What August means...an ode to football

The start of a new European club season always brings about a sense of renewal and excitement that is rarely rivialed in world sport. Fans forget the bickering over match fixing allegations, the wild and ridiculous transfer rumors, the long some time painful to watch overseas tours and just get down to watching their club for the next 9 months. The glitter than comes with watching the big new signing at your club shine on their debut, or finally seeing your club make the top flight is something that has always intrigued me. It's one of the few times that everyone has the small, if even slightly out to lunch hope that this is truly "Our year".

For the football junkies like myself this time of year means synchronizing watches and re-learning the different world time zones. It means no more sleeping in on the weekends, no quiet Saturday and Sundays, and no more "hey what you doing" calls during normal game time (Sorry ladies).  The weekends in August bring us the delights of French football, the pace and power from England, the beauty of the Spanish game and the tactical brilliant of Italy and Germany.At times it means that a football supporter has to make difficult decisions like which game to leave behind, which games to put your faith in and how much Arabic you know so you can watch your favorite match online if you can't get it on T.V where you are.

From a North American perspective, August is football dream land. Not only are the European Leagues getting started, but MLS is going into the playoff stretch drive. All the games in April and May no one though important, now become huge as team scrap for every last point to get themselves a shot at a league championship. At any given time one can watch football on a Saturday from 7:30 am -10 pm at night. And that does not include if you want to watch a west coast game which could be done at 1am the next morning!

To Man U, Arsenal and hell even Man City too. Lazio, Parma, Roma and Inter. From Wolfsburg to Bayern, PSG to Barca, from the 85,000 at the Santiago Bernabeu to the 2,500 in Frisco, Texas who watch FC Dallas. Enjoy, revel the best football months are back! and not a moment too soon.

Cheers,
Mike

Is Toronto FC the worst team in the MLS?

Saturday was a disaster.

A 3-0 loss is always a better pill to swallow for any team, but for one trying to re-built both on a off the pitch it is extremely harsh. While most Toronto sports fans had their eyes glued to the blood and glory at Rogers Centre Saturday night, a small dedicated group of football supporters gather at bars or around t.v's to watch their ever evolving Reds take on the Sounders in Seattle. What they saw might have sent them to even heaver drinking than when the team plays at home. 

I could go into all the tactical issues that occurred in the game and what exactly went wrong, but the only thing one needs to know is that the fight was not there. Head coach Aron Winter, his coaches and some players described the loss in three words; Embarrassing. Shameful and Frustrating. In all sports; especially in Toronto, the effort is as important as the win. Obviously this town wants a winner, but this town has been without a winner for so long now we can settle for second place until then. This town can even forgive a lack of quality if you give it your all. However what we can't forgive is a poor, spineless effort. Or in the words of Columbus defender Chad Masrshall after last week's 1-1 draw at BMO " This team is not very good". On evidence of the first 8 games of the season, this is the worst team in the league.*

Yes I am aware that Toronto currently does not have the worst points total in the league, that belongs to Sporting Kansas City. However I've watched a few SKC games, and although they lack quality in the midfield... they fight. When I watch TFC go down in a game, I have no sense or feeling that they could mount a come back. Most teams in a situation like that can pour on the pressure and create chances to tie the game. In both Saturday's game and the 3-0 home loss to D.C United a few weekends ago, you had no belief that this team could mount any kind of challenge. The passing was poor, there was no creative spark anywhere on the pitch. Players were afraid to play the ball, which has become a recurring theme for the coaching staff. The defence caved in easily and  maybe the most startling thing, Aron Winter seemed to have no answer.

Granted the team is only 8 games into a 36 game season, so there is a lot of football left to played, and at times they have shown that the system Winter is trying to bring in is starting to sink in. But glaring questions still remain; where are the goals going to come from? who is going to be that creative force in the midfield? (Lets face it De Guzman is not the answer here) Can they strengthen the defence? And  maybe the most important question, when things get really tough; and they will before they get better, Can Aron Winter keep this team motivated?

3 of those 4 questions won't be answered until the European transfer window opens in July.

The fourth maybe answered in the next few weeks, if the recent results continue. I'm not trying to suggest that Winter will be fired anytime soon; but it could potentially derail the continuing installation of the "Dutch" style of play.

