What's wrong with TFC?
It's a question that many have and, despite protests to the contrary, has no simple answer. There are a lot of factors that have made TFC the mess that it is right now. Some have to do with management, others have to do with factors outside anyone's control.
For the next few days we will explore the various factors and look to see if there might be some solutions.
To start, let's cut to the biggest factor of all. No, it's not simply MLSE sucks. That's always been too simple by half. However, management failure is part of it.
Find out what TFC's biggest failure is below the jump.
[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Scouting. Or, if you prefer, talent identification. Simply put, Toronto has failed miserably at identifying MLS players. They are terrible at it.
TFC fans understand that fact without seeing the proof, but to avoid any questions CSN ran the numbers.
To run an apples to apples comparison we looked at every player that played in MLS in 2009. We picked the 2009 season because it was far enough in the past that judgments have been made on the players that played then, but not so long ago that players could reasonably be expected to have retired.
We created three categories. Two, MLS retention and club retention, are self-evident. They measure what percentage of players on each club's rosters are still with the team (SWT) or still in the league (SIL).
We called the third category Positive Career Path. It measures what percentage of players are still playing professionally in MLS or in another D1 league. The thinking is that if a player is still playing D1* somewhere he was likely a capable MLS player in 2009 (which speaks to the ability of the club to identify talent.
Other categories players fall into include retired, playing division 2 or lower (D2oL) or the dreaded Out of Football (OoF) – you don't want those guys.
*the D1 identifier is subjective in that some D1 leagues are weaker than some D2 leagues. Rather than try and get into those debates we kept it simple. If the player was in a D1 league, we considered them playing at a higher level than a player in a D2 league, regardless of what country. The truth is the number of players affected by this is minimal.
The breakdown:
Columbus
Will Hesmer – SWT
Duncan Oughton – SWT
Eddie Gaven – SWT
Chad Marshall – SWT
Kevin Burns – SWT
Emilio Rentería – SWT
Andy Gruenebaum – SWT
Alejandro Moreno – SIL
Adam Moffat – SIL
Brian Carroll – SIL
Eric Brunner – SIL
Jed Zayner – SIL
Steven Lenhart - SaDB
Emmanuel Ekpo – Europe
Robbie Rogers – Europe
Alex Grendi – D2oL
Danny O'Rourke – D2oL
Jason Garey – D2oL
Cory Elenio – D2oL
Frankie Hejduk – Retired
Gino Padula – retired
Guillermo Barros Schelotto – Retired
Andy Iro – OoF
Columbus total: 7 SWT, 6 SIL, 2 Other D1 League, 4 D2oL, 3 Retired, 1 OoF
62.5% - positive career path; 54.1% MLS retention; 29.1% Club retention
Chicago
Patrick Nyarko – SWT
Marco Pappa – SWT
Chris Rolfe – SWT
Logan Pause – SWT
Austin Washington – SWT
Gonzalo Segares – SWT
Jon Busch – SIL
C.J. Brown – SIL
Calen Carr – SIL
Tim Ward – SIL
John Thorrington – SIL
Justin Mapp – SIL
Wilman Conde – SIL
Daniel Woolard – SIL
Bakary Soumaré – Europe
Baggio Hušidić – Europe
Mike Banner – Europe
Blanco – Mexico D2
Stefan Dimitrov – D2oL
Andrew Dykstra – D2oL
Brandon Prideaux – Retired
Dasan Robinson – Retired
Brian McBride – Retired
