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    The focus of the men's national team program in Canadian soccer is, undoubtedly, on the future. And there's no better way to get a glimpse of what the future's likely to hold than to see what our squad of 20-and-unders has to offer on the world stage.
    Nick Dasovic leads the squad into the U20 CONCACAF championships (a.k.a. World Cup qualifying) later this month, where Canada is in a group with Cuba (Feb. 18) and Nicaragua (Feb. 22). A first- or second- place finish in that three-team group would set up a win-and-you're-in showdown with either the U.S.A. or Costa Rica on Feb. 26, with the winner of that match earning a spot in the 2013 U20 World Cup, to be held in Turkey on June/July.
    Canada, of course, hasn't been to the U20 World Cup since 2007, when we automatically qualified as hosts... and, well, we all remember how that turned out (even if we'd rather not). Dasovic, who was a part of the Canadian coaching staff for that tournament, says it was a learning experience -- but that Canada has what it takes to not just make up the numbers this time around.
    "I've got a lot of faith in these kids," Dasovic told the media Tuesday.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    With that in mind, Dasovic has assembled a 23-man squad for the pre-tournament camp, with the final roster being cut to 20 several days ahead of the tournament:
    1- GK- Ricky Gomes | POR / Sport Clube de Mirandela
    2- FB- Jon Dollery | ENG / Crawley Town FC
    3- FB- Marco Lapenna | GER / FC Erzgebirge Aue
    4- CB- Doneil Henry | CAN / Toronto FC
    5- CB- Daniel Stanese | GER / FC Nürnberg Reserve
    6- M- Samuel Piette | GER / Fortuna Düsseldorf
    7- M- Ben Fisk | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC U-23
    8- M - Bryce Alderson | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    9- F- Caleb Clarke | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC
    10- M- Keven Aleman | ESP / Real Valladolid
    11- M- Michael Petrasso | ENG / Queens Park Rangers
    12- M- Dylan Carreiro | ENG / Queens Park Rangers
    13- M- Alessandro Riggi | ESP / Celta de Vigo
    14- F- Yassin Essa | CAN / Vancouver Whitecaps FC Residency
    15- CB- Manjrekar James | HUN / PMFC-MATIAS
    16- M- Mauro Eustáquio | POR / Sporting Clube de Pombal
    17- F- Anthony Jackson-Hamel | CAN / Académie Impact Montréal
    18- GK- Maxime Crépeau | CAN / Académie Impact Montréal
    19- FB- Jordan Murrell | USA / Syracuse University
    20- M- Zakaria Messoudi | CAN / Académie Impact Montréal
    21- M- Ben McKendry | USA / University of New Mexico
    22- F- Stefan Vukovic | Unattached / sans club
    23- FB- Allan Zebie | CAN / Edmonton FC Reserve
    As has become the trend these days, there's plenty of representation from our four pro sides. Nine players are currently in the systems in either Vancouver, Montreal, Edmonton or Toronto, while several others (Aleman, Stanese, Vukovic, Murrell, Petrasso, Carreiro) have passed through Canadian academies recently, and James is a graduate of Sigma FC, the Ontario private academy that produced two first-round picks in this year's MLS SuperDraft (Kyle Bekker and Emery Welshman).
    Such a setup is vastly different than what a national youth team would have dealt with even a decade ago, Dasovic said.
    "The difference now is that we're getting players that come to us, when we have camps, that are more defined and polished (in) their readiness to become a professional. ... We're getting players where we don't have to deal with things like making sure they're in bed on time. They're very professional."
    On top of that, eight of the players (Piette, Stanese, Alderson, Aleman, Essa, Petrasso, Crepeau, Lapenna) featured for Canada at the 2011 U17 World Cup, a tournament highlighted by a 2-2 draw with England.
    "They've had the experience and they know what it means not just going into the World Cup... but getting to the World Cup," Dasovic said. "Any kind of experience where they're feeling that, it's only going to benefit the players."
    Not to mention that a pair of players (Piette, Henry) have already earned time with the senior men's national team. So Dasovic has had plenty of chances to view these kids not just for their clubs and for other Canadian national sides, but in the four camps the U20 team has run since he took over as head coach in late 2011.
    "It gave us a very good idea of what we were working with," he said. "It was a very difficult selection process... (but) guys that didn't quite make the cut, they're still in our plans, and we're going to keep monitoring them."
    While Dasovic said his team was assembled with the express purpose of giving Canada the best chance to win, he also stressed the importance of the tournament, and the qualifying process, as a means to get international experience for a group of young players.
    "Every time we get an extra game at the international level, that's another part of the learning process," he said. "We're looking to get those kids as many games as we can."
    The surest way to earn more games is, of course, to win -- to that end, Dasovic lauded the deep player pool from which he could draw his players, and cited team chemistry and each player's individual form as deciding factors in the "very difficult" selection process. As for the team's philosophy and tactics, Dasovic said it's difficult for a squad that assembles as infrequently as a youth national team to develop any set-in-stone approach.
    Instead, Dasovic said, the team's approach will change based on the available personnel and the opponent on the day and "how we feel to best deal with their strengths and weaknesses."
    He warned that neither Nicaragua nor Cuba should be taken lightly, identifying both teams as talented and "highly motivated". Still, given his long and varied experience within the game, Dasovic knows that the responsibility for on-field results ultimately falls on the shoulders of the players and the coach.
    "We're going to do whatever we can to make sure we're diligent in our preparation, so we don't have any excuses at the end of the day."
    .
    Guest
    Less than a month away from MLS First Kick in Seattle, the Impact starts to take shape under the leadership of Marco Schällibaum at camp.
    This week we hear from the coach and Canadian international Patrice Bernier on the tactical approach for Les Bleus.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    RDS and La Presse analyst Patrick Leduc tells us what he expects from the team's coming chapter in Florida. CP's Marc Tougas sheds his light on the CSL debacle, on the possible mistreatment of Eduardo Sebrango and on the coming 20th Anniversary celebrations for the Impact.
    Raphael Larocque-Cyr points out the play of the recent SuperDraftees in preseason action, on Mattocks and the Whitecaps as well as former Impact keeper Donovan Ricketts losing his starting job to former Reds' keeper Milos Kocic.
    Jonathan Tannenwald discusses the The Hex about to kick back into play on Wednesday and on new measures the MLS will adopt to tackle possible match fixing attempts in the future.
    All this and more in our hour-long show.
    Click here to listen:
    Guest
    The Eddies are about to begin their third full NASL season with a new GM, a new head coach and a lot on the line. The team's long-term future in the city will likely hinge on whether it has a soccer-specific stadium to call home in the years ahead -- and that will be largely contingent on whether the team can pack the house this year.
    The FC Edmonton Supporters Group will have a big role to play in those efforts, and so in Part 1 of this interview with Greg Baker and Tobi Oliva of the FCESG, we spoke about the team's off-field troubles in the past two years, whether regular sellouts are realistic in 2013, and what the group has been doing to help it come to fruition.
    In Part 2, Greg and Tobi tell us about the challenges of building a supporters culture in Edmonton, how deeply entrenched the team is within the civic consciousness (or not) and the importance of organic growth.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    GB: (One thing) which is a little bit tough as a supporters group is trying to find how we fit within the bigger fanbase. As you can imagine, with supporters, a lot of them just want to drink beer and swear. I've been to BMO Field, and when you've got that whole end there, where everyone's chanting, swearing, whatever they're doing, it just sounds like fun. But when you've got four guys swearing on one side of the field, there's no doubt who's swearing, and exactly what they said.
    There's been a lot of debate on the supporters side about how we can do that. We've been having some discussion, maybe we need our own section. But I was there at the beginning and we had our own section: It was four guys, and we looked like the cheer squad. No one knew they could come to that section and join us. We were actively promoting them to come and join us. We just looked like four fat guys in the corner that, for some reason, were screaming their heads off.
    There are a lot of kids there, we had some complaints brought back to us through the club, or sometimes to us directly -- somebody's mom saying something to us. We've been really struggling with how to deal with that, how to keep that hardcore passion like and sort of temper that a little bit. It's not the glamorous side of the supporters' section, but I think it's important.
    How important do you think it is, in helping to promote the team, that FC Edmonton does field a number of young, promising and local players?
    GB: We started to feel we had some high-profile local players, guys like Shaun Saiko and a few others, ones that were sort of "local boy makes good" stories, but for whatever reason, which we are still not clear on, they didn't click well with the coaching staff. Matt Lam was let go, and there was some issue with Saiko being asked not to attend a game. These are little signals that something isn't right there, and a lot of people -- especially in the supporters -- turned on the coaches quite quickly. The fact that we were losing hand over fist wasn't really helping. But that was a big sticking point for us.
