A raw wind under cloudy skies, cold temperatures and a threat of rain was a sure signal another TFC season is drawing to a close.
In fact the team never even ventured outside on Tuesday morning, preferring the cosier confines of the weight room. But after the season ender in San Jose Saturday night, this franchise will enter a whirlwind of an off season. Preparations by management are already underway for the expansion draft which will stock the newcomers from Seattle shortly after the MLS Cup on November 23rd.
In fact teams must submit their protected list of eleven players by 5pm on November 24th. Head coach John Carver is still ruminating over the makeup of that list, and will not come up with all the names until after the San Jose match. And then there's tons of work to do.
In January, not only is there the college draft in St. Louis in which Toronto has several choices and therefore a great deal of flexibility, but the European transfer window opens again. Carver says the window could provide some useful players. But he's also promising that he won't offer up any information on prospective signings until said player is under contract. That happened far too often for all of us this past season.
TFC have promised big changes for year three. They'd better come through. The natives are restles.
It will also be interesting to see how the league deals with the player drain caused by international dates. They are on record as promising to take some action. Mo Johnston and John Carver are counting on it. If we thought this year was bad, next year might not be much better.
Although Canada is on the sidelines, there will be more World Cup Qualifying. The Confederations Cup will take place in June. The Gold Cup in July. Both tournaments have the potential to affect Toronto's roster. And there'll be another mid summer fixture pileup with the second edition of the Canadian Championship. Montreal's performance in the Champions League this year is enough evidence to tell you how attractive this property has become in just its first season.
Speaking of Montreal, some of you might be aware of the rumours swirling around Philadelphia's ability to get up and running in 2010. The second part to that rumour is that, according to this theory, Montreal would be fastracked and would join the league a year early as they already have everything in place. It might be premature to place too much credence in it. But consider this. One of the financial partners in the Philly adventure is istar Financial. Last December their stock was trading at over $30 per share. It was trading at $1.42 mid afternoon Tuesday and dropping. That can't be good. Some are saying the company can't survive the economic downturn. Others are saying nonsense, they'll be just fine. More to come on that one.