Toronto FC: TFC Discussion

[Al14]

Well, I've lost all interest in watching soccer once again.

A team wins a championship without even registering a decent shot on net during 90 minutes of regulation play. Disgusting.

I've said for years that the football pitch is far too long! If they reduced the length by at least 30 yards, I think we'd see more action in the scoring areas. JMHO

 

[TheBeastCoast]

Well, I've lost all interest in watching soccer once again.

A team wins a championship without even registering a decent shot on net during 90 minutes of regulation play. Disgusting.

I've said for years that the football pitch is far too long! If they reduced the length by at least 30 yards, I think we'd see more action in the scoring areas. JMHO

Wouldn't that just clutter the field up more? Be easier to just jam everything up.

 

[ACC1224]

Entertaining game, poor result.

Sounds like some Euro snobs have a pretty unrealistic view of things.

 

[Nylanders Flow]

Not playing the final at neutral ground is a bit weird, the away team is pretty much always going to set up defensively.

Why do they do that? MLS worried fans won't travel?

 

[Vexed]

Not playing the final at neutral ground is a bit weird, the away team is pretty much always going to set up defensively.

Why do they do that? MLS worried fans won't travel?

Yup. At this point they need the hype of the home city

 

[Vexed]

Wouldn't that just clutter the field up more? Be easier to just jam everything up.

This exactly. Shortening the field would just make it easier to get 10 men behind the ball and kill counters even faster. To get space a team needs to stretch the field or use width to create space in the middle. TFC had good width, which you would expect with 5 at the back but they did a poor job of exposing gaps and have never really been good at deliveries into the box

 

[Walshy7]

Not playing the final at neutral ground is a bit weird, the away team is pretty much always going to set up defensively.

Why do they do that? MLS worried fans won't travel?

England for instance is so small every fan can jump on a train to London (Wembley) the furthest team from London would be Newcastle or Carlisle and that is only a 6 hour train ride. Lets say they pick a neutral spot it is fairly likely you will need airfare and accommodation so having one of the finalists a home team guarantees there wont be empty seats in the stands

 

[Walshy7]

This exactly. Shortening the field would just make it easier to get 10 men behind the ball and kill counters even faster. To get space a team needs to stretch the field or use width to create space in the middle. TFC had good width, which you would expect with 5 at the back but they did a poor job of exposing gaps and have never really been good at deliveries into the box

not to mention no country that lives football ever brings up the pitch being too long so in this example the field dimensions would only be different in NA, scaring away potential top class recruits and fans.

Did I hear the other day MLS has different sized penalty areas, and that is the reason Montreal had the wrong lines they painted to FIFA regs not MLS or something?

 

[Quarter]

Well, I've lost all interest in watching soccer once again.

A team wins a championship without even registering a decent shot on net during 90 minutes of regulation play. Disgusting.

I've said for years that the football pitch is far too long! If they reduced the length by at least 30 yards, I think we'd see more action in the scoring areas. JMHO

If Toronto scores on any of their quality chances, you wouldn't be complaining right now.

As such, just keep that in mind when you go to put the sport/league down that the loss was completely on Toronto's lack of execution... not the format of the match.

I have a feeling this fact will fall on deaf ears though.

Also, as brought up by other posters, shortened the pitch is an awful idea. All it does it clog everything up and make it even easier to plant 10 men behind the ball.

 

[theaub]

fwiw, London to Newcastle is a 3 hour train ride (just to further the point).

Fans won't travel. Seattle, Portland and Toronto are probably the only ones I'd have faith in to come out en masse for a title game (and even then, I don't think TFC would have gone far beyond the 500 allocation for a match in Colorado).

 

[phisherman]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the fact that they have had the MLS Cup at neutral venues before.

BMO Field hosted in 2010.

 

[Walshy7]

fwiw, London to Newcastle is a 3 hour train ride (just to further the point).

Fans won't travel. Seattle, Portland and Toronto are probably the only ones I'd have faith in to come out en masse for a title game (and even then, I don't think TFC would have gone far beyond the 500 allocation for a match in Colorado).

would you believe I've done the trip I cant remember how long it took, I went up to watch west ham play Newcastle and plenty of beers were had on that train. I didn't want to underestimate.

but yeah you have to have a home team playing, locals aren't going to care if their team aren't playing and the cost is pretty crazy, I was down on queen st on Saturday there were a lot more seattle fans around than I expected

 

[theaub]

Yup the only reason I know is because I did it two weeks ago lol

And the 2010 Cup is a prime example of why neutral sites are terrible. No fans from either team and a totally disinterested (and cold) home crowd.

 

[ACC1224]

I can't believe no one has mentioned the fact that they have had the MLS Cup at neutral venues before.

BMO Field hosted in 2010.

Why is that important?

 

[phisherman]

Why is that important?

Because people are arguing for it when it's been done already.

 

[Pookie]

fwiw, London to Newcastle is a 3 hour train ride (just to further the point).

