Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New England Revolution – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

    Preview of tonight’s match between Toronto FC and the New England Revolution at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out – Let’s Go to the Ex!

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content – Round 26 at Canadian Soccer News

    Weekly posts are up over at Canadian Soccer News, recapping this weekend’s events in MLS.

    The Week in Review recaps all the matches – with highlights – as well as the usual sub-features – goal of the round, sights and sounds, controversy and the like.

    Dwayne De Rosario, Russell Teibert, and Patrice Bernier take the top three spots on the Canadian Countdown.

    Check them out – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: DC United – Meeting the Second at Waking the Red

    Preview of Toronto FC’s match against DC United at RFK Stadium in Washington DC is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content at Canadian Soccer News

    The usual weekly posts are up over at Canadian Soccer News.

    The MLS Week in Review recaps all the action in MLS – highlights, goals of the round, sights and sounds, table watching, and a look ahead to next weekend.

    Patrice Bernier, Russell Teibert, and Dwayne De Rosario earn top honours on the Canadian countdown, while injury forces Will Johnson to miss his first Timbers match of the season (other than two for which he was away on International duty).

    Check them out – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content

POV-FS Out Loud – Anthony Totera’s Red Card on NextSportStar.com

    Anthony was kind enough to have me on his Friday night edition of Red Card to discuss the stretch run towards the MLS playoffs.

    Unfortunately, technical problems derailed the conversation just as things were getting started – thanks, phone – but still, check it out.

    And, as usual, Red Card had some fine guests on this week – as always. The Jimmy Nielsen interview from Thursday is highly recommended.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Columbus Crew – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

    Preview of Toronto FC’s match at Crew Stadium on Saturday against the Columbus Crew is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Beyond POV-FS – What Just Happened? Toronto v Seattle: The Sounders First Goal – A Slip, a Run, and So Much More at Waking the Red

    A bit of tactical analysis over at Waking the Red, looking at the numerous small errors that led to Seattle first goal on the weekend.

    Check it out.

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content at Canadian Soccer News

    The weekly posts are up over at Canadian Soccer News.

    The Week in Review recaps all the weekend action – with video – while also digging a little past the results.

    Jonathan Osorio, Russell Teibert, and Patrice Benier take the top three spots in the rundown of Canadian contributors this round, while midweek exploits in the US Open Cup and CONCACAF Champions League are recounted as well.

    Check them out – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content

First Person View – Midseason Friendlies should be Celebratory -- Part Three - A Call to Arms

    As a non-member of the supporter’s culture, though perhaps more invested in the fortunes of the team than many, it is not my place to call into question the why’s of how one chooses to support the club.

First Person View – Midseason Friendlies should be Celebratory -- Part Two - What Should Be Done

    With the midweek match against AS Roma in the rearview and Kevin Payne’s comments still simmering, it is a good to time get to the root of this problem.

First Person View – Midseason Friendlies should be Celebratory -- Part One - Why They Aren’t

    The concept of a midseason friendly is simple and admirable enough.

    Bring in a big club, a storied one, somebody the home fans and soccer-aficionados who do not regularly attend matches alike would be interested in seeing.

    Sure, use it as a marketing tool, but also a celebration of how far the game has come in this franchise’s short life.

    With nothing riding on the match, it should be a fun night out, and a chance to just enjoy the game without the stress of points on the line.

    How many times in the life of the average Torontonian does one get the chance to see Francesco Totti – a true legend of the game - live in action? Once, maybe twice?

    But clearly in Toronto, they have become sources of conflict, that vocal minority of Toronto fans, flinching like the spurned lovers that they are, are duly annoyed by these matches; the question is why?

Mail It In Friday Video – North American Soccer Hilarity

    A trio of videos aimed at the soccer fan in North America.

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

    The two part preview of Toronto FC’s upcoming match on Saturday against the Seattle Dempseys Sounders at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check them out – Part One: Lineups and Form; Part Two: Game Film & POIs

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review and Extended Canadian Content at Canadian Soccer News

    The usual weekly posts went up at Canadian Soccer News on Monday and Tuesday.

    Check them out – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New England Revolution – Meeting the Second at Waking the Red

    Preview of Sunday’s match between Toronto FC and New England Revolution is up over at Waking the Red.

