Playoffs depends on defence for TFC
Posted March 9, 2012 5:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Toronto FC fans have plenty of reasons to feel optimistic ahead of the 2012 Major League Soccer campaign.
The Reds showed signs of moulding into a cohesive unit during the last half of 2011, and looked solid in midfield and up front thanks to Torsten Frings and Danny Koevermans.
The defence, however, remains a work in progress.
Injuries took a devastating toll on the back line last year. Starting central defenders Adrian Cann and Dicoy Williams suffered season-ending knee injuries midway through the campaign, forcing head coach Aron Winter to use players out of position and rely heavily on others who proved to be defensive liabilities, namely Andy Iro and Ty Harden.
With Cann and Williams still on the mend, Winter brought in defensive reinforcements in the off-season: Chilean Miguel Aceval and Geovanny Caicedo of Ecuador, as well as Jeremy Hall and draft pick Aaron Maund. Caicedo was subsequently released on March 9.
All eyes will be on the defence this year. If TFC is to end its five-year playoff drought, the back line will have to improve on 2011’s league-worst 59 goals conceded and minus-23 goal differential.
Right-back Richard Eckersley, one of the few bright spots on TFC’s back line last year, says the key is keeping everyone healthy.
“When you’re playing with the same players all the time, you know their movements and you build a really strong chemistry,” he says. “Each player instinctively knows what the other is going to do, and it works well … I feel more confident [about the defence] now than when I first joined the team.”
Just 22, Eckersley has already been on a wild ride. The native of Salford, England, cut his teeth as a youngster at Manchester United, and bounced around the lower divisions of English football before landing in MLS, where he spent last season with TFC, on loan from Burnley. He became an instant fan favourite and won praise for his consistency, poise and maturity — so much so that TFC spent the off-season trying to secure him on a permanent contract.
In the end, the Reds got their man. Eckersley freed himself from Burnley, a club that never showed him much love, and now he’s in MLS full-time, where he will try to help TFC make the playoffs for the first time. Paul Mariner, TFC’s director of player development, has faith in Eckersley, whom he calls a “robust defender.” Mariner thinks the best has yet to come from the Englishman. “You can see what he was capable of last season,” Mariner says. “I think the only way is up with him.”
Eckersley sees a similarly bright future for TFC.
“Success doesn’t come in a straight line; it’s all up and down, but eventually you get there,” he says. “I’m confident we’re on the right path.”
Known for probing runs down the right wing, Eckersley fits perfectly into the 4-3-3 style Winter prefers. The Dutch coach’s tactical ethos requires his players to retain possession, think two or three moves ahead and move the ball upfield quickly.
Eckersley’s propensity to bomb forward and help build the attack from the back makes him invaluable in Winter’s system. What was lacking, though, is the final product, something he is keen to improve on.
“I’d like to chip in with a few goals and a few more assists,” Eckersley says. “That’s my main thing to work on this season — the final shot and the final pass needs to be spot on.”
Mariner, however, warns against losing sight of defensive duties.
“First and foremost, the defenders have to defend,” he says. “They have to keep clean sheets. That’s their job. Anything that they can add in the attacking third is a bonus.”
After five years without post-season soccer in Toronto, Eckersley knows there’s only one yardstick for measuring TFC’s upcoming season: “We need to get to the playoffs. Anything short of that would be a failure,” he says.
Indeed, the threat of being yet another TFC head coach to lose his job is dangling over Winter’s head. The Dutchman was handed the keys to the club in January 2011, with a long-term plan to construct a contender, and a free pass to spend the year rebuilding. But he’s had a year to settle in, bring in the players he wanted and implement his system. The pressure for playoff soccer is mounting.
“With any manager there’s pressure, and as players we have to deal with it by winning games,” says Eckersley. “If we can do that and do it well, there’ll be no problem.”
TFC fans will be sceptical. They’ve seen promises before; this year they’re holding out for results.
One to watch: Danny Koevermans, striker
Koevermans was a game-changer last season, scoring nearly a goal a game after his arrival in July. In 2012, with his fitness primed and a whole season ahead of him, expect the Dutch DP to run riot in MLS.
Playoffs?
“I can’t see it. It’s going to take the new-look defence some time to gel.” — Molinaro