Peter Lowry – OoF
Chicago total: 6 SWT, 8 SIL, 3 Other D1 League, 3 D2oL, 3 retired, 1 OoF
70.8% Positive career path; 58.3% MLS retention; 25% Club retention
Toronto
Julian de Guzman – SWT
Stefan Frei – SWT
Dwayne de Rosario – SIL
Sam Cronin – SIL
Marvell Wynne – SIL
Chad Barrett – SIL
Pablo Vitti – Mexico
Amado Guevara – Honduras
Brian Edwards – Sweden D2
Fuad Ibrahim – D2oL
Amadou Sanyang – D2oL
Jim Brennan – Retired
Adrian Serioux - Retired
Carl Robinson - Retired
Nana Attakora – OoF
Nick Garcia – OoF
Lesly Fellinga – OoF
Ali Gerba – OoF
O’Brien White – OoF
Gabe Gala – OoF
Emmanuel Gómez – OoF
Toronto total: 2 SWT, 4 SIL, 2 Other D1 League, 3 D2oL, 3 retired, 7 OoF
33% Positive career path; 25% MLS retention; 8.3% Club retention
New England
Matt Reis – SWT
Chris Tierney – SWT
Shalrie Joseph – SWT
Dalton Barnes – SWT
Pat Phelan – SWT
Kevin Alston – SWT
Sainey Nyassi – SWT
Bobby Shuttleworth - SWT
Chris Albright – SIL
Wells Thompson – SIL
Kheli Dube – SIL
Jeff Larentowicz – SIL
Michael Videira – SIL
Brad Knighton – SIL
Kenny Mansally – SIL
Edgaras Jankauskas – Russia
Gabriel Badilla – Costa Rica
Amaechi Igwe – Germany D3
Nico Colaluca – D2oL
Jay Heaps – Retired
Taylor Twellman – Retired
Steve Ralston – Retired
Emmanuel Osei – OoF
Stephane Assengue – OoF
Mauricio Castro – OoF
New England total: 8 SWT, 7 SIL, 2 OtherD1 League, 2 D2oL, 3 retired, 3 OoF
70.8% Positive career path; 62.5% MLS retention; 33.3% Club retention
DC United
Dejan Jakovic – SWT
Chris Pontius – SWT
Bill Hamid – SWT
Miloš Kočić – SIL
Julius James – SIL
Marc Burch – SIL
Andrew Jacobson – SIL
Clyde Simms – SIL
Rodney Wallace – SIL
Brandon Barklage – SIL
Fred – A-League
Josh Wicks – Finland
Christian Gómez – Argentina D2
Luciano Emílio – Mexico D2
Santino Quaranta – India
Gregory Janicki – D2oL
Thabiso Khumalo – D2oL
Ty Shipalane – D2oL
Danny Szetela – Retired
Ben Olson – Retired
Devon McTavish – Retired
Bryan Namoff – Retired
Jaime Moreno - Retired
Avery John – OoF
John DiRaimondo – OoF
Ange N'Silu – OoF
Ely Allen – OoF
David Habarugira – OoF
DC United totals: 3 SWT, 7 SIL, 2 Other D1 League, 6 D2oL, 5 retired, 5 OoF
50% positive career path, 41.6% MLS retention; 12.5% club retention
Kansa City
Michael Harrington – SWT
Chance Myers – SWT
Matt Besler – SWT
Roger Espinoza – SWT
Eric Kronberg – SWT
Kei Kamara – SWT
Graham Zusi – SWT
Kevin Hartman – SIL
Adam Cristman – SIL
Kurt Morsink – SIL
Rauwshan McKenzie – SIL
Jack Jewsbury – SIL
Josh Wolf – SIL
Davy Arnaud – SIL
Santiago Hirsig – Argentina
Hérculez Gómez – Mexico
Zoltán Hercegfalvi – Hungary D2
Abe Thompson- D2oL
Michael Kraus – D2oL
Claudio López – Retired
Jimmy Conrad – Retired
Matt Marquess – Retired
Lance Watson – OoF
Aaron Hohlbein – OoF
Jonathan Leathers – OoF
Kansas City total 7 SWT, 7 SIL, 2 Other D1 League, 3 D2oL, 3 retired, 3 OoF
64% Positive career path, 56% MLS retention, 28% club retention
New York
Dane Richards – SWT
Kevin Goldthwaite – SIL
Carlos Mendes – SIL
Siniša Ubiparipović – SIL
Juan Pablo Ángel – SIL
Macoumba Kandji – SIL
Jeremy Hall – SIL
Andrew Boyens – SIL
Luke Sassano - SIL
Carlos Johnson – Costa Rica
Danleigh Borman – South Africa
Jorge Rojas – Venezuela
Matthew Mbuta – Sweden
Leonard Krupnik - Israel
Ernst Öbster – Austria
Bouna Coundoul – Finland
Walter García – Argentina D2
Nick Zimmerman – D2oL
Danny Cepero – Retired
Albert Celades – Retired
Seth Stammler – Retired
