This time, Mo Johnston is looking for someone with experience.
After announcing Tuesday that the contract of Toronto FC interim head coach Chris Cummins would not be renewed for 2010, the club’s general manager told reporters he hopes to have a new guy in place well before January’s Major League Soccer SuperDraft.
Despite a third straight season missing the playoffs and the suggestions of an unsettled dressing room, Johnston said he doesn’t worry an experienced coach will want to stay clear of TFC.
“I think the perception of the locker room and the bad apples is exaggerated,” said Johnston. “When you look at coaching candidates, I think they’ll jump at the chance of (coming to) Toronto.”
Johnston, who agreed to a 2 1/2 year contract in August, said he’ll let “the dust settle” from the MLS playoffs, which end on Nov. 22, before going after the man who will be the fourth coach of TFC in its four MLS seasons.
Among names of candidates circulating for the head coaching position are: Steve Nicol of the New England Revolution, Richie Williams, interim head coach of the Red Bulls, Denis Hamlett of the Chicago Fire and Frank Yallop, former Canadian international player and coach who is now coach of the San Jose Earthquakes.
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What an absolute shambles.
I have to admit, I decided on Sunday not to write a 2009 Toronto FC obituary. Plenty of others will do it and I can leave my thoughts to tapings of television shows and podcasts. However, we now live in a Twitter/Facebook world and what people want, they get.
So, in the spirit of Rafa and Fergie here goes.
FACT – There needs to some serious repercussions following Saturday’s humiliating performance in New York.
FACT – This cannot start and end with the coach.
FACT – Chris Cummins was leaving this club before Saturday’s debacle, practically sticking the proverbial two fingers up at the club on his way out, so the club, and management, cannot just allow his departure to be the sole reason for them to change direction.
FACT – There are major divisions inside that dressing room. They were there throughout the season and only now are we learning about them. Incredibly, we are learning about them from a rookie in Sam Cronin but at least he was man enough to step up in front of the microphones postgame on Saturday. (Not sure where the captain of the team was, by the way).
FACT – While we are on the subject of the captain, this needs to change. Just as people, rightly or wrongly, will hold Cummins accountable for the divisions in the locker room, the same has to be laid at the door of Jim Brennan. Brennan seems like a decent enough guy but at the end of the day he is the leader of a group inside that locker room that have been in battle together for nine months and have come out of it even less united than they were when the pre-season began. He is also painfully past his best on the field. Rumours are rife about retirement and if that happens in the offseason the team will be better for it. At the end of the day, Brennan, who was never blessed with a lot of pace, has lost a step and is a defensive liability. Following the nonsensical trade of Todd Dunivant in the offseason, there was no cover for Brennan in that position, forcing Cummins to play a formation in 3-5-2 that was cool a decade ago until it became incredibly exposed by sides who employed fast wide players.
FACT – Ah wide players, there’s a nice thought. It really is absolutely amazing that a team with ZERO wide players made it so close to making the MLS playoffs. Spare me with the Marvell Wynne answer also. Wynne is a right back, and nothing else, for a reason. His pace enables him to go one-on-one with the speedy left wingers in the MLS but going forward he is a technical nightmare. I am amazed he remembers to take the ball with him when he makes the runs. The fact that players such as Dwayne De Rosario, Pablo Vitti, Chad Barrett and Sam Cronin were all, on occasions, played out wide only shows how important the position is. The fact that none of them took to the position well shows just how unbalanced this team was from the beginning.
FACT – Sam Cronin is a good player and has the potential to be a solid player in the MLS. However, Mo Johnston knew full well when he drafted him that he was a central player (this is where he performed so well for Wake Forest) yet still took him ahead of a defender (the team’s biggest need). I actually feel sorry for Cronin. He was a victim of a terribly constructed roster and was forced to play out of position for the ENTIRE season.
