Whitecaps add a Designated Player

So last evening the Whitecaps official twitter account tweeted that at 9:30 PST this morning, July 12th, they would be making a major player announcement.  This tweet of course started off a huge amount of speculation all over my twitter feed as every fan of Canadian soccer seemed to have their own couple of suggestions for who it might be.  The early front runner was of course Owen Hargreaves who has bee often linked to the two Canadian clubs in recent weeks as well as having been spotted training in British Columbia of late.  That speculation of course caused the expected reaction with die hard Canadian fans hoping that all the worst possible things happen to Hargo.  The rumour of Hargreaves being the player coming in were squashed only a few minutes later when rumours came out that Vancouver's new player was going to be an African who had been in Belgium recently where he was a decent player.  It was also reported that this new player might have been the captain of either his national team or his club team.  So of course many fans who wanted to be the first to report the name, including myself, spent a few hours on the internet trying to find out just who all met these criteria.  I for one never even came close to getting it right though and really only helped to add to the outlandish speculation that was going on with the likes of Eto'o and Drogba being linked just because they are captains of African nations.

So this morning all the rumours were put aside and the actual announcement was made that the Whitecaps would be adding another Designated player to their team in the form of Gambian international Mustapha Jarju.  He is a striker who spent last season playing for RAEC Mons of Belgium's second division.  So he did indeed fit all of the criteria that were being put out in rumours the night before.  He also fits the needs of Vancouver as last season he scored 25 goals for his club last season and has 58 career goals despite only being 24 years old.  So he will bring the Whitecaps a second scoring option that should provide the sort of partner that Eric Hassli has been lacking all season long.  Hassli has 6 of the teams goals this season but the introduction of Jarju will take some of the pressure to score from him as well as drawing some of the attention of the defenders away from him.  The Whitecaps will be counting on their two designated players to get the job down and give them the attack that has been lacking in so many games this season.

Jarju will be counted on for scoring and to also create goals for the other attacking players.  He has a good record of both in Belgium but that is by no means a guarantee of success in the MLS.  His record in Belgium would suggest that he is worthy of that DP tag but now Vancouver has 2 of its 3 potential slots filled and has used both on them on attackers.  It could limit their ability to strengthen other areas of the team but even with that aside there is still the question of whether a relatively unknown player from Gambia is worth that kind of investment rather then the team going after players with proven MLS quality.  I personally think that signing Jarju is a worthwhile risk and as he won't command that massive of a salary and it is also possible that as soon as next season he could no longer be a designated player which would free that spot up to be filled by another player.  His upside is very large as a 24 year old who has a proven ability to create in front of goal and if this move pays off he could be a huge factor in any improvements that the Whitecaps will make in the coming seasons.

The other big part of todays signing is that Jarju becomes the first African player to be signed to an MLS contract as a designated player.  His move to the MLS could be seen as opening the door for more African players to make the same move in the near future which could only be good for the league that needs to continue exploring new talent markets in hopes of improving the overall quality.

For the Whitecaps they now have the attacker they needed but reports suggest they are still in the hunt of a midfielder which could even see them bring in a third designated player.  That does mean that their fans will have to continue to worry about the potential of Hargreaves being signed in the coming days or weeks if he can prove he is fit and ready to play.  Fans will likely be hoping that if the club does make another big move that it is on signing a proven player with real quality rather then gambling on a player from a small African country who plays in one of Europe's weaker leagues.  Hargreaves would fit that bill but the fact is he has a major history of injury so playing him at Empire field would just be asking for disaster and that is my attempt to avoid discussing other reasons why signing him would be a terrible idea.

For the Whitecaps todays signing was another step forward but as a team that has only scored more then one goal in a match just one time in their last 21 matches there is clearly a lot of work left to be done.  Jarju is possibly one piece of the puzzle that is success in the MLS but at this point he only address one problem on a team with a multitude of them.

A Whole Other Class: TFC-NYRB

So this part week Toronto FC were taking on the New York Redbull in what was always going to be a tough test for TFC but what they did on the day was prove that they are still a long ways from reaching the levels of the top teams in the MLS.  This game almost made the match against the Union seem like a close match since at least TFC were able to find the net on that occasion.

I have to be honest and say that despite the Red Bulls poor form coming in to the match, 3 draws and a loss in their 4 game road trip, I still felt that they were primed to crush TFC who would be unable to up their game from the level it had to be to defeat the Whitecaps twice last week.  That was mostly because of the fact that TFC are on an even worse run of form with Vancouver being the only team that they seem capable of beating.  Toronto have only that one win in the MLS since May 7th and in that time they have been shut out 5 times.  We all know by now that TFC have an anemic offence but it is even worse when they don't even have Gordon or Santos in the starting lineup like they did midweek.

