Jump to content

  • Articles

    Manage articles
    Show all categories
    Guest

    Opportunity in the chaos for Payne

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Depending on your perspective Kevin Payne is either wasting no time to make himself at home in Toronto, or he’s getting a crash course in the occasionally Shakespearian drama that surrounds the club.
    RDS reported today that Jessie Marsch was offered the head coaching position of TFC. CSN followed that report up by confirming that there were talks and that the discussion was about Paul Mariner’s job, not to be his assistant.
    However, both Payne and, not surprisingly, Mariner denied the report. Payne was clear. He called it “an absolute fabrication.”
    Many fans, meanwhile, are busy preparing their “in Marsch We Trust” banners for the home opener.
    Welcome to Toronto, Mr. Payne. And, welcome to your first problem.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Is Payne introducing himself to the Toronto support by bald face lying to them (by saying that he’s not talking to Marsch when he is), and going behind the back of Mariner to hire someone while Mariner is working towards 2013 in good faith (some will suggest that’s karma for Mariner and, if the suggestions that he undermined Aron Winter are true then fine, it is, but it’s not clear why anyone should feel good about it happening again – two wrongs not making a right and all that)? Or, has TFC burned so many bridges over the years that there are people in the Canadian and MLS community that are planting bad stories in an effort to undermine the change in leadership?
    Both possibilities are plausible.
    The M.O. of TFC (not to be mistaken for the Mo of Toronto, who is long gone, but who has a “legacy” that just won’t go away) is to ignore problems like this. They rarely address things like this head on. It hasn’t worked out well for them.
    So, Payne has a choice today. He can either face the story head on, or he can retreat to the secretive and counterproductive position MLSE always goes to. It’s a private company, so it has every right to do so. No one is denying MLSE’s right to do the wrong thing.
    Or, he can demonstrate that things are now different in the world of TFC – that the All for One stuff is no longer rhetoric and instead represents a new social contract between club and fan.
    Simply denying the story that is being told is not enough. Payne needs to do more.
    If he really is talking to Marsch then he needs to be upfront about it. If that means firing Mariner now then so be it. This space has been clear in the position that stability is needed now and adding a new coach this late in pre-season planning is not anywhere close to ideal. However, if Payne has no confidence in Mariner then it’s better it’s dealt with now. Do not let it fester and rot. This organization has allowed far too much fester and rot. Even if Marsch isn’t coming, Mariner should be released if Payne has gone so far as to offer a contract to another coach.
    However, if Payne does not have a desire to get rid of Mariner before the start of the season then he needs to come out and bluntly state so in black and white terms. Since many people continue to read between lines that may or may not be there, the vote of confidence has to be absolute and without room for interpretation.
    He needs to say “Paul Mariner will be the coach of TFC when the 2013 season starts. Full stop.”
    Anything less than that will only lead to more speculation and a continued sense of dysfunction.
    Guest

    New coach on the way for Toronto FC?

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    It didn't take Kevin Payne long to start making an impact at Toronto FC.
    If you were too engrossed in your morning's EPL games, or don't follow many French reporters on Twitter you may have missed that Toronto could be looking for a change at its coaching post
    And who Patrick Friolet, of RDS, is reporting could be on the way is going to leave some scratching their heads
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Jesse Marsch a reçu une offre pour diriger le Toronto FC <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23MLS">#MLS</a></p>— Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) <a href="
    " data-datetime="2012-12-08T15:00:56+00:00">December 8, 2012</a></blockquote><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Le président Kevin Payme est un proche de Bob Bradley, qui entretient des liens étroits avec March <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23MLS">#MLS</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23IMFC">#IMFC</a></p>— Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) <a href="
    " data-datetime="2012-12-08T15:07:05+00:00">December 8, 2012</a></blockquote><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    If you don't understand French the first tweet says that Jesse Marsch (former Montreal Impact coach) has received an offer to lead Toronto FC.
    The second tweet reads that Toronto FC president Kevin Payne has ties with Bob Bradley who has close ties to MLS.
    Bradley was a coaching mentor to Marsch for a number of years.
    What do you think of this news? Would Marsch be an upgrade over Paul Mariner? Or does Mariner deserve time to play out his vision? Or is this Payne simply stocking up coaching talent on a thin-on-talent coaching roster?
    UPDATE 11:00am - Canadian Soccer News has spoken to someone with knowledge of the situation and they have confirmed that the offer by Toronto FC would be to lead the team, not act as an assistant. Marsch left Toronto today after meeting with Payne on the matter. Marsch has also had talks with Chivas USA so TFC's is not the only one on the table.
    UPDATE: 2:05p.m. - Both Payne and Mariner have denied the report.
    Guest

    SoccerPlus - 2nd Edition (Dec. 7, 2012)

    By Guest, in SoccerPlus,

    We have a first look at what the Montreal Impact could look like in 2013 and Sebastien LeToux returns to Philly after his North American trek.
    On this second show, we will hear from Nick Sabetti (Goal.com Canada), Jonathan Tannenwald (Philly.com) before going across the Atlantic to talk Champions League and Europa League with Cedric Ferreira in Paris. Arcadio Marcuzzi (lefooteur.com) also joins in this week from Buenos Aires to tell us how Argentines are following Lionel Messi's race to Gerd Muller's 40 year old record of goals in a civic year.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    All this and more in our 30 minutes show. Click here to listen.
    Guest

