TFC training camp opens this week and it would be great to feel that anticipation for a new season rising in one's heart. New season, new faces would be a great motto for TFC to adopt. Toronto certainly seems to have roster spots available.
In the month of January we have spent more time waving goodbye than waving hello.

TFC release Andy Iro and Peri Marosevic in moves that free up over 200k in precious salary cap space.
Rating: 5.0/5 (1 vote cast)

"Behind you Andy! Oh... never mind."A little bit of a shocker out of TFC's pre-pre-season today as the club confirmed that both Andy Iro and Peri Marosevic will not return to The Reds in 2012. "Both Andy and Peri declined our contract extension offers and now the club is ready to move on," were the words from the Dutch Master Aron Winter who is no doubt ready to welcome new recruits to fill their roles.

Welcome to The Yorkies' regular off-season rumour roundup - "The Rumoumeter". Too busy to keep your TFC ear to the ground every week? Just stop by the site and we will quickly show you what rumours are hot - and which ones have hit the back burner. Some of the rumours have weight - others little more than whispers; we take their temperature with.

Like the SuperDraft... just less Super... and more MentalNo we aren't being all streets with French crazy people - we are being all streets with the 2012 MLS Supplemental Draft! And honestly, what's a draft if it's not a wee bit mental? And hey, Montreal's in it now so l vous allez.
　
The Torontos had five picks today in the annual hunt for gold (not Matt Gold) that slipped through the two rounds of last week's SuperDraft.

Happy Boxing Day!Boxing Day... not only the one day of the year that Maxim Usanov celebrates his hero, Soviet-era pugilist Ivan Drago, but the day where you look at all of your Christmas gifts and ask your loved ones... "do you still have the receipt?" It's not always quite as easy as gently hinting that the new Cosby sweater your dear Aunt Nora gave you "isn't quite you" though.

"Cafeteria?" Left at the windmill, right at the clogmaking class"It has been a school year of change on the shores of Lake Ontario. After Preki Junior High was shut down last year, with crusty Dean Mo Johnston run out of town, many wondered what new curriculum would be brought in. When it was announced that the Winter Technical Institute was to open in PJH's place - the dumb jocks knew their days were numbered.

Down we go to BMO Field for season closer number 5. It qualifies, before the first ball is kicked, as bittersweet. The win in Dallas on Tuesday night puts TFC past the group stage of the Champion's League for the first time next spring. They showed that the team can rise to the occasion and win a big game on the road has to be sweetest point of the year.

Late October is a funny time of year. Your first or second favourite club is now in full swing across the ocean, while your second or first favourite club is wrapping up their season with a game steeped in frivolity and mediocrity. Toronto closes out their season against a side who was eliminated from the post-season sometime in mid-July.

The Rides of MarchTHE BUZZ:
For TFC supporters it felt as if this match was five years in the making. Half a decade of less than mediocre results and high drama off the pitch had the chance to be erased, even if only temporarily, if The Reds could grab a win tonight.

PSP photographer Nicolae Stoian was on hand for the Philadelphia Union's home finale. Although the match ended as a 1–1 draw, the beautiful fall day featured a beauty of a goal from Sebastien Le Toux. Most importantly, the Union assured themselves a place in the playoffs for the first time in their two-year history.

Duncan Fletcher of Waking the Red, SB Nation's Toronto blog, and I chatted ahead of this afternoon's Union-TFC match.

tBG: How about yourself, what do you think the game will be like?

WtR: Though we should be looking to Tuesday's CCL game, a part of that is the fact that we've had two weeks off, so I'd expect to have the first team out there to shake the rust off and practice.

Never forget.With a coaching staff and a number of players far from home, it's always a nice touch to get everyone together for a bonding holiday meal. When Toronto FC sat down for their holiday supper, it was the first taste of a North American Thanksgiving for many of The Reds. The club no doubt wanted a special day for all involved but just like any family gathering, a few things went awry.

Doesn't want to face Pumas eitherTHE BUZZ:
The only real prize for the winner of tonight's match will be for overly optimistic Goats or Robins supporters (yes, we are trying call TFC "The Robins" for sh*ts and giggles) to pretend for one week longer that they have a playoff hope.

