Today's News,Saturday,Apr.10

[denime]

MORNIN"



Gutsy Preki calling the shots for Toronto FC (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/james-on-soccer/gutsy-preki-calling-the-shots-for-toronto-fc/article1530028/)


Army of one (http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2010/04/09/dobson_army_of_one/)


TFC captain aiming for playoff appearance (http://www.torontosun.com/sports/soccer/2010/04/09/13532736-qmi.html)


TFC TV Preki preview Revs Game (http://torontofc.neulion.com/tfc/console.jsp?catid=2&id=1756)



SUNSHINE (http://www.torontosun.com/sunshinegirl/)

[Carts]

MORNIN"



Gutsy Preki calling the shots for Toronto FC (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/soccer/james-on-soccer/gutsy-preki-calling-the-shots-for-toronto-fc/article1530028/)


Army of one (http://www.sportsnet.ca/soccer/2010/04/09/dobson_army_of_one/)


TFC captain aiming for playoff appearance (http://www.torontosun.com/sports/soccer/2010/04/09/13532736-qmi.html)


TFC TV Preki preview Revs Game (http://torontofc.neulion.com/tfc/console.jsp?catid=2&id=1756)



SUNSHINE (http://www.torontosun.com/sunshinegirl/)

3:45am news of the day - then getting on a bus to Boston... Denime earns a RPB WARRIOR Award for this alone...!!! :drinking:

Carts...

[Jeffro]

3:45am news of the day - then getting on a bus to Boston... Denime earns a RPB WARRIOR Award for this alone...!!! :drinking:

Carts...

haha yes. Amazing.


Have fun in Boston Everyone! Wish I was there! Lets get 3 points!

:flare::flare::flare::scarf::flare::flare::flare:


I've been drinking.....

[Hustle]

Denime...you the man...seriously!

Yeah, everyone have fun down there. The wife's REAL close to poppin' or I would be there too to push the boys to a win!

[Technorgasm]

x-64CaD8GXw

[Technorgasm]

"Having said that surfing some local message boards these days indicates a transformation may be taking place with the local fan bases as the demands on a professional level become more important"

"Compare the structure at Toronto FC to the Vancouver Whitecaps. The football operation there is run by president Bob Lenarduzzi. Reporting to him is CEO Paul Barber. Next in line is director of soccer operations Tom Soehn. Finally, below Soehn is head coach Teitur Thordarson and the rest of the coaching staff.

Soehn is Mo Johnston's equal in Vancouver and yet he has two solid football people with a lifetime in the game above him. Lenarduzzi is a legend in British Columbia, enjoyed a distinguished career for both club and country and has coached and managed since the day he retired. All he knows is football. All Barber did was run many key areas of English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur including soccer development beginning in 2005 until joining the Whitecaps last fall."

[Hustle]

Like the song says, If yall see a chowda head with an artificial leg you gotta bring that home and hang it from the rafters in Joes!

[Brooker]

more like Sunshine Boy

[anto7]

"Having said that surfing some local message boards these days indicates a transformation may be taking place with the local fan bases as the demands on a professional level become more important"

"Compare the structure at Toronto FC to the Vancouver Whitecaps. The football operation there is run by president Bob Lenarduzzi. Reporting to him is CEO Paul Barber. Next in line is director of soccer operations Tom Soehn. Finally, below Soehn is head coach Teitur Thordarson and the rest of the coaching staff.

Soehn is Mo Johnston's equal in Vancouver and yet he has two solid football people with a lifetime in the game above him. Lenarduzzi is a legend in British Columbia, enjoyed a distinguished career for both club and country and has coached and managed since the day he retired. All he knows is football. All Barber did was run many key areas of English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur including soccer development beginning in 2005 until joining the Whitecaps last fall."
I did not see the part about Vancouver in James's article so not sure if you wrote that, but whoever wrote it may have just hit the nail on the head. We are totally at the mercy of Mo running this ship, it does not appear that he has anyone above him who knows anyhthing about soccer so whatever mistakes he makes we have to live with them.

