We have like 13 freaking players right now!

[michaeltfc91]

What the hell is going on in this organization? Honestly, we're either coming in last, or MLSE knows that there isn't going to be a season this year and thats why they're dropping 5 of our top 7 players. As of now, I can't name you a full line up:

Frei?? --> Edwards on the bench

Wynne Gomez??? Attakora Brennan ---> Garcia and Harden on the bench

Cronin De Guzman Sanyang?? De Rosario --> Peterson and Gala on the bench

White Barrett --> Ibrahim on the bench

THATS OUR FULL TEAM!!! What is thisss/?? 3 of our starters are CSL quality, our whole 6 bench players are OSL quality

We have 4 decent players: Attakora, Cronin, De Rosario and De Guzman... we need 20 more

Can someone please enlighten me on our strategy right now... we have less than 12 days until the season opener!

[Tuscan]

Strategy's called "We have their money now, fuck the rest!"

[RS]

More accurately, it's Preki cleaning house.

Rightly or wrongly, he has decided to cut a lot of players, which is basically what he was brought in to do. Now that he's doing so, people are freaking out.

[powerof11]

I think the anxiety is that "quality" is either not appearing nor sticking with the club. Pair that with season a "few blocks away"...well...

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

There were similar hysterics from some prior to the 2008 season and the team got off to a great start that year and looked playoff bound by the end of May after a very shaky first couple of games. There is reason to be concerned right now but I'll only start really worrying about the upcoming season if the roster hasn't fully taken shape by the build up to the second game against New England. Bear in mind there is a two week gap between the first and second games so the season doesn't start in earnest for almost another month and there is a fair to middling chance that the Columbus game won't even happen.

[Cheeta]

More accurately, it's Preki cleaning house.

Rightly or wrongly, he has decided to cut a lot of players, which is basically what he was brought in to do. Now that he's doing so, people are freaking out.

I think they're freaking out because the season starts in a less than two weeks and clearing house is fine and all so long as the replacements are in place and getting their groove on. If you want to use April & May, the regular season, as your training camp you're likely going to miss the play-offs. A-gin.

Unless Trader Mo and Preki have a few aces up their collective sleeves I'd say the reasons for freaking out at this point are pretty justified.

(Disclaimer; To be fair, Preki may have told senior management there is too much work to be done and not to expect to make the playoffs this season, year 4 for TFC. Not exactly news TFC would want to advertise before the season begins. Whether or not fans would share that assessment I don't know).

P.S. Oh, and here's a question I meant to ask earlier. So if TFC has to cover a portion of Robinson's salary at NY I'm assuming that portion doesn't count against the salary cap? Otherwise what's the point? Great tool for the richer clubs to use to unload costly players who don't work out anymore though. Give their rosters a little more flexibility.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

My guess would be that TFC's portion will mainly be paid with allocation money.

[Havoc88]

I don't know heaps about Preki but I get the impression he's 100% no BS, will tell it like it is and probably saw this situation here and, unlike some others at TFC, is calling a spade a spade - which means this team needs to be rebuilt and we're just going to have to suck it up that major mistakes have been made and might take more than one season to correct.

[JimmyJames]

Yes to cut but we need to have those bodies replaced....who is still left in the camp?

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

More accurately, it's Preki cleaning house.

Rightly or wrongly, he has decided to cut a lot of players, which is basically what he was brought in to do. Now that he's doing so, people are freaking out.

it's not that he's cutting them, it's the no adding of players.

It's gonna be tough to field a team with Barrett and Peterson injured, Herold, Gala, Ibrahim and Joseph who all seem still aways from being MLS quality regulars. Either they are confident the season ain't starting on time or they have their hands tied and no one is willing to come into TFC at this point with the MLS season up in the air.

It definitely worrisome when you only have Frei, JDG, Attakora, OB, DeRo, Brennan, Wynne and Cronin as players who can start on opening day. Maybe Gerba can be put into that list, but with getting sen thome I doubt it. All I can hope is that Preki has some players up his sleeve who aren't coming on trials. Saric, Said and Cann would be good starts, but TFC needs more than that. TFC basically needs another player with some flair like Amando.

[Richard]

Maybe they're banking on a player strike to buy them more time.

[RS]

Maybe they're banking on a player strike to buy them more time.

I doubt it.

This is Preki doing what Preki does, shaping the team to his own liking, egos be damned.