    Nightcap With A Whitecap: Jun Marques Davidson

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    It appears that Martin Rennie is not prepared to give the fans an off-season of relaxation, already making moves and leaving room for acquisitions before pre-season begins in January.
    Thankfully, one of the players likely to return in 2013 is midfielder, Jun Marques Davidson. I’m especially thankful for this since we did this interview before he left for Nepal, and I didn’t think it would be right for me to make up answers on his behalf!
    Like every <i>'Nightcap With A Whitecap'</i>, we begin by discussing favourite nightcaps.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <i>To be honest, I drink whatever everyone else is drinking. If everyone says “beer, beer, beer,” then I’ll drink beer. If everyone said “wine, wine, wine,” I’ll drink wine.</i>
    What if everyone said "Jaeger Bomb"?
    <i>I’ll say "Jaeger Bomb!" *laughs*
    I like light beer, or I like wine, white wine, more than I like beer, but I have to start off light before I can get into something like jaeger bombs, or scotch or whiskey.</i>
    Who would you say is your favorite Whitecap?
    <i>I have to say Matty [Watson].</i>
    Why?
    <i>I know him better than anyone else. I played with him in Carolina. He’s very laid-back and easy going, and I’m the same way. We are both very chill. When people go out, there are two types: those who like to go out clubbing, or those who go to a quiet bar with friends and just chill; I’m that kind of guy. I just like to hang out with the guys and talk. Matty is like that too.
    On the field, I like his game. We’re very similar. He helps the team and he’s hardworking. I give him a lot, A LOT, of credit when he’s playing, and I feel like not enough people give him credit.</i>
    Who of the guys that you have never played with before, were you super impressed with this year?
    <i>I like Alain [Rochat]. I think he has a very good mind for soccer. He understands the game a lot. I really love playing with Alain, Nano [Nanchoff], Matty, and Gershon [Koffie]. </i>
    When did you know you wanted to be a soccer player?
    <i>When I started. From that first day, that was the only thing that I wanted to do. I didn’t think about it too much, I had just decided that I was going to play soccer for my job. That was in third grade.</i>
    So, 9 or 10 year old Jun already knew he was going to be a soccer player?
    <i>In Japan, there’s an essay that you have to write about your dreams, what you want to be when you get older. A lot of guys say they want to be a professional baseball player, or a cop, or a fireman, I wrote that I wanted to become a soccer player. That was in the third or fourth grade as well.
    Dreams come true I guess. Growing up I wanted to play somewhere in Europe, but I’m very fortunate that I get to play soccer, and that it’s my job.</i>
    So, how did you find yourself in Vancouver?
    <i>Well, I had been playing in Carolina, and I received an email from [Martin] Rennie saying he had just signed with the Whitecaps, and he wanted to make me part of the team. So my first thought was, "Oh, that would be pretty cool. I could play in the MLS". I played in First Division in Japan, so it would be nice to play somewhere else in the First Division.
    I told him that yeah, I would consider going there. That’s how we started negotiations with the team. I didn’t think about what kind of team it was, or how they finished.</i>
    You weren’t worried about joining the last-place team in the MLS?
    <i>I didn’t know that the Whitecaps were last place last season; I didn’t really do a lot of research.
    I don’t know if I’m weird or not, but I don’t think about that stuff. As long as the team, or the coach, needs me, and I feel like I should belong on the team, then I want to be there.
    I don’t care if the team has the worst record, or the best record. Of course, you want to go to the team that always wins, but…</i>
    What made you decide to make the move from Japan to Carolina?
    <i>It came about through a mutual friend, between Martin and me. One of my friends knew Martin, so when I told him that I was thinking about going overseas to play, and have a new experience, he said, "I know a guy who coaches in North Carolina, great team, great facility, why don’t you send him an email?"
    So I started talking with Martin, and he asked to see some of the games I had played in Japan. He thought I was a good player, and he wanted to bring me in.</i>
    Were your parents sad that you were moving?
    <i>Yeah, they’re always sad whenever I move further away, but they’re very supportive, so they try not to show it. It’s very obvious for their son to see that they’re trying to hide it; they aren’t very good at acting, and hiding their feelings.
    So yeah, they were sad, but my mom is a person who loves to travel and see new stuff, so she was pretty excited.</i>
    Did they come to visit?
    <i>They didn’t come to Carolina, no. They came to Vancouver though and they loved it. I told them to come in August; I didn’t tell them to come during January when it’s raining!</i>
    And are they buying a vacation home?
    <i>They were thinking about it. *laughs* It’s so nice here. There’s nature, downtown, everything around here.</i>
    Other than the city itself, what was your best experience of the season?
    <i>Playing at BC Place, for sure. I think the stadium is beautiful, and the atmosphere is great. Whenever there’s a big game, against Seattle or Portland, it’s so packed. I feel very blessed and happy to be there.
    Maybe I would say the opening game against Montreal, I won’t forget that.
    I felt that the game would decide for fans who I was as a player. People didn’t know me, they thought, "Who is this guy? Martin brought him in because he knew him. Can he adapt?" I’m sure they all had questions, so I wanted to make a statement in that first game, because I always feel that the first impression is everything.</i>
    So you felt that pressure, like maybe people thought you didn’t deserve to be here?
    <i>I think that’s a fair thought from people who support the team. I had never played in MLS, they had probably never seen me play in Japan or Carolina. So there would be a lot of questions about me – “Can he handle the pressure of the league?” and all that.</i>
    Do you think you handled it?
    <i>Yes, I do. And I try to not care about those outside voices, or listen too much to the media. There are always both sides, people saying good stuff and people saying bad things. </i>
    Speaking of bad things, what was your worst moment of the season?
    <i>Maybe towards the end of the season when I was on the bench, because I really wanted to help the team, especially in the playoffs. As a player, you always want to play every game, but the coaches make the decision of which eleven players will play. I wasn’t one of the eleven, but I was still there to support the team. It was disappointing to me, as a player, but I’m happy for the team that we made the playoffs.
    As for one single moment, I have to say, that game that we played in Salt Lake, when Darren gave me a pass, and I took a shot, but I hit the post. That could have been a winning goal, and it was the time of the season when it was very important. If I could have scored that, maybe the rest of the season could have changed.
    When you think about it, that would be the game that I, well, I don’t regret it, but I wish [the ball] could have gone in.</i>
    That’s a lot of pressure to put on yourself.
    <i>I told Matty and he said the same thing. But, well, that’s what I thought after the game. I don’t think about it every day. I’m not out at a club, thinking “THAT GAME!” but I do think about it.</i>
    Now that you have some time off, to think about other things, what are you planning for the off-season?
    <i>I’m going to Nepal for a missionary trip. I will be playing soccer, and playing with kids. I’m going through Ambassadors in Sport. It’s a sport ministry group. I think Martin Rennie is going, and there will be other guys from the MLS. I was invited, though I have to pay for it myself, but they asked if I was interested in going and I said “Yeah!”
    Then I’m going to stay there for some extra time afterward to explore. Then I’m going to Thailand for another missions trip. I was invited to that as well. Then I’m spending Christmas and New Years in Japan with my Parents.
    Then back to Vancouver for pre-season.
    I try to find a country or a place to go to in the off-season. It’s nice to take some time off and just enjoy myself.</i>
    A well deserved vacation after this season. Have you started putting together your goals for next season yet?
    <i>Obviously, try to play as many games as possible. Try to help the team win. I don’t really have a personal goal, I just want to help the team win and achieve what the team wants. If we set a goal of "We’re going to win the Canadian Cup" then I want to help do that.
    If we decide to go further in the playoffs then I want to help the team do that. As a player, I just want to be healthy throughout the year and try to play every game.</i>
    And you’re enjoying your time in Vancouver so far?
    <i>Oh yeah, the people are great. I don’t really mind the rain. Personally, I like snow, rain, sunny days. I like seasons. Also, there are so many sushi restaurants.</i>
    What’s your sushi order?
    <i>I have to get salmon nigiri. Salmon is my favorite. Or, bring me any rolls and I’ll eat them.</i>
    This lead to a 20 minute discussion of sushi… I’ll spare you the details. Though I did learn some proper pronunciation, so I can now order sushi like a boss.
    Let’s get this conversation back on track… Other than BC Place, what would you say is your favorite stadium to play in?
    <i>I would have to say Seattle, just because of the atmosphere, and the amount of people that show up for the game.
    I love playing away games. A lot of booing, a lot of trash talking, I love that environment.</i>
    That doesn’t bother you at all?
    <i>No. I just think about beating them. I love it when their fans become silent, like they’ve given up. You’ve broken their hearts.</i>
    Do a lot of players feel that way?
    <i>I don’t know. I think a lot of players feel that way. People don’t think I’m very emotional, since I don’t show my emotions on the pitch, but I feel so good when we’re playing an away game, and their fans are so quiet, because they know that we’ve gone out and beaten them, in their own stadium.
    I don’t need to say "shhhhh" and make them mad, I like to just win and quietly go home. That makes them even more angry.</i>
    How about when you’re playing at BC Place? Can you hear the cheers, or just the noise?
    <i>I hear the noise, but not really the chants. I have a lot more to watch and hear and think about while I’m playing than listening to the actual words of what’s being said.
    In my position I have to see pretty much everything, what they’re doing, what we’re trying to do.</i>
    What do you think is the strongest part of the Whitecaps game right now?
    <i>The team effort. It made us really strong. We had a lot of attacking players, but they also contributed a lot on the defense. When there’s a clean sheet, they give the credit to the goaltenders and the defenders, but it’s not just about that, it’s about attackers who can also defend and make the job easier on the rest of us.</i>
    What do you think needs work for next year?
    <i>Attacking variations. Imagination. I think we could improve big time, since we’ll hopefully have a similar team next year and we took this year to develop the chemistry. In our second year, and third year together, we’ll know what we want from each other and how to play together.</i>
    So you’re excited about next year?
    <i>I’m sure people will have a higher expectation of me for next season, and people will want more and more from the team, and the players. So I want to put pressure on myself, a good pressure, because I want to show more, and I want to play much better.</i>
    Any final thoughts on your first season in Vancouver?
