If it walks like a duck and talks like a duck but plays Route 1 football, is it a duck?
As we explored last week, Aron Winter’s system is evolving more into a possession-oriented, counter-attacking game than a traditional Total Football move-the-ball forward piece-by-piece system. It’s one that still has a number of holes but showed notable improvement over last week.
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What didn't work
Dan Gargan had probably one of his worst games at right back. His distribution was rushed, he played simple passes into touch and more over he wore the look of a man who knew his job was on the line. And given that Aron Winter spent much of the week since talking up their need to increase depth at that position, that assessment is probably not far off.
Cristian Gomez, the defender who has been training with the club for weeks now, appears ready to sign with Toronto FC. And even if he doesn’t step into the lineup right away, it’s a safe expectation that Ashtone Morgan will get the start over Gargan from here on in. That won’t sit well with some of those who have grown attached to Gargan, but neither will another week's worth of flubs.
What did work
Mikael Yourassowsky making overlapping runs with Dwayne DeRosario down the left wing. The Belgian showed exactly what takes for a left back to get forward and be effective in the attack. And despite much of the play was being forced down the right, the change of pace he brought added another element to the forward movement.
The big question there is, of course, why DeRo was out on the left to begin with. Those apt to criticize him for disappearing against Portland should be asking why a player who is traditionally most effective in a central role, was relegated to being one of the least utilized players in the early going? As soon as he found his way into the middle of the pitch, a Maicon Santos pass sprung him in on goal.
Speaking of which, Maicon, for all of his finishing ability, has suddenly become an equal threat at delivering the slashing pass. Twice now this season, goals have come from him tracking back to the defensive half, receiving the ball, looking off the defender and delivering a clever through ball.
In addition to some refreshing distribution, Alen Stevanovic stepping off a plane to quickly find a place among a new system, the return of Adrian Cann to the middle needs little explanation on why it worked.
The final question
Can Toronto find a way to plug the midfield holes until Julian DeGuzman returns?
TFC held the lead against what was essentially a D2 team with MLS aspirations, but against stronger opponents like L.A. their mistakes are going to be exposed. They have the fitness to run your team into the ground and the tools to pick it apart.
Toronto needs to find someone to start plugging those channels because playing 10 men behind the ball with a lead won't work against proper MLS sides - even if the Route 1 football is working.