One good thing to come out of the whole sorry Dwayne De Rosario at Celtic affair is that it helped the club move away from what would have been a depressingly underwhelming decision. According to Canadian Soccer News, up until yesterday, the club were ready to go with Paul Mariner as coach/manager, with Earl Cochrane kept in place above him in a more administrative/president of soccer type role. But now, there's a new name that is suddenly being considered, so the process is once again on hold, with a decision expected "by mid-January at the latest".
Now maybe it is actually the case that a new option has suddenly become available, and it's just a coincidence that the decision was changed after the De Ro fiasco, but the source quoted did say it suspected it was a reason for them to be looking elsewhere, though they still expected Cochrane to get the GM job when all is said and done.
My own impression is that TFC were hoping to quietly announce it while people weren't paying attention, or were hoping that supporters anger had dissipated after a relatively quiet period so would have been more ready to accept this lacklustre appointment from within. But now supporters are back in angry mode, so management have gone back to the "big name to appease the supporters" plan, or are at least pretending to until the furore dies down in a couple of weeks.
Though nothing surprises me with TFC, and though over the last few months I've shifted from laughing at suggestions Cochrane would end up with the job, to actually worrying that he might, to feeling resigned to the fact that he'd get it, I still can't really believe that it's going to happen.
Let's once again remind ourselves of what was promised to all TFC fans in an email sent out after October's townhall meetings and posted on their website.
With change comes the opportunity to make important decisions about our future. We're working hard to assemble a management team that is second to none in Major League Soccer. We are looking for leadership that will establish the vision for this team and create a winning culture so that Toronto FC will consistently compete for a championship.
Second to none. Is there anyone out there that thinks Earl Cochrane is second to none among MLS executives? Is anyone impressed with his handling of the De Ro situation, allowing things to get to this stage, then being less than forthcoming with the media about what had actually happened?
Paul Mariner isn't a terrible option, given the limiting fact that TFC is probably the most dysfunctional club in what is still a minor league. He has MLS experience from his time as an assistant at New England, and though his first head coaching job at Plymouth Argyle led to relegation from the Championship, that was a very poisoned chalice due to problems at Plymouth at the time, so it would be very harsh to judge him on that. But again, second to none. Is there anyone out there who'd rather have Mariner than Bruce Arena, or Sigi Schmid or other successful coaches currently in MLS?
The other big question is what happened to Jürgen Klinsmann. Given all his experience and contacts in Europe, is Earl Cochrane really the best option he and SoccerSolutions could come up with? Really? The "second to none" guy was under our noses the whole time? I really hope he's earned his consulting money elsewhere, perhaps with recommendations about the academy, because that is thoroughly disappointing.
Of course I should wait until it's official before getting too depressed about it, and who knows, maybe Earl Cochrane and Paul Mariner would do an excellent job. I'll freely admit I would have been unimpressed with the coaching resumes of Jason kreis and Gary Smith before they won the last 2 MLS cups, so whoever is appointed should get some time to prove themselves. However TFC is skating on some very thin ice, and a Cochrane/Mariner combo would make it thinner.
If given a big name and sold a grand vision, supporters would be more forgiving of any early struggles while a foundation for future success was laid. But with an unspectacular appointment, the results would need to come fast to avoid disappointment. I'm sure MLSE doesn't really care too much what bloggers or the supporter's forums say, but anger and protests among the committed would translate to apathy among the casual, and that's what they need to be afraid of. There were a lot of empty seats throughout last year, if that trend continues, well there are plenty of sports teams who can tell them how hard it is to get Toronto fans to come back once they've gone.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Oh captain my captain.
Well, I guess I can't complain any more that nothing's happening at TFC. The last few days have seen the unthinkable happen and the club sink to new lows of confusion, half-truths and embarrassment.
It started with harmless enough rumours of captain and star player Dwayne de Rosario going to Celtic on trial, with a view to a loan until the MLS season started, or until the end of the Scottish season, with De Ro joining TFC again mid season. This was firmly denied by Interim Gm Earl Cochrane, seemingly putting the story to bed, until the next day when photos of De Ro training with Celtic surfaced, leading to a long day of accusations and carefully worded clarifications as to who knew what and whether De Ro actually had the necessary approval and paperwork to be going on trial, before it became clear that no, he never did have that paperwork which is now being worked on. And oh yeah, De Ro certainly did his bit for tourism in Scarborough.
So what exactly was De Ro thinking? Theoretical approval of him being able to go on trial is one thing, and something he apparently did have, but this sort of thing requires official paperwork, and surely that's a very tangible thing that you either have or you don't. It may be that he thought his agent had sorted that out, and he's as embarrassed as anyone, though we don't know as he hasn't spoken publicly about it all yet, but surely he must have known. If so, it can only be seen as a very aggressive move to put some pressure on TFC to resolve his contract situation, pay him or trade him if you will, and I can't help but think that a trade would be his preferred choice.
I personally believe that when he did the cheque signing goal celebration back in September that he thought TFC supporters would be on his side and would pressure management to give him what he wanted, which was to stay with the Reds but with a higher salary. He was initially very vocal and unrepentant, only apologising a few day later after public opinion had criticised the move as selfish and poorly timed. Surely he must know how this sudden appearance with Celtic, without TFC's explicit permission would look to supporters. He must know that they wouldn't react with approval and that rather than bolster his case, their disdain would actually make it easier for management to deny him a raise. If not, a quick glance at the supporter forums over the last couple of day would have confirmed that.
No, to me this seems like a trade request, burning his bridges by going so publicly behind the clubs back. Hopefully for him, the trial with Celtic will go well and a deal with TFC can be arranged. If not, well then things could get very interesting, I really can't see a way he'd be happy to come back to Toronto without getting the pay raise to Designated Player status that he feels he deserves and that TFC seems reluctant to give him. Even if he does come back, I can't see any way at all that he can keep the captaincy, after embarrassing management and having his representatives come out and accuse the club of lying.
It's a remarkable achievement to be able to take all the goodwill and support that TFC fans had given him when he arrived less than two years ago, excited to have one of the best Canadian players on their team, add over 30 goals in two seasons, and still turn it into a situation where most people feel it's for the best that he should move on. Who knows how his repeated complaints about his salary have affected his standing in the dressing room, but this really brings to mind Nick Garcia's recent comments about a lack of leadership being one of the problems that has held TFC back.
As for how TFC come out of this, well that's not good either. Though it can be argued that they are the hapless victims in this situation, and that it was De Ro who caused the whole mess, that would be overlooking the very large part they've played in how things reached this point. The possibility of De Ro training with Celtic was brought to their attention about a month ago and appparently they just did nothing with that. The other option is that TFC did give their permission and are now lying about it, or MLS gave permission on their behalf, wouldn't Celtic check into that sort of thing before letting any player join them in training?
