State of Mind: Hoping for the best; really I am
Location: Not in air conditioned splendor
Well it's been a fun few days hasn't it? Terrible first game back after the break, 3 TFC players thrown in jail and now suspended from the team...oh and did I mention that Adrian Cann is hurt? Add to that the rumour this afternoon that Jaoa Plata may not be with TFC after the end of the season and well the TFC soap opera continues...Good times my friends, good times.
It's just becoming more and more farcical with each passing week. The poor play, the off the field drama, the gales of laughter from around the league....sigh. OK, enough misery onto tonight.
Our boys are facing another tough test this evening against the Houston Dynamo in their fancy new stadium the BBVA Compass. Not only is this a road game - which our boys do not excel at - but it against a very good team in the Dynamo. What makes this team so dangerous for TFC is their ability to score from set pieces thanks to dead ball wunderkind Brad Davis - and as we all know defending set pieces is not a strength for our boys in Red. And with another new back 4 taking the field tonight for TFC, that will be the weakness that the Dynamo look to exploit. Joining Davis is striker Will Bruin who already has six goals this season and will be looking to add to his tally against the often not rock solid Toronto defense.
At the other end is the Dynamo defense that while not the best in the league are certainly not the worst. And with Andre Hainault back and likely to be there helping to anchor the Dynamo backline, our still fizzling offense will not have an easy time putting anything past (the awesomely named) Tally Hall.
Our boys face other challenges tonight as well as recent events have left new coach Paul Mariner with a depleted squad that will see him have a very shortened bench. And for a team with not the best depth to boast of, well you see where I'm going. My biggest fear is what the back line is going to look like tonight - will we see the return of Ty (Try Harder) Harden from bench exile? Or will the rumoured return of Dicoy Williams put some confidence in the defense? It's a scary prospect and could either see some promise return to the back for TFC or another drubbing that will further erode the already fragile confidence of the team. And should they get well destroyed tonight the countdown clock over Mariner's head will start to become more visible. I'm not saying that we should be ready to run him out of town on a rail (at least not yet) but hopefully
I think the best that we fans can realistically hope for is that the team puts aside the drama and the changes in personnel, pulls together and actually puts forth an effort tonight. A solid, paying attention, acting like professional footballers type of effort. Just something to show us that they're on the track back to being a competitive team. I'm as excited as I always am to see our boys play and will be anxiously on my couch for 9pm hoping for well, just hoping to see improvement. Yes, that's what it's come to - while I always hope for a win, I'll settle for positive signs of improvement. I miss my optimism; hope it comes back one of these days.
COME ON YOU REDS!
Links a Go-Go: The Yorkies, Waking The Red (Duncan, James & James again) and Red Nation Online
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