The Toronto FC Sadvent Calendar: Day 13

 

"THE THREE UNWISE MEN"

　

Old, Dutchnonsense and er... Silva. Yes "The Escobar 3" brought TFC PR to an all-time laughable low as Miguel Aceval, Nick Soolsma and Luis Silva were arrested after a punch-up and failed police escape outside of a Houston nightclub. Their TFC careers are now all long history but their freedom was at least spared by generous mystery benefactor, one "Julian B. Guzman".

　

Check back tomorrow and open another Sadvent window!



Escobarred: Reds open Transfer Window by sending Silva to D.C. for da moneyz

Like Scrooge on Christmas, Kevin Payne flung open the Transfer Window this morning and sent a young boy on his way. Rather than send the youngster for the biggest goose however, Payne sent young Luis Silva packing for the other nation's capital and D.C. United.

What, you ask is a 4th Overall pick worth in 2013's fragile global economic landscape? The other striker we need? A replacement attacking midfielder now that we have... um... Wiedeman...? Surely a wide midfielder right? Nope. TEH MONEYZ!!! Yes, "The Cashman" (see above) has added to TFC's hilarious Scrooge McDuck (I know, went over my Scrooge quota) gold coin pile and added more Allocation Money.

According to Payne, The Reds "are bringing in new attacking talent this window and Luis' playing time would likely suffer". That's all fine and good, but let's hope these "talents" aren't all in the retirement fund not-so-bargain bin. Jettisoning a 24-year old who, until recently, has been highly regarded, will not look too forward-thinking if the allocation ends up being used on a mid-30's journeyman like  (ENTER ENGLISH CHAMPIONSHIP PLAYER OF CHOICE) who leaves after six months.

To be fair, Luis Silva has often looked gun-shy and a shadow of the 2012 model this season but this deal will have to be judged on what it leads to rather than how it looks today. More news is likely on the way, until then we will always have this...

THE SOUTH STAND REPORT: Toronto v CD Aguila... or this is why you go to ALL the games, just in case something happens.

Sorry, I did this from memory.
I think they rescued a princess once...
it's like the stars above a crest for winning tournaments.

I think I could really get excited about this tournament... except nobody else really does.  Sure, the smaller Central American/Caribbean national champs probably look at this as "the big time" but I fear no one else does.  It's nice to win silverware and all, but it doesn't capture the imagination like, well, every other Champions League that is out there.  Mexican and US sides look at it with somewhat importance, but given how underclassed Toronto has been, yet snagged some significant results when needed, we won't be confusing a Monterrey v Real Salt Lake final with a Barca v Inter finale any time soon.  Underdogs love this tournament.  Big ones, not so much.

CD Aguila are the defending Clausura champions of El Salvador.  For those that don't know what that means, CD Aguila won the second half-season championship because what league would be complete without having more than one champion in a given year?  Which is funny, given Canada crowns a national champion between four clubs.  Welcome to CONCACAF! #amIRight?

Predictions were mostly pro-TFC.  @kzknowles had 3-1, @WakingtheRed had a absolute nutter of a 6-1, a few 1-0 (including mine), a 2-1 and a 1-0 to CD Aguila.

On to the match...

Quote of the Match:

BMO Field - Where they introduce the crowd to the players

~ LutonTony (formerly known as the President of the Luton Town FC
Supporters Club of North America) in reaction to the paltry turnout.

6' - Henry appears to head in a bad clearance by the Aguila keeper, and the ref calmly waits for the ball to cross the goal line before doing anything about it.

10' - GOAL - Corner kick delivered by Frings into the box, Silva heads it perfectly into the top left corner.  "Pick that out!" (a la Graham Leggat)
Robins 1, Naranjas 0

17' - GOAL - Silva breaks in right side of the box and slides a pretty ball to Lambe who pots it cooly.
Robins 2, Naranjas 0

37' - GOAL - Aguila free kick from 20 yards out forces Kocic to make a diving save but can't quite old on to it, Perez is there to tap in the loose ball.  Game on?
Robins 2, Naranjas 1

40' - GOAL - No.  Game over.  Henry fires a low cross in that's perfectly tapped in by Terry "Mother F**kin'" Dunfield.
Robins 3, Naranjas 1 

That's Terry Alonso!

