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    Guest

    CSA elections 2012: The vote count

    By Guest, in Onward Soccer,

    Update: Official word from Metcalfe Street is that the numbers contained in this story apply only to the Special General Meeting that will kick off the CSA festivities the first weekend in May. There, new by-laws will be passed -- along with a new voting system for the Annual General Meeting and the presidential elections.
    I find this so frustrating I could just about freaking scream. I will have PLENTY to say about this entire process once the meetings are all in the books. If you see a crazed journalist standing alone outside of Metcalfe Street hollering something about transparency and the 21st century, make sure to honk and say "hi."
    For now, though, the following story is still a useful exercise. Please bear in mind as you read it, though, that the official vote tinkering ain't done with yet.
    This wasn’t easy to get.
    (Thank you, unofficial back channels.)
    We finally have the revised voting totals for the Canadian Soccer Association’s annual general meeting to be held the first weekend of May.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    The provincial weighting is adjusted every year, and is based on the total amount of membership fees paid – which, in turn, is a perfect reflection of player registration fees collected. No province is allowed to hold more than 25% of the vote.
    Therefore:
    Ontario – 234
    Quebec – 234
    British Columbia – 167
    Alberta – 113
    Nova Scotia – 43
    Saskatchewan – 33
    Manitoba – 28
    New Brunswick – 26
    Newfoundland and Labrador – 23
    Prince Edward Island – 13
    Yukon Territory – 8
    Northwest Territories – 7
    Professional Soccer Clubs – 4
    Players – 2
    Canadian Soccer League – 1
    Total – 936
    Gone is an old glitch that used to effectively give Ontario well over 30% of the vote. Under the old set-up, when Ontario was knocked back down to 25%, the percentage of votes they lost was not redistributed among the others. Ontario ended up holding 25% of less than 90%, which is a very different animal.
    Mercifully, this has been corrected. No two provinces can now elect CSA board members on their own. (Although it’s inconceivable that, should Ontario and Quebec vote together, they couldn’t find one more vote somewhere.)
    A year ago, Ontario, Quebec and Alberta controlled enough votes to pass things that required a two-thirds majority. Now, they fall a few votes short.
    Clarification: This weighting system applies only to annual and special general meetings, where the CSA president and board members do not vote. In board meetings, every board member has an equal, single vote.
    There’s any number of projections that can be drawn from this, but for now, let’s just focus on the extreme importance of Ontario’s upcoming decision on which CSA presidential candidate will get its 234 votes.
    We already know Quebec intends to back native son and sitting CSA president Dominique Maestracci in the first round. If Ontario – which is interviewing all three candidates tomorrow evening – joins them, Maestracci would need only one vote (the Montreal Impact? CSL? Some bright spark from Yellowknife who wants to do a deal?) to be re-elected for a second four-year term.
    With Ontario’s edgy, urgent commitment to change, it’s all but inconceivable this would happen. If it did, it would be one of the most shocking back-room political favours in the history of Canadian soccer.
    If Ontario throws its support to either Rob Newman or Victor Montagliani, Maestracci’s re-election bid will be history. His support now seems so thin outside of Quebec – the only people I am certain are supporting him are doing so for purely political reasons – it seems inevitable he would be dropped from the second ballot.
    By then, we’ll all know who Ontario’s supporting. I’m told by OSA president Ron Smale himself that Ontario will actually announce its preference at the close of its AGM this weekend. Whether that still holds if Smale is not re-elected is an open guess.
    Then, all eyes would switch back to Quebec. QSF president Martial Prud’homme has expressed an admiration for Newman, but his board is still strongly aligned with former Quebec president Dino Madonis, who is known to prefer Montagliani.
    If Quebec and Ontario agree in the second round, there’s your president. If they don’t, it will be the votes of all the other provinces and territories that carry the day.
    At this point, I have no unduly alarming backroom shenanigans to report. There are rumours, but every one of them I’ve investigated so far has yielded only smoke, and no actual fire.
    All eyes now on the OSA AGM, coming up this weekend.
    After that, there will be plenty to report.
    Onward!
    Guest

    Di Vaio in Montreal in June?