*I left an asterisk beside my statement of TFC being the worst club because all of this is still a work in progress. If the club can add two or three quality players to the fold they have the potential of being a very explosive team. They also have have on of the best goal keepers in the MLS in Stefan Frei, so if they can upgrade their defence they could become a much more solid team at the back. But for now these are all ifs, and ifs for a fan base starving for success may not be good enough.

Cheers,

Mike

The feel good story of Charlie Davies

There are a lot of negative stories that float around the game of soccer. From corruption at FIFA, to racism, homophobia to fan violence. There are plenty of things I could cover, and have covered over the past year that show the ugly side of the game. But today I'm more that happy...thrilled in fact to post this one, the remarkable come back of U.S international striker Charlie Davies.

I funny enough remember where I was when I heard the news, I was at the desk of my former employer who happened to be a soccer fan as well. We were discussing some technical issues with a product we were working on when she scrolled into a braking news story that was about three lines long. It said:

"The U.S. national team's World Cup qualifying celebration took a very somber turn on Tuesday morning when it learned that Charlie Davies, the Boston College product who has established himself as a first-choice forward this year, was involved in a serious car accident near the team's Arlington, Va., hotel."~Via AOLnews.com (Brain Straus)

My colleague had no idea who Davies was, but I did. I mainly remember Davies for ripping Canada apart in a few friendlies and for some excellent performances in France for Ligue 1 side Sochaux. He also was a big reason why the U.S national team made it to the final of the Confederations Cup in 2009 against Brazil. Things were defiantly looking up for the player. Then disaster struck.



Sochaux supporters wish CD9 well



The car he was in that morning lost control on the George Washington Parkway in D.C and according to one officers report was sawed in half. One passenger died in the crash and Charlie was so badly hurt that doctors were sure that he would not survive his injuries. He still has a massive scar on his head. However survive is exactly what he did, unfortunately he would miss the national team's World Cup run, he lost his place at Sochaux though both team's supporters showed him great love and well wishes it was thought he would never play again.

Davies rehab was intense as he set about the goal of playing football at the highest level again. It was painful and frustrating at times but he was determined to make it. I had lost sight of the Davies story for a bit, focused on the World Cup, Euro qualifiers. the MLS season winding to a close, and the start of the new European league season I had forgotten about his fight back to fitness. Then I read a badly Google translated article from L'Equipe that more or less stated that Charlie Davies was back training with the Sochaux reserves. I personally was happy for him but also amazed that he was able to be back training at a high level a little after a year since the accident. He did not see anytime with the first team, but got into some action with the reserves, and after the January transfer window closed, it was announced that Charlie would be coming to MLS to trial with D.C United. In his typical workman fashion he impressed and easily made the squad.

Which brings us to last Saturday in the 63rd minute 12 yards from goal. In his first competitive game in a year and a half, he's taking a penalty. I remember what nerves felt like when taking a game winning shot in Basketball especially when you know the ball is coming to you. The nerves hit you and you have to calm yourself down and visualize an empty court just like in practice. I have no idea what was going though Charlie's mind when he was taking that penalty, but I'm sure a part of him was back on that freeway. He slotted it in of course and for good measure scored another 12 minutes later.




No one know what this season will bring for him but all I know is when I see him play I'll be rooting for him..... except when he plays against TFC. 

Cheers,
Mike

Stalling out the gate: Winter gets back four selection wrong as Toronto FC falls 4-2 to Vancouver

At the beginning of the pre-season, much was made of Aron Winter's new approach to TFC's on pitch tactics. He preached a possession game utilizing a 4-3-3 formation, with an emphasis on passing and good decision making with the ball. Most supporters and journalists who followed the club and knew the make up of the roster understood that this transition would take a good deal of time. Although selling the public on a more offensive seemed to work, the real issue with the club would be at the back. Entering the first game of the season against expansion, but hardly new Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday expectations were mixed as to what kind of team supporters would see for the 2011 season.

The first thing that struck me when the team sheet was announced was the back four Winter had chosen to start the game with. He went with a defence of Dan Gargan at right back, Nana Attakora and Ty Harden at centre back and what was the biggest surprise, recent hold out Adrian Cann at left back. As the clubs 2010 most valuable player Cann was expected to anchor the defence from centre back; Especially as he and Attakora had developed a decent partnership over the past year. Cann was playing completely out of position and it showed through out the game and especially on the first Whitecap goal as he was completely out of position on Davide Cuiumiento's cross into the box which led to Eric Hassli's half volley past a helpless Stefan Frei. Cann's lack of pace lack of pace made it fairly easy for Cuiumiento to get by him and dictate the game with his precise passing.

