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Yesterday, on a particularly bone-chillingly critical edition of Waking The Red Weekly, the host with the most, Mitchell Tierney, during a brief moment of reflection, joked that we were making quite the sales pitch for supporting The Reds through the final 13 games of this season. Naturally, we countered that we’d be going out to the games anyway - that’s just what you do. And we meant it. What’s the old adage again?
Support TeamX in Glory. Support TeamX in Misery. Otherwise blah blah blah.
Winning isn’t as much fun without the scars of losing. Sweet and Sour. Pleasure and Pain. We’ve experienced a lot of both over the years, had a pretty decent run at the top, and it sure looks like the pendulum is swinging. You can tell by the rose-coloured revisionist history takes, the mad-as-hell burn it all down takes, and the gallows humour meh takes on our timelines.
Support TeamX in Glory. Support TeamX in Misery. Otherwise blah blah blah.
Let’s assume this is the default here in WTRLand, and that most of us aren’t calling our ticket reps demanding for heads to roll and/or threatening to cancel our season tickets unless certain demands are met. As our special guest Tristan D’Amours reminded us, “Come on! you guys won everything what, four years ago?” (NOTE: He also said that this TFC side is the worst since they “were bad”, and tbch, we couldn’t disagree).
"I've never felt any reservation with Montreal playing Toronto. Especially when they were good." @tristandamours on the upcoming game between #CFMTL and #TFCLive #WTRWeekly @WakingtheRed pic.twitter.com/6fsT8gmUzN
— Footy Talks (@FootyTalksLive) August 24, 2021
Oh-My-Gawd, do I ever look like a Lobster in those highlights. Guess I got a lot of sun hanging out on the surface of Mercury over the weekend:
Had a lot of fun at Tim Hortons Field today - except for the part where @JeffreyPNesker got his hands on a drum. @BartonBattalion always have the stadium rocking, especially for a last-second equalizer from @kayawuah ️#CanPL pic.twitter.com/YztPGvVb7r
— Benedict Rhodes (@BTFR17) August 23, 2021
Anyway, I digress - which is pretty much a guarantee when I do these columns - but let’s get down to it. By most metrics, this is OFFICIALLY a lost season. Here’s a thread that has numbers and “passes the sniff test”, according to the only numbers guy I trust, Martyn Bailey:
A Monday Math thread regarding the rest of TFC's season. (SPOILER: It ain't pretty.)
— Corey Brady (@FootyCobra) August 23, 2021
After 21 matches, TFC is on 15 points - 0.71 points per game. We're slowly approaching the 2012 season mark of 0.68 ppg. Yikes. When people say this team is 2012 bad, they're not far off.
It doesn’t look good, sports fans. It looks very, very, bad. 2012 bad, in fact. Because I love science, I even did a twitter poll.
Question for @TorontoFC #tfclive
— Jeffrey P Nesker (@JeffreyPNesker) August 23, 2021
Playoffs?
I would REALLY like what 8.8 per cent of the respondents are having. If hope is a drug, those peeps got the Primo Sh*t.
All this brings us to the matter at hand - What now? Mitch says “find an identity”. Mike says “Play the kids, except when it could stunt their development”, and I said, a bunch of cyclical gibberish, because things may in fact be that bad.
"He is basically a placeholder. We've given him as much responsibility in the locker room as we can without giving him the job officially." @JeffreyPNesker #TFCLive management next season #WTRWeekly @WakingtheRed pic.twitter.com/o3g98gwhVa
— Footy Talks (@FootyTalksLive) August 24, 2021
TLDR; We have an interim gaffer and a roster that will be gutted over the offseason (fingers crossed). What’s the benefit in finding an identity with a team in flux? Is there a benefit in playing the kids if they are going to end up “Luke Singh”ing it?
I know it’s been awhile, but here comes the part when I open the floor to you, WTR community. Put on your training pants and bust out the notebook, or a single breasted suit and bust out ... your notebook.
What do we do over the next 13 games?
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THIS WEEK’S PLAYLIST:
Gosh, I missed this.
It’s called “It’s Over / It’s Not Over” and the M.O. should be explanatory.