It's a bloody big De Ro

Yeah... let's just pretend that didn't happen



A few weeks back, the prodigal return of Scarberian superstar Dwayne De Rosario was the talk of TFC Land. Yesterday, Jermain Defoe happened. BOOM! De Ro was now the side dish of off-season signings. A few hours later... BOOMIER! TFC was/is in the middle of trying to snatch Michael Bradley away from AS Roma. De Ro thus became the whipped cream on a Double-DP Buster Parfait. And that is perfect.

The return of De Ro to his hometown club after his first spell ended rather acrimoniously was a polarizing announcement to TFC support. For now it seems firmly "love him or hate him" (although much hate will subside after the first stutter step goal celebration methinks) and some fear that things may not turn out well again. However, this is a different player coming to what may be a drastically different club.

Re-unveiled again today as the newest member of TFC, De Ro is indeed coming back as the aforementioned whipped cream. Unlike his original spell, he won't be "the man", he won't be expected to do the heavy lifting, and he won't be the face where the local media's cameras turn to first in good times or bad. Again - that is perfect.

Instead, De Ro will have every opportunity to successfully return home for what is likely his final professional stop on a great career. Together with the club, he can heal or hopefully erase many old wounds and help turn the heavy page on a long, miserable 7-year chapter. On the pitch, he can attempt to prove the old dog has a few tricks left in him and do what he does well - thumb his nose at doubters. If successful at most of these goals, TFC will be the benefactor.

Make no mistake, De Ro's return may end up as a footnote when this off-season's history is written. Defoe and (likely) Bradley will be the big deals but there is no risk apart from finances to those signings. There isn't a team in MLS that wouldn't take either of those players but many would balk at bringing back a player with such a turbulent past with the club. It will never be the "bloody biggest" deal of 2014 but it may very well be TFC's bloody boldest.

SCARBOROUGH BOGO!
In case you didn't now, Thursdays are "Buy One Scarberian, Get the Second Free!" at TFC. A nice little story was slipped in before DeRoPalooza began as TFC announced that they have signed homegrown academy product Jordan Hamilton. The 17-year old Scarborough-native becomes the ninth homegrown player to graduate to The Reds' first-team.

Hamilton has impressed during his time with TFC Academy and the Canadian national program but there were a few questions about whether or not he would be signed by the big club. A change in academy direction, with Thomas Rongen departing, may have meant a different analysis of the young forward who will hopefully be loaned out to get minutes as he works towards a TFC debut in the future.

No signings? There's an "Ap" for that.

The Kingmaker

TFC got their Argentine! No, no... calm down sports fans, Max Urruti is not donning the "famous" red of TFC yet but Toronto has added a Buenos Aires-born product in the form of Manny Aparicio.

 

The latest product from Danny Dichio's School of Hard Knocks aka TFC Academy, 17-year old Aparicio becomes TFC's eighth graduate to join the first-team. The hometown Toronto lad has been splitting his time between Los Dichios and the TFC Reserve Team this year and the club apparently felt he was ready for the jump.

 

At Aparicio's age and build, he isn't likely to make any type of first-team impact in the very near future but signing locals is never a bad thing. After last night, it's also nice to have feel-good story to chat about.

 

Now... about that transfer window...



LETTERS FROM CAMP: Payne management

"It's good to talk..."