~ man two rows in front after a comparison of TFC to Barca.

Half-Time Mood : Crushed optimism after realizing we only play them once at home.

48' - GOAL - Lambe puts a low ball just past the unfortunate Aguila keeper.  Magical.  Just magical.
Robins 4, Naranjas 1

58' - GOAL - Through ball from Silva to Johnson, who goes around the keeper and calmly fires into the empty net.  Shock was both that I'm in person for a thrashing in our favour AND that Johnson didn't fire it past the post.
Robins 5, Naranjas 1 

61' - SUB - Frings gets a nice round of applause and makes way for Maund.

Then this happened (if you like crap puns that could easily be headlines, keep reading) :

Lambe's skills are mutton to laugh about

~ Mikey

Hat-tricks don't come sheep

~ @WakingtheRed

He's playing so well he should be playing for Baa-aaa-celona

~ LutonTony

Seriously, I love all of you buggers.  Don't ever change.

72' - SUB - Johnson makes way for Amarikwa.

75' - SUB - Henry comes off for Taylor Hall.

Announced attendance was 5300.  For once they decided not to lie about who was there and I respect them for it.

3 mins of extra time.

Full Time : Toronto 5, CD Aguila 1

Man of the Match : Luis Silva.  He set up 2 and bagged 1.  He looked amazing in the first half.  He was looking like a 10 but everyone took their foot off the gas by the 70th minute.  Forgiven.

Goat of the Game : Are you serious?  At 3-1 there wasn't going to be one.  At 5-1, someone should go on the Wall of Honour.

Ref Rating : 3 out of 5.  I know its generous after the early non-goal call back, but he was bad for both sides and kept his cards in his pocket for most of the match.

Kit Spotting : Saw a Sport Club Internacional from Brazil which should win, but I was such a nerd for the awesome Angola kit from the World Cup in 2006 that it wins.

Wow.  Heady stuff.  It was hard to tell if Aguila were taking Toronto too lightly or were just over-classed in general.  They took a helluva beating... The gentleman in front of me remarked at how relaxed Frings looks every time he takes a corner.  Torsten has probably taken more free kicks, in practice and in games, than I've ever kicked a ball... Mr. Reggie Lambe, please do not take these lame puns under any offense.  We genuinely respect your contribution to this side.  Thank you... Silva did look like a seasoned pro and by no means a rookie.  Half expected Frings to hand him the armband when he was subbed off... Wiedeman is a little awkward out there.  He's in position, but doesn't look the most comfortable... I suspect that there will be a papering or a Groupon for the next Champions Lg match against Laguna Santos.  Sub-6000 isn't enough for that match.

Match Ratings : Kocic 6, Henry 6.5, Eckersley 6, Emory 6, Morgan 6, Lambe 8.5, Frings 8 [Maund N/A], Dunfield 7.5, Wiedeman 6; Silva 9, Johnson 7

TFC solidify place as league's most embarrassing club

"Free The Escobar Three!" Or not. Whatever.



"Things can only get better right?" This was a common refrain a couple of weeks ago after the Aron Winter dismissal. It was the genuine belief of many Toronto FC supporters that the on-field disgrace that is TFC must surely be due for an upswing. Well, whether Paul Mariner can change the results are yet to be seen but in the meantime, a trio of your FC'ers did their best to embarrass anyone attached with the club even further.
　
Following a bar brawl at Houston's "Club Escobar" (seriously, the hint is in the name!), three Reds - Nick Soolsma, Miguel Aceval and Luis Silva were arrested for "public intoxication" and jailed. During the arrest one of the players even tried to run away - which obviously wasn't Aceval. There has been no official word yet from the club or the league about the legal and/or contract status of the players but being as this was in Texas, the crime is punishable by the electric chair.

