MLSE 1 - CSA 0

There is much debate online about the reasons behind Toronto FC's success off the pitch. Arguably, the season was a disaster. Injuries ravaged the club, the Andy Welsh experiment failed and during the most important stretch of the season the team gained unsavory possession of the longest streak of minutes played without scoring goal.

For a city consumed with 'what have you done for me lately' syndrome it is a great wonder why TFC has so far been a success.

Toronto, the hotbed of hockey it supposedly is, at least that is what the media wants you to think, cannot support a decent Marlies AHL club and could not support OHL teams. The OHL has since departed our company while the AHL club struggles with very low attendance. You would have thought that with the ACC filled with corporate barons that the average hockey fans would flock to these other franchises, but that has not been the case.

Furthermore, previous to TFC, soccer in Canada was essentially given zero positive coverage in the media and larger media figures constantly put down the beautiful game as un-Canadian. While a diaspora of people from countries which generally enjoy the game exists in Toronto, but whether would it catch on with mainstream society was something MLSE would have had to thought over.

Therefore, when presented with the question of whether Toronto could support an MLS franchise and lead the league with fan support, not many people would said it would fly. When you combine the fact that the CSA is a national embarrassment that could not organize itself out of dumpster, that the Toronto media is so hockey centric it took the Raptors ages to get more fair share of airtime, how would TFC get it done?

The answer is very simple. The disenfranchised sports fan.

I disagree that Toronto and Canada is ready for a soccer outburst just yet, although the tide is turning. This can be evidenced by the lack of support at the Canada v. Costa Rica friendly or continual lack of off season TFC coverage. Nonetheless, I believe the CMNT vs the Ticos friendly was the best embarrassment for Canadian soccer because it has brought notice that Canadians won't stand for sub par national team management any longer. But the groundswell is not large enough yet and thus I believe the bubble is not fully ready to pop.

What truly made TFC work as opposed to the friendly at the same venue was that Toronto suffered from not having a place where your rowdy sports fan to be him/herself. The ACC on some nights is as noisy as a morgue. From the purples you can almost hear Maurice cuss underneath his breath. The Skydome is as fan friendly as your grandmother past midnight on Wednesdays.

What makes TFC unique is that Toronto now has an old school, loud, proud, drinking venue for people to get their obnoxious fan on.

From the beer tent to the bunker you can hear the sports fan chanting their hearts out, swilling beer like it was Maple Leaf Gardens and the days of 'GO Leafs GO' from yesteryear, a time when the sports fan, not corporate baron or nuclear family reigned supreme.

BMO field became the new mecca, a temple of loud, a place fueled by vintage Toronto overpriced beer and a place where it is not frowned upon to stand out of your seat for the whole duration. It is a place where seat cushions aren't needed, where the occasional profanity won't get you ejected and losing your voice is a badge of honour because you belted your lungs out for 90+ minutes.

Thanks to the efforts of the Red Patch Boys and U-sector who brought together enough soccer enthusiasts to lay the groundwork of the successful off pitch TFC season, the sports fan saw on television and heard from word of mouth how crazy BMO was.

Ironically, the work of the RPB and U-sector was first made noticeable in due because of the lack of goals. I would like to cite the first home game against Kansas City where the chant of 'all we are signing, is give us a goal' first perked the interests of the people who knew little about the game. Then after Danny Dichio's immortal goal and the downpour of seat cushions, the avalanche of sportsfandom had begun.

Furthermore, early on with the old guard of the media trying to shut TFC out it was in fact the old guard that was chanted down by the numbers of fans who showed up in droves, demanded television air time, wrote to their newspapers about poor coverage and proved constantly they were going to support the team. TFC attendance rivaled if not surpassed the numbers of the other major sports teams. Almost 20,000 each game is as good as the Leafs as well as Raptors and only capacity limits them below the Argos or Jays.

Why did it not work for the CSA? There are a lot of reasons, but most of it has to do with fan distribution.

