Striker Surplus, Dearth of Defenders, Canadian Content?

Will TFC have a striker surplus one this weekend?

I wouldn't go that far, but things look better up front than they have in a while, and not just because Chad Barrett has finally had a chance to get used to his new teammates.

If you're a TFC fan you've got to be happy to see Danny Dichio back on the practice field.

He suffered a pretty bad concussion about a month ago in a Canada Cup game against Vancouver, but has been symptom-free for about a week. It's still far from certain that he'll play Saturday against Colorado, but he's making the trip, and head coach John Carver says that if Dichio looks good in the final pre-game practice he'll make the game day roster.

In addition to Dichio, Jeff Cunningham appeared last Sunday to have emerged from whatever funk he was in. He didn't score, but his play on and off the ball impressed Carver.

"In the first half in particular last week (he) had his best game," Carver said. "I saw things there that I ain't seen before, so I might just stay with Jeff."

And that means that instead of having to carry the load, the teenage phenom can be the second half change-of-pace player the team envisions him to be.

Problem for TFC:

None of those guys is a defender.

With Marco Velez (suspension), Marvell Wynne (Olympics) and Todd Dunivant (injury) already out of the picture, defender/midfielder Tyler Hemming tweaked a hamstring Thursday and sat out the second half of practice.

Afterward Carver conceded that the back four "will choose itself" this weekend:

Jim Brennan, Tyrone Marshall, Nana Attakora-Gyan,  Julius James.

As for the Canadian content...

I'd wait a while before inventing a David Simpson chant.

The former Toronto Lynx forward has been working out with TFC all week, and while Carver plans to extend the tryout into next week, he admits the 25-year-old Scarborough native has underwhelmed the coaching staff.

"He certainly hasn't jumped out and hit me in the face to say 'lets sign him,'" Carver said. "Because I would have signed him by now."

Well at least Simpson knows where he stands.

And now so do we.

One last thing...

We still don't know if TFC's Amado Guevara will receive more than the standard one-game suspension for the red card he earned last Sunday when he punched FC Dallas' Pablo Richetti in the nose.

The consensus among some folks is that because Guevara has a history of feuding with referees that the league would exercise some discretion and sit him down for at least two games.

My guy at the league tells me a decision was expected today, but here we are, less than an hour from quitting time and we still haven't heard anything.

BUT... 5 p.m. news releases aren't unusual in this league, so if something happens within tonight, I'll update.

Till then, stay tuned.

-- Morgan Campbell

Post Game Thoughts

In no particular order....

1. Today's game provided plenty of ammunition for the "officials hate TFC" camp, and in the minutes after Amado Guevara's red card I was tempted to sympathize, if not agree.

Watching the game live the red card seemed to come from nowhere. Nobody in the press box could see the alleged punch -- TV replays we saw didn't even make it clear -- so nobody could figure out what Guevara had done to deserve an ejection.

The way TFC unravelled after that is another issue, but Marco Velez's ejection seemed to offer yet more evidence that officials just don't want TFC to win.

But then the game ended, the locker rooms opened and Guevara talked to the media, admitting that he had indeed smacked Pablo Richetti in the face, but only after Richetti had followed him down the field throwing little punches and elbows.

Then it made sense.

A classic case of the refs missing the instigator but catching the retaliator.

In this case I don't know that it proves the officials had it in for TFC. If you follow sports you that officials have a habit of not catching the guy who starts a fight. It's not unique to this game or even this team.

Did the call change the tenor of the game?

Of course it did.

Before the punch TFC controlled the play and created scoring chances they couldn't convert. Afterward they lacked direction and seemed more focused on fighting with officials than with finishing the game.

But does the call indicate anti TFC bias?

I'm not sold.

Remember, there's a difference between calling officials bad and calling them biased.

A lot of neutral observers, folks who have been involved with soccer their whole lives, have told me that MLS officiating is inconsistent at best, and as a soccer non-purist who watches a lot of MLS I'm still trying to figure out which plays are fouls and which aren't. You'll often see the same play called two different ways in the same game. It's confusing to new fans, frustrating to players and it's something MLS needs to address.