　

In all seriousness, this is a black eye that this club does not need. The ridiculous ownership has created a laughing stock club which definitely didn't need any help from their own players becoming a public disgrace. In all judicial fairness - it is too early to judge the players... legally speaking. But, in the realm of public opinion and relations - the damage has been done. Once again at the end of the day it is poor TFC supporters who must once again hear the chuckles of derision from every other club in the league. If Danny Koevermans hasn't said this already... "the most embarrassing team in the world".

Luis Silva's mugshot... post-Texan prison look

LETTERS FROM CAMP: "Can we play you, can we play you, can we play you every week?"

Dallatasaray - Pride of Turkxas



It's the final group stage match at The Mickey Mouse Cup for Toronto FC but also their first preseason match against a MLS club. Tonight's tilt sees The Reds face off against the team that gave TFC something to look forward to over winter - FC Dallas. As you remember, The Hoops folded like a cheap shirt in the final Champions League Group Stage match last autumn, paving the way for TFC to head to the quarterfinals against Davy Knickers and The Boyz at SkyDome next week. The least The Reds could do is let Dallas have first place at Disney. With that in mind... Ty harden starts tonight... to the pitch for equally useful highlights!

- Mickey Mouse delivers the game ball to the refs in what appears to be a Sheffield Wednesday kit. Who knew Mickey ups The Owls?
1' - Reds go for the "Triangle" offence by opting for Reggie Lambe over Ryan Johnson just before kick-off
7' - Unfair advantage for FC Dallas - warm weather and a stadium with less than 300 people in attendance... exactly like mid-season at Pizza Hut Park
12' - Bob de Klerk insanely yelling instructions at Ty Harden before a Dallas set piece. The X-Rated pictures Harden must have of TFC management must be damning. No other explanation.
19' - Nothing but love for Milos Kocic but Stefan Frei is undoubtedly the # 1
21' - After 20 minutes Joao Plata offers the first hint of TFC offence. Disjointed.
26' - Reggie Lambe makes his first good run in 3 matches. Still undercooked.
32' - By no means have TFC been pretty but the mlssoccer.com announcers would have nicer things to say about the Hitler Select XI at the Mussolini Testimonial Match
35' - Out of absolutely nothing Luis Silva goes Route 1 and plows through FC Dallas' defence and pushes the ball past The Hoops' keeper. TORONTO FC 1 - FC DALLAS 0
37' - Lambe gets chopped (thank you) by FCD keeper and deserves a PK but minor league ref gives him a yellow for diving instead. Sport Goofy officiating.
39' - Did "Master of The Draft" Mo Johnston pick Luis Silva? The rookie makes it two by pouncing on a loose ball and firing it into goal. TORONTO FC 2 - FC DALLAS 0
45' - Reds dominant after waking up in the last 15 minutes but need to bring that at 0:01 against Los Angeles

TORONTO FC 2 - FC DALLAS 0

48' - Miguel Aceval establishing himself as the anchor of TFC's central defence
52' - mlssoccer.com announcers trying to make nicknames for Luis Silva... umm do they not read us and Waking The Red? Helloooooo? "Silva Bullet"?
60' - Ashtone Morgan leaves the match for trialist Kevin Huezo. Morgan has been very solid in all three preseason matches
65' - TFC Academy director Thomas Rongen's finds of Kevin Huezo and Moises Orozco making decent arguments for full contracts
70' - Everybody out of the pool. Only Terry Dunfield remains from starting eleven.
78' - The kids are alright as TFC's youth grinding down FCD's youth
81' - After 5 years, Toronto FC may have finally found the key to making playoff rounds - always finish off by playing Dallas
83' - Ryan Johnson giving hope that TFC has two capable strikers with a calmly placed finish to put The Reds up by three. TORONTO FC 3 - FC DALLAS 0
88' - MLS announcers struggling to find something nice to say about TFC despite a 3-0 lead
90'- Promising signs after the first half hour as TFC now gets ready to play The Mickey Mouse Final on Saturday night against those pot smoking hippies - Vancouver Whitecaps

TORONTO FC 3 - FC DALLAS 0

LETTERS FROM CAMP: "My God, they're full of stars!"

"You are just on loan Dave..."



