buy a cup of scaldingly hot Bovril just to keep your hands warm. The game was one of the worst we played that seaon, giving very little excitement to keep the fans warm on the "terrace" which was little more than a grass bank, ending in a 2-1 defeat and a thoroughly miserable ride home. I still shudder just at the mention of the word Runcorn.
May 1996 Plymouth 1-0 Darlington.
This really shouldn't be in here at all, a) it wasn't technically an away game, it was a neutral venue and b) that neutral venure was Wembley stadium for the division 3 playoff final, but anyway, here it is.
The 1995-96 season was a very good one for Darlington, featuring future stars who'd come up from the youth team like Sean Gregan and Robbie Blake, and going into the last game of the season, they knew a win would give them automatic promotion. That last game was Scunthorpe away, and as is always the case with Scunthorpe away, it went wrong, a 3-3 draw meaning they fell into the playoffs for the remaining promotion spot. They beat Hereford in the semi final and so were on their way to the final and their first ever Wembley appearance.
Problem is, this came 2 months after I moved to Toronto. With financial help from my parents, I hurriedly made the ridiculously last minute and complicated travel arrangements and eventually embarked, an overnight Toronto to Manchester flight got me to England on the Friday morning, followed by the trip down to London on Saturday morning. After the game, a tube ride to the bus station, then a bus to Dover, ferry to Calais, bus to Paris and a taxi to the airport for the flight home, arriving late Sunday morning.
That's where things got interesting, I'd made it all this way without noticing that the flight home was actually booked for Monday, not Sunday as I swear to this day the travel agent told me. So now I was stuck in a very small terminal with barely any money, and a bag full of galaxy bars I'd bought for one of my roommates. I decided to rely on the galaxy bars for sustenance so spent the last of my money on a magazine to stave off boredom, and it was a nice day so I went to lie on a grass bank outside the terminal, where I soon fell asleep in the sun.
Next thing I know I'm woken up by airport security with guns lazily pointing in my direction, interrogating me in french and letting me know they'd prefer it if I went back inside to wait, which I did. I then had a very dull day, and a terrible nights sleep on a very uncomfortable bench, before the 10 hour flight back to Toronto.
The game, oh yeah, we lost 1-0.
October 2009, New York 5-0 Toronto.
My first and to date only TFC away game and the last game of the season, what could be better than a weekend in New York, combined with seeing the boys make history by clinching the team's first ever playoff spot.
The weekend in New York was great, and the timing worked out nicely for us to be able to see Leonard Cohen at Madison Square Garden, then saturday came around, and the game. Torrential rain meant I was drenched just from the 5 minute walk from the bus stop into the stadium, as well as leaving puddles all over the plastic pitch. The beer options were Bud and Bud Light., but oh well, we were playing the worst team in the league, what could go wrong.
Two minutes in, and New York scored on their first shot. Looking at the highlights again, and I'm surprised by how well TFC played and how many chances they got over the next 30 minutes or so, (right until Chad Barrett went off with an injury, I'm telling you, MVP) but we didn't score, then they did on their 2nd shot, and it was 2-0 at half time. Any modicum of hope was snuffed out with a 3rd goal after 62 minutes, at which the point the hunderds of TFC fans there turned quite surly, and basically an injury time penalty that made it 5-0 and officially TFC's worst ever defeat was just the icing on the cake. Post game recriminations included talk of bad apples in the dressing room and the coach quitting, but GM Mo Johnston staying and eventually hiring Preki as the new coach. Things could only get better from there right?
December 2009/January 2010, Winter 4-0 Duncan
My previous trips home have all been timed to coincide with either the end or the beginning of the football season to be able to fit in a couple of games, but this was my first trip back home for Christmas. Darlington were clearly going to be relegated back to non-league status, and going completely out of business wasn't out of the question, so I really wanted to see one last game, in a way a passing of the torch to TFC being considered my main team. After living in Toronto, I tend to snort with derision at the thought of a bad winter in England, so it didn't even occur to me that there might be a problem seeing a game, especially with the traditional busy schedule of games.
4 possible games I could have gone to. 4 postponements. Burn. The ironic part of it is that Darlington's fancy white elephant of a stadium actually has undersoil heating, they just can't afford to run it.
So there they are, I was going to end this with some sort of warning that TFC fans should be very afraid that my presence at the next 2 away games would guarantee defeats and maybe end up costing us the playoffs, but, erm, yeah, no need to worry about that any more is there!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Canada vs China. September 30.
Canada's Womens team is playing against China at BMO field this thursday. Tickets are fairly cheap and available here, and hey, it's probably the closest you'll get to seeing any kind of successful team any time soon at BMO.
Even if you're not going to go, watch the video, it's fun.