When the lineups were announced and there was no Gordon or Santos it felt like the best that TFC were going to be able to get was a 0-0 draw since they just don't seem to have anyone else who can step up and score.  I don't even think that Gordon and Santos are great strikers or great goal scorers but the fact is that they are clearly the best options that the club has.  Compare Toronto having Soolsma, Plata, and Martina as their attacking options with the fact that New York had Henry, Rodgers, and Agudelo leading their line.  I guess there is no surprise that Toronto FC struggled to create any sort of attacking chances and New York had them in abundance.  The 5-0 final score was by no means flattering to the Red Bulls but I don't even want to get into the match itself more then that.

What I feel is the most worthy element of this game is the fact that this game once again illustrates how for behind Toronto FC are in terms of skill and experience.  I know that they are a side that is slowly being destroyed by injuries and that their two new signings are yet to be eligible to play for the team but I can't help but notice the gap in skill between the two sides.  The Red Bulls two designated players are Thierry Henry and Rafael Marquez who both have loads of experience on the world's biggest stages and despite being a bit advanced in age they still have the kind of quality that allows them to be stars in the MLS.  The Red Bulls third spot is still empty since they traded De Ro but chances are that when they do fill that spot it is going to be with a player who is better then any of the three designated players in Toronto's roster.  Toronto, having recently signed a pair of DP's, now have De Guzman, Frings, and Koevermans on its roster.  I do like all three of those players and think that when they were at their very best they were all world class but now none of them seem good enough to be dominant players in the MLS which is what you should expect from such players.  You can only have three of these players so you really are going to have to make them count which New York is clearly doing a better job of then Toronto is.  It may not be fair to expect TFC to go out and sign their own Beckham or Henry since Toronto is not the most appealing city and the team just does not have the same kind of budget but what I want to see is this gap starting to close down.  That would be the point of this rebuild that the club is going through after all.  Maybe we can will even one day see the club make a move for a world class player who is still in their prime and can be a real difference maker for the team.

So what is the point of all of this?  The point is that I do understand that TFC are going to lose games like this from time to time.  They are a side that is messed up by all kinds of injuries right now and even when they are completely fit they still would not be as good as the top teams in the league.  But what I need to start seeing is that TFC are making the kinds of moves that are going to help them close down this skill gap.  Frings and Koevermans are a start but with them taking up two of the DP spots the club is limited in that kinds of moves it can make to get better unless they go out and make some big trades.  Since I do understand that these kinds of defeats are bound to happen for this team I will just keep on hoping to see signs of progress from the team since the playoffs are not going to happen unless they start beating anyone not named the Whitecaps!

Nutrilite Canadian Champions!

For the second time this week Toronto FC were taking on the Vancouver Whitecaps.  Having beaten them 1-0 in a fairly dull league match thanks to a penalty earlier in the week TFC were feeling confident that they would be able to get the result they needed in the second attempt at the second leg of the NCC final.  In case you have forgotten, it was a good while ago, Toronto FC were totally outplayed in Vancouver but managed to steal a 1-1 draw in the first leg.  Then the second league again saw Vancouver being the better side by a clear margin but heavy rain and thunder storms had other ideas as the unsafe weather conditions led to the match having to be abandoned a rescheduled for the next time Vancouver were in town.  That meant that Canada's club championship was now set to be fittingly decided on Canada weekend.

The weather on saturday was once again calling for rain and a good chance of thunder storms but thankfully it held off and we can finally say that this seasons Nutrilite Canadian Championship is in the books.  The two teams made their agendas for this match fairly clear earlier in the week when you looked at the teams that they selected for the MLS match.  TFC, who are currently ravaged by injury, fielded a fairly strong side as they looked to end their 10 game winless run while the Whitecaps rested several players as they were seemingly willing to give up 3 points in the league in exchange for improving their chances at winning the Voyageurs Cup.  The move on Vancouver's part was a bit of a tricky one since giving TFC the win in the league was sure to restore some of their battered confidence and give the players increased hope that they would be able to win again on saturday.  After all this week was one of great optimism around TFC as they finally ended their winless run as well as announcing the signings of two former internationals.

