Major League Soccer: Toronto FC from bad to worse






To say Toronto FC had a bad season would be a huge understatement.  With only 23 points in 34 matches, they were hands down the worst team in the league this year.  You can blame it on the injuries, weather or whatever you want.  Even the Vancouver Whitecaps were able to make it to the MLS playoffs in only their second season!  With such a loyal fan base, when can we expect to field a winning team?

When we lost Dwayne De Rosario, a lot of fans through in the towel for the following season.  The most notable Canadian soccer player took his talents elsewhere and what followed up was an absolutely horrendous season.  Even the attendance has decreased the last three years to an all time low of 18,681 per game this year.  With a record of 5 wins, 21 losses and 8 ties, what could the loyal fan base possibly look forward to?

You will hear that injuries played a big role in their disappointing season, well, the good teams have quality players to fill the role when injuries do occur.  Earl Cochrane was quoted as saying, "Throughout the last 14 games, we had 50 to 70 per cent of our salary cap sitting on a training table." to which I would ask, "Why didn't you make any moves to fill those spots with quality players?"

Defender Richard Eckersley blamed the teams’ fitness coming out of training camp.  For loyal soccer fans, fitness should be the LAST thing we should have to worry about.  We can somewhat understand if they do not have the skills but to lack fitness?  They are supposed to be professionals, they should be prepared physically for the season ahead.

With head coach Paul Mariner believing the team has only seven MLS quality regulars on his roster, the daunting task this offseason will be to increase that number dramatically.  Failing to do so will continue to result in declining attendance.  With declining attendance comes lost sponsorship deals and lower merchandise revenue.  It's a snowball effect.  How do you fix this problem?  By signing and developing quality players.  With the  LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls signing European stars, maybe that is something Paul Mariner and management should think about doing before it is too late.


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