One of the reporters who asked a question referred to the team as "the FC"... so frustrating as a fan to hear that.. Anyway, make sure you check out the cbc interviews.. As mentioned previously, JK is such a smart dude and I really hope he remains connected with the team in the future.
You know, I was thinking the exact same thing but as I read the articles on what the plans are, listen to the interviews with the 3 new musketeers, and listen to Klinsman, I realize what many have already mentioned - that this plan goes beyond just making a competitive team for this coming season.
Like it has been said many times, this is about finally establishing a long-term identity for the club. The architecture of an identity must begin even before the first team. It has to begin with the academy and very young kids who will hopefully one day be groomed from start to finish using TFC's football, whatever that turns out to be. The theory is that the new team presented today will be the source of the knowledge necessary to make this happen. However, as much as I can see them having an interest for the challenge and would like to believe they will be around to see their project succeed, I wouldn't be surprised if after 3 years (if not before) they pack and leave. That is if they are not booted before. Having said that, I'm not so sure that the plan of establishing an identity all the way from U7s to the first team can be accomplished in 3 years or less so we need someone who will very likely stay with the club for a long time soaking up as much knowledge as possible. I don't think there is better choice than Daso/Jimmy/Earl? Maybe I'm wrong.
The bottom line is that you cannot perpetually depend on consultants (because that's what they really are IMO) coming in to implement this out for you. You need the house to retain that knowledge so the identity is cemented all throughout the club for the long term. A perfect example of this is Barcelona - Cruyff came in and established his philosophy for over 8 years ("officially" lol). That time was enough to allow the players, club's staff at all levels, members, janitors, you name it .. eat breathe and sleep his style of play. That took some time but now they're seeing the rewards as La Masia is a bloody factory of superb players all intimately familiar with Barca's football. All of them managed by in-house managers who also understand the philosophy very well. They have a lot of pride in that, and they bloody should (politics aside). Unfortunately, due to the nature of the sport here, I doubt we'll have that much time so we need the house to start soaking up as much of that knowledge as possible.
Patience from the fans is going to be key here. We are probably not going to win the MLS cup this year (although with MLS you never know) nor are we going to become the next ajax or barca over night... but if they do it right..fuck..our kids will wear the red (TFC and Canada) very proudly. Exciting times!
or you know..they're just bloody good at selling hope lol.
+1,000
This is TOTALLY what I came away with from the presser. MLSE seems to actually be SERIOUS about putting a good product on the pitch.
BUT THIS WILL TAKE TIME.
I think this is also why MLSE went Dutch for this decision just out of the knowledge that Dutch have a system for football that will, in time, take on a life of it's own....but this will take time.
As supporters we need to have the utmost patience with this process knowing that when it's all said and done TFC may be what DC United was when the league first started...a DYNASTY!
As Beach Red said, it was perfectly understandable that TFC went cheap at the start (even if frustrating). Especially given that soccer had "failed" before in Toronto, they were hoping that by keeping costs low, and by getting at least 13,000 fans out to each game (i.e. Blizzard levels), they might possibly break even after several years.
Then the first game came with 20,000 red clad screaming fans... and the rest was history.
Going "low-end" was the norm for MLS in 2006 (when they were making their plans). At that time, the salary budget was under $2 million, there were no DPs, and for most clubs the GM also did Paul B.'s role of selling tickets.
Now, with soccer being an established success, and Vancouver setting the example (and still making money), they are trying to go with a full effort to be a quality club. We should support this initiative, they are going in the right direction. Hopefully, the right people have been selected, and that time will tell.
Well said. The parallels to DC United in the early years actually are quite strong, those who followed the league in those years can easily see the similarities. And yes... we should be patient.
Coincidentally, DC in their prime years, played a 4-3-3 (although their style was Latino, not Dutch).
Last edited by Oldtimer; 01-07-2011 at 07:07 AM.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
Agreed BUT it all depends on how they handle the news.
All of them have career aspirations and are competitive. It's got them where they are. So, Dasovic for example, he wants to be a head coach. He got a taste of it. He wanted to be this team's next coach. His current ownership said, thanks but you aren't ready yet.