Canadian fans during the CMNT vs Ticos match were shoved in the South end, which is good. But the sports fan and the soccer mom were put side by side, which is bad. From section 116 onwards, it was soccer moms who desperately frown upon sportsfandom, praying their little boy/girl wont turn out to be a beer swilling loud mouth. Alone I would say this is a major no-no.

To add to the above, when you add some Costa Rica fans amidst the Canadian supporters, when Canadians are frowned upon cheering against other people in our section because of our 'diversity' only amplifies anger over that other the other team fans are able to cheer at us in our own section AND get prime time seats at midfield... To conclude on this point, the problem that the overall seating arrangement was overpriced on top of already being poorly marketed was only made worse by the facts mentioned above.

To be honest, I believe the list continues, but I think those are the main points behind the CMNT failure in September. Do not look to the WCQ's for any improvement if CSA is true to their history.

To end my digression and wrap up the overall point of this blog post, TFC did a great job at managing the sports fan at TFC events. While there have been incidents of security problems, overall MLSE gets a good rating for what they have done with the franchise. They identified there was no place for nutty people who want to wear only their team colours and belt their lungs out between beers to go.

I hope the CSA will see this and capitalize on it. But I doubt it. Canadian soccer needs the sports fan to get behind them. Years of promoting world diversity and the family at the games has failed, not only miserably, but embarrassingly. I also do not see a silver lining at the moment. The CSA accepting the equation of sports fan + sports fan venture = publicity is as likely as the Canada winning any World Cup involving soccer any time soon. Canadian soccer needs the publicity of a crazy atmosphere and the publicity attached to it good or bad.

TFC captured a market, the CSA is unlikely to do the same.

Canada to begin semis at familiar confines

As FIFA works on its match schedule, Canada’s road to the 2010 World Cup becomes clearer. With the World Cup draw in November, Canadians knew which team they would face in Round 2 of CONCACAF qualifying, as well as the order of home-and-away matches – Canada will host St. Vincent and the Grenadines this June, with an away fixture against the Caribbean nation a few days later. As of yesterday, Canada also knows the order of its first two Round 3 group stage matches – assuming it defeats St. Vincent, of course. When the semi-final round begins in late August or early September, Canada will open with two straight games at home.

With the release of this skeletal schedule, much speculation has already taking place as to whether or not this schedule is beneficial for Canada. As a national team fan, my critique is that this schedule is a mixed blessing at best. With Honduras and Jamaica starting on the road, it would be fair to assume that Canada will host both of these nations in its first two games. In short, this means that Canada will likely play its two easiest semi-final matches right away. The pressure will be on Canada to win these games, as anything short of six points will mean that Canada will have to make up points on the road or against Mexico. Canada may end up playing well away from home, but there is no such thing as an easy match in Latin America.

Adding to the difficulty of Canada’s schedule is the fact that the red-and-white had a similar qualifying schedule for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups. In 2000, Canada opened its semi-final group by hosting Trinidad and Tobago in Edmonton. It was clear that this was a must-win game, as Canada lost this match and was quickly eliminated from qualifying. In 2004, Canada also started the semis at home. Playing host to Guatemala and Honduras in its first two games, Canada needed big results in order to advance from this tough group. With a combination of sloppy play and horrible officiating, Canada earned only one point from its opening two fixtures, and it was quickly eliminated from qualifying once more.

On paper, Canada’s semi-final schedule for next year should essentially be the same as it was for 2004 – Canada will open at home against its two easiest group opponents. It is now up to the players and coaching staff to determine whether or not Canada will give a repeat performance of 2004. Given the improved calibre of players at Dale Mitchell’s disposal, it is guaranteed that Canada’s qualifying run will be intriguing and dramatic. With a little luck and a lot of skill, the late summer and early fall of next year will not be Groundhog Day for Canada.

Remembering our past: 2008

The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame has announced its inductees for 2008, an honour to be capped off in April with an induction ceremony in Woodbridge. There are four players are on this years list, Jack Brand, John McGrane, Walter Bowman, and Helen Stoumbos, in addition to five builders, one pioneer and one team of distinction.

