2010 MLS Season Done and Dusted…What happens next for TFC?

By: Mark | November 23rd, 2010

So that’s it for MLS soccer in 2010 (it ended a lot longer ago for TFC of course). The cup final was a pretty good time, with Colorado pulling off a 2-1 victory in extra time over Dallas to take the cup. It was certainly a different atmosphere from a TFC game, and there were a lot of empty seats at BMO Field (less than I thought though), but I enjoyed the match and was happy to see this season come to a close.

Here’s a couple pics I took on my phone during the match:

Pre-Game Festivities:
MLS Cup Pregame

Post-Game Celebration:
Trophy Presentation

Moving Forward
Now that the cup has been awarded, everyone at BMO Field and MLSE can get back to their normal business, which is of course Toronto FC. We all would have liked to see TFC play in that cup final, but unfortunately we didn’t have a good enough team and the pieces were definitely not in place to make the playoffs this year. We have a faint glimmer of hope that something good will come out of the hiring of Soccer Solutions and Jurgen Klinsmann who are going to analyze the club and make some recommendations for improvements before the next season starts, but until then all we can do is look at the current squad and see what changes can be made.

Which brings me to the MLS Expansion Draft that is happening tomorrow, in which the new Vancouver and Portland teams joining MLS will get to scour a list of unprotected players from each team to try to bolster their new squads as they enter the league. Each team can only lose a maximum of 2 players from their unprotected list, so its not the end of the world, but I like to look at the list of protected players from TFC and see what kind of lineup we would have for next year. First, here is Toronto FC’s unprotected list (up to 2 of these guys could be gone):

Chad Barrett
Julian de Guzman
Gabe Gala
Nick Garcia
Raivis Hscanovics
Fuad Ibrahim
Milos Kocic
Mista
Joseph Nane
Amadou Sanyang
Martin Saric
Maxim Usanov
O’Brian White

There are some big names on that list including Barrett, de Guzman and Mista. The general consensus however is that these guys are too expensive for an expansion team to pick up right away, but based on this season’s performance it might actually help Toronto to lose those big DP salaries and start over with someone new. Barrett on the other hand would probably be a big loss for Toronto. He was making good strides this year before his injury and I think he is now an important part of the team. We’ve all given him a lot of flack in the past, but given the squad he’s on, I think he does a pretty good job. The other surprise on this list to me is O’Brian White. Here we have another high TFC draft pick that they are willing to unceremoniously drop after barely over a year of playing time with the club (he was injured most of his first season). I wouldn’t be surprised to see a team willing to take a chance on him to see if he can reach his potential. If Barrett is too expensive, White looks to be the only other interesting name on this list. Well, Hscanovics kind of jumps out at you, but not for the right reasons!

So, let’s pretend that all those guys are gone next year and take a look at the players we have left to try to make a starting 11. Here are the protected players or those immune to the draft (TFC academy guys are safe):

Nana Attakora
Adrian Cann
Jon Conway
Dwayne DeRosario
Stefan Frei
Dan Gargan
Ty Harden
Doneil Henry
Nick LaBrocca
Jacob Peterson
Maicon Santos

Based on these guys, we have a hypothetical starting 11 consisting of Frei in goal, Attakora, Cann, Harden and Henry at defense, DeRo, LaBrocca, Peterson and Gargan in midfield, and Santos at striker. That’s only 10, so I guess Jon Conway gets to play up front as the second striker! Obviously this is just for kicks, but if those are the top 11 guys we have on the team, I’m pretty scared for next year. There are a few good pieces to the puzzle in Frei, Attakora, Cann, DeRo and Santos, but basically all of the others did not really make a positive impact this year. I’m sorry, but I am of the camp that Dan Gargan is not the solid workhorse player that is going to get TFC into the playoffs. He was good enough to fill the gaps where other guys were awful, but that doesn’t make him a great player.

What do you think of the unprotected list? Is there anyone that you think TFC should have saved? Or, do you think TFC should try to get rid of anyone else on the team? This is the first step towards rebuilding the 2011 squad, so let’s hear what you think!