Toronto FC 2015 Top 30 Countdown: #30 Steven Caldwell

When one sees Steven Caldwell on television siting in-between Kristian Jack and Jason de Vos providing some good old commentary on the beautiful game, one forgets that he was a TFC player this season.

Average Ranking: 28.8

Highest Ranking: 10

Lowest Ranking: Not Ranked

When one sees Steven Caldwell on television siting in-between Kristian Jack and Jason de Vos providing some good old commentary on the beautiful game, one forgets that he was a TFC player this season.

Well here I am to wake you up in order to make you realize that yes, in 2015 Caldwell was one of the players to feature on the carousel of the TFC backline that was very much like a slot machine. A slot machine where Greg Vanney would pull the slots lever hopping for some defensive cohesion to appear from his backline, but ultimately the numbers never matched up.

Steven Caldwell played a whopping 136 minutes this season spread over two matches. After the end of the 2014 season Reds supporters thought that Caldwell should have retired. Despite the obvious signs of his body breaking down, Caldwell stayed resilient and showed a will to fight for this club. The club took away his captaincy but he still marched on.

Our Scotsman displayed great leadership skills by passing on the captain's armband to Michael Bradley. Soccer players get a lot of slack for feigning injuries and not being tough enough. But Caldwell literally pushed his body as far as he could for this club. When thinking about Caldwell playing for TFC one will probably picture him yelling orders on defensive set pieces as well as being willing to risk everything to block a shot.

The reason that Caldwell lands at the bottom of the list is because of the amount of minutes he had on the pitch in relation to what he was earning and what was expected from him. He was supposed to be the lynchpin in our defense.

The club tried to bring in some defensive reinforcements to help out Caldwell, because ever since he arrived at TFC he was never able to find a solid partner to play alongside him. During the lead up to the 2015 season the Reds front office brought in another experienced central defender in Damien Perquis. Hoping to lighten the burden on Caldwell. Unfortunately, he had to raise his hands and realize that he pushed his body to the limit and retire midseason.

Rather than be disappointed in the player we should remember him fondly. Caldwell is the second longest serving captain in TFC history featuring in 40 out of his 49 matches as a skipper. He resettled his family to Toronto deciding to make our beautiful city his. Caldwell is not finished working with the club taking up a Corporate Development position with MLSE.

Mr Caldwell was more of a victim of circumstances this season. The club miss-judged his situation and put a lot of burden on a 34-year-old mans shoulders. Expecting Caldwell to last a full MLS season was very wishful thinking from the front office. Taking away his captaincy was mean spirited. But ultimately the way Caldwell made this club and the city his own is very admirable.