The waiting game
By Ben Knight
How do you prepare for play in a salary-cap soccer league when you don’t actually know what the salary cap will be?
If you’re Toronto FC, apparently you do it cautiously.
For all the Canadian MLS side’s aching roster needs – striker, winger, central defender – things have been very quiet on the off-season player-acquisition front. Defender Ty Harden from Beckhamburg. Knee injury specialist Jacob Peterson from Rocky Mountain FC. A couple of long-shot draft picks.
Yeah, the Reds took a bunch of bright-eyed trialists down to Florida for some exhibition games. None has returned to Toronto with the team.
This leaves TFC with an undermanned roster and a serious lack of money. The cash crunch could be eased by parting with well-paid veterans Carl Robinson and Nick Garcia, but that isn’t happening either.
I expect it’s a waiting game – and that might actually be a very good way to go forward. GM Mo Johnston never starts a season with a finished team anyway. Early-season pick-ups are standard operating procedure up here. With money tight and no clear salary-cap number, it’s not a bad time to lay low.
But losing again to New York Energy Drink – only 4-0 this time – with Garcia looking pointy, stationary and bright orange – is absolutely amplifying angst and anxiety amongst the support.
New coach Preki may not share the concern. Try this on: for all of TFC’s woes in ’09, they missed the playoffs by a single point. Preki may feel, with a full season of Julian de Guzman to look forward to, he’s no worse than solidly in the eternal churning backwash for the final playoff spot.
MLS is a coach’s league – just look at the job Bruce Arena did with that formerly abominable L.A. Galaxy squad. Preki is a good, veteran MLS coach. That, alone, is going to worth a few points, even if Preki’s and Johnston’s great old friend and former teammate Garcia gets pluperfectly posterized every now and etcetera.
Can he reasonably expect promising young defenders Nana Attokora and Emmanuel Gomez to mature into reliable pros? Maybe. Will O’Brian White become TFC’s long-lost go-to striker? Possibly. Is the playoff dream doomed if none of that happens? Not necessarily. But it will be the Preki show for sure.
Personally, I think that as soon as the money situation is settled, Mo will swoop to make a significant signing. It doesn’t have to be a superstar. Nick Garcia five years ago would likely be sufficient.
Once again, all concerned in TFC-land are playing the patience game. It’s not comfortable, but it might be just exactly crazy enough to work.
Onward!
March 5th, 2010 at 10:56 am
other than the NY game, TFC’s preseason matches have been pretty low scoring compared to previous preseasons. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of low-scoring games this year and the occasional blowout when the Preki magic can only work so much.
March 5th, 2010 at 11:52 am
It’s the same old story every season so far, regardless of when the specific salary cap figure was made available. Not enough done in the offseason and then way too much tinkering through the season, rather than proceeding forward with a group who can develop chemistry.
With the constantly changing lineup throughout the season, it’s no wonder the team has never looked cohesive.
March 5th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
I think things will change for the reds this year and you will see a much fitter and well put together team… that being said it looks like the problems at the back have not been addressed and the reds could be on the outside looking in again.
Mind you I have not seen them play this pre season and Im just commenting on what i’ve been reading seeing on highlight reels.
If they decide to play DeGuzman as an out and out Midfielder (meaning defensive and attacking) this may change the whole schematic also.
March 5th, 2010 at 4:09 pm
“Garcia looking pointy, stationary, and bright orange..” Whether or not people agree with Ben Knight, the blog is always entertaining!
March 6th, 2010 at 2:33 pm
I’d be satisfied with
a) A fit Gerba
b) A decent CB
c) someone shooting Garcia in the kneecap
March 6th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
I agree, Ben. There’s no point in making a ‘bold’ step that might have to be undone later, should the salary cap not rise significantly, or the CBA not be resolved.
That said, even with Preki’s undoubted influence, I’m not sure this club makes the playoffs without some improvement on the back line. Brennan and Wynne could be more useful on the wings, but we still need improvement across the back four. Frei played very well last year. That only masked the fact that TFC’s defense surrendered nearly 50% more shots on goal than the MLS average in 2009. For all the club’s scoring difficulties, it’s still easier to prevent goals at your end than to create them at the other.
