Quick: What is the difference between the Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC? To start, the Whitecaps have a plan in place for next season.
Despite what four printed media guides and wikipedia can confirm it feels like Toronto FC will be entering the 2011 season alongside Vancouver as Canadian expansion clubs.
On Tuesday the second season of So You Think You Can Manage TFC kicked off with contestant Nick Dasovic aiming to impress the judges long enough to earn the top prize of gainful employment. For Dasovic there is little precedent to draw from as last season auditioning Englishman Chris Cummins decided he wasn’t even going to wait on a decision and caught the first flight home.
Dasovic might be inclined to do the same, but unlike Cummins the likeable Canadian will strut his stuff in front of a panel that does not include Mo Johnston. The Scotsman was sent packing in a long overdue move made by executive vice-president and CEO of MLSE Tom Anselmi, a man who backed Johnston to the bitter end.
It will be interesting to see if Anselmi opts for the Maple Leafs model of bringing in the (perceived) best or if the front office feels it can gamble again on an unknown. In reality the fan fallout from Tuesday’s makeover might dictate the decision. Despite the insistence by Anselmi that the moves were in no way a proactive way to deal with the upcoming ticket season renewal forms, the discrepancy between the announced attendances at BMO Field and those who show up will get worse before it gets better.
Potent quotables
“I am glad to have been given the opportunity. And I am going to do it until I am told not to do it any longer, to be honest.”
— Chris Cummins, TFC interim coach in 2009
“I don’t want to leave Toronto. I plan on being here for a long time.”
— Nick Dasovic, TFC interim coach in 2009
“I think people are smart enough that they’re going to see the fraud sooner or later.”
— Ex-TFC player Ali Gerba