John Carver acknowledged the 'In Carver We Trust' banner which was unfurled to span the gap between the southeast supporters' section and the east side stands at BMO Field. But in reality, the English coach cannot be blamed if he was thinking more about folding up that banner into a personal paper airplane and getting the hell out of Toronto.
On Saturday against Chivas USA even the TFC media guide was useless. The rag-tag starting 11 for the home team contained the names of two players even the most-informed of supporter could not pick out of a line up and one player who wasn't even paid to be out there because it would violate his amateur status and disqualify him from participating in future men's league games.
The word to describe it was on the tip of my tongue, thankfully striker Chad Barrett helped me out.
"It is ridiculous" Barrett said of the MLS' inability to schedule games around World Cup qualifiers. "When you have to call people in on loan to start for our team just so we can play a game for the sake of the league is ridiculous."
"Hopefully, in a couple of years when the CBA agreement comes up again it'll change."
Now Barrett was being diplomatic, by saying 'Hopefully', he actually means 'It must.' It is not an exaggeration to say that Toronto have been model tenants in the MLS, single-handedly making it a marquee fixture for whichever opponent comes into the sold out BMO Field. A little reciprocity would be nice; if players love playing in Toronto, regardless of what side they line upon then ensure the fans that turn out in droves get to see the best product available.
But before placing total blame on the MLS, it should be pointed out that the call-up selection process is full of holes itself. The WCQ qualifier between Canada and Honduras just kicked off, and TFC defender Jim Brennan is on the bench. Earlier on Saturday, TFC midfielder Carl Robinson played a full two minutes for Wales against Azerbaijan. By the end of Saturday, we will know if Julius James and Tyrone Marshall will play any significant role for their respective national teams. As Carver has always maintained, he will abide by the rules, but comes a point where the international door begins to close.
Carver also pointed out that a few of the players away on duty are only there because of the efforts of their domestic club.
"Can you imagine if we still had Mo Edu here? We actually developed four players: Marvell Wynne, Jarrod Smith, Edu and Julius James. That is why there has to be some sense in all this … we are being penalized for developing international players."
It is a valid point; the names above flew under the international radar when TFC brought them in, and now through a regular game and the mentorship of coaches like Paul Winsper each are full-time internationals.
The new faces at BMO Field were not the only instance of unfamiliarity for the club, so was where the captain's armband was worn on Saturday. Marco Velez was gifted the responsibility by Carver, allowing the much-maligned defender to prove his worth in a game when it was gravely needed. Well, he failed.
Velez lashed out at Alecko 'Elbows' Eskandarian on the stroke of halftime, forcing the official to send him off for retaliation. Sad part was Esky was going off alone, and TFC would have played the second-half up a man. Carver confirmed it after the match.
"I gave Marco Velez the captaincy today to be a leader and he has let me down, he's let the team down, he's let everyone down, he's let himself down and I told him that," Carver said, before hinting that more might be in store for the out-of-favour Velez. "I'll take a further look at it, and if I think he has let the team down big style, I'll make sure we fine him internally as well."
Marco made a very poor decision at a moment when the eyes of Toronto were on him to lead, and for that he may have played his final season in a red shirt.
NOTES: Carver was forced to abandon a reserves game against Columbus this week because he simply had no players to field a team. The league wasn't ready to let it fly, it wanted Carver to collect local players and get the game played … Carver has a pair of coaches from Norwich City in town as a way to help them receive their pro licenses. The irony is, the English coaches are only in Toronto because their Championship games are cancelled due to the weekend qualifiers.
