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Toronto FC's expansion draft options
Comments (10)
Wednesday, September 26, 2007 | 04:40 AM ET
The Major League Soccer season is winding down and with Toronto FC out of the playoff picture, it's time for coach Mo Johnston to think about the expansion draft.
MLS will welcome back the San Jose Earthquakes for the 2008 campaign, but before it takes to the field, the club will get a chance to fill out its roster at the expansion draft in November.
San Jose will be allowed to select one unprotected player from each team. MLS clubs will be allowed to protect 10 players.
Here's who I think Toronto should protect:
Jim Brennan - This is a no-brainer. Brennan has played every minute of every game this season and it's hard to imagine Toronto without their current captain.
Carl Robinson - Robinson has been a steady presence in the centre of midfield and offers the club veteran leadership.
Greg Sutton - Quality goalkeepers are hard to come by, so, again, this is a no-brainer.
Marvell Wynne - Wynne has given Toronto an attacking presence with his speed and mazy dribbling skills down the wings. He's also versatile, as he can play either in defence or midfield.
Jeff Cunningham - Goals have been pretty hard to come by for Toronto this season. When he's not injured, Cunningham is a dangerous striker with blinding speed.
Maurice Edu - Edu is a lock to win the rookie of the year award and could be the cornerstone of the franchise for years to come - assuming his pending loan spell with a Premiership club (believed to be Aston Villa) doesn't become a permanent deal.
Ronnie O'Brien - Toronto fans didn't get to see the best of O'Brien this season because of injuries, but there's no doubting the Irishman's quality and class.
Danny Dichio - A big target man who has a real physical presence on the field.
Chris Pozniak - The Canadian has impressed this season, whether he's been asked to play in defence or midfield. He's shown a nice touch on the ball and displayed clever playmaking skills at times.
Andrew Boyens - I know a lot of fans think Boyens is mistake prone, but I've been quite impressed with the rookie and think he can develop into a solid centre back.
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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 (10)
Andrew
UK
So which big name players will that leave unprotected for the expansion draft?
Posted September 26, 2007 08:58 AM
John G
HAHAH no big name player...Samuel i guess, but he definetly has not played like a big name.
i agree 100% with the list..TFC have a great startin XI if they can add a star and some depth they will be one of the top squads. Mo has done a great job this year.
Posted September 26, 2007 11:31 AM
Steve
Niagara
Will Mo even protect 10?
Posted September 26, 2007 12:30 PM
J-P
Toronto
John,
Maurice Edu is a Generation Adidas player and is therefore on the Development Roster. He does not need to be protected since Development Roster players are ineligible to be selected in the Expansion Draft.
Posted September 26, 2007 03:47 PM
Ultra
Scarborough
I agree with everything but Boyens. Not good enough to waste a SI on.
Posted September 26, 2007 04:02 PM
CJ
Toronto
Pozniak and Sutton should go...both are mediocre at best...let's not be blinded by their Canadian Status.
Posted September 27, 2007 07:43 AM
JD
Toronto
The only ones worth anything on that list are Brennan, Dicchio, Edu, Wynne and O'Brien...the rest should be let go and replaced with better talent.
Posted September 27, 2007 02:38 PM
Chris
Toronto
I'd protect Todd Dunnivant he is a dependable defender or midfielder. The chances of pozniak being picked are slim because he's canadian i'd switch poz for dunnivant.
If any player is picked off our roster it will be Tyrone Marshall.
Posted October 1, 2007 11:03 AM
OZNE
Woodbridge
John,
It all comes down to contracts, and I'm pretty sure Toronto doesn't have much to worry about. The Canadians will count as imports, and most are working on inflated salaries this year (Pozniak, Reda, Braz) which works against them taking up a foreign roster spot on a US based team. If TFC were stuck, in a position moreover where they could lose a valuable young player (which they will not) Carl Robinson would have to be the odd man out. Honestly, what team would take a gander on Carl Robinson and his huge $315,000 salary??? A salary that ranks amongst the highest in the entire league, for an average at best MLS caliber player. What I'm getting at is you risk nothing by exposing Robinson, as no other team would be silly enough to take on his salary. Of course San Jose might try to pull a "Mo" and select him inorder to trade him back to Toronto for an allocation$$$ or draft pick.
That said Toronto doesn't have to worry because they don't currently have 10 players worthy of protecting.
The players that hold the most value are those that count as US Domestic Players on Rosters - O'Brien (Green Card), Cunningham, Dunivant, Marshall, Wynne, Dichio (Could get a green card as he is married to an American).
Posted October 2, 2007 01:04 AM
Alex
calgary
I think that who should go is the coach.We can give him the best players in the planet...the guy is not a coach at all.
Posted October 5, 2007 06:01 PM