I don't know about you, but I was left wanting more from Jurgen Klinsmann after the former German international made his first appearance in Toronto on Thursday.
It's clear that Klinsmann is not the white knight in shining armour who sweeps into to town and saves the day. Those of us who thought Klinsmann was coming in here to roll up his sleeves, take charge, make changes and turn Toronto FC on its' head were wrong. He's here only to make suggestions.
Having said that, Klinsmann's opinions will be informed, educated and based on his considerable experience in the football world. He doesn't have many opinions just yet, in fact, Klinsmann's plan of attack is to ask TFC management what it is they want, and he will point them in the right direction.
There are no timelines, other than to have everything in place by the start of the season. Gee, I guess anyone could have told them that. And even though nobody at the table said it, Toronto FC simply have to have a new coach and general manager in place by the time the college draft rolls around on January 13.
Don't be fooled, Klinsmann is no dummy but his first appearance here was very vague -- plenty of philosophy but very little concrete information. Perhaps it's too early to judge but it will become very late, very quickly.
It seems to me there's not much time to determine what the soccer culture is in Toronto, how youth players across Ontario are coached, what style you want to play, what coach can execute that style and what players are required to make it happen. Yes, Klinsmann identified all of this as areas that need to be examined in order to proceed.
The good news is this: Klinsmann appears to be a straight shooter who can be trusted by the MLSE brass to make the right suggestions in the best interest of the club.
So the jury is out. It won't come back until the season is underway. Only then can we make an informed judgement on the value or lack thereof that Klinsmann has brought to the table. The partnership will officially conclude when the season begins, but Klinsmann did say he'll come around next year to see the results of his handiwork. He finished that comment with a nervous smile.
