TORONTO — It’s official: the 2012 version of Toronto FC is the worst club in the history of Major League Soccer.
No team has ever sunk this low at any point in MLS, and that’s saying something, considering we’re talking about a league that’s been around since 1996.
Toronto dropped a 2-0 decision to DC United on Saturday, their eighth consecutive loss to start the regular season, establishing a new league record for futility. The 1999 Kansas City Wizards held the previous mark of seven straight losses.
To make matters worse, TFC captain and midfield lynchpin Torsten Frings came out of the game early in the second half with what appeared to be a serious right shoulder injury. The German was evaluated by the medical staff but no update was given on his condition.
It’s been asked so many times before, and it was put to him directly after the game: how worried is coach Aron Winter about his future?
“I’m not worried. I’m not thinking about the future. I’m thinking about this moment and what we can do more, what we can change to get points,” the Dutchman replied.
The media barrage continued. Why should he remain as coach after eight straight losses? Winter had an answer for that, too.
“Because I think (if you look at) last year with (my) vision, you have to stand behind your vision, and work on it and believe in it. You have to also be consistent and not always (be) changing things because those things are not going to change nothing,” Winter stated.
What about MLSE, the club’s owners? How confident is he that they’ll remain patient with him?
“I’m here to get results. I’m not here for fun. We’re working on it, and I believe it, and I think we also have the confidence from the company,” Winter answered.
Maybe so, but it was evident from Saturday’s poor crowd (the announced attendance was 18,364, but it looked much less than that) that the fans aren’t going to take it.
And frankly, why should they?
Toronto has been outscored 25-10 while going 0-9-3 since its last victory in league play, a 2-1 decision over Colorado on Sept. 17, 2011. That win must seem like a million years ago, considering everything TFC has since gone through.
The Reds remain the only side in the 19-team league without a single point this season. Every other club has at least seven.
Toronto hasn’t made the playoffs in five years, and based on results and what we’ve seen from the club this campaign, it’s not far-fetched to think they’ll be out of the post-season race by the time June 1 rolls around.
“For me, I’ve never experienced anything such as this. It’s very tough to swallow. Week in and week out, especially at home, it’s never easy to deal with,” midfielder Julian de Guzman said.
It’s a sad state of affairs for TFC, and the worst part is there appears to be no end in sight.
Yet, Winter remains steadfast in his belief that the Reds will make the playoffs, and stated he firmly believes he has the right players to win on a consistent basis.
“Completely and more than 100 per cent and convinced (of that), and not only I but the whole team (believes that),” Winter said.
Saturday’s contest marked the MLS return to BMO Field of former TFC captain Dwayne de Rosario since being traded away last season. Maicon Santos, another former Toronto player, also returned for DC.
Winter made some lineup changes from the midweek game in Montreal, with Miguel Aceval taking the place of Adrian Cann and partnering Doneil Henry (shifting over from the right) in the centre of defence, and Richard Eckersley reinstalled at right fullback. Luis Silva replaced Terry Dunfield in midfield.
Defender Jeremy Hall made his TFC debut as a second-half substitute. He’s missed every game this season recovering from a sports hernia operation after joining the team in an off-season trade.
TFC didn’t ‘park the bus’ like they did in Montreal where they put 11 players behind the ball to defend. But it was still a pretty cautious approach, with Frings routinely dropping back as a fifth defender and Julian de Guzman defensively shadowing De Rosario for the opening half.
Winter stressed in the buildup the importance of what he calls “keeping the zero,” or being tight, and compact in defence. In light of this and the team’s defensive record (Toronto has conceded a league-high 18 goals), it should hardly come as a surprise that he employed such tactics.
But doing so robs TFC of any semblance of balance, and makes it difficult for them to transition from defence into attack. If only Frings could be used in his natural midfield position to co-ordinate. Unfortunately, management’s failure to shore up the defence in the off-season with quality defensive reinforcements means the German is routinely asked to babysit the back four.
Forward Ryan Johnson didn’t agree with the tactics.
“We were trying to get them on the counterattack, and to be at home and (play on the counter), I don’t really get that. I don’t agree with a lot that’s going on, but I’m just one player. It’s hard right now. I don’t want to say something that I’m going to regret; it’s unbearable. That’s one word I’ll can (use) — it’s unbearable,” Johnson said in a post-match video posted on the team’s official website.
The lone moment of excitement in the first half came in 35th minute with a quick success of scoring chances. Johnson forced a point-blank save from DC’s Bill Hamid, and Santos was stopped in a similar fashion by Reds goalkeeper Milos Kocic.
Winter subbed out Silva at the start of the second half, introducing Joao Plata in order to give the Reds more of an attacking edge. But it was DC who looked more dangerous, and TFC’s Reggie Lambe made a goal-line clearance with his hand shortly after the re-start.
After being denied a clear penalty, DC exacted justice in the 55th minute when Chris Pontius was not closed down and fired a gorgeous shot from 22 yards out into the top-right corner. The goal was Pontius’ fifth of the season.
Frings came out in the 66th minute following a nasty collision with Henry, and the German threw the captain’s armband to the ground as he marched off the field. It looked like an act of petulance, but he explained his actions after the game.
“I did not mean anything negative when I removed the armband. I was in pain and had to leave the field for treatment,” Frings said in a statement posted on the team’s Twitter account. “I have too much respect for the club, my teammates and the position for it to mean anything else.”
It quickly fell completely apart for the Reds after Frings’ exit, with Hamdi Salihi firing a volley from in close past Kocic to double DC’s advantage in the 75th minute.
Things became so bad for the success-starved fans that they sarcastically celebrated a late TFC goal that was ruled offside.
“It’s like we’re walking on egg shells and once they crack everything just falls apart,” de Guzman said.
NOTES: Toronto FC was missing forward Danny Koevermans (groin strain) and midfielder Nick Soolsma (hamstring injury) … Toronto hosts the Montreal Impact in the second leg of the Amway Canadian Championship semifinals on Wednesday. The teams battled in a 0-0 draw in the first leg in Montreal last week … TFC returns to MLS action on May 19 with a road game against DC United…