Mo Johnston to move into front office role for Toronto FC, John Carver to take over as Toronto head coach
Well, the big news out of Toronto involved none other than Mo Johnston, who is stepping down from his position as Toronto FC head coach to move into the front office, clearing the way for former Leeds manager John Carver to replace him. A high-level source at Toronto just confirmed this for me.
Rumors about Johnston making this very move began circulating two months ago but Johnston steadfastly denied them. He was busy trying to secure the services of Carver.
Toronto FC nearly lost out on Carver when the Newcastle United manager's job came open. According to sources in Toronto, Carver, a former assistant at Newcastle under Bobby Robson, would have been a prime candidate to join Alan Shearer's staff if Newcastle had hired Shearer. Newcastle hired Kevin Keegan instead, clearing the way for Carver to take charge in Toronto.
Johnston has one of the best track records in the league at identifying and drafting young talent and will now handle player personnel decisions with the club. The move to the front office was Johnston's decision, as was the appointment of Carver, according to sources in Toronto.
Toronto ends up with the best of both worlds in theory. It keeps a man who knows the league and the talent in the United States and adds a head coach with a good amount of coaching experience.
What do you think of the news? Share your thoughts below.
Ives Galarcep is an American soccer columnist for ESPNsoccernet.com and creator of SoccerByIves.net.
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THIS is bigger than a DP signing?
Posted by: Martek | February 01, 2008 at 11:51 AM
thats weak, all that buzz for this, we want to hear big signings not this hopefully theirs more to come
Posted by: rocky | February 01, 2008 at 11:51 AM
What a joke. Maybe our neighbors to the great white north define "big" differently than we do.
Posted by: kpugs | February 01, 2008 at 11:54 AM
TSK Tsk, using MLS Rumors as a source Ives?
Posted by: tsk | February 01, 2008 at 11:54 AM
For those of us who can't read like our friend tsk: "A high-level source at Toronto just confirmed this for me."
Posted by: kpugs | February 01, 2008 at 11:58 AM
Shrewd move by Mo, this way when he doesnt get the results he can blame Carver. Mo did a terrible job of assembling a team in Toronto last year, trading players at will, acquiring mediocre players etc.
Posted by: emilio | February 01, 2008 at 11:59 AM
B.F.D. This is news, but not "big" news.
Posted by: daniel | February 01, 2008 at 12:02 PM
Why do people even mention MLS Rumors anyway? More than half of their "rumors" are completely wrong and the rest are legit stories stolen from other sources.
Posted by: Jerry | February 01, 2008 at 12:05 PM
I'll tell you why Jerry, because they do a good job condensing and bringing all the rumors under one roof. Are they all true? No, but that's why it's called a rumors site. Honestly don't you read any of the rumors sites abroad?
Besides, it beats hitting refresh on Goff or Ives all day.
Posted by: Lorenzo | February 01, 2008 at 12:14 PM
Beats hitting refresh? Ives and his ad sponsors beg to differ.
Posted by: Moneyball | February 01, 2008 at 12:19 PM
This Carver guy is no Mourinho, at least statistically speaking. Heck, with that record, I am not sure that Lawrie Sanchez would not have been preferable.
Posted by: Bradley Family Black Sheep | February 01, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Both sites have ad sponsors. In fact, any blogger can place ads on their site.
Time for an Alexa.com traffic battle?
Posted by: SK | February 01, 2008 at 12:24 PM
Since Mo Johnston sucked as a coach, I suppose this is a good move!
Posted by: inkedAG | February 01, 2008 at 12:27 PM
Typical Mo move, he thinks mediocre players from the british isles will be great mls players, so he must think mediocre coaches from the british isles will be great MLS coaches. Mo's track record isnt very good.
Posted by: emilio | February 01, 2008 at 12:31 PM
I tend to disagree with many of the posters here. Maybe not "bigger" than a DP signing, but a change of coach for a team is pretty big news imho.
Posted by: chris | February 01, 2008 at 12:32 PM
mo does not want to lose his job, so he brought in someone else to blame. Mo is great at drafting, and pulling off trades, but he really needs to get on the ball and focus on bringing in some canadians or else we are screwed for depth... again.
Posted by: chief. | February 01, 2008 at 12:45 PM
What did all those trades for the team do nothing? You need to get players from the beggining and have stability, not two or three new players every week, anybody can make trades but do they work, did they help the team win?
Posted by: emilio | February 01, 2008 at 12:47 PM
Lorenzo, many of those "rumors" are pure crap without an ounce of truth to them. that site is a joke. If you love fiction so much why not just buy a Stephen King book?
