Blue Toro attended Toronto FC’s training session earlier today at Downsview Park.  Here’s eight things we took from being there:

1) THE WEATHER

Not that you should really be complaining if writing about sports is your profession, but it’s still always preferable to cover training when you have decent weather.

2) THE BOOT ROOM

I’ve always gone by the rationale that only the best footballers should wear coloured football boots.  If the photo above is anything to go, Toronto FC must have a lot of talented players working their way through the ranks.

3) PRESIDENT & GM KEVIN PAYNE

Kevin Payne has earned a sterling reputation during his involvement with MLS.  Whether this helps Toronto FC in the long terms remains to be seen, but it’s encouraging to note his presence for training today.

4) INTERVIEWS 

One of the best things about a job like this, is getting the chance to speak to professional athletes, such as Darren O’Dea. 

5) BOBBY CONVEY

It was interesting to be in attendance for the first media scrum with new signing Bobby Convey.  Even better was hearing his response to a question about if he’s ready to play:

“I’m going to go out there for training and if (the coach) say’s I can’t play tomorrow, maybe I’ll slide tackle him a couple of times and see how that goes.”

6) ROBERT EARNSHAW

Robert Earnshaw’s contract situation may be up in the air at the moment, but if TFC fans are looking for any positive signs, he’s enjoying life in Toronto:

“Almost right away, you get an instinct of a place. I felt this was the right place and I needed to be here.  And that’s how I still feel now.  The people are great and the city’s amazing.”

7) RYAN NELSEN

I was amused by the disregard everyone had for Ryan Nelsen’s sore throat, by continually bombarding him with questions. (Yes, yes. I realise everyone has a job to do.)

8 ) TRAINING

I feel like I’m forgetting something here……………..ah yes, that’s right!  We also enjoyed actually watching the players train.

If you have any tips or information about any of Toronto’s sports teams, please email me at Englishpaul@hotmail.co.uk

You can also follow us on Twitter @bluetoro_ca and like us on Facebook

• By paul.taylor
• May 17, 2013
• Comment

Toronto FC is greatly improved from last season, but despite (or maybe because of) this, the current campaign has been a frustrating one to date.  Saturday’s 1-1 draw at BMO Field represented yet another game where points were lost, after a late equaliser by Houston Dynamo.

However, what shouldn’t be lost in all this is that Robert Earnshaw has been an instant success for Toronto FC.  With five goals so far, the forward currently sits joint-second in the MLS scoring charts.

One of the benefits of being good at professional sports is you often get asked to help promote products.  At least I think that’s what’s happening here as Earnshaw models a Msongo Clothing hoody in the BMO Field locker room:

I’ll admit I’m not ‘down with the kids’ (i.e. young) so Earnshaw’s style doesn’t particularly appeal to me. (It’s all I can do not to tell him to turn his baseball cap the right way around.)  However, as long as the Welsh international continues to score goals for Toronto FC, he can wear whatever the hell he wants.

Photo credit: @RobertEarnshaw

If you have any questions, please email me at paul.taylor@bluetoro.ca

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• By paul.taylor
• April 22, 2013
• Comment

It’s often said that when you have an addiction, to get better you have to start off by actually admitting that you have a problem.  If this is true, Toronto FC’s Andrew Wiedeman has taken that vital first step:

My name is Andrew and I am a hoarder. twitter.com/awiedeman3/sta…

— Andrew Wiedeman (@awiedeman3) March 6, 2013

Hopefully Wiedeman’s counsellor can help him on the road to recovery.  If not, perhaps the forward can at least transfer his addiction to another area of his life.  For example, maybe he could start collecting a few more goals after only scoring two last season.

Photo credit: www.zimbio.com

If you have any questions, please email me at paul.taylor@bluetoro.ca

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• By paul.taylor
• March 7, 2013
• Comment

It was just a normal Tuesday evening with two local men’s league teams getting ready to play a soccer game in Vaughn.  And then Toronto FC turned up unannounced to surprise everyone with an ambush:

Mind you, when you’re getting lots of free gear, maybe ‘ambush’ isn’t really the appropriate word to use.  Here’s Etobicoke FC and Team Dutch respectively in their new jerseys, together with Toronto FC’s Stefen Frei and some of his teammates:

TFC’s Rachel Bonnetta was also present but made sure to remain neutral so as not to offend either team:

TSN’s Luke Wileman was even on hand to provide play-by-play commentary to put the finishing touch to a fun evening.  Etobicoke FC, who went on to win the game, took to Twitter afterwards to express their appreciation:

Thank you @torontofc for surprising us today with an awesome experience. Thanks for the sweet gear + the opportunity to meet the players!

— Etobicoke F.C. (@EtobicokeFC) March 6, 2013

Let’s hope Toronto FC is as successful in surprising Sporting KC with an ambush on Saturday in their home opener at the Skydome.

Photo credits: @rachelbonnetta & @Stefen24Frei

If you have any questions, please email me at paul.taylor@bluetoro.ca

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• By paul.taylor
• March 6, 2013
• Comment

As per our last blog, Toronto FC are preparing for the new season, which starts this weekend in Vancouver against the Whitecaps.

If TFC are to rebound from last year’s disastrous campaign, when they set franchise lows for wins and points, a good place to start is to have a more solid defence.  As such, this tweet from Stefan Frei may or may not have fans feeling slightly anxious:

Thanks for the custom gloves @adidasus These should get me through the first couple of games twitter.com/Stefan24Frei/s…

— Stefan Frei (@Stefan24Frei) February 27, 2013

The first couple of games?!?!  That doesn’t sound good!  Is he expecting to face that many shots from the opposition?!  Does he really think he’s going to spend that much time picking the ball up out of his own net?!

Let’s just hope he was joking as opposed to suffering from a crisis of confidence after missing virtually all of last season with injury.

Photo credit: www.zimbio.com

If you have any questions, please email me at paul.taylor@bluetoro.ca

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• By paul.taylor
• February 27, 2013
• Comment

Toronto FC defeated the LA Galaxy on wednesday night in the return game of the CONCACAF champions league by the score of 2-1, to advance to the American (the continent) champions league semifinal.

Unlike last week, Toronto FC was able to hold their lead. In the 89th minute of the game in Toronto, David Beckham produced a beautiful corner kick, after almost receiving a beer bottle on the head from a drunk fan, to help Landon Donovan tie up the game at 2.

Ryan Johnson and Nick Soolsma scored for the winners, who become the first canadian team to reach the champions league semifinal.

Toronto FC will now face the Mexican team Santos Laguna, who had no problem defeating the Seattle Sounders by an aggregate of 7-3.

• By Manny Frag
• March 15, 2012
• Comment