Toronto FC: Where It All Went Wrong In 2014

With the Major League Soccer playoffs about to kickoff without Toronto FC once again,  many have been questioning how a team that spent so much money in the offseason and brought in big name players like Michael Bradley, Jermain Defoe, and Julio Cesar, couldn’t make the postseason. The truth is that there isn’t a simple answer, but anyone who knows the history of the club and management, is not so shocked that the team and its players are once again at home, watching the playoffs from the comfort of their couches.

Starting the season with Ryan Nelsen as head coach

Ryan Nelsen was one of the few who got to keep his job after the Tim Leiweke and Tim Bezbatchenko regime was in full force. They decided it would be best for the club to keep some consistency and allow the former New Zealand international to continue in his role as head coach. However, this may have caused the team to miss out on the playoffs once again, before the season even started.

Nelsen was still playing for QPR when he was named Toronto FC head coach before the season kicked off last  year. Although he was a great leader on and off the pitch for every team he has ever played for, he had also never coached before, and was vastly inexperienced. What he lacked in experience and tactical diversity, he made up for in recruiting ability and international recognition.

It is no secret that Nelsen was a big reason for the likes of Julio Cesar, Jermain Defoe, and even Gilberto, coming to Toronto. While it was great to see world class players like Cesar and Defoe arrive, there commitment to the team was always in question, and as it turns out, rightfully so.

“Ryan was someone I really liked. He was the one who came to Brazil to help bring me over to Toronto FC. He was like a father to me,” Gilberto told me through a translator in early September.

There is no question that Nelsen was liked and respected by most in the locker room, but his tactics were often far too simplistic as he stuck with a 4-4-2 setup, and had no answer to teams who sat back and played the counter against the Reds.  Toronto often dominated possession, but still lost games, and far too often, it was beyond ugly.

While Nelsen’s inexperience was definitely part of the problem, it was also little secret that general manager, Bezbatchenko, was never Nelsen’s biggest supporter. Current head coach, Greg Vanney, was the man that Bezbatchenko wanted running the team, and while he was initially hired in December as an Assistant General Manager and Academy Director, it was little secret he was being groomed to take over as head coach if things had taken a wrong turn under Nelsen.

Just another example of Toronto’s management preventing a cohesive organization that is all on the same page from being built.

Impossible expectations for the players to meet 

The presentation announcing the signings of Michael Bradley and Jermain Defoe felt more like a victory party than it did a press conference. The team’s biggest support group, The Red Patch Boys, were in attendance, and the team flaunted the players and team as a “Bloody Big Deal”. Unfortunately, all the hype and buzz generated by the club ultimately led to another disappointing season and a rather “Bloody Big Flop”.

For a team and organization  that has never made the MLS playoffs, you’d think they would do their best to calm expectations, and put as little pressure on their players as possible. However, it was quite the opposite with management guaranteeing a playoff spot, and making all kinds of absurd promises.

As talented as the three Designated Players that Toronto FC signed in the offseason were, only Bradley had prior MLS experience, and that was back when he was a teenager. Bradley played for New York when they were still called the Metrostars and the league looked very different then than it does today. The club refused to take into account how difficult the league can be to adapt to. and that it would require time for all the new arrivals to develop chemistry and  adjust to a new environment.

Tim Leiweke’s impending departure 

When Tim Leiweke became the CEO and President of Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, Toronto FC fans suddenly started to believe that their club really could be one of the league’s best teams. Leiweke was the man who brought David Beckham and Robbie Keane to the Los Angeles Galaxy, and he made no bones about it, that he would do his best to fix the corporation’s Major League Soccer team.

He wasted no time in making headlines bringing back club legend, Dwayne De Rosario, and signing big names like Defoe and Bradley. Plans to renovate and expand BMO Field were also put in the works, with Phase I planned to be completed in 2015 and Phase II to be finished in 2016.

Leiweke’s tenure in Toronto wouldn’t last long though, as speculation broke in August that he wanted out. While initially denying the reports, Leiweke confirmed that he did want to leave Maple Leafs Sports and Entertainment, and that he would be gone by June 30, 2015 at the latest. He will remain with the corporation until June, 2015 so that they can take the necessary time to find a suitable replacement.

