Toronto FC Discussion Thread

[GED Education]

I don't fully understand what is currently happening with your club. Can someone briefly sum it up for me?

Also, sucks that times are seemingly hard for TFC. Hope things improve soon.

The club is underachieving and dropping points. The play hasn't looked good.

Nelsen (our coach) went off on our GM (Bez) after last night's ugly loss saying he had put undue pressure on players. Today, Nelsen, along with the entire coaching staff, has been let go.

Tim Leiweke, the CEO of MLSE and the mastermind behind the TFC rebuild, will be moving on as CEO due to many reasons - one being his inability to work with the MLSE board. Defoe was brought over by Leiweke, and now wants out of Toronto. It sounds like Defoe will be going back to the Prem with QPR.

If Defoe and Bradley leave this soon then this is officially ROCK BOTTOM for this franchise. We all knew TFC was the team that would take the biggest hit with Tim Leiweke leaving, but I didn't expect it so soon. TFC fans are right to be concerned now.

[Bankai]

If Defoe and Bradley leave this soon then this is officially ROCK BOTTOM for this franchise. We all knew TFC was the team that would take the biggest hit with Tim Leiweke leaving, but I didn't expect it so soon. TFC fans are right to be concerned now.

They were already concerned with the news that TL was leaving, they should be on suicide watch right now. I feel for them. This also casts uncertainty on the Raptors future in management. Apparently no one is safe in MLSE, even if you provide results.

[ForeverTFC]

There is still hope. Was Nelsen's firing a last ditch effort at keeping Defoe?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/JohnMolinaro/status/506208694594711553[/tweet]

[TONYROMOHOF]

Welcome to Tier 3 sports, Toronto FC. You'll be sharing a room with the Toronto Rock and the Toronto Argos going forward.

'Welcome' they been there from time

[Kevin Willis]

WTF?

[TheSamMitchell]

TFC definitely has underperformed so far this season. Yeah, they're a 4th seed, and in the playoffs, but it's still under the expectations of the money MLSE put behind this team. Maybe Nelsen needed more time like Jason Kidd with the Nets, but in my opinion, it wasn't a bad move to get rid of him. The team needed a change. I'll be upset if Defoe leaves, but TFC should be fine without him. TFC won 9 games this season, and Defoe played in 19. Guys like Gilberto and Oduro just have to pick up the slack in front should Defoe leave.

[nahom1319]

Apparently Defoe was offered to Aesenal on loan. He's also over in England right now (presumably selling himself to clubs).

I don't know much about footbal's finances other than my exposure to fifa 14 but wont his weekly wages be an issue for teams?

[mango2209]

Wtf..... Man, MLSE is a friggen joke...

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[DIEHARD_005]

I have no **** clue what the power struggle is at MLSE with this club, but I hope for the love of god that someone gets their head out of their arse and TFC start picking up some points and make the playoffs. There are far too many questions to try to figure out what is going on here. How long was this "feud" between Bez and Nellie going on for? Did Defoe have a run in with Nellie and want out? Did any of the other players quit and want Nellie out? Would any of this be happening if Leiwickie never announced his resignation? There are just too many variables to try and figure out what has gone on here.

Looks like Defoe is staying, as the club did not reach a deal to ship him out. So I can only hope as a TFC supporter that his reason for staying out is actually due to a mild injury that just requires rest and not as some form of protest, and that TFC can hang around in time for him to (presumably, but given this whole ****, not a guarantee) return to the lineup and make a god damn playoff appearance for the first time. Hopefully with some bright spots like a playoff appearance, Defoe will decide to stick it out here in Toronto so that our impending return to irrelevancy (within both MLSE and MLS) can be put on hold.

God, what a mess this has all become. It's so frustrating to see as a fan, especially after all the positive vibes that were here to start the season. Both TFC and the Raptors need to be owned by a passionate person at the helm for both sports, because chances are the successor to Leiwickie will not give a rats arse about the on field product for either team. The best news at this point would be for Rogers and Bell to just part ways and see MLSE owned by a party who actually cares about the team. Not just two profit driven greedy **** who can only agree to disagree on everything except for how to make a quick buck.

