Toronto FC Discussion Thread

[LittleOzzy]

Julian de Guzman traded? Say it's not so... Traded to FC Dallas.

I wonder who they have lined up to take the DP spot.

[Kevin Willis]

Yeah another win!!! They're playing with much more confidence it's scary. Colorado has some issues but this is a big, big win.

[Kaizen]

http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/story/?id=401086

Toronto picks up Hassili for 1st round pick in 2014 and an international spot. This leads me to believe we are not picking up Mellberg but may pick up McKenna. He will not need the international spot.

[baulderdash77]

I don't like giving up a 1st rounder for a DP. You can sign an international free agent without compensation and that would be preferable IMO.

[Kaizen]

1st round picks are useless. There are a billion soccer players on the planet. If we can't find one better than what a 1st round pick will produce then we will continue to suck anyways.

[LittleOzzy]

1st round picks are useless. There are a billion soccer players on the planet. If we can't find one better than what a 1st round pick will produce then we will continue to suck anyways.

Exactly. I'm much more interested in free agents from overseas.

NCAA talent out of the draft is a poor way to build a team and I can see it being done away with in another 5 to 10 years.

[LittleOzzy]

They should have let Winter finish off the season.

Paul Mariner has not friggin' clue...

[LittleOzzy]

Anselmi: Lower Prices, Higher Expectations

On Thursday afternoon Toronto FC hit the reset button.

With the 2012 calendar winding down, the Reds released the 2013 Season Seat Holder renewal prices, numbers that hearken back to the early days of the club, when BMO Field was full and its atmosphere electric.

The club will reduce season seat prices for the 2013 season by an average of 21% and in some sections by as much as 47%.

President and Chief Operating Officer of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, Tom Anselmi says “this is really about a relationship with the fans. The most important things to a TFC fan are team performance and atmosphere.

“The thing that upsets fans the most are team performance and price. Performance, atmosphere and price are all related. “

In addressing the price, nearly 90% of season seat holders will see a reduction of at least 20%, according to the club. The average ticket price will drop from $41 to $33, and the Supporters Section in the south end will see their season tickets go back down to $10 next season from $19 in 2012. The club hopes these moves will be one piece in helping to revive BMO Field’s once famous (at times infamous) and boisterous atmosphere. Those renewing seats also receive a ticket to see the Reds take on Montreal away to Olympic Stadium in 2013.

“We want to thank people for their loyalty, thank them for hanging in with us and make sure the price isn’t an irritant.”

http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2012/10/an ... pectations

[baulderdash77]

1st round picks are useless. There are a billion soccer players on the planet. If we can't find one better than what a 1st round pick will produce then we will continue to suck anyways.

Exactly. I'm much more interested in free agents from overseas.

NCAA talent out of the draft is a poor way to build a team and I can see it being done away with in another 5 to 10 years.

You can't ignore any way you can to get cheap young talent, ESP Generation Adidas players that don't count against the cap. Our talent pool and academy system isn't deep enough to handicap ourself from a talent acquisition means.

[Kaizen]

http://m.thestar.com/sports/soccer/mls/ ... -mls-kelly

Very interesting article. Claims that MLS would not approve a DP deal for De Rosario or Mellberg. I am happy Dero is gone but that sucks about Mellberg. Pretty lame excuse too because I am not sure how us signing De Guzman hurt MLS. Our weakness has been defence since we entered the league and we finally may have found a solution and we get rejected.

[LittleOzzy]

Toronto FC hires Kevin Payne to rebuild franchise

Kevin Payne didn’t stay unemployed for a full 24 hours. A day after resigning his position as president/CEO of D.C. United, Payne was hired Wednesday to rebuild the fledgling Toronto FC franchise.

Toronto will make the hire official at a news conference Wednesday afternoon. Payne, 59, will report directly to Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment President & COO Tom Anselmi.

Payne oversaw the D.C. franchise for 17 years through several ownership groups, leading the most decorated club in American soccer. The resume includes four MLS Cup titles, one runner-up finish and the CONCACAF Champions Cup winner in 1998. Now, he’ll try to replicate his successes north of the border.

“For some time I’ve been thinking about whether it was time for me to seek a new challenge, and whether D.C. United’s interest would be better served by new thinking about how to address them,” Payne told reporters Tuesday. “I have tried to be very open in the way I think about things and tried not get too hung up on a certain way of doing things, but I think we are all guilty of that at some level. ... (Jason Levien) encouraged me to do whatever I thought was the right thing for me, which I appreciated. I think remaining here at D.C. United was certainly an option. But I really did come to believe that it made sense for me to try to do something different at this point in time. I still feel young, I’m in great shape physically, and I feel excited about a new challenge.”

He’ll be tasked with helping Toronto engage an increasingly frustrated fan base after the club finished an MLS-worst 5-21-8 this season.

At the top of Payne’s to-do list will be deciding whether to retain Paul Mariner, the club’s director of soccer operations who took over as head coach after firing Aron Winter in June. Toronto went 4-2-4 in Mariner’s first 10 games as coach but then finished the season winless in its final 14 matches.

http://aol.sportingnews.com/soccer/stor ... cutive-mls

[Redeemer]

tfc will still be trash, same goes with the mls. nobody watches this turd of a league

[LittleOzzy]

tfc will still be trash, same goes with the mls. nobody watches this turd of a league

Awesome thanks, and if you return to this thread you'll be warned for trolling.

