It has been quite the up and down season thus far for Toronto FC. So let’s get right too it:
First Half Awards
Best Moment of the Season: Danny Koevermans gives TFC first win
Thank God for Danny Koevermans, right? I don’t think the long-suffering Toronto fan base could have handled ten straight losses to start the season. Koevermans came on as a substitute and knocked in the lone goal of the match in the 88’ minute, giving TFC their first points of the season. It was exactly what the doctor ordered for a struggling club heading into the three week long international break.
Worst Moment of the Season: MLS record ninth consecutive loss to open a season
It doesn’t get any worse than that. TFC set this dubious record on May 19 in a 3-1 loss to DC United. To add insult to injury, it was ex-TFC man Dwayne De Rosario whose brace did Toronto in. Thankfully, it was all uphill from there.
Best Game of the Season: June 27, TFC 3-0 Montreal
The Reds handed Montreal their first ever loss at Saputo Stadium in this 3-0 demolition of their Canadian rivals. Second half goals from captain Torsten Frings and strikers Ryan Johnson and Danny Koevermans started a strong run of form for the Reds who won four of seven with two draws mixed in there as well. This win served as a confidence booster and down the road it may be the one looked upon as the turning point of Toronto’s season.
Worst Game of the Season: April 21, Chicago 3-2 TFC
Coming into the game at 0-5, Toronto had scored just one goal and had yet to hold a lead. Dominic Oduro gave Chicago the lead in the first minute. Reggie Lambe replied in the 36’ and notched a second in the 40’. His second gave TFC their first lead of the season and perhaps some hope to the fans. Gonzalo Segares halted TFC’s pre-mature celebration less than a minute later off some sloppy defending on a corner kick. TFC failed to hold their first lead of the season for more than forty seconds and managed to lose the game outright when Patrick Nyarko’s tally in the second half was good enough for the Fire to pick up three points and drop the Reds to 0-6.
Offensive MVP: Danny Koevermans
He’s the team leader in goals even after missing time with a hamstring injury. To be blunt, does anyone else come close to deserving this?
Defensive MVP: Milos Kocic
The “last line of defense” cliché was thwarted by TFC early in the season. Kocic was their only line of defense. He was called upon to bail out his defenders on countless occasions and save TFC from a few more embarrassing losses in the Aron Winter era.
REPORT CARD
Goalies:
Milos Kocic (A-)
He’s kept the club in countless games this season and saved them from embarrassing defeats on countless occasions. He stepped up in a big was when Stefan Frei went down with a broken leg just a week into the season. My only knock on him would be his method of voicing complaints. He has a tendency, as I have witnessed firsthand this season, of publicly criticizing the team. When a player has something bad to say about the team, it is best that the media is kept out of it. Stuff like that can tear apart a locker room.
Defense:
Miguel Aceval (F)
A seemingly permanent demotion to the substitute bench and a drunken arrest in Houston is a fair summarization of Aceval’s season to date. He last appeared in a game on May 5 in a 2-0 loss to DC United. His days with TFC look to be numbered despite being signed just this offseason. A goal in the CCL semi-finals against Santos Laguna was his only positive contribution to the team in five months.
Adrian Cann (C-)
Cann lost his starting spot to the club’s young up and comers, but the center backs work ethic and dedication to this club can never be questioned. He never seemed to recover from offseason knee surgery and now finds himself back on the injured list. TFC have lost five of the six games he’s started this season.
Richard Eckersley (C+)
The English defender is a model of inconsistency. He can play with the best when he’s on, but he goes missing far too often. Defensive errors and slip ups are becoming a worry for the club. Despite some of his recent struggles, he remains one of the better and undoubtedly the club’s toughest defender.
Logan Emory (B-)
The twenty-four year old has become a regular in the starting XI. Emory has come a long way and while he still has plenty to learn, his play as of late has earned the praise of head coach Paul Mariner. “He needs to realize he can play against the best,” said Mariner. “He’s grease lightning fast.”
Jeremy Hall (B-)
Hall is tough as nails and has done everything asked of him to this point. He has a never say die attitude and a pace along the flank that makes him dangerous pushing forward on the attack as well. He made his first appearance of the season on May 5 and has been left out of the starting XI just twice since.
Ty Harden (F)
It has been nothing short of a disastrous season for Ty Harden in 2012. His lack of confidence and to be frank, lack of talent, has cemented his spot as nothing more than an extra on TFC’s roster. He was nowhere near this poor in 2011.
Doneil Henry (B)
Giving Henry the highest grade among defenders may be a bit generous, but he has been nothing short of impressive in each of his starts at CB for the club. At just 19 years of age, Henry has shown both coaches and fans that he has a very bright future in the game of soccer. His play against the Impact and Whitecaps helped TFC to another Canadian Championship win. The last two games have seen Henry start at fullback, something that does not suit his playing style, yet he has found a way to make it work. Henry has been consistent and reliable at CB in 2012.