So I will allow that officiating is inconsistent, but I also realize that in the long run shaky officiating affects all teams equally.

Biased officiating is something different entirely, and not a charge you should make unless you can prove it.

And I'm still waiting for proof that refs don't want TFC to win. For every strange call against Toronto (think the phantom offside that nullified a goal against San Jose), one seems to go their way (think the iffy foul call that led to TFC's penalty kick in that same game).

So as far as I can tell, wacky calls go both ways.

It might be bad, but that doesn't mean it's biased.

2. You might have noticed that TFC dressed only 16 guys this afternoon.

Abdus "Ibee" Ibrahim missed the game while tending to family business in Minnesota.

And according to head coach John Carver, the rest of the guys who might normally fill out the bench blew their chance by looking sloppy in a mid week reserve game.

He said he didn't want to give those guys "false hope" by letting them dress today.

If Sunday's game had devolved into a bench clearing brawl  (and there were times when I thought it might), I wonder if he would have regretted not dressing more guys.

3. Kenny Cooper doesn't just score. He scores at the right time.

I learned yesterday that of the 13 goals he has scored so far this year, 10 of them have either tied the game or given FC Dallas the lead.

The team's overall record when Cooper scores:

17-6-1

No wonder Cardiff still wants him.

4. Carver said that the second new striker is almost signed, but not quite.

In the meantime, with Olivier Tebily back in France he says the team is also in the market for a centre back. And beyond that he'll need to cobble together a lineup without Guevara and Marco Velez, who are both suspended for next week's game in Colorado.

It's at the point where nearly anyone wearing Toronto FC red will do.

"Now, we’ve got two away at the Olympics, we’ve got Danny who – we don’t when he’s coming back, we’ve got Todd (Dunivant) who’s been taken off due to a long-term injury," Carver said after the game. "I think we might have to get (TFC Academy coach) Nick Dasovic to put his boots on.”

Ouch.

-- Morgan Campbell

What's the latest....

...On Paul Dickov?

Good question.

Depends on who you ask.

The folks in Blackpool seem to think the 35-year-old former Manchester City star is a whole lot closer to signing with TFC, especially since he turned down a contract offer from Blackpool.

But news on Paul Dickov is like the weather in Detroit: if you don't like it, just wait five minutes.

This morning I had a quick correspondence with someone close to the situation, and he assured me that nothing is happening on the Dickov front.

At least not over here.

Tuesday Ridge Mahoney of Soccer America reported that negotiations between TFC and Dickov had "hit a snag."

That link might have asked you to register and log in to read the story, but if you're not interested in doing that, I'll post the important part here:

A deal for former Manchester City striker Paul Dickov hit a snag last week. What snag? Has Dickov upped his demands? Has TFC balked at paying him approximately $500,000 guaranteed for the remainder of this season and next season, or has MLS refused to tender such a contract to a 35-year-old? Is there a competing bid for Dickov, who rejected an offer from one of his former clubs, Leicester City, before visiting Toronto?

But again, when dealing with Dickov, wait five minutes and the news will change.

Apparently Leicester City still wants him, and if their chairman, Milan Mandaric, is telling the truth, the player and the club are still negotiating.

So what's the latest with Dickov?

Nothing, as far as I can tell....but check back in about five minutes.

AND WHAT ABOUT TEBILY?

Commenter on a previous post asked me to give him some good news on Olivier Tebily.

Um, I can deliver a little news, but I'm not sure if you'll consider it good.

The team hasn't announced their plans regarding the 32-year-old defender so I can't really give you the official word here, but I can tell you that he wasn't at last Friday's practice, nor was he hanging around BMO Field when I showed up just after Saturday's practice. Those are matters of observation, not official information.

Beyond that, I can't say, but I can tell that if you look around the Internet you'll find highly unofficial but pretty accurate info on what happened to him.

Seriously, it's not that big a secret.

You just didn't hear it from me.

-- Morgan Campbell

Barrett, but who (or what) else?

Regarding that last post...