FACT – (I know I only have a short amount of time to base this on but…) Julian De Guzman is being used all wrong by this team. De Guzman is a great talent but on a team that doesn’t control the ball well he needs to be more involved. During the talk of his impending arrival many words were written and spoken about how this signalled the end for midfielder Carl Robinson. However, I could never work that out and still can’t. Robinson is the perfect player to play with De Guzman, in any formation. Toronto FC didn’t play millions of dollars for a midfielder to sit in front of the defence and give the ball to game-changers in front of him. Unfortunately, Robinson’s late-season injuries robbed us of seeing the two play together and forced De Guzman into that role but had there been adequate depth to the squad then a central midfielder like Cronin should have taken the ‘Robinson role’ allowing De Guzman to be the attacking central midfielder.
FACT – For those reasons, De Guzman will desperately hoping Robinson returns to Toronto FC next season.
FACT – Amado Guevara has to go. I give Guevara a lot of credit for the way he has changed his game but his continued desire to drop deep, coupled with his 300K contract, means he needs to be moved on. He will also have two eyes firmly on South Africa in 2010.
FACT – Football is a simple game. Get good defenders and you will win more games than you lose. The fact that, after three years, this is still the biggest problem (and with the lack of goals, that’s saying something) is nothing short of disgraceful. For the bulk of 2008 season, the combination of Marco Velez and Tyrone Marshall were repeatedly torn to shreds but anyone with a remote football brain knew that Marshall was the better player yet he wasn’t given a chance to play next to a more accomplished defender. A year later and neither are here and the replacements have been no better. Adrian Serioux, not a natural central back, should never play that position for the club ever again and the acquisition of Nick Garcia is one of the worst in the short history of this franchise. In fact, seeing that the rights to Ali Gerba were also involved in the deal, makes it THE worst deal in the history of the club. Mo Johnston may well have taken $450,000 in cash out of the MLSE bank account and set it on fire in the middle of BMO Field.
FACT – Mo Johnston has made a reputation for himself of giving out laughable contracts. Garcia and Gerba aside, the money given to Pablo Vitti is nothing short of a miracle. What actually merited Vitti getting close to 300K in the first place? The fact that he was from Argentina and good on a video game? Vitti arrived in Toronto with a reputation of a goalscorer, despite having never scored goals anywhere he’d been. Johnston was remarkable passive when it came to Vitti. A man who never shy’s away from cutting players should have known as soon as he saw Vitti have no desire to get in the box what he had signed yet stuck with him. As I have eluded to in the past, Vitti is now a client of First Wave Sports so don’t be surprised to see him back next season.
FACT – Talking about bad contracts. Its now 15 months since Toronto FC acquired Chad Barrett from Chicago, where he scored 18 goals in 82 appearances. Apparently, two months into his tenure at BMO Field, Johnston saw enough to give him a four year deal close to 200K per year. Staggering. For the record, Barrett has 9 goals in 42 appearances for Toronto FC. It takes him five games to get a goal.
FACT – Dwayne De Rosario had a good season but not a great season. Sure, it was hard playing with some of the players he did but he absolutely disappeared down the stretch. In fact, he disappeared the moment he was no longer ‘the man’ when the DP arrived. I’m just saying.
FACT – The job of becoming Toronto FC’s next coach is one that isn’t that appealing right now. Unless, MLSE are willing to sign a big fat check to entice a big name, why else would anyone want the job? They clearly will not be in charge and will have to answer to Mo Johnston and coach Mo Johnston’s players. They, like all of us, have read the reports of dressing room unrest. They know the squad is incredibly thin and even more unbalanced. Year three was the year they wanted to make the playoffs. Year four may prove to be a massive test to get to that unless big changes take place at BMO Field this winter and, folks, I’m not talking about the grass.
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Filed under: Toronto FC
That was the message delivered by Toronto FC’s self-run television channel on Saturday night after the team’s ugly, uninspired 5-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls, dashing all hopes for a Major League Soccer playoff berth.
A positive spin — the perfect way to deflect attention from the embarrassment of not showing up to compete in the biggest game in franchise history.
Why should one measly loss get in the way of a feel-good story, which is exactly what TFC has been from Day 1?
Those at TFC will tell you, the club is a work in progress. The playoffs would have been nice and winning is always better.
But TFC is only three years old and the more important overlying message is that the fan experience is an enjoyable one. You get a sense of belonging being a TFC supporter. From making banners, to singing songs and making friends along the way, it’s all really cool and a whole lot of fun.