    <i>I just want to give a big, big thanks to the people of Vancouver, especially the people who support the Whitecaps. I feel like I’m at home, and I think that’s the reason that I was able to give a good performance throughout the season, because you feel like you’re at home and it makes you feel very comfortable and very confident. That’s important for players who are new to the team, and so many of us were new this year.</i>
    Jun is now off to Nepal, but I look forward to seeing him take the field in 2013 and will sit tight, with the rest of the fans, and wait to see who’s going to be joining him.
    Happy Holidays, AFTN Canada fans, see you next year!
    xx.
    <p>
    Guest
    The women's national team will reconvene for the first time since their bronze-medal triumph at the London Olympics next week, when the team assembles in Vancouver for a week-long training camp (Dec. 12-20) in preparation for a four nations' tournament in China in January.
    But it'll be a much different women's national team indeed -- head coach John Herdman has met with U20 head coach Andrew Olivieri and U17 head coach Bryan Rosenfeld in the past several months to discuss a road map for the women's program heading into the 2014 U20 Women's World Cup and 2015 Women's World Cup, both being hosted on Canadian soil.
    To that end, there'll be a decent selection of fresh faces at next week's camp.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The 27-player roster breaks down as follows:
    Members of London Olympic roster
    Melanie Booth
    Kaylyn Kyle
    Karina LeBlanc
    Erin McLeod
    Carmelina Moscato
    Sophie Schmidt
    Desiree Scott
    Lauren Sesselmann
    Christine Sinclair
    Melissa Tancredi
    Brittany Timko
    Emily Zurrer
    Members of Canada's team at 2012 U20 Women's World Cup
    Sabrina D'Angelo
    Adriana Leon
    Christabel Oduro
    Jenna Richardson
    Shelina Zadorsky
    Members of Canada's team at 2012 U17 Women's World Cup
    Kadeisha Buchanan
    Summer Clarke
    Ashley Lawrence
    Nichelle Prince
    Returning players with previous CanWNT experience
    Tiffany Cameron
    Alyssa Lagonia
    Brooke McCalla
    Bryanna McCarthy
    Alyscha Mottershead
    Jodi-Ann Robinson
    It would be dangerous to get complacent after the pleasant surprise of an Olympic medal, so it's good to see Herdman mixing things up. At the same time, this shouldn't be considered "the team" going forward, not by any stretch of the imagination. A few regulars are taking time to rest and pursue other things, while others were just subject to the numbers game, being left out this time so Herdman could get a fuller view of what's available at his disposal in the years ahead.
    As it relates to the youth players called up, there are no major surprises. D'Angelo enters camp (and likely the four nations tournament) as a capable third goalkeeper behind McLeod and LeBlanc; Buchanan and Zadorsky are central defenders; Lawrence is a playmaking central midfielder, while Oduro and Prince can be used as offence-minded midfielders; Leon, Richardson and Clarke are there to find the back of the net.
    Cameron is a forward who represented Canada at the inaugural U17 Women's World Cup in 2008. She went on to play at Ohio State, where she became the Buckeyes' all-time leading goal scorer.
    Lagonia is one of the few Canadians plying her trade in England; the attacking midfielder was named Canadian University Player of the Year in 2011 and is now with Doncaster Rovers Belles.
    McCalla has racked up seven caps for the senior national team during 2010 and 2011, and was also an alternate for the 2011 Women's World Cup.
    McCarthy played for Canada's U17 and U20 teams, and has collected four caps with the senior national team in the last three years.
    Mottershead was also a member of Canada's squad at the inaugural U17 Women's World Cup. She made her debut with the senior national team last November in a friendly, and was named to the Olympic qualifying squad this January as a fill-in for the injured Diana Matheson.
    Robinson is the most experienced of the non-Olympic crew, having amassed 50 appearances for the senior national team, including playing for Canada at both the 2007 and 2011 Women's World Cups.
    The encouraging thing is that all six of these players are 23 or younger, meaning there is definite potential for one or several of them to make significant contributions going forward.
    Guest
    28 Episodes later. 'Be Thankful For Everything, For Soon There Will Be Nothing'.
    And Canadian soccer fans should be particularly thankful for our first guest this episode, <b>Paul Stalteri</b>, the most capped player in CMNT history.
    Paul turned out 84 times for his country and we chat about the Gold Cup win in 2000, whether we're likely to see the likes of that again any time soon and what his own future may hold in store. We look back at his career so far from NCAA in Clemson to the Toronto Lynx and his spells in Germany and England.
    Our second guest this week is the managing director and co-founder of the <a href="http://www.totalsoccersystems.com/" target="_blank">TSSacademy.com</a>, <b>Colin Elmes</b>.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The TSS academy are currently in legal dispute with the BC Soccer Association. We look at what brought the situation about, what they are ultimately looking for from the various wranglings, the future of youth soccer in BC and Canada, and more.
    There's also time for Pierce and myself to look at the squad moves by the Whitecaps this week and what, if anything, we'd like to see from this week's Re-Entry draft.
    We seem to completely forget that the MLS Cup took place at the weekend but do manage to fit in our latest 'Sweet Ride' "Brainfreezes of the Week", discuss Irish people and potatoes, and more besides.
    Have a listen!
    You can listen to this week's podcast (and the previous ones) on iTunes <a href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/podcast/westcoastsoccerweekly/id491781299" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a> or download it for your later listening delight <a href="http://westcoastsoccerweekly.podbean.com/" target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a> or have a listen below.
    <div>
    <object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,0,0" width="210" height="25" id="mp3playerlightsmallv3" align="middle">
    <param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" />
    <param name="movie" value="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerlightsmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://westcoastsoccerweekly.podbean.com/mf/play/yb3s8q/stalteri.mp3&autoStart=no" />
    <param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" />
    <embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerlightsmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://westcoastsoccerweekly.podbean.com/mf/play/yb3s8q/stalteri.mp3&autoStart=no" quality="high" width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerlightsmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /></embed>
    </object>
    <br /><a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com">Podcast Powered By Podbean</a>
    </div>
    <div>
    <audio controls="controls" id="auidoplayerhtml5podbeanbcbd5f9b2cf90f8963e6ef35c211f945">
    <source src="http://westcoastsoccerweekly.podbean.com/mf/play/yb3s8q/stalteri.mp3" type="audio/mpeg" autoplay="no">
    Your browser does not support the audio element.
    </audio>
    <script type="text/javascript">
    var audioTag = document.createElement('audio');
    if (!(!!(audioTag.canPlayType) && ("no" != audioTag.canPlayType("audio/mpeg")) && ("" != audioTag.canPlayType("audio/mpeg")))) {
    document.getElementById('auidoplayerhtml5podbeanbcbd5f9b2cf90f8963e6ef35c211f945').parentNode.removeChild(document.getElementById('auidoplayerhtml5podbeanbcbd5f9b2cf90f8963e6ef35c211f945'));
    document.write('<object classid="clsid:d27cdb6e-ae6d-11cf-96b8-444553540000" codebase="http://fpdownload.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=6,0,0,0" width="210" height="25" id="mp3playerlightsmallv3" align="middle"><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="sameDomain" /><param name="movie" value="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerlightsmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://westcoastsoccerweekly.podbean.com/mf/play/yb3s8q/stalteri.mp3&autoStart=no" /><param name="quality" value="high" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#ffffff" /><param name="wmode" value="transparent" /><embed src="http://www.podbean.com/podcast-audio-video-blog-player/mp3playerlightsmallv3.swf?audioPath=http://westcoastsoccerweekly.podbean.com/mf/play/yb3s8q/stalteri.mp3&autoStart=no" quality="high" width="210" height="25" name="mp3playerlightsmallv3" align="middle" allowScriptAccess="sameDomain" wmode="transparent" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" /></embed></object>');
    }
    </script>
    <br />
    <a style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal; padding-left: 41px; color: #2DA274; text-decoration: none; border-bottom: none;" href="http://www.podbean.com">Podcast Powered By Podbean</a>
    </div>
    Guest
    I wrote this for CBC a few weeks back. It published less than a week before Toronto FC would hire new president Kevin Payne. In the original article I made the case why TFC needed to ensure that the hire was going to be independent of the wishes and desires of the current brass.
    Since, I’ve been looking for indication if that has been the case. Here are a few things that could suggest Paul Mariner was caught unaware by the Kevin Payne hiring.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    First, understand that for those that were following this hiring closely, Payne’s name largely came out of left field. For most of November, Peter Wilt was the name that was being bandied about. A number of the press here had spoken to Wilt already on a couple of occasions and he confirmed that TFC had indeed approached him with interest. For what it’s worth, it’s believed that Wilt was the one who largely turned down the offer – explaining that what they were looking for did not match his skill set.
    Around this time, Nov. 21 to be exact (the same day the CBC article went to print) the Toronto soccer media received this email from TFC’s PR:
    I hadn’t planned on going as I had another meeting that day and mostly forgot about it. Then this came in on Nov. 26.
    Perhaps others had not responded such as myself.
    But the fact that Mariner had tried to arrange a meeting with the media, the day before what would become the Kevin Payne introduction, does stand out. It bares to reason - actually, it seems completely likely - the meeting was cancelled when knowledge of the Payne hiring came down. So again, it begs the question, would they have set the meeting if they knew the hiring was coming? Probably not.
    The second is less concrete but it does tend to suggest that Mariner and his staff were unaware that MLSE was getting close to hiring Payne. Kurt Larson of the Toronto SUN reported this on Nov. 26 - a day before Payne’s hiring. Actually, it came within a few hours of the initial Payne rumour surfacing out of D.C.
    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>CONFIRMED: Eric Hassli will be back with <a href="https://twitter.com/search/%23TFC">#TFC</a> as a DP to start 2013.</p>— Kurtis Larson (@KurtLarSUN) <a href="
    " data-datetime="2012-11-26T18:27:28+00:00">November 26, 2012</a></blockquote><script src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
    Even with the suspicion that Hassli may have had a guaranteed option on his deal, the optics of announcing the re-signing of a designated player – always a major decision – if you knew that a new boss was coming in the next day doesn’t completely add up. Especially when you consider some of Payne’s comments on his philosophy of DP’s.
    In the post-presser scrum the next day, Payne hinted that he perhaps wasn’t completely satisfied with the current setup of designated players. He praised the concept of going after younger DP’s in the future and then followed it with this (starting at 5:36).