With just a few days before The Reds go all snowbird and head down to Orlando ("WHOOO! SPRING BREAK!"), Kevin Payne took time away from packing his mesh "Daytona Beach '84" tank-tops to hold a round-table discussion with some members of the mainstream Toronto football media. The boss of all things Eff Cee seemed to be in "line drawn in sand" mode which may or may not be a beach metaphor. Here's a few of K-Payne's phat rhymes...
　
ON THE KIDS:
- Some TFC Academy players will be invited to join the first team down in Florida due to some early "impressive performances".
- No word if they will be allowed any beachside hijinks with locals much like in the 1983 seminal theatrical spring break opus... "Spring Break"
　
ON NEW SIGNINGS:
- TFC are "looking almost exclusively south" for new players adding that European targets are "overpriced"
- Somewhere Mikael Yourassowsky said "WTF man?!"
- Did not get into any type of financial conversation about the Greek Debt Crisis or the falling value of the Euro over the Honduran Lempira
- Club is hoping to announce new signing this week or early next week but warned "it has been a complex deal"
- Possibly related, possibly not, but definitely complex, Payne dropped that "Peralta deal is not dead"
- In addition to the above 'imminent deal' the club is also working on 3 further deals with attacking players preferably under the age of 27.
　
ON THE MONEYZ:
- Claimed that the business side of TFC was in "great shape"
- Thousands of TFC supporters rolled their eyes in unison
- Ryan Nelsen was awarded a three-year contract
　
ON FITNESS:
- "Very disappointed" that "many players showed up unfit" and that "1 or 2 were not even close to being fit"
- Sternly stated "that won't happen again"
　
ON THE DP'S:
- When asked about Torsten Frings, Payne stated "he's deserving of every opportunity to prove he can still do the job" but then quickly added that the German is not in full training yet.
- Claimed that there are "no discussions yet to buy (Frings) out"
- Journalists likely safe to put "yet" in all caps
- Payne was clear that "buying out a DP is an option". Clubs may only do this once a year if you were hoping to hear that Frings, Hassli and Koevermans were all on a bus to Pearson.
- Rather randomly dropped that "the jury is out on Hassli". Not sure what the Frenchman is charged with but it sounds ominous in a 12 Angry Men kind of way
- When asked if it was explained to him why Hassli's contract was renewed a week before he was hired, Payne paused and wryly said "No."
- Somewhere Paul Mariner's ears started to burn.
- Unsurprising to most, Danny Koevermans won't likely be ready to play until the end of June at the earliest. His form would likely be found a month or two after that.
- As if wanting to end things with a big asterisk, Payne let it be known that the 3 DP's along with Darren O'Dea and Richard Eckersley eat up a "very, very large percentage of the salary cap"... so see you this time next year?
　
IN PARTING:
- First home fixture now solidly scheduled for SkyDome on March 9 at 1:30 PM. Get your thundersticks now!
- Payne may or may not have put on mesh "Daytona Beach '84" tank-top and strapped surfboard on top of Studebaker station wagon with Florida plates and peeled out of BMO Field parking lot.

LETTERS FROM CAMP: Ryin Nilsin Tistimowkneeal Metch

"Cheerio Poms but me hammy is knackered"



MESH AND BONE
Harry Redknapp may claim he still isn't sure but our new New Zealish overlord Ryan Nelsen is hours away from calling it a day on his long and successful playing career. The new TFC gaffer will wear the hoops of QPR one last time today as the struggling West Londoners host the defending Premier League champions Manchester City - and it seems not a moment too soon. Not only is there a hefty amount of pressure on the affable Kiwi to take over the TFC reins quickly but according to the man himself, his legs sound about ready to fall apart. Nelsen told the redundantly named MLSsoccer.com this week that apart from his "glass knees", the big defender has a hamstring that is currently being "screwed on with screws and mesh at the moment". In New Zealisher or any language - that crap's just gross.
　
CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE CUP
Our mateys over at Waking The Red have been using their leftover Dutch phrasebooks and dug up an interesting tidbit regarding TFC's youth teams. Apparently The Reds' U-16 squad will be invited over to Amsterdam to take part in the very prestigious AEGON Future Cup, hosted by those kings of voetbal development - Ajax. The tournament which welcomes the utes of major clubs such as Manchester United, AC Milan and Barcelona to name a few, would be a great challenge for Toronto's burgeoning Academy system. Of course being The Future Cup, this will all take place in some possibly dystopian reality so who knows what will happen. Blade Runners, Biff Tannen... that midget robot from Buck Rogers - it could get weird. Also, a bunch of teenagers in Amsterdam for a week.
　
SHHH! TRAINING CAMP
While it's not necessarily an ominous sign, the sounds you aren't hearing in town are about TFC's Training Camp. Practicing under the mystical Bubbles of Downsview, the club has just been quietly going about their business before relocating to Orlando, Florida later this week. Lack of eventful drama is nice but some supporters are finding the hush around possible additions to the squad increasingly disconcerting. As of now, The Reds' midfield and forward depth charts are wafer thin and the only nugget of new faces is an agency Facebook entry noting that Brazilian "wonder" twins Pedro and Paulo Mendes (most recently of the mighty superclub Atlanta Silverbacks) have been invited as trialists. Yahoo? In the past, fans have been teased with numerous possible additions by this time of the year - but of course those years all turned out to be disasters. Perhaps patience is a virtue? Okay, but our fingernails aren't too happy about it.