The team does a fantastic job selling the fan experience and there’s nothing wrong with that — except for the small fact that, from a competitive, sporting perspective, TFC is far from enjoyable.
APATHY ON PITCH
All the fun stuff has created apathy with the on-field product. The wins will come, or so you are told. Just keep supporting the team, buying merchandise and renewing your season tickets regardless of price increases, because a winner is right around the corner.
The problem is that, under the regime of Mo Johnston, there is little to suggest anything will change.
Johnston has a firm grip running the soccer side of TFC. All decisions are his, and that means all of the shortcomings fall on him, as well — including the team dysfunction that came to the surface after the final whistle in New Jersey on Saturday night.
A head coach who would rather be elsewhere than in Toronto, players questioning one another, a culture of failure and zero tactical consideration in the composition of the team — all problems that have been there all along.
And what has been done to cure the ills plaguing the team? Shortsighted, band-aid solutions.
And it starts at the top, with Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd. Johnston’s yet-to-be-announced contract extension is just part of the lack of soccer acumen and vision among those making decisions.
Aside from bringing home Canadian players who publicly wanted to play in Toronto, what has Johnston done to make the team better?
The myth that Johnston has a keen eye for young talent can be debated by the fact he overlooked Los Angeles Galaxy standout centre-back Omar Gonzalez in favour of a redundant centre-midfield option in Sam Cronin at last year’s SuperDraft. It’s no coincidence the Galaxy won the Western Division with a commandeering centre-back while TFC continues to be shelled.
Naming Chris Cummins, with no first-team head-coaching experience, as interim head coach after John Carver abruptly left, was massively shortsighted. Cummins was a knee-jerk, easy and cheap option after the team grinded out a couple of wins with him initially on the sidelines. Now, after three years of no playoffs and three coaches, there is still no team direction. And the calls for New England Revolution head coach Steve Nichol to join Toronto grow louder by the day.
REVOLVING DOOR
Regardless of Cummins, the continued trial-by-error revolving door of players gave the team little hope for any kind of consistency. No natural wing players, a leaky defence and no proven goal-scorer outside of Dwayne de Rosario doesn’t flatter Johnston’s resume either.
Forget about the Miracle in Montreal, which was more like a gift from the Impact anyway. It was a miracle TFC was even in playoff contention on the final day of the season.
And through it all, the team is still selling the illusion that TFC is something more grandiose than it really is. Julian de Guzman took the bait, deciding to sign with the Reds. A penny for his thoughts now.
Still, despite letdown after letdown, there are those who support the team unequivocally. They have passion. They’re having fun.
But the question going forward is this: How much on-field disappointment will they take before they turn away? The casual fan may be leaning that way already. It’s the diehards TFC can ill-afford to lose.
Changes will be made. The status quo isn’t good enough. The team will even tell you that. But it will be the same guy calling the shots.
As long as the tickets are sold, merchandise is being bought and the fans are having a good time, all will be good with Toronto’s soccer team — at least in its own eyes.
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A 64th-minute goal from Chad Barrett earned Toronto FC a point in a hard-fought 1-1 draw with the Columbus Crew on Saturday at BMO Field.
Emmanuel Ekpo gave the Crew the lead 10 minutes earlier, capping a slaloming dribbling run through the TFC defense with a cool finish. But Barrett’s header off of a tremendous cross from Sam Cronin drew the Reds level, despite being outshot 17-5 by a game Columbus side.
The result extends two winless streaks — the Crew are still looking for their first win of the season (0-2-5), while Toronto is now 0-4-4 all-time against their Trillium Cup rivals. The teams also played to a 1-1 draw on March 28 in Columbus.
Toronto FC stayed with the same 4-3-3 alignment and starting XI that brought them victory in their last two games. For the Crew, two changes were made to the side that tied the Chicago Fire last Saturday. Robbie Rogers replaced the injured Adam Moffat in midfield, while defender Jed Zayner filled in for Gino Padula, who was serving a one-game suspension following a red card in the Chicago match.
Almost as if on cue with the opening whistle, a strong wind and driving rain blew in, leading to some wild passes in the opening minutes as the two teams adjusted to the suddenly wet conditions. Columbus defender Eric Brunner slipped on the wet turf while trying to clear the ball, leading to a turnover to Toronto’s Carl Robinson. The midfielder himself had trouble finding his footing, and could only manage a weak attempt at the Crew goal.