Toronto FC came into the second leg with a lineup that was almost the same as it had been on Wedensday night as only Julian De Guzman and Maicon Santos were brought in.  Vancouver on the other hand made a drastic 7 changes from midweek.  The match kicked off in a fairly lively fashion with the first real chance falling to Santos after a quick counter attack and some ver questionable decision making by the keeper left him in all alone chasing after the bouncing ball.  By the time Santos was able to catch up to the ball he was almost on the goal line and was unable to hit anything but the side netting with his effort.  In the 20th minute though it was the Whitecaps who would open the scoring thanks to a beautifully taken free kick by Sanvezzo who stepped in with his right and fired a shot in to the top corner that gave Frei no chance of making the stop.

Toronto almost found an answer only 5 minutes later as a lively run from Plata opened up the Whitecaps defence and his ball allowed De Guzman to fire in a shot that was well save by Cannon but came back off the post to Martina who's effort had to be cleared off the line.  That chance was followed up with more scrambling and more chances for TFC but in the end they could not convert and the ball eventually went out for a corner.  It was clear that TFC were going for the win in this one and the signs of life were encouraging for the home fans having seen their side already go down 2-1 on aggregate.

Just before the half there was another moment where the Whitecaps were left wondering what their keeper Cannon was thinking.  He came well out of his box to claim a long through ball but the ball bounced off of his chest and ended up landing at the feet of Martina who was then staring at a wide open net.  Martina slid his shot in goal wards but some great hustle by Jay Demerit allowed him to get back and just barely clear the ball from off the goal line, or did he?  This one will go down as yet another case for goal line technology as the ball was definitely most of the way past the goal line before it was cleared but the question was whether or not it was completely across and personally I can not say having watched the replay a number of times.  I think that the right call was made in this case though as it was far to close to tell and awarding a goal would have been very harsh for Vancouver.  The Whitecaps went into the halftime break leading the game 1-0 and the final 2-1 so the job for Toronto was a simple one.  If they wanted to win the NCC then they had to find a way to come back and win this match in the second half.

The signs of life that TFC had shown in the first half carried over into the second as they again came close to levelling the score in the opening minute of the half.  Once again it was a lively run by Plata that got things started as his low cross into the box eventually ended up at the back post where Soolsma turned it toward the back of the net but it ended up being picked up by Cannon.  Cannon once again looked shaky as he failed to deal with the low cross.   The pressure continued for TFC and only a few minutes later a ball into the box ended up at the feet of Plata who was brought down and awarded the penalty.  This time Cannon did not look the least bit shaky as he got across well to push Plata's spot kick up and over the bar.  Unluckily for Cannon though the assistant referee caught the fact that he had taken several steps off of his goal line before the shot was taken which meant that the penalty was going to have to be retaken.  Cannon was absolutely furious at the decision and was only going to be made more angry by the fact that this time Plata stepped up a sent him diving the wrong way.  Plata who had been right in the middle of most of TFC's chances was rewarded with the goal that made it 1-1 on the night and all even at 2-2 on aggregate.

The 2-2 scoreline would have meant extra time and maybe penalties but with Toronto on top in terms of the run of play they looked to press their advantage.  A lovely ball over the top once again opened up the Vancouver defence and once again it was the pace and skill of Plata that got on to the end of the ball allowing him to bring it down at the top of the box before running in and sending a low cross into the middle past several defenders before it eventually wound up at the feet of Yourassowsky who fired it home giving Toronto its first lead of the match.  The Whitecaps tried to find some fight back but the couple of chances that they did create were well dealt with by Frie and after 93 minutes of play Toronto FC were hoisting their third straight Voyageurs Cup.

The win gives Toronto FC a date with Nicaragua's Real Esteli in a 2 legged qualifier from which the winner moves on to the group stage of the 2011-2012 CONCACAF champions league.  For TFC, who are already thin thanks to injuries, the Champions League is probably one competition more then they can afford to be worried about and I expect them to make a swift exit as they have other priorities.  The win also gives Toronto back-to-back wins for the first time in ages.  Yes they may both have come against the Whitecaps who are also struggling along at the bottom of the MLS but they have done enough to at least give the fans back some hope that the team is heading in the right direction.  At the very least TFC and its fans can now claim that they are the best club in Canada still but barring some sort of incredible second half turn around in the MLS they will once again be missing out on the playoffs.

TFC's Big Day

Toronto FC fans everywhere knew that we would be able to expect a fair bit of activity once the summer window opened as it was clear that the club was in need of improvement, and in some cases just more bodies, in almost every position.  It was also clear that some of the clubs under performing players were in danger of being moved on.  With that in mind today's announcement by the club that they had gone out and secured two new designated players really should not be a shock.  Even more so when you consider that both signings had been strongly linked to the club by almost every media outlet that offers speculation on the team.

