Toronto FC in flux ahead of home opener

Toronto FC coach Ryan Nelsen. (CP)

TORONTO – “Another day, another new player” appears to be the mantra of Toronto FC.

TFC on Friday morning announced the signing of English midfielder John Bostock on loan from Premiership club Tottenham, just over 24 hours before the Reds host Sporting Kansas City in their Major League Soccer home opener at Rogers Centre.

Bostock, who could make his MLS debut against Kansas City, will remain with the club on loan until July. After that, TFC could sign him to a permanent deal.

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Short on bodies early last week, Toronto made a rash of last-minute player signings to round out their roster ahead of its season debut in Vancouver, a 1-0 loss to the Whitecaps last Saturday.

Bostock is the latest player to join the Reds after a short trial (and the seventh new player signed by TFC in the last 10 days), and according to coach Ryan Nelsen the young Englishman likely won’t be the last addition to the team. Even though the season is underway, Nelsen admitted there is still work to be done to get the roster where he wants it to be in the long-term.

“We’re a long way off. It doesn’t mean that I’m not happy. But from where I see the team in a certain amount of time from now, it will be different,” Nelsen said.

If it sounds like the newly-installed Toronto coach is flying by the seats of his pants, that’s because he is. With tough games ahead (KC on Saturday, away to Montreal, then home to LA) it’s not inconceivable that TFC could be 0-4 to start the regular season as the newcomers get settled.

Despite the uncertainty hanging over the roster, there is a sense of belief from the players that the team is on the right track under Nelsen.

“It takes time for players to settle, but I think if you look from where we started at the beginning of the pre-season to where we are now, we’re getting better by the day. It’s important we keep on improving and not standing still,” veteran midfielder Terry Dunfield stated.

 

As for Bostock, he comes to Toronto with a bit of a reputation having played for England at various youth levels and captained the country’s U-17 team.

A 21-year-old native of Camberwell, England, Bostock began his career at Crystal Palace before being purchased by Tottenham in the buildup to the 2008-09 Premiership campaign. He became the youngest player in Tottenham history to play for Spurs (16 years and 295 days) against Dynamo Zagreb in a UEFA Cup match.

Spurs sent Bostock out on four different loan spells (Brentford, Hull City, Sheffield Wednesday and Swindon Town). He was a member of Swindon Town’s League Two Championship winning side in 2012 and returned to Tottenham in January.

Bostock also played with his new coach when Nelson was at Tottenham.

“He’s had so much potential for a really young guy. He has a lot of experience under his belt and hopefully we can bring it out and fans can see what a really great player he is,” Nelsen said.

After years of toiling in England’s lower divisions, Bostock views this as a chance to get his career back on track.

“When I heard Toronto was interested in me, I jumped at the opportunity. For me at my age now, I’m just so hungry and keen to get games under my belt, and to gain experience and enjoy my football again. This is a great platform for me to do that,” he said.

Bostock described himself as an attacking midfielder who isn’t afraid to have a shot on goal.

“I’m always looking to attack and hurt teams. I think have a good shot on me. … If I get the ball in the right areas, I can always hurt teams,” Bostock proclaimed.

That’s good news for a Toronto side that struggled to create scoring chances in last week’s loss in Vancouver. TFC did a good job of containing the Whitecaps’ attack, but Welsh forward Robert Earnshaw, another newcomer, didn’t receive quality service and the offence sputtered.

Nelsen used a rather defensive-minded formation against the Whitecaps, with Dunfield and Jeremy Hall deployed as holding midfielders just in front of the defence. He will likely tinker with his lineup for Saturday’s contest, but the game-plan is still the same.

“We have to be very hard to beat, first. We have to stay in games, and after that we’ll make improvements and have more shots on goal,” the New Zealander explained.

NOTES: Goalkeeper Stefan Frei, midfielders Luis Silva and Julio Cesar, and forward Justin Braun have been ruled out of Saturday’s game for a variety of injury and health issues… Rookie midfielder Kyle Bekker missed a training session earlier this week with the flu, but Nelsen said he will be available to play against Kansas City… A TFC official told sportsnet.ca that they are expecting a crowd of roughly 26,000 fans for the game at Rogers Centre…

 

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