Toronto FC coach Mo Johnston has issued a challenge to his players to step it up. (Frank Gunn/Canadian Press)
Soccer: John F. Molinaro
No more Mr. Nice Guy for Mo Johnston
Last Updated Friday, September 21, 2007
by John F. Molinaro
It was very subtle, but his soft-spoken words conveyed a foreboding tone.
There was no ominous laugh. He didn't rub his hands with sinister glee, or stroke the ends of his handlebar moustache between his fingers like some 1920s silent-movie villain just before tying the heroine to the train tracks.
He just offered a simple warning: shape up or ship out.
Mo Johnston delivered that message to his players following Toronto FC's 0-0 draw with Real Salt Lake last Saturday, Sept. 15.
The tie was Toronto's 10th game in a row without a win (six losses and four draws), and it extended the club's goalless streak to a staggering 822 consecutive minutes, shattering the old Major League Soccer benchmark of 557 minutes that was set by Salt Lake in 2005.
Even though their opponents played a man short for 55 minutes, Toronto could not capitalize on its numerical advantage. Johnston's team completely outplayed Salt Lake, but the final result left the usually gregarious Scotsman shaking his head in disbelief.
"I'm actually speechless. The guys gave a great effort, and I feel really bad for them because whatever they try from in front of the goal is not going in," Johnston said in the post-game news conference.
And then moments later, he laid down the law.
Still coming to grips with the realization that Toronto's goal-futility streak had just exceeded the 13-hour mark, Johnston let it be known to the assembled members of the media that he fully intends to approach the team's owners, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, and talk to them about splashing out some big money in the off-season to buy a marquee goal-scorer or two.
"We know where we need to improve next year, and that's certainly in front of goal. And that has to happen," Johnston said plainly.
No fists pounding on the desk. No shouting at the top of his lungs. No kicking of chairs. Just a simple statement of the facts.
Asked whether, at this point in the campaign, with his team all but eliminated from playoff contention, his players are now playing to hold on to their jobs for next season, Johnston simply replied, "Absolutely."
If that didn't give his players enough incentive, Johnston also said he's looking to bring in six or seven new names next season and reminded everybody that he can only protect 10 of his current players ahead of the expansion draft, when MLS adds a team in San Jose next year.
It may sound like a harsh and flawed way to motivate his players, but it's hard to see that Johnston has any options left, short of coming out of retirement himself and putting on a pair of cleats for this Saturday's home game against the Columbus Crew.
"Listen, don't think getting out there in the penalty box myself hasn't crossed my mind," Johnston joked with reporters after the Salt Lake game.
Toronto's league-low total of 18 goals this season looks even more pathetic when you consider that DC United's Luciano Emilio, the top scorer in MLS, has found the back of the net 19 times.
The Salt Lake game perfectly pinpointed what Toronto's problem is: a lack of finishing in front of goal. Toronto out-shot their opponents by a 13-1 margin, carried the play for the majority of the game and carved out countless scoring chances.
The only thing it didn't do was score a goal.
Without injured strikers Danny Dichio and Jeff Cunningham in the lineup, Andrea Lombardo and Collin Samuel have been woefully inadequate. Both have been given ample opportunity to prove themselves over the last 10-12 games. Both have failed miserably.
Samuel, formerly of Scottish club Dundee United, was signed by Toronto back in June to bolster the attack, but the Trinidad & Tobago international has scored just one goal (from the penalty spot) in 12 games.
Lombardo has yet to score in 12 appearances, and although his work ethic on the field can't be questioned, he has continually demonstrated a fundamental lack of finishing and an inability to get into scoring positions.
"We need quality runs from Samuel and Lombardo, and it just wasn't there," Johnston said after last Saturday's game. "We had plenty of chances."
As for goal-scoring support from midfield, it's been equally non-existent. Rookie midfielder Maurice Edu was the last Toronto player to score - that was in a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Fire on July 7.
After the Salt Lake game, Toronto players struggled to come up with answers as to how the club can end its scoring drought. Cunningham and midfielder Carl Robinson are convinced goals will soon come, as long as the club remains positive and patient.
Johnston has run out of patience, and although his demeanour suggests otherwise, he's tired of being Mr. Nice Guy.
Related
More John
- Opportunitas Aequa: Soccer with a social conscience
- 'It was time to walk away': Jason de Vos
- Bordeaux a sip away from winning French title
- Greg Sutton: Standing tall once again
- Toronto FC has serious problems at the back
- Getafe can hold its head high
- Meet the new boss: John Carver is no soft touch
- South American stars add flair to MLS
- What is Mo Johnston waiting for?
- Valencia's season goes from bad to worse
- There won't be a third comeback for Ronaldo
- Canadian coach doesn't fault de Guzman for Dutch decision
- Webster decision could be the second coming of the Bosman ruling
- Instant replay has no place in soccer
- Time for Europe to quit whining about the African Cup of Nations
- AS Nancy is turning heads in France
- Blatter's quota system is misguided
- Lanús' title victory offers hope to soccer fans
- Euro failure an opportunity for England to rebuild
- Italian soccer's problems rooted in serious social issues
- FIFA world player award is a farce
- False dawn on the horizon for Juventus
- Deification of Jose Mourinho is premature
- No more Mr. Nice Guy for Mo Johnston
- Rest in peace, Antonio Puerta
- CSA continues to hijack Canadian soccer
- Shinawatra stain points to the moral corruption of English soccer
- Toronto FC is the hottest ticket in town
- Toronto FC can't use injuries as an excuse
- Giggs a class act on and off the field
- Juan Pablo Angel gives MLS a credibility boost
- Flying Donkeys get wings clipped
- Toronto FC players, coach caught in a catch-22
- Mitchell's legs cut out from him by Canadian soccer officials
- No peace in the valley for Charlton Athletic
- Veron proves you can go home again
- Toronto FC in good hands with Mo
- Manchester United doesn't need Hargreaves
- A strong case for the defence: Paolo Maldini
- Man U and Ronaldo: a match made in heaven
- Sevilla makes Madrid, Barcelona take notice
- Please say it ain't so, Zizou
- Riquelme gets a second chance at Boca
- England is more pussycat than lion
- Apathy is Italy's biggest soccer woe
- Magath's firing makes little sense
- Ronaldo hoping for Italian renaissance
- Olympique Lyon still looking for respect
- Coming to America: David Beckham
- Chelsea feeling blue without John Terry
- Success comes at a price for some Brazilian players
- Hooligans are running amok in Argentina
- Deisler's tale is of hope, not depression
- Thirteen years of hurt for Marseille
- Romanov is making Hearts bleed
- Del Piero's love affair with Juventus
- Manchester stands United
- Beckham's Spanish dilemna