THE STARTING 11: Side effects of Toronto FC's youthful squad at Disney

I said "TFC" not "BSC"!



Everyone felt warm and fuzzy after Saturday night's "loss" to Vancouver Whitecaps at The Mickey Mouse Cup. Except maybe the Whitecaps. Yes they got a trophy but it was on the back of barely beating a team of teens, trialists and Nick Soolsma. Hard to lift a trophy proudly when you just traded shirts with a 15-year old. The young squad was a sign that TFC's commitment to its Academy program may soon start bearing fruit but it's not always easy to field such a young group of Reds...
　
11. Had to stock the team fridge with tons of chocolate milk in case they needed to drink something out of the trophy
　
10. Always wearing their shorts too low and baggy
　
9. Two players benched after Friday night bender of eating cotton candy and riding Disney World's "Teacups" ride until they were sick
　
8. A sudden push to re-brand club "Young Boys Toronto"
　
7. Players instinctively trying to press "X" button whenever they get close to goal
　
6. Team always having to share practice facilities with 4-year olds from "Timbits Soccer"
　
5. Long distance phone bills skyrocketing from Danny Dichio's insistence that he reads every player a story before bedtime
　
4. Second half was played with such ferocity as 10PM curfew was getting close
　
3. Defensive markings often missed as players stop during run of play to text their girlfriends
　
2. Coach Jason Bent forced to switch tactical gameday videos with re-runs of DeGrassi
　
1. Ugly child abuse accusations being hurled at Whitecaps

LETTERS FROM CAMP: Whitecaps steal kids’ prize at Disney World

Hungry, forceful teens

This was what the whole Total Football revolution was all about. Just over a year since Aron Winter and Co. took over Toronto FC, the club is in the finals of a prestigious rodent-based tournament. So excited for tonight's final against Vancouver are Toronto FC that they packed up 99% of the first team squad and came home to Hogtown yesterday. 

In all seriousness, Winter has done the right thing in not risking injury to any starters only four days before the big CCL matchup against David Beckham's junk. But, haters gonna hate and some grumpy types will be displeased that TFC is leaving The Mickey Mouse title in the hands of their Academy... and Nick Soolsma... but they'd be grumpier if a Torsten Frings twisted a knee for a useless trophy and missed Wednesday night. So, it's up to the kids to be alright... it's Tiny Talent Time!

1’ - The online feed finally comes to life with rumours that TSN asked the game to be played on ice before broadcasting it. It’s TFC’s kids (and Soolsma) vs. those pot smokin’ hippies.

7’ - TFC Kid Jay Chapman artfully stymies an Eric Hassli run much to the moody Cap’s dismay/embarrassment

10’ - Vancouver’s generic Brazilian, Camilo, slices through TFC’s Junior Defence and roofs the ball over young GK Quillan Roberts. TORONTO 0 - VANCOUVER 1

20’ - TFC Kids doing their best to hold off the much bigger (and professional) Caps squad. Some frantic defending but not bad considering the general difference in pedigree

26’ - Caps’ 2nd overall SuperDraft pick Darren Mattocks fouled Oscar Cordon from behind… possibly because he felt Cordon was behind him not being drafted 1st overall

30’ - Feels creepy having our young players being forced to shoot on Vancouver GK/adult film star "Joe Cannon"

35’ - Whitecaps suddenly having trouble dominating a CSL team

40’ - ESPN3’s announcers warn viewers for the second time that you will be mobbed by fans if you are near Vancouver’s Korean defender Lee Young-Pyo. Fine! Brunch is off Young-Pyo - get your waffles and KimChee somewhere else.

