Posted by

Aaron Nielsen ,

October 19, 2017 Email

Aaron Nielsen



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@ENBSports

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It is only fair when one talks about Toronto FC regarding the 2017 season to congratulate them first for an exceptional season and winning the MLS Supporters Shield, and second recognition for not only being the best team, but also one of the top teams in MLS history. Outside of team previews before the season, and an article on Raheem Edwards during the season, this year has had the fewest articles written about the team since contributing to RedNation Online. Part of this is because prior to the season, I predicted Toronto to be the best team in the league, which they achieved. Added, most of my past articles were either suggestion pieces on how Toronto FC could improve, or giving some clarity on how I feel the team is developing. So along with the congratulations, Toronto should be given credit in terms of finding the right pieces to create this team and developing a style of play to get the most out of them. I don't feel any Toronto FC player has under performed, with all first team players contributing and certainly two additions that went beyond my expectations have been the play of Victor Vazquez and Chris Mavinga. Both of whom played pivotal roles for TFC and helped prevent the club from getting into the lolls one expect from the grind of an MLS season. There will be added excitement and pressure when the playoffs arrive, including how Toronto FC matches up against its next three potential opponents, as they will go in as favourites to win their first MLS Cup, but it will not be easy. In more difficult times, Toronto FC liked to emphasize that the club had so much more to offer beyond the first team results. It was great seeing the different Toronto FC supporters groups share in the celebration on Sunday, and despite issues in the past, there is some truth that winning solves most things. Which brings up the other Toronto FC legacy, one that wasn't as successful in 2017, and that is Toronto FC II. Before the celebration last Sunday, TFC II finished their 2017 season the night before losing 4-3 to FC Cincinnati in their expected last game at the Ontario Soccer Centre. TFC II finished last in the Eastern Conference with a 6-7-19 record, and since joining USL the club has won only 19 of a total 90 games. The overall record wasn't a surprise for me, as it is something I expected based on the club using the same model of the first two seasons. However, to be fair, the players as a team impressed me more this year then in the past. With TFC II games being shown on YouTube, I've watched approximately 80% of TFC II games and many of these, especially in previous years, the TFC II team were completely overrun by their opponent. This year, outside of a 6-1 loss to Charleston and a couple of blown leads ,TFC II were in most games. Although, they also try to slow down the pace in many games, resulting in limited offense and the team being shutout thirteen times this season. The three major issues I see with the club are: 1. The development of Canadian players, 2. How they fill the rest of their team, and 3. The overall goal of TFC II. All three effect each other, with the overall view that Toronto FC’s goal is not about winning games at the TFC II level and more about player development. However, winning 19 of 90 games is not going to help a team or players develop or reach their potential. The first team is a great example of this with Marky Delgado, and to a lesser extent Justin Morrow, struggling and taking criticism for their roles in the 1st team in 2014/2015 and now flourishing in 2017. My first issue with TFC II, which has not changed over the last few years, is not the losing but who in the club are getting minutes. 2017 was no different with Canadian players compiling 15680 minutes, or 653 per player, and Americans playing 10447 minutes, or 1161 per player with Japanese Tsubasa Endoh and Norwegian Oyvind Alseth playing over 1000 minutes each as well. The American players are also on average four years older then the Canadian players with Ryan Telfer being the only Canadian played this year outside of the TFC Academy System. I follow NCAA soccer as close as anybody, and at no point were TFC II minute leaders (and Americans) Brian James or Mitchell Taintor identified as prospects during their youth or college career. While Goalkeeper Mark Pais was regarded as a USL backup and proved this by eventually losing his position to Canadian keeper Angelo Cavalluzzo, who ended the season with a much better goals against average and save percentage. The only American players who had some previous prospect value were Brandon Aubrey, who ended up struggling most of the year, and Jordan McCrary. McCrary, a former US National Youth Player and a star right back at University of North Carolina, was coming back from a career ending knee injury and performed adequately, including leading the team in key passes per 90 minutes while playing a more defensive role. If Toronto FC were able to fill out a roster of players with McCrary’s reputation and talent, they would be a much more successful club at this level of the game. However, even if Toronto FC’s American amateur scouting is as poor as it seems, there are local players better than the options they have currently. Players such as Jonathan Grant, Joseph Di Chiara, Giuliano Frano, Jarek Whiteman, Dylan Carreiro, Dominic Samual, and Brandon John are all better then most of the non-TFC Academy talent they put on offer, not only in 2017 but the history of the team. Personally, I knew what to expect from TFC II this season when they turned down the opportunity to sign Niba MacDonald at the beginning of the season - a player now in contention for a Cameroon national team position. Now, it's not all doom and gloom because Cavalluzzo was not the only player who impressed me during the 2017 season. Overall, I would say there was a slight improvement with almost all of the TFC Academy players as they further understand what is expected of them at this level. Liam Fraser continues to impress me, Juliun Dunn and Shaan Hundal are prospects for the future, Lucca Uccello has matured, while Toronto FC reserves Jay Chapman, Jordan Hamilton, Raheem Edwards, Tsubasa Endoh and even Ashtone Morgan are still better then most USL players. Even players who took a step backwards in 2017, like a Malik Johnson, Anthony Osorio, Aidan Daniels or Sergio Camargo, still have core soccer skills that are better then most players at a USL level. I was also very impressed by the ability of the players on TFC III this year in League1 Ontario. I'm excited to see how players such as Daniel DaSilva, Cyrus Rollocks, Rocco Romeo, Afram Gorgees and Luca Petrasso develop as they move up - hopefully as regulars with TFC II. It should also be mentioned that despite their poor record in terms of key distribution and possession data, TFC II out-performed the professional sides of Ottawa Fury and FC Edmonton. Which at least gives some hope that Toronto FC is producing better overall Canadian players. In my opinion, TFC II could learn a lot from the first team. Number one being they need to begin to care about the product you put on the field. Number two is find quality players, including key players who are better than other players in that league, and finally number three is to let these players show what they are capable of doing. This would be the first step of making TFC II a winning product on the field and reinforce Toronto FC as a model franchise in MLS. Aaron Neilsen is a co-founder of Prospect XI (Prospect Eleven), a scouting network and online magazine dedicated to tracking/highlighting young players that refer to as "prospects" as well as their development pathways both within North America and worldwide. Follow PXI via www.prospectxi.com or on twitter @ProspectXI.