You ever get the feeling that tonight's game is going to let you down. I get that a lot lately, and I get a sense that better football is played when I'm not watching. I'd rather have been asleep, to be fare, but this is love... devotion... masochism.
Predictions : 4-0, 2-0, 3-0, 3-1 all for the red version of TFC tonight
-72' - I recieve my season's tickets renewal notice.

Burgundy's in town
TORONTO (17th) VS. COLORADO (5th)
　
BMO FIELD - SATURDAY 1:30PM ET
TV: TSN
　
THE KICKABOUT:
Good day TFC supporters, we're The Yorkies. Tits McGee is on vacation.

TFC's defensive line in usual formTHE BUZZ:
Mexico City's cavernous Estadio Olimpico Universitario is the setting as The Reds try to steal three valuable Champions League points from PUMAS UNAM. The mood was hopeful leading up to the match against the underachieving Mexicans but a rash of TFC absences and a suddenly strong Pumas starting eleven have got us sweating through our UNAM's.

This joke is kinda meta, as it's both a San Jose joke and a Clash/Big Audio Dynamite joke.
My apologies but this is the inner music nerd's idea of "crossover funny".
Seriously. Seriously. The weather huh? Seriously. If this were a bus stop and someone wanted to make small talk about the weather, I'd consider making a shiv with my house key and stabbing them repeatedly.

I may take a few days to develop a theory that hit me tonight. The problem with TFC is the CNE. I am of baby boomer vintage and can remember when the CNE was the pinnacle of a Toronto summer. It was not just an amusement park, it was a showcase for the latest and the greatest The world has changed and we know that the old CNE has been left behind by Disney this and Universal Studios that.

"Anything to declare?"... "Yes, we're not very good."When things go poorly for Toronto FC on the road, we often hear that "travel" has caught up with the team. It may seem like a handy excuse but any of us who have fought our way through airports know that it can be taxing at the best of times.

Toronto's Strategy Aron Winter abandoned his Dutch roots by swapping his 4-3-3 for a 3-4-3. The formation switch to three at the back is a welcome one, since it is such a rarity in football. Winter must have thought that whether he played 3 or 4 at the back would result in a suspect back line, so he may as well play to his strengths (wing play) while entertaining the BMO Field faithful.

A victory is a victory and each should be valued. At least that is what I have beentrying to tell myself on the drive home. They have been rare enough in 2011, aseason where TFC have played 26 games to reach the plateau of 4 victories.Somehow plateau does not seem like the right word. Perhaps it should be 26games to reach the doorstep of 4 victories.

I'm ready to make a Real Betis knock-off but it cannot be anywhere as entertaining as this one...
Hey kids, you realize that our beloved Robins are in the midst of a 4 game unbeaten streak? Sure, two of those matches were against the sub-NASL calibre Real Esteli and won both, but in a season polluted with bad news (DeRo leaving) and worse news (I thought YOU were supposed to be centre back tonight?

That was bizarre. Not just clown showing up at a bachelor party bizarre, but a clown shows up a bachelor party and is really the thought to be dead ex-wife of the groom bizarre.

Toronto and D.C. played to a 3-3 draw that may have been the strangest game at RFK ever. After 90 minutes, a butt-load of stoppage time, and 6 goals, I'm not even sure what happened.

Photo by Jeff Keacher

No road wins this season. A minus 22 goal differential. Six games lost where they gave up three goals or more, including a 4-0 loss and a 6-2 loss. Nineteen points, the third lowest in the league. More trades than a Wall Street stock broker. To be blunt, there has been little for Toronto FC fans to be cheery about this season.

TFC's ankles - Lest We ForgetIN THE TUNNEL:
With Real Esteli nabbing that crucial away goal at BMO Field, "The Train of The North" have everything to play for tonight in rural Nicaragua. A reportedly horrendous pitch, a zoo-like atmosphere in the stands and ziplock bags full of humanity's worst await our boys in red as they aim for the CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage.

"What the hell do I do with that thing?!"The Dan Gargan mystery was put to rest this morning with the affable defender's trade to Chicago Fire. It was widely reported, and accepted, that Gargan had received an outright release by TFC earlier this week but the club never made an official announcement.