    For perspective, Eric Hassli will be 32-years-old before the next Voyageurs Cup is decided.
    The last bit of information on this front comes from the agent grapevine. There are two or three guys who almost always know the comings and goings of movements in this city. If you’re looking to find out what’s happening, they’re the guys to speak to. And if you’re lucky enough that they pick up your call on that day, you can usually get ahead of the media curve - or at least know what direction to go in. I spoke to two of those guys over the weekend and they told me that they had each received a phone call on Nov. 26. From what I can figure from what they told it was either Mariner himself, or someone acting in his interest. This person on the phone was asking about Paul Mariner’s status as a coach in Toronto. They were asking if they had heard he could be on the way out. Neither would confirm for me who it was that placed the call, just that they had told them they hadn't heard his job was immediately in jeoprady.
    Whatever the case, that concern by whoever called can seemingly be shelved for the time being as Payne would give clear indication the next day that Mariner’s job was safe. He spoke positively about him at the presser and has given no suggestion there will be a regime change soon.
    But for the blow-it-all up crowd who is praying on Mariner's downfall, regardless of who is on the bench to start 2013, you can probably take some solace from the fact that there are strong indications that Paul Mariner was not aware of the Kevin Payne hiring until it was inked.
    Editors Note (Dec 5.) A few people have told me since this published that Wilt had not turned down the job and was still considered in the running. I've yet to confirm that.
    Guest

    SoccerPlus - Weekly Podcast (December 4)

    By Guest, in SoccerPlus,

    The curtain is falling behind the 2012 champions and things are already shaping up in preparation for the coming season.
    This week we revisit the 2012 MLS Cup final and the opening of the trade window.
    This week's guests: Dave Levesque (Journal de Montreal); Aaron Falk (Salt Lake Tribune); Marc Tougas (CP) & Jonathan Tannenwald (Philly.com).
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Click here to listen to our 40 minutes show.
    Guest