    By Guest, in SoccerPlus,

    The rumour mill has been swirling for months - that Italian striker would Marco Di Vaio become the first DP in Montreal Impact’s history - and new information allows us to believe an announcement is about to be made.
    According to information obtained by SoccerPlus, the ex-Italian international’s spouse was in Montreal a few days ago shopping appartments and houses for a place to stay once the couple moved to La Belle Province in June.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]In a weekend interview to Italian network Odeon TV, the player’s agent, Federico Pastorello, said his client could play in MLS in the coming months. He was more nuanced when going into the specifics of that possibility.
    “I too hear this rumour that Montreal Impact were interested in Di Vaio, but I haven’t spoken to anyone”, he said.
    Sorry, but only one word come to mind here: BA-LO-NEY!
    An offer has been on the table for weeks now and there has been multiple conversations between the agent and Montreal’s upper management. And the relationship between the club and agent is far along enough that the Impact hopes to use Pastorello in the future to bring other players to the club.
    Like Guido De Carolis recently answered to a reader’s question in the pages of the Corriere di Bologna.
    A few months ago, the Impact’s president said on national teletvision that he wanted to respect the wishes of the targeted DP to conclude his European season before making any kind of announcement.
    Bologna tied Siena 1-1 on Wednesday with Di Vaio playing the final 30 minutes as a sub. Combined with Lecce’s 2-0 home loss to Napoli makes it that Bologna is seven points above Serie A’s relegation zone with four games to go.
    It means that the combination of six points won by Bologna or dropped by Lecce will confirm the Rossoblù’s spot in the Italian top flight next season. This could happen as soon as Sunday with a Bologna home victory over Genoa and a Lecce home loss to Parma. An announcement could come shortly after.
    Guest

