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Sep 12 '18
TORONTO - Toronto FCs end-of-year wrap session Monday was much like the 6-17-11 season that preceded it, in many ways. Womens Cavaliers Jerseys .It managed to highlight the good and bad of a complicated MLS club which always has a lot more than meets the eye going on under the surface. Over the years, Toronto FC has made progress like a drunken duck — heading on a peculiar path, its webbed feet flapping unseen below the water.The current braintrust insists that the team is now headed in the right direction. And that it has the majority of its players in place.Listening to Mondays parade of 16 players, followed by manager Ryan Nelsen and general manager Tim Bezbatchenko, was like watching a large family get-together.Some cant wait to leave. Most are happy to stay a little longer. And the hosts believe the party is only going to get better.I learned more probably in this year than I have in many years, to tell you the truth, Nelsen said of his first year as a manager.Its been a roller-coaster as well, we have some real ups and some real downs ... but I can tell you what, gee whiz, I can sleep good at night knowing were in the situation were in now.Nelsen had to fight fires — bush fires in his words — after taking over a team hamstrung by salary cap, contracts, debt — lots of it — (and) at the time, no real foundation of core MLS players.Put all that together and thats toxic, he added.A no-nonsense defender who made the most of his talents in pro soccer — he still has two homes in England and three in New Zealand — Nelsen proved to be a survivor in his first year at the helm. Former team president and GM Kevin Payne could not say the same, axed by new Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment CEO Tim Leiweke.Nelsen and Bezbatchenko were both upbeat Monday as they looked ahead rather than behind.Well have the majority of the guys back, said Nelsen, the clubs eighth manager in seven seasons. They know everything, they know the system.We dont have to make major changes, he added. The only changes were actually making are only going to be complementing the team.Leiweke has already said Nelsen is his manager for 2014 and Bezbatchenko added his endorsement Monday, saying a turnaround simply wasnt possible in one year. Both manager and GM say the team is close to that turnaround.The search for two designated player strikers continues, in tandem with a search for a handful of battle-hardened MLS veterans.Bezbatchenko says the team has a broad target list for the DP forwards.From there you whittle it down by figuring out who might be interested and you figure out their contract situation, and then you look at your budget. And then you speak to their agent or the club and see if theyre interested in doing a deal. So there was a wide net and its been narrowed down. But its still pretty broad.Goals are desperately needed. Toronto scored just 30 in 34 games this season to rank 18th in the league. Nelsens squad did manage to improve on defence with 45 goals conceded, compared to 62 in 2012.The off-season talent hunt includes speed on the midfield flank and depth in central midfield and the backline.Were on the right path, said captain Steven Caldwell, a hard-nosed Scottish defender who proved to be an inspired pickup. But we know we need a few more players, a bit of quality in different areas.One player after another said there should be no excuses for failure, given the teams ownership and resources. And most praised Nelsen as a players coach who knows what they go through because he has experienced it himself.Fullback Richard Eckersley, goalkeeper Stefan Frei and designated player/striker Danny Koevermans all managed to stay classy as they headed out the door Monday. One sensed they had far more to say, but Monday was not the time.Eckersley, with a US$500,000-plus contract in 2014 back-end loaded due to a renegotiation this season, is simply too expensive to keep for his last year. Look for the team to buy him out.Frei lost his stating job to injury and the fine play of Joe Bendik. His $200,000 contact is expiring and he will be allowed to go to greener pastures.Koevermans, whose expiring $1.663 million contract netted 78 minutes on the pitch this season, couldnt come back from knee surgery as the calf of the same left leg repeatedly broke down on him.I feel for Danny, said Nelsen, adding nobody wanted his designated player/striker on the field more than he did. But this is professional football, guys. This is not a charity. Decisions have to be made.Koevermans and Eckersley both said they had to go to the front office to get clarification on their future with the club.The club can comes across as cold, sometimes. Players learn whos in the matchday 18 by email, for example.Eckersley was kept out of the last five games as the team auditioned Mark Bloom — a move Eckersley said he could understand given his situation — while Frei was not given a chance to win his job back and only got a start against Chicago when Bendik was suspended.Football is a business, Frei said. Its also very much a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately business.Koevermans said he experienced something close to a mental breakdown when his calf failed yet again.Nelsen said hes always willing to listen to a player with a problem.I try and talk to all the players if I can. My doors always open. And if anybodys got any problem, they always come in and talk. I cant get