    We take a lot of pride in being everybody's second-favourite team (in Canada). We like that. I'd like to see that continue. ... I think one thing that I'd like to see, we kinda jump on it, mostly on Twitter -- don't forget there's an FC Edmonton. We've got the Montreal, Toronto, Vancouver MLS teams. But if we can get buy-in from the other supporters as well -- as in, hey, don't forget about these guys -- even commenting about how the season's going out in the open, not hidden away in the fan forums, that would help us, to shed some light, and it also adds legitimacy a little bit.
    One thing that's really struck me is that a lot of people are really surprised about the level of play in the NASL. They were interviewing some lady on the street about whether or not the team needs a new stadium, and she's like, "oh, I don't know why, they used to play on mud fields." This is a pro team we're talking about! It's not a low level either, it's the second division here. These guys are good.
    Speaking of the "man on the street" sentiment... do you think the protracted debate in Edmonton about a new NHL arena might make it more difficult to get public buy-in into the idea of a new stadium for FCE?
    GB: Absolutely. All the FCESG members have been jumping all over the Edmonton Journal comments sections and pointing out that we're talking a very small amount of money compared to what the Katz Group is talking about for the Oilers. We're somewhere around 5% of that. People just have this idea like, "What? Another one? Oh my God! What's this world coming to? Why the hell for a soccer team, of all things?"
    One thing that really bothers me is ... it's kind of a cart before the horse issue with a lot of people, "prove yourself and then you can get this soccer stadium if you deserve it". I'm saying, you wouldn't stand for hockey players playing a game -- even if it was AHL-level hockey -- being played on a curling rink or a speed-skating oval. No hardcore fan would stand for that. You couldn't get people to support that. But yet, y'know, we'll play on a field that's made for football but has 47 other different lines for everything from field hockey to lacrosse to soccer, and if they're good enough, they'll get a following. People who are real soccer fans take one look at that and think, "my God, I can't watch this." So that's a real tough thing to sell.
    TO: Hockey is king in Edmonton, so trying to break down that perception of soccer being a sport for pansies, you get that a lot, and we deal with comments like that. But all in a day's work for the FC Edmonton Supporters Group.
    Even in the MLS cities, where they've had some success, it always is a tough sell in terms of gaining that widespread acceptance of the team's place within the city's sporting consciousness. Do you guys feel there is progress being made, in terms of the team being legitimately accepted -- not at the same level, but in the same conversation as, say, the Oilers and the Eskimos?
    GB: Tobi said hockey is king, but I'd say hockey is king and the entire royal family. The Eskimos are there, for sure. There is a sweet spot between the end of hockey season and when the Eskimos' season starts up that I think is key. I can't say FCE is right up there yet. If you look at the sports page even in the summer, you've got 17 articles about whatever contract negotiations the Oilers are in, something about the Eskimos, and then if you're lucky, you get a little tiny thing at the bottom.
    Even if you look at the Edmonton Journal website, soccer is underneath, like, professional mixed martial arts. And even when they do report stuff, most of the stuff is about whatever Toronto, Vancouver or Montreal is doing. So I don't know if we're at that level yet.
    But you're cautiously optimistic about continuing to make inroads in 2013?
    GB: For me, I think one of the most encouraging signs by the club -- I don't know if they completely understand this, but I think we've seen some movement toward understanding who their fanbase really is. Early on, we had lots of discussion under the first general manager, Mel Kowalchuk, who was a local sports and business guy, who's been involved mostly with baseball. There was a real idea that this would be sold like triple-A baseball: Bring your kids out, we'll have fireworks at the park.
    They don't really have an understanding of the soccer mom thing going on. There's tons of soccer players, but none of the parents are really fans, they're just doing it because their kids are -- and if it comes down to an FC Edmonton game versus my kid's soccer tournament in Calgary, they're gone. There's no continuity between that. What you need is the market of the 18-to-35-year-old males who've got nothing better to do in the summer. The ones who, for whatever reason, don't like CFL football. Those are the ones you have to target, and you have to bring them in.
    The soccer mom culture in Edmonton is not going to be the solid foundation that it seemed that they started with. That's a very supporters(-centric) view on this, but like I said, I was there the very first day they announced it. I walked up to Tom Fath and said, "I'm here, I'm part of the Voyageurs, a long-time Voyageur. What's your plan to engage the soccer culture?" If you're looking at, three years ago, Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, they've really built their success -- especially Toronto, early on -- on that soccer supporters thing. "What's your plan to engage that?" He just had this blank look on his face.
    Now we're seeing engagement with us. We kinda feel like it's a little bit of a deal with the devil, because everybody talks to us, some who are involved with the Southsiders, who say, "Don't get too close with the club, because you've got to keep your distance." But we're not really there yet. We're very much hoping to help them in any way that we can.
    With the team getting more attention -- and your group in particular -- has there been thought given to a different name for the group?
    Both: (laughs)
    TO: Definitely.
    GB: Here's the thing. We were pretty consciously not naming ourselves early on. Even now, we don't really have a home. With the Vancouver guys, it's the south side, it's an organic name that they've come up with. The Red Patch Boys and U-Sector in Toronto, it's much more organic. We felt like, we didn't have a team, we didn't have a place to call our own -- the Foote Soldiers was bandied about, but now we don't even play at Foote Field anymore, so it wouldn't make sense.
    We've been thinking about it, but nothing has really stood out yet. We do have an affinity for rabbits. Some people like it more than others. I like it quite a bit, because there's an honest-to-God story about it, and some mythology we've built up around it. Our very first season, in our home opener, right after Toronto smoked us in the very first game played in Edmonton for real. Toronto walked in and killed us in Commonwealth. Then the week after, we had our home opener for the NASL season and Montreal walked in and smoked us 5-1 or 5-0 or something.
    TO: 5-0.
    GB: It was terrible, because we had people say "OK, I'll give this thing a kick at the can" and you walk in and, "oh, this is not worth my time, this field is crap, and we got beat so sad." We got better, we went on the road and won some games. But the next time Montreal came to play us, this rabbit -- there's these rabbits all over the city, these little grey-brown nondescript rabbits -- he wouldn't leave the field. It was Astroturf, I don't know what he was eating.
    But he parked himself right out in front of the Montreal goal, the defenders were trying to chase him off, he kept coming back. We won the game 1-0 over Montreal. So he became this de facto rally rabbit for FC Edmonton supporters. We started cheering "bring out the rabbit!" and all this.
    For us it was a good luck charm, we got our payback against Montreal, the next up-and-coming MLS team. ... The club sort of caught onto it as well. They've been using it a little bit. To me, this is something that's been organically grown, which is cool, it's the way I like it. It's not some corporate focus group-sponsored mascot that's been parachuted in on top of us.
    So maybe a rabbit mascot is the way to go to draw people to Clarke Stadium?
    GB: Well, to be honest, I like it... it's got a story with it.
    TO: It's better than what we have right now.
    GB: A big soccer ball with legs. It's the official mascot.
    TO: That's pretty much it.
    That sounds kind of terrifying.
    TO: It kind of is.
    GB: It's also blue, so the whole "blue balls" thing... it's a popular chant.
    If you'll accept an outsider's opinion, "blue balls" should not find a way into the new name of your group, in any way, shape or form.
    GB: Another thing... we gave it a lot of thought, and Edmonton is actually quite a hard city to come up with one thing that describes it, right? The oil thing's been done to death. We've got this really eclectic history. I've done a lot of research on the city's history, looking for something to latch onto, and it's not easy.
    TO: It's full of contradictions.
    GB: The nickname a lot of people use for the team, the Eddies, was actually started by the supporters group. We started that. Whether people like it or don't like it, think it's clever or not clever, it depends on who you ask. But to me, at least it's something that was organically started.
    Somebody asked me at a game one time, "what the heck does FC stand for?" "Football Club." "We don't have a real name?" "What name do you need?" So it's an uphill battle with the name.
    Greg and Tobi are part of the FC Edmonton Supporters Group, whose website will be launching soon. They also tweet on behalf of the group (@FCESG), and have started the #FCEd5k campaign, in an effort to help sell out the team's home games at Clarke Stadium this season.
    Guest

