It's been a slice! Alvaro Rey delivered to Columbus for quick Dominic Oduro

Hold the anchovies.

 

Every week is MLS Rivalry Week in Toronto FC's front office! Hot off the heels of #inhumanely dealing Issey Nakajima-Farran to The Cheesemakers, The Reds sent another winger in Alvaro Rey to Columbus today. Coming in return from the Ohio Riviera is Ghanaian midfielder and speed merchant Dominic Oduro.

The 28-year-old Oduro makes TFC his sixth MLS home since 2006 which in official statistical analysis is referred to as "puttin' it about" or being "The League Bike". As mentioned above, Oduro's main skill set is his pace which must be attractive to Ryan Nelsen's "tactics" (stop laughing) which relies heavily on quick counter-attacks - mostly channeled towards the center of the pitch. Although Oduro may be pressed into wing service, the departures of Issey and Rey illuminate the lack of interest in natural wingers to Nelsen.

While Oduro has natural skills he has never managed to reach the next level of development in MLS and while useful, has left fans expecting more. While his wages are MLS-high, he is a domestic player due to an American green card which Rey was not. Also - Oduro is one of the FIFA All-Time Top 25 players to play a match with pizza shaved and dyed into his hair. Fact.

Speaking of fan expectations, Alvaro Rey leaves TFC with a few supporters wishing he had done more. The man who never said no to an unnecessary step-over could still carve out a useful MLS career under a system that keeps the ball on the deck but his $200k-plus wage was never of value at TFC. His previous career in the lower depths of the Spanish second tier never seemed like a good platform for this league.

But hey... Pizza Head!
 

"I approve of this message"

Issey the real life? Reds trade Nakajima-Farran to Montreal in surprising deal

Everybody outta the pool...



You mean I was growing out my samurai hair-do for nothing? Thanks a bunch TFC.

In a move that shocked even the most hardened to The Reds penchant for oddities, the club announced this morning that it had sent Canadian winger Issey Nakajima-Farran and allocation money to hated rival Montreal for American central midfielder Collen Warner.

On the surface it is a head-scratcher - possibly TFC paying off a cheese debt - as Issey had proven to be a valuable and cost-effective wide player. While younger, the 25-year-old Warner has a higher salary and TFC have given up useful allocation to acquire him. The move also leaves The Reds with a complete lack of options out wide as Warner is certainly of the centrally roaming ilk.

You can forgive TFC supporters, ourselves included, for panic when the news broke as this deal has more than a whiff of past transaction errors. However, there also seems to be a vibe around the club that this isn't the end game in regards to player movement. Whispers are circling (Brek Shea anyone?) that TFC post-World Cup will have a few new faces and this move may be the first in setting up further deals. If fan reaction to this deal is anything to go on - it better be.

As has been with TFC since 2007 - the only constant is change.

Unlike a Boss! TFC deals Agbossoumonde - Acquires Luke Moore

Once a Swan, now a Robin



Nothing like a little sexy group action on a Thursday afternoon.

In their continuing war on puns, TFC has dealt away defender Gale Agbossoumonde to Colorado Rapids on the tail-end of a hot three-way which sees The Reds pick up 28-year-old English journeyman forward Luke Moore. "But I thought Moore played for Chivas?" we hear one of you saying. Well he did this morning but then it went down like so:

Chivas dealt Luke Moore to Colorado. Colorado sent Marvin Chavez to The Goats. Colorado flipped Moore to Toronto for Boss. We all clear? Aces.

T-Bez claimed post-trade that TFC's defensive depth allowed them to make the deal and to be fair, Agbossoumonde was very, very deep on the chart. Non-existent deep. It's always a shame to see young talent go but it was clear that he was not in the club's immediate plans.

In Luke Moore, TFC grab some depth up front. With Bright Dike looking like a late-season return at best, Moore is better than having Andrew Wiedeman as your bench weapon... but only just. Once a darling of the Aston Villa youth set-up, Moore has never established himself at any one club (and he's had his share) and will never be accused of being a consistent goal threat. Maybe it's all to make Gilberto feel better about himself? We kid!!!

There is a very outside chance that Jermain Defoe will join England at the World Cup thus missing a few matches but even if he doesn't, The Reds have yet to find a second scoring threat up front. If Defoe or Gilberto were to go down for a prolonged period, Moore at least offers some experience at striker.

And.. If it all fails, we get to use the gag "Less is Moore". Suck it pun thieves! We won't be stopped!

Laba on loan? Not so fast. Argentine TRADED to Vancouver for nothing

Not your finest hour Tim...
 

Remember yesterday's article when the widely reported Matias Laba loan to Vancouver was reported? Remember the part where we said something along the lines of "well at least he wasn't traded for a bunch of balls"?

Yeah. Notsomuch.

Like vulgar thieves in the night, TFC dropped a big stinking turd this late evening announcing that Matias Laba has not been loaned out for future use but rather traded.

Oh well that's crap. Surely not to a rival?
Think again. Still Vancouver.

Oh.

Well surely we got some great value in return for a DP?

Give your head a shake... "future considerations".

 

Surely we're dreaming this, late on a Wednesday night?
Nope. It's Toronto FC, baby.