The other issue with Winter's defensive selection was the pairing of Attakora and Harden against the physically bigger and stronger Vancouver forward Eric Hassli. Nana will I believe will become an excellent defender in the MLS, however it became clear early on that he and Harden were going to have trouble handling Hassli. On both of Hassli's goals his strength and movement cause the defenders massive problems. This is where the size of Cann would have come in handy for the relatively small team.

TFC's management has stressed over the past 6 weeks leading into the season opener that patience was needed while the players adapted to the club's new philosophy of play. A key to playing the 4-3-3 is having players on the pitch that can make a decisive pass and most importantly make good decisions. Saturday was evidence that the team has a long way to go before this system is anywhere near what Winter would like it to be. There were countless turnovers especially from the back four who are still not adept to making as many passes as they're are now required to do. Harden and Gargan were guilty of making poor passes that lead to Whitecap chances, Harden making a horrible pass that was easily intercepted by Atiba Harris which lead to an open break on goal. Gargan's intercepted pass lead to Vancouver's third goal as Russel Teibert's pass put Wes Knight and Hassli clear on goal with the latter finishing off the move.

What was very alarming to any TFC supporters was how disorganized the side looked at times in the midfield and back four. Not taking anything away form Vancouver's performance, but 3 of the 4 goals were due to serious lapses in TFC's judgement. The midfield did not help the back for much with bad defensive positioning and sloppy turnovers which left the defenders out of position.

With a lot of negative play getting the focus, and rightfully so, there were some bright sports for the Reds going forward. For one Winter did get his wish in regards to possession, 61% of possession to be exact. In the first 30 minutes The Reds looked dangerous on the left flank. Newcomer Javier Martina was bright in his attacking play and teased a few good low crosses into to box, and showed some creativity on the wings that this club has rarely ever seen. Jacob Peterson's attacking play looked decent, now deployed more centrally he made some good passes and liked up well with the front players. Macon Santos had the thankless task of holding put the ball and bringing players into the game, but did it reasonably well; He also struck an absolute net buster late in the game for TFC's second goal. For all his off the field dramatics captain Dwayne DeRosario was best outfield player for the Reds once again. His great finish for the first goal showed TFC fans why they still need him, and he did a great job linking the play, especially out wide. However TFC's star of the game was kepper Stefan Frei. Without the third year stopper Vancouver could have scored 5 or 6.

Next week's home opener against Portland will be a big test for this club. Although supporters have seem to have given the club some leeway in terms of implementing the new system, if they turn in a result like Saturday that leeway will evaporate very quickly.

Cheers,
Mike

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

The true Mad Men of World Football

I'm not too sure why a random episode of the excellent AMC series "Mad Men" prompted me to write about the way soccer clubs spend their money, but I figure why fight it?

As we reach closer to the beginning of another European club season, you start to see how teams are shaping up for the new campaign. What you also get to see are all the new signings clubs have made over the past few months. For the supporter it's a time of endless hope, where the long standing members of the squad team up with the new boys in order to chase that moment of glory for your club. From Chelsea to Blackpool, Inter to Bari and Barca to Sporting Gjidon, every supporter believes it's their year, but what seems to get lost in the hysteria of the new club record signing, ownership trotted out at the club ground, is the price tag.

I found it interesting that during the global economic meltdown, with some of the largest and most important institution crumbling under the weight of bad financial decisions (Lehman Bros, GM, Chrysler, RBS etc..) Football seemed to be completely impervious to this. Now of course when I say this I mean the big world clubs as many of the smaller clubs REALLY felt the brunt of the economic down turn. Clubs like Portsmouth, West Ham, Crystal Place, Valencia, Lazio, Nice, Rangers have all had to make what were in effect austerity measures to stay afloat and out of administration, and in the end this was not even enough to save Pompey and Crystal Place from bankruptcy.

Signing of Henry shows improvement of MLS

Whether or not you believe that the Thierry Henry signing by New York Red Bull earlier this week is a move more to do with publicity, the fact that he chose MLS over other European clubs that wanted his services shows that players are starting the see the improving quality in the league. Sure Henry is an aging star who has not has not been firing at his best since leaving Arsenal in 2007, but the fact that a player of his quality and stature in the game decided that MLS will be his home for the next four and a half years is a watershed moment for the league.

