Abelimages/Getty Images Toronto coach Aron Winter is trying to get his team to adopt the Ajax system, but it's been a struggle. Toronto coach Aron Winter is trying to get his team to adopt the Ajax system, but it's been a struggle.

HARRISON, N.J. -- Toronto FC head coach Aron Winter stood along the sidelines gesticulating wildly at his players, pointing and shouting at them, correcting them, waving them into position. It was a scene that occurred a few weeks ago when his side gifted the New York Red Bulls five embarrassingly soft and simple goals, but it has permeated Toronto's disastrous season.

This wasn't how things were supposed to be.

In January, Winter, a former world-class midfielder, had been brought in to head up yet another rebuilding project in Toronto, that franchise oozing potential with its devoted fans, large market and fancy downtown stadium. The team has forever underwhelmed, never making the playoffs or finishing a season higher than 11th place. So Toronto brought in Winter -- the club's sixth manager -- in a bid to model the team after famed Dutch club Ajax. Winter, a longtime Ajax player, and his assistant Bob de Klerk were previously coaches at Ajax. They would be charged with adopting Ajax's intricate, possession-based, flank-centric 4-3-3 system.

At least that was the idea. But through Tuesday, Toronto is in eighth place (out of nine spots) in the Eastern Conference, its 3-9-9 the third-worst record in the league. Toronto is also the worst in MLS for goals scored per game (.81) and goals conceded (36), five more than any other team. In its past 10 MLS games, Toronto has been shut out six times. Winter's MLS winning percentage of 14.28 is worse than any of his predecessors' records.

Just the Saturday before the 5-0 drubbing on July 6, Toronto earned the Canadian Championship with a 3-2 aggregate win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. "That 5-0 is a blow," said Javier Martina, a former Ajax winger who was brought in with two other Dutch players to facilitate Winter's new system. "After you win that cup you think you're in business and then it's this. Everybody thinks we're going in the right direction and then this. After a few good games we started playing for each other, and now after 10 minutes we're back to square one." After losing to New York, Toronto fell 2-0 away to the Houston Dynamo on July 9.

"The last few weeks we've played some decent games against Seattle and Vancouver," said fellow winger Nick Soolsma, who not long ago played in a Dutch amateur division. "That makes it a real shame when this [the loss to New York] happens."

The process of implementing Winter's system and turning a corner for his new club has been difficult. "I thought it would go quicker than it has," Winter said.

The new system is ambitious and ever-so-alien to North America, creating a steep learning curve. It's not just about reshuffling the X's and O's but also adopting a new philosophy, a new way to play. "When a head coach changes, everything changes," said defender Ty Harden, one of the few regulars from the previous regime still on the team. "And then with him being Dutch, there's a culture change as well. It was a big adjustment."

“ The squad was really disappointing. ... You expect your squad to be of better quality, and there was a lot of baggage in this group. ” -- Toronto assistant coach Bob de Klerk

There probably has been more teaching for Winter than is customary for a professional coach. "He hammers home the system, that people are positioned well," Martina said. "He tries to build from the back and seek out the wings, and not until that doesn't work do we resort to the MLS-style game of looking for the long ball."

As a result, Harden noted, "We've been a lot more open and attacking and tried to play a lot more actual soccer and tried to keep the ball and keep possession a lot more than under [former coach] Preki."

Other than the difficulty of learning a new way to play, however, the rejuvenation process has been further frustrated by the dysfunctional team that Winter and de Klerk inherited. "The squad was really disappointing," de Klerk said. "I was actually really taken aback. You expect your squad to be of better quality, and there was a lot of baggage in this group. A lot of players wanted out. Dwayne De Rosario, our best forward, wanted more money, so he wanted to leave."

"For the way we want to play, [the squad] wasn't good enough," Winter said.

"It isn't easy," Martina said of his North American teammates. "During our practices you see that simple kicks and passes and basic things like trapping go wrong. That's still really hard for them. With the ball at their feet, they have some trouble here, making them seek out the long ball quickly, rather than try to play soccer."

The Dutch coaching duo also lamented a lack of professionalism among the players. "There was no soccer mentality," de Klerk said. "It was more of a hobby. They're not accustomed to going all out for their sport. Soccer is a way of life, and that includes eating, drinking, focusing, everything. People here are accustomed to demanding something other than the maximum in practices, too."

Results have been predictably slow in coming. "There are games when it goes very well and others when it doesn't," Martina said. "It's very up-and-down. It's frustrating. All week we train hard together, and then we play a game and it looks like we've never played together before."

[+] Enlarge Chris Trotman/Getty Images Javier Martina chases New York's Thierry Henry as the Red Bulls went on to trounce Toronto 5-0.

Other challenges, such as a slew of injuries that Winter blames on the artificial turf still widely used in the league, fixture congestion and time-consuming travel have left the coaching staff with less time than it would like for practice. "Those aren't reproaches," Winter said, "but it does underpin that it was a difficult way to start and that you weren't able to work the way you had in mind."

That said, Winter & Co. were probably kidding themselves if they really thought they could turn the club around in the first few months. Revamping a squad is one thing; changing the entire system requires a longer-term commitment, and even then it may never pan out unless the players improve or the club spends to bring in better ones.

That process has begun. Toronto's first two major acquisitions under Winter are 34-year-old German midfielder Torsten Frings and 32-year-old Dutch striker Danny Koevermans. After joining the team Friday, both signed two-and-a-half-year designated player contracts that will see them through Winter's three-year contract. A few days later, Winter, who is also the club's technical director, traded for midfielder Terry Dunfield and striker Ryan Johnson.

These types of signings, along with the parity in the league, give Toronto a sense of optimism. "The difference with other teams isn't at all big or anything," Martina said. "From my point of view, there are only two teams who are really better soccer teams, and that's Seattle and Real Salt Lake. Other than that, not even Los Angeles or New York are all that different [from us]. We've just been really unlucky. A lot of the games we tied we could have won. And a lot of the games we lost we should have won, too."

"I'm not worried," Winter said when asked about the rumors that his job is on the line. "I feel like the club has faith in me. My goal is still to build the team and make progress. It's just not going as quickly as I'd like. The goal was to at least compete for the playoffs, and everything is still possible with 14 games to play, so that's what you fight for. Another goal was to win the Canadian Championship and we did that, so we're at least a little bit on our way."

Martina isn't even ready to give up on this season. "I think we'll take a lot of points in the second half," he said. "We can beat anybody. Everything is still possible."

Toronto FC has faith.

Leander Schaerlaeckens is a soccer writer for ESPN.com. He can be reached at leander.espn@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter at @LeanderESPN.