Columbus had the advantage over the first 15 minutes, keeping the ball in the TFC end and earning three corner kicks. Guillermo Barros Schelotto notched the Crew’s first shot on goal (a fairly harmless test of Reds goalkeeper Stefan Frei), but also picked up a caution after a reckless foul on TFC striker Pablo Vitti.
As the weather improved, so did TFC’s attack. In the 20th minute, Barrett accepted a long pass just on the edge of the Crew penalty area. Barrett was closely marked by defender Danny O’Rourke, but managed to create enough room for himself to thread a pass through the middle towards a charging Vitti. The pass was just a step or two beyond Vitti’s reach, however, and goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum fell on the ball to end the threat.
This near-miss, however, was virtually the only offensive chance created by the Reds over the first 40 minutes. It took 35 minutes just for TFC to record their first shot, a wide attempt from Vitti. It was a disappointing start for a side that had looked so strong on attack in its last two games, and entered the match fourth in the league in shots taken (75).
The Crew outshot the Reds by an 11-2 margin in the first half, but couldn’t convert the advantage into a goal. In the 39th minute, midfielder Eddie Gaven made some nice moves to control a bouncing ball and move down the center of the TFC penalty area. He dropped a pass off to Schelotto, but the shot from the reigning MLS Most Valuable Player sailed over the net.
A couple of minutes later, midfielder Robbie Rogers had an even more promising attempt off of a Schelotto free kick. Frei got caught up in a crowd trying to jump and grab the ball, and the ball deflected to Rogers in front of the net. The attempt was also off-target, as Rogers sent a partially deflected shot over the crossbar.
Dwayne De Rosario, who had missed TFC’s previous two games with a hamstring injury, came into the match at halftime as a substitution for striker Danny Dichio.
In the 54th minute, Columbus finally broke through. Ekpo knocked down a bouncing ball and ran down the center of the field, took advantage of a turned-around Jim Brennan and then ran between Brennan and Velez. Frei was drawn out of the goal to challenge, and Ekpo rounded the goalkeeper to his left before putting the ball into the net to give the Crew a 1-0 lead.
It was the first goal of the season for the second-year Nigerian, and his first since last July 5 against Chicago. Ekpo’s goal ended an impressive shutout streak from Frei, who had kept a clean sheet for his previous 240 minutes.
The key to the Crew’s early-season struggles has been their inability to hold a lead, however, and it struck again just 10 minutes later. TFC rookie midfielder Cronin took a pass from Amado Guevara and made a great run down the left side, evading a defender and sending a fantastic cross to Barrett just in front of the goal area. The Reds striker made no mistake with a header that found the back to the net for his second goal of the year and put Toronto back level.
In the ensuing minutes, both teams had a quality chance at the go-ahead goal. Gaven’s header on the right side of the TFC net required a point-blank save from Frei. In the 72nd minute, Marvell Wynne won a tough battle for the ball down the right side with Crew midfielder Brian Carroll and crossed to a charging De Rosario, whose attempt went high.
Though Frei lost his shutout streak earlier in the game, the Toronto ‘keeper was once again in good form on the day, and faced with his toughest challenge in the 78th minute. Defender Adrian Serioux took a bad touch of a back pass, and sent the ball directly to a wide-open Pat Noonan. In a one-on-one situation, Frei was able to get a leg on the ball before Noonan could properly square and shoot, and the attempt was deflected out of bounds.
The last major chance of the game came on a De Rosario direct free kick in the 86th minute. De Rosario’s shot was well struck and evaded the Columbus wall, but it went just a few feet wide of the net.
TFC next plays on Wednesday, hosting the USL-1 Vancouver Whitecaps FC in the opening match of the 2009 Nutrilite Canadian Championship. The Reds’ next league game is on Sat., May 9 in Washington against Eastern Conference rivals D.C. United. As for Columbus, they head back to Crew Stadium to face off against the Kansas City Wizards next Saturday.
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The idea of local star Dwayne De Rosario having to earn his way on to the starting 11 of Toronto FC would’ve been unthinkable just two weeks ago.
