TFC has smallest roster in MLS!!!!!

[bgnewf]

Well it's official. I checked and Toronto FC opens camp for 2010 with the smallest roster of signed players in the league.

If we would have learned anything in the past three seasons it would be this. Why in the hell do we chose to run a roster so relatively thin compared to the rest of MLS. I for one think this is a huge mistake.

Chicago - 23
Chivas - 28
Colorado - 23
Columbus - 25
DC United - 24
Dallas - 26
Houston - 21
Kansas City - 27
Los Angeles - 27 (includes Landycakes and Becks)
New England - 20
New York - 26
Philly - 21
RSL - 23
San Jose - 23
Seattle - 22

Toronto (minus Serious I guess) - 19


We can't even practice a full 11 on 11 with these guys. Yes I know there are triallists there but there is no escaping the fact that we most likely won't have a full roster (if we do at all) until well into the regular season.

[Roogsy]

Stop it...you're getting me upset.

I promised not to freak out until we get closer to our opening game.

It's hard.....sooooooo hard.

Gawd Mo is incompetent!

[RPB_RED_NATION_RPB]

In MO we trust!

[billyfly]

But the biggest fans in the MLS!

[Pigfynn]

The Galaxy and KC have almost ten more players than us signed? not good folks

[Ossington Mental Youth]

still too soon to worry although i dont blame anyone for it, likely the players we'd sign are all back ups anyways

[Roogsy]

still too soon to worry although i dont blame anyone for it, likely the players we'd sign are all back ups anyways

It basically boils down to this Oss....would Preki do better with or without all his players in training camp sooner rather than later?

To me the answer is quite obvious, the sooner he has all the players he will be working with, the better.

So Mo is already handcuffing Preki's performance right from the start because of his own incompetence. Heading into training camp, you should be able to count on one hand alone the amount of players left to sign. That is not the case is it currently stands. Benchplayers or not, we should not be in this situation having endured an entire season of it last year and which the problems that should have been addressed have been with us since Season TWO!

Aw crap...I am getting worked up again...I am signing off. Mo is going to give me an aneurism. 3 years of the same crap before the season begins. This guy doesn't know what he is doing, end of story.

[Nodoubtguy]

Roogsy head explodes in 3...2....1....

[Dirk Diggler]

Pfft ... roster depth is for losers. Real football teams only employ 11 players.

[Section 117]

That is signed players.... From my understanding there will be anywhere from 8 - 10 players on trial when the boys gets to Florida

[bgnewf]

Pfft ... roster depth is for losers. Real football teams only employ 11 players.

Yes, and they have to dress six substitutes on the bench. Today that theoretically leaves only one player you don't dress.

With due respect, we ran our roster thin last season and we are again in much the same boat. And last I looked we have Barrett, DeRo and Peterson injured.

This is unacceptable. Especially when this very same issue was identified this time last season. Perhaps Mo has to run the roster thin year after year because of some of his less than stellar spending of the salary cap dollars. Perhaps overpaying for a Garcia for example precludes him having enough money left over to fill out the spots. Only Mo know or sure I guess.

[Parkdale]

TFC always brings in the players late. that's what happens when you bring in people from outside the NCAA system.

[Roogsy]

And look at the grand success we've had employing that magnificent system.

[Parkdale]

I'm just saying that it's not uncommon for us to be short staffed at this point in the season (you know, 2 months before any games start)

[bgnewf]

I'm just saying that it's not uncommon for us to be short staffed at this point in the season (you know, 2 months before any games start)

We are the most consistently understaffed franchise in MLS in the past three seasons Parkie.

If we were awash in trophies and playoff dates then I would not be questioning this too much. Since we are not sewing little gold stars onto our jerseys as of yet I think this is a valid point to discuss and something the team needs to address NOW. Especially when this shallow roster is significantly smaller than the rest of the league.

[ManUtd4ever]

I am baffled by Mo's tendency to start the pre-season with an incomplete roster as well. It would stand to reason that the club would benefit from having all the pieces in place from the start to benefit from the implementation of strategies during practice and tournaments. It has been a very disappointing off season thus far...

[Nuvinho]

3rd keeper - Adam Street?
Said
Andrade
Smith
that Armenian Striker

IF they all pan out. I am waiting for Preki to bring in Bojan and Curtin please!!!

[Nuvinho]

That is signed players.... From my understanding there will be anywhere from 8 - 10 players on trial when the boys gets to Florida

You probably can't tell us this....but do you know who? besides the obvious ones reported.

[UltraSuperMegaMo]

We had the smallest roster in the league all last season. Mo et al. bitch about the small MLS rosters, yet TFC has never carried a full complement of players.

[Roogsy]

I'm just saying that it's not uncommon for us to be short staffed at this point in the season (you know, 2 months before any games start)

Is it common to be consistently the most understaffed in the league at any given point? Off-season OR in-season?

Do you or do you now believe that has at least a little bit of influence on the final standings we have had these past 3 years?

And you didn't answer my question, would Preki benefit from having a larger portion of his players available right from the start, especially given this is his first year? I mean...it would be different if he ended last season with us and he is starting from where he left off.

[Beach_Red]

Is it common to be consistently the most understaffed in the league at any given point? Off-season OR in-season?

Do you or do you now believe that has at least a little bit of influence on the final standings we have had these past 3 years?

Well, given how three quarters of the threads on this board are taken up with, "Get rid of___," if we had more guys on the roster we'd just have more guys people here want to get rid of .

[Workie]

In MO we trust!

and Bgnewf in 3...2..1

Goddam he beat me to it....

[Whoop]

It doesn't make sense. From a coaches' perspective you want to have a full team in camp to start implementing your tactics, ideas, etc in the players. Sure you leave a couple of spots open for others... but it always ends up biting us in the ass.

You can't blame being understaffed on the cap.

[Section 117]

You probably can't tell us this....but do you know who? besides the obvious ones reported.

I don't have any names but I do know that there are 5 or 6 players from Europe outside of whose names have already discussed.

From my understanding a lot of the players are meeting them in Florida..

[Whoop]

I don't have any names but I do know that there are 5 or 6 players from Europe outside of whose names have already discussed.

From my understanding a lot of the players are meeting them in Florida..

If Section 117 says so, I believe him.

[reggie]

3rd keeper - Adam Street?
Said
Andrade
Smith
that Armenian Striker

IF they all pan out. I am waiting for Preki to bring in Bojan and Curtin please!!!

Adam Street is with the club??

[Nuvinho]

Adam Street is with the club??

I got that from here:

KristianJack

In case any1 is wondering who Stefan Frei is talking about as the 3rd goalie 'Adam' in TFC camp it is Canadian youngster Adam Street.

[reggie]

cool...thx for the info

[bgnewf]

Triallists are gambles. You can strike gold but you also end up with a lot of shite as well. Have we as a club had a lot of luck with triallists? I do not think that we have had any significant success with the triallist route. Yet here we are again, hoping for some help from a guy from Namimbia, an Egyptian player with a history of troublemaking who has been playing in the Libyan League and a Portuguese defender with a blown out knee.

At this stage of the year we should not have about 24% of our roster still up for grabs people. It is not fair to the players already here. It is certainly not fair to Preki as it makes his job of devising and instituting tactics that can succeed all the harder.

[scooter]

it may have something to do with january transfer window cause a lot of players would not even negotiate with us until european teams are done
dont be surprised if 2 or 3 players come from across the pond