    The World According to DeClute

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    To many, Jake DeClute is the one with the beard, the American, or the fourth guy. And quite frankly, the rest probably don’t know him at all.
    And while he never played for Wolves, Sunderland, Hearts, or City, he did spend six years at Wheaton College, assisting Joe Bean, the winningest head coach at any level in American college men’s soccer history. In 2006, they won the NCAA Division III championship, and the number two ranking of the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA).
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    While others have come and gone, Jake DeClute has been a constant in Martin Rennie’s coaching staff, ever since their days with the Cascade Surge. <i>"That’s where I started working with Martin in the summers, in a PDL team out in Oregon."</i> That year, the Surge had a 12-2-2 record, good enough for sixth place in the 54 club PDL.
    <i>"That’s how we started to connect up. We kept together when he moved to Cleveland. I was his assistant at Cleveland City. Then I took a head job as a college coach where my sister and brother-in-law were there."</i>
    That would be the Fighting Scots of Gordon College.
    <i>"It was just a great opportunity to be near my family. So we were there for five years, it was a really fun project because it needed a lot of work, to fix a lot of things, but hopefully it’s on the right direction."</i>
    In his fourth year with the program, the Fighting Scots won the Commonwealth Coast Conference Championship. Just try and say that one three times fast.
    <i>"The job allowed me to keep working with Martin in the summers, down in Carolina, and from there is how I ended up here."</i>
    Despite splitting his time between coaching in the college ranks and assisting Rennie, he still managed to get his UEFA ‘A’ coaching licence with the Football Association of Northern Ireland.
    <i>"I chose it because it was the only one that worked with our schedule. It got a really good recommendation from a couple of coaches I trust that the level of teaching was really good. Some other guys who have gone through the program, Chris Coleman, Neil Lennon, all these different guys, it just made me feel good about a program that had produced good coaches.
    I think that’s kind of why, but the schedule was equally as important, because I could only go over at certain times, and the other ones require you to make many more trips, and I was paying for it out of my pocket. The club here has actually helped me too."</i>
    Here in Vancouver, he can finally take a breather. Gone are the days of his travelling between Oregon, Illinois, Ohio, North Carolina, and Northern Ireland. He can finally sit down and concentrate on trying to scout the North American continent. So much for the breather Rennie promised him.
    <i>"My title is the assistant and then I’m basically the head analyst. What I do, that’s kind of a couple of things. One is obviously assisting in the planning of practice and all the stuff kind of behind the scenes, and helping out with training.
    And then my other role is an opposition analyst. I do video scouting and different stuff on our future opponents. During the matches, I sit up high and am able to analyze from a higher perspective. Then I come in at half time with the observations I have. It’s feedback for Martin to take in, and what he wants to do with that. But that’s part of my job.
    And I guess the other role I did this year was scouting for the college draft. I was able to go down, watch Erik Hurtado, we were able to see him play multiple times, and all these different things. It was kind of putting together a little bit of a scouting network with different coaches across the country, and then trying to just organise our information.
    Typically I’ll give the information to Martin, say about an opposition, and then he decides what he wants to do with that. Some days it’ll be setting up the guys who are going to start against the non-starts in a certain shape, and I’m right there talking to the starters talking about, okay this guy does this so watch this or this, while the play is going on, or it’ll stop and I’ll just make a quick point.
    I get to work a lot with the back four. That’s one of the main jobs I’ve been able to do. A lot of that scouting information goes into working with the back four because you want to know tendencies and stuff like that. I like knowing who we’re going to play anyways as a coach, and having a little bit of understanding about it. It’s not foolproof and teams can change from one day to the next. You can’t put your full stock in it, but there are certain trends that teams can’t deny either.
    I think as a whole as a staff, the great thing about Vancouver is that the Whitecaps is not just a first team, but it’s a whole club. We just want to keep building and building and building, both the first team and the club. I think the successes of both help the other. If the first team does well, that’s going to trickle down into the academy guys, wanting to play in the first team; success kind of breeds’ success in that area.
    Our goal is that we want to build this club up into . . . I think Bill Shankly said a 'bastion of invincibility'. That is the goal. And we’ve got to really work hard. It’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of energy, staying together on the same page, but we have a really good owner and really good guys upstairs that are helpful and supportive."</i>
    With people like Jake DeClute, Marius Røvde, Mike Young, Jake Joachim, Graeme Poole, Jon MacGregor, Jim Bovard, Bob McCormack, Ed Georgica, Andrew Lichtenfels, and Steve Bridge feverishly working behind the scenes, doing what they do, day in and day out, <i>"we’re getting excited about not only this year, but what can come in the future."</i>
    <p>
    Guest