Goalkeeper Jack Brand was an intricate part of the North American Soccer League in the 1970’s and into the 1980’s; his accolades include an NASL single-season record of 15 clean sheets in 1980 and Player of the Year honours, as well as leading the New York Cosmos to a victory in Soccer Bowl ‘78. Internationally, he received 7 caps for Canada between 1974 and 1975. A fellow NASL inductee is converted defender John McGrane, who played over 200 games in the NASL for three different teams. Additionally, he was capped by Canada 17 times, and participated in the 1976 Olympics.

The oldest of the player inductees is Waterloo native Walter Bowman who plied his trade in the late 19^th century, and holds the distinction of being the first player in the history of the English Football League to be born outside the British Isles. He begun with Accrington Stanley in 1892, scoring three goals in five games, he then moved to Ardwick (which became Manchester City) for the final five seasons of his career.

The final inductee is Women’s World Cup veteran Helen Stoumbos of Guelph. Her international career spanned five years from 1993-1998, and became the first women to score for Canada in World Cup play when she did so against England at Sweden 1995.

The five inducted builders will be manager Les Wilson, coach Bruce Twamley, referee Dino Soupliotis, manager Jimmy Adam, and journalist Billy Fenton.

The Pioneer Award will be presented to former Canadian Soccer Association president Arthur Arnold, while the Team of Distinction will be the national team that went on tour to Australia in 1924.

The 2008 Soccer Hall of Fame Induction Weekend takes place 26 April 2008 in Woodbridge, ON.

The possibilites that lie ahead

Following last weeks qualification draw for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, it is largely assumed the path Canada will have to take. No doubt it will be a tough road, but which teams will we have to face in the upcoming year? The only certainty is the St. Vincent & Grenadines squad in a home & home series in June.

They may be just a small island nation with only four players playing in a league most of us have ever heard of, but at the same time they are the only nation to receive a bye in the first round. Although they failed at the same stage last time around to Nicaragua, they held a draw in the first leg, and had an opportunity on home soil to see them through to the semifinal round.

Looking to more recent results shows an even greater improvement in the island squad. The 2007 Caribbean Nations Cup was one of two parts to the Gold Cup qualifying (the other being the UNCAF nations cup for continental Central America). In that tournament SV&G was in the same group as past World Cup qualifiers Jamaica, advancing to the second round over the Jamaicans in large part to a 2-1 victory away, at the National Stadium in Kingston. It took a one-goal defeat to eventual Gold Cup semi-finalists Guadeloupe, for SV&G to miss out on the big continental tournament by a single point. Forward Shandel Samuel (no relation to Lion-heart Colin) led the Island championships with 10 goals in 9 games, and will certainly make the backline of Canada earn their keep.

Assuming Canada advance through that stage to the third round (first group stage), the probable teams they will have to face is Mexico, Jamaica and Honduras.

The most daunting potential opponent is Mexico, who must defeat either St. Kitts & Nevis or Belize to be in the third round. St. Kitts and Nevis failed to advance past the first round of the aforementioned Caribbean Nations cup. While at the same stage four years ago, they upset Barbados before being blown out in the first group stage, including 5-0 and 8-0 losses to Mexico, whom they may yet again face. As for Belize, they fell in the first round last world cup attempt to the Canadians, followed by placing dead last at the UNCAF Nations Cup this summer, being only one of two teams in that tournament to miss out on the Gold Cup. As the Mexicans have qualified for 13 of 18 World Cups and are seven time Gold Cup Champions, is safe to say they will make it to the Group Stage.

The Jamaican team had a disappointing Caribbean Nations Cup, as was previously mentioned, when they failed to advance past the first round. In qualifications for last World Cup, they begun with a 4-1 aggregate win over Haiti, but were eliminated in the second round by a single point. The challengers for the Reggae Boyz are Bahamas and the British Virgin Islands. The BVI were steadfastly knocked out by a 10-0 aggregate in the first round four years ago, while withdrawing from Gold Cup qualifying last year. The Bahamas were also defeated four years in the first round, courtesy of a 4-2 aggregate loss to Dominica. In the more recent Gold Cup qualifying, they reached the second group stage, but went pointless the rest of the Caribbean island championships.

