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So long, Andy Welsh
Comments (15)
Wednesday, September 5, 2007 | 03:45 PM ET
Last week, Toronto FC coach Mo Johnston admitted he made a mistake and transferred Scottish winger to English club Blackpool.
Why, exactly, Blackpool contacted Toronto FC about acquiring Welsh remains a mystery, but thank God they did because it gave Johnston the perfect excuse to ship Welsh out of town.
If only Blackpool could have came calling way back in May – it was obvious then, even after only a few games for Toronto, that Welsh was a terrible player – it would have saved the expansion franchise a lot of headaches.
Welsh was touted one of coach Johnston's "big" signings prior to the season, but the 23-year-old left winger failed to impress during his stint in MLS.
Welsh's lack of offensive production (he had only one goal) and his ineffective play were compounded by the fact he earned more than $200,000 (roughly 10 per cent of the team's salary cap) and was the fourth-highest-paid player on the squad.
From watching him play, it appeared as though Welsh was allergic to getting "stuck in" and tackling opposing players to try to strip them of possession. Instead, he routinely impersonated a turnstile on the field, letting opponents dribble right by him without so much as throwing out a leg to try to stop them.
The Scot has great speed and pace but he didn't use it effectively. Whenever he bombed down the wing, nine times out of 10 it didn't lead to anything because he couldn't beat that last defender. He either coughed up the ball or was stopped dead in his tracks.
As for being able to deliver a cross into the middle like any decent winger can do, Welsh wasn't up to the task. The Scot's delivery was woefully inadequate. He either hit the ball over the head of teammates, hung it up so the goalkeeper could easily pick it out of the air, or failed to even get past the first defender inside the box.
Welsh not only became the whipping boy of angry fans in internet chat rooms, but he was a comical figure among journalists in the press box at BMO Field, who routinely ran informal betting pools as to when he would be substituted out of a game or when he would make his first of many useless runs down the wing.
Aside from being untalented, Welsh was also a malcontent and sulked about being dropped from the team's starting lineup back in July, even when the team was decimated by injuries to five starters. He let it be known he wasn't happy about his reduced playing time, clearly oblivious to the fact he had no business being on the field to begin with.
Welsh apologists, and there are plenty of them out there, pointed to his work ethic as a reason why he belonged on the team.
But what does it say about Welsh that no other MLS club picked him up (teams had 48 hours to pick him off the waiver wire before he could make his move to England) and Blackpool didn't even pay a transfer fee for the Scot?
Not a single dollar changed hands between the clubs, as Blackpool received Welsh for free – which still means the English club overpaid for him.
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John F. Molinaro is a reporter for CBC Sport Online whose chief love is international soccer. John served as senior editor of Sports Online's Euro 2004 website, which helped him win a CBC.ca Award of Excellence, and was the driving force behind our coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He holds an honours BA in sociology from York University and a print journalism diploma from Sheridan College, and is also the author of The Top 100 Pro Wrestlers of All Time (Stewart House, 2002).
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Comments (15)
Patrick Garrett
Burl-Oak
Good bye Andy...I'm sad to see you go.
All those replica jerseys w/ your name on will now be put up for sale on e-bay; or kept for posterity when in 10 years we pull it from the closet and say, "I remember when...". When TFC is top of the league and we have put all of this behind us.
Whoever doesn't kill you only makes your franchise stronger. Go Blackpool!
Posted September 5, 2007 05:12 PM
Rick Pearce
Oakville
I agree with a lot of points you brought up. Andy Welsh is English though, from Manchester...
John replies: He was born in Manchester, but he lived in Scotland and from talking to him, I can tell you he considers himself Scottish.
Posted September 5, 2007 06:57 PM
GreekinCanada
Toronto
Totally agree with you on this one John.
Welsh was a horrible player, next to go should be Pozniak...absolute garbage player.
Posted September 6, 2007 08:46 AM
Peter s
toronto
Any team that would have Lombardo on the field, cannot make claims that "Welsh had to go". As bad as the player was, and by the way, he is not a "Scot", nobody on TFC remains blameless for the horrible season...they have not scored in 12 of their games!
