Beyond POV-FS – Cyle Larin Series at Canadian Soccer News and MLSsoccer.com

On the eve of his landslide Rookie of the Year Award recognition, here is a series of features on Cyle Larin that have gone up in various places over the past few months.

The one that began the project was a feature at MLSsoccer.com back in August ahead of Canada's two-legged affair with Belize.

In the process, plenty of additional stories emerged that could not be fit into that original post, which led to three more at Canadian Soccer News.

The first got into the unusual spelling of his first name, the next looked back over Canadian soccer lore for another prospect who so tantalized, and the final looked at what in his game has made his transition to the professional game so smooth.

Originally, the intent was to get this posted much closer to those pieces going up, but with a slight slump in his goal-production – they came just as he was battled a seven-match scoreless run, there was some anxiety that this overexposure was an issue.

Of course, such worry was very silly – supersitution abounds.Thankfully, Larin snapped out of that streak with a hat-trick in New York, simultaneous setting a new mark for rookie goal-scorers, finishing the season with a whopping 17 goals in 27 appearances.

Congratulations to the young Brampton-native; such an excellent way for Canada to kick off the group stage in CONCACAF Qualification.

Here are his first eleven goals:

And the rest: Record-clinching Hat-trick vs. The Red Bulls; a single vs. Montreal; and two more against NYC FC (first – second).

Many thanks to all who made themselves available for interview: Patricia Larin, Bobby Smryniotis, Jason deVos, Jonathan Osorio, and Jason Bent

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Montreal Impact – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

Preview of Sunday' encounter between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact is up over at Waking the Red.

Check it out.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Columbus Crew – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

Preview of today's match between Toronto FC and the Columbus Crew is up over at Waking the Red.

A big battle between two of the frontrunners for both the MVP and the Golden Boot with Sebastian Giovinco and Kei Kamara on the pitch at the same time.

Check it out

For posterity: a link to the preview of Wednesday's match against the New York Red Bulls, forgot to post it prior to the game.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Philadelphia Union – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

Preview of this evening's match between Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union at BMO Field went up over at Waking the Red yesterday.

A single installment of the series looks over the Union's recent form, the last meeting, projects a lineup, and highlights some patterns of play that have evolved over recent weeks.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Chicago Fire – Meeting the Second at Waking the Red

A preview of Toronto FC's upcoming opponent, the Chicago Fire, ahead of Saturday's match at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

Chicago are a bit of an unknown quantity at this point, what with the coaching change and their season all but officially ended. A wounded beast is never an easy foe.

Should be interesting – check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Colorado Rapids at Waking the Red

The preview of Toronto FC's upcoming opponent, the Colorado Rapids, is up over at Waking the Red.

Part One reviews their lineup and form, while Part Two hits the game film for strengths and weaknesses.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York City FC at Waking the Red

Preview of tonight's game between Toronto FC and New York City FC at Yankee Stadium is up over at Waking the Red, continuing the year-long process of updating information on TFC's upcoming opponent.

Given the insanity of the 4-4 draw in the last meeting, this one should be an interesting game. Both teams are desperate, in their own ways, and the number of games remaining is starting to get into the critical stage.

Before long, the little x's and t's will start to appear in the standings.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New England Revolution – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

Preview of the New England Revolution ahead of this afternoon's match between them and Toronto FC at BMO Field is up over at Waking the Red.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin'? Seattle Sounders at Waking the Red

The usual preview materials are up over at Waking the Red ahead of Toronto FC's match in Seattle against the Sounders tonight.

In Know Your Enemy, the details of the opposition are exposed. Part One looks over their lineup and form, while Part Two hits the game film for strengths and weaknesses.

In How You Doin'?, questions are exchanged with Dave Clark of sister SB Nation site, Sounder at Heart. Dave's answers can be found here, while WTR's responses are here.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Montreal Impact – Meeting the Second at Waking the Red

A single instalment of the Know Your Enemy series is up over at Waking the Red, previewing Toronto FC's upcoming opponent, the Montreal Impact, ahead of Saturday's match.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS Know Your Enemy: Orlando City SC – Meeting the Third at Waking the Red

Preview of Toronto's FC upcoming opponent, Orlando City, is up over at Waking the Red, looking over their form since the last encounter, projecting a lineup, and making note of some additional strengths and weaknesses from their last few matches.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York Red Bulls – Meeting the First at Waking the Red

Preview of tonight's match between Toronto FC and the New York Red Bulls is up over at Waking the Red.

