TFC's De Guzman and Gargan fight for possession with RSL's Morales at BMO Field, Aug. 28, 2010. (Scotty / TFCpics.com)

So TFC v4.0 has been upgraded to TFC v4.01.

Out is Preki, who managed to wear out his Toronto welcome in record time. Also out is Director of Soccer Mo Johnston, who, while much more personable than his coach, probably should have been gone a long time ago.

(Back) in is Nick Dasovic, the loyal assistant coach-turned-interim gaffer who seemed to be on his way out as recently as this past weekend. Things changed, of course, when TFC played arguably its worst home game in franchise history in losing to lowly DC United on Saturday.

Julius James’ 80th minute dagger was the final nail in the coffin of the two most senior soccer men in the organization, leaving The Reds once again in the hands of temporary caretakers promoted from within.

There are many places where you can read post-mortems on Preki’s and MoJo’s TFC careers. There’s plenty of conjecture out there about what this latest overhaul means to a franchise that is showing cracks in the previously infallible armour of constant sell-outs and fan goodwill.

This will not be one of those pieces, because there is a game tonight and a season that is still somewhat (albeit improbably) salvageable.

First off is TFC’s Champions League visit to Rio Tinto Stadium. Real Salt Lake has become, since squeaking into the MLS playoffs last year en route to its first ever championship, a juggernaut. The Utah side hasn’t lost at home for nearly two years. It took Mexican giant Cruz Azul to the brink in a thrilling, rain-soaked CCL match in Mexico City last month. It is, along with one or two other teams, the class of MLS.

Fortunately for Toronto, many of the key RSL weapons could be out for this one. Javier Morales, Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio and Ned Grabavoy are all likely to miss the match, which will severely test Salt Lake’s depth, especially in the offensive third.

Given that TFC is already a defensively sound squad — thanks mainly to the trio of Stefan Frei, Nana Attakora and Adrian Cann — the slim chances of stealing at least a point from the Utah fortress got a boost with the aforementioned RSL player absences.

Toronto will no doubt be playing with the newfound levity that always follows the firing of a strict coach, so a positive result could be the catalyst for a late-season resurgence.

Or not.

Whatever happens, it couldn’t get much worse than the past few weeks.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Watch the interview, and draw your own conclusions.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

The 2010 Toronto FC season starts today.

After what can only be called the most dramatic offseason in the club’s short history, as of four o’clock this afternoon the games start meaning something, whether Preki’s crew is ready or not.

Forget the pre-season games, because as of right now, they mean nothing. Push aside that painful 4-0 drubbing by NYRB that we all watched on a crap web feed emanating from Disney World. Erase the memories of no current TFC player actually scoring a goal throughout the pre-season games.

Those events – no matter how painful to endure – no longer matter.

As of right now,  Preki is on the clock.

Much lamenting and hand-wringing has been done by anxious TFC fans wondering exactly what Preki’s plan is, or if he even has one. He says he does, and the man has earned the right to prove it.

I’ll admit it, I myself have wondered just why the new gaffer saw fit to act like Leafs GM Brian Burke in completely dismantling his team, when it was only one point away from its first ever playoff appearance a few months ago. It seemed that that team only need a couple of minor tweaks to be truly competitive, but instead Preki has decided to go in virtually the opposite direction, shipping off everyone who doesn’t fit his preferred mould.

It seemed, to the untrained eye, a very puzzling policy. But that’s the point. Ninety-nine-point-nine per cent of us among the unwashed masses will never play or manage the game at the level Preki has, and that fact alone earns him the right to with his team what he feels will make TFC a successful club on the new BMO Field pitch.

Sure, the counterpoint to the above statement is that Mo Johnston has also played and managed at a level far higher than the vast majority of supporters, and yet he seems to have been over his head over the past three years. The simple answer to that is that Preki has actually managed a successful MLS club (Chivas USA), while Johnston has not.

The games start for real today, and for all the hand-wringing and apprehension displayed by success-starved supporters over the last several weeks, this is Preki’s team. His record has earned him the right to be given a somewhat long leash by the fans, and it up to him and only him whether he runs with it or fashions himself a red and white noose.

I know what I’ll be hoping for.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

To get appropriately hyped up for the season, I suggest you all give this video a look.

If that doesn’t get you excited for the season, I suggest getting yourself to a hospital and getting your pulse checked.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Will Preki become TFC's fourth head coach in four years?

Preki (a.k.a. Predrag Radosavljević) was widely rumoured to be on Mo Johnston’s three-man short list (along with Houston assistant John Spencer and long-time New England head coach Steve Nicol), and was probably the most realistic choice of the three.

The Serbian-born former two-time MLS MVP is the only one of the three who has been the top on-field man at an MLS club and is currently available. While some have been pining for Liverpool and Scotland legend Nicol to take the reigns under his good buddy Mo, the reality is that Nicol is still under contract for two more MLS seasons, and New England would not allow its stellar coach to simply walk into the awaiting arms of an Eastern Conference rival.

Spencer would have been a good choice, if Toronto fans hadn’t already experienced two former assistant coaches working through growing pains as the head man. Johnston knows that this is likely his last shot to get the coaching gig right, and risking his job security on yet another unproven guy could have spelled disaster, despite the fact that Spencer has all of the tools (and MLS experience) to become a very good coach in this league.

So Preki it is (if Ives is to be believed, and why shouldn’t he?). The man who turned sad-sack Chivas USA around is now tasked with doing the same at an even bigger club. Preki’s task-master style of man-management will be a stark turn around from Chris Cummins’ “friends with everyone” approach, and perhaps that’s exactly what this team needs.

But there are some questions that need to be answered.

What happens with Amado Guevara now? Guevara and Preki famously fell out at Chivas, to the point that Guevara – after all of four games under Preki – swore he would never play in MLS again. Of course, when he realized that the pay in his native Honduras is just slightly below what he could demand in MLS, he changed his tune, but only after his rights were traded to Toronto.

Will Guevara and Preki be able to play nice? Or was that horrific 5-0 debace in the Jersey swamp the last we’ve seen of the fiery Honduran?

Much has been made of Mo Johnston’s allegedly meddling ways, especially in the aftermath of Cummins’ inglourious departure. Will Mo be able to keep his hands off and give his new hire the freedom to coach as he sees fit?

Also, while his regular season record over the years has been stellar, Preki hasn’t exactly proven himself as a coach in the MLS playoffs. Will TFC’s vast resources give Preki what he needs to finally lay claim to his first win as a coach in the postseason?

And finally, will an “In Radosavljević We Trust“ banner fit in the BMO Field south-east corner gap?

Only time will tell.

Posted by Rudi Schuller

Discuss the potential Preki hiring here.