    The Reds and the re-entry

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The MLS re-entry draft is an odd duck of a thing. It’s a form of quasi-free agency that many people fail to understand. Basically, it’s a way to address the absolutely inexcusable situation that used to exist when a veteran player could be cut by a team and still be basically held ransom by their former club.
    Before the re-entry draft, they couldn’t sign with another MLS team unless that team provided compensation to their previous club. It was absurd – imagine if you were laid off by Wal-Mart but couldn’t get a job at The Gap unless The Gap gave Wal-Mart a new cash register.
    It’s far from true free agency – and you can bet that the MLS Player’s Association is watching the effectiveness of this draft carefully.
    The eligibility is as follows:
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    · Players who are at least 23 years old, have a minimum of three years of MLS experience, and whose options were not exercised by their clubs (available at option salary for 2013).
    · Players who are at least 25 years old, have a minimum of four years of MLS experience, were out of contract, and whose club did not offer them a contract at their previous salary (available at 2012 salary).
    · Players who are at least 30 years old, have a minimum of eight years of MLS experience, were out of contract, and whose club did not wish to re-sign them (available for at least 105 percent of their 2012 salary)
    Interestingly, I’ve had a Canadian MLS official tell me that the final point has changed and that it’s actually 110 percent of the 2012 salary that will be required.
    In the two previous drafts there have been 26 players selected. Of those, only five were selected in the first phase.
    That makes sense since those are players that are generally being deemed overpaid by the teams leaving them exposed.
    The first phase selections were Danleigh Borman, Arturo Alvarez, Carlos Mendes in 2011 and Joseph Ngwenya and Aaron Hohlbein in 2010. Hardly stars. For the most part they were moderately paid players that fit a specific need of the club selecting them.
    The higher profile players go in the second phase.
    The same Canadian MLS official that told me that the mandated raise has been bumped from 5 percent to 10 percent was blunt – “no one is getting picked in the first phase this year.”
    Toronto holds the first choice in both phases. Those close to the club were coy when asked if the Reds would be selecting anyone – we look at every option to improve the club blah, blah, blah, cliché, cliché, cliché – but informed speculation is that the club expects a couple discovery signings from Paul Mariner’s European adventure to come through and thus it’s unlikely they will be taking part.
    They will watch with interest, however, as they have five players exposed. Of those, three – Avila, Hall and Wiedeman – are still potential returnees. The Reds have exposed them so as to be able to renegotiate their contracts at a lower number.
    The players available, listed from most expensive to least.
    DAL Julian De Guzman $1,863,000
    COL Conor Casey $400,000
    CHV Juan Pablo Angel $350,000
    CHV Danny Califf $275,000
    COL Marvell Wynne $250,000
    LA Chad Barrett $220,000
    CHI Gonzalo Segares $210,000
    MTL Justin Mapp $210,000
    SJ Khari Stephenson $190,000
    CHV Alejandro Moreno $185,000
    SJ Ramiro Corrales $173,250
    CLB Will Hesmer $170,000
    VAN John Thorrington $170,000
    DAL Kevin Hartman $165,000
    COL Jamie Smith $148,992
    TOR Adrian Cann $126,000
    TOR Eric Avila $125,000
    POR Rodney Wallace $110,000
    SEA O'Brian White $110,000
    DC Maicon Santos $106,400
    HOU Colin Clark $105,427
    CLB Tony Tchani $105,000
    COL Hunter Freeman $105,000
    CLB Chris Birchall $102,000
    CHI Corben Bone $100,000
    CLB Julius James $100,000
    SJ Ike Opara $100,000
    TOR Jeremy Hall $100,000
    COL Tyrone Marshall $90,000
    TOR Ty Harden $90,000
    SJ Joseph Gjertsen $85,000
    POR Lovel Palmer $85,000
    TOR Andrew Wiedeman $80,000
    MTL Shavar Thomas $80,000
    CHI Jay Nolly $78,200
    LA Brian Perk $76,000
    DC Michael Chabala $75,000
    CHV Peter Vagenas $70,000
    LA Pat Noonan $70,000
    RSL Kyle Reynish $66,000
    COL Tyson Wahl $65,000
    DC Stephen King $65,000
    SJ Tim Ward $65,000
    NY Stephen Keel $65,000
    COL Scott Palguta $63,670
    LA Andrew Boyens $62,500
    NE Blair Gavin $60,000
    NY Bill Gaudette $60,000
    DAL Bruno Guarda $60,000
    LA Bryan Jordan $55,000
    MTL Josh Gardner $54,120
    SEA Andrew Weber $51,996
    LA Kyle Nakazawa $51,150
    DAL Scott Sealy $50,004
    COL Joseph Nane $44,100
    KC Olukorede Aiyegbusi $44,100
    NE Tim Murray $44,100
    COL Ian Joyce $44,004
    PHI Chase Harrison $44,000
    POR Steve Purdy $44,000
    RSL Paulo Jr. $44,000
    SEA Mike Seamon $33,750
    The top name on that list will jump out to TFC and Canadian fans. And, we can safely assume Julian won’t be selected in the first phase. A second phase selection isn’t out of the question, but it’s likely that de Guzman has told league officials that he will be shopping himself elsewhere.
    That’s for the best – he’ll make more money in a second tier league in Europe and be more effective.
    The group of players in that $400,000 to $150,000 range are the most interesting. A lot of those players are MLS lifters and they are likely targets in the second phase.
    In terms of players that might get picked in the first round, it’s not hard to agree with the official that said it was unlikely. Ike Opara was highly regarded at one point, but has struggled in MLS. He’s still young. Is he worth a gamble at $110,000?
    Maicon Santos at around $110,000 might be a decent pick-up for a team that is looking for a fourth option up top – maybe one of the Champions League sides. He’s widely inconsistent, but he can catch fire. You don’t want to rely on him, but he’s cheap if you’re already set and just looking for a bonus few goals.
    From a Toronto perspective there is a lot of nostalgia, but maybe not as much true opportunity. For the right number, Tony Tchani might be worth bringing back. Even a Chad Barrett could be useful at the right number (and, like with Santos, as a depth option).
    However, as we said above, not much is expected from the Reds here.
    We’ll have another look at the draft after the first round. A lot of these guys will drop off after they have renegotiated a lower number with their current club.
    Guest

