This has been another wait-‘til-next year season for Toronto FC, who will miss the MLS Cup playoffs for the sixth season in a row.
Now it’s time to count the days until it’s over.
“It’s been the worst season imaginable, to be honest,” defender Richard Eckersley told reporters after Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the New York Red Bulls. “We’re simply not good enough for the minute and we want the season to end so we can regroup and start again next year, really.”
The Reds (5-19-7) have the worst record in the league at 22 points with three games left in the season.
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They also have one CONCACAF Champions League group match left at Santos Laguna in Mexico on Oct. 24 and need an improbable win by more than two goals to advance.
As the season winds down, Eckersley questioned the effort that some players have been putting forth.
“We’ve got three games left and we’re going to be playing for our contracts for next season, a lot of the players,” he said. “So they should be giving everything, this is the best job in the word, who wants to be doing anything else?
“They should be giving everything, every single game. At the minute, I don’t know if we’re giving enough effort out there and it shows on the pitch.”
Toronto FC scored first on Saturday on a superb strike by Ryan Johnson but Thierry Henry took over with three assists and the final goal. The third and fourth goals came in the 88th and 93rd minutes.
“I think it’s experience, we’ve got a young group and we’re lacking experience in players,” Eckersley said. “We can’t have like seven players playing, we need 11 plus seven subs. I think it’s important we get the season in and we can start again next year and hopefully have a better season.”
