Every Thursday, sportsnet.ca will talk to a member of Sportsnet’s soccer broadcast team (Gerry Dobson, Paul Dolan or Lloyd Barker) specifically about one of Major League Soccer’s three Canadian clubs.
This week, sportsnet.ca chats with Gerry Dobson about Toronto FC, and what team management needs to do to strengthen the roster.
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It’s two wins in a row (and unbeaten in three) for Toronto in MLS play. The playoffs are still unreachable, but has TFC turned a corner and could they be more competitive the rest of the season? Or are we reading way too much into these recent results?
Gerry Dobson: To be honest that’s a question without an obvious answer. The TFC revolving door is spinning so quickly it’s hard to know who is going to walk through it. This looks like slow improvement, to me. Turned the corner? Competitive for the rest of the season? The history of this franchise and the way it’s been run has made me a cynic.
When you look at the current roster, what holes do you see? At what positions (or positions) do you feel TFC have to strengthen? Why?
Dobson: They need upgrades everywhere but in goal, as Joe Bendik has been very solid this season. Do they have a strong spine? No. They need a boss at the back, a general in midfield, and a goal scorer. Look at Montreal, with Alessandro Nesta and Matteo Ferrari in the back line, Patrice Bernier and newcomer Hernan Bernardello (who was brilliant in his debut Wednesday night, by the way) in midfield, and Marco Di Vaio up top. Toronto doesn’t have that.
Could the signing of Swiss left back Jonas Elmer spell bad news for Ashtone Morgan? And what have you made of the young Canadian’s play this season?
Jonas Elmer? Who is Jonas Elmer? Why is everyone raving about Jonas Elmer? Where does it say he’s a great player? We’ll see. But when a European comes in, a Canadian will pay the price. Ashtone Morgan is a talented young fullback. With a little nurturing I think he can be successful.
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Luis Silva has been on fire since being traded to D.C. United, scoring three goals in three games. Did TFC “lose” that trade, or is it too early to tell?
While I do think it’s still too early, the league is full of former TFC players who come to life when they leave Toronto. Silva might be the latest. What troubles me is that he was being touted as rookie of the year material last year as a high draft choice. But it never really happened. The previous TFC management team may have been right about their opinion of him, but maybe they were wrong about how to develop him.
Matias Laba scored his first goal for TFC in the Reds’ 1-0 win over New England last weekend. What’s been your overall impression of the Argentine in MLS?
Dobson: What’s not so obvious is whether or not Laba is the man. Based on the goal he scored against New England, maybe he’s the guy. Maybe. He’s shown flashes so far. Now he needs to show consistency. The jury is still out.
NEXT WEEK: sportsnet.ca talks to Paul Dolan about The Vancouver Whitecaps. Do you have a question you want to ask Paul? Send your queries to John Molinaro via Twitter and he’ll use the best one in next week’s Q&A.
