Message from Mariner

[Oldtimer]

To SSHs:

Hello Everyone,
Let me start by saying what a great honour it is to be taking on the role of head coach and director of soccer operations for Toronto FC. I care deeply about this club and our supporters and I want you to know this position means the world to me.
I feel that having been a part of this club for over a year and a half, and playing a role in building and changing the way we do things, makes for an easier transition. The club's foundation remains the same based on our 'Four Pillars' of Player Development, Style of Play, Culture, and Results. This will continue to drive every decision we make for the club.
Monday of this week marked my first training session with the squad and our first day moving into our new Kia Training Ground. This facility, once fully completed, is going to be second-to-none in North America and mirrors many of the facilities I've seen across Europe. Our players will benefit from having a facility to call their own and it will allow our Academy program to work and grow in the very same environment.
I can ensure all of you that my goal is to make this club a winner. I cannot promise how long that is going to take and we have to be realistic about our current situation. However, I told the players before the press conference this past Thursday that they are not a 1-9 team and I truly believe that. We have a great group of men that I have a lot of confidence in and I know they are capable of playing winning football.
This confidence comes from having played for a number of different coaches in a number of different systems. I know this league, the teams, the coaches and players quite well. I think in your career as a player or as a coach you pick things up from each manager you work with and that helps to shape the type of manager you are.
In closing, I'd like to thank you for your continued support of this club. We cannot succeed without you. The fans of this club are so important and I truly appreciate your support. We will make you proud to be Red. I look forward to my first match at home but before that we have some work to do on the road.
Here's to brighter days ahead for us all.
Warm Regards,

Paul Mariner

[denime]

This is actually ANSLEMI'S message to the fans.

if you read between the lines this is what message said;

Dear TFC fans,
Get your Nivea Vaselines ready, because I and my beloved ML$E will once again!

Yours truly,
Uncle Tom

[Suds]

Another message from TFC to fans. Yawn.

[ManUtd4ever]

Tough crowd, LOL.

For once, I will take a public message from TFC with a degree of sincerity. Paul Mariner strikes me as a genuine individual. I sincerely wish him the best of luck, and a long prosperous career with TFC.

[Flint]

Ugh.. New TIFO "trophies not fan letters"

[kodiakTFC]

Didn't read, just deleted the email. I've seen enough of these emails, show me results.

[Pookie]

I like what he had to say. At first glance, he would be a fun coach to play for. When Eckersley talks about an open door for any issue, that's the kind of guy you want.

I hope he can succeed in spite of the organization he is in. That said, there is no lengthy timeline for this to work. No time for them to "gel" or learn something new. Results. Now. End of discussion.

If he doesn't, I don't necessarily want him fired too and we go looking for an 8th coach. Folks need to hold Anselmi accountable before making a decision on him. If there are no results between now and the end of the year... and I'm talking dramatic results like a playoff push and deep into CCL... then Anselmi needs to be accountable before I renew my season tickets.

Win or draw now. There is no lose.

[TOBOR !]

well I think I've sorted out one mystery. When quizzed on the tactics he'll employ, his reply is 'the players will dictate the style of play'.

Ergo, SHIT.

[cmonyoureds]

But Paul, do you have a 5 year plan?

[Flipityflu]

This is actually ANSLEMI'S message to the fans.

if you read between the lines this is what message said;

well, the key to avoiding non-consentual anal sex is to do everything you can to keep your pants up, and not bending over. the most effective way to guarantee this is to stop giving MLSE money. since giving up my season tickets, i no longer feel frightened when it gets dark that Tom is going to jump me. take the money out of the equation, and not only will you feel better about things, but it will also hasten the break up of the front office, which will achieve the short term goal of most people here in seeing Tom's backside for once.

that said, cheers Paul, and best of luck.

[maxpower]

Is anyone else getting kind of tired of Mariner's name dropping everytime somoene asks him how he is qualified as a coach?

[jloome]

Subtext of this message:

"I've been told I'm the person who put this squad together, so I've basically got rest of the season to make it work, at which point, my arse is confetti if we're not winning games. So I'm going to be as proactive with the fans and the media as I can be, keep me chin up, and pray like an altar boy at a bishop's convention."

[Hitcho]

This post/comment is not aimed at Mariner, but I just don't know if I can stomach another ride on the annual TFC regime change. All we do is go round and round in one year cycles of sackings and failures and fresh false starts. There's no soul to this team. We had a little bit of history and pride and then MLSE trampled on it with Dichio-gate. If I renew my season tickets again, then what am I renewing for? Mariner to be fired before the end of next season and another ride on the annual fresh start of regime change?

The only thing that comes and goes faster than coaches at BMO Field is new players. My wife asked me at the weekend to name all the TFC managers in order. I had to think about it for a while to make sure I had them all correct and in the right order. We've completed five seasons of football and yet the TFC manager list is already a taxing question to ask paying season ticket holders.

Don't get me wrong, TFC is very much my team and I will always want to get behind the badge and support them. I just feel like all I am being asked to support at the moment is a chaotic merry-go-round that costs more and more the faster it spins but seems to have less and less clue of what direction it should be going in. I am sitting here struggling to work out why I should keep buying into this.

I was behind Winter and what he was trying to do. Suddenly after five years we had an identity and a direction to travel in - a football club with a football ideology you could stand behind. I don't need fast results to make me a supporter, I just need a team and a club to stand behind and believe in. Winning is a bonus, but not a necessity. We had that identity in 2007 and it was amazing - the supporter ethos more than made up for the results because we had a CLUB and something to believe in. That faded to some extent (perhaps inevitably) but then Winter imposed an identity and we were heading in a pre-determined direction again - a club with an ethos and a plan. Results have gone badly for ten games so MLSE have ditched that and started fresh all over again.