Fans won't travel. Seattle, Portland and Toronto are probably the only ones I'd have faith in to come out en masse for a title game (and even then, I don't think TFC would have gone far beyond the 500 allocation for a match in Colorado).

I think you underestimate the potential. TFC had over 2000 travelling fans back in the early days in Columbus.

I was also one of about 400 that made the 10+ Hour drive to New England about 6 years ago.

The support is there. It was nearly killed off with ticket price hikes, Marlies' packs and an indifferent "supply and demand" front office that promised quick fixes while delivering hype and a revolving door of coaches.

But it's there.

 

[ACC1224]

Because people are arguing for it when it's been done already.

I hadn't seen anyone argue for it.

 

[theaub]

I think you underestimate the potential. TFC had over 2000 travelling fans back in the early days in Columbus.

I was also one of about 400 that made the 10+ Hour drive to New England about 6 years ago.

The support is there. It was nearly killed off with ticket price hikes, Marlies' packs and an indifferent "supply and demand" front office that promised quick fixes while delivering hype and a revolving door of coaches.

But it's there.

There's a long-winded rant somewhere here about MLSE's shortsightedness of drawing in new fans and how they'll never re-create the support they had from 2007-2009, but perhaps another time.

But for this specific instance - its easy to plan a roadtrip when you have months in advance to plan it (and its a roadtrip and not a flight). Maybe the lure of a championship would have driven demand beyond the allocation point, but from what I saw/heard over the past couple weeks it seemed like Montreal was the travel match of this playoffs. Colorado is expensive and far.

I was thoroughly impressed by the Seattle support (outside of wandering into half of ECS leaving the stadium when I stuck around a bit after the match. Turns out Seattle invented soccer fandom and smug condolences).

 

[Pookie]

There's a long-winded rant somewhere here about MLSE's shortsightedness of drawing in new fans and how they'll never re-create the support they had from 2007-2009, but perhaps another time.

But for this specific instance - its easy to plan a roadtrip when you have months in advance to plan it (and its a roadtrip and not a flight). Maybe the lure of a championship would have driven demand beyond the allocation point, but from what I saw/heard over the past couple weeks it seemed like Montreal was the travel match of this playoffs. Colorado is expensive and far.

I was thoroughly impressed by the Seattle support (outside of wandering into half of ECS leaving the stadium when I stuck around a bit after the match. Turns out Seattle invented soccer fandom and smug condolences).

I think I would echo your rant.

I was a season ticket holder right up to the point where they delayed season ticket renewals to "show us they were serious about success", and then signed Defoe who was 31 with a hamstring injury.

it was the same plan from the organization that said the first designated player had to be Canadian. Not looking by position. Not looking for best available. Looking by passport.

That wasn't the only straw but the bloody big deal was the last. We gave up our seats before his first game.

I digress. I get what you are saying completely.

 

[theaub]

Yeah pretty much

I always laughed at the absurd ticket price hikes (hell I sat at enough Marlies game to now have a Stockholm Syndrome-like support for them), but what got me was the smguness of the pre-Leiweke MLSE that actually thought they 'invented' atmosphere in the stadium. I remember being at meetings with them in 2009/2010 when the honeymoon period was winding down and people would talk about how MLSE needed to keep prices down in the south end to actually attract new, younger SSH and MLSE would just laugh them out of the room because they thought people would never leave.

And then shockingly people got older and had a different viewpoint of how they watched soccer. When I was in university I enjoyed standing in the south end and getting trashed before every game. And now...I don't really need that, nor do I enjoy having a bunch of smoke go off in my face three times per match. So when I (and people like me) left to move elsewhere in the stadium, no one replaced us. There's still obviously a good core of support, but the number of tourists/random Stubhub buyers in the south end is nuts now. If MLSE had missed on their post-Defoe signings this team would be in real trouble now IMO.

 

[LeafsTFC]

I hadn't seen anyone argue for it.

Not playing the final at neutral ground is a bit weird, the away team is pretty much always going to set up defensively.

Why do they do that? MLS worried fans won't travel?

Right above your first post this morning.

 

[Nylanders Flow]

Right above your first post this morning.

Wasn't arguing for it, just asking why. Im in the UK so didn't know if MLS fandom had grown large enough to support that setup.

 

[JohnnyO]

Entertaining game, poor result.

Sounds like some Euro snobs have a pretty unrealistic view of things.

There were some exciting moments, but I thought it was a pretty **** poor game overall (quality of the game not TFC's performance.). Definitely deserved the win though.

 

[Raymondo316]

I was thoroughly impressed by the Seattle support (outside of wandering into half of ECS leaving the stadium when I stuck around a bit after the match. Turns out Seattle invented soccer fandom and smug condolences).

Speaking of the Emerald City Supporters, these videos will never get old

 

[Proust*]

GK Clint Irwin claimed by Atlanta