Even if you're not going to go, watch the video, it's fun.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Ladies and gentlemen, Rita Macneil!
So after a 1-1 tie with Real Salt Lake, combined with a win for Cruz Azul, we're officially out of the champions league, along with being all but mathematically eliminated from the MLS playoffs.
It wasn't actually a bad game today, Jacob Peterson continued his improvement under Dasovic by actually scoring a really nice goal, and the boos the players received were harsh, though understandable if taken as a comment on the season as a whole.
The crowd, 10, 581, is a good indication of the disillusionment the fans feel right now, I'm not sure where the demand is that Tom Anselmi think's he's supplying.
Once again, a big fuck you to Preki for his line-up and tactics for the away game against Arabe Unido, that's what really killed us in this tournament.
Not much else to say really, cue the fat lady, we're done, bring on the new regime and the next rebuild.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Less Stevie G, more Stevie Y please.
Towards the end of another failed season for TFC, and with all the soap opera worthy dysfunction still sadly raging away, the blame game has begun in earnest. Mo and Preki were the first casualties, and when discussing what other moves need to be made, pretty much everybody at some point has been mentioned by somebody as part of the problem and needing to go.
For the longest time I never thought I'd be saying Dwayne De Rosario was potentially a problem, but it started occuring to me after watching the two Canada games in early September. The first game against Peru, I thought Canada really didn't play well, but De Rosario was the best of a bad bunch. In the second game though, after he'd been released to play for TFC, Canada played with different players, a different formation and looked like a much better team. But still, I couldn't really bring myself to follow through on that line of thinking, after all, though his play can certainly be selfish at times he's by far TFC's leading scorer, and the main counter argument? The 4 MLS championships he won with San Jose/Houston clearly show he's not a team killer.
So, even after the Preki firing, though I wasn't happy that management had apparently made him part of an untouchable clique that contributed to Preki's demise, I mainly read the debates about his future with interest rather than piling on the criticism. However his goal celebration yesterday, to me a disgracefully timed gesture from the captain of a side fighting for it's playoff life and post match comments, reinforced the notion of De Rosario as a selfish player who may actually be hurting the team.
Within those debates, someone compared De Rosario to Steven Gerrard of Liverpool and England, and to me it's a perfect comparison. It was certainly intended as a compliment, and in many very positive ways, there's a correlation between the two of them. Gerrard is a very talented player, captain of his hometown team, and with a very clear will to win. He has had moments of absolute brilliance where he's put the team on his back and won games all by himself, often very important games, for example, the 2005 Champions league final, and the 2006 F.A cup final. He is arguably the best player at Liverpool, and immensely valuable on and off the pitch. He has (by the standards Liverpool demand) a less than stellar supporting cast and is very worthy of the argument "can you imagine where we'd be without him?" All of these things could equally be said of De Rosario, and yet there's counter arguments that also apply.
Though Gerrard has been instrumental in the triumphs Liverpool have had in the 10 years or so since he became a regular, have Liverpool as a team met the expectations of everyone at the club during that time? Given their history and stature, I'm sure no-one would have been satisfied if told their championship drought would continue throughout Gerrard's time at Liverpool, or that Manchester United would pull level with their record number of first division/Premier league titles. While they are still a team to be reckoned with on any given day, and have had some great cup runs, when it comes to any club's bread and butter, the league, they have only finished in the top 2 twice during Gerrard's career, and last year fell as far as 7th.
Similarly, while TFC's Voyageur cup wins and this years Concacaf Champions league run have been fun, qualification for the playoffs is what most fans yearn for, and that isn't going to happen for the second consecutive year of the De Rosario era.
As well, Gerrard has had contract negotiations with Liverpool dragged out in the press which have almost led him to leave the club until he got the "respect" he believed was his due, leading to his Stevie G nickname being subverted to $tevie Me. De Rosario certainly seems to be going down this path now and who knows where that will end in his case. The "Me Ro" tag surely can't be too far away.
While it would be churlish to suggest Liverpool's struggles are Gerrard's fault, people have suggested that it is Liverpool's reliance on him, and accomodation of his wholehearted, often brilliant, but at times selfish play and lack of tactical discipline that have stopped Liverpool growing into a team that could win the league. His struggles to combine well with Frank Lampard in England's midfield are also well documented and considered a big factor in the repeated failures of England's so called golden generation.
Similar criticisms have been voiced against De Rosario, though they are more easily muted with the fact that as part of a well put together team in San Jose/Houston, he was a very significant part of their success. It may well be that De Rosario is just the right player at the wrong time, and he certainly seems to be the wrong choice for the captain to lead the team through the current chaotic situation.