A SALARY CAP FAR, FAR AWAY?
In the most uneventful (in a good way) pre-season of Toronto FC's history, we can't help but gaze into the distance at our next meaningful opponent, LA Galaxy. In one of the shrewdest moves in MLS governance, Galaxy persuaded the league to allow them to use Mexican Pesos as their salary cap currency. This has to be the explanation for a club that already boasted David Beckham, Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane but has remarkably added Edson Buddle, Sao Paulo defender Leonardo and extended the loan of midfielder Juninho in the last fortnight. If the peso-policy isn't real, then you'd almost have to believe that MLS wants LA to be a "superclub" and face fellow giant Seattle in the CCL Semi Final on their march to the FIFA Club World Cup. But that thinking would be crazy right? Yes. Crazy. After all... there's "proof" out there!
　
Sadly for LA Galaxy's accountants, their fans can't join in on the excitement yet. The club had to cap attendance at the CCL QF 2nd Leg against TFC at 7500. In their defence, the average mid-March temperature in Los Angeles is a chilly 19 degrees Celsius. Brrr. That is far too cold to enjoy a prawn sandwich.
　
CUP RUNNETH IS OVER
While the details of who is available for TFC in the CCL QF seem to be ever-changing, CONCACAF has made it clear that Eric Avila and Jeremy Hall cannot be selected. Both players were included in other CCL squads in the current Champions League season which leaves them cup-tied. There is an appeal process for TFC to lobby CONCACAF but those two players seem to be no-go's. Avila's absence will be felt the most but does give rookie Luis Silva a shot at early SkyDome stardom.
　
HIT DUN-FIELD RUNNING
Terry Dunfield reveals that he had successful surgery on a nagging hernia problem this off-season. The Canadian international claims to be nearing 100% after the December operation in Germany and is raring to go in 2012. The groin tear was suffered while still with Vancouver last season which could explain why Dunfield's TFC appearances could be described as "sparing" at best. Even if fully fit, it may be hard for the affable Canuck to crack the Starting 11 regularly with a lot of competition this year in the middle of the pitch.

LETTERS FROM CAMP: "You complete me"

"I have a squad thiiiiiiis big"



FILLING HOLES, FEELING WHOLE
Isn't it refreshing to hear Aron Winter and his troops talk about how the club is "almost complete"? Barely a week in to training camp and the club's depth charts are nearly full. With the most recent acquisition completed, Chilean defender Miguel Aceval, the biggest hole of the off-season - the defence - has pretty much been taken care of. There are a few tweaks to tinker with but for the first time in TFC history, fans have an idea of the club's make-up by February 1st. It wasn't too long ago that the only thing Groundhog Day brought to TFC was an influx of washed up trialists, the likes of Kiki Musampa, Ibrahim Said and Brian Kerr.
　
ONLY 4 SPOTS LEFT - ACT NOW!
Word through Kurt Larson's excellent TFC coverage today that both First Round SuperDraft picks, Luis Silva and Aaron Maund, are officially under contract to the club now. With their official inclusion, the club's first team squad boasts 26 players leaving 4 spots left to contest before the season. With reports that Luis Silva is learning the ropes quickly at TFC, the crop of youngsters is currently quite bright and the remaining spots will also likely be taken by youth projects with Stefan Vukovic, Efrain Burgos Jr. and Mike Mazzullo making early impressions.
　
ANOTHER BUDDLE OF TICKETS
With demand being steady for the CCL QF at SkyDome, TFC was set to release a further 1,000 seats for public sale. With the match still more than a month away, more than 40K in attendance seems likely. Unfortunately, one player that the throng will be welcoming back is brief ex-Red Edson Buddle who is reportedly returning to LA Galaxy today. When last seen in MLS, Buddle was lighting it up before taking a sojourn in the German second division. When asked how this affects Galaxy's salary cap - giggling was heard at MLS Head Office.
　
In other giggling/ticket news... our "friends" on the eastern end of the 401 aren't having as much luck selling seats. Montreal Impact owner/provolone magnate Joey Saputo was bemoaning the club's inability to sell more than 7,000 season tickets so far. This is really going nowhere... just more of a laugh for Reds' supporters. And a chance to write "provolone".

