Consequences Will Never Be The Same.

     Toronto FC’s loss to DC United once again showed its loyal fans just how woefully inconsistent our little red club really is. Reminiscent to last year’s 5-0 thumping by last places New York Red Bulls, Toronto FC’s underperformance against a weak and limping DC United squad just shows that when push comes to shove, Toronto gets knocked down to the floor. It was a crucial game for the Reds playoff hopes, and three points were a must. They were a must against Chicago to be honest and now anything less than three points in five games will see Toronto FC’s playoff aspirations dissipate. It’s sad that after four years of existence, Toronto has yet to make playoffs, but, being a sports franchise in Toronto is never easy anyways. Certainly it doesn’t help being run by the same corporation that is in charge of “successful” franchises like the Leafs and the Raptors. But, Mo Johnston and upper management weren’t playing against DC United; Toronto FC’s players were, if you can ever call it playing.

     Now, Toronto FC sit outside the playoff spot, worse off than last year under Cummins and looking more and more tired every game. Blame it on scheduling or congestion or whatever you want, it doesn’t matter; in my opinion, professional athletes should be able to run a full 90, no matter where they play. If you can’t play the full match you make yourself a bush-league player. Many may disagree but to see players paid upwards of hundreds of thousands of dollars and not having the stamina to play the full match is poor player choice. Coming off injury is understandable, but how can an entire squad look so beat just by standing on the field past the 70^th minute. Excuses are what Preki doesn’t want to give but seems to be dishing more and more lately. That Nick Dasovic is missing in action is no surprise at this point. Toronto is just one disastrous 8-0 loss away from complete chaos. The playoff push is essentially over and now Toronto takes on Real Salt Lake in a champions league match.

     The CONCACAF Champions League, Toronto FC’s first, is second priority to some and first priority to others. Though league play has been poor, Toronto has had some success in the champion’s league. A win over Real Salt Lake would put Toronto in a good position for passage to the next round. Hopefully Toronto doesn’t display the same kind of soccer they put up against DC. If Toronto FC, with Julian de Guzman, can control the midfield and stop the likes of Beckerman, Johnson and Findley, then a 1-0 win may be enough to secure the win. If Toronto fail to go through to either playoffs or the next round, the season will end fruitless, and Mo Johnston has to be held accountable. However, that's another story for another day.

     I’ll close today with a final thought. Miguel Mista, who praised the league for being very well organized, has had rumoured spats with Toronto FC’s upper management, particularly with Coach Preki. Though it may just be conjecture, I’ll leave you with this; Has Preki lost the room, and will Mista be back next season? Leave a comment and thanks for reading!