“Years have gone by and I’ve finally learned to accept myself for who I am: a beggar for good football.
I go about the world, hand outstretched, and in the stadiums I plead: ‘A pretty move, for the love of God.’
And when good football happens, I give thanks for the miracle and I don’t give a damn which team or country performs it.”
-Eduardo Galeano
Exactly! And I do agree that the CCL is not today what it may become at a later stage. But obviously we want to perform on the international stage as well, but I do agree with you that we should first show true strength in our league. And I think we can all agree that this is the good news following tonight's result. Now we can focus on one thing. Next year might be a different story.
ya i make it sound like MLS season doesnt matter at all. It does matter, but i just think CCL means even more to compete in and its frustraitting when we cant even qualify for it. We are a long way away from even seriously competting its sad, unless they increase salary soon things will stay this way to.
Last edited by james; 08-05-2009 at 12:26 AM.
I tend to agree with the Vitti assessment. While I also agree that he has to play through the garbage and not immediately look to the referee for a call, he was effective in bringing the ball out of our end usually with a bit of a shield and a turn. It worked well all night.
The problem is that once he is on the move, too often his teammates are not getting into space. They're trotting up field hand in hand (almost) with an opponant forcing Vitti to actually stop his progress to look around for somebody who is making themselves available.
well just a crap game all round. I thought the team would show some heart and some tactics to beat the bunker. Was I ever wrong
I said from the beginning of the season that I would only consider this season a success if we made the group stage of the CCL AND made the play offs. First one.. <sigh>. And I am not sure how this team can get into the playoffs playing like this.
I just hope that SOMEBODY at MLSE F.O. will accept responsibility for the garbage play we are seeing on the pitch. I already know Mo won't because he thinks he has put together a good squad, (which I don't agree with, but I think he has collected some good pieces), Cummins just says the players played like crap, and all Anselmi can talk about is the RM game and what a great "event" it is. I have to say I am losing respect for the entire lot of them.
As for those asking about we need a DP striker....Don't expect to hear about it until ticket renewal time.
balls.
makes me sick when they keep saying its great for the fans. Ya for the fans with lots of money and who would only attend matches when you bring over giant clubs from Europe but would never attend games like TFC vs Vancouver or TFC vs Kansas. And where is all the hardcore fans who show up week in and week out and plan our lives around TFC games??? we got priced out for the giant Club. Ya its really great for us fans eh!!!!
but ya this is way off topic now.
Last edited by james; 08-05-2009 at 12:38 AM.
It's fantastic because it makes dough. But does nothing for the team in general. If you really want some practice and build up rep, tour a location that most would consider off the beaten path.
Take a tour of China, for the love of cripes. Go to South Korea, Japan, Australia -- don't wait for teams like Guangzhou Yiyao or Perth Glory to ask. Go to them!
Still possibly the only known RPB to appear on Masterchef Canada.
(I think?)
Not much to say about the result. I had a bad feeling we weren't going to advance, because frankly, by all accounts we should have and therefore we'd find a way to screw it up somehow. I don't know, I guess it's our shtick.
The fact remains that we should have shut PR out at home and didn't. We should have gotten at least one goal away and didn't. We keep screwing up and playing like amateurs with no motivation when we should, by all accounts, be turning circles around the opposition.
Keystone said it best - No sense of urgency.
Did the USA , of all countries, just fix soccer? - C. Ronaldo, May 27th commenting on the FBI-led investigations into fraud and corruption throughout FIFA.
Purging the old guard (Mo, Brennan, Robbo) might be what's needed. Smacks of a lack of leadership and always had. Like so many Toronto teams: great players, no killer instinct or winning mentality. Ultimately this is Mo's fault (again) and while I've liked him in the past I can't help but thinking he's just playing a grand version of Football Manager here with no real idea what it takes to put together a side that can win.
We have a good Canadian base (which is the biggest hurdle we have to face) so bring in a guy that can put the pirces in place around them. Hell, bring in the whole Gambian national side.
Thanks for your help, Mo, but your usefulness has run its course.
I'm happy that TFC are out. No way they were making the playoffs while playing in the group stage, and it would have taken a miracle to get past the group stage. With DC and Columbus hit with tons of games, TFC has a great chance to push for the playoffs. I have a feeling this team is going to go on a bit of a run, the back four is getting settled and Gerba helps up top. The DC United game is huge.
"The squad is good enough." - Mo Johnston
well... didn't really expect a result.... was quite a waste of time watching that match lastnight.... damn frustrating...
but then again, it's toronto 'til i fucking die.
wow... so true, Rollins:
http://www.24thminute.com/2009/08/so...o-it-goes.htmlYou see it’s football. That’s the burden I signed up for. And I know it’s only through frustration that I will ever know ecstasy.
Last edited by Brooker; 08-05-2009 at 05:06 AM.
Yesterday proved that TFC would not even be in the top half of the USL, as Puerto Rico is in 4th and we could not win one of two games against them. We whipped a really bad Montreal team and split with Vancouver. The USL should merge with the MLS and they should set up a A and B side, and based on TFC's play we would be relegated!
Can we sign these players .... they were the best 2 players on the field last night.
Jonathan Steele, 23, Northern Ireland, CM
Cristian Arrieta, 29, Italy, RB
Maybe Danny should replace Cummings and be a player coach.
The true definition of a Masochist is a Toronto fan. Leafs/Jays/Argos/TFC/Marlies/Miss Turtles Lawn Bowling Team...