    A League of Our Own

    By Guest, in It's Called Football,

    The Canadian Soccer Association released the long awaited Easton report - entitled In a League of our Own.
    We'll have a full breakdown of the report and its implications in the days ahead but for now you can see it for yourself after the jump
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <div data-configid="0/1345158" style="width: 525px; height: 330px;" class="issuuembed"></div><script type="text/javascript" src="//e.issuu.com/embed.js" async="true"></script>
    Guest
    The women's national team didn't see the field for six months after their momentous bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics -- but their 2013 dance card is rapidly filling up.
    In addition to taking part in next month's Cyprus Cup, Big Red will also be contesting a pair of high-profile friendlies, it was announced Monday. Canada will take on England in Rotherham on April 7, and face Germany in a yet-to-be-determined German city on June 19.
    But that might just be the beginning.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    It would appear that the ladies will also get a bronze-medal rematch against their suddenly heated rivals, France, in Nantes on April 4. While this friendly is already listed on UEFA's website, the Canadian Soccer Association would not confirm the match when asked for comment by CSN. But with the announcement of the April 7 game in England, the timing would make perfect sense.
    All three of these games, as you'll surely note, would take place on foreign shores -- which has many Canadian fans chomping at the bit, wondering when the ladies will next play on home soil (Canada's last game at home was on May 30, 2012 in Moncton). Surely that homecoming will happen eventually, but as for when that might be -- and where -- well, that's a whole other kettle of fish.
    Check this space and my Twitter account (@DanielSquizzato) for future updates.
    .
    Guest
    By Mike Crampton
    In light of Toronto making the Eric Hassli to Dallas trade official today there will be many that will question the decision of Paul Mariner and Earl Cochrane to trigger the option in Hassli’s contract days before Kevin Payne arrived in Toronto.
    Payne seemed to try and separate himself from the decision in answering a question from Gerry Dobson last week. Asked if he was informed of the decision, Payne practically winked at Dobson -- how silly you’d think I’d be involved in their screw-ups.
    His answer speaks to the defining narrative – that everything to do with Hassli’s time in Toronto was a disaster and that under Payne the option never would have been triggered.
    Except here's the thing the discussion boards, most commenter’s on the CSN and other blogs, and too much of the TFC Twitterverse can't understand:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    If TFC got literally ANYTHING in return for Hassli then the "idiot" who activated Hassli's option had left TFC in a better position than if they'd let him walk for NOTHING.
    It's MATH:
    ANYTHING > NOTHING
    Seriously. A 2nd round 2016 SuperDraft pick. An international slot. A bottle of Brek Shea's leftover peroxide.
    ANYTHING in return is better than letting Hassli leave on a free in the fall of 2012.
    Today, TFC received a conditional draft pick that might even end up being better than the one they gave up to get him.
    Criticize the original decision to trade for him if you want. (I still think it was a completely reasonable deal that made a ton of sense for the club at the time and should have still worked out to our benefit). But, in the absence of being able to successfully renegotiate -- and keep in mind, if you really don't want him on the team, that Hassli would surely only take less annual money in return for a contract over a longer time and that would tie the club's hands for longer -- the decision to activate his option was a virtual no brainer.
    Outside the hothouse of TFC politics (where Hassli is disliked as much for who brought him to Toronto as he is for anything to do with his play) I'm going suggest that most of MLS understands that Hassli is a very useful MLS player who could contribute at a lot of other clubs if they've got the budget space and DP spot. It wouldn't even take much money for a "budget" MLS team to cover the cap hit portion of his DP contract. Further, because his existing contract is set to expire (or doesn't have to have it's next option year activated if he's in another next year) he's a very low risk sort of DP signing for another team and thus has trade value inside the league.
    And here's the thing: Payne had to know this. Otherwise, he might not be as competent as most TFC fans hope he is. In general, I like to presume non-idiocy in people who've had at least a modicum of success and professional achievement. So, his comments in response to questions about Hassli's option being picked up are either being misinterpreted by those reporting, or he's playing to the gallery by insinuating that "it was those idiots before and look at the mess I've got to clean up" and setting up insulation for himself if this season goes to **** (again) before the end of May.
    Again, for those still not getting it: activating Hassli's option left TFC with an ADDITIONAL ASSET AND MORE OPTIONS than if Hassli had been allowed to walk and sign somewhere else.
    Over the years, I've learned to rarely play the "here's what you should do game." I'll never have enough information to know what's realistically possible. But this really, really, really better have been about Hassli's wife, or to get TFC a bonafide striker in return (somehow) because:
    My understanding is that Payne also suggested that Koevermans is unlikely to be playing before June. That seems reasonable, or even optimistic, based on how long other players with a similar injury have taken in the past.
    So why not this: play Hassli as the No 1 guy up top until Koevermans returns. Hassli is a known commodity in MLS. He'll probably pick up some injuries and suspensions, but he'll also get you goals and cause problems for defenses. With Justin Braun as back-up Toronto is actually not in a horrible state. Then, when Koevermans returns he can be eased back in and his recovery can be evaluated. If everything is good and there's confidence, as much as is reasonably possible, that his knee will hold up and it's determined that Hassli truly is surplus to requirements THEN you can either try to flip him inside the league, or, since it’s summer, you can try to sell him off, even if it's for peanuts, to a European club.
    Even a tiny little fee (by European standards) could generate some allocation. You get your DP spot and budget space back and can go shopping while the summer window is open on both continents. Alternatively, if it's not looking like Koeverman's ever going to be his same old self again then you can keep riding Hassli for the rest of the year and maybe start renegotiation then to keep the younger-than-Koevermans Hassli around beyond 2013, if it fits your plans.
    Maybe you even talk to the league about creating an injury exception and leave the option open of negotiating a buyout for Koevermans up to July 1 (with TFC's own funds) that would let you get his DP spot and budget space back in that scenario.
    It all seems so obvious. Maybe it's even what "the idiot who signed Hassli" was planning.
    In closing, this wife-doesn’t-want-to-be-in-Canada thing better not be a cover story for Hassli himself wanting to leave because he was a "Mariner guy" and isn't interested in staying at TFC with Mariner gone. If it is that's just another iteration of the same continuous train wreck TFC fans have been served for six straight years. It might be fun and make people feel good to hate on Hassli if he wants out, but constant changes in direction are why this team has been so bad.
    In this league you've practically got to be trying to be as bad as TFC has been with such consistency: I've run the numbers; it's truly mind boggling. The only time there was any excuse was in the earliest seasons when Mo did legitimately face a stacked deck due to the more stringent Canadian quota. Ironically, we actually did better back then! To be that bad that often you've got to be burning the assets the league keeps handing you over and over and over and over and over and over...
    And it's been the constant instability in leadership that's caused that.
    Guest

