Toronto will certainly protect their stars but who won't be protected? (Getty Images)

The 15h and final club in our expansion draft speculation lists is Toronto FC. Yesterday they announced Preki as their new head coach and his first big task will be helping General Manager Mo Johnston with figuring out who to protect and who to leave exposed in the expansion draft.

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--------------------That is some quality toad. Nice hole too.

Well, that's it then. 2009 is done and dusted with Toronto FC having nothing but a big wad of mediocrity to show for it. But have no fear brave TFC supporters - Mo Johnston is working feverishly to make everything better!

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Any MLS supporter who still has a club in the race for the final playoff spots knows by now how completely wacky the tie-breaker system is in the event of two or more clubs ending up even. MLS must have hired unemployed former Soviet scientists to come up with such a series of win-loss-tie possibilities for this weekend. Click to continue reading...

TORONTO FC VS. REAL SALT LAKE
BMO Field - Saturday, 4PM EST
TV: CBC -- RADIO: The Fan 590
The worst tease to Toronto supporters are the two simple words: mathematically possible. It's the ever-changing combination of points available and rivals' performances that allow TFC to still say "we have a shot" at the playoffs week after week. Click to continue reading...

If everything goes as expected in the next two weeks, Toronto FC players will be packing their bags and heading home for 2009 while many of their rivals prepare for the playoffs. What happened this season? There was such promise back in spring but it quickly slid into mediocrity - all that was left was a look ahead to 2010. Click to continue reading...

Last night's game in Chicago was yet another episode in frustration for Toronto FC. TFC need every point they can get to cling to their slim chance of making the playoffs, and unfortunately they gave up two of them last night.

The frustrating part is that Chicago was definitely beatable, but Toronto still managed to squander the lead twice in the game and may now be too far out of the playoff race to catch up.

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TORONTO FC VS. COLORADO RAPIDS
BMO Field - Saturday, 4:30PM EST
TV: CBC -- Radio: The Fan 590
Hey Colorado - do you like the circus? Well, let's hope so because without putting up the BMO Winter Bubble, the big top is definitely in full effect. The only thing not happening around TFC this week is talk of how poor they have played lately! Click to continue reading...

This realization has taken a few weeks longer this season, but it's still just as painful. After watching TFC shit the bed this past weekend in Colorado, my faith in our ability to bounce back and hit a good run of form is effectively dead. I'm not too urked by a 1-0 loss away to the Rapids - they've been a good team this year. Click to continue reading...

Here's Adrian Serioux, with Toronto down a goal and already playing with ten men, making his bid for the "Worst Assault in MLS 2009" award:
Is this an expression of the growing frustration north of the Ice Curtain as thier inability to score goals - they've now posted three straight goose eggs - becomes more and more galling or simply an example of just how stupid the guy is? Click to continue reading...

They have been told that there are only a few games left right? I mean, TFC didn't think this was another run out against a Saskatchewan amateur club did they? Another away match, same away form for The Reds as they never looked like they were interested in giving Colorado a match which they lost 1-0. Click to continue reading...

Chivas USA 2 Toronto 0

A scrappy little shutout win that at times wasn't necessarily pretty, but did the trick going into next weekend's SuperClasico against the Galaxy (Chivas USA also travels to Real Salt Lake Wednesday).

Sacha Kljestan had his first two goals of the season and it should have been more for Chivas USA - substitute Paulo Nagamura should have scored with only the goalkeeper to beat about four minutes from time.

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It's make or break time. Well, maybe not - one good weekend of results can make quite the difference in this league. Nonetheless, with a majority of our home season done, we have to take some points on the road, and taking three from Chivas USA tonight would be a fantastic way to start a three-match road trip. Click to continue reading...

Football has always been the sport of the people. Most of the legends of the greatest game have been from poor or working class roots while many of the world's most beloved clubs are based in their city's poorer neighbourhoods. From Pele to Zidane, it has always been boys with little more than a ball and a dream who have shone the brightest. Click to continue reading...

Well, the MLS International transfer window has passed on the Lake Ontario breeze once again with only a Fellinga to show for it. While its never a good policy to buy someone just because they are foreign (see Welsh, Tebily, Robert, Ruiz etc.), Toronto is a multicultural place and the fans do like to see that global flair. Click to continue reading...

Goals from Dwayne De Rosario and O'Brian White gave us a 2-0 win over DC United yesterday at BMO Field. Here was our starting eleven: Stefan Frei, Nana Attakora, Emmanuel Gomez, Adrian Serioux, Jim Brennan, Amadou Sanyang, Carl Robinson, Sam Cronin, Pablo Vitti, O'Brian White, and Dwayne De Rosario. Click to continue reading...

Yesterday's 1-1 draw with Houston wasn't very satisfying at all. It was one of those ties that feels like a loss - and when you add in that Chicago, DC, and Columbus all won their matches yesterday, the feeling doesn't get any better.
Once again we are left to rue missed opportunities. Chad Barrett had a couple of opportunities, while one volley by Danny Dichio sticks out in my mind. Click to continue reading...

Previous Updates
#1 4/12 68 players remaining#2
5/25
37 players remaining
#3
6/25
23 players remaining
OTFATT is short for "On the field, all the time." In these updates throughout the season, I'll be keeping track of which MLS players have played every minute of every game (regular season only). Click to continue reading...