Anyway, a fully stafffed and competent front office could have done a couple of things, either just flat out denied permission to avoid potential for injury to their star player, or, recognising this as a good move that could help De Ro be a better player, and provide good publicity for the team and for the league, as well as help mend the strained relationship with De Ro, they could have actively helped the process, making sure the paperwork was completed and ready to go. If they really don't want to give De Ro his raise, this could have been seen to be a good opportunity to shop him around and get a transfer fee or player in return and move on.
But instead they gave their approval and left it at that, which sadly, is in no way out of character for them. Since before he even signed his initial contract with TFC, De Ro's been unhappy and felt he should have got more. After the September cheque signing incident, Tom Anselmi publicly said that De Ro's contract would be one of the things looked at by the new permanent manager, and this is where TFC's culpability really comes in to play.
Now it's been suggested that it's fine for TFC to have waited this long (over 100 days now since Mo Johnston was fired), that finding the right man was most important, and that there's nothing that couldn't be handled by the interim team in the meantime. Maybe that's right, after all, the release of last year's dead wood was a straight forward process with few causes for argument, and the re-entry draft really didn't offer that much for rebuilding purposes.
But this one pre-existing issue has always loomed large over proceedings. Would TFC keep De Ro happy by giving him the pay raise to DP status, but thus reduce their options for bringing in other players, or would they deny him that, and instead actively seek out trade opportunities? Well for now they won't do either of those, as even when trying to talk himself up Earl Cochrane admits that he "doesn't think making those decisions in a vacuum is the best thing to do.”
So for over 3 months now since his very public pushing of his agenda, De Ro has been left twisting in the wind, with no answer as to his future with TFC, so though you may not like the way he's done things, can anyone blame him for wanting to explore opportunites elsewhere?
It's sad that it has come to this, it could and should have worked so well, a bona fide MLS star coming to play for his hometown team should be win-win. De Ro could have been adored by the fans, cashed in on the endorsements, and retired with the team before moving into his post football career with a mountain of local goodwill behind him. Toronto could have built around De Ro, and become a stable successful club, establishing themselves as Canada's team, before Vancouver and Montreal got a chance to take that mantle. Instead it ends with this latest shambolic episode in MLSE's "how not to run a successful football club" handbook.
If it's sad, it's also unsurprising, even when at a successful and well run club at San Jose/Houston De Ro still caused his share of dramas with public complaints about his pay. Her obviously has an ego and pride to match his unquestioned talent and goalscoring ability, and doesn't seem the type to tolerate what he sees as disrespect. TFC, well, whether intentionally or not, and I genuinely believe most of the time it's not intentional, disrespecting people seems to be what they do best, causing frustration to even the most professional of players. The list of players and coaches who have left the club under a cloud, some publicly complaining, others not, is a long one. Those tendencies, thrown together with De Ro's character into the power vacuum that currently exists was in retrospect always a recipe for disaster.
It started with harmless enough rumours of captain and star player Dwayne de Rosario going to Celtic on trial, with a view to a loan until the MLS season started, or until the end of the Scottish season, with De Ro joining TFC again mid season. This was firmly denied by Interim Gm Earl Cochrane, seemingly putting the story to bed, until the next day when photos of De Ro training with Celtic surfaced, leading to a long day of accusations and carefully worded clarifications as to who knew what and whether De Ro actually had the necessary approval and paperwork to be going on trial, before it became clear that no, he never did have that paperwork which is now being worked on. And oh yeah, De Ro certainly did his bit for tourism in Scarborough.
So what exactly was De Ro thinking? Theoretical approval of him being able to go on trial is one thing, and something he apparently did have, but this sort of thing requires official paperwork, and surely that's a very tangible thing that you either have or you don't. It may be that he thought his agent had sorted that out, and he's as embarrassed as anyone, though we don't know as he hasn't spoken publicly about it all yet, but surely he must have known. If so, it can only be seen as a very aggressive move to put some pressure on TFC to resolve his contract situation, pay him or trade him if you will, and I can't help but think that a trade would be his preferred choice.
I personally believe that when he did the cheque signing goal celebration back in September that he thought TFC supporters would be on his side and would pressure management to give him what he wanted, which was to stay with the Reds but with a higher salary. He was initially very vocal and unrepentant, only apologising a few day later after public opinion had criticised the move as selfish and poorly timed. Surely he must know how this sudden appearance with Celtic, without TFC's explicit permission would look to supporters. He must know that they wouldn't react with approval and that rather than bolster his case, their disdain would actually make it easier for management to deny him a raise. If not, a quick glance at the supporter forums over the last couple of day would have confirmed that.
No, to me this seems like a trade request, burning his bridges by going so publicly behind the clubs back. Hopefully for him, the trial with Celtic will go well and a deal with TFC can be arranged. If not, well then things could get very interesting, I really can't see a way he'd be happy to come back to Toronto without getting the pay raise to Designated Player status that he feels he deserves and that TFC seems reluctant to give him. Even if he does come back, I can't see any way at all that he can keep the captaincy, after embarrassing management and having his representatives come out and accuse the club of lying.
It's a remarkable achievement to be able to take all the goodwill and support that TFC fans had given him when he arrived less than two years ago, excited to have one of the best Canadian players on their team, add over 30 goals in two seasons, and still turn it into a situation where most people feel it's for the best that he should move on. Who knows how his repeated complaints about his salary have affected his standing in the dressing room, but this really brings to mind Nick Garcia's recent comments about a lack of leadership being one of the problems that has held TFC back.
As for how TFC come out of this, well that's not good either. Though it can be argued that they are the hapless victims in this situation, and that it was De Ro who caused the whole mess, that would be overlooking the very large part they've played in how things reached this point. The possibility of De Ro training with Celtic was brought to their attention about a month ago and appparently they just did nothing with that. The other option is that TFC did give their permission and are now lying about it, or MLS gave permission on their behalf, wouldn't Celtic check into that sort of thing before letting any player join them in training?
Anyway, a fully stafffed and competent front office could have done a couple of things, either just flat out denied permission to avoid potential for injury to their star player, or, recognising this as a good move that could help De Ro be a better player, and provide good publicity for the team and for the league, as well as help mend the strained relationship with De Ro, they could have actively helped the process, making sure the paperwork was completed and ready to go. If they really don't want to give De Ro his raise, this could have been seen to be a good opportunity to shop him around and get a transfer fee or player in return and move on.
But instead they gave their approval and left it at that, which sadly, is in no way out of character for them. Since before he even signed his initial contract with TFC, De Ro's been unhappy and felt he should have got more. After the September cheque signing incident, Tom Anselmi publicly said that De Ro's contract would be one of the things looked at by the new permanent manager, and this is where TFC's culpability really comes in to play.
Now it's been suggested that it's fine for TFC to have waited this long (over 100 days now since Mo Johnston was fired), that finding the right man was most important, and that there's nothing that couldn't be handled by the interim team in the meantime. Maybe that's right, after all, the release of last year's dead wood was a straight forward process with few causes for argument, and the re-entry draft really didn't offer that much for rebuilding purposes.