45’ - Reds go close to tying the game but Joe Cannon got his filthy hands all over their balls. A quality half from what is pretty much TFC Academy with good displays from Moises Orozco (P. Coltrane), Keith "Don’t Call Me BooYah" Makubuya and Quillan "Is Serial Quillan Inappropriate?" Roberts

TORONTO 0 - VANCOUVER 1

47’ - TFC Kids have come out in the second half full of piss and milk and cookies. Want it more than Whitecaps in the early going

54’ - Eric Hassli limps off with a knock - the best advertisement for TFC’s decision not to play any First Team starters tonight

58’ - TFC Kids have had a downright dominant few minutes with Efrain Burgos Jr. getting a close chance on goal

60’ - TFC sub on the highly touted Stefan Vukovic and the outrageously young Josh Hamilton - a 15-year old. Even if Whitecaps win… they beat a team with a 15-year old.

63’ - Three agonizing near-misses for TFC’s Teen Hunger Force in 15 seconds. Deserved.

74’ - "It’s a Small World After All" would be a great chant by the TFC supporters in Florida right about now

76’ - Quillan Roberts tries to "pull an England" by booming a goal kick the length of the field. Composed night for the young keeper who could be headed towards a pro contract.

82’ - If coach Jason Bent doesn’t allow these kids to stay up late tonight, eat cotton candy and ride Space Mountain then there is no justice

85’ - Vancouver can have The Mickey Mouse Cup… we’ll keep the Voyageurs Cup thanks.

90’ - In the end, an insignificant friendly doesn’t mean too much. Vancouver won’t be happy that they couldn’t put the sword to a team full of teens and trialists while supporters of TFC can feel a little warm and fuzzy about the Academy. The best result for TFC? A rested starting 11 for Wednesday… when the real fun begins.

TORONTO 0 - VANCOUVER 1

LETTERS FROM CAMP: All For(ty) One

It's "Springtime for Winter" as Toronto FC today released the names of the 41 players (so far) who are taking part in the club's pre-season training camp. The major difference from past years on first glance is the absence of any professional trialists. Just a year ago, the likes of Javier Martina, Mikael Yourassowsky and King Osei Gyan (for you TFC trivia buffs) were training with The Reds in hopes of grabbing a contract but this year seems quite different. While Aron Winter & Co. stressed the importance of stability and a lack of squad turnover, this is a wee bit of a shock unless more names are yet to join after the close of the UEFA transfer window.
　
One name that was hinted heavily on media day but has yet to officially surface is Chilean defender Miguel Aceval. Most would agree that the defence still needs reinforcing and the fact that his signing has been delayed is curious. Without other professionals invited, the empty roster spots will have to be filled by a melange of SuperDraft, Supplemental Draft and invited Academy products. We take a quick look at the current state of each area of the pitch and the occupational competition going into early camp...
　
GOALKEEPERS
Chad Bush (A), Stefan Frei, Milos Kocic, Quillan Roberts (A)... no realistic prospects or invitees means that barring a deal it will be another battle for the # 1 spot between Frei and Kocic.
　
DEFENDERS
Mykell Bates (S), Nick Blake (S), Geovanny Caicedo, Adrian Cann, Richard Eckersley, Jeremy Hall, Ty Harden, Doneil Henry, Brandon John (A), Aaron Maund (SD), Ashtone Morgan, Tyler Pasher (A), Dicoy Williams... With Cann aiming for the MLS season opener but Williams further on the horizon, there is a battle for the CB spot next to Caicedo. If by chance Miguel Aceval doesn't end up signing, a duel between the default Ty Harden and the promising Doneil Henry will form with Aaron Maund holding an outside shot.
　
MIDFIELDERS
Eric Avila, Elbekay Bouchiba, Efrain Burgos, Jr. (SD), Sergio Camargo (A), Jay Chapman (A), Oscar Cordon, Julian de Guzman, Terry Dunfield, Torsten Frings, Michael Green (S), Arthur Ivo (S), Reggie Lambe, Nicholas Lindsay (Injured for season), Mike Mazzullo (S), Luis Silva (SD), Matt Stinson... There seems to be a glut of defensive midfielders between Dunfield, Frings, de Guzman, Bouchiba and even Stinson. You would think something has to give. For the club to stand by Bouchiba as long as they did, the coaches must think highly enough of him. A fair amount of depth in attacking mids will create competition between Lambe, Avila and rookie Silva with Burgos Jr. an outsider with a chance to make bench-strength
　
FORWARDS
Jordan Hamilton (A), Tristan Jackman (A), Ryan Johnson, Danny Koevermans, Keith Makubuya, Nick Soolsma, Joao Plata, Stefan Vukovic (A)... Despite arguably having the best striker in TFC's short history in Koevermans, the club isn't exactly top-heavy. Expectations for Plata to be the # 2 striker may be too lofty and both Soolsma and Johnson have the tendency to disappear for whole matches. A big chance for highly touted Academy product Stefan Vukovic to impress and become the next home-grown Academy graduate.
　
First Team
A – Academy
SD – SuperDraft pick
S – Supplemental Draft pick

