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Look on the bright side. During your lifetime you have also enjoyed more promotions than Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea put together!

And now for the promised part 2 of the World Cup Approaching blog. For this part, I am going to review the Toronto Stadium now that I have had a chance to sit in the finished article for the world cup and also pass some good news (for me) on at the end. Thanks to my son's youth team, I was able to secure tickets for us to go along to Canada -Vs- Iceland as I mentioned in part 1. This was my first international game in 30+ years. My last time was at Hampden Park in the early 90s I seem to recall so this was a bit of an adventure. It was also my son (and my wife's) first ever international game. The game itself was a disappointing 2-2 draw in freezing temperatures, with both of Canada's goals coming on Jonathan David penalties in the second half. Prior to that Iceland had led 2-0 at HT courtesy of sloppy and shoddy defending from Canada in the first half that gave away goals that should never have happened, albeit with a largely second or even third string defence on the field. Do that in the World Cup and the result will not be as forgiving. If I am honest, I had to admit, as a regular visitor to BMO Field, my focus was more on the stadium itself as it is officially classed as completed ahead of the world cup with any tweaks to be largely cosmetic or fixing, covering or 'prettifying' certain things. Personal opinion is that I hope they do tart it up a bit as some of it is still a bit underwhelming or even embarrassing. We spent $146m on what appears to be North America's largest stockpile of scaffolding poles and only a small portion of it will be left behind as any legacy of the World Cup. The scaffold poles are apparently all being shipped out to Los Angeles for the 2028 Olympics once FIFA leaves town. The picture in the header of this article can be clicked for an entire panorama of the stadium, but here are the individual stands with a little commentary about the changes that have taken place and what if anything will be left behind. South Stand The south stand is traditionally the supporters' section at BMO Field and has been there since the stadium was opened in 2007. The portion where the current crowd is located is the normal home for the noisiest and most raucous TFC fans and holds maybe 3500-4000. In the graphic you can see an all-new section above this that will hold about the same as well as what appears to be a hospitality area - likely for some people in the regular seats as it seems to be too far away from the actual pitch to be a viewing box. Despite the BMO Field canopy (not really a roof), the sightlines from all seats have been checked and there is no issue. The entire upper section (grey seats) will be removed and disposed of at the end of the World Cup which is a bit of a shame. The reality however is that Toronto FC do not need 45,000 seats or even 35,000. The current capacity of just under 30,000 will be sufficient for all but the most popular of games (currently Miami and LAFC with Messrs Messi and Son) Main Stand The Main Stand has been left untouched from the Toronto FC layout with any tweaks and upgrades being cosmetic or not associated with the actual capacity. The dugouts have been replaced, some of the main stand hospitality suites have been upgraded or merged and upgrades are pretty much all behind the scenes. You can also see two of the massive 4 screens that are in each corner. They dont look much in the picture, but when you get up close and personal they are pretty huge. These will stay after the World Cup. East Stand The East Stand, opposite the main stand is another with little to no adjustments apparent for the World Cup. This is a normal 2-tier stand and the view from the top level is as shown in the blog header at the top of the page. Again, there are the big screens now in each corner which will remain after the World Cup. North Stand I left the North Stand until last as the entire structure was not there before. It is nestled between the end of the playing field and a building nearby called the 'Food Building' which is used during the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) each year to serve up weird and wacky food combinations. Google the CNE if you want more info - or perhaps that's an idea for a blog entry in August since there is usually one or two matches during the CNE. Another reason there is typically not a stand or anything other than casual standing at the at end during the normal season is that BMO Field is shared with the Toronto Argonauts, a CFL team that uses a longer field so needs more space for the endzones. (CFL is like the NFL but with less downs, lower wages, smaller crowds, and less brand recognition). After the World Cup the bottom seats and the top seats will all be removed, but the structure holding the hospitality boxes, as well as a rooftop patio will remain. Not quite sure how that will look, but I guess we will see in August/September. The angle of the upper tier seats appears to be very steep and again its like a huge Meccano set at the back of it. I really hope the scaffolding is covered up with some form of FIFA supported branding during the tournament. Scaffold Poles Apparently, it has passed all structural design and safety checks, but the sheer quantity of scaffolding poles joined in every conceivable direction just has to be seen to be believed. What also blows my mind - working for an engineering company - is that each and every one of these poles would have been mapped out in a 3D modelling program and subjected not only to design review but also risk analysis and various simulations. It is not just a haphazard joining of scaffold poles to one another. The time it would have taken to do this has to be acknowledged as impressive (and likely tedious for the engineers). A couple of pictures here, taken outside the South Stand really do fail to do it justice. Again, I hope they cover this up with something for the games to at least prettify it! Ticket Woes With the Italians failing to qualify for the world cup in the playoffs, Canada will now face Bosnia & Herzegovina at the stadium on June 12th. There was apparently a surge in the number of resale tickets offered up on Ticketmaster and StubHub after the Italians didn't progress. However, with an estimated 162 different nations represented in Toronto, and with the city being acknowledged as one of the most diverse on the planet, there is also a somewhat healthy Bosnian diaspora as well. According to the last census in 2021, there were around 36,000 people who listed Bosnia & Herzegovina as their country of origin, with roughly 1/3 of these living in the Greater Toronto Area. The games are still expected to sell-out and tickets for the game on June 12th first priced at around $500 are still on the market for about $5000, with the most expensive pitch side seat apparently listed at over $100,000 !!! Most normal fans simply cannot afford it. And now for the good news! After exhausting all avenues to get a ticket from official sources, and giving up hope of hearing anything from FIFA about the volunteer position I applied for last year, which was supposed to be notified by February, an email dropped quietly into my email inbox a couple of weeks ago ... its official, I am now a Host City Ambassador. I have a vague idea of what that is, but FIFA preparation is very thorough and training for the position starts tonight! I hope to bring some insight into the journey in future blog postings and am starting to make my way through a 50+ page manual that details all the do's and don'ts, which so far do seem pretty normal and sensible. Wont post any more about it until I have read it completely as one of the first things I noted as part of this, is that FIFA asks you to make it clear your social media posts reflect your personal opinion, not that of FIFA or the Competition. all pretty standard disclaimer type wording. So be aware, everything I post (and everything I have ever posted to be honest) is my own opinion, and may not reflect the opinions or policies of the organisers, sponsors or anyone else associated with FIFA. Ok, so with all that being said, its time to wrap up this post and prepare for the training. You do get FIFA branded uniforms/gear as part of this, which will be a pretty nice souvenir to go in my football cabinet. Over the cold and snowy winter, I have (finally) been able to set things up in my home office with all the various Caley Thistle and TFC memorabilia I have amassed over the years instead of it sitting around in plastic storage containers in the basement. Will have to create some space for the World Cup memorabilia that I will either purchase myself or be given as part of my role in this World Cup. Really pleased to have been selected. Onwards and Upwards.

Pie and bovril is getting more crazier by the day with them now moaning about English posters and Canadian ones taking over this site 🙄. At least this site doesn't have idiots on it unlike there where fans of other clubs hijack forums and start arguing with one another 🙄. Anyway, they now say we need Ian McCall, STUART KETTLEWELL or Paul Hartley in as manager 🤦🤦!!

When I eventually found the game on the iPlayer (having watched the West Ham match which was on at the same time) it was nearly 9pm. I dutifully sat through it all the way. There's not much to say that hasn't already been said so my key thoughts were: We gave them far too much respect and space to play from the back and in midfield, especially in the first half. There seemed little energy or appetite to press, even with the squad rotations to keep things "fresh". Bavidge could count himself unlucky not to start after recent performances. Bearing in mind what the ref had already given, their fourth goal could have been given as a foul our way instead when Easton took the ball (from behind). The players might feel sufficiently embarrased that, rather than losing confidence, it gives them a real kick up the backside before Stenny on Saturday. Anything else would be picking on individual players and that is not really constructive, especially when pretty much everyone was, well, let's say below par.