I could have ended almost every night with those words over this season. It's confounding as a fan to watch them this year. I struggle with each passing game - wait, TFC doesn't have a passing game - to find the passion and joy I once had when watching the team that I love. I can handle watching my team lose - well that's obvious as I've been watching TFC for six years - as long as they put forth the effort. What I'm having shall we say difficulty with is the unsettling trend of sleepwalking through the first half (and beyond) that has plagued the most recent stretch of games. Add to that the still oft confusing lineup and substitution choices by Mariner and what you get is our Reds still firmly occupying the MLS basement with little to no hope in sight that they might climb out. Let's get the negatives out the way first (there will be positives; honest):
Andrew Wiedeman again? Really? Why was he back in the starting XI after that sub par performance on Saturday? Was he being rewarded because it was his birthday or because Mariner is convinced of this mythical "best first touch in the modern era" that he's witnessed - because we certainly haven't. Wiedeman put in another quite frankly terrible effort and should not see the starting XI again anytime soon.
RJ in the midfield. I'm not sure why this experiment continues. It is obvious that he does not perform well that deep - he is not a midfielder, nor a winger and is at his best when playing up top.
Silva up top. Luis is a talented young player with speed, a lovely touch and completely at ease in playing as the attacking midfielder (and played worlds better when he dropped back in the second half). He doesn't need to be up top with Hassli in order to score goals, but putting him there takes away what game RJ has and that in effect puts the entire team down a man.
Sleep-walking through the entire first half (and then some). There's nothing enjoyable about watching the two or three players actually putting forth an effort getting more and more frustrated while their less engaged teammates sleepwalk through the game.
Dicoy Williams. While I was delighted to see a more logical back four, it became apparent fairly quickly that Dicoy is just not ready to be out there. He's been a long time away from regular play and obviously needs to be worked into the starting XI slowly.
The Jeremy Hall (and Aaron Maund) sub. You know what I'm going to say here; where in the hell was Eric Avila? Other than firmly nailed to the bench; again. In a game where TFC couldn't find it's way past the midfield with a map wouldn't it have been nice to see a creative player out there; being you know, creative?
The long ball. Boy oh boy isn't that fun to watch? And based on tweets from John Molinaro today we can expect another year or so of watching our Reds tire themselves out running aimlessly after the ball. Exciting!
There's more but I don't want to depress you further.
Positives! You didn't believe me when I said there would be positives did you?
Ecks. MOTM for me and pretty much anyone I've talked to. Back in his rightful place at right back, Ecks was a huge (OK, he's short but you know what I mean) force to be reckoned with throughout the entire match. Not only did he bounce back from a boot to the face and two elbows to the head but he kept going after losing one of his boots - that's right, he kept playing - that's effort. But more than that was the energy he brought to the field; one of the few who played the full 90 as though he was actually hmm, trying to win. Astonishing!
Quincy Amarikwa. I've not had much to say about Dr. Q but last night he was a difference maker (maybe he should have played earlier?) and TFC finally came to life once he came onto the pitch.
Umm...OK I'll give Darren O'Dea a bit of love. Again a solid effort from O'Dea and seeing him be vocal and challenge in the box is great. But he needs a solid partner (not named Eckersley) to truly put the TFC defense back together.
Yeah - I've got nothing else.
That was fun right? Do you feel better after reading the positives list? Yeah, me either. And believe me that negatives list could have been ever so much longer. It's a (not even complete) illustration of what an uninspiring, underwhelming performance our Reds put in against Columbus. The laundry list of frustrations from the fans continues to grow and for those of you (like myself) that continue to show up at BMO Field each week you can see they're voicing that frustration by just not showing up for games. Unless this team can at the very least show that they can put in a sustained effort for a full 90 minutes - see, I'm not even asking them to win; just bloody well try - the spot the empty seat game will become the spot the empty section game very quickly. So I say again to our boys in red - Wake Up! You also have to ask (or at least I do) what part the lineup and style of play choices made by Mariner are playing in TFC's taking up permanent residence in that damp, unpleasant MLS basement (they should just call in a decorator and be done with it). I realize that depth is not a word that can really be used around TFC all that much but you can only look at the players being put out there each game so often without thinking maybe, just maybe someone else should be given a run out. And the less said about the long ball the better. Besides, as I said it's not going away any time soon so we'd all better learn to love it. What's sad for me about this season - other than the relentless losing, revolving door and continuing mismanagement - is that I'm slowly losing my optimism. I'm the hopeful one among my blogging brethren (as I was reminded of earlier today) who back in the day was always sure that things were going to work out; that this year was going to be better. In fact I'm the one they tease and poke fun at for my insistence on looking on the bright side. I'm not one of the SSH that will give up my seats next year and I'm not going to stop going to games. But I want that feeling back again; where I was so excited about going to see my team play - every game was an event! Now, I'm still excited but it's a dulled, tarnished excitement - I just want that happiness back - for me and for my fellow fans who's expectations get lower and lower with each passing week. I don't expect playoffs (hell, I never did for this season and I don't for next), I just want them to try, to rise above all the behind the scenes nonsense they've had to deal with; to become more than the sum of their parts. I want my team back. See you on Tuesday? Low Links:The Yorkies, Waking The Red, Typical TFC, RNO and RNO again.
