While we are no big fan of the playoff structure in MLS, it seems to be a necessary evil in a North American league for now. The 2009 MLS Playoffs have actually been quite good though with 3 out of the 4 teams who remain being deserving. Sometimes however, there are off the field occurrences which can be just as interesting. Click to continue reading...

Make no mistake - Mo Johnston needs to make more than a few good player acquisitions this winter in order to improve TFC. However, the decision that will have the deepest impact on The Reds will be who Johnston hires to manage the team. There are high expectations from the supporters but betting on a big name may not be smart. Click to continue reading...

It seemed astonishing when Mo Johnston recently claimed to be shocked by the level of criticism that he was receiving after TFC's recent failure. Was the wily Glaswegian watching the same team the supporters were? Why the shock on Mo's part?
It should be no surprise however when you look at the acceptance of mediocrity that comes from places higher in the organization. Click to continue reading...

Big Story
The dramatic failure of Toronto FC this year, after a struggling season was concluded as the club blew its chance of making the playoffs by getting torn apart 5-0 by Red Bull New York, has thrown the entire direction of the team up for debate as well as the future of general manager Mo Johnston.

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Tom Anselmi defended his decision to extend Mo Johnston's contract by saying, and I quote: "Our expectation was to not make the playoffs the first three years. We didn't think we would."
Bra. Vo.
Not expecting Toronto FC to qualify for the playoffs? In a league where half the teams move on to the post season? Click to continue reading...

---- -----------------"Can I get back to you in five years?"
One thing has become crystal clear over the last few days of post-season naval gazing at BMO Field. It doesn't matter, who the head coach is, it doesn't matter how the star player feels, it doesn't matter what the supporters want - Mo Johnston (Yes, the Scottish Hall of Famer! Click to continue reading...

Ever since Toronto FC debuted back in April 2007, its supporters have been referred to by local media as a "sophisticated soccer base." It's patronizing that adult MLS fans with a committed stake in the outcome of matches and a working knowledge of the league table are suddenly pipe-carrying, elbow patched Lobanovskyi's ready with our doctoral theses on the coming of 4-6-0. Click to continue reading...

So Mo Johnston's big state of the no-union address was to remove the "interim" tag from head coach Chris Cummins title. He also removed the word "head" and "coach" from the affable Englishman's job description as well.
Yes, the ever-humble Johnston dispatched yet another manager from the TFC bench with Cummins being the convenient excuse for the mediocrity which Mo has taken nearly four years to build. Click to continue reading...

So Toronto FC fired their interim manager Chris Cummins today, on the heels of a 5-0 meltdown in a must-win match against woeful New York. That's a reasonable move, and one that I suspect most TFC fans welcome. But whichever English or Scottish league washout that Mo recruits (and you can bet your bottom dollar that it'll be a Brit), will face the same problem that Cummins and his predecessor John Carver faced. Click to continue reading...

------------------ "Sing when you're winning" - RSL = 40pts
After having to swallow a 5-0 debacle in New York, one thing was clear - any team other than Toronto FC had to make the playoffs tonight. There was that brief moment where it was still possible that the Reds, that unbalanced, built-on-the cheap by Mo Johnston squad could still make the playoffs despite the club's horrifying display and completely mediocre season. Click to continue reading...

Just because you can do something, doesn't necessarily make it the best option. As Toronto FC head into their last gasp attempt at making this year's playoffs, that conundrum does indeed rise. The enigma that is this season's Reds are quite frankly lucky to even have the chance to qualify for the post-season but that is the reality of MLS parity. Click to continue reading...

After the all too predictable failure of Toronto FC on Saturday afternoon, the supporter's, and media's, axe was immediately and forcefully swung at interim manager Chris Cummins' head. It is hard to argue that anger, what with the technical shortcomings of TFC in the San Jose match and in many previous matches this season, but how much of the blame can lay solely at Cummins' feet? Click to continue reading...

Well, it's that time of year again. The National Hockey League, and in particular the Toronto Maple Leafs, are back tonight meaning that every sports station, every news channel and every newspaper in the city will devote 90% of its coverage to every minutiae of the sport that is Frozen Stick Soccer. Click to continue reading...

Toronto FC and BMO Field took a giant step forward in their progression towards complete football legitimacy today as Toronto City Council, led by season ticket holder Mayor Miller, approved the installation of delicious, real, green grass in time for the 2010 season. The plan still has to pass provincial and federal watchdogs due to their original contributions to the stadium construction but that is not considered to be a major concern. Click to continue reading...

Most parents will tell you that if you coddle a child for too long then they will end up spoiled. Now it's unsure how long "childhood" lasts for your average MLS club but three years seems to be at least "young adult". Why then, is Toronto FC being treated so gingerly by most observers - both on the inside and the outside of the club? Click to continue reading...

For once there is a Toronto FC story that has no negative spin attached to it nor the nagging suspicion that there must be something evil lurking behind it. The Designated Player signing of Canada's most talented national team member, Julian De Guzman, is truly great news for the team and supporters alike in a year where good times have been rare. Click to continue reading...

From the first time Danny Dichio stepped on the field for Toronto FC you could see the difference. There was a fire in the belly of a man who was enjoying his football curtain call. Dichio didn't come to TFC for one last paycheque, he came here to prove to himself and to the football world that he was still the physical force that made him a fan favourite with such big clubs as QPR, Sunderland and West Brom. Click to continue reading...