Try laying blame on MLSE, not the players. But, like most 'reporters', you would fear doing this since they are the ones who give you free Press entrance to BMO. Same reason nobody in the media blames MLSE for the horrible Leafs.
Posted September 6, 2007 10:33 AM
J D
Is there anyone more useless than Lombardo on TFC...I don't know what's more annoying, his complete ineptitude or that stupid elastic on his head!
Posted September 6, 2007 11:34 AM
RICHARD B
Vancouver
His name is "Welsh",He was born in England but he thinks he's Scottish is there any wonder that he couldn't play football(soccer)!!!
Posted September 8, 2007 12:53 PM
Sal Pace
Waterloo
Lombardo does need some work, and he is clearly not ready to play in the MLS. Mo Johnston is to blame for this teams lack of depth. I still can't figure why he didn't try harder to sign Radzinski. Heck a retired Carlos Corrazin would be better than most of the players on this team right now! I'm not sure we will see another goal this year (now that Dicchio is out too).
Posted September 8, 2007 08:34 PM
Shawn
Brampton
I'm relatively new to soccer, but I'm a season ticket holder and am now addicted. What I don't understand about the criticism of Welsh is that statistically he ranked fifth for the club - three assists and one goal. Yeah there were plenty of turnovers and such, but as far as putting the ball new a striker, statistically he did better than others. He would not have been my first choice to go.
Posted September 8, 2007 09:18 PM
soccerphan
pei
Both the blog and the comments are right: Welsh is crap, and so is Lombardo. Glad to see Welsh go - not producing offensively is one thing, but he coughed up posession way too much and didn't track back to recover the ball. As for Lombardo, he couldn't score for Canada at the U-20's and he has continued to not score for TFC. I'm rooting for the kid - he is (shudder) a big part of Canada's striking future. But, he has an unexplainable capacity to miss free headers and sitters. And did anyone see his great effort when he was in alone on the Dallas keeper - all he had to do was chip it. He is a actually a pretty good target man - can head the ball and pull it down with his back to goal - but if you are the lone striker you gotta be able to put the ball in the net at least some of the time. I think we need to use some of that Leaf money to buy a top notch striker for our designated player. Look at what Angel did (almost singlehandedly for the Redbulls. Just my 2 cents. Cheers. Go Canada and Go TFC!
Posted September 10, 2007 12:03 PM
CArlos Medina
I feel your pain that guy is so bad.
Posted September 10, 2007 06:46 PM
steven.
canaduh
he was pants from the get go .. hope he fares better @ Blackpool ..
Posted September 10, 2007 07:33 PM
Alex
calgary
That is what a player like that deserves...see ya. And of should go others including the coach his way of playing the game for 90 minutes as cold as ice is killing me.I have seen the team playing on tv a couple times and have change the channel I cannot stand it...Lombardo is a home product and it is the reflection of how poor the development of soccer is in the roots.How do we spect players to perform well at that level if nobody develops them in the bassics fundaments of the game and at high tempo levels of competition in the community leagues and provincial levels since their young...how.?
Posted September 11, 2007 04:42 PM
Ed
Calgary
Welsh was certainly not earning his top 4 salary. Hopefully Mo has learned his lesson. The players from the UK can stay there, as a building team (or league) does not need to overpay for talent. Samuel should be the next to go, and I have a hard time believing Robinson is worth the over $300K he is earning. Mo & MLSE, look south for talent.
Posted September 14, 2007 12:30 PM
Burnzy
Toronto
Man oh man ... this article nails it perfectly. I kept tearing Welsh apart loudly in the stands at BMO. Some enjoyed it and some hated me for it. To those who hated me for it "In your face now".
I said it a thousand times ... this guy can't run. If Wynne started at the goal line and Welsh at mid field ... Wynne would still win the race to the other line. Who knows? Maybe Welsh would run in the opposite directions in the race. This guy looked lost on the field. So long Welsh.
Posted September 17, 2007 11:23 AM
Tom Vivian
Spot on!! Your words echo the sentiments of our entire section (105). Only problem is that there doesn't seem to be a lack of replacements for us to continue to slag!
Keep up the good work and I'll be looking for more from you.
Tom
Posted September 18, 2007 09:17 AM