Please respect others. Sadly you'll be my first warning on the Soccer forum if this continues.

[LittleOzzy]

HIRING OF NELSEN WILL DEFINE PAYNE'S TENURE WITH TFC

Let's summarize the situation:

1. Nelsen currently plays for Queen's Park Rangers of the English Premier League. He also plays international football for New Zealand.

2. Nelsen has never coached before, at any level, and holds no coaching qualifications.

3. No one from Toronto FC was able to confirm when Nelsen would actually begin coaching the team.

So why, then, did Kevin Payne hire him to be Toronto FC's eighth head coach in six years?

Payne went to great lengths to explain that he feels he is hiring a proven leader, saying, "I believe his leadership qualities, intelligence, preparation and character will contribute to his success as a coach. I couldn't ask for a better person to lead our club."

In some respects, I agree with Payne.

He is hiring the person, not the resumé. If he believes that Nelsen has the character, intelligence and personality to lead Toronto FC, then that is his decision to make.

However, the fact that Nelsen has no coaching qualifications or experience whatsoever is a major concern.

Being a successful coach requires a deep understanding of the game - that is simply a given. More importantly, being a successful coach requires the ability to read players, to get inside their heads and find out what makes them tick - what motivates them. This is a skill that Nelsen may very well possess, but given that he has never coached before, is completely unknown.

This is either a very bold move or a completely crazy one.

Nelsen has proven to be a leader as a player, on the field, over the course of his career. Talk to anyone who has played alongside him, and they speak highly of his leadership abilities. But making the transition from being a player (able to influence the result of a game through your own actions) to being a coach (only able to influence the game through your ability to motivate your players) is a different task altogether.

But Kevin Payne believes that he has found the man to turn around the fortunes of Toronto FC, regardless of his lack of coaching experience or credentials. Make no mistake about it – this hiring will define Kevin Payne's tenure as president of Toronto FC.

If Nelsen succeeds, so too does Payne. He will be hailed as a leader who turned a vision into reality. But if Nelsen fails, then Payne will carry the blame for making the most bizarre coaching appointment in the history of MLS.

http://www.tsn.ca/soccer/mls/story/?id=413067

[LittleOzzy]

Reds Land Julio Cesar

Toronto FC announced Tuesday it has signed midfielder Júlio César.

César, 34, spent the last two seasons with Sporting KC where he made 54 appearances with 50 game starts and scored three goals in all regular season appearances. He also made four playoff appearances during the 2011 and 2012 MLS Playoffs for the team.

A native of São Luis, Brazil, he joined Sporting KC, his first stint with a Major League Soccer club, as a guest trialist during the 2011 preseason. He signed with the team on March 14, 2011, making his debut during the team’s season opener.

“It’s important that Toronto FC becomes a more difficult team to play against this year. Julio Cesar will be an important part of the backbone of our team in the middle of the field,” said Toronto FC President and General Manager Kevin Payne. “He’s a tough, experienced, committed player who was a big part of Sporting Kansas City’s success over the past two years, and we’re very pleased he will be a part of TFC this season.”

César made his professional debut with C.D. Marathón at the age of 17 years. Throughout his playing career, he has played with Real Madrid, AC Milan, Benfica, Austria Wien, Real Valladolid, Bolton Wanderers, Tigres UNAL, Olympiacos FC, FC Dinamo Bucuresti, Gaziantepspor, and Maritimo Funchal.

http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2013/01/re ... ulio-cesar

[Yoga]

Little Ozzy come back to the Raptors forum, its not the same without you

[LittleOzzy]

Little Ozzy come back to the Raptors forum, its not the same without you

Not going to happen. I'm done with the Raptors forum.

[LittleOzzy]

Toronto FC takes local player Kyle Bekker in MLS SuperDraft

Toronto, using a pick acquired in a December deal with the Portland Timbers, used the third overall selection to take Canadian midfielder Kyle Bekker.

Bekker, who’s from Oakville, Ont., played at Boston College and turned heads at the recent MLS Combine.

Toronto GM Kevin Payne had raised some questions about the five-foot-10 165-pound Bekker ahead of the draft, but evidently was just trying to throw off other teams.

Toronto then swapped the fourth pick for Vancouver’s 10th pick and allocation money.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/sports/s ... cmpid=rss1

[LittleOzzy]

Matt Stinson Waived

Toronto FC announced Tuesday the club has waived midfielder Matt Stinson.

Stinson, 20, signed with the First Team on March 17, 2011. In two seasons, Stinson made a combined 25 appearances and recorded two assists for the club.

He earned his first Canadian National Team cap on January 29, 2013 coming in as a substitute during a friendly against the United States.

http://www.torontofc.ca/news/2013/03/ma ... son-waived

Kind of a shock, I thought he was getting better in limited minutes.

Wonder why he had no trade value too?

[Redeemer]

dont watch the mls much, but has there been any discussion of mls merging with liga mx. it would certainly raise the competition. i know theres concaf cl but it isnt the same.