For the first time this season, as I headed to BMO Field, I wasn’t excited to watch Toronto play. The starting 11 was arguably the worst put out this season and the substitutes list didn’t look very threatening. With Thierry Henry and Tim Cahill coming to town, I shuddered envisioning the shellacking that was about to ensue.
But that didn’t happen. In fact, not much really happened. The 0-0 draw wasn’t a tough match grinded out by a hardworking TFC on their last legs or a goalkeeping duel in which players were robbed time and time again.
A drab New York side seemed content to take the one point. Toronto seemed less than satisfied to settle for it, but didn’t really go to any great lengths to grab all three.
On several occasions the team got 20 yards out from goal and seemed to freeze – nobody wanted to take it on themselves. Rather than have a dig or run at defenders, the Reds often opted to pass it sideways or try a dinky chip into the box, neither of which worked out very well. The only one to take a defender on was Richard Eckersley, whose sharp angle shot was the best chance of the game, forcing Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles to make a fingertip save.
While the official Toronto FC Facebook page touts it as a game with “plenty of action”, the truth is this game was a midfield battle with a total of four shots on goal and A LOT of misplayed crosses.
There has been much said about the lack of atmosphere around BMO this season and the fall of “The Best Fans in the MLS”. Saturday’s game did nothing to help. Most chants were barely heard a section or two away and the only one to get up some steam was the 24th minute staple celebrating Danny Dichio’s first goal for the club. It’s a sad day when the loudest song in the stadium is one commemorating a goal from seven seasons ago.
By now it’s far past the point where fans can be blamed. It’s tough to stay enthusiastic when the game is so dull. One fan in our row commented:
“It’s a pretty good game, can’t ask for more than that.”
This thinking is true, but it’s toxic and must be stopped. A decent effort in a nil-nil draw cannot be the type of results we look forward to. And it starts on the pitch. TFC needs a little flair, a little pizzazz, something to get the sitters out of their seats.
Because right now there’s nothing. There’s not even real prospects of something. There’s no consistent message coming out of the club. The team is astonishingly inconsistent – sometimes they’re atrocious, sometimes they’re ok – and doesn’t look like its moving in any sort of direction.
With the team chasing unnamed stars, it feels like we’re all just spinning in circles trying to find something that might not even be there, while the current squad is just going through the motions not knowing which one of them is next to be shipped out.
There’s no substantial hope for the fans, nothing to get excited about. This was exemplified during the second half of Saturday’s match, when section 115 started a chant for themselves:
“One one five, one one five, one one fiiiiiiive!”
A woman standing in front of us asked why they were singing about themselves. Her husband – a seven season veteran – smirked and explained:
“Because there’s not much else to cheer about at this point.”
|