Letters from Camp: “More trialists? You bet Yourassowsky!”

Sweet Yourassed fashion scarf there Mikael!

TRIAL HARDER
Toronto FC released the names of more trialists joining the club in Florida today and they are... well... projects. Think more "new in camp" than "Nou Camp". The four players added to Florida’s Camp Wananfooty are:
MIKAEL YOURASSOWSKY: This 5 foot 11 Belgian defender had a bright start to his career, apprenticing with both Anderlecht and Argentine powerhouse Boca Juniors. However, the 27-year-old's professional record has been spotty and nomadic at best since with stops in Greece, Mexico and most recently a spell in Croatia's top division at NK Rijeka - ironically the most solid stretch of his career.
IVO "IN" DE HEUS: It's never a good sign if the most online research you can find on a player is his personal resume. Little is known about this Dutch midfielder apart from a lengthy stretch spent in the Ajax youth system (surprise!) and short professional stints with Dutch clubs Willem II and AGOVV Apeldoorn (Like Apple Jacks – just more footbally). Apparently caught the eye of TFC Assistant Bob de Klerk during his Ajax youth days.
JAMAL GAY: In an effort to help opposing supporters with their offensive chants, TFC invited Trinidad & Tobago International Gay to camp. Apart from his 6 foot 2 frame, there is little to get excited about over the 22-year-old striker. Came up through the Joe Public system before moving on to a lacklustre spell with Rot-Weiss Oberhausen in the German second division. Most recently loaned out to Turkish third division side Dardanel Spor A.S. who are apparently named after a popular brand of tuna - so that's something. Gay has scored 3 goals with the T&T National team but is always last in jersey sales.
JOEVIN JONES: Another Trinidad & Tobago International prospect. 19-year-old defender who has little professional record and emerged from the W Connection club. Despite 6 appearances with the T&T Nats he recently failed to make an impression at the Colorado Rapids camp and was released by The Maroons. First name is French for “Joe’s wine”.
　
DANNY'S KIDS
While the club has yet to make an official announcement, club legend Danny Dichio let it slip on Twitter yesterday evening that he was indeed taking Jason Bent's place as Head Coach of the TFC Academy U-19 squad. Dichio, who by all accounts has taken his education as a young coach very seriously (since being forced into retirement), is a natural choice and the second good homegrown coaching move made by TFC after the recent Bent promotion to the 1st Team. There is word also that fellow "Wall of Honour" (barf) recipient Jim Brennan will be involved in a coaching role with the Academy leaving a massive hole in the club's Auto Show, cartoon narration and coffee retrieval departments.
　
FIELD OF GREEN
Club owners MLSE released a report today slapping there own backs loudly and proudly over the profit that BMO Field has managed to make during its management by the sports, entertainment and panda meat juggernaut. The 2010 profit of $641,000 was in fact 3 times higher than projected and as part of their profit-sharing agreement, MLSE has provided the City of Toronto with $1.2 Million over the last 4 years. Mayor Rob Ford likely commented "Gravy Train. Union fat cats. KFC Double-Down. Argos." TFC supporters commented in unison "Ummm... roof?"