Part One looks over the Red Bulls lineup and form, while Part Two hits the game film for strengths and weaknesses.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Sporting KC at Waking the Red

The preview of this afternoon's match at BMO Field between Toronto FC and Sporting KC is up over at Waking the Red.

Part One delves into their lineup and form, while Part Two hits up the game film for some strengths and weaknesses.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Orlando City SC – Meeting the Second at Waking the Red

Preview of Toronto FC's upcoming opponent, Orlando City, is up over at Waking the Red.

Included are a recap of their recent form, a projected lineup, details of the last meeting, and some additional strengths and weaknesses heading into the midweek encounter.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New England Revolution – Meeting the Second at Waking the Red

Preview of Toronto's upcoming opponent, the New England Revolution, went up over at Waking the Red earlier this week, looking over their recent form, projected lineup, and adding some notes to the strengths and weaknesses from the past few weeks.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup Reviews at Waking the Red

Once more for posterity's sake, a collection of the daily recaps that went up over at Waking the Red tracking the 2015 Gold Cup.

Day One – Day Two – Day Three – Day Four – Day Five – Day Six – Day Seven – Day Eight – Day Nine – Day Ten – Day Eleven – Day Twelve – Day Thirteen – Day Fourteen
Aside from the controversial refereeing amid all the FIFA and CONCACAF furore, this tournament will be remembered for the improved performances from the Caribbean sides, as Jamaica reached the final, while Haiti and Trinidad and Tobago both put in excellent displays. It will be interesting to see if they can carry that form into World Cup Qualifying.

CONCACAF is getting better. First, in recent times, it was Panama and Honduras rising to challenge the big boys (Mexico and the USA), then Costa Rica stole the headlines with a fantastic run at the 2014 World Cup, and now it is a resurgence of the islanders that has breathed fresh life into the region – thanks in part to the drafting in of various ex-pats.

Canada struggled offensively, but a solid defense will serve them well in qualifying as they aim for the Hex and beyond.

Particularly worth noting is that for the first time in a long time a game was held outside of the US, with BMO Field in Toronto the base for a pair of matches. That experiment was a success, if not as well attended as one may like. As CONCACAF continues to grow, more matches held outside the comforts of the US will only serve to better establish the legitimacy and quality of the region.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin' Columbus Crew at Waking the Red

The usual preview materials for Toronto FC's Saturday match is up over at Waking the Red.

Know Your Enemy digs into the opponent, Columbus Crew, reviewing their form since the last meeting in March, projecting a lineup, and considering a few of the tactics from their recent matches.

In How You Doin'?, Waking the Red exchanging questions with Pat Murphy of sister SB Nation Site, Massive Report, regarding the match – WTR's responses can be seen here.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy and How You Doin'? Philadelphia Union at Waking the Red

The usual preview materials went up over at Waking the Red earlier this week in preparation for Toronto FC's match on Saturday against the Philadelphia Union; their second encounter of the 2015 season.

A single installment of Know Your Enemy reviews Philadelphia's form since the last meeting at the start of May, projects a starting eleven, and highlights a few threats and avenues of attack to keep an eye out for during the match.

In How You Doin'?, WTR exchanges questions with Eugene Rupinski of SB Nation Union site The Brotherly Game ahead of Saturday.

WTR's responses can be found here.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York City FC – Meeting the Second & How You Doin'? at Waking the Red

The usual preview materials for Toronto's match away to New York City FC on Sunday went up over at Waking the Red earlier this week.

Know Your Enemy digs into the opponent, catching upon on how they have done since the last encounter and highlighting a few concerns and strategies heading into the game.

In How You Doin'?, WTR exchanges questions with SB Nation sister-site, Hudson River Blue, hitting on some of the issues surrounding both clubs at the moment.

Raf Noboa y Rivera was kind enough to spend some time giving TFC fans some insights into NYC and the minds of their fans – he can be followed on twitter @hudsonriverblue or @noboa.

Waking the Red's responses to HRB's questions can be found here

Should be an interesting match, Frank Lampard is not available, nor is Andrea Pirlo, but given the bad-blood that was sparked in the first meeting, this one should be interesting, setting up a September encounter that will be even more must-see.

Beyond POV-FS – 2015 Women's World Cup Coverage at Waking the Red

For posterity's sake, a compilation of the Canada 2015 daily recaps that were posted over at Waking the Red.

