SuperClub?

[jmeisenh]

Posted this question on Twitter (@jmeisenh) without much response. Probably because I'm only limited to 140 characters. I still think it's worth discussing if it hasn't been already.

I've seen the word "superclub" being used to describe Toronto FC now. Is it warranted? On paper it may appear to be. We're surely bound to be better, if not a playoff contender. Being a superclub says to me that we're beyond good and that we're in a higher tier capable of beating teams outside MLS. I personally don't think we deserve any label like that until we've proven it on the field for at least a few matches. Is it too much pressure even if it is warranted? Is the pressure sometimes a good thing to keep a fire under our butts. I do except quite a few prime-time match times, especially in summer, as a result though.

What are your thoughts?

[Pint]

I would say it is nearly impossible to be a "superclub" in a cap system. Sure we have spent a ton of money on a couple players but at most our "superclub" money is spread over 27% of the players we have on the pitch. I like what they have done and i believe it is the right thing to do in the MLS system but a "'superclub" to me is a club that is superior at every position on the field not just the few where they are able to splash cash.

[Cashcleaner]

It's not warranted. We are nowhere near that level of status and Pint pretty much sums up why that is.

Also, I don't believe in slapping on labels like that before we have anything to back it up with. Right now the only trophies we have of any significance are our domestic championship titles - awarded to the winner of a tourney that includes only two other top-flight clubs and two lower tier teams. To put it bluntly, we don't yet have the sort of hardware that demands an elevated status.

[Abou Sky]

Real Madrid is a Super Club

Toronto FC is not.

[Shakes McQueen]

How about we make the MLS playoffs for the first time in club history, before we have any frank discussions about our status as a "superclub".

We can show off our trophy case, filled to the brim with a couple of V-Cups we won in a three team tournament. Superclub!

- Scott

[TFC07]

It's impossible of creating "superclub" team in soft salary cap league like MLS. Another problem is that MLS isn't best soccer league in the world, so it's very hard to create a superclub. All best players playing in Europe not in MLS. So I don't personally like using "superclub" word to describe any team in MLS.

[TFC07]

Real Madrid is a Super Club

Toronto FC is not.

Yes. This post sums up my opinion.

[ArmenJBX]

To borrow (and change) the words of Zangief from Wreck-It Ralph:

Just because you're not SuperClub TM




Doesn't mean you're not Super Club!

[GuelphStorm2007]

We are by no means a super club. How about we just for starters make the play offs first have a decent CCL. Lets not act like the Blue Jay fans last year. First tASK Beat Seattle at home on March 15.

[trane]

hahahahahahaha. Lets win something, and then win a little more, and then maybe we can even think of these kind of discussions.

I would say that the first ingredient for being a super-club is a winning tradition. I think you need to be drinking super kool-aid to look at our first seven years and see a winning tradition.

[Red4ever]

To borrow (and change) the words of Zangief from Wreck-It Ralph:

Just because you're not SuperClub TM




Doesn't mean you're not Super Club!

Perfect haha We'll all need a self help group if this season goes south.

[TOBOR !]

Here's my formula for achieving 'Super Club' status :

History + Recognizeable Success + Top Quality Team + Global Branding = Super Club.

We have none of these things, and aren't likely to in our lifetime.

[Captain]

I think we'd need a few of those little silver and gold stars above our logo before we could even start having this conversation.

[Huyton]

How about we make the MLS playoffs for the first time in club history, before we have any frank discussions about our status as a "superclub".

We can show off our trophy case, filled to the brim with a couple of V-Cups we won in a three team tournament. Superclub!

- Scott

There's also a Trillium Trophy and an autographed picture of Himself, CRonaldo7, in there too.

Would you like to reconsider?

[MartinUtd]

LA wasn't a superclub in the Beckham years and DC United weren't a super club in the 90's. This sounds like click bait to me.

[Flipityflu]

from worst team in the world to super club in 6 months...most impressive.

[Canary10]

Can this thread be removed? It is so completely premature that I fear it will jinx the entire season.

[Fort York Redcoat]

Can this thread be removed? It is so completely premature that I fear it will jinx the entire season.

Well now it is. Thanks a lot.