But this one pre-existing issue has always loomed large over proceedings. Would TFC keep De Ro happy by giving him the pay raise to DP status, but thus reduce their options for bringing in other players, or would they deny him that, and instead actively seek out trade opportunities? Well for now they won't do either of those, as even when trying to talk himself up Earl Cochrane admits that he "doesn't think making those decisions in a vacuum is the best thing to do.”
So for over 3 months now since his very public pushing of his agenda, De Ro has been left twisting in the wind, with no answer as to his future with TFC, so though you may not like the way he's done things, can anyone blame him for wanting to explore opportunites elsewhere?
It's sad that it has come to this, it could and should have worked so well, a bona fide MLS star coming to play for his hometown team should be win-win. De Ro could have been adored by the fans, cashed in on the endorsements, and retired with the team before moving into his post football career with a mountain of local goodwill behind him. Toronto could have built around De Ro, and become a stable successful club, establishing themselves as Canada's team, before Vancouver and Montreal got a chance to take that mantle. Instead it ends with this latest shambolic episode in MLSE's "how not to run a successful football club" handbook.
If it's sad, it's also unsurprising, even when at a successful and well run club at San Jose/Houston De Ro still caused his share of dramas with public complaints about his pay. Her obviously has an ego and pride to match his unquestioned talent and goalscoring ability, and doesn't seem the type to tolerate what he sees as disrespect. TFC, well, whether intentionally or not, and I genuinely believe most of the time it's not intentional, disrespecting people seems to be what they do best, causing frustration to even the most professional of players. The list of players and coaches who have left the club under a cloud, some publicly complaining, others not, is a long one. Those tendencies, thrown together with De Ro's character into the power vacuum that currently exists was in retrospect always a recipe for disaster.
Friday, December 24, 2010
So, no coach by christmas then.
"So this is christmas, and what have you done?" Well, that's a good question John Lennon, and as far as TFC's concerned, the answer is depressingly little. Jürgen Klinsmann's talk of appointing a coach by Christmas is clearly not going to happen, so the milestones will keep on coming. It's now been:
- 101 days since Mo and Preki were fired, with Earl Cochrane and Nick Dasovic's "interim" reigns started.
- 94 days since 2011 season ticket renewal emails were sent out, with all the price increases and extra games that fans would surely lap up.
- 87 days since we lost against San Jose and it became clear the firings weren't going to motivate a run for the playoffs. That game also saw De Ro's cheque signing gesture, anything happened with his contract negotiation yet? Didn't think so.
- 84 days since we were knocked out of the Concacaf Champions League, a crowd of 10,581 for a huge game in the only competition we still had a chance in exposed Tom Anselmi's bullish "supply and demand" talk as laughable.
- 72 days since the "royal screw up" was admitted to and the apologies and townhall meetings started.
- 69 days since the supporter protests reached their apex at the last home game of the season.
- 63 days since a further apology email was sent out with news of the free home opener and a price freeze for 2012, as well as a promise that We're working hard to assemble a management team that is second to none in Major League Soccer. We are looking for leadership that will establish the vision for this team and create a winning culture so that Toronto FC will consistently compete for a championship.
- 62 days since the 2010 regular season ended.
- 51 days since Jürgen Klinsmann and SoccerSolutions were officially announced as helping out, fully 50 days after the Mo/Preki firing.
- 41 days since Klinsmann attended a press conference to explain his role, only another 10 days gone by, what's the hurry.
And then....nothing. The odd rumour floating about, the Sportsnet interview when the "new coach by Christmas" line was thrown out, an occasional tweeted tease from Paul Beirne about managerial candidates, and that's it. Though Tom Anselmi does basically tell us "It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid" in this article
In the meantime, many players have been released, the expansion draft and re-entry draft have come and gone, all under the control of Earl Cochrane, and all we've got to show for it is Nathan Sturgis for a first round pick, and a third round pick for Nane Joseph.
The appointments of this "second to none" management team are crucial for the long term future of Toronto FC, and maybe the fact it's taking so long is a good sign, but it just seems like the club is drifting along and my optimism that it will work out well is diminishing by the day. When should supporters hope to have appointments made? In time for the NCAA Superdraft? In time for the pre season trip to Turkey to check out European based triallists? I'd like to think we'd have someone in place soon in order to be able to have a full and settled squad for the start of the season for once, but that's looking less and less likely.
"So here it is merry Christmas, everybody's having fun. Look to the future now, it's only just begun" Wise and unavoidable (in Britain at least) Christmas words from Noddy Holder and Slade. I wish I could look to the future Noddy, I wish I could, but 101 days and counting and it still hasn't bloody begun yet.
- 101 days since Mo and Preki were fired, with Earl Cochrane and Nick Dasovic's "interim" reigns started.
- 94 days since 2011 season ticket renewal emails were sent out, with all the price increases and extra games that fans would surely lap up.
- 87 days since we lost against San Jose and it became clear the firings weren't going to motivate a run for the playoffs. That game also saw De Ro's cheque signing gesture, anything happened with his contract negotiation yet? Didn't think so.
- 84 days since we were knocked out of the Concacaf Champions League, a crowd of 10,581 for a huge game in the only competition we still had a chance in exposed Tom Anselmi's bullish "supply and demand" talk as laughable.
- 72 days since the "royal screw up" was admitted to and the apologies and townhall meetings started.
- 69 days since the supporter protests reached their apex at the last home game of the season.
- 63 days since a further apology email was sent out with news of the free home opener and a price freeze for 2012, as well as a promise that We're working hard to assemble a management team that is second to none in Major League Soccer. We are looking for leadership that will establish the vision for this team and create a winning culture so that Toronto FC will consistently compete for a championship.
- 62 days since the 2010 regular season ended.
- 51 days since Jürgen Klinsmann and SoccerSolutions were officially announced as helping out, fully 50 days after the Mo/Preki firing.
- 41 days since Klinsmann attended a press conference to explain his role, only another 10 days gone by, what's the hurry.
And then....nothing. The odd rumour floating about, the Sportsnet interview when the "new coach by Christmas" line was thrown out, an occasional tweeted tease from Paul Beirne about managerial candidates, and that's it. Though Tom Anselmi does basically tell us "It's Christmas time, there's no need to be afraid" in this article
In the meantime, many players have been released, the expansion draft and re-entry draft have come and gone, all under the control of Earl Cochrane, and all we've got to show for it is Nathan Sturgis for a first round pick, and a third round pick for Nane Joseph.
