Archive for January 27th, 2012

0

Eckersley discusses TFC deal; Reds bullish on Ecuador defender

By
Aman Dhanoa
– 01/27/2012

Richard Eckersley

At the end of last season Richard Eckersley made no effort to hide his frustration with Burnley, the English club who held his rights.

The former Manchester United product was not getting much playing time with the Championship club and resulted in him being loaned out to Plymouth Argyle, Bradford City and Bury. But his fortunes changed with a loan to Toronto FC last year.

Eckersley featured in 23 matches for the Reds and started in 22 of them. He worked hard on the pitch but was exposed at times during the Nutrilite Championship and CONCACAF Champions League play. For the most part his tenure was a success and TFC management made it a priority to bring him back into the fold.

After the season ended, Eckersley had heard nothing from Burnley and voiced his opinion to the media and none of it was positive. After a brief return to England, he managed to talk Burnley into terminating his contract and opening up the chance to sign with to TFC.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 16% [?]

Share
0

Winter: Stinson, Morgan won’t miss TFC’s CCL action due to Olympic commitments

By
Aman Dhanoa
– 01/27/2012

Ashtone Morgan... TFC expects him to be called up to Olympic team camp in March

No alarm bells are ringing just yet but with the Olympics training camp just weeks away the Canadian Soccer Association has yet to announce its 30-man roster.

With the Olympics being a U-23 event, the CSA should not have too much trouble assembling a roster with the best available talent and generally has a good relationship with MLS clubs. So the lack of an announcement does seem strange.

Perhaps it may have to do with the length of time that players would miss from their clubs – up to five weeks if Canada qualifies for the Olympics.

Toronto FC Head Coach and Technical Director Aron Winter has not received official word from the CSA regarding call-ups for any of his players, but they are likely to be defender Ashtone Morgan and midfielder Matt Stinson. Winter has had discussions with the CSA and insists none will be absent from the biggest matches in team history – the CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals.

“No, nothing official,” said Winter during TFC’s media day. “But those two guys (Morgan and Stinson) should be called up, but we have spoken also with the coach of the national team (Tony Fonseca) at the moment because they’re coming together I think in the beginning of March.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 26% [?]

Share
5

FC Edmonton confirms Commonwealth as venue for Whitecaps’ ACC match

By
Steven Sandor
– 01/27/2012

Kyle Porter, once a Whitecap, now an Eddie

FC Edmonton has yet to announce where it will play its NASL home games, but the club confirmed Thursday evening that it will contest its Amway Canadian Championship match opener at Commonwealth Stadium.

As The 11 has been reporting since late in 2011, FC Edmonton will play the Vancouver Whitecaps in the first round of the Amway Canadian Championship. Toronto FC will face Montreal in other semifinal. The opening legs have been backed up to May 2 and 9, to ensure TFC is clear of commitments in case it goes deep into the 2012 CONCACAF Champions League.

FCE will host the Whitecaps May 2; no kickoff time has been announced. But, with two western teams contesting the match, FCE shouldn’t have to deal with an early kickoff like it did last season, when it faced Toronto FC in the first round. To satisfy the Toronto TV market, FC Edmonton’s then-named Nutrilite Canadian Championship match was held at 6 p.m.,which made it a brutal task for the front office to sell tickets. With Montreal-Toronto and Vancouver-Edmonton as the matchups, the games should dovetail nicely for a TV doubleheader.
Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 29% [?]

Share