A tempest in a 6 foot 3 teapot? It seems as if a mini firestorm has been swirling around BMO Field this pass week with a lot "he said - no one said" coming from the traditional media circles. By now, most TFC supporters have heard the story - team legend and voted "most likely to walk on water" Danny Dichio had been left off the roster for recent league matches and was apparently told he wouldn't be travelling with the team to Seattle for this week's match against Sounders FC. Click to continue reading...

Coming home after a long absence isn't always easy. Tougher still when the weight of thousands of supporters' expectations are riding on your shoulders. When Dwayne De Rosario signed with Toronto FC this past off-season, the club could claim that it had its first true star - no offence Andrea Lombardo. Click to continue reading...

A report in today's Globe & Mail newspaper hints at Dwayne De Rosario's growing unhappiness at the state of BMO Field's dreadful Field Turf and its effect on his long-term plans. When asked if the green polyester slacks which substitute for grass in Toronto makes him question his future, the all-star midfielder said "Yeah, kind of, in a way, because my career depends on me playing, and if turf is hampering the longevity of my career, then you have to question how long can you actually deal with playing on turf. 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...

"Yes, we've got Fellinga – it is, Sexual Healing-a" Okay, that may be the worst chant of all time but big kudos to anyone who is heard singing it on Saturday. That's right fans of Haitian International football, 23 year old Lesly Fellinga has signed with Toronto FC with the club officially announcing the move today. Click to continue reading...

Maybe part of Mo Johnston's rumoured contract extension includes a Eurail Pass because all of a sudden TFC is being linked with Central European based players. As reported in THE WORD last week, European press are claiming that The Reds are close to signing Haitian defender Lesley Fellinga, last of Holland's SV Heereveen (Gone Tomorrow) and that the player is on trial in TFC's secret bunker. Click to continue reading...

Los Galacticos have left los building. No need for a match report, no need for analysis. It was an all-star skills competition at BMO Field and ended as predicted. It is no secret that Real Madrid is in a different class from TFC, and that's no insult to The Reds. Real are in a different class to all but a handful of teams in the world. Click to continue reading...

To brand Friday night's friendly against Real Madrid as a negative would be an ignorant thing to do. To imagine that MLSE brought the Nu-Galacticos here to further the "beautiful game" in Toronto would be a far more ignorant line of thought. The fact that our local squad, comparable in stature with a second division European club, gets to test their skills against the reserves of one of the world's Top 5 clubs is great in theory. Click to continue reading...

To whom it may concern,
How could a club who has been preparing for the biggest game in the it's history come out so flat? It's not as if Puerto Rico was tearing up the pitch. What happened to "BMO Field -The Fortress", "This Is Our House" etc. etc? The lack of effort and game plan was terrible and as the game wore on the crosses got worse, the corners near amateurish and the finishing was non-existent. Click to continue reading...

There was the temptation to sub-title this article as "Breaking News" but it really is not. For as long as the "Julian De Guzman to Toronto FC" rumours have been out there - the possibly subversive truth behind them has always existed in equal measure. When the first rumour appeared on The Yorkies' "The Word" a while back, the possibility of a mutual "using" of each other between TFC and the De Guzman camp was explored. Click to continue reading...

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. They giveth and they taketh away. Then they try to taketh some more. Don't blame those poor old men in pinstripes though, they just can't help themselves. Give credit where credit is due, the money-hungry misers who feed our footy obsession, like Harry Rosen-clad crack dealers, are very good at what they do. Click to continue reading...

by Jason Davis - Match Fit USA
Toronto FC has sauntered up to the vault, inserted their key, opened the door, wheeled in a cart, loaded it up with gobs of cash, and slammed it right into the available arms of one Julian de Guzman.
The Canadian international is the team's first Designated Player target, a hometown boy with European experience, quality to spare, and a marketable name to sell to TFC's football mad fan base. Click to continue reading...

via mistake by the lake

News
Real Madrid to play Toronto FC at BMO Field in August.
Bigger News
A grass field to be placed over the turf for this game (and possibly more games beyond?).
Season ticket holder news
There is speculation that the Real Madrid game will not be the game in your season ticket package.

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Toronto FC's rival to the north managed to put in grass at their new stadium from the beginning.
Way back on April 21,  loyal MLSR readers will remember this leak we received from someone within the Toronto FC organization wishing anonymity.
The latest report regarding putting grass in at BMO Field comes courtesy of Canada's SLAM! 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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I never liked John Carver, and I let him know on the occasions I could get close to him, bellowing over a lukewarm beer that he'd long ago lost the plot, especially toward the end of last season. But Carver, like a few other stand-ins over at Toronto FC, was just another cog in the MLSE machine.
Let's tease out the name: Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment. Click to continue reading...

People wonder why Toronto FC gets taken seriously by the city's populace. MLSE definitely gets to take a lot of credit for that as do the city's inhabitants. It also has to be said that a big part of it is the local and national media treating the sport, the team and the players like they're big time. Click to continue reading...

You'll remember, of course, the general contempt that TFC has shown for travelling fans. Well, now it's showing it to home fans as well.
My season ticket renewal form arrives in my inbox. Apparently included in this year's price is not just my 15 league games, but also an international friendly (I see they've learned their lesson and are now scheduling only one of these atrocities), two Canadian championship matches, and (drumroll please) a premliminary round CONCACAF game. Click to continue reading...