Metro Lions FC 2002
Arnold Milan (Owner) Bill Dixon General (Secretary)
Metro Lions FC was formed in 2002 to participate in the Canadian
Professional Soccer League (C.P.S.L.) Arnold Milan was the Owner,
and Anthony Ayo, the President. Bill Dixon was the club’s General
Secretary and Treasurer and the pendulum by which the business
revolved. Francois Glasman was part of the Administration of some
capacity, and although his involvement ran under the radar-based
on run-ins with the soccer establishments, he proved a valuable
asset to Mr. Milan in the long run. Metro Lions Head Office was
at 3881 Chesswood Drive, North York, and the Astros, the franchise
already played out of the stadium in North York. Therefore, the
need for a home field was a top priority for the Lions. Anthony
(Tony) La Ferrara was the Coach of the Lions franchise, and
Aldwyn McGill was brought in as the Club’s Promotions and
Liaison person. His main assignment was to use his prior
relationship and influence with the Scarborough Soccer
Association (SSA) and gain affiliation to secure Birchmount
Stadium for Metro Lions home games in the CPSL Therefore,
the meeting was arranged with Metro Lion’s owners and
SSA Board and Birchmount became the Metro Lions
home field.
Lions ownership was impressed at the meeting when
they found out more about Aldwyn McGill’s experience
in the sports administration business from the Soccer
Association (SSA). They learned that Mr. McGill ran
the Caribbean Stars franchise, which played in the
the Canadian International Soccer League (CISL)
better known as the Puma League, and held several
positions on the CISL Board of Directors among his long
resume.
McGill recalled how he had to temper the expectations
of the business minds of Lion’s administrators for them
to conform to the reality of the world have taken to develop
a marketable soccer product before it could be declared
as a tangible asset to their other businesses. Metro Lions
were accepted as a member of the SSA, and Birchmount
Stadium became Lion’s home field. The Caribbean Stars
usually puts on its Annual Indoor Soccer in the second
week of May at Mount Joy Arena in Markham. As
a member of Metro Lions, Mr. McGill extended an
invitation to Lion’s ownership. Bill Dixon attended
the event, and although he seemed impressed with
the event when on the next workday, Aldwyn McGill
was called into Club’s Head Office on the next workday
and offered the Presidency. Within weeks McGill was
also offered General Manager (GM) position. and
he recalls that it was from that point onwards was
when he negotiated a contract. “It was from that
vantage point that I monitored the internal workings
of the soccer operation. The team was not together
as a unit. I had attended games from the time I was
the Liason of the club, and the team’s lack of
indiscipline was noticeable, and it had to be addressed
for the team to be successful. It was very noticeable
from an away game against Vaughan Shooters.
It was impossible to remedy the situation without
coach Tony La Farerra, and with the lack of
corporation, the problem began to fester. After
a blatant refusal by the coach for the meeting,
there was a coaching change. The decision was
surprising to some who probably just looked at
the decent team record of a .500 club with 3
wins and 3 losses for a new franchise and
wondered what could have created such a
decision. However, little did they know that
there was a serious breakdown in communication between
the coach and GM; In most organizations that would not
be livable,
and in Metro Lions at the time, it was not a healthy
situation and the coaching change was made.
However, taking over the coaching duties seemed
to only resolved the communication problem with
an upcoming home game against Shooters in a
matter of days. That’s when all hell broke loose.
There was an altercation after the game that
was headline news. The incident occurred just
days after the coaching change, and it was for
all the wrong reasons with a loss and the blame
seemingly towards the Metro Lions team, without
an investigation that was for all the wrong reasons.
The Lions lost the game, and there was an altercation
after the game. The new coaching staff lost their first
three games and eventually won a game on the back
end of a weekend road trip. The Lions lost the first leg
of the road trip to a strong Ottawa Wizards team 3-1
on Saturday and found solace on Sunday from a 5-3
win against the Montreal Dynamites on an extremely
hot sunny day in Montreal. From the coaching staff
perspective, the trip to Ottawa and Montreal
was the defining moment of Lion’s 2002 season.
Several players were cut from the roster after the trip.
It showed which players were willing to fight for the
team and those who were just around to market their
skills for individual glory. However, there were positive
moments to build on, and one of those moments was
at the end of the trip from Montreal, when the team
Captain O’Neil Brown went to the front of the bus
and congratulated the coaching staff on their first win.
“We were under the microscope after the coaching change, but the weekend road trip to
brought the team together, said Coach McGill.
Not many players knew who I was, but they found
out and were challenged regarding team discipline.”
Quite a few players were cut from the roster after the trip.
Some lacked the talent, and those that did and were cut
did not rise to the occasion regarding team spirit.
The loss to a strong Ottawa Wizards team was
a huge test, but the team found solace in the win
against Montreal on an extremely hot sunny day.
It was just one of the many positive moments of 2002.
Another defining moment was when Captain O’Neil
Brown went to the front of the team bus and congratulated
the new coaching staff on their first win. It occurred
as the team was travelling back to Toronto after
enjoying a hectic but enjoyable weekend that ended well.
