Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Sporting KC at Waking the Red

    Preview of tomorrow’s TFC match against Sporting KC at the Rogers Centre (SkyDome) is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

First Person View - Will Toronto FC Regret Letting Go of Joao Plata?

    It should come as no surprise that we here at POV are big fans of the little Ecuadorean sparkplug.

    His departure from the club last season, on loan to LDU Quito following a rather bizarre series of announcements and denials, was a blow to the morale of Toronto fans who held the diminutive speedster in high regard.

    Given the way the club responded to his forcing of the move – he prematurely announced his return to his homeland on twitter – it was always evident that Plata would never again be seen in the club’s colours at BMO Field.

    The question at hand, I suppose, is did the club receive too little from Real Salt Lake - only a second-round pick in the 2015 SuperDraft - in return?

Beyond POV-FS: MLS Week in Review - Round 1 at Canadian Soccer News

    Proud to announce the first installment of a new weekly feature over at Canadian Soccer News detailing the events of the weekend’s MLS fixtures and highlighting the contributions of Canadians on the pitch.

    Check it out.

    A note, nearing the second anniversary of launch-day this is the 400th post at Partially Obstructed View; a brief pause to recognize the milestone.

    Now, back to work.

Beyond POV-FS: What Just Happened? Dropping Behind the Line at Waking the Red

    A new feature at Waking the Red, post-Toronto FC matches, where a single moment is analyzed in depth.

    This week, we have a look at the play that created Gershon Koffie’s strike in the 1-0 losing effort in Vancouver.

    Check it out.

First Person View – Are You Ready? Media Guides, Injury Reports and Fantasy Football

    With first kick of First Kick barely an hour away – Philadelphia hosts Kansas City at 4 pm EST – there are a few topics on my mind before the action gets underway.

Foresight – MLS Weekend Preview: Round One

    Four questions to be answered on the opening weekend of MLS action.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Vancouver Whitecaps at Waking the Red

    Well folks, it’s that time of year again; being the eve of the start of the 2013 season, now seems as good a time as any to beginning the task of previewing Toronto FC upcoming MLS opponents.

    First up, as Ryan Nelsen and Kevin Payne seek to instill a little bit of pride into the rag that has become the butt of jokes around the league, are the Vancouver Whitecaps.

    The preview is up over at Waking the Red, do check it out.

Beyond POV-FS – Toronto FC Depth Chart: Digging a Little Deeper at Waking the Red

    An in-depth look at Toronto FC’s on pitch options for the start of the season is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

MLS 2013 Preview – The Big Questions: Eastern Conference

    While most folks are busy foretelling and projecting just how this season will play out, we – the royal we – here at POV-FS prefer to offer you questions.

    Each offseason MLS clubs undergo radical player overhauls, in part necessitated by the restrictions of the salary cap and roster spots.

    As such, sometimes it can take weeks - or months - before a club’s true nature presents itself. Some clubs will not have their rosters sorted until the midway point and with the nature of playoffs being what they are, it may not matter how things began, only how they end.

    Remember, prediction makes fools of us all; so, on with the questions.

    In this installment: the Eastern Conference.

Beyond POV-FS – TSG’s 2013 MLS Preseason Prediction Preview – Part II

    Part II of The Shin Guardian's wide-ranging preview looks at the MLS Cup Winner; Rookie of the Year; best goalkeeper; best American and most Un-American player; best African contribution; most unnecessarily physical and most annoying players; best Canadian team not playing in Canada; outrageous predictions and a host of other entertaining topics.

    Check it out, you will not regret it.

A Quick Glimpse – Canadian Notes on Will Johnson, Gershon Koffie, TFC Kit Launch and the U-20’s

Notes on Will Johnson, Gershon Koffie, the TFC Kit Launch and the U-20 Loss to the USA

First Person View – The End of Frings

    Yesterday, after months of speculation, Toronto FC’s captain Torsten Frings announced his retirement after a glittering eighteen-year career in the game.

    Such occasions are always bittersweet; time to celebrate the good, lament the loss, and look to the future.

    For Torsten, it begins a second act to his career in the game; for the club it was the turning of yet another unfinished page. It would be grandiose to proclaim it the end of an era, but in many ways, it was.

What Ever Happened To … Cuba’s Toronto Defectors

    In homage to MLSsoccer.com ‘What Ever Happened To…” series, an update on one of the more intriguing stories Canadian soccer endured in 2012.

    Toronto was captivated when Canada’s World Cup Qualification match against Cuba last October began with the announcement, well not quite that official, that several players – news reports oscillated from seven to four to three - defected prior to kickoff.

    The prematch buzz quietly faded after the initial flurry, but now several months later one of those who chose to start a new life has surfaced on the pitch.

