A pretty good time for a road trip don’t you think?

Before getting on the plane yesterday afternoon to embark on a three game journey with stops in Salt Lake City, Houston and Mexico City Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment cleaned house with the firings of Preki and Mo Johnston. Perhaps the chance to give their newly promoted coach Nick Dasovic and the players the chance to start fresh away from Toronto for a week was yet another in the long list of factors that must have went into the timing of the decision to clean house when they did.

A couple of hours after the press conference notifying us of the changes in management at TFC for the rest of this season, at least, the team headed for the airport and the charter to Utah. This evening we have the first chance to see what the players for this club can do without Preki at the helm.

Preki and Mo’s departure was definitely the big news story yesterday. Fair enough. Makes sense to me. But now that the circus has left town it is time for the players to show the fans that have stuck by this club that they care as much about us as we have cared about them. You see from my seat in the south end on Saturday I watched my club essentially quit on themselves, and on us. I saw players not legging runs out. I saw the body language of players that looked like they did not care. And I saw genuine anger from fans in response. As I said yesterday Saturday past was the first time that I ever felt anything less than fun, win or lose, in all the seventy odd games I have seen this club play live. I can’t go to work and do a piss poor job just because I don’t like my boss and I am sure that professional athletes are just about the only ones who can.

Whatever the case the message was received. And the players got what they wanted. They wanted Preki gone. Check. Many of then had stormy relationships with Mo. Mo is gone. Check. Nick Dasovic is brought back int the fold from his mysterious “scouting trip/banishment” and is now the gaffer. Check again. Every thing that the players have said were impediments to their collective performance as a team have been dealt with.

There are no more excuses.

A result of some kind tonight, a draw or even the full three points would go a long way towards Toronto FC getting into the knockout stages of the Champions League. A game in February at the Rogers Centre where there are 40,000 fans cheering on our club in a meaningful game would truly be a way for this club to turn the page and move forward, would it not??? RSL are a great side, especially at home. However tonight they are going to be playing short handed. Four of their best players are injured and like Toronto they have schedule congestion. And TFC will have that “new coach” bump on their side.

Will Toronto get something from this game tonight. I don’t really know I guess. What I do know is that the effort MUST be there. They must leg out those runs. They must not quit on themselves and on us.

There are no more excuses.