The third and final anticipated group stage squad is Honduras. The side that famously drew with Spain and Northern Ireland in their single World Cup appearance in 1982 has yet to be back. They began the last campaign with a 6-1 aggregate victory over the Netherlands Antilles, and were off to the group stage that included Canada (and a certain barrage of officiating errors, but that’s for another time). They missed out on the final stage by three points, drawing with the Canadians 1-1 in both matches. Los Catrachos are routinely in the Gold Cup, finishing fifth in the UNCAF Nations cup to reach the latest edition. While there they finished atop their group that featured the same Mexican team they could potentially be facing again. Any challenge for that spot will come from either baseball powerhouses Dominican Republic or Puerto Rico. The Dominican Republic showed promise in the Caribbean Nations Cup, reaching the final group stage, however they withdrew shortly after. Their last World Cup attempt was cut short in the preliminary round by eventual qualifiers Trinidad and Tobago. Meanwhile, Puerto Rico did not enter into qualifying for either the Gold Cup or World Cup, any indication of their results would be from the 2005 Caribbean Nations Cup where they registered a single point in a draw with Suriname and were eliminated in the first round.

It has been said many times in the past week alone that Canada have the most difficult path to reach the Bafan-Bafana hosted tournament in over 2 years time. If they want qualify though, these are the teams they must defeat (and have previously done so), simply to reach the final group stage. Last years Gold Cup results (and near results) gave hope that the impossible is actually attainable for this team. However, much like last attempt at the World Cup, if they don’t prove themselves early on, it will be a relaxing summer in 2010.

The World Cup qualifying draw: Canada's road through CONCACAF

In terms of scale, nothing compares with the competition and following that are characteristic of the FIFA World Cup. As such, it was no surprise that a lot of hype followed the draw procedure for the preliminary matches for this tournament. Through all of the pomp and circumstance, countries from Asia, Africa, Europe and North America were drawn into groups and match-ups that will play a large part in determining which nations qualify for the next World Cup. Over 200 nations belong to FIFA, but only 31 of them will join South Africa at the global stage in three years.

As a fan of the Canadian national team, the qualifying draw in the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) was deemed the most significant. Here is how the draw worked out for nations in the North American region.

Stages One and Two

The 22 lowest-ranking nations in CONCACAF were drawn into match-ups for the first round of qualifying. The 11 winners of this stage and St. Vincent and the Grenadines will play against the 12 highest-ranking nations in Stage Two. The 12 winners from Stage Two will advance to Stage Three.

Each match-up in the first two stages of qualifying in CONCACAF will be determined by a two-game, home-and-away playoff, in which aggregate goals will be the primary tiebreaker. Should a match-up be tied after the second leg, away goals, extra time and penalty kicks will be used as subsequent tiebreakers.

Match-ups:

Group 1A:
Dominica v. Barbados
USA v. Winner

Group 1B:
Turks and Caicos Islands v. St. Lucia
Guatemala v. Winner

Group 1C:
Bermuda v. Cayman Islands
Trinidad and Tobago v. Winner

Group 1D:
Aruba v. Antigua and Barbuda
Winner v. Cuba

Group 2A:
Belize v. St. Kitts and Nevis
Winner v. Mexico

Group 2B:
Bahamas v. British Virgin Islands
Jamaica v. Winner

Group 2C:
Dominican Republic v. Puerto Rico
Honduras v. Winner

Group 2D:
Canada v. St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Group 3A:
US Virgin Islands v. Grenada
Winner v. Costa Rica

Group 3B:
Suriname v. Montserrat
Winner v. Guyana

Group 3C:
El Salvador v. Anguilla
Panama v. Winner

Group 3D:
Nicaragua v. Netherlands Antilles
Haiti v. Winner

Stage Three: Semi-Final

The 12 winners from Stage Two will be placed into three groups of four teams for the semi-final stage of qualifying. Teams will play a total of six games in this stage – one home game and one away game against each group opponent. The top two teams from each group will advance to Stage Four.