[scooter]

mornin d
have a blast in new england
game day cant wait lets kick some %#$

[Krasno.pL.]

I know this has nothing to do with Footy... but i know theres plenty of Polaks on here.
Polish President DEAD.... RIP Lech Kaczynski


http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/reuters/100410/n_top_news/cnews_us_poland_president_crash

[Luanda]

Absolutely incredible that in week 3 TFC website still has not been able to update the roster: Gomez, Saric and Gargin are missing therefrom. And even more incredible, no official news on the "famous" new hires!

[gkhs]

Gerry Dobson is spot on in the Army of One link.

He is very diplomatic, so he doesn't say that Mo is totally and completely inept, or that his ineptness has been plainly obvious since 2007 (if not before, since he was terrible at NYRB). He just says that there is no one above him who would recognize if he were clueless.

My hope is that Preki gets frustrated enough, and goes around Mo to complain to Anselmi, et al.

[ensco]

I find Dobson is too close to his sources. C'mon Gerry, just call Anselmi and Peddie out.

There are all kinds of governance models beyond TFC and Vancouver's. Many successful clubs have one person who dominates soccer operations.

The question is, can you attract good people, who have options, to work for you? MLSE cannot. The only way Anselmi and Peddie have ever hired good people is by giving people like Burke and Colangelo absurd contracts where the executives essentially make themselves irrelevant by conceding managerial responsibility to their underlings.

That's the problem with the culture here. That's what is highly unusual here in TFC/MLSE land.

[Beach_Red]

I did not see the part about Vancouver in James's article so not sure if you wrote that, but whoever wrote it may have just hit the nail on the head. We are totally at the mercy of Mo running this ship, it does not appear that he has anyone above him who knows anyhthing about soccer so whatever mistakes he makes we have to live with them.


Yeah, some people have been saying the problems run much deeper than the GM for a while now.

There's no salary cap on management. MLSE could have brought in three experienced executives to run the operation, but they didn't spend that kind of money. They knew the front-line would get all the blame, so why should they?

[Beach_Red]

I find Dobson is too close to his sources. C'mon Gerry, just call Anselmi and Peddie out.

There are all kinds of governance models beyond TFC and Vancouver's. Many successful clubs have one person who dominates soccer operations.

The question is, can you attract good people, who have options, to work for you? MLSE cannot. The only way Anselmi and Peddie have ever hired good people is by giving people like Burke and Colangelo absurd contracts where the executives essentially make themselves irrelevant by conceding managerial responsibility to their underlings.

That's the problem with the culture here. That's what is highly unusual here in TFC/MLSE land.


Yes, that's it. Look at the contracts they offered in the first year of TFC. All one year contracts, weren't they? I've heard that the other coaches came along to help set things up but when MLSE wouldn't commit for a longer term they weren't willing to uproot their families. I've also heard that MLSE execs were "shocked" that Johnston did move here. They would have been perfectly happy with an executive running the team who didn't commit to it - it's what they expected. Not exactly a committment to a winning culture, is it?

Eventually they may get pushed into the same corner they were with the Leafs and Raptors and have to actually hand the team over - and in that contract negotiation there will likely be provisions for a proper size front office, scouting staff, etc.. By then they'll have made enough profit off the team to justify the investment and they'll dump the people who worked getting it there. So, when you talk about loyalty and all that, it might be a good idea to look a little further up the ladder.

[drewski]

JohnMolinaro (http://twitter.com/JohnMolinaro)
more #TFC (http://twitter.com/search?q=%23TFC) news. Barrett is in Boston and is likely going to be on the bench tonight. Also, expect Dickov to arrive at end of UK season.

[TFCRegina]

JohnMolinaro (http://twitter.com/JohnMolinaro)
more #TFC (http://twitter.com/search?q=%23TFC) news. Barrett is in Boston and is likely going to be on the bench tonight. Also, expect Dickov to arrive at end of UK season.