    Hassli to Dallas for conditional pick

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Toronto has traded Eric Hassli to Dallas for a conditional draft pick.
    Based on the release, which isn't completely clear, it appears that the Reds have been guaranteed a second round pick, but that it will be greater if he's productive with Dallas.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Toronto GM Kevin Payne said "If Eric has a productive year for Dallas the consideration paid to us will be greater." However, he didn't specify how it would be better.
    Since Dallas only has one second round pick and can't trade an asset it doesn't have, the only way it can be better in draft terms is for Toronto to receive Dallas' first pick in 2014 if he meets a certain, undefined benchmark.
    However, it's not spelled out. The additional compensation could also be allocation, or, even, a player. It could also be that the second round pick is the ceiling of the trade and that Hassli must meet the benchmark for TFC to even get that much.
    Regardless, Payne must now act quickly to replace Hassli. With Danny Koevermans out until June, Justin Braun is now the only established MLS striker on the club less than a month before First Kick.
    More reaction soon
    Guest
    With FC Edmonton about to enter its third NASL season, the team appears to be facing what Steven Sandor has astutely called a "make-or-break" year.
    The Eddies have, in their short existence, played in three different facilities (all unsatisfactory in their own ways), and the push is now on for a soccer-specific stadium that would help fully entrench the team in the civic consciousness.
    First, though, it must be shown that the demand is there -- so the team, as well as the FC Edmonton Supporters Group -- have begun their own push: To sell out as many games as possible at the team's current home, the recently-expanded-to-5,000-seat Clarke Stadium.
    For a team with an average attendance of 1,525 in 2012, that seems like a mighty big ask. So, can they do it? Does the demand exist in Edmonton? And what needs to be done to transform the team from a novelty into a fully accepted part of the local landscape? For some insight, I spoke to Greg Baker and Tobi Oliva of the FCESG about those questions and more.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The push is on from the team and the supporters to sell out as many games as possible this year, to send a message to the city that a stadium is worth building. But what do you think the chances are of seeing most of FC Edmonton's home games sold out in 2013?
    GB: I think we're cautiously optimistic, that's my take on it. The biggest reason that we had such small crowds last year was this whole fiasco with the seating. ... We moved from Foote Field at the University of Alberta to Clarke Stadium. They did the unveiling, showed us all the temporary seating that would be installed to expand it and all this, and everybody was quite excited about it. And then it was one story after another about why it wasn't up yet. They didn't want to get a liquor license for the games until the stands were in, because they'd have to reapply or something like that.
    So it was one thing after another that dragged on and on. The offshoot of that was that they basically did zero marketing of the actual games, because when you've only got 1,200 seats and most of that is standing room, you really don't want to have to start a big marketing blitz and then turn people away. It sounds kind of funny, because people talk about building a demand, but I think that's a bit of an artificial demand. You're not going to get those people clamouring to get in like you would have in the early days of TFC.
    TO: Basically in my conversations with the club over the last 12 months, seeing what happened, their marketing budget was also cut back, I think, because of that reason. They didn't really have the leeway to try and market, especially if people were going to show up and be turned away.
    You mention last year's two big issues, in terms of the stadium and the marketing. Do you feel those issues have been adequately addressed going into 2013?
    GB: We'll see. They said they are. I think the real test is whether those stands get up as soon as they can clear the snow off. That's the first thing that people are going to be looking to, in order to see whether this is real.
    What (the stadium issue last year) basically came down to is, they bought some fancy stands from the States and didn't think they would have issues getting permits putting them up in Alberta. ... They couldn't get architects to sign off on it, who would let them put it up. It wasn't so simple as getting the city to sign off on something, they had to start almost from scratch in terms of a full architectural assessment -- which, in some people's minds, was a real faux pas, in terms of making those assumptions.
    Tom Fath, being the owner of the club and having made his money in the construction business, people thought these guys should be more on the ball, in terms of knowing that just because something is approved elsewhere, it might not meet specific provincial building codes. So they had to start that whole process before they could even apply for a permit.
    People may say it's overly ambitious to think you can fill a 5,000-seat stadium for this season, given last year's attendance. But from the way you're describing it, it's more about the logistical issues in the past, rather than some inherent lack of interest or lack of demand. So if these issues are dealt with, as you hope, do you think there is that organic demand within the city of Edmonton?
    TO: I would say yes...
    GB: I think so too.
    TO: ... if you consider the fact that they really only could fit 1,500, 1,300, depending on who you ask, per game. That was basically full standing room. So I guess their hands are tied in that respect. Now that the playing field is set for that, the circumstances are a lot more encouraging now than it was a year ago.
    GB: I've been following the team since day one -- in fact, I went to the very first press conference that Tom Fath had to announce the existence of the team, which is almost exactly three years ago now. Since that time we've watched them play at Foote Field, which was the U of A campus, which was terrible: small field, and for Canadian university football, with bright yellow and green end zones and white lines all over the place. It was a multi-purpose field. I said it was the place old fake Christmas trees went to die, they just stapled them down.
    The other thing is that the general admission seating, which is where a lot of the fans were congregating, was up a hill and away, so it didn't feel very intimate. We had a pretty good season, the first real season (2011); we had fun in the exhibition season before that. But last year, we were terrible, we lost almost every game, but I think by and large people had a much better time at Clarke. I know the supporters certainly did. But I think generally the feeling is that this was a lot better.
    So I anticipate that if they actually start marketing the thing -- (now) they've got control over their own destiny, which they didn't have when they shared (a facility) with the U of A, in terms of scheduling; I think every home game is a Sunday afternoon now, (which isn't) perfect, but it's probably the best option for most people -- I don't see any reason why they can't get 5,000 people out.
    At the end of the day, the onus for marketing a team falls upon the team itself. But sometimes -- as you mentioned earlier, with the early days of TFC -- the supporters themselves and the culture can be as much of a marketing tool as anything. So I'm wondering, what sorts of things has the FCESG been doing to try to help the team reach that attendance goal?
    TO: First off, we're about to launch our website; it will provide the fan perspective of things in Edmonton. We're trying our best on Twitter (@FCESG); we came up with the #FCEd5k hashtag. Just little things like that, trying to get more people involved, trying to reach out to more people. We're offering a beer to people who stand with us for the first time at a game.
    We're trying to get into bigger things too, being more visible -- for example, we filmed a commercial with FC Edmonton where we're basically chanting in mundane situations throughout the winter, things you wouldn't normally chant for, like parking a car or waiting for a printout to come out. That's coming up pretty soon, with the season tickets about to be sold on the 4th. We're expecting a commercial to be done there.
    We also have a rivalry with Minnesota. I think both clubs are approaching both sets of supporters to talk about the Flyover Cup, which is the cup that we play for every year with Minnesota.
