In the matter of Toronto FC captain Jim Brennan vs. Canadian national soccer team head coach Dale Mitchell, not all the facts are in evidence.
We know that Brennan didn't pick up a lot of playing time in the first three World Cup qualifying matches, and was not called for this weekend's trip to Honduras. We also know he has loudly and publicly said he will never play for this particular Canada coaching staff again.
But when he did, he didn't name Mitchell specifically – not in any initial release I read, anyway. He did, however, praise assistant coaches Stephen Hart and Nick Dasovic by name, so I suppose we're all free to draw our own conclusions.
Mitchell, for his part, said yesterday he will not pick Brennan again, criticizing the player for turning down three Canada call-ups in recent times.
Hanging over all of this, of course, is the long dark shadow of the Canadian Soccer Association, and the ongoing howls from us unwashed, unworthy outsiders that Mitchell should not have been given the director's chair after that sad and soggy goalless outing his Under-20s put in at last summer's FIFA youth World Cup.
In fairness, I wish to raise two points.
- Brennan, though only 31, may indeed be at the end of his effectiveness as an international player.
- Mitchell, who played for Canada in the World Cup in 1986, clearly loves the team, and it's not really his fault he was named to coach and manage it.
Okay. Brennan. He's been asked, in many a media scrum, what he thinks of the CSA and national set-up. He's always good for a deep breath, a quick look-around to see who's watching, and terse, tightly bitten answers that don't name names. He also likes to be off the record. The fact that he didn't name Mitchell directly in his initial blast is very much in character.
Mitchell, on the other hand, has seemed almost disturbingly unemotional as Canada's campaign has collapsed on the launch pad. You see emotion when he's on the field running practice, but scrumming the man is like sticking a microphone in front of a Vulcan on Prozac.
I'm going to give both men the benefit of the doubt here. They are clearly under pressure from above. The elephant in the room is obviously the CSA, and a form of self-defensive shadowy bureaucracy I now refer to as “It”.
“It” is how Mitchell got his job – and also the reason so many fans, players and journalists loathe the CSA.
Brennan – passionate, competitive, loves to play for his country. Had a huge smile on his face during most of the practice I watched prior to the Jamaica game. He gets a lot of sympathy in Toronto, especially, where he's captain of the local club, and one of the very few players who've been consistently effective during this summer's train wreck of a TFC campaign.
He desperately wants Canada to qualify for South Africa, and to be part of it. By drawing this line now, he's giving all that up, refusing to surrender quietly to “It”.
Mitchell – doing his best, and quite likely aware he's out of his depth. I don't think he dropped Brennan because of “It”. I think he believes his left side is performing better than Brennan is – and he's been under volcanic pressure from Toronto FC to please let them have some of their players for the Dallas game on Saturday. Also, he knows Brennan doesn't much rate him as a manager. “It” is likely innocent here, except for the glaring fact that Mitchell is “Its” man.
So, as a Canada fan who likes Brennan, isn't sold on Mitchell, and wants to see “It” driven into the Beaufort Sea, here's what I think needs to happen.
Canada goes and plays in Honduras this weekend, and then hosts Mexico in Edmonton next week. Get those games in the book. If – as we all fear – Canada is soundly eliminated from all hope of qualifying by close-of-business Wednesday … well, I think Jim Brennan has a job to do.
Brennan should call a press conference for late next week, and lay it all out. Names, dates, places, examples – an expert, inside study of “It,” and “Its” role in Canada's wrenching failure to qualify for the 2010 World Cup.
The time for vague answers has long-since passed. Mitchell, I feel, is a man caught in the middle. The real blame – the real mess – lies higher up the “It” chain.
The CSA has stayed pretty quiet this year, keeping its collective head down and hoping we all buy their promise that “It” can reform “Itself” from within.
Brennan obviously doesn't think so – and he's just effectively torpedoed his last slim chance of ever appearing on soccer's biggest stage. He may not get along with Mitchell, but Mitchell isn't the real, chronic, ongoing, sap-draining, hope-shredding root of the problem.
Jim Brennan should now go the rest of the way – on behalf of us all.
Onward!
