That, I think, was more than just a bad night.
That was a soccer team short on fundamentals, in rising need of clear direction.
Toronto FC lost 3-2 in Dallas on Sunday, a sub-par performance that raises deeper questions. How could the Reds look so disorganized? And why are they playing a style that minimizes the effectiveness of their talent?
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I’m going to take talent out of the equation today. The off-season improvements were enough that experts up and down the internet were calling Toronto a playoff team. I felt more than a little lonely when I wasn’t quite convinced – but my reluctance had more to do with the overall strength of the MLS East than any serious doubts the Red roster had been improved.
So what is all that talent doing?
In Dallas, it struggled to hold any real coherent shape. I don’t mind two defenders closing on the ball, but I don’t like them tripping over each other in their own penalty area.
What astonished me, throughout this dire match (Dallas was no blueprint for glory either!) was Toronto’s persistent bypassing of its own central midfield. Dwayne DeRosario and Amado Guevara – two of the more creative players in the league – were continually excluded in favour of wing play and long balls aimed at the general postal code of struggling striker Chad Barrett.
That Barrett started at all was a huge surprise. Coach John Carver has said all along he has faith in the guy. He certainly proved it in this one. And yes, Barrett redeemed at least some of his early struggles with a second-half breakaway goal that knotted the match 2-2. But at halftime, he could have opened a deep-fried chances stand on the concourse.
The amount of time DeRo and Guevara spent watching errant passes soaring over their heads was astonishing. TFC fell behind 2-0, and their comeback didn’t start until backliner Adrian Serioux nudged home a roller just before halftime – almost an exact duplicate of the goal Dallas used to swipe a 1-1 draw at BMO Field the week before.
Now – many are going to point to the late penalty call on TFC defender Marvell Wynne: that the ball hit his arm and not the other way around. I’m on the other side of this one. I was always taught that defenders play with their arms at their sides – particularly in their own penalty area late in a tie game. Wynne’s were windmilling, and I’m not buying the off-balance excuse. Balance is possible with your arms down – especially in the pros!
The young defender’s awkwardness gave the ref the option, and if there’s anything the Torontos have learned in two-plus years in MLSville, that is no way to move up in the standings.
There there were the substitutions. Why was embattled defender Marco Velez summoned – replacing attackman Faud Ibrahim, with Toronto losing? Best theory is Velez can score – and he can! – but what does that say to Danny Dichio, who’s looked useful in his brief appearances so far, and wasn’t summoned until the final couple of minutes?
To quote John Lennon: “Strange days indeed.”
All right, it’s early in the season. But the shape’s off, communication is bad, struggling players are getting endless opportunities while more in-form teammates watch, and TFC were fortunate to get even one point out of six in a home-and-home with what might easily prove to be the worst team in all this odd and little league.
These, to me, are coaching issues. The team has to get the ball the guys who can create. That means Guevara for now, with DeRo looking sidelined with a hamstring tweak. I’d also hope it could mean more Danny Dichio, who is still perhaps one of the finer passers of the ball in MLS.
And what does Argentine import Pablo Vitti have to do to earn a start?
To me, these are all coaching issues. This soggy match in Dallas throws the spotlight squarely on the charismatic and popular John Carver. Charisma and popularity can’t win points in the absence of strategy.
And “absent” remains the best word to describe Toronto FC’s strategy on this pointless night in Dallas.
Onward!