For Toronto FC today was a big day and many fans are going to be hoping that this serves as some sort of turning point in the future of the club and from here on out it will all be looking up.  I personally think that these two signings are a great beginning but it is nothing more then that.  A lot more needs to be done to address the teams needs.  They have still not replaced the scoring that they lost when the traded away De Rosario or found a striker to take some of the pressure to score off of Alan Gordon.  They also still need to go out and at least do some sort of patch job on the back line as injuries and other factors have left the team short on defenders able to play at the MLS level.  Today in the press conference announcing the signings Aaron Winter made it quite clear that this was only the beginning as he indicated that the team would be looking to make a number of trades which could see the club moving out any number of players included De Guzman who has consistently under performed since joining the club.

The first of today's signings that was announced was former German international Torsten Frings.  He has played much of his career as a defensive midfielder, same position as De Guzman, and was capped 79 times by Germany.  Most recently he played for Werder Bremen where he played in over 300 games in his two stints with the club.  Frings is now 34 years old and in the later stages of his career but it is clear that he still has loads of ability.  Despite being a defensive midfielder Frings has a proven ability to chip in some goals from time to time having scored 67 of them in his career that spans over 500 games now.  He will bring composure and experience to the centre of the park for Toronto FC and the club will be hoping that he is able to play on for at least a few more years despite his age.  He joins the club on a multiyear deal as a free transfer and will be eligible for selection on the 20th against FC Dallas.

The second signing of the day starts to address the scoring needs of the club.  Danny Koevermans is a Dutch striker and he also joins the club on a free transfer having signed a multiyear deal as a designated player.  Kovermans is a former Dutch international, even though he only played 4 games for the Netherlands, who has a proven scoring record in the Eredivisie.  In his club career he has scored 136 goals in 253 matches which is a good rate for a striker but his pace has fallen off a bit since he joined PSV in 2005.  Toronto FC will probably be looking for him to chip in a goal every other game and provide a veteran presence in the attack as well as giving a much needed increase to the depth.  His arrival will hopefully also make Alan Gordon and Maicon Santos better as they will be under slightly less pressure now to do all of the scoring.

Lost in the big news of the signings was the fact that TFC had a match tonight against their Canadian rivals in the Vancouver Whitecaps.  I was unable to watch the game but having seen the highlights I got the sense that it was a very even battle with neither team generating much in terms of offensive chances.  The only breakthrough in the game came as Soolsma cut inside and then out before Janicki brought him down just inside of the box.  The referee showed no hesitation in awarding the penalty and I have to say that it was the right call.  Soolsma was given the chance to finish off his play by taking the spot kick which he calmly converted to the left of the keeper.  It was the only goal of the game as TFC were able to bag a 1-0 win over the White Caps which is only their 3rd win of the season but it was enough to see them jump over three teams and into 5th in the East.  It also means that TFC are now 4 points up on Vancouver in the battle for the best Canadian team.  That battle will continue on the weekend when the Nutrilite Cup finally wraps up with the second leg being replayed at BMO Field.

Canadian Excitement in the MLS!

I really hope that for our readers on the eastern side of the country you stayed up past your normal bedtime on Saturday night to watch either, or hopefully both, of the Canadian teams in MLS action.  Toronto FC found themselves as massive underdogs going into their road match against the Los Angeles Galaxy while Vancouver White Caps were focused on trying to snap their winless streak against rivals Seattle Sounders FC.

The first game that I am going to talk about, since I watched more of it, is the Toronto FC match.  The sense among most TFC fans was that this was not going to be a good outing for the team and they were just hoping to keep things close.  Recent history though would suggest that when these two teams meets it is likely to end in a draw but if you look at the forms of the two teams Toronto's chances looked slim.  The Galaxy came into the match unbeaten in 7 games and on their second longest run in franchise history without conceding a goal.  So when Chris Birchall opened the scoring only 2 minutes into the game I for one was thinking here we go again assuming that things were going to get ugly for TFC.  Things would settle down though and TFC slowly seemed to be getting in to the game.  A bad tackle from Beckham would see him get a caution just before the half hour mark and a lot of TFC fans were left wondering how he managed to avoid a red card as he would be spoken to about 2 fouls later in the game without receiving a second yellow.  It really did seem like he was getting the old super star treatment and not being punished for his actions.  The tackle also resulted in Toronto having to make one of its two first half changes as Tony Tchani seemed to pick up an injury and had to be replaced by Plata.  Jacob Peterson would also have to leave the game before the half when his hamstring appeared to tighten up.  He was replaced by Gordon who was returning to the TFC lineup after missing several games with a groin injury.  In Gordon's absence TFC's attack looked weak and lacked any real punch but his return to the lineup paid off quickly.  The first half ended with LA up 1-0 but it was no where near the dominant performance that many would have expected.

