What Went Wrong: Toronto FC Goes Back To The Drawing Board
What went right: The middle chunk of the season. After a slow start, the Reds kicked it into gear with an eight-match unbeaten streak that put them at 22 points through 14 matches. At the time, they were tied for the sixth most points in MLS and were three points clear of the No. 9 team. They had a +2 goal-differential and were unbeaten in eight matches at was being called the BMO Field Fortress. That home unbeaten streak eventually ran to 10 games.
Dwayne DeRosario also had another stellar season, finishing with 15 goals and he should form a solid midfield pairing with Julian de Guzman. Chad Barrett also showed an improved scoring touch and Stefan Frei looks like he might be one of the best keepers in the league.
What went wrong: The season simply fell apart after back-to-back losses to the New York Red Bulls on Aug. 11 and 21. TFC won just two of their final 12 and seemed to be weighed down by a congested fixture that added 11 extra games to their schedule. The Mista Designated Player experiment was a complete disaster and by firing Preki less than a season into his tenure, this was essentially a lost season. There are definitely pieces to build around, but four years into their existence, this team is not meeting anyone's onfield expectations.
What we learned: Don’t hire a coach unless you’re willing to buy into his program. Preki obviously burned some bridges during his tenure, but this is a coach with a pretty well established track record. Whatever happened could not have come as a complete surprise. Whoever MLSE brings in to remake the team, must be given the ability to do that. Ideally, a general manager will be hired that knows what kind of coach he wants and what kind of players that coach will need. The fans in Toronto deserve much better than what they’ve been receiving.
Where we go from here: There is a lot of money sunk into this current roster. It would be hard to see de Guzman going anywhere and just as hard to see DeRosario sticking around unless he gets DP money. That’s a lot of money going to two players. Re-signing Mista would seem to be a rather daft decision and it’s hard to see a new management wanting to keep a player who produced just one assist and didn’t even play in six of the team’s final eight matches. Signing players that fit a vision should be valued over ones that have name recognition, which seems to have been the guiding principal in the past.
Core 11 (players that should be protected): Stephan Frei (GK), Nana Attakora (D), Doneil Henry (D), Adrian Cann (D), Dan Gargan (M), Nicholas Lindsay (F), Julian de Guzman (M), Dwayne DeRosario (M), Chad Barrett (F), Maicon Santos (F), Nick LaBrocca (M).
