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Darren O’Dea No Longer Toronto’s Luongo

  • Al Dannity's Author profile. Al Dannity

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Losing your team captain mid-season is rarely a wise move but for Toronto FC and Darren O’Dea it was the smartest call possible.

As a Soccer player there’s a lot to like about Darren O’Dea. He’s been impressive in spurts for Toronto FC, is at an age where he can still get better, and continues to develop international experience with Ireland. As a contract, O’Dea is as burdensome as Roberto Luongo. With the former Celtic star accounting for $450,000 on the Reds’ salary cap, any move forward in Toronto required O’Dea leaving town.

The move is not happening in isolation. With Toronto FC still far from a factor in Major League Soccer, big changes are necessary to kick start the club. O’Dea’s move follows Luis Silva being traded to D.C. United in exchange for cap relief. Losing O’Dea, to a yet to be named Ukrainian club, frees up an international slot and is the second one gained this month following a trade with Chivas USA. This is a rebuild and an aggressive one at that. If they can somehow get both men fit at the same time, Robert Earnshaw and Danny Koevermans should be all Toronto FC needs up front. Now the move is to provide greater support behind them and the front office is doing all it can to make that a reality.

Should this offer Toronto fans cause for hope? Anyone who follows the Reds knows to be cautious of any positive signs. Fans have been burned too many times before. The nature of the O’Dea move however shows greater understanding of how MLS works. Designated players matter but you can’t have a cast of nobodies around them. Freeing up space on the salary cap will allow Toronto FC to get stronger and deeper. O’Dea’s a heck of a Soccer player by MLS standards but he simply wasn’t worth the money.

Where to from now? Cheaper replacements for Silva and O’Dea have to be the top priorities. If TFC fails to make these savings count, feel free to sharpen your Tweets accordingly. There has to be a net gain from these moves. That means finding a way to turn these moves into at least three starting quality players and, given the albatross of O’Dea’s contract, probably four. There are players out there who can be found. Ryan Nelsen has enough contacts built up from his extensive professional career to know this. Now the coach and the front office need to show what their plan after Darren is.