In the second half Toronto continued to fight back and show that they were not going to be pushovers.  It was nice to see the team playing with some real heart and acting like they wanted to go out and try to salvage a result.  In the end their effort paid off as Gordon marked his return to the lineup with a 68th minute goal that leveled things.  It looked like TFC had done enough to earn a draw but in the 90th minute Juan Pablo Angel scored a heart breaking goal that seemed almost certain to send the Galaxy on to all 3 points.  In the past Toronto would have folded like a cheap tent under that goal and not had enough about themselves to even try to fight back.  They have a proven history of lacking any sort of performance in the clutch moments of matches and stoppage time goals have been few and far between for the club since their inception.  On this night though things seemed to be very different as TFC bounced right back from going down 2-1 and went right to work trying to pull it back in stoppage time.  Just as it seemed like time was going to run out on the Gordon again proved his value to the team as he scored his second of the game against his former team.  Gordon managed to volley home the ball in to the top corner in what would have been one of the best MLS goals I have seen in a long time if not for one that took place in the Whitecaps game. 

For me the game felt like a win for TFC despite it being their 4th draw in 5 matches and extending their winless streak to 6 games.  It also ensured that the Galaxy's unbeaten run continued for an 8th game.  Toronto did show a lot of positive signs in this game and when the club is working to rebuild that is the kind of thing that you look for.  After their 0-0 draw with Sporting Kansas I was concerned about how the team were satisfied with that and seemed to be lacking the desire to win matches.  Combine that with the fact that anyone who has followed the club knows that they are terrible in the clutch moments of matches and you can see how this result was even more unexpected.  The team showed a lot of heart and passion in LA as well as showing that they really can hold their own with the better teams in the league.  There is no reason for this team to be happy with 0-0 draws against poor KC teams but this draw is one that you can build on.  The game also proved that Alan Gordon makes TFC a whole lot better in the attack.  With him out of the lineup they looked far to one dimensional and if teams could deal with Santos Toronto had very little other options in terms of scoring threats.

The Toronto result had me all excited but it was a moment from the Vancouver game that stole all the headlines and may actually help to increase the profile of the MLS.  Vancouver played a very good opening 80 minutes and led 1-0 thanks to a penalty that was converted by Eric Hassli.  It all seemed like it was going to be undone though as the team had a terrible couple of minutes and Seattle scored a pair of goals very quickly to go up 2-1.  It looked like all of the Caps hard work would be for nothing and they would lose yet again but then Eric Hassli stepped up with one of the best goals you have ever seen.  If you have not seen his goal yet well you need to!  It is a world class goal, not just one of the best ever in the MLS.  Hassli showed that he has the skill to be a great goal scorer when he is actually able to avoid card trouble and stay on  the field long enough to show these flashes of brilliance.  Some poor defending by Seattle set up Hassli's second goal of the game as they turned the ball over to him near the corner of the 18 yard box.  He flicked the ball up and with his back almost to the goal he volleyed the ball across the net and right into the top corner of the net.  It was one of the best goals you will ever see and it was enough to ensure that Vancouver would at least be able to grab a point from the match.  Even the loud Seattle crowd could not help but appreciate what they had seen and gave Hassli a well deserved round of applause. 

So if you went to bed on Saturday night then you missed out on both Canadian MLS teams being involved in some exciting games.  Its a shame that both teams had to settle for draws but the efforts of Gordon and Hassli are ones you can be proud of as fans and both teams had games that they can build on going forward.

And now for your viewing pleasure:

Playing Surfaces are real Problem

This post is brought to you by Ford Field.  The field that will be home to a pair of matches tonight in the Gold Cup has come into question in the days leading up to the match for the quality of its playing surface and that led me to think about some of the other low quality fields that I have come across watching soccer in North America.

I do understand that maintaing a quality grass playing surface takes a lot of time and money and it can be very difficult to do in areas where the weather is not good enough for the entire length of the season.  For a lot of cities in Canada and the northern United States it would be difficult to have a natural grass playing surface in good shape earlier enough in the spring to start the season since it is still to cold and wet for grass to grow.  That has forced a lot of teams to resort to using some form of field turf to ensure that it will be in playable condition for more months of the year.  I have played on a wide variety of surfaces myself as an amateur player and though I can see the positives to using an artificial surface it really is not the same thing and it takes a real toll on your body not to mention how awful turf burn can be from some of these surfaces.