THE WORD: First day back Maltesers

Red with a honeycomb centre. Like TFC's 2010 defence!

The stories out of TFC training camp's first day started leaking before the ink was dry on the medical needles. At least that's my understanding of needles. Might explain my scurvy. Anyhoo... with roster spots galore and a plane warming up on the tarmac for a flight to Turkey, names have begun to pop up on the potential passenger list aboard AeroWinter - direct flight, non-stop to Antalya... On-board meal: butty; In-flight film: "How Not to Play Football: TFC 2010 Season Highlights".
　
Apart from the expected inclusion of The Reds' eight recent draft picks, word is that TFC will give a fair shake to four current TFC Academy products: Ashtone "Loc" Morgan, Oscar "Meyer" Cordon, Keith "Booyah" Makubuya and Matt "Don't Call me Matthew" Stinson. The homegrown youngsters will by all accounts get as much opportunity, if not more, than their NCAA-bred counterparts. TFC's recent announcement of creating even younger Academy teams shows that the homeslice plan is the route they will follow in future. The new U-1 TFC Toddler team will really pay dividends in the 2029 season.
　
Rumours from outside of the club include whispers that Andrew Ornoch may no longer be in The BMO Field mix while Canadian international Eddy Sidra (in town to show off the national team's new "Ode to Man United" kit") could be interested in joining the team. Sidra has been without a club since his contract with Germany's Energie Cottbus (so fun to say!) ended in 2010.
　
The wackiest rumour floating around came out of footballing hotbed Malta where media reports linked 22 year old Brazilian striker Camilo da Silva Sanvezzo (aka Camilo) with TFC. The 5 foot 7 forward scored a massive 22 goals in 24 Maltese Premier League matches with the great Qormi team (apparently the Aston Villa of Malta) before venturing off to a less than inspiring stretch with South Korea's Gyeongnam (apparently South Korea’s Blackburn Rovers) where he failed to score. Before getting too excited about 22 goals in 24 matches, remember... it's the Maltese League. Word is that the reigning champs played a mule in net for half the season.
　
One day in and it's already fun! Welcome back footballs!
　
WORD FACTOR (TFC Academy call-ups): 9 / 10
WORD FACTOR (Ornoch & Sidra): 5 / 10
WORD FACTOR (Camilo): 3 / 10

TFC Academy over MLS Draft way forward for The Reds

Sign of the future?

With the majority of Toronto FC's management staff, both new and old, gathered at the MLS Combines, we ponder if future pre-seasons will devote as many resources to the league's SuperDraft. Since Aron Winter and his "Oranje Revolution" cohorts were named to lead TFC into the future, the words most heard have been “youth”, “academy”, “philosophy” and “development”. It is no secret that the long-term goal is to foster a smaller version of the famed Ajax Academy system here in Toronto and in interviews last week, Winter made it clear that a strong TFC Academy could eventually make The Reds' participation in the Draft redundant at best.
　
Is it realistic to picture a scenario where TFC Academy regularly feeds the First Team like so many other major clubs around the world? In its first few years, TFC Academy has taken baby steps in developing local talent and it began to pay dividends with the first professional graduates Doneil Henry and Nicholas Lindsay in 2010. If Team Winter manages to revolutionize the academy over the next few years the way they would like, and for now it seems like all are on board, it isn't beyond reason to imagine a crop of youngsters feeding into TFC annually. There are seemingly far more positives to dedicating resources to the TFC Academy and away from the NCAA draft system...
　
• A strong local academy knits Toronto FC into the local football and general sporting fabric at an organic, grassroots level. Having a local home-based destination for young, bright prospects gives those players a goal in which to pursue their football dreams with the possibility of a pro career at the end and makes TFC a club that can make local dreams come true. That kind of positive image can't be bought on commercials.
• If implementing the "TFC: Total Football Club" philosophy is as important as Winter claims, then training players in that style from their mid-teens is far more advantageous than drafting an NCAA product. The collegiate draftee in most cases is already in their early 20's and has just come from a 4-year crash course in another coach’s style. "Un-learning" that style, then catching up to the TFC style makes that player 23 years old where an academy product is tactically ready at 19.
• Canadian MLS rivals Vancouver and Montreal both have established academies and have been collecting talent from their geographic areas (and sometimes Toronto's) for many years. When Montreal joins the league in 2012 there will be a premium on finding Canadian talent (in a fairly shallow pool) and breeding your own young Canadians will be imperative.
• In a league where salary parity eliminates the advantages of a financially superior club, academy investment is a way for more successful clubs to flex some of their money-muscle and/or football smarts. Clubs who take the time to build better facilities, hire the best staff and create the smartest philosophies can find a way to supersede the SuperDraft (which can always become something of a lottery with few "sure-thing" prospects), as well as MLS salary cap/ transfer restrictions.
• For TFC in particular there are two selfish reasons to invest in the Academy over the Draft. On the field, The Reds can get a major jump on many teams talent-wise in a league where less than 50% of their rivals have established youth set-ups. US clubs are coming around slowly but most have yet to join the academy revolution giving the likes of TFC a head start. And finally, if the MLSE board needs a little help swallowing it... there are possible big pay-offs down the line if a local prospect comes good and European clubs come around sniffing with wads of Euros in hand. A potentially big profit awaits from a modest investment.　

