If Mo Johnston knew all along that Toronto FC would receive only a third-round pick in the 2009 SuperDraft for Jeff Cunningham, then the timing of this deal is troubling.
If a pick was the acknowledged return, the criticized-since-spring Cunningham should have been dealt months ago. Why wait until the roster is in full crisis mode to cut the ropes on a player with no injuries, cards or international commitments?
As it stands, and unless the trade is the first move towards freeing up cash and a roster spot, TFC face a season-breaking month of August with a trio of delicate strikers up front.
Danny Dichio will not return as the player he was before the concussion; Chad Barrett can hope the first-game cramping is not a product of the FieldTurf and young Ibrahim is still learning the game at a professional level.
Nevermind the fact that Cunningham played his best game since the road win in Los Angeles when paired with Barrett. It seems Dallas saw something in the audition last weekend.
The widely-accepted theory that the trade with FC Dallas was the first move in acquiring another striker is difficult to accept. Have we forgotten the fact that it took nearly two months to complete the Brian McBride swap? The transfer window closes next Friday and I am just wary of drinking that Kool-Aid.
(In fact, the Kool-Aid in my cup tastes more like a smokescreen: Dichio returns, he brings a false sense of security with him and Cunningham is quickly pushed out the door.)
Now I never delved much into the 'Cunningham: Yes or No?' debate because in truth, I actually felt, and still feel, the striker is a useful body on a team that understands what he can provide.
When TFC went on the six-game unbeaten run in May, coach John Carver used Cunningham as a fresh set of legs that could disrupt a back four late in the game, and maybe provide a few counter-attack scoring opportunities.
When Cunningham saw his role fluctuate from bit player, to emergency starter to full-time dog-house attendant, and back to emergency starter, the results changed for the worse.
Sure the 99-goal scorer struggled to bury his chances, struggled badly in fact, but was not because his mind was elsewhere. Cunningham wanted to be here. I remember chatting with a few reporters out front of BMO Field one day after training when Cunningham emerged and asked us, "Where am I going today guys?"
It was delivered in a half-joking and half-burdened by the grind of holding on to the rumour mill with both hands manner.
Too bad his character and professionalism will be forever overlooked in conversation due to the expectations Cunningham carried as a player with a bag full of goals to his resume.
I suppose the selling point of the trade is that it pounds home the message first delivered when Andrea Lombardo was shown the door a few weeks back: Underachievers can do it elsewhere.
And I suppose that in a way the trade of Cunningham is not only a message but an ultimatum. If Johnston does not capitalize on the open roster spot and the cleared out salary this season or by the beginning of next, then he will have to abide by his own harsh rule regarding underachieving.
But still (and I am sure this will be an unpopular statement), seeing Cunningham finally crack the century mark in goals would have been a nice bit of TFC folklore.
