With J Hutcherson -- Per yesterday's Daily, Toronto is also on the list for the quick turnaround. To call Toronto ambitious in the run-up to their fourth season is fair. They have the biggest day-to-day media presence of any team in Major League Soccer, a true national soccer stadium now that sharing with the Canadian Football League is off the table, and a strong fan base with growing expectations. They've also got yet another head coach.
This time it's Preki, who recently departed Chivas USA. Of all the disappointments over the course of the '09 season, Chivas USA was the biggest. Before you offer up alternatives for that title, consider that they were the team that went ten straight games across multiple competitions without a win.
Considering that the back half of that streak of League losses came after Zach Thornton was injured in the MLS All-Star game, it doesn't take much to figure out what Chivas USA would've looked like without him. Is it really so much of a leap that Thornton's Keeper of the Year run of form saved Chivas from what would have otherwise been a disaster of a season?
Toronto would be asking a lot of second-year keeper Stephan Frei to even come close to Thornton's '09 form. Yet it's going to take something along those lines for Toronto to expect substantial improvement.
In '09, the FC were an average team. They didn't suffer from an extended run of bad results. They weren't mired in a situation where nobody in their eleven could put a shot on target. That their entire season might be remembered for being the last club to have their playoff chances ruined by Red Bull NY isn't exactly fair. Yet at the same time, the '09 FC also shouldn't have been thought of as a legit contender at any point.
What's changed? Preki for one. The Chivas USA coach is known for preferring a physical team willing to give and take the hits necessary for a professional result. Mix that with a few skill players, and that should result in a competent MLS squad. If you replace 'competent' with '.500', you're getting the idea.
Toronto needs an MVP candidate to step up. Preki had that at Chivas USA with Thornton in '09 along with Sacha Kljestan and a group of experienced MLS veterans. Toronto has Dwayne De Rosario and Julian de Guzman. They need someone to stand up at the front of the attack along with a defense that can make things easier on Frei.
Otherwise, what they've got are accessory parts that make good teams great, but no impact player who will change a game on his own. With all respect due to De Rosario, the expectation should never be that he drives the game from midfield week after week. de Guzman is even more of a specific role player, someone who needs the tactical understanding of his coach and teammates to highlight his game.
We've seen this before with Toronto clubs. FC investor/operators Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment also own the National Basketball Association's Raptors and the National Hockey League's Maple Leafs. Fans of those clubs understand what it's like to bring in a few name players without the support to build around them.
It's almost a cliche, but the trick to building any team is making the right moves at the right time. Toronto has relied on the idea that player turnover will produce an 18-man roster that makes sense. Instead, it's created a disconnection between a team in theory and the one in practice.
Right now, Toronto needs a lot of help to improve on what they showed in 2009. They don't have the players for Preki to try to re-create what he did with Chivas USA. They also don't have the type of squad to absorb an extended losing streak.
If the 2010 MLS season plays out like the '09 version, a lot of teams will be trying to figure out how to restart their season after dropping multiple games. Toronto has given no indications that they're the type of team that can recover.
Comments, questions, solutions to problems that have yet to present themselves. Please, tell me all about it.
