If like me, TFC's lack of action on the player acquisition front, both qualitatively and quantitavely speaking is getting you a little worried with the season fast approaching, well get ready to reach for the anti-depressants, as things got worse today with the news that 2010 team MVP and one of the few nailed down starters in the squad Adrian Cann has walked out of training camp. Cann and TFC have been trying to negotiate a new contract, which apparently isn't going well, so Cann has decided to return to Toronto rather than go to Charleston for the team's next training camp and pre-season games. Details are very scarce right now, with no numbers being made public with regards to years or dollar amounts being discussed, though TFC did make a point of saying that Cann is currently one year into a four year deal. This was a bit surprising as it's been widely known that a new contract is being discussed, and this article from Duane Rollins claimed that Cann was actually out of contract.
Without knowing details of what has been offered to him, and how much he's holding out for, and indeed if he is or isn't currently under contract (and I certainly don't trust an article on the team's official website to be 100% truthful), it's difficult to take sides. I have a lot more sympathy for the argument that a player has to make as much money as they can in their short career when it's made on behalf of someone who made just over $65,000 last year, as opposed to someone on Dwayne de Rosario's salary. However to walk away from pre-season training is a much worse action to take than pretending to write a cheque, trying out for another club in the off-season and making some inflammable statements to the press. I guess we'll have to see what statements and clarifications come out in the next few days before rushing to judgement.
It's a very interesting gamble by Cann though, despite his MVP award, he's by no means a star player, he's a good solid MLS level defender, but that's all he is, and that's a lot more replaceable than De Ro's goals. Having said that, with TFC very much in a rebuilding phase, and with a very thin roster already, the last thing they'd want to do is have to find another player to come in and fill a position that was one of the few that was already filled, Cann must be banking on a sense of urgency leading to the club giving in to his demands. If so that's a very risky ploy, as that's not a precedent any club wants to set, though depending on what's happening with De Ro's contract, maybe it already has been set.
It's just all so very depressing, all this sort of soap opera-esque drama was supposed to have left when Mo Johnston did. The De Ro saga was being kept quiet very nicely and it seemed like all contract negotiations were being handled behind closed doors, with the sort of professional winning culture that Paul Mariner talked about back in January. Now this. Without knowing more detail it's difficult to lay blame, but with just two and a half weeks to go until the season starts, more drama and a further shrinking of the roster was the last thing TFC needed.
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