The announcement of Leiweke’s departure had a massive effect on club affairs at Toronto FC. It wasn’t long after Leiweke’s resignation, that Bezbatchenko fired Nelsen and replaced him with the guy many had already expected was being groomed for the position since the day of his arrival. The firing of Nelsen quickly put into question Defoe’s commitment to the team, and whether the $6 million striker would honour all four years on his contract.

Leiweke and Nelsen were the ones who convinced Defoe to make the move to Canada, and with both on their way out, rumours ran rampant that Defoe too wanted out. Although Defoe refuses to take any responsibility for those rumours being bandied about, the fact that the striker took off to England for over a month during the regular season didn’t help the situation either.

Since Leiweke announced he was leaving Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, he has been much more open with his words and his feelings, which hasn’t necessarily helped curb the drama at Toronto FC.

“I personally don’t think Defoe will come back. If he doesn’t want to be here, you get rid of him. If you don’t want to be here, get the hell out of our way.” Leiweke told a group of business students at a Toronto university. 

Defoe recently spoke to The Guardian and expressed just how disappointed he was by hearing the comments.

"It was hurtful. In England, at all the clubs I’ve played for, no one ever said that. I was at Tottenham 10 years and no manager or chairman ever said that. I’ve heard managers say I’m the most committed player they’ve ever had. I can say this because it’s the truth”"

Defoe will likely be an ex-Toronto FC player sooner rather than later, and one can easily look at Leiwke’s departure as the straw that broke the camel’s back in regards to Defoe’s future in Toronto. However, the love affair with the striker was starting to dwindle before Leiweke’s resignation, and if fans didn’t want to believe the rumours then, they certainly do now. Although Defoe’s MLS career began with a bang, scoring a brace against the team who is now celebrating a Supporter’s Shield triumph, it looks like its going to end with silliness and a public relations war.

Lack of depth & experience in defense

There were a lot of questions being asked of Toronto FC at the start of the season. as to what their plans were when Bradley, Cesar, and/or Defoe took off for the World Cup. The bigger question at the time though should have been what the team plans on doing to address the obvious defensive issues.

There was a period in the season when both Toronto FC’s captain, Steven Caldwell, and their $6 million striker, Defoe, were both out injured. Defoe’s absence may have garnered more headlines both domestically and internationally, but it was the loss of Caldwell that was much more detrimental to the Reds than that of Defoe.

Caldwell’s injury meant that rookie, Nick Hagglund, had to start next to homegrown talent, Doniel Henry, in the centre of defense. At only 22 and 21 years of age, they lack the experience needed down the stretch in an MLS playoff race. There is little doubt about the potential and talent of both players, but they aren’t ready to be the heart of  championship winning team yet.

Passing out of the back was absolutely dreadful at times, with teams capitalizing on critical turnovers in the wrong end of the pitch. Furthermore, Bradley was forced to play in a much deeper role in order to retrieve the ball and distribute it, which prevented him from being effective up the pitch.

It was also confirmed last week, that Toronto FC had sold Henry back in March or April to a club in Cyprus, and that he had been on loan with the club all season. While Bezbatchenko says it was a move that both the player and club agreed on, many are skeptical as to why the news wasn’t revealed at the time of the transfer, as opposed to at the end of the season.

It is unsure whether Henry will be back with the club next year on another loan deal, but regardless, the club need to solidfy their defense with pillar at the back who can play next to Caldwell. Hagglund has made great strides in his rookie season, and has a long career ahead of him, but the team still need another veteran they can lean on in crucial games.

Doneil Henry at BMO Field (via Amil Delic)

Toronto FC management have a long offseason ahead, and one that they must get right this time around if they have any hopes of filling a soon to be expanded BMO Field. Fans are understandably frustrated with a club that has always been one of the most supported in the league, despite never being able to earn a playoff spot. However, things aren’t as bleak for Toronto FC as many would like to think, and as disappointing as 2014 turned out to be, they are still in a much better situation this year than they were at this point in time last year.