Dickov...FML

[drewski]

win/lose might not be directly measured but it plays a huge part in a number of important metrics, paid attendance, merchandise, tv ratings. The Leafs and TFC are both starting to feel this is

[Gazza]

Is the Dickov signing confirmed? Rumour? I know it doesn't bode well signing a 37 year old, but he's still got a lot left in the tank...i'm looking forward to seeing him give 110%...but just like Dichio, i don't think the refs are going to allow him to play his game. He's a friggin' pit bull.

[Beach_Red]

win/lose might not be directly measured but it plays a huge part in a number of important metrics, paid attendance, merchandise, tv ratings. The Leafs and TFC are both starting to feel this is


Sure, but it's based on expectations. The producers of Date Night don't expect to gross as much as the producers of Avatar, they'll each decide what is considered sucessful based on their investments. Just because there's a salary cap doesn't mean that all teams make the same investment and expect the same result. We've seen an incremental investment in TFC, a little more each year, and we've seen more wins each year, so MLSE likely consider it a success.

The fact Anselmi can make jokes at a press conference like, "Somewhere out there Mo is squirming," letting us know he's not squirming himself at all tells us a lot about MLSE.

[DOMIN8R]

Canadian club plays first game Saturday since retirement of its captain


http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2010/04/10/sp-tfc-revs.html#ixzz0kiKKbsyJ (http://www.cbc.ca/sports/soccer/story/2010/04/10/sp-tfc-revs.html#ixzz0kiKKbsyJ)

Nothing really new here except for:





Toronto FC announced Saturday that is has signed defender Raivis Hscanovics. Hscanovics, 23, has spent the last three seasons with Latvian club FC Skonto. He will be eligible to play for the Reds Saturday against the New England Revolution. "Raivis is a good, young defender that we hope to have with us for some time," TFC general manager Mo Johnston said in a statement. "Despite his youth he brings some good experience with him from playing in some challenging leagues in Europe."

[TFC Cityboy]

JohnMolinaro (http://twitter.com/JohnMolinaro)
more #TFC (http://twitter.com/search?q=%23TFC) news. Barrett is in Boston and is likely going to be on the bench tonight. Also, expect Dickov to arrive at end of UK season.

hopefully Leeds will get automatic promotion, we need his passion and effort up top. He'll be the fox in the box we need. Too bad Dichio was pushed into retirement-the potential of the big man little man partnership. Dickov was at his best at City alongside our very own legend -Sean Goater- the Goat.

[ag futbol]

"Having said that surfing some local message boards these days indicates a transformation may be taking place with the local fan bases as the demands on a professional level become more important"

"Compare the structure at Toronto FC to the Vancouver Whitecaps. The football operation there is run by president Bob Lenarduzzi. Reporting to him is CEO Paul Barber. Next in line is director of soccer operations Tom Soehn. Finally, below Soehn is head coach Teitur Thordarson and the rest of the coaching staff.

Soehn is Mo Johnston's equal in Vancouver and yet he has two solid football people with a lifetime in the game above him. Lenarduzzi is a legend in British Columbia, enjoyed a distinguished career for both club and country and has coached and managed since the day he retired. All he knows is football. All Barber did was run many key areas of English Premier League giants Tottenham Hotspur including soccer development beginning in 2005 until joining the Whitecaps last fall."
Edit: just realized i took that out of context.

Dobson has it right. MLSE has no real checks and balances. Everybody knows they meddled with the leafs & raptors in the past... while they might not be hands on with TFC here's the issue:

They either want to be little kids living out their fantasy of running sports teams they know nothing about or are too lazy to care. The concept of anyone of Colangelo, Burk, or Johnston going to the board with anything personnel related is ridiculous. The concept of them providing commentary on their on field performance is also ridiculous.

They need to have industry specific board members who can provide real insight as to how these guys or doing. Because guys like Peddie and Anselmi are just talking out of their ass when they provide any insight on team results.

[koryo]

hopefully Leeds will get automatic promotion, we need his passion and effort up top. He'll be the fox in the box we need. Too bad Dichio was pushed into retirement-the potential of the big man little man partnership. Dickov was at his best at City alongside our very own legend -Sean Goater- the Goat.

