Plenty on TFC’s plate ahead of draft
Posted January 5, 2012 4:17 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
These are busy days for Toronto FC.
We’re not even a full week into the new year, but the Reds have been busy behind the scenes in preparation for the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals and the start of the new Major League Soccer regular season in March.
Paul Mariner, the club’s director of player development, told sportnet.ca that the club is currently in talks with six players — three holdovers from last year’s team and three possible newcomers — in an attempt to add some roster depth prior to the start of pre-season training camp.
“As the (off-season) has progressed we’ve been in constant negotiations with players; currently we’re in talks with six players. We just can’t shove these deals over the finishing line (but) we are very close,” Mariner said.
Two players the club is trying to re-sign are Ecuadorian forward Joao Plata and English defender Richard Eckersley. Both were key players for TFC in 2011, and won plaudits for their consistent performances over the course of the campaign.
Plata and Eckersley impressed so much that team management have been trying to lock up the pair who were on loan to TFC. Prolonged and drawn-out negotiations between the two sides have taken place since the end of last season, and Mariner is “extremely hopeful” that the club will be able to soon announce they have re-signed.
“We’re pretty confident they’re going to be back, but we’re not 100 per cent sure yet,” Mariner explained.
The Reds are also in preparation mode for next Thursday’s MLS SuperDraft in Kansas City. TFC holds two first-round selections, the fourth and twelfth picks overall. Mariner stated that which NCAA prospects they might use those picks on depends on whether or not they can sign any of the six aforementioned players before the draft.
As the only team with two first-round selections, Toronto has a fair bit of leverage going into this draft, and it’s hardly surprising that other MLS sides have contacted them with trade offers.
But thus far, nobody has tabled an offer to Mariner’s liking and as it stands now, he doesn’t expect the team to trade either of the picks.
“We’ll obviously discuss it. The scouts and I will make recommendations but I’m going to recommend at the present moment that we don’t trade,” Mariner stated. “There’s financial implications to consider and I think there’s players at the draft that can help us.”
Mariner characterized this year’s draft class as “pretty decent” and feels that they can use the fourth pick on a player who could “really make an impact” this season.
As for the 12th pick, Mariner feels they’ll likely use it on a Generation adidas player — promising players who sign lucrative contracts with MLS (instead of trying their luck in Europe) and whose contracts do not count against the team’s salary cap.
“At No. 12, purely because of the way things are structured and the amount of money you have to spend under the cap, you have to get players who are not going to cost much,” Mariner admitted.
“It’s a balancing act and you weigh in the fact you have to get players under certain cap number, which makes Generation adidas players more attractive.”
In terms of draft philosophy, Mariner believes in giving priority to picking players who will help fill positional gaps on TFC’s roster before picking the best available players, regardless of their position. And while priority is given to players who can come in and help the team right away, TFC may have to settle for players who are more long-term projects.
“If you don’t get the players you want, you start to look at a player who in a year or two can crack the starting lineup,” Mariner said.
NOTE: Gerry Dobson and John Molinaro will be in Kansas City next week to cover the MLS SuperDraft for Sportsnet and sportsnet.ca.