    GB: Both Edmonton and Minnesota are places you'd fly over while going somewhere else.
    TO: We're trying to be more visible, obviously. If you consider two years ago, we really only have five to 10 people show up to games, sometimes we only had three people show up to games...
    GB: Supporters, not total.
    TO: I would say last year we got it up to a good dozen, sometimes 20.
    GB: Twenty, 24, maybe.
    TO: Yeah. Especially that last game -- if you look at the last game, we were probably the most vocal we've ever been. So it was encouraging, to get more people to join us. And also, I think, trying to break down the perception of soccer in this city, always trying to bring it to the conversation, in little ways and big ways. Social media is part of that; at the same time, I walk around the city with this FC Edmonton scarf almost every day. It's like part of my body now. I get people talking, and it's really interesting, the kind of conversations you get.
    For the most part, it's "oh, yeah, I'm really interested, I hear we have a pro soccer team in the city" -- and it's like, "well, OK, when are you going to show up and bring your kids around?" I say the same thing almost every time I get into this conversation: "Come out for a beer. I'll buy you one beer." Just see pro soccer for what it's worth, for what it is, in Edmonton, and what it means to people here.
    GB: One thing I wanted to mention, as Tobi mentioned, we use social media quite a bit. ... We do stuff, especially when games are on, we live-tweet during games, we try to get people out. One thing that I noticed worked quite well was using it to make connections with the small pockets of fans who basically are cold and afraid and alone, and let them know there are other people out here who are interested in this team and are supporting it. And I think we have some really good success stories about bringing people into the supporters group through that.
    We follow anybody who says anything about FC Edmonton on Twitter, we retweet them, we try and engage them in some kind of conversation and then slowly invite them to come to the forum to discuss it, those kinds of things. So I think we have done a pretty concentrated and strategic social media plan, from our side, as supporters.
    Check back tomorrow for Part 2, in which we talk about the challenges of building a supporters culture in Edmonton and entrenching the team in the city's consciousness, getting help from the country's other supporters groups, and whether or not a name change is in the cards for the FCESG.
    .
    Guest
    On Thursday, I reported this. Some of you may have heard about it.
    On Saturday, the CSL responded. I've included their release below, as well as some helpful notes, in hopes of clearing up any misconceptions.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    ----
    CSL RESPONDS TO ERRONEOUS CBC REPORT
    Erroneous? That’s a big word, isn’t it? Let's take a look at what it means.
    Still? Well, technically, the CSL hasn’t even applied for sanctioning in 2013. You are sanctioned on a year-by-year basis. Forgetting for a second that the CSA has informed you in person and in writing that it will no longer be sanctioning professional leagues in Canada – including your own (actually you’re the only league they sanction) – the CSL would have to apply for sanctioning again for it to be considered still sanctioned. But perhaps, we’re talking in semantics here. I only wanted to point out that it would be erroneous of you to suggest you are still sanctioned.
    Strange how a change in the division 2 structure would affect a division 3 league, no? But you are correct. Well, sort of. As I understand it, the CSA board has already adopted recommendations within the report. Of which, includes, giving them the justification to no longer sanction leagues and passing that responsibility off to the provinces - if they so want it. And I just checked again, yep, the CSL is still (sorry, was still) the only league sanctioned by the CSA.
    Alleged match fixing? I was under the impression that a ruling by a German court, hundreds of hours of police wiretaps, interviews conducted with dozens of players, soccer officials and other sources attesting to ongoing fixing and a lawyer representing one of the European fixers convicted in the Berlin court admitting that his client helped fixed games in Canada was all pretty concrete evidence. Oh, and of course, a full confession by the people who actually did the fixing, would be tantamount to guilt. But perhaps you and I have different standards for these things.
    Far be it for me to point out what is or isn't erroneous here, but despite the continued efforts of some to limit the perceived scope of this story to one alleged game, long ago, in a CSL far, far away, the reality is the situation is obviously far more dire.
    Forgetting all the CSL player testimony, when I read in those wire taps that the same people who had fixed games with such ease were inquiring about purchasing teams (not just fixing other games, but buying entire teams) I'm not so stupid as to assume that it was an isolated incident. Like I said, forgetting all the other testimony from people in and around the CSL who told us that players were regularly being approached to take bribes from 2010 and on, I'd still like to know more. In other words, there is a need to investigate to clear away any suspicion. And speaking of which, we'll get back to that in a second.
    OSA? Why would you work with them? What do they have to do with the CSL? Just a few paragraphs ago you had said you were still sanctioned by the CSA. What does the OSA have to do with anything? Very strange CSL. If I was to guess, however, I would say that after the CSA informed you they were longer sanctioning the CSL, that you applied to the OSA. But you tell me. Actually, you don't need to tell me, as I've been told you already have reached out to the OSA to discuss sanctioning.
    Glad to hear you have investigated this. It would be the first time, to the best of my knowledge, that the CSL has investigated anything associated with matchfixing in your league. But just so we're crystal clear, I made two calls to the CSL the day the story aired. Neither were returned.
    And while we're on the subject of communication I feel like we've grown apart these past few months. You never call or write anymore. I've sent you numerous emails and phone calls since September but not one has been returned. That didn't stop you from calling colleagues of mine and trying to convince them that I was a bad seed.
    Hell, CSL, you didn't even have the courtesy to send me the press release about the story I wrote about you. That just hurts, man.
    But perhaps this is a moment in time where we can rekindle our passion. I mean, why else would you bring up the concept of communication if you didn't want to start talking again? If I can begin, perhaps we can discuss a favourite topic of mine: did either Chris Budimir, Mate Budimir or Ante Sapina fund or finance teams between 2010 and 2012? I know this has been a real sticking point in our relationship and we just can't seem to get past it. It's that old lovers story: you think I'm out to get you, I think you're out to get me, someone comes to my house and threatens my family, yadda yadda.
    But that's all in the past now. I've forgiven whoever it was that showed up at my place that evening. As a peace offering, perhaps we can do a trade. I'll show you mine if you show me yours. I'd like to see the financial records of just a couple teams, including who funded and financed them. You do me that solid and I'll gladly show you some of the wiretaps.
    I finally get it! This is what you meant when you said erroneous. I had reported that Interpol had told the Integrity in Sport conference that $100 million had been bet on the CSL since 2010. When, in fact, it was actually $185 million a year. A stupid mistake on my part to be sure.
    I'm glad to see you're taking this with such stride and conducting business as usual though. You have to understand, it's hard for little people like me to imagine these sorts of things. What's par for the course in the fast paced lifestyle of the CSL, is truly staggering to the rest of us. Originally, I was shocked to learn that a number as large as a $100 million had been bet on a league whose average attendance is around 250 people a game. So, you can imagine how I felt when I read that the number bet on the CSL is nearly double that. And every year!
    I'm sure you will be putting a great deal of effort into investigating why $185 million is being bet on your little out-of-the-way league every year. You know, because it would be erroneous to suggest you were being vigilant against matchfixing if you didn't.
    Guest