[Canary10]

Well now it is. Thanks a lot.

Ha. Can everyone please knock on wood?

[Oldtimer]

Here's my formula for achieving 'Super Club' status :

History + Recognizeable Success + Top Quality Team + Global Branding = Super Club.

We have none of these things, and aren't likely to in our lifetime.

History isn't that necessary. The original NY Cosmos in the original NASL was a SuperClub, they had some of the biggest names on the planet and won 70% of their games. They had global branding and presence. Also like most SuperClubs they bled red ink, and eventually Time Warner cut the purse-strings.

[TOBOR !]

I predict TFC wins every game this season and the Tims get Ibra to sign as a non-DP, in exchange for a development program with Paris SG.

Later on, Sepp Blatter will be seen up at the academy, cavorting with Bogers Execs amid strong rumours that Canada's WC bid "will be taken seriously".

He goes home with a briefcase that he didn't come with.

[TOBOR !]

History isn't that necessary. The original NY Cosmos in the original NASL was a SuperClub, they had some of the biggest names on the planet and won 70% of their games. They had global branding and presence. Also like most SuperClubs they bled red ink, and eventually Time Warner cut the purse-strings.

I don't think SuperClubs, in the context we're using the term now, existed in the 70's. This is more a recent phenomenon.

[tfcleeds]

Errr, no we're not. / thread?

[Super]

We're not a Super Club in the same way that Real Madrid is one, but we sure as hell threw around money as though we were. Not many clubs can take on new salary the way we did. Maybe we're a NEW Super Club in MLS terms. You spend $100 mil on 2 players in the MLS and you're considered pretty special. Super Club usually means the club has the financial means to buy a title. Chelsea, City, etc. all super clubs thanks to cash.

[trane]

Here's my formula for achieving 'Super Club' status :

History + Recognizeable Success + Top Quality Team + Global Branding = Super Club.

We have none of these things, and aren't likely to in our lifetime.

Alright lets try the formula;

History: 7 years of lossing
Recognizeable Success:Trilim and Canadian Championship
Top Quality Team: Sure top quality CSL team for sure
Global Branding: well people now us, in our minds we are kind of a bid deal, we porbably have a library full of leather bound books so: global branding;YES (sorta)
Super Club: IN THE MINDS OF SOME YES (super kool aid anyone?)

[trane]

I would not mind a banner/t-shirt with that; TFC=SUPER CLUB?

It is up there with WE WANT BUTTER.

[JuliquE]

Ha. Can everyone please knock on wood?

I don't know, mate; seems most around here prefer to TOUCH wood, as opposed to knocking on it, and I'm sure they would gladly do so for you.

** * **

To be fair, I don't think that anyone labelling us as such (not going to say it, because I'm superstitious like a bowse) would be so deluded as to think that we could compete with the likes of RM, PSG, City and so on, when it comes to spending on players; rather, I think that people are meaning this in MLS terms, as a few of the usual pundits around the league have, a couple of times, clarified.

That said, I agree with the general sentiment that we're getting way ahead of ourselves even discussing it. Until we've established a winning tradition, with the percentages and hardware to show for it, the pressures of prematurely bearing such a label would only contribute to the theme of instability, causing mass hysteria, when we don't meet those expectations.

[ensco]

You mean like the club in the UAE that signed Cannavaro? Or the Chinese team that signed Anelka and Drogba? Or the J League clubs that signed Dunga, Emerson...

The kind of super club that nobody (who doesn't follow that league) remembers the name of, 30 seconds after they've read about the signing?

Could be.

[brad]

This is one of the silliest threads I think I have ever read here.

What we are is a the worst team in MLS history, but we have added two quality experienced players, one unknown quantiy from Brazil and made a few astute moves on other players. No more, no less until this group hits the field and proves otherwise with results.

[brad]

You mean like the club in the UAE that signed Cannavaro? Or the Chinese team that signed Anelka and Drogba? Or the J League clubs that signed Dunga, Emerson...

The kind of super club that nobody (who doesn't follow that league) remembers the name of, 30 seconds after they've read about the signing?

Could be.

I don't know about you, but when I think super club, Anzhi Makhachkala is the first team that comes to mind. Well, not anymore...