The Curse of the SkyDome Strikes Again

    Back on March 7th Toronto FC began their 2012 season with a dramatic 2-2 match in front of nearly fifty-thousand fans at the SkyDome in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League Quarterfinal against the Los Angeles Galaxy.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Santos Laguna – CCL Come Out and Play (Home) Edition at Waking the Red.

    Preview of tonight’s crucial Champions League tie between Toronto FC and Santos Laguna at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Upon First Glance – Toronto FC v CD Aguila – CCL Edition

    All of the flaws that showed themselves vs. Houston – the lack of movement, the poor passing, and the failure to back each other up - were all reversed on this night.

CONCACAF Champions League: Snippets of Info - CD Aguila

    Club Deportivo Aguila - based in San Miguel, the fourth most populous city in El Salvador - translates as Eagle Sports Club. Their kits are Orange and Black, they are known as Super Naraja, or Super Orange.

CONCACAF IS AWESOME!!!

    There are some great club names – both historic and current - in CONCACAF, Jamaican club Humble Lions FC is a good one, as is Robin Hood of Suriname – yes, Suriname is part of CONCACAF. Robin Hood versus the Walking Boys sounds like a good match.

CONCACAF Champions League – Restructuring and Pot-Talk

    The restructuring of the initial stages of the CONCACAF Champions League has made it even more difficult for smaller teams to progress to the latter rounds.

First Person View - Why Toronto FC Continues to Lose – The Unconsidered Factors

    I got round to thinking about why Toronto FC has struggled so mightily throughout the season this year. Leaving aside the psychological demands of the Champions League and the pressure of mounting losses – losing begets more losing - to look simply at the hard numbers there are some interesting factors that emerge.

Foresight – MLS Round 7 Weekend Preview

Four questions to be answered in this the seventh weekend of MLS action.

First Person View – Diagnosing and Correcting Why Toronto FC Lose in the League, but Fared Well in the Champions League, and Addressing the Calls for Change.

     I wrote this the night I got back from Montreal. Weary from the road – and the result; I thought I'd rewrite it and hope to make a more complete argument, but upon review I think the frantic search for answers is an apt reflection of the situation many found themselves in after the loss.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Santos Laguna – CCL Edition – Leg Two at Waking the Red

    The preview for Toronto FC's CONCACAF Champions League second leg clash with Santos Laguna is up now over at Waking the Red.

    What will twenty-four hours bring?

    Also, be sure to check out this post on the nascent rivalry between the two clubs at SB Nation's FMF State of Mind by Eben Lehman, who was kind enough to help me stumble though my ignorance of Mexican football in previewing these two matches.

    He makes a very salient point on the growth of the competition that is very encouraging.

    Regardless of how Wednesday goes, I can't wait until Santos Laguna returns to Toronto; the Champions League, a competition that has struggled for meaning, has finally grown some hair on its chest.

Upon First Glance – Oh, What a Night! Toronto FC v Santos Post-Match Reaction

    I’ll leave much of the analysis to next week’s preview of the second leg, but for now let’s take a closer look at some of the less-tangible aspects of the match played out last night.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Santos Laguna – CCL Edition Leg One at Waking the Red Plus FPV Supplement

Match preview of what Toronto FC can expect to encounter when Santos Laguna visits for Wednesday night’s first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal is up over at Waking the Red.

    There has been a lot of negativity surrounding Toronto FC and these first few weeks of the season. Granted there have been a fair share of poor results to feed such a tempest, but take a step back for a second.

Upon First Glance – Toronto FC v San Jose Earthquakes

    Yesterday was Toronto FC’s home opener, an unsatisfactory 0-3 loss to San Jose. Disappointing yes, but was it that bad? Could it have been worse?

Here are a few thoughts:

From a Different Point of View – 2nd Week of March Edition

Some Things You May Have Missed From the Last Week

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Seattle Sounders at Waking the Red

    New preview of what Toronto FC can expect from Seattle tomorrow night over at Waking the Red.

    A little bit lengthy, but their two matches against Santos Laguna were of particular interest given that TFC will be facing the Mexican side in the next round of the CONCACAF Champions League.

    Take a gander, enjoy the match. I’m off to Montreal early tomorrow morning for their home opener, should be an interesting day.

Foresight – MLS Round 31 Weekend Preview

Four questions to be answered in this weekend’s round of MLS:

Upon First Glance – CCL Edition: UNAM Pumas v Toronto FC

    Rather than share notes on such a depressing experience, this seemed an opportune moment to bust out the tactics hat and compare this woeful result with Toronto FC's successful trip down to Mexico a mere year plus a week ago as they drew 0-0 with Cruz Azul.

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 24 – Of Hope Returned.

    The lone match of in the midweek fixture list saw Chivas USA travel north to JELD-WEN Field home of the Portland Timbers. Unbeaten in three matches Chivas arrived for their final match of a five-game road swing without their new striker Juan Pablo Ángel who was rested, possibly to avoid the additional wear of an artificial pitch.

MLS Weekly Review - Midweek Round 23 (Abridged) – Of Bobble-heads & All-Time Draw Kings.

    Three midweek matches, eight goals, two draws, a pair of red cards, and one bobble-head incident; these are the stories behind the numbers in the midweek sampling of the twenty-third round of MLS.

Upon First Glance – CCL Edition: Tauro FC v Toronto FC

Some initial, post-match thoughts on tonight’s meeting: