Music: {allcanada} Full preparation ahead

Wednesday, November 2, 2011

{allcanada} Full preparation ahead

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Preparation, preparation, preparation.

Under the previous managerial regime led by Mo Johnston, Toronto FC had a rather laissez-faire attitude about pre-season preparation, often signing new players and making roster moves as late as a few days before the start of the Major League Soccer campaign.

As a result, TFC historically struggled in the opening months of the regular season and never fully recovered as it progressed. With this in mind, it hardly comes as a surprise that the Reds have yet to make the playoffs since entering MLS in 2007.

But the club's brain-trust insists next year will be different, largely because it is set to play the opener of its two-game quarter-final series in the CONCACAF Champions League in early March before the MLS season even kicks off.

The scheduling of the continental competition has forced TFC to learn from its previous mistakes and have its roster fully in place by the start of training camp, according to Earl Cochrane, the club's director of team and player operations.

A TFC employee since day one, Cochrane witnessed first-hand the club's growing pains and the mistakes made by the previous GM. He believes being fully prepared going into the start of pre-season in January will allow the team to successfully balance the commitments of both the CONCACAF Champions League and MLS.

"The first four years of our existence we went in with almost a bare-bones roster at the start of the season, with guys still being added at the last minute, and not having the ability to train together for a long period of time," Cochrane said.

"It's going to be incumbent upon us to make sure that doesn't happen again. We're going to have a pretty solid core of guys and then add the pieces as we start the pre-season. "

In the past, MLS clubs competing in the group stage of the CONCACAF Champions League have demonstrated that it isn't a priority for them, often fielding weakened teams in order to rest their starters for league games.

Cochrane maintained that TFC is taking the competition seriously, especially now that they are through to the quarter-finals for the first time in franchise history.

"I don't think you get to this stage and pack it in. You're at a point now where you're a handful of games away from playing in (the final) of a very prestigious competition," Cochrane stated.

He also feels that a strong performance by Toronto could give the CONCACAF Champions League a major shot in the arm in the eyes of MLS fans who stare upon the competition with a jaundiced eye.

"I think it's very important for (MLS) teams to be successful at this stage of the tournament, to start to give some credibility to it," Cochrane said.

"I firmly believe this league is positioned over the next couple of decades to be a big league in the world. In order for us to take it in that direction (MLS teams) need to be playing in these types of events in a regular basis."

Toronto qualified for the knockout stage after finishing runner-up in a round-robin group behind Pumas UNAM of Mexico.

The Reds will learn who they will face in the quarter-finals next Tuesday during the official draw. Potential opponents include the L.A. Galaxy, Mexico's Santos Laguna or defending champion Monterrey.

All three teams present a stern challenge, and while coach Aron Winter admits it would be "special for the fans" if Toronto were to meet L.A. in an all-MLS match-up, he isn't overly concerned with who his club is drawn against.

"For me, it doesn't matter who we play," the Dutchman admitted.

Also to be determined is where the first leg of the home-and-away series, scheduled between March 6-8 in Toronto, will be played. TFC's regular home, BMO Field, is an outdoor stadium and unprotected from the elements, making it susceptible to being snowed in.

With that in mind, the club is exploring the possibility of staging the game at the indoor Rogers Centre, home of the Major League Baseball's Blue Jays and the Argonauts of the CFL.

Cochrane said the team has been in talks with officials from the Rogers Centre, and that a formal announcement about the game's location will likely be made in the coming weeks.