That brings me back to Ford Field which is normally an artificial playing surface which is quite common in the NFL which is the fields main use.  I would have understood if they decided that they could not put in a real surface at Ford Field but I was glad when I heard that they would be putting in a grass playing surface for the Gold Cup matches since that would be better for the players and will improve the quality of the game.  This way we also wont have to deal with any issues of having NFL lines on the soccer field making it look poor and being a distraction as you cant tell which one is the touchline a lot of times.  The choice that they ended up making at Ford Field though was to bring in a natural grass surface and place it on top of the artificial one.  The concern with this is that the grass will not be thick enough and by the time that the second match in a row is getting near its end the surface may very well be torn up and filled with divots.

The players have reported that training at Ford Field has been good and they are enjoying the surface which is very promising.  Hopefully the grass is thick enough and able to stand up to have two matches played on it since that is a lot more stress on the field then just training sessions.

While I am on the topic of playing surfaces I really hope that in the near future Vancouver is going to be moving to a better one.  The White Caps current playing surface is artificial and with each passing game it seems to be getting worse and worse as the grounds crew are forced to add more and more plastic pellets to the surface every game and even more so when it has rained just to make it playable.  It may not be the direct cause of any injuries but I cannot be doing the Whitecaps players any good having to play on that terrible surface so often.  I remember seeing the condition it was in for the first league of the Nutrilite Championship and it was more plastic pellets then fake grass it seemed as some areas had taken on a dark almost black shade rather then being green.

The point is that playing surfaces are key and while grass is the ideal I understand it is not always possible but for the sport to advance in North America and in Canada in particular we need to work on ways to improve the field quality on which we play both for the quality of the games and for the safety of the players.

Vancouver Whitecaps need a lesson in virtues

The idea that patience is a virtue is more then just a nice thing to learn in Sunday School.  In fact it can even be applied to the development of any successful team.  This lesson appears to have been lost of the folks in charge of the Vancouver Whitecaps who announced earlier today that after only 12 games into the clubs first MLS season they are parting ways with head coach Teitur Thordarson as well as goal keeping coach Mike Salmon.  The reason for firing on the surface seems to be fairly obvious as the Whitecaps have only managed 1 league win thus far and that came back in the emotion filled season opener against Toronto FC.  The move means that for the rest of the season director of soccer operations Tom Soehn will take over the role of head coach.

Thordarson, who is from Iceland, took over as the teams head coach back in 2007 and played a big part in the success that led to them making it to the MLS.  He had a long resume as both a player and manager before the club signed him which had seen him have a fair bit of success in some of Europe's less prestigious leagues including Norway's first and second divisions.  With the Whitecaps Thordarson won a USL first division title, the second ever for the club, which he followed up with another run to the finals that ended in defeat to the Montreal Impact.  His success in the USL ensured that Vancouver extended his contract and took him with them to the MLS level.

As an expansion team in the MLS Vancouver would have been wise to look at the first 5 years of Toronto FC and try to learn from any mistakes that they made.  The biggest issue in Toronto has been a lack of stability as managers have come and gone without being given a real chance to make their mark on the club.  It was one bad season and you would be shown the door.  For Tietur I would have thought things would be different and that Vancouver would have a lot more patience with him due to the success that he brought them at the USL level.  They are an expansion team after all so to expect him to lead the 'Caps to success in the first season was asking to much.  It is fair to say that 1 win from the first 12 matches has to be seen as a real disappointment but it is to late to really turn this season around and this move is only going to destabilize the team.  Now they have to deal with having an interim head coach the rest of the way and by the time they kick off their second league season they might already have their third different head coach.  That kind of turnover will do no one any good.

The reaction around the country seems to be very similar to my own with many expects questioning the move on the part of Vancouver. Craig Forrest for example responded by tweeting: "I like what #Vancouver has done up to now. The firing of Teitur and Mike is a mistake. Lost sense of reality." and "WhitecapsFC were building a real solid foundation. TFC started like this if you remember. It has been dysfunctional ever since. Be careful".  Mr. Forrest is not the only one confused by the move though as the twitter account of Vancouver's largest supporters group, The Southsiders, has been very vocal in supporting TT and questioning this move going as far as to say: "We expect many things from the @WhitecapFC FO before wins: Class. Decency. Good decision making. This fails on all fronts."