What are we left with? Another ride on the fresh false start carousel with the headless chickens at MLSE still running around the back office in a clueless fashion pushing whichever panic button their flapping chicken wings come to first.

It makes it very, very difficult to get out my credit card and fork over what now amounts to a couple of grand for 4 south end season tickets.

What a depressing scenario. Thanks Tom Anselmi - this is the culmination of five years of clueless, panic-based tinkering with our team.

[brad]

This post/comment is not aimed at Mariner, but I just don't know if I can stomach another ride on the annual TFC regime change. All we do is go round and round in one year cycles of sackings and failures and fresh false starts. There's no soul to this team. We had a little bit of history and pride and then MLSE trampled on it with Dichio-gate. If I renew my season tickets again, then what am I renewing for? Mariner to be fired before the end of next season and another ride on the annual fresh start of regime change?

Of course not. They will give us some wonderful, can't miss reason to to renew prior to renewal time. Maybe Mariner will get sacked first and we will get another promise of getting the best FO in the league. Or maybe a big name DP signing that will single handledly deliver glory to us.

[TOBOR !]

I think the drop-off in renewals this year will be precipitous... and if Anselmi somehow survives in charge of this club to the end of this season he won't see the start of next (no matter how it's spun).

SSHs that didn't renew this year were more than likely tired of the continuing losing, but the majority who did renew in spite of it all did so because they saw a bright future (or hoped they did, and were prepared to give it time).

Now, though, we know we were duped. There was no five year plan. No three year plan. There was just the same old shit wrapped up in new paper.

[Brooker]

The joys of supporting shitty sports teams. Separates the men from the boys.

[Redcoe15]

[Hitcho]

I think the drop-off in renewals this year will be precipitous...

The "expected drop off in SSH sales" issue comes up every year. I think this year the trickle will become a steady stream. The flood can't be too much farther away if the headless chicken approach to running a football club keeps up.

[colman1860]

tl;dr

[DangerRed]

Two things: you take out Mariner's face, replace it with Winter's, rearrange the words a little, and you've got the exact same message we received from the previous coach.

Second: there is actually a three-step, surefire way to prove you're an idiot, and I'll argue it applies in the level-above-Mariner case:

1. You think you're smart.
2. You think everyone else is stupid.
3. Everyone else thinks you're stupid.

If all these three hold true for you, you are positively, certainly and irrefutably an idiot.

[sully]

The "expected drop off in SSH sales" issue comes up every year. I think this year the trickle will become a steady stream. The flood can't be too much farther away if the headless chicken approach to running a football club keeps up.

I'm at the end of my rope. I'm not even sure if a 50 to 70% reduction in tickets price would make me come around at this point.

[Code Red]

Lee Godfrey: Paul, let's get your thoughts overall on this match, your first game at the helm of Toronto FC.
Paul Mariner: What do I think about it? I thought the first 20 was a bit ropey but I thought the rest of the game was sensational.

FFS, this man is delusional if he thinks we outplayed KC the rest of the game. All we did was hoof the ball upfield and got a couple of chances on goal, none of which found the back of the net. KC outplayed us from start to finish yet he believes we played "sensationally".

ARON WINTER PART DEUX

[MartinUtd]

The reports aren't asking the important questions that fans want... no, NEED to know. I'm talking about his thoughts on the forthcoming Liverpool friendly.

[69Chevy396]

The Kia training facility could double as the Kia Detention Centre to save police from having to drive the drunken players all the way to 32 or 12 division.

[Red Rat]

is is a joke one big fricking joke

[brad]

The more I think about it, the more I realize this is a smart play from Anselmi (from a political standpoint).

Sack Winter now, appease the masses now. Put Mariner in place. If he succeeds, great. If he fails, sack him before renewals and make some big promise to try and sucker people in again.

[ensco]

The more I think about it, the more I realize this is a smart play from Anselmi (from a political standpoint).

Sack Winter now, appease the masses now. Put Mariner in place. If he succeeds, great. If he fails, sack him before renewals and make some big promise to try and sucker people in again.

Unless new owners see it for what it is: shifting deck chairs on the Titanic. Which I think they will.

[Redcoe15]

Unless new owners see it for what it is: shifting deck chairs on the Titanic. Which I think they will.

And if they don't - if they are of the same mindset as Anselmi - then we got long term problems.

[Just One Man]

Two things: you take out Mariner's face, replace it with Winter's, rearrange the words a little, and you've got the exact same message we received from the previous coach.

Second: there is actually a three-step, surefire way to prove you're an idiot, and I'll argue it applies in the level-above-Mariner case:

1. You think you're smart.
2. You think everyone else is stupid.
3. Everyone else thinks you're stupid.

If all these three hold true for you, you are positively, certainly and irrefutably an idiot.

The more I think about it, the more I realize this is a smart play from Anselmi (from a political standpoint).

Sack Winter now, appease the masses now. Put Mariner in place. If he succeeds, great. If he fails, sack him before renewals and make some big promise to try and sucker people in again.

Did sacking Winter really appease anybody? Hell, I hated Winter, but even I was the point where I knew it didn't matter if he was fired.

And at this point I don't think another "we promise we'll do better" letter from Anselmi is going to actually sway opinions. This franchise has jumped the shark. It is a laughing stock to the point where promises of improvement just sound funny.

[TOBOR !]

Sacking Winter didn't appease anybody. Hell, I'd wager 'the masses' were pissed that he was fired because it meant scrapping a 3/5 year plan after 18 months.

here we go again.

Face it - the ONLY way the club will be able to slow the SSH exodus is if they replace Anselmi - I'll be shocked if he lasts out the year.