In his first press confrerence, Preki implied that the team was crap and that he had a lot of work to do to improve it. What I'm seeing is Preki giving everyone another look in training before deciding on their futures. It's obviously a bit reckless given how close the season is to (allegedly) starting, but it's hardly surprising given his statements and his reputation.

[Free kick]

which means this team needs to be rebuilt and we're just going to have to suck it up that major mistakes have been made and might take more than one season to correct.

But i dont think that the team ever needed to be rebuilt. They stunk out the joint in the last game of the season and that was it. the team that snuck into the playoffs went all the way. OK progress may have been slower than some want but the team never took any steps backward in the three season. You do not improve by cutting loose good players and or not replacing those cut with better players.

If we brought in coach who thought that this team needed to be rebuilt, then we brought in the wrong coach. I seldom, if ever, praised the predecessors but at the same time I dont think that I have ever been critical of any of the previous coaches. There was philospohy and personality emerging with the team. Did they need a good coach to cement that and command the respect of the players and guide them to the next level? yes, but TFC didn't need someone to tear it all down and start over. Always tearing it down and starting over; those are the the kind of sports organization that always fail. Let me predict now what Preki will will say if the team misses the playoffs again, "we are rebuilding and it will take time to to get the players in who fit my philosophy". well who cares? you missed the playoffs because you changed course. To me, the points in the standings are ultimately what matters.

[Obinna]

The current circumstances appear grim in the context of THIS season. Better things ahead in the comming years. Clearly TFC are in the rebuilding phase so I'll be suprised if they make the play-offs.

[jojoflow]

This is not looking good

If you check out the rest of the MLS teams they are signing players even if there is going to be a strike their improving their teams. TFC is think is hoping their is a strike like Richard siad then they dont waste money on players ... maybe Garica tipped Mo off and told him there will be a strike to get some playing time just jokes

But really come on Mo what are you doing?? Go find some players. Also Mo is paying to much money for unproven players

ps why the heck is TFC playing only one striker? (I know we dont have alot of them but you cant play with only striker. The last game with only one striker was so boring.

I keep checking sites to see if TFc has more traists or signings but nothing is happening. TFC has 3 defenders on trail so where are the needed wingers and strikers?

[VPjr]

I tend to agree with Rudi on this.

While it is disconcerting to see so few players under contract in camp, its not like this team was championship bound without a major overhaul.

Preki is implementing his plan and cleaning up the mess that MoJo left for him. That plan seems to involve ridding the team of players that don't fit his system or just don't have the kind of qualities he wants.

I have no doubt that there are some players in camp right now who are going to be signed to a pro contract. That Italian CB that played a bit in the game vs. the Batter is apparently quite impressive.

I'm by no means cheerleading for TFC's management team but I think it is clear that the time had come to gut Mo's messy roster and bring in new, hopefully better players.

As I see it, there are still a 2-3 cuts that still need to be made (Garcia, Wynne and possibly Brennan). None of those three will likely be cut, for a variety of reasons, but if they are really serious about remaking the squad, I would look there.

[ag futbol]

If we brought in coach who thought that this team needed to be rebuilt, then we brought in the wrong coach..

I agree. That's not to say Preki's a bad coach, but comeon we should be working with what we had. Blowing everything up is unacceptable but not unexpected given who came in.

And with all this talk about rebuilding and "reshaping the culture of the team", I mean aren't we going to fire the person who created that in the first place?

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

I agree. That's not to say Preki's a bad coach, but comeon we should be working with what we had. Blowing everything up is unacceptable but not unexpected given who came in.

And with all this talk about rebuilding and "reshaping the culture of the team", I mean aren't we going to fire the person who created that in the first place?

Exactly, it's liek the Oiler's hiring Steve Tambellini yet keeping Kevin Lowe to pull the strings of the martyr so to speak.

How long can TFC wait for playoffs especially when a fully built and ready to comepete Vancouver will be joining to try to steal there widespread Canadian fans at the MLS level. TFC does'n't have another 3 years of bottom feeding in my opnion. They need to get in the playoffs soon or it's gonna be dire straits when Montreal and Vancouver come into the MLS.

[Ivan]

I am currently vacationing in Myrtle Beach so I hope to see some of the trialists first hand at tomorrow's game.

[TheKottonmouthed1555362307]

I am currently vacationing in Myrtle Beach so I hope to see some of the trialists first hand at tomorrow's game.

hopefully, you can give us a good objective view of the guys Preki has summoned to training camp.