When he was made captain, the club and the line-up were in utter chaos, and with many senior players from the previous season gone, De Rosario was now clearly The Man, and as such had a chance to really put his stamp on this team, with many young players or players new to TFC ready to follow his example.
Though it would be an incredibly difficult task that probably very few players could do, the example I'd have liked to see him attempt to live up to is not Stevie G, but Stevie Y.
Steve Yzerman was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 1983 and made captain in 1986, and was one of the most talented players of his era, sparking a revival of hockey in Detroit, and bringing respectability back to the team after the "Dead Wings" era. Captain, star player, and undeniably The Man, he WAS hockey in Detroit. Though the Red Wings were now a much better team, playoff success eluded them, until Yzerman and coach Scotty Bowman sat down for a conversation. Pierre LeBrun details the chat and the aftermath of that in the middle of this lookback on Yzerman's career as he was about to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Now, I have no idea if Preki ever had any similar coversation with De Rosario, or how hard he tried to help implement the new, more defensive system Preki brought in, but his comments after Preki's firing don't suggest he was an enthusisatic disciple. His play througout the season was the same old De Ro, often trying to do too much himself (I'd certainly never accuse him of not caring or not trying), drifitng out of position, shooting from distance, not really using his teamamtes, what I think of as De Ro DIY mode. Here and there it can be very successful, winning TFC points out of games where the team played poorly, but does anyone think the team as a whole has made the necessary strides under his leadership to the consistent perfomances needed to regularly challenge for even a playoff spot?
This is De Rosario's first season as captain, so it would be too harsh to write him off completely, it's quite possible that with a new GM and coach coming in, who are hopefully better at the ego wrangling necessary with professional athletes, he could become an inspirational leader and take the team to some long overdue league success.
His actions on Saturday though, bringing a personal compensation issue out in to the public, at a crucial moment of a must win game, suggests he's got a long way to go. Those 18 letters between G and Y look like a very very big gap.
For the longest time I never thought I'd be saying Dwayne De Rosario was potentially a problem, but it started occuring to me after watching the two Canada games in early September. The first game against Peru, I thought Canada really didn't play well, but De Rosario was the best of a bad bunch. In the second game though, after he'd been released to play for TFC, Canada played with different players, a different formation and looked like a much better team. But still, I couldn't really bring myself to follow through on that line of thinking, after all, though his play can certainly be selfish at times he's by far TFC's leading scorer, and the main counter argument? The 4 MLS championships he won with San Jose/Houston clearly show he's not a team killer.
So, even after the Preki firing, though I wasn't happy that management had apparently made him part of an untouchable clique that contributed to Preki's demise, I mainly read the debates about his future with interest rather than piling on the criticism. However his goal celebration yesterday, to me a disgracefully timed gesture from the captain of a side fighting for it's playoff life and post match comments, reinforced the notion of De Rosario as a selfish player who may actually be hurting the team.
Within those debates, someone compared De Rosario to Steven Gerrard of Liverpool and England, and to me it's a perfect comparison. It was certainly intended as a compliment, and in many very positive ways, there's a correlation between the two of them. Gerrard is a very talented player, captain of his hometown team, and with a very clear will to win. He has had moments of absolute brilliance where he's put the team on his back and won games all by himself, often very important games, for example, the 2005 Champions league final, and the 2006 F.A cup final. He is arguably the best player at Liverpool, and immensely valuable on and off the pitch. He has (by the standards Liverpool demand) a less than stellar supporting cast and is very worthy of the argument "can you imagine where we'd be without him?" All of these things could equally be said of De Rosario, and yet there's counter arguments that also apply.
Though Gerrard has been instrumental in the triumphs Liverpool have had in the 10 years or so since he became a regular, have Liverpool as a team met the expectations of everyone at the club during that time? Given their history and stature, I'm sure no-one would have been satisfied if told their championship drought would continue throughout Gerrard's time at Liverpool, or that Manchester United would pull level with their record number of first division/Premier league titles. While they are still a team to be reckoned with on any given day, and have had some great cup runs, when it comes to any club's bread and butter, the league, they have only finished in the top 2 twice during Gerrard's career, and last year fell as far as 7th.
Similarly, while TFC's Voyageur cup wins and this years Concacaf Champions league run have been fun, qualification for the playoffs is what most fans yearn for, and that isn't going to happen for the second consecutive year of the De Rosario era.
As well, Gerrard has had contract negotiations with Liverpool dragged out in the press which have almost led him to leave the club until he got the "respect" he believed was his due, leading to his Stevie G nickname being subverted to $tevie Me. De Rosario certainly seems to be going down this path now and who knows where that will end in his case. The "Me Ro" tag surely can't be too far away.