    Whitecaps wheeling and dealing is underway

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    It's going to be a busy offseason in Major League Soccer.
    With the 2012 MLS Cup now in the record books, and the same two finalists and the same Champions at the end of it all, all 19 teams out there are looking to make moves to strengthen their squads as they attempt to be the ones that lift the silverware next year or at the very least improve on this year's performances.
    Having taken the Whitecaps from worst to the playoffs in his first season in charge, the pressure is now on Martin Rennie to continue that improvement into 2013.
    The bar has been set and with it the pressure increased. Going backwards will not be seen as acceptable.
    What the Whitecaps do to strengthen their squad will be heavily scrutinised and the tinkering continued today with the trading of one player, declining options on two more and exercising options on eight others.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Rennie will be the first to admit that he made mistakes along the way this year and the season was a valuable learning experience for someone who is still a relatively new manager.
    But forgiveness and understanding amongst football fans is notoriously short lived. As is patience.
    You can spend endless hours debating the various merits or otherwise of Rennie's personnel changes, especially those from July, and many have. The moves today, although still not all clear cut, shouldn't cause too many people to lose sleep.
    The headline news is the trading of Atiba Harris to Colorado Rapids in return for an international spot in 2015 and 2016.
    Considering Rennie had mentioned previously that Harris was the player he had the most enquiries about, it doesn't really seem like much of a return. What it does do though is to free up $158,275 on the cap.
    The St Kitts and Nevis international had a green card so counted as an American, so the trade doesn't free up an international spot and the spot acquired is just an extension to one they already held. They do currently have two free international spots available.
    Could they have got more for Harris? Possibly. But after the horrible injuries he has suffered, and the woefully poor performances we saw from him at all the levels of games he did play this season, you can't imagine there were too many clubs out there willing to take that risk right now. The Rapids may find themselves burned.
    Harris only made 12 appearances for the Caps in MLS and his record of two goals and three assists looks more impressive than it was. He excelled in some early games but also missed several more chances. At least he was getting into those positions on the other hand.
    It's the right decision and any return on moving him on is better than nothing. As we've said all year, we'd have made this decision last December. We're not fans. He's a great guy off the pitch, but that counts for nothing when you're trying to build a winning team.
    Two more players who may have seen their last actions as a Whitecap are John 'Sicknote' Thorrington and Michael 'Nano' Nanchoff.
    The Caps declined options on both and although they can renegotiate salaries and offer them both new contracts, we would be surprised and disappointed to see that happening.
    Thorrington has shown glimpses of being useful to the team, but his $170,000 salary weighs heavy and his fragility on the injury front is simply a liability.
    Nanchoff hasn't reached the level we'd hoped. It's hard to develop of course when you're not seeing regular action, but when he did find the pitch this season he played poorly.
    It's widely believed that he is coming out of his Generation Adidas contract, which would see his $101,000 salary come into possible Cap play. He's not worth that right now.
    Whether the Caps do re-sign him to a lower deal or not, they will still retain his MLS rights and he will not be in Friday's Re-Entry draft. We'll still be amazed if he doesn't end up in Columbus.
    It wasn't all goodbyes today, as the Caps extended options on eight players: Jun Marques Davidson, Jordan Harvey, Greg Klazura, Brad Knighton, Gershon Koffie, Young-Pyo Lee, Carlyle Mitchell and Matt Watson.
    The only slight surprise there is Carlyle Mitchell, who as much as we love him here at AFTN, did seem to be out of favour with Martin Rennie. His cheap $44,100 salary is obviously a big help in keeping him around.
    The moves today takes the Caps squad down to 21 players:
    <b>Goalkeepers (2):</b> Joe Cannon, Brad Knighton
    <b>Defenders (8):</b> Martin Bonjour, Jay DeMerit, Jordan Harvey, Greg Klazura, Young-Pyo Lee, Carlyle Mitchell, Andy O’Brien, Alain Rochat
    <b>Midfielders (6):</b> Bryce Alderson, Gershon Koffie, Jun Marques Davidson, Barry Robson, Russell Teibert, Matt Watson
    <b>Strikers (5):</b> Caleb Clarke, Darren Mattocks, Kenny Miller, Omar Salgado, Camilo Sanvezzo
    Not a bad squad to build upon, and one with a nice long-term youthful look to it, but certainly not one which is looking like Championship contenders.
    Don't get too comfortable with it anyway.
    If this year has taught us anything about Martin Rennie it would be to not rush out and buy some personalised jerseys for Christmas.
    There are a few players above that may not make the pre-season training camp, never mind the actual season. Add into that mix the fact that YP Lee still hasn't decided whether he is going to continue playing or not, and there will be plenty more additions and changes afoot.
    So where do you see the next moves coming from? Anyone in Friday's Re-Entry draft that you'd like to see in a Whitecaps strip?
    The Scot Jamie Smith is in there!
    The Caps pick 10th and you can find a list of currently available players <a href="http://www.canadiansoccernews.com/content.php?3989-2012-Re-Entry-draft-info" target="_blank">HERE</a>. Players can still be re-signed by their clubs or opt out of the draft by 2pm PT on Thursday.
    With the transactions that have already taken place this week, it's shaping up for being a very busy offseason and you can just sense that 'Ruthless Rennie' still has a few surprises up his sleeve.
    <p>
    Guest

    2012 Re-Entry draft info

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    The MLs re-entry draft takes place over the next two Fridays. It can be confusing, but basically it allows players out of contract (that meet a certain criteria) to move to other MLS teams that are interested without those clubs having to give compensation.
    That's still confusing, isn't it? The official rules, and a list of players available, are below the jump.
    From MLS:
    The player list:
    [TABLE=width: 429]
    [TR]
    [TD]CHI [/TD]
    [TD]Jay Nolly[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CHI[/TD]
    [TD]Gonzalo Segares[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CHI[/TD]
    [TD]Corben Bone[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CHV[/TD]
    [TD]Juan Pablo Angel[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CHV[/TD]
    [TD]Peter Vagenas[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CHV[/TD]
    [TD]Danny Califf[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CHV[/TD]
    [TD]Alejandro Moreno[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CLB[/TD]
    [TD]Chris Birchall[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CLB[/TD]
    [TD]Will Hesmer[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CLB[/TD]
    [TD]Julius James[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]CLB[/TD]
    [TD]Tony Tchani[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]COL[/TD]
    [TD]Tyrone Marshall[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]COL[/TD]
    [TD]Scott Palguta[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]COL[/TD]
    [TD]Conor Casey[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]COL[/TD]
    [TD]Hunter Freeman[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]COL[/TD]
    [TD]Jamie Smith[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]COL[/TD]
    [TD]Marvell Wynne[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]COL[/TD]
    [TD]Ian Joyce[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]COL[/TD]
    [TD]Joseph Nane[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]COL[/TD]
    [TD]Tyson Wahl[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]DC[/TD]
    [TD]Michael Chabala[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]DC[/TD]
    [TD]Maicon Dos Santos[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]DC[/TD]
    [TD]Stephen King[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]DAL[/TD]
    [TD]Bruno Guarda[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]DAL[/TD]
    [TD]Kevin Hartman[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]DAL[/TD]
    [TD]Julian De Guzman[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]DAL[/TD]
    [TD]Scott Sealy[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]HOU[/TD]
    [TD]Colin Clark[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]KC[/TD]
    [TD]Olukorede Aiyegbusi[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]KC[/TD]
    [TD]Luke Sassano[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]LA[/TD]
    [TD]Chad Barrett[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]LA[/TD]
    [TD]Andrew Boyens[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]LA[/TD]
    [TD]Bryan Jordan[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]LA[/TD]
    [TD]Kyle Nakazawa[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]LA[/TD]
    [TD]Pat Noonan[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]LA[/TD]
    [TD]Brian Perk[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]MTL[/TD]
    [TD]Justin Mapp[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]MTL[/TD]
    [TD]Josh Gardner[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]MTL[/TD]
    [TD]Shavar Thomas[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]NE[/TD]
    [TD]Tim Murray[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]NE[/TD]
    [TD]Blair Gavin[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]NY[/TD]
    [TD]Bill Gaudette[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]NY[/TD]
    [TD]Stephen Keel[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]PHI[/TD]
    [TD]Chase Harrison[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]POR[/TD]
    [TD]Lovel Palmer[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]POR[/TD]
    [TD]Steve Purdy[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]POR[/TD]
    [TD]Rodney Wallace[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]RSL[/TD]
    [TD]Paulo Jr.[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]RSL[/TD]
    [TD]Kyle Reynish[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]SEA[/TD]
    [TD]Andrew Weber[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]SEA[/TD]
    [TD]O'Brian White[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]SEA[/TD]
    [TD]Mike Seamon[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]SJ[/TD]
    [TD]Tim Ward[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]SJ[/TD]
    [TD]Ramiro Corrales[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]SJ[/TD]
    [TD]Joseph Gjertsen[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]SJ[/TD]
    [TD]Ike Opara[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]SJ[/TD]
    [TD]Khari Stephenson[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]TOR[/TD]
    [TD]Eric Avila[/TD]
    [TD]Out of Contract[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]TOR[/TD]
    [TD]Adrian Cann[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]TOR[/TD]
    [TD]Jeremy Hall[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]TOR[/TD]
    [TD]Ty Harden[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]TOR[/TD]
    [TD]Andrew Wiedeman[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined[/TD]
    [/TR]
    [TR]
    [TD]VAN[/TD]
    [TD]John Thorrington[/TD]
    [TD]Option Declined
    [/TD]
    [/TR]
    [/TABLE]
    We'll look at the list in more detail tomorrow.
    Guest

