Toronto FC

[scouser1]

ok so went down today to my first TFC match, interesting spectacle, good stadiums, a few morons in the south end doing their best imitations of Spanish,Italian and East European Ultras, but the team was absolutely awful, no defence, the attacking looked lack luster, Lombardo was running around like a chicken with its head chopped off.

So I ask how long is it before the love affair of this team with the city ends and they are either moved, folded or play in front of a half empty BMO Field?

 

[robycapone]

i wouldnt call the south end Morons....

especially since they've been doing what they're doing for years for the Toronto Linx.

too bad you went on a day where they played their worst of the year. Since you've only been to one game.. dont be too quick to count them out just yet.

oh and one more things. the love affair wont go away..especially with the sound end fans. and they will not move, they will not fold, and they will not play infront of half empty BMO due to season tickets been sold at 14000 of the 20000 seats.

you might be a scouser, and this is a long way from Liverpool, but i've seen them play as bad as TFC played today..


dont be too quick to judge them.

 

[scouser1]

when an opposing player is trying to take a corner kick and he is showered with streamers, call it what you want, but MLS and FIFA might disagree.

 

[robycapone]

what does that have to do with the way the team played???/


would you rather have a team beaten with batteries or have streamers thrown from the rafters????

you do realize it is a regular occasion in europe and south american to have toilet paper little the end lines of pitches?? i've been to many games where i've been showered with toilet paper....id rather have the streamers thank you very much, it adds colour to the pitch....and today...we needed it cause the team stunk the joint!

 

[alex52]

Saw the game for the first time on tv, since no premiership soccer. What surprised me was that none of players know how to tackle, they just pushed each other off the ball, is this because of the artificial pitch, the players don't want get skin burns from the pitch during the tackle.

 

[Big Michael]

ok so went down today to my first TFC match, interesting spectacle, good stadiums, a few morons in the south end doing their best imitations of Spanish,Italian and East European Ultras, but the team was absolutely awful, no defence, the attacking looked lack luster, Lombardo was running around like a chicken with its head chopped off.

So I ask how long is it before the love affair of this team with the city ends and they are either moved, folded or play in front of a half empty BMO Field?

Funny, that was my first TFC game as well, unfortunately it was a week after seeing the U20 championship from virtually the same seats. What a difference. My thoughts were the guys in the south end add a lot of colour and atmosphere, I kinda like them. The team itself needs a lot of work but they are a first-year expansion team so its fair to have some patience. Overall, I think they will do quite well in Toronto. With 5 million people living within an hours drive of BMO Field, it shouldn't be that hard to find 20,000 soccer fans for a game.

 

[SneakyLB]

was at the Aston Villa game, haha a lot of the "fans" have never seen a real tackle. Every time a Villa player won a fair challenge, "fans" screaming out red card, foul, yellow card, send him off. I was 3rd row from the Bench and i clearly saw clean tackles. The guy next to me was a West Ham fan and he laughed at some of the comments these "fans" talk about.

 

[Hugh G. Rekshun]

It sounds like there are different rules for Toronto regarding restrictions on signing foreign players.
http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Columnists/McNulty/2007/07/29/4377756-sun.html

If they're going to have these rules in a league that has teams based in both countries, why wouldn't they have the same rules for everyone, so that Americans and Canadians are considered to be non-foreign players for all teams?

 

[chris123]

It's quite likely Becks won't play on Sunday, certainly not a full game. How pissed will you be if you shelled out more than it costs to watch a top EPL or European team for this 'special' game. This could get interesting.

 

[robycapone]

if you guys were watching from the beginning of the year you would notice something with the fans...

with the U-20 and the players diving and the amount of yellow and red cards thrown around...its almost like an optical illusion.

anyhow... there is still a difference between the Premiership and MLS, a pretty big differnce... the MLS will come to stake its claim within 5-8 years i'd say. especially with the influx of talent coming in, in the next few years...Veron, Ococha, and many others are starting to give this league a reputation.

eventually it can be compare to the premiership. but it will still be a very long way from Italy and Spain.

 

[scouser1]

so to you the likes of Man utd, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal arent on par with La Liga and Serie A!!! are you freaking kidding, i get tired of this boring argument, the EPL is a much faster league than Serie A which has more technique but the EPL is like watching a pinball machine. And dont get me wrong I love watching all three leagues on any given day with its passion and knowledgeable fans over the clowns in the south end at BMO Field

 

[chris123]

EPL is the best league to watch in the world. This is not debatable. Runners up would be German, French and Dutch. Italy is boring and Spain has it's moments.

 

[Big Michael]

eventually it can be compare to the premiership. but it will still be a very long way from Italy and Spain.

The MLS has some entertaining games but it will not be on par with the EPL for 50+ years. As well, I would say that the top 5 EPL teams are better than than the top 5 from Italy or Spain. Italy and Spain are more technical while Engalnd is faster and more physical (hence more entertaining and more popular globally). The thing I like about Spain is that there are more upsets and less predictable than the EPL. For example, ManU won the league with 89 points while RM won La Liga with 76. Overall, I find serie A the least interesting.

 

[robycapone]

they dont throw money away anymore in Italy like they used too... although some of the non-traditional teams stepped up this past year without Juve, and are now in contention to fight for the scudetto, English teams, generally Chelsea and Liverpool, throw money away at players they really dont need. Man U however, do things the right way.

