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Until you truly get over the past you will never be truly able to move on. With snow on the ground and Major League Soccer at the start of its offseason, a media gathering at Toronto FC in the past has meant the beginning of a new direction. This time, though, there was no new head coach, no new general manager...not even a new president. Tim Bezbatchenko and Greg Vanney, amongst others, addressed a media gathering of over dozen people on Thursday morning and, for as long as it takes for a football match to play out, the four-man team talked us through a PowerPoint presentation focusing on the identity of the club from the bottom up. The decision to talk the media through what they have done to their bosses was an interesting one. A lot of the topics they addressed were admirable and they are a group of people that seem likeable - a group you want to root for - yet there was an element of the entire process that felt like a married couple going to get counseling from someone who had just got divorced. When you hold a vision meeting with a commitment to excellence after continuing to never find excellence on the field, it isn’t easy to take them seriously. In house, it is clear that such a vision is a way for Vanney and Bezbatchenko to show their bosses that they are the right men to lead this team going forward. Publicly, however, they know the sport is a results-based business and how Toronto FC perform during next season will dictate whether fans want them to stay. Many of the media members in the audience on Thursday have covered the team from the start. They have sat through much of the club’s hires who have talked and talked and talked again about how they were going to achieve success. Once the games started, they failed on the field. Time and time again. On a screen, this one looked different and, with success in the future, it warrants more attention, but football matches are not won in a boardroom and this a team that just needs to win. The media sat patiently throughout the 90 minutes, but the moment the meeting went into added time, it was opened to questions and the only topic anyone wanted to talk about was Jermain Defoe. The stance remained the same. “If someone comes in and there is an offer then we will consider it,” said the general manager in almost the exact same spot as he had said the same thing during the press conference announcing Vanney on August 31. Bezbatchenko continued: “Then you ask yourself, Are you prepared to move on without that player at that time? and I think right now we are in a position to answer that.” The American ducked and dived the questions about the English striker and it is clear that must not have been easy. After all, we must remember that no matter what Defoe wants, it is within the club’s best interests to keep that private. Bezbatchenko said right now they are planning on having him on the team, but that’s not surprising considering that the player is currently under contract for a club that is looking ahead to 2015. Deep down, privately, only a few people will know what the intentions of Bezbatchenko truly are, but it is likely that the club have completed a full 180 in terms of their thinking about Defoe. In December 2013, a bloody big deal was put in the works, but by December 2014, the bloody big deal for the club would be to remove a player being paid a fortune off their hands as soon as possible. That has to be the top priority at any kind of vision meeting they organize. Defoe, if happy, would be great for this team, but he is no longer the guy who took the bait when wooed last winter. A year on, he has seen MLS, shown he couldn’t play with Gilberto, suffered injuries and no longer has a World Cup place to fight for. Now, he is simply an asset that, once removed, gives the team the flexibility it needs to offer a playmaker, not a striker, a massive amount of money to help create goal-scoring opportunities, something they massively needed more of last season. Some members of the media wanted to know why Defoe hasn’t publicly stated his wishes. Toronto FC should be thankful he hasn’t. “The player has never indicated that he doesn’t want to be here, confirmed Bezbatchenko. There is a community around him that has indicated in various ways that they can be here or elsewhere, but, from him, no.” As long as that stays the same, the club has a chance to protect its own interests and a significant asset. This saga has, of course, been drawn out by the transfer window, which has prevented this from already reaching a climax. It has also helped protect the club and the player from a public affair, but that time is running out and already newspapers are full of transfer stories even before the month begins. Reports in England this week said that QPR manager Harry Redknapp had travelled to Malaysia to convince club owner Tony Fernandes to give him the funds necessary to get Defoe and a reunion with his former boss at Tottenham and Portsmouth looks like the odds-on favourite. Few other