Of course much of this "future" MLS landscape is subjective but as the league grows closer ties to the world football community, the academy system is likely to follow. For now, the NCAA draft is going nowhere, not enough MLS clubs have invested in youth to be able to stock their rosters properly without it. Drafts are considered an exciting, fun and very North American tradition which many of our friends down south will want to protect. However, it isn't a football tradition, and much like running penalty kicks, countdown clocks and 2-point goals it will eventually go the way of the footy dodo. All the more reason for MLSE to give the full set of keys to Winter, Mariner and the gang immediately, so for once, TFC can lead… not follow.

THE STARTING 11: Educational courses at TFC Academy

" It just doesn't add up Einstein"

It's the first week back to school and students everywhere are getting their first look at the new curriculum. From the Ivy League to your Kegger-specialist institutes, jocks and nerds unite briefly to analyze their courses for the year. Toronto FC isn't immune from this either. The TFC Academy has an educational component as part of its training and we had to wonder - what would the courses look like if Mo Johnston and Preki designed the curriculum?
　
11. MEDIA STUDIES 101: Avoiding The Media
　
10. SOCIOLOGY: Making Contacts via The First Wave Agency
　
9. INTRO TO PSYCHOLOGY: Annually Manipulating Consumers
　
8. PHYSICAL EDUCATION: How to Shove a Cameraman
　
7. INTERMEDIATE CLASSICAL MUSIC: "The Dichio Song"
　
6. ADVANCED MATHMATICS: How to Destroy a Salary Cap
　
5. CAPITALISM 101: Introduction to Cheap Labour
　
4. WORLD GEOGRAPHY: Exploring Latvia and The Gambia
　
3. FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE: "Not Enough Defence"
　
2. WORLD WAR II: "History's 5 Year Plan"
　
1. CREATIVE WRITING: 1000 Synonyms for "Unlucky"

TFC Academy puts Henry on patrol

Doneil Henry watches as Preki and Mista chat

While it's far from the signing that we wanted and expected the world renowned super-genius Mo Johnston to be unveiling this summer, it is an historic signing nonetheless. Toronto FC officially announced the signing of Canadian defender Doneil Henry to a professional contract thus making him the first product of TFC Academy to turn pro. No one expects Henry to be the new and desperately needed anchor of the defence but we would rather see this kind of home-grown, Canadian development over the signing of second-rate Eastern Europeans.
　
TFC will of course claim that this is the biggest Academy signing since Bobcat Goldthwaite joined the cast of “Police Academy”. Only time will tell if Henry is more Hightower than the dude who made noises with his mouth.

We would however feel a lot more comfortable with this signing if there wasn't the ever-present rumour of Nana Attakora's reluctance at re-signing with TFC in the off-season and this move being a pre-cursor. If TFC wants to mature, these kind of Academy products are a terrific start - but keeping quality young Canadians (i.e. Attakora) long-term is just as important.

Academy signing