Metro Lions FC was formed in 2002
to participate in the Canadian Professional
Soccer League (C.P.S.L.) Arnold Milan was
the Owner, and Anthony Ayo, the President.
Bill Dixon was the club’s, General Secretary
and Treasurer and the pendulum by which
the business revolved. Francois Glasman was
part of the Administration of some capacity and
although his involvement ran under the radar
based on run-ins with the soccer establishments,
he proved a valuable asset to Mr. Milan in the
long run. Metro Lions Head Office was at 3881
Chesswood Drive, North York, and the Astros
the franchise already played out of the stadium in
North York. Therefore, the need for a home field
was a top priority for the Lions. Anthony (Tony)
La Ferrara was the Coach of the Lions franchise,
and Aldwyn McGill was brought in as the
Promotions and Liaison person. His main
the assignment was to use his prior relationship
and influence the Scarborough Soccer Association
(SSA) to secure Birchmount Stadium. A meeting
was arranged with Metro Lion’s ownership and
SSA Board and Birchmount became the Metro
Lion’s home field. The owner learned a little
more about Aldwyn McGill’s experience in sports
administration and ownership also learned from
the Soccer Association (SSA) that McGill ran a
Caribbean Stars franchise in the Canadian
International Soccer League (CISL) better
known as the Puma League, and he was a
member of the Board that helped promote
and improve relations with the CISL and
other soccer establishments like the MTSA.
McGill recalled how he had to temper the
expectations of the business minds of Lion’s
administrators for them to conform
to the reality of the time it took to develop
a marketable soccer product before it could
be added as a tangible asset to their
other businesses. Metro Lions was accepted
as a member of the SSA and Birchmount
Stadium became Lion’s home field. The
Caribbean Stars usually puts on its Annual
Indoor Soccer in the second week of May
at Mount Joy Arena in Markham and as a
member of Metro Lions, Mr. McGill, extended
an invitation to Lion’s ownership. Bill Dixon
attended the event, and although he seemed
impressed with the event, when on the next
workday, Aldwyn McGill was called into Club’s
Head Office and offered the Presidency.
Within weeks McGill was also offered the
General Manager (GM) position. and he recalls
that it was from that point onwards was when
he negotiated a contract. “It was from that
vantage point that I monitored the internal
workings of the soccer operation. The team
was not together as a unit. I had attended
games from the time I was the Liason of the club,
and the team’s lack of indiscipline was noticeable
and it had to be addressed for the team to be
successful. It was very noticeable from an away
game against Vaughan Shooters. It was
impossible to remedy the situation without
coach Tony La Farerra, and with the lack of
corporation, the problem began to fester.
After a blatant refusal by the coach for
the meeting, there was a coaching change.
The decision was surprising to some who
probably just looked at the decent team record
of a .500 club with 3 wins and 3 losses for a
new franchise and wondered what could have
created such a decision. However, little did
they know that there was a serious breakdown
in communication between the coach and GM;
In most organizations, that would not be livable,
and in Metro Lions at the time, it was not a healthy
situation and the coaching change was made.
However, taking over the coaching duties seemed
to only resolved the communication problem with
an upcoming home game against Shooters in a
matter of days. That’s when all hell broke loose.
There was an altercation after the game that
was headline news. The incident occurred just
days after the coaching change, and it was for
all the wrong reasons with a loss and the blame
seemingly towards the Metro Lions team, without
an investigation that was for all the wrong reasons.
The Lions lost the game, and there was an altercation
after the game. The new coaching staff lost their first
three games and eventually won a game on the back
end of a weekend road trip. The Lions lost the first leg
of the road trip to a strong Ottawa Wizards team 3-1
on Saturday and found solace on Sunday from a 5-3
win against the Montreal Dynamites on an extremely
hot sunny day in Montreal. From the coaching staff
perspective, the trip to Ottawa and Montreal
was the defining moment of Lion’s 2002 season.
Several players were cut from the roster after the trip.
It showed which players were willing to fight for the
team and those who were just around to market their
skills for individual glory. However, there were positive
moments to build on, and one of those moments was
at the end of the trip from Montreal when the team
Captain O’Neil Brown went to the front of the bus
and congratulated the coaching staff on their first win.
“As the new coaching staff, we were under the microscope
after the coaching change, but the weekend road trip to
brought the team together, said Coach McGill.
Not many players knew who I was, but they found
out and were challenged regarding team discipline.”
Quite a few players were cut from the roster after the trip.
Some lacked the talent, and those that did and were cut
did not rise to the occasion regarding team spirit.
The loss to a strong Ottawa Wizards team was
a huge test, but the team found solace in the win
against Montreal on an extremely hot sunny day.
It was just one of the many positive moments of 2002.
Another defining moment was when Captain O’Neil
Brown went to the front of the team bus and congratulated
the new coaching staff on their first win. It occurred
as the team was travelling back to Toronto after
enjoying a hectic but enjoyable weekend that ended well