Mood: Uncertain State of Mind: Hoping for the best? Location: My happy place
It's Trillium Cup time! What's that you say? What's the Trillium Cup? Umm, you do watch TFC right? OK, you can be forgiven for already forgetting about the basically manufactured rivalry between our Reds and the Columbus Crew back in 2006. As our closest (at the time) geographic rivals this made a certain amount of sense - after all what is sport without a good rivalry - and thus the Trillium Cup was born. It does rankle a wee bit that in the brief time the two teams have contested for the TC (given for aggregate wins over the course of the season) that TFC have only managed to win it just once; that being accomplished on the strength of the 4-2 victory in Columbus last season - most memorable for TFC fans as the game in which Stefan Frei was injured and lost to the team for the remainder of the season.
And the history between the two teams has not been shall we say, congenial? There has been some bad blood during road trips - I liken it to Crew supporters' jealousy over the at times tremendous travelling support that TFC has been known to put together; especially for games to Columbus. So there is always a heightened atmosphere around these matches regardless of what is happening in the season for either team. In this case of course is the floundering of the good ship TFC with little or nothing left to play for this season except to try to salvage a little pride (and maybe win some CCL matches) and why not with a wee bit of silverware? It's unlikely but hey, worth a shot right? I mean, what else do we have? Oh that's sad; all of our hopes on the Trillium Cup? Oh dear - hey CCL, how you doin'? Unlike TFC the Crew are still well in the race for one of the final playoff positions and having something more tangible than pride (and that shiny cup that we stole last year) to play for makes them a somewhat fearsome opponent. Did I just call Columbus fearsome? Why yes, yes I did. And TFC will need to see better from the entire team in order to pull off a result tonight. And of course history has not been kind to TFC in their trips to Columbus with last year's shocking (it was, trust me) win being the only time they've come away with 3 points. Who's nervous? Umm, I am. I will be curious to see what Mariner decides to do with the starting XI tonight - does he rest players with games in Houston and against the hated Santos Laguna coming up in the next six days? Or just put them out there and ask them to do their jobs? They are professional athletes, this is what they train for and are paid for; and if you ask any one of them if they'd rather play than sit around or practice - they'll all answer play. I doubt we'll see any change to the CB pairing, but I hope that RJ moves back up top and allows Silva to drop back. I also say give Dunfield a rest - he was invisible on Saturday - put Avi in and give Amerikwa a shot (but please keep Wiedeman on the bench) since Lambe is still unavailable. It will fall to Hassli, Johnson and Silva to try to penetrate the Crew defense which is one of the best in the league and for a Danny Koevermans-less TFC, this is not an easy task. Hell, it wasn't easy with Danny...sigh. As always set pieces will be a "oh dear god no" area for our Reds with the likes of Crew DP Jairo Arrieta causing all sorts of difficulty for opposition team (so deadly with the ball). This isn't going to be an easy one kids - hell, they never are with TFC - I'll be watching and hoping that they give us something to cheer about. COME ON YOU REDS! Shiny Trillium Links:The Yorkies, Waking The Red (Dave, James) and Red Nation Online.
Mood: Sigh State of Mind: Sigh, yet hopeful Location: Secret TFC Supporter Couch
It wasn't all for naught, was it? Yes our beloved Reds again failed to secure any points or beat that annoying yellow team. Yes, they once again failed to score and yes many fans will fail to see any improvement or reason to continue supporting the team this season.
I will not say that I am not frustrated that an eminently winnable game fell through the cracks and that I am not even a little despondent that TFC still have zero points on the season. But what makes it all the more frustrating was that our team played well; hell they played better than that annoying yellow team.