Day One – Day Two – Day Three – Day Four – Day Five – Day Six – Day Seven – Day Eight – Day Nine – Day Ten – Day Eleven – Day Twelve – Day Thirteen – Day Fourteen – Day Fifteen – Day Sixteen – Day Seventeen – Day Eighteen – Day Nineteen – Day Twenty

It was a lot of fun following what was a very entertaining tournament and it was quite heartening to see so many fans take in the action – could have used a slightly more competitive final, but one cannot have everything.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: LA Galaxy at Waking the Red

The usual preview material went up over at Waking the Red over the past few days – no How You Doin'? this week, however.

Know Your Enemy looks up and down the LA Galaxy. In Part One their lineup and form are examined, while in Part Two strengths and weaknesses are exposed with the use of game film.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Montreal Impact – Meeting the First at Waking the Red

Preview for tonight's all-Canadian encounter between Toronto FC and the Montreal Impact is up over at Waking the Red.

Part One looks over their lineup and form, while Part Two hits the game film for strengths and weaknesses – check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: New York City FC – Meeting the First at Waking the Red

The preview materials for Toronto FC's match on Saturday at BMO Field against expansion side New York City FC are up over at Waking the Red.

Know Your Enemy comes in two parts: Part One assesses their lineup and form, while Part Two hits the game film for strengths and weaknesses.

How You Doin' is behind schedule, but my responses to Hudson River Blue's questions can be found here.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin'? DC United at Waking the Red

The preview materials for Toronto FC's match at DC United this evening are up over at Waking the Red.

Know Your Enemy assesses the opposition: Part One looks over their lineup and form, while Part Two reviews the game film for strengths and weaknesses.

In How You Doin'?, WTR exchanges some questions with Ben Bromley of SB Nation's DC United site, Black and Red United – WTR's responses to their questions can be found here.

Beyond POV-FS – Canadian Content MLS Round 13 at Canadian Soccer News

The weekly review of the Canadian performances in MLS went up over at Canadian Soccer News earlier this week.

Round Thirteen proved to be a lucky one, as Will Johnson made his return to the Timbers, taking the top spot – Kofi Opare and Jonathan Osorio rounded out the top three.

Two further Canadians made their season debuts as well, Anthony Jackson-Hamel in Montreal and Jay Chapman in Toronto.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: San Jose Earthquakes at Waking the Red

Previews for Toronto FC's upcoming match on Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes at BMO Field are up over at Waking the Red.

Part One assesses their lineup and form, while Part Two reviews the game film for strengths and weaknesses.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Canadian Content MLS Round 12 at Canadian Soccer News

The weekly review of the Canadian performances in MLS went up a tad late this week over at Canadian Soccer News.

The top three spots go to Kofi Opare, Jonathan Osorio, and Karl Ouimette.

Check it out – and CSN is looking for support, check that out too.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin' – Portland Timbers at Waking the Red

The usual preview materials went up yesterday at Waking the Red.

In Know Your Enemy, the Portland Timbers are examined in detail. Part One assesses their lineup and form heading into Saturday's match, while Part Two hits the game film searching for strengths and weaknesses.

In How You Doin', WTR reaches out to sister SB Nation Portland Timbers site, Stumptown Footy, writer Will Conwell to dig into a few of their issues – WTR's responses can be found here.

Beyond POV-FS – Canadian Content MLS Round 11 at Canadian Soccer News

The weekly round up of the weekend that was for the Canadians in MLS went up over at Canadian Soccer News yesterday.

The top three spots this round go to Cyle Larin, Kofi Opare, and Jonathan Osorio.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin'? - New England Revolution – Meeting the First at Waking the Red

The preview materials for Toronto FC's match at Gillette Stadium against the New England Revolution on Saturday is up over at Waking the Red.

Know Your Enemy examines the opponent; Part One looks over their lineup and form, while Part Two reviews the game film for strengths and weakness.

In How You Doin'?, WTR exchanges questions with Steve Stoehr of Sister SB Nation site, The Bent Musket. Their responses can be found here; WTR's replies are here.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Canadian Content MLS Round 10 at Canadian Soccer News

The weekly review of the Canadian performances from the previous week in MLS went up earlier this week at Canadian Soccer News.

The top three spots went to Cyle Larin, Kofi Opare, and Tesho Akindele.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin' – Houston Dynamo at Waking the Red

All the preview materials for Toronto FC's match on Sunday against the Houston Dynamo is up over at Waking the Red.

