TFC has high hopes for new season

And so it begins.

Although Toronto FC players reported to pre-season training camp earlier this week, Thursday marked the first time they practised together ahead of the 2012 Major League Soccer campaign. It was also the first chance reporters had to grill management and players about the upcoming season as part of the team’s “Media Day” festivities.

The message from coach Aron Winter and the rest of the TFC brain trust? Even though some pieces are missing, a good solid core is in place, thanks to the club working hard in the off-season to shore up the roster.

To that end, the club officially announced Thursday that it signed English defender Richard Eckersley, who spent last year on loan with the Reds, to a permanent deal. This comes on the heels of a slew of other recent moves, including signing influential playmaker Joao Plata (on loan last year) to a permanent deal, adding midfielder Reggie Lambe and defender Jeremy Hall, and drafting Luis Silva and Aaron Maund.

Winter also revealed that TFC signed Ecuadorian centre-back Geovanny Caicedo and that it is close to agreeing terms with Chilean left-back Miguel Aceval. It’s all part of the club’s master plan to hit the ground running when exhibition games come fast and furious next month ahead of the start of the regular season in March.

“Last season was a false start, because the moment we arrived ... we didn’t have a very strong roster. This season was very good start. We have done a great job in the off-season (of signing and scouting players),” Winter said.

Toronto FC went 6-13-15 in 2012, missing the playoffs for the fifth straight campaign.

For this year, Winter has set targets of advancing to the semifinals of the CONCACAF Champions League, win the Canadian Nutrilite Championship and, wait for it, qualify for the MLS playoffs. But he also warns that the rebuilding project started last season will continue in 2012.

Having the majority of the roster settled at the start of pre-season should help. It’s also a refreshing change from the fly-by-the-seat antics of Mo Johnston.

Winter’s predecessor often left it until early March to fill out his roster, putting the Reds behind the eight ball right from the start of the season and forcing them to try to dig out of a deep hole after only a few weeks. Earl Cochrane, TFC’s director of team and player operations, believes that lack of preparedness held the club back somewhat in the past.

“If you look at what we’ve done this year, we’re going into the season with a handful of roster spots available. We have a number of guys fighting for a handful of spots, which is a vast difference from what we’ve done before,” Cochrane explained.

Management’s diligent efforts have not gone unnoticed by the team’s veteran players.

“It’s good to see the team come back with a good core ... I think it’s important to work off of that,” Julian de Guzman said. “It’s good to see we’ve moved forward in that sense.”

Defence has historically been a major problem area for TFC ever since it entered the league in 2007. Last season, the Reds gave up a league-leading 59 goals -- although that comes with a bit of an asterisk, as starting central defenders Adrian Cann and Dicoy Williams were both lost to season-ending knee injuries early on in the campaign.

Still, the overwhelming consensus is that the club had to bring in defensive reinforcements to shore up the back line. Paul Mariner, TFC’s director of player development, believes steps have been made to try to solve the problem, specifically with the addition of Caicedo.

“He’s a bit of a hard-nosed defender, and you’ve got to be hard-nosed defender in Major League Soccer,” Mariner stated.

It will be important for Caicedo to come in and immediately anchor the defence, as both Cann and Williams are still recuperating after undergoing extensive off-season rehabilitation programs.

Williams is far away from a full recovery and likely won’t be ready by the start of the season. Cann’s progress is a little more positive -- the Canadian hopes to return to full training with his team shortly and could be available to play when TFC hosts the L.A. Galaxy on March 7 in the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League quarter-final.

“I’m excited and looking forward (to playing in squad games during practice) because the sooner I touch the field, that’s where the happiness is. That’s where I feel comfortable,” Cann said.

There are nine members of TFC’s youth academy that will participate in the team’s initial phase of training camp before the squad heads to Florida in February for an exhibition tournament. Of the nine, Cochrane said there are two or three that he feels have a legitimate shot at making the senior team this season, although he makes no guarantees.

“We’ll make a decision as to whether we want to take this guys to Orlando and then it will be further opportunity for them to show they’re good enough to make the jump,” Cochrane said.