TFC Republic Weekly: September 21-27
Things don't get any easier for Toronto FC this week as it faces Supporters' Shield leaders Nashville SC on the road.
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 chopped down to size in St. Louis
Toronto FC is the latest MLS club to become just another notch in St. Louis City SC’s belt.
TFC were far off the pace of St. Louis on Saturday, thoroughly outclassed in a humbling 3-1 loss to the hottest club in MLS at Energizer Park.
With the three teams directly above them dropping points, the Reds squandered a glorious chance to bolster their post-season hopes with their second consecutive loss as a win or draw would’ve put them within touching distance of the playoff line in the Eastern Conference. Instead, TFC (6-9-11) remain 12th, four points and three spots below FC Cincinnati who hold down the ninth and final playoff berth with eight games remaining in the season.
Talk about two teams going in opposite directions. While Toronto has hit a rough patch over the last two weeks, St. Louis is untouchable, now unbeaten in 16 straight MLS games (18 in all competitions) and hasn’t lost since May 3.
TFC never matched St. Louis’ energy from the opening kickoff, looked bereft of attacking ideas as they tried in vain to string something together, and made things worse on themselves with some sloppy defensive mistakes. St. Louis goalkeeper Roman Bürki only faced two shots on target from the visitors, the first of which came from substitute Lewis Morgan in the 87th minute.
John Molinaro
Reds switch player models; Niklas Dorsch a DP
Major League Soccer last week released its official club roster profiles for all 30 teams in the league.
The roster profiles might seem like dry reading – you can access all of them by CLICKING HERE – but they actually provide some interesting details about each club’s roster. In the case of Toronto FC, there are a number of major takeaways from its updated roster profile.
For starters, the club has $1,023,282 US in general allocation money remaining from this season. Seventeen clubs have more GAM remaining than Toronto, including the Philadelphia Union who have the largest sum ($4,665,679). Of the 11 teams with less GAM remaining than Toronto, the New York Red Bulls have the lowest amount ($0).
Most unused or leftover GAM at the end of a season rolls over to the following year, so TFC won’t lose out on not using that $1,023,282 to reinforce its roster over the summer transfer window. They can still use it in 2027.
The other big revelation from the newly published roster profile is that German midfielder Niklas Dorsch is a designated player (converted from a TAM player), which means TFC switched from the 2 DPs/4 U22s to the 3 DPs/3 U22s roster model. GM Jason Hernandez hinted last month at the possibility of converting Dorsch into a DP for the rest of the season.
The new roster profiles also revealed that 16 players on Toronto’s current roster will either be at the end of their loans, out of contact, or entering an option year on their deals at the end of this season:
- End of loan – Emilio Aristizábal, Benjamin Kuscevic
- Out of contract – Jonathan Osorio, Kobe Franklin, Jules-Anthony Vilsaint
- Option years – Nelson Palacio, Richie Laryea, Raheem Edwards, Derrick Etienne Jr, Nicksoen Gomis, Markus Cimermancic, Adisa De Rosario, Jackson Gilman, Malik Henry, Zane Monlouis, Lewis Morgan
John Molinaro
TFC, long time team chief medical officer part company
An important shakeup has occurred behind the scenes at Toronto FC.
TFC Republic has learned that the MLS club and chief medical officer Dr. Ira Smith have ended their lengthy working relationship. A source confirmed that this wasn't a case of Smith being fired; rather the two sides mutually agreed to part company.
Smith was the longtime team physician for TFC dating back to its early days in Major League Soccer. He was with the team as far back as 2009 – online records are inconclusive as to whether he was with the team from its inaugural MLS season in 2007. Regardless of Smith's start date, this represents a major change at Toronto FC.
The timing is also interesting as it comes on the heels of the club hiring Adam Brett as its director of player health and high performance earlier this summer. It'll be interesting to see if the departure of Smith, an important senior member of the medical staff, if this means an expanded role for Brett who is an MLSE employee who works in house at TFC, which allows him to be more hands on with the players on a day-to-day basis. At the same time, MLS rules stipulate that each club must have a chief medical officer, so Smith will have to be replaced at some point.
The dissolution of the TFC-Smith relationship also comes as the club announced on Wednesday that Colombian midfielder Nelson Palacio underwent successful thigh surgery this week and will miss the remainder of the MLS campaign.
John Molinaro
TFC and the MLS roster free date
The 2026 MLS roster freeze date is Oct. 9, at which time clubs must submit their final 30-man rosters for this season.
Team rosters can't be changed from that date through to the day after the MLS Cup final, subject to the league's "extreme hardship" rule.
The MLS secondary transfer window closed on Sept. 2. which means clubs can't make any transfer signings, trade for players with other MLS teams, or arrange any loan deals for incoming players.
However, teams can still loan or sell a player to a non-MLS club, subject to the receiving club's applicable federation transfer window, provided such moves take place before Oct. 9.
MLS teams can also still sign free agent players who are unattached. So, for instance, if there was a player who was out of contract with his European or South American club, he could still sign with an MLS team because there would be no transfer fee involved.
Also, MLS teams can still make trades with each other that don't involve players – draft picks, international roster spots, general allocation money (GAM) and other assets – even though the transfer window has closed.
John Molinaro
TFC vs. Nashville SC on Saturday
Toronto FC plays the finale of its three-game road swing when it visits Nashville SC on Saturday (8:30 p.m. ET/Apple TV).
Nashville (17-3-6) sits atop the Supporters' Shield standings and is coming off a 3-0 home win over the Chicago Fire to become the first club in MLS to officially clinch a playoff berth.
The team from Music City boasts the fourth best attack in the league with 53 goals. Sam Surridge ranks third in MLS in goals with 16 while Hany Mukhtar has 11. Cristian Espinoza is the team's chief playmaker with 12 assists. Nashville has also only conceded 21 goals this season (best defence in MLS).
Nashville leads the all-time regular season series against Toronto with five wins and three draws in 11 matches. Nashville also has a playoff win over the Reds. TFC are 1-3-1 on the road in Nashville – its lone victory at Geodis Park came in 2022.
This week's match is the final meeting of the regular season between Toronto and Nashville. TFC earned a 2-1 win at BMO Field on Sept. 9. Toronto had lost four in a row vs. Nashville and was winless in six before that victory.
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Stories to look out for at TFC Republic
The MLS secondary transfer window has closed, but I wanted to know how GM Jason Hernandez and coach Robin Fraser worked together when it comes to identifying players and targets who they want to bring in. So I asked them. Look for my feature story later this week.
Other stories that will be published this week include:
- A new TFC Talk interview with beat reporter James Grossi.
- A piece on the four stories to watch for this week.
- A feature on former Toronto FC assistant GM Corey Wray.
- A TFC notebook column after Tuesday or Wednesday's training session.
- In-depth pre- and post-game coverage of Toronto's match vs. Nashville SC.
- An audio interview piece with Valair Shabilla of SixOneFive Soccer about Wednesday's road game vs. Nashville.
- The latest Random Thoughts column.
- The latest edition of the reader mailbag.
- The final weekly TFC 2 report of the year.
- Regular "TFC Tidbits" news stories throughout the week.
- 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.
TFC Republic subscribers can get up to a 25% discount on ticket prices for Toronto FC home games during the 2026 MLS regular season and the 2026 Canadian Championship. To receive the special promo code, email me at jmo1897@gmail.com
(Please don't share promo code with non-TFC Republic subscribers).
