Oh Toronto FC, you have existed in the MLS for almost 6
years now. You have had 7 different coaches during that time. None of them have
taken this team to the MLS playoffs.
I know this is an often repeated fact, but it needs to be
repeated some more. This fact needs to be repeated just so that people can
understand the futility that has plagued this club for its entire existence. It
seems that no matter who the coach is, or which players have been brought in to
improve the team, this team has failed to be competitive in the MLS. There are
many issues with this team, obviously.
With the players, it’s always constant issues with the
defense, such as poor marking (especially in set pieces), failure to push high
up the pitch to challenge the opposing team’s midfield, and generally running
around like chickens with their heads cut off. TFC have signed Darren O’Dea to
try to organize the defense, but it will take some time for the defense to be
on the same page. The midfield fails to keep possession most of the time and
spends that time chasing the ball. The forward situation is a bit unfortunate,
with Koevermans’ injury keeping him out for the rest of the season.
The coach, Paul Mariner, also has some blame to share, such
as making questionable substitutions when Toronto FC is leading which leads to
TFC conceding late, and switching around the defense so that defenders would be
playing out of their natural position. Mariner, like the coaches before him at
Toronto FC, is at least trying to sort out the issues on the field, which I
can’t fault him for. With the recent results for Toronto FC, some are asking
for the firing of Mariner, but I think that is a mistake. At least give him a
real chance to try to work things out with the team. Give him until the end of
this season, and probably give him the off-season too.
I don’t think the players or the coach are the real reasons
why this team has been tanking so much. I think the majority of the blame lies
on the Toronto FC front office, MLSE, Tom Anselmi and company. There is no
question that they have spent a lot of money in order to try to make this team
competitive in the long run, such as the new training ground in Downsview. But
more often, they have shown that they are truly incompetent in running a
football team. One can look at the negotiations between them and players such
as Dwayne De Rosario and Joao Plata as black marks in Toronto FC management.
Did I also mention the constant rising of ticket prices at BMO Field since Year
1, while the team keeps getting worse? It has gotten so bad with the rise in
ticket prices that buying season tickets in certain sections now is more than
triple the cost than in Year 1.
Yes, MLSE has spent the money, but I’m not so sure if their
hearts are actually vested in making this team a success, particularly Tom
Anselmi. My evidence of this is the press conference where Paul Mariner was
hired as Toronto FC’s new head coach after Aron Winter was fired. I constantly
saw Anselmi sitting back in his chair, with a smug smile at times, almost like
he didn’t really care about what is happening. I know this might not seem like
much to some TFC supporters, but from a human resources perspective, I think it told a lot
about how Anselmi views this team. I don’t think Toronto FC is an important
priority for him, and if the person at the top shows a lack of interest, then
it reflects poorly on the people working below you, which leads to lower morale
and motivation. Factor in the constant losing, and you’ve hit rock bottom.
It can be argued that there is a serious lack of leadership
in the front office of Toronto FC. Why is it that we have Tom Anselmi trying to
pull the strings from the Toronto FC front office when he has absolutely no
experience running a football team from a business perspective, other than
watching a few games here and there? From the looks of it, Anselmi shouldn’t
have been the COO of Toronto FC, because he simply wasn’t qualified, but I
don’t think MLSE knew that at the time. No point dwelling on that though. It is
what it is for now.
I wouldn’t be writing this article if Toronto FC was at some
point during their existence winning games regularly, because it kept the actual
team, and the front office politics separate. But with Toronto FC’s constant
futility, and the mistakes made by Toronto FC front office, I’m afraid the
actual team operations and the front office politics are inseparable, and I
don’t think they can be separated again for a long time. You can’t have one
without the other.
To be continued in Part 2
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