"Stop loafing Frings, that windmill ain't gonna build itself!"The biggest investment in Toronto FC this year will not come in the way of a Designated Player but in a group of buildings and pitches in the city's north end. The new TFC training facility, due to open this May in Downsview Park, will arguably be the finest club training facility in North American professional football.

"Wow Jimmy, looks great! Now get it to Anselmi - Chop! Chop!"That's it - the holidays are over. Take down the lights, put the tree in a chipper and tell the Mayans to bugger off. Nothing but months of sleet, cold and snow to look forward to now... unless you're a TFC supporter! Like a Dutch groundhog, Bob de Klerk has seen his shadow and it's under four weeks until The Reds' return for pre-season.

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.

"Ugh, my iPhone is stuck on the UNHOLY setting"The dust has settled over Bay Street since Friday's dramatic announcement that Bell and Rogers were buying major shares of Maple Leaf Sports and "Entertainment". A few things became evident by watching the glad-handing press conference: Bell and Rogers may be in bed over this deal - but they do not enjoy each other's company; the deal is 99% about getting corporate boxes at Leafs games; and, TFC are the equivalent of "the player to be named later" in the deal.

"Oooh your manbag is so moody - it must be a Laurent Robert!"Autumn is a time of transition. Where the once promising blooms of spring must wither and make way for Winter (Lazio 1992-1996) and the eventual dawn of a new re-birth. Oh, the circle of life - love it when this blog goes all Robert Frost.

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.

Regrets, we've had a few... hundredThere was a special, almost spiritual, occasion in the world of Toronto FC last week. No, it wasn't the club's first ever win over Columbus, nor the hoisting of the illustrious Trillium Cup - it was an anniversary of a momentous date in TFC's history.

Like my new hat? Got it in Malvern!It's Murphy's Law in football, as in many other pro sports, that an ex-member of your club inevitably comes back to haunt you. Saturday night was Dwayne De Rosario's turn. Arguably the best player ever to don the TFC kit, De Ro of course left Toronto under a cloud of "he said, Mo saids".

Mmm, you can really taste the buttered bread!
Well that's it for Easter break - a nice mini-vacation to celebrate the first time Jesus rode through England on a giant bunny throwing chocolate eggs at snakes. At least that's what the nice lady on the Toblerone customer service line (tried to swallow a triangle whole - long story) led me to believe.

I held off writing my blog on Saturday night's game until Sunday morning. I thought that I needed time to cool off. I think we can file that idea as yet another strategy that isn't working regarding Toronto FC and the fans. I knew there were going to be bad nights going into "Season V – the rebuild", but I think something snapped last night.

Jason: On staff
GET BENT!
Aron Winter added some bench strength on the coaching side by promoting Jason Bent from the Academy ranks to 1st Team Assistant Coach. It's a solid move on the club's part as the 33-year-old Bent is a decent, young Canadian coaching prospect and his three years as Academy Head Coach gives him a strong bond with the crop of Academy youngsters moving to the 1st Team.

"Suck it Toronto Transit Commission"

Before we get to our usual Monday silliness, we just want to thank our readers, both new and old, who helped us crack the 50,000 hit mark. Hope you enjoy the site as much as we enjoy creating it - thanks for being a Yorkie too! Now, if we were MLSE we would sell a range of "We Hit 50K" scarves (damn, that's a good idea) but unlike Toronto FC's owners we don't have that cross-promotional clout.

After watching Blackburn's, David Hoillet smash the ball past West Brom's Boaz Myhill at the weekend to become the first Canadian to score in the Premier League - I though I'd find out who was the first Canadian to play in the Premier League...

In 2005, Jim Brennan became the first Canadian born outfield player to play in the English Premier League, playing for Norwich City

Related posts:

1. Fact of the day!

After watching Blackburn's, David Hoillet smash the ball past West Brom's Boaz Myhill at the weekend to become the first Canadian to score in the Premier League - I though I'd find out who was the first Canadian to play in the Premier League...

In 2005, Jim Brennan became the first Canadian born outfield player to play in the English Premier League, playing for Norwich City

Related posts:

1. Fact of the day!

Those are top quality Academy prospects!

There have been few Toronto FC press conferences that have been as momentous as last week's introduction to Aron Winter & Co. There was the club unveiling in 2006, Dwayne De Rosario's signing from Houston, "The Great Mo & Preki Escape" of 2010... Oh, and maybe Jacob Peterson's Amish Hip-Hop album release.

The next chapter in Toronto FC's short but eventful history started Thursday, with the naming of the club's new management team.

Former Dutch international Aron Winter joins the Reds as the technical director and head coach, and longtime New England Revolution assistant Paul Mariner will serve as the director of player personnel.

It's official now. MLSE and TFC held a press conference today to confirm that Aron Winter, Paul Mariner, and Bob de Klerk will be joining Toronto FC. In a nutshell, here is what our staff will look like for the new season:

Aron Winter Head Coach & Technical Director
Paul Mariner Director of Player Development
Bob de Klerk - First Assistant Coach
Earl Cochrane - Director of Team and Player Operations
Stu Neely Head of Academy
Nick Dasovic, Jim Brennan, and Danny Dichio will all remain a part of the organization; official roles yet to be named

Basically, Winter is our main man.

It's official now. MLSE and TFC held a press conference today to confirm that Aron Winter, Paul Mariner, and Bob de Klerk will be joining Toronto FC. In a nutshell, here is what our staff will look like for the new season:

Aron Winter Head Coach & Technical Director
Paul Mariner Director of Player Development
Bob de Klerk - First Assistant Coach
Earl Cochrane - Director of Team and Player Operations
Stu Neely Head of Academy
Nick Dasovic, Jim Brennan, and Danny Dichio will all remain a part of the organization; official roles yet to be named

Basically, Winter is our main man.

Well, 3 out of 4 ain't bad!

When MLSE VP Tom Anselmi opened today's important press conference with an admission that the club had been "going in the wrong direction" it was hard not to point the finger squarely at the man himself. For four years under Anselmi and MLSE's direction, TFC was allowed to flounder, mostly at the hands of Mo Johnston, and on this site as in many other places, the ownership was rightfully criticized.

TORONTO, Ont. Toronto FC's new head coach and technical director Aron Winter answers a question during Thursday's press conference. (Chris Young/Canadian Press) Thursday marked a new era in the history of the Toronto FC, with the Major League Soccer club undergoing a major managerial makeover. TFC named former Dutch national team star Aron Winter [.

By AVI CREDITOR

Toronto FC announced a whole host of front office moves on Thursday, most notably officially introducing Aron Winter as its new head coach and technical director and Paul Mariner as its new director of player personnel.

Bob de Klerk, who worked with Winter in the Ajax Amsterdam academy system, will be the team's top assistant coach.

and
In case your resolution was to avoid online chatter, here is the official TFC leadership group announced at the ACC press conference today.
There is a team approach to the new TFC leadership. So forgive me if my labels are simple. Aron Winter seems to be both coach and technical director.

Finally some good news for Toronto FC! Former Dutch midfielder Aron Winter is set to be hired by TFC, as is former Revs coach Paul Mariner.

Aron Winter played for Ajax, Lazio, and Inter as well as the National Team for the Netherlands.