In the end Toronto FCs British Invasion Sale led them to Sunderland who bought their unwanted rubbish and threw some back of their own. Both sides left hoping one teams trash is another teams treasure. The events of the last few days mean that forever in Toronto FC history Jermain Defoe will always be linked with Jozy Altidore. It didnt have to be that way, of course. We now know that Defoe was wanted by a number of teams in the Premier League but ultimately his destination happened to be Sunderland, where an American striker stood on the sidelines desperate for a move elsewhere. Toronto FC looked at Altidore and decided he was the man to replace Defoe. It is a bold decision. The MLSE team can shop with deep pockets. Yes, they will have been burned by the Defoe experience but they have the resources to ensure they do all the work necessary to get the right player for a pivotal position. Their due diligence has brought them to a striker who they are investing in based on the not so recent past. Given the growing apathy towards a club synonymous with losing, you would have to think those running the club thought long and hard about this. This is a decision they have to get right, not only for their own jobs but also for the club long-term. Thats why the signing of Altidore is the most important acquisition this club has ever made. On the surface replacing a man like Defoe shouldnt be too difficult in Toronto. The Englishman never fully committed himself to the course in Major League Soccer and his relationship with the fans turned sour the moment they found him in England on transfer deadline day while the club were in the middle of a playoff push. Defoe made his bed and now he will have to lie in it when it comes to how he will be remembered around Toronto. Not that he will lose any sleep on it. The attention he has received at home since August will have flattered him and he returns to the league as a proven goalscorer at that level. The same can not be said for Altidore, who departs having scored just once for Sunderland in the Premier League. The 25-year-old rejoins Major League Soccer in the prime of his career and will be looked upon to take a franchise to a place Defoe couldnt. It is easy for our minds to brush aside Defoes time in North America and call it a bust, but as the attention now turns to Altidore, it is important to remember some of the challenges the team had with Defoe in it. The 32-year-old scored all of his 11 MLS goals in his first 13 league appearances. When he scored what was to be his final ever MLS goal, a penalty against Vancouver at home, he was netting at a rate of just over a goal every 100 minutes, a ratio rarely seen at this level and one that would see him score close to 30 league goals if he played a full season. Despite such accomplishments, he was playing in an unbalanced side that found it hard to create genuine scoring opportunities. They were a side that couldnt keep the ball and one that was forced to become more of a counter-attacking team because of it. Much of the supply to Defoe during his best times was putrid and a lot of his goals were born out of his own individual brilliance. This was a key reason in the firing of Ryan Nelsen. Greg Vanney was brought in but we were unable to see if he could change that with Defoe, who was far from 100% when he returned and played just 210 minutes in three games. By then the former Tottenham striker was a frustrated man. Hed still make the runs but still the passes didnt find him and more and more times his arms would go up in despair. Stuck in a 4-4-2 maze he was surrounded by players who couldnt help him unlock defences. Defoe has now gone, but many of those asked to provide him with service remain. Vanney will have spent much of the winter wondering how he can get the best out of them and a new one striker system is likely to be part of that plan. Altidore arrives as the key component atop of that. What becomes of fellow DP striker, Gilberto, remains to be seen but the clubs desire to get a playmaking number ten likely signals the end for the Brazilian, who was always linked with Nelsen anyway, after he used his contacts to sign the player last winter. Moving Gilberto on will be the best thing for Altidore, a player who blossoms as a lone front man in a 4-3-3 and who got his confidence at AZ Alkmaar in that formation as the main goalscorer at the club. I was given a great opportunity, which is kind of rare, he said of his time in the Netherlands. I came here and was basically told, Youre going to have your chance, and its yours to take. I never had that anywhere else. You always have to fight for your position -- youre never going to walk into a team -- but I was given a direct crack at it. For the second time in his career he is going to get that chance and thats why Toronto have spent the millions it has taken to bring him to Canada. The day Altidore packed his bag to head to Sunderland he was full of praise for his team in the Eredivisie. Thats the player Toronto FC hope they have now. A happy, easygoing forward, liked by his teammates, who scored goals regularly with both feet and his head. Much like the player, TFC will try to forget his struggles in the Premier League but they would be better off embracing it and learning from it. Unlike Defoe, this will not be a player who will score lots of goals on a bad team. Behind him he will need a cohesive group of five, in front of the back four, who will need to work on their service. Altidores American teammate, Michael Bradley, will be the true leader of that five and his role as a deep lying playmaker will be crucial but the form of whoever is alongside him centrally and the three in front of him will go along way to determining whether Altidore is indeed the right man for this team. A year ago why cant we be great became the title for a new chapter in the history of this club. MLS Cup predictions followed but once the games played themselves out, the sport itself laughed in the face of all the hyperbole. Lesson learned. The hype has stayed away in 2015 for the clubs latest big name signing and although this may not be labeled as a bloody big deal it should be described as its most important. What attention you have left from last season needs to be kept and momentum needs to build again. To stop the declining attendances that happened under past regimes, there cannot be another high-profile, expensive mistake. This time they have to get this right. The trash they found in Sunderland cannot become recycled trash in Toronto. Carolina Hurricanes Gear . