Columbus Crew Archive

0

TFC: New players, same results in loss to the Crew

By
Mark Polishuk
– 05/19/2013

Dominic Oduro

Dominic Oduro

Toronto FC’s new additions couldn’t prevent an old result. Steven Caldwell, Jeremy Brockie and Bobby Convey were hardly the culprits behind TFC’s 1-0 loss to the Columbus Crew on Saturday (Brockie and Convey were second-half substitutes) and yet the result seemed almost like a foregone conclusion given the Reds’ history of in-season roster shakeups and sacrificing valuable points in the name of giving a new lineup time to gel.

With just one win and seven overall points from their first 11 matches, the hope is that this latest amalgamation of talent can finally get the team on track in the short term, and more changes are still to come.

“We knew the level of the job we had ahead of us.. The quality sides in this league are constructed over a period of time. We’re still at the early stages,” said TFC assistant head coach Fran O’Leary, addressing the media since head coach Ryan Nelsen had lost his voice. “I know there’s no panic in our dressing room, in our group. We’re going to construct this team over a period of time, over several [transfer] windows.”

With the three newcomers arriving within the last 11 days, Toronto’s lineup had just one change from their previous match on May 8. Caldwell stepped in at centre back though his partner in the middle was Doneil Henry rather than Darren O’Dea. The team captain moved from his regular CB spot to left back to help cover TFC’s injury problems on the flank.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
0

Oughton joins TFC coaching staff

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/08/2013

Duncan Oughton

Duncan Oughton

Toronto FC has added another Kiwi piece to the puzzle.

Coach Ryan Nelsen and newly acquired forward Jeremy Brockie will be joined by new assistant coach Duncan Oughton. The former Columbus Crew midfielder and defender was announced as the newest addition to the Reds’ coaching staff on Wednesday.

Oughton had been an umapologetic Columbus Crew loyalist. He spent all of his MLS career with that club and, after retiring as a player in 2010, had been a member of the team’s coaching staff. Oughton made 27 appearances for New Zealand and scored twice .
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
0

MLS salary update: More Canadians working in the league, but making less

By
Steven Sandor
– 05/06/2013

Dejan Jakovic: Now the No. 2 highest paid Canadian in MLS.

Dejan Jakovic: Now the No. 2 highest paid Canadian in MLS.

More Canadians are working in MLS this season than in 2012 — but those new jobs aren’t on the high-pay end of the scale.

The MLS Players’ Union released its salary update Monday, the day when the layers of secrecy are peeled away from the contracts that have been signed by the league’s players.

And what have we learned? That there are five Canadian players making US$35,125 this season, while eight more are on the books for base salaries of $46,500 each. Of those, only DC United’s Kyle Porter and TFC’s Kyle Bekker were able to squeeze some extra dough out of their deals to get a little bit more than their base contracts.

With Julian de Guzman now playing out the string with relegated Bundesliga 2. side Jahn Regensburg, he gives up his No. 1 spot on the Canadian rich list. Dwayne De Rosario, with a base number of $600,000, now takes over as the highest paid Canadian in MLS.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
0

Impact has to settle for draw in Stade Saputo opener

By
Mike Wyman
– 04/14/2013

Marco Di Vaio

Marco Di Vaio

The Montreal Impact and Columbus Crew finally got their game underway some 22 hours after the time for which it was originally scheduled came and went, the match falling victim to a late-spring snowfall that made the pitch at Saputo Stadium unplayable.

The home side, which had not played in 15 days due to a bye, the rescheduling of the game against Los Angeles and the recent precipitation, presented a lacklustre opening half. But the Impact picked up the pace in the second half to end the day with a 1-1 draw, assuring that the Impact remain atop the Eastern Conference table.

Head coach Marco Schallibaum, who watched his team from afar, the result of a one-game suspension earned against Sporting Kansas City in the Impact’s last match, handed the reins to assistant Mauro Biello, who was making his head coaching debut.

“We worked throughout the week to prepare the team as a staff and today it was my job to be on the sideline to encourage the team and to manage the rhythm,” Biello said to open his postgame comments. “Obviously we would have loved to win the game but, unfortunately, it didn’t happen. Overall I think there were a lot of positives from that game.”
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
0

“You’re always going to be judged on goals;” Miller leads Whitecaps to win

By
Martin MacMahon
– 03/10/2013

kennymillerThe Vancouver Whitecaps might not have had their captain, but they got a skipper’s performance from his stand in, as Kenny Miller bagged the winner as the home side defeated the Columbus Crew 2-1 in front of 18,078 at BC Place.

