My Predictions for the 2014 Toronto FC Season

2013 was a year of change. The only thing that didn't change was that Toronto FC was still a losing team, missing the MLS playoffs again for a seventh straight year. However, there were a number of things that happened that, once again, gave supporters a sense of optimism. MLSE CEO Tim Leiweke and TFC GM Tim Bezbatchenko have brought in a number of high-profile players in order to try and rejuvenate the club and hopefully give the supporters something to cheer about. The supporters hope that the likes of Jermain Defoe, Michael Bradley, and Julio Cesar, along with head coach Ryan Nelsen, can finally deliver a playoff spot for Toronto FC.

It's time to give my predictions for the 2014 Toronto FC season. I did this last year, with limited success, but I think I feel somewhat confident about this one. Let's get this started.

The most important question that is being presented in the new season is whether Toronto FC will make the playoffs in 2014. I had to think about this for a while, and after taking into account the new players, the new management, and the overall positive and professional atmosphere surrounding the club, I believe that Toronto FC will make the 2014 MLS Playoffs. However, I don't think that they will finish as strong as people will expect. I see them finishing in the third or fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. About the playoffs, I can't see Toronto FC making it to the MLS Cup Final. I think that they will be eliminated either in the Eastern Conference Semi-Final, or the Eastern Conference Final, as I believe the likes of Sporting KC and the New York Red Bulls have stronger teams. 

With this new-look team, there is a lot of pressure being put on Ryan Nelsen. I think it's great that he used his influence to bring in Jermain Defoe and Julio Cesar, but influencing players to come play for your club and coaching those players are two different things. A lot is being made of Ryan Nelsen's leadership, but I don't think Ryan Nelsen has the tactical acumen to continually deliver positive results at Toronto FC. Ryan Nelsen will be fired as head coach of Toronto FC at some point during the season. There have been a number of games last season where Toronto lost points due to Ryan Nelsen making odd substitutions, failing to adapt his tactics to gain an advantage in a match, or both. I think TFC could fall into an early-season (or even a mid-season) slump, and he will be the reason for it. Also, I wouldn't be surprised in Tim Bezbatchenko has a replacement in line if Ryan Nelsen were to consistently fail in delivering results for the club.

There has been a lot of discussion surrounding the shock year-long loan of Queens Park Rangers goalkeeper Julio Cesar to Toronto FC. There are a number of supporters who think Julio Cesar will do a great job behind the goal posts, but I'm not so sure about that. I would be lying to you if I told you I wasn't skeptical of Julio Cesar and how he will do this season. I'm confident in saying that Julio Cesar will not perform to expectations. I say this for two reasons. The first reason is that he doesn't really have any challengers for the #1 goalkeeping spot for the Brazil national team, so it's not like he can take his tenure with Toronto FC seriously, though I hope he does. The second reason why I say this is because Julio Cesar's loan move reminded me of when Carlo Cudicini signed for the Los Angeles Galaxy last year. Cudicini was a somewhat high-profile keeper who put in a number of awful performances for LA. Julio Cesar is also a high-profile goalkeeper who I hope won't put in the consistently awful performances like Cudicini did. Julio Cesar will have his good performances, but he will also have his poor performances, more than most supporters will expect. One last thing about Julio Cesar, he is a definite upgrade over Joe Bendik. Joe Bendik, despite having an okay season with Toronto FC, has a lot of glaring flaws that sorely need to be addressed.

Another talking point in Toronto FC's season is how Jermain Defoe will do in his first season as a Toronto FC player. I found it difficult to quantify how he will do, but I think that his lack of involvement in Toronto FC's pre-season could negatively affect how Defoe will perform when the season rolls around. With that said, Jermain Defoe will not be the MLS top scorer this season, though he will have a good season regardless. I think Defoe will hit his stride near the end of the season and I think he will score between 12-15 goals this season.

Some other quick predictions for the upcoming season:

Matias Laba will not be a Toronto FC player by the time TFC play their first regular season game.

Michael Bradley will be the team MVP for this season. If not, then Jermain Defoe will be my second choice.

Gilberto will score between 7-9 goals this season.

Doneil Henry will get a red card at least three times during the regular season.

An important Toronto FC player will get injured during their friendly against Tottenham Hotspur.

The last thing I want to talk about are the Toronto FC social media outlets. I noticed that a new person is running the social media accounts, and it is evident that the style in how Toronto FC posts in their social media outlets this year is different to last year. Maybe I'll warm up to this new guy running the social media outlets in due time, but I think the social media outlets are a bit unprofessional nowadays (I can't be the only person thinking this), and I think this person uses the outlets to post some inside jokes that most TFC supporters wouldn't understand. I can see one of the Toronto FC social media outlets (probably the Twitter account) be embroiled in some sort of controversy. Maybe a social media outlet will insult an opposing player, or make fun of an opposing coach, or even tweet about something not remotely related to Toronto FC. What I'm trying to say is, I think the unprofessionalism of the Toronto FC social media outlets, run by this new guy, will be called out by someone important. Maybe it might be someone in the media, or a member of an opposing club. Who knows.

Anyways, these are my predictions. I will probably revisit this post at the end of the season. Until then, I wish Toronto FC the best of luck in the 2014 MLS Season.

Random Thoughts 12

Okay, story time...

I once knew this guy in high school (I'll call him B), and we knew each other since elementary school. He's an incredibly intelligent and responsible person who I thought would be very successful when he got older, and as of now, I guess that's partly true. Even though he was a bit of a dick sometimes, he was okay to be around, and some of the more spineless kids looked up to him and followed him wherever he went. Anyways, back in high school, he was the Student Council president, and he didn't have any enemies, but he was susceptible to doing something stupid in order to please some of his friends.

I remember back in Grade 12, he was in class working on something with his friends (I wasn't in this class). Now, there was another student in the class (I'll call him M) who was a bit nerdy and goofy looking, and other people made fun of him regularly. One of the guys in the group (who I'll call S) dared B to go up behind M and grab him on his ass. I can't remember what B wanted in return, but B agreed to do it. S was armed with a video camera and B went in position behind M, who was bending over to look at something. In one fell swoop, B grabbed M on the ass, but B didn't do it once, he did it twice, in the same class, on the same day.

The videos of the Student Council President grabbing another student on the ass made it on Youtube for a few weeks, and pretty much everyone on the school saw the videos. Then the school administration caught wind of the videos and B got in trouble. The videos were taken down. I think B got to keep his Student Council President title, but I can't remember the actual punishment he actually got. I'm sure this incident is something he will definitely regret.

Okay, another high school story...

I knew this guy who was in my Grade 12 Math class (who I'll call JJ). JJ was Asian, and I could tell by looking at his behavior that he was someone that cared deeply about the marks and grades he got in school (probably instilled in him by his parents). Another tidbit about JJ was that he was named after a popular rock singer (I'll let you figure out who that is). One day in class, the teacher was handing back a test we previously completed that marked. JJ got his test back and he began to throw a bitch fit. Why, you ask? Because he got an 80 on the test.

Now if this was me getting that 80, I'd be pretty happy. I'd find out about what I did wrong so that I won't make the same mistakes in future tests, and then be on my way. JJ, on the other hand, was almost in tears and complaining to the teacher about the mark he was given. In one way, I was laughing my ass off that this guy would get up in arms over an 80 on a test. In another way, I felt a bit sad for him, as he was normally a student who would normally get 90+ on tests. I don't think before this, he's experienced getting a grade less than 90. I would have loved to be in the room if he ever failed a test, that's for sure.

Alright, I'm gonna switch gears from the high school stories and talk about something else.

When it comes to the people in my life, I always believed that it was important to try to keep the people who have made a positive impact in my life, and cut ties with the people who have made a negative impact in my life. That has always been a rule I always lived by and I continue to live by to this day. I once knew someone who was at one time a great friend. Nowadays whenever I reach out to that person, that person doesn't even respond, and whenever I post something on social media that person doesn't like, that person responds with negativity.

I just don't feel like I should invest my time in that friendship, regardless of how close we were at one point. Frankly, I'm just tired of it, and I've moved on. I hope that person has moved on as well. I will treasure the good times, but I can't stay open to that person anymore, and I hope I never hear from that person again.

I've never fully addressed that issue, but with what I just wrote, I hope I've cleared things up once and for all. I hope this is the last I will talk about that.