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Toronto FCs 2014 season ended Saturday night. Spencer Kieboom Nationals Jersey . You may not have noticed as, for many, the season ended weeks ago. Negative headlines took the place of meaningful football as Toronto FCs playoff hopes slipped away. It was almost better the 1-0 loss to New England was overlooked. A game played on a turf field with football lines hardly does justice to the product. Nor does another dubious refereeing decision (or indecision, rather) leading to the game winner. Multiple controversial refereeing mistakes are an underrated, lesser-told storyline leading to an eighth consecutive season without playoff football for the TFC. Dubious red cards and disallowed goals should have been the extent of controversy in Toronto FCs season. Instead, more self-inflicted wounds due to poor communication, half-truths and speculation continue to hurt the image of Toronto FC. From Doneil Henrys transfer status, to mud-slinging at Jermain Defoe via high-placed club sources, it has not read well. On top of that, Michael Bradley is now having foot surgery in New York after Head Coach Greg Vanney claimed the player was fine after the loss to the New York Red Bulls two weeks ago. Mixed messages never end well. Weve experienced eight years of it and it hasnt helped. Its discouraging the lesson has not been learned from the mistakes of previous regimes: club leaks, he-said, he-said confrontations, and failure to simply tell it like it is continues to create an environment of mistrust and external perception of incompetence. This is the perception, it may not be reality. Things are not that bad at the club, but the manner by which they continue to conduct business opens the door for further criticism. The daggers are out. Calm and stability are needed. Good will is not something readily available based upon track record. Again, self-inflicted wounds are to blame. Its entirely frustrating to watch. Instead of piling on as many others continue to do, Id rather give advice; the club must keep quiet - just stop talking, or at the very least, think before they act. And if theyre going to speak, please make it the truth. Transparency is the ultimate olive branch to a skeptical fanbase. Its especially recommended if there isnt anything to hide. The depth of the negative narrative is surprising considering what the spin on the subpar season can be. The new Toronto FC administration should simply stick to the story that they began a complete rebuild of the squad less than a year ago, with the cupboards shockingly bare. They should stress the restructure will take time, something not simply remedied by a couple big money signings. Focus on the fact the team still set franchise records for wins and points through the growing pains and reshaping of the roster. Hit home that ownership is completely invested, showing for the first time in its history a willingness to spend with the power clubs in MLS. Bang home the message that the future is bright with a massive stadium renovation taking place and the continued investment in the Kia Training Ground. Off-field growth and stability has been achieved like never before. Its now about getting the right players to Toronto. Michael Bradley is the foundation, but its up to management to surround him with complimentary players, helping establish a team identity. 2014 was merely a start, 2015 the job continues. Simply admit the club over-sold expectations and came up short and that the blame is shared by all. There. Done. How difficult was that? All points made are true and paint a much better picture, the kind of explanation presented is completely reasonable. Not all will buy it - and thats fine - but thats the narrative to build off. Instead, a path has been chosen to discredit a star player (who is not without blame), while other items continue to confuse and lack clarity. Other than a small, short-term PR win, its hard to believe portraying the most talented player the club has ever had as a mammas boy does anything for Toronto FC in the big picture. It paints more of the same. Whoever leaked the story must have his reasons. It can be argued it was the last thing the team needed. An amicable split between Toronto FC and Defoe would do much more for future recruitment and league-wide goodwill. The focus has to be in the best interests of the team, emphasis on team. It especially holds true when the club defended Defoe to the hills around a tumultuous and speculative period around the closing of the transfer window. As an astute Toronto FC observer over the last eight years, I truly dont believe this team is that far off the mark. Things have been far, far worse. I have seen few better performances than an opening day win over Seattle and a massive away victory at Columbus a few weeks later. The wheels fell off as injuries mounted and adversity was faced. Personality conflicts emerged and the head coach was let go. Theres no way of telling if it was the right decision to dismiss Ryan Nelsen but the front office and coaching staff need be on the same page - thats a must. But the coaching change created instability. Its the type of instability that has reared its ugly head all-too often. Its unintentionally divisive and signals volatility. The team went back to old ways; nine head coaches in eight years. If Toronto FC could do it all over again, they would have most likely made the coaching change when the new front office took over, yet going down that road is nothing but living in the past. The present issues stem from the fact losing breeds drama at Toronto FC. And the clubs response to hardship leaves much to be desired. DC United went worst in 2013 to first in 2014, from 16 points to 59. Dramatic turnarounds can happen in MLS. A stable, consistent environment is essential for this to happen, though. No more pointing fingers, just proper communication. The establishment of positive conditions needed to succeed and continued commitment to superior player recruitment. This is what will lead to success. This leads us to this week: the year-end media