Mike Petke – Retired
John Wolyniec – Retired
New York totals: 1 SWT, 8 SIL, 7 Other D1 League, 2 D2oL, 5 Retired, 0 OoF
69.5% positive career path; 39.1% MLS retention; 4.3% club retention
LA Galaxy
Omar Gonzalez – SWT
Todd Dunivant – SWT
Landon Donovan – SWT
Josh Saunders – SWT
Edson Buddle – SWT
Mike Magee – SWT
A. J. DeLaGarza – SWT
David Beckham – SWT
Bryan Jordan – SWT
Sean Franklin – SWT
Donovan Ricketts – SIL
Stefani Miglioranzi – SIL
Tristan Bowen – SIL
Chris Birchall - SIL
Alan Gordon – SIL
Yohance Marshall – Thailand
Gregg Berhalter – Sweden
Kyle Patterson – England D5
Leonard Griffin – D2oL
Eddie Lewis – Retired
Chris Klein – Retired
Dema Kovalenko – Retired
Jovan Kirovski – Retired
Alecko Eskandarian – Retired
Tony Sanneh – Retired
Julian Valentin – Retired
Galaxy totals: 10 SWT, 5 SIL, 2 Other D1 League, 2 D2oL, 7 retired, 0 OoF
65.3% Positive career path; 57.6% MLS retention; 38.4% Club retention
Houston
Tally Hall – SWT
Eddie Robinson – SWT
Brad Davis – SWT
Cam Weaver – SWT
Brian Ching – SWT
Corey Ashe – SWT
Tyler Deric – SWT
André Hainault – SWT
Geoff Cameron – SWT
Bobby Boswell - SWT
Dominic Oduro – SIL
Danny Cruz – SIL
Brian Mullan – SIL
Mike Chabala – SIL
Luis Ángel Landín – Mexico
Ricardo Clark – Norway
Stuart Holden – England
John Michael Hayden – D2oL
Ryan Cochrane – D2oL
Erik Ustruck – D2oL
Abe Thompson – D2oL
Richard Mulrooney – Retired
Craig Waibel – Retired
Pat Onstad – Retired
Wade Barrett – Retired
Houston totals: 11 SWT, 4 SIL, 3 Other D1 League, 4 D2oL, 4 Retired, 0 OoF
69.2% Positive career path; 57.9% MLS retention; 42.3% club retention
Seattle
Brad Evans – SWT
Patrick Ianni – SWT
Osvaldo Alonso – SWT
Steve Zakuani – SWT
Fredy Montero – SWT
Leonardo González – SWT
Zach Scott – SWT
Jhon Kennedy Hurtado – SWT
Tyson Wahl – SIL
James Riley – SIL
Peter Vagenas – SIL
Sébastien Le Toux – SIL
Nathan Sturgis – SIL
Tyrone Marshall – SIL
Stephen King – SIL
Sanna Nyassi – SIL
Roger Levesque – SIL
Kasey Keller – Retired
Taylor Graham – Retired
Fredrik Ljungberg – OoF
Evan Brown – OoF
Nate Jaqua – OoF
Seattle totals: 8 SWT, 9 SIL, 0 Other D1 League, 2 retired, 3 OoF
77.2% positive career path; 77.2% MLS retention; 36.3% club retention
Chivas USA
Dan Kennedy – SWT
Ante Jazić – SWT
Jorge Villafaña – SWT
Shavar Thomas – SIL
Paulo Nagamura – SIL
Bobby Burling – SIL
Justin Braun – SIL
Michael Lahoud – SIL
Maicon Santos – SIL
Marcelo Saragosa – SIL
Jonathan Bornstein – Mexico
Jesús Padilla – Mexico
Bojan Stepanović – Slovenia
Eduardo Lillingsto - Mexico
Sacha Kljestan – Belgium D2
Yamith Cuesta – Spain D2
Maykel Galindo – D2oL
Kevin Harmse – D2oL
Lance Parker – D2oL
Gerson Mayen – D2oL
Chukwudi Chijindu – D2oL
Claudio Suárez – Retired
Jim Curtin – Retired
Ante Razov – Retired
Carey Talley – Retired
Jesse Marsch – Retired
Sasha Victorine – Retired
Mariano Trujillo – OoF
Zach Thornton – OoF
Chivas USA totals: 3 SWT, 7 SIL, 4 Other D1 League, 7 D2oL, 6 retired, 2 OoF
48.2% positive career path; 34.4% MLS retention; 10.3% Club retention
Salt Lake
Tony Beltran – SWT
Jámison Olave – SWT
Kyle Beckerman- SWT
Nat Borchers – SWT
Will Javier Morales – SWT
Will Johnson – SWT
Fabián Espíndola – SWT
Chris Wingert – SWT
Nick Rimando - SWT
Ned Grabavoy – SWT
Kyle Reynish – SWT
Chris Seitz – SIL
Robbie Russell - SIL
Jean Alexandre – SIL
David Horst – SIL
Alex Nimo – Estonia
Yura Movsisyan – Russia
Rachid El Khalifi – Holland
