Unlucky but sloppy TFC draw 1-1 at home to Chivas USA

Things looked to be going against the home team early as Alejandro Moreno scored off bad TFC defending in just the second minute, however former Chivas striker Alan Gordon tied the game in the 36th minute off a whipped in set piece from midfielder Jacob Peterson.

Much of the buzz around the stadium had little to do with the match however as club supporters were still coming to grips with the Dwayne De Rosario trade. The reaction seemed to be split down the middle, one half believing that the trade needed to be made made as the player was asking for money the club could not pay. Or the other belief, that the club has once again let the supporters down by trading the club Captian, best player and home town boy. Coincidentally both Danleigh Borman and Tony Tchani, the players that were sent in return for De Rosario from New York made their club debuts in the starting 11.

The first half was a display of sloppy football by the home side, a poor giveaway and bad marking by the usually reliable Adriab Cann allowed Moreno to dribble though the defence for the opening goal just 2 minutes in. In his post match comments Head Coach Aron Winter was shocked at his club's sluggish start in the first 25 minutes "We seemed to be asleep for the first 15 minutes. We had two new players in the team and they struggled for the first 10-15 minutes".  As TFC struggled to complete even the simplest of passes Chivas heaped on more pressure and could have made it two as Justin Braun missed a good opportunity.  The California side were soon made to pay for their missed chance as off a free kick Jacob Petersen delivered an excellent ball into the box were Alan Gordon was left unmarked to head home the equalizer.

This seemed to spark the home side as they started to have better control of the ball and in the 44th minute looked like they had taken the lead when new Captain Maicon Santos headed in from close range. However the goal was disallowed by the side judge as offside, though the replays showed otherwise.

The second half was evenly played though lacking a cutting edge for a decisive goal. The introduction of club designated player and Canadian international Julian De Guzman at half time was a welcome and unexpected sight for Reds fans who were now looking for a new home town hero. He came on to a loud ovation and made a difference in the teams ability to keep possession of the ball, though his lack of match sharpness showed at times. He commented after the game that "There were a couple of early runs in the game where I felt the physical side of things needed to be worked on but that will come naturally," But I was very pleased to have 45 minutes with no pain, and the knee feels great."


The only significant chance of the second half came in the 66th minute as Santos would miss a glorious chance after he beat the onside trap and was sent in alone on Goats keeper Dan Kennedy. Santos rounded Kennedy however it allowed time for former TFC defender Andrew Boyens to put him off and slide his effort wide of the post.

As referee Toledo blew for full time the attention once again shifted to De Rosario. Winter wanted to make it clear that "We gave him a very good offer for 3 years but he turned it down". He also added that the former Captain requested to be traded during training camp as he wanted to be made in to a DP and make the larger salary. When pressed on how the club will use the extra cap room or who will be brought in to help score goals, Winter indirectly answered by saying the club will explore their options over the next few weeks. He also inadvertently hinted that the opening of the European transfer window will be a prime target.
 Although in the immediate future no signings were planned.

Cheers,
Mike

The face is gone: DeRo had to go



De Rosario in his last game for Toronto FC



It sucks...plain and simple, no football supporter even wants to lose their clubs best player, leading goal scorer and icon at anytime, but especially at a time in which the club is forging a new identity. However this is what has happened again to Toronto Football Club supporters. After today's confirmation that club Captain Dwayne De Rosario had been dealt to New York Red Bulls it was clear to all that didn't already know, the club was heading in a new direction.

For those who follow the club closely this trade is not a total shock. The deal had been rumored for the past 10 days or so, and NYRB manager Hans Backe has made it clear he was looking for an experienced number 10 to fill out his already stacked roster. Most TFC fans hoped he was looking somewhere else for his midfielder.

Now that the trade has happened and there has been some time to swallow the news, TFC fans should take a step back and ask is this a blessing in disguise for the club?