Sporting Kansas City Setup: Coach Peter Vermes was able to put to use his new playmaker on loan from Vasco de Gama Jefferson. He patrolled the middle of the pitch and made several nice passes, including one assist to Omar Bravo. Bravo set up wide left but was often found more inside and up top.

Sporting Kansas City got their 9 game home stand started the right way last night against Toronto FC, scoring 3 first half goals and added a fourth in the second to defeat the reds 4-2 at LIVESTRONG Sporting Park. The way the game started though, it looked like the result could have gone the other direction.

Toronto came into the match having scored the second fewest goals and conceded the most in MLS. However, they have been decent at home picking up 14 of 18 goals. Dallas has failed to score in the past two MLS matches.
Toronto's Strategy
Off the back of two designated player signings and several trades, the side was almost unrecognizable.

I tried to stop myself from expecting too much from tonight's game against Dallas. I suspected that whatever the individual qualities of the players, old and new alike, that developing a coherent smooth squad was a matter of time. Toronto played five new players and three of those were playing their first games in MLS.

Another day, another personnel move for Toronto FC.

The Reds signed Guadeloupe defender Eddy Viator on Wednesday, making him the latest in a recent spell of player moves.

Viator, 29, was on trial with Toronto for a week and was a starter for Guadeloupe during the CONCACAF Gold Cup.

The "Chip Butty" app is way overratedTORONTO (16th) VS. DALLAS (3rd)
　
BMO FIELD - WEDNESDAY 8PM
TV: TSN
　
THE KICKABOUT:
- How many new faces will Aron Winter throw into the starting 11?

"Mr. Bojangles can partner me at CB boss"To say the last few days have been a time of great change at BMO Field would be a major understatement. While most people familiar with The Reds are used to the revolving door with playing staff, the sheer amount of new faces in such a short period is still quite monumental.

Must have seen the weather forecast
Well, at least Tony Tchani won't have to Tweet about the strange Toronto weather patterns anymore. The young defensive midfielder, who was the main prize in the Dwayne De Rosario trade, was shipped to Trillium Cup rival Columbus Crew today in a multi-player deal as TFC's transfer window shuffle continues.

Toronto isn't done dealing yet. Today the club made yet another deal, this time with Trillium Cup rival Columbus Crew. The two sides played the trade game today as Columbus sent central defender Andy Iro and midfielder Leandre Griffit to Toronto for midfielder Tony Tchani.

Very, very interesting move for the two sides.

The revolving door at BMO Field keeps turning.

Toronto FC traded Tony Tchani to the Columbus Crew on Friday in exchange for centerback Andy Iro and midfielder Leandre Griffit.

The move comes a day after Toronto picked up Terry Dunfield from Vancouver and dealt Jacob Peterson, Alan Gordon and Nana Attakora to San Jose for Ryan Johnson, allocation money and an international roster slot.

Houston Dynamo (4-5-6, 18 pts.) vs. Chivas USA (4-4-6, 18 pts.) Robertson Stadium - Houston, TX - 7:30pm CT
BROADCAST INFORMATION: KHOU 11.2 (ENG TV) FOX Sports Houston Plus (ENG TV) SportsTalk 790 (ENG Radio) .La Ranchera 850 (SPN Radio) San Jacinto Post-Game Call-In Show with Glenn Davis - SportsTalk 790, 9:45 p.

Starting Line Ups

Fire

GK Johnson

D Anibaba, Cuesta, Gibbs, Segares

M Oduro, Pause, Husidic, Nyarko

F Puerari, Chaves

Bench : Conway, Robinson, Ristic, Paladini, Bone, Barouch, Nazirit

Crew

GK Hesmer

D Miranda, Marshall, James, Gardner

M Balchan, Ekpo, Gaven, Meram

F Mendoza, Cunningham

Bench : Gruenebaum, Iro, Veeder, Burns, Gehrig, Rusmir, Horton

Photo by Michael Janosz/ISIphotos.com

Another frustrated tweet has made its way out of the Columbus Crew locker room.

Weeks after midfielder Robbie Rogers was involved in a little social media controversy, out-of-favor centerback Andy Iro vented his thoughts about his playing-time situation.