Canada

• Kevin Harmse (Chivas USA - just traded from Toronto FC)
• Andrew Hainault (Houston)
• Dejan Jakovic (DC United)
• Will Johnson (Real Salt Lake)
• Ali Gerba (Toronto)

** Dwayne De Rosario and Adrian Serioux - opted to stay behind with Toronto FC.
Costa Rica

• Gonzalo Segares (Chicago Fire)

Greneda

• Shalrie Joseph (New England, injured)

Jamaica

• Donovan Ricketts (LA Galaxy)
• Tyrone Marshall (Seattle)
• Andy Williams (Real Salt Lake, out as his wife is ill)
• Omar Cummings (Colorado)
• Dane Richards (NY Red Bull)
• Shavar Thomas (Chivas USA, pending CONCACAF approval to replace Williams and King)

United StatesSee this earlier post on the USA's Gold Cup roster. Click to continue reading...

Previous Updates
#1 4/12 68 players remaining#2
5/25
37 players remaining
OTFATT is short for "On the field, all the time." In these updates throughout the season, I'll be keeping track of which MLS players have played every minute of every game (regular season only). That feat has been accomplished 35 times in 13 season by 28 different players. Click to continue reading...

The roster is out, officially, and by the time you have read this the mainstream press will probably have plenty of quotes from Dwayne DeRosario as to why he won't don the red and white kit for the Gold Cup. Heck, they may even have a quote or two from Adrian Serioux as why he also skipped the call.

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According to CanadaSoccer.com, we're only going to be missing two players during the Gold Cup. None of Dwayne De Rosario, Adrian Serioux, or Nana Attakora are included in Stephen Hart's side, but Kevin Harmse and Ali Gerba are.
Looks like it was club over country for DeRo and Serioux.
Click here to see the final team. Click to continue reading...

According to the CONCACAF website, we could be missing five players during the Gold Cup (assuming Ali Gerba signs). Stephen Hart has named his 30-man preliminary squad ahead of the tournament, and included are Dwayne De Rosario, Adrian Serioux, Nana Attakora, Kevin Harmse, and Ali Gerba. Here is the full 30-man squad. Click to continue reading...

Toronto FC: More Grizzle than Gisele

Houston Dynamo 3-0 Toronto FC

The old cliche goes that football is a game of two halves. Never more so than tonight at Fortress Robertson. Ever been out on a blind date with a chick who your mates all said was really attractive, only to find on meeting her that she was more grizzle than Gisele?

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Half time Houston 3 TFC 0
On one hand Houston has demonstrated a scoring touch and a killer instinct on free kicks that TFC only dreams about.
On the other hand Adrian Serioux is being robbed by the ref at both ends of the field. The defensive calls have been of the phantom variety and then he had a goal disallowed in the dying seconds of the half. Click to continue reading...

The King's Club. The White Ballet. The Galacticos (but not the Landycakes version). Rumour has it that one of the world's most storied clubs is coming to town on August 7th. They are so special that MLSE has agreed to lay down real grass over the turf for the game in order to protect the precious knees of their numerous stars.

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Tomorrow night we take on the Houston Dynamo at Robertson Stadium in a match that will mark Dwayne De Rosario's first ever match in Houston as a member of the Dynamo's opposition. In a way it is a homecoming for him. The same can be said for Adrian Serioux, who won an MLS Cup in 2006 with the Dynamo before finding his away across Texas in Dallas. Click to continue reading...

Perhaps I am the Eeyore of TFC fans, but I did not rush down to today's game with my head and heart bursting with optimism. Last Saturday's loss to the Chicago Fire had stung and some of the bitterness clearly had lingered for the week since. I have been salivating for too long at that "2 International players to be signed" rumour and I felt that the loss to the Fire had only underlined the striker/central defender need. Click to continue reading...

Fan voting for the 2009 MLS All-Star First XI is now underway. Click HERE for the official ballot. The online fan balloting program, which concludes on July 6, will comprise 25 percent of the total vote for the All-Star First XI, with coaches and general managers, players, and media each holding 25 percent of the vote. Click to continue reading...

STARTERS
Catch me on da Twitter: dunord
dN
Philadelphia made it official today - naming their team Union, which I give a big thumbs up to, showing off their colors - navy blue and gold - and their team badge. I had images of all this last week, so go check it out if you haven't already. Click to continue reading...

Take a friend to a game.
They probably won't like it. The standard of play will be poor, they'll complain about the plastic pitch, the eight dollar cans of beer. They'll wonder how Danny Dichio could possibly be considered a hero when he basically exists to knock down long balls and lay them off for other players in a fifty-fifty gambit that looks more like a sort of mournful liturgy. Click to continue reading...

It's that time again. We're in DC for our yearly shlacking at the hands of DC United. We've played three times at RFK Stadium and have conceded 11 goals over those three matches, scoring only 4. Awwweessome. I don't think it'll be bad again. We've never gone there and played in a battle for first place in the East. Click to continue reading...

Of all people...Kevin freakin' Harmse. After scoring just 2 minutes in, I was hoping we'd put a few more goals in, but it wasn't to be. Nonetheless, a win is a win and three points are three points. This year's Nutrilite Canadian Championship is a must-win in my eyes, so I'm content with a clean sheet at home to open things up. Click to continue reading...

We didn't play well. In fact, we were a shadow of the team that won our last two matches. We were very fortunate to come away with the point. Columbus dominated the match, and if not for some very poor finishing, could have easily one three or four one.
We were outshot 17 to 5, and the Crew had 9 corner kicks to our 2. Click to continue reading...

Sweet. That was the team we expected to see game in and game out this season. We fully deserved those three points, and beating a team that came into the match undefeated really boosts my confidence towards the side. It's the first time we've ever beaten the Goats - and in my view, they just didn't look up to the task. Click to continue reading...

Since the first game of the season, it has gone decidedly pear shaped for Toronto FC. With only two points in the last four games, TFC has dropped out of a playoff spot (though fans wiser than me would frown upon looking at the standings before the tenth game). As you are undoubtedly aware, the Reds are coming off a loss to finish off their home and home series with last place FC Dallas.

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