It is clear that across the country people who follow the Whitecaps and know the game are left scratching their heads after this move.  The question is if 1 win in 12 games is not good enough for an expansion team who are still learning at this level then what are the actual expectations.  Do the people in charge at Vancouver seriously think that they were capable of challenging for a playoff spot in their first season because of thats the case I can see it being a very tough journey for the club to develop if coaches are given such a short leash in the future.  I am with the Tietur Tots on this one, poor move on the teams part and showed a lack of class and insight.

Nutrilite Disaster

Last night was the second leg of the Nutrlite Cup finals, or should I say the first attempt at it, but weather got in the way of what was potentially a good game.  With the first leg having ended in a 1-1 draw despite Vancouver controlling much of the play things were set up for an interesting match.  The weather forecast was clear that rain was expected around 8 which would mean that it would be around just in time for the second half and that is exactly what happened.

The first half saw Vancouver take a 1-0 lead thanks to Eric Hassli who scored a 17th minute strike which would have been his second of the finals having given Vancouver the lead with a similar shot in the first leg.  His goal had a lot to do with the deflection that it took but based on the run of play before the ran came the lead was nothing more then what Vancouver deserved. When the rain did arrive that is when the problems began for players, officials, coaches, and the powers in charge of the championship.  The turf surface at BMO field quickly became coated in water and it proved impossible to actually play the game as the ball was getting stuck and the safety of players was clearly being endangered.  Thankfully thunder and lightning arrived around the 60 minute mark and the officials were forced to stall the game.  This was actually the second stall as the match had been delayed by 30 minutes before the second half could kick off.  They tried to wait out the storm and get the rest of the game in but by the time 11 pm rolled around fans were being sent home and some kind of decision was needed.  It was clear that a match of only 60 minutes would not count and if they decided to make it official I don't think anyone would have been happy about it and it might have done irreparable damage to the cup itself and the reputation of soccer Canada.

Around 11 the coaches, refs, and officials in charge of the tournament all met behind closed doors to discuss what to do about the match.  Initially it was reported that the plan would be to play the final 30 minutes of the match the following morning but it would have been in front of an empty stadium which I personally think would have been a terrible solution.  That would have resulted in Toronto FC having basically lost its home field advantage for 1/3 of the match and it would also have been very physically draining on the players who would have been faced with a very quick turn around and playing a match at such an unusual time.  The 8 AM kick off time seemed quite insane in light of the fact that it would have been after 11:30 by the time that they players were all able to leave BMO.  


Thankfully this morning it became apparent that the field conditions had not improved since the rain had continued in the overnight overs and the whole 8 AM plan would have to be scrapped.  Instead they made the decision that I think should have been made in the first place which was to scrap the entire match and start it over again at a later date.  The date has been set for June 2nd when the Whitecaps are already in town for an MLS league game.  This way the whole match will be played under tolerable conditions, assuming the weather is better that night, and in front of the partisan crowd that Toronto FC deserve for their home leg.  I for one hope that this decision allows the match to be much more entertaining match that is fitting of ending in a team claiming the top club prize in Canadian soccer.


The strangest part of the whole night is how long it took them to come to these decisions when apparently it was all written down for them in the competition rules.  As I was watching it I wondered if they even had a plan in place for such an eventuality.  With the weather being such an unpredictable force it would have been very poor planning on the part of the Nutrilite championship not have put something in place.  I found out this morning that it was all clearly outlined in the rules for the tournament under the following rule:


Official Nutrilite Canadian Championship rule 12: If the match is abandoned before the completion of normal playing time because of extreme weather or for reasons outside the control of the host team, the match shall be replayed in its entirety the following day, thus avoiding the considerable extra expense for the visiting team. If it is still impossible to play the match the next day for the same reasons, the match may be postponed by another day, provided both teams agree. If the match can still not be played on the third day, the expenses thus incurred by the visiting team shall be split between the two teams. A decision will be taken within two hours of the referee’s decision to abandon the match, in consultation with the two clubs concerned. In case of dispute, the CSA Organizing Committee fixes the date and kick-off time of the match. Its decision is final.


So if they want things to go a lot smoother next time the right thing to do would be getting a copy of these rules into the hands of the people who are broadcasting the match so that they can convey something useful to the fans and spectators so we are not left staying up late wondering just what is going to happen.  The other issue I have here is that playing the last 30 minutes the following day does not seem to be anywhere in these rules.  They suggest that the whole match would have to be replayed no matter what and that is the correct thing to do.  In the end I am glad that they got this right and avoided turning this championship into a complete joke.  They have worked hard to improve the standard of it and increase its profile so thankfully they did not let some bad weather undo all of that hard work.