Although this move is less heralded than David Beckham's move in 2007, it will be more successful from a quality on the pitch perspective than Beckham ever was. This is not to say that Henry won't be looking to expand his brand in North America, however he will certainly bring more quality to the pitch than any DP player in the league before him. As he said in his press conference this week "I am a competitor, and I expect to win" he added "This marks an exciting new chapter in my career and life."It is an honour to play for the New York Red Bulls. I am fully aware of the team's history and my sole goal during my time here is to help win the club its first championship".

The biggest plus for the MLS is that Henry's name has clout with other top players in Europe. Seeing him sign and play in the MLS will leak back to Europe and other top players will look at making the jump. The latest rumour is that L.A Galaxy may make an attempt to sign Brazilian international superstar Ronaldinho. Of course this is only a rumour, but these types are press and rumours will only help the league grow stronger in terms of quality and drawing power.



Cheers,
Mike

TFC Corner

With the world's soccer attention focused in South Africa I've been neglecting our Toronto FC. Granted MLS was on a world cup break for 3 weeks but TFC made their return to the pitch on Saturday against the Landon Donovan/Edson Buddle-less L.A Galaxy.

The last time we saw the Reds they were involved in a dower 0-0 draw with the Kansas City Wizards. This result brought TFC's unbeaten run to 8 games in which they have only conceded 4 goals. For a team that looked like they couldn't stop anyone from scoring at the beginning of the season, head coach Preki has moulded the team into one of the strongest defensive units in the league. However there was a slight concern that TFC could not wrap up what should have been 3 points against a woeful KC.

Saturday would prove to be a stiffer challenge as the Galaxy came to BMO Field with the best record in the league. What the 15,000 fans saw was another dower 0-0 draw which produced very few chances and sloppy play. Credit must be given to the Reds back four and keeper Stefan Frei who once again were strong when called upon. However there is now a concern that TFC is lacking a bit of a offensive spark upfront.

In training sessions Preki preaches the elements of two touch passes and quick movement of the ball in order to create openings in the defence. However this is not translating to the pitch on match days as at times the attacking play looks lost and punch less. Many including myself have been looking for Preki to play a formation closer to a 4-3-3 that would emphasise the attack. This in theory could be done with O'Brian While in the centre flanked by Chad Barrett and Dwayne De Rosario upfront.

This of course would fly in the face of Preki's desire to build a strong game plan from the back out, but he must realize that too many draws could be just as damaging to a playoff run as losses are.

Although the team is right up against the salary cap it might be time for TFC to look for a offensive DP player to help the team's attack and boost their playoff chances. Earlier this year I made a case for the signing of French star striker Thierry Henry. It seems now Henry is set to sign for conference rivals New York Red Bull, which would leave Toronto behind in the arms race so to speak. This obvious issue would be trying to convince a either aging or about to be aging football star to sign in Toronto. Some suggestions that with a large Portuguese population in Toronto, former Portugal international Nuno Gomes would be a fit with the club. I can only see a move for him as a positive, first it will help you on the field in regards to quality; but second and maybe most importantly he can help develop a young striker in O'Brian White who is still improving his link up play.

Now a move for Gomes is just wishful thinking on my behalf at this time, but TFC will have to address this issue at some point in the near future if it hopes to score more goals and qualify for the playoffs for the first time in club history.

Cheers,
Mike

Docket # 14..The TFC case for Thierry Henry

After watching Toronto FC for the second time this young season, two things strike me. One this is clearly a team that is still getting to know each other on the pitch, you could see in some of the passes and the positioning guys are still learning their roles under the new Preki regime.

Second and possibly more concerning for the long term, is figuring out where this club is going to score goals. In the first 30 minutes of the game TFC showed little in the way of attacking prowess. Dwayne DeRosario was the only player who showed any creativity up front as they tried to grab a foothold in the game. It really only by the grace of a bad back pass by the Philly defender to the goalie and a stupid red card challenge on Julian De Guzman by the same defender, and a lounging challenge by the keeper in the box in the second half did TFC have any of its clear cut chances. Even with the introduction of Chad Barret , O’Brien White and playing with a man up you felt as though they were going to struggle to find a goal.

