TORONTO — The choruses of “here we go again” could probably be heard all across the city.
Ryan Nelsen is not the first Toronto FC coach to assure the team’s disgruntled fan-base that the club is on the right track and that brighter days are just around the corner. TFC has been through so many rebuilds that it’s hard not to be cynical.
But Nelsen firmly believes the Reds are in a much better place now, pointing to an improved salary cap situation, fewer “bad” player contracts, less team debt and a more solid core of players on the roster than when he took over in January.
He also stressed that with a good group of young prospects, and with management in hot pursuit of two forward DPs that will hopefully bolster a currently-toothless attack, that the Reds only need minor tweaking in the off-season to become a contender in Major League Soccer.
“I can sleep really [well] at night knowing the situation we’re in now,” Nelsen told reporters at TFC’s year-end media event on Monday. “We are very close.”
Toronto, of course, is coming off a failed 2013 MLS season that saw it finish in second-last place in the 19-team league with a 6-17-11 record. The Reds were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sept. 14, but were essentially out of the race by early June after winning just one of their first 13 matches. TFC’s 1-0 win over Montreal on Saturday in their season finale was a paper thin silver lining on a campaign that was by all accounts a disaster.
Six wins and 29 points is only a slight improvement on a disastrous 2012 that saw the Reds win just five times and amass a meagre 23 points. Nelsen admitted TFC’s losing record this season was an accurate reflection of the club, while at the same time maintaining that the team made progress over the course of the year.
“It is what it is,” Nelsen said. “Is it good enough? Or course it’s not… But what I’ve liked is the evolution of the team from the start (of the season) to now, where I didn’t think we’d be in this (good of a) position.”
Is Nelsen the right man, though? It’s a legitimate question considering his background and the precarious state of Toronto FC.
Nelsen was still an active player when he was hired, with no coaching experience. The former New Zealand international admitted that this season was very much a “learning experience” and that he’s still learning on the job – not exactly what you want to hear from a coach of a team that has failed to make the playoffs since entering MLS in 2007.
Surely, TFC would be better off cutting Nelsen loose and hiring a more experienced coach with a track record of success? General manager Tim Bezbatchenko doesn’t think so, giving Nelsen a ringing endorsement for doing a Yeoman’s job in trying circumstances. He and Nelsen are on the same page, assured Bezbatchenko, as to how to turn this club around.
“You could go and get someone who has won the MLS Cup, but with my vision and what I want from this team, Ryan is the right guy,” stated Bezbatchenko, who replaced Kevin Payne as club GM in September.
The GM said he will hold individual player meetings over the next two weeks and then decide who to re-sign and cut, and which players will be bought out of their contracts. MLS teams have until Dec. 1 to make such roster decisions.
Three veteran players (and three fan favourites) who won’t be around are defender Richard Eckersley, goalkeeper Stefan Frei and forward Danny Koevermans.
“This is professional football. This is not a charity. Decisions have to be made. … It’s just the circumstances,” Nelsen said matter-of-factly.
Frei is TFC’s longest-serving player, but he is out of contract. The club traded for Chris Konopka in September, tipping its hand that it expects him to serve as backup to Joe Bendik next year, leaving Frei as the odd man out.
Frei had been the club’s No. 1 goalkeeper but lost his job to Bendik after breaking his nose in pre-season. As Bendik solidified his role as the starter, Frei sat on the bench for the majority of the campaign, only starting in one league game.
The Swiss stopper admitted he was let down by how the club handled his situation, but that he also understood that it’s just the business of the sport.
“It’s disappointing,” Frei admitted. “I didn’t want it to end like this.”
Eckersley is still under contract, but it’s expected he will be bought out because Nelsen feels his deal isn’t cost-effective and eats up too much salary cap space. A regular starter for most of his time in Toronto, the Englishman was replaced in the starting lineup by Mark Bloom late in the campaign, and didn’t even dress for TFC’s final game
“I wanted to end my time here on a good note. … It wasn’t meant to be but I understand Ryan’s point because he was planning for the future. I’d probably do the same if I was a coach here,” Eckersley said.
While Frei and Eckersley were diplomatic, Koevermans was far more blunt about his pending departure. The Dutch forward missed most of 2013 through injury and is now out of contract and doesn’t expect to be back in Toronto – not that anyone has told him that for sure.
Koevermans complained about the poor communication from the coaching staff, and how he and other players have been left in the dark about their respective futures.
“I went into the coach’s office a few weeks ago and told him I was willing to stay because I want to help the franchise. But it was only because I went into the office, not that they communicated with me. Until this day, I still don’t know officially [or not] whether they’ll extend my deal,” Koevermans said.
He also warned that unless TFC gets its house in order in terms of constant player and staff turnover, the club will continue to struggle and won’t get things right on the field.
“(We’re) always in transition. Since I’ve been here, I’ve seen (54 players) come and go. That says it all,” Koevermans said. “I just hope the next people who are in charge are going to do it right, because Toronto deserves a winning team.”
Koevermans, who turns 35 this week, said he hopes to play one more season with a team in his native Holland. If he can’t land a new club or gets re-injured, he plans to retire. Frei and Eckersley were non-committal about their futures, although both said they had options and wouldn’t rule out playing for another MLS side.
Other news from Monday’s media day event: