It was the biggest match to date of the season and Toronto FC failed to show up. That was the basic premise in a 2-0 loss Saturday afternoon to the Philadelphia Union, capping off a thoroughly disappointing week. Three losses in three games against Eastern Conference rivals, a coaching change, more injuries and fresh questions about Toronto FCs playoff credentials remain in the aftermath. Adversity has come to the team and the bell has not been answered. The performances, subpar, out-scored 6-0 against teams ripe in the playoff hunt. Back-to-back losses against the Union particularly hurt, with Philadelphia leapfrogging Toronto in the standings. Four points out of six seemed a reasonable goal in the home-and-home with the Union. No points to show for constitute a failure. There is no sugarcoating it: the performance was poor and the boos ringing out at BMO Field were deserved. But before we go any further, please make note: All is not lost. Toronto FC is very much alive. The headlines and narrative surrounding the team has been decidedly negative, but completely overblown, considering Toronto FC were in position to control their own playoff destiny eight days ago, sitting in a playoff spot with at least a game in hand on all teams in and around them in the standings. An initial burst of energy or inspiration after a coaching change may not have played out. The depth on this team (or lack thereof) has not been fit to deal with a number of key injuries. And players playing through injury have not had a decided positive impact. Defensive errors and resorting to the long ball in attack featured in the lackluster performance. Confidence and communication are clearly lacking, leading to sloppy goals conceded. While the negative seems overwhelming, it must be said the team remains in a playoff spot, depending on the results of Columbus and New York this weekend. Regardless, Toronto FC is still right in the mix in a weak Eastern Conference. The MLS roster freeze comes September 15th and Im told the market is quiet, although as teams in the Western Conference fall to the wayside, perhaps there is possibility to add. General manager Tim Bezbatchenko is aware of the expectations and will certainly look to add to the team, particularly at the back. There is now a week before Toronto FC is next in action: a chance to breathe, refocus, and heal. Seven days to get things back on track. Here are my five thoughts on Toronto FC latest setback: 1) Missing Stevo – To say Toronto FC misses captain Steven Caldwell is an absolute understatement. Caldwell is the leader, key communicator, and glue across the backline. Without the Scotsman, Toronto FC is a vulnerable bunch lacking direction and positional discipline. Goals by Conor Casey and Andrew Wenger came from failure to clear and poor marking in and around the six-yard box. Such error is not expected as this juncture of the season. Countless times over the last two games, the back four has become stretched and the players have been forced to deal with being out-numbered. Without timely saves by goalkeeper Joe Bendik, the results could have been worse. There is talent in the unit, but the current composition, sans Caldwell, is just not right. Nick Hagglund and Doneil Henry each show promise, but are both 21 with brighter days ahead. Each are easily drawn out of position and left vulnerable by their own doing. Mark Bloom appeared in just six MLS matches before this season and hardly looks the player he was before injury. And Bradley Orr is playing through a toe injury: not an ideal situation for the lone veteran across the back. Each has positive moments, but are failing to gel as a collective. Defensive composure is essential through growing pains. That has to be fixed. Caldwell understood how much he was missed and came back from injury too soon. Patience is required to heal. In the meantime, the team struggles without Captain Caldwell. 2) Broken Wings – The one noticeable change from former head coach Ryan Nelsen to Greg Vanney is the wingbacks getting up the field into the attack. The thought behind the tactic is worthwhile, but fails to come off without Justin Morrow manning the left side. Toronto FCs current wingbacks havent provided the needed service and/or pace down the flanks to truly threaten. And in turn, getting too far up the field has left Toronto FC exposed on the counter. Philadelphia had a field day the last two matches exposing Toronto pushing forward. The problem isnt simply with the cover by the defenders. The central midfield has been slow to react. Collen Warner in particular failed to get back to cover, filling the space in rotation to make a back four. The recovery runs havent been made with purpose across the midfield. Warner was substituted in the 44th minute; a message sent by Vanney. If the wingbacks are going to continue to attack, communication, rotation, and defensive commitment from the midfield has to be better. 3) Central Midfield Dilemma – Vanney should consider switching up the central combination for next week in Chicago. Both Warner and Michael Bradley are good players, but play too similar a role in the middle, both regularly falling deep to build from the back. When they turn on the ball, there are few options available, with the preferable option consistently being to play the ball to either wingback. The wingbacks, in turn, play the long back, giving away possession. I blame a lack of options available through the middle of the park and too much congestion elsewhere. There is no texture to the central midfield and the build up wanes because of it. If Bradley is going to hold, a more attack-minded midfield partner may remedy what ails the position. When fit Jonathan Osorio is the option, that makes most sense. Osorio has struggled in his sophomore campaign playing most often out on the left. A move into the middle seems to be the better fit. Kyle Bekker wasnt up for it in the second half, so options in the role are limited. Or perhaps Vanney elects to move to a 4-3-3, which seems more suited to the personnel available. Vanney expressed his desire to have flexibility in terms of the tactics. Its a big ask of the players to make such a formational change this late in the season but this may be necessary based on current form. The attack needs be much better. 