While it would be churlish to suggest Liverpool's struggles are Gerrard's fault, people have suggested that it is Liverpool's reliance on him, and accomodation of his wholehearted, often brilliant, but at times selfish play and lack of tactical discipline that have stopped Liverpool growing into a team that could win the league. His struggles to combine well with Frank Lampard in England's midfield are also well documented and considered a big factor in the repeated failures of England's so called golden generation.
Similar criticisms have been voiced against De Rosario, though they are more easily muted with the fact that as part of a well put together team in San Jose/Houston, he was a very significant part of their success. It may well be that De Rosario is just the right player at the wrong time, and he certainly seems to be the wrong choice for the captain to lead the team through the current chaotic situation.
When he was made captain, the club and the line-up were in utter chaos, and with many senior players from the previous season gone, De Rosario was now clearly The Man, and as such had a chance to really put his stamp on this team, with many young players or players new to TFC ready to follow his example.
Though it would be an incredibly difficult task that probably very few players could do, the example I'd have liked to see him attempt to live up to is not Stevie G, but Stevie Y.
Steve Yzerman was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in 1983 and made captain in 1986, and was one of the most talented players of his era, sparking a revival of hockey in Detroit, and bringing respectability back to the team after the "Dead Wings" era. Captain, star player, and undeniably The Man, he WAS hockey in Detroit. Though the Red Wings were now a much better team, playoff success eluded them, until Yzerman and coach Scotty Bowman sat down for a conversation. Pierre LeBrun details the chat and the aftermath of that in the middle of this lookback on Yzerman's career as he was about to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
"I (Bowman) called Steve in and I said, 'You have a lot of good individual stats, but if you don't play a lot more defense, then the rest of the guys will probably keep playing the way they are.'"
Yzerman bought in instantly. After all, the team had been stunned in first-round upsets to Toronto (1993) and San Jose (1994).With Yzerman, the captain, the star player, The Man, buying into the team first idea, his teammates had no choice but to fall in line, resulting in the Red Wing dynasty that has spanned 15 years now. His influence can still be felt even after his retirement with the play of current stars Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, as unselfish a combination of star players as can be found in the league. When his number was raised to the rafters in Detroit, a "C" was added to the banner to signify that he was forever "The Captain".
"At that time, I still felt we were a Stanley Cup contender and all I wanted to do was win," said Yzerman. "That was the time for me to show that I really meant that. So I was quite comfortable doing it and relished the opportunity, really."
Yzerman, who posted six consecutive 100-plus-point seasons from 1987-88 to 1992-93, would never surpass the 100-point plateau again in his career.
"You saw Steve, who was one of the premier offensive players in the game, accept sacrificing some offense, accept the fact that his name wouldn't be in the leading scorers, in order to be a shot-blocker, a guy that could win draws, be a good defensive forward, chipping the puck off the boards when that's the right play," said (Wings GM Ken)Holland. "His desire to accept that and commit is the reason we went from being a great offensive team and a real disappointing playoff team into being the Detroit Red Wings that won championships.
"When Steve made that sacrifice and that commitment to go from a great offensive player into being a great two-way player, that really set the standard for who we are today."
Now, I have no idea if Preki ever had any similar coversation with De Rosario, or how hard he tried to help implement the new, more defensive system Preki brought in, but his comments after Preki's firing don't suggest he was an enthusisatic disciple. His play througout the season was the same old De Ro, often trying to do too much himself (I'd certainly never accuse him of not caring or not trying), drifitng out of position, shooting from distance, not really using his teamamtes, what I think of as De Ro DIY mode. Here and there it can be very successful, winning TFC points out of games where the team played poorly, but does anyone think the team as a whole has made the necessary strides under his leadership to the consistent perfomances needed to regularly challenge for even a playoff spot?
This is De Rosario's first season as captain, so it would be too harsh to write him off completely, it's quite possible that with a new GM and coach coming in, who are hopefully better at the ego wrangling necessary with professional athletes, he could become an inspirational leader and take the team to some long overdue league success.
His actions on Saturday though, bringing a personal compensation issue out in to the public, at a crucial moment of a must win game, suggests he's got a long way to go. Those 18 letters between G and Y look like a very very big gap.
Beautiful friend, the end.
Alright, well at least we can relax now, and just concentrate on the Concacaf Champions League instead. The brief hope we got after De Rosario's 2 free kicks saved a crappy performance and got us 3 points against Houston is now gone, after another home defeat, this time against San Jose.
There's a lot of different things running through my head, so this post is going to be a collection of individual thoughts that when put together may come together to be more then the sum of their parts, or may be a bit of a disjointed mess, I'm not really sure. So kind of like TFC then.
This game really shows that Preki the coach wasn't really all that bad, things certainly haven't improved since he left. It also shows that Mo the GM and Preki the co-GM really have left behind a squad that just isn't good enough.