March 6th, 2010 at 9:16 pm
John B,
I agree completely.
Ben,
yes perhaps the Preki effect will get the team into the playoffs. however, we still have to replace the production we’ve let go (ie Guevara and Dichio - yes Dichio had a very limited role, but I’d argue a pretty little sum of pts were directly related to Dichio’s involvement). and the back line is an embarrassment at this stage.
March 7th, 2010 at 11:57 am
Good news, Robinson just got cut. Tons of cap to go around now once the owners agree that the players asks to be treated like professional adults (much like soccer players around the world) is now so unreasonable.
We’re not asking for free market here, just a happy medium between that and the needs of the league. Lest the league forget that the inflated expansion fees and team values have had a lot to do with the fact that there was a product being placed on the field. Take that away and all of a sudden come the next round of expansion, bidders have an extra leg to stand on to stay “I’m not paying a dime more than TFC did.
March 9th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
So long, Robbo. And thanks.
I can’t help thinking that you’ll have a better chance at the playoffs with RBNY in 2010 than you would have here…
Not sure I’d agree that $300k frees up tons of cap space… it’s not going to fix the squad, but if they take that money and put it with Vitti & Guevara’s loot… well, maybe something good could happen…
March 11th, 2010 at 1:31 pm
So Ben, when is your next article on TFC’s lack of respect towards players that were willing to bleed for this shirt? Looks like Gareth Wheeler beat you to the punch with his article on the disappearance of Adrian Serioux. What a debacle by TFC. I thought with Robbo released we could free up enough room to get a deal done with Adrian, but we traded him without letting our fans know. If Preki has all the footballing decisions now, then what use is Mo? I guess we need someone filling out paperwork for Preki’s new team.
With Adrian gone, we now definitely need a new centerback and a left back is another story that has to be addressed. The best was TFC is keeping the Serioux story hush hush, but on TFC TV, Dasovic names the TFC backline without naming Serioux. Was TFC hoping fans would forget about him? Too bad this is happening to good Toronto boys that we need on this team.
First and foremost, I’m very surprised and disappointed that Mo is showing a lack of respect for the loyal TFC fans. Players are going to come and go, but with TFC having its own media outlet, you think they would reveal important team information. Mo better start thinking of skipping town before the fans start getting restless with his incompetence. MLSE better start scouting for a new Director of Soccer that will put together a team in the offseason and make us respectable on the field.
March 11th, 2010 at 5:00 pm
LMaiolino, I couldn’t agree more about the way TFC has been treating its players and staff. Independent of whether he was a good coach, Carpenter was treated badly last year. As was Dichio. As was, if you believe the rumours, DeRo. And now, Serioux. True, we don’t get the full picture on the outside, but when it happens repeatedly you start to get the sense that somebody in management doesn’t have good people skills. That’s a bad bad trait in a manager.
March 12th, 2010 at 2:27 am
I assumed that a CB was on the way when Serioux was ‘released’. Not so.
Then I thought that with Robinson’s release, surely a $400k CB should be on his way to save our boys.
Also untrue.
I know the club can’t keep ‘everybody’ if they want to improve, but it seems to me that Serioux could have been tried in his natural position (RB, at which we have a definite need) rather than just released. Then we ditch Robinson, but don’t actually free up any significant cash by doing so ($100k, if the papers are to be believed).
Sigh.
Is Jim Flaherty running this outfit?
Agreed, Bill. The Dichio thing was done very badly. It’s not like he was taking up the roster spot of a younger/better striker. We still don’t have any proven commodities in that department. And now we have a back line that doesn’t feature two guys who could play there, but does still feature at least three that definitely can’t.
Maybe Preki can pull a rabbit out of the hat. I certainly hope so, because if he can’t, we might be worse than Philadelphia this year… and San Jose…
March 12th, 2010 at 9:17 pm
This is beginning to look dire. Why do I get the sense that TFC management are hoping for a strike so that they do not have to answer to the supporters until they clean up the mess they have created.
I support two football sides and both are now in a mess……..TFC and Liverpool. Maybe Mo can bring the waiter over from Anfield and he can help sort out the mess………..unlikely.