BMO Field finally turned into a fortress in 2009. (Getty Images)

2009 was expected to the be year that Toronto FC turned the corner and really made a splash in Major League Soccer. The moves were made to get local star Dwayne De Rosario at the start of the season and things looked promising early on but midway through the first full month of action manager John Carver stepped down and if you ask me the club never really rebounded from that change.

Chris Cummins took over as interim manager for the rest of the season and even with the moves that brought in guys like Ali Gerba and the club’s first designated player Julian De Guzman, Cummins never really took control of the locker room and the club. Guys like Danny Dichio never really got their full run under Cummins.

The club never got real consistent with their play under Cummins. One week they’d play so well many including myself figured they would be a lock for the post season. Then they’d do what they do best and suck up the place like they did on the final day of the season when they got spanked 5-0 by the lowly New York Red Bulls.

What Went Right In 2009?
To be honest few things really went right for this club this season. But pinpointing a few items would certainly start with their 6-1 beating of Montreal in the Canadian Cup to secure their bid in the play-in round of the CONCACAF Champions League this year. TFC needed a handfull of goals to advance and some how on a night that saw them on the road in Montreal, the Reds pulled out all the stops and stole a trophy away from a Vancouver club that was looking on from the stands. Another would certainly be the play of Dwayne De Rosario. The club wouldn’t have nearly been as good as they were had it not been for DeRo. Lastly their home play this season was finally something to brag about as they turned BMO Field into the fortress that we all knew it could be. Eight of their 10 wins on the year came from the friendly confines at Exhibition Place.

What Went Wrong In 2009?
Consistency was a killer and so was their defense. Mo Johnston made a bold move to get veteran defender Nick Garcia from San Jose and it was a move that never panned out for them. Even though they had a solid group of rookies like keeper Stefan Frei, the defense would constantly let him down. Offensively they never seemed to find a go-to scorer other than DeRo. Chad Barrett and Pablo Vitti constantly let folks down in front of the net.

What’s Next?
For this club finding a manager that will pull the right strings with this bunch will be key. With so much talent in the midfield they need to find a way to keep the pressure off their defense and find ways to score. Finding a classy finisher around the net will go a long way for this club and finding a true central defender will really help out. This club is so close but yet so far away.

Columbus needs a big game from Robbie Rogers at Rio Tinto Stadium. (Getty Images)

While last night’s game in Seattle got the playoffs started with a 0-0 bang, the rest of the playoff clubs get ready to join the Dynamo and Sounders in the fun. One series kicks off tomorrow night while the other two wait it out for Sunday.

For a brief thought about last night’s game here I thought it was one of the most entertaining nil-nil draws I’ve seen in a long time. I know some folks hate a scoreless draw in our sport but last night’s game showed a lot of excitement and I only hope the Dynamo’s fans return the favor to Seattle and cover Robertson Stadium orange in a big time sellout. Boy those two clubs are building one hell of a rivalry too, one that could definitely be good for years to come here.

But speaking of rivalries we have a couple good ones in the playoffs this year both on Sunday believe it or not but tomorrow night’s game will certainly be good too. Continue Reading…

Blanco is headed back to Mexico after the playoffs. (Getty Images)

Like we didn’t see this news coming at the start of the 2009 season. Chicago Fire designated player Cuauhtemoc Blanco stated he would not return next year after his contract ended this season and he has made good (for now) on that word.

Reports out of Mexico say that the Fire star has signed with his old club Veracruz for the 2010 season with an option to return to Chicago after the 2010 World Cup.

He stated a while back that he could return next year to the Fire or even another club in the league but with his recent play for the national team in Mexico most figured those comments were just him being nice.

This will be the first of many moves that will effect the Fire this winter. With Blanco gone to Mexico and Chris Rolfe to Europe along with the expected departure of head coach Denis Hamlett we will certainly see a new look to the Fire in 2010. I just wonder where this club goes from here as far as their designated player slot goes, do they go young or try to make another big splash?

What do you all make of Blanco going home to Mexico next year to a division two team?

There isn’t much tonight for the evening links and thoughts. Got some USL-TOA talk and a brief thought about Kevin Payne’s fine from the league earlier today.

But first there we gotta go back into the TOA-USL talk that we’ve been going around and around with for the last few weeks. Reports tonight suggest the TOA and their clubs could very well soon be forming their own league, even as soon as TOMORROW.

Carolina RailHawks president Brian Wellman confirmed in the link above that he along with the rest of the TOA group would be submitting an application to the United States Soccer Federation (USSF) to form a new league. They may even be doing it as soon as tomorrow. The new league would consist of Minnesota , Miami FC, Montreal, Vancouver and Carolina from the USL and three other new clubs from Tampa Bay, St. Louis, and Atlanta.