The appointments of this "second to none" management team are crucial for the long term future of Toronto FC, and maybe the fact it's taking so long is a good sign, but it just seems like the club is drifting along and my optimism that it will work out well is diminishing by the day. When should supporters hope to have appointments made? In time for the NCAA Superdraft? In time for the pre season trip to Turkey to check out European based triallists? I'd like to think we'd have someone in place soon in order to be able to have a full and settled squad for the start of the season for once, but that's looking less and less likely.
"So here it is merry Christmas, everybody's having fun. Look to the future now, it's only just begun" Wise and unavoidable (in Britain at least) Christmas words from Noddy Holder and Slade. I wish I could look to the future Noddy, I wish I could, but 101 days and counting and it still hasn't bloody begun yet.
Monday, December 20, 2010
All we are saaaaaaay-iing...
Things have been quiet recently with, aside from Canada's women racking up yet another tournament win, and Sepp Blatter switching from trying to get MLS to conform to a winter schedule to openly musing about switching the World Cup to conform to the MLS schedule, not much really going on. The snow and cold has brought football to a standstill in England, and there's only so many times you can despair about nothing happening with TFC's GM/Coach search before you give up and/or readers start rebelling in the comments section.
There were a couple of interesting tidbits over the last few days, firstly Earl Cochrane saying “I absolutely have the ability to make decisions, but I do not think making those decisions in a vacuum is the best thing to do.” which to me is an encouraging sign that there's going to be someone else coming in to be the guy who makes the big calls. Also Nick Garcia musing about the problems with TFC last year "I think it boils down to communication. There were not enough veteran guys on the field guiding and leading the team." as well as embracing his inner grumpy old man, complaining about the young players being too into Twitter and text messaging.
But that was about it, so it was a welcome relief today when the minor news of the 2011 season First Kick games was annnounced, with Toronto opening their season on March 19th at Vancouver, before having their home opener on March 26th against Portland.
I'm not a huge fan of either of those games. The Whitecaps game, it could be a great roadtrip for TFC fans, and a great opportunity to show off their traveling support, but it seems like a bit of a waste for Vancouver. The home opener, their first ever game in MLS was always going to be a big event with plenty of media coverage across Canada, and now they're going to have to partially share that attention with Toronto. It would have made much more sense to have them play a different team and then have the first all Canadian MLS game as another high profile game later on. As for the Portland game, March 26th? At BMO Field? That's going to be cold, and potentially snowy, I guess MLSE is really going to make the season ticket holders work for their free home opener announced back in October.
The other obvious angle to this is that we start off with 2 games against the expansion clubs, which should be a gentle start and at least 4 points, but could be a very embarrassing banana skin if TFC once again goes into the season under prepared and without a full squad. Hopefully this will serve as added motivation to speed up the new management search, the latest rumours mentioned Paul Mariner, former assistant to Steve Nicol at new England, and coming off a failed coaching job in a very tough situation at Plymouth Argyle, which is a bit underwhelming and quite the step down from other names mentioned like Roberto Donadoni, Franco Baresi and Carlos Quieroz.
Jürgen Klinsmann previously mentioned a new coach may be in place by Christmas, which is coming up very quickly. While that's not really that important of a milestone, let's hope at least someone is in place by the time the January transfer window comes around. I'm happy that Earl has done plenty of work and has some people lined up, and equally happy that he's going to wait for the final decisions, trades/signings etc to be made, but with a very under-manned roster right now, I'd rather not wait too long. All we are saying? Give us a coach!
There were a couple of interesting tidbits over the last few days, firstly Earl Cochrane saying “I absolutely have the ability to make decisions, but I do not think making those decisions in a vacuum is the best thing to do.” which to me is an encouraging sign that there's going to be someone else coming in to be the guy who makes the big calls. Also Nick Garcia musing about the problems with TFC last year "I think it boils down to communication. There were not enough veteran guys on the field guiding and leading the team." as well as embracing his inner grumpy old man, complaining about the young players being too into Twitter and text messaging.
But that was about it, so it was a welcome relief today when the minor news of the 2011 season First Kick games was annnounced, with Toronto opening their season on March 19th at Vancouver, before having their home opener on March 26th against Portland.
I'm not a huge fan of either of those games. The Whitecaps game, it could be a great roadtrip for TFC fans, and a great opportunity to show off their traveling support, but it seems like a bit of a waste for Vancouver. The home opener, their first ever game in MLS was always going to be a big event with plenty of media coverage across Canada, and now they're going to have to partially share that attention with Toronto. It would have made much more sense to have them play a different team and then have the first all Canadian MLS game as another high profile game later on. As for the Portland game, March 26th? At BMO Field? That's going to be cold, and potentially snowy, I guess MLSE is really going to make the season ticket holders work for their free home opener announced back in October.
The other obvious angle to this is that we start off with 2 games against the expansion clubs, which should be a gentle start and at least 4 points, but could be a very embarrassing banana skin if TFC once again goes into the season under prepared and without a full squad. Hopefully this will serve as added motivation to speed up the new management search, the latest rumours mentioned Paul Mariner, former assistant to Steve Nicol at new England, and coming off a failed coaching job in a very tough situation at Plymouth Argyle, which is a bit underwhelming and quite the step down from other names mentioned like Roberto Donadoni, Franco Baresi and Carlos Quieroz.
Jürgen Klinsmann previously mentioned a new coach may be in place by Christmas, which is coming up very quickly. While that's not really that important of a milestone, let's hope at least someone is in place by the time the January transfer window comes around. I'm happy that Earl has done plenty of work and has some people lined up, and equally happy that he's going to wait for the final decisions, trades/signings etc to be made, but with a very under-manned roster right now, I'd rather not wait too long. All we are saying? Give us a coach!
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Another trophy? Yawn!
Today saw Canada's Women's team play against Brazil in the final of the 4 team Torneio Internacional Cidade de São Paulo in Brazil. Despite coming off a long unbeaten streak, without conceding any goals in 8 games over this tournament and the Concacaf World Cup Qualifying tournament which they won in November, Canada were definitely underdogs against the 3rd ranked team in the world. They'd played earlier in the tournament, with Canada being outplayed but earning a 0-0 draw, but results in the other games, against the Netherlands and Mexico meant Canada topped the group, so only needed a draw to clinch the trophy.
A goal from Josée Bélanger gave Canada the lead just before half time, before Brazilian superstar Marta equalised. A very harsh handball decision gave Brazil a penalty, as well as seeing Marie-Eve Nault sent off, by no means the only refereeing decision that went against Canada, and Marta scored again to give Brazil the 2-1 lead. Down to 10 players and 2-1 down against Brazil in Brazil, with less than 20 minutes left, things were looking bleak, but enter Captain, and recently crowned Canadian player of the year, Christine Sinclair, who scored a fantastic goal, curling the ball from outside the box into the far top corner of the goal.
Canada's 10 women survived a nervy finish to clinch the tie and the trophy, their third of a remarkably successful year, that gives real hope leading up to next year's World Cup in Germany. Extended game highlights are available here, Sinclair's goal is at 6:50, or on it's won and from a better angle here and the Canadian medals/trophy celebrations start at about 12:00 in.