Does he take the opportunity to learn and develop and wait for his turn? Does he sabotage the current coach (doesn't have to be intentional or overt, just simple comments when a coach and player are at odds)? Does he put his time in at TFC while shopping his resume around?
No reason to suspect he (or the others) would do anything other than what is asked of them. But a lot of their future depends on the choices they make under this new structure.
Not sure if this has been mentioned or not, but did anyone else notice they were using the Year 1 Scarf and Ball?
http://www.torontofc.ca/sites/defaul...11/01/Team.jpg
I thought it was odd when I first saw the scarves (especially since the TFC logo was poorly done), but then thought maybe this was a clever way of saying this is a new Year 1 for the club.
I think the quotation marks are there for a reason. Aka it didn't fail here but the league went down and took the team with it. Which was a possibility for MLS as well when they joined.
Loconet, very well said!
Pretty much bang on. TFC may be only 5 years old but looking at it from MLS terms, we are covering 2 different eras. TFC's entry was also the start of a new era for MLS and TFC helped usher in change. We have to be at least a LITTLE understanding of the fact that they didn't have a "TFC" to learn from themselves, it was all "learn as you go" for TFC. The teams that came after had the luxury of probably the best launch in MLS history to learn from and of course improved on that model.
'soccer' didn't fail in Toronto, but 'professional soccer teams' sure did. There's a big difference.
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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.
Incorrect on both.
Toronto Metros Croatia was getting about 10,000 fans (an ethnic team with less than half of today's ethnic population). Some games selling out or getting in the high teens of thousands. Sold to Global and called the Blizzard where they played out of CNE stadium getting 20,000 plus regularly. The Soccer Bowl hosted here was 10x more visible in the city than this past MLS Cup final here and sold out with plus 50,000.
The Blizzard was one of 2 teams left standing when the league folded.
That doesn't make the sport fail here. You can't have a league with 2 teams.
The people have always been here. If there was a 'failure' it was on the ownership end, whether at club or league level. Fans never gave up on it in this city. MLSE knew that too when they bought in.
What gets me is reading media reports or talking to people who don't know much about the history of the game in this city is the inference of failure of the sport professionally here because of the fans which is simply not the case.
I know the history of the Metros Croatia and the Blizzard, and the Toronto Falcons and Toronto City before them.
Unfortunately it still goes on the record books as a failure.
and what was happening in Toronto immediately prior to TFC?
A few thousand people (on a nice sunny day) out at Centennial Park?
sure there were peaks in the sport's success over the years, but the decade before TFC was a bit of a low.
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Great management team.
Except Anselmi.......what a weird looking bloke he is.
The Anselmi were the inhabitants of the ocean planet Glee Anselm. They shared the planet with the Nautolans. Both races evolved naturally on the planet, the Nautolans under the water and the Anselmi on what little landmasses there were. Competition for land most likely led to the Anselmi turning into a warlike race. However, as the Nautolans gradually came to the surface and acquired land, they were able to use their natural abilities and strength to overcome the Anselmi. The Nautolans made up the majority of the population, as the Anselmi continually warred amongst themselves diminishing their numbers on the planet.
I actually don't think that soccer failed at all. I was referring to MLSE's probable perception, and why they would go cheap at first. I put "failed" in quotes because it's an inaccurate but common perception.
In the Blizzard's case, the league failed in that it went under. The fans were always here.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
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... and it was based on a model of selling 13-14k tickets, and struggling to eventually be a minor profit centre.
MLSE were wrong, but so were we. Nobody predicted what eventually happened. The most optimistic estimate (one hopeful individual) was 18-19k on our message board at the time, and most people though 12-14k.
Last edited by Oldtimer; 01-07-2011 at 11:37 AM.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto
Im just really excited for another five year plan. Thats the best part.
MLS is a tough, physical league, that emphasizes speed, and features plastic fields, grueling travel, extreme weather, and incompetent refs. - NK Toronto