What's going on with Mista? Dasovic is trying to play a more attacking style, he's theoretically our most talented forward and he's left on the bench, after not playing at all in the last two games? If Preki had made that choice he'd be getting all sorts of questions about why he can't get along with the talented players.
After Mista came on in the second half, and towards the end when we were desperate and basically playing 6 upfront, why was Mista one of the few left back to defend. I get that we had the tall defenders forward for the desperation long balls, but wasn't Mista supposed to be a targetman with a bit of skill? Surely ideal for that purpose.
Jacob Peterson actually looked like a winger again. Not a really good one, but he got in a few crosses and played quite wide, he definitely seems improved under Dasovic. Having said that, in my opinion, after the season he's had and the thin ice he must already be on, that awful late miss put the definitive stamp on his flight out of town at the end of the season.
The north end elite did a good job with their silent protest and simple dollar signs banners. Tom Anselmi and Paul Beirne were a lot less conspicuous than usual in that corner of the stadium.
Chad Barrett was probably our best player out there, he was all over the place, in a good way, getting on the end of long balls, and creating chances, really showed what we missed while he was injured.
De Rosario? Didn't have a great game, but clearly gave it his all in his own way out there, and scored a great goal. His "celebration" miming writing a cheque as a way of protesting that he feels underpaid was a bit crass and horribly timed though, given that he's the captain and we're 2-1 down in a crucial game. Does he deserve more money? He's got a very valid argument, and with the club looking to avoid negative publicity at season ticket renewal time, it's probably a very good time to be making that argument, but in the middle of the game? Awful.
So now we need to win our last 4 games. What are our chances? The body language of our two best players at the final whistle will tell you all you need to know about that.
There's a lot of different things running through my head, so this post is going to be a collection of individual thoughts that when put together may come together to be more then the sum of their parts, or may be a bit of a disjointed mess, I'm not really sure. So kind of like TFC then.
This game really shows that Preki the coach wasn't really all that bad, things certainly haven't improved since he left. It also shows that Mo the GM and Preki the co-GM really have left behind a squad that just isn't good enough.
What's going on with Mista? Dasovic is trying to play a more attacking style, he's theoretically our most talented forward and he's left on the bench, after not playing at all in the last two games? If Preki had made that choice he'd be getting all sorts of questions about why he can't get along with the talented players.
After Mista came on in the second half, and towards the end when we were desperate and basically playing 6 upfront, why was Mista one of the few left back to defend. I get that we had the tall defenders forward for the desperation long balls, but wasn't Mista supposed to be a targetman with a bit of skill? Surely ideal for that purpose.
Jacob Peterson actually looked like a winger again. Not a really good one, but he got in a few crosses and played quite wide, he definitely seems improved under Dasovic. Having said that, in my opinion, after the season he's had and the thin ice he must already be on, that awful late miss put the definitive stamp on his flight out of town at the end of the season.
The north end elite did a good job with their silent protest and simple dollar signs banners. Tom Anselmi and Paul Beirne were a lot less conspicuous than usual in that corner of the stadium.
Chad Barrett was probably our best player out there, he was all over the place, in a good way, getting on the end of long balls, and creating chances, really showed what we missed while he was injured.
De Rosario? Didn't have a great game, but clearly gave it his all in his own way out there, and scored a great goal. His "celebration" miming writing a cheque as a way of protesting that he feels underpaid was a bit crass and horribly timed though, given that he's the captain and we're 2-1 down in a crucial game. Does he deserve more money? He's got a very valid argument, and with the club looking to avoid negative publicity at season ticket renewal time, it's probably a very good time to be making that argument, but in the middle of the game? Awful.
So now we need to win our last 4 games. What are our chances? The body language of our two best players at the final whistle will tell you all you need to know about that.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
It was 20 years ago today. September.
Part 2 of my look back at Darlington's 1990-91 season, click here for August.
After two goalless games in August, Darlo's first home league game was against Burnley, who brought a lot of fans with them and finally things clicked, a 3-1 win quelling dissent at the outrageous ticket price increase to 4 whole pounds. Full backs McJannet and Gray got goals as did Gary Gill, with what I remember as a fantastic volley over the keeper's head from outside the box.
This was followed by a trip to Blackpool for the return leg of the league cup, my first away game of the season, a rare Tuesday afternoon game due to Blackpool's floodlights not working. A John Borthwick goal gave us the 1-1 draw and we advanced on away goals.
A 2-2 draw at Wallsall was followed by another good home win, 3-0 over Halifax, McJannett (winning goal of the week on "The Back page") and Gill once again, with David Cork chipping in his first of the season as well, and Darlo were up to 4th.