Congratulations to all of the players, and head Coach Carolina Morace, who has really turned the team around since taking over in Febuary 2009.
A goal from Josée Bélanger gave Canada the lead just before half time, before Brazilian superstar Marta equalised. A very harsh handball decision gave Brazil a penalty, as well as seeing Marie-Eve Nault sent off, by no means the only refereeing decision that went against Canada, and Marta scored again to give Brazil the 2-1 lead. Down to 10 players and 2-1 down against Brazil in Brazil, with less than 20 minutes left, things were looking bleak, but enter Captain, and recently crowned Canadian player of the year, Christine Sinclair, who scored a fantastic goal, curling the ball from outside the box into the far top corner of the goal.
Canada's 10 women survived a nervy finish to clinch the tie and the trophy, their third of a remarkably successful year, that gives real hope leading up to next year's World Cup in Germany. Extended game highlights are available here, Sinclair's goal is at 6:50, or on it's won and from a better angle here and the Canadian medals/trophy celebrations start at about 12:00 in.
Congratulations to all of the players, and head Coach Carolina Morace, who has really turned the team around since taking over in Febuary 2009.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Another Interim-Job.
The second round of the re-entry draft sees a lot of players still available, but without the heavy contracts that their original clubs declined, so there are a lot of decisions to be made and different tactics to consider. First of all is deciding which players could be useful for TFC next year, or could be used as trade bait. Do they try and get Nick Garcia back, at a lower salary to fill out a defensive spot on the bench, or do they go for one of the other experienced defenders available such as Jimmy Conrad or Frankie Hejduk? Do they take a risk on a relatively big salary for someone like Juan Pablo Angel, or do they save the salary cap space for other players currently outside of MLS? Do they use a DP spot, or do they have to be saving those for Dwayne de Rosario or some other potential star player? Then there's when to pick them, do they use the 6th overall pick, or hope the player is still available in the 2nd round, or even trade other assets to move up or down in the draft? After that comes the negotiating of a new salary, though hopefully preliminary work has already been done here with regards to what sort of numbers players would be looking for, and whether they'd even be interested in playing for Toronto. A further wrinkle to be taken into account is that "should no agreement be reached and an offer is made, the club will hold on to the player's rights in MLS". So even if we don't end up signing a player, is it worth picking someone to hold on to their rights for a potential trade in the future?
There are many different things to be considering and 17 other management teams to be competing against/co-operating with/trying to take advantage of, so forgive me if I'd rather have someone more experienced and a little less interimmy in charge. Without the benfit of hindsight, it's difficult to predict how Cochrane will do, but with yet another expansion draftee being traded today, Jordan Graye from Portland to Houston for a 4th round superdraft pick in 2014, his giving up of a 2011 first round pick for Sturgis doesn't speak highly of his negotiating skills.
In a Sportsnet interview on Saturday, as well as being amusingly dismissive of the way MLS is set up (some pros and a lot of cons) Jürgen klinsmann mentioned how he and whoever else is involved in the search hope to have a head coach in place before Christmas. That suggests an announcement should be coming soon, but no mention was made of a GM, or some kind of Director of Soccer who'd be in charge of the overall implementation of Klinsmann's ideas. To me, that suggests we're likely to only get one new man in, a more traditional football type of manager, in charge of player acquisition as well as the coaching, rather than the North American GM and Coach model, which depending on who it is may or may not be a good thing. Klinsmann also mentioned the need for people who know MLS inside out to assist a potential coach brought in from Europe or South America, and that's the part that worries me.
Given MLSE's oft-repeated committment to developing North American coaches and executives, and how "they wanted to start investing in Jim Brennan and turn him into a soccer pro, they've been investing in Nick, investing in Earl, creating a team of people that can grow together and build on the expertise that exists.", I don't expect much more than a reshuffling and re-titling of the currrent interim and assistant management team. You know, the one that has less than a year's actual management experience between them (Three months as interim GM for Cochrane, and just over 8 months now for Brennan as assistant GM). It also sounds unlikely that there'll be anyone above this new hire, someone not as involved in the day to day running of the club, but always available to act as a sounding board and assist in keeping the club on track with whatever philosophy Klinsmann has decided we are to have, and to be another footballing brain between Anselmi and the shareholders and the day to day team, though maybe that's where Cochrane will end up.
Whether the new coach comes with a track record of success in MLS and is looking for a new challenge and a big payday, someone like Dominic Kinnear or Steve Nicol, or is someone being brought in from elsewhere, let's hope he's good and able to hit the ground running, as I don't think he's going to have a lot of good help. Once again, I'm hoping I'll be proved wrong, and maybe in the longer term I will be, but Wednesday's draft will be another opportunity for the new guy to build his team that has passed before he even gets here. Instead, we'll get another interim-job, and after three months, that's really not good enough.
Thursday, December 9, 2010
It was 20 years ago today. December
Part 5 of my look back at Darlington's 1990/91 season, click the links for August, September, October and November. Be sure also to read the comments as there's a lot of good extra stuff there that I hadn't remembered.
With Mission Impossible advertising a pantomime "Goldilocks and the Three Mares, featuring Frank Gray, John Borthwick, and Paul Emson", which I think was very harsh on Gray, Darlington started the month at fellow promotion contenders Stockport County. Injuries to Les McJannett, Gray and David Corner meant a makeshift defence including Gary Coatsworth, who scored our goal, as well as Steve Mardenborough and Paul Emson, with player/physio Drew Coverdale on the wing, all of which led to an inauspicious 3-1 defeat described in Mission Impossible as a performance of 88/89 standards.
Having been knocked out of the FA cup, already, Darlo got a week off before playing the 2nd group game of the Leyland DAF trophy, at home against Grimsby Town. This game, played in front of just 1,106 people on a Tuesday night should be memorable for Andy Toman scoring a hat trick, or for the return to first team action of defender Jimmy Willis, or maybe for featuring probably the oldest, slowest, fattest striking partnership in our history, Davids Cork and Geddis. Instead the main talking point and memory is that Grimsby had 2 players sent off, for fighting each other! After receiving their red cards, one player chased the other down the tunnel, leading to rumours of one player sleeping with another's partner, if only the internet existed back then. The 3-1 win meant we advanced form our group along with York City to the next round
The following saturday saw us play again at home, against Torquay in what was one of the matches of the season. Torquay had been the early pace setter in the league, and were still doing well so this had a real top of the table feel to it, and The Quakers came out very much on top with a 3-0 win. The goals came from Coverdale, Toman and John Borthwick, but the star of the show was Lee Ellison, putting in his best first-team performance and giving a brief glimpse of the form that he would display for a fantastic 2 month spell the following season before slipping back to mediocrity before we even had a chance to cash in on him.