[dyslexic nam]

How long can TFC wait for playoffs especially when a fully built and ready to comepete Vancouver will be joining to try to steal there widespread Canadian fans at the MLS level. TFC does'n't have another 3 years of bottom feeding in my opnion. They need to get in the playoffs soon or it's gonna be dire straits when Montreal and Vancouver come into the MLS.

This, I think, is a very serious consideration. Right now, TFC is in some respects "Canada's Team" by default. While locals support the Impact and the Caps quite passionately, a lot of casual Canadian soccer fans are probably more aware of the MLS than the USL/NASL. I would suspect that many neutrals cheer for TFC simply because it is the sole Canadian representative playing in the highest level of North American soccer. If this season is another write off, that will be four years of underachievement from TFC, and with the Caps offerring a viable alternative, I could see TFC bleeding off a lot of its less committed fan base. Especially if, as I suspect, the Caps make a more Seattle-like entry into the MLS, rather than TFC's slow, stuttering start to life in the top tier. If TFC continues to underwhelm on the pitch, it will almost certainly help give Vancouver an extra bump in terms of national fan support when they the make the jump.

[bettermirror]

Can I make the obligatory Whitecaps cheer: "Out-standing!"

OK, more respectfully...TFC needs to be better for the greater good of Canadian soccer. C'mon you guys....sort it out!

[Free kick]

This, I think, is a very serious consideration. Right now, TFC is in some respects "Canada's Team" by default. While locals support the Impact and the Caps quite passionately, a lot of casual Canadian soccer fans are probably more aware of the MLS than the USL/NASL. I would suspect that many neutrals cheer for TFC simply because it is the sole Canadian representative playing in the highest level of North American soccer. If this season is another write off, that will be four years of underachievement from TFC, and with the Caps offerring a viable alternative, I could see TFC bleeding off a lot of its less committed fan base. Especially if, as I suspect, the Caps make a more Seattle-like entry into the MLS, rather than TFC's slow, stuttering start to life in the top tier. If TFC continues to underwhelm on the pitch, it will almost certainly help give Vancouver an extra bump in terms of national fan support when they the make the jump.

I'm not sure about that. I think that adding the Whitecaps will only expand the soccer fan base in Canada. I don’t think that they will take anything away from TFC regardless of how TFC performs. The plight of the Raptors provides the best example of this phenomenon. The disappearance of the Vancouver Grizzlies has not expanded the fan base for the Raptors since their TV ratings outside the GTA are still miserable. Instead, their disappearance has shrunk the fan base and potential fan base for basketball and made basketball a far less attractive property for broadcasters and by extension reduced the revenues from property rights.

Things in Canada are such that a team that is 3-4 times zones away from 60% of the Canadian market will never be able to bleed away a fan base from the core. No different with the Canucks in Hockey, they may enjoy a great run in the playoffs as Canada’s best team but its going to be hard for kid in Atlantic Canada who is just starting to follow the game, to cement an attachment to a team whose home games start at bed time.

[BringBackTheBlizzard]

I think TFC's ratings are usually described as being very poor outside the immediate Toronto area as well.

[dyslexic nam]

Well, I live in PEI and I know a number of people who follow TFC because it is Canada's only pro team in the top tier. I have also been to youth soccer tournaments and seen a fair number of TFC-branded jerseys, t-shirts and soccer balls. In short, I think you may be underestimating the fanbase of non-Torontonians. They may not be diehards who go shirtless to the matches, but they still buy gear and cheer for the team.

As for the time zone issue, that is a valid argument when NHL games generally kick off at 7, 8, or 9 in the evening, but looking back at TFC's 09 schedule, I see that just over half of the games kicked off at 4 pm or earlier. Thus, even if you go all the way to Nfld, that is only an 8:30 kick-off, and that definitely isn't bed time for kids who are generally old enough to sit through an entire soccer game. It also isn't exactly bed time for the adults who also tend to watch a bit of footie (and would probably let their kids stay up an extra hour to watch the game with them). And when you take the mountain and central time zones into account, the bed-time unfriendly argument pretty much evaporates.

I'm not saying that TFC is going to fold a la Grizzlies. All I am saying is that being the only game in town has allowed MLSE to get away with putting a mediocre product on the field that hasn't generally gotten positve results in the MLS. Once the Caps (and Impact) enter the picture, TFC won't be able to rely on their status as Canada's-team-by-default , and had better come to grips with the fact that location-neutral fans probably won't cheer for perrenial losers for very long, especially if stronger Canadian teams are in the picture.