    Toronto adds Braun

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Toronto FC announced today it had acquired forward Justin Braun from Real Salt Lake in exchange for defensive midfielder Aaron Maund.
    Maund, Toronto's 12th overall pick in the 2012 SuperDraft, saw the field 15 times last season and was of little impact in any.
    Braun, who has been bumped around the league significantly in the last year, began his career at Chivas USA before going to Montreal and then on to Real Salt Lake. He made 12 appearances for Montreal before finishing out the year with two starts at Real Salt Lake. He has 24 goals in five seasons of MLS play.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    In total 28 homegrown players played minutes in 2012, with just six coming in with more than 1,000.
    Toronto FC’s Ashtone Morgan led the way with 2,525 minutes.
    Including Morgan, there were six Canadian homegrown players that got on the pitch during MLS 2012. For TFC, Doneil Henry had 1,139 minutes and Matt Stinson 89, with Vancouver’s Russell Teibert (117) and Caleb Clarke (15) also clocking in. Karl Ouimette (66) was the Impact’s only homegrown player in 2012.
    The full league rankings and all-time list is below the jump.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Ashtone Morgan – TFC – 2,525
    Bill Hamid – DC United – 2,337
    Connor Lade – NYRB -- 2,265
    Andy Najar – DC United – 2,113
    Juan Agudelo – NYRB – 1,567
    Doneil Henry – TFC – 1,139
    Diego Fagundez -- NER --774
    Bryan Leyva -- Dallas -- 435
    Tristan Bowen -- Galaxy -- 248
    Ruben Luna – Dallas -- 207
    Brent Richards – Portland -- 201
    Matt Lampson – Columbus -- 140
    Jose Villarreal – Galaxy -- 122
    Russell Teibert – Vancouver -- 117
    Alex Dixon – Houston -- 114
    Jonathon Top – Dallas -- 101
    Tyler Deric – Houston -- 90
    Matt Stinson – TFC -- 89
    Karl Ouimette – Montreal -- 66
    Ben Speas – Columbus -- 64
    Cristhian Hernandez – Philly -- 26
    Jimmy McLaughlin – Philly -- 17
    Marco Delgado – Chivas -- 17
    Caleb Clarke – Vancouver -- 15
    Jack McBean – Galaxy -- 8
    Davy Armstrong – Colorado -- 4
    Shane O'Neill – Colorado -- 4
    Zach Pfeffer – Philly – 4
    DC United is still clear and away the club that has maximized the homegrown rule, with Toronto FC a clear second (which would lead one to believe that Toronto’s reliance on the homegrown rule will continue under Kevin Payne).
    Five clubs have yet to have a single homegrown player touch the pitch – San Jose, Seattle, Chicago, Kansas City and Salt Lake. The latter is interesting in that Salt Lake has invested a great deal into the academy. It’s likely illustrative of obvious fact that strong teams are going to struggle to find minutes for young players (It’s also telling that the top two teams on this list have one playoff appearance over the last collective eight seasons between them). If MLS is to take the homegrown rule seriously it must take steps to find quality playing time for players from academies like SLC’s, where first team minutes are rare.
    The list.
    1 - DC United
    Bill Hamid – 4,729
    Andy Najar – 4,635
    Ethan White – 1,928
    TOTAL – 11,292
    2 - Toronto FC
    Oscar Cordon - 144
    Doneil Henry – 1,642
    Nicholas Lindsay – 240
    Keith Makubuya - 45
    Ashtone Morgan – 3,428
    Matt Stinson – 764
    TOTAL – 6,233
    3 - New York Red Bulls
    Juan Agudelo – 2,931
    Matt Kassel – 82
    Connor Lade -- 2,265
    TOTAL – 5,278
    4 - Vancouver Whitecaps
    Nizar Khalfan – 1,066
    Russell Teibert – 620
    Caleb Clarke – 15
    TOTAL – 1,701
    5 - FC Dallas
    Bryan Levya – 435
    Ruben Luna – 614
    Jonathan Top – 101
    Victor Ulloa – 9
    TOTAL – 1,159
    6 - New England Revolution
    Diego Fagundez – 1,088
    TOTAL – 1,088
    7 - LA Galaxy
    Jack McBean – 98
    Tristan Bowan – 248
    Jose Villarreal – 122
    TOTAL - 468
    8 - Houston Dynamo
    Tyler Deric - 90
    Alex Dixon – 198
    TOTAL - 288
    9 - Columbus Crew
    Aaron Horton – 1
    Matt Lampson – 140
    Ben Speas – 64
    TOTAL - 205
    10 - Portland Timbers
    Brent Richards – 201
    TOTAL -- 201
    11 - Philadelphia Union
    Zack Pfeiffer – 140
    Cristhian Hernandez – 26
    Jimmy McLaughlin – Philly -- 17
    TOTAL - 183
    12 - Chivas USA
    Tristan Bowen – 60
    Marco Delgado – 17
    TOTAL - 77
    13 - Montreal
    Karl Ouimette – 66
    TOTAL -- 66
    14- Colorado Rapids
    Davy Armstrong - 4
    Davy Armstrong – Colorado -- 4
    Shane O'Neill – Colorado -- 4
    TOTAL - 12
    15 - Sporting Kansas City
    No homegrown minutes
    TOTAL - 0
    15 - Real Salt Lake
    No homegrown minutes
    TOTAL - 0
    15 - Chicago Fire
    No homegrown minutes
    TOTAL - 0
    15 - Seattle Sounders
    No homegrown minutes
    TOTAL - 0
    15 - San Jose Earthquakes
    No homegrown minutes
    TOTAL – 0
    Nine homegrown players have more than 1,000 minutes played. The top 10 all-time homegrown minutes played leaders are:

    Bill Hamid – DC United -- 4,729
    Andy Najar – DC United -- 4,635
    Ashtone Morgan – Toronto FC -- 3,428
    Juan Agudelo – New York -- 2,931
    Connor Lade – New York -- 2,265
    Ethan White – DC United -- 1,928
    Doneil Henry – Toronto FC -- 1,642
    Diego Fagundez – New England -- 1,088
    Nizar Khalfan – Vancouver -- 1,066
    Matt Stinson – Toronto FC -- 764