This was followed by another home game the next week against Chesterfield and Gary Gill scored to give us the 1-0 win, and with returns from injury for McJannnett and Gray, we now had the back 5 that would see us through the rest of the season, McJanett at RB, Gray at LB, Kevan Smith and Willis at CB and Mick Tait as sweeper.
Our Boxing day game was called off but not before the team and some fans had made the trip all the way down to Aldershot. Insult was added to injury when on the way home, Steve Mardenborough, getting dropped off at the Watford gap services, fell out of the bus. Mardenborough was quoted in an article from the South Wales Echo, reprinted in Mission Impossible saying "I just fell out of it from quite a height. All the lads were laughing and so was my wife. I dared not turn around and look at the bus."
The month ended with a trip to Scarborough, in the rain with no umbrellas allowed, and a first minute goal from Drew Coverdale was followed by other missed chances, and then a poor second half which saw us just hang on to a 1-1 draw, Scarborough scoring from a penalty. This game saw a first appearance of the year, on the bench, for perma-crocked striker Phil Linacre, which wasn't good news for David Cork, who missed a very good chance when through with just the goalie to beat, leading to the following joke in Mission impossible, Why was the Cork sad? Because he lost his bottle! Boom-boom.
As always please feel free to add your own memories in the comments section to fill in the gaps. Cheers.
Coming up, January: Top o' the league Ma! and Tom Fitzharris!
With Mission Impossible advertising a pantomime "Goldilocks and the Three Mares, featuring Frank Gray, John Borthwick, and Paul Emson", which I think was very harsh on Gray, Darlington started the month at fellow promotion contenders Stockport County. Injuries to Les McJannett, Gray and David Corner meant a makeshift defence including Gary Coatsworth, who scored our goal, as well as Steve Mardenborough and Paul Emson, with player/physio Drew Coverdale on the wing, all of which led to an inauspicious 3-1 defeat described in Mission Impossible as a performance of 88/89 standards.
Having been knocked out of the FA cup, already, Darlo got a week off before playing the 2nd group game of the Leyland DAF trophy, at home against Grimsby Town. This game, played in front of just 1,106 people on a Tuesday night should be memorable for Andy Toman scoring a hat trick, or for the return to first team action of defender Jimmy Willis, or maybe for featuring probably the oldest, slowest, fattest striking partnership in our history, Davids Cork and Geddis. Instead the main talking point and memory is that Grimsby had 2 players sent off, for fighting each other! After receiving their red cards, one player chased the other down the tunnel, leading to rumours of one player sleeping with another's partner, if only the internet existed back then. The 3-1 win meant we advanced form our group along with York City to the next round
The following saturday saw us play again at home, against Torquay in what was one of the matches of the season. Torquay had been the early pace setter in the league, and were still doing well so this had a real top of the table feel to it, and The Quakers came out very much on top with a 3-0 win. The goals came from Coverdale, Toman and John Borthwick, but the star of the show was Lee Ellison, putting in his best first-team performance and giving a brief glimpse of the form that he would display for a fantastic 2 month spell the following season before slipping back to mediocrity before we even had a chance to cash in on him.
This was followed by another home game the next week against Chesterfield and Gary Gill scored to give us the 1-0 win, and with returns from injury for McJannnett and Gray, we now had the back 5 that would see us through the rest of the season, McJanett at RB, Gray at LB, Kevan Smith and Willis at CB and Mick Tait as sweeper.
Our Boxing day game was called off but not before the team and some fans had made the trip all the way down to Aldershot. Insult was added to injury when on the way home, Steve Mardenborough, getting dropped off at the Watford gap services, fell out of the bus. Mardenborough was quoted in an article from the South Wales Echo, reprinted in Mission Impossible saying "I just fell out of it from quite a height. All the lads were laughing and so was my wife. I dared not turn around and look at the bus."
The month ended with a trip to Scarborough, in the rain with no umbrellas allowed, and a first minute goal from Drew Coverdale was followed by other missed chances, and then a poor second half which saw us just hang on to a 1-1 draw, Scarborough scoring from a penalty. This game saw a first appearance of the year, on the bench, for perma-crocked striker Phil Linacre, which wasn't good news for David Cork, who missed a very good chance when through with just the goalie to beat, leading to the following joke in Mission impossible, Why was the Cork sad? Because he lost his bottle! Boom-boom.
As always please feel free to add your own memories in the comments section to fill in the gaps. Cheers.
Coming up, January: Top o' the league Ma! and Tom Fitzharris!
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
All I want for Christmas is a full time GM.
So here we are, almost 3 months since the firing of Mo Johnston and Preki, and over a month since über-consultant Jürgen Klinsmann was announced, and after a lot of cuts by Earl Cochrane, we've reached another of the off-season milestone's that can prove helpful in restocking the roster, the re-entry draft.
For the full details of how the two stages work click here, but basically this Wednesday allows team to choose from these players, agreeing to pay the option on their contract, or for those players with no option, making what's known as a bona fide offer, ie something similar to what they're currently earning, which the player can choose to accept or not. Anyone not drafted at all moves on to the second stage next week, where players and clubs can negotiate for whatever price they want. Even if an agreement isn't reached, the club would still have the MLS rights to that drafted player in the future.
Toronto FC's Nick Garcia isn't one of these players by mistake, it's full of players like him, decent players who have earned their contracts in previous years, but whose skills have diminished to the point where they're not worth the salary cap hit those contracts promise them. Most of them could be useful players at a lower cost, so I imagine Wednesday will be quiet and next weeks second stage will see most of the action. However there are players out there who could make a difference for a team that's looking to rebuild, and has a lot of recently created cap space.
So what might TFC, who pick 6th overall do? Juan Pablo Angel, whose option would call for a designated player spot is the biggest name available, and along with Guillermo Barros Schelotto would provide the biggest offensive spark, if only short term for a club that desperately needs it. I really can't see Schelotto happening, but Angel is an intriguing prospect, still a very good goalscorer, but no longer worthy of being a designated player, especially if Dwayne De Rosario gets the upgrade he wants and takes up our 2nd of 3 DP slots. Defensively, the biggest names are Jimmy Conrad, Frankie Hejduk and Gino Padula, though all are getting on in years and very unlikely to go in the first round. A more affordable option would be the signing of Dema Kovalenko, a defensive midfielder who could provide some depth in midfield and allow Nathan Sturgis to be shuffled back to occupy one of the problem full back spots.
