There's a reason Toledoed is a term used in MLS circles.
Referee Baldomero Toledo has a bad habit of making himself part of the conversation. He is, without a doubt, universally loathed by fans of pretty much every MLS team. He seems to want to make game changing calls.
He made a game changing call last night that may have denied TFC two points. The penalty call against Doneil Henry was seen by about 95 percent of people watching as being nothing short of bizarre.
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Although there were a couple voices that thought Henry could have avoided the contact, it's hard to see how. His reputation may have played a role in the call. Either way, it's a shame that we have to talk about the referee.
And, as much as we talk about it, there is nothing that can change the call. It's done. Thanks to Bradley Orr's stoppage time equalizer the final result was one that most TFC fans would have taken going in.
As for the rest of the game, TFC remains a frustrating team to watch and a difficult team to interpret. The amount of possession they yield gives the appearance of a club holding on for dear life, but the truth is they don't actually allow many goals.
Is that by design? Or is it pure luck? A bit of both, perhaps.
They are absolutely set up to counter. To a point you can understand why. Jermain Defoe is an exceptional poacher and he makes the Reds dangerous when they do go forward.
However, it seems absurd to think this team can keep getting results with a third of the ball. Surely they need to inch the possession up a bit. I think most people would be more comfortable if they were countering with 45 percent. That would seem sustainable.
Then again, they did get a point on the road against the (admittedly undermanned) defending champions. At some point we're all going to need to wrap our head around the fact this team isn't ever going to be pretty to watch and that we're always going to feel disaster is around the corner.
Part of that is the tactics and part of that is the PTSD.
So no point dwelling on the how. Take the point and move on.
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