La Liga is the same, especially Real M. italian teams are spending smart these days especially whne you look at Roma, Lazio, Udinese..etc. hence why you have the quality in the teams like they do...they play a lot of younger players. Roma have been spitting out some of the best young Italian players lately, De Rossi, Rosi, D'Agostino..etc.


Teams like INter, Chelsea, and Real M have ruined the quality of their leagues in my opionion...Inter starts 2 italians, Chelsea 2 englishmen, and Madrid only a handful of Spaniards.....with teams like that constantly fielding teams with mostly foreign players, it has a big influence on the league and how games are played......

all in all La LIga is the most entertaining, Seria A is the most tactical, and the EPL is the most physical. Barcelona has the best player in the world (arguably) in Ronaldinho, Milan has the best Team (champions league) and Man U do business the right way....

 

[Big Michael]

Teams like INter, Chelsea, and Real M have ruined the quality of their leagues in my opionion...Inter starts 2 italians, Chelsea 2 englishmen, and Madrid only a handful of Spaniards.....with teams like that constantly fielding teams with mostly foreign players, it has a big influence on the league and how games are played......

all in all La LIga is the most entertaining, Seria A is the most tactical, and the EPL is the most physical. Barcelona has the best player in the world (arguably) in Ronaldinho, Milan has the best Team (champions league) and Man U do business the right way....

We can agree to disagree over the most entertaining league, but seriously, I think there is no question that Kaka is the best player in the world. I truly believe that Ronaldinho and CRon are overrated Show-Ponies. I am a die-hard Arsenal fan but I think Chelsea and Barca have the most talented teams, winning a knockout tournament does not sufficiently prove you are the best team, see Italy and WC 2006

 

[VERYBADBOY]

I thought this thread was about TFC.

You can go on and on about MLS vs. EPL, La Liga, SuperLiga, Serie A, Bundesliga, etc. but that would put this thread totally off track.

Difference ... MLS has been poorly managed for years ... the others haven't.

Now back on topic ...

I am a season ticket holder and have seen quite a few games, here are my thoughts:

Mo Johnson has done a good job in a very short time. If you think Aston Villa were up here just for a game then thats half the story, the other half is whats called mentoring.

Yes, we suffer from restrictions that other US teams don't, that makes it harder to get a lineup together that is plagued with injuries.

The guys in the south end have a lot of heart. If you don't think that they add colour to a game than you aren't enjoying the game.

TFC has a lot of work to do, I still remember the first 4 games and 10 goals against us before we finally put one in, then we won one then another, finished a long road trip and finally we are back home.


Be happy that we have a team here that we can watch play. Be glad that Benfica and Villa were our opponents and that many of the U20 games were played in our backyard even though our national team didn't place.

Supporting our team is the first step ... there are some people behind the scenes that really want to get this thing rolling, if they do then things will only get better and we can attract more talent.

VBB

 

[robycapone]

winning a knockout tournament does not sufficiently prove you are the best team, see Italy and WC 2006

hmm i agree with KAKA...but there is still they Mystique about Ronaldinho...Cristrano ronaldo shouldnt be mentioned because of his diving habits...

and well a knock out tournament doesnt sufficiently prove the best team...i'd have to disagree to the outmost. Italy won the tournament Fairly, they played a TEAM GAME, and they looked out for eachother...they also had the best goalie and the best defender in the world so say what you want.....they still have 4 STARS...


now back to TFC....Mo is fairly quick to pull triggers....but he should let the team play together for a bit..

i must say...out of all the teams i've watched practise...From MAN U, to Arsenal, to JUVE, to INTER, to Roma, i can go on forever here

MO is pretty much the most vocal coach out of all i've seen during practise... hes out there actually Practicing with the players...he does the drills, he shoots on the keeper....I think he wants to come out of retirement or something.

 

[BuffNaked]

There are a lot of politics in terms of playing for Toronto FC. These aren't the best players in the region. In fact there are some very good collegiate athletes that won't get the nod because they do not know the right people. Those athletes will either move on with life or go play on another continent.

 

[Big Michael]

Yes, we suffer from restrictions that other US teams don't, that makes it harder to get a lineup together that is plagued with injuries.


Be happy that we have a team here that we can watch play. Be glad that Benfica and Villa were our opponents and that many of the U20 games were played in our backyard even though our national team didn't place.

Supporting our team is the first step ... there are some people behind the scenes that really want to get this thing rolling, if they do then things will only get better and we can attract more talent.

VBB

Agreed, however my only problem with Mo, TFC, MLSE, whoever, is this: don't complain about the quality of Canadian players do something about it. Invest some of the profits, and there has to be lots, into an Academy and buy the best Canadian players currently out of the country until the Academy bears fruit. They are currently the only Canadian team therefore why not turn a handicap into an advantage. The only concern is that we see have seen MLSE's experience at developing Hockey Players

 

[chris123]

There are a lot of politics in terms of playing for Toronto FC. These aren't the best players in the region. In fact there are some very good collegiate athletes that won't get the nod because they do not know the right people.

I get the feeling you're right. Wouldn't care to elaborate would you?