Robbie Findley - England D2
Nelson González – Argentina D2
Pablo Campos – D2oL
Raphael Cox – D2oL
Tino Nuñez – D2oL
Andy Williams - Retired
Clint Mathis – Retired
Salt Lake totals: 11 SWT, 4 SIL, 3 Other D1 League, 5 D2oL, 2 retire, 0 OoF
72% positive career path, 60% MLS retention, 44% club retention
Colorado
Drew Moor – SWT
Conor Casey – SWT
Ross Schunk – SWT
Omar Cummings – SWT
Pablo Mastroeni – SWT
Michael Holody – SWT
Kosuke Kimura – SWT
Scott Palguta – SWT
Matt Pickens – SWT
Jamie Smith – SWT
Steward Ceus – SWT
Jordan Harvey – SIL
Ty Harden – SIL
Cory Gibbs – SIL
Mehdi Ballouchy – SIL
Pat Noonan – SIL
Jacob Peterson – SIL
Nick LaBrocca - SIL
Colin Clark – SIL
Greg Dalby – D2oL
Ciaran O'Brien – D2oL
Rob Valentino – D2oL
Facundo Diz – Retired
Preston Burpo – Retired
Julien Baudet – Retired
Colorado totals: 11 SWT, 8 SIL, 0 Other D1 League, 3 D2oL, 3 retired
76% Positive career path; 76% MLS retention; 44% Club retention
Dallas
Jair Benítez – SWT
Pablo Ricchetti – SWT
Dave van den Bergh – SWT
Bruno Guarda - SWT
Ugo Ihemelu – SWT
David Ferreira – SWT
George John – SWT
Brek Shea – SWT
Eric Avila – SIL
Dax McCarty – SIL
Atiba Harris – SIL
Marvin Chávez - SIL
Steve Purdy – SIL
Anthony Wallace - SIL
Jeff Cunningham – Guatemala
André Rocha – Greece
Álvaro Sánchez – Costa Rica
Kyle Davies – D2oL
Blake Wagner – D2oL
Ray Burse – D2oL
Darío Sala – Retired
Daniel Torres – OoF
Peri Marošević – OoF
Josh Lambo – OoF
Dallas totals: 8 SWT, 6 SIL, 3 Other D1 League, 3 D2oL, 1 Retired, 3 OoF
70.8% positive career path, 58.3% MLS retention, 33% Club retention
San Jose
Ramiro Corrales – SWT
Shea Salinas - SWT
Chris Wondolowski – SWT
Jamil Roberts – SWT
Jason Hernandez – SWT
Joe Cannon – SIL
Bobby Convey – SIL
Brandon McDonald – SIL
Ryan Johnson – SIL
Andrew Weber – SIL
Quincy Amarikwa – SIL
Arturo Alvarez – Portugal
Ramón Sánchez – El Salvador
Cornell Glen – T&T
Fábio Silva – Brazil D4
Mike Zaher – D2oL
Aaron Pitchkolan – D2oL
Chris Leitch – Retired
Darren Huckerby – Retired
António Ribeiro – Retired
Simon Elliott – OoF
André Luiz – OoF
San Jose totals: 5 SWT, 6 SIL, 3 Other D1 League, 3 D2oL, 3 Retired, 2 OoF
63.6% Positive career path; 50% MLS retention; 22.7% Club retention
In summary:
Positive career path
Seattle - 77.2%
Colorado - 76%
Salt Lake - 72%
Chicago - 70.8%
New England - 70.8%
Dallas - 70.8%
New York - 69.5%
Houston - 69.2%
Galaxy - 65.3%
Kansas City - 64%
San Jose - 63.6%
Columbus - 62.5%
DC United - 50%
Chivas USA - 48.2%
Toronto - 33%
MLS retention
Seattle - 77.2%
Colorado - 76%
New England - 62.5%
Salt Lake - 60%
Chicago - 58.3%
Dallas - 58.3%
Houston - 57.9%
Galaxy - 57.6%
Kansas City - 56%
Columbus - 54.1%
San Jose - 50%
DC United - 41.6%
New York - 39.1%
Chivas USA - 34.4%
Toronto - 25%
Club retention -
Salt Lake - 44%
Colorado – 44%
Houston – 42.3%
Galaxy – 38.4%
Seattle – 36.3%
Dallas – 33%
New England – 33.3%
Columbus – 29.1%
Kansas City – 28%
Chicago – 25%
San Jose 22.7%
DC United 12.5%
Chivas – 10.3%
Toronto – 8.3%
New York – 4.3%
So, last, last and second last. And, the one team they had a better number than – New York – was one of the worst MLS teams of all-time. The Red Bulls had little choice but to have a massive turnover.
We'll take a look at these numbers a bit more tomorrow to try and find a pattern that defines highly successful teams in MLS when it comes to player identification and retention.