It's fine. Really. Just fine.

Toronto shows life against expansion juggernaut

Photo by Adam Birkett on Unsplash

Sometime during the second game of this now lost MLS season, I sent a message out on social media that not everyone agreed with.

Shocking, I know. I’m usually so very demure on the internet. I have so rarely divided opinion in Canadian soccer circles over the last 20 years. You’re just going to have to believe me, though — on this occasion, I was standing in opposition with a significant amount of TFC fans, as well as with those who are fans of not being a fan of TFC.

You may be wondering, what did I say that was so outrageous?

What I said was that “TFC was going to be fine.”

I know, right?

The reaction to this declaration for many was to call me an idiot, basically. How could I not see how terrible TFC was? How did I not know that they sucked?

As with many battles I have waged with fans over the years (ok, I was being sarcastic above. I have a tendency to express strong opinions, often in contrast to the conventional thinking as it relates to Toronto FC), there was a certain nuance that many were missing in interpreting my words. Namely, I didn’t say when they’d be fine, just that they would be.

What I was reacting to was seeing the outlines of a structure being put in place by Robin Fraser that I felt could allow the Reds to build around and, eventually, succeed with. Whether Fraser was the absolute best pick for the role is debatable. I would not argue with anyone who said that a CanPL guy deserved a look, but I would fight anyone on the idea that Fraser was a bad pick. He had success in Colorado (and, obviously, as an assistant here in Toronto). If you can win there, you can win in a big MLS market too.

Now that five months have passed, I stand by the statement. That’s slightly easier to do the day after a shocking 1-0 road win over West-leading San Diego (aside: I hate how much advantages MLS gives expansion teams now. They should need to endure 800+ minute scoreless streaks, damn it), but it’s not like being the 25th bast team in a 30 team league is an obvious example of being fine. I’m sure there are still many of you who disagree with my assessment.

But, that’s where I remain: TFC will be fine. They are more organized under Fraser. In fact, they have the 9th best defensive record in the league, a stat I had to check twice because it seemed like it couldn’t be true. That underlines how bad of an attack they have, but it also suggests that the foundation is there to get better. It’s also understandable because they spent all the attacking money on a pair of Italians who, to put it charitably, didn’t work out.

Getting rid of them has truly been an example of addition by subtraction. In fact, in the five games that have passed since they started the process of letting the pair go, TFC has 8 points (and probably should have 10). In comparison, they only had three in the previous five, and that came with a win against a truly dreadful Montreal team that is in the conversation for being the worst in MLS history.

Eight points in five games isn’t Supporters Shield stuff, but it’s…fine. It’s also something to build off of in the final 12 games of the year. They aren’t going to make the playoffs. They are too buried, but if they can continue to hit the form of the last 5 games then they could push 40 points and, well, you know, be fine.

There will be money to spend in the offseason and there will be goals that will be needed to buy. That’s on GM Jason Hernandez to get it right because I’m not sure Toronto is a town that will pay for fine soccer much longer.

Fraser has done his part in creating a structure and they’ve gotten rid of the dead weight, so it’s time to once again aspire to be a team that matters in MLS.