Enjoyed tonight's 1-0 victory in the pressbox flanked by Toronto football's renaissance man Nigel Reed, and MLS's top beat writer, Steve Goff of the Washington Post.
Nigel was clearly not enjoying a night off from his CBC play-by-play duties. As play went on, he kept up a running commentary under his breath. Though, removed from the booth, he was freer to let his rooting tendencies show through.
"C'mon ... head up, head up. ... That's IT! ... right now ... ooooh, poor pass .... well done, Marvell, well done," Nigel went on for 90-plus minutes. This was great stuff, like your own personal broadcast. It also helps when you've got your head down tapping during the action. Always know when something's up.
About half way through, Goff leaned in to me and said, "Is that guy, like, a fan or something?"
"No, he's the TV play by play guy."
"Oh. Got it," Goff said and tucked his head back into his keyboard. We both kept an ear open. Good job, Nigel, as always.
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Toronto FC coach engaged the Shola Ameobi-to-Toronto FC rumour the way he engages all rumours around this club - in a maddeningly oblique way. He commented on how well he knows the former Newcastle striker, what a marvellous talent he is, how much he would have cost three or so years ago when top teams still wanted him.
He added a strange aside about how much Ameobi enjoys the "North American lifestyle" including sports like hockey. Hockey? For real? Somehow that seems like a sop to the Toronto audience but we'll see.
The final word was: "If we could get Shola to this club, I'd be delighted."
So definitely. Maybe
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Carver also said that Jarrod Smith is very close to cracking the starting XI, one presumes in place of the out-of-touch looking Rohan Ricketts. Bottom line: the change will not happen while the club is still winning. But if this team needs a roster shake-up to jog the offence in the case of a loss, Smith will clearly be the first option.
Cathal Kelly
For the time I saw Smith today he looked pretty good in comparison to Ricketts. However, maybe Rohan plays better when the conditions are not so slick? We'll have to see.
Either way it's time the attackers on this team produced a goal or two in the run of play
Posted by: alex | May 22, 2008 at 12:49 AM
Shola Ameobi would be an absolutely brilliant signing like for Toronto. I heard rumours of him going to Fenerbache, but that would be a nightmare scenario. Fingers crossed!
Posted by: Dave from Newcastle | May 22, 2008 at 12:57 AM
Perhaps Nigel's off tv nights should end up on radio. Most TFC fans would love to listen to something on the drive home...
Posted by: Still Kicking | May 22, 2008 at 01:37 AM
Nice XTC reference!
Posted by: Craig | May 22, 2008 at 08:05 AM
I think the time is at hand to give Smith a start on the wing, instead of Ricketts. I disagree with Cathal when he states Robert was invisible in the D.C. game. He still has a great touch on the ball, spreads out the opponent's defence, and made a great run that went to waste. Robert rarely gives the ball away, whereas Ricketts gives it away too frequently. Dichio worked hard all night, the back four were solid, and Guevara was once again the most technically gifted player on the field.
Keep up the good work Morgan.
Posted by: JimmyD | May 22, 2008 at 08:53 AM
That this team is winning is certainly not due to Ricketts being in the starting eleven. He is one of the most inept signings made by TFC in their 2-year history so there is no reason he should even be in the squad.
Jarrod Smith is certainly no star but he should be given a chance to start a few games.
Edu has not been playing up to last year's standard and he seems tired. I don't know whether we have a decent substitute but he's also due for a rest.
Posted by: adriano | May 22, 2008 at 09:10 AM
Smith brought lots of energy to the pitch last night when he was subbed in the 50th min. for Ricketts (again, why are we playing Ricketts so much?) Smith made several good runs down the wing and also had great ball control. Here's hoping we see more of him.
And what was the deal with Robert last night? He just looked off... i know he had a (knee?) injury coming into the match, but he just looked off all night.
Posted by: Chris | May 22, 2008 at 01:47 PM
It was a good game against DC United. Yet I suspected the game to have a few more goals in it. Maybe 2-0 for TFC. But nevertheless they won and a six-game unbeaten streak is something that will prove helpful.
The only scary thing is finding how the rest of the season unfolds with many players leaving for international duties, which will cause a challenge for Toronto FC.
Posted by: Mike | May 22, 2008 at 05:14 PM
Smith plays with a lot of energy, but he only plays 20 minutes a game right now. Can he keep that up for a full 90? And would Ricketts play with more urgency if he knew he was only going to play one half, and Smith the other? Maybe. I dunno.
If you're gonna call Goff the best MLS beat writer, give us some links! Glad to hear you share that he's great, but give me something to bite my teeth into.
Posted by: Matt | May 22, 2008 at 07:31 PM
Dude, your blog needs to come out more often like d. smith's. nevertheless, bringing on board shola would do wonders for this team. who would he replace up front? what will happen with cunningham? this team is shaping up to be really good. this new trainer has minimized our injuries. with that in mind how good can this team be this year?
Posted by: bballer | May 23, 2008 at 01:38 PM