All those decisions to be made Wednesday could give a good indication of just how interim Earl Cochrane really is. If there is a higher profile, more experienced GM on the way, then more than likely TFC will pass on the higher contracts on offer tomorrow and wait until next week, thus maintaining the salary cap space and DP slots for the new guy to fill as he wishes on players from outside the league. If he goes out and makes a splash, picking up Angel as a solution to our striking woes, or one of the other higher priced players, then it's very likely that the powers that be will have decided that of all the names suggested to them or headhunted for them by Klinsmann and SoccerSolutions, they think the Cochrane and Jimmy Brennan combo is the best way to go. I really want to believe that that's not the case so I'm hoping for a quiet day from TFC, but the more time goes by, the more imminent the removal of the interim tag seems. It would be nice if the situation gets resolved soon so all the other decisions involved in building the squad, from De Ro's contract to potential new signings can be made with the assurance that it's all part of a longer term plan. Ticken Tocken Jürgen, Ticken Tocken.
EDIT: This really isn't worth it's own post, but TFC didn't pick anyone up, and only 2 players were picked up all round. Next Wednesday should be a bit more active.
For the full details of how the two stages work click here, but basically this Wednesday allows team to choose from these players, agreeing to pay the option on their contract, or for those players with no option, making what's known as a bona fide offer, ie something similar to what they're currently earning, which the player can choose to accept or not. Anyone not drafted at all moves on to the second stage next week, where players and clubs can negotiate for whatever price they want. Even if an agreement isn't reached, the club would still have the MLS rights to that drafted player in the future.
Toronto FC's Nick Garcia isn't one of these players by mistake, it's full of players like him, decent players who have earned their contracts in previous years, but whose skills have diminished to the point where they're not worth the salary cap hit those contracts promise them. Most of them could be useful players at a lower cost, so I imagine Wednesday will be quiet and next weeks second stage will see most of the action. However there are players out there who could make a difference for a team that's looking to rebuild, and has a lot of recently created cap space.
So what might TFC, who pick 6th overall do? Juan Pablo Angel, whose option would call for a designated player spot is the biggest name available, and along with Guillermo Barros Schelotto would provide the biggest offensive spark, if only short term for a club that desperately needs it. I really can't see Schelotto happening, but Angel is an intriguing prospect, still a very good goalscorer, but no longer worthy of being a designated player, especially if Dwayne De Rosario gets the upgrade he wants and takes up our 2nd of 3 DP slots. Defensively, the biggest names are Jimmy Conrad, Frankie Hejduk and Gino Padula, though all are getting on in years and very unlikely to go in the first round. A more affordable option would be the signing of Dema Kovalenko, a defensive midfielder who could provide some depth in midfield and allow Nathan Sturgis to be shuffled back to occupy one of the problem full back spots.
All those decisions to be made Wednesday could give a good indication of just how interim Earl Cochrane really is. If there is a higher profile, more experienced GM on the way, then more than likely TFC will pass on the higher contracts on offer tomorrow and wait until next week, thus maintaining the salary cap space and DP slots for the new guy to fill as he wishes on players from outside the league. If he goes out and makes a splash, picking up Angel as a solution to our striking woes, or one of the other higher priced players, then it's very likely that the powers that be will have decided that of all the names suggested to them or headhunted for them by Klinsmann and SoccerSolutions, they think the Cochrane and Jimmy Brennan combo is the best way to go. I really want to believe that that's not the case so I'm hoping for a quiet day from TFC, but the more time goes by, the more imminent the removal of the interim tag seems. It would be nice if the situation gets resolved soon so all the other decisions involved in building the squad, from De Ro's contract to potential new signings can be made with the assurance that it's all part of a longer term plan. Ticken Tocken Jürgen, Ticken Tocken.
EDIT: This really isn't worth it's own post, but TFC didn't pick anyone up, and only 2 players were picked up all round. Next Wednesday should be a bit more active.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Respect The Coch!
Toronto FC today announced that it will not be picking up the 2011 options on the contracts of Amadou Sanyang, Fuad Ibrahim and, to the relief and joy of many, Nick Garcia. This doesn't automatically mean they've been released, and all of them could potentially be back next year on a renegotiated deal. Garcia, due to his tenure within MLS, enters the new re-entry draft that allows other MLS clubs to pick him up at a 5% increase on his 2010 salary, a very unlikely prospect given that would take him over $200,000 a year. If he passes through the re-entry draft, he's free to negotiate a contract with other teams, or with TFC and be back next year. Sanyang and Ibrahim don't enter the draft, their rights remain with TFC, and even if a new contract isn't agreed, another MLS team would have to trade for the rights to be able to sign them.
I'll admit to being surprised at Sanyang as his contract was very affordable, at $46,000, and given that there's very little wiggle room before hitting the $40,000 minimum salary, it seems obvious he won't be back next year. Not renewing Garcia and Ibrahim, who made $133,000 last year, were probably the easiest decisions ever made by Interim GM Earl Cochrane, but both of them could potentially be back next year. Garcia's game improved last year at full back, and his experience could prove handy next year if he can be brought back at a lower salary, maybe about $50-60,000 to be a back up. I'd like to hope we'll bring in enough good players for him to be very much a bench player. Ibby? Well the last couple of years he's looked lost and he's probably the poster boy for the return of the reserve league, as the potential that saw him drafted at age 15 and sees him still included in the U.S under 20 programme, really looks like its going to waste. Given regular playing time he could improve, so I could see some other club, if not TFC, taking a chance on him at at a much lower rate.
So while it's not guaranteed that any of them will be leaving the club, it's a good sign that they probably will, and that is something that I'm very much OK with. A couple of weeks ago, I listed the players I'd want to see gone, and with this news, every one of them has been let go. So Earl Cochrane, I salute you. While I still hold out hope we'll get someone else in to do the rebuilding part of the job (seriously, the Sturgis trade - the potential of a first round pick swapped for a journeyman jack of all trades defensive player- Preki would have been slaughtered for that) his demolition job so far can't be faulted. Hopefully these will be the last major decisions he makes, so for now, while we have the chance, it's time for us all to embrace our inner Frank TJ Mackey and "Respect The Coch" (Warning, very very nsfw).
I'll admit to being surprised at Sanyang as his contract was very affordable, at $46,000, and given that there's very little wiggle room before hitting the $40,000 minimum salary, it seems obvious he won't be back next year. Not renewing Garcia and Ibrahim, who made $133,000 last year, were probably the easiest decisions ever made by Interim GM Earl Cochrane, but both of them could potentially be back next year. Garcia's game improved last year at full back, and his experience could prove handy next year if he can be brought back at a lower salary, maybe about $50-60,000 to be a back up. I'd like to hope we'll bring in enough good players for him to be very much a bench player. Ibby? Well the last couple of years he's looked lost and he's probably the poster boy for the return of the reserve league, as the potential that saw him drafted at age 15 and sees him still included in the U.S under 20 programme, really looks like its going to waste. Given regular playing time he could improve, so I could see some other club, if not TFC, taking a chance on him at at a much lower rate.