interviews, an annual tradition. Toronto FC PR does a fantastic job making the players, coaches and management available for a year-end retrospect and should be applauded for doing so. The lack of team success and controversial storylines/unanswered questions makes for an awkward exercise. Many of the media use the day to fill-in the blanks, probe and pry for talking point of contention. Nuggets of discontent, bad-mouthing, and tone are dissected. The last thing Toronto FC needs is more off-field squabbling and/or controversy giving further fodder for the detractors to feast on. Basically, nothing good can come from the availability. Somber reflection makes for a depressing day, but its showing commitment to the future build is all thats needed. At this point, silence is golden. Enough talk. No more apologies, no more blame. There is nothing more to say. Everyone just needs to keep quiet. Before you speak, just stop. Enough is enough. Instead, just build a winner. Scout. Recruit. Network. Strategize. Find consistency, build an identity and culture of inclusion - and of success - and provide conditions to succeed. Until that time, all the positives of being a part of Toronto FC remain ignored, and thats not fair. The franchise can be something special. There are many who have worked so hard to make Toronto FC what it is, and there is much good to speak of. Its just overshadowed by losing and controversy, and understandably so. It all needs to be better. It starts with communication. It leads to cohesion and it ends with wins, we hope. Jake Noll Nationals Jersey . The St. Louis Cardinals were scheduled to arrive in Boston in time for a workout on Tuesday afternoon. Much of Mondays discussion focused on Bostons lineup considerations as the series progresses, specifically when the venue shifts to St. Raudy Read Nationals Jersey . -- Darrelle Revis says at least 26 teams called after he was released by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. https://www.cheapnationals.com/1537r-jonny-venters-jersey-nationals.html . Huntelaar also had a penalty saved by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. The two goals brought Huntelaars total for the season to 18, level with Bayern Munichs Mario Gomez for most in the league.Spains 5-1 humiliation at the hands of the Netherlands on Friday came as a shock to everyone who follows the beautiful game. It also served as a reminder that at the highest level of the game, the margin for error is incredibly small. Up 1-0 in the first half after Xabi Alonso had converted a dubious penalty kick, Spain had a glorious chance to double their lead in the 43rd minute. An exquisite reverse pass from Andres Iniesta (pictured below) sent David Silva in alone on the Dutch goal. Unfortunately, Silvas finish wasnt up to the same standard as Iniestas pass. (CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE) Just one minute later, the Netherlands equalized through a spectacular Robin van Persie diving header. With no apparent danger coming from the Netherlands, Spain set up in a very narrow defensive shape. (Spains opponents will do well to take note – exploiting this is a key to success against the reigning World Cup champs.) Yet just two passes later, the ball was in the back of the Spanish goal. The first pass came from Bruno Martins Indi to Daley Blind, who took up a wide position on the left flank. It was a free pass, with no Spanish player in a position to put pressure on Blinds first touch. (CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE) Once Blind received the ball, Spains back four was vulnerable to the diagonal ball over the top to van Persie – because Sergio Ramos, the left central defender, fell asleep and got caught ball-watching. (CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE) With no pressure on the ball, Blind was able to spot that van Persie managed to get a step in front of his marker, Ramos. (CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE) The ball from Blind was exquisite, and it was matched only by the finish from van Persie - a diving, looping header over Iker Casillas in Spains goal. (CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE) So what could Spain have done differently? In this situation, when the ball went wide to Blind, Gerard Pique was tight with Arjen Robben, the first striker – as he should be. Kurt Suzuki Jersey. His defensive partner, Ramos, needed to be in a deeper covering position, so that he could support Pique while also nullifying the threat of the ball in behind to van Persie. (CLICK FOR LARGER IMAGE) It is only a matter of Ramos being 3-4 yards deeper, but at the World Cup, that is sometimes all that is needed to create scoring opportunities. Had Spains back-four been properly aligned (highlighted in yellow, above), Blind would never had played the ball forward for van Persie to run onto because Ramos would have been in a position to head the pass away. This goal, scored right before the half-time break, was a real blow to Spains confidence. From nearly doubling their lead a minute earlier, to conceding a wonder goal to the Dutch, the momentum turned in favour of the Netherlands going into the second half. The Spanish collapse after the break – where they conceded four unanswered goals – should have been prevented, though. The second goal was down to a combination of wonderful skill from Robben and slack marking from Pique and Ramos; the third and fourth goals down to mistakes from Casillas, with the fifth goal a classic counter-attacking move from the Dutch. It would be naïve to presume that this result – as shocking as it was – is an indication that Spains style of play is now ineffective. La Roja still possess a squad full of some of the worlds most talented players, and they will continue to employ their tiki-taka possession game to great effect. Players like Alonso, Xavi, Iniesta and Silva are still a joy to watch, and they will go into their next game with Chile knowing they must win, as a loss will effectively end their tournament. What it does prove, though, is that even the best are fallible on an off day. ' ' '