Know Your Enemy digs into the opponent in two parts: Part One assess their lineup and form; while Part Two reviews the game film for strengths and weaknesses.

In How You Doin' WTR exchanges questions with Derek Stowers of Dynamo Theory – his responses to our questions can be found here, while WTR replies are here.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Canadian Content MLS Round 07 & 08 at Canadian Soccer News

After a brief hiatus, the weekly review of the Canadian performances in MLS went up over at Canadian Soccer News yesterday.

The top three spots for these two rounds go to Kofi Opare, Sam Adekugbe, and Karl Ouimette.

Check out how they, and everyone else, did.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin' – Philadelphia Union at Waking the Red

The preview materials for Saturday's match between Toronto FC and the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park are up over at Waking the Red.

Know Your Enemy previews the Union. Part One discusses their lineup and form, while Part Two reviews the game film for strengths and weaknesses.

In How You Doin', questions are exchanged with Eugene Rupinski of fellow SB Nation site The Brotherly Game, who cover the Union. Eugene's responses can be found here, while WTR's are here.


Enjoy the match.

POV-FS Out Loud! - The Vocal Minority Podcast, Episode 84 #StokeHappens

Hamstring all healed, the good folks over at VM were kind enough to have me back on to chat a little TFC, Philadelphia Union, and Voyageurs Cup, as well as all the usual frivolities that come with the podcast.

Check it out – direct download, iTunes

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin'? Orlando City – Meeting the First at Waking the Red

The preview materials for Toronto FC's match in Orlando on Sunday is up over at Waking the Red.

Know Your Enemy previews the opponent – Part One looks over their lineup and form, while Part Two hits the game film for reviews of their strengths and weaknesses.

In How You Doin'? Waking the Red exchanges questions with SB Nation sister site, The Mane Land, digging a little further into the opposition. The Mane Land's responses can be found here, while Waking the Red's replies are here.

Check them out

Beyond POV-FS – Canadian Content MLS Round 07 at Canadian Soccer News

The weekly review of the Canadian performances from the latest round of MLS play is up over at Canadian Soccer News.

The top three spots this week go to a pair of Whitecaps – Russell Teibert and Sam Adekugbe sit in the first and third places, respectively – bookending Sporting KC's Marcel de Jong.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin': FC Dallas at Waking the Red

A trio of preview materials are up over at Waking the Red in expectation of TFC's match on Saturday night in Dallas.

Know Your Enemy, as it is the first and only meeting between the two clubs, comes in two parts: Part One looks over the lineup and form of Oscar Pareja's side, while Part Two digs a little deeper, reviewing the game film to highlight some strengths and weaknesses – may have gone a little overboard on the clips this week.

In How You Doin', Waking the Red exchanges questions with Brian Wachholz of SB Nation's FC Dallas site, Big D Soccer. His answers can be found here, while WTR's answers, including some musing on the curse of TFC, can be found here.

Check them out.

Beyond POV-FS – Canadian Content MLS Round 06 at Canadian Soccer News

The weekly review of the Canadian performances from the latest round of MLS is up over at Canadian Soccer News.

The top three spots went to Cyle Larin, Russell Teibert, and Patrice Bernier, while seven other Canadians saw the pitch for their respective sides.

Check it out

POV-FS Out Loud! The Vocal Minority Podcast - Episode 81 #RedMoustaches

The good folks over at VMP were kind enough to (finally) grant me my season debut on the show – it's award-winning now, if you haven't heard.

As for a brief rundown of the topics, if memory serves we discussed the loss in Chicago, the announcement of the first summer friendly, Duncan and I debated the bending of the space-time continuum, as per a specific refereeing decision in Colorado (not sure if that made it past the editing room floor to be honest), as well as all the usual pageantry of Bitchy Blanks, Would You Rather, and so on.

Plus I got to steal a CAW or two in the process. Random sidenote: CAW also stands for Canadian Auto Workers and I saw one of their economists, the one from the TV, on the subway prior to recording, which I suppose is something.

It's great fun chatting with some friends, so I hope you enjoy.

The episode page can be found here. Or it can be downloaded directly from this link Or there's a thing called Soundcloud which is apparently pretty cool. And of course, if you don't want to have to remember to download every week, iTunes works – and if you're not into that, I'm sure you have some other way of getting that taken care of (do people still use RSS?).