It's Chad Barrett.

Ives Galarcep reported earlier today, and I just confirmed it with a source who knows these things.

I still don't know if the deal will become official before the end of the work day, but it looks like the Fire has already prepared for Barrett's departure. They've already wiped clean the Barrett biography page on the team's website.

Still no word on when he actually joins TFC, but stay tuned.

-- Morgan Campbell

A Done Deal....almost

It might happen today, it might happen Monday, but somehow, some way, TFC has finally made a deal with the Chicago Fire for the rights to American striker Brian McBride.

Our guy Luis Arroyave from the Chicago Tribune broke the news on his blog last night, while the rest of us were mesmerized by the Blanco and De Ro show at BMO.

And this morning at practice, TFC director of soccer Mo Johnston said the two teams indeed reached an agreement this week, though he still wouldn't reveal exactly who (or what) TFC would receive in return for McBride's rights.

Any other week the league would ratify this deal quickly, but the day after the all-star game a lot of MLS officials are either in Toronto or travelling back to New York, possibly dragging out the process until Monday.

Early Monday, Johnston hoped.

In late May, when McBride first announced he would return to Major League Soccer, hoping to play for the Fire (his hometown club), Johnston joked that he was "sitting on a pot of gold," and said he planned to receive "something big" an a trade with the Fire.

Just how big?

I'm trying to find out, but if not we'll all see once the league makes the deal official.

-- Morgan Campbell

Is Help On The Way?

Another night, another tie for Toronto FC, except Tuesday's 1-1 draw with Montreal cost TFC a trip to the CONCACAF Champions League, which opens in September in Nicaragua.

Ouch.

What's got to hurt even more is that TFC had several second-half chances to break the tie but couldn't convert on any of them.

How desperate are TFC and its fans for offense?

This desperate: In the 85th minute a few clusters of spectators began chanting "We Want Smith!"

No disrespect to Jarrod Smith, who hustles as hard as anyone on the team, but when the fans clamour for a rookie with one goal in 12 career games, hoping he'll be the one to break the tie....well you must not have too many offensive options.

Carver reiterated the point in the post-game news conference, when he pointed out that the team currently relies on a raw 16-year-old (Ibee Ibrahim) for offence -- and it shouldn't have to.

And he sounded more urgent than ever when discussing his team's need for a proven goal scorer.

"It's blatantly obvious what we need to do, but unless we do something about it this season's going to out," he said.

That's deep, and with the regular season more than half over it's the first time Carver has expressed concern about his team's long-term health.

Carver assured the media, fans and whoever else would listen that he and the rest of TFC staff are working hard to address the problem before it's too late.

So far this season we've seen two TFC targets -- Darren Huckerby and Nuno Gomes -- decline to play in Toronto, while two more aging but possibly effective prospects -- Brian McBride and Paul Dickov -- remain in limbo.

With McBride headed to the Olympics it might be another six weeks before TFC can sign him, trade him or let another team assume his rights. And as far as I know Dickov is back in the UK, which isn't to say he'll never sign with TFC, but wherever he is, he's not in a position to help the team right now.

So I guess the question is, with Champions League out of the picture and the regular season half finished, how late is too late?

-- Morgan Campbell

It's Never Personal

Midway through John Carver's first season in Toronto, we've all grown used to him going off... on the CSA for not playing the TFC players he loans them...on Guillermo Barros Schelotto for diving... on officials for bad calls, blown calls and disrespect.

During the news conference following TFC's 0-0 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes, Carver went off again.

On the media.

I won't detail his first rant here because I know Cathal Kelly is covering it in his column for Sunday's paper, but midway through the news conference Carver challenged a reporter to tell him whether the local media want Toronto teams to win.

I'm summarizing here when I say the reporter replied (correctly) that his job is to ask questions, not to answer them and that he was just trying to do his job. They butted heads a while more before agreeing to disagree. The reporter left the conference to grab quotes from other people.

Before we continue, and since this is a discussion forum and not a news conference, I'll answer Carver's question here.

