Chivas truly are as close to a dead-club-walking as you’re likely to find. For the players and club officials, there have been questions of motivation since the beginning of the season, but a brief mid-season up-tick seemed to herald the possibility of respectability if not playoff relevance. Since then regular service has resumed. The Goats have lost five straight matches and haven’t won since July 12th. In total they’ve only taken 1 point from the last 30 available. At this point it’s as pitiable as TFC during their 2012 worst.
Former Seattle Sounder captain Mauro Rosales escaped football purgatory in Southern California in a trade that saw Nigel Reo-Coker head down from Vancouver. Reo-Coker once captained West Ham United in the Premier League. Now, after not being able to hold down a spot in the Whitecaps central midfield on DP wages and being reduced to a sometimes right back, he’s playing out the string on a team that won’t even exist next year.
Missing Rosales, Chivas will also be absent their one exciting star Erick “Cubo” Torres. The young Mexican forward has regularly been the only thing that made them worth watching and his 14 goals in league play earned him a first cap for the full Mexican national team earlier this month. Even Torres hasn’t scored since July 20th, however, and is suspended for the match against TFC.
Reds fans will likely get the chance to see former-favourite-of-some Eric Avila. Memorable for his occasional role in Toronto’s epic run to the Concacaf Champion’s League semi-final, Avila has spent the past two seasons with Chivas USA. Last season seemed to herald the possibility of a breakout at one point when Avila managed three goals and two assists but this season has seen a return to his more traditional level of production with no goals and a mere one assist. Probably the most remarkable thing is that Avila has managed to hang around in MLS for seven seasons, logging over 8000 minutes in that time, without ever living up to the hopes of those willing to give him an opportunity.
So everything seems to set-up nicely for a Toronto FC side desperately in need of a win. Winless in six themselves, the Reds are the only team threatening Chivas for futility over the past month. The club has certainly acknowledge the mounting pressure and started a full-on marketing blitz to re-engage with a fan base left reeling after another bout of “only in Toronto” instability since the turn from August to September.
The controversial end to Toronto’s match in Chicago changed the discussion from another week of exposition of the team’s faults and, if the official line is to be believed, could serve as a rallying cry. As bad as the last five weeks have been, it’ll only take a couple wins to see TFC right back in the playoff race. Thoughts of third place and avoiding the knockout round are now a pipedream, but for Toronto, simply getting any post-season action would still represent a degree of success.
The potential return of captain Steven Caldwell could be vital to those chances. Scotland may have voted to stay part of the United Kingdom, but the truth is that Toronto FC might need their Scottish centre back more than Scots need England. Greg Vanney’s tactics haven’t stopped TFC from conceding goals and have probably been fortunate not to allow more. Caldwell’s organizational abilities seem essential if that trend is going to change.
The opportunity to start the salvage of a season is there. They say they’re not giving up. Sunday afternoon those words will be tested. The playoff line moved a little farther away Saturday night and if TFC really want fans to believe that the playoffs are possible, it will take more than words to convince.