So, the Samuel rumour turned out to be true. The deal is apparently for 3-years, which I’m pleased about because it shows confidence both from Toronto FC in Samuel, and vice-versa. I’m excited to see him play!

In other transaction news, Kevin Goldthwaite has been traded to the NY Red Bulls for Todd Dunivant. Apparently, Mo has been keen on Dunivant since his days in New York, so it’s beginning to look like he’s looking to surround himself with players he is already familiar with. I can’t really comment on the deal, however, other than to say that I thought Goldthwaite played well for FC this season and he’ll be missed on the back line.

About that game last weekend - ya….Slightly unnerving. This team is as inconsistent as its roster, so hopefully both settle for the better, sooner rather than later.

The BBC is showing, under its Rumours section, that Collin Samuel has signed with Toronto FC. I can’t find a link to the source article, however, nor can I find any other independent confirmation. Anyone know something that I don’t?

Read TSN.ca for a description, because I have no desire to write out how exactly the ref and linesman managed to screw this one up.

Basically, Soccer Canada was just robbed of exposure, credit and money. Accountability needs to be placed squarely on the shoulders of the officiating crew - until then there is very limited repercussions. I’d settle for what they did to Graham Poll, however.

Alexi Lalas, GM of the LA Galaxy is being quoted by the Associated Press

In England, our league is considered second class, but I honestly believe if you took a helicopter and grabbed a bunch of MLS players and took them to the perceived best league in the world they wouldn’t miss a beat and the fans wouldn’t notice any drop in quality.

Now, I’m not one to deride the quality of the MLS - I think it’s entertaining and very competitive - but I would never go so far as to say that it was on par with the Premiership. The competitive spirit of the players may be on par but the quality of play is not. Granted, there are players in the MLS that could make waves in the Premiership, but they are few and far between.

I have to give Alexi some credit, however; He’s sure is quotable.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of being in Section 114 for Toronto FC’s trampling of FC Dallas. The game was great to watch, but I’d like to point out a couple instances that I think are worth mentioning.

• The supporter’s section was in fine form. This was my first time right in the heart of the Red Patch Boys, and they didn’t disappoint. Colourful and often unable to walk a straight line, I found myself at times so caught up with the chants and antics around me that I lost focus on the game. Hopefully, the same effect is felt by the opposition - in fact I’m willing to bet it is.
• Dichio is the man. I really hope that he’s able to make a quick comeback from his injury, because he’s has a dominating presence. From what I’ve seen thus far, there’s no one else like him in the league. Here’s to him being ready to suit up on Saturday.
• I have mixed feelings on Cunningham’s play yesterday. Big Mo is right in saying that he’ll take a goal a game from anyone, and Cunningham could have had at least two or three yesterday. My problem, however, is not with his production, but rather with his attitude. I’m suspect as to whether or not he heard the offside whistles - which is to say that I suspect he did - but I don’t like to see him kick the ball into the net after the play has been blown dead. Perhaps it’s the Canadian hockey player in me, but if someone did that on the ice, he’d be knocked on his ass pretty quickly. It also appeared to me that he could have been a little more generous - which is to say a little less selfish - in his partnership with Lombardo. I counted two opportunities when Cunningham could have layed-off and passed to an open Lombardo, but both times he tried to finish himself, taking a lower percentage option, in my opinion. Needless to say, if he hadn’t scored in injury time, I may have had some more choice words, but I’ll leave it at that.
• Goldthwaite made some beautiful passes and was strong defensively, and Wynne had a beautiful run up the pitch showing both speed and control in making two FC Dallas defenders look foolish. I’m really pleased with the contribution both are making and am excited to see what else they have in store.

I’m going to post some pictures from the Supporter’s section soon, so check back later on.
I really like the feel of 4-0. I could get quite comfortable with it, actually.

Recently acquired Tyrone Marshall has been suspended 3 games and fined $1500 for his aggressive tackle on Kenny Cooper in his last game with the Galaxy.
Unfortunately, this means that Toronto FC will be one forward short, without the benefit of a shored up back end. We’ll have to wait until the July 4th game against Real Salt Lake before we see any benefit from this trade. Hopefully Marshall will have an impact in training in the mean time as, once he begins playing for the team, he will be the defender with the most MLS experience on TFC.

Several of Toronto FC’s finest, along with their teammates, have helped lead Canada to the second biggest jump (upwards) in ranking - going from 94th to 56th. Only Armenia made a larger jump in this month.

For more, head over to TSN.ca

The Globe and Mail is reporting that Colin Samuel and Toronto FC have worked through the VISA issues. I thought that this opportunity was dead in the water, but it looks like if it all goes well we’ll have that additional forward I was asking about in the previous post. He has World Cup experience and, as Coach Mo has said, “He’s someone that guys in this league won’t like playing against.”

There was also a short piece about the Toronto FC supporter’s section called They Bleed Toronto Red which talks about the roots of the now (in)famous fans of the West Stands. (See you there on Sunday!)

Finally, the Star has an article about the salary struggles of some of non-regular, developmental players in the Toronto FC squad specifically, but the MLS in general. I understand that the league will want to take “baby steps” in its expansion both in size and in expenses, but when there are some players in the league making less that $17,000/year and it would only cost the league an additional $1.5 million to bring them up to a (more) respectable $31,000, I have to wonder if they may be a bit too tight with the wallet.

Moral of the story, if you see Lumley, Hemming, or Guzman at the bar, buy them their beer. The others are still underage, however.

Toronto FC have traded Edson Buddle to the LA Galaxy for Jamaican international Tyrone Marshall.

Marshall was the defensive player of the year for the Galaxy in both 2004 and 2005. He was also picked to the MLS Best XI in 2005. He has been a mainstay in the defense of both the Galaxy and the Jamaican National Team since 2000.

It appears as much as we needed a strong defensive presence, the Galaxy needed a forward with the ability to score, even more. This is one of those trades, however, that appears to be beneficial to both sides.

I have to wonder, though, if Toronto FC are on the verge of acquiring additional players. I can’t imagine that they will be playing the rest of the season with only three forwards unless Ibrahim or Lombardo are ready to step it up?

We’ll see in the coming week, I suppose.

Any thoughts on who may be on the horizon?