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Tonight, Michigans Nik Stauskas of Mississauga, Ontario. Hurricanes Jerseys 2020 . Chris Heisey followed with a two-run triple and Billy Hamilton added an RBI double, all but sealing Cincinnatis fourth straight victory and seventh in eight games. Brandon Phillips, celebrating his 33rd birthday, hit a go-ahead homer in the ninth for the Reds before pinch-hitter Buster Posey tied it with an RBI double off hard-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman in the bottom half. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/. The Pope greeted Klose at his general audience Wednesday and the pair had a long chat. Klose is German like the pope, although he was born in Poland. In Sundays derby, Lazio took the lead in the seventh minute after Maarten Stekelenburg brought down Klose, resulting in the Roma goalkeeper being sent off and a penalty that Hernanes converted. Carolina Hurricanes Pro Shop . But back-up Peter Budaj has put up two wins and an overtime loss while starting three games in four nights since Price went down with a suspected groin injury. Stitched Hurricanes Jerseys .com) - Jenny Boucek is the new head coach of the Seattle Storm.TORONTO -- Toronto FC will be without the heart of its defence as well as star striker Jermain Defoe and possibly midfielder Jonathan Osorio for Saturdays game in Columbus against the unbeaten Crew. Captain Steven Caldwell is suspended while fellow centre back Doneil Henry has been sidelined by a twisted knee suffered in last weekends 3-0 loss at Real Salt Lake City. Defoe, who has all three of Torontos goals this season, strained his left hamstring last week and was substituted in the 61st minute. "Not a major thing but definitely unavailable this weekend," Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen said earlier in the week. Osorio, who missed last weeks game with a hamstring injury, "probably wont make it as well," Nelsen said after practice Friday. It looks like rookie Nick Hagglund, a 21-year-old Cincinnati native, will start at centre back Saturday. He impressed during the pre-season when he was pressed into emergency action at right fullback due to injuries elsewhere on the roster. Gale Agbossoumonde, Bradley Orr and Ryan Richter can also play in the centre of defence. Left fulback Justin Morrow has also played at centre back but a hip injury to backup fullback Ashtone Morgan has taken away some of Nelsens flexibility at the back. Canadian Kyle Bekker may step in for Osorio in central midfield alongside American international Michael Bradley. Nelsen did not say who would wear the captains armband in Caldwells absence but it will likely be Bradley, coming off an impressive showing in Wednesdays 2-2 tie in Glendale, Ariz., between the U.S. and Mexico. Bradley scored one goal and set up another. Toronto and the Columbus Crew are both off to their best starts in MLS history. But Columbus (3-0-0) is unbeaten while Toronto (2-1-0) is coming off a loss and is hurting. Caldwell was suspended for one game and fined an undisclosed amount by the leagues disciplinary committee for a studs-up tackle on Real Salt Lake midfielder Ned Grabavoy last week. The Toronto skipper was yellow-carded on the play. "Very disappointed with my 1 match ban," Caldwell said via Twitter. "Never tackled to hurt someone in my life.dddddddddddd Sorry I wont be out there Saturday to help the lads." Toronto will get Brazilian midfielder Jackson back from a one-game suspension for an elbow thrown off the ball in the win over D.C. United. And Brazilian goalkeeper Julio Cesar has recovered from a knock to the knee from a goalmouth collision in Salt Lake. Toronto will have to watch Argentine attacker Federico Higuain, who has three goals (two from the penalty spot) and has been involved in five of the Crews seven goals this season. Columbus showed its resilience last week in Seattle when it won 2-1 on a 94th-minute goal by Justin Meram -- with an assist from Higuain -- that snapped the Sounders 51-match unbeaten run when they score the first goal. Toronto, meanwhile, got a reality check in a 3-0 loss at Real Salt Lake City after opening the season with victories over Seattle and D.C. United. Nelsen says he is not surprised by Columbus fast start out of the gate. "Not at all. A lot of their players are good MLS players that have been around. Gregg (Berhalter) is a really good coach and hes got them going really good ... There hasnt been a hell of a lot of turnover there, especially in the main positions. Hes done really well." Berhalter took over as the Crews seventh head coach -- and first sporting director -- last November after two seasons at the helm of Swedish club Hammarby IF. As a player, the defender spent 18 seasons in the Netherlands, England, Germany and the U.S., winning 44 caps for the American national team. Toronto has New Zealand midfielder Tim Payne, currently on Blackburns books, in camp on trial. NOTES -- The Crew have lost to Toronto FC just twice in 19 meetings all-time and lead the Trillium Cup rivalry (10-2-7). Columbus is 7-1-2 against Toronto at home. Torontos 2-1 home win over the Crew last July was the first since a 4-2 victory in September 2011 in Columbus, which ended a 12-game TFC winless run against Columbus ... Crew defensive midfielder Tony Tchani played 12 games for Toronto in 2011 before being traded to Columbus for Andy Iro and Leandre Griffit. ' ' '