Very little chance of Leeds going up automatically at this point.

Believe it or not, we're not tanking just to spite TFC :facepalm:

[menefreghista]

Absolutely incredible that in week 3 TFC website still has not been able to update the roster: Gomez, Saric and Gargin are missing therefrom. And even more incredible, no official news on the "famous" new hires!

The new site is a disaster.

Take a look at the schedule while you're at it. :facepalm:

[Beach_Red]

It shoud play a huge part, but my point is that MLSE have been very good at using marketing to protect attendance, merchandise and ratings etc. from not "stellar" win/loss records. Leafs 43 years without Stanley Cup, 43 years of sellouts. Not sure about TFC/Leafs but the Raptors definitely have a problem.


And they don't even do all the marketing themselves. TV, radio, newspapers, online - the whole "communications" industry pushes sports constantly and MLSE have a monopoly in southern Ontario.

[DOMIN8R]

I agree the MLS need to rethink how they are going to run their online media. Whoever is in charge needs to find another job or the SLA with the firm that is building/maintaining the site(s) needs to be revisited.

[J .]

http://tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=317470 (http://tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=317470)

TSN has annoucned the Latvian signing

[Luanda]

The Lavtian is 5-10, Usanov is 5-9 1/2, Dickov is 5-5 and like 100 years old.
The almighty help us!

[ag futbol]

You don't have to be tall to play the game... It can more than be made up with by providing technical and tactical efficiency.

The only position i really even partially care if he's tall or not is at CB. Even then, you can still do well if you have a solid mind for the game.

[TFCRegina]

You don't have to be tall to play the game... It can more than be made up with by providing technical and tactical efficiency.

The only position i really even partially care if he's tall or not is at CB. Even then, you can still do well if you have a solid mind for the game.

Yes, height only really matters for a centreback. Even for strikers it's not really necessary unless you're employing a target man and believe in hoofing the ball up the pitch to him.

[icecoldbeer]

Made TFC's website

http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2010/04/reds-sign-latvian-fullback

[devioustrevor]

The Lavtian is 5-10, Usanov is 5-9 1/2, Dickov is 5-5 and like 100 years old.
The almighty help us!

Dickov is really the only one of those three that matters. Outside backs don't really need a lot of size. Winning balls in the air isn't really their job so much as closing down space, getting in the way of crosses and being able to contribute to attacks.

Having size on a wingback would be nice, but not necessary. Plus, this is soccer, players don't need to be 6'2" to be considered having decent size. Emile Heskey is a hoss and has been referred to as a donkey for years and he's 6'2" and 205 lbs. Not exactly a huge man.

[TFC Cityboy]

The Lavtian is 5-10, Usanov is 5-9 1/2, Dickov is 5-5 and like 100 years old.
The almighty help us!
certainly not a direct comparison but there is young lad at Barcelona who's only 5'7" and he's quite useful

[Luanda]

How many does Barça have at 5-10 or less? Add them up at TFC.

[rocker]

How many does Barça have at 5-10 or less? Add them up at TFC.

According to Wikipedia......

6 of 22 TFC players are 5-10 or less (27%).
9 of 21 Barca players are 5-10 or less (42%).

So Barca has more shorter players than TFC does.

[Roogsy]

This height discussion is silly.

[rocker]

This height discussion is silly.

you don't think Barca needs some taller players to keep up with TFC? ;) ;) ;)

[Batman]

News on the MLSSOCCER.COM site says we signed 2 players, yet the copy only talks about one.

http://www.mlssoccer.com/content/toronto-signs-two-european-reinforcements

It seems even press releases are a challenge for TFC these days.

[Luanda]

According to Wikipedia......

6 of 22 TFC players are 5-10 or less (27%).
9 of 21 Barca players are 5-10 or less (42%).

So Barca has more shorter players than TFC does.

I count 8 out of 23 (35%). So TFC should be ALMOST as good as Barça! LOL