4
TORONTO — Toronto FC has five games in two weeks coming up but head coach John Carver has eyes for only the first one, tomorrow at BMO Field against Major League Soccer's best team, the Columbus Crew.
There also is the possibility of losing some players to international duty during that run and beyond.
But Carver has said more than once this week that he looks only at the next game. He said he does not like to manipulate his lineup to preserve certain players for later or to give playing time to backups.
He said he learned the hard way during his coaching career to use the strongest possible lineup for each match as it comes and to worry about the next match later.
Related Articles
He gave an example of when he was an assistant at Newcastle, a home game was lost by using an altered lineup.
“There were 12 different players playing and it backfired on us and we lost the game at St. James's Park,” he said yesterday. “From that day, I said in my head, if I ever get the opportunity I'll always go with my strongest team.
“I'll make sure that the backup players have their maintenance kept in the right order, by keeping their fitness up, by providing them with [reserve] games so when the opportunity arises [they are ready].
“I'm not in this game to tinker with it and I've said all along I'll play the strongest team as long as I can.”
TFC has not played since May 1, a 1-1 draw at home against the New York Red Bulls.
Toronto lost its season opener to the Crew 2-0 on March 29 in Columbus, which now is 6-1. TFC lost its first two games of the season before winning three in a row and then tying New York.
There are also a number of international fixtures coming up. Those games could cost Carver some important players.
After Columbus, TFC plays D.C. United home and away next Wednesday and Saturday. Then they visit Montreal for a Canada Cup game against the Impact on May 27 before retuning home to play the Los Angeles Galaxy on May 31.
Canada also plays an exhibition against Brazil in Seattle on May 31. Goalkeeper Greg Sutton and defender Jim Brennan could play there although the team has yet to be announced.
“Yesterday was the first day I looked at that situation because I didn't want to distract myself,” Carver said. “Let's be honest, it is a little bit of a distraction. But I'm not even thinking about it. I'm aware of it and it's in my head, but I'm trying to stay focused on the most important thing for this club – the game on Saturday.”
On the international front, Brennan turned down a chance to play for Canada last year in the CONCACAF Gold Cup to concentrate on TFC, but if selected said he will play this year as the team tries to qualify for the World Cup.
He feels MLS should adjust its schedule to avoid conflict with international matches.
“I think when you have an international break you shouldn't play through the schedule,” he said. “I think if teams are missing a certain amount of players then I think they should reschedule the game. It's an easy way to do it and I don't know why they don't.”
MLS teams also have a salary cap, which can prevent them from adding players to fill roster spots.
“It's not like they can go out and spend millions of dollars and get 25 players on their roster they can fill in,” Brennan said.