    The end of Winter

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Today on theScore I explored the mess that Aron Winter has got himself into. Seemingly unwilling to adjust his tactics from the idealistic 3-4-3/4-3-3 experiment, the Dutchman has unbelievably brought himself to the brink of being canned.
    And make no mistake, he is at that point. No one really wants to remove him from the position (and he'd be offered a new role with the organization, rather than being fired outright – whether he'd take it is unknown), but the club would be left with limited options if he doesn't turn things around soon.
    The biggest issue isn't the losing. It's his inflexibility. There is a fear that he doesn't really know how to manage a club in-game and that his tactical choices are putting the team in a position where it can't win.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]Suddenly it's dawning of people the that the fact Winter had never managed a senior club prior to coming to TFC might have been a problem. His accent may be more exotic, and playing pedigree slightly better, but Toronto spent all that time and money only to hire a Dutch version of Danny Dichio.
    No, really. Dichio has pretty much the same resume as Winter did prior to coming to Toronto – some youth coaching and a decent career as a honest, if not awe-inspiring, player.
    This is not an argument that Dichio should have been named manager, but God help us the evidence is starting to suggest he might have been a better choice.
    At this point the arguments for keeping Winter all harken back to past mistakes Toronto made – they've been inpatient, there has been too much turnover, not enough time has been given to previous managers. All of those points have merit, but we can't be blinded by them.
    Toronto fans are starting to sound like the beautiful, but emotionally scarred, woman who stays with their asshole boyfriend because deep down they don't think they can do better and are sick of change. Everyone in her life knows what needs to be done, but they too are tired of her drama and have resolved themselves to the idea that she'll never get it together. So, they've given up as well.
    As I wrote in theScore piece there is a persistent rumour that Winter has been given to the end of the Montreal Voyageurs Cup tie – that's four games. If things are still this bad then...
    It's time to dump the deadbeat. It will be hard and people will judge, but the alternative – another hopeless, wasted season – would be far worse.
    Guest
    Prior to April 21, 2012 nobody born in Fort St. John, British Columbia had ever managed a club in the Mexican Primera Division. I've done no research into that statement but I am very confident writing it. In fact we can safely broaden it out and just say that nobody born anywhere in Canada has ever managed in the Mexican top flight.
    So John van't Schip became something of a pioneer the day Chivas named him their new coach. To be clear, he's not really "Canadian" in any sense beyond the most literal definition of the term. According to Wikipedia, his family left BC in 1972 when the boy was nine. He's Dutch. And based on the confusion surrounding Jonathan de Guzman and whether he has - or was ever allowed to have - dual Dutch and Canadian citizenship, van't Schip may no longer be Canadian in any sense of the term.
    But that doesn't change where he spent his early youth. Whether there's an asterisk beside the Canadian part of it or not, it's still pretty cool that a guy born in small-town BC is managing arguably the biggest club in Mexico.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    One is tempted to wonder if van't Schip's parents pulled up ship and headed back to Holland because they saw some soccer potential in the boy they knew wouldn't be fully realized in northern British Columbia. He eventually turning out 11 seasons for Ajax and getting 41 caps for the Netherlands too. Now he's following in the footsteps of a long line of Dutch managerial exports.
    He began managing in the youth setup at Ajax before taking charge of FC Twente in 2001, where he led the defending KNVB Cup champions to an embarrassing round-of-16 exit at the hands of the Ajax youth side, prompting fans to riot in their new stadium. He did a four-year stint as assistant coach for Holland, followed by an interim gig as manager at Ajax.
    In 2009 he moved to the expansion Melbourne Heart of the A-League, where by all accounts (or in this case the one account I've linked to) he did a decent job of getting that team up and running.
    Now he's surprised some by getting the Chivas job. This was the work of Johan Cruyff, who advises the Mexican giants. The ESPN Deportes guys I was listening to yesterday weren't necessarily thrilled about the move, saying Mexican teams should stop paying for advice from people who don't know Mexican football.
    Prior to leaving Australia van't Schip said he eventually wanted to return to a "big" football environment. Europe big. But outside the Old Continent Mexico is about as big as it gets. If he's successful at Chivas he will not pass go and will head straight to Europe to cash in those managerial chips. Kind of a pity that. It's wildly and irresponsibly speculative but I may as well just say it: he'd have the breadth of resume that would fit perfectly with the ideal qualifications to coach Canada's mens' team: a mixture of club and international management on three continents with key exposure to Latin America. The boy from Fort St. John returning to lead his birth country into soccer battle. Lazy writers from coast-to-coast would have a field day with the textbook definition of the coming-full-circle narrative.
    And besides, how could someone boasting coaching experience in the Ajax youth structure possibly fare poorly in Canadian soccer?
    Guest

