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Thursday, November 11, 2010

"Vage" - German for vague

Supporters still in the dark...

Toronto FC rolled out the Willkommen Wagon today as new consultant/Bavarian Jesus, Jürgen Klinsmann met the Toronto press for the first time since his SoccerSolutions firm was hired by the club. The former German superstar, accompanied by his business partner that no one cared about, was his usual media-friendly and engaging self, charming a media room that seemed a bit in awe of the World Cup hero. Unfortunately, for those expecting an afternoon of blueprints for TFC's future were left wanting by vague football romanticism and careful corporate outlines.
 
The well-spoken Klinsmann wasn't challenged by any tough questions from the local media but still offered very little in the way of new information. Most things mentioned today had already been said by ML$E's Tom Anselmi in recent interviews but Klinsmann did offer some minor points of interest...  
  • SoccerSolutions is hired to consult with TFC until the beginning of the 2011
    season and all of their recommendations are due by then
  • The consultancy firm's wide network of global connections will help recommend potential new staff members but (and this is a mighty big but) all final hiring decisions will come down to Tom Anselmi
  • The vision for the club's future will be formed by creating a style that suits Toronto and its citizen's football philosophy (Anselmi let it slip in a previous interview that this philosophy includes players who may not be skilled but have grit and determination. Great.)
  • When discussing the coaching staff, mentioned that they are "lead by Nick" (Dasovic).No further comment given if that reference means Dasovic is in the long-term head coaching picture
  • In a cringe-worthy Mo Johnston-esque moment, Klinsmann excused the sorry state of the club by mentioning that it was "only a fourth year franchise"

At the end of the conference neither fan nor media could help but feel they learned little. It was nice to see Klinsmann and having him associated with the club is not a bad thing by any means but expecting him to be the absolute saviour seems far-fetched. Until (and if) supporters learn more about Klinsmann's power or see concrete results it can be argued that it is nothing more than an overhyped corporate consultancy gig, or worse, an elaborate ML$E PR move.
 
The only saving graces of the appointment are the possibly naive hopes that ML$E truly sees the need to fix Toronto FC at this very moment in time; and also that Klinsmann's SoccerSolutions company will be looking for a victory. If the consultancy firm can perform a minor miracle in Toronto it would be a major feather in their cap. For now, TFC supporters are still stuck in limbo, wondering if Jürgen Klinsmann is the answer to our woes or just another name in the long line of ML$E promotional campaigns. Only time... and more importantly actions, will tell.

4 comments:

  1. I am always surprised at the apparent lack of urgency that ML$E operations perpetuate. Their sense if timing is proving to be their undoing.

    I hope Klinsmann can do more than sell the remaining seasons tickets and that solid fundamental football solutions are implemented at the club, but Scepticism on my part grows.

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  2. Damn this site and it's earth-grounding skepticism. :)
    Any sane Reds man is thinking the same thing today I think

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  3. I read this site now more than any supporters site, blog, etc...

    Put the Yorkies' scarf up for sale on your site. (Hint)

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  4. @ Anon 12:45

    Thanks! We're doing our best to keep the off-season as short as possible with regular features and our usual silliness. Thrilled that you enjoy the site.

    Thanks for the scarf tip! Our original Yorkies' scarf is currently sold out but when a new design arrives we'd be sure to use the site for its launch and sale as well as from our home base in BMO's South Stand.

    We will have a brand new line of Yorkies' T-Shirts coming for the 2011 season which you will be able to view by hitting the link to the right.

    Thanks again for the compliments. here's hoping there are better things to write about soon!

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