Draws at home to York and away to Wrexham followed before we took on Swindon in the league cup 2nd round. Swindon had won promotion to the first division the year before, only to have it taken away due tfinancial irregularities, but this was still a very big game, and I remember in the car ride home hearing Radio 5 describe it as the shock of the round when we won 3-0. A Frank Gray penalty and two goals from David Cork had surely put the result in doubt before the second leg, though the main thing I remember about the game is Swindon's Dave Bennett, a member of Coventry's 1987 FA cup winning squad having his leg broken in a fairly ugly tackle.
A 1-0 win at Doncaster's crappy ground in front of an impressive turn out of away fans ended the month on a high note, with some fans even musing about a second successive promotion.
Any Darlo fans here, feel free to fill in the blanks in my memory with further details in the comment section. Cheers
Coming soon: October, another trip to Blackpool, and the return leg at Swindon.
After two goalless games in August, Darlo's first home league game was against Burnley, who brought a lot of fans with them and finally things clicked, a 3-1 win quelling dissent at the outrageous ticket price increase to 4 whole pounds. Full backs McJannet and Gray got goals as did Gary Gill, with what I remember as a fantastic volley over the keeper's head from outside the box.
This was followed by a trip to Blackpool for the return leg of the league cup, my first away game of the season, a rare Tuesday afternoon game due to Blackpool's floodlights not working. A John Borthwick goal gave us the 1-1 draw and we advanced on away goals.
A 2-2 draw at Wallsall was followed by another good home win, 3-0 over Halifax, McJannett (winning goal of the week on "The Back page") and Gill once again, with David Cork chipping in his first of the season as well, and Darlo were up to 4th.
Draws at home to York and away to Wrexham followed before we took on Swindon in the league cup 2nd round. Swindon had won promotion to the first division the year before, only to have it taken away due tfinancial irregularities, but this was still a very big game, and I remember in the car ride home hearing Radio 5 describe it as the shock of the round when we won 3-0. A Frank Gray penalty and two goals from David Cork had surely put the result in doubt before the second leg, though the main thing I remember about the game is Swindon's Dave Bennett, a member of Coventry's 1987 FA cup winning squad having his leg broken in a fairly ugly tackle.
A 1-0 win at Doncaster's crappy ground in front of an impressive turn out of away fans ended the month on a high note, with some fans even musing about a second successive promotion.
Any Darlo fans here, feel free to fill in the blanks in my memory with further details in the comment section. Cheers
Coming soon: October, another trip to Blackpool, and the return leg at Swindon.
Moments that make it worth it.
Over in England, it was a big week in the Carling cup, with lots of satisfying results, with two that stand out in particular. League two team Northampton Town beating Liverpool on wednesday was fantastic in it's own right, but combined with Brentford beating Everton on penalties, then it was really a bad week on Merseyside. This isn't about rubbing it in there though, it's about celebrating the victory for the small club.
This is well worth checking out for a Brentford fan's persepctive.
This is well worth checking out for a Brentford fan's persepctive.
Now…Jagielka comes forward for Everton. If he doesn’t score we’ve done it. If he doesn’t score we’ve beaten Everton. It seems like a long run up. He hits the ball. It’s going the same side as Beckford’s. It hits the post.And a good write up of the game from a Northampton fan
There’s a fraction of second. Then all hell breaks loose.
We’ve done it.
There’s a pitch invasion.
All those bad times – and there’s too many to list here – gone in an instant. All the ‘who are Brentford?’ conversations that drive you insane when talking football to your average armchair Premiership fan and all the irritation and frustration that comes of being a lower division football supporter in a land ruled by Premiership football…gone in an instant.
There are handshakes, hugs and grins. There’s a dash to the pub. Then there’s the grinning trip home on the tube and the bus knowing that people must think you are insane. You can’t help it. For a Brentford supporter these kinds of nights are pretty rare so I’m going to enjoy it while it lasts.
There is nothing like watching your team, whatever level at which they play, win a game completely unexpectedly, and in such dramatic fashion. This is the beauty of lower league football, that the possibility of nights such as this even exists at all, and that it wonderfully, magisterially comes to pass once in a generation, or even in a lifetime. You can keep your Premier League.Love it.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Now it's gone, gone, gone...
My blog sub-heading gives away my general experience as a supporter, a masochistic tolerance of misery and struggle, a recognition that it's not always going to be good times, there's going to be bad seasons and more bad seasons, but you keep going because they're your team and it's just the right thing to do, and it'll make the good times all the sweeter when they eventually come. The good times will come right? right?
While the constraints of small town economics, or well meaning managerial incompetence can be excused, it sure would be nice to think that the chairman/owners/evil soul-sucking corporate overlords appreciated that loyalty, and would not only not take advantage of it, but would actually go out of their way to encourage that sort of feeling.