[Shaazzam]

I don't think the sports teams will ever be split. They provide too much content.

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[ForeverTFC]

Defoe staying put but now we get surgery talks. Can't catch a break.

[ForeverTFC]

Totally speculation and my 2 cents.

I believe Defoe wanted out. I believe TFC talked him into giving it a chance here until the end of the season.

They will try and get their house in order to entice him back here from England. If he likes what he sees from afar, he will come back. If not, he'll probably opt for surgery for a nagging issue, that he would have likely addressed in the offseason, in the fall, and move to the EPL in January.

This is the only way I can make sense of this.

[TdotRap4Lyfe]

Welcome to Tier 3 sports, Toronto FC. You'll be sharing a room with the Toronto Rock and the Toronto Argos going forward.

So where are the Raptors? Tier 2? We won't be tier one with the way things are now with the media.

[baulderdash77]

One of the major points that was raised regarding Nelson as a coach was his system and more particularly his use of the CM positions. There was ongoing issues with Nelson and Bradley and it was obvious that Bradley was not thriving in the system well.

Nelson was playing 4-4-2 with the CM in a pulley system with them going box to box. Most modern 4-4-2 now use a holding destroyer DM along with a creator AM instead of 2 box to box guys. If you watched the games the midfielders never could make good forward passes because of their positioning when they won the balls back. The system fit was causing them way too many matchup problems and it was showing up in the game.

I expect that they're going to revert to some defined roles in the midfield going forward. It will be a 4-4-2 but not will look like a 4-1-3-2 than the current set up.

[KL78192020]

Welcome to Tier 3 sports, Toronto FC. You'll be sharing a room with the Toronto Rock and the Toronto Argos going forward.

So where are the Raptors? Tier 2? We won't be tier one with the way things are now with the media.

I would say we're even behind the Jays in terms of coverage, Jays have no one to compete with in the summer. We get stuck behind the not only the Leafs but all other Canadian hockey teams.

[ForeverTFC]

One of the major points that was raised regarding Nelson as a coach was his system and more particularly his use of the CM positions. There was ongoing issues with Nelson and Bradley and it was obvious that Bradley was not thriving in the system well.

Nelson was playing 4-4-2 with the CM in a pulley system with them going box to box. Most modern 4-4-2 now use a holding destroyer DM along with a creator AM instead of 2 box to box guys. If you watched the games the midfielders never could make good forward passes because of their positioning when they won the balls back. The system fit was causing them way too many matchup problems and it was showing up in the game.

I expect that they're going to revert to some defined roles in the midfield going forward. It will be a 4-4-2 but not will look like a 4-1-3-2 than the current set up.

Great points. Issue is that TFC does not have an AM on the roster. With that said, Bradley played his best when paired with Osorio. He had a defined role as a CDM, while Osorio generally played higher.

Currently, TFC plays a double pivot with Bradley and Warner, and I think it has been terrible as you've alluded.

The key area to address this offseason is an AM and a Winger or two, so that we can go back to playing a more diamond oriented formation. And of course, more depth on the backline, especially out wide.

[Shimso]

Welcome to Tier 3 sports, Toronto FC. You'll be sharing a room with the Toronto Rock and the Toronto Argos going forward.

So where are the Raptors? Tier 2? We won't be tier one with the way things are now with the media.

I would say we're even behind the Jays in terms of coverage, Jays have no one to compete with in the summer. We get stuck behind the not only the Leafs but all other Canadian hockey teams.

If I'm not mistaken, some of the regular season games this season for the Jays attracted more viewers than any Raptors game has ever drawn.

[LittleOzzy]

That team I no longer like plays at 7:00PM on TSN2.

It will be a disaster.

[Raps Maniac]

That team I no longer like plays at 7:00PM on TSN2.

It will be a disaster.

Then you should stop bumping this thread in Raptors board. jk

[SportsFan9]

This team is a joke. I still had hope that we would come out with some energy tonight and pull out a win but I was clearly wrong.