So while it's not guaranteed that any of them will be leaving the club, it's a good sign that they probably will, and that is something that I'm very much OK with. A couple of weeks ago, I listed the players I'd want to see gone, and with this news, every one of them has been let go. So Earl Cochrane, I salute you. While I still hold out hope we'll get someone else in to do the rebuilding part of the job (seriously, the Sturgis trade - the potential of a first round pick swapped for a journeyman jack of all trades defensive player- Preki would have been slaughtered for that) his demolition job so far can't be faulted. Hopefully these will be the last major decisions he makes, so for now, while we have the chance, it's time for us all to embrace our inner Frank TJ Mackey and "Respect The Coch" (Warning, very very nsfw).
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Yep, it's the off season.
After last weeks excitement of expansion drafts, trades and player releases, it's been a fairly slow news week for TFC, one very minor trade that really won't affect things much at all, and a couple of interesting announcements that could potentially have huge ramifications, but probably won't and woudn't be happening for a long time anyway.
The first news item was the trade of Joseph Nane to Colorado for a 3rd round draft pick in 2012, which doesn't really deserve much more than a barely interested meh! I've got nothing against Nane, so best of luck to him, but he was never going to be a major piece in TFC's plans going forward, so a 3rd round pick is probably about right, and maybe even more than I would have expected his value to be. Well done to Earl on that one, the cuttting of last season's dead wood is going well, though I'd still like to see someone permanent in charge before we start adding new players.
The 2nd bit of news was that MLSE head honcho Richard Peddie confirmed he will be resigning in December of 2011. While it did provide a brief "Thank God for that, things have got to get better from here" feeling, nothing's really going to change is it? I'm sure the shareholders were quite satisfied with the returns over the years from all the various different pies that MLSE has it's fingers in and people within MLSE seemed to be lining up to sing his praises, so I'm not getting my hopes up that there'll be any cultural change there. Obviously Leafs and Raptors supporters will have their reason to love or hate him, but looking at things strictly from a TFC perspective, well MLSE did stump up the expansion fee when no-one else was doing it, as well as playing a part in getting BMO Field/National Soccer Stadium built and the other ways that TFC has helped grow the game in Canada. It would be churlish not to acknowledge that, and thank him for whatever role he played in all that, but at the same time, he should take his share of the blame for how things have started to go wrong, especially in the off the pitch side of things where he would have a more direct influence.
This season's "royal screw up" with the 2011 season tickets and all the scrambled apologies and freebies that followed, was the inevitable conclusion to the last few years of aggressive price hikes and exploitation of supporter passion that has so soured the whole "TFC experience". It takes a special talent and focus to be able to turn people off so quickly, to turn such an enthusiastic supporter base, ready to provide a great atmosphere, buy merchandise in huge quantities and propel TFC to be named brand of the year in 2009, into a grumpy bunch who grudgingly renew their tickets, but only after a "cratering" of sales forced MLS Commissioner Don Garber to come up to Toronto and lend a hand, and whose views of the front office range from wary suspicion to outright contempt, all in the space of 4 years. So take a bow, please leave as quickly as you can, I just wish I had even a tiny sliver of confidence that things will improve.
What do you know, that sliver of confidence actually came on Wednesday with the news that Rogers was in negotiations to buy the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan's majority stake in MLSE. Now this is all at a very preliminary stage, and any deal, whether with Rogers or any other company probably won't take effect for a very long time, but it's fun to think of how it could change things. Hopefully rather than being seen as first and foremost profit making enterprises for the Pension Plan, MLSE's teams could instead be seen as loss leaders, not necessarily making a profit themselves, but providing content to drive profits in Rogers media empire, TV channnels, smartphones etc. I'm thinking of how for marketing purposes Red Bull has given the, er, Red Bulls the means to attract Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez, as well as building them a very nice stadium. It's very unlikely that would happen, and more than likely it'd be more of the same, maybe we'd be better off as is, in a "better the devil you know" kind of way, but daydreaming of a more fan friendly and successful ownership group is pretty much all TFC, Raptors and Leafs fans have to keep them going at this stage.
The first news item was the trade of Joseph Nane to Colorado for a 3rd round draft pick in 2012, which doesn't really deserve much more than a barely interested meh! I've got nothing against Nane, so best of luck to him, but he was never going to be a major piece in TFC's plans going forward, so a 3rd round pick is probably about right, and maybe even more than I would have expected his value to be. Well done to Earl on that one, the cuttting of last season's dead wood is going well, though I'd still like to see someone permanent in charge before we start adding new players.
The 2nd bit of news was that MLSE head honcho Richard Peddie confirmed he will be resigning in December of 2011. While it did provide a brief "Thank God for that, things have got to get better from here" feeling, nothing's really going to change is it? I'm sure the shareholders were quite satisfied with the returns over the years from all the various different pies that MLSE has it's fingers in and people within MLSE seemed to be lining up to sing his praises, so I'm not getting my hopes up that there'll be any cultural change there. Obviously Leafs and Raptors supporters will have their reason to love or hate him, but looking at things strictly from a TFC perspective, well MLSE did stump up the expansion fee when no-one else was doing it, as well as playing a part in getting BMO Field/National Soccer Stadium built and the other ways that TFC has helped grow the game in Canada. It would be churlish not to acknowledge that, and thank him for whatever role he played in all that, but at the same time, he should take his share of the blame for how things have started to go wrong, especially in the off the pitch side of things where he would have a more direct influence.
This season's "royal screw up" with the 2011 season tickets and all the scrambled apologies and freebies that followed, was the inevitable conclusion to the last few years of aggressive price hikes and exploitation of supporter passion that has so soured the whole "TFC experience". It takes a special talent and focus to be able to turn people off so quickly, to turn such an enthusiastic supporter base, ready to provide a great atmosphere, buy merchandise in huge quantities and propel TFC to be named brand of the year in 2009, into a grumpy bunch who grudgingly renew their tickets, but only after a "cratering" of sales forced MLS Commissioner Don Garber to come up to Toronto and lend a hand, and whose views of the front office range from wary suspicion to outright contempt, all in the space of 4 years. So take a bow, please leave as quickly as you can, I just wish I had even a tiny sliver of confidence that things will improve.
What do you know, that sliver of confidence actually came on Wednesday with the news that Rogers was in negotiations to buy the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan's majority stake in MLSE. Now this is all at a very preliminary stage, and any deal, whether with Rogers or any other company probably won't take effect for a very long time, but it's fun to think of how it could change things. Hopefully rather than being seen as first and foremost profit making enterprises for the Pension Plan, MLSE's teams could instead be seen as loss leaders, not necessarily making a profit themselves, but providing content to drive profits in Rogers media empire, TV channnels, smartphones etc. I'm thinking of how for marketing purposes Red Bull has given the, er, Red Bulls the means to attract Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez, as well as building them a very nice stadium. It's very unlikely that would happen, and more than likely it'd be more of the same, maybe we'd be better off as is, in a "better the devil you know" kind of way, but daydreaming of a more fan friendly and successful ownership group is pretty much all TFC, Raptors and Leafs fans have to keep them going at this stage.
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