But a lot has changed in a hurry, with his slight hamstring tear during the team’s winless streak, coach John Carver’s resignation and a new 4-3-3 alignment under new man Chris Cummins that fed a two-game winning streak and put TFC first in its MLS conference.
At Cummins’ introductory news conference on Tuesday, the media didn’t pay much heed to his comment that De Rosario would have to wait in line, chalking it up to his cheeky English humour.
“I’m very serious,” Cummins said yesterday. “DeRo was the first one to congratulate me the other day on getting the job. But he knows he has to work his way back in. If he thinks he’s just going to walk back into the team … he knows that just doesn’t happen.”
That said, Cummins does see De Rosario playing some kind of role today against the Columbus Crew.
“Whether he starts or not, you’ll have to wait for kickoff,” Cummins said. “If someone is having an offday, there’s enough ability to come on and cause teams some problems.
“I look at everything: Are (three strikers) Danny Dichio, Pablo Vitti and Chad Barrett okay? DeRo can play in any of those front four or five positions. He has more than enough ability to play on the left, the right, down the middle or just in behind where Amado Guevara plays (as an attacking midfielder).
“He’s trained well and if he comes on strong that’s another nice problem, but I want competition on the team. Just because he’s an outstanding player, doesn’t mean it’s (automatic).”
De Rosario was given yesterday off for bereavement leave after a grandparent passed away.
Columbus, the 2008 MLS champions, haven’t won a game yet (0-2-4) and Cummins hopes to keep it on the ropes with more early pressure today.
“They’ve been unlucky in a few of their games, but they’re still a decent team,” Cummins warned. “Their set pieces will be a key issue for us, so we need to eliminate those as much as possible. But we’ll play the way we have, with freedom and lots and lots of attacking options.”
Feud continues
There likely will be a few security briefings today with many Columbus fans among an expected 20,000-seat sellout and possible ripple effects of the bad blood in Ohio from the 2-2 tie in March.
But Toronto striker Dichio wouldn’t like to see the energy forced out of this budding rivalry.
“We obviously saw our fans down there and from a personal point of view, they behaved exceedingly well within the grounds,” Dichio said. “There was a lot of (verbal) battling going on, which I’d like to see more of, which is the English and European style.
“I didn’t see everything going on outside the grounds, but I heard a few stories where the fans got a bad rap from the press and it has been a bit unfair. It’s just because we go in large numbers and that’s what you’re going to have in large numbers in different grounds. The American police are not used to that wave of red coming into the grounds. A healthy banter is fine; that’s all part of soccer.
“Everyone is a rival in our division (three points separated five teams before the weekend). I see (Columbus) as a bogey team that we haven’t beaten yet. Hopefully, it’s a good chance to get that first win for us.”
Shut out hunger
TFC and Purolator are asking fans at today’s game to bring canned goods or a cash donation to the Tackle Hunger food drive in support of the Daily Bread Food Bank. In return for donations, fans will get a chance to win TFC prizes. Purolator will also donate 250 pounds of food for every corner kick throughout the game.
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Toronto FC midfielder Dwayne De Rosario returned to training Thursday while veteran striker Danny Dichio left early.
Dichio, who scored in Toronto’s 1-0 win over Kansas City on Sunday, seemed to hurt a leg during a scrimmage.
“I think Danny just got landed on during the game so we just pulled him out as a precaution,” interim head coach Chris Cummins told reporters. “He’s obviously seeing the medics this afternoon and we’ll see how he is again in the morning.”
De Rosario, however, was back in action after missing two games with an injured hamstring.
“He’s done a full session. He’s got through that. We’ll see how he is in the morning with regards to playing on the weekend,” Cummins said.
Toronto (3-2-2) hosts the Columbus Crew (0-2-4) on Saturday.
NOTES — Chicago Fire forward Brian McBride was voted MLS Player of the Month for April after scoring four goals in four games.
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John Carver brought Chris Cummins in to be his lead assistant with Toronto FC last May. So there is a temptation to paint Cummins, Carver’s replacement as the head coach of the club, as Carver 2.0.