The Scot took the ball from a tentative Glauber on 57 minutes, who hesitated in possession, before powering home a convincing effort past Andy Gruenebaum in the Crew goal.

“It’s always nice to go off the mark as a striker and you’re always going to be judged on goals,” Miller told reports following the match. “Second game in, you’ve managed to get off the mark, and it being the winning goal is double pleasing.

“But again, more importantly, it’s two wins from two. Two home games at the start of the season was an opportunity for us to put some points on the board and everyone in the dressing room is delighted with that.”

The forward’s goal came at a vital juncture in the match after a the Crew equalized just after half-time through Jairo Arrieta, who beat Joe Cannon with a low spinning shot that the ‘keeper appeared to misjudge.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
0

The Super-Duper MLS preview, 2013 edition

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/28/2013
Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, the big prize at the end of the season

Philip F. Anschutz Trophy, the big prize at the end of the season

With the MLS season moved up to its earliest start ever, forgive us if we don’t feel 100 per cent totally prepared for First Kick. Judging by the way many MLS teams finished preseason, with tentative matches and still looking at trialists with a week to go before the games count in the standings, a lot of coaches aren’t quite ready for the early start, either.

And that could be telling. The teams that got the jump and have their ducks in a row could have a real advantage in these March matchups; and they could find some bonus points that could help them in the fall.

Steven Sandor, Editor of The 11 and contributors Randy Davis, Aman Dhanoa, Mark Polishuk and Gavin Day all submitted their picks. We tallied the scores and we present our picks below.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
0

Impact goes through the motions in 1-0 win; TFC still running out trialists with a week to go before First Kick

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/24/2013

Justin Mapp

Watching the Montreal Impact in the final game of the preseason Walt Disney World Pro Soccer Classic, it was hard to tell if this team is eager for the regular season to start next Saturday in Seattle, or if it’s nowhere near ready.

Montreal beat Columbus 1-0, in a game that told us very little outside of the teams probable starting lineups for next week. Oh, and it gave the Impact the Walt Disney World title, though few people outside of Florida tourism marketers care about that.

With just seven days to go before First Kick, coach Marco Schallibaum went with a starting XI that we’d imagine would start the season in Seattle, a 4-1-4-1 formation designed to get the ball wide to Andrea Pisanu on the right side and trying to get striker Marco Di Vaio into one-on-one matches with one of the opposition central defenders. The 4-1-4-1 should also do a better job of protecting Alessandro Nesta, Matteo Ferrari and an Impact defence corps that has plenty of guile but not a lot of footspeed.

But, both teams began the game in first gear, and didn’t get out of it. Neither team was stretched and scoring opportunities were limited to half chances. And it was hard to tell if both the Impact and Crew were going through the paces, saving energy for their openers, or if this game was a sign of two teams screaming for more preseason time.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
1

Saskatchewan’s Beckie announces deal with the Crew

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/12/2013

Drew Beckie

Another Canadian looks to be set to become an MLS player.

Regina, Sask.’s Drew Beckie, who starred in the midfield at the University of Denver and also featured for the Ottawa Fury, tweeted Tuesday that he’s inked a deal with the Columbus Crew.

“Proud to announce I’ve signed with @Columbus Crew, been in the works for a bit but ill be wearing #22 thank you to the Crew,” he announced via Twitter.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
1

Recapping TFC and Montreal’s first preseason games of 2013

By
Steven Sandor
– 02/10/2013

The games from the Walt Disney World Classic are archived on YouTube, so that offers the chance to not have to spend a prime Saturday afternoon watching any Toronto FC and Montreal’s preseason matches.

(No offence meant, but after nearly two decades of covering pro sports, I’ve learned that there isn’t anything quite as overhyped as preseason games — and the first game of a preseason campaign is often the worst of them all. Early preseason matches usually bear no resemblances to the game that we love. Being able to take them in at my own leisure helps divde up the “work” part of the job).
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
0

Whitecaps make three low-risk signings

By
Steven Sandor
– 01/23/2013

Tom Heinemann

When the Vancouver Whitecaps spend big dough on players, they’ve produced their share of misses — their Designated-Player signing record is not great.

But when coach Martin Rennie has mined the lower leagues or took on project players, he’s had some success. Brad Knighton wasn’t a top MLS keeper when he went to NASL to get minutes, now he’s Vancouver’s No. 1. Matt Watson and Jun Marques Davidson gave the Caps valuable minutes in 2012.

The Whitecaps announced the signings of three men Wednesday who fall very much into the “project player” category: Paulo Jr., Tom Heinemann and Corey Hertzog.
Read the rest of this entry »

Share
Older Entries