    Whitecaps add Caleb Clarke to MLS squad

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    Vancouver Whitecaps announced Residency striker Caleb Clarke as the latest addition to their MLS squad this morning.
    Clarke will become the fourth Canadian on the squad, and fills the 30th and final spot on the roster. If the Caps look to make any more additions this season then some players are going to have to move on. Let that speculation commence.
    The 18 year old Richmond, BC native has played a starring role for the Caps in the USSDA U18 campaign this season, scoring 20 goals in 19 appearances.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    His latest two goals came this past weekend in California, when he scored in both of the 3-2 victories against De Anza Force and Cruz Breakers Academy, which secured the young Caps playoff place.
    Caleb is understandably delighted to be moving up to the first team:
    <i>"I’m thrilled to have realized my dream of signing a professional contract and delighted to have achieved this with my hometown club in Whitecaps FC.
    I look forward to making the next step in my career as a player and I am pleased to be helping Whitecaps FC become a top club in MLS and CONCACAF."</i>
    As Philippe Davies can testify from last season, making the MLS squad and managing to get minutes, are two very different propositions. The reality is that Caleb Clarke is a long term project and we shouldn't expect to see him running out at MLS stadia any time soon.
    This is all about the future and he will benefit greatly from being around the first team players and the whole training environment that brings. He still needs to work on his game to be ready to fully move up to the next level, but the signs are most definitely there that he is already close to that.
    I would much rather have quality Canadian talent with the Whitecaps in MLS, with an eye to the future, than have Canadians playing in the squad who frankly aren't good enough for the level and the team results tell the tale.
    Caleb Clarke is the sixth homegrown player to join the Whitecaps in Major League Soccer and follows on quickly from the signing of Bryce Alderson in the pre-season.
    These additions are testament to the hard work and development put in by everybody in the Whitecaps Residency program and there is no doubt that we are going to see the results of this for many years to come.
    As such, it was sad to hear the news coming out of the Caps this afternoon that Residency Technical Director and Head Coach, Richard Grootscholten, is moving on to pastures new. Richard has always been a pleasure to talk to after the Residency games and his departure will be a big loss to the Club.
    Clarke has been with the Whitecaps Residency program for two and a half year and has really developed since I saw him run out for the first PDL game of last season at Empire against Kitsap Pumas, and he will only keep continuing to do so.
    Back in those early days he needed a lot of positional direction, but last season he came on leaps and bounds and by the end of the PDL season, he was already looking like the real deal, scoring three goals and having three assists in 16 appearances. He has continued to make the headlines with the U18's this season.
    Caleb has been heavily involved with the Caps first team training since pre-season and made the trip to Orlando for the Disney Pro Soccer Classic in February, where he unfortunately picked up a shoulder injury against Houston in the second game.
    The plan is to have him training with the first team now and work with Mike Young, the Caps strength and conditioning coach, to build him up physically.
    With the U18s going to be involved in USSDA playoff games in June and July, we asked Martin Rennie after training this morning, whether the idea is for Caleb to see out that season with them:
    <i>"Yeah I think so, unless there's conflicts where we need him to play, then we would have him up with us, but I think he'll probably be training a fair bit with us and still finishing his games with the academy.
    That way it keeps him playing. We just have to take it week by week with him. With all the young players we just have to get them the best opportunity we can each week and kind of stick to a plan for them that gets them games, but also gets them training at a higher intensity."</i>
    It's definitely a win-win situation for both the Club and the player.
    Welcome to the MLS squad Caleb. Congratulations and all the best going forward.
    Hopefully we will also see Residency prospects Ben Fisk and Callum Irving following in Alderson and Clarke's footsteps and move up to the first team pretty soon as well.
    Both players have signed a PDL contract for the season and if they both continue to impress the way they have been, then that day will surely come sooner rather than later, once some spaces open up.
    The Whitecaps future is certainly looking most bright and that's great news for everyone.
    <p>
    Guest
    Inside two weeks now from the CSA AGM, the demolition of the old, impractical board of directors, and the first cut at post-reform governance.
    There’s still one more huge river to cross – the Ontario Soccer Association AGM this coming weekend. The OSA board will interview all three CSA presidential candidates this week (as CSN did last week), pick their choice – and announce it publically.
    That means one of Victor Montagliani, Rob Newman or Dominique Maestracci will be halfway home, banking Ontario’s 25% support in the opening round of voting. Since Maestracci is already believed to have Quebec’s 25% in the bank in the first round, Ontario’s decision will be huge.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Everyone’s looking at OSA president Ron Smale right now, for backroom deals and clues as to what Ontario is up to. But Smale himself may not even make it that far. His abrupt, backroom style is known to have tweaked some significant snouts – in Ontario, and across Canada. He stands for his own re-election this weekend.
    The other main imminent issue is the nationwide election of the CSA’s six new regional directors, who will replace the twelve seats formerly set aside for provincial and territorial soccer association presidents.
    This process was thrown open to anyone in the country, so it’s perhaps a bit discouraging that five of the eleven candidates are already sitting presidents. A sixth – Clive Wilkinson from Ontario – is currently on the CSA board as a director.
    Going east to west:
    Atlantic Canada:
    Nova Scotia Soccer Association president Michael Maddalena takes on Gerald MacDonald of Prince Edward Island. Neither holds a particularly high profile, but one will ultimately represent both provinces – and New Brunswick and Newfoundland/Labrador as well.
    Quebec:
    Long-serving QSF president Dino Madonis stood down, and his successor – Martial Prud’homme – will now be the sole candidate for Quebec’s regional seat. He still has to go through a CSA election process (explained below), but he will win. An ugly rumour has walked the night that Madonis was somehow denied his fair chance to retain a seat on the CSA board. In fact – as confirmed by Madonis and other sources – he never filed nomination papers, and was never officially a candidate.
    Ontario:
    The OSA held an exhaustive, 12-candidate run-off, before deciding to throw its 25% vote share behind motivational speaker and business consultant Nick Bontis. Praised all over everywhere for his fire, charisma, soccer background and deep corporate connections, Bontis is about as far from an “old guard” candidate as one can get. He has declined an invitation to speak to Canadian Soccer News, saying there are other candidates in the race, and he shouldn’t be the main focus. For now, I’m going to assume his business instincts are better than his journalism ones. (Wink.) He’s up against CSA director Clive Wilkinson, the man who ran the OSA before Ron Smale took over. Unless Smale is defeated this weekend – although it’s quite possibly that wouldn’t even make a difference – Wilkinson faces a significant uphill fight.
    Manitoba / Saskatchewan:
    Don Story of Saskatchewan one of the fathers and key movers in the CSA reform movement. Sean Drain from Manitoba is most certainly not. You’ll get a clear sense of how the reform winds truly blow once this one is settled. Side note: Manitoba Soccer Association president Christine O’Connor is not running, clinching that two of the three new appointed CSA directors will have to be women. More on this in the B.C./Yukon note below.
    Alberta / NWT:
    A low-profile race between Albertan Darryn Donaghey and NWTSA president Ryan Fequet. Have you noticed how utterly quiet everything has been on the Wild Rose soccer scene since the brutal fight for control of the Alberta Soccer Association ended a year ago?
    British Columbia / Yukon:
    Another fascinating old-new race. Charlie Cuzzetto is the long-time head of the BCSA, well-respected and a good, effective board member. He’s opposed by Derral Moriyama, a hard-core business type with almost three decades of experience at Bank of Montreal. As hinted above, business connection could be vital in the new CSA – especially given that the Nominations Committee will have to choose a minimum of two women for the three appointed CSA board seats available this year. This is not in any way to suggest these women won’t have excellent business connections. But they certainly don't have to.
    Now:
    The election process:
    - All eleven candidates enter a single, multi-round election.
    - Everyone votes, and whoever has 50% + 1 vote wins the seat for his home region.
    - This process is repeated, as long as it takes to fill all six seats.
    - The first two directors chosen get three-year terms. The next two get two years. The final two get one year.
    - As there can only be three provincial or territorial presidents on the board in 2012, some will have to resign if more than that are chosen. CSN has been assured privately there are at least two presidents who intend to do exactly that.
    - Once the six regional seats are elected, the Nominations Committee will take a few days, before nominating three and only three names to the board for rubber-stamp approval as appointed members.
    And there we will stand for 2012. Each subsequent annual AGM election will turn over approximately one-third of the board, with the number of sitting provincial presidents cut by one each year, until they are gone completely hallelujah.
    Any questions?
    Onward!
    Guest
    The soccer gods, as usual, have not been kind to Canada.
    As was announced Tuesday, the women's national team (ranked #7 in the world) finds itself in a tough-but-not-impassable Olympic group with Japan (reigning World Cup champs), Sweden (ranked #5 in the world) and South Africa (umm... all nice people, I'm sure), needing a second-place finish to guarantee passage to the quarterfinals of the 12-team tournament.
    In a way, this draw mirrors Canada's draw at the 2011 World Cup: opening against a global powerhouse (in 2011, it was Germany) before meeting a perceived pushover (2011: Nigeria) and a strong-but-supposedly-beatable peer (2011: France). Well, we all remember how that turned out... but those memories, and today's tricky draw, aren't tempering head coach John Herdman's long-held optimism about Canada's Olympic chances.
    "Out of the groups, we've got a tough one but it's certainly doable," Herdman said Tuesday. "We have to be able to beat these teams, and on our day, with the right mindset, and if we can tactically get it right and the players have put in the right preparation over these three months, then I think we have a chance (to contend for a medal)."
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Now, as Herdman admits, that's easier said than done. He concedes that Japan is a "special" team, "in a bit of a league of their own at the moment", and it's tough to disagree based on their last 12 months of form. With South Africa largely an enigma at this point (though Herdman said they could be "dangerous"), the make-or-break game will be against Sweden.
    "They're very close in terms of how we play, our styles," said Herdman, who noted that Canada has picked up plenty of insight from a slew of recent meetings with the Swedes. "That's the tournament-breaker for us, the game against Sweden becomes the real do-or-die game."
    Herdman, as many of his players do when discussing opponents, differentiates between Tier 1 squads (top 5 in the world, the real big guns) and Tier 2 squads (those on the periphery, a group in which Canada places itself).
    "We can more than compete, we can consistently win against (Tier 2) teams and also play quite a good brand of football," said Herdman. "But against (Tier 1) teams... we found it really difficult to break them down. We're very clear, if we want to get on the podium, we have to be a lot more decisive with our possession, and in certain parts of the pitch we need to be able to break down that zonal block that will be put down in front of us."
    To that end, Herdman said the return to the roster of midfielder Diana Matheson could be a game-changer.
    "Diana's key, she has so much experience," he said. "Her technique, she has that ability to play one-touch football and see things other players don't see. If she keeps working hard and is in prime physical shape, she could be an integral part of taking this team to the next level."
    As for fellow returnee Jonelle Filigno, Herdman isn't quite as optimistic.
    "It's a tough challenge for Jonelle, she's come back after almost eight months out of the game, trying to be ready for the biggest event," he said. "She's still in a bit of pain from her injury and operations; certainly you're not seeing her at her peak yet."
    While Filigno can be a massive boost to the team when healthy, Herdman said he would need to weigh his roster decisions based not just on a player's potential or future, but on who is performing the best in pre-tournament preparations. Filigno's contributions at the Olympics, then, will depend heavily on how well her recovery and re-incorporation into the Canadian setup go over the next few months. But, says Herdman: "I think she can get there."
    The team continues its training camp in Vancouver before getting a week off, heading back into camp and then flying out to Moncton for a friendly against China on May 30. Lots to be decided between then and now, of course -- and at the Olympic Games themselves.
    And while Big Red will need to be in top form to contend for a medal at London 2012, who knows... maybe this will be the time that the soccer gods finally do smile on Canada.
    .
    Guest