I can't speak for reporters on other beats, but every reporter who enjoys covering soccer secretly wants TFC to make the playoffs and play well once there.

Yes, we're supposed to be objective and I try my best not to come off as a homer, but I also understand that the soccer beat is a minor one at major papers in this market. That means mainstream media will cover TFC as long as they're either winning or setting records for goal scoring droughts.

But give big media in this market a reason to stop paying attention (by, say, missing the playoffs), and they'll gladly scale back coverage, and cover TFC the way they cover the Marlies -- which is hardly at all.

So yeah, part of this reporter wants TFC to do well. Working this beat has raised my profile both inside and outside the newsroom and allowed me to collect some Aeroplan points. But most importantly, it's fun.

Even when Carver's going off on me.

And did he ever go off Saturday night.

He singled me out, saying he took issue with something I'd written for Friday's paper:

Since then TFC has shone at times. On a sweltering April Sunday in Los Angeles they defeated the Galaxy on Jeff Cunningham's late goal.

Other times, though, they've stunk, earning just three of their 21 points on the road.

What, I thought to myself, did I have to do with the team winning just once on the road? Three points out of a possible 18 on the road sure isn't shining, and that's why I said it stinks.

In a packed news conference, the following exchange ensued:

John Carver -- That's a great comment, innit? That's gonna get everybody on our sides, innit?

Morgan Campbell -- You're 1-5 on the road, John. I'm not the one out there playing.

JC -- No, I understand that, but what I'm saying is, why do you have to go and write crap like that?

MC -- One and five on the road, John.

JC -- And we're playing at home...I think I've made my point. It's dead easy going on a website and looking for your questions to ask from supporters groups.

MC -- John, I write the good, I write the bad.

JC -- Yeah, but you never turn up on a Monday when we win. Monday's your day off.

Yes. A lot of times, it is. Has nothing to do with wins and losses. I'm not disappearing on Monday in a dastardly effort to deprive TFC of good press.

It's about a union contract that mandates a five-day work week and a hefty overtime rate for anything beyond that. Now, some folks in this business make a ton of money, but nobody's trying to see me join that list just yet, so for now I work five days a week.

Now don't think I'm trying to bash Carver here, because I'm not. He said later in the news conference that things would be back to normal by the next practice, even for the reporters he lambasted. And I believe him.

Thing is, I never took any of it personally, and I told Carver as much in the locker room after he had calmed down a little.

I write, people read. Sometimes they don't like it and they lash out. I get called all kind of names, but I really don't mind it. For me, it's never personal. It's just part of the job.

For him, too.

I can't call myself a journalist, then only write the truth when the truth flatters TFC. It's not the media's job to cheerlead for the team and Carver told me he understands that.

Again, I believe him.

I don't go out of my way to give people bad press, but I've got to be honest with readers, with sources and with myself.

So was it a little harsh to say TFC stinks at times?

Possibly.

But again, I've got to be honest.

And honestly, 1-5 on the road speaks for itself.

-- Morgan Campbell

On O'Brien, On Huckerby, On Turf

How starved are the San Jose Earthquakes for goals?

Consider that sixteen games into the regular season they've scored only 11 times, putting them well behind the pace TFC set last year when they established the league record for futility with 25 goals.

Or consider that new signee, 37-year-old Brazilian Francisco Lima, reputed to speak no English, managed to shout "C'mon, Kamara!" when striker Kei Kamara missed a sitter during a light scrimmage.

I guess they all count.

Finally, consider the ovation that Kamara received when he headed the ball into the net during a post-practice drill.

A drill!

Yeah, they're goal-thirsty.

ON O'BRIEN, ON HUCKERBY, ON TURF

Neither of them likes it. It hasn't changed for O'Brien since I talked to him in a hotel lobby in March. And it hasn't changed now that Huckerby's in San Jose.

But we knew that already.

DOUBLE DUTY DAVID

Dropped in on San Jose practice earlier this afternoon and noticed the goalkeeper in jersey number 31 looked a whole lot like David Monsalve.

Because it was.

