TFC Republic Weekly: July 28-August 3

Welcome to the latest edition of TFC Republic Weekly, an email newsletter that will land in the inbox of both paid subscribers and free members of TFC Republic every Monday.

This newsletter will look at what's in store over the next seven days for Toronto FC, and also get a glimpse of what to expect at TFC Republic in the coming days.

So, without further ado...

Toronto FC blanked in road loss to Charlotte FC

The dog days of summer continue to mercilessly hound Toronto FC. Saturday’s 2-0 loss to Charlotte FC in the baking heat that enveloped Bank of America Stadium means Toronto has just two wins and collected only eight points from the seven games it's played since the start of the summer.  

TFC (5-13-6) remained in 12th place in the Eastern Conference table following this latest defeat, and with only 10 games remaining in the campaign they appear destined for a fifth consecutive playoff-less season.  

Toronto put in an admirable workman-like effort against a Charlotte side that boasts one of the best home records in MLS. But the Reds couldn’t muster much in the way of dangerous scoring opportunities en route to being shut out for the ninth time this season (seven losses). In what has become a familiar refrain this season, coach Robin Fraser lauded his team's work rate in a losing effort.

"I thought last week against Nashville, we didn't do well enough with the ball. We worked on it throughout the week, and then to come back and see some of the decisions made early which allowed us several deep progressions early on, [I’m] really pleased with that," coach Robin Fraser said.

"Maybe a little bit more precision in the final part of the field, and we turned some of that into some really dangerous things. But I thought there were a lot of really good performances."

Robin Fraser expects roster reinforcements

The MLS secondary transfer window opened last Thursday, giving clubs one last chance to make player trades and transfer signings before the league’s roster freeze date on Sept. 12. And from the sounds of it, Toronto FC plans on making roster additions prior to the closure of the transfer window on Aug. 21. 

Asked by TFC Republic if he envisions new players coming in sometime over the next four weeks, Robin Fraser answered in the affirmative.    

“I do; I definitely do,” Fraser said in a one-on-one interview.   

Fraser didn’t tip his hand as to which type of players TFC are looking at during the transfer window.   

“Who those [players] are is still yet to be completely determined. There are lots of people in consideration right now, but there is no question that Jason is looking and working hard to bring in players to improve the team, improve the competition, things like that. So, it's certainly something that we expect and something that we're looking forward to, Fraser said.   

He added: “There are a lot of names floating out there, and I know that our scouts have been working extremely hard, certainly since the time I've been here to get ready for this. So, we're certainly looking forward to seeing what materializes,” Fraser offered.   

TFC puts trio on season-ending injury list 

Toronto FC announced last Friday that it placed defenders Zane Monlouis, Henry Wingo and Nicksoen Gomis on the season-ending injury list. Also on Friday, TFC acquired $50,000 US in 2026 general allocation money (GAM) as part of a trade with Sporting Kansas City in exchange for a 2025 international roster slot.

Monlouis sustained an abductor and rectus injury on June 25 against the New York Red Bulls. Gomis suffered an Achilles tendon injury on May 3 against the New England Revolution. Wingo's quadriceps injury didn't happen in one specific match. 

Per league rules, players who are put on the season-ending injury list are ineligible to play for their clubs in any competitions for the remainder of the season. So, that means Monlouis, Wingo and Gomis can't play for TFC until 2026. 

At the same time, MLS rules also stipulate clubs can receive roster relief (an open roster slot, an open international roster slot, etc.) when a player goes on the season-ending injury list. This is important in TFC's case as it gives GM Jason Hernandez greater flexibility and more options as he tries to bring in new players during the MLS secondary transfer window, which runs from July 24 to Aug. 21. 

TFC off this week, returns to action on Aug. 9

MLS is set to go on short break thanks to the start of the 2025 Leagues Cup.

With the regular season temporarily on hold, Toronto FC won't be in action again until Aug. 9 when it visits the Philadelphia Union.

Asked what the road ahead looks like for TFC during the break, Robin Fraser cited a need to "continue to push" in the aftermath of Saturday's defeat in Charlotte.

"I felt like we saw a huge improvement in our choices with the ball this week and our positioning and being able to get into deep progressions. You have to have deep progressions to score goals. ... We have to continue to work with the ball to be able to create those opportunities and then continue to work on finishing those opportunities," Fraser said.

He added: "Our defending has been really, really resolute and we have guys working incredibly hard. So, it's continuing to improve on the attacking end and continuing to hammer the defending because at the end of the day, that's always going to be a must."

Note: I will be at Subaru Park in Philadelphia to cover the Aug. 9 game, so be sure to visit TFC Republic that weekend in order to check out our special on-site coverage. 

RELATED READING: Newsletter || Features || Match reports || Opinion || Q&As || Videos || News || Transactions || TFC 2 ||

Stories to look out for at TFC Republic  

A second-round pick of CF Montreal in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, Canadian winger Malik Henry ended up going back to school before signing with TFC 2 in MLS NEXT Pro this past March. In a short period of time, Henry has already made his senior team debut and emerged as one of the MLS club's brightest prospects. I recently chatted one-on-one with Henry about his future and much more. Look for an in-depth feature later this week.   

Other stories that will be published later this week include:                  

• A feature story looking at Toronto's remaining 10 games of the season.
• A story on Hugo Mbongue's future at Toronto FC
• A new TFC Random Thoughts column.      
• A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.          
• Regular "TFC Tidbits" stories throughout the week.           
• The reader mailbag.         
• The weekly TFC 2 report.      
• And much more! 

TFC Republic mailbag

TFC Republic will feature a regular reader mailbag column where I answer questions from subscribers about Toronto FC and Canadian soccer in general.

I'll answer the best questions submitted to me by TFC Republic readers, so feel free to drop me an email at jmo1897@gmail.com. You can also reach out to me via Twitter.

(Top photo by Lucas Kschischang/Toronto FC)

TFC Republic has a comments section! At the very bottom of every story, there is a feature where you can post your comments, so be sure to share your thoughts and views.