Throughout the year, the players came in.
Dwayne DeRosario, Adrian Serioux, Ali Gerba, Stefan Frei, Sam Cronin, O’Brian White, Julian DeGuzman.
Each one, in his way, a step forward. Heck, we know MLS isn’t a hugely strong soccer league. A mid-table team from the English second division would dominate here. Their top-end talent might not always be as strong, but the preparation would be better – and the weaknesses not quite so glaring.
How can all that TFC talent miss the playoffs? Let me give you three glaring f’rinstances:
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1) Every star scorer in MLS wants to go for a run against Nick Garcia right now.
In a low-scoring game, with everything on the line, it is not unfair to pick on a slow central defender. In the last two games, Conor Casey of Colorado has flown over Nick Garcia, and Landon Donovan of the L.A. Galaxy blew past him repeatedly.
Toronto FC is a team that chronically gives up late goals. They did it again to cap last night’s 2-0 loss in Los Angeles. Late in the game, Garcia found himself stranded midfield with Donovan coming right at him. He actually had to turn his back on the star player of the United States national team, and just concentrate on running. Marvell Wynne ultimately broke up the play, catching and neatly tackling Donovan – from behind. One of these things is not like the other.
Slow defenders stay in the game on positioning alone. The past couple of games, Garcia’s positional compensation has been clearly – almost comically – inadequate.
2) Chad Barrett’s teammates are not passing him the ball.
Somebody up there likes Chad Barrett. This is clear, because the finish-challenged TFC striker continues to start game after game after game.
But have you seen what’s happening on the field? The Toronto midfield is not passing the ball to him. Please tell me if I’m missing something, because I’ve been keying on it since this aching run of road games began a month ago.
Barrett got one gorgeous ball – a low and stinging right-side cross from DeRo in Seattle – and headed it wide. Since then … well, it appears whatever confidence his coach and GM have in the lad is not being shared by his mates on the field.
These are the same teammates who used to hit him right on the feet with passes four, five times a game. And in useful positions too. Only reason that’s fading from memory is the overwhelming number of times Barrett didn’t score.
DeRo, right now, seems content to shoot from anywhere rather than dish the ball to Barrett. The passes, when they come, seem mostly to come from fullback Jim Brennan. Makes sense, because Brennan and Barrett spend most of their time patrolling the left side.
If anyone has access to that whiz-bang computer program that counts every step each player takes on the field, as well as what they do with every single touch of the ball, can you please count up the number of passes to Chad Barrett and let us all see the data? It’s becoming an important number.
3) MLS is a coach’s league.
Did you see the L.A. Galaxy last night? David Beckham wanted this one – bad. A chance to play a kill shot against a team that yet could dog him in the playoff hunt, and he was the best player on the pitch.
Did you see T&T international Chris Birchall (ex-Port Vale, bless him!) tearing up and down the wing, making excellent tackles and setting the table for Beckham’s first goal?
Did you see Landon Donovan heading to space all night, and how many balls Becks and Birchall dropped right in front of him?
Different players with different skills – and a veteran coach (Bruce Arena) with a system to make it all flow.
It’s one thing for Toronto FC to send out three of the best middies in all of CONCACAF. But what are their roles? Who shoots, who holds, who runs, who gives, who goes? Who knows?
One great connection on the night, DeGuzman right on Gerba’s foot, and a low hard shot that forced an excellent save. The rest of the night, when the midfield fed the forwards at all, far too often the ball was just slightly behind the target man.
What’s the difference between just behind and just ahead? Goals.
The Galaxy were better prepared. Their individual parts fit better than TFC’s. This is very much still the same L.S. squad that sucked with a capital suck last year, and the year before. Sure, Arena’s a controversial coach, and lots of people think he’s useless. But he is making a huge difference with LandyBeckhamCakes United this season.
Chris Cummins, TFC’s relatively inexperienced interim coach, cares like crazy and has some good thoughts from time to time. But far too often, his team is uninspired and redundant on the field.
Toronto needs a coach. A veteran. A pro. A winner. Someone who can make that midfield purr, flow and pour forward. Oh, and if he can hold back a substitution until the dying minutes, in case half the team cramps up, that could be cool, too.
Forget the playoffs. For all its roster strength, Toronto FC is not ready to compete there. Keep the best of what’s there, find someone who can make them play good football, and cut the rest loose.
Talent’s not really the issue anymore. Applied talent is. TFC ‘09 is a team with few ideas, and nowhere near enough heart.
Onward!