    A Matter of Minutes

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    On the 16th of August 2012, Caleb Clarke came on for Kenny Miller against FC Dallas. He played the last ten minutes in a losing cause, but long after the score line is forgotten, the moment will live on.
    <i>"It was great, just having the whole crowd. I mean some people say they’re nervous, but I really enjoyed it, coming on, and showing it on the big stage. It was great."</i>
    49 days later, he would repeat the feat, this time coming on for the final seven minutes against Chivas. That score line, 4-0, won’t soon be forgotten. These two matches, that 17 minutes, represented the entirety of his 2012 season.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    At 19 years of age, Clarke understands his role in the squad, and is there to learn, especially from the veterans on the team.
    <i>"They help a lot, it’s great having the older players around because they’re so experienced, they’ve been at really high levels, Y.P., Kenny, Andy, all of them, and I think there’s a lot to learn. I learn new things from them every day, just by watching them and asking them questions."</i>
    But it can be tough, being a young player trying to break into the squad. Playing time comes at a premium and last season he had an injury curtailed loan spell in Germany, which wasn’t the first time he had headed over to Europe.
    <i>"When I was 16, I went over there; I was at Udinese for a while. It was a great experience and I really liked it there."</i>
    It was a fine first experience, but not all loans go as planned, like his trial at FC Rot-Weiß Erfurt.
    <i>"That one didn’t work out, but it was just another opportunity to learn, gain a little more experience, and try to get some playing time."</i>
    Still, he remains upbeat and positive, with several moments already that he cherishes.
    <i>"I think there’s a couple. First national team goals,"</i> plural, not singular, as the song goes, Caleb Clarke, superstar, how many goals have you scored so far, <i>"first professional contract, first professional game, I’ll remember those kinds of moments for a long time."</i>
    Looking to future, he hopes to <i>"do as good as I can to help the team, and also the national team too. We have qualifying coming up, so that’s really important also."</i>
    But once again, the most <i>"important thing is playing time. FC Edmonton has a pretty good team, so a loan deal could be a possibility, but we’ll see."</i>
    <p>
    Guest

    Hassli on move?

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    It appears that Toronto is about to send striker Eric Hassli to FC Dallas.
    At about 6 p.m. EST a Tweet appeared on the official Twitter account of Dallas.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>NEWS: <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23FCDallas">#FCDallas</a> is in talks with Toronto FC and close to finalizing a deal to bring Eric Hassli to Dallas.</p>— FC Dallas (@FCDallas) <a href="
    ">February 1, 2013</a></blockquote><script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    Last month, it was reported that Hassli wanted out of Toronto because his wife didn't want to live in Canada.
    Guest