It was clear from the start of training camp in February that De Rosario was not happy with the club. He was promised something from previous GM Mo Johnston that never materialized. Until we hear from DeRo we can only speculate, was it a promise of Designated Player money? was it the promise of high profile signings? a quick route to the playoffs? whatever the reason(s) were he was not pleased to be here. As I had mentioned in a previous post the equation of a disgruntled player and a rebuilding club equaled a parting of ways. What I and many supporters knew as TFC dilemma was What's more important? star and drawing power? or building a strong nucleus for the club?" I leaned towards the latter stating that dumping his salary cap hit would allow the club to bring in players that could help the club both in the short and long term. Bare in mind I wrote that post before Winter was hired as TFC manager so I did not know what style the club was going to be playing. But clearly Winter, director of player development Paul Mariner and the rest of the TFC brass thought the same way.

It didn't help the Canadian international that he wanted more money after signing a 4 year deal paying him $420,000 after one year. No one could argue that he was the clubs best player, but was he worth DP money. After the acquisition of Julian De Guzman on DP wages he clearly thought was. Yes admittedly he scored goals and won games for the club, but he was also known to be a cancer in the dressing room with many calling him a Captain in name only. He also at times on the pitch played for himself, taking shots when a pass would have been the better option, or trying to dribble past three defenders to create a chance.

Did the club lean on him too much to score and create? Yes, did he make things worse by feeding into that? Maybe. However both sides clearly needs this separation, DeRo needed to be on a winner and TFC needed to find some young players with potential for depth reasons. No one knows if Tony Tchani or Danleigh Borman will proved to be good buys for TFC but one thing  is for certain the club will be out of excuses if this season turns into a complete failure.

Cheers,
Mike

The DeRo Dilemma...and why he needs to go.

Over the last few days long suffering Toronto FC supporters have been watching an evolving soap opera of events take place at the club between management and its best player Dwayne DeRosario. And just like a soap there is a third party to complete the sordid triangle in legendary Scottish club Celtic. All jokes aside this trial...or training or tryout whatever DeRo's camp is calling it is starting to become an unwelcome distraction of a club that is trying to sort itself out for the upcoming MLS season.

The facts are this, DeRosario has gone to Scotland to "workout" with Celtic for a week in Scotland to keep himself fit..... in his terms. TFC first came out on Monday denying that DeRo was even in Scotland, then had to admit he was there when pictures surfaced of him in Celtic training gear in Lennoxtown. Now the club has come out stating that they knew he wanted to go but had no permission from the club to go train. Then there is Celtic who seemed to be convinced that a) The player and agent had permission from the club and b) that he was on trial with the possibility of a short term lease, or even a permanent switch.

On the surface the issue is whither or not permission to train with Celtic was given by MLSE to DeRo, right now things do not look good for the TFC captain as both the club and the league appear to be in the dark about the whole thing if you read their statements. However if you scratch below the surface the issues between club and player are coming to a head.

Last seasons cheque writing goal celebration  by DeRo put him in the dog house for the first time since his arrival in early 2009. It was clear money was an issue for the captain who felt he should be receiving DP level money considering he was by far the club's best player. Although he may have been right in asking for a raise, the way in which he went about it was "unacceptable" in the eyes of club President Tom Anselmi and put the club in a difficult position, say nothing and you are seen as condoning the behavior, say too much too strongly and best player demands a move out.

This latest move by DeRosario once again puts the club in the same position with an added dilemma, "should we let him go?"

On this question you will get many different reactions some for, many against but what supporters and management have to weigh is " What's more important? star power and drawing power? or building a strong nucleus for the club?"