    A solitary installment this time around, it is the second meeting, addressing their recent form, projected lineup, while also looking at their strengths and weaknesses as pertains to goals scored.

    Check it out

Beyond POV-FS - What Just Happened Toronto v Columbus: The Crew’s Opening Goal at Waking the Red

    A tactical discussion surrounding the events that led to Columbus’ goal last weekend, the flaw of the flat midfield when pressing, and a few possible solutions to address that deficiency is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out

First Person View - MLS All-Star Game: The Future Looks Bright (All Youth Teams for Each Conference)

    With everyone suitably aflutter for this evening’s All-Star Game between MLS and AS Roma, I figured I’d kill an hour or so in the process of updating my club roster database – yes, that is something I do (for posterity) – by looking at what the teams may look like if restricted to young players.

    Some have wasted time fretting over the highly-publicized, commercial exercise that is the MLS All-Star Game – did they pick the right players? Who will win? What does a win or loss mean for the league? – But relax; it’s just a bit of fun.

    So - with the caveat that this is a very unscientific process based solely on my own observations and that I will not be investing the time to produce actual stats - what would the game look like if East played West and players had to be 24 year of age or younger.

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review and Extended Canadian Content at Canadian Soccer News

    The usual weekly posts are up over at Canadian Soccer News.

    The first is the MLS Week in Review, recapping all the action from the recent round of play, pointing out some of the controversies and highlighting some of the lighter moments from the weekend as well.

    The second is the extended Canadian Content section, focusing on the contributions of the Canadian players in MLS – strong weekends from Jonathan Osorio, Kyle Porter, and Russell Teibert, while Dejan Jakovic and Dwayne De Rosario return to the pitch.

    Check them out – Week in Review & Canadian Content

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Columbus Crew – Meeting the Second at Waking the Red

    Preview of this afternoon’s match between Toronto FC and Columbus Crew at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content – Round 21 at Canadian Soccer News

    The usual weekly posts are up over at Canadian Soccer News.

    The MLS Week in Review recaps the entire weekend – with highlights – as well as drawing attention to some of the swirling talk around the matches.

    The Extended CanCon looks at the performances of the Canadians that took to the pitch this round – plenty on offer with the Gold Cup quest halted prematurely.

    Check them out – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content

POV-FS Out Loud – Talking the State of All Things Toronto FC on NextSportStar.com’s Red Card with Anthony Totera

    Anthony was kind enough to have me on Monday night to discuss the on-goings at TFC, touching on subjects from Ashtone Morgan, Matias Laba, the pitch at BMO Field, the rumoured arrival of Diego Forlan and much more.

    It was a jam-packed show, featuring a trio of players - Eric Avila, Robert Earnshaw, and Dax McCarty – Paul Attfield of The Globe & Mail, and myself, clearly bringing it all together at the end of the show as the key interview.

    Be sure to check it out, follow Anthony and the network, NextSportStar, on twitter, and keep an eye out for the show every weeknight at 7 pm EST.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bull at Waking the Red

    Preview of this afternoon’s match between Toronto FC and New York Red Bulls at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

    Check it out.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Chivas USA at Waking the Red

    Preview of tonight’s match between Toronto FC and Chivas USA at the recently re-christened StubHub Center in Los Angeles is up over at Waking the Red.

    Part One looks at their lineup and form heading into the match, while Part Two reviews the game film in search of strengths and weaknesses.

    Check them out – Part One and Part Two

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Week in Review and Extended Canadian Content for Round 20 at Canadian Soccer News

    The usual weekly posts are up at Canadian Soccer News.

    The MLS Week in Review recaps a scintillating weekend of MLS results – goals of the round, some humourous sights, the odd quote or two, and highlights, precious, precious highlights.

    With so many of the league’s Canadians away at the Gold Cup only Patrice Bernier saw the pitch this round; he may have wished he did not.

    Check them out – MLS Week in Review and Canadian Content

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

    A previewing of Toronto FC’s Saturday match against Sporting KC in Kansas City is up over at Waking the Red.

    The second of three meetings between the two sides, Sporting enters with revenge on their mind, hoping to avenge their 2-1 loss at the SkyDome back in March.

    Lots to discuss, check it out.