    Full Olympic draw

    By Guest, in 24th Minute,

    Canada has once again been drawn into a tough group at a major competition.
    The Canucks are the third ranked team in their Olympic group, behind World Champion Japan, world No 5 Sweden and outsiders South Africa.
    Canada opens the tournament July 25 against Japan before playing South Africa July 28. Both games are in in Coventry. They wrap up the preliminary round against Sweden at Newcastle July 31.
    Defending Olympic champion United States was drawn with France, Colombia and North Korea
    Hosts Great Britain face New Zealand, Cameroon and Brazil.
    The top two in each group advance to the quarterfinals as well as the two best third place finishers. With goal differential important it is imperative that Canada not have a meltdown like we saw against France in Germany.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Guest
    After Germany 2011, Canada's WNT picks up another tough draw for London 2012.
    We discuss Tuesday morning's Olympic draw results with Canada's U20 WNT assistant coach Alex Darocha.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Listen to our short special by clicking here.
    Guest
    Two days later and it's no less frustrating. By the time Toronto FC returns to BMO Field the club could be staring history down. And not the good kind. No MLS team has started a season 0-8. Toronto is 0-6 with a road game against a MLS Cup contender next up.
    No one thought it would be this bad. If you argue that you did, you're lying. Most thought the way Toronto ended the year last year was an indicator of a move towards the mediocre (which is exactly what a CSN prediction of 11th – or 9th worse – was).
    But, here we are. As I wrote yesterday the impulse to rage at the club and scream for everyone’s head is understandable. It's also shortsighted.
    Now is a time when the club will be open to constructive direction. It's up to the supporters to use their unique position (and it is unique within Toronto sports) to create positive change – to help make TFC more of a club, with a symbiotic relationship with its fans, and less like a corporate franchise.
    Three teams have started MLS seasons as poorly as TFC has. Two – Kansas City and DC United – won the MLS Cup the following season. A TFC championship in 2013 may seem absurd right now. Chances are it seemed pretty farfetched in KC and DC in week seven too.
    Below the jump I explore four areas whee the supporter's voice should be heard – Pricing, Priorities, Planning and Partnerships – the four Ps of potential positive progression for TFC
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    Pricing
    The one area where TFC lost the plot and the area where they deserve the most criticism is on pricing. Blinded by the unexpected success of the Reds in 2007, MLSE over reached. The cheapest season tickets doubled in cost in four years. Those seats are still affordable for most – although they are getting close to a breaking point for the youthful demographic MLSE targets for those seats.
    There is no need to rehash the disaster that was the end of the 2010 season when Reds fans revolted against a ticket price increase that was announced days after DeRo signed a fake cheque and TFC bombed out of the playoff race yet again. The result of that revolt was a ticket price freeze for one year.
    That year is up. Unless there is a significant change in fortune, the supporters would be perfectly reasonable to ask for that freeze to be extended another year. Truthfully, it would be reasonable to ask for prices to be clawed back, but another freeze would at least be a gesture from management that would suggest that they are taking some responsibility for failing to be competitive.
    Ideally, MLSE would get ahead of this story and announce the freeze before the supporters call for it. That doesn't seem likely though. So, the fans need to speak up now.
    To summarize, supporter's demand No 1 is:
    The fans ask MLSE to promise a additional price freeze on season tickets for 2013 if TFC fails to make the MLS playoffs in 2012.
    Priorities
    MLSE promotes TFC's long-term vision – that things might be bad now, but their commitment to development through the TFC academy will create a brighter future.
    And there is some truth to that. The club does deserve credit for the investment it has made up to now, but it also needs to be monitored to ensure that they stay on track.
    If, in fact, the academy is the focus, fans should see more evidence of that. Although a $20 million investment is nothing to dismiss, fans have every right to want more. The academy players should be exposed to as much quality competition as possible – if there is a major U18 tournament, they damn well should be in it.
    Additionally, the best coaching money can buy is needed and state of the art training equipment. Ideally, I'd like to see season ticket holders also get access to academy games as part of their purchase.