Group 1:
Winner of 1A
Winner of 1B
Winner of 1C
Winner of 1D

Group 2:
Winner of 2A
Winner of 2B
Winner of 2C
Winner of 2D

Group 3:
Winner of 3A
Winner of 3B
Winner of 3C
Winner of 3D

Stage Four: Final

The top two teams from each group in Stage Three will combine to form a single group of six nations for the final round of qualifying in CONCACAF. Teams will play a total of ten games in this stage – one home game and one away game against each group opponent. The top three teams will advance to the 2010 World Cup, while the fourth-placed team will play in the CONCACAF/CONMEBOL playoff.

Final Group:
Winner of Group 1
Winner of Group 2
Winner of Group 3
Runner up of Group 1
Runner up of Group 2
Runner up of Group 3

CONCACAF/CONMEBOL Playoff

The fourth-placed team from CONCACAF (North, Central America and the Caribbean) will play against the fifth-placed team from CONMEBOL (South America) in a two-game, home-and-away playoff. The winner from this stage will advance to the World Cup.

Canada’s role in World Cup qualifying

Canada received a relatively tough draw from FIFA. Although it has a bye through Stage One, all of the subsequent stages will be difficult for Canada.

Canada will begin its qualifying campaign in Stage Two, where the red-and-white will play against St. Vincent and the Grenadines. As of May 2007, St. Vincent happened to be the highest-ranked nation that was not in the top-12 of CONCACAF, meaning that Canada’s first two qualifying games will be tougher than expected.

Should Canada defeat St. Vincent and the Grenadines, it will play in a semi-final group that most likely will include Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica. This will be an extremely tough group to advance out of, as Mexico, Honduras and Jamaica were the top-seeded nations in Pots A, B and C of the qualifying draw, respectively. Canada has struggled to beat all three of those nations at some point, so this round of matches will be an excellent test to see how the red-and-white fares under intense pressure.

Despite the tough nature of the draw for Canada, the northern nation still has a good chance at qualifying for the next World Cup. With the best squad that this team has seen in years, Canada may actually exorcise its demons from previous World Cup qualifying runs. Only three nations from North, Central America and the Caribbean are guaranteed spots in the World Cup finals, but Canada has the skill and talent necessary to be one of those three nations.

Marcel comes to his senses

Pick the odd man out, Owen Hargreaves, Jonathan de Guzman, Steven Vitória & Marcel de Jong. At first glance, it is hard to notice any difference at all (outside of physical appearance), all four gentlemen were born in Canada, and they all ply their trade as professional soccer players in Europe. All of these men are certainly skillful enough to earn a call-up to the national team, so how do we pick the odd man out? Well, only one of those men actually shows the class and integrity to want to represent their homeland on an international level.

The only silver lining to an embarrassing 2-0 defeat at a second rate South African side, was the certification that Marcel de Jong will be part of the Canadian national team for as long as his skill warrants. At the 73^rd minute, as I saw Patrice Bernier trotting off the field, I cheered. Not for his play, but that of all the speculation of top players leaving our national side, we kept one. I felt like writing the KNVB, “neener, neener, neener, he’s on our side!”

We all know the story on Hargreaves and Vitória choosing other nations to further their careers, with de Guzman still undecided. Ideally, Marcel has set a precedent and this is not just one of the bunch. Of course there is the possibility that he was furthering career as well, and would rather have a potential concrete spot in an up and coming national side, as opposed to fighting for a spot (and more then likely end up on the losing end) on one of the top 10 teams in the world.

Anyways, no time to dwell on the past (and future), its time to rejoice! I am so happy I almost forgot we have Dale Mitchell coaching…..