In the morning you can stab yourself with a knife and it doesn't hurt half as bad as the game you just watched...
Mo is the GM/Director of Soccer. He is ultimately answerable for the results or lack thereof when it comes to Toronto FC. He gets credit where due and needs to take the hit when we blow our load.
He needs to be called to account by the bean counters at MLSE why our team has blown three lucrative home dates that could have made substantial coin for the club.
He needs to be called to account for his choice of coaching staff. Cummins was Mo's choice. For that matter he needs to adress the poor level of coaching our club has had since the start.
He needs to be called to account for the roster choices he has made overall. Whether that be Garcia, Vitti, Barrett...take your pick.
We have in our short history come up short time after time after time against weaker opponents (Montreal Miracle aside) and that more than anything else speaks to the quality of the team we have here and the job that Mo Johnston has done.
The Emperor has no clothes.
No way this team playing the way it is is making the playoffs. We have too many road games....
Time to rebuild:
-Fire Mo and Cummins and replace them with quality and offer an assistant job to Dichio
-Transfer Wynn to Europe for money
-Trade or release Robo and Brennan
-Build with the youth like Nana, Cronin, Frei, White
1. If Dichio's shot had gone in, we could be having a very different conversation. Certain people who only come here to intensify the misery would have stayed off the board, everyone would be talking about the "miracle against the Islanders." So, get a grip, everyone.
2. The Islanders went further than Montreal in the CL last year, and are one of the top teams in USL-1. Everyone knew it would be difficult. Our team kept pushing to the end in very difficult circumstances, where the Islanders only needed a tie to advance. The CL was really lost when TFC failed to beat the Islanders at home. Their goal probably wouldn't have happened if Serioux had been fit, so blame the stupid River plate friendly for this mess.
3. USL teams have no salary cap, and almost no roster restrictions. So, although lower revenues tend to mean that the squads have no DeRos, they DO have lots of depth. USL teams regularly beat MLS teams in cup comptetitions, and the Islanders have shown in the past particularly adept at this game.
4. Mo and Carver had both said that Carver chose the squad. So Cummins, who plays a very different style from Carver, has been forced to play largely with someone else's picks. I have little doubt that Cummins would have assembled a different squad from Carver.
5. It's hard for any team that has a mid-season change in coaches to accomplish much. Do we know another team that has had a mid-season coaching change? Oh yes, Montreal, shortly before we beat them 6-1.
6. The "miracle in Montreal" unreasonably raised expectations. One thing about a miracle, is that by definition it's rare. I had voted in the poll that I expected a tie in this match, and the 0-0 result is exactly what I expected. However, TFC came very close to winning this match.
7. Cummins is not a bad coach, but he is inexperienced as a head coach. Could someone else do better? Maybe, but also there would not be too many coaches who would pick up a team mid-season and salvage it better than he has done. The time to evaluate him hasn't yet come.
8. If TFC had succeded in getting JDG, we almost certainly would have advanced.
9. The team doing poorly has coincided with getting Ali Gerba. Team attitudes seem to have changed since he came on board. Could it be that there is a reason he has played for so many clubs, despite having an undeniable skill? It may be that getting Gerba was a mistake by Cummins. Alternately, it might just be that it will take some time to fit him in. Clearly, having Gerba as a lone striker up front isn't working.
10. It may surprise some, but if I would immediately change something about TFC, it would be to eliminate the mid-season frendlies. I realize that Real Madrid was to good an opportunity for ML$E to pass up, however, if they hadn't contractually forced themselves to have the stupid River Plate friendly, we would have been in much better shape.
So let's hope that after the Real Madrid friendly, the team can regroup, and get a playoff spot. There will be nothing after that game to distract the team.
Last edited by Oldtimer; 08-05-2009 at 07:38 AM.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
First time ever I got to half time and couldn;t be bothered to watch the same old donkey shit any further, so I switched channels and watched something else.
Yes.
he was brought in here to score. In 2 matches vs a USL team he scored - count them now 000000 goals.
he didn't pressure the defenders, he didn't run after the ball, he goes down so easily and he took Danny D's spot who is way more effective than he is. So Yes Gerba did contribute to the loss because he was a waste of a player on the field. He was a total non factor as was Guevera, Brennan and others.
In my mind the only players who showed up tonight werre wynn and Vitti. That's it.
Here's the scores from each game against first squad USL teams
vs Vancouver Whitecaps - 1:0
vs Montreal Impact - 1:0
@ Vancouver Whitecaps - 0:2
vs Puerto Rico Islanders - 0:1
@ Puerto Rico Islanders - 0:0
Goals for: 2
Goals against: 3
I know pro/rel wouldn't work in a North American market, but I wish the boys had the threat of being promoted in their brains so they'd put in solid efforts no matter what
as did Montreal against TFC when we scored 6 goals against them.
That's the problem. everyone was jumping up and down but when we palyed Montreal in Miontreal they were using their 2nd and 3rd string palyers. Our 6 goals was against a house league team. they gave us the game. we didn't deserve to advance. vancouver should have been there. they way TFc palys aginst USl teams I would say we should be palying CSL teams.
Agreeed 100%. That attempt from Dichio had their defender literally body locking/throwing him on the ground. If that is not penalty I dont know what is. Gerba getting taken down yesterday was another penalty that would be given 80-90% of the time if the ref was not a typical CONCACAF fuckhead.
What is frustrating is how close we were to getting this.. so very close
I also think that Gerba will show himself. He is the type of player that wont do anything in some games but will probably still endup with 1 goal per 2 games in league play.