When TFC started playing in 2007, it seemed they were going out of their way to create that dynamic, reaching out to football supporters in the city, setting up cheap supporters section tickets, and actively seeking their input to help create the atmosphere that made TFC a surprise success at the box office if not on the field. Supporters were having fun and felt appreciated, the club could use the energy they created to maintain interest among the more casual fans in the higher priced seats. Win-win
Fast forward 4 years, and the loving feeling is gone, replaced among those supporters with at best a weary cynicism and at worst an outright contempt of the front office, who unveiled another increase in season ticket prices, with the highest increase in the cheaper supporter sections seats, all while using images of those supporters to sell the TFC experience.
For me, it's not too bad, my tickets are still affordable, and I still feel it's worth it, there's more games involved in the package this year and the MLS cup ticket is definitely an upgrade over the Carlsberg cup friendly game that's been forced on ticket holders in the past.
But after a 4th consecutive year of sub-standard play, and another increase, a lot of people are angry, and even people who've been there right from the start are contemplating dropping their tickets, or downgrading to cheaper seats. Now say what you will about MLSE, but one thing they are not is bad at business, so presumably they think they've got the pricing balance right, and it may well be that these most passionate fans will eventually swallow their outrage and once again pay out for their tickets.
The problem is, in my opinion, anger and grudging renewal among the committed will translate to apathy and non-renewal among the more casual fans. Let's hope I'm wrong and they're right as there are way too many examples in Toronto sports both past and present of how hard it is to win back fans once they've given up.
The always excellent The Yorkies blog sums it up very nicely here.
A surprisingly good thing dropped in the lap of MLSE, and they did do a lot to get that going, including stumping up the franchise fee to bring the club into existence when no-one else was able or willing. Unfortunately since then, rather than nurture the relationship with the supporters, they've chosen to exploit it for higher short term profits. Hopefully they wake up before it's to late.
While the constraints of small town economics, or well meaning managerial incompetence can be excused, it sure would be nice to think that the chairman/owners/evil soul-sucking corporate overlords appreciated that loyalty, and would not only not take advantage of it, but would actually go out of their way to encourage that sort of feeling.
When TFC started playing in 2007, it seemed they were going out of their way to create that dynamic, reaching out to football supporters in the city, setting up cheap supporters section tickets, and actively seeking their input to help create the atmosphere that made TFC a surprise success at the box office if not on the field. Supporters were having fun and felt appreciated, the club could use the energy they created to maintain interest among the more casual fans in the higher priced seats. Win-win
Fast forward 4 years, and the loving feeling is gone, replaced among those supporters with at best a weary cynicism and at worst an outright contempt of the front office, who unveiled another increase in season ticket prices, with the highest increase in the cheaper supporter sections seats, all while using images of those supporters to sell the TFC experience.
For me, it's not too bad, my tickets are still affordable, and I still feel it's worth it, there's more games involved in the package this year and the MLS cup ticket is definitely an upgrade over the Carlsberg cup friendly game that's been forced on ticket holders in the past.
But after a 4th consecutive year of sub-standard play, and another increase, a lot of people are angry, and even people who've been there right from the start are contemplating dropping their tickets, or downgrading to cheaper seats. Now say what you will about MLSE, but one thing they are not is bad at business, so presumably they think they've got the pricing balance right, and it may well be that these most passionate fans will eventually swallow their outrage and once again pay out for their tickets.
The problem is, in my opinion, anger and grudging renewal among the committed will translate to apathy and non-renewal among the more casual fans. Let's hope I'm wrong and they're right as there are way too many examples in Toronto sports both past and present of how hard it is to win back fans once they've given up.
The always excellent The Yorkies blog sums it up very nicely here.
Sadly, ML$E has Reds' supporters over the proverbial barrel. The fine balance between loving your club and being taken for a chump by a corporation with zero desire for winning on the field is a painful choice. You can never fault TFC's fans for giving it their all at BMO Field and on the road with The Reds but eventually backs will break and fans will stay home. Another lacklustre year...and yet another ticket increase, may just fatally injure this young club. The sad thing is, the Toronto-hoser media will say... "professional soccer just can't work in Toronto". Remember, we were there when it did - before greed showed up.
A surprisingly good thing dropped in the lap of MLSE, and they did do a lot to get that going, including stumping up the franchise fee to bring the club into existence when no-one else was able or willing. Unfortunately since then, rather than nurture the relationship with the supporters, they've chosen to exploit it for higher short term profits. Hopefully they wake up before it's to late.
How did that happen?
