Five previews in today's subscriber newsletter, covering Championship and MLS games, running to a shade over 3,000 words. You can read one below ...........
MLS: Toronto FC- New England Revolution
11 days ago Toronto Fc won 4-3 at Nashville SC and I wrote .........
Toronto followed up that 4-0 demolition of Charlotte with a 0-0 draw at New England Revolution where Lorenzo Insigne missed a late penalty and that is not what he was brought into the club (at vast expense) to do! However, another very positive result and no damage dome in regard to our bet(s) and we are 3/3 in backing them since the huge change in personnel and notes on both games are reproduced at the foot of this email and supply all the background information needed. TFC are 13th in the East, but "only" 7 points off the team in 5th and have to play plenty of the clubs standing between them and top 7 in the final 11 games of the season. Nashville played in Portland in midweek, see the Timbers notes below for details and the 7,000 km round trip , crossing 4 time zones will have taken a toll. This is really about TFC for me, they are a winning franchise, who had fallen on hard times and are priced accordingly, but have made superstar additions (in MLS terms) and this group carry little baggage accumulated by the previous line ups. Toronto further added to their options this week with the return of Richie Laryea from Nottingham Forest on loan, he was a very big player for the club before his move to England and solves a RB issue they have had since his departure.
They then hosted Portland Timbers who have themselves been in great form and destroyed them 3-1, winning xG by 2+ goals, ITB 14-3 and missing three BC's! Across the two games, there were two goals for each of the Italian stars and three assists for Laryea, who has been welcomed home with open arms. They have a rematch with Revolution today ( see notes at the foot of this page) and could move to within a point of a postseason spot with the win, it is incredible how far they have come so quickly and this is an "all star" team, with, as I have already said, no baggage from the early season struggles and if they can force their way in, TFC can be a big MLS Cup team.
2 units Toronto FC -1 ball 2.74 asian line.
Good luck!
New England Revolution- Toronto FC (written July 29th)
I am not going to spend too long on this, I have spoken multiple times about Revolution having gone backwards this season and they are now winless in five. Even when they were very good last season, Toronto ,who were struggling, won 3-2 and have taken maximum points on their last two visits . They might be 25th of the 28 MLS teams right now, but are no longer the same side and it was all change and a new era in Ontario last week with that 4-0 win over Charlotte and going forward, this is a team you will oppose at our peril, especially at BMO Field, but we also cannot let them pass today. Ahead of that big win my notes included ......
Toronto have conceded nine goals in their last five home starts, giving up 2 goals in four of those, Charlotte have scored in their last six away starts, with 2+ goals in the last two and sandwiched between those they put four goals past Nashville in a home game. That's 8 goals in three starts and they are playing with a lot of confidence offensively. However, this is a very big day for Toronto, they have spent a fortune to bring two star Serie A names to the club and both seem set to make their debuts today and the stadium will be jumping to announce their arrival. Federico Bernardeschi was signed this week, the addition of Lorenzo Insigne was announced long ago, but only with a July completion date and he has been building up fitness in recent weeks and seems ready to go. Insigne is a top class striker and has scored 30 goals and provided 16 assists in his last two seasons with Napoli, Bernardeschi has averaged 28 league starts for Juventus in each of the last four seasons and both were part of the Italy 2021 Euros winning team/squad. These are players still near the top of their game and marquee signings not just for TFC , but also MLS football. Toronto have had huge success with Italian players before, not least with Sebastian Giovinco who averaged a goal contribution every 88 minutes through 114 MLS appearances and these two could have a similar impact .
It was party central, TFC ran riot , the crowd were amazing, other newbies played their part too, but the two Italian stars were greeting like all star gladiators in ancient Rome and Charlotte were fed to the lions! The MLS website ran a big article on the game and what it meant, which was so much more than three points and how suddenly this is a different club..............
A long time coming:
It’s been a long and grueling couple of years for Toronto, who were forced to play away from home for the better part of two years (2020 and 2021) as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, TFC went from perennial MLS Cup contenders to struggling mightily, resulting in one of the more dramatic roster turnovers in league history.
Before Saturday night, Toronto won just five league games in 2022 and played a lot of young and unknown commodities as they awaited the arrival of reinforcements in the Secondary Transfer Window. They're still six points below the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs line, sitting 13th in the Eastern Conference standings, but there was plenty to cheer about against Charlotte.
The victory was the club's first clean sheet since Sept. 25, 2021, a stretch of 29 games. That matched the third-longest streak in MLS history, per Opta.
“Obviously for different reasons, we’ve missed it over the last few years,” Michael Bradley said. “When we now can walk out into a stadium like tonight, feel the energy with the team we have on the field, it’s a big advantage. It’s a big advantage, so we’re going to continue to need every bit of that, and again, as players, there’s nothing like playing here on these nights.”
Saturday night down by the Lakeshore was special. In many ways, it felt like the turning of a page for the club. The reinforcements had arrived and with that, so did the crowd.
“On behalf of the team, we appreciate every part of the way fans have stuck by us this year, and again, their support is the difference for us,” Michael Bradley said. “So, on a night like tonight, to be able to make it a special night for them, for everybody, that part’s great. Now we’ve got to keep going, keep working.
“We’re building something big and real again.”
2.25 units Toronto FC asian line +0.5 ball 2.35 .