    Then there is the priorities of the senior team. There isn't much to think about here – the senior team needs to be provided with every possible asset to succeed in MLS play. With the 0-6 start a reality, a strong Voyageurs Cup performance is needed as well. Qualifying for the CCL won't hide the failures on the MLS side, but they will at least give the fans something to look forward to.
    The last thing that needs to be addressed from a priorities perspective is the Liverpool friendly.
    They need to cancel it. Period. Pay a fine to do so if that's what it takes.
    The players don't want to play it and this is no time to be putting a further burden on the senior team's limited resources. Also a 5-1 type loss to a big European side won't be viewed quite the same way as it was against Real Madrid in 2009. Other than appeasing the local Liverpool supporter's clubs, there is nothing to gain from playing Liverpool. Canceling the game would go a long way to show that management is actually listening to the fan's concerns.
    Demand No 2:
    MLSE agrees to cancel the Liverpool friendly and to continue to put maximum resources into its academy set-up.
    Planning
    This area is the one where fans should have the least voice – planning for the future on field product. However, MLSE should try and articulate a bit better what the plan is. Fans have lost confidence in Aron Winter and, especially, upper management. Although it will be seen as pandering by some, the club should re-articulate its vision to fans in some way.
    Mid-season town halls would be the ideal way. Interviews with independent media would also work. However, if that's too much of an ask, then at least they should communicate through Gol TV, TFCtv, torontofc.ca or e-mail what the hell they are doing.
    And not cliched nothingness. Tell us why the senior team needs to play 3-4-3/4-3-3. Explain what the plan is for improving the club. Don't tell us to trust them because, frankly, they haven't earned it.
    Demand No 3 – Talk to us and answer hard questions honestly
    Partnerships
    Up until now the dynamic between supporters and club has been one of a paternal club throwing a bone to their supporters from time to time. Sure, leaders of the big supporter's clubs get an audience with the club to talk about very specific issues that are relevant to a small minority of fans (that make up a significant portion of CSN's readership, it must be said), but that doesn't make the majority of fans feel heard.
    The disconnect that is currently happening can be seen as an opportunity to change the relationship between fan and club. No one wants the fans making player decisions – God knows this club has been guilty of being overly influenced by discussion board chatter in the past – but there are lots of ways that the club can include the fans.
    It all speaks to making TFC a true club that is an extension of the soccer community in Toronto. When fans feel involved and invested they are more tolerant of bumps along the way on the scoreboard side of the equation.
    The fan alliance model used in Seattle might be a good place for MLSE to start looking.
    Changing that relationship will be difficult for MLSE upper management to wrap their head around, but it would benefit them greatly if they were to do so.
    Demand No 4: Work with us to make this club better.
    _
    MLSE isn't going anywhere. Fans can lament that fact, or they can try and put thoughtful pressure on management to make changes for everyone's benefit.
    What's it going to be?
    Guest
    This week we look at the Impact first quarter of the season, the upteenth crisis at Toronto FC and Week 8 of MLS action.
    Our guest commentators are Pascal Milano (La Presse), Pat Leduc (RDS & LaPresse), Marc Tougas (CP), Julien Manuguerra (Radio-Canada Toronto), Jonathan Tannenwald (Philly.com) & Lisa Erickson (Centerlinesoccer.com).
    Enjoy our 40 minutes show by clicking here!
    We ask you the same question we asked our experts' panel:
    1) Who is the positive surprise on the Impact roster so far?
    2) Who is the disappointment of the group?
    3) Are you surprised, dissatisfied or unmoved by the Impact's record so far (1-5-2)?
    4) Who would be your choice of MVP in Montreal after eight games?
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    You can also catch us directly on the iTunes Store or on Stitcher
    Guest
    Tonight, we’ve got a bit of a shorter show as I’m off in the wilderness working on other things but we wanted to get something up for you, breaking down Toronto’s performance over the weekend.
    We’ll talk about the return of Torsten Frings – the good and bad, a lively performance from Reggie Lambe and dispel some rumours floating around right now.
    The archived show is now up
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/31192/apr232012final.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    Subscribe and download It's Called Football on iTunes
    Subscribe and download It's Called Football for other devices
    Follow us on Twitter for updates on guests and shows
    Guest