Some folks are saying that other owners from the USL could even join them down the road too. I mean if you look at it, if these clubs bolt town tomorrow to form their own league that could or could not be linked to MLS, you have to wonder what those in Rochester and Charleston are thinking.

Wellman also suggests this new league could also play on the favored FIFA calendar, meaning they’d play through the winter. Honestly hearing something like that may just be pandering to fans that want a FIFA style calender here in the states. Sure they have a few markets that would be fine to play in the winter but I don’t see games in Vancouver, Montreal and Minnesota going over well during the cold months.

The USL also came out and said in regards to this news that no talks have actually took place here but they are just being patient with this group.

There is also the talk that Don Garber is in the TOA’s corner for this one. To that news you just have to wonder. I’m still in the court that thinks a MLS-2 won’t happen anytime soon but the possibility of a new league has to have some kind of connections with MLS to succeed I would think. I’m sure more information will come out of this all very soon though.

Continue Reading…

Andre Akpan could be a beast on the next level. (Harvard photos)

Last week I threw out some names that you may have already heard in line for next year’s MLS SuperDraft and I am back today with a few more. I hope to start making this list at least a twice a month deal up until the draft in January. The response was good from everyone so let’s keep it up as we move forward towards the draft.

Again, some of these kids may go the MLS route and some may not. That we will have to wait and see in a few weeks as the college seasons wrap up.

And just like last week, if you know of some guys that are worthy to be looked at here please email me or send their names to me via Twitter so I can include them in the next batch.

Andre Akpan (Harvard): I think some people were surprised I didn’t include him in the first batch. Well have no fear I remembered Akpan from last year when he didn’t come out of college and go for the MLS draft. With ten goals and five assists on the year Akpan is having yet another stellar season with the Crimson. I’m sure a few clubs are already lining up to try to get this guy in the draft. Continue Reading…

The old Empire Stadium in Vancouver.

Here’s some interesting news about Vancouver’s expansion bid that most may not know of yet. They will have to play in two different stadiums in their first year in Major League Soccer in 2011. The Vancouver Sun is reporting today that due to the renovations to BC Place the expansion Whitecaps (or whatever they will be called) will also play an unknown number of home games at a temporary facility on the old Empire Stadium.

“It means a bit of an inconvenience for a few games, but then there’s a pretty good trade off at the end,” said Lenarduzzi, carekeeper of Greg Kerfoot and Co.’s $35-million investment. “The most important thing was getting the certainty of the retractable roof and everything else that comes with the improvements.”

“They [MLS] were originally concerned, like we all were, but once the financing for the upgrades got done they were more than okay,” Lenarduzzi said. “

Very interesting that we didn’t hear about this until now but I suppose it is better late than never. A lot of clubs go through temporary sites before they get into their home stadiums in this league so we shouldn’t be too concerned over this news. I’d imagine the league may even be able to set the schedule up in a way that sees them on the road early on so they only have to play a game or two at the most at this temporary venue.

Fredy Montero leads the charge for the expansion Sounders. (Getty Images)

The playoffs are finally here and tonight they kickoff with a bang up in the Pacific Northwest as the Houston Dynamo travel to Qwest Field to face the Seattle Sounders FC in a big first leg western conference semi-final series.

Seattle comes into the playoffs as one of the league’s hottest teams and with the opening game at Qwest you have to believe Sigi Schmid and company will pull out all the stops to make sure the expected large crowd stays happy. Schmid will have to rely heavily on Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Leo Gonzalez in the back to slow down the attack from Brian Ching and Stuart Holden.

The Dynamo need to find a way to get a goal early and then rely on their strong defense to carry them in this game and in the series. Catching Seattle off guard on corner kicks or free kicks could go a long way for the Dynamo. However the most important thing for Dominic Kinnear’s bunch is staying out of card trouble. These last couple months have been nothing but yellow and red cards for Kinnear’s team. Make no mistake if they get into card trouble it will be another early exit for the Dynamo this year in the playoffs. You can’t beat a club like Seattle with ten men, you just can’t do it.

I think tonight’s game will be physical as Houston will want to use guys like Geoff Cameron and Bobby Boswell to keep Fredy Montero and Freddie Ljungberg off the boards. Look for Seattle to play the wings a lot in this game and also look for Ljungberg to try to live up to his DP status with the Sounders.

I like the homeside by a slim margin in this one. These two played two exciting games in the regular season and I don’t see anything different here tonight. Goals by Ching for the Dynamo and goals by Montero and Nate Jaqua for the Sounders.

WVH Prediction: Seattle 2, Houston 1