Nutrilite Cup: Is Professional Soccer moving forward in Canada?

So tomorrow night, May 18th, is the first leg of the Nutrilite Cup which is the corporate sponsor name for the Canadian Soccer Championship.  In past years this cup has been a bit of a joke as it has only included 3 teams, Toronto FC, Vancouver Whitecaps and the Montreal Impact and the format was basically that of a group stage so there was no winner takes all show down at the end and as a result the tournament lacked a real level of excitement in my opinion.  That was made worse by the fact that Toronto FC was an MLS team and they were competing against teams from a level lower that they really should have been far superior to.  In the end the 2010 edition of the Cup was exciting as Toronto FC needed to claim a massive win on the last day to win the prize but up until that last match it was dull and doubt it won over to many new fans.

This year things have been much different.  FC Edmonton have been included and the format has been completely revised.  The addition of the 4th team allowed a shift to two round format with both rounds featuring two legs.  In the first semi-final match up Toronto FC cruised to a win over FC Edmonton which should come as no real surprise due to the gap between the levels of the two teams.  On the other side the match between Vancouver Whitecaps, who are now in the MLS, took on Montreal Impact who will be the third Canadian team in the MLS next season.  This tie was a very exciting one with the White Caps winning the first leg on the road it set up for an exciting second leg.  To be honest the only reason that I ended up tuning in to the second leg of this one was the timing.  Since the game was in Vancouver it kicked off at 10 pm for me and by that time there was nothing else on tv and I decided to give the match a try.  It was a dull on for much of the game but in the dying moments Montreal started to try and get the goal that they needed and things really opened up.  Partially as a result of the lack of quality in the sides it seemed that once things got opened up the teams struggled to calm them down at all.  It made for exciting viewing as a neutral with Montreal drawing level in the 83rd minute thanks to Canadian international Ali Gerba.  Vancouver would go on to win the match in extra time thanks to a 100th minute strike but what really struck me was the way in which the extra time went.  I am used to seeing times completely shut things down after they score but this time it seemed that the Vancouver goal only opened things up more as Montreal created several chances of their own.

The semi-final results set up what is probably the final which most fans would have expected with both of the MLS teams managing to advance.  Toronto FC and Vancouver opened the MLS campaign against each other earlier this spring when they met in Vancouver.  That was a very exciting game with Vancouver come out on top 4-2 but again it was marked with the sort of sloppy defending that seems to have characterized games that involve Vancouver this season.  Since that game both teams have really struggled in their MLS campaigns as Toronto FC have only collected 2 wins in 11 matches while Vancouver have failed to win in their 7 matches since that opening night.

On that opening night of the season there was a real sense of excitement for the future of professional soccer in Canada.  Empire Stadium in Vancouver was rocking and both teams went out and put on a show to match the spectacle of Vancouver being back at the highest level.  That excitement seems to have died down a fair bit since then though with both teams struggling to make any progress in the MLS.  For Vancouver that is understandable since it is their debut season but with Toronto FC being around for 5 seasons now fans are sure to be expecting better from the club.  The gap between these two sides seems to be fairly small and that should lead to these two games being fairly exciting.  The first leg will likely be a bit of a nervy affair with neither team wanting to do anything that could cost them the tie before the second game but they will both be looking to try and gain the upper hand.  I think that these two games might just be the best chance to witness what sort of foundation there is for Professional soccer in Canada.  Hopefully both stadiums are load and supportive and both sides come out and show what they can do.  This is the only trophy that either of these teams is going to get anywhere near so lets hope they go all out to try and win it.

Beyond the improving of the Nutrilite Championship the teams are all improving.  It was only 5 years ago that the MLS decided it was time to expand into Canada by including a team from Toronto and now they have added Vancouver and Montreal will join in 2012.  That will give Canada three teams at the highest level and hopefully that will increase the competition between them.  The creation of strong rivalries between these teams will only help increase the fan base for the clubs and get people more involved.  The team still have a long ways to go in terms of reaching the quality needed to win an MLS title or even compete for a playoff spot but with strong management in place and the foundations there it looks like the future is getting ever brighter.  I would like to say that optimistically in another 5 years Canada could be home to 3 of the better teams in the MLS.  This growth can only help to develop the grass roots program as well which could lead to more talented Canadians coming up through the ranks and if the clubs keep increasing in stature they might even be able to keep top Canadians from going over to Europe, at least for a while.