    Vancouver Whitecaps v Dallas Photo Gallery

    By Guest, in AFTN,

    We've added a photographer to AFTN's ranks - Christopher Vose.
    Here's a selection of his photos from the Whitecaps game on Saturday night against Dallas.
    You can view all of Christopher's Whitecaps photographs at <a href="http://www.consulphotography.com" target="_blank"><b>ConsulPhotography.com</b></a>.
    Be sure to check his photos daily, as he is will have regular shots up from training, as well at Caps matches at all levels.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    All of his photos are copyrighted and cannot be used without his permission.
    <center>************************************</center>
    <center>
    <center>[Let's all do the robot. Let's all do the robot. Na na na na. Na na na na.]</center>

    <center>[Young guns bonding]<center>

    <center>[Well that scares us, never mind defences.]<center>

    <center>[scottish passion]<center>

    <center>[How was that NOT a penalty?]</center></center>
    You can view the rest of Christopher's photos from the Dallas match as a high resolution slideshow <a href="
    " target="_blank"><b>HERE</b></a>.<p>
    Guest
    In a three part series, Ben Knight spoke to each of the candidates running in the CSA presidential elections.
    In this interview you will hear from CSA Vice President Rob Newman on enforcing the Canadian quota on MLS teams, developing players through academies and the importance of creating consensus on a governance level.
    We encourage you to listen to all three interviews and weigh in on who you would choose for president.
    [PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]
    <embed src="http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/FlowPlayerLight.swf?config={embedded:true,videoFile:%27http://itscalledfootball.podhoster.com/download/2540/31160/newmaniinterviewfinal.mp3%27,initialScale:%27scale%27,controlBarBackgroundColor:%270x778899%27,autoBuffering:false,loop:false,autoPlay:false}" width="400" height="25" scale="fit" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer"></embed>
    Listen to the Dr. Dominique Maestracci interview here.
    Listen to the Victor Montagliani interview here.
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