San Jose announces MLS expansion draftee's

Player - former club

Ivan Guerrero- Chicago
Jason Hernandez - Chivas USA
Chris Pozniak-Toronto FC
Ned Grabavoy- Columbus
Brian Carroll - DC United
Clarence Goodson -FC Dallas
Zach Wells - Houston
Jose Burciaga - Kansas City
Gavin Glinton- Los Angeles
Joe Vide- NY Red Bulls
James Riley - NE Revolution

more info to come...

Canada ends 2007 on a sour note

As far as years go, 2007 was a successful one for the Canadian men’s national soccer team. Canada had a winning year, coming to close to advancing to the Gold Cup final for only the second time in its history. Unfortunately, Canada could not finish 2007 on a high note. Despite fielding its top players against the second-string squad from South Africa, Canada lost to the hosts by a 2-0 scoreline.

From the opening kick-off, Canada was out-hustled and out-played by South Africa. Canadian goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld played well to keep the visiting team level, but he could not keep the ball out of the net forever. In the 39^th minute, Teko Modise put a curling shot into the top corner of the goal, giving the African side a 1-0 lead. The home team doubled its lead to 2-0 right before halftime. After winning a somewhat controversial penalty kick, Modise slotted the ball past Hirschfeld for his second goal of the game. The scoreline at the half was indicative of the level of play, as South Africa had by far the best scoring chances in the opening 45 minutes.

Canada played a little better in the second frame. With impressive runs coming from such players as Tomasz Radzinski, Canada was able to win more corner kicks, allowing the visitors to get a bit closer to the South African goal. Despite such opportunities, the Canadians lacked the finish that was necessary to trouble Rowen Fernandez. The South African goalkeeper was hardly busy today, as he easily earned the clean sheet in the home side’s 2-0 victory.

After losing to the second-string squad of a country ranked 83^rd in the world, a lot of questions must be raised concerning of the Canadian national team’s performance. First, why did Canada play so tentatively today? To anyone who watched last summer’s Gold Cup, it is quite clear that Canada thrives on an attacking style of play. Had Canada not played on its heels from the opening kick-off, the scoreline might have been reversed.

Second, why was Canada playing with a 4-5-1 formation? A 4-5-1 is a defensive formation that relies on excellent finishing from a lone striker and quality service from the midfield. In today’s contest, Canada had neither of the elements that were necessary to score goals. For future games, it might be in Dale Mitchell’s best interest to either switch to a 4-4-2 or a 4-3-3 formation, or to play a taller target man up front. Iain Hume may be an excellent deep-lying forward, but he does not have the height needed to collect crosses close to the opposing goal. Had he been available, Rob Friend would have been a better choice for striker.

Lastly, why did the Canadian players completely lack chemistry today? Canada simply could not move the ball through the midfield against South Africa. Even national team regulars such as Atiba Hutchinson and Patrice Bernier struggled today, failing to connect on routine short passes. Without a midfield that is firing on all cylinders, Canada will have little chance of qualifying for the next World Cup.

Luckily for the Canadian national team, today’s match was just a friendly and it should not hurt the morale of the team over the long haul. Canada will have many opportunities to iron out its problems over the coming months. With a national team camp in January and friendlies sure to follow, the road to South Africa is far from over for the red and white. With proper preparation, there is no reason why Canada should not be playing in South Africa again in three years time.

Toronto FC protected list no surprise

Comments follow names...

Protected:
Sutton - #1 Goalkeeper on TFC, time should heal concussion problems
Cunningham - 2006 MLS Goldenboot
Marshall - Former MLS defensive player of the year
Dunivant - Great pickup from RBNY for Goldthwaite
Brennan - TFC Player of the Year
Dichio - Lead TFC in goals
Samuel - Tied for 3rd on TFC in goals
Robinson - Decent Midfielder
Wynne - Possibly the fastest man in the MLS
O'Brien - MLS All-Star Midfielder
Edu - 2007 MLS Rookie of the Year

Unprotected:
Boyens, Andrew - Most likely to be chosen by San Jose
Attakora-Gyan, Nana
Braz, Adam
Canizalez, Maycoll
Djekanovic, Srdjan
Gala, Gabe
Guzman, David
Hemming, Tyler
Lombardo, Andrea
Lumley, Stephen
Melo, Joey
Nunez, Cristian
Pozniak, Chris - Could plausibly be chosen if Canadians count as domestic talent.
Reda, Marco
Stamatopolus, Kenny

TFC used to sell hockey tickets - D.