So there it is sports fans. After a winter of good deals... the body shot. The dispatching of the most talented player to wear the TFC Red in the past couple of years sent packing to a team we will meet in the Canadian Cup. Where he will score in the 93rd minute to eliminate us. For squat.

Yes "future considerations" is a very grey term but when have you ever heard "hey remember those future considerations? Here's something awesome. Cheers for that!" Never O'clock.

Maybe we're greedy after a number of successful deals this winter but this one will be marked by most - for now - as a big time failure. Yes he couldn't stay under MLS rules, no one is blind to that fact but this seems like the weakest outcome possible apart from releasing him outright.

On the same day when a local Toronto City Councillor was trumpeting BMO Field as the exciting new Argos stadium in the imminent future, this deal added to a strong whiff of #WTFC.



Freedom Frei - Reds deal stalwart goalkeeper to Seattle Sounders

He looked like this a lot



It's hard to be a "long-term" TFC player. At a club where the only constant is change, Stefan Frei's 99 appearances in all competitions for TFC is far from ordinary. Yet still, despite the inevitability of today's deal, he is yet another Red leaving under the cloud of "it should have ended differently".

Toronto FC made the prompt yet unsurprising announcement this afternoon that Frei's rights have indeed been dealt to Seattle Sounders in exchange for a conditional 2015 first-round MLS SuperDraft pick. Frei is now eligible to work out a deal with the Cascadia giant. No, not Bigfoot.

Frei's time in Toronto will always be looked back at with difficulty. Through no fault of his own he stewarded the goal behind a succession of very poor teams and did yeoman's work of the job. Simultaneously, he also seemed to suffer from a voodoo-like curse of bad injury luck which saw his time in goal halted. The latest, a boot to the face in pre-season saw him benched just long enough for Joe Bendik to come in and do a solid enough job to steal the # 1 role.

With Bendik's emergence as a solid-enough MLS'er and Stefan Frei's higher wage, the choice was made by Ryan Nelsen & Co. to proceed with a future that didn't include the Swiss keeper. Acquiring Chris Konopka as the heir apparent # 2 sealed the deal.

His final year in Toronto will not be one filled with great memories but Stefan Frei will be very fondly remembered as a straight-up good egg at TFC and one of the few faces supporters were familiar with. He will most likely return in good form wearing the neon hues of Sounders but will always be Red to many here. It should have ended differently.

TFC trade for Jackson. What to write?... What... to... write?...

Jackson... during spell at Fulham.



WARNING: This is "Bad"

Firstly, a hearty Bloggers Union thanks to Tim Bezbatchenko and the gang for re-stocking the pun shelves in the TFC larder. Man cannot live on Lambe alone.

"Shamone!" The MLS trade window had barely creaked open before T-Bez decided he "Wanna Be Startin' Something". As is the annual off-season tradition round these parts, TFC swung a deal with FC Dallas, ("Remember the Time" with Hassli, de Guzman etc?) this time landing Brazilian midfielder/defender Jackson. Crotch grab!

Wanting to disprove to fans early that "They Don't Care About Us", The Reds swapped a conditional 2015 2nd Round SuperDraft Pick and some of that jumbo pile of allocation money they have. It's in the BMO Field closet next to the Elephant Man's bones and Macaulay Culkin. "You Are Not Alone" in thinking this isn't a "Thrilller" of a trade but Jackson is actually a very MLS-competent player with just under 100 appearances to his name in the league. And they got him for peanuts. Moonwalk!

Whether the 25-year old Jackson turns out to be a starter or at worst high-quality depth, it is a positive to see TFC making sober moves so early in the window. Now we must just implore T-Bez and the gang... "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"!

In other non-Jackson news today, unconfirmed word is that Robert Earnshaw has declined TFC's offer to re-sign and plans to "Beat It" to another MLS side. Surely some club is looking for a striker who hibernates between May and September. "Shamone!"
　

And... We planned to have a little dance but couldn't think of an artist to feature. Oh well, Earnshaw is Welsh and so is this macho piece of rarebit...

All that losing for nothing? Payne eyes more than just draft picks as Reds deal 1st Pick

"Ok ball - you take Hassli and I'll throw in some ball polish. Deal?"

Welcome to our unexpectedly ongoing SuperDraft pre-game show. Up next Diana Ross takes a free kick. But first... "TFC did whaaaaaaaaaaaa?"

 

Out of all of the mock draft prognostication and "will they/won't they" trade one or both of the picks, not many would have guessed at this one. TFC aka "The House of Payne" has flipped the first overall pick in tomorrow's SuperDraft to New England for their pick, fourth overall, and that mysterious element of the universe - allocation money. And you would have to guess it was more than a musket's worth of funds.

 

The deal would seem to make a few things apparent: Kevin Payne and his team were not sold or interested in the projected # 1 pick Andrew Farrell; they feel that they can pick up pieces that they need with the 3rd and 4th picks (possibly including Canadian Kyle Bekker); and, the club has its eyes on some imminent player acquisitions which require the allocation money. The next 24 hours or so should be woolly ones to say the least.

 

More news when it happens - which knowing TFC will be when we turn our backs for one damn second - or when Diana Ross finally connects. Super! Draft.