Ryan Johnston

Follow TFC and the Champions League with Twitter. I will update from training, on match day and whenever news breaks.

Jim Brennan.

With two of Toronto FC's household names now collecting a pension, what new songs will be sung?

It would seem that the mismanagement of funds and resources have forced another Toronto FC player into early retirement.

The captain of the team, actually.

Six months after Danny Dichio made financial room for Julian de Guzman, Jim Brennan is moving upstairs for a yet-to-be-named replacement.

In 10 years of working in the sport industry I am unable to recall the name of one player who retired during the season to accept a front-office job. But in Toronto, where the unexpected has become the norm, the next 10 years will now have at least two names to use in reference.

It is a disturbing trend. Perhaps Dichio and Brennan were a step too slow, even for MLS standards. Perhaps, above all, each wanted job security in a comfortable market. Perhaps each deserved it. But what is not up for discussion is the impact both had in building the club from Year 1. And now, brought in to replace all that admiration is anonymity.

While the rhetoric to emerge out of Brennan's farewell conference speaks of growth and direction, it is bereft of the reverence which defined the departed. Of all the names bandied around as replacements, only Paul Dickov carries the ability to prompt people to wear it on their backs.

Somehow, it seems unlikely that any Joe Public can waltz in and fill the void.

The accountability gaps both on and off the field will likely fall to Dwayne De Rosario, a 10-year veteran of the league and uncompromising patriot. But De Ro is a player who came here to win, not to put people in the seats.