Ryan Johnston

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

Chad Barrett.

Two years after coming over in a controversial trade it appears the apprenticeship of Chad Barrett is complete.

On Saturday the 25-year-old striker scored his first two goals of the season, but moreso Barrett played the full 90 minutes for a third-straight game. In the summer of 2008 it was a small miracle to get 65 minutes.

What it means is that the ability to now play a full game allows Barrett to be just what the team needs: a threat in the final 30 minutes.

Remembering the McBrides-maids

Going back to that controversial trade, as painful as it was to appear unwanted when Brian McBride said he would only play for Chicago, the beauty of hindsight reveals it was for the best.

Like Toronto, the Fire is a team under a new coach. But unlike Toronto, there was no cleaning of house. Carlos de los Cobos is saddled with playing the 37-year-old legend, rain or shine. The miserable conditions at BMO Field on Saturday showed that rain is not a great option. A target man like McBride is rendered useless when Mother Nature takes away the ability to play balls in to the edge of the 18-yard box.

The tactic is familiar to Reds' supporters, as the team played that way with Danny Dichio and Ali Gerba. However, those tactics are a thing of the past thanks to the friendship-straining house cleaning by MoJo & Co. While difficult to say farewell to the players who gave TFC its identity, the shrewdness of Mo is showing signs of being worth it.

Blues end United reign

Another successful Premier League season in the books and while I will not go as far as to congratulate Chelsea, I will applaud Carlos Ancelotti's squad for finishing the season like champions.

The 2-1 loss to Spurs with just three matches to play in the season may have melted any other club, but Ancelotti rallied his players and went on to outscore its final three opponents by a combined 17-0.

Tale of two City(s)

In its first year back in the Premier League, Birmingham City finished a respectable ninth in the league. The Blues enjoyed a run of 12 unbeaten and if the right moves are made this offseason the 13 points needed to claim seventh and a Europa League spot is a possible.

In Manchester City, the Europa League is it. After spending with an Enron-like impunity, the Citizens failed to achieve the Big 3 status lauded upon the club in several season previews. Simply put: too many transplants and not enough players who understand what it means to play for the badge on their shirt.

World Cup in 30 days.

Oh, check out a nostalgic angle on the San Jose-New York match over the weekend.