State of the union: Latest loss should be a wakeup call for TFC

Goalkeeper Luka Gavran offered some sage insight following Toronto FC’s 3-0 loss away to New York City FC last weekend, a result that confirmed the Reds would miss the playoffs for a third straight season.

“I really feel that our performances are just, I want to say, not blinded, but we don't see the good things that we do because of the poor things we do more often,” Gavran told reporters after the game.

Gavran’s pithy analysis was refreshingly honest for a guy who had just made his MLS debut after toiling with TFC 2 for the better part of two seasons. Most newcomers in his position would have played it safe by offering up cliches or empty platitudes. But Gavran, a 23-year-old native of Hamilton, Ont., bravely laid the brutal and hard truth bare.

It’s the kind of unvarnished assessment that TFC could use much more of the moment if they have any hope of lifting themselves out of the depressing doldrums in which they are hopelessly mired. Maybe interim coach Terry Dunfield is having frank discussions with the players behind the scenes. But in public, he continues to look for positives when there simply aren’t any.