Sean Meyer
The Londoner

They say in sports that athletes learn a lot by losing.

If that’s the case, then Ryan Gauss is hoping general managers can learn a lot from losing too.

Ryan, general manager of the London City franchise in the Canadian Soccer League (CSL), watched in frustration as last year’s team went winless for the season. In fact, London City hadn’t won a game since Aug. 10, 2007.

However, coming off the team’s first victory of the season, a 6-3 win over TFC Academy (the youth team of Major League Soccer’s Toronto FC) on Aug. 14, Ryan says he is expecting a much brighter future ahead.

“Yes, that win brought with it a great sense of relief, a sense of optimism that we are going forward in the right direction, that we are looking at a bright future. A lot of work was done in the off-season to recruit a solid team for the new season and I think it already has shown we are better,” Ryan says.

“I have always put it on myself when we lost, so after so long it had begun getting hard to sleep, but it was also tough to get out of bed in the morning. When you throw everything, including the kitchen sink, at a problem and it doesn’t correct itself, you do get frustrated. But that win did so much, the guys took a sledgehammer to those frustrations.”

Being general manager of a team with 36 years of history brings with it a lot of expectations, as does trying to rebound from a the poor results of recent years. However, Ryan says if last season taught him nothing else, he has learned that winning takes constant hard work, and sometimes, a more business-like approach.

“Last season taught me that losing is not an option. We were very loyal to some people, good players, good people, but we didn’t explore all avenues open to us. Before you knew it we were 0-6 and the season was lost,” Ryan says. “I don’t see us lofting any championship trophies right away, but with some luck and a few breaks we can make the playoffs. And what I learned from last year is that I will do whatever it takes to make this team a winner. We will constantly be assessing things to see how we can get better. If I have to go to Brazil and bring Pele out of retirement, then that’s what I will do.”

This season will see London City working without any affiliation agreements, meaning the players on their roster will have committed to the team and have said it is their priority.

“Whether the best players are from London or wherever we can find them. We have been 100 per cent London at some points and it hasn’t meant victories. It’s not about just finding the best local talent, it’s about finding the best talent,” Ryan says. “We know people have lives, commitments, but we are asking our players to commit to London City, to making this team better. I think people will be pleasantly surprised by what they see.”

The 2008 season wasn’t a total loss for London City, well, for Andrew Loague at least. Andrew – who is now the team’s head coach following the resignation of Sean Gauss back in June – finished second in CSL scoring last season with 14 goals (four behind the league-leader) and second in the league’s most valuable player voting.

Like Ryan, Andrew – who is currently sideline with a possibly season-ending injury – says a commitment to London City by its entire roster will go a long way to ensuring as season like 2008 doesn’t happen again.

Andrew says that experience brings with it a closeness he says is serving London City well this season.

“We have a core group of players who really blend together. I don’t think once last year we had the same 11 guys on the field. We had a lot of kids, a lot of guys playing double games,” Andrew says. “This season will be a total concentration on London City. We already see that is making a difference, this will be a close team and that will make things different.”

One thing Ryan says he is proud that won’t be changing is the commitment of the team’s sponsors.

“We have great sponsors and I think a lot of that has to do with our history. Our sponsorships are up, we have Wotif.com this season, they are from England. They are a travel accommodation website and they want to attract a larger customer basis in Canada, so I think it is our history they were attracted to. That says a lot,” Ryan says. “We have Friday Night Lights, I wish we had more people in the community willing to step up like they have. Dominos Pizza has been amazing. It’s an example of people actually putting up their money because they believe in what we are doing.”

What the team is doing, Ryan says, is continuing to provide Londoners exposure to some of the best soccer available in North America outside of Major League Soccer (MLS).

“At the end of the day we are going to keep doing what we do best, give local talent a chance to play professional soccer in the big leagues. But also for Londoners to see the best soccer outside of maybe the MLS,” Ryan says. “You look at the credentials of the players in the CSL, they have played across the world. They are some amazing talents. It’s that kind of talent people will see when they come out to our games.”

Want to know more?

¦ To find out more about London City, visit www.londoncity.ca. To find out more about the Canadian Soccer League, visit www.canadiansoccerleague.ca.