On the day he was officially named as the club’s interim boss, Cummins said at least one thing to dispel that notion. He swears he will not allow Major League Soccer’s officiating get to him.
“Things like that don’t bother me. I’m quite laid back,” the 37-year-old Cummins said at a news conference yesterday at BMO Field. “You’re going to get poor decisions. You’re going to get things you’re unhappy with. But I think throughout the season, it swings and roundabouts. I think you get as many good ones as you do bad ones.”
Cummins, however, seems committed to continuing the manner in which Carver began the season. Carver resigned his post on Saturday because of his frustration with the league and its officiating. After leading TFC to a win on Sunday as the unofficial interim coach, Cummins got his official due yesterday.
Nick Dasovic, also an assistant under Carver, will serve as Cummins’ lead assistant. After the win on Sunday, the club’s director of soccer, Mo Johnston, suggested it was possible Dasovic would get the head job. But it sounds like Cummins was the man for the job all along.
“When you break it all down, within the locker room and the respect factor, it was an easy decision,” Johnston said.
“Obviously when [Carver] left, Chris took the team right off the bat,” Dasovic, a Vancouver native, added. “If you were present in the locker room before the game for the pregame talks he gave and how he got the team motivated, to me, it was a decision that already was made.”
Both Johnston and Cummins, who coached for 15 years in England before coming over to Toronto, lauded Carver’s style with the team. Cummins said his predecessor’s willingness to allow his assistants to implement their own ideas allowed him to blossom as a coach.
Still, there could be a few technical changes. While Carver favoured a formation that featured four defenders, four midfielders and two forwards, Cummins said he prefers to play four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards. That look was successful for TFC in two straight wins last week that vaulted the club into first place in the Eastern Division.
“What you’ll see is a team that is going to play attacking football,” Cummins said. “There’s going to be a freedom to play, to get the ball down [the field], to pass the ball, and to put on a show as well as get the result. That doesn’t mean we’re going to be taking unnecessary risks, playing out in the back and causing ourselves problems.”
Cummins will be given the chance to implement his style.
“I’ve told these guys, ‘Don’t look over your shoulder. Just keep doing the job you’re doing and let’s get on with it,”‘ Johnston said as he looked at his coaching staff. “I’m not looking at anyone else.”
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The Columbus Crew is coming to Toronto.
Quick, someone hide the women and children.
The Crew and Toronto FC bring out the beast in each other — and that’s just in the stands.
If this were the western frontier of the 1800s, Saturday’s meeting would be the equivalent of the Clanton boys riding into Tombstone to party with the Earps.
We’re talkin’ Hatfields and McCoys, cats in the doghouse, and George Bush at the bin Laden family picnic. Not great mixers.
The league may have only itself to blame. When Toronto joined the MLS in 2007, it set up the Trillium Cup, a three-game series in hopes of fostering a rivalry with Columbus. It has worked, perhaps, a bit too well.
The proximity of the cities has led to the largest travelling contingent of fans in league history, a stronger fan club in Columbus, and a healthy war of words. It has also escalated into some unhealthy physical altercations.
Last year, a Crew supporter and a TFC fan scuffled over a team scarf. As well, already upset about midfielder Robbie Roberts being hit by a cup of beer during a game, Crew fans traded insults and punches with TFC fans outside BMO Field.
In this season’s opener, almost 1,600 Toronto supporters travelled to Columbus. There were political taunts; damage to the stadium.
After the game, five got arrested, one got tasered and the post-game fights were featured on You-Tube.
Much of the flak, perhaps unfairly, has been directed at the 500-strong Red Patch Boys, and other smaller official fan clubs.
“The stuff that happens in Europe is a totally different sociological issue,” Red Patch club president Jack DePoe said.
“Those hooligan groups are roughly equivalent to our street gangs in North America. Here, they form around where you live. There, they form around political alliances and sports teams. We have a rivalry with … Columbus.”
They are loud, they are proud, they may even be rude, said DePoe, but they aren’t hooligans.
Last week, a club member, Corporal Greg Yeoman, Third Battalion Royal Canadians, was honoured by the team for his duty in Afghanistan. Not exactly criminal types.
They do not condone players being given beer baths and, says DePoe, fighting or throwing objects — other than the traditional paper streamers — is grounds for having membership forfeited.