TFC went to mexico on Tuesday night to face Cruz Azul, and pretty much everyone agreed they were on a hiding to nothing. A tough place to play, against a team that's currently tearing up the Mexican league and with a point to prove after embarrasingly losing in Toronto. It seemed with the line-up he put out Coach Nick Dasovic thought the same as well, many starters rested, Garcia and Hscanovics as the full backs, and a truly craptacular Obie/Ibbe forward line that was never ever going to score.
Injuries to Joseph Nane and Martin Saric within the first half hour burned two subs that would surely have been needed later on to deal with altitude and ball chasing related cramps and exhaustion. I haven't seen a possession stat, but I'd be surprised if TFC had 25%. They were outshot badly, with only 1 shot on target that I can remember, and that from about 60 yards away.
And yet, it didn't all go wrong, they put in an excellent defensive performance, limiting Cruz Azul to terrible shots from distance and putting crosses into the box that Adrian Cann and Ty Harden dealt with admirably, and they got a 0-0 draw that keeps their qualification hopes alive, and is only the third time an MLS team has got a point in a CCL game in Mexico.
An ugly game, but definitely one to be proud of, and I must say, given how badly the season as a whole has gone, there's actually been quite a few of those this year. Combined with some absolute horror shows, and the soap opera off the pitch, it's certainly been interesting.
Injuries to Joseph Nane and Martin Saric within the first half hour burned two subs that would surely have been needed later on to deal with altitude and ball chasing related cramps and exhaustion. I haven't seen a possession stat, but I'd be surprised if TFC had 25%. They were outshot badly, with only 1 shot on target that I can remember, and that from about 60 yards away.
And yet, it didn't all go wrong, they put in an excellent defensive performance, limiting Cruz Azul to terrible shots from distance and putting crosses into the box that Adrian Cann and Ty Harden dealt with admirably, and they got a 0-0 draw that keeps their qualification hopes alive, and is only the third time an MLS team has got a point in a CCL game in Mexico.
An ugly game, but definitely one to be proud of, and I must say, given how badly the season as a whole has gone, there's actually been quite a few of those this year. Combined with some absolute horror shows, and the soap opera off the pitch, it's certainly been interesting.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Chad Barrett MVP. Seriously.
If you've read some of my other posts, especially this one you'll know I feel Preki was fired very harshly, and that we were doing ok until injuries hit, especially to Chad Barrett. After seeing us win in his first game starting since he got injured, my curiosity was further piqued, so I decided to check out the stats for this season (and they say bloggers don't do research, ha!).
Here's TFC's record in games which Chad Barrett started, in all competitions, excluding the useless Bolton friendly. Won 9, Lost 4, Tied 5. In games he didn't start? 3-8-5.
Add in his substitute appearances and the trend is even more pronounced, 11-6-7 when he plays at least part of the game, and 1-6-3 when he doesn't.
So translate that into 3 points for a win, and TFC with Barrett has 40 points in 24 games, which would be a 50 point season, which even the most ardent Preki-hater would have to accept as a bloody good one.
Without Barrett, 6 points in 10 games, or 18 points over 30 games.
Now I'm not about to suggest Barrett is as talented a player as Dwayne De Rosario, or that this sort of results would translate to another side, or a new style of play under Nick Dasovic, but it seems pretty clear that he was the crucial part of the team that made TFC under Preki work. As well as his vastly improved goal scoring record, his impact is a very important indirect one, causing problems for the defence that allows others like De Rosario more room to do their own thing. It's no co-incidence that the goals also dried up for De Ro, and everyone else, when O'Brien White was the main striker for the defence to contend with.
Best player? No. Most valuable? Absolutely.
Here's TFC's record in games which Chad Barrett started, in all competitions, excluding the useless Bolton friendly. Won 9, Lost 4, Tied 5. In games he didn't start? 3-8-5.
Add in his substitute appearances and the trend is even more pronounced, 11-6-7 when he plays at least part of the game, and 1-6-3 when he doesn't.
So translate that into 3 points for a win, and TFC with Barrett has 40 points in 24 games, which would be a 50 point season, which even the most ardent Preki-hater would have to accept as a bloody good one.
Without Barrett, 6 points in 10 games, or 18 points over 30 games.
Now I'm not about to suggest Barrett is as talented a player as Dwayne De Rosario, or that this sort of results would translate to another side, or a new style of play under Nick Dasovic, but it seems pretty clear that he was the crucial part of the team that made TFC under Preki work. As well as his vastly improved goal scoring record, his impact is a very important indirect one, causing problems for the defence that allows others like De Rosario more room to do their own thing. It's no co-incidence that the goals also dried up for De Ro, and everyone else, when O'Brien White was the main striker for the defence to contend with.
Best player? No. Most valuable? Absolutely.
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