Winter’s Draft affected by Chile conditions?

Now THAT'S a SuperDraft!



Wow that's a lot of punnage in one title. With reason though, as something is definitely going on behind the scenes which will help explain Toronto FC's two First Round draft picks at the MLS SuperDraft. (Don't you just hate those non-Super Drafts? So boring.) With their braintrust gathered in Kansas City, TFC did their best to confound those who do mock drafts.
　
With the 4th Pick overall, The Reds decided to go with consensus "best player available" in attacking midfielder Luis Silva. The 5-foot 11 Senior form UCSB upped his stock during the combines with an ability to find the open man, assisting on no less than 7 goals. Many NCAA experts predict the 23-year old to push for a starting role with TFC and at the very least make for very useful depth. Silva, a Los Angeles native, spent some time in the Chivas USA youth set-up and enjoys playing FIFA 08 - his new contract should help him at least get a used copy of FIFA 10.
　
POSSIBLE NICKNAMES: "The Silva Bullet", "Silva of Hope" (thanks to twitter's Darth Pingu for that one), "The Silva Fox" and an extra 20 points to the first broadcaster who announces a Luis Silva-Joao Plata goal combo as "The Silva-Plata"
　
After passing on their greatest need - defence - with the first pick, many TFC observers felt that the club must have known that they could pick up hulking defender Andrew Jean "The" Baptiste. If that was the plan, those wacky lumberjacks in Portland scuppered it by taking Baptiste with the 8th Pick.

With a giant Harden-sized hole remaining in the backline, The Reds seemingly took a gamble with the 12th Pick by taking Notre Dame defender Aaron Maund. The 6-foot 1 Senior was primarily a centreback in his NCAA career and flirted with Trinidad & Tobago's U-17 program. The 22-year old Massachusetts native was not predicted by many to go so high in the draft but with TFC's dearth in the back,  he may have a shot at a pro career more abundant than expected. Also, Maund attended a High School called The Roxbury Latin School which sounds like a salsa nightclub - so there's that.
　
POSSIBLE NICKNAMES: "Maundsta","The Long Maund of Rebound", "A-Maund Joy" plus an extra 20 points to the first broadcaster reading a TFC line-up who makes Iro - Maund sound like "Irie, mon"
　
So as the dust settled, Polaroids were taken and Sporting KC fans ended their xenophobic Canada chants, TFC walked off with these two young gents but a whole lot of questions. Firstly, the aforementioned hole in the defence wasn't really addressed; however, at press time (I have a card that says "PRESS" in my fedora ok? Jeez.) the TFC management team were making loud murmurs about two defenders who were about to be signed. Best guesses at their identities are Chilean Miguel Aceval and the return of Richard "GingaNinja" Eckersley which makes us think that this day may be long from over.
　
The second conundrum offered by these picks is that neither are Generation Adidas status which means that their potential salaries will count against TFC's salary cap - which is thought by most to be bursting at the seams. This off course would have only solution - the departure of some existing members of the club. Which makes us think this day is really long from over.
　
NOTES FROM THE SUPERDRAFT...
- L'impact du Montreal Impact chose defender Andrew Wenger with their 1st overall pick which immediately excited the French community who mistakenly thought Arsene Wenger had joined the club
- Whitecaps chose speedy forward Darren Mattocks who was blah, blah, blah - who cares - it's Vancouver
- New England Revolution chose Kelyn Rowe who won't have trouble with crowd phobias in front of the Revs' dozens of fans
- D.C. United's pick, Nick "Ponce" DeLeon, immediately drew the ire of Dwayne De Rosario who demanded a "fountain of youth" in his new contract
- Ethan Finlay, Columbus' 1st Rounder, demanded to know where the other 2/3 of Crew's new away kit was but was placated when he got to meet the three dudes on the club's logo
- Don Garber is still refusing to go by the name Dong Grabber
- News of Kenny Cooper's trade to NYRB being met with the phrase "Salary Cap - Shmalary Cap"

FURTHER TFC DRAFT UPDATES WILL APPEAR BELOW...