Right now DeRosario is in the middle of a 4 year deal with a roughly $400,000 a year salary. That made him the 3rd highest paid player on the squad behind Julian DeGuzman and the now departed Mista. If you take that $400,000 hit off the salary cap, TFC could bring in a lot of good pieces that could make this club a contender in the MLS very quickly and very cheaply. However the down side is the loss of quality, there can be no doubt that he is the most gifted player on the squad, who can go on massive goal scoring runs. But how many times last year was it asked, who else is going to score the goals? Who will provide the wide play? Who can stop the other teams best player? Sending DeRo and his massive contact to Scotland could begin to answer some of these questions.

Here's what Dwayne needs to understand, with his current contact and the club's current salary cap situation he CANNOT get a raise his salary is at the max for a non DP. As for the oft wondered option of making him a DP the answer is probably a no as well. The league likes to have clubs reserve those spots for international talent coming from overseas; plus the only "life long MLS'er" who has made that jump is Landon Donovan for political reasons more than anything. So unless DeRosario can find a way to live with his contact he could be seeing the door sooner rather than later.

At 32 he has only a hand full of real options available to him, one is to try and make a last ditch effort to catch on with a club in Europe (which he's trying to do now, no matter how much he denies it) Try and force a trade to another MLS club, but seeing how the re-entry went not a lot of teams are looking to pick up big ticket contacts right now. The third is to stay put.

Whatever he decides to do this latest move by the Canadian international is one of serious disrespect to both the club management no matter what you think of them, and to the supporters who will not take this one lying down.

Cheers,
Mike N

2 points lost more than 1 point gained

TFC kept their unbeaten home record alive for the 2010 season by drawing with FC Dallas 1-1 at a rain soaked BMO Field this afternoon. Both teams came into the game on a bit of a streak, TFC had their afore mentioned home unbeaten streak. While FC Dallas had been unbeaten in 6, and came to pad their lead over TFC in the chase for one of 8 playoff births.

Stfan Frei dives to make a save in a 1-1 draw against FC Dallas

TFC head coach Preki will be less than satisfied with the result as his team controlled much of the play and created the better clear cut chances. He will also be upset with the way TFC conceded the tying goal. It all came about from sloppy and lazy play between captain Dwayne De Rosario and defender Nick Garcia. After a poor clearance from the back by Garcia, De Rosario played the ball back towards his own goal for a corner kick. As has been the case for the majority of the season so far, the marking on the resulting corner was poor allowing Milton Rodriguez a free header past the helpless Frei. After the game Preki stated about the Garcia, De Rosario incident that “It was one of those lethargic plays,” Frei added regarding defence of set pieces “We’ve got to win our individual battles and almost take the intensity up a notch when we defend our set pieces. It’s got to get better.”

However there were positives to take from the game.

 Up until that point TFC were in the drivers seat. They were playing some of their best football up front in a while, as recent signing Maicon Santos is proving to be an astute pick up for the club. Staring his first MLS game for the Reds, Santos provided the hold up play Preki has desperately been seeking. Santos also has the ability to play the link up role with either Chad Barret or De Rosario. It was Santos who fired TFC into the lead in the 61st minute with a low shot to the near post, which in all honesty the FC Dallas keeper should have had.

It is also as good sign that Julian De Guzman seems to be picking up his game on the offensive end, as it was he who provided the inch perfect through ball for Santos to score. De Guzman is starting to look like he's finally finding his feet for TFC after his transition form the Spanish league.

Today also provided us our first look at former Spain international striker Mista in an MLS game. He came on in the second half and immediately showed his quality on the ball providing excellent passes out wide and to the feet of the forwards. He also looked like someone who had not played a competitive match in over 2 months. TFC fans shouldn't be too worried about this as he will be in full match fitness soon, but supporters shouldn't see him as the saviour as well, there is still much to be improved upon with this team.

Overall it seems like a good news, bad news view for TFC today. On the good side they kept the club record home unbeaten streak to 9 matches, however on the bad it's two point lost in the standings against teams they are fighting with for a playoff spot. As De Guzman said in his closing remarks “We made it a bit more difficult now for us giving away two points at home.”

Cheers,
Mike