“We understand why (we get blamed). We don’t accept that we do,” DePoe said.
Visible and vocal, the clubs are easy targets. There is room to be misunderstood.
“We are very exuberant,” DePoe said. “No question. People who aren’t part of our group; maybe they don’t get it and see the opportunity to get crazy.
“But we have a purpose. It’s not for the sake of acting like jerks. It’s to get behind the team and give them energy … that 12th man status is something we’re very proud of.”
The people involved in altercations in Columbus weren’t Red Patch Boys, nor were the two youths arrested last week for throwing flares.
“We can keep our own people under control, but a lot of people went (to Columbus) on their own.
“If there’s someone you don’t know and you walk up and say: ‘Hey, buddy, don’t throw that beer.’ And he’s drunk, what are the odds he’ll listen? It’s a tough situation for us. We know the consequences of throwing stuff and violence and we don’t want a part of it.”
The Red Patch Boys will gather Saturday at BMO Field and, communication officer Paul Lewicki said: “If (Columbus fans) show up at our tailgate, we’d welcome them.
“We don’t really have anything against Columbus … their ugly yellow uniforms might be the only thing we don’t like.”
Them’s fightin’ words.
But only, remember, in the nicest possible way.
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Chris Cummins, the new interim head coach of Toronto FC, says he’s not the type of guy to get too worked up about poor officiating.
“Things like that don’t bother me if I’m honest with you,” Cummins said yesterday after being named successor to John Carver, who quit last week. “I’m quite laid back.”
That certainly wasn’t the temperament of his predecessor, who tendered his resignation a few days after being fined $750 (U.S.) for publicly criticizing the officiating in Toronto’s 3-2 loss at FC Dallas on April 19.
It was one of several run-ins the 44-year-old Englishman had with Major League Soccer referees during his 15 months on the job.
While Carver said in an interview this week the “last straw” was being ordered by MLS to return to the sidelines after spending a game coaching from a private box atop BMO Field and “out of the firing line” of on-field officials, TFC general manager Mo Johnston yesterday said it was Toronto management who made the request.
“John wanted to sit upstairs, we wanted him to sit downstairs,” Johnston said after announcing the appointment of Cummins and the elevation of Canadian Nick Dasovic to be TFC’s first assistant coach.
“John had numerous things going on that had to be taken care of,” Johnston said. “That wasn’t the breaking point.”
Johnston said Carver was “disillusioned by the whole scheme of things,” including MLS, refereeing and the stress of the situation.
Johnston insisted, as has Carver, that the two men did not have a falling out and that he tried to talk the coach into staying.
“There was no going back,” Johnston said. “He didn’t let me or anyone else down. He gave everything he had and he just couldn’t go on.”
Reached by telephone yesterday afternoon as he watched the Arsenal-Manchester United Champions League game on television, Carver agreed “there was a number of issues” that led to his resignation.
When he spoke to Johnston about sitting downstairs for last Sunday’s game, Carver said he assumed it was the league making the request.
While saying a confidentiality agreement precluded him from discussing his departure any further, he did wish Cummins all the best.
“I’m delighted for him,” Carver said of the man he brought to TFC in May of last year. “It’s a great opportunity and he’s got my blessing.”
Cummins, 37, a native of Watford, England, said he’s “really excited” and promised “a team that’s going to play attacking football.”
Cummins was the main coach on the sidelines for the past two games, both 1-0 home wins. In each, TFC employed three strikers and took the game to the visitors and should have won by a wider margin.
“Every single day we’ll be working tirelessly to bring success to this club,” he said.
TFC (3-2-2) sits first in the Eastern Conference and hosts defending champion Columbus (0-2-4) on Saturday.
Johnston said although the title is interim, “I’ve told these guys: `Don’t look over your shoulder. Just keep doing the job you’re doing and let’s get on with it.’ I’m not looking at anyone else.”
Tom Anselmi, executive vice-president and chief operating officer with TFC owner Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment Ltd., said he doesn’t share Carver’s concerns the team is getting unfair treatment from MLS or its referees.
“Referees are human beings and sometimes they make a call you like and sometimes they make a call you don’t like,” Anselmi said.
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