options exist. Defoe is on a massive wage that very few teams in England will come close to matching at this time of his career. January will be a pivotal month. Only once this soap opera ends can any kind of vision for success in 2015 be taken seriously. China Jerseys Wholesale .com) - The 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes continue a four-game homestand at Value City Arena on Wednesday night when they face off against the High Point Panthers in a non-conference matchup. Cheap Jerseys From China .ca. Hi Kerry, Love reading your column and loved watching your analysis on the TSN broadcasts!And were now in Round 2! Bruins! Canadiens! We know all about the great games of the past from the players, the broadcasters and the writers. https://www.chinajerseyscheap.us/ . An unconventional night for Texas-El Paso nearly led to the Miners getting a huge upset. Down by 14 with 2:21 left, the Miners went on a frantic closing spurt that fell just short, and UTEP was beaten by No. China Jerseys Cheap . Fourteen players were suspended last summer by Major League Baseball as part of the Biogenesis drug scandal, ranging from All-Stars to also-rans. Fake China Jerseys .J. Mayo made seven three-pointers and scored 25 points, Ersan Ilyasova added 20, and the Milwaukee Bucks placed seven players in double figures in a 130-110 rout of the Philadelphia 76ers, who lost their 11th straight game on Monday night.MANCHESTER, England - Theres a very different feel to Christmas Day at Liverpool this season.Twelve months ago, Liverpool was top of the Premier League — always a significant milestone in the English game — and playing the most exciting brand of football in the country. With striker Luis Suarez pouring in goals and Brendan Rodgers being hailed for his managerial qualities, the club was gearing up for its first genuine title challenge for years.There is little to celebrate this Christmas. The Reds are in their lowest league position — 10th place — on Dec. 25 since the inaugural Premier League in 1992, out of the Champions League, have misgivings over their main striker Mario Balotelli, have just dropped their first-choice goalkeeper and have been unable to shore up their wobbly defence.Title? No chance. Top four and a return to the Champions League? Maybe.Rodgers is facing the biggest test of his 2 1/2-year reign but there have been signs over the past week that Liverpool is on its way back.And its all to do with a tinkering of the teams formation and playing style, in an attempt to reproduce the attacking fluency of last season. Rodgers has changed to a 3-4-3 formation, with a quick and energetic forward line lifting the intensity of the team.Liverpool got the performance but not the result in a 3-0 loss at Manchester United on Dec. 14, but a 3-1 win at Bournemouth in the League quarterfinals and an encouraging display in Sundays 2-2 draw against Arsenal has given Rodgers and his players some belief.We havent just stumbled across this system, Rodgers said. A lot of thinking time and hours have gone in on how we can maximize it. In the last three games its been much closer, we have to work very hard, players are adapting to the club and performances will get better and better..ddddddddddddts about rediscovering tempo and intensity and weve seen that.That doesnt spell good news for Balotelli.The Italy strikers languid style does not fit into Rodgers preferred high-tempo game and the front three for Liverpools last three games has been Raheem Sterling, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana — quick and lively attacking midfielders who never give defenders a moments rest.That hardly describes Balotelli, who has been criticized for his work rate and has yet to score a league goal since joining from AC Milan in August.Working with Mario, Rodgers said, we see someone who is better in and around the box so that level of intensity and pressing isnt part of his game. You try to get the best out of the players you have and the quality you have.With the transfer window opening in January, there is speculation that Balotellis days at Anfield are numbered. The future of dropped keeper Simon Mignolet is also uncertain.The Belgium international is in the midst of an indefinite period on the sidelines after paying the price for some nervy displays this season. Brad Jones has replaced him and although the Australian has conceded six goals in his three games, Mignolet will remain in the cold.I havent lost any belief in him — hes still an outstanding goalkeeper, Rodgers said of Mignolet. Im sure when the time comes for him to come back in, hell be a better goalkeeper for it.Ill make my mind up on that at the right time.Liverpool plays Burnley away on Friday before home games against Swansea and Leicester. It is a favourable schedule as the team looks to close the nine-point gap to fourth-place West Ham.There has been a lot of criticism of us, Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel said, and I hope it will change and be better in the second half of the season. ' ' '