some of them out of the room, to tell you the truth.Nelsen said perhaps he could do a better job of searching out troubled players, but it sounded half-hearted.And he appeared to have Koevermans in mind when he made a point of noting how some players making a mere $35,000 a year turn up every single day for training and dont need any arms around his shoulders.To his credit, Koevermans did independently say the league needed to immediately increase its minimum wage.Nelsen, who has experienced the highs and lows of pro soccer himself, does not do warm and fuzzy very well. But he has had to deal with some unique situations at the club this season, electing to take criticism himself rather than share the real story.In terms of fires, hopefully weve put a lot of them out and hopefully well never see them again, he saidNelsen is looking out for his youngsters, however, and will likely make use of his contacts overseas to send the likes of Canadians Doneil Henry, Ashtone Morgan and Jonathan Osiorio to European clubs for some off-season training.Their departures will leave the 22-year-old Morgan (66 games) atop the list for league appearances in a Toronto FC shirt.Its not good is it? said Nelsen. Its not right, of course, and thats absolutely what we want to change.Nelsen has assembled a good core of youth, with seven of his starters in Saturdays win over Montreal aged 25 or younger. Getting the right strikers will augment the spine of the team (Bendik, Caldwell, Henry, Laba, Osorio).The turnover at the club drew fire from Koevermans, who said he had seen 54 players come and go during his two and a half seasons in Toronto.That says it all .... I just hope the next people in charge, they do it right. Because I think especially the city of Toronto deserves a winning team and also the fans because they keep on coming. Which is unbelievable.Toronto dressed some 37 players this season.Theres been way too much turnover here, said veteran midfielder Bobby Convey. Its very difficult as a player to get a rhythm with different guys on the field. My first, I think, seven or eight weeks I played with three different left backs. Thats a bit tough.One plus of a poor season is youth gets a chance to shine and the 30-year-old Convey says TFC will benefit from that next year.Koevermans, who called this season a personal disaster, says he plans one more attempt at soccer in his native Netherlands. He turns 35 Friday, so he knows time is against him.Eckersley says he would like to stay in the MLS, with a winning team. Frei kept his plans to himself. Cyber Monday Cavaliers Jerseys . Monta Ellis had 30 points and nine assists, Nowitzki was another of seven Dallas players in double figures with 11 points and the Mavericks beat the Los Angeles Lakers 123-104 Tuesday night. Authentic Cavaliers Jerseys . Julien coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship in 2010-11 and is the longest serving coach in consecutive seasons in the teams history. Claude is one of the top coaches in the NHL and has consistently shown a passion for winning, general manager Peter Chiarelli said Sunday in announcing the signing.TORONTO – The Genie Army was out in full force yesterday for Genie Bouchards historic semifinal victory at WIMBLEDON. Overnight data from BBM Canada confirms that more than 1.9 million unique viewers tuned in to TSN and RDS to witness Bouchard become the first Canadian singles player to make a Grand Slam tennis final – making it the most-watched WIMBLEDON non-finals broadcast on record. The match attracted an average audience of 791,000 viewers, with audiences peaking at 1.4 million viewers as Bouchard took match point to secure her win over Simona Halep. Canadians have rallied behind Bouchard and Milos Raonic throughout WIMBLEDON:• Raonics quarter-final win attracted an average audience of 545,000 viewers (1.6 million unique viewers) to TSN and RDS on Wednesday • Bouchards quarter-final victory attracted an average audience of 304,000 viewers (921,000 unique viewers) to TSN and RDS on Wednesday Overall, this years tournament is the most-watched WIMBLEDON in TSN history. Canadians can follow Bouchards attempt for Grand Slam glory during the WIMBLEDON womens final airing tomorrow (Saturday, July 5) at 9 a.m. ET live on TSN and TSN GO (visit TSN. Cheap Cavaliers Store. a/GO to learn more about TSN GOs availability). For a preview of the final, fans can tune in to the iconic BREAKFAST AT WIMBLEDON at 8 a.m. ET. In addition, TSNs Mark Masters, who has been on-site at the All England Club all tournament long, will continue to deliver reports on Bouchard before and after her big match against former WIMBLEDON champion Petra Kvitova. TSN Radio stations across the country deliver live coverage of Bouchards historic WIMBLEDON final, including TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, TSN Radio 690 in Montreal, TSN Radio 1290 in Winnipeg, TSN Radio 1200 in Ottawa, TSN Radio 1260 in Edmonton, and TEAM Radio 1410 in Vancouver. Canada is also represented in the mens doubles final, with Vasek Pospisil and his partner Jack Sock of the United States taking on brothers Bob and Mike Bryan – also of the United States – tomorrow at approximately 1 p.m. ET live on TSN and TSN GO. The mens final, featuring No. 1-seed Novak Djokovic and seven-time WIMBLEDON champion Roger Federer, airs Sunday at 9 a.m. ET live on TSN and TSN GO, with BREAKFAST AT WIMBLEDON previewing the match at 8 a.m. ET. 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