Monsalve might practise with TFC as the backup to their backup keeper, but he belongs to the league. As one of Major League Soccer's pool goalkeepers, he trains with one team but is available to any squad who needs him on a given weekend, just like Sam Reynolds, the Chivas USA keeper TFC enlisted several times last season.

The Earthquakes called him up for Saturday's game against TFC.

But unlike Reynolds, who would fly from L.A. to Toronto to practise and play with TFC before heading back out west, Monsalve only travelled about a mile -- the distance from BMO Field to Lamport Stadium, where the Earthquakes worked out on Friday.

SPEAKING OF ITINERANT FOOTBALLERS

If you're like me, then you probably had a few questions about the guys filling out TFC's roster during Tuesday night's friendly against Independiente. The guys who materialize for games like this, then vanish until the next time the team needs bodies. Guys like Murphy Wiredu, Gerard Ladiyou and Frank Jonke.

Where do they come from? Where are they headed? And most importantly, do they get paid?

Couldn't find the answer Tuesday but luckily I ran into Earl Cochrane, TFC's manager of team operations, who broke it down for me so I could break it down for you.

For reserve games at home, the team usually tops up its roster with a couple of trusted CSL players. Their clubs release them to TFC, who sign them to a short term (like two day) contract, then return them to them to their club. So yes, they get paid.

At least they do for reserve games.

Friendlies work sort of the same way, except without the cash. The players, though, are compensated in that they get to keep a jersey.

No guarantee that the jersey will be their own.

Cochrane said that after Tuesday's friendly, all 22 Independiente players wanted to trade jerseys with their opponents.

Problem.

TFC only dressed 18 guys, forcing TFC staffers to scramble for some spare shirts.

I think a few Andy Welsh jerseys were lying around somewhere.

-- Morgan Campbell

Good news, bad news

Since I know soccer fans can be a little sensitive, I'll give you guys the good news first:

Olivier Tebily may play Saturday.

He hasn't played since suffering a calf injury a few weeks back, but he was on the field yesterday, doing sprints and footwork drills while everyone else scrimmaged. Head coach John Carver said Tebily, 32,  might be ready to dress for Saturday's league match against the San Jose Earthquakes.

Now the bad news.

Danny Dichio is still feeling the concussion symptoms that kept him out of both last week's Canadian Championship match in Vancouver and the league game in Chicago. Carver said Dichio went to see a specialist Monday and that both he and the team are awaiting some test results.

Uncertainty all around but it's pretty safe to assume neither man will get near the field Tuesday night against Independiente.

-- Morgan Campbell

Changes Have Arrived

Thank goodness for my disclaimer.

Two days after I told everyone that Toronto would take a while to unload Darren Huckerby's rights on the San Jose Earthquakes, the teams went and closed the deal.

Luckily my contract contains a clause that shields me from liability for predictions that don't pan out, but still I'm surprised and a little disappointed that it happened so quickly.

Anyway, it's done and right now I -- and everyone else who covers MLS -- am trying to figure out what Toronto will receive in return for Huckerby's rights.

Several blogs have speculated that San Jose will send allocation money, and that would make sense given that John Carver and Mo Johnston have been talking all season about signing a high-scoring striker, and that such a player would cost more than a little cash.

But at the moment it's speculation.

That's why people like me work phones, hoping to bring you details while we all wait for the league to finalize the deal....

We'll see what emerges.

IN THE MEANTIME....

...I'm well-known overseas.

Well, not exactly, but the Star's TFC coverage recently got a little pub in England.

This is the soccer non-purist in me speaking, but I'd never heard of the MK Dons until early June. That's when Lee Scriven, the journalist who puts out their game-day program, emailed me, explaining that he'd be in town filming the latest installment in his online soccer travelogue. For some reason, folks over here told him I know my stuff, so he wanted to know if I'd take a few minutes to give his viewers the straight goods on TFC and MLS.

So I talked and he filmed.

I returned to work and he edited.

I forgot about it and he remembered.

And yesterday he sent me the link.

The highlight (or lowlight, depending on what you think of me) begins about 5:15 in.

-- Morgan Campbell