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When Toronto FC announced a current Premier League player as former head coach Paul Mariner?s successor, supporters were, at best, cautiously optimistic about the prospects of having Ryan Nelsen coach by correspondence.
According to Nelsen, though, that was never going to be the case ? and both TFC and its new coach?s former club had already agreed to the terms.
While he and general manager Kevin Payne maneuvered through questions last month regarding when the New Zealander would join the Reds permanently, the former Queens Park Rangers captain told the Sun this week his arrival time was decided at the time of the agreement.
?It was always going to be Feb. 1 just to give QPR the ability (to work the market),? Nelsen said, explaining he and Payne tried to drop hints during a press conference to introduce TFC?s eighth manager. ?If we?d said that publicly the price of centrebacks would have gone up (for QPR).?
Looking back, it was the right way to approach an unusual situation. But as QPR?s captain, its leader, most thought Nelsen?s decision to leave mid-season would leave a sour taste in the mouths of of those who support the central London club, making his final few Premier League matches rather intriguing.
After being asked about perceived turmoil his decision to join TFC stirred up across the pond, Nelsen himself admitted English fans and media often formulate quite harsh opinions of players ? something he would potentially have to deal with while deserting a club in the midst of a relegation battle.
The opposite was true.
?The QPR fans were fantastic,? Nelsen told the Sun when asked to reflect back on his decision to abruptly retire from the game after two decades. ?I never had a problem with the QPR fans because I tried to give everything I could. There?s only 90 minutes in a week.?
Even better was the way his playing career ended ? a goalless draw against Premier League giants Manchester City at QPR?s home ground, Loftus Road. Nelsen was showered with supportive chants as he crossed over the white line for the final time as a player.
BUT WHY, RYAN?
Until now, Nelsen?s teleprompter responses to tired questions have left most wanting more. While his overtly positive demeanour seems a bit rehearsed at times, the World Cup veteran opened up earlier this week when asked to finally explain why he stepped away from playing.
?If you?re not challenged you might as well be retired,? he said. ?I think for me I didn?t enjoy playing (at the end) because I was 35. I wasn?t enjoying playing and I?d proved everything. I?d played at the highest level.?
After capturing an MLS Cup with D.C. United in 2004, Nelsen moved to the Premier League?s Blackburn on a free transfer in 2005. Following seven quality seasons with Rovers, Nelsen completed a brief stint with Tottenham before moving to QPR, enjoying a legendary career with the New Zealand All Whites throughout.
?There was nothing I could really do as a player that was going to be anything I?ve already done,? he said.
BLAST FROM PAST
Now, after close to a decade, Nelsen is back in MLS, set to return after a brief hiatus from a league he says is vastly different.
?The league has changed dramatically ? and so much for the good as well,? he said. ?I think in any league you?ve got to go through bad times to get to the good times and I really do believe that when I (was in the league) it was probably going through a time that it was trying to find its niche in the market.?
Toronto FC?s new bench boss recalled the league?s struggles as he looked out over a Florida golf course near the resort where the Reds are located.
?Everything was done with shoe-string budget,? he said. ?I wouldn?t say unprofessional, but people were just trying to work with what they were given. I think there was also, on the players side, a hangover of trying to entertain.?
Entertainment in the form of embarrassing MLS overtimes and dribble-up shootouts, a pair of gimmicks Nelsen can laugh about when looking back on a league where he got his playing start ? and, now, another new start.
NELSEN: ?NOT A CHANCE? I?LL PLAY
KISSIMMEE, Fla. ? Toronto FC head coach Ryan Nelsen has repeatedly insisted his playing days are over.
So, of course, we had to badger him at least once more on the topic.
As New Zealand will likely emerge from Oceania in 2014 World Cup qualifying, it will enter a playoff with whichever nation finishes fourth in CONACAF qualifying at the end of this year, a playoff that will likely occur during the MLS off-season.
?One thing I?ve learned about football is as soon as you think you know something it can come and bite you in the back side,? Nelsen said when discussing qualifying.
Is that to say he would return for a potential home-and-away for another shot at a World Cup?
?Not a chance,? he said emphatically. ?And I?ll be cheering for New Zealand massively.? ?
Source: http://www.torontosun.com/2013/02/14/tfcs-coach-ryan-nelsen-in-the-right-place
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