|
|
With the expansion draft behind them and the recent release of seven players deemed surplus to requirements, the Toronto FC brain trust of Aron Winter, Bob de Klerk and Paul Mariner can now start the process of continuing to improve their squad towards a crucial 2012 campaign in which the club absolutely must qualify for the MLS Playoffs. And while Winter and company did a very good job of reworking their roster during the 2011 season into one better suited for the team's newfound Dutch tactical approach, it's hard not to see how financial constraints will test the creativity and expertise of the trio and limit their ability to make the types of necessary player acquisitions which are needed if the team is to continue its upward ascent next season.
While much has been made of Toronto FC's overall turnaround in the second half of the 2011 campaign, it also cannot be overstated that the acquisitions of Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans via the Designated Player rule were absolutely vital to the squad's improved performances down the stretch. And with all three of the team's DP slots now filled by Frings, Koevermans and Canadian International Julian de Guzman, the TFC brass no longer have that card to play in terms of enticing another player of similar quality to Frings and Koevermans to come to Toronto.
Given the two home runs that the TFC leadership team hit with the signings of Frings and Koevermans, it's hard not to imagine that they are disappointed that the Montreal Impact did not select De Guzman in last week's MLS Expansion Draft. Yes, De Guzman was an improved player under Winter last year and looked particularly good when playing with the new players the team brought in during the latter part of the season, but it also became apparenent very quickly that the veteran midfielders on the team - Frings, De Guzman and Terry Dunfield - were not good fits in terms of playing together due to their relative lack of pace and athleticism as a group. Thus, De Guzman and, to a lesser extent, Dunfield look like players who would be fine parts on a roster without a salary cap, but who look like overpriced luxuries on a roster with Torsten Frings and a salary cap.
While it can only be speculated as to how much cap space Toronto now has following the release of the aforementioned seven players, TFC very likely only has a few hundred thousand dollars left to spend on adding new impact players, building more depth into the team, giving raises to players who are due them and, very importantly, negotiating deals to bring previously on loan players Joao Plata and Richard Eckersely back to the team next season.
Thus, with that quandry in mind, it appears that not only will Winter, Mariner and De Klerk need to be creative over the offseason, they will also have little room for missteps of the kind that were a regular occurence under the Mo Johnston regime.
While the financial situation and salary cap will not allow the TFC brass the type of flexibility that European clubs have when spending to bring in reinforcements, there is also plenty of reason to be hopeful. Winter proved last year that he is a saavy talent evaluator and that he has a very firm grasp on the type of players that will be successful within his system. Furthermore, with Paul Mariner providing his expertise in terms of the salary caps and MLS rules, Toronto is in decent position to improve their squad through three avenues.
Trades
Ryan Johnson and Eric Avila are two examples of players who were undervalued or underutilized with their previous teams and both fit in perfectly with Winter's tactical approach and are now de facto starters. That type of ability to identify and acquire players who can be impact players in the TFC system and who may be undervalued with their current teams will be key this offseason. While Toronto does not have a whole lot in the manner of tradeable assets, they do have two starting calibre keepers, with Stefan Frei in particular being a player who could be coveted by a number of teams around the league. Getting a possible Frei trade right could be a crucial move in terms of TFC improving their squad into the same neighbourhood as the L.A.'s, Seattles and Real Salt Lakes of the league.
Signing players from other leagues
Another avenue that will be especially important this offseason is bringing in players from other leagues in Europe and Latin America. Winter had some decent success last year in acquiring players like Nick Soolsma and Richard Eckersley, while others like Mikael Yourassowsky, Javier Martina and Alen Stevanovic ranged from middling quality performers to downright disappointments. As mentioned above, Toronto does not have the DP slots or the salary cap space to bring in really big names, so the team will have to get it right in terms of bringing in quality players on reasonable salaries.
In this sense, the recent rumour that the team is interested in possibly bringing back former TFC midfielder Pablo Vitti presents an intriguing idea due to the fact that the Argentinian is exactly the type of skilled/technical offensive player who should thrive in Toronto's system. Whether or not Vitti actually returns to Toronto for a second more successful MLS go round, it is also very encouraging that the team is looking to South America for new talent, and a second tier South American league like the Peruvian top flight is exactly the type of place where relative bargains can be found. In this sense, Toronto doesn't just need to bring back Joao Plata next year, they need to uncover a few more impact players like him. After all, this offseason is not happening in a vacuum and the other teams in the league are working to get better as well.
The MLS Draft
For all the talk of TFC aiming to diminish their reliance on the MLS Draft and moving in the direction of solely using their Academy to fill their roster, it's probably several years from being feasible and, ultimately, it doesn't really make sense to limit yourself to one stream of talent when you can have access to two. Furthermore, Toronto could have had 2011 Rookie of the Year C.J. Sapong with the draft pick that they gave up to acquire little used midfielder Nathan Sturgis during the last offseason. With Toronto FC now having the 4th and 12th picks in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft, the team possesses two assests it can use to either acquire young talent or experienced players via trades. While some believe that Winter and De Klerk have thus far been unimpressed with the players available via the MLS draft, their 2012 picks are assets that will need to used in a strategic fashion to better the squad. After all, trading players like Danleigh Borman and Peri Marosevic could bring back some equally useful depth players, but they aren't likely to bring back key personnel. It's also important to note that Joao Plata came to Toronto via the 2011 Draft.
Building a holistic and highly competitve team is a tall order for all of the club in the MLS. All of the teams operate under the same salary constraints and the same rules. That said, there probably isn't a front office in the league that has as little a margin for error as Toronto FC. The team's strong finish both whetted the appetite of the team's hardcore fanbase and suggested that Aron Winter is a man with a plan that is actually going to work. At the same time, in terms of personnel, Toronto still isn't where they need to be, if they truly want to be up there with the elite teams in the MLS year after year.
The TFC brain trust has few assets to deal that won't significantly weaken portions of the current squad and they don't have a pile of money to spend. Thus, Winter, Mariner and De Klerk will need to be essentially flawless and very creative with the assets and cap space the team possesses if they are going to continue the positve momentum that 2011 finished with and get even better next year.
|