Whichever side of the Mo Johnston debate you’re on, you can argue your case based on Toronto FC’s hiring of Preki as their new head coach.
The pro-Mo forces will say that leading a mid-talent Chivas USA team to 40 wins, 21 draws and three playoff spots in three seasons proves the man can get results. He certainly fits Mo’s demand for MLS experience, and his no-nonsense approach to defence and team attitude is long overdue in the Redcoat boot room.
Mo blasters can counter – once again – that Mo gave a job to an old pal, and that TFC needs a GM who has wider, deeper contacts throughout the vast world of global soccer. Oh, and Preki-coached teams have never advanced past the first round of MLS playoff coin-flippage.
I will not seriously try to argue against either side.
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This is a perfect Mo Johnston signing. The plus side looks compelling, while the down side is not so clear. It can take forever for the dichotomy to clear out. If the Torontos hadn’t crashed 5-0 in Joisey on doomsday, many folks might still think the present roster is adequate.
Preki, called on the subject, said Toronto doesn’t have enough players to win, but can get more. That’s a clean, direct statement that Mo is working for him. TFC’s never had that before, and it’s long-gone time they did.
Players will be gone. We already know Preki can kick can, because he canned Amado Guevara clean out of Chivas two years ago. Guevara came north, and has been consistently creative for Toronto FC ever since.
But Mo’s huge signing of Julian DeGuzman essentially covered Amado’s spot, and it’s not like there aren’t huge holes (central defence, both wings, GOAL SCORING!!!) where the Reds don’t need help. The simple answer? Trade Guevara. But the man is having knee surgery, and who would ever make a deal for a player on those terms? Terrible timing for Toronto, but what else is new?
Preki’s been known to coach from the back, too. His defensive preferences (often physically brutal) now guide a team where the defenders are shaky, everyone including the fullbacks press forward, and the whole shooting match concedes frightful, fatal flurries of late-game goals. Johnston promised pushing fullbacks from the birth of the franchise. Is that dream over now?
It will also be interesting to watch the still-somewhat-old-school Toronto press corps grapple with a coach with only one name. You won’t find it in either the CP or Globe and Mail style books, but look for “Coach Preki” to be the consensus fallback.
I think a no-nonsense drill sergeant who defends his own goal physically and can tell bad-attitude stars to go play for expansion teams is likely exactly what TFC’s current sorry state calls for. But Preki has also got to understand that DeGuzman and Dwayne DeRosario are not going to hang back chop-tackling fresh-faced NCAA grads when there is attacking to do ... and – gasp! – goals to be scored.
Mo has to get this one right. And you’ll know it’s working when Preki starts telling Mo what he needs – and Mo goes out and gets it.
(And the new players aren’t old Johnston buddies like Nick Garcia.)
Thoughts, y’all?
Onward!