Now to ice that hamstring.

Beyond POV-FS – Canadian Content MLS Round 05 at Canadian Soccer News

The weekly round up of the Canadian performances from the recent MLS fixtures went up over at Canadian Soccer News earlier this week. The top three spots went to Russell Teibert, Tesho Akindele, and Ashtone Morgan.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy and How You Doin'? Chicago Fire at Waking the Red

The preview material for Toronto FC's upcoming match on Saturday against the Chicago Fire went up over at Waking the Red over the past few days.

Know Your Enemy provides a detailed look at the Fire. Part One examines their lineup and form, while Part Two hits the video tapes, reviewing game film for strengths and weaknesses.

In How You Doin', Waking the Red exchanges questions with sister SB Nation Chicago Fire site, Hot Time in Old Town, where Sean Spence provides answers to some queries and helps kick off the match with a touch of banter.

In turn, Waking the Red responded to some questions about TFC prior to the match in a Fire Side Chat – the one about the Death-Clock in particular was striking.

Check them out – and enjoy the match!

Beyond POV-FS – Canadian Content MLS Round 04 at Canadian Soccer News

The usual weekly round-up for the fourth round of MLS play went up over at Canadian Soccer News on Tuesday, as nine Canadians saw action over the weekend.

The top three places go to Kofi Opare, Wandrille Lefevre, and Ashtone Morgan.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy and How You Doin' – Real Salt Lake at Waking the Red

The usual Toronto FC preview posts are up over at Waking the Red for Sunday's match against Real Salt Lake.

Know Your Enemy combs through Salt Lake's lineup and form in Part One, while Part Two digs a little deeper, reviewing the game film for strengths and weaknesses in preparation for Sunday's meeting in Salt Lake.

In How You Doin'?, Waking the Red exchanges some questions with SB Nation sister site, RSL Soapbox, to peek behind the curtain and see how Salt Lake thinks and what may be coming through the pipeline in terms of future talent.

Check them out.

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Canadian Content, Rounds 02 and 03 at Canadian Soccer News

Having forgotten to post a link here last week, reviews for the last two weeks have been up over at Canadian Soccer News, recapping the performances of the Canadians who took to the pitch in MLS each round.

Round two saw Sam Adekugbe, Tesho Akindele, and Steven Vitoria take the top three spots.

While round three featured Akindele again, Marcel De Jong, and Maxim Tissot in the medal positions.

Check them out.

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy & How You Doin': Columbus Crew SC – Meeting the First at Waking the Red

Previews of TFC's upcoming opponent, the Columbus Crew SC, are up over at Waking the Red.

The two parts of Know Your Enemy assess their lineup and form (Part One), before reviewing the available game film for strengths and weaknesses, while highlighting some points of interest (Part Two).

In addition, Waking the Red exchanged some questions and answers with sister-site Massive Report, SB Nation's Columbus affiliate – Crew SC responses can be seen here, while TFC answers are here.

Enjoy the match!

Beyond POV-FS – MLS Canadian Content, Round 01 at Canadian Soccer News

The first review of the Canadian performances in MLS this season went up over at Canadian Soccer News yesterday.

Pickings were rather slim, with only four candidates seeing the pitch throughout, while two of those players – Tesho Akindele and Steven Vitoria – have only the most tenuous of links to the National Team.

Top spot goes to Russell Teibert, who was lively in his hour-plus on the pitch; second spot to one of his opponents that match, Toronto's Jonathan Osorio.

Check it out

Beyond POV-FS – Know Your Enemy: Vancouver Whitecaps & How You Doin' at Waking the Red

A cornucopia of preview articles are up over at Waking the Red, previewing Toronto's start to the 2015 MLS season, which begins with a daunting trip to Vancouver on Saturday.

The two parts of Know Your Enemy should be familiar to most by now – this will be the third (maybe fourth – no time to check) season of those previews. Part One looks over Vancouver's lineup and form, while Part Two hits the tape room to review some of the scant game film available from preseason for strengths and weaknesses.

Added to those two, Waking the Red exchanged some questions with Eighty Six Forever, SB Nation's Vancouver site, to dig a little deeper before the evening kickoff. Jon Szekeres was kind enough to provide some answers on the 'Caps, while TFC responses can be found here.

After an off-season that passed as if in the blink of an eye, MLS is back for its twentieth season. Two new expansion clubs, a raft of new stars, and plenty of intrigue. Should be fun.