Posted by: Jerry | February 01, 2008 at 01:02 PM
I actually think this is fairly big news within the league. A new coach could have serious effects on how Toronto plays this season. They've got some talented players on that team (Edu, Dunivant, Wynne, O'Brien, Robinson... Need I go on?).
Posted by: Eric | February 01, 2008 at 01:02 PM
I think this is big news. You are bringing in a European coach that may not have had a great record but can bring something new to MLS. Hopefully between LA and Toronto we get some sound technical play and as fans we get to watch better players because of the training this coaches bring. Maybe I am wrong on that happening but it is better than having the same unsuccesful coaches that have been through the MLS.
Posted by: Eric | February 01, 2008 at 01:13 PM
Considering the TO presser was at 11 am, I'd suggest Ives' highly placed source on this one is the press release, wire or TO Star.
Posted by: jloome | February 01, 2008 at 01:19 PM
This isn't earth shattering news but it was widely agreed that Mo is not a great coach and his practices last season were terribly mismanaged. At worst, bringing in a coach with decent experience will hopefully result in a better prepared team on gameday and less complaints about poor decision making by Mo.
Now...where are our players that we were promised.... a #10, someone to play the left side of midfield and a forward to pair with Dichio
Posted by: VPjr | February 01, 2008 at 01:21 PM
Pretty happy with this, Mo obviously has an eye for talent (lets hope we sign Lapira next!) but his tactics left alot to be desired. Im hoping this pans out well! Now all we need is some signings in the mid and we are set for the new season...
Posted by: Ossington Mental Youth | February 01, 2008 at 01:26 PM
This is bigger than a DP? Ives, I think you need to have a chat with your source on this.
Posted by: Joamiq | February 01, 2008 at 01:34 PM
Nice try JLoome but no, it was a high-ranking Toronto official who confirmed the story for me, that doesn't mean the word hadn't begun to circulate. In case you didn't know, there wasn't exactly mass coverage of that press conference in the New York/New Jersey area.
Now if there's a press release with my details on Carver you let me know, okay?
And guys, I had my doubts about the news being bigger than a DP but for some, this was a big deal.
And are people really getting on Johnston for his player acquisitions? Which acquisitions were terrible exactly? Toronto had a ton of injuries just as they started to play better at mid-season. The roster is pretty good actually and Johnston helped build it with two good drafts and several good trades.
Posted by: Ives | February 01, 2008 at 02:15 PM
Robinson, Welsh, Reda, etc. all hyped up by Johnson and they were below par. Robinson is not worth his salary. Not to mention Canero while with us.
Posted by: emilio | February 01, 2008 at 02:41 PM
perhaps i missed out but i dont ever remember Welsh or Reda being hyped. As for Robinson, it was said that he was a solid defensive mid which he was even though often he was playing way more defensively then he should have due to the lack of depth in our defense. Youve got a pretty weak case right now Emilio...
Posted by: Ossington Mental Youth | February 01, 2008 at 02:55 PM
please also note alot of those players (Reda and Braz particularly) were picked as we had no choice having to fill the canadian quota.
Posted by: Ossington Mental Youth | February 01, 2008 at 02:56 PM
If you read some of Johnstons comments when he acquired Robinson who at best was a journeyman player throughout his career, what did he do last year at that salary? Welsh,Reda, Braz,Samual,Canero, Taylor Graham, those were his big moves. I think I have a very good case.
Posted by: Emilio | February 01, 2008 at 03:00 PM
Smart Mo.
He would have gotten the boot half way into the 08 season as TFC have made minimal improvements as compared to other MLS teams down here.
TFC will struggle but you fans are what we all want to see on highlights on ESPN...
Everyone wants to come to Toronto to party like a rockstar at the games...
Posted by: hayward von max | February 01, 2008 at 04:04 PM
BA ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba BORING!!!
Posted by: Johnny | February 01, 2008 at 04:10 PM
Any coaching change is big news
Posted by: tony B | February 01, 2008 at 04:42 PM
Heh heh, just taking an inside the biz shot Ives, like any typically bloody cynical reporter. You and Goff both do a helluva job.
Posted by: jloome | February 01, 2008 at 05:40 PM
Who else do you see coming into this club prior to teh start of the season. Certainly Carver was hired with some kind of a plan in mind?
Posted by: Kim | February 01, 2008 at 09:00 PM
to anyone who may know... was mo "forced" to this new role or is this a position that he has wanted all along?
Posted by: dan | February 02, 2008 at 07:34 PM
maybe this is big news, once you adjust for the exchange rate.
Posted by: K. Bowen | February 02, 2008 at 08:24 PM
I fail to see how Johnston was "forced" to sign anyone. He signed the vast majority of his Canadians through one stupid agency. That doesn't sound like a prudent search for talent to me.
Posted by: alex | February 04, 2008 at 12:22 AM