After the recent Collective Bargaining Agreement was signed by both the Players Union and The league one of the new components that came out of it was the new 3rd designated player spot for each roster. Each team could buy that 3rd spot in order to sign a player over and above the league’s salary cap. For TFC this means the club could conceivably sign two world class players to the club roster without taking a hit on the salary cap. The aforementioned De Guzman already occupies one of those spots, but who should be TFC’s next DP signing? Well based on what I’ve seen from TFC this season, and also based on the endless talk of Barca striker/attacking winger Thierry Henry’s interest in coming to North America to play. TFC should make a bid for France’s all time leading goal scorer to dawn the Reds shirt.

Now as I see in my mind the foot snobs choking on their pints, hear me out there is more of a case for Henry to at least consider coming to hogtown. There is also a few massive reasons why making a bid for Henry makes both football and business sense for TFC. I list and explain my reasons below.

For Henry:

He gets his move to North America- Now the talk of the former Arsenal captain coming to the MLS coincides with comments that Henry made saying that he would like to try his hand in North America and that he loves New York. A couple of things he should consider before he runs with the Red Bulls. The team is coming off one of the worst seasons in MLS history (5-6-19 ,21 pts). Yes they do have a new stadium this year, however can it truly match the game atmosphere at BMO on a hot July afternoon? He’ll also have to consider that the stadium is nowhere near Manhattan where he likes to chill (It’s actually in Harrison, New Jersey) He’ll also have to decide which is the better Soccer market, and with all due respect to New York’s reputation as a massive city. In terms of Soccer it is slightly behind Toronto in terms of fans recognizing him.

He gets to spread the “Henry brand”- Let’s not be delusional he won’t be leaving Barcelona just for the football in the MLS, he’ll want to build a brand like Beckham. This slightly ties into the previous point with one massive difference. In New York he will have to be sold to the New York public, in a sense he’ll have to build himself up again. Unlike David Beckham who for the most part already had a big fan base in North America, Henry will have to build his brand practically from scratch. However in Toronto he’ll already be a recognized name. There are tons of Barca and Arsenal supporters in the city who will rally around him and bring those who don’t know with them to matches to see him.

Money- Anyone who is a sports fan in Toronto knows Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) has massive amounts of cash to spend/waste on talent. If you don’t believe me check out how much Jeff Finger and Marcus Banks are being paid not to play for the Leafs and Raptors respectively. The word out is that if Henry were to sign with NYRB it would have to be tied into an ad deal in which a big part of the contact is paid by advertisers, similar to Becks deal with L.A Galaxy. MLSE would be able to pay Henry practically anything he wants without the ad deals (Though I have a suspicion this would happen anyway). Plus with the percentage of the shirt sales Henry would get, he would be rolling in cash considering how fast his TFC shirts would sell out.

For TFC/MLSE:

Soccer exposure- MLSE can use Henry to grow its continuing investment into Canadian Soccer. MLSE loves profits more than anything and this would be an exciting business opportunity for the company. CEO Richard Pettie and the board must have seen the numbers regarding soccer enrolment for youth in Canada. MLSE could grow the game and a loyalty to the TFC brand at a young age by signing and marketing one of the game’s greatest players over the past 15 years.

Sending a message- For the club it would send a message to the rest of the MLS that TFC are serious about winning and improvement. If you listen to talk about the club outside of Toronto the product on the pitch is not taken seriously at all, and for all the talk about how great the supporters are at matches it’ll mean little if the club continues to struggle on the pitch. Even if the club fails to sign Henry, it shows that the club is looking for the best talent out there and will make attempts to bring them to BMO.

On the pitch- Of course signing Henry does not guarantee immediate success on the pitch, however what it does show the players is that there is another level that can be reach through hard preparation. This eventually will rub off on the players, especially the younger ones and the academy players. This can happen even to the senior squad as those players will try to keep up with a legend. Henry also provides a legit goal threat some TFC has never really had on the pitch, say all you want about DeRosario but he’s not a striker. With Henry’s skill against MLS defense’s one can see him scoring 20 a season pretty easily.

Overall the task of signing a player of Thierry Henry calibre is a massive undertaking which in most cases would end up in failure. However this does not mean TFC should not try, if there are serious about making the playoff and becoming a dominate power in the league as Mo Johnston says they do then the gloves need to come off. It is time for MLSE and TFC to put their money where their mouth is and make the moves the supporters and the players want. TFC needs to sign a DP this season, and frankly why not shoot for the top?