I still find it funny how some people in Toronto claim that the city will always will be a Hockey city.

I beg to differ.

Recently, Toronto FC sold out 16,000 season tickets at BMO field leaving a small amount of room for half-season ticket packages. These packages come with a few Toronto Marlies tickets as well. 18 months ago, I would have bet dollars-to-donuts that anyone in Toronto would guess that it would have to be marketed the reverse to generate interest in Soccer. Obviously, not the case.

And as for Hockey pundits Damien Cox (Toronto Star) and Bob MacKenzie (TSN), I'd like to kick a soccer ball smack in their faces and scream "WAKE UP!!". Only 6 months ago, they had publicly advertised soccer as being due to fail in this city and country. Obviously, with a sold out BMO field and selling Marlies tickets through the thriving TFC franchise, Soccer is on the verge of collapse in the Great White North, right?

Wrong! :)

Cheers!

D.

Future MLS Expansion to Canada?

As stated in MLS Commissioner Don Garber's annual State of the League address on Friday, the MLS is looking to expand the league to 18 teams by 2010 or 2011. With the success of Toronto FC, the MLS has begun to take a more serious look at viable markets in Canada, namely Montreal and Vancouver.

Current expansion side's San Jose (2008) and Seattle (2009) would bring the MLS Franchise count up to 15. News reports and rumors suggest the next 2 cities to win franchise expansion are St.Louis and Philadelphia, hence; bringing the count up to 17. Therefore, if the MLS were to expand to Canada by 2011, only one of Montreal or Vancouver could be awarded a franchise and would have to have serious stadium plan's in the works. Lets take a look at them individually.

Montreal - "A market MLS has looked at since the league's inception, Montreal would provide a potential Canada rivalry with Toronto that could give the league added flavor." Garber explained. Current construction on Stade Saputo has nearly complete. It will hold 13,500 french screaming soccer fans, as opposed to Toronto FC's BMO Field which holds 20,000. Not bad for Montreal, but can 13,500 be enough to satisfy the demands of MLS top dogs? San Jose's temporary university grounds will only hold 12,000 until a Soccer Specific Stadium (SSS) is built there.... and it could also be argued that Stade Saputo could be expanded to accommodate larger crowds, or an MLS side could even begin play in the decaying titanic that is Le Stade Olympique.
Pictures of Stade Saputo can be viewed here: http://www.boutiquemeteo.com/saputo/stadesaputo.htm

Vancouver - Garber said "Greg Kerfoot, owner of the Vancouver Whitecaps, is trying to arrange for the building of a stadium on the waterfront in downtown Vancouver. The concept is for a privately financed stadium. Kerfoot just needs approval to put the stadium at that proposed site." With this in mind and with approval to go ahead and build, it would seem Vancouver would be the next logical choice for MLS expansion. It would also create a perfect Northwest rivalry for the 2009 MLS expansion team in Seattle. Vancouver's waterfront stadium is a must in this case, though as Burnaby's Swanguard stadium holds a meager 6,868 for the Whitecaps.
Pictures of Vancouver's Waterfront Stadium proposal can be viewed here: http://www.whitecapsnewstadium.com/home.cfm

Even with all of this in mind, Vancouver and Montreal would have to beat out rival bids from competing cities such as Atlanta, Las Vegas, Miami, New York (a second club), and Portland. Of these cities, Portland would appear to be the front runner with the recent success of the Portland Timbers of the USL. Should Portland be awarded a team, Vancouver's chances could be seriously crippled for the near future being in the same geographical region should MLS want to balance the conferences.

Cheers,

D.

Welcome

www.footyblog.ca has launched... please come back soon for updates!

D.