Aaron Maund (C)
He has yet to start a game for the team, but has been used as a substitute on three separate occasions. Nothing much to say about Maund as it is hard to grade someone on such limited playing time. The ‘C’ grade is strictly generic.
Ashtone Morgan (B)
Morgan has been another bright spot for the club in 2012. He has the pace to keep up with anyone and has looked better and better as the season moves forward. The one knock on Morgan was his ineffectiveness pushing forward on the attack. His breakout performance against the Revolution on June 23 has effectively silenced those critics. His pace on the attack saw him set up both of the club’s goals, registering two assists in the game. Morgan is another young defender (21) with a bright future in the game.
Midfield
Eric Avila (B-)
Avila is not the best attacking midfielder, but he’s the best TFC have. He’s done a respectable job filling the role, but it goes to show TFC need to sign a playmaker. Avila has shown some flashes of brilliance, but he is a bit too inconsistent. He poses a threat on the attack but goes missing at times. He started just one of the clubs first five games, earned himself a spot in the starting XI and has all but three of the last fourteen. He is a serviceable midfielder for the MLS but would be better suited as a second half substitute.
Terry Dunfield (C)
Dunfield would get an ‘A’ for effort. Unfortunately for him, it doesn’t always work that way. He’s if hardly the most talented player, but more of an energizer bunny for the club. His lethargic start to the season lowered his grade, although he has picked it up significantly as of late. His injury time winner against Vancouver produced arguably the best moment of the season thus far for TFC.
Torsten Frings (A)
This is self-explanatory. He’s their star, he’s the MVP. When he’s out of the lineup the team has a whole different look to it. They went 0-5 when Frings was injured this season.
Luis Silva (A)
I have been one of Silva’s biggest supporters since I saw him make his TFC debut in the CCL quarter-finals against the LA Galaxy. Since then I have been advocating him to become a regular starter. It took a while for my cries to be heard, but since he was promoted to a regular in the starting XI on July 11, he has two goals, two assists and seven shots in just three games.
Matt Stinson (B)
Stinson has appeared in three games for Toronto this season, one of them as a starter. In his one start he used his speed and good work ethic to pick up an assist while also registering two shots on goal. He’s only 19 so he has plenty of time to develop into a regular contributor for the club. He’s looked good in limited time this season though.
Forwards:
Ryan Johnson (C)
It’s been a frustrating season for Ryan Johnson, to say the least. He’s been robbed of goals on several occasions this year and it has taken its toll on the Jamaican born forward. Unfortunately for him, that’s not a reasonable excuse. Plain and simple, he has to be sharper in front of goal. He’s a forward. Forwards are paid to score and he isn’t doing too much of that this season. Johnson has just four goals in twenty starts, yet his 56 shots rank him first on the team by a mile. Koevermans has nine goals on 39 shots. Even worse than this, of Koevermans 39 shots, 24 have been on target for a total of 62%. Of Johnson’s 56 shots, only 19 have been on target for a measly 34%. As a striker, the least you could ask for is half of your attempts to be on target, especially when the majority of them are coming from in and around the 18-yard box. Hopefully Johnson can regain his scoring touch in the second half of the season.
Danny Koevermans (A-)
Danny’s nine goals in sixteen appearances (twelve starts) put him on pace to finish somewhere in the top five in MLS scoring this season, even after missing almost a month with a hamstring injury. That was until his season ending knee injury. Koevermans tore his ACL in a game against the New England Revolution just over a week ago and will undergo season ending surgery/rehabilitation. This is one tough injury for a 34 year old to come back from. Nonetheless, Koevermans was a rock for this team and his veteran leadership helped get them through a disastrous start to the season. He was one of the main players in getting them back to relevancy in the Eastern Conference (now just six points back of sixth place in the East). I wish Danny all the best in his road to recovery.
Reggie Lambe (B-)
Lambe came up big when the team needed it most earlier on in the season. Lambe was really the one who helped spark the offense when it had been stagnant for a while at the start of the season. He had a stretch where he was one of their most dangerous attackers, then Koevermans found his form and Lambe seemed to lose his swagger. He’s a young player so this kind of thing is expected, but hopefully he can regain that form for the second half of the season.
Second Half Prediction: New additions (with likely more to come) help TFC to a strong second half, missing the playoffs by just 5-6 points. Eric Hassli, Andrew Weideman, Quincy Amarikwa and a DP to be named later, provide the revitalized Reds with some needed depth, leaving the club with six wins and four draws out of their remaining fourteen games. This would leave the club with 41 points. Last season, 46+ points got you in the playoffs. TFC finished with 33 points last season. This would be quite remarkable considering they started off the season 0-9.
(image courtesy of Getty Images)
