Toronto FC:
Last Season: 9th in East. Missed playoffs
Additions:
Justin Braun (FW) - Trade
Joe Bendik (GK) - Trade
Dan Califf (DF) – 2012 Re-entry draft
Gale Agbossoumonde (DF) – weighted lottery
Julio Cesar (MF) – Free agent
Kyle Bekker (MF) – 2013 SuperDraft
Emery Welshman (FW) – 2013 SuperDraft
Robert Earnshaw (FW) -- Discovery signing
Hogan Ephraim (FW/MF) -- Loan
Departures:
Adrian Cann (DF)
Ty Harden (DF)
Dicoy Williams (DF)
Oscar Cordon (MF)
Nicholas Lindsay (FW)
Keith Makubuya (FW)
Eric Avila (MF)
Aaron Maund (DF)
Ryan Johnson (FW)
Milos Kocic (GK)
Freddy Hall (GK)
Quincy Amarikwa (FW)
Joao Plata (FW)
Eric Hassli (FW)
2012 Overview:
The highlight of the season came early. In the fall-out of one of the worst seasons in MLS history it was easy to forget that TFC was just one good half away from qualifying to the final of the CONCACAF Champions League.
They defeated David Beckham and the rest of the LA Galaxy in a two game tie a year ago to advance to that unexpected position. Then the Reds played arguably the best 135 minutes of its history against Mexican powerhouse Santos Laguna.
Then the wheels fell off. Although TFC briefly led the tie with Santos they ended up crashing in a way that would make the 2008 Montreal Impact blush. The dream of CCL glory fell away and the harsh reality of the MLS season faced the club and its fans.
Harsh it was. A record breaking nine game losing streak to start the season effectively eliminated TFC from the playoffs before the first day of summer. Head coach Aron Winter was canned and Paul Mariner took over.
And then it got odd.
After a brief upturn in fortunes, based largely on the form of Danny Koevermans, the Reds actually got worse. Koevermans went down with a season ending injury and TFC forgot how to win. Or even score.
It was close to unwatchable. The fans turned on Mariner, some even going so far as to loudly criticize his choice of pants on game day. On a less frivolous note, the fans felt that Mariner had an antiquated grasp of tactics and he favoured certain players over others.
A trade for Eric Hassli was widely criticized, with fans wondering why Mariner was allowed to trade a first round draft pick in 2014 for a player that would have a short term impact on the club.
The environment was so toxic by the fall that crowds of 15,000 were showing up and Mariner was allegedly challenging fans to fights in the parking lot.
After TFC limped to the finish line, the process of yet another rebuild began with the hiring GM and President Kevin Payne.
2013 Squad and Expectations:
In a word; low.
In two: Very low.
Payne has not done a lot to add to the club in the off-season instead, choosing to strip it down to its bone.
That process started with the firing of Marinier and the hiring of former MLS defender Ryan Nelsen. When hired, Nelsen was still batting relegation in the EPL with Queen’s Park Rangers. When he was hired, it was unclear whether Nelsen would even be with the club on opening night. Although eventually that was worked out another undisclosed issue (rumoured to be related to Nelsen’s work visa) prevented him from working with the club for much of the pre-season.
That, combined with a lack of signings, has led to TFC starting the season with a roster of just 21 players, who have barely worked with their new skipper.
Payne has spent most of the off-season trying to reduce expectations. No one is talking playoffs. Quietly, many are worried that the club might be worse than it was in 2012.
No one wants to talk about what that might mean to the relevancy of the club in the Toronto sports scene – especially competing directly with the suddenly hot again (and Las Vegas favourite to win the World Series) Toronto Blue Jays.
Prediction:
The half-full prediction is a slow start followed by a gradual improvement as the club gets used to playing under Nelsen -- and Payne adds pieces in the summer transfer window.
The half-empty prediction is that Toronto is actually worse than it was in 2012 and will be battling with Chivas USA for last overall in MLS.
History tells us to expect the latter.