http://onwardsoccer.com Ben Knight's Soccer Blog Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:15:35 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en By Ben Knight   He’s got some rascal in him, this one. Thursday’s BMO Field presser announcing details of the 2010 Voyageurs Cup tournament was the first chance I’ve had to study Toronto FC’s new coach eyeball-to-eyeball. Preki – new to the whole thing, lurching back and forth between loosey-goosey and tentative – put ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1909 By Ben Knight   Jim Brennan is a wonderful guy.  Friendly, approachable, clever, smiles a lot, cares hugely about what he does. But as Toronto FC commences training camp for the 2010 MLS campaign, it is clear that Jimmy B should step down as the captain of the Reds. Yes, he was the first ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1905 By Ben Knight   Sorry for the long absence, folks.  I’m very much in off-season mode, and my life has become quite interestingly busy (in two cities!) behind the scenes.  Onward! will become a regular part of my life again come spring, but there will still be intermittent (and, I hope, amusing) ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1900 By Ben Knight   “Trader Mo” was quiet on draft day.  Left with only a second- and fourth-round pick in the annual MLS auction of NCAA product, TFC GM Mo Johnston resisted the temptation to make headlines dealing up into the first round.  He settled for a long-term project and a longshot, ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1896 By Ben Knight   Way, way back in early 1966, I was a seven-year-old Canadian kid living at a university compound in Ibadan, Nigeria.  I was attending Grade One, was deeply homesick, but quite entranced and influenced by the sights, sounds, colours and cultures of West Africa. Rainy-season storms that went from clear ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1889 By Ben Knight   As expected, compromise ruled the day. The two disputing factions in the feud over who runs second-division men’s pro soccer in this part of the planet has been resolved – for the coming season, at least – under intense pressure from the United States Soccer Federation. The two sides ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1885 By Ben Knight   Been a while since I wrote anything about “It’s Called Football,” the podcast soccer show I do every week with Ben Rycroft and Duane Rollins. A lot has happened. After a fine year of steady growth, we have moved on from ThatChannel.com, seeking a bit more independence and control over ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1881 By Ben Knight   Eight things we long-suffering followers of the beautiful game in the Great White North need to see in 2010: 1 -- Major corporate sponsorship for the Canadian men’s soccer team.  CSA general secretary Peter Montopoli knows you can’t finance World Cup runs on a fraction of the registration fees ponied ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1874 By Ben Knight   2009 draws rapidly to a close, and the Montreal Impact and Vancouver Whitecaps are missing something really basic and essential as they make their plans for 2010. A league to play in. It has already long-since been noted that the vast majority of USL-1 sides refuse to recognize NuRock Holdings ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1870 By Ben Knight   Only three of Toronto FC’s thirty MLS matches for 2010 have officially been scheduled, and already there’s controversy with two of them. First, MLS decided to send the Reds down to Columbus – again – for the March 27 season opener.  This, despite the fact that TFC supporters’ groups ... http://onwardsoccer.com/?p=1865