Let's focus on the positives first shall we? 1. That. Save. You know what I'm talking about - when Milos stonewalled Milovan Mirosevic on that completely bogus Penalty Call. From my seats in 226 it was a loud, raucous, joyous group of fans who screamed and celebrated with Kocic as he punched the air in triumph in front of us. Oh to have preserved that moment and stopped the game right there. Is there any question that Milos deserves that #1 keeper designation? I thought not. 2. Some really decent play by Dunfield and de Guzman in the midfield - no, I'm not having a laugh; I really mean that. They both played quite well - this is what's known as progress and hope for the future. 3. Soolsma - seriously, where did Nick find this added dimension to his game? Was he hibernating last season? I swear I saw him outrun more than one Crew defender - Soolsma with pace? What alternate universe are we in? 4. Logan Emory - yes, I know that there are many of you that feel the error he made that contributed to the Columbus goal should erase all of the outstanding work he put in as CB. I obviously disagree - I saw a number of smart decisions, little hesitation at using his mop of hair to head the ball out of danger and decent man marking. I would not be unhappy to see him in the SXI again. 5. Ty Harden - he actually wasn't terrible; in fact more than once I think I actually praised him - an odd feeling to be sure. 6. Overall good team effort - I mean that. They had some really nice runs, good control, and were attacking and defending well.
The not so positives... 1. The goal - *SIGH* A combination of a mis-handled ball by JDG and a poor clearance by Emory saw the ball fall right at Bernardo Anor's feet and well, you were there, you know what happened next. 2. Failure to score; again. It's becoming a bit of broken record isn't it? This is definitely a team that can score - so why aren't they? Some excellent forward play and still nothing. 3. Continuing to play the aerial game when it obviously wasn't working against a (surprising to me) very solid Crew defense. 4. The ref - from the terrible decision on the penalty call to the non-calls on TFC players every time they got hammered - I could go on, but again you were there, you saw it. I realize this is an uncontrollable variable but difficult to watch and experience nonetheless. 5. Well, they lost - that has to go in the negative column. For all of the positive play they still didn't come out the other side with three points.
I realize it's difficult as a fan to watch your team succeed on one level (hello CCL) and continue to fail in league play. However it is not time to throw in the towel - do not stop coming out and supporting our team - it is going to turn around, they will right this somewhat foundering ship.
For me the most poignant moment of the match came after the final whistle. I looked out onto the field and saw Ecks kneeling on the pitch, obviously despondent pounding the turf in frustration. A minute later when he was awarded the man of the match he barely stood still long enough for the obligatory picture and then stormed off - it is both heartening and upsetting to see a player that frustrated - you want the players to be affected by a loss but you have to wonder and worry how it affects them long term. Do they fight back or give in?
I say fight back boys; we're there cheering you on and I for one can't wait to see you turn it around.
Mood: Excited Weather Report: Not rain! Location: Behind a cup of coffee
It's game day boys and girls! Time to refocus on MLS play and that team that we all love to hate; no not the Impact (that's next week) but our hated (mildly disliked?) rivals the Columbus Crew. While the bloom may be off the rose of rivaldom between the two teams it is still frustrating as a fan that TFC have never defeated them here on our home pitch - I say that changes today! Those 3 points are TFC's for the taking - our boys need to start capitalizing on the relatively easy start to the season and not only rack up some points but as previously stated, turn BMO back into that intimidating fortress it once was (it was, really). I for one don't care about the Trillium Cup as it was never anything more than a mostly meaningless bit of silverware; I care about our team getting that first win of this young MLS season and what better team to get that win against?
The Crew is not exactly a team to fear and even with a tired and potentially depleted TFC side (expect Winter to rest some players) our Reds have more than enough talent to take this game. Danny Koevermans will be looking to score his first goal of the season and as he can't play in Torreon due to YC accumulation he'll be fired up. Danny has looked sharper the last couple of games and has hopefully put that match fitness question to rest. Eric Avila will also certainly get some time today being cup tied for CCL competition and will be looking to impress. There are some defensive questions with both Ecks and Aceval suffering various knocks in Wednesday's match - look for Logan Emory and perhaps Junior Burgos to see some time today. And I know that everyone (myself included) is excited about the imminent return of Adrian Cann but I do not expect to see him this afternoon in anything other than the reserve match that follows the MLS match - let's not rush this; we need him back and fully fit - it's a long season for our boys, let's not lose more players.
Yes Tony Tchani (still complaining about the weather, still looking for someone to go get wings with) will possibly be out there today. I know many that bemoaned his loss and that there were many "that's what we got for DeRo" comments once he was traded away (hey Andy Iro, hope all is well), but I for one was not that sad to see him go. He's just OK in my book even if he had a couple of nice performances while wearing red. And no, I'm not looking to reopen the DeRo book; it's done, it's over - move on.
Today I'm looking forward to not sitting in the rain while watching my team. I am expecting a more timely crowd arrival as everyone has an extra hour to get their butts to BMO - kickoff is at 2pm people - be in your damn seats! I know it's been a tough go for us fans in regards to MLS play, but that is no reason to not be there to cheer on our team. This is why we're fans right? Right, that's what I thought - so be there or, well I don't know all of you so there aren't any tangible consequences except one - how ticked will you be to have missed their first MLS win of the season? Thought so, see you there.
