If you were at Pearson airport Monday evening and saw Toronto FC players kiss the ground when they arrived, you'd have to forgive their joy at landing on terra firma. They had just been part of every air traveler's worst nightmare.
Halfway across the continent their American Airlines jet was forced into an emergency landing at Omaha, NB. The aircraft's hydraulics were apparently not working -- don't the hydraulics operate the landing gear? That and a few other fairly important parts of the plane. Anyway, local officials were so concerned about a crash landing that they closed down an adjacent freeway just in case. Upon landing, their plane was escorted down the tarmac with fire engines, ambulances, plenty of flashing lights and a whole lot of angst. It was a safe landing however, and after the necessary repairs, off they went again about three hours later. In the end a long day with no harm done other than a few added gray hairs, and a few shorter fingernails.
The silver lining behind this dark cloud is that the Reds don't play another away match until May 24th. No more flying. None. Five straight home games with a 16 day layoff thrown into the middle. Head coach John Carver is happy to know the squad can get settled, and that he will now be able to put the finishing touches on the purchase of his own new house. But apart from that, he's not convinced that many home matches in a row is a good thing. He's seen examples of complacency taking hold in the past in these scenarios. He's wary of it, and is determined not to allow it to creep in here. He also wishes the transfer deadline was a few weeks longer.
Recent new additions have made the club stronger, but a few more weeks would have allowed more of the same, especially when it comes to the back line. The release of defender Andrew Boyens was tough. We all know Andy, a solid kid with a lot to offer. But Carver simply feels rookies Julius James and Pat Phelan are ahead of him. With James healthy the decision was made to waive the Kiwi. And yet Carver is measured when commenting about the performance in the centre of defence, specifically Marco Velez. The Puerto Rican must get better, and Carver thinks its happening.
I also spoke with Marvell Wynne about his speed and his spectacular run to close down Landon Donovan midway through the first half against the Galaxy. Marvell has not sprinted competitively since high school and tells me he has no idea how fast he is. All he suspects is that he's faster now than he was when he ran a 10.7s as a highschool sophomore. His focus now is to react as quickly a possible in these situations because he knows he has the speed to chase down anyone from just about anywhere in this league, maybe any league.
On the pitch training today was for the subs and reserves only, under glorious sunshine with the bubble gone thank goodness. The first team took part in an indoor recovery session Tuesday, followed by an hour of yoga, a staple now 48 hours after each match.