    Guest
    The Beckham Experiment has its final chapter and it’s exactly the way Don Garber and MLS would have wanted it to end.
    The biggest celebrity to ever play the game got his Hollywood ending with back-to-back titles and two Supporters' Shields in the last three years of his time in L.A. It’s a success story by any measure.
    And, as MLS players go, Becks is pretty good – he’s at least the fourth most important component of the Galaxy. The fans in Paris or Sydney can look forward watching a solidly average player play for their club for the next couple years.
    Passive aggressive sarcasm aside, is the league going to miss the hype machine that is David Beckham? Hell, he’s famous enough that I can break every journalistic rule in the book by not writing his full name until the fourth paragraph of this article and it’s doubtful that a single reader noticed. So, it's silly to think his leaving won't be noticed by some -- many, even.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Clearly, Mr. Posh is a very big deal and it doesn’t matter how much the more serious football fan demands that he be put in context. To the vast majority of sports fans in North American, MLS was dealt a fatal blow when he decided this would be the end of his time here. To them, the hoards of fans in Seattle and Portland were there because of No 23, those wearing paper bags over their heads in Toronto were protesting his leaving, and the Texian Army travelled to L.A. in numbers this weekend to say goodbye to the only player that ever mattered.
    All over North America, there will be conversations on sports radio about whether MLS can survive the loss of the icon. The consensus will probably be no. They will argue that Beckham failed to make the sport relevant because they don’t know anyone (in their 50-65, white male, demographic) that can name another player in the league. Well, maybe that HEN-rey guy in New York, but he doesn’t really matter.
    In one (surface) way they’ll be right. They won’t be talking about MLS moving forward. Then again, they never did talk about MLS. They talked about Beckham. And, Beckham has never been even close to the most important person in North American soccer.
    That’s not to say he didn’t have an impact – he clearly did – but (and I appreciate I’m preaching to the choir here) one player is just that -- one player.
    The Galaxy discovered that in 2007 and 2008 when they were a terrible, traveling sideshow and in 2011 and 2012 when they were an incredible team surrounding an underwear model that was pretty good in dead ball situations.
    The Galaxy will still be a pretty good team next year (although if Donovan walks -- and, especially, if Omar Gonzalez goes to Europe -- their repeat hopes might go straight to Kaka), and MLS will continue marching on.
    Those that only see hype might not notice, but, frankly, the sport doesn’t need their approval. It can survive on its own just fine. The Days of MLS 1.0's fight for survival and MLS 2.0's fight for recognition are over.
    Welcome to MLS 3.0: It’s just about the football now.
    Guest

    A look back at the 2012 SuperDraft

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Trying to put a statistical measure on the importance of the SuperDraft has become an annual tradition at The 24th Minute and, now, CSN. With many people predicting that the draft will reduce in importance in coming years, we will continue to look for a statistical representation to analyse that theory.
    It’s an ongoing thing – we are always looking for ways to improve how we look at the numbers and welcome and encourage feedback.
    We will publish a full analysis of the last 13 drafts in the first week of January. You can read how we did it in 2012 here.
    However, as a preview to that article (and, as a way to call for the statistically inclined to lend a hand) we are providing a look back at the 2012 draft.
    Who were the winners and losers? Find out below the jump.
    To see just how useful the draft is at finding players we used the objective stat of total appearances. Although there is more to a player than just simply getting on the field, appearances are fully objective – either you’re playing, or not. And, you are of no use to a team if you’re not.
    Over the course of a career these numbers become more relevant. So, this in no way attempts to predict what will happen to the 2012 picks in the future. Rather, it looks at how strong the pick was for 2012.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    We categorized the players into four levels of success – exceptional, solid, poor and failure. An exceptional player appeared in at least 75 per cent of games last year. Solid players appeared in 50 to 74 per cent of games, poor picks appeared in 25 to 49 per cent and failures appeared in less than 25 per cent.
    In real numbers:
    2012 - More than 22 (exceptional), 15-22 (solid), 8-14 (poor), less than 8 (failure)

    1 Montreal Impact Andrew Wenger 23
    2 Vancouver Whitecaps FC Darren Mattocks 21
    3 New England Revolution Kelyn Rowe 30
    4 Toronto FC Luis Silva 30
    5 Chivas USA Casey Townsend 17
    6 San Jose Earthquakes Sam Garza 3
    7 D.C. United Nick DeLeon 28
    8 Portland Timbers Andrew Jean-Baptiste 5
    9 Chicago Fire Austin Berry 28
    10 Columbus Crew Ethan Finlay 15
    11 FC Dallas Matt Hedges 28
    12 Toronto FC Aaron Maund 15
    13 Philadelphia Union Chandler Hoffman 7
    14 Colorado Rapids Tony Cascio 29
    15 Seattle Sounders FC Andrew Duran 0
    16 Sporting Kansas City Dom Dwyer 1
    17 Real Salt Lake Enzo Martinez 0
    18 Houston Dynamo Colin Rolfe 0
    19 Los Angeles Galaxy Tommy Meyer 8

    Bold = Exceptional
    Italics = failure
    The numbers:
    7 Exceptional picks
    4 Solid picks
    1 Poor pick
    7 Failure picks
    Again, these are early stats. Some of these players will switch designations moving forward – Mattocks is an obvious pick that jumps out – but the numbers are in line with what we found by looking at the historical data. Namely, it’s as likely that you will pick a failure as it is you’ll get an exceptional player.
    The exception is the top five. There, this past year’s 60 percent success rate was above the historic data that showed 43.3 per cent of top five picks turning out to be exceptional (the results have now bumped it up to 46.1 percent).
    Over the first 11 years picks 6-10 yielded a 28.3 per cent (17/60) and just four picks, or 12.5 per cent (4/32) above 10th overall turned out to be exceptional in the past.
    This year we saw better results across the board – 2/5 (40%) and 2/9 (22%).
    Can we expect that trend to continue next year? Lets look at the 2011 stats and add 2012 data to them to draw some conclusions
    P - Omar Salgado – 14 – Vancouver (2012 appearances – 7)–(total – 21) P
    E - Darlington Nagbe – 28 – Portland (33) (61) - E
    E - Perry Kitchen – 31 – DC United (32) (63) - E
    E - Zarek Valentin – 25 – Chivas (15) (40) - S
    P - Zach MacMath – 8 – Philly (32) (40) - S
    E - A. J. Soares – 28 – New England (30) (58) - E
    F - Kofi Sarkodie – 7 – Houston (10) (17) - P
    F - Michael Nanchoff – 5 – Vancouver (8) (13)- F
    E - Jalil Anibaba – 29 – Chicago (33) (62) - E
    E - C. J. Sapong – 34 – Kansas City (31) (65) - E
    E - Will Bruin – 27 – Houston (30) (57) - E
    S - Rich Balchan – 19 – Columbus (0) (19) - P
    F - Corey Hertzog – 5 – New York (0)(5) - F
    P - Víctor Mairongo – 9 – Chivas (0) (9) - F
    S - Justin Meram – 17 – Columbus (18)(35) - S
    S - Paolo Cardozo – 18 – Los Angeles (9) (27) - P
    S - Bobby Warshaw – 17 – Dallas (6) (23) - P
    F - Eddie Ababio – 0 – Colorado (0) (0) - F
    The numbers for two-year players are:
    More than 44 (exceptional), 30-44 (solid), 15-29 (poor), less than 15 (failure)
    When we did this last year there were 7 Exceptional picks, 4 Solid picks, 3 Poor picks and 4 failures. Now, there are 6 exceptional picks dropped down to a solid pick), 3 solid picks, 5 poor picks and 4 failures.
    In total, seven players move distinctions, but only two either moved up from a poor pick or down from an exceptional. Four went either from solid to poor, or poor to failure. That would seem to indicate that if you have picked a potential star, you should know fairly quickly and that if a player isn’t contributing right away it seems unlikely that he’s going to quickly turn that around.
    As said, this is just an early look at the numbers. We will go into it much deeper in January. If you have any insight into how to look at the data differetly, please contact me at duanegrollins@gmail.com.
×
×
  • Create New...