Beyond POV-FS – TSG’s 2013 MLS Preseason Predicition Preview – Part I of II

    POV returns from its offseason torpor - long overdue, by the way - with a contribution to The Shin Guardian’s 2013 MLS Preseason Prediction gambit.

    Part I looks at Supporter’s Shield Winners; Overrated, Improved and Underrated Players; Coach and Anti-Coach of the Year; and a few other useful tidbits.

    Predictions make fools of us all…

    Do go check it out, and keep an eye for Part II due in the coming days.

Should Toronto FC Fans Be Worried About the Club's Lack of a Preseason?

    In last season’s exit interviews, many players associated the failings of the club with the lack of a testing and thorough preseason.

    With the first few weeks of preparation for the 2013 campaign having come and gone, it seems a good time to ponder whether anything has changed.

Can We Play You Every Week? Canada vs. the USA – A Burgeoning Rivalry

    On the eve of another friendly between the Canadians and their neighbours to the south, the Americans, it seems the perfect time to ponder why these two countries do not make use of their proximity more often.

Where Are They Now? Former Reds Gargan, Harden, LaBrocca, Avila, Sturgis, Harmse, and Ricketts Find New Homes

    In the latest installment of ‘Where Are They Now’ several of the MLS-journeymen type players - and one very special footballer - who have donned the Red of Toronto FC find themselves in new surroundings with the North American season approaching in commence.

Beyond POV-FS – TSG’s USA vs. Canada Preview: Klinsmann On Border Patrol at The Shin Guardian

    A small contribution to The Shin Guardian’s preview of tomorrow’s match between the USA and Canada in Houston, Texas went live earlier this morning.

    In it an estimation of the scope of the project that faces the Canadian program, a look at the squad available, notes from the match against Denmark, and of course, a ton of information on their opponents, the Americans, courtesy of the fine folks at TSG.

    Check it out and see what rests in store for the Canadians against an MLS-heavy camp cupcake American side.

From a Different Point of View - Babayele Sodade Passes on National Team Camp from SoundersFC.com

    A piece up over at the Sounders team website indicates that Babayele Sodade, the towering forward who injured his knee – torn ACL - with the Olympic squad back in March of 2012, turned down an invitation to the national team’s January camp.

From a Different Point of View - Will Johnson Interview at PortlandTimbers.com

    There is an interesting interview with Will Johnson up over at the Portland Timbers website.

Where Are They Now? Joseph Nane & Demitrius Omphroy

    We here at POV-FS are always keen to spot former Toronto FC players – and there are quite a few of them – in our search for news.

    In that spirit, Joseph Nane and Demitrius Omphroy have been named as preseason trialists for DC United as the club begins its training camp in Bradenton, Florida.

POV-FS On The Road – England (Again) & Scotland – Days One & Two: Travel & Preparations

    It’s that time of year again.

    Hello and welcome to the introductory installment of the second annual POV-FS ‘On the Road’ World Football Tour. Yes, “World” is a little grand for another trip to the United Kingdom, but hey, you never know where these travels may take us in the future, so may as well think big.

    For now, while I dust up on my comprehension of other languages, these English speaking – more-or-less - nations will have to suffice.

    With the MLS season stretching further into the winter months and MLS Cup scheduled for the first of December, I decided it was wise to wait until the Christmas season – and its subsequent fixture pile-up – to plan this year’s tour.

    Last year’s voyage was immense fun, but the backlog of missed matches, a bulging PVR, and piles upon piles of reading that awaited my return is still being dealt with to this day, and so, the choice to travel when most other leagues went on their winter hiatus, and MLS entered its post-season torpor, made the most sense.

    Departing on the twenty-seventh of December and set to return on the eighth of January, we here at POV-FS began our journey.

Where Are They Now? Fuad Ibrahim

    When last Ibrahim popped his head above the parapet the former Toronto FC and Generation Adidas striker had joined Minnesota Stars FC of NASL at the start of the 2012 season.

POV-FS Mail It In Friday Video – Commercials

    Having previously promised to have the recap of POV-FS’s British Tour already posted – it will now begin on Monday; thought it wise to let the draft get out of the way first – we’ll begin with a few of the more entertaining commercials on offer while watching matches on television over there.

Toronto FC Draft Day - Allocation, Allocation, Allocation

    While watching the draft unfold yesterday, one could be forgiven for getting agitated at the peculiar – if brilliant – moves made by the TFC front office.

    Allowing the more high-profile potential to pass on by while collecting nebulous amounts of allocation money and grabbing the top two Canadian talents can be viewed as a missed opportunity, a waste of such a vaulted starting position – having initially held the first and third-overall picks, or as a small victory in the uphill battle that will see the club finally become relevant in the league.