4) Short vs. Long Term – It was always a risk for Bezbatchenko to pull the plug on Nelsen and his staff when he did. Even Vanney himself couldnt recall a time in Major League Soccer when a manager had been fired while sitting in a playoff spot this late in the season. Its clear the front office and coaching staff needed be on the same page. Time will tell whether the timing on this one was right. The safer move for Bez would have been to keep Nelsen on until the end of the season, then make a change. If the team failed to make the playoffs, Nelsen could have been the fall guy. But time wasnt something the general manager thought he had. Bezbatchenko is confident he made the best decision for both short and long term. Its difficult for Toronto FC supporters to hear, but the franchise is going through yet another process of growth and identification. The financial commitment made raises the stakes but doesnt change the process. The balance between the push for the playoffs and lasting build is a difficult balance, especially for a rookie GM. Big picture, it remains about getting it right and creating something sustainable for the club to build off for years to come. Break-ups are never easy. This case is no different. 5) Defoe Story – Vanney says he expects Jermain Defoe to return to the team by the 20th. This comes after a Daily Mail story claiming Defoe is trying to negotiate a buyout from the club. Lets be clear, the Daily Mail is hardly a bastion of truth in sports reporting. And even if we assume Defoe (which very well may be the case) is angling for a way out of Toronto, there is no chance Toronto would give him a buyout after the team kept hold of a prized asset, resisting temptation to sell for a record number in the dying hours before the transfer window closed. Defoe is in Toronto until January, period. After that, all bets are off. Defoe needs to get back at it, prove he is fit mentally and physically, and be on the field for the stretch run. He makes the team better. And Toronto will feel much better saying goodbye if Defoe helps this team make the playoffs. This is more a test of Defoes focus and demeanor than anything at Toronto FC. 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[url=http://www.cheapchargersjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-easton-stick-jersey]Easton Stick Jersey[/url] . For the Blue Jays the time was Wednesday and the ace was R.A. Dickey. He stepped up. "I feel some responsibility as a stopper from time to time," said Dickey.ROME -- Alessandro Florenzi set up one goal then scored another as Roma pulled level with Juventus atop Serie A with a 2-0 win over Cagliari on Sunday. Florenzi provided the cross for Mattia Destros opener 10 minutes in at the Stadio Olimpico then took a pass from Gervinho and found the target himself two minutes later with an angled shot. Florenzi celebrated by climbing over a barrier into the stands and running up several rows to embrace his 82-year-old grandmother -- drawing a yellow card from the referee. "Hell pay a fine but hes happy to," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. "This is the beautiful side of football." Roma and Juventus, which won 1-0 at AC Milan on Saturday, are the only clubs to win their opening three matches. Prior to this season, the last time Roma won its opening three matches without conceding any goal came in 2007-08. "The stats are good. Were top on maximum points and were yet to concede in the league," Garcia said. "It was a good afternoon" Hellas Verona is two points back in third following a 1-0 win at Torino, where Artur Ionita scored in the 66th and goalkeeper Rafael saved a penalty kick from Omar El Kaddouri in the 87th. Milan and Udinese are three points behind the leaders. Udinese edged Napoli 1-0 with a goal from Danilo in the 70th following a poorly defended free kick. It was the second consecutive loss for Napoli, which finished third last season. Also, Inter Milan drew 1-1 at promoted Palermo. A defensive error from Nemanja Vidic gifted Paulo Dybala a goal for Palermo just three minutes in and Mateo Kovacic equalized for Inter in the 42nd from the edge of the area. Its been a nightmare of a start for Vidic in Italy after the former Manchester United standout was shown a red card in his Serie A debut. Fiorentina won 1-0 at Atalanta with a goal in the 58th from substitute Jasmin Kurtic, who scored with a long diagoonal shot that bounced in off the post.dddddddddddd. Parma beat Chievo Verona 3-2 with two goals from former Italy forward Antonio Cassano. Elsewhere, Genoas Mauricio Pinilla scored in the 87th in a 1-0 win over 10-man Lazio, two minutes after Stefan De Vrij picked up his second yellow card. And Sassuolo and Sampdoria drew 0-0. In the capital, Garcia rested Francesco Totti following a 5-1 midweek rout of CSKA Moscow in the Champions League but Florenzi, Destro and Gervinho made up for the captains absence. It was the first goal this season for the 23-year-old Florenzi, and also the first time his grandmother Aurora came to the Olimpico to watch him. "I had never done that, not even when I was a kid and could have much more easily," Florenzi told Sky TV at halftime. "This goal is for her. She had told me, Ill come to see you only if you come to greet me. ... It was worth the yellow." Cagliari, coached by former Roma manager Zdenek Zeman, rarely threatened. Roma midfielder Daniele De Rossi exited late in the second half with an apparent lower left leg problem. In Verona, Cassano dedicated his performance to teammate Jonathan Biabiany, who is out indefinitely after doctors discovered a heart problem. Cassano had a heart problem himself during the 2011-12 season, when he fell ill with stroke-like symptoms on the team plane while with Milan and then had surgery to repair a small cardiac malformation. "I understand what hes going through right now," Cassano said. "We miss him as a player but above all as a teammate." Cassano was on Italys World Cup squad but has not been called up by new Azzurri coach Antonio Conte. "I think the national team chapter is over for me," Cassano said. "Its only fair that other players get a chance. Conte is very good but you run a lot with him -- a lot -- and Im not sure that suits me."