Fanshawe FC: Payne KO'd at TFC

Header image for Interrobang article CREDIT: TORONTO STAR
TFC’s former GM Kevin Payne prepares to face the Payne (not pictured: raging fist).

If the firing of Toronto FC general manager Kevin Payne was a boxing match known as ‘The Payne Event,' it was a match experts could see coming since the fighters' career started. Payne was sacked by new President of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (the ownership group behind Toronto FC) Tim Leiweke this past week. Payne lasted less than a year at the helm, leaving TFC hollow after a silent transfer window. Here are some of the things Payne did wrong, and therefore deserves the Payne... pain.

Back in January, Payne hired Ryan Nelsen as TFC's head coach. It all sounded great… except Nelsen had never actually coached before. In fact, he was still playing as a defender for English Premier League side Queens Park Rangers. Payne knew Nelsen from his previous job as President of fellow Major League Soccer side DC United. Nelsen was not there for the draft. He had no say on who was going to be joining his club. That's a major problem and it would only cause a divide within the club (as several journalists who followed the club indicated through their sources). One of the most telling points of the hire was when Payne answered a question from a journalist, asking if he interviewed anyone else for the job. He said no. This arrogance was only the beginning.

Second of all, he handled the fans poorly after making those statements during the AS Roma friendly. I've covered those events in previous articles, but basically Payne shot down supporter concerns over mid-season friendlies. He told fans to “get used to it,” as most of them had refused to go on with the club's antics anymore. He was wrong to alienate the most dedicated fanbase. It would be hard to believe he didn't get a licking from the higher-ups after a comment like that.

Of course, that came at a time when fans still believed players had a chance to sign with the club. That didn't happen. This was Payne's biggest fault. Supporters of Toronto FC have always heard from new coaches that it takes several transfer windows to build a winner (transfer windows coming twice a year, giving teams a chance to exchange players).

Well, Payne came up empty handed this transfer window, after the club desperately needed help all over the pitch. The rumours were plentiful, as the club seemed to have given a fair pursuit for talent, but TFC owners were quick to bring down the hammer.

Did Payne deserve it? Possibly not. But fans can find comfort in an ownership group that seems as quick to dish out punishment as much as they are. Besides, MLSE claimed to have over $20 million ready to spend on players this window. The money stays, ‘the Payne' goes.

Payne is gone and so is another era. TFC fans are ‘used to it,' though, as they have seen more managers than years the club has existed. ‘The Payne Event' left only one battered and bruised, and that's TFC supporters.