    Tommy Heinemann: Hair Apparent

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    For 504 days, Eric Hassli was known as Vancouver’s Big Man. At 6’4” and 200 lbs it was not hard to see why. In just over 42 matches (defined as 90 minutes on the pitch), he scored 18 goals, made 6 assists, drew 15 yellow cards, and 3 red in all competitions. Though his time in Vancouver was short, it was memorable. His goals against Seattle, San Jose, and Toronto won’t be soon forgotten. But such efforts do not come cheaply. For his services, Eric Hassli was paid around $1.5 million dollars before his transfer to Toronto FC in July of 2012.
    Stepping into his shoes and adorning the number 29 that Hassli made so iconic will be American Tom Heinemann. At 6’4” and 180 lb they should fit him nicely, though he will present a slightly slimmer figure than the Frenchman did.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    In comparison to Hassli, and adjusting for equal minutes on the pitch, Heinemann would have scored 9 goals, made 2 assists, drew 11 yellow cards, and no reds against MLS opposition, and all at a fraction of the price. Over the same period of time, Heinemann, who is six years Eric’s junior, earned a paltry $70,000.
    Although their salaries won’t be published by the MLSPA until the middle of May, one can assume that Heinemann is something of a bargain, especially in light of the fact that he missed almost the entire 2012 campaign due to injury. When we spoke to him about it, he had this to say:
    <i>"Reluctantly, yes. I’m trying to put that in the past. I had micro fracture knee surgery, its eight to twelve month recovery, so I had that done the beginning of last year. I’m towards the end of that recovery now, getting strong, getting fit, and feeling good."</i>
    Born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri, Heinemann is of German heritage, and holds dual citizenship. Speaking to us of his home town, <i>"Yeah, it’s a big place, kind of old fashioned. It’s a very popular place, everybody else always talks about it, a lot of good restaurants, a lot of good Italian restaurants. I actually had a cousin who was in the movie Game of Their Lives."</i>
    He is of course referring to the depiction of the 1950 United States Football Team. A group of amateurs from St. Louis and Boston who beat England, the best team in the world and every one of them paid professionals, 1-0 in a World Cup Group Stage fixture. To put that into a modern context, that would be the equivalent of India doing the same thing to Spain in 2014.
    Although he’s scored against the likes of Toronto, Real Salt Lake, and Colorado Rapids, none have been more important than his goal against the Montreal Impact in the second leg of the 2010 NASL Championship Semi-Final.
    <i>"That was a very fun time for the team. The RailHawks were part way to the Championship. Unfortunately, we didn’t pull it out in the end, but it was a good run. It was a very fun goal. We were down 1-0 on aggregate coming into that game, and then I think actually Brad Rusin scored the tying goal in the 70th minute. And then the last minute winner, that was fun, probably the most fun goal I’ve ever scored."</i>
    Like a lot of the new players, Heinemann has a lot of character and comes with a willingness to adapt. He’s here to play, wherever and whatever that means, he’s ready to try.
    <i>"I like to play wherever the coach puts me. Whatever the manager sees fit, whatever formation he thinks is best for the squad to compete, I’m ready to do that. I’m not a guy who’s going to say I want to do this or that, whatever he wants, I’m here. I think part of being a player you have to learn to adapt to anything. You try to bring your strengths to whatever’s best for the team."</i>
    <i>"Preference wise, I like playing with a lot of service. Obviously, I like being in the box, finishing chances. It’s all dependent on the players that you have, and whatever the manager seems to think is the best."</i>
    And he’s hungry too. Spending a year of one’s life resting and recuperating will do that to you.
    <i>"First and foremost, our goal is to win a championship. I think that’s the goal. If you ask any guy out there, that’s what they want to do, and that’s my goal too. I want to contribute in any way I can, hopefully score some goals while we’re at it. Obviously, get back to the playoffs, win the Supporters Shield, I know we’ve got the Cascadia Cup too. We want to win that, we want to win everything."</i>
    Los Angeles, Portland, San Jose, Toronto, consider yourselves on notice. We are coming for your silverware.
    <p>
    Guest

    Payne's transfer record

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Today Toronto GM Kevin Payne told journalists that the Reds were close to making three discovery signings. Two of the three required a bit more work, but one was very close to signing. With Toronto obtaining a bunch of allocation money at the SuperDraft and with the Ryan Johnson/Milos Kocic trade, making effective signings is vital for TFC this year. Otherwise, they gave up the No 1 pick in the draft and two established players for nothing.
    However, TFC fans will be forgiven for taking a wait and see approach to promises of imminent transfers. After all, they’ve been burned by false promises by TFC’s front office before.
    However, there is a new man in charge. With Payne calling the shots should Reds’ fans be more optimistic about his ability to deliver impact players?
    Let’s look at his recent history of discovery signings with DC United.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    2008
    Gonzalo Martínez – 22 appearances, 1 year with club
    Marcelo Gallardo – 15 appearances, 1 year with club
    José Carvallo – 1 appearance, 1 year with club
    Gonzalo Peralta – 18 appearances, 1 year with club
    Louis Crayton – 18 appearances, parts of 2 seasons with club
    2009
    Ange N'Silu – 9 appearances, 1 season with club
    Dejan Jaković – 80 appearances, still with club
    Danny Szetela – 4 appearances, 1 season with club
    David Habarugira – 28 appearances, 1 season with club
    2010
    Troy Perkins – 22 appearances, 1 season with club
    Danny Allsopp – 23 appearances, 1 season with club
    Juan Manuel Peña – 10 appearances, 1 season with club
    Luciano Emílio – 4 appearances, 1 season with club*
    Branko Bošković – 43 appearances, 3 seasons with club
    Pablo Hernández – 10 appearances, 1 season with club
    Junior Carreiro – 3 appearances, 1 season with club
    2011
    Rodrigo Brasesco – 3 appearances, 1 season with club
    Charlie Davies – 26 appearances, 1 season with club
    2012
    Emiliano Dudar – 11 appearances, still with club
    Hamdi Salihi – 22 appearances, still with club
    Marcelo Saragosa – 16 appearances, still with club
    Raphael Augusto – 0 appearances, still with club
    *It was his second period at the club. His first was far more successful.
    Since 2008, Payne has made 22 discovery signings. While acknowledging that Salihi looks like a solid pick up, it’s probably too early to fully evaluate the 2012 signings.
    So, limiting it to players signed between 2008 (earliest date that transfer data is readily available) to 2011, there are 18 players signed from outside North America.
    Of those only two -- Branko Bošković and Canadian Dejan Jaković – made more than 30 appearances with DCU.
    In total, 15 of 18 were gone after a single season.
    Discovery signings aren’t science. Even the best managers struggle to hit more than half the time. With that in mind is Payne’s record good enough to give Toronto fans hope?
    You tell me in the comments section.
    Guest

    De Guzman lands in Germany

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Julian De Guzman has signed with Regensburg in Germany - a Bundislega 2 squad.
    De Guzman had been on trial for the last month with Mallorca - a first division side in Spain - and according to his agent was close to signing a deal earlier this week. Some late window transfer moves scuttled that signing and DeGuzman opted for a league closer to his family in Germany.
    The German side is in the midst of a relegation battle, so it is a risk for the Canadian international but given that he had decent offers with three MLS teams, this is clearly a move made for personal reasons, not professional.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
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