SoccerNo more road rage for Toronto FC

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Ultimately the union will fail unless the partners are prepared to work at the relationship. It needs to be periodically refreshed, sometimes unexpected, and occasionally blunt but always caring. Responsibility, dependability and decision-making should be split 50/50, with each partner willingly accountable for their portion.

When one partner becomes unreliable, belief is questioned and doubt creeps in. Disagreement is certain to follow as the equilibrium becomes unstable. If one is not pulling their weight, the pressure is heaped on the other in unfair measure. This, in turn, leads to stress, anxiety and recrimination.

Sooner or later, we begin to question our own judgment. Was the heartache worth the emotional investment? Why do I continue to hope only for that faith to be dashed again and again? Why can’t we recapture that special feeling we once shared? Would I be better off going it alone?

Following a soccer team - making that emotional, not to mention financial, commitment is always going to be a roller coaster of a relationship. When it’s good, it’s very, very good. When it’s bad, it ruins everything.

We all remember the buzz, the infatuation we felt when Major League Soccer expanded beyond its U.S. borders for the first time. Even before the team had a name we wanted to be involved, to feel part of something new and exciting. We were ready for a fresh, long-term relationship, which could arouse our passion on a regular basis.

Our enthusiasm endures but what of our partner? Has our rapport with Toronto FC grown stale and predictable with the passing of time? The team takes us on a high one week only to ignore us the next. It gives us reason to be proud followed by reason to rant when all we ask is a modicum of constancy.

“Sometimes, we’re our own worst enemy," captain Jim Brennan told me recently. No argument from me as this team’s Jekyll and Hyde evolution continues.

There is simply no way of telling which team will show up from one game to the next. It might be the one which sets about its task with fervour and confidence as we saw against DC United, or it might be the one which resembled a group of confused strangers wearing matching jerseys in Southern California the following week.

Coach Chris Cummins reckons his team needs 12 points from the remaining eight games to make the playoffs. I think his target is about right and, furthermore, I think it’s doable but only if this team, and every man in it, is mentally and physically prepared to roll up his sleeves and put in a shift starting in Seattle.

Too many times Toronto FC has fallen flat on the road. It happened under Mo Johnston, then John Carver, now under Cummins, yet none of these seasoned soccer veterans have been able to cure the travel sickness which continues to blight the franchise despite the apparent upgrade in personnel. Winning away from home is not paramount - competing for 90 minutes most certainly is.

When I’m at Qwest Field in Seattle for the first time this weekend, I don’t need to be dazzled, but I do need to trust what I’m seeing. I don’t expect TFC’s performance to be spectacular but I do expect it to be solid. The players need to believe in the game plan and be on the same page at all times. Above all they need to work hard - very hard from first whistle to last to earn any sort of positive result.

If and when that is achieved, Cummins’ team can draw on the resulting confidence in Colorado and LA and Chicago, secure in the knowledge there is a way to become hard to beat in MLS home or away. Just ask fans of Columbus or Houston for example.

From time to time any team, no matter how good it is, will simply lose to the better team on the day but for a coach to be forced to admit his team “lacked quality and enthusiasm” as Cummins was last weekend, is frankly unacceptable.

The relationship is rocky but not irretrievable. We’re still prepared to make a go of it, but it is time for Toronto FC to, once again, earn our trust and affection, particularly when it’s out of town on business.

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